Chapter 5 – Something Is Very Wrong!
As the gazes of the others turned toward her, Chen Miaomiao felt embarrassed, and at the same time puzzled.
She hadn’t done anything at all—how could Lu Miao possibly dislike her?
Even if she did dislike her, based on her understanding of Lu Miao, there was no way Lu Miao would ever say something like that!
Besides, Lu Miao was supposed to be sleeping in the same room with her…
No matter how much Chen Miaomiao racked her brains, she couldn’t figure out why things had turned out this way. Just as she was struggling with it, she suddenly recalled the scene earlier, when Ren Bingxin had spoken up for Lu Miao.
In that instant, it felt like everything had an explanation.
It must have been Ren Bingxin who said something to Lu Miao!
Why hadn’t she noticed in her past life that Ren Bingxin was so hateful?
Chen Miaomiao was trembling with anger. Seeing Lu Miao and the other two already walking away while the surrounding gazes still remained fixed on her, she raised her hand to her eye as if to wipe away tears, then choked back a sob and ran into the house.
At the doorway, Liang Shao sat on the steps, staring vacantly into the distance:
“Comrade Lu may be good-looking, but why is her mouth so venomous?”
Across the shadow of the trees, Yu Hao stood on tiptoe to glance toward Lu Miao by the pond. Hearing that remark, he clicked his tongue in discontent:
“How is that venomous? That was just being straightforward, alright? Besides, they don’t even know each other—if it were you, would you tolerate it?”
Liang Shao shook his head. On that point, Yu Hao was right.
After all, he only chatted more with Yu Hao because they came from the same hometown and could speak the same dialect. If it were someone else, like that Xie Fei, Liang Shao honestly wouldn’t know what to say to him.
By the pond, for the villagers’ convenience in doing laundry, a long, flat stone slab had been laid down. Three to five people could squat and wash clothes there at the same time without any issue.
Gu Ying was the first to take off her shoes and step onto the stone slab. She scooped some water to rinse it off, then set up her washboard and motioned for Lu Miao to bring her basin over.
Seeing that Lu Miao and Ren Bingxin were about to step onto the slab with their shoes on, she quickly warned:
“You two need to take your shoes off as well. It’s easy to slip if you wear them on here.”
Lu Miao sat on the bank and took off her shoes.
From the bank down to the slab was a small slope covered with pebbles. Her toes curled restlessly as she tested the ground on tiptoe—it was painfully prickly. So she slipped her shoes back on and wore them like slippers. Only when she reached the water’s edge did she slip her bare feet out again and step onto the stone.
The bluish stone slab was streaked with fine yellow lines. Against it, her snow-white feet stood out in sharp contrast.
At first it felt a little uncomfortable. But once the slab was fully soaked, the rough, grainy texture lessened, and stepping barefoot onto it, Lu Miao actually found it rather pleasant.
Gu Ying scooped out the dirty clothes, emptied the basin, rinsed it, then soaked the clothes twice more in the water. She pressed them against the washboard and said,
“You know what a washboard is, right?”
Lu Miao hesitantly nodded.
She knew of kneeling on washboards as punishment, but as for an actual laundry washboard—this was truly her first time seeing one.
Gu Ying shook her head helplessly, lifting her mud-stained pant legs as she demonstrated. While scrubbing, she explained:
“This is how you wash clothes. If they’re not especially dirty, you don’t need to scrub so hard. And there’s no need to wash too often either—wash too much and clothes will get ruined.”
“So dirty—can it really get clean?” Lu Miao frowned. Remembering she had brought soap, she quickly took it out and handed it to Gu Ying. “Try using this?”
Ren Bingxin teased her:
“Comrade Gu is teaching you how to wash, and what, you really expect her to wash for you?”
Lu Miao thought about it—true. She hastily moved the clothes and washboard over to herself.
After rubbing soap onto the clothes, she mimicked Gu Ying’s movements. But her scrubbing was nothing like Gu Ying’s light and efficient strokes.
Yes, she managed to work up some suds, but the knuckles of her index and ring fingers were scraped raw by the washboard. The sting of the soap water made it unbearable.
Her delicate features tightened, her lips drooping downward as she gasped a few breaths. If Gu Ying and Ren Bingxin weren’t standing right beside her, she would have thrown the clothes straight into the water!
“You’re using the wrong force…”
Gu Ying hadn’t expected it—when Lu Miao said she couldn’t wash clothes, she had really meant she didn’t know at all.
