A Young Woman's Heart

Midway through the journey, Mo Xueyao also leaned back in her chair and slept for a while. When she woke up, several hours had passed. Now the RV had entered the city and was passing through the most congested downtown section.

After passing this point, the road ahead will be clear.

"If anyone wants to get off early, please let me know!" Qiu Yi shouted. He took advantage of the time while waiting for the traffic light to stand up and stretch a bit.

A motorhome, of course, is like a house on the move.

"Teacher Qiu!" Gao Yuan, who had been playing video games, realized that the RV had arrived near his home. "Please let me off at the intersection ahead."

"Oh, you're almost home, right?" Qiu Yi nodded. "Any other stops along the way? If you'd like to drop someone off, just let me know in advance!"

"The light's green! The light's green!" Ye Wen interrupted him, reminding him.

Qiu Yi quickly sat back in the driver's seat, started the RV, and drove forward.

"Wanyan, Wanyan?" Mo Xueyao nudged Li Wanyan. "Shall we get off near home? We don't need to go to the fruit shop."

"Hmm..." Li Wanyan responded groggily, opening her eyes somewhat unsteadily.

"I got off the bus," Mo Xueyao repeated.

She looked out the window at the somewhat familiar scenery, seemingly pondering where she was.

Mo Xueyao, however, had already begun to check her luggage, and of course, she didn't forget the suitcase that was placed in the car's special storage compartment.

"I don't think I forgot anything," she muttered to herself, then looked at Lu Chengyuan. "Chengyuan, are you coming down together?"

"No, my home is near the fruit shop, so I can just go to the school gate."

"Okay." Mo Xueyao nodded. "I'll contact you again later."

"Bye-Bye."

"Bye-Bye!"

Mo Xueyao dragged the still-sleepy Li Wanyan out of the car, took out her luggage, and then waved goodbye to Qiu Yi.

A quarter of summer vacation has passed, and there's still plenty of time left. If I want to see my teachers again, I guess I'll have to wait until the start of the new school year in September.

It's noticeably hotter in the city than in the suburbs.

On the way back to the city, the radio said the outdoor temperature was 38 degrees Celsius, but Mo Xueyao felt that under the sun, the temperature was definitely close to 40 degrees.

Not long after leaving the air-conditioned world, beads of sweat began to roll down her forehead.

"It's so hot—" Mo Xueyao stretched and looked at Li Wanyan, who was gradually waking up, "Wanyan? Do you want to go to the supermarket? Anyway, there's no air conditioning when we go back so early..."

"Either is fine." Li Wanyan nodded gently. Behind them was the Tesco supermarket next to their home.

"But what about the suitcase?" Mo Xueyao suddenly had another problem.

"Just leave it at the front desk," Li Wanyan said, yawning widely.

"Are you sleepy?"

"The time spent in the car was too long."

"Yeah, that's true. Although living by the sea is very comfortable, I still feel that home is better!"

“Yes, home is always the best.” A slight smile appeared in Li Wanyan’s eyes, especially when she said the words ‘home.’

This commercial building has only two floors, but the supermarket is on the second floor, while other ancillary facilities are on the ground floor.

For example, there's a KFC downstairs in almost every large supermarket, and there's also Yonghe Soy Milk right next to it.

The air conditioning in the supermarket was naturally on. Although it was only separated by a transparent plastic curtain, it felt like two different worlds inside and outside.

In addition, there were two or three photo booth machines placed in an empty corner.

This thing started becoming popular last year, but it seems that Mo Xueyao has never filmed it yet.

She tugged at Li Wanyan's hand and pointed to the camera in the corner, asking, "Hey, Wanyan, want to take some selfies?"

"Let's see if it's expensive." Li Wanyan didn't agree immediately.

For her, such unnecessary things shouldn't be a waste of money, but after spending a long time with Mo Xueyao, she had come to understand some of her habits.

Sometimes she prefers to use a small amount of money to buy happiness.

Ultimately, it's because Mo Xueyao's family background, though ordinary, is still much better than Li Wanyan's.

These are all habits formed since childhood.

However, Mo Xueyao wouldn't spend money recklessly; if it was too expensive, she would rather not have the happiness.

The photo booths are all fully automatic, just like vending machines. You put in the money and you can start taking pictures.

Looking back more than a decade later, this machine was incredibly rudimentary, but in that era, it was a remarkably high-tech and novel device.

Stepping into this 'house' that resembled a small telephone booth, Mo Xueyao pulled up the red curtain and then looked at the screen with Li Wanyan.

Even without inserting coins, you can still see yourself on the screen through the camera.

There was an explanation posted next to it.

Mo Xueyao looked down and said, "Hmm... each coin costs one yuan... and you can take one set of photos, which contains five photos..."

"Shall we take a picture?"

“Hmm…” Li Wanyan nodded.

If you only take photos occasionally, one yuan isn't too expensive.

Mo Xueyao, having received her 'permission,' excitedly inserted the coin, and heard a 'glug glug' sound. Then, the actual filming footage appeared on the screen, and a gentle female voice rang out.

"Please face the screen directly and make sure your face is in the frame."

"Please select the desired border and decorative pattern."

"Uh...you can use these two buttons to select, right?" Mo Xueyao tried pressing them. These buttons only allow you to select forward. If you don't find what you like right away, you'll have to wait until you've looked through everything and come back to select it again.

The dazzling array of borders and decorative patterns was overwhelming, but the numbers flashing at the top of the screen couldn't keep them agonizing over which one to choose.

Of course, there is a time limit; the time limit for taking one photo is three minutes.

If you don't press the button within this time, it will automatically press the shutter.

"Ahhh—this one will do, something simple and plain, with a rainbow in it…!" Mo Xueyao quickly selected the border and pattern, stood close to Li Wanyan, and then pressed the shutter button.

"Snap!" The first photo was taken just like that, and the remaining four were taken in the same way.

Once everything is complete, a layout page will appear.

There are several different layouts to choose from, such as selecting five images of the same size, or having the middle one larger and the ones on the sides smaller...

"Let's choose this one." This time it was Li Wanyan who suggested it. She pointed to a layout and said softly.

"There's an extra-large one in the middle, and four small ones on the sides... Hmm, this one will do. The extra-large one can be stuck on the headboard." Mo Xueyao nodded, chose this layout, and then, following the steps, selected the one she felt looked the best as the largest one.

After the confirmation button was finally pressed, the machine made a 'whoosh' sound, and then a piece of paper that was somewhat thick and of decent quality was slowly ejected.

This is a photo booth picture.

Above are five photos, each of which can be torn off and pasted anywhere.

On the pillar next to the photo booth, there are many photos taken by people themselves, just like the prayer plaques hanging on the treetops at the entrance of a temple.

"Should we put one here as a souvenir?" Mo Xueyao tilted her head and looked at Li Wanyan.

"what ever."

"Well... uh... never mind, there's not enough to go around." In the end, Mo Xueyao didn't leave her photo on the pillar.

Many people leave photos here, probably hoping that when they come back a few years later, they can still see the marks they left here.

But whether that photo booth will still be there a few years later is unknown!

The photo booth pictures were left with Li Wanyan for the time being. After leaving their luggage at the front desk, the two went upstairs.

I originally just planned to browse the books in the book section, but since I've already checked my luggage in, wouldn't it be awkward if I didn't buy something and then go back to retrieve it later?

So in the end, the two still bought some snacks and drinks. How could they go through a long summer vacation without these things that bring them joy?

And so, the two returned home, and then began another major tidying up—they had to take everything out of their suitcases and backpacks and put them back where they belonged, and they also had to tidy up their rooms and clean the house...

……

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Stir-fried Cured Pork with Chili Peppers

"These are my clothes... and these..." Mo Xueyao separated her clothes, threw them on the bed, and then slowly tidied them up and stuffed them into the closet. "By the way, where should I put that biggest sticker from earlier?"

"Anything is fine." Li Wanyan wasn't tidying up her things; instead, she was holding a small mirror and looking at a pimple that had popped up on her forehead.

"How about... we stick it on the bookshelf?" Mo Xueyao snapped her fingers.

"it is good."

"Okay, let's stick them here. We'll each put two of the remaining four. I'll stick one on my pencil case and the other one... well, never mind, I'll just keep it in the drawer."

Photo booth pictures are full of commemorative significance, especially in an era when civilian electronic technology was not so advanced.

By sticking them on things you frequently use around you, you can see the other person in the photo anytime.

Although Li Wanyan is now living with Mo Xueyao, she is different when she took those photo booth pictures compared to how she is now! —From a certain perspective.

We stayed in a villa by the beach for ten days, having a lively and fun time. Every time we went downstairs, we could play and have fun with many classmates.

Once I got home, it suddenly felt much quieter.

And although Hua Yinyin is very noisy, it's like the snoring of someone you've gotten used to. Without her, it really feels a little off.

"What's wrong? You're not used to the peace and quiet." Li Wanyan put the mirror down and asked with a half-smile.

"A little, I guess. It feels really quiet at home," Mo Xueyao muttered, nodding.

All the clothes were piled on the bed, while the various sunscreens, toothbrushes, towels, and other daily necessities that I had brought with me were piled on the table.

Now it's time to distinguish which things belong to which party.

Because they both have many identical items, it's a bit troublesome to sort them.

The size, style, and color are all the same, so the only way to tell whose clothes they are is by looking at the signs of wear.