As soon as the two of them returned to the educated youth dormitory, Ma Xiaoping immediately came over.
“Xiaoqiao, are you tired from walking? Do you want to rest? Dinner is ready, I’ll help you serve it.”
Seeing Ma Xiaoping acting so attentively, He Suxia felt a bit confused.
But Song Yunqiao saw through it immediately. Although Ma Xiaoping’s tone was full of concern, her eyes were actually fixed on the basket He Suxia was carrying. This wasn’t concern at all—she clearly had ulterior motives.
“No need. Just take care of yourself,” Song Yunqiao said, then told He Suxia to go put things down.
Ma Xiaoping’s eyes kept following the basket until He Suxia went inside and she could no longer see it.
“Xiaoqiao, can I borrow a few eggs from you first?” she asked.
Song Yunqiao shook her head. “I didn’t exchange many either. If you want to eat them, go exchange them yourself.”
Rejected, Ma Xiaoping still didn’t get angry. Instead, she said pitifully, “You know my mother is biased. I’ll borrow a few first and return them in a few days.”
“Then pay back the money you already owe me first, and I’ll lend you eggs. Otherwise, don’t even think about it.”
After saying that, Song Yunqiao walked straight into the room without looking back.
Ma Xiaoping didn’t expect her refusal to be so firm.
Angrily, she ran into the kitchen, sat on a small stool, and hung her head without saying a word.
Sun Xiuzhen saw that she was upset and kindly went to comfort her—but when she got closer, she found Ma Xiaoping was actually crying.
“Xiaoping, don’t cry…”
Before she could finish, Ma Xiaoping burst into loud sobs.
This immediately attracted all the other educated youths.
“What’s going on?”
As the dorm leader, Wan Changsheng was the first to rush out.
An Yanyan said, “It might be related to Comrade Song.”
At that moment, Song Yunqiao and He Suxia walked in.
Everyone in the room looked at Song Yunqiao.
She was carrying her lunchbox and completely ignored Ma Xiaoping and her crying.
“Why isn’t anyone eating yet? What are you all standing around for?” she said calmly.
If it had been anyone else, Wan Changsheng might have lectured them. But it was Song Yunqiao.
At first, he had thought she would be delicate, refuse to work, or cause trouble. But she hadn’t. Although she didn’t do the heaviest work, she never slacked off, never complained, and worked steadily for two days.
That made her a good comrade in his eyes.
“You’re right. The food is ready. Everyone go serve their meals,” Wan Changsheng said.
The male educated youths were about to go get their lunchboxes.
But Ma Xiaoping cried even louder.
The boys paused again.
Song Yunqiao acted as if she didn’t hear anything at all. After serving her thin millet porridge, she turned to leave.
An Yanyan couldn’t stand it anymore and said, “Comrade Song, how can you still eat? Comrade Ma is crying so badly because of you.”
Song Yunqiao found it amusing.
“She’s crying so badly—maybe she just remembered something sad. What does that have to do with me?”
An Yanyan frowned in dissatisfaction. “She talked to you in the courtyard just now, and then she ended up like this. You say it has nothing to do with you?”
Song Yunqiao thought for a moment. “Actually… it might have something to do with me.”
An Yanyan was surprised she admitted it and was about to speak, but Song Yunqiao cut in first.
“Maybe she suddenly remembered she still owes me a lot of money and hasn’t paid it back, so she started crying.”
“……”
Everyone had considered many possible reasons for Ma Xiaoping’s crying—but none expected this.
Ma Xiaoping herself was stunned and stopped crying completely, staring blankly at Song Yunqiao.
Between the beautiful Song Yunqiao and the foolish-looking Ma Xiaoping, everyone naturally sided with the former.
Wan Changsheng quickly stepped in to smooth things over, and the male educated youths left the room.
An Yanyan hadn’t expected this reason either. Thinking back to how aggressive she had just been, she felt her cheeks heat up.
“Comrade An, next time please understand the situation before lecturing others so confidently,” Song Yunqiao said lightly.
Then she left with her meal.
He Suxia also finished serving her food and went out.
Ma Xiaoping wanted to explain, but An Yanyan didn’t want to deal with her anymore and walked out as well.
Sun Xiuzhen, sensing the awkward atmosphere, also left.
Soon, Ma Xiaoping was left alone in the room, stomping her feet in anger.
Song Yunqiao naturally wouldn’t let them affect her appetite. Even though she had the spiritual spring, it didn’t fill her stomach.
She still ate her biscuits as her main food.
He Suxia said beside her, “That’s really extravagant. You’ll get used to eating corn buns after a while.”
Song Yunqiao shook her head. She really couldn’t swallow those coarse black corn buns.
He Suxia understood. Coming from a good family, she just needed time to adapt.
Meanwhile, An Yanyan came out feeling irritated—though she didn’t even know exactly why.
She just didn’t like Song Yunqiao.
Seeing her upset, Gu Guanghua walked over.
“Comrade An, what’s wrong?”
He had just returned and didn’t know what had happened in the kitchen.
Seeing him, An Yanyan immediately put on a polite smile.
“I’m fine. It’s all over now.”
Gu Guanghua suggested, “Have you not explored around here yet? I can show you around.”
After hesitating for a second, An Yanyan nodded. “Okay.”
The two walked out together.
At first, Jiang Xueming thought An Yanyan was in the women’s dorm, but when he couldn’t find her, he became anxious and even alarmed the whole courtyard. Just as they were about to go look for her, she returned with Gu Guanghua.
He asked worriedly, “Where did you go?”
“I went out for a walk with Comrade Gu. What happened?” An Yanyan asked.
Wan Changsheng said, “Alright, since she’s fine, everyone go back and rest.”
It was already getting dark. After a long day of work, everyone wanted to rest, so they all returned to their rooms.
Song Yunqiao shook her head internally. The male and female leads had just met—there would still be plenty of drama between them. She only hoped they wouldn’t drag innocent bystanders into their romance.
She wasn’t curious about what would happen next—but someone else was.
Ma Xiaoping was now secretly peeking through the door crack.
He Suxia and Sun Xiuzhen twitched their mouths when they saw her.
Song Yunqiao knew Ma Xiaoping liked eavesdropping. In the novel, she often obtained information that way.
Song Yunqiao then asked, “He Suxia, where can I buy daily necessities around here?”