A Young Woman's Heart

"Sit down, sit down. If we're going to have a duel, it should be a Monopoly game." Lu Chengyuan pressed Hua Yinyin's shoulder impatiently, making her sit down.

"Alright, let's decide who gets Little Yao Yao by playing Monopoly!"

"I think it's better not to make these kinds of decisions for Mo Xueyao..." Lu Bolun finally couldn't help but mutter. Fortunately, everyone was already seated, and they could finally play Monopoly.

Even the teachers joined in, while Mo Xueyao and Mr. Xue sat on the other side of the cabin, immersed in their 'world of two'.

Although in their own eyes it was just a normal exchange of fishing tips...

"You need to mix the water with the bait first, then knead it into a ball, twist off a small piece, and hang it on the hook—you should remember that, right?"

“I know that.” Mo Xueyao nodded.

"Then you need to cast the hook a little further away. If it's too close to us, the fish will easily notice if we make any noise," Mr. Xue explained, standing up to demonstrate the casting motion.

Mo Xueyao tried to imitate him, but because she didn't have enough strength, the distance she threw was less than half of his.

"You'll get the hang of it after a few more tries. It's not just about brute force; there are certain techniques involved." Mr. Xue smiled and sat down. "Of course, the most important thing about fishing is patience."

"I think I'm pretty patient," Mo Xueyao said quietly, with confidence.

However, after half an hour, she became restless.

Mr. Xue, standing to the side, seemed to be in a meditative state, not uttering a word for half an hour, just quietly staring at the float without saying a word.

That level of self-control is enough to make someone a monk...

Mo Xueyao couldn't help but mutter to herself.

"Cough um."

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her.

"Aren't you bored? Just staring blankly and not saying a word?"

"It's alright, because the space for imagination is limitless."

"Sigh...? Never mind, let's chat."

"Row."

"What are you talking about...?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Are you a broken record?" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Oh, right, last time I was reading a science fiction magazine, a story made me think of a question."

"Oh? What's the problem?" Mr. Xue turned his head slightly to look at Mo Xueyao with a hint of interest and asked.

What lies beyond the universe?

Mr. Xue paused for a moment, and only after confirming that Mo Xueyao's gaze was serious did he speak, "Hmm... no one knows."

"Actually, this is what I think: our universe is like a glass of water. Water should always be contained in a container, right? If that container is a glass, then what kind of space is the glass placed in?"

"This is a question that human civilization probably can't answer even after thousands of years," Mr. Xue smiled. "But I think there should be 'nothingness' outside the universe."

“I can’t imagine what nothingness feels like.” Mo Xueyao picked up a cookie and took a small bite. “In my opinion, no matter what kind of matter it is, it should be contained within some kind of space, right? Doesn’t that mean the world is infinitely large? Maybe we are just living in a glass bead treasured by an alien child, and that glass bead contains the entire universe in which we exist.”

“Perhaps when it reaches its maximum size, it will lead to the opposite result,” Mr. Xue said as he pondered. “Hmm… the whole world should be a closed loop.”

"Wouldn't that mean if we had advanced enough technology, we could even see our universe, the Earth we live on, and even the two of us chatting inside a glass bead?"

"Yes, that's what I think. Of course, these are just unfounded guesses and hypotheses. If..."

Whenever the topic turned to science fiction, Mr. Xue would become quite talkative, and Mo Xueyao was also very interested in these topics, so the two of them naturally chatted enthusiastically.

However, to others, it seemed that the two of them really liked each other, otherwise how could they have so many things to talk about?

Meanwhile, a large group of people were playing Monopoly. Although so many people were playing together, Hua Yinyin only targeted Li Wanyan, trying every means to make her lose first.

But in the end, she was the first to go bankrupt and be eliminated.

"What terrible luck! Damn it!" Hua Yinyin grumbled angrily.

“That’s the benefit of learning math well.” Li Wanyan glanced at her.

"Pshaw, it's just bad luck! What does it have to do with math?"

“It’s still somewhat related. Hua Yinyin, your previous decisions were too rough and not precise enough. The class monitor had completely anticipated them.” Wang Jiale shook the dice. “Of course, you’re really unlucky today, getting locked up in jail twice in a row.”

"So it's just bad luck, huh? I'm not satisfied, I demand to be resurrected!"

"These are the rules; there's no such thing as being able to revive someone just like that."

"Then I'm going to find Xiao Yaoyao." Hua Yinyin stood up angrily, but as soon as she turned around, she had a 'planned' look on her face. She grinned mischievously and darted to Mo Xueyao's side, deliberately startling her with a "Whoa!"

"Ah!" Mo Xueyao, who was engrossed in her conversation, was startled and almost dropped her fishing rod. She patted her chest and glared at Hua Yinyin, annoyed. "What are you doing, Hua Yinyin? Are you trying to scare me to death?"

"Hmph, Xiaoxue has had Xiaoyao all to herself for so long, now she should belong to me!"

"Stop messing around... Xiaoxue and I are discussing paradoxes."

"What paradox?"

"Tch, you definitely wouldn't understand." Mo Xueyao said with a look of disdain.

"How would I know if you don't tell me? Maybe I'll figure it out?"

"Then do you know about the Raven Paradox?"

"The Raven Paradox? Never heard of it. Is it the paradox that any bird that isn't black is definitely not a crow?" Hua Yinyin asked curiously.

Mo Xueyao was about to retort, but she choked on her words.

Upon closer reflection, her wild guesses actually came very close to the crow paradox itself.

"Oh? You really haven't heard of the Raven Paradox?" Mr. Xue's eyes lit up. "It's quite impressive that you could even guess that."

"Hmph, of course! Oh, and I'm going to sit between you and Xiaoyao!" she said smugly, immediately sitting down in the empty seat between the two of them.

Mr. Xue very considerately leaned to the side: "Then let me explain the Raven Paradox to you from the beginning. It's actually very simple..."

Thus, the conversation between the two turned into a conversation between the three. Mr. Xue seemed to have a habit of being a teacher and always liked to explain things that others did not understand.

Aside from constantly rubbing against Mo Xueyao and taking advantage of her, Hua Yinyin didn't do anything particularly bad. Perhaps it was because they were on the edge of the cabin, and if they moved around too much, they might both fall into the lake, so she restrained herself a lot.

Surprisingly, Hua Yinyin seems to be interested in many paradoxes, but she is most interested in the parallel universe theory and the grandmother paradox.

In the afternoon, the sun quietly hid behind the clouds that looked as delicious as bread, giving them a faint reddish hue.

The barbecue grill was finally moved here, but Mizuki Shi still couldn't rest and had to keep barbecuing. However, since everyone had been having snacks almost non-stop in the morning, they weren't very hungry, so they were a little more relaxed.

The barbecue was what everyone was really looking forward to at this gathering, but because everyone's stomachs were already full, there was no room left for any of the food.

By evening, everyone was hungry again. They couldn't wait to grab the cold barbecue and stuff it into their mouths. The barbecue grill started working again, and the mouthwatering aroma immediately filled the small fishing hut.

Everyone sat around the barbecue grill, with a few camping lights that served more as ambiance than actual lighting, and chatted idly.

The night always seems to evoke terrifying thoughts, and what might have been a normal conversation turns into horror story time once night has completely fallen.

The reason it's called a horror story rather than a ghost story is because not everyone tells stories about ghosts and monsters; some tell stories about bloody murderers.

Of course, there are also 'horror stories' with a touch of humor.

“My turn? Ah, okay, actually… cough, during winter break, I felt my beard was growing faster and faster, so I thought I'd shave it off.” Lu Bolun coughed a few times and pointed to his chest, “Then I discovered there was hair here too… so I casually shaved it off, and then, sizzle…”

"Are you bleeding?" Mo Xueyao shrank her neck.

"Yes, it almost got completely scraped off... Luckily I didn't use too much force." Lu Bolun looked terrified.

"In a sense, this is indeed a horror story..."

"So what's the use of a man's thing? He doesn't breastfeed children," Hua Yinyin asked, hands on her hips.

"Perhaps, it's to distinguish between front and back?" Lu Chengyuan raised her hand and answered somewhat uncertainly.

……

Chapter 135 Liking Pink and Orange

Saturday, September 2000, 3.

The air was filled with the fragrance of earth in the early morning. The rain that had just fallen in the early hours of the morning had ended, and the dark clouds in the sky had long since disappeared. Only the water stains left on the ground told the world that a heavy rain had just fallen not long ago.

Huang Yuxi was startled awake by a clap of thunder in the early hours of the morning.

I couldn't fall asleep from four to seven o'clock. I lay there lazily with dark circles under my eyes, looking pitifully at my brother.

"Ah... what's wrong? You actually got up earlier than me today?" Huang Zhengyang yawned widely, rested his head on Huang Yuxi's lap, and asked with a smile.

Sitting on the bed, Huang Yuxi lazily picked up the whiteboard hanging above the bed and wrote on it: "It was too noisy yesterday."

"Haha, were you woken up by thunder again?"

As soon as Huang Zhengyang spoke, he was immediately glared at by Huang Yuxi. He snorted and turned his face away.

"Oh dear, are you angry? Are you really angry?" Huang Zhengyang approached with a shameless grin. "Don't be angry."

"His beard is prickly." Huang Yuxi shoved the whiteboard into his face.

"Alright, alright, you can sleep a little longer. I'll go wash up and prepare breakfast, and I'll wake you up later."

"Can I spend the night in bed?"

"Of course not," Huang Zhengyang replied, pulling on a brand-new pair of jeans. "Didn't we agree to go for a follow-up check-up today?"

"This is so troublesome."

"Don't think it's too much trouble; this is for your health."

Huang Zhengyang casually put on the leather jacket, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt underneath. In this warm spring weather, this combination was just right for him.

The main reason is that today is a relatively formal occasion, so I need to wear relatively nice clothes.

Huang Yuxi yawned. Even if he wanted to sleep, he wouldn't be able to for long, but he didn't want to get up, so he rested his head on the railing by the bed and leisurely watched his brother busy on the lower level.

"Oh right, Xiaoxi, I put your clothes on the bedside table. Put them on yourself later!" Huang Zhengyang, his mouth full of toothpaste foam, poked his head out of the bathroom and shouted.

Huang Yuxi nodded almost imperceptibly, yawning one after another. Although he went to bed at ten o'clock yesterday and slept until four o'clock, which was six hours of sleep, he still felt it was far from enough.

When Huang Zhengyang crawled into the 'kitchen' made of cardboard boxes to cook, Huang Yuxi knew it was time for him to get up—even though he was so sleepy he wanted to crawl back into bed.