A Young Woman's Heart

"Our club specializes in selling stories about romance between men and women, that is, yuri and BL! We'll strike a few poses to attract the guys—I've specially printed a lot of yuri comics this time!"

"Are we going to have to hug each other and do some embarrassing things?" The shorter girl was quite resistant. "That's too embarrassing..."

"Cough, no need to be so direct, just do something a little intimate."

"What kind of intimate action are you referring to...?"

"Like touching cheeks? Or holding hands and smiling at each other? Or touching thighs..."

The slender girl interrupted Hua Yinyin: "Hey, you're getting off-topic!"

"Really? I think these are all pretty innocent actions..."

"That's just your opinion, okay!" The slightly chubby girl covered her forehead. "Why did we agree to do this in the first place...?"

“It seems like this is the only option for our club, right? If we only draw comics, wouldn’t we be competing with the comic club next door?” Hua Yinyin skillfully placed a hand on a member’s thigh. “Besides, this is our best chance to promote ourselves and see if we can attract some fresh blood. I’m sure there will be quite a few!”

"I'm more worried..." the short girl brushed away Hua Yinyin's groping hand, "wouldn't this count as illegally distributing...that kind of material?"

"No, no, what's printed this time is all borderline content. How can something borderline be considered illegal? I have strict control over this part! The most intimate scenes are just kissing while wearing bikinis!"

"The most amazing thing is that the school leaders actually agreed."

"correct."

"Do the school leaders like it too?"

"Maybe our president bribed them with some terrible stuff?"

"Oh no, that can't be right, our school isn't that bad."

"What if...something like a sex deal..."

"Hey! Hey!" Hua Yinyin slapped her thigh and shouted in dissatisfaction, "Are you guys even on our side?!"

……

Chapter 193 Centennial Celebration (Part 1)

A few rays of morning light shone into the small house. The alarm clock hadn't rung yet, but Li Wanyan slowly opened her eyes. She turned her head to look at Mo Xueyao, who was sleeping soundly like a baby, then quietly got out of bed and tucked her in again so that she could sleep a little longer in peace.

She gently pulled up the roller shutter door, minimizing the sound it made, then turned sideways, bent over, and stepped out.

Su Tang had somehow gotten to the door. When Li Wanyan opened the door, it leisurely wagged its tail, but remained lazily lying on the ground, not moving an inch.

Besides the brittle, there was also an elderly man with darker skin sitting on the steps of the fruit shop, holding an erhu in his arms.

"The fruit shop is open? Excuse me." The old man holding the erhu quickly stood up and touched his fairly neatly trimmed white beard.

"What are you doing?" Li Wanyan asked, placing the basin under the tap.

"Sigh, the troupe has disbanded, and there's nowhere to go for the time being, so I'll just sit here for a while."

"Okay." Li Wanyan nodded. "It's not open yet."

The old man put his bottom back down, which he had just lifted, and asked cheerfully, "Can I sit a little longer? I've warmed up the ground, so it'll be good to sit a little longer."

"Either is fine." There was still some time before the door opened, and my father, who personally rode his tricycle to haul goods every day, wouldn't arrive that early.

Anyway, a fruit shop isn't a breakfast shop, so there's not much difference between opening at 5:30 or 7:00.

"Little girl, do you listen to the erhu?"

"I'll listen to everything."

“Hey, a lot of young people these days think this thing of mine is an old relic. They don’t like listening to it and say it sounds like a funeral dirge.”

Li Wanyan didn't answer because she was brushing her teeth. After brushing carefully for a while, spitting out the foam, and rinsing her mouth with water, she looked up at the old man and said, "This is normal."

"Sigh, I'm such an old-fashioned person, I'm already out of touch with the post-80s generation. The younger generation won't like the things of the older generation, and our things will probably be lost by then."

“Every generation counts it out like that,” Li Wanyan replied calmly, squeezing a little face wash onto her face and carefully applying it.

"Ha... If you don't mind, how about I play you a song?"

“Okay.” Li Wanyan did not refuse, because the old man clearly had a strong desire to perform and express himself.

"Alright." Someone appreciated his music, which seemed to make him very happy, and he started playing the erhu without saying a word.

The music shifted from Three Pools Mirroring the Moon to Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, and then played several military tunes.

However, the military music that should have been magnificent sounded like a funeral dirge to him.

It was as if the army had been completely defeated and collapsed.

"how?"

"Good."

"Haha, it's rare to find someone who can appreciate it. Could you tell me which pieces I just played? You don't need to say them all, just one or two will do."

"Three Pools Mirroring the Moon, High Mountains and Flowing Water, Liang Shanbo, Ambush from Ten Sides, Yellow River Cantata... The last one, is it a Soviet song?"

"Impressive, you understood it all." The old man immediately gave a thumbs up. "Haha, not many young people these days know about these things, and even fewer like them."

“The oldest of the post-80s generation is only twenty years old.” Li Wanyan picked up two ripe, brown bananas, handed one to the old man, and peeled one for herself. “When everyone matures and grows up, they will be able to understand the people and things of the past, and naturally they will appreciate the beauty of the classics.”

"Thank you." The old man accepted it with satisfaction, "but there aren't many people as smart as you."

“I’m not special,” Li Wanyan shook her head.

"But young people nowadays all like Western music. They think that only the piano is high-class and a cultured instrument. They think that violins and cellos are the best things. And those who play rock music give me a headache. I really can't appreciate it."

“The world is always changing. Without change, there are no new classics. People can’t always live in the past, can they?” Li Wanyan thought for a moment and asked in return.

The old man paused for a moment, took a big bite of the banana, and chewed with his yellow teeth: "That's true. Perhaps many classics were not accepted when they first came out."

"Ah."

"But this old stubborn man still can't quite accept it. Actually, how many people don't understand these kinds of principles? Haha." The old man finished the banana in one go, took out a pipe from his pocket, tapped it on the steps, stuffed it with a wad of tobacco, lit it with a match, and took a deep, enjoyable puff.

"Why did your troupe disband?" Li Wanyan asked this time.

"Hey, nobody likes old plays anymore. They're all tired of them being performed. Maybe, like you said, we need to inject something new. Otherwise, the older generation will get tired of this old stuff, and the younger generation won't like it either."

"Almost everything that has been passed down is no longer what it originally looked like. It has to change with the times. Haven't Chinese characters been simplified a lot? Things passed down by the older generation should also be changed. Staying unchanged is not necessarily the right thing to do."

"That's true. If things stay the same for too long, it becomes a clichéd routine." The old man exhaled a large puff of gray smoke, leaned leisurely against the roller shutter door, making a 'clattering' sound. "I never thought I'd be lectured by the younger generation."

“People born in different eras have limitations,” Li Wanyan smiled. “When I get old, I will definitely be lectured by the younger generation.”

“You young lady, you’re not that old, but you’re quite mature, like a woman in her thirties or forties. Where do you get so many sentimental thoughts? You should relax a bit, especially since we live in a peaceful era. You should enjoy life.”

"So you were complaining before that the younger generation, those born in the 80s and even 90s, couldn't inherit those traditions?"

"Ha." Seemingly realizing the contradiction in his words, the old man stopped talking, stood up, and waved to Li Wanyan with a flourish, "Fine, I can't argue with you, I'll go first."

"Take care." Li Wanyan knew it was a joke, so she said goodbye to him very sincerely.

"Who knows, I might come back someday," he joked.

"Human aesthetics are cyclical; perhaps one day we'll go back to the old ways," Li Wanyan said meaningfully.

"Haha, maybe!"

"Hmm—" Behind her, Mo Xueyao stumbled out, yawned widely, and rested her chin on Li Wanyan's shoulder. "Who is it?"

"An old man who can play the erhu."

"Erhu? A beggar?" Mo Xueyao yawned again. "There were some one-cent coins in the drawer, didn't you give him a few?"

"He's not a beggar, just an old man who's been left behind by the times."

"Why are you talking so philosophically... Wanyan is really strange today." Mo Xueyao crawled out from the half-open roller shutter door, embracing the sun that had just risen a little and was not yet bright enough. "Today is the school anniversary."

"Okay, now that we've washed up, let's go out and buy some breakfast."

"Hmm~" Mo Xueyao twisted her waist, her bones making a soft 'crack' sound, which immediately made her feel much more comfortable. "I think we should buy a bigger wire bed, it's too small right now."

"Are you having trouble sleeping?"

"I have a bit of a stiff neck." Mo Xueyao twisted her neck, then painfully covered her left side, rubbed it a few times, and it got a little better. "What activities were they today? Besides the ones organized by the clubs and each class?"

"In the morning, there are speeches from school leaders, the preliminary rounds of a singing competition, and in the afternoon, a mixed games competition arranged by our class's physics teacher, art teacher, and several teachers from other grades. You should know more about this than I do."

"Ah, I know that! I saw someone move game consoles and computers to the backstage of that big stage on the playground that day." Mo Xueyao said, her tone becoming dejected again. "It's a pity I have to stay in the classroom and work as a staff member, so I can't leave. Otherwise, I would like to play too."

"Have someone else take a look for you this afternoon."

"It seems like everyone is busy. They're either in clubs, in their own classes, or participating in competitions... Those who don't have much to do can't really help."

"Let An Ruosu take your place."

"Ah, Susu, it seems he's alright. Hmm, he's fine, he's pretty reliable." Although An Ruosu doesn't usually seem as memorable as Gao Yuan or Liu Xiaowei, who are known for their antics, they've been sitting together in the front row and have talked quite a bit, so they're fairly familiar with each other.

The key is that he is very easy to talk to. Once you take off that always gentle and smiling 'mask,' you'll find that he is actually a shy person.

“Then I’ll talk to him about it later.”

"Okay, it's up to you, 'Class Monitor'!" Mo Xueyao laughed happily, seemingly already imagining herself sweeping all obstacles and winning first place in the game competition.

However, she seems to have overestimated her abilities.

Although she used to play games often, to be honest, she was only at an average level.

However... perhaps it was precisely because it was neither the best nor the worst that I used to enjoy playing it so much.

Because there's always this illusion that with a little effort, you can defeat someone even more powerful.

When we arrived at the school, it was still early, but the school gates were already wide open. Cherry blossoms covered the ground like a carpet, and the flower beds and branches were decorated with ornaments.

Several poster stands were placed at the entrance, briefly introducing what the centennial celebration of Yukong High School was all about.

We also welcome visitors to come and tour; no prior reservation is required, just register to enter.

In addition, the principal also invited students and teachers from other schools, leaders from the education bureau, and successful people from other fields.

Well, in short, it's all about the cards you're dealt.

Even a principal like that can't escape the common pitfalls.

That makes sense, since this school anniversary celebration wasn't for him, but for Yukong High School.