After class, Yang Lili watched two more students go to Sun Ling to pay, feeling conflicted. She was so distracted that she spaced out during her first class.
At noon, seeing Chen Li Shu and Zhang Xue get up, she quickly packed her bag and followed them to the cafeteria.
“Li Shu, I wanted to borrow…” Yang Lili mustered her courage to speak, but suddenly two figures rushed over from the side. Looking sideways, she saw it was Li Zhi Wei and Feng Pang Zi.
“Chen Li Shu, did you bring any good food in your bag today?” Li Zhi Wei asked with a grin, his gaze fixed on Chen Li Shu’s bag.
Zhang Xue couldn't help but tease, “Li Zhi Wei, do you have X-ray vision?”
Li Zhi Wei shook his head, “No X-ray vision, but I have a bloodhound. Feng Pang Zi smelled it and told me.”
Feng Pang Zi immediately glared at him in displeasure.
“Li Shu brought mushroom sauce from home. I ate some for breakfast, and it had meat in it. It was delicious.”
Upon hearing that there was meat, Li Zhi Wei and Feng Pang Zi drooled and followed Chen Li Shu to the cafeteria.
“I’m not very hungry. Why don’t you guys go ahead?” Yang Lili said, preparing to leave. She didn't have much money or ration coupons, and eating dishes was a luxury.
Chen Li Shu glanced at her subtly and smiled, “To thank you for lending me your notes, how about I treat you all to lunch today?” Chen Li Shu said with a smile.
Hearing that she was treating, Zhang Xue immediately grabbed Yang Lili and urged her to go to the cafeteria with them. Yang Lili couldn't refuse and ended up going with them.
With the five of them, Chen Li Shu ordered four dishes and five servings of rice, costing less than two yuan in total.
Besides the dishes, more than half of the jar of mushroom sauce she brought was shared among everyone. If Zhang Xue hadn't snatched it back from Li Zhi Wei in the end, they probably would have eaten it all directly.
After the meal, Yang Lili needed to go back to the dormitory to study, and Zhang Xue wanted to go to the library. She insisted on dragging Chen Li Shu along. After leaving the cafeteria, the three of them parted ways.
“Yang Lili, I just checked, and you haven’t paid yet. We all live in the same dormitory. You’re not going to refuse to support my work, are you?”
As soon as Yang Lili entered the dormitory, Sun Ling got off her bed and looked at her.
“Sun Ling, can I not buy the clothes? I can choose not to participate that day,” Yang Lili carefully tried to negotiate with her.
She hadn't signed up for the project, and with so many people there that day, no one would have noticed.
“How can you not participate? This is a group activity. Besides, it’s only three yuan. If you save a little and eat less, you can save up for it.”
Yang Lili listened to her words, her eyes half-lowered, unsure how to respond.
“I’m a bit tight on money recently.”
As soon as she tried to explain, Sun Ling’s face suddenly fell, displeased, “You’re hesitating over just three yuan. Who comes to school without even three yuan in their pocket? If you’re really that poor, why are you still coming to school? You might as well go home and farm.”
Yang Lili was reprimanded by her, and her embarrassed face turned red.
“Forget it, Sun Ling. If she’s really struggling with the three yuan, I’ll pay it for her.” Jiang Yu Wei, who had been sitting and reading, took out three yuan from her pocket and handed it to Sun Ling.
It was her own clothes she was buying, how could she let Jiang Yu Wei pay? If Jiang Yu Wei really paid for it, what kind of person would she be? Even though she was reluctant, Yang Lili gritted her teeth and took out the small bills of three yuan from her pocket and handed them to Sun Ling.
“You do have money, don’t you?” Sun Ling unceremoniously took the money and crossed out Yang Lili’s name in her notebook.
…
“Chen Li Shu, Zhang Xue, you two are the only ones who haven’t paid. Today is the last day, and I’m going to buy the clothes tomorrow. Hurry up and pay.”
After the first class in the afternoon, Sun Ling personally called out their names in front of the entire class.
“Pay what?” Chen Li Shu asked, feigning ignorance.
“For the sports meet, everyone is required to wear unified attire. A sailor shirt costs three yuan.” Although she was sure Chen Li Shu was playing dumb, Sun Ling endured it and explained in front of the entire class.
“Sun Ling, the school didn’t require everyone to wear sailor shirts. You decided this yourself, right?” Zhang Xue retorted with dissatisfaction.
“The class committee decided this,” Sun Ling looked at the two of them and suddenly curved her lips, provocatively asking, “You two don’t have three yuan, do you?”
“You guessed right. I’m from the countryside and my family is not well-off. I really can’t afford these three yuan. So, tell me, can I participate in this sports meet? If not, I’ll go directly to ask the head teacher, or check with the department if there are any regulations stating that those who don’t wear uniform clothing are not allowed to participate in activities.” Chen Li Shu said nonchalantly.
Sun Ling choked for a moment and was angry for a long time before sneering, “You can’t even afford three yuan, what are you so arrogant about? Someone like you who disregards the collective honor of the class will have big-character posters pasted about you tomorrow.”
Chen Li Shu smiled, “Where I come from, the poorer you are, the more glorious it is. If you’re going to promote me for free, I’ll thank you very much.”
“Pfft…”
“Haha…”
As soon as Chen Li Shu finished speaking, Zhang Xue, Li Zhi Wei, and others couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“You!” Sun Ling stamped her feet in anger but couldn't do anything about Chen Li Shu.
“If I had known pasting big-character posters had such an explanation, I wouldn’t have paid the three yuan long ago,” Li Zhi Wei shouted and stood up, “Sun Ling, give me my money back. I’m not buying the clothes.”
“Me too,” Feng Pang Zi immediately agreed.
“I want to get my money back too,” Li Hai Long also chimed in.
“Actually, I didn’t want to buy those clothes long ago.”
As more and more people voiced their opinions, Sun Ling found herself in a difficult position on the podium. “They two don’t want to, it’s their personal choice about not loving the collective. Why are you all joining in the commotion?”
“What is the collective? The collective is about listening to everyone’s opinions, not a one-man show,” Chen Li Shu said sternly.
“The school organizes sports meets to encourage everyone to stay fit and showcase the charm of competition. What you’re doing is completely adding burdens to everyone.”
“Well said.” As soon as Chen Li Shu finished speaking, their head teacher, Chen Yin Chu, suddenly interjected.
He had been there for a while, and some students had already privately reported the situation to him, so he was preparing to come and see. He didn’t expect to witness this scene.
“Teacher.” Seeing him enter, Sun Ling forcefully swallowed the reprimand that was about to come out of her mouth and said to Chen Yin Chu with some grievance, “Teacher, I only wanted everyone to wear the same clothes to win honor for the class. It’s only three yuan in total, and everyone agreed at first. It was Chen Li Shu and Zhang Xue who instigated everyone’s emotions.”
“To gain honor, you can’t just focus on the surface. I hope everyone can put more effort into their professional courses and academics,” Chen Yin Chu said meaningfully.
“It’s almost time for class. After class, return everyone’s money.”
Chen Yin Chu said the last sentence looking at Sun Ling. Seeing that the subject teacher had already arrived with books, he didn’t delay and turned to leave.
Watching him leave, Sun Ling glared fiercely at Chen Li Shu. It was all because of her that she had lost face in front of the entire class.