There was a mosquito on Qiao Nan’s face. Hence, Qiao Nan deserved a beating!
The female counselor tugged the corners of her lips which had turned stiff. “Bluff, continue to bluff. You’re friends with Teacher Xiao Qiao, you wanted to help her kill a mosquito, and you even took Teacher Xiao Qiao’s things without telling her? So, this is how one treats a friend nowadays? Qiu Chenxi, you’re not a child anymore. Even if you’re not considered a real soldier, you’re also an adult, right? Taking without asking is akin to stealing. Don’t you know this?”
Qiu Chenxi’s expression froze. “Counselor, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.” It was impossible. She had burnt that book to ashes. Moreover, when Qian Yanyan did that, she assured her that she was not seen by anyone. The counselor could not possibly have known about it.
“Fine, it’s your problem whether you understand it or not. Whether the political commissar and the rest want to understand this matter is also up to them. Do you still have any matter? If not, go back to your dormitory and look at yourself in the mirror properly!” The female counselor released Qiu Chenxi’s hands. She did not look up to someone like Qiu Chenxi, who behaved like an evil witch, at all.
“Teacher Xiao Qiao, it’s been hard on you today. I’ve brought supper back for you. You’re too skinny and have to eat more. It’s still hot.” The female counselor waved the bento box in her right hand and welcomed Qiao Nan back to the dormitory. She completely ignored Qiu Chenxi, who was still standing there.
“Thanks, counselor.” There was still food? It was already so late. Was there anyone in the canteen?
The female counselor treated Qiao Nan as if she was a mother looking after her daughter. “There’s no need to thank me. We should be the ones saying thank you. In the future, we will have to make Teacher Xiao Qiao work hard for some time. Something cropped up at the eleventh hour, so I didn’t attend your class today. However, when I came back, I heard from those who attended that you’ve done very well today.”
“No worries. If you’re interested, I don’t mind teaching you what you’ve missed today.”
“That sounds good too. Perhaps I can converse with my daughter with a little bit of English the next time I go home.”
When she saw that the female counselor and Qiao Nan behaving as if there was no one else, walking further and further away from her as they interacted harmoniously, Qiu Chenxi, who stood rooted to the ground, was so infuriated that she nearly ground her molars flat.
Qiu Chenxi stomped her feet and ran off to her dormitory thereafter.
Even the female counselor suspected her. Then, what about the political commissar and Uncle Zhai? How did these people link her to this matter? She could not understand.
The political commissar was not the one whom Qiu Chenxi was most concerned about. She was most worried about the reactions of Zhai Yaohui and Zhai Sheng.
“What should I do? What to do?” If Uncle Zhai and Brother Zhai believed that she was the one who stole the item that Qiao Nan lost and misunderstood that she was a bad woman, then what should she do? She was only afraid that Uncle Zhai would not agree to her marriage with Brother Zhai and Auntie Miao would be able to object openly with a valid reason. Additionally, even Brother Zhai would have an excuse to reject her.
Qiao Nan, it was all Qiao Nan’s fault.
She had not seen anyone as petty as Qiao Nan. It was just a book that cost fifty cents, yet she could bear the shame and make everyone know about it, especially all the important and prominent figures.
Was Qiao Nan really so poor and lacking in money? Then, when she took the initiative to offer her money, why did she have to pretend to be so high and mighty? She rejected such a large sum of money. She was really sick in the mind!
“Qiu Chenxi, what’s wrong with you? What do you mean by what you should do?” Qian Yanyan, who was in good spirits, had just finished bathing and was all smiles. She was in an excellent mood.
Qiu Chenxi was in the limelight today. As the best friend of Qiu Chenxi in the army camp, she was also in the limelight.
Unfortunately, she did not have the chance to wear a dress. Otherwise, the limelight that she received would definitely not be any less than that of Qiu Chenxi if she had worn the dress that Qiu Chenxi gave her.
“I…” Qiu Chenxi turned back and wanted to discuss with Qian Yanyan about Qiao Nan.
When Qiu Chenxi turned her head, Qian Yanyan jumped in shock. “Oh dear, Qiu Chenxi, is that you?”
“Who else can it be!”
“Yes, that’s right. This dress. You’re the only one who has it in the whole army camp.” Qian Yanyan forced a smile. “Qiu Chenxi, don’t tell me that you came back looking like this. Why didn’t you wash your face? You…”
Toward the end of her speech, Qian Yanyan did not bother to continue further. She quickly took the mirror on Qiu Chenxi’s desk and held it in front of Qiu Chenxi. “Look at yourself.”
“I…” When Qiu Chenxi saw herself in the mirror, she was so shocked that she nearly screamed. “Why, why did it become like this?!”
“How would I know?” Qiu Chenxi rolled her eyes. “Forget it. It’s useless to talk further. I’ll get some water for you. Quickly wash your face.” If she did not do so, Qiu Chenxi would not be able to face anyone.
Qiu Chenxi slammed the mirror on the table with a loud bang, shattering it immediately.
When she thought of the way she looked in the mirror, especially the moment she had stood in front of Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan with such a frightening face a few minutes ago, she could not wait to simply dig a hole and bury herself in it. She would even kill herself with tofu if possible.
In order to complement the dress that she wore and to ensure a better outcome, Qiu Chenxi had taken the path to doom by applying light makeup on her face.
She did not put on much other makeup but took great pains to make her eyes look bigger and brighter by applying a lot of eyeliner.
As one could have imagined, in such searing hot weather, any anti-perspiration measures would be ineffective with so much eyeliner. Once she perspired, the eyeliner melted. In addition, when Qiu Chenxi wiped it, her initially fresh and crisp-looking little face was simply smudged.
It was only at this moment that Qiu Chenxi finally understood why Qiao Nan and the female counselor asked her to look in the mirror.
When she was on her way back to the dormitory, it was obvious that many people were staring at her. However, after giving her a glance, those people hurriedly left. Qiu Chenxi did not even have the impulse to cry anymore.
At first, Qiu Chenxi thought that the people in the army had not seen this before, that they were just attracted to her attire but too shy to look at her. Hence, they ran off so quickly. However, at this juncture, Qiu Chenxi finally realized that those people might be attracted by her dress at first sight, but when they saw her face, they ran away in fear!
When Qian Yanyan brought the water back, Qiu Chenxi washed her face as she cried.
She had been talking to Brother Zhai with that face. It was no wonder that even Qiao Nan was laughing at and looking down on her and did not take her words seriously.
“Qiu Chenxi, what’s wrong with you? Why did you cry without an apparent reason? Think about it. Today, most of the people in the army attended your class. There’s only a few who went to listen to that high school student’s lesson. I heard from others that even those who attended the high school student’s class were unwilling. They played the finger-guessing game just to give her some face.”
