Chen Lishu raised an eyebrow, "Why should I compete with you?"
Jiang Yuwei looked at her, "You don't dare?"
Sun Ling's spirits rose and she chimed in, "That's right, Chen Lishu. Weren't you quite capable when you dealt with me just now? What, are you a turtle in a shell now?"
Zhang Xue was indignant, "Sun Ling, did you eat shit this morning? Watch your mouth."
"Come on, everyone, take a look. Before she was all pretentious, saying I wasn't good enough to compete with her. Now that Yuwei mentioned it, she's chickened out. Someone like this can even get into the newspaper. Aren't you afraid of being laughed out of face?"
Although it was break time, most students were reading at their seats. Hearing Sun Ling's words, they all turned to look, and soon quiet discussions broke out.
"Chen Lishu got into the newspaper? That campus interview last time? I heard a bit about it. Looking at how she attends class and the teachers' attitudes, her grades should be pretty good, right? Why isn't she participating in the competition?"
"What's there to say? She's definitely afraid of losing. I heard our classmate Jiang Yuwei won first place in the city's English competition before. Think about it, she's so good-looking, she must be very image-conscious. What if she loses? It would be such a loss of face."
"Right, if you participate, there will be winners and losers. If you don't participate, you definitely won't lose."
"..."
Listening to the crowd's murmuring, Li Zhiwei said irritably, "Sun Ling, can you calm down? What does it have to do with you whether Chen Lishu participates or not?"
Seeing him speak up for Chen Lishu, Sun Ling became even angrier. "Li Zhiwei, are you heartbroken? You're always trying to butter her up, but she hasn't agreed to you yet! You don't need to mind my business."
Li Zhiwei retorted rudely, "What does it have to do with you who I butter up? Are you jealous? Let me tell you, jealousy is useless. I'm not interested in girls like you. I wouldn't even bother with you if you begged me."
Sun Ling was so angry her chest heaved violently. "You're not interested in me, and I don't find you appealing either!"
Jiang Yuwei said with a hint of mockery, "Chen Lishu, I actually thought highly of you and considered you a competitor. But since you don't dare, from now on, you are not allowed to appear in any competition I participate in."
Zhang Xue was displeased, "Jiang Yuwei, aren't you being too overbearing? Why can't Lishu participate in competitions you're in?"
Jiang Yuwei didn't answer, only looking at Chen Lishu with disdain.
Chen Lishu raised her eyes and narrowed them as she looked into Jiang Yuwei's eyes, "What do you want to compete in?"
Jiang Yuwei looked at Sun Ling, who thought for a moment before saying, "If Yuwei wins, you have to post a public notice admitting you're all show and not at all what the newspaper made you out to be."
Zhang Xue became anxious and slammed the table, standing up, "Sun Ling, don't go too far."
Chen Lishu reached out and pulled her, giving her a reassuring look before saying to the two of them, "Fine, it's just a public notice. I agree."
Hearing her agreement, Sun Ling shot Zhang Xue a provocative glance, making Zhang Xue wish she could slap her.
Chen Lishu's gaze fell on Jiang Yuwei. Seeing that she didn't object to Sun Ling's proposal at all, she said, "Alright, I agree with what Sun Ling said. If your ranking is higher than mine, then I'll go post the notice to clarify. If by chance my results surpass yours..."
Chen Lishu said with a half-smile, "Then you two will have to clean the toilets for the class for a month."
There were no campus cleaners back then; all the school's hygiene was done by the students themselves. In addition to class duty, they were also responsible for the toilet hygiene on their respective floors.
"Chen Lishu, don't go too far!" Sun Ling panicked. If she was really made to clean those smelly toilets, she would rather die.
"You know it's too much now? Then why are you making Lishu post a public notice? If you don't want to, you don't have to compete. No one is forcing you."
"Sun Ling, do you not have confidence in me?" Jiang Yuwei looked up, giving Sun Ling a displeased glance.
Sun Ling then remembered that it was Jiang Yuwei who was competing. With her, there was no way they could lose, so her face once again broke into a smile. "Okay, we agree to the bet. Anyone who goes back on their word will die a horrible death."
"Buzz..."
As her words fell, a clamor of discussion erupted in the classroom.
"Now this will be interesting. Who do you think will win?"
"Definitely Jiang Yuwei. She was first in the city in previous competitions, and I heard Chen Lishu is from a lower-tier area. The quality of education can't compare to the city's."
"I actually hope Chen Lishu wins," a student suddenly said.
"Why?" Everyone looked over curiously.
"If someone else cleans the toilets, then we won't have to do the work."
"..."
After class, on the way to the library, Zhang Xue asked with some worry, "Lishu, are you really confident you can beat Jiang Yuwei?"
Chen Lishu shook her head, "No."
Startled, Zhang Xue stopped her, "If you're not confident, why did you agree?" Losing meant posting a public notice! Chen Lishu patted her shoulder reassuringly and smiled, "Don't worry. If by some chance a blind cat catches a dead mouse and we win, then we'll get to see them cleaning toilets."
Zhang Xue opened her mouth, and in the end, could only say helplessly, "I really don't know whether to praise you for being brave or careless."
...
Thursday was the day Zhou Bin was supposed to come to pick up the fabric, as stated in the letter. However, Chen Lishu had class and couldn't get away. Moreover, since preparing for the competition, she had unconsciously become more tense. Therefore, she didn't ask for leave to go to the Wang family's. Instead, Zhou Bin and Wang Aixiang loaded fifteen bolts of fabric onto the truck together.
They finished loading the goods that evening and left, arriving in town the next night.
It was past nine o'clock at night when a long-nosed truck slowly stopped at the mouth of an alley. Soon, the engine died down, and two people jumped out.
"Brother Bin, Brother Wang," Lin Qi, who had been waiting in the shadows, quickly stepped forward, greeting them with a smile.
"The alley is too narrow, and I'm afraid of attracting attention if we go in, so we have to stop here," Zhou Bin said as he pulled the latch on the side railing of the truck bed, revealing the fabric covered with a tarpaulin.
"It's fine, it's not far, just a few steps," Lin Qi stepped forward, hoisted three bolts of fabric, and walked into the alley.
After a few trips back and forth, all the fabric was quickly moved.
Lin Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead and handed the two boxes of cigarettes from his pocket to the driver, Wang Jun. "Thank you, Brother Wang. Be careful on the road."
Wang Jun happily took them. "Young man, you should go back quickly. We're leaving now."
Every time he helped, not only would Zhou Bin give him money, but this Brother Lin was also very thoughtful. It was just a matter of driving, so he always escorted them to the alley entrance.
After parting ways with Zhou Bin and watching the truck leave, Lin Qi turned back to get his bicycle.
"Brother Qi, it's almost ten o'clock. Riding your bike this late isn't safe. Why don't you just stay here for the night?" Chen Liyuan said, glancing at the wall clock.
"Yeah, we have two rooms at home. Liyuan and I share one, and besides the occasional visit from my fourth brother, that room is basically empty," Gu Xingping also chimed in.