"Why are you only back now?"
"I ran into some friends from the engineering university and had lunch with them."
After Chen Lishu finished speaking, she acutely sensed that everyone's gazes had unknowingly focused on her.
Without showing much reaction, she went to the bedside to pick up the books she would need for class.
Zhang Xue couldn't hold back and quietly asked, "Lishu, how did you do on the exam?"
The others in the dormitory, who were already paying attention to her movements, all pricked up their ears curiously upon hearing Zhang Xue's question.
Chen Lishu sighed, "The questions were particularly difficult this time. I don't know if I answered them correctly."
When Zhang Xue heard that the questions were difficult, she thought that this perfectly matched Chen Lishu's guess. Logically, after preparing for so long, it shouldn't be like this. Could it be that all the difficult questions were ones Chen Lishu hadn't encountered before?
As she was thinking, she looked up and saw Chen Lishu wink at her. She knew that it might not be as serious as she said, and seeing Chen Lishu glance sideways, she immediately understood.
"Ah, why were there such difficult questions? Last year everyone said the questions were easy. If you don't do well, then you'll have to..."
Zhang Xue's tone was a little anxious. She didn't say the rest, but everyone knew that if her score wasn't as good as Jiang Yuwei's, she would definitely have to put up a big-character poster.
Hearing the conversation between the two, Sun Ling and Jiang Yuwei exchanged glances, a hint of a smile flashing in their eyes.
"Who can you blame when you're not as skilled as others? If you knew this would happen, you shouldn't have been so overconfident back then. In front of so many classmates, we couldn't pretend it didn't count even if we wanted to, right, Yuwei?"
Jiang Yuwei revealed a slight smile at the corner of her mouth and said gently, "After all, the results aren't out yet, so no one can be sure. But since an agreement was made, I think it's still important to be a good sport. After all, if you lose, you shouldn't lose your reputation along with your grades."
"It's almost time for class, Xue'er, are you going?" Chen Lishu pretended not to hear and looked up to ask Zhang Xue.
"Yes." Zhang Xue quickly put on her shoes and picked up her textbook. Before leaving, she said to Chen Lishu, "When it gets hot, these flies just fly around everywhere. They just happen to land in our dorm and don't leave. Buzzing all day long, it's so annoying."
Chen Lishu smiled and comforted her, "Be more magnanimous. Why bother arguing with a fly?"
Watching their retreating backs, Sun Ling's face instantly contorted with anger, and Jiang Yuwei's expression was also not very good.
...
At the Gu family's home, after the family finished their work, they were sitting around the table eating. Liu Yuemin turned her head to give her husband, Gu Xingmin, a look, only to find him burying his head in his food. Annoyed, she kicked him hard under the table.
Gu Xingmin looked up in confusion. Seeing his wife pointing towards his parents, he immediately understood. He raised his hand, wiped his mouth, and said to Li Xiulan and Gu Shoushou, "Mom, Dad, I want to talk about something."
Gu Shoushou glanced at him. "What is it?"
"Dad, Yuemin is pregnant, and the two children are still young and don't sleep soundly. Our kang is only so big. Since she's early in her pregnancy, she's afraid the children will kick her stomach without realizing it. So I was thinking, why not let the two children move to the third brother's room? They won't be coming back anyway, and it will save us, the four of us, from crowding."
Li Xiulan's face immediately darkened when she heard his words. "That room of the third child cannot be moved."
Liu Yuemin became anxious. "Mom, third brother and third sister-in-law already moved to the city to enjoy themselves. They naturally won't want to come back to our humble village. Their room is empty anyway, and our room is already stacked high."
"The three children in your eldest brother's room don't sleep standing up."
Li Xiulan said unhappily, "Besides, that room belongs to the third child and his wife. With me and your father here, they have to come back for festivals and holidays. If you take it, where will they live when they return? Even if they don't live in that room anymore, they have to say so themselves."
Gu Xingmin discussed, "But it's empty now. Why don't we let the two children go there first? If the third child and his wife come back, the children can move back." Anyway, once the space is occupied, it will be difficult for the eldest brother and the fourth brother to ask for it.
"If you feel that the house is too crowded, I'll tell the in-laws tomorrow. There are plenty of plots. I'll allocate some land for you, and I'll add two hundred yuan to build a house," Gu Shoushou said after thinking.
It just so happened that it was about to be the slack season in the fields. Everyone could help build the house, and it would be ready not long after.
Gu Xingmin was a bit stunned when he heard that he would have to go out and build a house.
"Dad, Yuemin is pregnant. Disturbing the ground at home might not be good. How about we just crowd at home? We can talk about it when the children are a bit older."
Seeing that the matter was not settled, Liu Yuemin was so angry that she didn't eat much and directly put down her chopsticks and left.
...
It would take about a week after the competition for the results to come out, and by then it would be close to the final exams.
As it was Saturday the next day, a rare day to relax, Chen Lishu packed her things early. As soon as class ended, she carried her shoulder bag home.
Gu Xingdong had already set up a trellis for the vegetables planted by the window at home, and they were all bearing fruit. In another ten days to half a month, they should be edible.
As Chen Lishu reached the entrance of the unit, she noticed that the door opposite was open and couldn't help but look inside curiously.
Zhao Guiying was frantically busy at home, having to take care of her two-month-old son while also tidying up the house. Her husband was like a lazy pig. She hadn't visited for more than half a year, and the house had already become so messy it was like a pigsty, making it impossible to walk.
Just as she was carrying trash out, she saw Chen Lishu and smiled, greeting her, "Sister-in-law, you're back? Is today a holiday? I heard you went to college, which is truly remarkable."
Chen Lishu smiled. "Sister-in-law, when did you come back?"
"The day before yesterday."
As they were talking, a child's cry came from the room behind them. Zhao Guiying smiled at her, quickly put down the things in her hands at the door, and turned to hurry back into the room. "Coming, coming, I must have owed you, you little ancestor, in my past life..."
Seeing that the person had returned to the room, Chen Lishu took out her key and opened the door.
After entering the house and putting down her things, she first made herself a simple meal, then started cleaning.
In the summer, the windows were kept open to avoid stuffiness, so dust had settled on the windowsill and the floor inside.
Just as she finished tidying up the room and was about to wash clothes, Lin Xiaoyue came over to visit with her child.
"I thought you should be back by now, and I guessed correctly."
"Sister-in-law, please come in and sit down." She stopped washing clothes, quickly washed her hands, and went to greet the child, Little Wu Yan.
She had been busy with the competition during this time, so she hadn't seen the child. After more than half a month, Wu Yan could already hold himself up, and his exposed little arms and legs were as plump as lotus roots. Chen Lishu instantly found him incredibly endearing.
Lin Xiaoyue sat down with the child in her arms. "The Wang family next door has come over."
Chen Lishu nodded. "I ran into them when I returned. Their youngest is about the same age as Wu Yan, right?"
"They're a month apart." Thinking of something, Lin Xiaoyue couldn't help but lean closer and whisper, "You absolutely wouldn't guess what she came here to do this time."
Chen Lishu shook her head. "Do what?"