A Young Woman's Heart

"It's kind of like crispy rice crust, anyway, it's quite delicious." Mo Xiao smiled, pursing her lips. "Only Duanmu Ji knows how to make it."

"Wow, is he that good?"

"Yes, he's quite good at cooking. He's even developed a few new dishes for the restaurant recently."

"Wow...that's amazing." Mo Xueyao swallowed. "Now that you mention it, I'm starting to feel a little hungry."

"We should be able to eat it once we get the cake back."

"Celebrating my birthday in a burger and fried chicken restaurant is one of my wishes."

"Then you can come next time it's Xiaoyao's birthday. It's much cheaper than going to KFC."

"Hmm, that has to wait until my birthday..."

The two chatted as they walked into the cake shop and picked up the cakes that had already been made.

The cake was packed in a cylindrical foam box, which looked quite large, but it certainly wasn't completely full.

What kind of cake did you buy?

"Hmm—it's a regular design, with several colors of small flowers and the words 'Happy Birthday' on it."

"How tacky."

"That's pretty good, it's nice to have cake at all!"

And so, Duanmu Ji's birthday party began.

Mo Xueyao started singing "Happy Birthday to You~"

Then everyone raised their glasses full of orange juice and clinked them together: "Happy birthday, Xiao Ji!"

……

Chapter 339 A Birthday Party I Stumbled Upon

Just as everyone was shouting "Happy Birthday," there was a knock on the door of the burger shop.

"Dong dong."

"We're already closed!" Duanmu Bi called out as she turned around, taking a sip of red wine.

"Is it closing so early?" The dark-skinned young man at the door scratched his head.

"Didn't you see those two big words at the entrance—Closed for Business!"

Mo Xueyao heard Duanmu Bi talking to someone outside the door and subconsciously turned around to look, only to see two familiar faces.

"Xiao Xi!"

"Hmm? Do you know me?"

"Yes, that's a classmate of ours, and the other one is his older brother."

"Classmate?" Duanmu Bi fixed her gaze on Huang Yuxi. "She looks like a middle school student."

Huang Yuxi felt Duanmu Bi's fiery gaze and immediately hid behind her brother in fear, only peeking out half her head to observe cautiously.

"Oh my, what an adorable little guy! Just like little Ji when he was little!" Duanmu Bi's face broke into a strange smile. "Little guy, come here to your big sister~ Let big sister give you a hug~"

Huang Yuxi shook her head vigorously, pulling her exposed half-face back inside.

"Hey—" Mo Zhuyou waved her arm with some surprise, "It's Xiao Xi!"

"Why did Xiaoxi come over?" Mo Xiao smiled and looked at Duanmu Ji. "Was she invited by Duanmu Ji?"

"No." Duanmu Ji shook his head.

"They probably just happened to come here for fun," Mo Xueyao said, taking a sip of her cola. "That's fate!"

Duanmu Bi unlocked the door and let the two brothers in, then locked the door again and pushed a chair to the doorway so that no one would come looking for food without knowing that the business was closed.

"Wow, it's so lively here." Huang Zhengyang sat down as if they were old friends and greeted Mo Xueyao, whom he had met at Hua Yinyin's birthday party. "Long time no see!"

"Yeah, it's getting hot, so delivering goods must be tough."

“Yes, there’s no air conditioning in the car, so there’s an extra high-temperature fee in the summer.” Huang Zhengyang wiped the sweat from his forehead. “The delivery fee will be a little higher.”

"Eat up, eat up. It's Duanmu Ji's birthday. You can have cake or fried chicken, whatever you like," Mo Xueyao said, acting like the hostess.

"What an adorable little boy! Is he really a boy?" Duanmu Bi was very interested in Huang Yuxi. While Huang Zhengyang was greeting Duanmu Ji, she plopped down next to him.

Huang Yuxi shrank shyly into the corner, but unfortunately, there was floor-to-ceiling glass behind him, leaving him nowhere to hide.

"Hehehe~ Nowhere to hide now, huh~" Duanmu Bi grinned mischievously, reaching out to pinch Huang Yuxi's cheek. "Ah, so soft, so comfortable~"

"Sister, don't bully Xiaoxi!" At this moment, it was Duanmu Ji who stood up to defend her. Could it be that he felt the same way?

"How can this be called bullying? This is showing care! Little one, what's your name?" Even though she knew the other person was also a high school student, the way she was talking to them was like she was talking to a middle schooler or even an elementary school student...

"His name is Huang Yuxi, but he can't speak because he has aphasia," Mo Xueyao explained from the side.

"Huang Yuxi, hmm, that's a nice name. Come here, let your big sister give you a hug~!"

Huang Yuxi struggled and resisted, but she couldn't stop Duanmu Bi's enthusiasm at all. So, throughout the entire birthday party, Huang Yuxi was held in Duanmu Bi's arms like a doll, with her cheeks and little hands pinched from time to time...

Mo Xueyao strongly suspects that Duanmu Ji was treated this way when he was a child, which is why he appears so 'rebellious' towards his sister when he grows up.

Because birthday people are usually rather somber, this birthday party didn't involve many activities, unlike the time we had a lot of fun at Hua Yinyin's birthday party.

In the end, at most, a cake war was fought under the instigation of Duanmu Bi. To be honest, it was a pity that the cream was wasted like that.

Although Mo Xueyao wanted to eat a few bites so as not to waste any, she was unfortunately caught up in the cake war and forced to play around with the others.

Cake stains on your face are easy to wash off, but cake stains on your clothes are not so easy to wash off.

This dress has really had a rough day.

In contrast, Li Wanyan's dress was much cleaner. She only had a little cream smeared on her face by Mo Xueyao, but no one else teased her.

She was practically the only person who didn't participate in the cake war throughout the entire process.

Li Wanyan seems out of place in this childish playfulness.

Of course, it could also be due to the stereotypes that people have formed over time, making them hesitant to 'cause trouble' for the class monitor.

When the fun ended, it was already 8:30, not too late, but for those who needed to take the bus, it was time to leave.

Otherwise, if it gets too late, there won't be any buses left to take.

In those days, buses generally ran until 10 o'clock, and some even ran until 7:30.

"Bye-bye~" Everyone said goodbye to each other and left.

People generally only celebrate the birthdays of their close friends; if not, then there's usually something they can gain from the other person.

Come to think of it, with so many students in the class, if we celebrated every birthday, there would probably be at least one or two birthday celebrations every month...?

"Oh no, it's already past 8:30..." Mo Xueyao looked nervously at the timetable on the platform. "It seems like we've run out of trains?"

"That should be the departure time of the last train."

"Oh right... as for the departure time, we should still make it here in time..."

Compared to Mo Xueyao's unease and anxiety, Li Wanyan was much calmer.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the bus that had departed from the starting station came to a steady stop in front of the bus stop. Because it was already very late, there were no passengers on the bus, only the driver yawning.

This bus route has both double-decker and single-decker versions; this time, a single-decker bus has arrived.

The rain had lessened considerably, so Mo Xueyao opened the window and deliberately let the raindrops be blown onto her face by the wind, making the breeze feel cooler.

Mo Xueyao was actually quite sleepy. She yawned several times and finally leaned on Li Wanyan's shoulder and fell asleep.

For someone who is asleep, what seemed like a long journey is just a moment when they close their eyes and open them again.

"Hangzhou Oxygen Plant, we have arrived. Passengers who wish to disembark, please exit through the rear door. Please be careful when opening the door..." A clear and articulate female voice announced.

"Yaoyao, get off the bus."

"Huh? Uh... so fast..." Mo Xueyao rubbed her eyes as Li Wanyan grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the car.

After passing through the auxiliary road behind the platform and entering a small door, there were only a few streetlights on in the pitch-black night.

Many of the streetlights have been broken for a long time, but no one has bothered to repair them.

This is an old residential area, unlike newly built ones. It's almost entirely open-plan, somewhat like a rural area. Each building has a different shape and height, like bamboo shoots taking root randomly in the ground in spring.

After walking through a somewhat dimly lit alley, I finally arrived at the main entrance of my residential complex. The deep darkness of the night filled me with drowsiness, and I couldn't wait to get home, take a shower, and go to sleep.

When she got home, her parents weren't back yet, so Mo Xueyao couldn't wait to take off her cream-stained dress and throw it into a basin.

"Phew—that feels so good." She let out a long sigh. "Wanyan, I'm going to shower now?"

"Ah."

After connecting the water hose, Mo Xueyao closed the wooden door, which was barely functional. But when she turned on the tap, the hose suddenly came loose, and tap water splashed out from the gap, spraying her face.

"Ptooey, ptooey!" Mo Xueyao spat a few times and reconnected the water pipe. She was already used to things like this.

However, lately I seem to be showering more often at Grandma Jin's house with the showerhead, so when I shower at home a few times, I can't help but complain to myself.

"Wanyan, I'm all better now."

"Ah."

For some reason, the nighttime hours seem to be less valuable.

For example, from nine o'clock to twelve o'clock, three hours have clearly passed. During the day, that would be from morning to noon, but at night, it feels like only half an hour has passed.

Mo Xueyao, who had originally planned to go to sleep, ended up reading the borrowed suspense novel until midnight.

The characteristic of suspense novels is that you won't be able to sleep at night if you don't finish reading them.

Furthermore, some suspense novels also contain horror elements. If you don't see the ending and don't know how the matter is resolved, you'll feel uneasy.

“Yaoyao…” Li Wanyan had already fallen asleep, but because the light hadn’t been turned off, she didn’t seem to be completely asleep.

"Uh-huh?"

Li Wanyan mumbled in a somewhat indistinct voice, "Aren't you... going to sleep yet?"