After resolving the issue with Shen Yuehong, Li Xianglu felt as if the air around her became instantly fresher, and even Xiao Chong in the dormitory seemed more pleasant to look at.
In August 1978, the China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty was signed in the capital and took effect in October of the same year.
Because of the movie "Longing for Home," bell-bottoms appeared before people’s eyes.
People, under the influence from abroad, quietly widened their pant legs showing a rebellious nature of the youth. For a while, a portion of the young people in the capital no longer suppressed their individuality, daring to break from tradition, and thus bell-bottoms came into sight.
The fashionable bell-bottoms had many students itching to try them. Those with better family conditions went straight to the state-run tailors to have them made, while those less fortunate altered their existing wide-leg pants, considering it the most stylish outfit at the time.
Li Xianglu had two pairs of pure white bell-bottoms, exactly like the ones Sangui Keiko wore in the movie. Of course, these were bought in Hong Kong; Li Xianglu loved them, Su Yan bought her two pairs directly, along with various other fabrics.
At this time, however, it was different; almost everyone noticed the pants Li Xianglu was wearing. Many people from the dormitory came to borrow them, taking them to the tailor to have copies made.
Li Xianglu was a bit troubled, her pants being handled by others, wondering if they were still wearable. However, everyone in the building wanted to look beautiful, so she lent out the newer pair for a few close friends to use as a template.
At the time, Su Yan thought of Li Xianglu and a couple of other female friends, so she bought a few other sizes. Li Xianglu took out two bell-bottom jeans; Iro, being a bit shorter, took a size smaller than herself, and Lu Anna, as tall as herself but a bit heavier, took one size larger. Both pairs were given away perfectly.
Both were initially hesitant, but upon seeing the denim bell-bottoms, they were excitedly accepted. They had no overseas relatives, and these items could be bought at the Overseas Chinese Store, but the styles weren’t as nice as the ones at hand. After accepting them, they all sent small gifts to Li Xianglu in return, demonstrating their excellent family values.
In the blink of an eye, it was mid-December, and the school started organizing New Year activities.
Now everyone was enthusiastic, besides studying, most of their energy was put into enjoying life, trying to make up for the lost youth of ten years.
Some students began dating secretly, Ma Lingling was as usual not in the dormitory, and even Xiao Chong, who usually came back on time, hadn’t returned.
Li Dayu originally had a childhood friend at the same school, their relationship seemed more than ordinary, yet nothing was explicitly mentioned and they too weren’t around.
Wang Ke was a bookworm, someone who would spend weekends at the Capital Library reading books. He was also with a book in front of a table, muttering to himself, saying he just came back from the library.
Li Xianglu and their foreign languages club recently had no activities and were quite free, with several major courses almost ending. She had done well in most of them, securing a top rank was not a problem.
After entering and greeting, Li Xianglu put down her backpack, took a basin to fetch water, washed up quickly, and then went to get the jar from the table. Inside was her own fried beef sauce with big chunks of beef, sesame, and soybean paste - very delicious when added to steamed buns. She hadn’t eaten dinner, so she figured she’d have some steamed buns with beef sauce when she got back.
Upon opening the jar, Li Xianglu was stunned; it seemed like a lot was missing. There were two-thirds left at noon, but now it was only one-third. Considering the food scarcity nowadays, Li Xianglu wasn’t generous enough to share it with everyone.
Everyone’s food tickets were counted and accounted for, except for Iro and Lu Anna. Even Xu Xin, who often boasted about her family’s good conditions, didn’t have many extra food tickets.
And her meat sauce, after initially sharing a spoonful or two with everyone, became her own private treat. But how could one-third vanish in just one afternoon? The jar wasn’t small; it was the type that could hold pear preserves and could easily contain two pounds, a third of which would be noticeably missing.
She sighed, scooped a big spoonful of meat sauce into a hot bun that she had bought from the cafeteria at noon and stored in her Storage Ring; it was still steaming.
After biting into the bun fiercely, she sat down.
Iro, who had just entered, had seen Li Xianglu’s expression clearly, and immediately sensed something was off, exclaiming, "Xiangxiang, you consumed your meat sauce so quickly, but I haven’t seen you eat it often."
Li Xianglu, feeling gloomy, nodded her head: "Yes, I only brought it here a week ago, and in just a few days so much has gone missing."
Iro looked around. At that moment, Wang Ke, who was reading, raised her head. She heard their conversation, furrowed her brow at the jar, remembering how good it tasted with a bun when she too had a couple of spoonfuls, and nodded, saying, "Today I was on duty, and when I was wiping the tables at noon, I picked it up and cleaned beneath the can. At that time, it was nearly full," indicating with her hands a width of three to four centimeters.
Iro also nodded: "Yes, I haven’t seen her eat it often."
Wang Ke adjusted her glasses, speaking seriously: "Since it’s definitely missing, then let’s ask around. It’s not good if such incidents occur among people sharing a dorm."
Iro’s eyes widened, as if to say, are you crazy? Who would admit to stealing food? But Wang Ke frowned and countered, "Not inquiring would make us accomplices to the thief!"
In this era, stealing anything was not as despicable as stealing food. Whether it was city dwellers receiving state-issued rations or country folks earning work points, everyone cherished their food. Anyone who stole food was considered an unforgivable criminal, worse than a murderer!
Li Xianglu nodded and said, "Let’s ask when everyone’s here later; it might not be someone from our dorm."
But even as she said it, she didn’t believe her own words. If it wasn’t someone from their dorm, who could it be? Each person in the dorm had a key; they were strict about who locked the door when leaving. How could someone from another dorm sneak in to steal, unless it was during a time they were all present?
It was already half-past ten, and in half an hour, the lights would be out. Lu Anna, Li Dayu, and Xu Xin had all returned one after another; they were all aware of Li Xianglu’s missing meat sauce.
Lu Anna asked who had been in the dorm alone. Li Dayu had gone to class at noon and hadn’t returned since, so he was out of suspicion. Xu Xin had come back in the afternoon when Xiao Chong and Ma Lingling were around, but she left first. Well, Lu Anna and Iro had just come back this afternoon; they had gone home together after school, but Lu Anna returned late due to an errand at home.
Wang Ke had left the library exactly at ten, and Li Xianglu had gone to a club meeting in the afternoon. Thus, suspicions fell upon the two people who hadn’t returned.
ps: Sorry for the delay.