Su Li paid no attention to the two of them, simply thinking they were both quite boring.
Moreover, she didn’t want to get overly entangled with Jin Ke’er.
It was like disliking someone who remarried—people who remarry tend to be more pragmatic, and clients seeking a second service were the same.
Providing service to a client whose transaction had already concluded meant the other party would be even more realistic.
And they would become even harder to deal with.
Earning the same amount as the first time was simply not worth making herself this uncomfortable.
So, after the two started arguing, Su Li immediately got up and left, unwilling to linger and give either of them an opening.
The afternoon was uneventful, allowing Su Li to listen to the lecture in peace while also observing Cat’s study progress.
She used to always hear the whispers from Cai Xiangxiang’s little clique gossiping about her, but this afternoon, all three of them were absent from class, making the entire classroom much quieter.
She sat in the window seat in the first row and began quietly reading.
[No Cilantro (Postgraduate Edition): Qingya, Qingya, can’t you do something about Su Li? She has absolutely no manners.]
[Little Bear Gummy: That’s right, Qingya, you need to rein Su Li in. She went too far today, bullying Caicai in front of so many people. It’s just too much!]
[Strawberry Milkshake (Diet Edition): Agreed, Qingya. Without you around, Su Li is getting too arrogant. What kind of university student is that? She’s just a shrew!]
As soon as the three of them returned to the dormitory, they began plotting.
Although it seemed Su Li and Chi Qingya were no longer connected, that didn’t stop them from badmouthing Su Li in front of Chi Qingya.
And if Chi Qingya got worked up enough, she might just go confront Su Li to vent their anger for them—a scenario they’d be happy to see.
Even if they couldn’t persuade Chi Qingya online, it wouldn’t stop them from talking trash about Su Li when they all had dinner together later.
They could just get Chi Qingya drunk then, and in her muddled state, she might very well start a fight with Su Li.
They’d used this tactic more than once, and the results were always notable.
If anyone was to blame, it was for Su Li and Chi Qingya being too beautiful.
For the two of them living lives that were too good.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so eager to see the two of them miserable.
“Qingya still isn’t replying?”
Seeing that Chi Qingya, who usually replied to messages instantly, hadn’t responded this time, Chen Tangguan said anxiously.
Truthfully, she wasn’t keen on sending these messages, but to maintain the appearance of sisterly solidarity, she had gone along with the pressure.
If only Cai Xiangxiang was chatting about this in the group, it would make Cai Xiangxiang feel awkward.
At least Cai Xiangxiang was right there with them now, and it was better not to do anything that would undermine their unity.
In this small group chat with Chi Qingya, the three of them had to maintain a united front.
“I don’t know. Who knows what she’s doing? She’s home alone; she can’t be secretly studying behind our backs, can she?”
Cai Xiangxiang also spoke with some uncertainty.
Thanks to the efforts of the three sisters, Chi Qingya, who used to love studying, now barely paid attention in class, preferring to scroll on her phone.
Sometimes, when new games were released, they’d even have Chi Qingya try them out and give her thoughts.
If the game was fun, they’d play with Chi Qingya for a little while.
If it wasn’t, they’d let Chi Qingya play it alone for a few days, wasting her study time and energy.
Chi Qingya never refused requests from her good friends.
“You don’t think Su Li and Chi Qingya secretly made up, do you?”
“That would be the only reason Chi Qingya isn’t replying to our messages.”
A guess surfaced in Wei Yanxi’s mind. If that were the case, wouldn’t they have been played by Su Li again, like fools?
She felt a bit irritated.
Every time something related to Su Li came up, she ended up losing face.
Even if it was mostly indirect, it still annoyed her.
“That shouldn’t be it. If Su Li and Chi Qingya had made up, Su Li wouldn’t be with some other girl right now; she’d be with Chi Qingya.”
“Probably Qingya is busy with something else. Didn’t her younger sister come to visit?”
“We’ll find out what’s going on by tonight, won’t we?”
“As long as we badmouth Su Li in front of her sister and get on her sister’s good side, her sister’s first impression of Su Li will be terrible.”
“Maybe a country bumpkin like Chi Qingya’s sister, who’s never seen the world, will even vent our anger for us. She might just go cause trouble for Su Li herself.”
As Cai Xiangxiang spoke, she was already looking forward to the meeting that evening.
It was easy to win over a country bumpkin’s favor.
Just show them a little kindness, and they’d think they’d been accepted into a circle that welcomed them.
In reality, from start to finish, that circle never truly accepted them.
People like them were experts at putting on an act in front of country bumpkins.
“Caicai, you’re so bad.”
Wei Yanxi chuckled, finding Cai Xiangxiang’s idea quite amusing.
They could just have Chi Qingya’s younger sister deal with Su Li.
Su Li couldn’t possibly bully a child like she did today, could she?
Of course, even if she did, that would be fine too. They wouldn’t mind adding fuel to the fire for Su Li.
“How can you call that bad, Caicai?”
“The one who did wrong is Su Li. Caicai is just giving Su Li the punishment she deserves.”
“I agree with Caicai’s idea. We can even bring Chi Qingya’s sister a cup of milk tea later. She’ll probably remember our kindness and be overflowing with gratitude.”
“Honestly, it’s kind of funny to think about. I bet Chi Qingya’s sister won’t even realize, after she goes back, that her older sister paid for the meal, will she?”
“And she’ll be full of gratitude for us freeloaders. Just thinking about it feels great.”
Chen Tangguan agreed, feeling like after such a long streak of bad luck, she was finally about to see the light.
Even though Chi Qingya hadn’t replied to their messages, she wasn’t as anxious anymore.
Instead, she was looking forward to the evening.
Chi Qingya was slumped over her desk, drowsy and on the verge of sleep, and didn’t hear her phone vibrating.
She just felt a bit sad.
She hadn’t expected Su Li to have other girls by her side so quickly.
The life of the two of them together was still the life she wanted to live.
Su Li had even wanted to bring her food before, but she had refused.
Back then, she was too proud for her own good.
Thinking about it now, she had even missed out on such a wonderful opportunity.
If she hadn’t pushed Su Li away, maybe the person by Su Li’s side now would be her, wouldn’t it?