Chapter 80: Dormitory Drama

Chapter 80: Dormitory Drama

The woman who walked in looked around and then fixed her eyes on Li Meiru's bed.

"Our Jiao is short, and climbing up to the top bunk is too hard. Is there any student on the lower bunk willing to switch places with our Jiao?"

After the woman finished speaking, the dormitory went quiet for a moment.

Ye Xiaoxiao didn't expect to see such a cliché scenario in the 1980s and quickly looked over.

The woman speaking wore a watch on her wrist, suggesting her family was well-to-do.

The girl standing with her parents, true to her name, looked shy and fragile, dressed like a city girl.

Tang Xiuxiu kept arranging her own bed as if she hadn't heard the woman's words.

"If no one says anything, then we'll just switch ourselves."

The woman's hand reached toward Li Meiru's bed.

Li Meiru had just left the dormitory to fetch water, and others quickly reminded her.

"Auntie, why don't you wait for her to return and discuss it with her?"

But the woman bundled up Li Meiru's bedding and had the man beside her throw it onto the vacant upper bunk opposite.

The neatly arranged bed was now a mess.

"What's there to discuss? College students are supposed to be helpful and have good manners. Oh, and our Jiao doesn’t know how to do anything at home, so remember to take her along when you get meals or fetch water.

Also, Jiao can't drink cold water, the lights have to be turned off at night, she’s a light sleeper, so don’t whisper quietly, and Jiao must sleep for eight hours every day, or it will affect her studies."

The woman continued to speak, completely oblivious to the growing discomfort of the others in the dormitory.

Ye Xiaoxiao, holding her fabric, prepared to go to her own bed. With the dormitory in such turmoil, the curtain had to be put up right away.

"My name is Wang Jiao, nice to meet you."

Wang Jiao held out her hand to Ye Xiaoxiao, her attitude haughty.

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t get why Wang Jiao had picked her out among so many people in the dormitory. She shook her hand lightly, "Hello, I'm Ye Xiaoxiao."

Wang Jiao looked on as her parents arranged her bed and talked with her roommates.

"And you? What are your names, and where are you from? My family is from Beijing, and you can come to my house on weekends."

The others also introduced themselves, but they only smiled politely at Wang Jiao's grand invitation.

The dormitory door opened, and Li Meiru returned.

The first thing she saw was her own bed being occupied by the newcomers. She slammed her thermos down on the floor.

"How dare you move my stuff? This bed is already taken, didn't you know?"

Li Meiru stepped forward and pushed Wang Jiao's parents aside.

"Oh dear, why are you using so much force? Auntie thought the upper bunk was nicer, so she gave it to you."

Li Meiru, about to throw their belongings aside, said coldly, "I don't need it."

The woman, embarrassed and angry, retorted, "Why are you being so unkind? Our Jiaojiao isn’t feeling well, that's why she can't sleep on the upper bunk. Can’t you just let her have it?"

Li Meiru: "No."

"You..."

"Auntie, it’s first come, first served. You got here last, so you can only sleep on the upper bunk."

He Jing chimed in fairly.

When Li Meiru stood her ground, the woman turned her gaze to Tang Xiuxiu.

Tang Xiuxiu said coldly, "This is my bunk, and I’m not giving it up."

"Fine, I’ll take the upper bunk then."

Wang Jiao stamped her foot and complained to her parents, "I told you we should’ve left earlier, but you didn’t listen. Now if I fall off the top bunk, it’s on you."

The last sentence was clearly directed at the other people in the dorm.

On the first day in the dorm, everyone felt blamed, and no one was happy. Their attitude toward Wang Jiao turned even colder.

Wang Jiao's parents stayed for more than two hours, complaining about the dorm being shabby, then saying it was too far from the teaching building. They stayed to comfort Wang Jiao before finally leaving.

Ye Xiaoxiao had already put up her bed curtain by then.

"You’re using such nice fabric as a bed curtain?"

He Jing lifted a corner of the curtain, her gentle eyes peeking through.

Ye Xiaoxiao explained, "Yes, I’m not used to dorm life, and the curtain can block the light."

Wang Jiao looked at Ye Xiaoxiao's bunk, "Next time I go home, I’ll bring a piece of fabric too, to block it off so I don’t have to see anyone I don’t like."

Wang Jiao was still bitter about not getting the lower bunk.

Li Meiru just rolled her eyes.

On the first day of school registration, there wasn’t much going on that evening. The school issued military training uniforms to the students, and the counselor informed them that a half-month military training would start the next day, with no leave allowed except under special circumstances.

The girls’ dorm was filled with complaints.

Ye Xiaoxiao’s worst nightmare—military training and physical tests—had finally arrived.

Moreover, Ye Xiaoxiao had already figured out that she was the only female student in the traditional Chinese medicine program this year, so during the military training, she was directly assigned to the clinical medicine class for management.

In addition, there were a handful of equally unfortunate male classmates scattered in various classes.

The total number should not exceed ten.

The others in the dormitory were also very surprised to learn that Ye Xiaoxiao was in the traditional Chinese medicine major.

Wang Jiao, next to Ye Xiaoxiao, was soaking her feet in a basin, "Why not study Western medicine? Western medicine is so glamorous now."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "No matter what you study, it depends on your own ability. I think traditional Chinese medicine is also very powerful."

Wang Jiao pouted, "Is it the same? With traditional Chinese medicine, you definitely won’t get a good job after graduation."

Ye Xiaoxiao didn’t have to worry about employment at all; her master already had a pharmacy, so she wasn’t worried about finding work.

After Wang Jiao finished washing her feet, she got up and went to the utility room in the hallway outside to pour out the water, head down, not paying attention to where she was going.

She ran right into Li Meiru as she was coming in, and the water in the basin spilled out, most of it splashing onto Li Meiru's bed.

"Ah! Wang Jiao! You did that on purpose, didn’t you?"

Wang Jiao looked at the soaked bed, "If you had announced yourself, I wouldn’t have bumped into you. Who would’ve thought?"

Li Meiru put down the basin and pushed Wang Jiao.

Her bedding was soaked through.

Fortunately, it was autumn, and the lingering summer heat in the capital was still intense, so even with wet bedding, she wouldn’t freeze.

Li Meiru barely pushed her, but Wang Jiao fell to the ground.

"My foot… oh no, my foot!"

Li Meiru ignored her, and Wang Jiao kept crying.

"My foot is sprained. How am I supposed to handle military training tomorrow?"

Her crying alerted the girls’ dorm counselor, who immediately sent her to the infirmary upon seeing Wang Jiao's condition.

Li Meiru didn’t expect that her casual push would cause such serious consequences, so she had to follow along.

He Jing, as the newly elected dormitory head, also accompanied them.

Ye Xiaoxiao and the remaining roommates helped Li Meiru hang the bedding on the balcony.

"Wang Jiao’s pretty sharp—maybe she’s dodging military training this way," Xia Li whispered.

Tang Xiuxiu said seriously, "Our school’s infirmary is not just for show. Faking an illness undermines student integrity, and you have no evidence to prove she’s faking it."