Chapter 53: If You Disagree, Try Me

“Pfft.” After hearing what the supervisor said, A Zhi gave a derisive snort. What did he mean by “bear the consequences”? Didn’t they still let her run out? To put it plainly, no one wanted to take responsibility.

“Hypocrites,” A Zhi sneered, muttering under her breath.

Qin Sheng, standing beside her, could only shake his head helplessly and nudged A Zhi’s shoulder, urging her to lower her voice.

A Zhi pouted, but refrained from further complaints.

Their dormitory was on the seventh floor. The group followed behind the supervisor, each searching for their own room. Knowing her room was on the top floor, Qin Sheng bypassed the supervisor and went up the stairs on her own.

A Zhi and Jiang Miaomiao, while grumbling the whole way, nonetheless stuck close to Qin Sheng.

The building’s condition was truly abysmal. If it weren’t for the supervisor leading them, they could have easily mistaken it for some long-abandoned ruin. Not only was there no elevator, but the stair railings were wooden, the steps themselves were uneven cement, and the dim, flickering lights in the hallway added an eerie, intimidating atmosphere.

Jiang Miaomiao, being slightly nearsighted, could hardly see the stairs. Most of the time, she had to be supported by A Zhi. The unreliable lighting only made the climb more torturous for her.

“Why does this place feel just like a haunted escape room?” Jiang Miaomiao whispered to A Zhi as they climbed.

A Zhi nodded in agreement. “You’re not wrong—it really does feel like that.”

“If a few zombies stumbled out, wouldn’t this be a real-life escape game?” The thought made A Zhi visibly excited.

The mere image made Jiang Miaomiao dizzy. Never mind that zombies would be much faster than any NPC; in this gloomy environment, she wasn’t worried about being eaten, but rather tripping over herself and dying before the zombies even caught her.

“Can we not talk about this?” came a timid voice from behind A Zhi. Both Jiang Miaomiao and A Zhi turned to look, hesitated for a few seconds, and sensibly changed the subject.

Seeing that the frightening topic was dropped, Zhao Tiantian let out a sigh of genuine relief, the aftershock in her expression all too real.

“Damn, my eyes!”

“Oh my god!”

Just as A Zhi and Jiang Miaomiao were about to start another conversation, a powerful beam of light suddenly dazzled them. Both raised their hands to shield their eyes.

Qin Sheng quickly redirected the light elsewhere, and only then did A Zhi and Jiang Miaomiao recover.

“Wow, are you secretly Sakura the Magical Girl?” A Zhi looked at the mining lamp in Qin Sheng’s hand, astonished at how such a bulky lamp looked so out of place in her delicate hands.

“Shengsheng, where did you get that?” Jiang Miaomiao was equally amazed, though now she could see the stairs and wasn’t as worried.

Qin Sheng patted Lin Xing’s backpack. “It was in here.”

Jiang Miaomiao couldn’t imagine where Lin Xing had managed to find such a massive lamp.

Qin Sheng found the lamp incredibly useful—it lit up the entire stairwell, brighter than the building’s own lights.

“This is great! Now I don’t have to worry about tripping,” Zhao Tiantian exclaimed gleefully from behind.

Qin Sheng glanced back but said nothing, simply continuing onward.

The lamp was set to its brightest mode.

In less than two minutes, they found their room.

“There’s so much dust here,” Jiang Miaomiao said, waving her hand in front of her face as the dust that fell from opening the door drifted down.

“It probably hasn’t been lived in for a long time,” Qin Sheng explained, her expression unreadable as she stepped inside.

It was neither large nor small—three bedrooms, two living rooms, and one bathroom.

The bedrooms weren’t too bad, but the kitchen and bathroom were not only coated in dust but also festooned with cobwebs.

“Cleaning this place is going to be a huge chore,” Jiang Miaomiao complained, pursing her lips in dismay.

“This is disgusting. I really don’t want to do this.”

Qin Sheng looked up to see who had spoken. The girl looked around at the dirty, messy room, her face full of reluctance.

“Exactly. It’s not just Sister Shenmei who finds it filthy—I do too. You all can do the cleaning. It’s not for us,” another girl beside Shenmei chimed in.

Shenmei instinctively wanted to retort when she heard Yang Yao say that. She didn’t particularly like cleaning, but if everyone was doing it together, she wouldn’t avoid helping.

The two of them stood together in a relatively clean spot, not daring to move for fear of getting dust on themselves.

“It’s alright. If you really can’t handle it, we’ll do more,” Zhao Tiantian offered, eager to settle down somewhere safe, willing to do any amount of work.

Qin Mengchun was also reluctant—she didn’t want to get dirty, but isolated as she was, she couldn’t afford to stand out. “Yes, we can help you.”

A Zhi rolled her eyes, unable to keep her annoyance in check. “If you like cleanliness so much, why don’t you go live somewhere else? Why are you even here?”

Jiang Miaomiao chimed in, “We’re not your maids. Why should we clean for you?”

“Guess they like eating someone else’s leftovers,” A Zhi said sarcastically, her meaning clear.

Yang Yao, unable to bear A Zhi’s jabs, stamped her feet in frustration. “When did we say we liked eating leftovers? Aren’t you disgusted?”

A Zhi mimicked Yang Yao’s tone, retorting, “Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing?”

Yang Yao was so angry she couldn’t get a word out, pointing at A Zhi and shouting, “You’re shameless!”

“Pfft,” A Zhi stuck out her tongue, unimpressed.

“If you’re going to insult us, don’t blame me for showing you no mercy,” Shenmei glared at A Zhi, clearly ready to teach her a lesson.

A Zhi detested threats most of all. Hands on her hips, she goaded, “Hit me if you can, I dare you.”

“Our Shenmei is the national taekwondo champion! You won’t be so cocky for long!” Yang Yao crowed, ready to watch Shenmei give A Zhi a good beating.

Qin Sheng narrowed her eyes, a glint of warning and danger flickering within them.

“Who’s afraid of who? I’m talking to you, the little lapdog who only hides behind others.” A Zhi was not to be outdone, pointing at Yang Yao and shouting.

Jiang Miaomiao applauded in admiration—she was glad to be on A Zhi’s side. If it came down to a war of words, she doubted she’d win otherwise.

Yang Yao, wounded by the jab, looked ready to cry, turning to Shenmei for support. “Meimei, did you hear what she said about me?”

Shenmei clenched her fists and charged at A Zhi like a wild beast. With her taekwondo prowess, her leg was already arcing toward A Zhi’s face.

A Zhi held her breath, bracing herself for what was coming.

Yang Yao, arms folded, waited for A Zhi to beg for mercy, a scene she’d witnessed many times.

A Zhi had already resigned herself to getting a black eye and closed her eyes, waiting for the blow—when a slender, pale hand blocked her.

The next second, a fist intercepted the kick, deflecting the attack meant for her.

“Shengsheng!” Jiang Miaomiao rushed forward to check if Qin Sheng was hurt.

A Zhi, still stunned, quickly joined her.

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” Qin Sheng quietly withdrew her hand and looked at Shenmei, who’d been knocked back by the force.

She’d used real strength in that punch. Shenmei wouldn’t be hurt, but she’d certainly felt the impact from both sides—no wonder she’d been sent flying.

Jiang Miaomiao, seeing A Zhi unharmed, finally relaxed.

“If that kick had landed, you’d have been in trouble,” Jiang Miaomiao whispered to A Zhi.

A Zhi pouted, stubborn as ever. “Not necessarily. If I’d reacted faster, I would’ve kicked her out instead.”

Jiang Miaomiao shook her head, amused. “Sure, sure. Just don’t be so reckless next time, alright?”

“No way…” A Zhi started to retort, but paused at Jiang Miaomiao’s words.

“If things get really bad, bring me along next time—I can take a hit.”

Qin Sheng walked straight up to Shenmei and held out her hand, pulling her up from the floor.

“It was just an accident. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have beaten me,” Shenmei said, still incredulous that Qin Sheng had blocked her attack with a single punch. On the competition floor, she’d have lost countless times by now.

Qin Sheng was unconcerned with winning or losing and replied, “If you’re not convinced, we can compete again sometime.”

“Alright.” Shenmei nodded, interest gleaming in her eyes.

Qin Sheng smiled. “That’s fine, but cleaning comes first.”

“No problem.” With that, Shenmei promptly grabbed a mop and broom and joined the cleaning brigade.

A Zhi and Jiang Miaomiao stared, dumbfounded, and quickly asked Qin Sheng about it when she returned.

“Shengsheng, how did you get her to agree to clean?”

“Yeah, how?”

Qin Sheng shrugged, laughing. “Maybe she thinks cleaning is good for her health.”

Yang Yao, also puzzled by Shenmei’s sudden willingness to clean after being knocked down, heard Qin Sheng’s explanation and sensibly joined in.

Qin Sheng’s gaze lingered on Yang Yao, one eyebrow raised in mockery.

“Anyone else not want to clean?” Qin Sheng looked at the remaining few.

No one spoke; everyone, whether willing or not, joined the cleaning crew.

“Let’s get started too,” Qin Sheng said to Jiang Miaomiao and A Zhi.