A Young Woman's Heart

Because I always felt that it wasn't my real home.

There is no sense of belonging.

And she would always think about where she should live after graduating from high school.

But right now, there really isn't a better option than a school.

At least at school, she can focus on her studies without being disturbed by the outside world.

To have a real home that belongs to oneself.

It sounds easy, but it's actually quite difficult to put into practice.

Li Wanyan really didn't want to rent a house like her parents.

But when will we be able to afford a house?

Although houses were relatively cheap in those days, they were still beyond the reach of a poor high school student.

With heavy thoughts weighing on her mind, she walked absentmindedly down the road and almost tripped over a pebble.

Although I didn't fall to the ground in the end, I felt a strange sense of sadness.

At this point, she had accumulated a lot of pressure and negative emotions. If this continued, she would eventually be unable to bear it and would completely collapse.

But who can save her?

...She has to bear everything on her own.

This is probably the root of the stress.

Just then, a girl with a single ponytail walked towards them, her pupils revealing a hint of blue in the sunlight.

In her arms, she held a docile and quiet tabby cat.

She paused for a moment when she saw Li Wanyan, then waved vigorously and exclaimed in surprise, "Class monitor—?"

Oh, it's Mo Xueyao...

……

Chapter Seventy-One: Meeting the Parents

"Mo Xueyao? What are you doing here?" Li Wanyan, who was dragging a suitcase and carrying a backpack, stopped and asked.

“My home is right here,” Mo Xueyao replied matter-of-factly, placing the candy she was carrying on her shoulder. “I’m out walking the cat.”

"Walking the cat..." Li Wanyan felt that it was more like the cat walking the person, right?

"Where's the class monitor? What's he doing here?"

"I've moved." Li Wanyan smiled. "I'll be living at school from now on."

"Oh, oh..." Mo Xueyao had also heard many rumors. Although they had not been fully confirmed yet, nor had she obtained the whole truth from the class monitor, she had roughly guessed some things.

Moving to the school dormitory is probably for a more stable life, and Yukong High School must have provided some assistance in this process.

The two looked at each other and fell into a mysterious silence.

It wasn't until someone passed by that time seemed to begin flowing again around them.

"Ah... going today?" Mo Xueyao scratched her head and asked.

"Hmm, but no rush." ​​Li Wanyan looked at her, appearing hesitant to speak.

It seemed as if they were waiting for her to say something.

Mo Xueyao pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered something. She slammed her left hand into her right palm and exclaimed, "Oh, right! Want to come to my house?"

In the past, if she ran into a male classmate she knew on the street, as long as they were on good terms, she would extend such an invitation.

Having someone come to your home is a way to build closer relationships.

She's just not quite used to being around girls yet.

The candy on her shoulder almost fell off due to the jolt, and she hurriedly used her claws to grab onto Mo Xueyao's clothes, pulling out a few strands.

Fortunately, she was wearing loose casual clothes, so even if they were torn, it wouldn't be a big problem.

After all, men's clothing is usually cheaper than women's clothing...

"Come on, come on—" Mo Xueyao tried to hug Su Tang back to her arms, but the latter suddenly jumped into Li Wanyan's arms. The latter hugged the fluffy little cat, somewhat at a loss.

Fortunately, once Su Tang was in Li Wanyan's arms, she didn't move around much. She obediently curled up, seemingly finding the place very comfortable.

He even deliberately rubbed his head against her chest.

Perhaps it's because it's softer there than Mo Xueyao's...

"What a good cat." Li Wanyan gently stroked Sutang's head and said with a smile, "...Is your place convenient?"

"It's okay. My parents will probably be leaving again soon, so there will be no one at home. And don't worry about them being too serious... Uh, if you haven't had breakfast, you can come over for breakfast."

"Okay." Although Mo Xueyao had said so much, she still felt that Li Wanyan wouldn't waste her time. Unexpectedly, she actually nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Su Tang was refusing to leave Li Wanyan's arms, Mo Xueyao went over to help her drag her suitcase towards her home.

“My home is very close by, it’s in this very neighborhood.”

"Mm." Li Wanyan nodded. When Mo Xueyao turned around to lead the way, she couldn't help but turn her head to look at the dirty and messy farmers' houses behind her.

Although the houses here aren't new, at least everything is clean and there's no trash on the ground.

The residents walking around here all look ordinary, but they are all dressed neatly and appropriately. Although they are not rich, they are at least living a stable life.

It's much better than living in a rented room, worrying about thieves, troublemakers at the door, and fearing which month the landlord will raise the rent.

Li Wanyan was once again filled with envy for Mo Xueyao.

Mo Xueyao lives on the sixth floor, and moving her luggage is a difficult task.

Li Wanyan wanted to help, but Mo Xueyao insisted on carrying it up herself.

By the time she reached the sixth floor, she was already out of breath.

"Phew, we're here." Mo Xueyao wiped the sweat from her forehead, took out her keys, and pushed open the door.

My mother was cleaning busily, and the whole house was filled with clanging and banging sounds.

The father was sitting at the dining table reading the newspaper, while the mother complained that he was "completely useless."

When Mo Xueyao saw Li Wanyan, who wore black-rimmed glasses and looked stern, walk into the room, she was clearly taken aback.

"Oh, is this Xiaoyao's classmate?" the father asked, putting down his newspaper.

"Yes, she's our class monitor. We met her on the way and brought her to our house to play."

"Oh, not bad." The father clicked his tongue, but it was unclear what he thought was 'not bad'.

The mother mopped all the way to the end of the house in one go, then hurriedly ran back to welcome them, saying, "Welcome, welcome! Our house is a bit messy, please don't mind."

"It's alright, it's already very clean," Li Wanyan said sincerely.

Indeed, this place is much cleaner than her former home.

It's just a little messy because there are a lot of things.

"Have you had breakfast?" the mother asked hurriedly.

"Not yet..." Li Wanyan answered truthfully.

"How about we have some breakfast? Although our breakfast is very simple, just plain porridge, I bought some fried dumplings downstairs today, and we still have some left. I don't know if it will be enough."

Li Wanyan glanced at the ten fried dumplings on the plate and nodded gently: "That's enough."

Although Mo Xueyao's family usually eats simple breakfasts, they do occasionally splurge a little.

My father's fruit shop is about to open, but my mother's job as a nanny hasn't stopped.

If the shop loses money in the first few months, we'll have to rely on the money my mother earns to cover our living expenses.

She'll only go to the store together once her income is stable.

The mother ladled a bowl of porridge for Li Wanyan and placed it on the table. Then, she hurriedly slung her bag over her shoulder, ran to the door, put on her shoes, and said to Mo Xueyao, "I have to go out now. You two keep the house clean."

"I know..." Mo Xueyao said helplessly. Her mother gave her the same instructions almost every day before she left the house.

After a while, I got really tired of hearing it.

Mo Xueyao placed Li Wanyan's suitcase at the door, then brought out a chair so that she could put her other things on the chair.

Perhaps because it was the first time a female classmate had come to visit, the father stopped reading the newspaper and looked at Li Wanyan with a curious expression, which seemed to contain some kind of regret...

In fact, Li Wanyan hadn't eaten anything since last night, but although she was very hungry, she still maintained her girlish modesty, taking small bites of the fried dumplings and occasionally picking up a little bit of white porridge with her chopsticks, eating slowly.

The father looked away from the newspaper and asked, "Squad leader, did you just get back from military training today?"

Mo Xueyao grinned at the call of "class monitor," and even Li Wanyan was caught off guard.

It seems like their father was in the same class as them, but they probably just couldn't find another way to address him.

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Li Wanyan."

"Oh, that's a nice name."

"Dad, the class monitor is because... uh..." Mo Xueyao interrupted, about to speak, but then suddenly felt she shouldn't say it. After all, everything she knew was just speculation, and even if it were true, she should have her permission to say it, right?

"Because something happened at home," Li Wanyan said with composure.

"What's wrong?" The father looked like he was about to hear a story. He had just taken out a pack of cigarettes to smoke when he saw Mo Xueyao staring intently into his eyes, so he awkwardly put it back and picked up a piece of dried fruit from the table to eat.

"...Both parents have disappeared."

"Missing? Is it that serious?"

“Well, that’s why I have nowhere to stay.” Li Wanyan paused before continuing, “The school…”

However, her words were interrupted by her father, or rather, the two of them spoke at the same time: "Nowhere to live? You probably can't afford to rent a place now, right? If you don't mind, would you like to live with my Xiaoyao?"

Li Wanyan's eyes lit up, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

"Actually... the school arranged for me to live on campus for free."