Unexpectedly, they turned the topic to Shen Mianmian. Du Xiaohui was a bit surprised, but he didn’t plan to say much this time and instead passed the buck to Lu Siyuan.
"For that question, you should just ask Lu Siyuan directly. He and Shen Mianmian are desk mates and there were even rumors about them."
If Lu Siyuan wasn’t there, he would’ve just bragged a bit and that would’ve been the end of it. But with Lu Siyuan present, and having a good relationship with Shen Mianmian, he naturally had no place to speak.
Du Xiaohui was no fool; he knew clear as day how things worked at Li Town Middle School. Although his uncle was the principal and he could get away with some cheekiness, no one here would indulge him.
There were always bigger fish; he was nothing in the city.
Take Fu Geng, for instance! He had loads of stuff. Several outfits, two or three pairs of shoes, even a radio, clearly indicating his family was wealthy. In contrast, Yu Fei was much like him, just a pair of sandals, two sets of clothes to change into, plus a lifetime blanket and a sheet, a basin for washing clothes, and nothing more.
Actually, Yu Fei was slightly better off. He had an additional tattered towel.
"Lu Siyuan, you’re Shen Mianmian’s desk mate?" Fu Geng hadn’t expected the gossip to reach the main subject, "Is Shen Mianmian really that beautiful? Why did she give up First Middle for Third Middle if she’s such a good student?"
Behind the headmaster and teachers’ backs, plenty of people had called Shen Mianmian foolish. The teaching quality of First Middle was widely recognized to be superior.
It carried prestige to be associated with it.
"All roads lead to Rome. Shen Mianmian is a good student; she would do well anywhere. For her, going to First Middle or Third Middle makes no difference," Lu Siyuan couldn’t quite define what he was feeling and deliberately avoided the topic of Shen Mianmian’s looks.
Fu Geng, recalling that Du Xiaohui said Lu Siyuan and Shen Mianmian were close, wisely chose not to inquire further. Only after Lu Siyuan went to shower did he lean over the bed, curiously asking Du Xiaohui.
"Is Shen Mianmian really that beautiful?"
"Isn’t that obvious?" Du Xiaohui became the focus in the dormitory, speaking with his legs crossed: "She used to be so short she looked like a little radish, but over the past half-year, she’s grown like she’s on steroids, taller and more beautiful each day."
In the past, he didn’t understand aesthetics and was focused on playing; as he got older, he began to pay attention to girls. Shen Mianmian was the prettiest girl he had ever seen.
At that moment, Du Xiaohui was unaware that it would take many years for him to grasp the meaning of a saying, ’In one’s youth, one should not encounter someone too stunning, for it might mean living a mediocre life thereafter.’
Hearing Du Xiaohui’s words, everyone became very curious about Shen Mianmian, wanting to see if she was truly as good-looking as rumored.
"What were you saying about Lu Siyuan and Shen Mianmian having a scandal? Are the two of them dating?" Fu Geng remembered the crux of Du Xiaohui’s earlier statement.
"..." Du Xiaohui awkwardly coughed twice, feeling guilty, "That’s just a rumor, not true. Speaking of which, I’m somewhat related to that rumor."
He recounted the incident when he had fought with Lu Siyuan, of course, carefully avoiding the part where he fell into a manure pit, and emphasized how badly he beat Lu Siyuan till he was bruised and almost got expelled—hence why Lu Siyuan harbored such a big grudge against him.
In that era, very few families had a television. Some students had saved money for a long time and could only afford to buy a novel to read. Lacking entertainment otherwise, they were all excited to hear Du Xiaohui tell such an engaging story, feeling it was even better than a novel. Thıs text ıs hosted at 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⟡𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⟡𝘯𝘦𝘵