A Young Woman's Heart

The boys are Gao Yuan, Liu Xiaowei, and Zhou Yong, while the girls are Mo Xueyao, Wang Jiale, and Mo Xiaoxiao.

“Alright, now let’s check the ingredients—do you have a small piece of chicken breast on your cutting board? If not, raise your hand and tell me.” Mizuki Shi began reciting the ingredient list, “Then there are peanuts in the small bowl, a small handful of scallions, a small piece of ginger, a small dish of dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, and a small dish of cornstarch.”

Mo Xueyao straightened up and checked the ingredients to make sure there were no problems.

"Xiaoxiao should know how to make Kung Pao Chicken, right?" Wang Jiale asked, nudging Mo Xiaoxiao's arm.

"Hmm~ I can, leave it to me today~" Mo Xiao smiled and said, "I can cook most home-style dishes."

"Haha—that puts my mind at ease."

"Then can we slack off now?" Mo Xueyao asked, resting her chin on her hand.

Mo Xiaoxiao shook her head: "Hmm... at least you should watch from the side~ after all, this is part of the class content."

Each table used in the home economics class is a mini-studio, which can be used as a kitchen or a workbench.

“Okay, next, open the cabinets under your tables and take out the cooking oil, cooking wine, soy sauce, sugar, salt, and vinegar and put them on the table,” Mizuki Shi instructed step by step.

"Once you're ready, you can either follow along with me or complete the process yourself by following the steps written on the blackboard." Mizuki Shi pointed to the production process on the blackboard and quickly got to work.

"Chop chop chop—" Her speed in chopping vegetables was just like that of a master chef, crisp and efficient, without any hesitation. In just a few strokes, she had chopped the meat and scallions, while continuing to explain, though the other students certainly couldn't keep up.

The reason she finished so quickly was to show the specific process to the students who wanted to see it first. After she finished, she would go down from the podium to see how the other students were doing and give them some personal guidance.

Home economics is a class offered only by Yukong High School among all high schools in Hangzhou.

But this also allows students to experience the true flavor of life.

Shui Zhishi on stage chopped vegetables very quickly, and Mo Xiaoxiao was not slow either. However, unlike Shui Zhishi's continuous 'da da da' sound, Mo Xiaoxiao chopped vegetables quickly, but each stroke was clearly visible, the kind that wouldn't make the viewer feel dangerous.

Mizuki Shi's rapid chopping of vegetables always makes one worry that she might cut her hand...

"Leave the marinating to me after you've chopped the meat!" Wang Jiale washed her hands, put the diced meat that Mo Xiaoxiao had chopped into a bowl, and then poured in various seasonings according to the steps, kneading it evenly.

Although the boys didn't like home economics class, they felt embarrassed to just stand there and watch, so they helped wash the vegetables.

However, it is indeed a bit redundant for six people to cook one dish. Even if two people are assigned to clean the table every moment, there will still be people who have nothing to do.

There was a simple range hood hanging above the table. Mo Xiaoxiao pulled the rope of the range hood, and a 'boom' sound came out immediately.

Once everyone else had prepared their ingredients and marinated the meat, the classroom was filled with the sound of the range hood.

"Waaaaah—wait!"

"what--"

"The fire is too big!"

"Oil splashed on me!"

The students were shouting and yelling in a chaotic manner, not like they were cooking, but more like they were playing a game called 'house'.

Mo Xueyao and her group, on the other hand, had an easy time. They could leave the cooking entirely to Mo Xiaoxiao, while the others just watched from the sidelines.

The dishes were placed in order, which wasn't actually that difficult, except perhaps for the final thickening of the sauce.

After skillfully stir-frying the vegetables, Mo Xiaoxiao poured them into a clean plate.

Mo Xueyao, who had only eaten a cake at noon, suddenly felt hungry again when she smelled this tempting aroma. Without waiting to pick up her chopsticks, she reached out and picked up a piece of chicken and put it in her mouth.

"Mmm, delicious!" She immediately gave a thumbs up.

"Oh, you're already finished? That was quick." Mizuki Shi walked over and asked, slightly surprised. "Does anyone in your group have experience making this dish?"

“It’s Xiaoxiao!” Wang Jiale immediately pointed at Mo Xiaoxiao.

"Teacher, would you like to try some?" Mo Xiao asked with a smile.

“Sure.” Shui Zhishi had already brought her own bowl and spoon. She scooped up a spoonful, caught it in the bowl, and then put it in her mouth.

"How was it, teacher?" Wang Jiale asked even more eagerly than Mo Xiaoxiao.

"Yes, it's very well done, I can't find any fault with it." Shui Zhishi nodded with a smile. "However, the rest of you can't always let her do it next time, you should try it yourselves too."

"Okay, okay!" Wang Jiale replied somewhat perfunctorily.

The other boys nodded perfunctorily.

Why not take the time to be lazy when you can?

That's what they all think.

Mizuki continued walking down the path, and although it was the same dish, the taste of the different groups was quite different.

Some had too much vinegar, making them too sour; some were overcooked, making the chicken tough and chewy; and some had too much sugar, making them too sweet…

"Alright, everyone, don't waste food. Eat as much as you can." Mizuki Shi clapped her hands after finishing her rounds and said to everyone.

So the groups that cooked badly tried to trick others into coming over to get their food.

The dishes that were cooked well, like those from Mo Xueyao's group, were devoured in just a few minutes.

"After you finish eating, remember to clean up properly, put away all the plates, and wipe the range hood clean as well," Mizuki Shi instructed from the podium. "This applies not only in home economics class at school, but also when you cook at home. If too much grime accumulates, it will be difficult to clean. On the contrary, cleaning after each cooking session is the easiest way."

A 40-minute home economics class isn't long. By the time most people had finished tidying up, the bell had already rung.

The group that couldn't finish their food secretly dumped their leftovers into the trash can, while Mo Xueyao and her friends, who had already cleaned up, kindly helped others clean up.

The three boys originally intended to run away, but seeing that the girls were helping them, they felt embarrassed to just leave.

“Yes, classmates should help each other like this,” Mizuki Shi said with great appreciation.

They finally finished helping out and returned to the classroom before the bell rang for the last class.

"Hoo-hoo—" Hua Yinyin, who sat at the desk in front of Mo Xueyao, stretched out a big yawn and exaggeratedly sprawled on the desk, even taking over her deskmate Mo Zhuyou's desk as well. "The last class meeting is over! Then it's the weekend again, hehehe..."

For students, Friday is probably the best day of the week.

……

Chapter 162 Spring and Summer Swimming Lessons

"Everyone can do their homework or other things on their own, but please don't make any noise," said Ye Wen, the homeroom teacher, standing on the podium as usual.

Almost every class meeting is like this: even if there is an announcement, everyone doesn't need to put down what they're doing; they just need to listen.

Mo Xueyao covered her mouth and yawned widely, then opened her chemistry workbook and started writing. Huang Yuxi, who was next to her, gently poked her arm with a pen and pointed to a math problem.

It seems like I've encountered a problem I don't know how to solve.

"Hmm? This question? It just looks a bit complicated, but it's very simple. First of all..." Mo Xueyao lowered her voice and taught her step by step, while Huang Yuxi listened very attentively.

He was an average student in the class, neither good nor bad. He was far from failing, but also quite far from being good or excellent.

"Wanyan and Yinyin, come help me distribute these notices." The homeroom teacher beckoned to the two of them and handed them a stack of notices divided into two parts.

"What is this... um... a group purchase of swimsuits?" Hua Yinyin glanced at the title of the notice and immediately became excited. "Hey—our school has swimming lessons!"

Swimming lessons?

Upon hearing this, Mo Xueyao was stunned for a moment, then immediately recalled that not long after she was discharged from the hospital, on the day she went to find out the location of the school in advance to determine the departure time, she had seen a locked door on the upper floor of the indoor gymnasium, behind which was a transparent glass wall, through which she could vaguely see a sizable swimming pool.

Ye Wen nodded, picked up an extra notice, and said, "It's already mid-March, and next month will be April. Time flies. Spring is here, and summer isn't far away. Our school will be offering swimming classes during the spring and summer seasons, which means all the original physical education classes will be replaced with swimming classes."

Upon hearing this, the boys immediately became excited, and many couldn't control themselves and shouted out:

"yeah!"

"Wow!"

"swimsuit!"

Gao Yuan even started whistling.

In this relatively conservative era, it was rare to see girls wearing skirts in school, let alone girls wearing tight swimsuits.

Even if she doesn't show anything, just looking at her curves is enough to make people drool.

Pictures may look nice, but nothing beats the fun of seeing real people.

Moreover, images from that era are not easy to find; the shops that sold pornographic magazines were very well hidden, and most people had no idea about them.

As for CDs or videotapes, those are not something that ordinary people can afford to use, and even if they could, it would be difficult to avoid their parents.

A group of clueless boys were secretly drooling with anticipation.

"To ensure that swimming lessons are not delayed, the physical education representative must immediately organize the students in the class to go to the swimming pool to change their clothes before the end of the previous class. Everyone must also pay attention during swimming lessons, because there will be an exam, and it will count towards the credits. If you fail, you will have to stay for remedial lessons during the summer vacation!"

The boys still didn't seem to feel anything, but the girls started to lament.

Although Hangzhou is considered a coastal city, it is not actually located by the sea; it only has the Qiantang River.

There are still quite a few people who can't swim.

Moreover, not all students here are locals; quite a few come from inland areas.

Mo Xueyao knows a little swimming, but she's not good at it, and her skill is limited to the doggy paddle.

Her doggy paddle swimming style was indeed learned from dogs.

"Because we're having swimming lessons, we need to buy swimsuits. This notice is for paying the fees. Have your parents sign it when you get home, and don't forget to bring the money on Monday," Ye Wen said, glancing at the class monitor. "Just give the money to the class monitor; it's already written on the notice. But I'll repeat it again: the price for swimsuits is the same for both boys and girls, a flat 20 yuan..."

Before she could finish speaking, a boy immediately asked, dissatisfied, "Why are they both twenty yuan? The girls' swimsuits clearly have so many more accessories than the boys'!"

"If you're not happy, you can also choose to wear a girl's swimsuit." Ye Wen glared at the boy who spoke, who was one of her right-hand men—Liu Xiaowei.

"Susu can wear it!" Hua Yinyin immediately shouted, not forgetting to give An Ruosu a suggestive look.

“Yeah, right!” the others chimed in.

"Stop, stop, stop, let me finish." The homeroom teacher slapped the table helplessly. "The girls' swimsuits are one-piece, while the boys' swimsuits are two pairs of boxer shorts, which are convenient for washing and changing. If the girls need an extra set, they can tell me or the class monitor. If the boys want to wear the girls' swimsuits, that's fine too. Our school allows this to happen."

Ye Wen said in a serious tone, but she always felt that the last sentence was mocking Liu Xiaowei.

"All the swimsuits are dark blue. The girls' swimsuits have a small white section. When you get home, you can have your parents sew your names on it to avoid any mix-ups. The same goes for the boys. You can embroider your names on the white cloth that's left blank." Ye Wen paused, then continued, "That's all for the swimming lessons. Don't forget to tell your parents, and also tell them about what happened outside of school recently."

As she said this, Mo Xueyao glanced at Chen Cheng subconsciously.

After that incident, Li Wanyan still brought up the matter of Chen Cheng's conflict with the thugs to the teacher.

Besides the homeroom teacher, only Mo Xueyao knew that she had reported it.