A Young Woman's Heart

Buses travel slower than usual on rainy days, and raindrops falling on the windows make the city outside blurry and hazy.

As if in a dream, I arrived at the platform in a daze, my mind filled with thoughts of when my period would end.

Just as the doors were about to close, she suddenly realized what was happening, quickly walked to the exit, knocked on the door, and the driver opened it again, preventing Mo Xueyao from missing her stop.

Although she arrived a little later than Li Wanyan, it was still quite early; it was only a little before 6:30. Most people arrive later than usual on rainy days, so the school was quieter than usual today—perhaps it was just psychological.

Holding the umbrella that Duanmu Ji had mended, she pushed open the small gate of the school and went inside.

After passing through several flower beds, we arrived at the hall.

The ranking list for the entire grade from the last monthly exam is still posted here, and it hasn't been torn down yet.

The bulletin board in the middle displays important notices, while the bulletin board next to it is filled with promotional advertisements from various student organizations. These advertisements are time-limited and their duration depends on when the cleaning lady gets tired of seeing them and tears them down.

"Mo Xueyao." A slightly gloomy voice rang out from the side of the stairwell leading upstairs. She subconsciously looked over there and saw Duanmu Ji leaning against the wall, holding a long-handled umbrella.

A lot of rainwater had accumulated under the umbrella, and the umbrella surface looked to be half dry.

Mo Xueyao glanced at the wet ground under the umbrella and asked in confusion, "Huh, isn't Xiao Ji going into the classroom? Or is the person in charge of the keys for your class not here?"

"Hmm." Duanmu Ji turned his head in another direction, without opening his mouth, and responded with a muffled sound.

"Then I'm going back to the classroom." Mo Xueyao was already used to his gloomy and quiet demeanor, and figured he was probably waiting for someone.

“…Wait.” Just after Mo Xueyao took a few steps up the stairs, Duanmu Ji suddenly called out to her.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"Hmm," Duanmu Ji replied, puzzled.

“What do you mean, ‘hmm’? What’s wrong?” Mo Xueyao looked at him strangely. “Just say it if you have something to say. Why are you acting like Zhou Yong?”

"Oh—my sister's birthday is June 19th."

"Hmm." Mo Xueyao nodded, waiting for him to continue, but found that he remained silent again. So, she urged him with a mixture of helplessness and impatience, "And then?"

"My birthday is also on that day."

"June 19th, let me think... that day was a Monday?"

"Well, so I'm planning to celebrate my birthday a day early, on the 18th." Duanmu Ji finally finished saying what he needed to say in one go.

"Oh, my birthday is on the 18th? So, you're planning to invite me?"

"Correct."

"Who else will go?"

“No…” Duanmu Ji paused for a full three seconds, “The others haven’t said anything yet.”

"Let's invite everyone from the club together! That would make it more lively."

"Oh—" Duanmu Ji's tone seemed somewhat reluctant, and he added, "It might be all night."

"Staying up all night? Uh... I'll have to ask my mom about that. We'll see. If it doesn't work out, then we won't stay up all night."

"Okay." Duanmu Ji nodded, then looked at the umbrella in Mo Xueyao's hand. "Has it been torn again?"

"It's fine now. It's been working perfectly lately. If you ignore the patches, it's practically a brand new umbrella!" Mo Xueyao smiled and shook the umbrella in her hand, splashing rainwater onto Duanmu Ji. "Next time my umbrella breaks, I'll ask you to fix it, okay?"

"Either is fine." Duanmu Ji showed neither resistance nor delight, appearing quite indifferent.

"I'm going upstairs now. Oh, should I mention this to them while I'm at it?"

"Hmm... I'll do it myself, let's not have too many people."

"I know, I know, where should we have the birthday party?"

"At my sister's fried chicken shop."

"Okay~" Mo Xueyao waved and turned around, "Bye-bye."

"Goodbye." Duanmu Ji clenched his hand holding the long-handled umbrella.

But Mo Xueyao suddenly turned her head and asked, "Oh, by the way, what kind of gift do you like?"

"casual."

"Anything is the hardest gift to give..." she scratched her cheek. "Well, do you prefer food, household items, or clothes?"

"It's all right."

"Tsk." Mo Xueyao clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction. "Then don't say you don't like it later."

Duanmu Ji opened his mouth, but answered with a curt "Oh".

"Tch, you're always like this." Mo Xueyao shook her umbrella again, this time without turning back.

Duanmu Ji watched Mo Xueyao's figure disappear into the distance before stepping onto the stairs and heading towards his classroom.

"Tsk tsk." Lu Chengyuan, who happened to witness this scene, clicked her tongue. Her gossipy nature immediately came back. "That boy obviously likes Xiaoyao, right? But Xiaoyao doesn't seem to realize it herself. Should we tell her? Oh well, let the boy take the initiative. This can be considered a little test."

Despite it being something that had nothing to do with her, Lu Chengyuan started thinking about it with great interest, and many romantic scenes between a cold-blooded boy and an innocent girl began to surface in her mind.

"So, did you manage to talk to your 'goddess' today?" Duanmu Ji returned to the classroom and saw Zheng Qiang winking at him. This guy was still as annoying as ever, but he wasn't actually a bad person; he just had a quick tongue.

"Ah."

"Haha, you're happy to talk to her once a day, aren't you?"

"Fortunately."

"Tsk tsk. Xiao Ji, why are you pretending to be so calm? Speaking of which, do you need my help? I can play the hero and save the damsel in distress for you."

"Ok?"

"I'll play the role of a thug to harass her, and then you'll stand up for her and speak out. Since ancient times, beauties have loved heroes; this is an eternal truth."

"She already knows you're my friend now."

"You know all that? What exactly didn't you tell her? Honestly, did you tell her what color my underwear is?"

“I’m not that bored.” Duanmu Ji glanced at him sideways.

"Tsk, do you want me, the love guru, to give you some more advice?"

"A love guru with no dating experience?" Duanmu Ji frowned.

"But that doesn't stop me from theoretical discussions. Theories are always the same." Zheng Qiang started rambling on; meddling in other people's business was this guy's greatest hobby. "...Kid, are you listening?"

"Have."

"Is this how you're going to be so perfunctory? Let me tell you, you need to act fast, or someone else will beat you to it. And even if she breaks up with you later, you certainly don't want a used one, right?"

"Don't put it so harshly."

"Oh, kid, getting impatient? Hahaha, that's right, a man should strike first! Just give her a love letter, then kiss her passionately!"

"And then you were arrested as a hooligan?" Duanmu Ji's tone carried a hint of sarcasm and mockery.

"What if she falls in love with you just because you're domineering and assertive?"

"Don't watch those boring TV dramas." Duanmu Ji took his homework out of his schoolbag. "Here you go."

"I'll tell you after I finish copying it!"

"Oh." Duanmu Ji replied perfunctorily, resting his chin on his hand and looking out the window. He couldn't help but reach out and draw the outline of Mo Xueyao on the fogged-up window.

……

Chapter 330 Zhou Yong's Bento Box

After the fourth period of physical education class in the morning, the students reassembled under the call of their physical education teacher, Ye Ran. This was because some students had skipped the assembly and gone to the cafeteria for lunch before the previous few times, so everyone had to be present this time, and those who were absent would have points deducted.

At Yukong High School now, academic credits are truly useful.

This meant that the students in Class 2 of Grade 11, who should have had lunch first, ended up a few minutes later than students in other classrooms, which in a sense could be considered as extending the class time.

"Ugh—another long queue today," Zhou Yong complained loudly.

"Forget it, let's just go to the convenience store and buy instant noodles. I really don't want to wait in line," Li Hongran suggested.

“Eating instant noodles is a waste of money and doesn’t fill you up…” Zhou Yong scratched his head, seemingly conflicted.

The boys who are usually the most enthusiastic about lunch have lost their motivation to 'pursue their dreams' because of the extended class time, and they just lazily follow the class line to the cafeteria.

"Zhou Yong, Zhou Yong!" Suddenly, the last person in the vest shouted his name, "Someone is looking for you!"

"Who?"

"The security guard said someone was looking for you in the reception room, but I don't know who it is."

"Someone is looking for me at the gatehouse?" Zhou Yong touched his cheek in confusion and sighed. "Sigh, I don't think I'll be able to get lunch today."

"It's okay, just wait until there's no one in line before you go, maybe you can eat more!"

"Tch, all the good food was eaten by then!" Zhou Yong rolled his eyes, put his hands in his pockets, and walked to the door of the gatehouse with a hint of resentment.

Before he could ask the security guard who was looking for him, he saw the person who must have come to see him.

The previous sorrow vanished without a trace.

The person was wearing two layers of clothing: a light gray short-sleeved shirt underneath and a light black jacket on top.

She was wearing a pair of thin trousers, which were cool enough, but if it hadn't rained today, she would definitely have been sweating profusely.

A delicate black choker was tied around her fair neck, adding a touch of mysterious beauty.

She tied her not-so-long hair into a small ponytail, which looked refreshing yet playful.

The person who arrived was Tian Tingchan.

"Huh? Brother Chan, what brings you here?" Zhou Yong asked, both surprised and excited.

"Didn't you say yesterday that you sometimes crave a bento box?"

"Huh? Ah—that, haha...that...I was just kidding." That was something Zhou Yong and Tian Tingchan were chatting about on the forum yesterday.

"I brought it." Tian Tingchan picked up the lunchbox in her hand. "It's freshly made and still warm."

"Oh...cough, thank you, thank you..." Zhou Yong, who was thinking that he would not be able to eat lunch until very late, felt that he was suddenly surrounded by happiness, not only because someone had delivered a lunchbox, but also because the person who delivered the lunchbox was a girl.