Liu Guizhi was in so much pain that she broke out in a cold sweat. Even though she was unwilling, she still gritted her teeth and apologized to Xia Qingqing:

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Can you let me go now?"

Xia Qingqing directly shook off her hand: "That's more like it. If you had been this polite earlier, you wouldn't have suffered like this."

At this moment, Zhang Hongyan and the others also noticed the commotion behind them and quickly came over: "Qingqing, what happened? Are you alright?"

Her gaze swept back and forth between Xia Qingqing and Gou Dan, and she was relieved to see that they were both alright.

Xia Qingqing replied with a smile, "It's nothing, Mom, you all go back and sit down. I can handle these little things myself."

"Okay, call us immediately if anything happens," Zhang Hongyan said without insisting. She glanced at Xue Mengyu and the other girl, but seeing that they were just thin girls, she didn't take them seriously and returned to her seat.

Liu Guizhi was about to curse when Xue Mengyu stopped her, saying, "Guizhi, stop talking. Let's get off the bus first."

Just then, the bus stopped, and Xue Mengyu dragged Liu Guizhi off the bus.

After getting off the bus, Liu Guizhi was furious: "Mengyu, why won't you let me settle accounts with that country bumpkin?"

"Guizhi, calm down. Didn't you notice there are several of them? If we fight with them, we'll be the ones who suffer," Xue Mengyu gently advised, a hint of impatience flashing in her eyes.

Liu Guizhi was like a powder keg, always ready to explode at the slightest provocation, without ever considering the consequences.

It's one thing for her to be beaten, but it's absolutely unacceptable for her to be implicated.

It would be so awful if word got out that I, a college student, was assaulted on a bus.

"But I'm not convinced. Why did she hit me? She almost broke my hand," Liu Guizhi said, a hint of hatred flashing across her face. She had completely come to hate Xia Qingqing.

Xue Mengyu gently patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Don't be angry. What's the point of arguing with a country girl? She probably doesn't even know many words and has picked up some bad habits of country women. We still have to go to school to register later."

“You’re right, I won’t stoop to the level of an illiterate country bumpkin,” Liu Guizhi said, her mood instantly improving.

Both of them were children of steel factory workers and had been playing together since childhood. However, Xue Mengyu's father was the daughter of the workshop director, while Liu Guizhi's father was an ordinary workshop worker.

Nominally, Liu Guizhi is Xue Mengyu's best friend, but in Xue Mengyu's heart, she is just a follower.

......

Dog Egg watched Xia Qingqing's heroic figure as she taught someone a lesson and wished he could cheer for her.

"Sis, you're amazing! You're my role model. That bastard deserves to be taught a lesson like that."

Xia Qingqing looked at him with amusement and said, "What do you know, you little brat? You can't bully others in the future, but if someone bullies you, you must bravely fight back."

Dog Egg nodded fiercely: "I know, I know, I won't let anyone bully me. If anyone dares to bully me, I'll take Da Niu and beat him to death."

Xia Qingqing was speechless for a second, then pinched Gou Dan's chubby cheeks: "There's no need to beat him to death. Just be more careful with your actions in the future. Don't hit someone in the head. Murder can land you in jail."

She knows it's normal for children to fight and roughhouse, but she still needs to remind them when necessary.

Dog Egg nodded blankly. He didn't understand the concept of death yet, but going to jail was a very serious matter in his mind. Only big bad guys go to jail.

Half an hour later, the bus stopped at the bus stop in front of Jingbei University.

As soon as Xia Qingqing arrived at the school gate, she saw a familiar figure.

Xia Qingqing sent a telegram to Song Ze before she set off, informing him of her exact arrival time. So, Song Ze waited at the entrance of Jingbei early this morning.

The five of them standing together were quite conspicuous. Song Ze spotted Xia Qingqing from afar and quickly waved to her.

"Qingqing, I'm here~".

Xia Qingqing looked at Song Ze, who was waving excitedly at her, and gave him a slight smile: "Mom and Dad, Song Ze is over there, let's go find him."

Zhang Hongyan responded faintly and didn't say anything more.

She had known for a long time that Xia Qingqing was dating Song Ze. She was originally very opposed to her daughter being with an educated youth, but her attitude changed after Xia Qingqing was admitted to Beijing University.

A woman who is excellent herself has nothing to fear from being abandoned by a man, especially since Song Ze's school is not as good as Xia Qingqing's.

However, Xia Qingqing also earnestly assured Zhang Hongyan that she would never get married during her four years of university and would not do anything out of line with Song Ze, which reassured Zhang Hongyan even more.

Next to Song Ze was a large pile of things, including a new quilt, a kettle, a washbasin, towels, a lunchbox, and so on that he had prepared for Xia Qingqing.

He greeted Zhang Hongyan and her husband very respectfully: "Uncle Xia, Aunt Zhang, you must be tired from your journey. Let me carry the things."

Xia Heping smiled and waved his hand: "No need, you still have a lot of stuff here. Are you also reporting today?"

"No, our school doesn't start until two days later. I prepared all these things for Qingqing."

Xia Heping said with some surprise, "How can this be? How much are these things? I'll give them to you."

He was about to take out some money from his pocket when he remembered that he only had a little change in his pocket, so he paused for a moment.

Song Ze quickly stopped him from taking out his money: "No need, no need, Qingqing has already given me the money. She asked me to help her buy these."

In fact, Xia Qingqing did not give Song Ze any money. He was just making up an excuse because he was afraid that Xia Heping would force money on him.

Wang Sisi, standing to the side, looked at the handsome Song Ze and curiously tugged at Xia Qingqing's sleeve, whispering in her ear:

"Qingqing, is this comrade your boyfriend?"

Why ask that? Because Song Ze's eyes were practically bubbling with pink bubbles when he looked at Xia Qingqing. Even if she wasn't his official girlfriend, she was still a pursuer.

Xia Qingqing nodded: "Yes, he used to be an educated youth in our brigade."

Wang Sisi nodded knowingly and teased with a smile, "You two are so well-matched, one handsome and the other beautiful. You're like a match made in heaven, just like the couple described in books."

"You're so good with words, you're making me blush," Xia Qingqing said, but she didn't blush at all. It's just that people in later generations are used to hearing handsome men and beautiful women all the time.

Song Ze also heard what Wang Sisi said and, unusually, looked at Wang Sisi properly. He thought the girl next to Qingqing had good taste.

Then, looking at Xia Qingqing with gentle eyes, he said, "Qingqing, let me take you to the dormitory to put your things away first."

Xia Qingqing had no objection; it would be better to move all the stuff on the ground to the dormitory first.