Ding Lan felt uneasy under Chu Hongyu's gaze, which seemed like a sharp knife.
Chu Hongyu hadn't been coming to school much lately, and I heard she was going to take a leave of absence to work for the Hong Kong government, so I came here specifically to intercept her.
She just wanted to vent her anger and see if she could get some more benefits from Chu Hongyu.
Ding Lan knew in her heart that Chu Hongyu was different from Ning Yuan.
As the school's "gossipmonger," she overheard some hooligans and idlers near the school saying, "Don't hang around Sister Ning's shop."
In addition, Ning Yuan and her people had blocked their way once when they were putting up big-character posters.
She knew in her heart that Ning Yuan was someone she couldn't afford to offend, so she could only try to please her and see if there was any chance to get money from Ning Yuan.
After all, Ning Yuan and he were very similar, both coming from small towns, with a ruthless drive to make money ingrained in their bones.
They are the kind of people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals and are unyielding to both soft and hard tactics!
But Chu Hongyu is different.
Back when she lived in the dormitory, she actually "borrowed" the most things from Chu Hongyu.
In the past, Chu Hongyu always spoke and acted with the arrogance of a typical only child from Shanghai, the kind of girl who had been well-educated and protected by her parents since childhood.
She's all talk and no action; she seems shrewd but is actually easily embarrassed!
As long as you're thick-skinned enough and keep bothering Chu Hongyu, you'll always find a way to get some benefits out of her.
Chu Hongyu even readily agreed to the "huge sum" of three hundred yuan.
Because of Chu Hongyu's decisiveness, she never thought that Chu Hongyu would "break her promise" - not help her get rid of the punishment!
That's how Chu Hongyu tricked me!
Now, seeing the hatred in Chu Hongyu's eyes, Ding Lan suddenly felt a chill and didn't know what to say!
Chu Hongyu ignored her, closed the box, and said expressionlessly—
"This is my last time at school. Ding Lan, you either kill me now, or you better get out of my way!"
Then, carrying a suitcase in one hand and a large net bag filled with various odds and ends in the other, she walked out the door.
As Chu Hongyu passed by Ding Lan, she paused for a moment, then, taking advantage of her height, rudely bumped into Ding Lan and left without looking back.
Ding Lan was knocked off balance and almost fell. By the time she regained her footing, Chu Hongyu had already headed towards the stairwell.
She watched Chu Hongyu's graceful back, a hint of resentment flashing in her eyes.
As she reached the stairwell, Ning Yuan happened to be coming up from downstairs. Seeing Chu Hongyu carrying a large pile of things, she smiled and asked, "Have you finished packing?"
Chu Hongyu nodded: "Mm."
Ning Yuan reached out and decisively took the net bag from Chu Hongyu, which contained various toiletries and miscellaneous items.
"It's so cold today. Here, take this. Let's hurry up and go. Tony's car is outside the dorm."
Chu Hongyu didn't stand on ceremony and said with a smile, "Thank you!"
The two walked down together.
Neither of them paid any more attention to Ding Lan.
When they reached a secluded spot on the stairs, they suddenly heard Ding Lan calling out to them from behind.
"Ning Yuan! Chu Hongyu!"
Ning Yuan stopped and glanced back at Ding Lan, her eyes carrying a hint of warning.
"Ding Lan, don't go looking for trouble in this freezing weather."
Ding Lan bit her lip, seemingly hesitant, but ultimately, as if she were going all out, she shouted—
"You all look down on me, don't you? You think I'm a despicable person who would do anything for money? But let me tell you, I, Ding Lan, have never lied about my background!"
Ning Yuan and Chu Hongyu exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.
Ding Lan took a deep breath, seemingly having finally made up her mind.
"When I got into the best high school in my area with the highest score, my parents sold me to a widower who was more than ten years older than me as my wife. Just because I got into high school, they could ask for an extra twenty yuan in dowry. The key thing is that they could also arrange a marriage for my brother!"
As she spoke, tears finally streamed down her face: "I had to work in the fields every day, and my 'husband' loved to beat me. Do you know how I got through those three years?"
Ding Lan's tone was full of bitterness and despair: "When the college entrance examination was reinstated, I coaxed and lied to them, saying that if I passed the exam, the county would give me a reward of 100 yuan and my family could move to the city and get a government-subsidized grain ration! Only then did they allow me to study and review!"
Chu Hongyu looked at Ding Lan with a complicated expression.
She wasn't without compassion; Ding Lan's plight certainly deserved sympathy, but...
She asked coldly, "Just because your family is poor, does that give you the right to be heartless, to take advantage of others at will, and to push them into a pit of fire?"
Ding Lan hastily wiped away her tears with her patched sleeve and looked at her coldly: "Shut up. Do you know why I dislike you the most out of all the people in our dorm?"
Compared to Ning Yuan, who, like herself, had a strong grassroots vibe and only wanted to make money and have a romance on the side; compared to Yan Yangyang, who was a tomboy but had a clear goal of joining the army.
She disliked Chu Hongyu even more—a "prodigy" who came from a good family, was beautiful, had a respectable job, only had to worry about love, and had someone to protect her.
She said coldly, "Everyone suffers these days. I cheat and lie all the time; I study hard with my talent just to leave that godforsaken place, because I don't want to be treated like a sow by men... I don't want to be beaten, scolded, or treated like a beast of burden! I've done everything I can just to survive!"
Ding Lan stared at Chu Hongyu, then suddenly smiled strangely—
"And here I risked my life to get here, while you're living a life of luxury, dying for cheap love, and then getting cheated on by a man with the same personality and background as me. Tell me, is the world fair or unfair? I always think you deserve it! You know what? You deserve it!!"
Chu Hongyu was stunned by Ding Lan's words and felt a mix of emotions.
She never imagined that Ding Lan lived with this kind of mentality.
Ding Lan smiled sarcastically, turning her gaze to Ning Yuan with a mixture of inquiry and confusion in her eyes.
"What is it about Chu Hongyu that makes you want to help her like this?"
"Look at her, she comes from a good family, is beautiful, has a respectable job, all she has to do is date, and you're the sucker who has to clean up her mess."
Ding Lan drawled out her words, her tone full of sarcasm: "It was clearly you, Ning Yuan, who went to great lengths to set this up, even arranging for me to participate in seducing Su Xueming, to expose that man's true colors, and to save Chu Hongyu's family. And you even warned me not to tell Chu Hongyu, afraid she'd be angry with you."
"Are you a snob? You only hang out with people who are well-off because she can give you gifts? But you were clearly richer than Chu Hongyu later on! You and Chu Hongyu are not on the same wavelength at all, so why did you help her unconditionally!"
The air seemed to freeze at that moment, and Chu Hongyu looked at Ning Yuan in disbelief.
She instinctively bit her lip, but couldn't say anything.
Ding Lan tilted her head, as if puzzled, or perhaps questioning Ning Yuan—
“A naive young lady like Chu Hongyu certainly doesn’t understand the wickedness of this world. But you, Ning Yuan, are different!”
Ning Yuan asked casually, "Really? How is it different?"
Ding Lan stared straight at Ning Yuan and said, word by word, "You're different from everyone else. You're clearly on the same side as me. We're both people who'd risk anything to survive in this world!"
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