A Young Woman's Heart

"That's more like it. Smile more, don't always have a long face. You have to be happy." Mo Xueyao said this, feeling that this way of getting along was very familiar, and subconsciously put her right hand on his shoulder.

Duanmu Ji glanced at her arm somewhat uncomfortably.

"Ah...uh cough um, actually I was still very outgoing until junior high school, like...like a boy, especially liked to be buddies with boys, and I even liked to have short hair back then!" Mo Xueyao not only didn't let go, but deliberately pulled him closer to her, "Then I would put my arms around their necks like this and walk with a swaying gait, haha!"

Then, she calmly lowered her arm, making everything seem perfectly natural.

Duanmu Ji took two steps back to the side before standing still: "Do you treat other boys like this too?"

"Occasionally, I guess. After all, habits are hard to break!"

"Oh..." Duanmu Ji put his hands in his pockets. "He's almost an adult, he should keep his distance."

"Tsk tsk, what are you pretending for!" Mo Xueyao patted his shoulder. "You're clearly younger than me, aren't you?"

"..."

"It seems like it's completely light now." Mo Xueyao's thoughts suddenly drifted elsewhere as she looked up at the sky above.

The thunder had disappeared sometime earlier, and the rain gradually subsided. It wasn't until the clouds parted and a golden sun hung high in the sky that people suddenly realized it was only afternoon.

"Hey, you two, how long are you going to stay in there?" Wang Jiale's mischievous laughter came from the doorway. "I've been waiting for you two for half an hour, and you're still here. Are you addicted?"

"Huh? Half an hour has passed?" Mo Xueyao asked in surprise, "So fast?"

"Looks like you had a pretty good chat, huh?" Wang Jiale chuckled mysteriously, as if he had discovered some secret.

"Come on, this guy is like a silent gourd, he won't say a word for ages. Talking to him is not pleasant at all, so I'm surprised that half an hour has passed so quickly."

"Oh dear, an explanation is just a cover-up, and a cover-up is just sophistry~" Wang Jiale winked mischievously.

"Mo Xueyao! The game is over!" Lu Bolun shouted from behind Wang Jiale, hugging her head and pulling it against his chest. "But it's all flooded outside, so it seems we're not planning to go out today."

"Oh, so what are they planning to do?"

“Boys and girls play different things. Gao Yuan has already taken Li Hongran and the others to the recreation room downstairs.”

"And what about you two... Ugh, you two being all lovey-dovey is disgusting. Go away, you two go be all lovey-dovey." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Let's go, Xiao Ji, shall we go play some games?"

"Yaoyao, come help knead the dough." However, the moment she stepped into the villa, she heard Li Wanyan's call.

"what……"

"What's wrong?" Li Wanyan, who had somehow put on an apron, frowned and looked at her.

"I want to play video games..." Mo Xueyao chuckled awkwardly.

Li Wanyan nodded slightly with an "I knew it" expression: "Then go ahead."

"Hey, let's go, Xiao Ji, let's go downstairs and play! I wonder if there are enough machines..."

As soon as I pushed open the door to the entertainment room on the basement floor, I heard a large group of men shouting.

"Damn it—"

"Your mother!"

"Who else!"

The main people making the noise are Gao Yuan and Qiu Yi, and there's also Li Hongran, who seems to be quite interested in fighting games. He's currently fighting against Gao Yuan.

Everyone was playing Rain Sky Brawl, and Mo Xueyao strongly suspected that Qiu Yi had brought back the game floppy disk and installed the game on the game console.

However, this is on the premise that the game consoles here are not dedicated game consoles, but rather game consoles similar to computers that can store other games.

The latter seems to be more expensive than the former?

But there are three of them here at once.

There were also three computers with LCD screens behind them—this was the first time Mo Xueyao had ever seen such a thing.

The thin LCD screen looks much more high-end than the bulky CRT monitors in schools.

Qiu Yi is currently fighting against Mr. Xue, and the two are evenly matched.

Mo Xueyao knew that Mr. Xue hadn't played this game much.

It was almost exactly the same as when Li Wanyan played it back then.

Do they both have a talent for this?

Or did they try some other trick?

“There’s one left, perfect, I’ll play with you.” Mo Xueyao plopped down as if she were back home. “Teacher Qiu, where are the coins?”

"Huh? What?" Qiu Yi was so focused on playing the game that he didn't have time to think about anything else until he finally defeated Mr. Xue. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Phew, haha, I won. Little Xue is amazing."

"Teacher Qiu—where are the game coins—?"

"Ah, in that drawer, it's full of game coins."

What if we run out of them?

"When you're done, just use the key to open the box, take out the game coins, and keep using them," Qiu Yi replied, before throwing himself back into the second round of battle.

"Xiao Ji, go get the game coins."

Why was it me who took it?

"Because I'm your older brother?"

"..." Duanmu Ji was speechless at Mo Xueyao's self-proclaimed ability to take advantage of others, but he still brought over a basket of game coins in the end, which was definitely a super fun thing.

Mo Xueyao had never played like this before, whether at school or in an arcade.

The crisp sound of the game coin being inserted brought her a sense of joy.

"Come on!" She rolled up her skirt, which felt a little cumbersome, and urged, "Xiao Ji, hurry up and choose your role!"

"Oh..." Duanmu Ji's voice was somewhat dazed.

Mo Xueyao, however, was completely unaware.

Playing games for an afternoon is a privilege reserved for students, especially during holidays.

At the same time, since we can't play this game on weekdays, it would be so much fun to play it for an entire afternoon. As for whether we'll get tired of it afterwards?

Let's wait until we're tired of playing with it!

……

Chapter Twenty-Six: Kneading the Dough

During holidays, it doesn't matter what you do or where you go.

A truly wonderful holiday is one where you enjoy genuine happiness and a sense of carefree leisure.

And doing nothing is precisely the most important part of a holiday.

Because there are always so many things to do during the week, I just want to do nothing on holidays!

After the power was restored, everyone went about their own business.

Mo Xueyao and her friends were playing games downstairs, while others were watching TV in the living room, and still others were helping to cook.

Today, Mizuki Shi is going to make different flavors of bread for everyone, and the girls who like to cook all came to help.

Half of it was helping out, and half of it was playing around. With so many people together, even something as simple as kneading dough could become a really fun activity.

"Oh, is Xuan Anyi planning to whip the cream herself?" Shui Zhishi asked with a smile as she kneaded the dough.

"Yes, I saw some boxed milk in the refrigerator, so I took it out and used it without permission," Xuan Anyi replied while stirring her chopsticks.

"It's okay. That milk is meant for whipping cream. Also, don't use chopsticks. There are special tools for that. Using chopsticks is too tiring, isn't it?"

"So there really should be one? Electric or manual?"

"It's electric."

"Wow, that's really complete!" Xuan Anyi put down her chopsticks. "That will save us a lot of effort!"

"It seems you often make various desserts at home?"

"Well, my family doesn't have all the necessary equipment. We don't have an oven, so I usually just make do with a rice cooker or microwave. I also have to use chopsticks to whip cream, but I've gotten used to it."

"Pfft, I don't have your patience. I absolutely refuse to use chopsticks to whip cream," Shui Zhishi chuckled, covering her mouth.

"Teacher!" Cha Li picked up the iron bowl she had used to knead the dough. "Is this about right?"

"Okay, that's good. Make sure the dough is well mixed." Mizuki Shi nodded. "Have you ever made this at home?"

"No, the most I've ever made at home is steamed buns, and even then, the fermentation failed." Cha Li used her elbow, which wasn't covered in flour, to brush the hair from her temple. "Tsk, my hair keeps slipping down, it's so annoying."

"It has a hat, but it might be stuffy to wear. How about using a hair clip to hold it in place?"

"Phew, whatever, I'll just have to make do with this..."

"Can I make pork floss bread?" Li Wanyan asked, staring at the dough in her hands that had been kneaded quite nicely.

"Of course! We have all the ingredients at home. Wow, Li Wanyan did a really good job! No wonder she's the class monitor! The surface of this dough is so smooth!" Shui Zhishi praised with a smile.

"Heave-ho, teacher! Why is my dough so sticky?" Hua Yinyin raised her hand high.

The other three girls were all interested in cooking, but Hua Yinyin was an exception. She probably just came to join in the fun because she thought it was interesting.

“You added too much water…” Shui Zhishi glanced at it, “Let me add some flour in for you.”

"Mmm mmm..."

After the dough gradually takes shape, the process is far from over; the dough will need to be kneaded for a long time afterward.

The longer you knead, the better—that's the common saying.

The main purpose is to knead the dough thoroughly, so that it will have a good texture, be elastic, and not be so soft.

"Teacher, should we add yeast?" Hua Yinyin wiped the sweat from her face with her wrist.

"No need, I've already added it for you."

"Oh...hehe, kneading dough feels so good, just like kneading little Yao Yao's...hmm, no, hers isn't that big."

"What a terrible remark..." Cha Li teased.