A Young Woman's Heart

"What's that for? Is it just for checking the time?"

"There is a sculpture enshrined inside."

"Jesus? Buddha?"

“Neither…it was a middle-aged man wielding a heavy sword.” Duanmu Ji shook his head. “I heard he was one of the earliest founders of this city and an ancestor of the Ye family.”

"Oh—you knew so much about this?"

"I went to take a look before."

"sharp."

"Actually, there are still some ruins in the forest."

"Be careful when you go into the forest, it's best not to go, it's very dangerous." Mo Xiaoxiao steered the conversation off-topic.

Duanmu Ji frowned slightly, seemingly displeased that she had changed the subject.

So he simply stopped talking, since it wasn't anything particularly interesting anyway.

The clouds that had been obscuring the moon dispersed, revealing only half of the moon. Moreover, this moon wasn't a perfect semicircle; rather, it looked rather chubby.

Today is the eighth day of the lunar month, so it's not yet the full moon.

Right now, the moon is at its highest point.

The sea surface also experienced relatively violent surging, seemingly caused by the movement of the moon.

This is probably the most beautiful sight on the sea at night.

On the vast, boundless sea, a crescent moon hangs in the sky, its bright, cool light spilling across the surface, revealing waves and tiny ripples.

These rays radiate outwards, and the light is clearest only in the direction directly opposite the moon; in other areas, it appears somewhat eccentric.

Mo Xiaoxiao stared blankly for a while, then yawned widely. She finished her black tea at some point, licked her lips, and said to Duanmu Ji, "Alright, it's getting late. I'm going to bed. You should go to sleep early too."

"Hmm," Duanmu Ji replied somewhat perfunctorily, clearly not intending to go down immediately.

She chuckled softly, didn't insist, and quietly turned and left.

The 'tap tap tap' of footsteps gradually faded away until they finally disappeared.

The rooftop returned to silence once more.

He was like a stone statue, quietly watching the moon. Time flowed by quietly, and a dozen minutes felt like a whole night, yet also like a fleeting moment.

Then, heavy footsteps echoed from the stairwell.

People who walk like this put all their strength into their legs.

Otherwise it wouldn't be so loud.

Then, he saw another figure appear at the entrance to the rooftop...

……

The atmosphere in Chapter Forty-Four became lighter.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Bathed in starlight, Mo Xueyao looked even more holy and pure, like an elf who had fallen from heaven to earth. However, the atmosphere she had just created was shattered when she spoke.

She was such a beautiful girl, it's a pity she wasn't mute.

She walked casually to the round table next to Duanmu Ji and sat down. Yes, she didn't sit in a chair, but on the table.

"..." Duanmu Ji glanced at her sideways, then quickly looked away. "What, is it any of your business?"

"Tch, instead of sleeping in the middle of the night, you're contemplating life here? Nobody's watching, what's with the airs!" Mo Xueyao held a bottle of ice-cold beer in her hand, took a big gulp, and made a satisfying sound, "Ah—whoosh—!"

Duanmu Ji frowned and did not answer her.

"Huh? No way? Are you angry? It can't be that bad, hey?" Mo Xueyao patted his shoulder. "So, what are you doing here all by yourself?"

"And what about you?" Duanmu Ji asked back, just as he had asked Mo Xiaoxiao earlier.

She shrugged and spread her hands: "I drank a lot of coffee and ate a lot of food last night. I don't know if it's because I ate too much and didn't want to sleep, or because I drank too much coffee and wasn't sleepy."

Compared to Mo Xiaoxiao's insomnia due to worries and painful past, Mo Xueyao's reason was as simple as it could be.

"I thought coffee wasn't working for me. Could it be because the coffee I drank this time was more authentic?" She's still wondering about that.

"Then why are you still drinking?"

"Tsk, I'm a little thirsty." She said, taking another big gulp. "Ha—the central air conditioning is too cold, and I can't sleep, so I came up here for some fresh air. The natural breeze feels quite nice!"

Before Duanmu Ji could answer, Mo Xueyao continued, "Ah! What a big moon! It's a pity there's only half of it. The sun and moon seem especially big by the sea."

"..." Duanmu Ji seemed to be thinking about how to explain, but unfortunately, he himself didn't know why.

Sitting at the table, Mo Xueyao patted his head: "So, what's on your mind if you're drinking alone? And you should at least have a drink when you're alone, right? What's the point of drinking Sprite like this?"

“I like to drink Sprite.” Duanmu Ji’s eyelids twitched.

"Come on, have some drinks. You've already drunk half, let's mix some more!" She mischievously poured beer into his glass, turning a perfectly good Sprite into a Sprite mixed with beer.

Duanmu Ji was stunned for a moment, and then he didn't know what to say.

The wind blew in from the other side of the forest, carrying not the salty smell of the sea, but the fragrance of earth and flowers.

Duanmu Ji looked at his cup again and again, and finally picked it up and took a sip.

That taste...

Surprisingly, it's not too hard to accept?

"So, what's your reason for being out in the wind all by yourself?" Mo Xueyao asked, determined to get to the bottom of it.

“…I have something on my mind.” Duanmu Ji gave a reason that wasn’t really a reason.

"Tch, what's on your mind? Which girl do you like? Ah, is it Xiaoxiao? Call me 'Big Brother,' and I'll set you up right away. Don't worry, Xiaoxiao and I are pretty close. But if you want to be with her, you'll probably have to get past Youyou first!"

Duanmu Ji could no longer tolerate her nonsense, so he had no choice but to honestly explain, "I'm a little confused."

"What are you feeling lost about? The future?"

"Hmm... I feel like there's nothing I particularly like, I mean, things like humanities, sciences, or comics and games."

"Oh, so you don't have any particular hobbies?"

"Correct."

"What's there to worry about? Isn't this a perfect way to use the extra time to study?" She placed one of her smooth, white thighs on the edge of the table next to Duanmu Ji, making him unable to resist taking a few more glances. As the girl got closer, he could vaguely smell her body fragrance.

"But I don't know what I want to do in the future."

"Huh? That's it? Then just go do whatever makes money. Besides, choosing a major is still a long way off, isn't it?"

Duanmu Ji remained silent; some things cannot be explained in words.

His uncertainty about the future goes beyond just this.

It's like a person having many crossroads to choose from, but at that moment, they don't know which one to choose.

"If that doesn't work, why don't you go help your sister after you graduate? After all, a high school diploma is..." Mo Xueyao suggested again.

“I’m not talking about this feeling of being lost,” Duanmu Ji interrupted her. “I’m saying I don’t know what my life should be like. Is it just like countless ordinary people, earning money to support their families, getting married, having children, and living out this mundane life?”

This was the first time Mo Xueyao had ever seen Duanmu Ji speak so much in one breath. She was clearly taken aback for a moment before replying, "Um... you mean this? Pfft, I know, you're so childish!"

"What?" Duanmu Ji was somewhat annoyed.

"That's exactly right. Do you even know what's wrong with you?"

He looked at the moon, pretending not to see her.

But she could answer her own question: "That's called being too self-centered! Do you think you're the protagonist of the world? And you say you think it's too ordinary and too bland, ugh, that's hilarious!"

Mo Xueyao's words were somewhat harsh, but upon closer listening, they seemed to have only been for a short while.

"I originally thought you were a quiet and mature guy, but I didn't expect you to be so... uh... what do you call it? A boyish mentality? But... you're not an adult yet, so calling you a boy wouldn't be a problem."

Once she started speaking, it seemed she wasn't going to give Duanmu Ji a chance to refute her. She continued, "You're not the protagonist of a novel. Do you think you're special? Being able to live an ordinary life is already a blessing! Don't fantasize about those grand and dramatic life stories. Do you think being the protagonist of a novel is interesting? Ah, unless you're talking about those illogical, low-brow novels where the protagonist always has an easy time, then never mind what I said."

"Also, stories usually end at the most beautiful moment, such as the princess and the prince living happily ever after, but who knows if they will be happy after that?"

"Simplicity and ordinariness are the true essence of life, don't you understand?"

Mo Xueyao used this sentence as the ending, waiting to see Duanmu Ji's reaction.

“...Even if I’m not the protagonist, I will still become one.” Duanmu Ji suddenly said with a determined look, “My destiny must be in my own hands.”

"Wait, wait, ordinary people can also control their own destiny. Studying hard is changing your destiny. Besides, you don't have any deep-seated hatred, so why do you have to control so much of your destiny?"

"..." Duanmu Ji was deflated and didn't know what to say.

"I'm not trying to discourage you, but being a protagonist isn't easy," Mo Xueyao pouted. "You should be grateful that you have an ordinary but happy life now."

Upon hearing this, Duanmu Ji suddenly retorted, "You are not me, how do you know whether I am happy or not?"

"You're not me, how would you know if I know whether you're happy or not?" Mo Xueyao glanced at him sideways.

Just as the debate was about to turn into a Russian nesting doll, Duanmu Ji was the first to concede defeat.

He took another sip of Sprite mixed with beer, looked at Mo Xueyao with a complicated expression, then just stared at the moon and stopped talking to her.

"No way? You're already angry?"

"Hey, are you really angry?"

Are you really, really angry?

Duanmu Ji finally couldn't keep his composure any longer. He replied, both amused and annoyed, "No!"

"Oh." This time, Mo Xueyao fell silent, which made him feel suffocated.

The moon has begun to slowly set on the other side, meaning that there is not much time left in the night.

It's summer now, and on a sunny day, it's already quite bright at five in the morning.

And now... I don't even know what time it is.

As Duanmu Ji was pondering this, he heard a melodious bell slowly ringing out.