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Глава 72

Xia Lin glanced at the water bottle in her hand, his eyes filled with ill intent: "Regretting it now? You still have to fetch water, don't you? It would have been so much better if you had stayed at home earlier!"

Without any ceremony, she handed it to Qiu Xialin: "Go, go fetch water!"

She glanced at Li Changsheng, then snatched the water bottles from Liang Meihua and Chen Zhaodi, giving each of them two. With a slender finger, she said, "Go, go, go, go get some water!"

Like coaxing ducks.

Xia Lin grinned and made a deal: "Fetching water is no problem, but we three brothers haven't figured out what to eat for dinner yet, sister, what do you think..."

She asked in surprise, "Aren't you going home to eat?"

Xia Lin pursed her lips, "That's a long way off."

Although he was a day student, he ate in the cafeteria with the boarding students. He had already planned it out: since his sister wasn't home, his mother would have to take time to go back and cook for them, which would not only take up time, but her cooking skills were also not as good as Qiu Shanglin's. It was better to eat in the cafeteria regularly and go home every few days to improve their meals.

The food in the cafeteria also varies.

The cost of a meal cooked in a large pot ranged from three cents, five cents to one dollar. There was also a window selling stir-fries, the cheapest of which was one dollar, and most were over two dollars. Most of the customers were children from the city.

They all had some pocket money, but none of them were as wealthy as his sister—she was a rich woman, so who else would they fleece if not her!

Shang Lin laughed: "Alright, alright, you glutton, I'll treat you, okay!"

Xia Lin's eyes lit up, and he grabbed one of them: "Wang Wei too!"

She readily agreed: "Together!"

Xia Lin cheered, shoved a water bottle into Wang Wei's hand, and pulled Li Changsheng through the crowd. Wang Wei, being a quick-witted person, immediately smiled and said, "Thank you, sister!"

He squeezed in as well.

Chen Zhaodi and Liang Meihua stared blankly at their empty hands. The boy was strong and agile, and disappeared in no time, obviously having squeezed to the front.

Shang Lin smiled and comforted them, "This is my younger brother, the Qiu Xia Lin I mentioned before. Don't worry, I'll make him pay for the broken water bottle!"

They both laughed, and the atmosphere became harmonious.

With nothing to do, the three of them stood aside, chatting idly while observing the students passing by.

Liang Meihua touched her own short hair, then touched Shang Lin's long hair, and said enviously, "Your hair is so beautiful, so black and shiny."

Shanglin simply smiled.

"Aren't you scared? The school doesn't allow long hair. Boys' hair can't be longer than their ears, and girls' hair can't be longer than their necks. Otherwise, they'll be publicly criticized." She suddenly remembered and asked Shanglin.

She was stunned.

Oh no, I forgot about the insane system at No. 5 Middle School!

No long hair, no dyeing or perming hair, no wearing outlandish clothes, no open-toed sandals in summer, no down jackets over school uniforms in winter, be on time for morning and evening self-study sessions, no loud noises on campus... *slaps the back of the head*, you idiot, how could you forget this!

They only cared about convenience and being close to home, but forgot that the rules and regulations of No. 5 Middle School were strict, complicated, dogmatic, and rigid. For a long time afterward, they were not allowed to wear jeans!

Touching my long hair that I've been growing for so long, I made a tough decision: I'll cut it off next week! Without rules, there's no order. Once you're on someone else's turf, you can't expect to be in charge!

The three boys quickly squeezed out. Changsheng carried two, while Xia Lin and Wang Wei each carried one, all smiling and doing so effortlessly.

The exploitation of labor must be thorough. They were prevented from taking over the thermos flasks, and Shanglin directed them to help deliver them back to the girls' dormitory. Changsheng naturally had no objections, but Xialin and Wang Wei joked and bargained, adding drinks to the stir-fry.

The dormitory was still noisy, and the parents hadn't left yet. Seeing this, she told them to take the food in and bring a few apples for dessert.

Three boys entered the girls' dormitory. A few girls glanced at them, but no one paid them any attention. With everyone in such a mess, who knew whose relative you were?

The three boys were entering the girls' dormitory for the first time. Xia Lin looked around furtively; Wang Wei blushed and lowered his head, not daring to look directly at them; only Li Changsheng strode in, head held high and chest out, more at ease than at home, and did not react to the girls' stares. After putting down his water bottle, he asked for Shang Lin's berth and headed straight there.

He felt the thickness of the mattress, squeezed the quilt, and opened the cabinet door to check it out. Finally, he instructed her not to put the thermos next to the bed, lest she burn herself when getting out of bed at night. This frank manner amazed Liang Meihua, who kept asking Shang Lin who he was. After receiving the neighbor's answer, she shook her head repeatedly, saying, "If you hadn't told me, I would have thought he was your brother or your father!"

Xia Lin chuckled, then realized something was wrong—it was Shang Lin's father, so why wasn't he my father? He glared fiercely at Liang Meihua.

After tidying up and taking the apples, she invited Liang Meihua and Chen Zhaodi to dinner, offering to pay.

Liang Meihua readily agreed, while Zhao Di hesitated. Meihua pushed her out the door, saying, "What are you afraid of? We can just treat her to a meal next time!"

Changsheng followed behind Shanglin, tossing an apple in each hand and occasionally saying a few words.

Just as he reached the door, a chubby girl walked in. She looked at Li Changsheng and screamed, "Oh my god!"

The voice was sharp and high-pitched, with a trembling trill, which startled the group.

Someone inside, who was listening, rushed to the door: "Zhang Ran, what's wrong?"

Shanglin turned around and saw the girl who had been bossing him around and finding fault with him before he left. Her family must call her "Ruru".

The chubby girl trembled as she pointed at Li Changsheng and Wang Wei: "What, what happened? Boys came in..."

Shang Lin was taken aback.

"Is it because you look too scary that you frighten people?" — Silently asking Li Changsheng.

Li Changsheng rolled his eyes at her and continued to toss the apple around, playing with it.

Ruru, oh, her surname is Ye, Ye Ruru. Her name sounds gentle, but her personality is anything but.

Without any politeness, he pushed through the crowd, shoved Chen Zhaodi aside, and stood next to Zhang Ran outside the door, glaring at him: "What's going on? This is the girls' dormitory, boys are not allowed in!"

Wang Wei's face immediately turned red.

Li Changsheng acted as if nothing was wrong, ignoring the fact that the enemy's cannon was pointed at him, tossing two apples back and forth in his hands, making people dizzy.

Xia Lin frowned, about to speak, but his sister spoke first.

Steady and polite: "Hello, uncle, whose parent are you?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to Qiu Shanglin, who was greeting and chatting with a student's father. The girls, who had been a little angry, suddenly realized, "Oh right, aren't all these parents boys?"

They all dispersed immediately. The male head of the household exchanged a few words with Shanglin and then went back to his room to make his daughter's bed, pondering whose little girl this was and how cunning she was.

Even if Ye Ruru was stupid, she realized she had been tricked. Knowing she had acted rashly and resenting Zhang Ran for making a fuss, she gritted her teeth for a long time, glared at Qiu Shanglin, and finally stepped aside to let them pass.

One by one, the others went past, with Li Changsheng following at the back. As he passed Ye Ruru, the apple he tossed in the air accidentally slipped from his grasp and headed straight for Ye Ruru's cheek. Amidst her exclamation, he nimbly retrieved it, preventing it from hitting her pretty face.

Upon hearing the sound, Shang Lin glanced over, took a few steps, and said in a low voice, "Why are you scaring the little girl?"

Changsheng grunted but didn't speak.

What are you glaring at? You think you have big eyes? If you glare at Qiu Shanglin again, I'll ruin your eyeballs.

High reinforcement

After packing up her lunchbox, she went to the small washroom with Chen Zhaodi, who was waiting for her outside, to wash the dishes.

It's been almost two weeks since school started, and everything is going well. She sits in the second row. Liang Meihua and Chen Zhaodi, who are deskmates, sit in the third row, one in front of the other. Qiu Shanglin's deskmate is a boy named Gao Jiaqiang. The name sounds strong, but he's a bit of a jerk. He'd had a problem with Qiu Shanglin when the seating arrangement was being made. Everyone was waiting in line outside, and when the homeroom teacher called their names, they went in to sit down. Since their seats were near the front, they were called first. Once everyone was seated, the other deskmates whispered amongst themselves while the homeroom teacher was outside arranging other students, introducing themselves amicably.

Shang Lin also wanted to improve her relationship with her deskmate, and was about to smile at him when Gao Jiaqiang, buried in his math textbook, didn't even look up, his voice icy:

"Go tell the boss you don't want to sit next to me!"

She was stunned. "I didn't."

Gao Jiaqiang raised his head, chin raised, and glanced at her sideways: "I don't want to sit with you!"

She froze, then almost laughed.

Don't want to sit at the same table? If that's your problem, go talk to the homeroom teacher yourself. Why should I be the one to do it?

Seeing that the other person was unfriendly, she gave up the idea of being a good neighbor, and instead of answering, she quietly tidied her desk.