A Young Woman's Heart

Not long after she finished writing the entire test paper to her satisfaction, the bell rang to signal the end of the exam.

It was midday, the sun was shining brightest, and as soon as she stepped out of the classroom, she felt as if she were being embraced by the sun.

"Phew—it's finally over."

"It's over, winter break is over." Mo Zhuyou, who was walking out with her, clumsily slung her schoolbag over her shoulder. "Next year..."

“It’s this year,” Mo Xueyao corrected.

"It's only truly the new year after the Spring Festival!" Mo Zhuyou said with a light laugh. "Shall we go to the band room?"

"What are you going there for?"

"Everyone should be coming, right?"

"That's not necessarily true. Anyway, it's still early, so there's no rush to leave."

"Sister made lunchboxes!" Mo Zhuyou smiled, her eyes crinkling to reveal a few white teeth—her smile was becoming more and more like her sister's.

"A bento box? Hmm... that's not bad..."

"Steamed meat patty with egg, I made three extra servings."

"Maybe there won't be enough food? If everyone comes over."

"Then don't eat too much. Eating until you're about 50% full is fine. Isn't Xiaoyao on a diet?"

"Uh, I'm not fat, why would I need to lose weight..." Mo Xueyao looked at the school outside the corridor with a guilty conscience.

The first to rush out were mostly boys. They cheered and ran out of the school gate in groups, not knowing which arcade or internet cafe they were going to meet at.

Large groups of students continued walking behind them. The shopkeeper leaned against the school gate, a cigarette dangling from his lips, seemingly reluctant to see the students leave.

They took away the school's liveliness, which also meant that the owner's convenience store should probably close down soon.

Where will the small shops that cater specifically to students get any business during the winter break?

"It's holiday time." Mo Xueyao finally truly felt the feeling of being on holiday. She stood on tiptoe, took a deep breath, tilted her head, and looked at Mo Zhuyou, saying, "Let's go? To the band room."

"Ok!"

……

Chapter Eight: I Don't Want Winter Break

"Little Yaoyao, you'll get fat if you eat so many meat patties~ Let me share this pain with you!"

"You've already eaten half of it, okay? This half is mine!" Mo Xueyao glared at her angrily. "You're the one who ate more!"

"Cough, well, then let's lick the meat pie that Yao Yao ate..."

"Youyou, go and call someone! There's a female pervert here!" Mo Xueyao shouted exaggeratedly, making everyone burst into laughter.

Wherever Hua Yinyin is, there is always such joy and vitality.

Moreover, if Mo Xueyao and Hua Yinyin are both present, a certain chemical reaction will occur, making Hua Yinyin even more lively than usual.

If Gao Yuan and Liu Xiaowei are the liveliest boys, then Hua Yinyin and Mo Xueyao are the girls' source of joy.

The midday sun embraced the people sitting by the window, giving them a warm feeling that spring had arrived.

Sitting in the sunlight and looking into a classroom where the sunlight can't reach, it seems exceptionally dark there.

Moreover, if you leave the sunlight and step into the shade, the weather will suddenly feel cold.

"Next year will be the last year of high school, which means this winter break and next summer break will be a time to relax a bit." Mo Zhuyou rested her chin on her hand, slightly opening her mouth, while her older sister fed her half a spoonful of glistening, soft rice.

"Does Youyou often have her older sister feed her at home?" Lu Chengyuan, who came over to join in the fun, teased. "She's such a little kid!"

"Who said that? It was clearly my sister who wanted to feed us! And besides, you're not even a band member, yet you come here to freeload. We don't even have enough to eat for ourselves!"

"Hey, Youyou is so stingy."

"Hehe, it's okay, eat up." Mo Xiaoxiao gently stroked her sister's long hair, her eyes crinkling with laughter. "If you like it, you can come to my house to eat next time."

"Let's go get a free meal. These few days of vacation are bound to be boring anyway, so why don't we go and freeload?"

"Hey, hey." Mo Xueyao looked at Lu Chengyuan with droopy eyelids, "Xiaoxiao's family doesn't have much income to begin with, so don't eat them out of house and home."

"No, no," Mo Xiaoxiao quickly said, pursing her lips.

"I can bring my own groceries! I can buy them at the market here and then bring them over."

"That's acceptable..."

"Okay, it's settled then. Cheng Yuan, call me next time, I'll come too." Cha Li said, taking a small sip of her tea—wait, isn't that Mr. Xue's teacup?

What was originally just a lunch for four or five people became completely insufficient when Li Wanyan, Lu Chengyuan, Mr. Xue, and Cha Li who came with Mr. Xue, so in the end, everyone just had a taste.

The sunlight gradually shortened, while the shadows grew longer.

The strongest winter sun never lasts long; it was only a little past two o'clock when it already showed signs of weakening.

The dishes and chopsticks on the table had already been cleared away, and everyone moved their chairs over to sit down, showing no intention of leaving yet.

The last gathering before winter break seemed to leave everyone feeling a little reluctant to part.

Wang Jiale lowered her voice and whispered mysteriously, "I can't hold back anymore...! I'm telling you, the day after New Year's Day, which is January 2nd, Tongjue and Xiaoxi went on a date, and then... and then..."

"And then did you book a hotel room?" Hua Yinyin asked casually.

"Yes!"

"Really, really, you're together?" Mo Xueyao was happy for Huang Yuxi, but also a little worried for him, because Sanhua Tongjue was about to leave China. This relationship had only just begun, was it about to end?

"Why are you so surprised, Lele? Didn't you also book a room with Lu Bolun?" Hua Yinyin said with a wink, only to have her cheek pinched hard by Wang Jiale.

"Mine is different!" Wang Jiale's face flushed red as she gestured with her hands. "That one, Tongjue and Xiaoxi, is really... really!"

"Did you really...?"

"Uh-huh!"

"They should both be minors, right?" Cha Li looked at Li Wanyan, who nodded slightly.

In this relatively less open era, dating among high school students was already forbidden in many schools, let alone doing something like this.

If the teacher finds out, there is a high chance that the student will be expelled from the school.

But that's precisely why students like to discuss these things; there's a special sense of immorality involved, which can be quite exciting.

“The innocent Lele has been corrupted by Tongjue. Look, she knows about these things now~” Lu Chengyuan covered her round face with a 'past is too painful to recall' expression. “Where did my innocent Lele go?”

"You guys are the ones who corrupted me, especially Yin Yin!"

"Hmph, so you have to call me your mentor now?" Hua Yinyin was not ashamed at all, but rather proud. She put her hands on her hips and swayed her head, humming softly.

"Didn't they go home all night?" Mo Zhuyou brought the topic back to gossip, asking with great curiosity.

"No, it lasted all night..." Wang Jiale said softly, her face flushed. "Tongjue said she was the one who initiated it all, and she probably didn't fall asleep until around midnight?"

"Oh dear, Xiao Xi is in such a sorry state. Is her body able to handle it?" As a former 'man', Mo Xueyao felt a little empathy for her.

Of course, there was also a little bit of inexplicable, slight envy.

"I heard, I heard..." Wang Jiale shared shyly yet eagerly, "Three times? Although Xiaoxi has grown up to this point—"

As she said this, she touched her belly button and continued, "But Tongjue said it seems... he's a bit fast."

"This is terrifying! She's practically a demon from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio that drains men's life force..."

"No wonder Xiaoxi's mental state was so bad those few days."

"Tongjue said she felt sorry for her too, and that it wouldn't happen so many times next time."

"Pfft..." Mo Xueyao playfully nudged Mr. Xue's arm, "Xiao Xue, aren't you envious?"

"Hehe." Mr. Xue just laughed, but you could tell from his expression that he was absolutely not envious at all.

Or perhaps this guy isn't interested in this kind of thing at all?

"Alright, alright, it's already past two o'clock." Cha Li glanced at the watch Wang Jiale was wearing, tilting her head. "Shouldn't you be going home after school?"

The group looked at each other and then nodded in succession, their expressions tinged with reluctance.

Mo Xueyao suddenly burst out laughing for no apparent reason: "Pfft, what's wrong with you guys? It's not like we're graduating, it's just a winter break."

"That's right, Yaoyao, let's go home!"

"Who wants to go home with you! I'm going home with Wanyan."

“Me too—!” Lu Chengyuan raised her hand high.

"Wait, clean up the band room, we're not coming here for a month!" Hua Yinyin grumbled, dragging along people who weren't in the band room to do the hard work.

From the floor to the windowsill, and even the cobwebs on the ceiling, everything was cleaned thoroughly.

However, Hua Yinyin, who was telling everyone to clean up, was slacking off—standing in front of the whiteboard, seemingly drawing something.

"Yinyin, let's go." Mo Xueyao said irritably after finishing cleaning. "But you didn't do anything yourself, did you?"

"No way! Look, tsk tsk tsk~" Hua Yinyin stepped aside, and everyone crowded around to look at the drawing on the whiteboard.

The image above depicts chibi-style drawings of the band members, each playing their own instrument. At the top are the words "Snow Music Band, Welcome Back!"

"Why aren't we here?!" Lu Chengyuan, who had helped clean, asked feigned anger.

“Look, it’s here—” Hua Yinyin pointed to the stick figure next to her who was cleaning with tools.

"You're asking for it!" Lu Chengyuan and Cha Li laughed and scolded in unison, gently patting her forehead.

"Let's come back next year," Mo Xueyao said, supporting the back of her head with her hands.

Wang Jiale, standing to the side, raised an index finger to correct him, saying, "To be precise, it should be this year."

"If it's not Chinese New Year, then it's considered next year." Mo Xueyao felt she couldn't change this habit, so she simply decided not to.

Anyway, my parents at home also refer to the days after the Spring Festival as "next year".

Besides, the Gregorian calendar is just a globally unified calendar used for convenience. In terms of accuracy, how can it compare to the lunar calendar?

Stepping out of the teaching building and onto the street, I could still feel the sunlight on my skin, though it didn't seem as bright as before.

The school's automatic sliding doors were mostly closed, leaving only a narrow 'gap' for two or three people to pass side by side.