The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 690 - 689: Ren Jingshu Goes Mad

Chapter 690: Chapter 689: Ren Jingshu Goes Mad

Originally, Ren Jingshu had intended to break up with Zhao Yun.

From the start, it was out of rebellion that she had agreed to date Zhao Yun early; she didn’t like him.

Admittedly, as they spent time together, she began to develop a fondness for Zhao Yun, but it was limited to friendship rather than romantic feelings.

Now that she had achieved her goal and Zhao Yun was about to embark on his future, it was time to say goodbye.

She deliberately brought up Zhao Yun’s ex-girlfriends, not out of jealousy or to rehash old issues, but as an excuse to break up.

She had originally thought that Zhao Yun was just an immature boy, unsure of what he wanted, and that his dating her was a mere playful pursuit.

But just now, after hearing his thoughts on collecting seashells, she realized she was wrong.

Zhao Yun seemed to understand what it meant to like someone.

And she, toward Zhao Yun, wasn’t completely indifferent.

At least, when she considered breaking up, she felt a twinge of sadness and reluctance.

Still, she wasn’t sure if Zhao Yun was the seashell she was looking for.

"I don’t know."

Seeing her response, the disappointment on Zhao Yun’s face was obvious, but he wasn’t discouraged.

"It’s okay, you can take your time thinking about it, I have all the time in the world."

Ren Jingshu didn’t want to continue this topic and instead asked about his plans to go abroad.

Zhao Yun excitedly told her about the progress of his visa procedures and then showed off his English speaking skills.

Ren Jingshu was happy for his improvement, "Once you get there, you must train hard, aiming to join the NBA, and leave no regrets."

"Yeah, I will!"

Zhao Yun looked at her, hesitation showing on his face, "Jingshu, will you wait for me?"

Ren Jingshu didn’t know how to respond because even she hadn’t fully sorted out their relationship.

"I know it’s an unreasonable request. My trip abroad could be as short as two or three years or as long as several years. I won’t be able to be by your side in future times of need, and I might even be too busy training to have time for phone calls, but I just don’t want to break up with you."

"Let’s just go with the flow."

Ren Jingshu looked at him seriously, "If you meet a girl you like over there, just let me know, and we’ll end things. The same goes for me—if I find myself unable to control my feelings for another guy, I’ll tell you right away."

Zhao Yun felt dejected but could only nod in agreement.

After all, neither of them could see what the future held.

After finishing their meal, Zhao Yun took Ren Jingshu back to school.

When they were still some distance from the school, Ren Jingshu stopped, "This is far enough."

Zhao Yun nodded.

Going any further would lead them to the school, and it wouldn’t be good if a teacher or fellow students saw them.

"It’s getting late, you should head home, goodbye."

Watching her slender and tall figure walking away, and thinking that he would be abroad in less than a month, a wave of melancholy washed over Zhao Yun.

"Jingshu," he blurted out, stopping her, "the thing you said last time, does it still count?"

"What thing?"

Zhao Yun pointed to his lips, embarrassed.

The last time they were in the park and saw a couple kissing, Ren Jingshu had asked him if he wanted to.

"That? It’s expired now."

"..."

After walking a distance, Ren Jingshu looked back and, seeing the tall figure of the boy suffused with a dejected loneliness, couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile.

Idiot.

...

In the dormitory.

Just after the evening self-study, all the roommates were chatting and laughing, but as soon as Ren Jingshu returned, they fell silent as if a switch had been flipped.

Ren Jingshu was the most unique presence in the dormitory.

She had good looks, a good family background, wore foreign brands, didn’t have to attend evening self-study, and could go outside the school every day.

Each point was enough to make her roommates envious.

But that was before Ren Jingshu’s "substitution" incident was exposed.

Now, the way they looked at her had changed from envy to disdain and mockery.

Ren Jingshu had barely sat down on her bed when she sensed something was amiss; she reached out and felt that more than half the bed was wet.

"Who did this?"

The entire dormitory ignored her, each busy with their own affairs, acting as if she were invisible.

"I’m asking one more time, who did this?"

Still, no one paid her any attention.

Without asking further, she took her basin and left the dormitory.

As soon as she left, her roommates immediately began making faces at each other; one of them poked her head out of the dormitory and only retracted it after seeing Jingshu had walked away.

"She wouldn’t go to the dorm supervisor to snitch, would she?"

"What’re we afraid of? We just stick to not knowing anything, what can she do about it?"

"It would be best if she moved out, I don’t want to live with someone like her."

"Stop talking, she’s coming back."

Alerted by the warning, everyone quickly changed the subject to talk about the upcoming midterm exams.

Ren Jingshu entered the dormitory carrying a basin of water, and from the first bed onward, she splashed water over every single one.

It wasn’t until she had emptied the basin that her roommates snapped back to reality.

"Ren Jingshu, what are you doing!?"

"Have you gone mad? Your own bed is wet, what has that got to do with us? Why are you splashing water on our beds?"

"Our quilts are all wet, how are we supposed to sleep tonight!"

Ren Jingshu raised her hand and threw the basin to the floor with a clanging sound that quieted the noisy group.

Her gaze swept over them one by one, her tone calm and steady:

"Since no one is willing to confess, I have no choice but to hold each of you accountable. Don’t feel wronged; by choosing to protect the perpetrator, you are essentially accomplices. Blame the initial culprit. I don’t cause trouble for those who don’t trouble me. If I can’t sleep, no one sleeps tonight."

After speaking, Ren Jingshu picked up the basin as if nothing had happened, and took her towel, toothpaste, and toothbrush to wash up.

As soon as she left, the dormitory erupted into chaos.

"Seriously, is she sick in the head?"

"Hu Shuangyan, this is all your fault. We told you not to provoke her, and now look, no one’s going to sleep tonight!"

"How was I supposed to know she’d go crazy like that..."

Outside the dormitory.

Returning after overhearing the answer she wanted, Ren Jingshu then left again.

...

"Hu Shuangyan."

After the morning exercises ended, Ren Jingshu called out to Hu Shuangyan, who was heading to the canteen, "This should not happen again."

"I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

Hu Shuangyan, feeling guilty, turned to leave but was grabbed by Ren Jingshu, "Lin Ping told me everything. It was you who poured water on my bed. If it happens again, I won’t be as easygoing as I was last night."

Realizing she had been betrayed, anger immediately surfaced on Hu Shuangyan’s face.

After breakfast, when she returned to the dormitory to air out the quilts, she noticed that the atmosphere was different from usual.

Normally, the dormitory was split into two groups: her and the rest of the dormitory residents.

But today, the larger group of roommates had clearly divided into two smaller factions.

One was led by Hu Shuangyan, while the other was led by Lin Ping.

An invisible tension filled the air between the two smaller groups.

Ren Jingshu pretended to be oblivious to it all, hung her quilt on the roof to dry, and then headed to the classroom for morning self-study.

During the break, when she went to the restroom, she caught up on the gossip from the regular classes.

Lin Ping and Hu Shuangyan had a big argument during morning self-study, exposing each other’s secrets, causing a huge commotion.

Where there are many women, there’s much gossip, but she didn’t have the energy or the interest to fight with an entire dormitory. The best strategy was to divide the enemy, let them fight among themselves.

After school, Ren Jingshu left for practice as usual carrying her dance bag.

Upon reaching the dance school, she headed toward the individual practice room as she always did, but along the way, she encountered Wan Ying.

Wan Ying subtly reminded her, "Jingshu, are you sure you haven’t taken the wrong turn?"

Ren Jingshu smiled faintly, "No mistake, Teacher Wan. Is Liwen around? I need to talk to her about something."

Hearing this, Wan Ying became anxious immediately.