Rebirth: CEO's Sweetheart Reaches the Life Pinnacle!-Chapter 71 - 68 Criticism Behind the Back

The dormitory of Room 302. After the evening self-study session, everyone rushed to the bathroom to wash up as soon as they returned, but Li Si wasn’t in a hurry and waited until the last one to go in.

After she went in, Kong Dan glanced at her bed and glared fiercely.

In the afternoon, something happened. In the dormitory, it was just her and Yu Lili.

The two were chatting and ended up talking about Li Si. Yu Lili looked envious: "Li Si is really nice. She’s pretty, has a gentle personality, and just look at how hardworking she is. Since I joined the dorm, I’ve noticed she studies late every day. I bet she’ll be the top scorer in this term’s final English exam! No one in our dorm can beat her!"

Kong Dan felt uncomfortable and retorted, "That’s not for sure. What if she messes up during the exam? That happens a lot! Besides, you’ve only just met her and been here for a few days. I’ve been living with her since freshman year. I know her way better than you. She didn’t used to be so hardworking; I remember there was a time in freshman year when she even failed her final English exam!"

"No way? Then how come her grades improved so much now?" Yu Lili was astonished. This kind of rapid progress was like riding a rocket! frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

"Who knows! There’s no way to explain it! You don’t really know her. She’s somewhat cold-blooded. Last summer break, her dad passed away, and when school started, she came back all smiles as if nothing had happened. At first, we were completely in the dark until her uncle’s family mentioned it to us."

"Oh my god, that’s kind of heartless!" Yu Lili was shocked by this revelation, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. Her father passed away, and she could still smile? That’s unimaginable!

"Ah, you nailed it! She’s just heartless! I heard her father left her some money. Her uncle wanted to help manage it out of goodwill, but she gave him a scolding instead. I was there and saw the whole thing! And that day when her uncle-in-law came to borrow money—weren’t you there too?"

"That day, her uncle-in-law’s behavior was a bit over the line. Borrowing money is one thing, but spreading rumors, come on!"

"You’re so naive; do you really think those rumors are lies? Let me tell you, they might very well be true! Otherwise, how would she afford a computer and always shop online? Oh, do you know how much those sandals she’s wearing cost?"

"The white ones?" Yu Lili had noticed those sandals right away and had asked Li Si where she got them. Li Si had said somewhere out of town. Yu Lili searched everywhere at the market and couldn’t find them.

"Yeah, those! One day, I accidentally checked the soles, saw a brand name printed on them, and looked it up. It’s a luxury brand. Even on sale, they’re still over 800!"

Just as Kong Dan was eagerly gossiping about Li Si, the person who supposedly wasn’t supposed to be in the dorm at that time suddenly opened the door and walked in. She thought Li Si hadn’t overheard anything.

"Go on! Keep talking. Come on, I, the one you’re talking about, would love to hear it too!"

In fact, Li Si had already arrived at the door at the start of their conversation and had overheard everything. Truthfully, she was utterly disappointed! Who would’ve thought that a roommate she had lived with for almost two years would talk about her like this behind her back?

"What are you saying, Li Si? We were just talking about what kind of sandals we wanted to buy, and then we mentioned wanting something like the ones you have!" Kong Dan’s face turned slightly pale as she quickly tried to come up with an excuse.

"Yeah! Li Si, please don’t misunderstand! We really weren’t talking about you!" Yu Lili hurriedly joined in to help cover up the lie.

"I’m not deaf. Kong Dan, I heard everything you just said. I just want to ask you, Kong Dan—we’ve been living across from each other in the dorm for almost two years. I don’t think I’ve ever wronged you or had any conflict with you, have I?" Li Si angrily pointed at Kong Dan and questioned her.

Kong Dan stood up from her bed and touched her ear. "You haven’t wronged me! But what I said is the truth! Li Si, it’s true that after your dad passed away, you came back smiling as if nothing happened! And since we’re being frank today, let me just say this: So what if you have a little bit of money? Look at you, showing off—if someone buys a computer, you buy one too; if someone plays piano, you play too! Just because you’re a bit better off than others? And those ridiculously expensive clothes you wear—do you even look like a proper college student?"

"What I do, how does it affect you?" Li Si could feel the anger surging in her chest, her heart pounding furiously.

"It just bothers me, alright? Li Si, let me tell you—since last semester, I’ve been uncomfortable with you. You used to be just like me, but now? Now you have everything you want! Why? Like your relatives said—if there weren’t any men giving you money, could you live it up like this?"

"Smack!" Enraged, Li Si couldn’t hold back anymore and slapped her squarely across the face.

Kong Dan stared at her, eyes wide in shock, clutching her now-red cheek. She never expected that Li Si would dare to hit her! When the shock wore off, she shouted angrily, "You dare hit me? Li Si, let me tell you, this isn’t over! Wahhh..." She ran out crying.

"What happened?" Jiang Fan had just returned and ran into Kong Dan holding her face in the hallway, hearing her yelling as she passed.

"Nothing, nothing. Li Si and Kong Dan just had a little argument. Oh, I just remembered—I’ve got something to do; I’ll head out first." Yu Lili forced a smile, grabbed her bag awkwardly, and left the dorm.

"Li Si, what on earth just happened here?" Jiang Fan sat down next to Li Si and patted her shoulder, asking with concern. The dorm only had four of them living together; conflicts needed to be resolved quickly. Otherwise, seeing each other day in and day out would be too awkward.

After briefly explaining what had occurred, Li Si sat staring out the window, as if she were asking Jiang Fan, or maybe herself, "Jiang Fan, why do people turn out like this? Is it because of money?"

"Heh, money can definitely change many people and things. But sometimes, it’s not just about money. It also depends on the person. My family is a perfect example."

"Oh? Care to share?" Li Si turned to look at Jiang Fan, who had a faintly sarcastic expression on her face.

"It’s no big deal. If you’re interested, I’ll talk about it briefly. My parents used to run a small business, working day and night to earn money. Later, the business expanded, and soon we had a house, cars, and money. That’s when a lot of relatives, even distant ones, started showing up."

She noticed Li Si listening intently and continued, "There’d be a student in one relative’s family who needed tuition—borrow money. Another relative had a sick family member and no money for treatment—borrow money. So many reasons and excuses. And if my parents refused, you could see it right away—the accusations, the resentment. I could tell you a dozen of those phrases off the top of my head now.

Stuff like, ’You’re heartless,’ ’You’re ungrateful,’ ’Look at all the times we helped you in the past! Now that you’re doing well and successful, you’ve forgotten where you came from!’

On and on like that. Then, after you lend them money? They’d just walk away without a care. As for when they’d repay it? Good luck waiting. When you ask for it back, all you’d get are excuses. The worst excuse? ’You’re already so rich—do you really care about this little bit of money from us?’" (To be continued. If you enjoy this story, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)