Chapter 153: Whose Parents

Chapter 153: Whose Parents

Ye Xiaoxiao arrived at the dormitory door and saw a middle-aged couple huddled by the entrance.

She looked up at the dorm number, making sure it was the right dorm.

"Can I help you?"

Hearing Ye Xiaoxiao's voice, the two people sitting on the ground quickly stood up.

"We are Li Meiru's parents," the woman replied.

Ye Xiaoxiao thought about her impression of Li Meiru's parents and firmly said, "This is a dormitory. Apart from students, others can't stay for too long, and it's not appropriate for a man to be here. Please wait for her downstairs."

Li Dazhuang, with a scowl, looked at Ye Xiaoxiao disdainfully.

"What do you know, little girl? The dorm auntie probably thought you were dropping off luggage. How can you drive us away?"

Ye Xiaoxiao wasn’t afraid of him. "The dorm auntie probably thought you were dropping off luggage. If she knew you were loitering, she'd make you leave."

Li Dazhuang retorted, "I'm here to find my daughter. Let’s see who tries to kick me out!"

The woman beside him started pleading.

"Miss, we're really just here to find our child. Please don't drive us away. I know we're from the countryside, but look, we're dressed cleanly and just squatting at the door. We won’t make a mess."

One was being aggressive, the other pleading.

Ye Xiaoxiao wasn’t concerned about them dirtying the floor but knew that Li Meiru didn’t get along with her family. Their visit probably meant trouble.

However, with their words, people in the hallway started staring.

Ye Xiaoxiao nearly laughed at their audacity.

"Move aside so I can get in."

The woman bent over, "Sure, we’ll move."

But as soon as Ye Xiaoxiao opened the dorm door, they tried to follow her in.

Lu Hanchuan stopped Li Dazhuang.

He placed his hand on the man's shoulder, seeming casual but gripping tightly.

The man winced in pain, clenching his teeth, "What are you doing?"

"You shouldn’t just walk into a girls’ dorm. Weren’t you just saying you’d wait outside?"

Li Dazhuang argued, "This is my daughter's dorm. I’ll go in if I want."

Lu Hanchuan raised an eyebrow, "If I say you’re not coming in, you’re not."

With a push, Li Dazhuang staggered back, almost toppling over.

"You... how could you hit him!"

Li Meiru's mother, Fang Meihua, rushed to help Li Dazhuang, glaring at Lu Hanchuan.

Lu Hanchuan leaned against the dorm wall, "This dorm isn't just for your daughter. Please respect the privacy of others."

Ye Xiaoxiao put her things inside the dorm.

At this moment, Tang Xiuxiu also walked over with her bag.

Seeing the commotion at the dorm door, she was a bit surprised.

She knew Lu Hanchuan—he was Xiao Xiao's boyfriend.

As for the other couple at the door, they didn’t look anything alike Xiao Xiao's parents.

"Who are these people?"

Before anyone else could speak, Fang Meihua ran over and grabbed Tang Xiuxiu's hand.

"Girl, you must be our Meiru's roommate, right? Could you let us in to look around, or tell us where Meiru is? We're looking for her. This silly child, she didn’t come home for the holidays, and she’s not in the dorm. What if something bad happens to her?"

Tang Xiuxiu, hearing that these were Li Meiru's parents, yanked her hand away.

"Auntie, I’m not sure where Li Meiru is. I think you should head home first."

Fang Meihua: "Head home? We don’t even have travel money, how can we go home?"

Tang Xiuxiu: "Then how did you get here? Didn’t you think about how to get back?"

Fang Meihua: "Isn’t there still Li Meiru? She got into college and has done well for herself, surely she must have some money, right?"

Tang Xiuxiu understood—these parents had come to ask Li Meiru for money.

How could there be such parents in the world?

They were only in their forties, yet they were already trying to take advantage of their child who was still studying.

Tang Xiuxiu: "Li Meiru is still a student, her money is for living expenses. If you take it, how is she supposed to live?"

Fang Meihua hadn’t thought about this issue at all.

Even now, with Tang Xiuxiu pointing it out, she still didn’t think it was a big deal, "There are definitely more opportunities in the big city than in our small town. As long as she’s willing to work hard, making money shouldn’t be hard."

Tang Xiuxiu shook her head in disappointment.

She had nothing left to say to them.

Ye Xiaoxiao opened the dorm door; she’d already put her things away.

"Xiuxiu, I’m going out for a walk. Are you staying in the dorm?"

Tang Xiuxiu understood Ye Xiaoxiao's meaning.

"Wait for me to put my things away, we’ll go out together."

With Lu Hanchuan standing at the door, Li Dazhuang and his wife didn’t dare to force their way in; they could only peek inside by tiptoeing and craning their necks.

Ye Xiaoxiao locked the door without hesitation.

Li Dazhuang squatted at the dorm door.

"I don’t believe she won’t come back."

Ye Xiaoxiao and Tang Xiuxiu held hands and went downstairs.

Tang Xiuxiu: "Let’s tell the dorm auntie and ask her to make those two leave."

Not to mention how terrible it is to loiter at the dorm entrance, Li Dazhuang is after all a man—what’s he doing hanging around the girls' dormitory?

The two went downstairs to the dorm auntie's office and reported the incident.

"Loitering at the dorm entrance all the time? That’s not acceptable. I’ll go up and take a look."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Auntie, you should get the school security guards to go up with you; that guy looks pretty intimidating."

The dorm auntie nodded. "Don’t worry, our school is well-regulated—we won’t let anyone act recklessly."

The dorm auntie made a call to the security department, then headed upstairs with determination.

After a while, two security guards entered the girls' dormitory.

Tang Xiuxiu: "Does Li Meiru know what’s going on?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "If they just arrived today, she might not know. Li Meiru should still be working."

Tang Xiuxiu: "Wait by the dorm entrance, I’ll go look for Li Meiru."

Tang Xiuxiu rode her bicycle and left.

Ye Xiaoxiao and Lu Hanchuan sat by the flower bed downstairs.

After a while, they saw the security guards escort the couple out.

"We really came to find our child, please be understanding."

"Please, comrades."

Fang Meihua’s skill of playing the victim was masterfully executed.

The security guards saw that they hadn’t caused any trouble and could only say:

"You’re allowed to wait on campus, but you can’t enter the dormitory building."

The dorm auntie stood on the steps and said loudly, "This building houses young girls. What if something happens if you’re let in? If you're really here to find your child, wait outside. If you cause any trouble, you won’t even be able to enter the school gate."

Lu Hanchuan chuckled. "The dorm auntie is quite commanding—you should learn from her."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "The auntie has been through a lot."

Fang Meihua and Li Dazhuang didn’t make any more fuss, but they remained in front of the dormitory building, refusing to leave.