A Young Woman's Heart

"Hmm—wouldn't it be more fun to brew together?" Cha Li squinted her eyes comfortably. "Eh, the water's a bit hot."

"I added hot water," Ye Banxia said weakly.

"It's so hot." Cha Li leaned against the bathtub wall, breathing out hot air. "Do people still take hot baths in the summer?"

"I also said that cold water is more comfortable." Lu Chengyuan wore a wig, which made her face look even rounder.

Cha Li suddenly had a question: "Cheng Yuan, whose face is rounder, yours or Lele's?"

"What do you mean by round or not? I have an oval face!"

"How could you say such a shameless thing?" Cha Li teased, and Ye Banxia couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"I think Cheng Yuan and Lele both have round faces, but Lele's is due to a bit of baby fat, while Cheng Yuan's is... well, that's just her natural face shape, right?" Ye Banxia analyzed in a low voice.

"That's right, that's exactly it! And one has a round face, the other has a big face, they're different!"

"What do you mean, you stinky Cha Li!" Lu Chengyuan twisted Cha Li's arm. "You must be saying that I have a round face, right?"

"No, you must have a round face."

"What the hell! You stinky tea jerk!"

"Cheng Yuan's face is round and round, like a big pancake...it's so delicious." Cha Li sang, swaying her head.

"Isn't this the tune of 'Big head, big head, no worries when it rains'?" Ye Banxia asked, suppressing a laugh.

"Ah, Xiaxia and Chali teamed up to bully me~" Lu Chengyuan's tone didn't sound like she was being bullied at all; on the contrary, she seemed to enjoy it, or rather, she was actually having fun with it.

"I still haven't gotten used to Xiaxia without her pigtails," Cha Li said, changing the subject.

"Yes, with her hair down."

"Is it strange?" Ye Banxia touched her long hair that was draped over her shoulders, a little embarrassed.

"Hmm...it's just not quite used to it, like someone who wears glasses suddenly not wearing them anymore," Lu Chengyuan thought, tilting her head.

"Xiaxia's hair is so beautiful, so smooth." Cha Li touched Ye Banxia's long hair. "How do you take care of it?"

"Well, I haven't really taken care of it much... um... I just wash my hair often."

"I love touching Xiaxia's pigtails the most," Lu Chengyuan chuckled. "It feels so good!"

"Did Xiaxia buy any acne cream?" Cha Li asked again.

"Yes."

Why do I still have so many pimples?

"It doesn't seem to be working very well... Sigh... I don't dare to pinch them off, afraid of leaving acne scars, so this is the only way." Ye Banxia sighed.

Lu Chengyuan brushed Ye Banxia's bangs aside and looked at her carefully: "Xiaxia's skin is quite oily, does she often stay up late?"

"Doing homework... usually takes until eleven o'clock."

"Isn't it too late?" Lu Chengyuan said with a 'I knew it' expression. "Why didn't you finish writing earlier?"

"I can't finish writing..."

"Were you daydreaming?" Cha Li asked. She had experience with studying. "If you focus on writing, there isn't much homework at our school. You can finish it all by nine o'clock at the latest."

"Hmm...but...maybe I'm just not very smart..."

“Let’s do more at school,” Cha Li suggested.

"Hmm... I feel like I write even slower at school."

"Looks like you like late at night." Lu Chengyuan rolled her eyes. "You can try a banana mask. First, wash your face with facial cleanser, rinse it four or five times, and then mash a banana and apply it to your face. It's good for getting rid of acne. My mom told me about it, and I've been using it recently. My family owns a fruit shop, so you can buy some from my shop next time."

"Cheng Yuan is too stingy, isn't she?" Cha Li teased.

"Okay, okay~ I'll give you a skewer, but you'll have to buy some later."

"Cheng Yuan and Xiao Yao both come from families that own fruit shops?" Ye Banxia asked curiously.

Lu Chengyuan chuckled and said, "Don't you know? Xiaoyao and I run fruit shops in the same area. Her house is downstairs from mine."

"Wow, that's not a competitor anymore?" Ye Banxia's eyes widened.

"No way! Xiaoyao and I are very close!"

"Xiaxia would be so cute if she didn't have pimples." Cha Li stretched out her body and put her legs on Lu Chengyuan's thighs.

"Saying a girl is cute is basically saying she's not pretty..." Ye Banxia muttered.

"Who said that? Cute and pretty are just different ways of saying good-looking." Cha Li said, standing up. "Phew, forget it, I'm not going to soak anymore. It's too hot. I'll just go to the bedroom and enjoy the air conditioning."

“Then I’ll get up too~” Lu Chengyuan also stood up.

“Hmm…then I will too…” Ye Banxia instinctively followed along with everyone else.

"Cha Li! Your hair has grown back!" Lu Chengyuan pointed to Cha Li's armpits.

"The hair is growing too fast." Cha Li touched the few short hairs that had grown out. "Sometimes I don't even want to shave it."

“But you definitely have to shave in the summer, because you have to wear short sleeves.” Lu Chengyuan raised her arm. “Look, I shaved before I came.”

"What did you use to shave?"

"A razor, of course?" Lu Chengyuan replied matter-of-factly.

"I can use hair removal cream...it'll be more convenient." Ye Banxia said as she walked into the shower to take another shower.

Tea Li was too lazy to rinse again, so she just dried herself off with a towel: "Hair removal cream is bad for the skin, and the good quality ones are too expensive."

"Shaving in the summer is such a hassle. I wish I could stay thirteen forever, back when I didn't have any hair yet," Lu Chengyuan muttered, putting on her underwear and not wearing anything else—since she wouldn't be leaving the bedroom anyway, it would be cooler this way.

"Being a woman is just so troublesome," Cha Li chuckled. "All sorts of troublesome things."

"Hmm..." After showering, Ye Banxia silently dried herself, put on her full pajamas, and went out.

"If I had a choice, I'd really like to try being a man." Lu Chengyuan made a gesture of showing off her muscles.

"Men are so great, you don't have to shave, just trim your beard, and some of them are quite handsome with beards, plus they don't have periods or anything like that." Cha Li plopped down on the bed, the soft mattress bouncing her a few times.

"Who's next door again?"

"The class monitor and Lele, right?" Cha Li replied.

"Knock knock." Lu Chengyuan immediately knocked on the wall next door. "There seems to be no response."

"Is the soundproofing good?"

"Huh? What's this?" Ye Banxia muttered to herself curiously, "It's hanging on the wall..."

"Ah, this is... a paper cup? No, the material isn't paper, it's more like plastic." Lu Chengyuan squeezed it in confusion. "But why is it shaped like a cup?"

"There's a line connecting it to the back." Cha Li thought for a moment, then put on her coat, ran out of the room, and knocked on the door next door.

"Who is it?" Wang Jiale's voice came from inside the room.

"It's me, Cha Li. Lele, open the door."

"Hmm... what's wrong?" Then, there was a series of hurried footsteps, and the door was pulled open.

Cha Li glanced around the room and noticed that the bathroom door was closed.

So Li Wanyan was probably taking a shower.

However, that wasn't her goal at the moment.

Instead, they looked for plastic cups that might be on the wall.

The plastic paper cups were deliberately placed on a shelf, just like a landline telephone, only with a somewhat unique shape.

Cha Li observed the layout and found that this room and their neighbor's room had a mirror layout.

In other words, the beds in the two rooms are only separated by a wall.

“I knew it.” Cha Li nodded. “Lele, pick up that plastic cup and put it to your ear.”

"Um... and then... what do we do?" Wang Jiale asked, puzzled.

"Just wait and see," Cha Li said mysteriously, then ran out of her room.

"Where did you go?" Lu Chengyuan asked, puzzled.

"Testing something," Cha Li said, picking up the cup, which was probably made of plastic. "Hey, can you hear me, Lele?"

"Huh? Cha Li? I can hear you~"

"Sure enough, it's a landline phone," Cha Li said curiously. "Who designed it? It's really quite interesting."

"Can we chat with the neighbors now?" Lu Chengyuan immediately came over.

"Give it a try?"

"Hello? Lele?"

"Is this Cheng Yuan?" Wang Jiale's voice came from the disposable cup-shaped phone.

"Yes, we can chat!"

"Is there anything exciting about being able to chat?"

"This is so interesting! We're separated by a wall! What should we talk about?"

"Let's tell ghost stories!" This time, Wang Jiale became interested.

So, Lu Chengyuan relayed the lively atmosphere from their room to the other side.

To be honest, Wang Jiale was quite bored next door, because Li Wanyan wasn't the talkative type, while Wang Jiale was the gossipy type who loved to chat...

Actually, she was already starting to regret sharing a room with Li Wanyan.

However, it's not without its advantages. At least when you like quiet, it feels like you have the room all to yourself...

……

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Summer wouldn't be complete without swimwear at the beach!? (Part 1)

A brief thunderstorm occurred in the early morning and stopped abruptly by daybreak.