Chapter 6 – Doesn’t Think Much of Her

“What do you mean, what’s going on?” Zhao Yu didn’t understand Ning Songyun’s words.

“What else could it be? When did you meet my brother? And since when are you so close with him?”

Her brother?

Zhao Yu’s thoughts instantly drifted back to the office earlier.

She remembered the way Ning Songyi looked at her—that pair of deep, dark eyes, and those long, slender yet powerful fingers.

When Ning Songyun saw Zhao Yu zoning out for so long, her gaze unfocused like she had drifted away, she reached out and poked her. “What are you thinking about?”

“Ah?” Zhao Yu snapped back, flustered. “N-nothing! How could I have anything to do with your brother? I’d never even met him before today.”

“Really?” Ning Songyun narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

Just now Zhao Yu had been lost in thought about her brother, but with Ning Songyun’s sudden questioning, she nervously shifted her gaze aside and unconsciously inched her body a little farther away.

“Of course it’s true! Don’t overthink. Your brother probably just saw that we’re friends, so he wanted to help out.”

“My brother’s not that warm-hearted,” Ning Songyun muttered.

But she also knew Ning Songyi had only just been transferred over from their grandfather’s side of the family, so it made no sense that he and Zhao Yu would know each other.

Hearing Zhao Yu say this, she didn’t push further.

After all, her little friend seemed thin-skinned. Better to wait until next month, when she went home, to interrogate that thick-skinned brother of hers.

With that settled, Ning Songyun shrugged and pulled a basin out from under the bed. “Yuyu, do you want to go wash up together?”

Zhao Yu glanced outside. It was already dark. If they went to wash now, once roll call was over, they could go straight to bed. She pulled out her own basin. “Let’s go.”

But the moment they opened the door, they found Lin Shu standing there, who knew for how long.

“What are you doing just standing here?” Ning Songyun patted her chest. “You scared me half to death.”

Lin Shu said nothing. She just lowered her head, walked into the dorm, picked up her luggage from the floor, and without looking back, left the building.

Curious, Ning Songyun tugged Zhao Yu along to the dorm corridor window to sneak a look.

“Hey! Yuyu, look—isn’t that Lu Jing?”

Zhao Yu followed her gaze and saw Lu Jing reaching out to take Lin Shu’s luggage.

Lin Shu said something through her tears, wiping at them with her hand, while Lu Jing hurriedly handed her a handkerchief, looking flustered.

“So he’s still able to stroll around, huh? Seems like the punishment of extra weighted training and writing a self-criticism was too light.”

Ning Songyun muttered in a low voice, curling her lip. “Shameless!”

“Come on, we’ll be late for room check.”

Zhao Yu couldn’t be bothered to watch them any longer. She turned and headed toward the washbasins.

Ning Songyun jogged to catch up. “Yuyu, do you think Lu Jing will marry Lin Shu?”

“He will. And he won’t.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means Lu Jing doesn’t think much of Lin Shu right now.”

“Huh? Then they won’t get married?”

“Who knows.”

Zhao Yu smiled faintly, set down her basin, and began to wash up. But her mind drifted back to her past life.

At first, aside from the monthly quarrels about giving Lin Shu money, she and Lu Jing had shared some sweet, warm days.

But as she aged rapidly from overwork, while Lin Shu only grew younger and prettier, Lu Jing gradually leaned toward her.

In the end, he even chose to kill her just to be with Lin Shu.

Zhao Yu splashed a handful of water onto her face and let out a long breath.

This time, without her acting as the obstacle between them, without her playing the role of the exhausted caretaker—

She wanted to see just how far the two of them would go.

That night, Ning Songyun tossed and turned in bed. Finally, she whispered Zhao Yu’s name.

“Yuyu, you said Lu Jing doesn’t like Lin Shu. Okay, so that means they won’t get married—I get that. But why did you say ‘he will, and he won’t’?”

Zhao Yu wasn’t quite sleepy yet. Hearing her ask, she chuckled softly.

“Because, at this point, if Lin Shu wants to avoid being dragged back to the countryside by that awful mother-in-law’s family, she has no choice but to cling to Lu Jing like a vine.”

She tugged her blanket higher and rolled to her side.

“Just wait and see. Even if Lin Shu leaves the arts troupe, she won’t leave the military district. There’ll be plenty more drama to watch.”

“She’s not leaving?” Ning Songyun groaned in disappointment.

“I haven’t even had time to be depressed as the ex-blood-bank, and you’re already worrying first?”

Hearing her childish sigh, Zhao Yu couldn’t help but let amusement slip into her voice.

“Besides, we’ll be performing everywhere in the future. Whether she stays or not won’t affect us much. Go to sleep.”

“You’re right.”

Convinced, Ning Songyun said goodnight, pulled the quilt over her head, and soon fell asleep.

The next day, still during holiday break, Ning Songyun dragged Zhao Yu outside the military district at noon.

“We’ve been eating canteen food for so long, aren’t you sick of it? Come on, today we’re treating ourselves at the state-owned restaurant!”

Zhao Yu tried to resist, but to no avail—Ning Songyun hauled her straight there.

Once inside, Ning Songyun pulled Zhao Yu to stand in front of the chalkboard menu and waved her hand grandly.

“Yuyu, order whatever you want today. It’s on me!”

Zhao Yu hesitated a moment, then only pointed at one vegetable dish and a soup, just symbolically.

“That’s it?”

Before Ning Songyun could even decide what she wanted, she saw Zhao Yu had already finished ordering. She frowned.

“One dish and a soup is enough? That’s what we usually eat anyway. Gotta keep our figure!”

“But this is a special meal, it’s different. Let me order more!”

She ran her finger down the chalkboard.

“Everything except the scrambled eggs with tomatoes—two meat dishes, three veggies, one of each! And two bowls of rice.”

“Songyun, just the two of us? We won’t finish all that.”

Recalling the portion sizes of this era, Zhao Yu tugged her sleeve.

“It’s fine, we’ll manage.”

While waiting at the counter for their dishes, Ning Songyun chattered nonstop about what they’d do next.

When she mentioned shopping at the supply and marketing cooperative, her eyes sparkled, and she even pulled out a nearly A4-sized shopping list from her bag.

“Here’s your food. Be careful, it’s hot.”

The chef’s voice interrupted her excited planning.

Ning Songyun stuffed the list back in her bag and, carrying trays with Zhao Yu, found them a table.

Half an hour later—

“Songyun, hurry and eat before it gets cold.”

Zhao Yu picked up another rib and dropped it into her bowl.

Ning Songyun pouted, her pretty features scrunching together.

Even with her hand over her mouth, she couldn’t stop a loud burp.

Seeing Zhao Yu’s amused eyes on her, she slumped her shoulders like a deflated balloon.

“Fine, Yuyu, I really can’t eat anymore. Next time I swear I won’t order this much again.”