A Young Woman's Heart

The small room was exactly the kind of space she liked, because it made her feel safest.

She was curled up in bed, her back against the wall covered with newspapers.

Perhaps because of the newspapers, the walls didn't feel cold; in fact, they felt a little soft against them.

"How many layers did Xiaoyao apply..." Li Wanyan muttered to herself, just about to close her eyes and go to sleep, when she realized that she had forgotten to turn off the light.

Because this wasn't designed as a bedroom, the light switch is located at the entrance of the small room, unlike most bedrooms where you can easily reach the switch.

At this point, Li Wanyan had already taken off her clothes and was wrapped in the quilt wearing only her underwear. It would be more difficult for her to climb out and turn off the light than to roll herself up in the quilt like a chicken roll.

Li Wanyan also has moments when she suddenly has a whimsical idea.

She gently poked Su Tang's back and whispered, "Su Tang? Can you turn off the light for me?"

"Meow~" Su Tang lazily shook its body, seemingly unwilling to get up, after all, it had only just warmed up the bedside table.

"If you really understand what I mean... if you turn off the light for me, I'll allow you to sleep in the blankets?" Li Wanyan said to Sutang with a serious expression.

Then I felt a little embarrassed.

Luckily, no one was around at the time, otherwise, seeing her trying to communicate with a cat would have made people think she was crazy.

No, it seems that Mo Xueyao and Su Tang's conversation was quite natural in the evening.

It's as if she doesn't care at all how others see her.

Or perhaps they simply didn't think of this aspect at all?

Just as Li Wanyan was lost in thought, Su Tang twitched her ears, lightly leaped down from the bedside table, walked gracefully to the light switch, and then with a leap, slapped the switch down with her paw.

The lights in the room went out as well.

This surprised and delighted Li Wanyan.

But she still wondered if Su Tang had actually understood what she was saying.

Or did it find the lights too bright and turn them off by itself?

Then, Su Tang darted onto the bed in a flash.

Li Wanyan was a little disgusted by its paws, which had just stepped on the cement floor, but thinking that she had to keep her promise, she let it crawl into the quilt anyway.

And so, with the company of a very human-like tabby cat, Li Wanyan drifted off to sleep.

This was probably the most relaxing sleep she had had in a while.

If only nightmares didn't constantly plague her.

……

This is the world of dreams.

Li Wanyan herself was simply unaware of it.

At the beginning of every dream, many things are forgotten.

Forget that you are sleeping, and forget where you are.

She felt as if her hands and feet were bound, her mouth was taped shut, and she was carelessly left on the van.

Because of the limited field of vision, she didn't know who was driving.

However, a long-haired woman could be seen sitting in the passenger seat.

Judging from her back view alone, she seems to resemble her mother.

She looked nervously out the window, only to see barren mountains receding into the distance.

The van's tires made a 'clattering' sound, as if it were driving on a gravel road.

Finally, the van stopped in a desolate wilderness where there was no road.

There is a cliff here, with a deep valley below.

Even if there is a river in the valley, falling from this height would absolutely result in being smashed to pieces.

"Get out!" a man's voice rang out, and then Li Wanyan felt a sharp pain on her scalp as she was grabbed by the hair and dragged out of the car.

Because her feet were bound, she was unable to maintain her balance and fell to the ground.

The person who exposed her was actually her father.

He looked drunk, as if he had been drinking quite a bit.

His face, covered in thick, fleshy muscles, looked particularly ferocious at this moment.

Then, the mother, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was also pulled out.

She lay there quietly on the ground, motionless as if she were a corpse.

When her body was turned over, Li Wanyan witnessed a horrifying scene—

The mother's eyes had been gouged out, and there was a deep bruise on her neck, where the bones seemed to be broken, causing her head to droop limply, barely supported by the skin and flesh of her neck.

Li Wanyan's eyes widened in fright, and she struggled violently.

But the rope was tied very tightly, and no matter how much she struggled, she couldn't break free.

Death seemed imminent.

The father didn't say a word from beginning to end, but kicked the mother's body into the abyss of the canyon. After a long while, a splashing sound was heard.

Even at such a high altitude, the sound was still enormous, echoing throughout the valley for a while before completely dissipating.

Her father grabbed Li Wanyan's hair again and dragged her to the edge of the cliff.

It was pitch black below, and I couldn't see anything.

It was as if an invisible giant maw was about to devour all the falling creatures.

She had no chance to resist.

Immediately afterwards, he was kicked down.

The feeling of falling made her heart race, and then she suddenly woke up from her dream.

"Thump!" When she came to her senses, her head had already hit the ground, and she winced in pain.

Su Tang jumped off the bed and lay on her chest, looking at her with curiosity, seemingly not understanding why she was sleeping on the floor.

"Gulp... Ugh—" Li Wanyan gritted her teeth and got up from the ground. The place where she was hit became more and more painful as she gradually regained consciousness.

There was still half an hour until my scheduled wake-up time.

But Li Wanyan just couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

First, there was the pain, and second, there was that terrifying nightmare.

What she's most grateful for right now is that she's still in reality, and that everything else was just a dream.

Su Tang stood at her feet, calling softly and nuzzling her ankle with its head, as if comforting her.

Li Wanyan sighed, put the bedding back on the bed, then pushed open the door and walked out of the room.

The washing area is located on the wall to the side of the fruit shop, where there is a water tap.

As for the dirty water after washing up, just pour it on the street. There are sewers right next to it, so it will just flow down.

It was still early; the sky was barely light.

Li Wanyan, who lives here, doesn't normally need to get up so early, but since she's already up, she might as well go to school early.

That's what she was thinking.

He opened the roller shutter door, put on his schoolbag, and went out. Then he locked the roller shutter door again before heading towards the school.

Although it was early, many breakfast shops were already open.

The air was exceptionally fresh at this time, and there was a sweet scent of dew in the air.

She bought a sesame seed cake and fried dough sticks from a roadside vendor for a simple breakfast and walked all the way to school.

Even Mo Xueyao hadn't arrived yet; the classroom was empty.

This is a time she's very used to.

She usually enjoys this tranquility, but now she hopes someone will come to the classroom soon so it won't be too quiet.

If Su Tang were here, things might not be so quiet.

At this moment, Li Wanyan suddenly realized that Su Tang's delicate and childlike meows were actually quite pleasant to hear.

……

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Zhou Yong on the Bus

Buses are always crowded during rush hour.

So Mo Xueyao arrived at the station early and waited for the bus that looked like two carriages joined together.

Because it was still early, the bus wasn't too crowded yet, but about half of the seats were already occupied.

Almost every two-seater had only one person sitting in it.

Even when there are empty seats available, most people still don't like to sit with strangers.

Mo Xueyao was the same.

However, she couldn't find any other window seats, so she had to sit down in the connecting area between the two carriages.

These are individual seats, each spaced a little distance from the others.

Actually, the carriage behind often sways a lot, while this connection point is more stable.

Mo Xueyao hugged her schoolbag to her chest, then leaned back in her chair and couldn't help but let out a big yawn.

On every school day, unless I go to bed at six o'clock, I always feel sleepy on the way to school.

Especially in such slightly cool weather, when sitting in a warm carriage.

Because her godfather picked Mo Xueyao up on Friday, her bicycle was still parked at school and she hadn't ridden it back, so she had to take the bus to school today.