A Young Woman's Heart

"Ha ha--"

It's clear that Duanmu Bi is running the business quite well; at least she can chat and laugh with her guests.

This sense of familiarity will encourage customers to come back more often.

"Xiao Ji—why are you sitting alone? Your classmates are all here, aren't you going to play with them?"

"Oh," Duanmu Ji replied dryly, sitting stiffly in the chair in front of Mo Xueyao.

"Xiao Ji, have you ever watched Ultraman Gaia?" Mo Xueyao casually started a conversation because she knew this guy was a tight-lipped person who wouldn't say a word unless she kicked him twice.

"I haven't seen it, but I did see Dyna—it's the previous one."

"Oh, Dyna? I've never seen it. What's it like? By the way, aren't Gaia and Dyna the two statues that were originally destroyed in the pyramids?"

"Uh, no." Duanmu Ji scratched his cheek. "It seems that, for now, it's just used as a foil..."

……

Chapter 338 Duanmu Ji's Birthday

The rain gradually subsided, but it had only gone from a downpour to a heavy rain.

The thunder continued to rumble in the sky, and Hangzhou, shrouded in dark clouds, seemed determined to remain shrouded in darkness until tomorrow.

Around four o'clock in the afternoon, the others finally arrived.

Everyone from the art club came.

Mo Xueyao and Duanmu Ji were having a great time chatting. Once they started talking, Duanmu Ji became quite talkative, but their conversation remained focused on tokusatsu (special effects films) and didn't touch on anything else.

"Happy birthday, Xiao Ji." Mr. Xue walked to Duanmu Ji's side and placed a cup with an industrial style in front of him.

"Uh, thank you." Duanmu Ji looked up and thanked him. "The cup?"

“Hmm, but it’s not an ordinary cup.” Mr. Xue smiled mysteriously. “I installed a solar panel like the ones used in calculators here. It can actually be charged with light. Then you just press the button on the handle.”

"Oh...is that so?" Duanmu Ji was somewhat curious, but his tone was very restrained, as if he didn't want to appear too surprised.

As he spoke, he pressed the button, and the hidden light strip on the surface of the cup lit up instantly.

It wasn't very bright, just a faint glow, but it was already quite stunning.

"Wow, Xiaoxue, did you make this yourself?"

"Correct."

"Wow, it looks great!"

"If you like it, I'll make one for you for your next birthday," Mr. Xue smiled.

“I want one too!” Zhou Yong immediately chimed in.

"Xiaoxue, I'll give you the money. Make one for me this week." Gao Yuan showed off his wealthy background.

"Let's give it to him on his birthday," Mr. Xue said with a faint smile. "That would be more meaningful."

"That's a really nice gift. Oh, right! There's also the gift I prepared." Mo Xueyao almost forgot about it. She took out two wrapped gift boxes from the plastic bag. "One is from me, and the other is for Wanyan—Wanyan, I gave your gift to Xiaoji for you, okay?"

"Mm." Li Wanyan, who was sitting at another table looking out at the street, nodded gently.

"What did Mo Xueyao give you?" Gao Yuan asked curiously.

"A toy soldier! Hmm, anyway, it's not anything valuable." Compared to Gao Yuan, she really didn't have much confidence.

"Come here, little Jiji, I have something good for you." Zhou Yong handed over his gift, and it seemed that none of the boys had wrapped the gifts in boxes.

So it looks somewhat cheap and rudimentary.

"Huh, is this considered a good thing?" Mo Zhuyou, who had come over to join in the fun, put her hands on her hips with a look of disgust.

"Ah! It's this!" Mo Xueyao exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, this is super rare!"

"Right, hehe, but it was rare when we were kids, nobody plays with it anymore." Zhou Yong chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, I can't think of a gift, and I don't have much money..."

Zhou Yong gave them three glass beads.

These three glass beads were taken out of a small bag when I was eating instant noodles.

There is only one each time, and many are duplicates; only these three are the rarest.

Back then, Mo Xueyao never won a single one – mainly because she didn't eat that many instant noodles.

But at the time, only one person around her had one of them.

These three are the grand prizes among instant noodles.

A glass ball was pure black, completely black, and not even transparent. Mo Xueyao had seen this one before. Back then, every one of her friends wanted to win this pure black glass ball from that person.

Unfortunately, he never used a pure black glass ball as a bet...

The other two coins have a small golden ball inside, which looks like a sun, and the other looks like a starry sky.

I've only ever seen pictures of this on promotional posters or on instant noodle packaging; this is the first time I've actually seen the product.

"Such rare glass beads, and you put them in such a tattered plastic bag..." Mo Xueyao was speechless.

“Ha... they’re not rare anymore.” Zhou Yong laughed nonchalantly. “Besides, they’re not really of any use to me anyway. Uh, I’ll give them to Xiao Ji. Maybe he’ll like them.”

"Tsk, but in a sense, this gift you gave is indeed quite 'cheap'."

"Gifts aren't about how expensive they are." Duanmu Ji accepted the three glass beads. "Thank you."

"Here you go, Xiao Ji." Gao Yuan was the only boy among them who had wrapped his birthday gift in a box, though it looked like a pre-packaged gift that he had just bought.

But since money was spent, it's hard to say who put more thought into it.

"This is a model of the original Ultraman. I had my dad's friend bring it over from Japan." Gao Yuan smiled proudly. "So, what do you think? You like this the most, right?"

Duanmu Ji's eyes lit up, his usual gloom vanished instantly, and he couldn't help but laugh, looking like the sun after the rain.

"What? Isn't it nice to smile more often?" Mo Xueyao teased, crossing her arms.

"Who called me?" Mo Xiaoxiao asked in confusion as she came out after finishing her work.

"No, no..." Mo Xueyao quickly waved her hand.

After the store became lively, more and more customers came in. People always seem to like joining in the fun. When they see a store with a lot of people, they think that there must be something special about it, so they want to come in and buy some food.

Mo Zhuyou and Mo Xiaoxiao were so busy they couldn't stop, while Duanmu Ji's older sister, Duanmu Bi, was also busy serving guests at the front desk.

As time went by, night fell—actually, there was no actual process of night falling, it just felt like the sky was getting a little darker.

Just as Mo Xueyao had expected, the dark clouds of this afternoon had not dissipated, making the daytime seem like only a short morning, giving people the illusion that the night would be particularly long.

Business at the restaurant starts to slow down after six o'clock—this is usually the busiest time for a restaurant.

But this is, after all, the suburbs, and hamburger shops were still considered snacks rather than main meals in this era.

So when it's time for regular meals, there are hardly any people left.

After the last customer left, Duanmu Bi decisively locked the door, then flipped the sign over and hung the words "Closed" in the most conspicuous position.

"Alright, it's already 6:30, let's start the birthday party!" Duanmu Bi looked even more excited than the children.

"Xiao Ji, come to the kitchen and help out. Let Xiao Xiao and You You rest for a bit. We'll make dinner for tonight."

"Okay," Duanmu Ji said with a slight teasing tone, "I'll do it, your cooking isn't very good..."

"What? You don't like it when your older sister helps you?"

"To be honest, sis, your current skill level is not as high as that of Mo Zhuyou and Mo Xiaoxiao, who started learning from you."

"What! It's normal for the student to surpass the teacher! Fine, then you do it yourself. I was actually thinking of helping you!" Duanmu Bi said irritably, pinching his cheek hard. "You brat—you're getting more and more arrogant as you grow up. Don't you even remember how you survived back then!"

"Big sister—" Duanmu Ji said helplessly, drawing out his words.

"So you really do need my help, don't you?"

"...Whatever you say." Duanmu Ji nodded helplessly.

A series of noisy sounds continued to come from the kitchen, and no one knew what kind of commotion the two siblings were having inside.

"Sister—! That's candy!" This was the first time Mo Xueyao had ever heard Duanmu Ji shout so loudly.

"Hmm...it seems so. It's okay, shall I add some more salt?"

"These fries are inedible..."

"Why can't you eat it? You can just shake off the sugar on top, pfft."

"What? You know that?"

"Of course I know. Do you really think your sister is stupid? Honestly, if it weren't for training you, would I pretend to be stupid?"

"You just want to slack off, don't you..."

"Well, that's about right—"

"There's a huge difference!"

Mo Xueyao suddenly realized that Duanmu Ji was more interesting when he was chatting with his sister.

His anxious look was actually kind of inexplicably cute...

The cuteness I'm referring to isn't the kind of cuteness Huang Yuxi exudes, but rather a kind of cuteness in her personality—a bit silly, a little naive, like a child.

Indeed, everyone has many facets.

At school, Duanmu Ji only showed one side of himself, and that side was mostly a disguise.

"I'll go get the cake. It should be ready by now." Mo Xiaoxiao went out with her umbrella. The cake was in the square, but it was on the other side. She had to go out through the main entrance.

"I'll come too!" Mo Xueyao followed. "Did you order a cake today?"

"Hmm, I wonder if it will be enough to eat."

"That should be enough. It's not like we're only eating cake. Aren't Duanmu Ji and his sister making fried chicken combos?"

"Yes, we'll be having corn fritters today."

"Corn fritters...? Hmm...I think I've had them before." Mo Xueyao didn't have much of an impression.