A Young Woman's Heart

"Not bad, haha, it's good to get some exercise." Yu Liang smiled and nodded at him. "Let's go."

"Please take care."

Yu Liang, who is bloated, hasn't ridden a tricycle for many years, and now he seems to be struggling to ride it on the street.

Within minutes, his forehead was covered in sweat, and he kept wiping his face with his shirt as a towel because of the heat.

"Heave-ho—heave-ho—" Yu Liang stood directly on the foot pedal and pedaled hard.

Because it's uphill, it takes more effort to get there.

When I was driving, I didn't feel that the commute to and from get off work was long. I would just step on the gas and arrive at my destination after a few traffic lights.

Now, riding a tricycle, I feel the road is incredibly long. I'm exhausted, but I haven't even covered a third of the distance.

"Looks like I need to get some exercise every now and then," he muttered to himself, stopping in front of a roadside shop. Without hesitation, he bought a bottle of cola to cool off and downed half of it in one gulp. "That Ali guy, he absolutely has to treat me to a meal!"

He joked with himself, and although he complained the whole way, he finally made it home.

Even though the weather had already cooled down, my whole body was soaked in sweat.

When I got upstairs, my wife wasn't home; she probably went to pick up the kids.

Yu Liang went straight to the bathroom to take a shower, and then called Mo Xueyao's father.

"Hey?"

“Ali”.

"Hello?" The signal on the other end seems a bit weak.

"Mo-Wen-Li! What are you doing here, you little brat?"

"I heard you, I heard you, why are you yelling so loudly?" came an annoyed voice from the other end.

Judging from their voices alone, it seemed as if they were just two close college classmates having a 'close' conversation.

"Come to my house for dinner."

"You got it?"

"What are you saying? I told you to come over, so come over." Yu Liang slapped the table. "I've almost been worked to death because of you."

"That's because you're too out of shape, isn't it?" Mo Wenli teased playfully. "Okay, okay, I'll be right there."

The door was pushed open at that moment, and Yu Liang's wife returned with their daughter.

"Daddy~!" The daughter threw herself into Yu Liang's arms and nuzzled him affectionately.

Although they see each other every day, the daughter seems to be closer to her father than her mother.

"Hmph, this little ungrateful brat. I take her out every day, and she's never been this nice to me." Even Yu Liang's wife was a little jealous.

"Haha, that just proves I'm more charming." Yu Liang laughed and hugged his daughter. "Ali's coming over later, make extra for dinner—do we still have any ice-cold beer at home?"

"Yes, I still haven't finished the ones you bought last time."

"Is West Lake Beer all left?"

"Then what kind of beer do you want?"

"Never mind, West Lake is nice too." Yu Liang shrugged. "Ali likes braised pork, so make more."

"I haven't bought it yet."

"Then let's go buy it, the market is so close anyway."

"Can't you move around a bit?" His wife glared at Yu Liang, annoyed. "Look at you! You were so thin when we first got married, but look how fat you've gotten! You're 1.75 meters tall, but you're almost 180 pounds!"

"Hehe... Wife, I'm tired..." Yu Liang stroked his wife's hand and smiled somewhat awkwardly.

At this moment, he had transformed from a section chief into a somewhat childish young man.

"Alright, alright, I'll go buy it. Do you want to buy shrimp?"

"Buy some more braised beef."

"You're already spending so lavishly after just lending out 50,000 yuan? Did the money in your family fall from the sky?"

"Oh, money, you can only earn more after you spend it. Living comfortably is the most important thing. After all, you can't take it with you when you die." Yu Liang comfortably lay down on the sofa with his daughter in his arms. "Hey, turn on the TV for me before you leave."

"You're so lazy!" His wife glared at Yu Liang, grabbed her small handbag, and went out the door.

"Daughter, can you open it for me?" So, Yu Liang, who was too lazy to move, looked at his daughter again.

The daughter was naturally delighted. She skipped and hopped to plug in the TV, then ran back into Yu Liang's arms.

"Was anything interesting happen at school today?"

"Hmm... Today... um... my deskmate borrowed an eraser from me and lost it!"

"Haha, it's okay, it's okay, we'll just buy another one if we lose it."

"But if we keep losing them and keep buying new ones, isn't that a waste of money?" the daughter asked, tilting her head up.

"Oh dear, my daughter is so sensible. I won't lend her anything next time. I'll just ignore people who like to lose other people's things."

“That won’t do either.” Instead, the daughter started lecturing Yu Liang, “Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, you have to give them a chance to make amends.”

"Wow! My daughter is so broad-minded, amazing!" Yu Liang gave a thumbs up.

As night fell, Yu Liang's daughter went to do her homework, and Yu Liang's wife returned from buying groceries and busied herself in the kitchen.

Just then, the landline phone connected to the doorbell rang.

"Hello, Mr. Yu, a Mr. Mo wants to see you."

"Oh, he's my friend. You've probably met him before, right? Don't stop blocking other people's way next time."

"Ah... I'm sorry, Mr. Yu, I'm new here and I don't know."

"Is he new here? Well, just remember that next time. Let him in quickly."

"Ok."

A few minutes after the internal phone call was disconnected, hurried footsteps echoed in the stairwell.

Just as the doorbell was about to ring, Yu Liang opened the door.

"what?"

"What do you mean 'huh'? Come in." Yu Liang patted Mo Wenli on the shoulder and said with a smile.

"Wow, this is quite a feast!"

"Yeah, you were supposed to treat me to this. Remember that, you owe me twice now," Yu Liang joked, picking up some braised beef from the plate with his chopsticks. "Let's have some side dishes first. I asked A-Yang to make braised pork."

"Hehe! That's great!" Mo Wenli gave a thumbs up. The conversation between the two men seemed very casual, not at all like someone who was already a father.

"I know you like braised pork, so I'll let you eat to your heart's content."

"Tsk...sigh, you...you're making me feel embarrassed."

"What's there to be embarrassed about? Aren't we brothers?" Yu Liang laughed loudly. "Is Xiao Yao back?"

"Not yet. They said they'd be back today, but I haven't been back since I left this morning, so I'm not sure."

"Didn't they call you?"

"I'm exhausted, I don't have time to answer the phone," Mo Wenli sighed. "Who knew the company would lay off so many people all at once?"

"The wave of layoffs is almost over, and you still got laid off, really..." Yu Liang shook his head, "Planning to start your own business?"

“Yeah, I’ve done this before, so let’s start with the basics and get a feel for the market.” Mo Wenli nodded. “Getting license plates for tricycles is tough these days…”

"I know, you've said that several times on the phone already, can you stop repeating it?" Yu Liang rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I did drive the tricycle back, and the keys are right in front of you, but I have no idea why it's gone."

"Haha, that's great!"

"Don't just drink, eat some food!"

And so, after a few rounds of drinks and several dishes, Mo Wenli, who couldn't hold his liquor, was already feeling a little dizzy.

"You got this drunk after just three bottles of beer? Will you even make it home tonight?"

"I'm a little dizzy, but I'll definitely be fine riding back." Mo Wenli hiccuped. "Alright, it's getting late... Time to go... back!"

"Be careful on the road."

"Understood!"

Mo Wenli got on the tricycle, rode it a couple of times before realizing it wasn't unlocked, so he got off, unlocked it, pulled the handbrake, and rode home on the empty road late at night.

Meanwhile, the mother and daughter at home were unaware that he had lost his job and was struggling to make ends meet.

……

"You just let him ride it away like that?"

"Yes."

"Be careful, they might come after you and make you pay."

"Impossible. I told you it was stolen. Anyway, it's public property. Who would bother with that? The tricycle itself isn't worth much. It's just that the license plate is hard to get. To be honest, having license plates for tricycles is the strangest thing." Yu Liang waved his hand. "It's just a small matter. Look how difficult things are for them now. If Ali doesn't hurry up and start a business, he won't be able to pay back the money he owes us."

“What you said makes sense, but you should do this less often,” his wife advised. “After all, it’s public property; it wouldn’t be good if you lost it.”

"Okay—" Yu Liang said helplessly, dragging out the last sip of beer.

……

"How was it? Did Dad answer the phone?" Mo Xueyao asked, with the air conditioner fan blowing in the background at home.

"No, I seem to be very busy today." The mother shook her head.

As they were talking, they heard the sound of a key opening the door, and then they saw Mo Xueyao's father, reeking of alcohol, stagger in.

"What happened? Why did you drink so much? Did you go out for a business dinner?" the mother asked, puzzled.

"Uh... I just got back from Ah Liang's place..."

"What are you doing there?" The mother helped the father sit down and poured him a cup of tea.

"I borrowed a tricycle."

"Why do you need to borrow a tricycle? Where did he get a tricycle?"

"Uh... it's hard to get a license plate for a tricycle... and there's a steel stamp on the crossbeam, so getting a license plate from another vehicle won't help... he got the vehicle..."