Jared didn't want to bother arguing with Debbie, so he changed the topic and said casually, "There is a poverty relief project to support the people in the Southon Village. Are you going to sign up for it?" If his memory served him right, Debbie was always enthusiastic about this sort of charity events.
"Yes! Of course, I'm going!" Debbie replied firmly. In the past, she didn't have much money, but she still actively participated in the charity activities. Now that Carlos had given her a large amount of money to spend as she wished, of course she would go and put that money to good use. 'I'll just be doing charity on his behalf, ' she thought to herself and she was okay with it as long as she could help others in need.
"I knew it!" Jared groaned. "But Southon Village is the poorest village in our country. The conditions there are awful. Besides, it's winter and the event will go on for at least a week. Are you sure you want to torture yourself by doing this?"
His words did scare Debbie a little. She hesitated, but when Carlos' face popped up in her mind, she gritted her teeth and said, "Yes, I'm sure. I've made up my mind."
Although Jared was dressed in a warm down jacket, he suddenly felt the whole world freeze after hearing her reply. A chill ran down his spine when he thought about accompanying Debbie to such a remote place where even a heater was a luxury. He couldn't help but pull his down jacket tighter around himself as his body trembled.
In the multimedia classroom Kasie repeatedly shook her head in disbelief. "Tomboy, please. Please! Think about it. Are you even aware of how bad the conditions in the Southon Village are? Most of the people in the village speak the minority language which you don't understand. There will be no heater, not even an asphalt road to walk on, no shower…" She shuddered as she imagined being in such a place. "Gosh! Believe me! You'll turn into a complete mess after spending a few days there."
Echoing Kasie's words, Kristina nodded her head up and down and then glanced sympathetically at Jared, who looked visibly depressed now. From the expression on his face, Kristina knew that Jared was definitely planning to accompany Debbie in spite of his reluctance. Patting him on his shoulder, she praised him, "I admire your courage, Jared. I didn't know that you were actually this manly."
Unconvinced by her weak praise, Jared yelled, "Dixon, get a leash on your girlfriend and ask her to mind her words! What does she mean 'actually'? I've always been manly, okay?"
Dixon merely smiled and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Then, he said in a calm voice, "Kasie. Kristina. You two needn't come along. Jared and I will go with Tomboy." Dixon was born in a small village and had lived there before he had come to the university. He was used to the hard life in the village, so it wasn't a big deal for him to spend a few days in the Southon Village.
With an apologetic look, Kasie patted Debbie on her hand and said in a mock serious tone, "Tomboy, as your best friend, I know that I should share weal and woe with you. However, this is a hardship you're begging to be in, so I'm not going to share it. Take care of yourself."
Debbie shrugged. She didn't mind. She had no intention of making Kasie and Kristina go with her. "I'll be okay with Jared and Dixon. The two of you can enjoy your winter vacation in peace."
After their discussion, Dixon wrote their names on the list, signing up for the activity. There were fifteen students who were taking part in the project in total, and four of them were from Debbie's class. Intrigued, Debbie looked at the fourth name—Gregory Song.
'Gregory Song…' she pondered. 'Isn't that the docile boy who took me back home when I was drunk that night?
He looks like an indoor type. Why would he be interested in going to the Southon Village?'
She quickly scanned the classroom and her eyes met Gregory's.
Gregory flustered as they made eye contact. In a split second, he lowered his head and pretended to read his book. His face flushed bright red, but Debbie was too busy to notice it. She was marveling at his good-looking face. She pictured how charming Gregory would be if he dressed up like a hero in a historical soap opera. A lot of girls would fall for him.
'He is such a handsome young boy. He should be staying in a big city. Why would he want to go and do charity in Southon Village?'
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Debbie decided to go and ask him directly.
As she walked up to the row of seats in front of Gregory, she gestured to the girl in the seat and she immediately moved to another seat, making room for Debbie. Debbie casually sat down in front of Gregory and asked outright, "Gregory, are you going to go to Southon Village too?"
Closing his book, Gregory slightly nodded. "Yes. I'm free during that week." The truth was that he actually had something else to do during that week, but he chose to take part in the poverty relief project instead.
He knew Debbie's hobbies and he was sure that she would go.
Seeing Gregory nodding, Debbie suddenly felt that his face resembled someone she used to know. She searched her memories, but failed to identify the person.
Time flew by and it was soon the day of their departure to Southon Village. Wearing a black down jacket, a knitted hat that matched her clothes and a pair of white sneakers, Debbie showed up at the high-speed rail station with Jared and Dixon. She was pulling Carlos' 26-inch black suitcase behind her.
When all her schoolmates were assembled, Debbie was shocked to see an unexpected person in their midst. She pointed at the masked boy who was dressed in black casual clothes and asked surprisingly, "Gus Lu? You are coming too?"
Gus sneered. "What? Why are you bothered by it? Can't I go where I please?"
He kept it to himself the reason why he was there. The truth was that he was forced to sign up for the activity by his brother, Curtis. Curtis had told him that he should go along and protect the girls.
'Debbie Nian is stronger than most men. She doesn't need my protection.
And even if she needed someone's protection, it shouldn't have to be me! She has nothing to do with me!' Gus cursed angrily.
Suspicions rose in his mind. He wondered why Curtis treated Debbie so well. 'Could it be possible that they are in some sort of relationship?' With that thought in mind, Gus stared at Debbie with contempt in his eyes.
His hostile attitude quickly got on Debbie's nerves. If he hadn't taken the initiative to talk to her on the playground, she wouldn't have said a word to him!
But Debbie didn't want to argue with a wimpy kid like him, so she rolled her eyes and turned around to leave. She spotted another interesting individual in the group and walked up to her. The girl was clearly pretending to be happy as she chatted away with the others. Debbie asked as she approached her, "Gail, does your mother know that you are on your way to Southon Village?"
Gail seethed with anger at Debbie's appearance. With her back against her other schoolmates, she ferociously glared at Debbie and cursed in a low voice, "Damn you! This is all because of you! Why do you have to do this goddamn charity? My father forced me to go and I am supposed to learn from you! Are you insane?"
'Who would willingly want to stay in such a remote and poor village for a whole week? There's something wrong with her pitiful brain, ' Gail thought.
Hearing Gail's words, Debbie instantly understood the situation. She nodded happily and said, "I think my uncle did it for your own good. You haven't gone through any hardship in your life. It's good for a rich lady like you to experience some hard life from time to time."
Gail wanted to vent out her anger on Debbie at that very moment. But since there were other schoolmates around, Gail had to pretend to be an elegant and well-educated lady. So she walked closer to Debbie and grabbed her arm with a fake smile. In a loud voice, she said, "Yes, you're right! I've brought so much snack food with me. I'll be giving it to the children there. By the way, what are you going to give the children, Debbie?"
"Money." The school had already sent the donated clothes and daily supplies to Southon Village. Debbie didn't think it was necessary to bring more of that for them. But with a little money, they could at least buy something they wanted most. She had brought something else too. But she wasn't going to tell Gail that!
Gail's smile froze on her face. She ridiculed Debbie, "You think you have enough money to spend on charity? And what makes you think that money has any use there? In a remote mountain area like that, what can you buy even if you have money?"
Shaking off Gail's arm, Debbie walked a few steps away and said coldly, "That's none of your business. Remember not to drag the whole team down with you."
Among the fifteen students, ten were boys and the other five were girls. Debbie knew most of them, except two or three students. She usually met them at school and sometimes greeted them on the campus.
So she was excited about going with all of them. 'It's like going on a trip with friends!'
At Southon Village
Jumping off the bus, Debbie quickly ran to the edge of the road and began retching.
