A Young Woman's Heart

Outside the urban village, a large truck slowly drove up to the gate, and a group of workers unloaded a bunch of simple container houses and reassembled them on the ground. This place will become the construction office in the future.

It seems that Zhuang Lianlian's time to stay here is running out.

With that thought in mind, she walked all the way to the grocery store below the cancer hospital.

Grandma Jin was wearing her reading glasses and calculating the accounts. When she saw Lianlian slowly walking in from outside, she quickly called out, "Lianlian is here! Come and help me. I'm getting old, and I can't see the numbers clearly anymore. My mind isn't as sharp as it used to be. Can you help me calculate this side?"

"OK……"

So, Zhuang Lianlian began her day's work.

Grandma Jin didn't mention her right leg again.

Not everyone is suited to close communication. Some people need enough personal space, and getting too close can cause resentment and panic.

Different people deserve different treatment.

Having lived for so long, Grandma Jin almost never makes a mistake in this kind of matter.

So until now, she hasn't asked about Zhuang Lianlian.

Regardless of why her parents weren't around, or whether she actually had nowhere to live...

These questions have never been asked.

They continued to treat her as an ordinary adult.

Perhaps this is actually the way Zhuang Lianlian needs to be treated.

There's not much to do at a grocery store; most of the time you can just lazily sit in front of the counter and daydream.

At noon, Grandma Jin felt completely at ease and went home to take a nap.

Zhuang Lianlian was put in charge of managing the grocery store, which immediately put her under immense pressure.

This trust touched her deeply.

While her peers were in school, she was working.

Looking at the bustling streets outside, she couldn't help but feel a little empty.

Before we knew it, it was afternoon, and the number of students on the streets suddenly increased.

At first, there were mostly primary school students, and then many junior high and high school students began to emerge.

Even though not much time has passed, she always feels that her school days are a 'story' from a long time ago.

1999 was a disastrous year for her.

So much had happened that she felt utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally.

At this moment, what she needs is a safe haven where her body and mind can rest.

The students walking side by side always seemed to have endless topics to talk about, and even though it was the end of the semester, most of them still had relaxed smiles on their faces.

It seems she's thinking about how to spend the upcoming winter break.

Student life always seems carefree—at least compared to people who work in society.

But those days are gone forever.

Zhuang Lianlian sighed and took a sip of the tea on the table.

She now envies those students who can jump and skip around with ease, even more than she envies those who can go to school.

Only after losing something do we realize how fortunate we are to be a normal, healthy person.

"Woof woof—" The husky, which was squatting in the shop, suddenly seemed to have discovered something and excitedly darted out of the shop.

This is the dog that Grandma Jin asked her to take care of. If it suddenly runs out and gets hit by a car, it would be terrible.

Zhuang Lianlian had no choice but to stand up in a panic. When she was anxious, she would walk with a limp because she was not used to her prosthetic leg.

"Haha, haha! Come back!" At this moment, she didn't have time to care about this strange name.

However, perhaps because it wasn't familiar with Zhuang Lianlian, the husky didn't stop. Instead, it wagged its tail even more excitedly and charged forward, barking excitedly at a bicycle not far away.

"It's a husky..." The cyclist pressed the brakes and slowly came to a stop.

The girl sitting in the back seat also lightly put her feet on the ground and leaned down to pat the husky's head.

"Be careful, you might get hit...!" Zhuang Lianlian finally caught up and breathed a sigh of relief while hugging the husky.

"Huh? It's you?" Mo Xueyao, who had just parked her car next to the fruit shop, turned around and looked at him with surprise.

Zhuang Lianlian has been working at the grocery store for two days, but they have never met.

"Hmm...?" Zhuang Lianlian was also somewhat surprised. "What a coincidence... what are you all doing here?"

"Didn't I tell you before? The only fruit shop downstairs from the cancer hospital is owned by my family!" Mo Xueyao said, hands on her hips. "Hmm... but what are you doing here?"

"Erha, come here." Li Wanyan squatted down and rubbed her hands with Erha. The latter immediately slipped out of Zhuang Lianlian's arms and ran towards her.

"I...I work here," Zhuang Lianlian said softly.

"Oh, you're working at Grandma Jin's?" Mo Xueyao glanced into the general store. "That's great! We can see each other anytime now. You should be staying at Grandma Jin's now, right?"

"No, no..."

"We can't possibly still be living in a van, can we?"

"Well……"

"Huh? Really? I guessed right?" Mo Xueyao's eyes widened. "Why don't you stay at Grandma Jin's house?"

"Uh, um..." Zhuang Lianlian was a little embarrassed and awkward. She fidgeted with her fingers but couldn't come up with a reason.

"Yaoyao, don't ask any more questions." Li Wanyan gently stroked the husky lying on its back. "She must have her reasons for doing these things, and she doesn't want to explain them."

"Okay, anyway, don't force yourself, and don't worry about Grandma Jin, she's a very nice person."

"Um……"

"The husky will probably play in our shop for a while. It comes over every day after school, so don't worry." Mo Xueyao smiled. "Hmm—want to come and play for a bit?"

"No, no..." Zhuang Lianlian quickly shook her head, "I'm the only one in the shop, I still have to... watch the shop."

"Oh, okay then, we can go out and have fun together next time."

"Hmm...we'll talk about it later..."

The two said their goodbyes and returned to their shop.

Although we were only a dozen meters apart, it felt like we were in a completely different world.

That invisible barrier.

“She hasn’t opened up to anyone,” Li Wanyan said calmly to Mo Xueyao as she stood up.

"Yeah, that's normal, after all... a lot has happened. Although I don't know exactly what happened, as long as the people around her are kind to her, she'll gradually become more cheerful. I feel like she's not as she seems on the surface... how should I put it?"

"cowardice?"

"Ah, yes, cowardice, but she doesn't seem to be a cowardly person."

“What she showed was all a facade.” Li Wanyan smiled as if she had been there before. “It was just to hide her true feelings. She is probably a somewhat extreme and stubborn person.”

"Is that so? Wanyan's judgment of people is usually quite accurate." Mo Xueyao grinned mischievously and nudged her shoulder with her elbow. "Hey, what about you? What's under your disguise?"

"Huh?" Li Wanyan looked flustered for a moment, but quickly regained her usual calm and seriousness. "I wasn't pretending anything."

"Really?" Mo Xueyao asked with a mischievous smile, deliberately making her voice rise and fall.

"of course."

……

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Final Exams of the First Semester of Grade 11

Final exams are always a dull and tedious time.

I spend most of my time reviewing.

Almost every day in class, we were either doing tests or going over tests.

Homework at home consisted of all sorts of tests.

The thought that the situation in the senior year of high school might be ten times worse than this is enough to make one feel a little scared.

The exams for elective subjects have long been over, and all elective subjects have been converted into main subjects, with only physical education remaining, allowing students to get a temporary break from the heavy pressure of endless exam questions.

But time will eventually pass, and the passage of time waits for no one.

The day of the final exams finally arrived.

It makes one feel both uneasy and nervous.

Some people suddenly began to regret not having studied harder these past few days.

Others, however, breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to face the final outcome—not out of confidence, but out of a sense of resignation and despair…

Mo Xueyao belongs to the third type.

Calm yet full of anticipation.

Although she was looking forward to the trip to Russia after the holiday, the exams were about to begin, so she composed herself and focused her attention on the exam papers that had just been handed out.

Some schools will divide the exam into two days in order to allow students to perform at their best.

However, it seems that Yukong High School wanted to save some time, so all subjects were tested in one day.

The morning session is Chinese and Math, while the afternoon session is English and Science.

The difference from usual is that the lunch break is a little longer, and the school dismissal time in the afternoon might be a little later.

There is an idiom called "having a well-thought-out plan," which is very fitting for Mo Xueyao at this moment.

She studied diligently before the exam, even skipping her favorite novels and going out to play. She spent all her free time reading books and quizzing each other on memorization with Li Wanyan.

Once you reach this level, you can instantly recall the answer to a memory-based question without any hesitation or confusion.

There are two types of top students.