A Young Woman's Heart

“That’s true, after all, what I have here is just simple food.” Zuo Ziya seemed to understand Mo Xueyao’s expression. “Perhaps she’s not used to it?”

"It's not that I'm not used to the food, it's just that this is how we usually eat most of the time. Usually, the food at home is better in the evening, cough cough... so I want to go back for dinner." Mo Xueyao hesitated for a moment, but still frankly said what she was thinking.

Zuo Ziya was stunned for a moment.

In her circle, everyone is rich and powerful. Even if they don't have a group meal, or even if they just eat at home, they usually eat a lot of meat and fish every day. If they want to eat for health reasons, they will mostly eat seafood, which is not easy to gain weight from.

Sea cucumbers and abalone, which are unaffordable for ordinary people, are often eaten in small quantities and the other half is thrown away.

Therefore, people like her, who eat simple meals, give off a strange sense of aloofness, as if they were artists.

Looking back now, it was just that her obsession ran too deep and her thinking was too one-sided.

Adding an air of elegance to "simple meals" is simply ridiculous. Aren't they just the ordinary food that people at the bottom of society eat every day?

The only difference is that it's made to be a little more refined.

In fact, the lavish meat and fish she disliked were precisely what the lower classes longed for most.

Humans are always so contradictory...

However, to consider simple meals as part of art, only the wealthy can afford such a pursuit.

If ordinary people have the opportunity to eat delicious food, how could they possibly pass it up?

This is why, in this day and age, foreign fast food chains like KFC are considered high-end restaurants in China.

"Then I won't keep you any longer." Zuo Ziya snapped out of her reverie. "By the way, are you free tomorrow?"

"Huh? Tomorrow? Uh, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to teach us for free for two days in a row?" Mo Xueyao asked somewhat embarrassedly.

Zuo Ziya covered her mouth and laughed: "Of course, I didn't bring you here to learn the zither. If you have time, I'll take you to Shangtianzhu tomorrow to burn incense and make wishes."

Shangtianzhu is a temple next to Lingyin Temple. It is not as famous as Lingyin Temple nationwide, but it is very famous among the people of Hangzhou. Most locals prefer to go to Shangtianzhu rather than Lingyin Temple.

"Burning incense and making a wish?" Mo Xueyao scratched her head. "But I don't believe in Buddhism."

Li Wanyan nudged her arm helplessly and said politely, "Thank you, Teacher Zuo. As long as you don't find it troublesome..."

"Of course not, give me an address, I'll pick you up tomorrow~"

"Huh?" Mo Xueyao was puzzled as to why Li Wanyan, who was usually reluctant to go out, had agreed.

The latter gave her a complicated look, as if blaming her for not understanding social etiquette.

……

Chapter Eighty-Six: Ascending to India

Shangtianzhu, located south of Lingyin Temple and surrounded by mountains, consists of three Tianzhu Temples, namely Shangtianzhu, Zhongtianzhu, and Xiatianzhu.

Shangtianzhu was originally named Faxi Temple and was first built during the Wu-Yue Warring States period. Later, perhaps because the name of the temple was too similar to the pronunciation of another name, it was changed to "Tianzhu" along with two other temples. Faxi Temple, which is at the top, was renamed Shangtianzhu.

Of course, this is just Mo Xueyao's guess.

In fact, she wasn't even sure when Shangtianzhu was renamed.

It didn't rain on Sunday morning; the clouds just blocked the sun, making the sky look a bit gloomy.

When Mo Xueyao came back yesterday, she told her parents about the free piano lessons and that Zuo Ziya had invited them to go to Tianzhu tomorrow.

"Actually, I don't want to go, but Wanyan said she has to, so I guess I have no choice but to go tomorrow," Mo Xueyao muttered.

She had originally planned to have a good rest on Sunday.

“It’s all about social etiquette. Someone’s been so kind to you, offering you free piano lessons and inviting you out. Of course you should go, otherwise you’d be disrespecting them,” the mother said earnestly. “Honestly, you don’t understand these things at all. You should learn more from Yan Yan!”

"Tch, always talking about social niceties, isn't life tiring?" Mo Xueyao pouted, although she agreed in her heart, she still couldn't help but retort a few words.

"No one can live in this world just for themselves. The most important thing in interpersonal relationships is to understand social etiquette." The mother tapped her hand with her chopsticks in dissatisfaction. "How many times have I told you not to keep rummaging through the food? If you keep doing that, the food will be covered in your saliva. How are other people supposed to eat?"

"Tch, I just wanted to find some meat!" Mo Xueyao said, puffing out her cheeks and looking aggrieved.

"Come on, let Dad put some on your plate. It's alright, we're family, no need to be so formal."

"You always side with your precious...daughter."

"That's why I cherish my daughter so much." The father placed a few pieces of meat into Mo Xueyao's bowl. "So, how many days until we leave tomorrow morning?"

"I don't know, they said they would pick us up in the morning."

"In the morning, so it should be around eight or nine o'clock," the father nodded. "Looks like you can sleep in tomorrow."

“It’s not us—it’s just me sleeping.” Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. “Wanyan rarely sleeps in, right?”

"Haha, really? I think she's been sleeping in more often lately."

Li Wanyan ate the fish in small bites, but almost choked on a fish bone. She coughed a few times to the side before spitting it out.

She said in a slightly embarrassed voice, "I'll try to get up earlier in the future."

"It's alright, it's alright. Why get up so early? There's nothing to do anyway," the father comforted. "I didn't say anything bad about you. Sleeping in is a good thing. It means you're sleeping soundly. People like your godmother, who aren't in good health, only sleep for five or six hours at night before waking up. She wants to sleep but doesn't get to!"

“Exactly! Sleeping in is the greatest pleasure for humankind!” Mo Xueyao nodded vigorously. “And it’s the easiest pleasure to enjoy. Only when you have insomnia do you miss the pleasure of sleeping.”

However, on the second day, Li Wanyan still didn't sleep in and got up early in the morning.

I helped Mo Xueyao's mother with some housework.

"I'll go open the door first. Mo Xueyao's father should still be at the market buying goods." Mo Xueyao's mother hurriedly grabbed the keys and went out. She was always so energetic, whether she was a nanny or now that she had more free time.

It's like constantly racing against time.

Zuo Ziya called Mo Xueyao's landline: "Hello? It's Wanyan who answered. I'm already downstairs."

“Okay, we’ll be right down,” Li Wanyan said hurriedly. However, Mo Xueyao hadn’t gotten up yet. “Yaoyao, get up, Teacher Zuo is here.”

"Hmm...? Can I... not go...? I want to sleep a little longer..." Mo Xueyao lazily turned over, drooling all over her pillow, and was having some sweet dream.

"No way." Li Wanyan helplessly pinched her little face. "You can't go back on your word."

"Okay, okay—I'll get up right away..."

Mo Xueyao's personality is perhaps somewhat like her mother's.

When there's not enough time, things are done in a rush.

But it's fortunate that she's not an ordinary girl, otherwise she definitely wouldn't have been able to complete so many things—washing up, combing her hair, and getting dressed—in five minutes.

You know, it usually takes girls five minutes just to comb their hair, let alone the time it takes to choose clothes before going out.

Although her mother had already prepared her clothes for going out today last night, she still opened the closet and put on the casual outfit that she felt most comfortable in.

Although it doesn't showcase feminine charm as much as when wearing a dress, this outfit still exudes youthful energy.

In a sense, it suits her temperament better.

"Let's go!" She quickly tied her hair up, slipped on her shoes, and went out the door. Even Li Wanyan, who was already prepared, couldn't keep up with her.

Zuo Ziya's car was parked downstairs in the residential area.

The black Buick sedan attracted attention; at least in this day and age, it was considered a relatively high-end brand.

The driver was not Zuo Ziya, but a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses, while Zuo Ziya sat elegantly in the spacious back seat.

However, this calm elegance was quickly broken by Mo Xueyao: "Hey—Teacher Zuo!"

"Xueyao, Wanyan, get in the car." Zuo Ziya waved to the two of them.

"Wanyan, sit in the passenger seat," Mo Xueyao said, then climbed into the back seat. "I don't like sitting in the front."

"Why is that? Generally speaking, it's less likely to get carsick if you sit in the front, right?" Zuo Ziya asked curiously.

"Hmm—maybe it's because the back is more spacious and quieter." Mo Xueyao wasn't quite sure why she liked sitting in the back.

"I'll sit in the front, and you two can sit in the back. That'll be perfect." Seeing that Li Wanyan hesitated a bit when opening the car door, she kindly got out of the car and sat in the passenger seat.

Li Wanyan, who hadn't ridden in a car much before, seemed a little reserved, while Mo Xueyao sat with her legs wide open, completely uninhibited.

This is another advantage of wearing casual pants – you don't have to worry about accidentally exposing yourself.

"I need to pick up a friend of mine later," Zuo Ziya said to the two people in the back seat as she fastened her seatbelt.

"Boyfriend?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously, perhaps influenced by Hua Yinyin and Wang Jiale, making her much more gossipy than before.

"Pfft, I don't have a boyfriend yet," Zuo Ziya chuckled, covering her mouth. "I'm a 'girl'."

"Hmm, also a student?"

"No, they're friends like you." Zuo Ziya gently leaned her head against the window. "Speaking of which, I've been thinking about dyeing my hair recently."

"Dyeing it gold? Or red would also be nice."

"Hmm, I want to dye it purple."

"Purple?" Mo Xueyao couldn't quite imagine it, mainly because she had never seen it in real life. "Then we'll be able to see Teacher Zuo with purple hair next time?"

“Maybe so~” Zuo Ziya suddenly sat up straight. “Uncle Shi, stop here for a moment, I see her.”

"Okay." The driver nodded and slowly brought the car to a stop.

Standing by the roadside was a girl who looked unapproachable.

Unlike Duanmu Jina, who carried a faint sense of melancholy, she possessed a gloomy demeanor as if she were deeply mired in despair.

Even if he jumped out of the car and committed suicide the next second, it wouldn't surprise anyone.

“Well, my friend here… has been through some things, so that’s why she has this kind of personality now.” Zuo Ziya introduced her, “Her name is Tian Tingchan, the cicada from the word ‘zhiliao’.”

"What a unique name." Mo Xueyao squeezed past Li Wanyan, moving aside to make room for her. "Hello, my name is Mo Xueyao."

Li Wanyan then introduced herself, saying, "Li Wanyan."

Tian Tingchan glanced at them but didn't answer. She turned her head and silently looked out the window.

"Don't mind her, that's just her personality, she didn't mean any harm."

"It's alright, it's alright." Mo Xueyao waved her hand. "Not everyone likes to communicate with others."

"Hehe~ It's good that Xueyao understands."

The car gradually picked up speed and headed towards its destination.