Chapter 125: An Argument

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: An Argument

The mention of Lu Zhengchuan made Su Jue agitated. "When he gets back, I’m going to give him a piece of my mind."

"He didn’t even tell us about this beforehand, leaving us completely unprepared. They nearly walked all over us."

"Third Brother, it was an accident. After all, he didn’t know Xu Rongrong was in the same year as me," Su Wan subconsciously defended him.

Su Jue sneered. "Hah. Wanwan, you’re the only one who would believe that. Since he’s still in contact with Qi Hao, how could he not know that Xu Rongrong is also a student this year?"

Su Wan was at a loss for a rebuttal. "...Third Brother, he’s on a mission. Even if he found out later, it would have been too late to do anything."

"Hmph. And how do you know he only found out later?" Su Jue tapped her on the head in exasperation. "You’re always making excuses for Lu Zhengchuan. No matter how you slice it, he’s the one who brought this trouble to your doorstep. You can’t deny that, can you?"

"Alright, Third Brother, let’s not be angry anymore. When Lu Zhengchuan gets back, you can yell at him, and I promise I won’t intervene." Su Wan didn’t want her brother to stew in anger over her problems.

She quickly changed the subject to appease him. Su Jue huffed a couple of times but didn’t bring it up again.

By the sinks, Su Jue went to wash the basin and dump the dirty water.

Su Wan turned and walked into the public restroom.

The bathhouse was downstairs; the dorms had no hot water pipes or heating. Bathing in the winter was extremely inconvenient, so the restrooms on the floor were mainly just for using the toilet. In the summer, one could take a bucket bath, but fetching hot water was a hassle.

To get hot water, you had to go to the hot water room downstairs. Above the second floor, there weren’t even any sinks.

Thus, when Su Wan walked in, she found the public restroom was far from clean.

Even the water for flushing had to be carried in.

After quickly using the toilet, she hurried out, running right into Xu Rongrong and Zhang Chunhua.

Xu Rongrong’s eyebrows shot up when she saw her. "Well, if it isn’t Comrade Su Wan."

"What a coincidence running into you. Come on, I’ll go with you to your dorm to have a look." Xu Rongrong stepped forward to take her arm.

The moment she got close, Xu Rongrong instantly covered her nose and backed away a few steps.

"What is that? It stinks."

Her face was a mask of disgust, as if she had encountered something revolting, and she scanned Su Wan from head to toe.

Su Wan raised an eyebrow. ’So, this is what Xu Rongrong is afraid of?’

Before she could say a word, two other female comrades walked out of the public restroom, bringing an even stronger stench with them.

"It reeks!"

Xu Rongrong couldn’t help but stumble backward, her face contorted in disgust.

Her voice wasn’t quiet, and at her words, the two female comrades’ faces turned pale and then red with anger.

The more hot-tempered of the two immediately planted her hands on her hips and shot back, "If a toilet doesn’t stink, can you even call it a toilet? What’s with the dramatics!"

Her friend chimed in, "Exactly! We’re all living the communal life at school now, so why put on airs? Of course the toilet stinks when so many people use it."

"If you’re so disgusted, then you shouldn’t have come to school in the first place."

Furious and embarrassed, Xu Rongrong glared. "Say one more word, I dare you! Do you have any idea who I am?"

"I don’t care who you are. The toilet would stink even if the Heavenly King himself came to use it."

With that, the two sides started arguing heatedly, and Su Wan found herself a bystander. She frowned, glanced at Xu Rongrong, and seeing that the girl clearly had no energy left to pester her, she decisively supported her belly and followed Su Jue away from the scene.

"That Miss Xu certainly has quite a temper. Best to steer clear of her," Su Wan said deliberately.

Su Jue glanced at her without changing his grip on the basin. "As long as you know that, Wanwan."

"Third Brother, do I seem like the type to look for trouble?" Su Wan said, a little indignantly, touching the tip of her nose.

Su Jue snorted. "The old you certainly wasn’t, but you’re not very smart when it comes to matters of the heart."

"It seems to me that Lu Zhengchuan has you wrapped around his little finger. You even put up with it when you’re the one getting the short end of the stick."

Su Wan was speechless. She instinctively wanted to deny it, but thinking about it, the number of times she had sulked because of Lu Zhengchuan seemed to have increased since they got married. ’Does that mean I’m really bad at relationships?’

"You’re one to talk, Third Brother," Su Wan retorted indignantly. "The day you sort out your own love life is the day I won’t have any more problems."

"You’re only this sharp-tongued in front of me. If you’ve got the guts, try being this formidable with Lu Zhengchuan."

"I won’t go easy on him either!"

Su Wan vowed through gritted teeth.

"Fine. I’ll be waiting."

Su Jue clearly didn’t believe her.

Su Wan, however, took the matter to heart, planning to have a good, long talk with Lu Zhengchuan when he returned.

In the afternoon, after finishing all the registration procedures, confirming her classroom, and collecting her textbooks, Su Wan returned to the courtyard house just off campus.

For the next month, she didn’t have to attend classes. Of course, with her new student ID, she could come and go from campus as she pleased and had free access to the library. She would no longer have to trouble Professor Wang for books; the library had everything she needed.

「Two days later.」

First thing in the morning, Su Jue came over from the university.

"Wanwan, Mom and Dad’s train arrives a little after ten this morning. I don’t know how much luggage they’re bringing, so I’ve arranged for a tricycle to go pick them up. You just stay here and wait for them."

Su Wan was with Aunt Zhao, trying to figure out how to make tea-leaf eggs.

When she heard this, she immediately rushed out after him. "Third Brother, did you take time off from school?"

"Yeah, I took a half-day leave. The semester just started, so there isn’t much going on. You can even get excused from military training."

After saying this, Su Jue hopped on the tricycle and pedaled away.

With her big belly, Su Wan couldn’t have caught up anyway. She was only at home because her daily oxygen therapy at the hospital wasn’t until the afternoon.

"Auntie, let’s make some food and boil some water. My parents would never be willing to spend money on food on the train," Su Wan said, getting busy.

Aunt Zhao nodded. "Wanwan, we can just boil the water directly on the stove. The coal briquettes burn quickly, and we can always add more. When they get here, we can heat up more water for the second person while the first one is bathing."

"Okay, Auntie."

Su Wan took three eggs, a piece of fresh chicken, and a bag of noodles from the cupboard.

"I’ll make them braised chicken and potato stew with noodles. It’s filling, has both meat and vegetables, and I’ll boil these eggs and put them in, too."

Aunt Zhao filled the pot on the stove with water. Hearing Su Wan’s plan, she deftly entered the kitchen, washed the potatoes they had bought earlier, and left the skins on, as they added to the weight. In those days, being able to buy fresh produce was a luxury reserved for the wealthy.

And these potatoes were out of season.

The small potatoes were cut in half and set aside in a sieve. First, the chicken was parboiled to remove the scum, then removed from the pot. The water was discarded, and the pot was wiped clean. After heating the pot and adding oil, the prepared aromatics were tossed in until fragrant. Then, the chicken pieces were added and stir-fried until golden brown.

When the chicken was seared and fragrant, enough water was added to cover it. Then came the seasonings and the potatoes.

The pot was covered and left to simmer. A fragrant, BUBBLING steam began to rise. When the chicken and potatoes were about eighty percent cooked, the noodles were spread on top to absorb the remaining sauce as it thickened.

"Whose cooking smells so delicious?"

Mother Su and Father Su walked alongside the tricycle, which was piled high with luggage, while Su Jue pedaled at the front.