Lin Qi looked at her and smiled faintly, "I'm afraid if I speak my mind, second sister-in-law, you might find yourself in an awkward position."
If it weren't for Chen Lishu's sake, with someone like Liu Yuemin, he could find fault with her for three days and three nights without repeating himself.
Liu Yuemin looked at the fake smile on his face, wishing she could pounce on him and scratch his face.
...
Time flew by until the day of new student registration. Gu Xingdong was originally supposed to take her, but a sudden mission came down, and he had to leave for a few days. Chen Lishu had no choice but to carry her luggage herself to catch the bus.
There was quite a bit of luggage. As she was leaving the family residential area, the on-duty young soldier specifically came to help and carried it to the bus stop for her.
After taking the bus to the city and transferring once, Chen Lishu finally arrived at the Provincial Normal College.
At the school entrance, a prominent banner welcomed new students. Looking at the solemn and majestic school before her, Chen Lishu felt a flicker of excitement.
New students reporting for registration entered one after another. After Chen Lishu admired the scene for a while, she followed the crowd through the school gate. On the cement path leading to the main teaching building, a long row of tables displayed reception signs for each department.
"Hey, Zhiwei, look at that girl over there in the dark blue dress with two braided pigtails. She's so pretty, almost as good as Jiang Yuwei, wouldn't you say?"
At the foreign languages department's new student reception, a chubby young man suddenly nudged Li Zhiwei's arm with his elbow, a hint of excitement in his expression. "It would be great if she was assigned to our department. The foreign languages department has always been a place for beautiful women."
"These girls from the countryside, like little black lumps, only someone with your taste could appreciate them. I, my friend, am not so blessed."
Li Zhiwei replied grumpily. This was the fifth time Feng Pangzi had spoken to him in this tone today. At first, he found it a bit novel, but then, well, he could barely tell they were girls.
"Trust me, this time it's different."
"Fatty, can you be a bit more reliable? Don't always compare others to Jiang Yu..."
Li Zhiwei said, but his gaze followed Feng Pangzi's finger. When he saw the pretty figure walking towards them, his heart suddenly began to beat uncontrollably.
The girl, about eighteen or nineteen years old, was more than ten meters away. Her skin was as white as a freshly peeled egg, and there wasn't a single feature in her eyes, eyebrows, or nose that wasn't exquisite.
Just as Li Zhiwei was racking his brain for words to describe the girl, she suddenly stopped at the table in front of him.
"Excuse me,同學, this is where the foreign languages department reports. Which major are you from?" Feng Pangzi was about to eagerly stand up when someone deliberately stepped on his foot.
Li Zhiwei shot him a warning glare, then adjusted his side-parted hair and stood up. "Classmate, which major are you from?"
Feng Pangzi was almost disgusted by his affected tone and couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly.
"Hello, senior. I'm Chen Lishu from the English major." Chen Lishu said, handing over the admission notice she had prepared.
Chen Lishu.
Li Zhiwei savored the name. Even a beautiful girl's name sounded so pleasant.
"Classmate, we're not 'seniors.' We're just student union cadres who reported a day earlier and were assigned duties."
Feng Pangzi explained with a smile.
As this was the first cohort of students after the resumption of the college entrance examination, the previous two cohorts were worker-peasant-soldier university students. Given the limited number of recommended students, the school teachers, fearing they would be overwhelmed, assigned some of the students who reported early to handle the task of receiving new students.
"I'll register you right away and then take you to the dormitory." Li Zhiwei scribbled a few lines, then pushed his pen and the registration book towards Feng Pangzi. "You do it. I'll escort the person."
Before Feng Pangzi could protest, Li Zhiwei had already taken Chen Lishu's luggage and led her around the main teaching building towards the dormitories behind it.
Along the way, as Li Zhiwei introduced various aspects, Chen Lishu quickly gained a general understanding of the school, silently noting the locations of the lecture halls, the cafeteria, and other facilities.
The school dormitories consisted of two three-story buildings facing each other. One was for male dormitories, and the other was for female dormitories. A large brick flower bed separated the two buildings.
Due to the season, the flower bed was bare at the moment.
Upon reaching the girls' dormitory building, the dormitory supervisor aunt downstairs paid no mind, as these days were for new student registration.
Chen Lishu's dormitory was at the innermost side of the first-floor corridor. As soon as she opened the door, she saw that three people were already inside.
Hearing the door open, the three people who were talking looked up at Chen Lishu, their gazes assessing her background and family circumstances.
Chen Lishu was unfazed. She smiled politely at the three, noticed that the two upper bunks by the window were already taken, and the lower bunk opposite was also occupied by a girl. She then walked towards the other lower bunk.
"Thank you, Li classmate, for helping me carry my luggage." Chen Lishu took her luggage and thanked Li Zhiwei with a smile.
"We're all classmates, helping each other is what we do. Don't be so formal. You can just call me Li Zhiwei from now on."
After all, it was a girls' dormitory, so Li Zhiwei didn't linger. He gave his parting remark and turned to leave.
Seeing him leave, Chen Lishu began to unpack her bedding and arrange her bed.
While she was busy, the other three people had been quietly observing her. After all, good-looking girls always gave people a sense of being out of reach.
When Chen Lishu finally finished making her bed, sat on it, and let out a sigh, she smiled and introduced herself to everyone, "Hello everyone, my name is Chen Lishu. I'm twenty years old and come from a rural village in a county town down below."
Upon hearing she was from the countryside, the three who had been somewhat reserved immediately relaxed.
"Then you'll be the third for now. Eldest sister Yang Lili, twenty-nine this year, is already married..." a round-faced, slightly plump girl spoke first.
As she introduced them, Chen Lishu learned that Eldest Sister Yang Lili was from the third cohort, a sent-down youth who had married a local villager and now had an eight-year-old daughter. Second Sister Zhang Xue was twenty-four and unmarried, an employee at a factory. The girl who spoke was currently ranked fourth, named Li He, an应届 graduate from a county town in the neighboring province, seventeen years old this year.
At noon, the four of them went to the cafeteria together for lunch. The cafeteria offered two types of meals: one was self-funded, meaning you paid with money and grain coupons, and the other was a "portion meal," subsidized by the school. As the name suggested, the portion size was the same for everyone, regardless of age or gender.
Chen Lishu didn't want to be too conspicuous, so she chose the same "portion meal" as the other three.
After eating, the four returned to the dormitory together. Yang Lili read, Zhang Xue and Li He chatted, while Chen Lishu took off her coat, covered herself with the blanket, and took a nap.
In the afternoon, two more girls moved in. Both were from out of province, one named Zhu Qing, and the other Liu Ying. Chen Lishu's rank in the dormitory was pushed back further.
It was her first time living in a collective environment. At first, Chen Lishu thought she wouldn't adapt. However, accompanied by the soft whispers of the others, Chen Lishu gradually drifted off to sleep.
The next day, Chen Lishu was sitting on her bed reading when the dormitory door was pushed open. Two girls, about eighteen or nineteen years old, walked in, followed by several parents who were escorting their children to school.
Judging by their clothing and demeanor, they seemed to be people of status.
"Zhiwei, is this the dorm where Yuwei and Lingling will be staying? Isn't there any better place?" A woman in her forties, dressed elegantly, looked at the dormitory before her with a frown and a look of intense disdain.