Chapter 50 Jiang Dui dui

Unexpectedly, as soon as they left the market, they ran into a group from the Educated Youth residence. Since moving out of the Educated Youth residence and with the freezing winter weather, everyone had been staying indoors more often. Today’s trip to the market was the first time they had seen each other in a while.

Li Gaoyang glanced at their baskets and asked with a smile, “Educated Youth Tan, Educated Youth Jiang, are you done with the market?”

“Yes, are you just arriving?” Tan Yanlu replied with a smile, exchanging a few words with Li Gaoyang.

Standing nearby, Duan Zheng chimed in, “Yes, we even took a detour to Wu Dama’s house to see if you wanted to come along. But when we got there, you weren’t around, so we came on our own.”

“Oh, you went looking for us? That’s really thoughtful of you. We didn’t think to ask since the Educated Youth residence doesn’t raise pigs, so we didn’t expect you to come by. Sorry for making you go out of your way.”

Tan Yanlu politely chatted with everyone, while Jiang Pan Yu remained quiet after the initial greetings. She had been growing wisdom teeth recently, and her gums were quite uncomfortable, so she wasn’t in the mood for conversation.

Thus, the entire interaction was carried by Tan Yanlu, who chatted with the Educated Youth. Lian Xiuran, in particular, had somehow managed to position himself right next to Tan Yanlu, pushing everyone else aside.

Lian Xiuran’s little scheme was obvious to everyone. Whether male or female, the Educated Youth all had subtle reactions to his behavior. However, Tan Yanlu’s attitude toward Lian Xiuran was no different from how she treated everyone else—if anything, she was even more polite toward him.

Jiang Pan Yu couldn’t figure it out. Was Tan Yanlu still under the influence of some mental block, subconsciously ignoring Lian Xiuran’s good looks? Or did she genuinely not like his type?

What kind of guy did Tan Yanlu like, anyway? Certainly not someone like Gao Shaolin!

As Jiang Pan Yu was pondering what kind of handsome man Tan Yanlu might be into, someone who couldn’t stand being left out decided to stir up trouble.

Zhao Xiuzhu and Shen Shilei arrived together, both coming over to talk to her, though each had their own agenda.

Shen Shilei’s intentions were simpler. She hadn’t been doing well at the Educated Youth residence lately and was considering moving out. From the way she had bullied Jiang Pan Yu on the train, it was clear that she wasn’t the magnanimous type. On the contrary, she had a tendency to pick on those she perceived as weaker.

But who could she bully at the Educated Youth residence? The male Educated Youth were out of her reach, and as for the female Educated Youth—Zhao Xiuzhu and Li Yunying were older and more experienced. If anything, they were more likely to bully her than the other way around. If Shen Shilei dared to cause trouble, she’d probably get a beating under the covers at night.

Chen Xiaoxue seemed shy, but she had already established a good relationship with Zhao Xiuzhu, so Shen Shilei didn’t dare mess with her either.

Shen Shilei didn’t dare touch anyone and often got scolded for slacking off. She found herself missing the days when Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu were still at the Educated Youth residence.

Back then, with Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu around, the workload was distributed more evenly, and Shen Shilei could get away with doing a half-hearted job. Now, that was no longer possible.

Shen Shilei thought moving out might be a good idea—at least no one would constantly nitpick her work. So, she wanted to rent a place with Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu.

But how could Jiang Pan Yu agree to it? Dividing one room into two small spaces was just right for two people. What would it mean to have one more person living there? Even if it meant sharing part of the rent, it would eliminate any privacy, and neither Tan Yanlu nor Jiang Pan Yu was willing to accept that.

Jiang Pan Yu immediately smiled and declined the request. Shen Shilei, who had been rejected, didn’t look pleased but didn’t dare to say much.

Jiang Pan Yu didn’t bother to pay her any attention. She wasn’t anyone important to Shen Shilei, so why should she care about her feelings?

Shen Shilei parted ways with Jiang Pan Yu, visibly disappointed.

Then came Zhao Xiuzhu, who inexplicably approached. She looked Jiang Pan Yu up and down and said in a sour tone, “Educated Youth Jiang, I didn’t realize you’re quite good-looking. I thought you grew up in the city, but back then, you looked so pale and thin, like a refugee from somewhere. Who would’ve thought you’d look even better in the countryside? It seems the rural environment suits you better.”

This was a veiled jab at Jiang Pan Yu, implying she was destined for rural life.

Jiang Pan Yu couldn’t help but laugh at Zhao Xiuzhu’s words. She had wrapped her face in a large scarf today, leaving only her eyes visible. How could Zhao Xiuzhu even tell she looked good?

Moreover, Zhao Xiuzhu seemed to think the skies had cleared, the rain had stopped, and she was back in her element, ready to stir up trouble.

Jiang Pan Yu smiled. People like her had sharp tongues, but it didn’t matter. She just needed to teach her a lesson. She fired back, “Yes, the environment here is quite nourishing. Look at Educated Youth Tan, Educated Youth Lian, and the others—they all look quite good. Full of vitality, they’re clearly the successors of socialism, young and energetic. But I’m afraid this environment doesn’t seem to suit you, Educated Youth Zhao. Your skin still looks so sallow, and you’ve got two more wrinkles at the corners of your eyes. Didn’t I tell you before? Don’t get angry so often, and don’t be jealous of others. Anger and jealousy age you. Why don’t you care about your appearance? Look at you, standing next to us—it’s a bit of a mismatch! You should go to the supply and marketing cooperative and buy a bottle of snow cream. Take good care of yourself. Even if you don’t care about your own face, you should consider how others feel. After all, hurting someone’s eyes is a form of mental insult! Oh, don’t blame me for being honest. We’re all comrades here, so I’m speaking from the heart. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t bother. I’m doing this for your own good. Honest advice is hard to swallow, but it’s good medicine. You should take it to heart. You won’t blame me for saying this, will you? But even if you do, I’ll still say it. After all, we’re all educated youths, and helping each other is what we should do.”

Jiang Pan Yu might as well have outright said, “It’s fine if you’re ugly, but you should consider how others feel when they look at you. Being too ugly hurts people’s eyes—what are we supposed to do about that?”

And then she added, “I’m only telling you the truth because I care about you. If it were someone else, I wouldn’t bother.” How could Zhao Xiuzhu possibly respond to that?

Her face turned red with anger, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She gritted her teeth and said, “Jiang Pan Yu, you’re still as sharp-tongued as ever!”

Jiang Pan Yu smiled and said, “You flatter me, Comrade Zhao. I genuinely mean well for you. One must have the courage to face their shortcomings and correct them in time, as it is beneficial and harmless to oneself.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she darted over to Tan Yanlu’s side, squeezing past Lian Xiuran, and linked arms with Tan Yanlu, chatting and laughing away.

Jiang Pan Yu’s words were naturally heard by many. The fellow Educated Youth exchanged peculiar glances, looking at Zhao Xiuzhu, probably thinking, “You knew Jiang Pan Yu was not someone to be trifled with, and her words were never kind, so why did you provoke her? It’s like being addicted to trouble despite being outmatched. Being taught a lesson is no one’s fault but your own!”

Zhao Xiuzhu felt as if her heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were all aching from Jiang Pan Yu’s words, yet she couldn’t lash out.

If a scene were to break out, even if she managed to suppress Jiang Pan Yu, it wouldn’t do her any good. Others would only say she was bullying the younger one and wouldn’t speak a kind word about her, especially since she was the one who started the trouble in the first place!