A Young Woman's Heart

Mo Xueyao was speechless for a moment, unable to find a rebuttal.

Feeling guilty?

"What do you mean by feeling guilty... It's because you were the only one who gave me a lollipop as a gift last Children's Day, so I'm returning the favor with a gift."

"Tsk tsk tsk." Hua Yinyin shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Speaking of which, does Xiao Yaoyao know how the Dragon Boat Festival originated?"

"Of course I know, isn't it because Qu Yuan drowned himself in the river, and people commemorate him?"

"Actually, it's said that Qu Yuan was attracted to men, and when this was discovered, the person he loved broke off their relationship with him. Ashamed to face anyone, he threw himself into the river and committed suicide!"

"Hey, hey, don't insult the ancients! Qu Yuan's death has absolutely nothing to do with this. You really need to clean out your lousy brain!"

"That's what I wrote in a book."

"Can't you stop reading so much cheap, low-quality literature?"

"Can you prove that what I said is false?"

"What is recorded in history is different from what you said."

"History isn't always true! Maybe the unofficial history I found is the real thing?"

"Then can you prove that the unofficial history you mentioned is true?" Mo Xueyao used the same tactic against him.

"Hmm... well, you can't prove it's fake, so it's still possible, anything is possible!"

"You're just being unreasonable..." Mo Xueyao was speechless.

"Heh heh, how about it? I'll definitely be awesome in the debate competition, right?"

"Don't insult debaters!"

……

Chapter 316 Dragon Boat Festival (Part 2)

At noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, it was the women's prison's time for exercise after lunch.

The prisoners gathered in twos and threes in the shade at the edge of the open space, chatting and enjoying the breeze.

If they weren't all wearing prison uniforms, they would probably look no different from the women chatting and relaxing downstairs in the neighborhood at noon.

Even in prison, you need friends.

After all, wherever there are people, there is a social hierarchy, and prisoners especially need to form gangs, otherwise they will be bullied.

Although women's prisons are relatively strict in their management and do not allow any instances of inmates bullying each other, there is still a form of invisible violence called passive-aggressive violence.

Women are actually better at this kind of thing than men.

So if you don't want to be ostracized by everyone, then you still have to join the group.

Among these prisoners, Li Wanyan's mother, Pan Jiexiang, was one of the few who had committed murder.

Murder is generally considered a serious crime, but she was relatively lucky; she was only convicted of excessive self-defense.

Regardless, she was a murderer, and the prisoners would unconsciously feel a certain fear towards her.

However, she presented herself as a docile and traditional woman, and she also seemed somewhat aloof, which made everyone keep their distance from her. Although it wasn't exactly passive-aggressive behavior, she certainly didn't have many friends.

"Pan Jiexiang, there is a letter for you. Come to the mailroom to collect it." The announcement rang out over the loudspeaker in the empty open space.

The broadcast was repeated several times before moving on to the next item.

Although the Dragon Boat Festival is not a day for family reunion, this traditional festival that has been passed down for thousands of years still makes people miss their relatives.

Therefore, many people received letters from relatives and friends today or yesterday.

Pan Jiexiang had no expectations, because she had not allowed the principal to tell her daughter about her presence there.

But why are there letters now?

She felt a mix of anticipation and nervousness, while mentally explaining to herself that it might be a letter from the principal, since her daughter's principal had always been very kind to her.

Walking to the mailroom, Pan Jiexiang opened her own cabinet and found a letter and a beautifully wrapped gift box inside.

The letter clearly states—

The large characters read: "Sent by Li Wanyan, Yukong High School, Hangzhou, Zhejiang".

Pan Jiexiang paused for a moment, then the hand holding the letter began to tremble slightly.

A few cloudy tears fell from her eyes.

She tried her best to suppress her sobs as she carried the gifts and letters to her specially assigned solitary cell.

Although it's called a prison cell, it's more like a dormitory room for one person.

To receive this kind of treatment in prison is actually quite generous.

Many people who work away from home probably don't live as well as she does.

Inside the envelope was a greeting card and two letters.

One letter was from her daughter, Li Wanyan, and the other was written by her homeroom teacher, Ye Wen.

Pan Jiexiang took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

Although she asked the principal not to tell her daughter about her situation, it was also because she herself did not want to see her daughter at this time.

But when I actually received the gift from my daughter, I felt an overwhelming longing in my heart.

She hesitated for a moment before opening the letter sent by her homeroom teacher, Ye Wen.

The above text, written in beautiful cursive script, describes Li Wanyan's recent situation.

"Dear Ms. Pan Jiexiang, mother of Li Wanyan:"

"I am Wanyan's homeroom teacher. She has been doing very well recently. She has been staying at the home of a girl she is very close to. That family treats her very well and takes good care of her."

"Wanyan's studies have been going very well recently, and as class monitor, she has been able to shoulder her responsibilities well."

"The teachers at school all say that she is a very well-behaved, sensible, and opinionated child."

"June 6th is your birthday. After learning about this from the principal, I hesitated for a long time, but I still told Wanyan that I had news about you, so that she would no longer need to worry about you. At the same time, I did not tell her about your current situation, so you don't need to worry either."

"I just told her that you are busy right now and can't take her with you or come back. But no matter what, she is your daughter and she must miss you often. So I thought I would take this opportunity to have her send you a birthday present. In the future, if there are any letters, I can also send them to you on her behalf."

Similarly, you can send a letter if you have anything to say.

"2000.6.1

"Ye Wen".

"June 1st..." Pan Jiexiang suddenly remembered that Children's Day had already passed. She gave a bitter smile and muttered to herself, "But Yan Yan doesn't have to celebrate Children's Day anymore..."

She silently opened the gift box, inside which was a colored plaster sunflower.

Although it's not as exquisite as something made by a professional craftsman, you can still tell it's a gift made with care.

Pan Jiexiang's eyes stung, and she covered her face, but she couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

"I'm sorry, Yan Yan... I've made you suffer all these years... If only... if only I had completely given up on him sooner..." Pan Jiexiang murmured, her voice high-pitched and trembling, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

A good cry finally calmed her down a bit, and she opened the greeting card written by Li Wanyan.

The words written on it were very simple: wishing her a happy birthday.

But when she opened the letter next to it, she found that she had written a lot of dense writing:

"Mom, I hope you receive this letter on June 6th. Happy birthday."

"How are you doing now? I wonder what you're busy with. You won't be back for three years. Although I really want to see you, I think you must have your own reasons."

"There was a time when I thought I would never see you again; there was a time when I stopped dreaming about you; there was a time when I almost forgot about the past."

"But it's alright, I still have a chance to see you. Maybe when I go back today, I'll dream about you again?"

"...Mom, I miss you."

The handwriting in this sentence is somewhat blurry, as if it had been soaked in water.

It was clear that Li Wanyan had already shed tears when she wrote those words.

"If you owe a large sum of money and need to pay it back, I think perhaps I can help you."

"Help me, does Yan Yan want to drop out of school?" Pan Jiexiang gently shook her head. "What is this silly girl thinking? I should talk to her properly when I reply to her later."

"Mom, I've made quite a few good friends lately—true confidants, all thanks to her, of course."

"Her name is Mo Xueyao. I'm currently staying at her house. She's a rather carefree girl, but she doesn't have any complicated thoughts. She doesn't overthink things, which makes me like her a lot. In fact, everyone around her likes her. It's because of her that I'm not always alone like before."

"Her parents are very good to me, so you don't need to worry. I recognized them as my godparents, and now they treat me like their own daughter. No matter what they buy, they will buy me a copy as well, and they also take care of my little whims."

"Yaoyao's family runs a fruit shop, and their life is much better than ours before. I can eat meat every day now, and I can eat my fill every day. I've grown a little taller, and my hair is in better condition than before."

"Mom, how are you doing on your own now?"

"My teacher told me that he has gone missing and that she hopes he will never appear in our lives again."

"Don't worry, he won't show up again." Pan Jiexiang smiled and muttered to herself, "We can finally live our peaceful lives... But, three years from now, will Yan Yan still be willing to leave with me? I'm such a bad mother, sigh..."

The letter was long and detailed, recounting everything that had happened since Li Wanyan moved into Mo Xueyao's house. It included many trivial details of her life, allowing readers to understand Li Wanyan's state of mind and feelings at the time.

Overall, she felt very happy and at ease living in Mo Xueyao's home.

Pan Jiexiang looked at it again and again, as if looking at the words her daughter had written on it would allow her to have a face-to-face conversation with her.

Finally, she carefully put away the gifts, greeting cards, and letters her daughter had given her, took out a notebook from the drawer, and began writing a letter in it—she would just tear the paper out after she finished writing.

Pan Jiexiang wrote one delicate character after another in her notebook. Only someone who has received a certain level of education could write such beautiful characters.

She has a high school diploma, and in fact, without those coincidences and accidents, she would never have met Li Wanyan's father.

However, after so many years, I haven't written much, so I've inevitably become a bit rusty and forgotten many uncommon characters. I have to think for a long time before I can write them. For some characters that I really can't write, I can only awkwardly write down the pinyin.

But in any case, this deep longing will be conveyed to Li Wanyan's heart through every word and every stroke of the pen.

……

"Xiaoyu, what are you doing?" Mo Wenli hummed a cheerful tune as she trimmed the flower branches. During the Dragon Boat Festival, there would be more people buying flowers, and fruit shops would also sell some mugwort on this day.