Chapter 020

Meng Li was waiting for the bus by the roadside, her gaze fixed on the road. Of course, she also saw Ji Chen.

Their eyes met for two seconds before quickly shifting away. She pretended not to notice him.

After Ji Chen rode past, his group of friends rushed by in a flurry, and soon the road became quiet again.

Meng Li stood by the roadside, took a gentle breath, and continued waiting for her ride.

She was standing at a bus stop, but there was no bus shelter like she was used to. Instead, there was just a white-painted metal pole with a route sign hanging above it.

After waiting a while longer, the bus finally arrived. When it stopped in front of her, she was the first to board.

Once on the bus, she scanned the area and noticed there was one empty seat left in the back. She slung her backpack over her shoulder and made her way to the back to sit down.

While waiting for the bus by the roadside, Meng Li had already spotted Luo Yongmei and Shao Jun. Naturally, they had also boarded the same bus.

Since they got on later, there were no seats left, so they had to stand, holding onto the handrails.

Even when they crossed paths in the courtyard, they usually ignored each other as if they were invisible. Now, outside, it was even more so.

Meng Li sat in her seat, not looking at them, her thoughts wandering as she turned her face toward the window, staring outside.

She spaced out for quite a while, watching the scenery outside the window shift and retreat, her gaze becoming more and more vacant.

Meng Li hadn’t planned to snap out of it, but then she heard someone call her name twice—”Meng Li.”

Hearing the voice, Meng Li turned her head.

It was Shao Jun who called her name, and at that moment, he was looking at her as well.

When Shao Jun called her name, he was very polite, just as he was now.

Seeing that she responded, he smiled and, holding onto the handrail, lowered his head to say to her, “We’re all men here. Why not give your seat to a woman? It’s tiring to stand all the way home.”

Meng Li, of course, understood. Shao Jun was suggesting that she give her seat to Luo Yongmei.

She wasn’t sure where the courage had come from to say this, but Meng Li glanced at Luo Yongmei, then looked back at Shao Jun, and lightly replied, “I don’t give up my seat to girls who are uglier than me.”

“…”

Shao Jun was momentarily stunned by her words.

Luo Yongmei’s face immediately flushed, even her ears turning red. She pressed her lips together, her eyes brimming with tears.

They didn’t dare to provoke Meng Li, so they could only swallow their pride.

After that, there was no more conversation. They just stood there silently, holding onto the handrails.

Meng Li didn’t bother with them anymore. She simply took off her sheepskin cap and pulled it over her face, settling in to sleep.

She had earned her seat by her own means, so why should she give it up?

When the bus reached her stop, Meng Li adjusted her hat and got off, never once glancing at Shao Jun or Luo Yongmei.

As for the so-called gentlemanly conduct, she wasn’t a gentleman.

Though Shao Jun and Luo Yongmei usually didn’t provoke her, their attitudes were clear in their eyes.

They didn’t say anything to her face, but that was only because they didn’t dare. Behind her back, who knew how they might talk about her, looking down on her and mocking her.

Meng Li wasn’t foolish; she knew exactly what was going on in her mind.

As for those two, she couldn’t be bothered to maintain any superficial neighborly relationship with them.

Shao Jun and Luo Yongmei got off the bus before Meng Li, but they certainly weren’t walking as fast as she was.

They kept a long distance behind her, and the more they watched her figure, the more frustrated they became.

Just as they were nearing Zhima Hutong, Luo Yongmei suddenly stopped and refused to move forward.

She felt suffocated, her eyes slightly red. With a wronged expression, she turned to Shao Jun and said, “How can someone be so uncultured? No one has ever spoken to me like that before. He embarrassed me in front of so many people.”

Shao Jun didn’t dare to openly take her side but could only offer patient reassurance. “His father’s reputation is already well-known. He’s been like this for years—what good can come of him? Just look at him, always stirring up trouble. Even Aunt Gu knows he’s a lost cause.”

Seeing that Luo Yongmei was still upset, he added, “What kind of people are we, and what kind of person is he? Why stoop to his level? If a dog bites you, are you going to bite it back? Let’s just not bother with him, okay?”

Luo Yongmei sniffled, “But I just feel so frustrated.”

Shao Jun continued to patiently comfort her, “Just go home, eat a good meal, and take a nap. You’ll forget about it.”

Luo Yongmei took a deep breath and slightly pressed her lips together. “Alright.”

Seeing that she seemed to be calming down, Shao Jun walked beside her as they continued toward home.

Thinking about what had happened at school today, Luo Yongmei felt a bit curious. She looked at Shao Jun and asked, “By the way, I heard that Ji Chen, who just arrived this afternoon, is also out there causing trouble. His reputation is about the same as Meng Li’s, right?”

Shao Jun, being a guy, didn’t get involved in those kinds of things, but he knew more about them than Luo Yongmei did.

He nodded. “Their reputations are similar, but Ji Chen and Meng Li are not on the same level at all. There’s no comparison. To be honest, Meng Li is just a thug, but Ji Chen is different.”

Luo Yongmei became even more curious. “How is he different?”

Shao Jun slowly explained, “Ji Chen is different from us. He grew up in the General Staff Compound. His father is a high-ranking official, and the people he associates with are also children of officials. His position among the children of officials is very high.”

Luo Yongmei understood and slowly nodded. “I see.”

Shao Jun let out a long breath. “But none of this concerns us, so we shouldn’t worry about it. Some of the kids from those big compound families look down on us. They think they’re superior because they’re the sons and daughters of officials, while we’re just ordinary people from Beijing.”

Luo Yongmei nodded slowly. “Their parents all came to Beijing after the founding of the country, so they’re really different from us.”

Shao Jun smiled. “If you spend more time with them, you’ll see. They can’t even speak proper Beijing dialect. They always speak in a stiff, awkward way, mostly using standard Mandarin.”

Luo Yongmei glanced at Shao Jun and quickly added, “I’m not going to hang out with them. They’re kind of scary.”

As she spoke, she couldn’t help but think of Ji Chen entering the classroom that afternoon. She felt, once again, that he was indeed a child of a prestigious family. His looks, his clothes, his aura—everything about him was so different from the local boys she grew up with.

Compared to them, Ji Chen was much more elegant and charismatic.

Then, thinking about it—this charismatic person sitting next to Meng Li…

Luo Yongmei’s eyes suddenly widened, and she turned to Shao Jun. “Isn’t Ji Chen supposed to be on the same level as Meng Li in terms of reputation? And since the kids from the compound and the ones from our alley are naturally at odds with each other, do you think there’s a chance they might get into a fight?”

Shao Jun thought for a moment. “They’ve been sitting together for half the day, and neither of them paid any attention to the other. I don’t know if they’ll end up fighting. But our school has strict rules, and the teachers and principal aren’t easy to deal with, so they probably wouldn’t dare to cause trouble…”

Then, he whispered, “A lot of people are waiting for them to fight. If they really do, it’d be quite the spectacle…”

Luo Yongmei pictured both Ji Chen and Meng Li in her mind, feeling a bit uncertain. “But with Meng Li’s skinny arms and legs, do you really think he could stand up to Ji Chen in a fight? I think he’d definitely get pinned down by Ji Chen.”

Shao Jun chuckled and shrugged. “I’d say the same.”

With that, they reached the courtyard gate, bringing their gossip to an end.

Luo Yongmei and Shao Jun fell silent, walking side by side as they stepped through the entrance.