A Young Woman's Heart

The prison wasn't even on the outskirts of the city, but deep in the mountains, and on the map it looked like a secret military base.

—In fact, it was used as a military base in the past, but the people who used it back then were local warlords.

Qiu Yi was driving, and Ye Wen, who was sitting next to him, had her head tilted to the side and was already asleep.

"Are you still feeling unwell?" Mo Xueyao gently poked Li Wanyan's lower back, and the latter moved slightly to the side and gently shook her head.

She doesn't want to talk at all right now, or rather, she's afraid to talk, lest she vomit the words out as soon as she opens her mouth.

The car's air conditioning and heating are on, so leaving the windows open is actually a waste.

However, Qiu Yi clearly didn't care.

"Teacher Qiu, is this a new car you bought?" Mo Xueyao yawned widely and asked, leaning back in the soft seat.

"No, I borrowed this from your teacher Jingdie—uh, my car broke down and is still at the repair shop."

"Looks like the old-fashioned stuff won't work."

"Why not? It can run for another ten years!" Qiu Yi released his right hand from the steering wheel, turned the air conditioning knob to the right, and the hot air blowing out immediately became even stronger.

"Then why did it end up in the repair shop?"

"Well, the air conditioner is having a slight problem..."

The conversation ended there.

In fact, Qiu Yi, who was driving, was also sleepy. He rested his right index finger on the steering wheel and tapped it lightly for a while before finally saying, "How about we go somewhere to rest for a while?"

"Hmm... let's rest when we reach the top of the mountain..." Mo Xueyao was so exhausted by the winding mountain road that she couldn't speak anymore.

This road is not only narrow enough for only two cars to pass slowly, but it is also very steep with extremely sharp curves; just looking at it is enough to make one dizzy.

Li Wanyan, standing to the side, frowned, her eyes and mouth tightly closed, her Adam's apple bobbing up and down, clearly trying to suppress the urge to vomit by constantly swallowing.

"Let's rest." Mo Xueyao took a deep breath and kept rubbing her temples. "The perfume in Teacher Jingdie's car is really...too strong...and it seems to be a new car, right? It smells like new car paint."

"Hmm, let's see if there's anywhere to get off and stop at the top of the mountain." Although Qiu Yi was eager to get up, he didn't dare to speed up, afraid that if he stepped on the gas and then braked, Li Wanyan, who was sitting in the back seat, would throw up.

If viewed from above, the black sedan would appear to be like a beetle slowly climbing up the winding, rugged mountain road, seemingly exhausted and struggling to keep up.

The road only occupies a small part of the mountaintop, and next to it is only a patch of grass with only withered grass. Qiu Yi turned the car around and stopped in this open space.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Li Wanyan couldn't help but push open the car door, take a few steps forward, and spit out a snowball-shaped shrub.

Mo Xueyao could hold back at first, but after seeing what she had vomited, she finally couldn't take it anymore. She found a short pine tree that looked like it had just been planted and almost vomited up her dinner from the previous day.

Motion sickness is something that gets worse the more you try to hold it in. Once you've vomited until you've even coughed up your own saliva, the rest of the journey becomes much easier. It's as if there's a protective mechanism after vomiting that prevents you from getting motion sickness again for a while.

"Phew... the air on the mountain is so fresh..." Mo Xueyao took the napkin Qiu Yi handed her and wiped her mouth. "I can't even imagine how I'll get back."

"Haha, don't worry, we'll rest a few more times when we come back—we can just buy some snacks in advance, it'll just take a little more time."

"Compared to the discomfort of the car ride, the wasted time is nothing..." Mo Xueyao spat on the ground, ran to the car, picked up her water cup, rinsed her mouth with water, and felt that the sour taste on her tongue had faded a lot.

Li Wanyan finally finished vomiting. She squatted down, clutching her stomach, feeling so uncomfortable that she felt like she couldn't breathe.

Mo Xueyao rushed to her side, looking down at her with concern: "Are you feeling better? Do you want some water? Hmm... maybe you should rinse your mouth first?"

She didn't answer, but just nodded slightly. The latter then brought the glass to her lips and slowly poured water into her mouth.

The mouthwash swirled in her mouth, then she spat it out along with some vomit residue.

"Are you feeling better?" Qiu Yi asked, half-lying in the car with her back to them.

"Alright." Li Wanyan nodded, supported herself on Mo Xueyao's shoulder, and stood up again, looking a little weak in the legs.

Qiu Yi, perhaps not hearing the reply, was pouring coffee into her thermos and then using water from Ye Wen's thermos to brew it.

The most oblivious person was their homeroom teacher, Ms. Ye Wen. Despite the bumpy road, she slept soundly and didn't even wake up when the car stopped.

"Did Awen not sleep last night?" Mo Xueyao helped Li Wanyan into the car, then popped a mint into her mouth, paused for a moment, and quickly took out another one and handed it to her.

"She did indeed... go to sleep around three or four in the morning."

"Huh, why are you so late?"

"Let's play games." Qiu Yi chuckled and yawned again, his pale tongue coating suggesting he hadn't been feeling well lately. "Me yesterday too, ha... ah... we slept together."

"Huh? Are we still driving?"

"Don't worry, we'll get there without any problem. It's only half an hour left." Qiu Yi sneezed and rubbed his nose with his thumb. "Let's hit the road after we've rested!"

"Hey, Teacher Qiu, what do you mean by 'on the road'? It sounds like you're about to be dragged off to be executed!" Mo Xueyao glanced at Li Wanyan, tilted her head and looked at him sideways, saying, "Can't you say something auspicious?"

"Haha, don't worry about it, don't worry about it." Qiu Yi laughed and climbed back into the car. "Phew, it's too cold outside, it's much warmer inside the car..."

"Hmm...we're here?" Ye Wen was only just starting to wake up. Her eyes were still closed, and she murmured in a half-awake state, "Ah...it's so cold..."

"Not yet." Qiu Yi started the car again. "I'm just taking a short break."

"Oh." Ye Wen nodded, turned over and went back to sleep.

The next half hour went by very quickly.

The prison finally came into view.

It looked different from what Mo Xueyao had imagined; everything seemed to be in good order.

If it weren't for the fact that the prisoners were all wearing the same winter prison uniforms, she would have thought she had come to a closed military factory.

"Hello, did you make an appointment in advance?" The security guard, wrapped in a thick coat, knocked on the car door. "If not, please register on the spot."

"Oh, yes, we registered. We're from Yukong High School." Qiu Yi nodded quickly. "Could you check? The name left in the notes should be... Ye Wen?"

"Ye Wen? Right, I know her. But we need to verify your personal information. Can you show me your ID card?"

"Okay, okay, Wenwen? Wenwen!" Qiu Yi nudged Ye Wen's arm. "Where's your ID card?"

"Hmm...we're here?" Ye Wen sat up abruptly as if startled awake, hurriedly picking up the small purse at her feet. Under the watchful eyes of the security personnel, it took her a full five minutes to find her ID card.

I never expected Ye Wen to be so reckless and confused.

The rest was simple; since I had registered in advance, I was allowed to proceed after verification.

Li Wanyan looked at her reflection in the car window and unconsciously clenched her fists.

Mo Xueyao chattered on and on her way in, asking a lot of questions, but she remained silent the whole time.

"Alright, the prisoner is already waiting. Now you just need to go in to see her." A female prison guard nodded to Qiu Yi, her smile resembling that of a restaurant waitress.

Mo Xueyao had no intention of mocking him; she was just curious because it was the first time she had seen prison staff with such a good attitude.

To be honest, this was actually the first time she had met these prison staff in real life, and all her previous impressions came from various movies and TV shows.

As Mo Xueyao approached the hall where family members were to meet, the words she was about to say came to an abrupt halt, as if a stereo had been turned off. In the empty hall, there was only one man on the other side who had come to visit his family. The cold air seemed to freeze everything.

Li Wanyan, who had been walking at the back, opened her eyes wide. She subconsciously quickened her pace, overtook Qiu Yi who was walking in front, and even started to jog.

It was like a sudden gust of wind.

The woman standing behind the bulletproof glass also stood up in a panic and agitation.

Li Wanyan stood in front of her, but suddenly seemed to have taken root in her feet and didn't take another step forward—even though the stool was right in front of her.

Her Adam's apple bobbed, and her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't know where to begin.

The mother and daughter met again in silence.

……

Chapter 224 Mother

The glass couldn't separate their view of each other, but it did separate them into two different worlds.

The slender woman behind the glass opened her mouth, but no one could hear what she said. She saw Li Wanyan standing there, seemingly wanting to laugh, but unable to.

"Sit down first, Wanyan." Ye Wen gently rubbed her shoulders and pressed her down to sit on the bulletproof glass stool.

To talk to the person behind the glass, you have to pick up the landline phone next to you. It's less like making a phone call and more like the intercom that connects to the front door in many homes.

Mo Xueyao tried to walk to Li Wanyan's side, but was stopped by the prison guard.

"Apart from immediate family members, please rest and wait on the sofas at the back." The prison guard's tone was devoid of emotion, sounding rather cold.

"what……"

"Come on, Xiaoyao, it'll be over soon. Visiting time is about half an hour." Qiu Yi smiled and patted Mo Xueyao's head. "I'll take a nap..."

"What can you sleep in half an hour?" Ye Wen said, glancing at him sideways, but she also affectionately linked her arm with his.

"You've had enough sleep..."

The teachers' attempts to lighten the mood were completely ineffective; Mo Xueyao's attention was entirely focused on Li Wanyan.

She had many questions she wanted to ask, and she also wanted to be by her side to tell her parents that with her there, she would never live the kind of life she used to live again.

But in the end, she didn't ask the question aloud. Only after sitting down did she murmur, "Why do we have to be separated by glass?"

No one answered her—Qiu Yi was already asleep, and Ye Wen went to the water dispenser to get hot water, so her mutterings were completely unheard.

Mo Xueyao leaned against the back of the sofa and looked towards Li Wanyan.

She finally picked up the landline receiver with a slight tremor, looked at her mother behind the glass, bit her lip, and whispered something.

……

“Mom…” Li Wanyan gripped the receiver tightly, her knuckles slightly protruding. She only managed to say these two words before her voice choked with emotion.

She lowered her head and tried to keep her voice down: "Are you... alright?"

Pan Jiexiang looked at her daughter, who had her head down, and at her soft, long hair. She reached out and couldn't help but want to touch it.

"fine."

"Yan Yan, you've gained weight," Pan Jiexiang teased with a smile. "Your face is rounder now."

“Mom…” Li Wanyan bit her lip, “You’ve lost weight…”

"You'll definitely lose weight in prison, but it's good. My schedule is very regular, and my health is actually much better than before—was that the girl you were talking about earlier, Xiaoyao?"

"Yes, I'm staying at her house..." Li Wanyan casually wiped her face, then lifted her head and said with a smile, "Mom...you'll come out, right?"

"Of course I will... Oh, you found that letter, right? I thought you hadn't taken that photo album with you."