A Young Woman's Heart

"Please...stop for a moment," the girl in the car said timidly.

But the fat man was clearly furious. He turned around and grabbed Duanmu Ji, raining blows on him until Duanmu Ji had used up almost all his strength and stopped panting.

Although it only lasted for two or three seconds.

But no one had time to stop it.

Or rather, Chen Cheng tried to stop him, but couldn't pull him away.

"Stop! Stop fighting! Stop fighting!" Zhou Yong stepped in front of the fat man. "Can't we sit down and talk things out? So, what happened that made you two start fighting?"

"Cough..." Duanmu Ji staggered to his feet, spat out a mouthful of phlegm, his legs went weak and he was about to fall to the ground again, but Mo Xueyao quickly supported him.

"Are you okay?"

"fine……"

"You idiot, you're fighting before you've even recovered from a fever," Mo Xueyao scolded.

“Of course I should help when my friend gets beaten up,” Duanmu Ji replied matter-of-factly.

"Everyone, everyone, stop fighting..." the girl in the van mustered her courage and shouted.

"Chen Cheng, tell me what happened first," Mo Xueyao said, having calmed down a bit. She turned to Chen Cheng.

"I often come here to smoke. Today, I thought I'd sit in the van for a bit, and then I saw her lying inside. She noticed I opened the door, woke up, and screamed. These guys saw that and thought I was going to rape her, ha..."

"Isn't that right? Besides, who told you to do it? We thought you were desperate." the tall boy asked.

"Don't look down on me like that! It's clear you wouldn't listen to my explanation and insisted on attacking me!" Chen Cheng said through gritted teeth, his handsome face contorted with bruises.

"So, this was just a misunderstanding?" Zhou Yong breathed a sigh of relief. "See, if everyone had talked things out from the beginning, none of this would have happened, right?"

"These guys don't know how to talk properly. Didn't you hear what they just said? They're clearly looking down on us. What, just because you got into a top high school, you think you're so great? I didn't want to go even though I got in!" Mo Xueyao said angrily.

"No, no, no, this will only lead to more arguing. When will this cycle of revenge end?" Zhou Yong said hurriedly.

“That makes sense,” the taller boy said, more level-headed. “We apologize.”

“We should also apologize,” Zhou Yong said, bowing. “I’m sorry.”

"Tch, since nothing's wrong, let's go." The fat man felt embarrassed and turned to leave, his companion following him.

Suddenly, only the four students from Yukong High School and this strange girl remained at the scene.

It was only then that Mo Xueyao realized that she was missing her right leg.

To be precise, there is indeed a prosthetic leg, but it has been set aside.

"Sorry, I startled you just now," Chen Cheng said to the girl, scratching his head.

"No, it's nothing... It's my fault."

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Alright, alright, you two stop apologizing to each other," Mo Xueyao said with droopy eyelids. "Tell me what happened first."

"Yes, why are you sleeping in this beat-up van? And your legs...?"

"My name is Duanmu Ji." Duanmu Ji seemed more polite, pointing to himself first as he introduced himself.

“Oh right, we should introduce ourselves first.” Mo Xueyao nodded. “My name is Mo Xueyao.”

"Ah, my name is Zhou Yong."

"Chen Cheng." Chen Cheng pointed to himself. "We are all students at Yukong High School."

"Um... my name is... Zhuang Lianlian."

……

Chapter Twenty: Zhuang Lianlian

"Zhuang Lianlian?" Mo Xueyao repeated the name, "Zhuang from Zhuangzi?"

"Yes, the lotus in lotus flower, and the heart radical and the word 'ling'." Zhuang Lianlian forced a smile. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

"I already told you it wasn't your fault," Mo Xueyao waved her hand. "Why are you here? If you have trouble walking, shouldn't you stay at home?"

“Home…?” Zhuang Lianlian gave a bitter smile. “I… I don’t have a home anymore…”

"Huh?"

Everyone else looked at her with suspicion, waiting for her explanation.

But Zhuang Lianlian shook her head, seemingly unwilling to say more.

The group looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Then, shouldn't you live somewhere safer?" Mo Xueyao broke the silence.

“It’s quite safe here, and most importantly, it’s free.” Zhuang Lianlian was saying this when her stomach suddenly rumbled, and her face immediately turned embarrassed.

Mo Xueyao then noticed that her face was abnormally pale.

"Have you not eaten for days?" she asked with concern.

"Hmm...it's been...about two days...?"

"So you haven't eaten for almost three days?"

Zhuang Lianlian nodded shyly.

"Then let's take you to dinner first," Mo Xueyao suggested.

"Sure." Chen Cheng nodded. "My treat is a way of thanking everyone for their help."

"No, isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Zhuang Lianlian said timidly.

“It’s nothing, helping the weak is the right thing to do,” Zhou Yong replied matter-of-factly. “Come on, Mo Xueyao, you’re the only girl here, could you please help her up?”

"I...I'm fine...I can walk by myself..." Zhuang Lianlian shyly grabbed the prosthetic leg beside her, "I...I can walk..."

Mo Xueyao smiled and extended her slender hand to her: "The roads are slippery in the snow, let me help you."

"Then...then...thank you..."

"Oh, by the way, is this your luggage?" Zhou Yong asked, pointing to the brand-new pink suitcase lying to the side.

"Yes, it is."

"Then let me carry it for you." Zhou Yong lifted the suitcase. "Wow, it's quite heavy!"

"You're so weak!" Chen Cheng teased. "You think a suitcase is heavy?"

"Why don't you give it a try?"

"Damn, I'm covered in injuries, I can't exert any strength. You can do it." Chen Cheng said, lighting a cigarette. "Hiss—ah, that feels good, want some?"

I don't smoke.

"And you?" Chen Cheng looked at Duanmu Ji. "Your name is... something like Duan?"

"Duanmu Ji." Duanmu Ji nodded. "Give me one."

"Oh, finally someone who smokes. Here, a top-quality Zhonghua cigarette."

"Where did such expensive cigarettes come from?" Duanmu Ji asked, somewhat puzzled.

“I got it from my dad.”

"Huh?" Mo Xueyao was stunned, because she clearly heard the class monitor say that Chen Cheng did not live with his parents at all. She had always thought that he bought the cigarettes himself.

Duanmu Ji lit a cigarette, took a puff, and then started coughing violently.

"Damn, what? You don't even know how to smoke? Don't waste my Zhonghua cigarettes!" Chen Cheng said with some heartache. "Like this, take a slow puff, let it circulate in your lungs, and then slowly exhale. Don't do it too fast."

"Alright, Chen Cheng," Mo Xueyao said, supporting the girl's arm. "Don't corrupt a good child like this. Where are we going to have dinner?"

"Let's find a quiet place that's also close by," Chen Cheng said. "I've got it, let's go to that Pizza Hut. It's not usually crowded there."

The reason why not many people go there is not because the food is bad, but because it is too expensive, much more expensive than the food at KFC and McDonald's.

A pizza that's enough for five people would cost at least a hundred yuan.

That's over a hundred yuan back then!

However, if you prefer a quiet and clean environment, that's definitely a good choice.

"Wow, he's rich!" Zhou Yong looked Chen Cheng up and down. "How come I never noticed before?"

"Hehe, I can still afford a little Pizza Hut," Chen Cheng said smugly.

Pizza Hut isn't far from here, about a ten-minute walk.

The group quickly arrived at the store entrance.

There were more employees than customers in the store. At a glance, only one table was occupied, and the other tables were empty, not to mention there was another floor upstairs.

"Welcome!" As soon as you enter the store, you are treated like a VIP. Five or six pretty female servers greet you with smiles and bows. "Would you like to eat in or take away?"

"Can we sit on the second floor if we eat here?" Chen Cheng answered skillfully.

"Yes, please follow me." A tall female server stepped forward and led everyone upstairs.

"Be careful going up the stairs," Mo Xueyao said, gripping Zhuang Lianlian's arm tightly.

"Hmm..." As if she had caught a whiff of the intangible fragrance, Zhuang Lianlian's stomach rumbled a few times, making her face flush slightly.

"Please order from here. Just tick whatever you need." The waiter smiled gently and handed over a colorful menu and a pencil.

The food inside is incredibly diverse and tempting, making one's mouth water just looking at it.

These were all exotic foods. For example, Mo Xueyao was very curious about the cream clam chowder. What would it taste like if cream was added to it?

"You guys order," Chen Cheng said, pushing the menu towards the others.

"You order, I'm not very familiar with this place."

"Me too."

"Ah."