CHAPTER 143: CHAPTER 143: WHAT ARE YOU DOING

Xinyan asked curiously, "Who are the members of Group Three?"

Zhao Jianlan glanced at the classmates in the classroom, "Miao Xiaoqian, Fu Hongjun, Zhang Ergen and them, why do you ask?"

Xinyan nodded, "It’s nothing, I was just asking out of curiosity."

Just as Xinyan finished speaking, she looked up and saw Qiu Qingmei carrying a basin of water into the classroom. Instinctively, she gathered her textbooks from the desk and put them inside, just as Qiu Qingmei intentionally pretended to trip, sending the basin of water in their direction.

Xinyan immediately pulled Zhao Jianlan to the side to avoid it, but while they managed to escape, Duan Ruilian, who was collecting the physics homework, walked right into it and got drenched, soaking the homework she was holding as well.

Duan Ruilian shouted angrily, "Who did this?"

The shout not only startled everyone in the classroom but also attracted the attention of students from other classes in the hallway. Qiu Qingmei hadn’t expected Xinyan to dodge, and in her nervousness, hadn’t noticed Duan Ruilian coming to collect the homework at that moment.

Zhao Jianlan, who had been pulled aside by Xinyan, was also startled, and upon seeing Duan Ruilian’s miserable state, she couldn’t help but chuckle. But fearing that she might anger Duan Ruilian, she quickly lowered her head in disguise.

Once she composed herself, remembering Xinyan’s earlier quick response and the previous questions she had asked, Zhao Jianlan leaned over and whispered in Xinyan’s ear, "Did you already guess what she was going to do?"

Xinyan didn’t answer. Qiu Qingmei’s family was well-off, and she was spoiled to the point of being a bit unruly. Zhao Jianlan had mentioned before that Qiu Qingmei never did any chores at home and often criticized her sisters-in-law. It wasn’t her duty day, so why would she voluntarily fetch water today?

Teacher Chu quickly squeezed in, "What’s going on here?"

Duan Ruilian pointed at Qiu Qingmei, "Ask her."

Teacher Chu didn’t like Qiu Qingmei, her grades were poor and she frequently caused trouble, "Qiu Qingmei, what are you up to?"

Qiu Qingmei hadn’t expected to miss her target and ended up provoking someone she couldn’t easily mess with.

Duan Ruilian, like her, came from a family with more boys than girls and was highly valued at home. Moreover, Duan Ruilian’s grandfather was the former senior secretary of the Mechanical Factory, and though retired, he still commanded respect.

Qiu Qingmei was flustered, "Teacher Chu, I didn’t do it on purpose. I was carrying the water back and tripped."

Zhao Jianlan didn’t want to let her off the hook. If not for Xinyan’s quick reflexes, she would have been drenched too, "Qiu Qingmei, who are you trying to fool? At this time, why are you fetching water?"

Qiu Qingmei sneered at Zhao Jianlan, "What’s it to you?"

Zhao Jianlan insisted, "If I hadn’t moved quickly, I’d be covered in water too. Why shouldn’t I care?"

Qiu Qingmei retorted, "But you didn’t get wet."

Zhao Jianlan was relentless, "So, you’re regretting that I didn’t, is that it?"

Everyone who heard those words looked at Qiu Qingmei with strange expressions, and then at the spot where Duan Ruilian was standing, as if they understood something.

Qiu Qingmei was anxious, "What nonsense are you spouting? I said I was tripped and that’s why the water spilled."

Even Duan Ruilian, who might have been clueless, understood she was caught in a needless disaster, "Why did you bring back water?"

Qiu Qingmei thought Duan Ruilian was trying to help her, "I thought I could sweep the floor and sprinkle water right after class, then go home early and not miss the evening self-study session. Didn’t Teacher Cao say the students who signed up for the competition should go to his office for extra lessons?"