Chapter 014

When Yu Sitian and Wan Hong arrived at the courtyard, it was almost noon.

They were still dressed the same way as that day, with two long braids, red scarves, and green military uniforms, which made them easily noticeable from a distance.

The two of them joined Xiao Jianguo and the others, playing around in the yard.

They had only been playing for a short while when it was already time for lunch.

The seven of them went to the canteen together, making so much noise that it felt like the roof of the canteen might lift off.

Boys around sixteen or seventeen years old loved to show off in front of pretty girls, each one trying to outdo the other with their boasting.

Ji Chen wasn’t fond of flattering others or showing off.

At lunch, he could only listen to Zheng Hang and Xiao Jianguo, along with the others, boast and brag.

They were boasting so wildly that it was like a cloud-filled sky, leaving the young girls dumbfounded.

After each of them had finished bragging about their own glorious deeds, they started talking about Ji Chen’s story.

As they went back and forth, the conversation inevitably turned to Meng Li.

Yu Sitian listened with interest and then, after a moment of thought, asked, “That day at the ice rink, I specifically took a look—wasn’t Meng Li the little short person sitting on the ice? Thin and pale, looking almost like a girl. Is he really as tough as you all say?”

Xiao Jianguo swallowed the food in his mouth, then looked at Yu Sitian. “Don’t be fooled by his appearance. He looks like a skinny little monkey, not tall, and seems like a girl, but when it comes to fighting, he’s ruthless. Doesn’t care about his life at all. People like him are the ones we fear the most in a fight—reckless and fearless.”

Yu Sitian slowly nodded. “Seems like you really can’t judge a person by their looks…”

Ji Chen, while eating, didn’t pay attention to the details of their conversation. However, his mind automatically picked up on the phrase “looks like a girl” and, without control, his imagination began to work—he started picturing Meng Li as a girl with two long braids.

After his imagination took over, the image of Meng Li as a girl became exceptionally sweet.

She stood in front of him with a subtle smile, playfully tugging at her braid, her face blushing slightly, her voice soft and sweet as she called him, “Chen gege…”

At that thought, Ji Chen suddenly shuddered.

When he came back to his senses, he looked down at the food in his lunchbox and felt disgusted, nearly vomiting. With a swift motion, he slammed his chopsticks down and walked away.

The others, startled by his sudden action, looked at each other in confusion. “…”

This guy has been acting strange lately…

Ji Chen went to the back of the rock garden to cool off in the breeze, sticking a cigarette in his mouth.

He thought deeply about her recent odd behaviors and finally came to one conclusion—Meng Li was trouble! From now on, he needed to stay far away from her.

As the cigarette in his mouth was almost finished, a girl came out from behind the rock garden.

They hadn’t spoken much during the whole time they had been playing, but Ji Chen knew her name was Yu Sitian.

Yu Sitian walked up to him and asked with concern, “Have you eaten enough?”

Ji Chen stubbed the cigarette out on the stone. “Is there something you need?”

Yu Sitian sat down on a stone beside him, facing him slightly. “Not really, I just noticed you seemed upset, and you didn’t finish your meal. So I came over to check on you.”

Ji Chen spoke in a flat tone, “I’m fine. You can go back and play.”

However, Yu Sitian didn’t leave after hearing this. She hesitated for a moment before saying, “I… was wondering if we could be friends?”

Ji Chen glanced at her and casually replied, “Do you want to be friends who can sleep together, or friends who can’t?”

Yu Sitian was taken aback by his question, her face immediately turning a mix of white and red.

Her cheeks flushed bright red, and a hint of anger appeared on her face. She stood up, stomped her foot, and turned to leave.

As she walked away, she threw one word over her shoulder—”Pervert!”

Ji Chen didn’t react much. He lazily lay back on the stone, closing his eyes.

The afternoon sun was bright and warm, casting a golden light on his face and clothes, making him feel comfortably warm all over.

…

After her period had ended, Meng Li woke up feeling refreshed.

She stretched her arms and legs in front of her bed, then grabbed a porcelain cup and toothbrush before heading outside to wash her face and brush her teeth.

As she stepped out of her room and into the hallway, she saw Gu Huijuan coming out of her own room.

Gu Huijuan glanced at her with a neutral expression and said, “What a lucky person you are, sleeping until the sun’s already high in the sky.”

Meng Li usually didn’t wake up early, mainly because she had nothing pressing to do.

She figured that Gu Huijuan must be on holiday today, which was why she wasn’t going to work.

Meng Li walked over to the stove to scoop up some hot water and replied casually, “I saved your family a meal, isn’t that exactly what you wanted?”

Gu Huijuan sneered and sat down at the table. “Should I thank you for that?”

Meng Li turned around, holding the porcelain cup. “No need to be polite.”

Ever since the last time Meng Li lost her temper and argued with Gu Huijuan, their relationship had naturally become worse. Gu Huijuan grew increasingly critical of everything Meng Li did, while Meng Li no longer had any patience to endure it.

As soon as Gu Huijuan said anything about her, Meng Li would always respond in kind.

After being a “mute” for so long, she really thought she was easy to bully, and she would always say something derogatory about her.

Gu Huijuan did not get angry this time. She brought herself a glass of hot water. She said slowly, “You don’t have to be so rude to me. You can only blame your bad luck for not having a good father.”

“Look at Shao Jun in the west room and Yongmei in the east room. They are a hundred times better than you. You have a bad background and you just hang out and fight all day long. You are neither male nor female. It’s really unlucky. I shouldn’t have brought you to the Cheng family in the first place. It’s really embarrassing for me.”

Meng Li looked at Gu Huijuan without getting angry. “I am neither male nor female and go out to fool around and fight, not because I don’t have a good father, but because I don’t have a good mother. Comrade Gu Huijuan, people should have conscience, but you don’t have one.”

Gu Huijuan was so angry that her face turned black and she slammed the table. “Meng Li, you…”

Meng Li stood up straight, “What about me? If I hadn’t met an inhuman mother like you, I could wear a flowery skirt in the summer and a flowery cotton jacket in the winter, with long braids and red hairbands!”

Gu Huijuan was so angry that she was about to explode. She had raised Meng Li for more than ten years, and she had never been so angry with her.

This girl has become more and more outrageous recently, with a sharp tongue and no respect for elders!

This kind of girl who doesn’t distinguish between the old and the young will be fried in hell!

Her chest was heaving violently, but she couldn’t hold back her breath to roar. Gu Huijuan pointed at the door curtain and said weakly: “Get out of here.”

Meng Li wasn’t angry. She lowered her head and took a sip of water from the ceramic jar to rinse her mouth.

After rinsing, she stuffed the toothbrush into her mouth and mumbled, “Apart from this sentence, what else can you say? I’m not leaving. I’m going to stay right here in front of you, sticking to your eyelids, and let’s see what you can do about it…”

After Meng Li had become Meng Li, she slowly began to merge with her body and memories. Over time, she unconsciously picked up some of her habits.

Meng Li had never been someone easily bullied. It wasn’t that she couldn’t show her rebellious and unruly side, but she never used it on Gu Huijuan. However, Meng Li had no emotional attachment to Gu Huijuan, and after tolerating her a few times, she no longer wanted to put up with it.

As expected, Gu Huijuan was infuriated by Meng Li, looking as though she might faint from anger. Realizing she wouldn’t get any satisfaction from continuing, she slowly wiped the anger off her face, stood up from the table, and gritted her teeth. “Fine, I’m leaving…”

Just as Gu Huijuan grabbed her bag and walked toward the door, the door curtain moved slightly.

Zhou Nan, who had been listening by the door for a while, darted out like the wind, rushing to the front of Zhuo Xi. He placed his hands on his hips, gasping for air, and said, “No need to check anymore…”