A Young Woman's Heart

"Men have their responsibilities, and women have theirs."

"Stop lecturing me..." Mo Xueyao covered her head, "Fine, I'll listen, okay?"

"You," Li Wanyan said, somewhat amused and exasperated.

The two walked back to the fruit shop. When her father saw her, his eyes lit up: "Oh my, you got a haircut? A short haircut?"

"Yeah, how is it? I feel much cooler."

"It's nice, very refreshing, but it also gives off that tomboyish vibe."

"Tch." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes, plopped down, and then suddenly stood up.

Just as she was about to sit down, Su Tang suddenly jumped onto her chair. If she hadn't reacted in time, this silly cat would probably have been turned into a pancake!

"What are you doing, you stupid cat!" Mo Xueyao picked it up. "Don't you want to live anymore?"

"Sutang has been like this every day lately. We have to be careful every time we sit down. It's like this silly cat is trying to steal our seats," the father laughed. "Is it because you've been busy with your final exams lately, Xiaoyao, and haven't had time to play with it, so it's lonely?"

"Is that so?" Mo Xueyao hugged Sutang to her chest, snuggled close, and rubbed her face against its head. "Alright, alright, I haven't played with you in a long time. How about I play with you today?"

"Yan Yan, come with me to buy groceries later," Mo Xueyao's mother said while checking the ingredients in the refrigerator.

“Okay.” Li Wanyan nodded without any objection.

Mo Xueyao was naturally happy to have an easy time.

If Li Wanyan weren't there, she would definitely be the one accompanying her mother to the market, and even if she didn't want to go, she would be dragged there by force.

So having a sibling or something is pretty good.

At least I can slack off occasionally.

Did your teacher say what date we're leaving?

"It should still be the fifth, right? If there are any changes, we will definitely notify you in advance." Mo Xueyao turned the sugar over so that its soft and fluffy white belly was facing up, and then started scratching it.

The latter shook itself in perfect unison, as if it were laughing.

Mo Xueyao carried the sugar candy to the door and saw Zhuang Lianlian playing with the husky in front of the general store across the street.

"Lianlian—" Mo Xueyao greeted her cheerfully.

"Xiaoyao, you got a short haircut?" Zhuang Lianlian asked in surprise. "I thought you wouldn't cut your hair short."

"Well, short hair looks refreshing," Mo Xueyao said with a smile, her eyes narrowed. "By the way, Lianlian, Chen Cheng isn't participating in the event this time, is he going to come with you?"

"Huh? Hmm..." Zhuang Lianlian blushed slightly, "I... still want him to stay at home with me."

"Wow, what a possessive streak!" Mo Xueyao asked with a hint of teasing, "How have you guys been lately?"

"Well, everything's fine, right?" Zhuang Lianlian replied somewhat perfunctorily.

"That kid Chen Cheng, he must have... um... done those things, right?"

Zhuang Lianlian's face turned completely red.

"Tsk tsk, this guy might be a playboy..." Mo Xueyao muttered, "You'd better keep an eye on him."

"Yes, I won't let him get away." It sounded like a joke, but judging from her expression, she seemed quite serious.

……

Chapter Ten: Zhou Yong is Called Uncle

Hangzhou, near West Lake, in front of the Children's Palace.

A large flock of white pigeons were perched here. In front of a small newsstand, there was a small table with bags of corn kernels, some large and some small. Several children were gathered around the table, holding their parents' hands.

Zhou Yong stood there alone, waiting for Tian Tingchan to meet him.

"Mommy, Mommy, I want to buy it!"

"Why buy it? It's a waste of money."

"Waaaaah—I just want to buy it!"

The children's noise was a headache, and several passersby took a detour.

As a result, after half a day, no one bought a single bag of corn kernels. Only after the group of children left did the place quiet down.

Zhou Yong wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, he sat on a chair not far away and watched with great interest. Suddenly, he saw a little girl of about seven or eight years old walk up to the newsstand, obediently take out fifty cents and hand it to the owner, saying in a childish voice, "Uncle, I'd like to buy a bag of corn kernels."

"Oh...it's gone up to one yuan a pack now, prices are rising." The shopkeeper glanced at her.

"Huh? This...it's so expensive...?"

"Of course, after all, this is a youth palace, so it is indeed more expensive than other places."

"Hmm..." The little girl lowered her head dejectedly and turned to leave.

Zhou Yong subconsciously touched his pocket, where there were a few coins.

"Wait a minute." He quickly walked over. "I happen to have five small coins here. You can use them to buy a pack."

"Huh?" The little girl turned her head, somewhat surprised. From the front, she wasn't particularly pretty; her face had some freckles, and she could only be considered average-looking.

"Here you go." Zhou Yong held out his hand, and the little girl instinctively raised both hands to take it. He neatly placed the five one-cent coins in her palm. Although the money was not much and even seemed a bit shabby, he was quite happy.

Isn't it a good thing that this small amount of money can help others?

"Thank you, Uncle!" The little girl accepted it generously and then bowed deeply.

"Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing..." Zhou Yong chuckled awkwardly, scratching his cheek, and muttered to himself, "Why am I called 'uncle'? Do I look that old..."

"Uncle~!" The little girl handed the shopkeeper the one yuan she had collected, "I'll buy a bag of corn kernels."

"Okay." With the money raised, the boss naturally had no reason to refuse.

The little girl grabbed a bag of corn kernels and excitedly hopped over to where the pigeons were gathered, calling out to Zhou Yong, "Uncle, want to feed the pigeons together?"

"I'm not your uncle..." Zhou Yong scratched his head and walked over. "Uh, if you don't mind, could you give me some?"

"Yes, of course I don't mind. Half of your money is here."

"Ha..." Zhou Yong couldn't help but laugh. Although the little girl was not very good-looking, her well-behaved appearance made people feel very good about her.

So he took a small handful of corn kernels and scattered them little by little to the white pigeons.

These pigeons have been gathering here for years and are no longer afraid of people. When they saw someone bring corn kernels to feed them, they flew over in droves. Some even landed right at Zhou Yong's feet. Even when Zhou Yong petted them, they just tilted their heads to look at him. Of course, if they weren't rewarded with a few corn kernels, they would fly away again.

"How beautiful!" some children passing by exclaimed enviously, but their parents usually remained unmoved.

Zhou Yong didn't find it beautiful, probably because the children's attention was drawn to the pigeons' snow-white wings, while he saw puddles of white pigeon droppings on the floor...

And then there's this stench...

To be honest, Zhou Yong didn't know why the kids liked this kind of thing.

You see, he had deliberately sat quite far away just now, just to stay away from these pigeons that were defecating like crazy.

Sometimes, if you see things too realistically, you lose the sense of beauty.

For example, when drawing pigeons, if you draw a few puddles of pigeon droppings on the ground...

Zhou Yong rubbed his temples helplessly and returned the remaining corn kernels to the little girl.

"Uncle, don't you want it anymore?"

"Ah, no need." Zhou Yong sighed and straightened up. "You feed him."

Just then, a hand suddenly patted his shoulder, startling him so much that he trembled all over.

"Holy crap...who...ah, Brother Chan, don't scare me, okay?" Zhou Yong patted his chest and let out a long breath.

"Are you so easily frightened?" Tian Tingchan chuckled amusedly. "You seem to be quite popular with the kids."

"It's alright..." Zhou Yong stood up, preparing to go in with Tian Tingchan.

The little girl next to him waved politely, saying, "Goodbye, Uncle."

"Okay, goodbye."

"Uncle." Tian Tingchan walked beside Zhou Yong without looking to the side, suppressing a laugh as she repeated.

"Oh dear...maybe it's because I look too old. Oh well, I'm not handsome anyway." Zhou Yong said nonchalantly, "Uncle is not bad either, at least people think I'm mature."

"You're really good at comforting yourself."

“If an ordinary person like me didn’t know how to comfort myself, I would probably have gone crazy long ago,” Zhou Yong stretched out his arms. “One of the principles of dealing with things for ordinary people is not to compare themselves with others.”

"Is that so?" Tian Tingchan said thoughtfully. "How long did you wait?"

"It's alright, not long ago." Zhou Yong scratched his head. "I didn't check the time."

"Let's go in for the interview." Tian Tingchan chuckled, making Zhou Yong glance at her a few more times.

She is a very interesting girl. When she doesn't smile, she looks gloomy, but when she smiles, she is as bright as the sun breaking through the clouds.

"By the way, do you need my ID card? I'm underage and haven't gotten an ID card yet."

"It's alright." Tian Tingchan shook her head. "If it's just a temporary job, you don't need an ID card."

"Oh, that's good..."

Zhou Yong didn't think much of it, but Tian Tingchan breathed a sigh of relief, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

The children's palace was surprisingly crowded on Monday.

It's probably because the elementary school students are already on summer vacation, and parents with free time send them here.

The Children's Palace not only has various recreational facilities, but it is also a place for learning.

There are many extracurricular classes here, and you can see many posters recruiting new students for the summer vacation as soon as you walk to the entrance.

The job interview was arranged in advance by Tian Tingchan. She led Zhou Yong around several buildings and stopped in front of a three-story low building.

"Hello," she asked as she approached the reception desk in the lobby, "I'm the person who contacted for the interview yesterday. May I ask where I should go for the interview?"

"Go to the HR office on the second floor," the receptionist replied with a smile.

So Tian Tingchan took Zhou Yong upstairs.