A Young Woman's Heart

"Home economics class? We've always treated it like a Chinese class before... This is the first time I've had a home economics class today. It seems to be a new course at Yukong High School." Wang Jiale tilted her head and bit her finger as she answered, "Um... I heard all of this from my senior classmates."

Unexpectedly, Wang Jiale actually knew the senior student.

Mo Xueyao had no such experience; from elementary school to junior high, she had never met anyone from older grades.

Generally speaking, he only knows people from his own class and has no interest in knowing people from other classes, let alone people from higher grades.

"Everyone, line up at the door. This is your first time going to the home economics classroom, so please line up and go together." Li Wanyan stood at the door, hands on her hips, and shouted, her voice carrying an undeniable authority.

I always felt she even had a kind of authority that was like a teacher's...

As expected of the class monitor.

Mo Xueyao thought with some admiration.

She always felt that those who could become class monitors were extraordinary people.

Not only must they excel academically, but they must also possess leadership qualities.

Don't think that being a class monitor is easy. In reality, class monitors have more to do than ordinary students. To maintain good grades under such circumstances requires strong self-control and efficient learning ability.

Since it wasn't time for morning exercises, although everyone lined up, it was still chaotic and scattered. It was more like they were just gathered together than lining up.

The class monitor sighed, not caring about such a trivial matter, and led everyone in a grand procession to another teaching building.

The upper three floors of this teaching building are all shared classrooms.

For example, a classroom for conducting science experiments, a music classroom, or a computer lab used for computer classes.

There are also classrooms specifically set aside for home economics classes, like the one shown now.

Mo Xueyao had never taken a home economics class before, nor had she ever heard of any of her relatives or friends taking such a class.

It seems that the new principal of Yukong High School is really special. Most principals would never set up such a 'boring' course that can't improve college entrance exam scores at all, right?

But life is more than just achievements.

Because of its many differences from ordinary schools, Yukong High School, which is a public school, made Mo Xueyao feel like she was attending a prestigious private school.

The layout of the home economics classroom is very different from that of a regular classroom.

It is not a collection of individual tables, but rather a collection of large tables.

Each of these large tables is roughly the size of six regular school desks.

There is a sink on the right side of the table, and an induction cooker is also on the table.

Large range hoods were installed on the top of the walls on both sides.

If you look closely, you'll find that the materials on the tabletops are also quite different.

It even has some length units marked on it. It feels a bit soft to the touch, but it's very sturdy, somewhat similar to the ground of a playground.

It seems that it can be used as a cutting board without any problems.

"Alright, everyone, please don't move the tables yet. We need to divide into groups first," said the young female teacher who was already sitting on the podium waiting for us.

"Assigning groups?" Many people expressed their doubts.

Mo Xueyao, however, was muttering to herself.

If we assign someone we don't know, it will probably cause even more trouble...

It would be best to go with Wang Jiale.

But in reality, the female teacher with cascading black hair smiled gently and said, "I just looked at our class roster. The ratio of boys to girls is very balanced. We can divide them into seven groups, with six people in each group, half boys and half girls."

The girls pouted, while the boys' eyes lit up.

Many eyes fell on Mo Xueyao.

Although she was not familiar with most people, and many did not even know her name.

However, Mo Xueyao, who has some Soviet white ancestry, has very fair skin and the delicate features of people of Asian descent. Her clear and bright brown eyes are also significantly larger than those of other girls, making her look like a girl who has stepped out of a painting.

So even if people don't know her name, they can't help but pay more attention to her.

"It would be great if I could be paired with the new girl." Some of the boys started whispering.

"Hmm...tsk, but it seems a bit unapproachable?"

"Yes, it seems very cold."

These words actually reached Mo Xueyao's ears. On the surface, she remained calm, but inside she was extremely embarrassed. She tried her best to focus her attention elsewhere and pretended that she couldn't hear anything.

"Alright, that's it. Everyone, form your own teams. Boys in groups of three, girls in groups of three." The teacher on the podium said with a smile, "To save time, I'll also introduce myself while you're forming your teams, and explain what we'll be doing in our home economics class."

Form your own team?

The students looked at each other in bewilderment.

The girls have their own modesty and are unlikely to take the initiative to approach the other three boys, while the boys... although they talk a big game, they actually get shy when it comes to this situation.

Mo Xueyao looked blankly at Wang Jiale beside her, casting a pleading glance at her.

"Don't worry, don't worry, you don't have any other friends yet, right? I'll be in your group." Feeling needed, Wang Jiale patted his chest with great satisfaction, making a 'thump thump' sound.

“As for the other one—let’s ask Xiaoxiao!” Wang Jiale’s gaze immediately fell on a girl with naturally curly hair, the ends of which looked slightly yellow in the sunlight.

"Lele!" The girl called out in perfect unison with her.

Then the two looked at each other and smiled.

That girl had two dimples, and her smile was as sweet as if she had just eaten a piece of honey.

"Lele, who else did you look for?"

“I found my deskmate, Mo Xueyao.” Wang Jiale pointed to the girl with two dimples and introduced her, “Hmm, her name is Mo Xiaoxiao (Note ①), which sounds like your surname, but it’s actually the Mo in ink. She sits right behind you, you should recognize her, right?”

“I recognized her… but I didn’t know her name. Hmm, I know it now.” Mo Xueyao unconsciously licked her lips. This girl seemed too feminine, and it wasn’t as easy to talk to her as it was with the lively Wang Jiale. “Ah, I’ll go find a boy.”

"Huh?!" Wang Jiale's eyes widened.

"Huh—?" Mo Xiaoxiao covered her mouth in surprise. "This...really? She went to find three boys all by herself?"

"She seems serious." Wang Jiale was trying to close her mouth a little with her hand. "I thought she wasn't someone who liked to talk to others much... I didn't expect her to be so... so..."

"So proactive?" Mo Xiaoxiao finished the sentence for her.

“That’s right!” Wang Jiale nodded vigorously.

Mo Xueyao looked around, searching for a suitable boy to team up with.

If you were to ask who made her feel the most comfortable, it would actually be Zhou Yong, who had the most ordinary-looking face.

Although Mr. Xue had a refined and easygoing temperament, it made her feel that he was not a kindred spirit.

Having lived as a boy for sixteen years, Mo Xueyao instinctively switched to the most comfortable way of communicating when facing other boys.

She walked up to Zhou Yong, patted his shoulder casually, and then asked in her slightly androgynous and somewhat hoarse voice, "Zhou Yong!"

They acted as if they had known each other for many years.

This reminded her of her best friend from junior high school, with whom she had met in the same way.

Back then, just like now, she casually walked over, patted the other person on the shoulder, and asked, "Can I copy your homework?"

Yes, even Mo Xueyao, who has excellent grades, sometimes copies homework.

Of course, I couldn't do it that day because of an accident, so I had to hurry up and copy it down the next day to complete the task...

At this moment, Mo Xueyao was lost in her own world, and in Zhou Yong's eyes, it was as if she was smiling at him—except that her unfocused eyes seemed a little strange.

For Zhou Yong, an ordinary guy who was unremarkable in every way, how could he possibly have the chance to see a beautiful girl smile at him?

It's like a dream.

Could it be that I have some kind of skill that has won the favor of the goddess?

Zhou Yong thought to himself in a daze.

……

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Note 1: This is a tribute to Mo Xiaoxiao, the author of "The Transformation of a Daughter".

Chapter Fifteen: Mizuki Shi's Home Economics Lesson

A cool, frosty breeze gently brushed against Zhou Yong's face, jolting him awake.

He swallowed hard and stammered, "W-what... happened?"

Do you have a group yet?

"Not...not yet..." Zhou Yong's eyes widened, feeling like he must be dreaming.

Why are you daydreaming in broad daylight?

It's like pies are falling from the sky; it's too unreal!

"Have you managed to get three people in your group yet?"

"Have……"

“Then let’s go together,” Mo Xueyao said generously.

Actually, she felt that her performance was quite ordinary.

She looks exactly the same as when she's with a boy.

Even now, she still finds Zhou Yong's behavior strange.

He doesn't seem like someone who's bad at talking, so why can't he even speak right now?

Of course, Mo Xueyao wasn't an idiot.

She quickly realized why this was happening.

If she still doesn't understand after seeing the envious looks from the boys around her, then her emotional intelligence is extremely low, practically negative.

I was treated like a girl...