Finally, to balance warmth and fashion, Qi Zhenzhen picked out a small stand-collar wool sweater, a three-in-one gabardine mid-length trench coat, a pair of straight-leg cotton khaki pants, several pairs of white socks, and a pair of leather shoes for Ji Zhaoxi.
Qi Zhenzhen was even happier picking out clothes for Ji Zhaoxi than she was shopping for herself.
Every time she picked a piece, the girl would look at her with bright, shining eyes. Qi Zhenzhen would declare that her own taste was impeccable and that finally, someone understood her.
Ji Zhaoxi had no real concept of money. Growing up, she had never managed any finances, except for the pocket money Ji Zhuxin gave her to buy candy.
Before, Ji Zhuxin used to buy her clothes, and later, Qin Du bought them for her.
So, when judging whether a piece of clothing was expensive, Ji Zhaoxi would think about whether Qin Du had ever bought her clothes at a similar price point.
"Did you have fun shopping today?" Qi Zhenzhen asked, crossing her arms and tilting her chin up slightly.
Ji Zhaoxi smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Qi Zhenzhen."
Watching Ji Zhaoxi pay, Lin Fang stared at her in shock. How could Ji Zhaoxi have so much money?
Even after returning to the dorm, Lin Fang still hadn't recovered from her disbelief.
She couldn't have misunderstood, nor could she have seen wrong. There was absolutely no way Ji Zhaoxi's parents worked for a state unit, and it was impossible for her to be rich.
But then why was she able to take out so much money all at once?
A sudden panic rose in Lin Fang's heart. If Ji Zhaoxi's financial situation was better than hers, wouldn't that make her the poorest one in the dorm?
Driven by an anxious need for validation, she intercepted Ji Zhaoxi.
"Ji Zhaoxi, how many houses does your family own?"
The dorm instantly fell silent. The others looked at Lin Fang in utter confusion.
But Lin Fang couldn't care less at this point. She looked at Ji Zhaoxi, a hint of pleading in her eyes.
Ji Zhaoxi was also taken aback. "One."
Lin Fang breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her again. "What kind of house?"
Ji Zhaoxi answered honestly, "A mud house."
It was the answer she expected. Lin Fang let go of her, nodded, and said, "My family has three houses."
Her paternal grandfather had one, her maternal grandfather had one, and her parents had one too.
Ji Zhaoxi nodded. "Mm, okay."
She felt like she still couldn't understand the way people from big cities spoke.
What did having three houses mean? Did it mean her family worked for the government?
Qi Zhenzhen burst out laughing. Lin Fang shot her an ugly look. Seeing her glare, Qi Zhenzhen just raised an eyebrow at her.
Lin Fang didn't hold her gaze, simply pulling her bed curtains shut.
She didn't care how the others looked at her; she only cared about Ji Zhaoxi.
She only cared whether Ji Zhaoxi was the same kind of person as her, and whether Ji Zhaoxi was worse off than she was.
Finally, the day of the freshman welcome party arrived.
All the freshmen gathered in the grand auditorium. The announcer introduced the acts in multiple languages. Besides English, Ji Zhaoxi couldn't understand the other languages at all.
Rows of colored light bulbs hung above the stage, and a world map was pasted on the wall. Upperclassmen were performing Hamlet on stage, and instruments Ji Zhaoxi had never seen before were arranged below.
It was like a dream.
Ji Zhaoxi suddenly felt a bit dazed.
She looked toward a corner where a few students in white shirts were discussing something in a foreign language. They were dressed simply, but their faces were written with absolute confidence.
"Excuse me, may I ask you for a dance?" A boy stood smiling in front of Ji Zhaoxi.
He had been observing her for a long time. She must be a very introverted person because she had been standing in the corner the whole time, looking quite helpless.
Ji Zhaoxi shook her head and declined.
She hadn't seen enough of this grand auditorium yet.
There were also students playing the saxophone on stage. Outside, this was considered decadent music, but at an internal school party, the teachers turned a blind eye to it.
Not long after, another boy came over. "Excuse me, do you need me to teach you how to dance?"
Ji Zhaoxi shook her head again. "No need, thank you."
The boy showed no intention of leaving. He joked, "I noticed you haven't danced with any guys. Do you not like any of them?"
It was another one of those teasing questions. Ji Zhaoxi still hadn't learned how to answer them.
"You should find someone else. I don't know how to dance."
The boy's eyes lit up. "Then I can teach you."
"No."
Ji Zhaoxi continued to refuse.
She wasn't familiar with any of these people, and she didn't like getting close to strangers.
While dancing, Qi Zhenzhen kept an eye on Ji Zhaoxi's direction, watching helplessly as Ji Zhaoxi flatly rejected one guy after another.
What was this little country bumpkin doing?
After finishing her dance with the boy in front of her, she quickly ran over to Ji Zhaoxi.
"Why aren't you going to dance with the guys? If you just stand here, people will think no one is asking you."
Ji Zhaoxi was puzzled. "So what?"
Qi Zhenzhen put her hands on her hips. "Then people will think you have zero charm, don't you know?"
Ji Zhaoxi fell silent. Qi Zhenzhen pinched her playfully, and Ji Zhaoxi answered honestly, "I don't know them, and I don't like talking to people I don't know."
Qi Zhenzhen hadn't expected this answer. She laughed out of exasperation.
Well, that did fit the personality of this little country bumpkin.
"So do you actually know how to dance or not?"
"No."
Qi Zhenzhen sighed. She took Ji Zhaoxi's hand in one of hers and wrapped her other arm around Ji Zhaoxi's waist. "In Shanghai, not knowing how to dance is like a foreign language student not knowing their ABCs, got it?"
Ji Zhaoxi didn't think so. She had just seen other people who didn't know how to dance either, but she didn't dare say it out loud.
"You have to follow the movement of my hips," Qi Zhenzhen reminded her.
Ji Zhaoxi nodded. She was extremely nervous. During a quick turn, her movement was half a beat too slow, and she stepped squarely onto Qi Zhenzhen's shoe.
Qi Zhenzhen gasped in pain and glared at her angrily.
Terrified, Ji Zhaoxi quickly apologized. "I... I'm sorry, I really don't know how. Maybe we shouldn't dance."
Qi Zhenzhen ignored her and grasped her waist again.
"Pay attention. I dressed up so beautifully today, and here I am dancing the man's part just for you. What a waste."
"Thank you, Qi Zhenzhen," Ji Zhaoxi thanked her dryly.
The grand auditorium was filled with various scents. Sometimes it was the aroma of wine, sometimes the cologne of boys walking by, but mostly she smelled Qi Zhenzhen's perfume.
Qi Zhenzhen stared at her for a long moment. "Hey, are your parents really good-looking?"
Ji Zhaoxi paused for a second. "Just ordinary-looking, I guess."
Qi Zhenzhen fell silent. Ji Zhaoxi asked tentatively, "Do you want to meet my parents?"
Qi Zhenzhen: ...
"No, I don't."
"Oh," Ji Zhaoxi replied dryly.
Then why did she suddenly ask about her parents?
In her memory, her father and mother were covered in wrinkles. They didn't like her and were always fierce and mean. Ji Zhaoxi didn't think they were good-looking; in fact, she thought they were quite ugly.
But her sister was very beautiful.
