Li Rou remained in the meeting room alongside staff members of Tsinghua University after the group of people left.
“Professor Zheng Wei, prepare all the required test papers before the examinations begin. The matter at hand needs to be resolved quickly before the media catches wind of the situation.” Dean Wei quietly ordered before turning to face Li Rou.
“Miss Li Rou, as per your request, you will be given every single upcoming test on the day of the examinations with the other students. Naturally, there will be breaks in between each paper. Any questions? If not, please return to class.”
Li Rou simply nodded her head acknowledging Dean Wei’s words and started making her way back to class.
Li Rou’s mind was in ecstasy as she thought to herself. “Ha ha ha! Do your worst! I’ve already gone through everything in the past! Even if Tsinghua University wanted me to take the tests now, I’d have no problem acing them you stupid old man! You better have the money and accommodation ready for me! Coming to school every day via public transport is a pain in the ass!”
…
A school bell could be heard chiming from Tsinghua University, lessons had ended and students began to leave the school premises. White snowflakes gradually started falling from the frosty sky, enveloping trees and covering the ground with a thick blanket of snow as the temperature began to plummet to near freezing conditions. To the students, the weather served as a reminder to them, that the semester was coming to an end and that the exams were imminent.
Inside the University, the library and hangout locations were more crowded than usual with students seeking shelter from the cold. Furthermore, Students scurried about in preparation for the upcoming examination, doing group revision and seeking for last-minute consultations with their professors.
Li Rou waddled through the throng of students while relishing in the situation around her. She was greatly amused. In the past, Li Rou used to be as anxious as them in the past, hugging Buddha’s leg at the last minute and cramming as much as they could just before the exams. But right now, she was well prepared for every single test the school could throw at her.
Soon, Li Rou was out of the teaching blocks and well on her way towards the old classroom. The pathways between the school blocks were open-aired. Li Rou could clearly see the snow gracefully descending and felt the air turned colder as she casually strolled through the pathway.
Close to two months had unknowingly passed since Li Rou had enrolled into Tsinghua and it was now November. The passing of time seemed so surreal to Li Rou, she had lost track of time since she spent most of her time in the old classroom. At first, her singing improved by leaps and bounds. But very quickly, she felt her singing had reached a bottleneck as there was no one mentoring her. With the exams coming soon, Li Rou came to the realization that she would eventually stop going to thr old classroom and started feeling sentimental. Li Rou softly sighed as she reached for the familiar door handle.
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The door swung open, but as Li Rou was about to enter the classroom, she heard a muffled sound from behind her.
“Miao~”
Oh? That was unmistakably a cat meowing. Strangely, the mewing seems to come from inside a garbage bin.
As Li Rou took off the lid, a foul stench wafted in the air, almost causing her to retch. Students that were passing by threw a disgusted glance at Li Rou and briskly walked by while pinching their noses.
From their perspective, with Li Rou’s unkempt hair and disheveled appearance, they assumed that she came from an extremely poor household and had to resort to salvaging scraps for her daily expenses.
It was better to avoid people who salvaged trash after all. Their hands were honed in the very depths of garbage bins and strengthened by being in contact with a wide variety of trash that seeps their pores. Nobody knows what kind of infectious diseases and bacteria they had at their fingertips.
Li Rou scrunched her nose and held her breath as she peered inside the garbage bin. Amongst the contents of the garbage bin, Li Rou found a set of rounded eyes staring back at her. The pair of eyes belonged to an orange and brown striped kitten.
The kitten appeared to be extremely malnourished and fragile, its body was nothing other than a bag of skin and bones. If a gust of wind blew against it, it would most likely topple over with little resistance. And if it was to endure the freezing weather outside by itself, it would surely freeze to death
Having had been in a garbage bin, the kitten reeked of trash. Dirt and filth matted its fur, causing its fur to lose originally smooth texture and lustrous sheen.
Stray cats were a common sight to see along the streets of China, shop owners and people in the areas where they are commonly located in consider them as pests due to their large numbers and their habit of spraying areas to mark their territory. As a result, animal cruelty was a common occurrence. Especially in impoverished districts.
Despite that, Li Rou was surprised. Most students would either find the kitten cute and care for it or ignore the kitten because they found it unhygienic.
It appears that the heavens had blessed this kitten for it had encountered Li Rou, who was a kind-hearted and compassionate person despite her past episodes of depression and constant bullying. Her hands reached into the garbage can and picked up the kitten and carried it to the old classroom.
Inside, Li Rou briefly examined the kitten’s physical condition before deciding that it was not badly injured and was probably dehydrated from being in the trash. Li Rou then went to the school cafeteria to purchase a bottle of water, leaving the kitten alone in the classroom
…
Cheng Yu had originally intended Li Rou to confront her with some juicy information he heard while inside the toilet. But when he saw Li Rou carrying a furry orange ball from a distance, he instinctively hid behind a corner and watched her. Only three minutes after Li Rou left the classroom, did he finally went to inspect what Li Rou had left inside.
When Cheng Yu entered the classroom, he found a dirty little fluff ball staring directly back at him.
“What have we here?”