“…Four years old.” Wu Shishi pouted.

"You can still remember things from when you were four years old so clearly?" The others blinked in surprise at Wu Shishi's excellent memory.

"...Grandpa caught me while I was drawing, and I got a couple of whacks with his ruler when I got home."

She cried from the pain at the time and still can't forget how her grandfather, who always doted on her, hit her hand because of this incident.

Hao Shishi's words made Xia Lan and the others laugh. Wu Shishi was so mischievous when she was little.

"As expected, a couple of punishments will teach them a lesson," Xia Lan joked.

Wu Shishi glanced at Xia Lan, gave a soft snort, but did not refute.

The four of them strolled around the university. There were many new students arriving today, and students carrying their luggage could be seen everywhere heading to their dormitories.

Following Wu Shishi's directions, Xia Lan and the others found the school's main cafeteria. Xia Lan's eyes lit up when she saw the wide variety of dishes inside.

Now the problem of food can be solved. Xia Lan looked at the dishes, a figure appeared in her mind, and she sighed softly.

"The food looks pretty good." Su Dan and Zhao Pandi were very excited as they looked at the dishes on display in the cafeteria.

"What's so delicious about this..." Wu Shishi pouted and whispered, looking at their excited expressions.

Xia Lan glanced at Wu Shishi, who sensed Xia Lan's oppressive aura and obediently shut her mouth, not daring to say anything more.

“I know your family is well-off and you have no worries about food and clothing, but that is not a reason for you to look down on them.”

"Everyone is equal. In school, everyone is here to learn. They work hard for their future and go through all kinds of hardships to get here. Do you know how much courage that takes?"

Xia Lan glanced at Su Dan and Zhao Pandi, who were happily discussing what to eat each day in the cafeteria, and said calmly.

"Xia Lan, do you hate me?" Wu Shishi looked at Xia Lan. For some reason, she felt a sense of authority emanating from her just a moment ago.

In that instant, she was just as terrifying as her grandfather.

"I wouldn't say I hate you, but what you said is definitely not something I like," Xia Lan said softly, turning to look at Wu Shishi.

"..." Wu Shishi's heart skipped a beat.

"Do you feel wronged, like you didn't say anything?" Wu Lan asked, looking at Wu Shishi who was silent.

Wu Shishi nodded gently.

"Why are you so short?" Xia Lan suddenly said in a cold and disdainful tone.

Wu Shishi looked up at Xia Lan in shock. She was indeed shorter than the average girl, even half a head shorter than Xia Lan, but no one had ever dared to say so directly that she was short.

"Are you feeling unwell?" Xia Lan asked in a calm tone, and Wu Shishi opened her mouth.

Besides, she was feeling unwell; normally she would have already lost her temper.

"Don't you think words can be quite hurtful? A casual remark from you can strike at someone's most sensitive spot," Xia Lan said softly.

"In your view, you have always thought that you can be so unrestrained, say whatever you want, and that everyone around you fawns over you and no one dares to say anything bad about you."

"How did you know...?"

Wu Shishi was taken aback. That was indeed the case, but how could Xia Lan know?

"It's easy! Look at how arrogant you are today. Your clothes and appearance clearly show that you come from a wealthy family and never lift a finger. You must have always been surrounded by a group of people, so you're used to waiting for others to serve you."

This happened because Xia Lan and Sudan arrived at the dormitory first, and they weren't buying her act.

If Liu Xiaohong had arrived first, she might have helped her pack up right away.

“…I’ve never lacked people around me since I was a child,” Wu Shishi said sullenly.

If that incident hadn't happened, she might still feel that someone should take care of her.

“My grandfather, my father, and my mother are all capable people. People from our family often come to ask my father for favors... Sometimes they will also bring their children over to play with me.”

Wu Shishi pulled Xia Lan towards the cafeteria entrance, where the two stood under a tree, gazing at the university scenery.

"But they were all afraid of hurting me. They didn't dare to touch me even during normal playful fighting. If I got hurt, it was their fault."

She had many playmates when she was a child, but they all doted on her, protected her, and guarded against her.

“When I was little, they always surrounded me and rushed to do everything for me. I thought it was normal until one time I heard them talking badly about me behind my back. That’s when I realized how much they hated me.”

Xia Lan listened silently to Wu Shishi's words. Perhaps that was why Wu Shishi wanted to change.

Despite being criticized by them and scolded by the teacher, she did not choose to change dormitories. Instead, she suppressed her temper and was willing to go out with them.

This is something Wu Shishi would never have done in the past.

She was willing to humble herself and make friends with them.

Xia Lan reached out her hand to Wu Shishi.

"Then please guide me from now on, Shishi."

Wu Shishi paused, a surge of joy welling up inside her.

"Please give me your guidance, Lanlan."

"But let me make this clear from the start: you absolutely must not say those hurtful things again. If you do, and it breaks our hearts, then we won't even be able to be friends anymore."

Xia Lan looked into Wu Shishi's eyes and said earnestly.

“…Then you absolutely can’t say I’m short anymore.” Wu Shishi looked at Xia Lan with a wronged expression, it really hurt her pride.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted you to experience it."

Xia Lan wanted Wu Shishi to experience what it felt like to be attacked.

"You're right, it is indeed quite lethal."

Wu Shishi put herself in their shoes and recalled the things she had said to those people in the past, which seemed to have been quite excessive.

"What are you talking about?" Su Dan and Zhao Pandi ran out of the cafeteria and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the two of them in front of the tree.

They thought the two were about to fight, but suddenly they disappeared, which scared them so much that they quickly ran out to look for them.

"I'm sorry, I said some hurtful things to you before." Wu Shishi looked at Zhao Pandi and said earnestly.

Zhao Pandi was stunned by the sincerity of the apology. She looked at Xia Lan and then at Wu Shishi.

“I’m not angry with you anymore.” Zhao Pandi had already accepted Wu Shishi ever since she started liking the stone cakes from her hometown.

"Then...would you like to be my friends?" Wu Shishi asked earnestly.

“I genuinely want to be your friend. You are different from those who deliberately get close to me…”

Upon hearing this, Sudan and Zhao Pandi smiled.

"Of course!"

"sure."

"Please guide me in the future, Pan Di, Dan Dan," Wu Shishi said happily.

When she smiles, two shallow dimples appear on her cheeks, making her especially adorable.