Chapter 19

Li Shiru had calculated well in her heart, but she never expected that Su Ruo would actually not play by common sense.

Upon hearing Li Shiru's words, Su Ruo immediately said, "Is that so? Then I'll go with you to take a look! If it's serious, this matter must definitely be taken to the village head—our Zhiqing Dian has so many Educated Youths, the village head can't just watch us get soaked in the rain."

Seeing Su Ruo pick up an umbrella and head toward where they lived, Li Shiru panicked.

Actually, the leak in Li Shiru and her roommates' room wasn't serious; the two Old Youths who lived with them placed a basin where the rain was leaking, then continued to sleep in bed.

Li Shiru merely wanted to take the opportunity to move into Su Ruo's room; in her mind, Su Ruo's bed, though small, would be a bit cramped for two people, but it would still be better than the four of them sharing a room!

If Su Ruo goes now, won't she just find out that Li Shiru was lying? Then how will she explain it—her own room clearly has space to stay, yet she insists on going to Su Ruo's room.

So Li Shiru immediately stopped Su Ruo and said, "No need, with such heavy rain, if you walk over you'll get soaked anyway. Since there's no room for you here, I'll think of another solution! But my bedding has been soaked by the rain—could you lend us a quilt?"

After saying that, Li Shiru also glanced at the quilt on Su Ruo's bed. Earlier they had been mocking Su Ruo for bringing such thick bedding to the countryside in midsummer, not fearing she'd get prickly heat.

Now, however, she stood in the rain, shivering from the cold, regretting that she hadn't brought two more quilts.

"Sorry, I only have one quilt myself—I can't lend it to you!"

Su Ruo bluntly refused Li Shiru, and moreover gave back the words that Li Shiru had said to her in her previous life.

Before Li Shiru could speak, Chen Wei beside her snapped angrily, "What kind of person are you? Not lending us your room is bad enough, but now you won't even lend us a quilt!"

"Our room is leaking, it's freezing! Your room isn't leaking and is warm—what's wrong with lending us your quilt?"

These were also the words Li Shiru wanted to say, and the two stared at Su Ruo, fuming.

Su Ruo was amused by the two's shameless thick-skinnedness: "In such cold weather, should I lend you my quilt and freeze myself?"

"Sorry, I'm really not that great!"

"Don't give me that nonsense about how Educated Youths sent down to the countryside together should help each other, self-sacrificing for others."

"I have no morals, so don't even try to morally blackmail me!"

"Don't be afraid to hear it—I'm just selfish and self-interested, so you'd better not provoke me when there's nothing going on, and don't come to me when there is."

After saying that, Su Ruo slammed the door shut with a bang, her face also turning cold; it seemed she still needed to find an opportunity to give the two a profound lesson so they'd dare not provoke her again.

Chen Wei's face flushed red with anger; she had never seen Su Ruo like this, wanted to smash the door, but was stopped.

Li Shiru, eyes red, said, "Weiwei, forget it—she won't lend it, making a fuss won't help; let's just go back."

Although Chen Wei was unwilling, she also knew that continuing to make a fuss wouldn't get her anywhere; besides, her clothes were soaked through, and she worried that getting more rain would make her sick, so she could only reluctantly follow Li Shiru back.

Chen Wei had thought that even if they couldn't get into Su Ruo's room, at worst they could bring back a quilt; so when Li Shiru suggested it, she followed along, never expecting to come away empty-handed and to have soaked in the rain for half a day for nothing, instantly coming to hate Su Ruo to the point of near death.

When the two returned to the dormitory, they saw Feng Jing and Yao Jia from the same dorm tidying up, both looking somewhat surprised.

Yao Jia looked up at the two, drenched like drowned rats, and said, "The neighboring room is also leaking; Qi Zhiyong just came over and said their male dormitory side isn't leaking, they've crowded together to free up a room for us female Educated Youths—hurry up and pack, we'll go together."

Upon hearing that, Li Shiru and Chen Wei's eyes lit up—no matter what, they wouldn't have to stay in this leaky house—but then they thought of the eight female Educated Youths on their side having to squeeze into such a tiny room, and their gazes instantly dimmed.

But given the situation, even if they were unwilling, they had no choice, so they could only reluctantly pack their belongings.

But when the two saw their own soaked bedding, they instantly let out a shriek: "How could this happen?!"

Clearly, when they had just gone out, the quilt was only slightly dampened by the rain, but now it was completely soaked through.

Feng Jing glanced at the two and explained, "Just now the wind was too strong, it blew the window apart, rain blew in and soaked your quilt."

They looked up and saw the window already broken, hanging precariously in its frame, swaying with the wind, cold wind and rain constantly pouring in—no wonder they felt the room especially cold.

Chen Wei angrily pointed at the quilt and demanded, "The window's broken—can't you at least help us gather things up? Just watching our quilt get soaked while it's this cold, without a quilt, how are we supposed to sleep?!"

Although Li Shiru didn't speak, her gaze toward Feng Jing and Chen Jia also carried dissatisfaction; she had some money, but in this weather she simply couldn't find someone to make a new quilt.

Feng Jing, who was never good-tempered, immediately flared up at these words: "Are you blind? We didn't help you gather things? If we hadn't helped you, who knows what state your quilt would be in now!"

Chen Wei said, "Then why are your quilts dry while ours are soaked?!"

Feng Jing retorted, "With the rain pouring down like this, when the window fell we definitely had to gather our own clothes and bedding first—are we supposed to ignore our own stuff and gather yours first?!"

It's like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, not recognizing kindness—had we known this would happen, we shouldn't have bothered, just let your quilt keep getting soaked there.

We meant to help, yet we end up getting blamed—how ridiculous.

I really don't know what some people are thinking—when it's pouring and the roof is leaking, they don't think to gather their belongings first, but instead run to someone else's room to beg for a place to stay; that room is so small you can tell at a glance it won't fit, yet they insist on squeezing in, and I have no idea what's on their mind.

Chen Wei and Li Shiru, after being dressed down, turned pale and flushed alternately, yet couldn't utter a single rebuttal.

Feng Jing also stopped paying attention to them, simply hugging her belongings and walking away.

Yao Jia also gave them a cold glance, then hugged her belongings and walked away.

In the room, only Chen Wei and Li Shiru remained; Chen Wei looked at her soaked quilt and padded jacket and suddenly burst into tears.

Her family's circumstances were poor; this was her only quilt, which her mother had made for her after she begged for a long time when they went down to the countryside.

Now, soaked by rain, even if dried it wouldn't keep warm; she knew her family couldn't possibly send another quilt, having heard that Black Province's winters are especially bitter—how would she manage from now on?

Li Shiru looked at her soaked bedding, recalling how she used to live in a warm, clean house, now having to endure this, and she couldn't help but redden her eyes.

At the same time, her resentment toward Su Ruo grew; Li Shiru felt Su Ruo was practically born to be her nemesis—if she hadn't met Su Ruo, if she had bought that house herself, she would never have gone through these ordeals, nor would she be in such a sorry state now.

Li Zeyu entered and immediately saw his sister's reddened eyes, anxiously asking, "What's wrong?"

"Brother, our quilts have all been soaked by the rain." Li Shiru said to her brother, her nose immediately souring as tears streamed down.

Li Zeyu already knew about the female Educated Youths' dorm leaking, but he hadn't expected it to be this serious; he frowned and asked, "How could this happen?"

Chen Wei immediately said, "It's not anyone else's fault—it's Feng Jing and Yao Jia; seeing the rain, they only looked after themselves, refusing to help us gather our things; if they'd lent a hand, our quilts wouldn't have ended up like this."

Li Shiru also wanted to vent her grievances to Li Zeyu, but upon seeing Qi Zhiyong behind him, she swallowed the words she had been about to say and spoke in a wronged tone:

"Brother, it's not Feng Jing and company's fault—we're just inexperienced; when the window broke and the rain poured down, it was right for them to gather their own belongings first."

Chen Wei grew even angrier, saying, "Xiaoru, they didn't help us gather our things, and they spoke so harshly—yet you actually spoke up for them."

(End of chapter)