A Young Woman's Heart

—Because it blows out hot air.

"I wonder how Xiaoyao is doing by the sea. She must be having a great time," Mo Wenli said leisurely. "Oh dear, I was born in the wrong era. Otherwise, I could also live such a leisurely life."

"Then you'd have to get into the same school as Yaoyao." Yang Xiaoyu glanced at him sideways. "Ali, the price of dragon fruit has dropped recently, aren't you going to lower the price?"

"It's best not to lower or raise prices before things stabilize," Mo Wenli said, stroking his stubble. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly saw a somewhat familiar middle-aged man walking into the store. "Huh..."

"Huh? What's that?"

"That guy... hiss—could it be Old Chen?" Mo Wenli hadn't seen his old friend for a long time, and even though they were good friends back then, he wasn't entirely sure now.

After all, he was very different from the man Mo Wenli remembered.

In my memory, he should have been a very tall and strong man, but the man walking in front of him was obviously a drunkard, thin and tall but as thin as a bamboo pole.

He slowly walked into the store and stopped in front of the glass display case selling cigarettes.

Mo Wenli and he looked at each other, both sizing each other up, seemingly trying to confirm the other's identity.

Finally, the man in old clothes standing opposite Mortense asked softly, "Ali?"

"Old Chen?" Mo Wenli had now completely confirmed the other person's identity. He took out a Liqun cigarette from his pocket and handed it to him. "Long time no see. What brings you here all of a sudden?"

"Hey, long time no see, you little..." The other person seemed to want to address him as before, but hesitated for a moment before speaking, "You've really been living a very comfortable life lately."

"Fortunately, I was actually laid off from my company last year, and I only started doing business out of necessity."

"You're saying you have no choice..." Old Chen gave a wry smile. "If this is what you call having no choice, then I'd like to be forced to do something too."

"What's wrong? It's been so long. How have you been lately?" Mo Wen held the lighter in one hand and used the other to shield the flame from the wind, then leaned close to Old Chen and lit the cigarette he had put in his mouth.

"What else can I do..." Old Chen said with a bitter smile, "I haven't finished paying off my debts yet, and it's not easy to find a job. I'm used to living a good life, and I don't really have any special skills."

“I told you before, even though you went bankrupt, you still had some money. Don’t use that money to pay off debts; use it to start a business. There’s still a chance to make a comeback. Look at you now… sigh.” Mo Wenli sighed, “What kind of work have you been doing lately?”

"It's nothing much, just odd jobs—phew…" Old Chen took a deep drag on his cigarette, "It's never been very stable."

Cicadas were chirping incessantly in the roadside trees outside the shop. Mo Wenli blew a smoke ring and looked at Yang Xiaoyu, who was wiping fruit and casually walking over in his direction.

"How's your son doing lately?" Mo Wenli took another deep drag of his cigarette and changed the subject.

"He...that kid...he should be doing alright, right?"

How much do you give him per month?

"Eight hundred."

"So much?" Mo Wenli's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't have to pay rent for your house, so two hundred a month should be enough for food, right?"

"After all, he's my son, and I want him to have a better life, more or less."

"You... tsk, this won't do. You're giving him too much. He might not appreciate it!"

“His mother also gave him 800, so the two of us combined gave him 1,600.”

"What are you doing? Ah Liang, do you remember him? That guy's monthly salary is barely two thousand."

"Sigh... I guess it's a kind of compensation. I couldn't give him a better family, so I can only try my best to meet his needs in life."

"You..."

"Actually, I just got out of prison not long ago. I was arrested and imprisoned for half a year because I had too much debt."

"Oh dear, what are you doing? Why are you giving your son so much money?" Mo Wenli looked at him with exasperation. "Do you still think you're the rich young master you used to be, with money to squander?"

"Sigh..." Old Chen smiled bitterly, sighing all he could do.

The wrinkles on his face were noticeably more pronounced than before, and his once straight back was now somewhat hunched.

"Actually, I want to help you, but I can only pay you 500 yuan a month at most. At the rate you spend it, it's not even enough for your son. How much do you and your husband spend each month?"

“She…she doesn’t live with me, I’m not sure.” Old Chen forced a bitter smile. “I can’t see her all the time now, lest I implicate her.”

"Then let your wife take care of your son. That would at least reduce some expenses, right?"

"I..." Old Chen hesitated, then took another drag of his cigarette but said nothing.

"What are you two doing? You're just making yourself suffer for the sake of saving face," Mo Wenli advised. "Why bother? You said you'd get the property taken away because you live with your son, but at least let your wife take care of your son a little, right?"

"She...she's been doing some babysitting work lately."

"What's wrong with a nanny? Doesn't she support your son too?" Mo Wen slammed her hand on the table. "They're both earning money, so why do you feel ashamed? Others may look down on you, but do you think your son would look down on his own mother?"

The cicadas in the tree were making a lot of noise, disrupting Old Chen's thoughts.

"Let's take it slow later, this can't be rushed."

“You guys are just too concerned about saving face. Why do you even care about saving face for your own son?” Mo Wenli frowned as she looked at him. “Now that you’ve come to me, what kind of help do you want? I’ll help as much as I can, but if you’re asking for a loan, I probably don’t have much. My family isn’t exactly well-off right now.”

“I’m doing several odd jobs now, which makes a little more money than a regular job.” Old Chen has long lost the vigor he had when he was rich. He looks even older than Mo Wenli now. When he smiles bitterly, all the wrinkles on his face twist together. “I came to you… not to borrow any money, but I was wondering if I could stay here with you, so I could at least save on rent.”

“I do have a small room here that you can stay in. It’s fine if you stay here…” Mo Wenli glanced at Yang Xiaoyu again, “However, this small room was originally where my daughter and my goddaughter lived. If you stay here, they will have to leave home to go to school, which will take them a little longer on the way.”

Old Chen chuckled dryly, without saying a word.

"It's alright, it's a small matter. If you want to stay, you can stay here. It'll save you some rent, and you don't have to pay for the water and electricity. Just don't make the room dirty."

"Thank you, thank you so much."

“We’re good friends, no need to thank me!” Mo Wenli laughed and put his hand on his shoulder. “You, if you had any trouble, you could have come to me earlier. Why did you have to tough it out on your own?”

"Sigh..." Old Chen sighed, clearly having too many reasons to give, but unable to say them.

"Is that your wife?"

“Yes, I have to listen to her. Why don’t you ask her opinion? Haha—” Mo Wenli said jokingly, “Honey, let me introduce you. This is Old Chen, whom I mentioned to you before. This guy used to be a rich second-generation. Although he’s in a bit of a predicament now, he helped me a lot in the past. Now it’s my turn to help him.”

"Hello, hello," Old Chen said with a shy smile.

"Old Chen, you've changed a lot. You used to be so arrogant and fearless. Why are you being so polite now?"

"Life is like that, you have to adapt to it, right?"

"Yes, is all your luggage here?"

"No, I'm in a rented apartment. The lease expires in a few days, so I'm going back to move in now."

"How much stuff?"

"A little bit."

“Then wait a moment.” Mo Wenli said, dialing Yu Liang’s number. “Hello, Liang?”

"What do you want?" came Yu Liang's tired voice from the other end of the phone.

"Hey kid, got a free time?"

"what's up?"

"Old Chen, do you still remember?"

"Old Chen? Is that the Old Chen who used to be very rich?"

"Yes, yes, that's him."

"What's up with him?"

"It's nothing, he's just... not doing too well these days." Seeing that Old Chen had finished his cigarette, Mo Wenli handed him another one. "He wants to save on rent, so he wants to stay at my shop. Are you free? Come over and help him move."

"Okay." Yu Liang readily agreed. "Shall I come to your shop now?"

"Okay, we'll wait for you at the store."

"I'll be right there," Yu Liang said, and then hung up the phone.

"Ah Liang will be here soon, don't worry. Don't bring too much stuff, he can carry most of it." Mo Wenli smiled at Old Chen. "Come on, want some watermelon?"

"No, no."

"Don't be so polite, eat whatever you want. Didn't you used to love watermelon?" Mo Wen patted the other's shoulder forcefully. "Don't be so formal!"

"Things aren't what they used to be..." Old Chen smiled helplessly.

"What do you mean, kid? You think we were friends with you back then because you were rich? Damn it, you're really looking down on us!"

"No, that's not what I meant..."

"Then eat! Come on, here's a Kirin melon from W City. I'll pick one for you, guaranteed to be sweet!"

"Okay..." Old Chen couldn't resist Mo Wenli's enthusiasm and could only agree. Then he turned his head and asked, "Where's your daughter? And your goddaughter? Hmm... I remember you told me before that you had a son?"

"That was just me being jealous because you had a son, so I was just bragging to you," Mo Wenli said with a dry laugh. "They both went on a school trip."

"This school is good, and it even has tourism activities."

“Of course, how could the school my daughter got into be bad?” Mo Wenli said, his face filled with undisguised pride.

……

Chapter 41 Parents' Phone Calls

At noon, Mo Xueyao received several new rags from Shui Zhishi and was currently wiping the floor.

The sound of water came from the bathroom; it was Hua Yinyin cleaning the bathtub.

Each person needs to clean their own room, because if Mizuki Shi were to do it, she would definitely be too busy.

"Mo Xueyao?" Ye Wen's voice came from outside the door at this moment.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Mo Xueyao, who was wiping the floor, looked up and asked.

"It's a call from your mom."

"Oh, oh—" Mo Xueyao quickly stood up, patted her knees which had become a little red from lying on the ground, and opened the door.

Ye Wen, who was outside the door, handed her the phone. Mo Xueyao hurriedly took it and greeted her first, "Hello?"

Actually, she thought her mother would call on the first day she arrived, but she probably thought it would be too much trouble for the teacher to call all the time, since so many students were going, so she delayed for a few days until half a week had passed before calling.

Of course, Mo Xueyao herself hoped her mother would call less often, because she was just too long-winded...

"Hey? Yaoyao, how's it going at the beach?"