Chapter 239: A Little Story After the Rain

(1)

The rain in the forest had stopped.

But it hadn’t really stopped.

Because just as everyone finished lunch and was enjoying the sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, they were caught off guard by a sudden sun shower that left them completely drenched.

It was a total ambush.

Who would have thought that the sky, with its clouds already scattered, could still unleash such a downpour!

They had barely reached the edge of the abandoned lumberyard, hadn’t even gotten a good look at the water buffalo leisurely chewing on weeds behind the fence, when the rain started falling. An Jing and Zhu Ying could only turn around and run back.

The other classmates who had come along to see the buffalo also ended up looking like drowned rats.

The rain came and went quickly. By the time they ran back into the wooden cabin, it had already stopped. The bright, innocent-looking sun seemed to have nothing to do with the sudden downpour.

“Ha ha ha—” a guy laughed with schadenfreude. “What’s so great about a buffalo? Now you’re all soaked, huh?”

“Girls always love to crowd around things!”

“Exactly, exactly!”

“Damn, I’m a dude here!”

“I’m a guy too, you know…” An Jing’s eyelids drooped.

“I… I don’t have any more clothes to change into…” said the hygiene committee member, Yuan Lanque. She had already gotten wet once while helping carry firewood, and now she was drenched again. Talk about bad luck.

“Little Que~! I brought four sets of clothes. Want to borrow some of mine?”

“Huh?” Faced with Zhu Ying’s somewhat affectionate nickname, Yuan Lanque’s freckled cheeks flushed slightly. “Zhu Ying… is that okay?”

“Do you mind wearing a school uniform?”

“As long as I can wear something… My inside clothes aren’t wet. I just need to change the outside, one set is fine… Especially the outer layer.”

“I only brought shorts with my uniform. Is that okay?”

“That’s… that’s fine…”

“Then I’ll give it to you later—” Zhu Ying glanced at a few guys standing nearby. “I’ll get it for you in the room. I need to change too.”

“The guys stay on the second floor, the girls on the third. There are plenty of rooms. You can pick your own. If you want to share with others, you can. Some rooms have two beds. If you don’t want to, find a single room with just one bed~” Wen Ye said from the doorway, rocking in a lounge chair. “It’s free time now. You can look around the area, but remember, don’t go out the main gate, and no climbing the walls either.”

“We can choose a single room! Xiao Jing, let’s share one?”

“Huh? What?” An Jing lowered her voice in panic. “I’m a ‘guy’ right now… Won’t people talk if we do that…”

“So what? Everyone knows we’re a couple, right?”

“Uh…”

“Besides, wouldn’t it be troublesome for Xiao Jing to sleep with the guys? If you’re going to have a room to yourself, you might as well share with me!”

Wen Ye’s eyes darted around slyly, and suddenly she flashed a cunning smile. “Oh, right. We’re here to bond and have fun together, so no one is allowed to sleep alone! At least two people per room—”

As soon as she finished speaking, people immediately started forming groups.

Most chose their closest friends. If someone had more friends, they could go for a four-person room with two beds.

“Zhou Zhao, want to share a room?” Zhang Qiqi acted as if they were close, slapping her shoulder hard.

“Huh?” Zhou Zhao looked puzzled. She wasn’t surprised, but rather curious about what kind of relationship the two of them actually had.

After all, now that she had become a girl, her relationships seemed to have subtly shifted because of it.

“What? Scared I’ll eat you alive? I know you like girls, but hey, big sister here wouldn’t mind trying out what it’s like with a girl too, you know?”

“Ha—?”

“Relax, relax. I’m planning to get a four-person room. I’ll call Little Que to join us too. As for the others— Little Ying is definitely out. Oh, Little Ru, Little Ru can share with us too.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Hold on!” Zhu Ying, who was pinching An Jing’s cheek, turned around and looked Zhou Zhao up and down. Unlike others, her gaze was like she was staring at a stinky fox reeking of trouble. “You guys want to room with Zhou Zhao?”

“It’s fine. I kind of want to see what she’s like. See if she really likes girls like the rumors say.”

“That’s not the issue! You have to avoid her when you bathe!”

“Huh? What… what happens if we don’t avoid her?” Yuan Lanque asked, looking flustered.

“She’ll definitely see everything! Don’t let her get away with it!”

“Zhu Ying, what are you talking about?” Zhou Zhao smiled innocently, as if she couldn’t imagine anything bad happening.

“Anyway, no means no. Little Que is shy, so she probably won’t do that. And I’m not worried about Qiqi either. But Little Ru can’t be in your group, Zhou Zhao!”

“Ah…”

“What do you think, Xiao Jing?”

“Uh…”

“How about Little Ru joins us? We’ll find a room with two beds. Teacher Wenwen, three people is okay, right?”

“Three people? Hmm, three is fine.”

“Three!” Zhu Ying nodded excitedly.

“Um…” An Jing lowered her voice. “If it’s three people, what will others think of me… A guy sharing a room with two girls… And, and for you two…”

“What’s the big deal? It’s not like Xiao Jing is a threat to anyone.”

“Hey, hey!”

“What about Little Ru?”

“I… I’m fine with anything…” Wang Xinru looked at An Jing with a hint of anticipation, but then quickly looked away nervously.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s go find a room~!” Zhu Ying nodded with satisfaction, linked her arm with An Jing’s, and walked a few steps toward the stairs before lowering her voice. “I’m warning you, Xiao Jing. I’m only doing this because Little Ru doesn’t have any friends in class, and I was afraid she’d be left out. Since she can’t go with Qiqi’s group, you’d better not think about doing anything bad—got it?”

“What bad things could I possibly think about…”

“Stay away on your own! Of course, just keep away from Little Ru. You don’t need to avoid me. Let’s just take a bath together!”

“No… no thanks…”

(2)

They chose the last room on the third floor. It was a double room that looked very simple and elegant—though actually, every room had a different style.

At the very least, the one Zhang Qiqi and her group picked was very modern.

“It feels like a bamboo hut inside…”

“They must have put bamboo strips on the walls.” An Jing touched the wall. “It feels pretty cool. It must be nice to stay here in the summer.”

“There’s even a living room.” Wang Xinru sighed softly. “So luxurious.”

“But the living room isn’t big. It’s only about the size of three dining tables.”

“Still, having a living room is already luxurious.” An Jing sat on a bamboo chair in the living room and gently rocked it. “It’s heavier than I thought. Pretty sturdy.”

“The table is made of bamboo too. Amazing.” Zhu Ying put her backpack on the bamboo shoe cabinet against the wall and took out a set of school uniform. “Oh, Little Que, here. My uniform. We should be about the same size.”

“Mm… thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Zhu Ying waved her hand lightly. “See you later, then. We’re going to take a bath first!”

“You guys go ahead. I’ll go last…”

“No way, no way. Xiao Jing has to bathe with me!”

“Whoa—don’t drag me by the collar—!”

“Bathe—together—!”

An Jing was dragged into the adjacent bathroom by Zhu Ying, and then the sliding door disguised as bamboo was closed with a click.

Then came the sound of locking.

“Wang Xinru, I’m heading off… Do you want to join our room instead? Over there, you have Zhou Zhao, but it’s still better than being a third wheel here…”

“Mm… no, it’s okay. Little Ying asked me to come, so it’d be bad if I just left.”

“Alright… bye then…”

Wang Xinru stood by the door and nodded gently, then slowly closed the door.

Sounds of banging and clattering came from the bathroom. You’d think they were renovating in there!

“There’s a bamboo bathtub! Whoa~! It even has a drainage system! We can soak tonight!”

“You’re going to bathe again at night?”

“If I wash at night, I don’t have to change clothes!”

“If I don’t sweat, I’m not washing…”

“Then I’m going to soak with Xiao Jing right now!”

“Hey, hey, you’re not planning to spend the whole afternoon in the bath, are you?”

“It won’t take that long!”

“Eep!? Don’t touch me! I’ll take it off myself!!”

(3)

Everything in this cabin was decorated in a vintage style. The light bulbs were pull-string incandescent ones, and there wasn’t even an air conditioner in the room—come to think of it, the entire three-story wooden cabin didn’t seem to have any AC units outside.

In the living room, there was a water tap disguised as a bamboo tube, with a small bamboo bucket sink underneath. Wang Xinru filled a copper kettle with water from the bamboo tube and placed it on a stove that looked like a coal burner at first glance, but was actually an electric one.

The water in the copper kettle quickly came to a boil, accompanied by the noisy sounds from the bathroom. Wang Xinru stood up, took a bamboo cup from the cabinet, and poured the boiled water into it without adding any tea leaves.

The steam rose, reflecting a red glow on her small face.

“Don’t move, don’t move! Pfft haha, it tickles! It’s so ticklish!”

“A mere Xiao Jing dares to fight back? Now you know your place!”

“I didn’t mean to!”

“Then you did it on purpose!”

“No!”

“You don’t even have any thoughts about it? Then you deserve punishment!”

“Hey, hey! Pfft haha, cough, cough, cough…”

“Xiao Jing! Are you okay?”

“Cough… cough… Swallowed water… cough…”

“Almost drowned you in the tub.”

“Then I’d definitely be the unluckiest person in the world.”

“Oh, Xiao Jing—you’ve grown, huh?”

“Eep?!”

“Hmm—and you always made fun of me. Even if it got bigger, it’s still not as big as mine!”

“Why would I want that thing to get bigger? It’s such a hassle when running.”

“Then doesn’t Little Ru have it worse when she runs?”

‘No wonder she always wears a tight undershirt normally…’

“You pay that much attention? What do I usually wear then?”

“Uh… uh… nothing special, I guess?”

“Who said that? I usually like to wear black underneath!”

“…But there’s also purple.”

“Hmm—you’re so observant. Pervert Xiao Jing!”

“Whoa, is this a trap too?”

“Hee hee—”