Chapter 3
I soon got to know everyone in the dorm.
The sweet, delicate one was Xu Ying, and the short-haired one was Wang Ya.
Like me, they were first-year students. They studied music.
As for the beautiful big sister… her name was Jiang Rao.
She was a fourth-year medical student.
Apparently, she had taken a year off, which was why she had been assigned to our dorm.
Once we had all introduced ourselves, the awkwardness faded.
Xu Ying and Wang Ya clamored to remove my makeup.
When they wiped away all the bright colors, a small, palm-sized face emerged.
It was pale and tender, making my eyes look even more innocently foolish.
Jiang Rao pinched my cheek in satisfaction.
“Good girl. Let’s keep you away from cosmetics from now on.”
I could not help protesting in a tiny voice.
“But then I won’t be able to land a rich patron.”
Fourth Brother had said that without one, there would be no big chicken drumsticks for me.
At that, the other two women looked at me very differently.
Only Jiang Rao remained perfectly calm.
Amusement and indulgence warmed her voice as she gently squeezed the softness of my cheek.
“Land a rich patron? How ambitious.”
The beautiful big sister praised me!
I knew finding a rich patron was a promising career.
Xu Ying craned her neck toward me.
“Why do you want a rich patron?”
With an air of great mystery, I told her,
“The secrets of heaven must not be revealed.”
Jiang Rao flicked me on the forehead.
“Speak plainly!”
Clutching my forehead, I confessed obediently,
“Fourth Brother said a rich patron would buy me chicken drumsticks…”
Wang Ya’s eyes lit up.
“You have four older brothers?”
Jiang Rao gave her a flick on the forehead too.
“That’s what you think matters here?”
I puffed out my chest proudly.
“All four of my brothers are very handsome.”
Stars filled Wang Ya and Xu Ying’s eyes.
“Wow!”
Unable to help herself, Jiang Rao flicked all three of us on the forehead.
Then she smiled at me again.
“So how do you plan to land this rich patron?”
Thinking of the techniques Mother had taught me, I answered honestly,
“First, I make bedroom eyes. Then I stand on tiptoe and tug at the collar…”
“Then I push her down…”
“And take off her clothes…”
My explanation was becoming less suitable for children by the second.
Jiang Rao hurriedly covered my mouth.
“What is all this nonsense?”
“Who taught you that?”
In the eyes of Jiang Rao and the other two, I was now an ignorant young woman led astray by a wicked stepmother.
I opened my mouth to explain, but Wang Ya shoved a cup of milk tea into my hands.
How magical! I got a tapioca pearl in my very first sip.
When they saw my delighted face, all three looked even more sympathetic.
“Poor thing. She’s never even had milk tea.”
Xu Ying emptied all the candy in her drawer into my arms.
I was beginning to think being an ignorant young woman was rather nice.
I simply did not know whether Mother would accept being cast as the wicked stepmother.
When mealtime arrived,
Jiang Rao waved a hand grandly.
“Come on. Hot pot is on me.”
Xu Ying and Wang Ya cheered at once.
I had no idea what hot pot was, but that did not stop me from cheering too.
When we arrived,
the restaurant was packed, mostly with university students.
Jiang Rao was beautiful. I saw several people sneaking glances at our table.
One young man even worked up the nerve to come over and flirt with her.
Without thinking, I stepped in front of Jiang Rao and glared fiercely at him.
I looked like a mother hen protecting her chick.
The man froze, rubbed his nose sheepishly, and left.
Jiang Rao laughed and rubbed my head.
“Little fool, at your height, you’re going to have trouble shielding me.”
I tilted my head back to look at her.
She stood half a head taller than I did.
She was tall, graceful, and beautiful.
Her lovely peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly, naturally alluring even when she was not smiling.
She looked more like a fox temptress than I did.
Noticing my stare, Jiang Rao smiled and brushed a finger over the tip of my nose.
“Come back to earth, little daydreamer.”
My face flared hot in an instant.
After half an hour in line, we finally got our food.
Fourth Brother had told me many times that mortal hot pot was delicious.
Yet the sight of that basin of red broth made me nervous.
Could people truly eat this stuff?
When I did not move, Jiang Rao leaned closer and whispered,
“Can’t handle spicy food?”
I nodded, still somewhat dazed.
Jiang Rao picked up a piece of beef cooked in the clear broth and placed it in my bowl.
I took a bite.
It was a little bland.
It was not that delicious after all.
Xu Ying cried out,
“Xiaowu, why aren’t you dipping it in sauce?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve never had hot pot before.”
I nodded.
“This is my first time.”
They looked at me with even greater pity.
Jiang Rao thoughtfully handed me a bowl of dipping sauce.
“Dip it in this.”
The meat came coated in sesame paste, rich, savory, and fragrant.
I narrowed my eyes in bliss.
It felt as though my ears might pop out at any moment.
Fortunately, I forced them back just in time.
Hot pot… was even better than chicken drumsticks!
No wonder Fourth Brother had stopped wanting to come home after he left the mountain.
I did not want to go home either.
After we had eaten our fill,
Jiang Rao and the others took me shopping.
They held clothes against me as though dressing up a doll.
All three were in high spirits.
I was happier still.
Everywhere I looked, there were fascinating things I had never seen before.
But I seemed to have forgotten one thing…
I had no money…
The saleswoman rolled her eyes as she removed, one by one, the pretty dresses and hair clips I had chosen.
I could feel my heart bleeding.
Even a fox could be defeated by an empty purse.
While I was drowning in anguish,
a pale, elegant hand suddenly appeared before me. A black card rested between two long, slender fingers.
Jiang Rao’s expression and voice were equally casual.
“Put it on my card.”
Not until that moment
did the rich patrons from all the storybooks Fourth Brother had shown me finally become real.
My eyes lit up.
Jiang Rao had to be the rich patron Fourth Brother wanted me to land!
Much later, Jiang Rao told me what my eyes had looked like then.
She said I had looked like a fox spotting a rabbit.
But in truth, I was the rabbit…