A Young Woman's Heart

Now, Li Wanyan is like an older sister to her. The biggest advantage is that she can leave any troublesome things to her older sister, and she, the 'younger sister,' can slack off.

Well, to put it nicely, it's basically like... there are other people who can help share the burden.

"Okay..." Li Wanyan was interrupted by her mother before she could finish speaking.

"How can you do this?" her mother exclaimed, defending her. "You went out to play with your friends and left Yan Yan at home? No way! You have to take Yan Yan out with you!"

"Hey...then the shop will be really busy, right?"

"Weren't you all just as busy when you were in school?" Her mother glared at her, annoyed. "You're the smartest one, doing all the good stuff yourself and dumping all the trouble on others, right? You just take advantage of Yan Yan because she's nice, don't you?"

"I didn't... cough cough. Then, Wanyan, shall we go together?"

Li Wanyan glanced at Yang Xiaoyu behind her, smiled and nodded.

"Oh, this beautiful little..."

"Speak properly, don't act like an idiot!" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and slapped Shi Haiming on the forehead.

"Damn, you've blown my smart little brain out of shape!"

"You, smart?"

Mo Xueyao said sarcastically.

The playful banter and teasing between close friends can actually strengthen their bond.

In fact, whether it's a boy or a girl, being too polite in conversation can make them seem distant—it's just that boys are relatively less sensitive and vulnerable, so teasing each other can actually become a game that fosters rapport.

As for girls, they would probably only do this if they were very close to the other person, and it also depends on the other person's personality.

"Where are we going to have fun?" Nora always put 'fun' into it. "Should we bring some alcohol?"

"Uh, I guess we don't need that..." Mo Xueyao waved her hand awkwardly. "Mom—are there any fun places to go?"

"You're asking me about fun places?" Her mother gave her a disdainful look. "Go find them yourself!"

"Dad—give me some money!"

"What are you doing?"

"I want to go boating!"

"That's expensive." Although the father said this, he still opened the drawer.

"Why go boating? It's a waste of money," the mother complained. "Just give us the entrance fee and let's stroll around West Lake."

"Mom, you're so stingy." Mo Xueyao raised a middle finger.

However, the father still gave him two hundred-yuan bills: "Just have fun while you're playing, it's a rare treat."

"That money needs to be kept by Yan Yan." The mother compromised a little.

Mo Xueyao was already used to this and didn't raise any objections. As long as she didn't spend the money recklessly, Li Wanyan wouldn't deliberately withhold the money.

“Your red hair…” Nora touched Lin Huihui’s highlighted red hair with obvious familiarity, “Your hair is so beautiful!”

"It's highlights... um, if I cover it up, it won't be easy to tell that I've dyed my hair, otherwise the school will take action."

"Tch, the teacher knows perfectly well, but he just turns a blind eye... Ouch!" Li Gutao screamed in pain as if he had been bitten on the butt by a dog after saying the wrong thing.

"Are you a couple?" Nora asked curiously.

"Of course!" Lin Huihui tilted her head back and tried to puff out her chest—but no matter how much she puffed out, she would only appear even flatter.

"It's okay, Huihui, I just like Ping..." Li Gutao leaned close to her ear to comfort her, but was immediately pinched on the thigh again. "Ouch!"

"Are you Tom from Tom and Jerry?" Mo Xueyao couldn't help but tease, because the sound was just too similar.

"Hello, Wanyan." Nora finally looked at Li Wanyan. "Long time no see."

“Hello.” Li Wanyan nodded slightly and asked in English, “How is everything going recently?”

“Yes, but…” Nora still wanted to practice her Chinese more, “It’s better here, Russia is too cold.”

"Pfft, are there still Russians who complain about the cold in Russia...?" Mo Xueyao couldn't help but laugh. "Isn't it said that the South is colder? It feels damp and cold."

“No.” Nora shook her head, her English punctuated by a Russian phrase, “I think не холодно.”

"what?"

"...It's not cold. Just put on some windproof clothes." Nora tried her best to explain using body language.

“OK, well.” Mo Xueyao shrugged, thinking that people’s constitutions are indeed different. Anyway, she was very afraid of the cold. If she went to the north, she would probably have to wrap herself in several layers when she went out.

In winter, people always wish for more sunshine to shine on them—if only the summer and winter suns could switch places.

However, that's just a fairytale idea; in reality, the sun is still the same one.

It was deep winter, and places without sunlight felt incredibly cold and damp.

The snow that had been swept under a big tree hadn't completely melted even after almost half a month—it was originally white, but now it had turned grayish-brown and was mixed with a lot of dirt and firecracker debris.

However, it's unlikely that it will snow in Hangzhou this year.

The weather forecast says that even at its coldest, the temperature will only be one or two degrees below zero.

And after the Spring Festival... well, spring should be coming.

Although there might be an early spring snowfall, the chances of that happening in the south are extremely low.

When Mo Xueyao was watching the news recently, there was a small news item that said that West Lake, no, West Lake, might be open to the public for free next year. She didn't know if it was true.

However, regardless of the circumstances, there will still be an entry fee this year.

"Boating in winter always feels very cold." Shi Haiming stood on the shore of West Lake. There were quite a few boats moored there, which also proved that there were very few people boating in winter.

If you want to take a boat, you have to buy a ticket first, and the price is calculated based on the time.

"What if we go over time? Will we have to pay extra?" Mo Xueyao said half-jokingly and half-seriously, then patted Shi Haiming's lower back. "It's getting cold already? Are you suffering from kidney deficiency? You should take some tonics!"

"Go! Go! Go!"

"Row to the middle and then come back!" Although she grew up in Hangzhou, she rarely had the opportunity to take a boat ride, so Lin Huihui seemed even more expectant and excited than Mo Xueyao.

"Anyway, let's go buy tickets first. Hmm... Lin Huihui can get a half-price ticket, right?" Mo Xueyao muttered softly, looking at Lin Huihui's height, which was even shorter than hers.

"I'm not that short!" Lin Huihui glared at her fiercely. "Want to fight?"

"Cough cough, Huihui, don't do this..."

"Hmph, I know, I was just kidding."

Mo Xueyao looked at Li Gutao with eyes full of sympathy, while the latter responded with his eyes—

"The waters of West Lake are my tears."

……

Chapter Fourteen: Boating in Winter

It was a sunny day, and as the sun rose higher, more and more people came to take the boat.

Mo Xueyao and her group eventually boarded a rowboat—they had originally wanted to take the more impressive cruise ship, which was like a coffee shop with private booths and even cubicles, but the route was fixed, so it seemed to lack the feeling of freedom.

In the end, this rowboat was the most suitable.

"Is this the one?"

"Yes, this is the number."

After showing the bill to the boatman, Mo Xueyao stepped onto the boat and almost fell. Fortunately, she had some knowledge of physics and knew that lowering her center of gravity would help her maintain her balance. So she squatted down and slowly moved to the simple seat.

Since everyone was sitting together, the layout of the seats on the boat I was assigned to was like a living room, where everyone could sit facing each other and chat. Some other boats were arranged like buses, with all the seats facing the same direction.

In modern society, even people who grew up in the water towns of Jiangnan rarely travel by boat anymore.

For Li Gutao and Lin Huihui, it was their first time on a boat. Although Li Gutao was terribly flustered, he still had to pretend to be calm and let Lin Huihui hold his arm as they took a few shaky steps forward.

The smaller the boat, the more you can feel the undulations of the water and the swaying of the boat.

The passengers had to sit upright; even a slight tilt would cause the boat to tilt as well—and despite the boatman’s repeated assurances that the boat was very stable, it did not alleviate the passengers’ anxiety and unease.

Mo Xueyao mustered her courage and glanced down. The lake was completely still beneath the rippling blue water; not a single fish could be seen.

"Haha, Atao, you're no good! Why are you such a coward!" Shi Haiming laughed loudly, deliberately tilting his body to the side and touching the lake water with his hand, exclaiming as if he had discovered a new continent, "It's so cold!"

“Nonsense…” Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes.

Because the sun was shining brightly, the boatman took up the canopy overhead, sat down with his back to the direction he was going, and used a long bamboo pole to push off the waves, creating ripples as the boat moved forward.

"Young ladies and gentlemen, where are you going?" the boatman asked with a smile, still using the bamboo pole to push against the bottom of the lake.

“Let’s go to the middle of the lake!” Mo Xueyao immediately replied, and no one else objected.

It's as if you're missing out if you don't go boating in the middle of the lake.

Mo Xueyao sat with Li Wanyan, while Lin Huihui sat with Li Gutao.

Nora sat next to Mo Xueyao, facing Shi Haiming who was sitting next to Li Gutao.

Shi Haiming is a bit different from most Chinese guys. Perhaps it's because of his job that he's become so audacious. He even goes so far as to compliment Nora on her large breasts right off the bat...

Mo Xueyao felt he was not subtle at all, and felt quite embarrassed listening to him.

Fortunately, Nora herself didn't mind; instead, she praised him for being sincere.

If other local girls were said that to them, they probably wouldn't be happy, but would instead put on a stern face to avoid being seen as a casual person.

"E-cup?" Shi Haiming asked, pressing his advantage.

"No, Fcup."

“ohhhhh——”

"Ignore him, he's just a scoundrel," Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and said jokingly.

"What kind of hooligan are you? I have a legitimate job, okay!"

"What kind of legitimate job?"

"Specifically for single women..."

"See, I told you he was a hooligan, didn't I?" Mo Xueyao shrugged at Nora.