But a week was about to pass, and nothing about Luo Qingbai changing dorms had happened.
By the time Zhao Han finally pulled herself free from the temporarily assigned task, it was already Saturday night. She went back to the dorm with eyes on the verge of going blind and deep, heavy dark circles, and ran into Guan Nan and Shi Jiu at the dorm entrance.
Guan Nan was the first to blurt out, “What were you doing? It’s the weekend and you wouldn’t pick up the phone! Can you be a little more reliable? Vanishing without a word is terrifying!”
“Was there nobody in the dorm?” Zhao Han found her key and opened the door. “Why did you two come?”
“Wasn’t it just…” Zhao Han saw Guan Nan get tugged by Shi Jiu, then she changed her tone and said, “Wasn’t it because we missed you!”
Zhao Han smiled and made room for them to sit, then bypassed Guan Nan and asked Shi Jiu, “Why are you here, Little Jiu? You tell me.”
The three of them had known each other for a long time. With Shi Jiu’s personality, there was no way she would blurt out something as mushy as “we missed you” like Guan Nan did. And this kid was terribly slow when she lied. As soon as Zhao Han asked, Shi Jiu froze for a moment. “Didn’t Guan Nan already say it?”
“Oh? What did Guan Nan say?”
Guan Nan couldn’t take it anymore. “Come on, she already said it, why make this so complicated! You blew up on your school forum again, you didn’t know that?”
Zhao Han: “…” She didn’t want to be an internet celebrity.
“I knew you didn’t know. Shi Jiu was worried you’d be in a bad mood, so she insisted on dragging me over to see you. I had already made plans with my husband to go roller skating tonight, and I canceled it for you. Do you even know what it means to come all the way from Nongda to here? We crossed half the city!” As Guan Nan spoke, she looked around the dorm. “How’s the new roommate? If it doesn’t work, just change dorms. Living alone is pretty nice too!”
Zhao Han seemed inspired. “Right!”
“What do you mean, right?” Guan Nan was dissatisfied. “Ugh, the people at your school are really that idle. Your little bit of trouble can get blown up again a year later. Aren’t you a so-called ‘985’ or ‘211’ university? Don’t people there study?”
Zhao Han sighed with melancholy. “Smart brains probably can’t spend all their energy just studying. It’s all in the past, so it definitely won’t stir up much trouble. Don’t worry. Since you’re here, let’s go out to eat. How about the house-special braised crucian carp?”
Near their school’s main campus, there was a stir-fry place in an alley with a signature dish: crucian carp wrapped in foil, the fish skin roasted crisp and fragrant while the meat inside stayed tender. There was a layer of sauce in the foil too, and it tasted especially delicious when eaten with it.
Shi Jiu stopped her. “Forget it. It’s this late, you must’ve already eaten at the cafeteria. We also have to catch a ride back.”
Guan Nan let out an oh. “Right, you’re still being so polite with us? Whenever you’re free, let’s make a plan. It’s been ages since we went singing, I want to go karaoke too! Let’s not eat tonight. Just see us out.”
Guan Nan did what she said and went, carrying her bag to open the door. The instant she pulled it open, she yelped and almost collided with Luo Qingbai outside. There was a clatter as the stack of documents Luo Qingbai was holding in her arms all fell to the floor.
Guan Nan’s cry hadn’t even finished before Shi Jiu hurried to help gather the documents, apologizing the whole time.
Zhao Han joined in too. Only after the four of them scrambled around together did they manage to gather the stack and pile it on Luo Qingbai’s desk, forming a little mountain.
Guan Nan said, “This…” She looked at the one on top and read, “10KV power distribution line diagram, what’s this?”
“…It’s documents.” Luo Qingbai stood somewhat awkwardly by the door and stepped aside to let them out, but Guan Nan was like a curious baby and didn’t move. She kept staring at what Luo Qingbai was holding. “They’re documents, for studying? So many of them. You borrowed them from the library? No labels, and they’re not from the library either. Where did you get them?”
Luo Qingbai’s delicate brows creased slightly, then smoothed out. She lifted her chin a little. “They’re for my part-time job.”
“So many. Need help?” Shi Jiu asked quickly. “If it’s simple, doing it together will be faster.”
“No need, thank you.” Zhao Han could tell Luo Qingbai was a little resistant. The strained smile she wore when she said that was definitely only for politeness.
Zhao Han shooed the two away. “Let’s go. I’ll see you out.”
Instead, Guan Nan shut the door. “Why are you in such a rush?” She set down her bag and leaned toward Luo Qingbai. “What are all these for? I’ve never done part-time work before, teach me!”
Zhao Han: “…”
Luo Qingbai clearly had no experience dealing with people like this. She looked a little at a loss. Guan Nan acted like sticky candy, coaxing and pestering her endlessly. “Teach me a little. What are these all for? Let us learn something!”
Luo Qingbai: “…”
The archive needed a major inspection. In the past, the acceptance standards had not been strict, so many files had no page numbers, and some drawings had not been folded to A4 size according to the standard. To handle the inspection, once the confidentiality period was over, they could give this kind of part-time work to people like them. She usually finished it on time, but today one of the part-timers hadn’t come, and she had been delayed because the student she was tutoring had run into a problem, so she ended up with a pile she hadn’t finished yet.
The bus from the archive to the school stopped running early. She absolutely couldn’t bear to take a taxi back, so she could only bring the work back to the dorm to do it by a deadline.
Normally, Zhao Han still wouldn’t have been back at this hour. Luo Qingbai had been pretty reassured. Who would have thought that when she returned to the dorm, she would not only run into Zhao Han, but also her friends?
Was part-time work glorious? This thing called work-study, if it was only about experiencing life, was actually quite fun. But if it was really for survival, then no matter how you put it, it always sounded awkward.
Luo Qingbai was still hesitating when the coaxing Guan Nan had already picked up the top drawing. “Do we have to redraw this whole thing?”
Luo Qingbai could only explain from the beginning and teach them her work in detail. The three good students in the scene kept asking questions from time to time. Once Guan Nan learned how, she was the first to take the numbering machine and punch page numbers. The machine tapped the paper with a thud, and all four of them jumped.
The numbering machine was manual. Pressing it down made a really loud sound. The archive had been full of that sound lately, and Luo Qingbai had gotten used to it, but the dorm was different. Even if Zhao Han didn’t mind, what about the neighbors next door? Downstairs? Upstairs? Luo Qingbai felt melancholy over her livelihood.
Shi Jiu looked at the mountain of documents. “We’ll have to take it outside to do it.”
Seeing the situation, Zhao Han worried Luo Qingbai might not be used to other people’s enthusiasm, so she suggested, “There are only two numbering machines. Aren’t you two catching a ride? Go back first, and we’ll handle this.”
“Catch what ride? This is fun, I haven’t had enough yet!” Guan Nan opened her big eyes and looked at Shi Jiu. “Right, Little Shi?”
Shi Jiu nodded. “Let’s take them downstairs to the stone benches. Two people number pages, two people fold the drawings. That way it’ll go faster!”
Zhao Han didn’t forget to ask Luo Qingbai, the person involved, “Is that okay?”
Luo Qingbai’s refusal was already on the tip of her tongue, when Guan Nan’s watery eyes looked over. “Just let me play with it for a while, okay?”
“Thank you.”
“Thank what? This is so much fun!” Guan Nan immediately carried a stack of documents downstairs.
The four of them bent their heads and worked hard under the streetlights. Guan Nan guided the conversation all over the place, trying to probe into Luo Qingbai’s background. Zhao Han couldn’t stop her, but whenever the questions landed on something Luo Qingbai stayed silent about, Zhao Han would quickly steer it away to avoid awkwardness.
But for nine out of ten of Guan Nan’s questions, Luo Qingbai stayed silent, and Zhao Han felt tired just from chatting like this.
Since she couldn’t get a read on Luo Qingbai, Guan Nan changed tactics and started praising Zhao Han.
Her compliments were exaggerated. Zhao Han even felt that the person Guan Nan was talking about was not herself. But after going around and around through the conversation, they still ended up at the forum post. Guan Nan casually tried to test the waters and discovered that this roommate of Zhao Han’s was a lot like Zhao Han in one way, she paid no attention to anything outside the dorm.
Guan Nan didn’t know that Luo Qingbai had already heard the offline version of the story about Zhao Han. Still, she was playing peacemaker and defending Zhao Han. “Our Zhao Han is good at everything, she’s just unlucky. There are always scumbags who want to hurt her, spreading rumors and stirring up trouble…”
They were all immersed in Guan Nan’s chatter, the pounding sound of the numbering machine, and the rustle of folded paper, until an angry voice suddenly rang out and they realized someone was behind them.
“Who the fuck are you calling a scumbag? Who’s spreading rumors?”
All three of Zhao Han, Guan Nan, and Shi Jiu were very familiar with this voice. They all stopped what they were doing and turned around at the same time. Their synchronized movement startled Li Chunming, who then became fiercely combative. She put one hand on her waist and said, “You’d better make yourself clear. Who’s spreading rumors, and who’s a scumbag? Was Zhao Han groping someone’s chest back then fake? You hurt me enough already, and now you’re still talking behind my back…”
Guan Nan spoke fast and loudly. “Who groped your chest? We were properly doing part-time work, why would anyone want to grope your chest? Groping a lump of shit would be better than touching you. If you’re that desperate to be touched, go find someone else. Don’t stand there being an eyesore!”
Being loud is a hard requirement for fighting!
Li Chunming had never seen anyone as unreasonable as Guan Nan. A year ago, because of this rotten mess with Zhao Han, Guan Nan had cursed her for half an hour without repeating a single sentence. As for being vicious, among everyone she had ever seen, if Guan Nan ranked second, no one dared claim first. She and these people really did have a grudge.
Li Chunming was talking about a year ago, but Guan Nan was talking about just now. That shout also drew a lot of onlookers passing by on their way back to the dorms. Li Chunming was truly furious. She lunged forward to hit someone. Zhao Han reacted with lightning speed, grabbing her wrist with one hand and blocking her between herself and Guan Nan.
Li Chunming desperately tried to yank her hand back. “Let go of me, you’re disgusting, don’t touch me!”
Compared with Li Chunming’s full-body agitation, Zhao Han was calm as a rock. “Want another punishment? Don’t want to graduate?”
Li Chunming had only been struggling at first, but after hearing that, she started brawling. The scene was a little like a year ago. That incident had lasted quite a while. At the time, she had firmly held the upper hand. That was only natural too. Zhao Han was a lesbian and still lived in a girls’ dorm. How was that any different from putting a lecher in the dorm?
Besides, Zhao Han was the type who had no boundaries. If someone else slept in the same blanket with her, she just slept. If someone else touched her chest, she touched theirs right back! It wasn’t because of anything else. She really was disgusted by this kind of thing.
Who would have thought that just as the commotion was reaching its peak, Guan Nan and Shi Jiu came along. Guan Nan had such a big mouth that she could turn black into white, and she forcibly pinned her down and scolded her for a good while. She got so angry that she lost her reason and lunged up to fight Guan Nan, just like now. Zhao Han shoved and blocked her, and that blow landed on Zhao Han instead. It was a chaotic strike, clearly with not much force, but it just so happened that several class advisers saw it.
After taking the hit, Zhao Han restrained her without striking back, but that was pitiful enough.
And just like that, she was framed by Zhao Han into receiving a punishment. Today Zhao Han was still bringing it up. How could she not be angry!
No matter how high Zhao Han’s combat power was, she still couldn’t do much to her. She could only hold Li Chunming’s wrist and dodge Li Chunming’s attacks below the waist. It was physical work. Zhao Han was a little short of breath, and sensing the flashes from the crowd of onlookers, she was also a little anxious. “Are you acting? Want to get famous?!”
Even her serious tone was gone in the panting.
Li Chunming not only fought, she also screamed, but Guan Nan and Shi Jiu couldn’t lay a hand on her either. If they did, it would become a brawl, so they could only worry helplessly.
The commotion quickly drew security and the dorm auntie. Zhao Han was, after all, the calm one. She held Li Chunming’s wrist and handed it toward the dorm auntie. “Be careful, she kicks people!” After that, she let go.
Li Chunming was like a defeated rooster, shaking out her feathers and preparing to start again, but this time there were more people blocking her. After struggling for a while, she finally settled down.
The post-incident accountability meeting.
Regarding how the accident happened, Guan Nan gave full play to her acting skills. “Auntie, big brother, we were originally doing part-time work. This thing would be noisy in the dorm, so we brought it out specially to do it. Who knew she’d come up and start cursing? I’ve got a bad temper, so I argued with her a bit, and then she got mad and wanted to hit someone. Luckily Zhao Han helped me block her.”
Li Chunming said, “Bullshit, you’re lying!”
Guan Nan looked very aggrieved. “How am I lying? Big brother, look, there are four of us no matter how you count. If we really wanted to fight, would we still lose to her? Besides, you saw it too, we kept giving in because we didn’t want trouble.”
Zhao Han said, “Since we’re lying, then you tell it.”
“You people spread rumors, gossip about others behind their backs, slandered me, called me a scumbag, and said…”
The part about groping her chest, Li Chunming did not want to, and could not, say again. She could only swallow it hard.
The most quiet of them all, Luo Qingbai, who looked obedient and honest in the auntie’s eyes, stepped forward to testify. “She heard wrong. I don’t even know her, so how could I have been cursing her? We were talking about something else.”