The school dormitory was very basic, consisting of just a few wooden plank beds, a table, and a few chairs. Due to years of neglect, the paint on the walls was peeling off. It was only after Li Mu mentioned it that Xiao Pang's father got some help from the villagers. The wooden plank beds were a pool of money from everyone, and some were even brought directly from their homes.
Among these children, some were older and some were younger. Xiang Wan recognized their faces but couldn't recall their names.
Xiao Hua from next door also came, timidly following behind Xiang Wan. Whatever she did, this little tagalong did too.
"Little Flower, how old are you?"
While making the bed, Xiang Wan casually asked a question.
"I am 6 years old."
As Xiaohua spoke, she watched Xiang Wan arrange the bedding, while her own hands were busy, quickly taking things out of the bundle.
"Your family really trusts you to come here?"
"They feel at ease with you by their side."
Xiang Wan was speechless. Since she arrived here, she hadn't had any dealings with her family. What had she done to catch their eye? She had absolutely no recollection of it.
"Actually, I asked to come here on my own initiative." Xiaohua's voice suddenly lowered, as if she wanted to look at Xiang Wan but didn't dare to. "I told my parents that since you can beat Xiaopang, it will definitely be safe for us to be with you, and they agreed."
So that's how it is! This child, her previous image of a frail girl who buried herself in her work has been completely ruined, okay? She didn't want to reveal her tomboyish side so early, okay?
"Are your parents aware of how honest you are?"
"Hmm, so you also think I'm honest, right, Sister Xiangwan? My parents were right, as long as I tell the truth, my friends will like me."
Xiang Wan silently turned her head away; they were completely on different wavelengths and couldn't even have a conversation.
Xiang Wan had experienced boarding school life before, but the miserable boarding life at this school was beyond description with just a "damn it".
In the morning, I have to get up early to fetch water from the nearby pond to wash my face. If I need hot water, I have to boil it myself, and then I have to start a fire to cook. It's exactly the same as before I went to school, except that before I was cooking for the whole family, and now I only have to cook for myself.
In the morning, they endured Mr. Liu's dry and tedious lectures, which were so boring they could put them to sleep. At noon, they had to start a fire and cook, leaving no time for a lunch break. In the afternoon, at least they had a PE class, which involved cleaning the school grounds, but the kids were quite happy about it; compared to their own farm work, cleaning was nothing. Only Xiang Wan looked miserable; her plan to sneak out was completely ruined.
In the evening, I need to do laundry, cook dinner, and also bring back some vegetables for the next day.
What happened to the promised free room and board? Oh, Li Mu paid for the rice and vegetables, and the firewood was delivered regularly by villagers. Every day, besides cooking and eating, she was bombarded with nagging noise, completely unlike a student. This miserable life pushed Xiang Wan's patience to the limit, driving her to the brink of irritability.
How exactly did the original owner live? In her memory, she only had to cook a meal for herself at noon, and she had to go back to cook every morning and evening. Damn, that was even more miserable than what she's experiencing now.
This won't do. I don't have any free time at all. How am I supposed to avenge the original owner?
After thinking it over, Xiang Wan decided she should go see Li Mu again. If he were truly a kind person, he wouldn't refuse such a small request from a primary school student like her.
One day during lunchtime, Xiang Wan did not go to the open-air kitchen with Xiao Hua, but instead went to Li Mu's office.
That's right, Li Mu has his own office, which he insisted on having, saying it was for the convenience of teaching.
For the sake of money, even if Li Mu demolished the school, no one would care; they would only come to help.
"Teacher Li, are you inside?"
Xiang Wan first listened to the door of Li Mu's office to make sure there was movement inside before knocking.
There was a sound of tables and chairs being moved inside, and after a while, Li Mu said from inside, "Come in!"
I gently pushed the door open, and there was a table piled high with books facing it. To the side was a slightly worn cabinet, its doors closed, so I couldn't tell what was inside.
Li Mu sat behind his desk with a book in his hand. It wasn't until Xiang Wan walked up to him that he seemed to realize what was happening, looked up at Xiang Wan with a smile on his face.
"It's you. Your name is Yu Xiangwan, right? Why aren't you going to eat?"
If you ignore the book he's holding and his obviously fake smile, an 8-year-old would be captivated by his scholarly demeanor.
The sound before entering must have been Li Mu arranging books and pulling out chairs. The book he was holding was quite thick; Xiang Wan glanced at it briefly and saw that it had illustrations inside, but Li Mu quickly closed it and put it in a drawer.
Perhaps assuming that Xiang Wan had only been studying for a few days and was illiterate, Li Mu did not completely cover the book title, revealing the characters "Jin" and "Mei" through his fingers.
Damn, what bad luck! I just happened to see that suggestive cover. Don't think Xiang Wan only knows how to study and doesn't know these things. She has seriously studied the kind of in-depth yet simple communication between people of different genders, but in the end, it all came to nothing. The only reason is that the person she was studying with was her boyfriend, so they couldn't continue the discussion. If they continued, they would have to enter the performance stage.
Xiang Wan inwardly complained, but outwardly she had to pretend she knew nothing.
"Teacher Li, what book are you reading? It's so thick."
The embarrassment on Li Mu's face flashed by, and he cleared his throat, saying, "The teacher is reading a classic. If you study hard, you will also be able to recognize many words in the future, and then you will be able to read it too."
It is indeed a classic, a Chinese classic, a book that was once banned. In modern society, it is only considered a comic book.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
