Xia Qingqing looked at the photo carefully: "Sister Huimin, your son looks a lot like you. You've raised him so well, he's chubby and fair-skinned."

“Yeah, look at me, even though I’m not married, I’m starting to feel all maternal,” Xiang Qiu agreed with a smile, while inwardly marveling at how fast time flies.

She spent seven years in the countryside, from the age of 18 to 25. The best years of a young woman's life were consumed by the daily grind. Watching the female educated youth around her get married and have children in the local area, she gritted her teeth and persevered.

She didn't know what the point of her persistence was. Perhaps she wouldn't be able to hold on for another year or two. Unexpectedly, the college entrance examination was suddenly reinstated, and she returned to the city openly.

After returning to the city, her parents started to worry about her marriage. Her former classmates and friends all had children in elementary school. During this time, Xiang Qiu was almost driven crazy by her parents' urging to get married.

"Her eyes are big too, just like Sister Huimin's," Chen Xiu whispered from the side.

When Liu Huimin heard everyone praising her son, her eyes narrowed with laughter, but she knew when to stop and didn't keep talking about her son.

Instead, the conversation turned to another topic: "Qingqing, your bed curtains are really nice. I want to get one too someday."

She slept in another upper bunk, which happened to be directly opposite the door. Installing a curtain or something similar would better protect her privacy.

"I won't do it. I can't bear to use such a big piece of cloth as a bed curtain," Xiang Qiu said with a hint of self-deprecation.

Xiang Qiu didn't lack the money for this piece of cloth. Over the years she had been working in the countryside, her family had sent her some money and supplies out of guilt. She worked hard and earned enough work points to support herself and receive a small bonus at the end of the year. She saved most of this money.

However, she had long been accustomed to rural life, where every penny was carefully saved, and she never spent an unnecessary amount of money.

My first night in the dorm went smoothly.

Xia Qingqing slept very well last night. Her three new roommates slept very quietly; none of them snored or ground their teeth.

Early in the morning, Xia Qingqing was still half asleep when she heard Xiang Qiu calling her to get up:

"Qingqing, get up quickly! We're going to the auditorium for the new student welcome party later. If you don't get up now, you'll be late."

"Ah, I'll get up right away," Xia Qingqing rolled over and barely opened her eyes. After spacing out for a while, she finally got out of bed.

When she got up, the other three had already finished washing up.

Chen Xiu pointed to her kettle and said softly, "Qingqing, you probably haven't filled it with hot water yet, right? There's still some hot water in my kettle, you can use it first."

It's only March, the weather is still a bit cold, and we haven't taken off our winter coats yet. Washing our faces with cold water directly is still too unpleasant.

"Xiuxiu, you're so kind," Xia Qingqing said with a smile, then hurriedly ran out to brush her teeth and wash her face.

After the four of them finished packing, they took their lunchboxes and went to the school cafeteria together.

The breakfast in the canteen is quite plentiful, including steamed buns, mantou, wontons, soy milk, tofu pudding, corn porridge, and more.

Xia Qingqing ordered a steamed bun and a bowl of soy milk, and Chen Xiu ordered the same thing.

Liu Huimin ordered a bowl of tofu pudding and a steamed bun, while Xiang Qiu ordered a bowl of corn porridge and a dark-colored steamed bun.

The four of them started looking for empty seats as they got their breakfast. Xia Qingqing was about to sit down when someone pulled her back.

Liu Guizhi glared angrily at Xia Qingqing: "You country bumpkin, why are you here?"

Ever since she was lectured by Xia Qingqing on the bus a few days ago, she had been feeling resentful. She had finally almost forgotten about Xia Qingqing when she ran into her again in the school cafeteria.

This country bumpkin actually went to the same university as me? It's a huge joke! How could a country bumpkin like me get into university?

Xia Qingqing frowned unhappily and pulled her arm away from the other person's hand: "Don't you have eyes? You're in the cafeteria to eat, or are you going to the toilet?"

Her roommates burst out laughing: "Qingqing, we still need to eat breakfast. Don't say such cheesy things."

Xiang Qiu also heard Liu Guizhi call her a "country bumpkin" and looked at her with hostility: "Are you also a student from Beijing North?"

"Of course I'm a student from Beijing, otherwise why would I be having breakfast here?" Liu Guizhi replied, puzzled, not quite understanding Xiang Qiu's purpose in asking such a question.

Xiang Qiu looked at her with a half-smile: "Is that so? It's a real shame to be a classmate of someone as rude as you."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Liu Guizhi's anger flared up instantly, and she pointed at Xiang Qiu in a fit of rage: "You're in cahoots with that country bumpkin, aren't you? You just wait and see."

After uttering those harsh words, she hurriedly ran away. There were four people on the other side, and she was all alone. If she didn't leave now, when would she? She didn't want to be beaten again.

While eating breakfast, Xia Qingqing's roommates asked her about her relationship with the person from earlier. Xia Qingqing briefly explained what happened on the bus.

"It's really hard to imagine that someone like that could get into Beijing Normal University," Liu Huimin shook her head in disappointment.

Xia Qingqing shrugged helplessly: "Academic performance doesn't represent character and quality."

Liu Huimin paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're right, grades don't reflect character."

To be honest, of the four, only Xia Qingqing is from a rural area. Chen Xiu and Xiang Qiu are from the local area, while Liu Huimin is from a neighboring province.

However, none of her three roommates looked down on Xia Qingqing because she was from the countryside.

The four of them chatted and laughed as they finished breakfast. After eating, they washed their dishes at the sink before heading towards the auditorium.

Xia Qingqing looked around at the students sitting in the auditorium and found that there was a big age gap among them, with the younger ones being teenagers and the older ones being over thirty years old, making them look like they were from the same generation.

The freshman welcome ceremony consisted of listening to various speeches and lectures, which made Xia Qingqing drowsy. Mainly, she had attended too many such occasions in her previous life, so she had no energy to muster.

However, seeing her roommates' excited expressions, she felt too embarrassed to just fall asleep, so she forced her eyelids open and clapped along from time to time.

......

After attending the freshman welcome ceremony in the morning, each class held its own class meeting in the afternoon.

As fate would have it, Xia Qingqing had just entered the classroom when she saw Xue Yumeng being talked to by several male students, and who else could it be but Liu Guizhi next to her?

Liu Guizhi also saw Xia Qingqing and snorted angrily. This country bumpkin was actually in the same class as her.

Xue Yumeng noticed something was wrong with her: "Guizhi, what's wrong?"

Liu Guizhi pointed at Xia Qingqing at the classroom door: "The country bumpkin on the bus is actually from our class."

Xue Yumeng immediately noticed Xia Qingqing's pretty face. At that moment, many boys in the class were secretly looking at her, and she subconsciously clenched her fingers.