A Young Woman's Heart

"Okay." The father was also very much looking forward to it. Although the cassette player could play songs, the sound quality certainly couldn't compare to that of a phonograph.

Moreover, the tape recorder was too small and the sound wasn't loud enough. It was hard to hear if it was a little noisy or if the distance was too far, whereas the phonograph could be heard even outside the store.

After a moment's thought, the father plugged in the power, and the melodious classical piano music immediately filled the fruit shop.

"Hey, not bad, this is way more sophisticated than before." The godfather nodded in satisfaction, a cigarette dangling from his lips. He grabbed Mo Xueyao, pulled her into his arms, and vigorously rubbed her cheeks. "The holidays are almost here, right?"

"Ahhhhhh—stop rubbing me—!"

"Hahaha--"

"Don't come near me with that cigarette in your mouth, the butt is burning me!"

"Okay, okay." Godfather released Mo Xueyao. "When does winter break start?"

January 21st.

"Let's fly to Beijing together then."

"Oh, so you've decided to fly?"

"Yes, you've never been on a plane before, have you?"

"I've never flown before." Mo Xueyao shook her head, somewhat expectantly. "Flying must be fast, right? You'll be there in no time."

"Haha, if this were in China, it would definitely be much faster by train." Her godfather patted her shoulder, threw his cigarette butt into the snow outside, and suddenly scooped Mo Xueyao up in his arms. "Aha!"

"Hey, stop spinning me, it's making me dizzy!"

"Hahaha—didn't you love playing like this when you were little?"

“When we were kids, we were kids.” Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. “I’m a grown-up now, and I still do things like that. You’re not ashamed, but I am.”

"So what? She's not that big anyway." The godfather gestured to indicate Mo Xueyao's height.

Compared to her godfather, who is about 1.7 meters tall, Mo Xueyao is indeed very petite.

"If you want to play around, go play around with Wanyan." Mo Xueyao pointed at Li Wanyan, "Don't try to play around with me."

"Never mind, we won't be close anymore when we grow up, tsk tsk." The godfather clicked his tongue and greeted Li Wanyan, "Wanyan, long time no see."

"Not long after." Li Wanyan nodded with a smile.

"Sutang, come here!" Godfather squatted down again to play with Sutang. He laid Sutang horizontally on the ground and spun her around like a top—only not as fast.

But it still made the brittle dazzled.

So much so that it stumbled and fell to the ground, dizzy, after only a few steps.

"Meow—" Su Tang weakly cried out to Mo Xueyao for help, feeling like she could barely walk.

"Godfather, please stop playing with it, okay? What if you kill it?" Mo Xueyao complained as she hugged Su Tang to her arms.

"It's not that easy for it to die. Wouldn't it be better to let it experience some excitement?"

"Try playing with you like that?"

"Come on?" The godfather's skin seemed to have thickened even more.

……

Unlike the bustling scene over there, Aunt Jin's shop was quiet as she patiently taught Zhuang Lianlian how to manage the shop.

After all, she only graduated from junior high school, so she learned these simple things very quickly.

"Looks like I can finally be a hands-off boss!" Aunt Jin chuckled. "The little girl is so clever."

Zhuang Lianlian lowered her head shyly: "Grandma... my name is Zhuang Lianlian, and... I'll hang the washed clothes at your house to dry for now..."

"Oh, okay, just leave it there. You don't actually have anywhere to stay, do you?"

"Yes...yes, it's just...it's not very convenient to dry clothes..."

"Okay, just let me know if you need a place to stay anytime. I'll cover your food and lodging." Aunt Jin smiled and patted her head. "If you get hungry, just bring whatever you want to eat from the shop, but remember to write it down on your tab."

"No, no need... I can just have a proper meal." Zhuang Lianlian took a deep breath and tried to force a smile onto her face.

It was almost 8 p.m. when Aunt Jin told Zhuang Lianlian that she could go home after get off work, so she left, but this time, she didn't take her suitcase with her.

On the road, a tricycle loaded with flowers was parked by the roadside, and some middle-aged women were asking about the price of these flowers and plants.

Zhuang Lianlian saw that there were bags of vegetable seeds hanging on the car, as well as some empty flower pots for sale.

She paused for a moment, then thought of the van she 'lived' in and touched her pocket.

There's only a little money left.

So she stepped forward and asked softly, "Excuse me... how much are these seeds?"

"Different seeds have different prices. The seeds for this bok choy cost one yuan a bag, and the chopped sprouted potatoes cost three yuan a bag."

"Where's the flowerpot? This...this small one."

"This one costs five yuan, but I suggest you buy a larger one, which costs eight yuan."

"Hmm..." She carefully pulled out a ten-dollar bill. "Potato 'seeds' and...and...the big flowerpot together...can...can it be ten dollars?"

"Fine!"

"Th-thank you!"

……

Chapter Thirty-One: Two English Class Representatives

This Sunday, the weather was nice.

Soft white clouds scattered across the sky, and the bright sun hung lazily, occasionally hiding behind the clouds.

The snow on the ground had mostly melted yesterday, and today only some stubborn snow remains.

The temperature is gradually getting warmer. Although we don't know if it will get cold again, now is definitely the perfect day for an outing.

Several sparrows perched on a telephone pole by the street, chirping and tilting their heads to observe the pedestrians passing by below.

A cat perched on the wall always eyed their delicious food, but it was too far away to pounce on them, so it could only stare at them without moving.

"Has the teacher not arrived yet?" Lu Bolun, dressed in casual clothes, yawned widely, popped a lollipop into his mouth, and glanced at Wang Jiale as he asked.

"What's the rush? It's only just started." Wang Jiale rolled her eyes at him, fiddling with the scarf hanging around her neck. "Women, it's normal to be a little late, maybe ten minutes or so."

"Hey, there's absolutely no inequality between men and women!" Lu Bolun muttered, his eyelids drooping.

As they were talking, a sports car, as red as the morning glow on the horizon, roared in from afar and then came to a steady stop in front of them.

The driver's side window rolled down, revealing the pretty face of English teacher Wang Qianyu. She lowered her head slightly, and her sunglasses slipped down a bit: "Let's go, get in the car~"

"Wow—seriously—!" Luberon's mouth was agape.

In an era where even cars are only affordable for the wealthy, sports cars are even more expensive and are rarely seen in cities.

This isn't one of those sedans that just has a rear wing and pretends to be a sports car. This is a true low-chassis sports car, which means it can basically only be driven on roads with good conditions. On slightly rougher roads, it will be incredibly bumpy.

"Is this car... a convertible?" Wang Jiale immediately noticed that the roof was different from that of ordinary cars, and it looked to be made of a softer material.

Typically, the roof of a car with this design can be folded down to become a convertible sports car.

“Of course.” Wang Qianyu pressed a button and snapped her fingers, and the roof slowly and automatically retracted.

It immediately transformed into a convertible sports car.

"Too...too rich!" Luberon was utterly shocked.

"If you want to express your feelings, get in the car first!" Wang Jiale rolled her eyes at him, opened the car door, and got in.

Although it's a four-seater convertible sports car, the back seats still feel a bit cramped.

It appears that there are engines at both the front and rear of the vehicle. Could this be a four-wheel drive vehicle?

"Lele, sit in the passenger seat."

Okay.

"Fasten your seatbelts, let's go!" Wang Qianyu pushed up her sunglasses and sped off.

"Waaaaah—" Wang Jiale shouted into the wind, whether out of fear or excitement, she didn't know.

Actually, the car wasn't going very fast. It was probably because the top was open that the wind seemed so strong. After all, it was still winter, and the wind was quite chilly.

The car gradually slowed down, driving leisurely through the city at about fifty miles per hour, passing one street after another, with streetlights, shops and pedestrians rushing past behind.

As we drove, we reached a suburban highway.

"Hold on tight, we're about to accelerate!" Wang Qianyu blinked, extended the roof of the car back up, and floored the gas pedal, speeding up to ninety miles per hour.

It's not that we can't go faster, but the speed limit here is 90 mph.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—" As if she wasn't satisfied, Wang Qianyu pressed the accelerator a little harder.

"Hey, teacher, you're speeding!" Lu Bolun, who knew a little about dashboards, shouted nervously from the back of his seat.

"No problem! At most, it'll just be a fine!" she said nonchalantly, then drifted into the corner, scaring Wang Jiale and Lü Bolun so much their hearts nearly jumped out of their chests.

Fortunately, there weren't many cars on this road, otherwise the two of them would probably have been terrified. Even now, they still feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Alright, alright, we're here!" The sports car, which resembled a burning flame, slowly slowed down, and the gates gradually lifted.

As the car drove in, a cluster of villas with a Nordic style came into view.

Outside this villa complex, there are no other settlements, only rolling mountains and clear water.

There are also some small shops in the villa complex. Occasionally, people dressed casually stroll to the shop entrance to buy something. Everything looks quiet and peaceful.

However, Lü Bolun and Wang Jiale knew that this was a place only the extremely wealthy could live in.

All the villas are built around the central lake, which should be an artificial lake, or perhaps it wasn't originally that big but has been expanded to that size because it's so perfectly round.

"Where is Qianyu's villa?" Wang Jiale asked, addressing Wang Qianyu by her name affectionately.

"Guess what?" The sports car had already reached the lakeside, but she still showed no sign of stopping.

"Huh...? I can't guess..."