A Young Woman's Heart

"Cappuccino? Is that coffee?" If someone else said this, they would be considered a complete country bumpkin, but when Mo Xueyao said it, it had a touch of innocent and cute charm.

"Yes, a cappuccino is a milk coffee, the kind with bubbles."

"When Xiaoxue comes down, let them order for themselves, shall we?" Mo Xueyao looked at the prices on the menu and had an urge to go to Shaxian for a hearty meal instead. "Hmm... I'll have some spaghetti."

"Time for some snacks! You'd be missing out if you came all this way and didn't have any snacks!"

Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes at Hua Yinyin, indicating that she had absolutely no interest in those breads and cakes that cost ten or twenty yuan at a time.

"Don't cough like that... I'll treat you then..." Wang Jiale smiled awkwardly, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into, but the other three girls were completely oblivious and continued to loudly criticize the 'unreasonable' price.

In the end, Wang Jiale took the menu and ordered five or six kinds of desserts in one go before he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Western desserts are prepared in advance, so the food is served quickly. The coffee and pastries were brought out one after another shortly after the waiter left.

"You can get refills of coffee," the waiter reminded her with a smile. Seeing that Mo Xueyao was about to ask something else, he answered first, "It's free."

"Oh—that's good."

"Ahem!" Wang Jiale covered her cheeks awkwardly once again.

Delicious snacks were served one by one, but the portions were small, basically just enough to taste.

However, you really can't eat too much of this kind of dessert, otherwise you might find yourself three pounds heavier the next day...

"This is... a piece of toast?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously, poking at the whole piece of toast with a knife.

Hua Yinyin, standing to the side, smiled mysteriously and said, "You'll know what it is once you cut it open."

When Mo Xueyao slowly cut into it, she discovered that it was actually... the spaghetti she had ordered.

"So, if you're not full, you can eat the outer layer? Hmm, that's pretty good, you can even eat the utensils!" Mo Xueyao looked on with curiosity and couldn't wait to take a bite. "Compared to eating noodles with a fork, I feel that chopsticks are more convenient..."

"Coffee shops are for enjoying the atmosphere... especially this one, the environment is really nice." Wang Jiale changed the subject, and it was unclear whether Mo Xueyao, who was only focused on eating, had actually listened.

The dark clouds still obscured the sky, and the sun seemed unwilling to come out.

It makes one wish they could pierce through the clouds like puncturing a window, so that the golden light could once again bathe the world in its warmth.

There's always a reason why things are expensive. For example, the pasta that Mo Xueyao ate tasted particularly good, and it also contained a lot of beef. The bread slices weren't just plain toast; they had layers of pork floss and cream in the middle.

As she was enjoying her meal and trying to appreciate the beauty of the garden, just as Wang Jiale had suggested, she saw two stylishly dressed girls wearing sunglasses walking towards her.

Before she could even sigh, she saw one of them take off his sunglasses, smile, and raise an eyebrow at her.

"Huh, Cha Li? So... the one next to me is Xiao Xue?"

Mr. Xue grinned, revealing a few teeth, and took off his sunglasses, causing the waitress who was about to serve everyone to stare at him blankly. After a long while, she turned her head away embarrassedly and said, "This lady is really cool. If I were a man, I might even want to pursue her."

"Well, it's precisely because you're a woman that you want to pursue her, right?" Cha Li pulled out a white chair and sat down, casually crossing her legs. She and Mr. Xue next to her looked like two high-level executives from a large company.

What would you like to order?

Mr. Xue, who couldn't speak freely, could only smile slightly, causing the waitress to be slightly dazed again.

"Hmm, two lattes, and a fruit platter, and a dessert platter, please."

Various kinds of platters are probably a blessing for those who have difficulty making choices.

After the waitress served the food and left, Mo Xueyao couldn't help but smile mischievously at Mr. Xue: "Little Xue, you're quite charming, aren't you?"

"Could it be that Xiaoxue is obsessed with men dressing up as women?" Hua Yinyin teased.

"Shh—" Mr. Xue said jokingly in a low voice, "Keep your voice down, don't let anyone else hear."

Mr. Xue didn't mind the teasing from others; instead, he played along and joked back. After everyone had had their fun, they realized it wasn't a big deal.

As the saying goes, the more someone resists, the more they want to tease them, while Mr. Xue's complete lack of resistance actually makes him seem a bit boring.

And he wasn't shy at all; it seemed like he was there entirely for the half-price discount.

"Cough cough!" Just as Mr. Xue was about to start the new topic that Mo Xueyao was talking about, Cha Li coughed a few times and even bumped his chair with his leg.

A woman in a suit walked over, surrounded by several waitresses. She looked to be in her thirties and stood in front of everyone's table with a confidence that most people couldn't fake.

"Excuse me, everyone, your arrival has made this garden feel like spring has arrived. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were messengers of spring." Before the crowd could say anything polite, she continued, "Would the ladies be interested in taking some promotional photos for our coffee shop? As a token of our appreciation, we'll give you an additional 50% off on top of the existing 50% discount."

"Of course, no problem!" Upon hearing that there was a discount, Mo Zhuyou was the first to agree.

……

Chapter Four: Promotional Photos

The dark clouds in the sky swirled and rolled like wisps of smoke billowing from a chimney.

Looking into the distance, the low hills behind us are a dark expanse, with a few evergreen trees standing proudly in the winter among the groves of bare trees.

In front of the glass-enclosed coffee shop, the reflections of six girls, each with their own unique charm, are mirrored.

Inside the glass room, there were rows of exquisite and beautiful pastries on display, while the head chef and his assistants were leisurely preparing the main dishes.

The chefs here use a low flame to fry rice, and there's almost no smoke—I wonder if it's thanks to the range hood.

"What a pity, it would have been better if the sun were out today." The woman, whether the boss or the manager, said with some regret. As if her voice had been heard, a beam of golden light shone down from the sky.

The beam of light was like a physical golden cudgel, expanding and growing larger as it slowly pushed aside the clouds on both sides.

The dark clouds dispersed like smoke, revealing a few white clouds behind them.

The small puddle beside it seemed to contain the azure sky streaked with white, and a few specks of dust fell in, creating ripples.

A plane that looked like it was about to land streaked across the sky, leaving a long contrail, which was then blown about by the wind.

"Hmm, it seems even the heavens are on our side!" The coffee shop owner—let's just call her the owner for now—stylishly tossed a strand of hair behind her ear, turned to look at Mo Xueyao and the others behind her, "Ladies... well, to put it more simply, 'beautiful girls'? Come on, let me see how to take better photos."

As she spoke, she took the camera handed to her by someone and squatted down or stood up very professionally, or adjusted the lens at an angle, looking very professional—at least in Mo Xueyao's eyes, this was already very professional.

"Have you started filming yet?" Mo Zhuyou asked nervously, while Wang Jiale continued to comb her hair with her hands.

"Of course not, it's just finding the right angle," the young female boss, who looked to be only thirty, replied with a light laugh. "Alright, I have a plan."

"How about it?"

“Hmm… I’d categorize them according to your temperament. By the way, little girl,” she looked at Mo Xueyao, “is your eye color natural?”

"Hmm? Ah...yes..."

"A mixed-race person? That's wonderful!" She nodded excitedly. "Then you can stand in the middle."

"Oh..." Mo Xueyao was already used to being the center of attention. Although Mr. Xue's beauty was even greater than hers at this moment, those blue eyes were just too eye-catching.

"These two, um, it's you two, dressed up so cool and handsome, stand on either side!"

"Then, you, the girl with pigtails, stand next to the blue-eyed girl. The one with braids... um... you have a literary girl vibe. I've got it! How about we have that... um, British-style girl pick you up?"

"Huh? Me?" Hua Yinyin would definitely not agree at first, but the boss actually sensed the literary air about her, which was a special kind of praise for her.

After all, no one at school ever thought she was someone with a literary or artistic flair!

Perhaps it was because she had been standing still the whole time that the boss wasn't fooled by her usual personality?

Mr. Xue nodded and looked at Hua Yinyin.

"Hmph, I'll let you hug me this once." What she meant by that was, 'You got off easy.'

Those who knew Mr. Xue's gender smiled knowingly. It was fortunate that Mr. Xue was carrying her; otherwise, other girls might not have been able to lift her.

It's not that Hua Yinyin is heavy, but taking photos obviously can't be finished in one go. Holding her for a long time would become a physical task.

"Pfft, yeah, that's how you hug her, but you could put your arms around her neck, otherwise it'll be quite tiring, won't it?" the boss said, pointing at Hua Yinyin with a smile.

"Well... like this?" After all, no one would turn down money, so Hua Yinyin cooperated by wrapping her arms around Mr. Xue's neck. If it were any other boy, others might make some ambiguous jokes afterward, but with him... there was no such worry.

After all, no matter how handsome a mannequin in a clothing store is, it won't make other people have inappropriate thoughts just because someone hugs it and takes a picture, right?

"There's one last one left. Hmm, that girl, just squat on the ground, umm, yes, squat like that."

The boss was talking about Mo Zhuyou, and after everyone stood in line, she asked everyone to strike a pose that they thought was handsome or good-looking, and then she pressed the shutter and took seven or eight pictures in a row, as if film was free.

"Okay, now let's change the movement, and then change the position again..."

Following the boss's instructions, everyone took at least two or three hundred photos in different locations in the coffee shop, going through roll after roll of film. By the time they finally finished, an hour and a half had passed.

"I never knew taking photos could be so tiring..." Mo Xueyao muttered, sticking out her tongue like a dog. Even though it was the dead of winter, she was radiating visible heat, as if she were about to be steamed.

"Thank you! I didn't expect the shoot to last so long—are you hungry? Would you like something to eat? The rest of the food is on me!"

Mo Xueyao, who was about to say she wasn't hungry, immediately nodded vigorously when she heard the words "treat her": "I am indeed hungry!"

"Ha, don't be shy. Please go back to your seats. I'll have the waiter bring you some more snacks and coffee."

"Thank you, boss!" Mo Xueyao and Mo Zhuyou said in unison.

The free snacks seemed to taste even sweeter. While eating, Mo Xueyao mumbled to Mr. Xue, "So delicious! I'm going to smoke! (Xiao Xue, eat! Eat more!)"

"Okay." Mr. Xue didn't stand on ceremony. In fact, he finished off half of the desserts that were served later by himself.

When you come to a coffee shop, the most important thing isn't the food, but the conversation.

Otherwise, why not just go to KFC to eat?

It's the same Western food, but it's both filling and satisfying!

The warm sunshine made people want to sit a little longer. Mo Xueyao leaned on the back of the white plastic chair, wanting to sway forward like she did at school, but she almost fell off the chair—if Mr. Xue hadn't caught her.

"Little Yaoyao really never has a free moment~" Hua Yinyin picked up the coffee cup with feigned elegance, and even deliberately raised her pinky finger.

"You're the only one who has no right to say that, okay?" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Final exams are coming up soon. Have you studied enough? Don't end up not doing well in Chinese."

"Hmph, even if I fail all the other subjects, my Chinese score will definitely be in the top ten of the whole grade!"

"Who would believe that? You only ranked 63rd in the whole grade in the last monthly exam."

"Waaah, I'm so touched, Yaoyao actually cares about me so much..."

"Hey, don't steer the conversation off-topic!"

Mo Zhuyou rested her chin on her hand and used a spoon as small as a coffee spoon to scoop out bits of matcha cake from the cake in front of her. When she put it in her mouth, it almost melted in her mouth. This way of eating was recommended by Wang Jiale, so she tried it and felt that it was not so wonderful.

"I wonder how I'll do on this exam..."

"Youyou, you still have such worries? It doesn't matter what the exam results are, right?" Mo Xueyao asked casually.

"It's still related, because I didn't do well on the test, so my sister has to tutor me! Just imagine how terrifying it is to spend the whole winter break doing homework!"