The Roommate With Brilliant Ideas

My roommate always loved having "brilliant ideas."

At a buffet, she agreed we'd each get our own food, then took three tables full of dishes, saying she'd done research and these were all delicious. When we left, our deposit was deducted, and she caused a scene demanding to take leftovers, saying she'd paid and should get her money's worth, criticizing the restaurant for waste. This incident ended up on the campus network, causing us to lose internship opportunities at major companies.

When Jiangjiang was heartbroken from a breakup, my roommate had a "brilliant idea"—she printed piles of small cards advertising for a boyfriend and distributed them, claiming new love would help forget the old. As a result, Jiangjiang was mistaken for a sex worker, harassed daily, and suffered a mental breakdown that nearly led to suicide.

I'm allergic to peanuts, but my roommate said this was just a rule my brain had set for my body. She secretly ground peanuts into my food to help me "overcome my allergy" and break free from my brain's control. I nearly suffocated to death. Thankfully, Jiangjiang got me to the hospital in time.

When we confronted our roommate about stopping these actions, she cried委屈ly, saying it was all for our own good.

Then came the holidays. To "help the dormitory earn income," she secretly rented our room to several young men from outside the university. Jiangjiang and I returned early from our trip and lost our innocence, with tragic consequences. Meanwhile, our roommate graduated smoothly, returned to her hometown, and joined a major company with a bright future.

When I woke up again, I was back on the first day of school, with only our roommate missing.

1

On the first day of school, Jiangjiang and I arrived first. Just one more person and we'd be complete. The other bed had been empty.

Unlike in our previous life, the normally talkative Jiangjiang wasn't chattering nonstop. Instead, she grabbed my hand, her face serious as she instructed me. "Xiaohui, whatever you do, don't go to the buffet with Yeling." "Remember, we'll eat at the cafeteria."

I froze, looking at Jiangjiang, and immediately understood—she had been reborn too.

In our previous life, Yeling had arrived, enthusiastically greeted us, and suggested we all go to a buffet together to get to know each other. Since we'd be living together for four years, Jiangjiang and I happily agreed.

But her next actions left us stunned. After agreeing everyone would get their own favorite foods, Yeling proudly filled three tables with dishes, saying she'd done research in advance and these were all delicious and expensive items. We had no choice but to eat it all. But then she turned around and got another table full of fruits. She even urged us: "Don't chase after that skinny beauty standard—that's a distorted aesthetic. Look how thin you two are."

We said with pained expressions: "We really can't eat anymore." Yeling argued confidently: "You said the same thing earlier, but you still ate everything. Don't be polite, eat more. It's 89 yuan per person—we can't lose money."

Jiangjiang and I were about to throw up, we truly couldn't eat more, and were prepared to forfeit our deposit. But while we were in the restroom, she had another "brilliant idea" and got another table full of food. "Since we're forfeiting the deposit anyway, we might as well get our money's worth. Let's take it back to eat tomorrow."

I was speechless: "You can't take leftovers from a buffet." "That's just because you're using the wrong method. Wrong rules are meant to be broken."

Yeling made a scene, arguing loudly with the restaurant. "I paid for this, why can't I take it? You're wasting food."

The restaurant had no choice. To get rid of us quickly, they agreed. Jiangjiang and I wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.

This scene was captured on video and posted to the campus network. We became infamous right at the start of school. We were pointed at wherever we went, like a stain that followed us throughout our college life. During internship season, major companies recruiting directly from the school considered us of poor character and rejected us. This caused us to miss an excellent internship opportunity.

A familiar, grating voice sounded, startling me awake. "Hi, you two! I'm Yeling. There's a really delicious buffet nearby. Let's go together so we can get to know each other."

Jiangjiang was about to refuse when I spoke first. With a slight smile, I said: "Sure." Jiangjiang panicked and grabbed my arm. I secretly sent her a message: "It's okay. Follow my lead."

2

At the restaurant, Yeling was like a mouse that had fallen into a rice granary, holding her plate and scavenging everywhere. Jiangjiang stayed nervously by my side.

I comfortingly patted her: "Get whatever you like to eat. I've got this. Don't worry."

Jiangjiang is an only child, doted on by her parents, and has had a smooth life. Perhaps because she was overly protected, she was quite innocent. Though she seemed like a happy chatterbox, always talking nonstop, she was actually very timid. Otherwise, she wouldn't have developed depression and attempted suicide by slitting her wrists after what happened.

Jiangjiang relaxed a bit and got food she liked. Sure enough, when we returned to our table, it was filled to overflowing—with plates even stacked on top because there wasn't enough space.

Seeing that each of us only had one plate, Yeling gave an "I knew it" expression. She proudly showed off: "Good thing I got so much. I knew you two would be too embarrassed to take much. Eat up. To make sure you enjoy yourselves, I did research in advance. I guarantee these are all delicious and expensive. Listen to me, we'll definitely get our money's worth."

These familiar words made me shudder unconsciously. This was the beginning of our tragedy. We had worked so hard to get into college, full of dreams for the future, only to have Yeling give us a harsh wake-up call. Her so-called "brilliant ideas" completely destroyed our college years and our entire lives.

In this life, I would let her taste her own medicine.

Just like in our previous life, I acted incredulous. "This much food—how could we possibly eat it all?" Yeling didn't mind: "Why couldn't we? This is all good stuff. If you can't even eat this much, wouldn't it be a waste to come to a buffet?"

I nodded: "That's true. You eat more then. Jiangjiang and I have small appetites—we'll eat what we can." I slowly ate the food I had gotten. Jiangjiang, though confused, followed my lead.

Seeing that we kept eating, Yeling didn't suspect anything. In the end, she ate all the food on the table herself, stuffing herself until she was hiccuping. "You wait here. I'll get some fruit to help it go down."

Jiangjiang was getting anxious: "Xiaohui, Yeling will definitely get another table full of food in a moment." I wiped my mouth and asked her: "Are you full?" "I'm full."

Sure enough, Yeling returned with another table full of fruit, taking the most expensive items. This time she ate slowly, constantly urging us. "You two eat up. These fruits are usually so expensive. We should eat more."

After a few bites, I pretended to receive a phone call. "Hello, okay, I understand. Thank you for telling me. I'll be right there."

I put down the phone with an anxious tone: "My high school classmate was hospitalized with acute appendicitis. I need to go see her." Yeling looked regretful: "Oh, what bad luck. With all this good food, and you've barely eaten."

"There's nothing to be done. Only the two of us from our class got into this city. She doesn't know anyone else here." I looked troubled: "I'm afraid I can't take care of her alone. Can you two come with me?"

"No." Yeling immediately shook her head, then felt this seemed too heartless. She had a "brilliant idea" to compensate: "I haven't finished eating yet. If we all leave, won't the money be wasted? How about you let Jiangjiang go with you, and I'll help you eat your portions too."

Jiangjiang readily agreed: "Okay, I'll go with Xiaohui." I pulled Jiangjiang and hurriedly left.

Jiangjiang had been looking at me with suspicion in her eyes, but I did take her to the hospital. My classmate was really sick—we had been desk mates for two years, working hard together for our futures, sharing everything.

In our previous life, I had missed my classmate's call during Yeling's restaurant scene. Then, after being posted on the campus network, pointed at by everyone, criticized by teachers, I was in a daze and didn't think to check on my classmate. We grew distant and gradually lost contact.

But after I dropped out of college due to what happened, she found out and often visited me. Later, she even asked her parents to help me find a job.

3

In this life, I arrived at the hospital before my classmate's surgery. Seeing me, she held my hand and cried hysterically. "Xiaohui, you're finally here. I'm so scared. Wait for me outside. If they need someone to sign papers, you sign for me. You must save me. If I don't make it out, tell my parents I love them."

I found it both amusing and heartbreaking. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. It's just a minor surgery. I'll make sure you're safe first." Only then did my classmate calm down.

In the hospital room. My classmate woke up and saw me, giving me a pained smile. My eyes reddened, and I smiled too. How wonderful—I had made up for the regret from our previous life. We were still good friends.

I felt enough time had passed and opened the campus network. Sure enough, I saw Yeling. But this time, the post on the campus network didn't include Jiangjiang and me—only Yeling herself.

The video was very clear. The restaurant owner, suppressing his anger, explained: "Miss, no buffet restaurant allows taking leftovers. If everyone did what you're doing, we'd lose all our money."

Yeling argued confidently: "Which law says you can't take leftovers? If you're afraid of losing money, you could just not run the business. Since you decided to open a restaurant, you should be prepared for this, right?"

"I've already touched all this food. Are you going to put it back for other customers to eat?" The restaurant owner shook his head repeatedly: "Of course not."

"Then you can only throw it away. Isn't that wasting food? Waste is a crime. By taking it with me, I'm actually helping you." The restaurant owner's face turned iron-gray: "You're just being unreasonable. You're a college student—how could you do something like this? The wall clearly states: no leftovers allowed, deposit forfeited for excessive remaining food, take less, waste less."

Yeling spoke with righteous indignation: "These are just the unfair terms you businessmen have created. Unreasonable rules should be broken. I won't let you merchants harvest us like leeks."

As Yeling spoke, her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she'd had another "brilliant idea." "My two classmates barely ate anything before leaving. By your logic, I have my rules too—you should refund their money to me."

I watched, stunned. I hadn't expected that leaving early this time would give her room to perform. The restaurant owner was even more incredulous: "You—you're just being deliberately difficult. Your classmates did eat, and I didn't drive them away. Why should I refund their money?"

Yeling spread her hands: "Look, you only want others to follow your rules, but when I ask you to follow my rules, you're unwilling? Only you're allowed to profit and take advantage, while others can only suffer losses?"

The owner was clearly no match for Yeling verbally. After several rounds, seeing so many people watching, he finally just wanted to end the matter, looking like he had accepted defeat. "Fine, I can't argue with you. A college student willing to go to such lengths for a free meal—I'm impressed."

Compared to our previous life, Yeling's actions had once again shattered my understanding. She didn't just take leftovers—she actually made the owner refund Jiangjiang's and my money to her.

In the video, she showed no hint of shame, looking like a victorious general. I actually admired her thick skin.

Back at the dormitory, Yeling was eating the food she had brought back. Seeing us, she said with a smile: "You two really missed out today. Eighty-nine yuan—at most you ate a fraction of that. But I was thinking of you, so I brought some back for you."

I pretended to be surprised: "You can't take leftovers from a buffet, can you?" "That's because you're using the wrong method. You two should learn from me in the future. Come, eat."

I looked regretful: "We already ate. If only we had known, we would have come back hungry. Thank you, Yeling." Yeling shook her head proudly: "You two really have no luck. Well then, I guess I'll eat all this myself."

She didn't mention the refund—apparently, she didn't know yet that she had been posted on the campus network.

4

Right at the start of school, everyone was still unfamiliar with each other, so no one would specifically tell Yeling. So when class officer elections were held today, she confidently walked forward to run for class president.

The counselor looked at her with an expression that was difficult to describe. Yeling滔滔不绝地 showed off her abilities, emphasizing how she would serve the class well, particularly highlighting that she was the top scholar in her county and had been a class officer in high school.

When the votes were finally counted, Yeling was full of confidence. "When I become class president, I'll definitely take care of you all."

Jiangjiang and I exchanged glances, staying silent, waiting to see the show.

Finally, the vote count was announced—Yeling had only one vote. Yeling couldn't believe it: "There must be a mistake. How could I have only one vote? Could there be foul play?"

The counselor said meaningfully: "I supervised the students as they counted the votes. There's no fraud. If anyone questions it, they can come check themselves. And I said from the beginning that you can't vote for yourself."

Yeling shouted defensively: "I didn't vote for myself! I don't believe it—there must be something wrong. I'll count myself."

She had assumed that with her excellent speech and high college entrance exam scores, becoming class president was a sure thing. She never expected such a disaster.

A classmate said with a laugh: "Teacher, why bother with that? Whoever voted for Yeling, just raise your hand. That should settle it."

The students immediately burst into laughter. No one raised their hand. Yeling finally realized something was wrong, her face turning red as she anxiously looked around. She couldn't understand it: "How could this be? Impossible."

Finally, her eyes landed on Jiangjiang and me, and she glared at us resentfully. "Why didn't you vote for me? We're roommates! After all I've done for you, how could you betray me?"

In our previous life, out of consideration for our roommate relationship, we had been too embarrassed not to vote for her, so she ended up with three votes. Yeling had given some inspiring speech about how losing with honor was better than winning shamefully and how she would work harder, while also affirming how outstanding Chen Qiang was. This actually improved her reputation.

But now that we hadn't voted for her, the whole class knew only she had voted for herself, and she completely lost her composure.

"Yeling, this isn't betrayal. We just can't go against our consciences. Chen Qiang is the city's top scholar and even saved a drowning child. Whether in terms of ability or character, he's excellent. Even if we had voted for you, the result wouldn't have changed."

Jiangjiang added earnestly: "The class president was just decided. You can run for other positions. If you think you're capable, you need to let everyone see the good choice you are."

Yeling bit her lip, looking as if she had suffered some great injustice. "You're all bullying me. Even if I run for other positions, you won't vote for me."

A classmate took offense: "Yeling, you make it sound like we're the bad guys. We barely know everyone yet. Who would deliberately bully you?"

"That's right. Yeling is so talkative, but don't go around saying we're bullying classmates behind our backs. We'd be wronged."

Yeling was speechless because what the classmate said was true. She began to doubt herself—could it really be that Chen Qiang was just too outstanding? She sat down resentfully.

What shocked me was that when elections for other class officers were held, she actually went up again. Not just me—all the students had expressions of disbelief. Someone even muttered: "If only I had that much nerve, I would have caught my dream guy long ago."

Yeling specifically reminded Jiangjiang and me: "You two must vote for me this time. I'll forgive you for what happened before." I readily agreed: "Sure."

In the end, Yeling got only three votes. Everyone else looked sympathetically at Jiangjiang and me. "It must be tough being roommates with someone like that."

Yeling ran off crying. Apparently, someone took pity on her tears and told her about the campus network post.

Yeling returned with red eyes to confront us. "Why didn't you tell me? After all the good things I've done for you, you're going too far."

I didn't care: "This is just a small matter. It doesn't affect our food or drink. Soon there will be other interesting things—who will pay attention to you anymore?" "This is just a small matter? I'm being isolated now." "How could that be? You still have us. Now you can focus on your studies."

In our previous life, when Jiangjiang and I were like rats crossing the street, we had blamed Yeling too. This was exactly how she had comforted us. Now the boomerang had come back to hit her.

Yeling bit her lip, as if consoling herself: "You're right. It's better without distractions."

5

After being reborn, Jiangjiang broke up with her boyfriend, thinking she could avoid disaster. But unexpectedly, Jiangjiang's scumbag boyfriend came to school looking for her. "Jiangjiang, you misunderstood me. We're just classmates. Who's been spreading rumors about us? How could you believe others and not me?"

Jiangjiang angrily raised her hand and slapped him: "You went to a hotel together, and you say there's nothing between you? How long have you known each other? That's disgusting. Don't come looking for me again."

And this scene was witnessed by Yeling. She looked at Jiangjiang with sympathy: "Jiangjiang, don't be sad. Out with the old, in with the new. Find a better boyfriend and make him regret it."

Yeling's eyes lit up: "Don't worry, we're best friends. Leave this to me. I'll definitely find you a boyfriend so you can forget that scumbag quickly."

I felt my scalp tingle, and Jiangjiang shuddered. Yeling secretly went to a copy shop to print small cards.

Jiangjiang and I followed closely behind, saying we were Yeling's classmates and that she had left the wrong phone number and needed to change it.

Yeling, holding a box of small cards, didn't even look as she handed them to every male student she saw. She even went off-campus and slipped them under taxi windshield wipers. When she passed two migrant workers, she also gave them two cards.

Jiangjiang must have been thinking about our previous life—her whole body was trembling. I quickly hugged her. "Jiangjiang, don't be afraid. The phone number on the cards is Yeling's."

In our previous life, Jiangjiang received calls and messages daily, bombarded with all sorts of filthy language. When she walked around, men looked at her strangely. Some disgusting people even asked how much she charged for a night, causing Jiangjiang to completely break down. Jiangjiang's mental state must have already been problematic back then.

"That's right, things are different now." Jiangjiang took several deep breaths before her emotions calmed down.

Yeling returned to see Jiangjiang lying in bed, sighed worriedly, then perked up again. "Jiangjiang will get through this soon."

That evening, Yeling received a call from an unknown number. She hung up angrily: "Weirdo, I couldn't even understand what he was saying."

I pressed my lips into a smile. This was just the beginning. Yeling's small cards had a lot of personal information written on them—height, weight, measurements, school—it was all filled up. I guess there was no space left, so she didn't write her name.

During class, Yeling suddenly slammed her phone down in anger. Everyone turned to look, and the teacher looked displeased too. Yeling quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, Teacher. My stomach hurts. I need to use the restroom."

Back in the dormitory that evening, Yeling said with a dark expression: "I suspect my phone number was stolen and is being used for some illegal activity."

I waved my hand: "Impossible. Why would you think that?" "Really, look. These past two days, people have been sending me disgusting messages, and I get even more calls asking me to go to hotels. At first, I thought they had the wrong number."

I looked at her with cold eyes: "Maybe they're just pursuing you and want to date you. You're thinking too badly of them." Jiangjiang's eyes snapped to Yeling.

Yeling looked surprised: "How could that be? Who courts someone like this? We've never even met, and they say such vulgar things. It's disgusting. Even thinking about it now makes me want to vomit." Her face was full of disgust, as if the other person was some kind of filth.

So she understood everything after all. It's just that when the knife is in your own flesh, you finally feel the pain.

6

Everyone's phone numbers had already been shared in the class group chat, so the entire class knew about the situation. The way they looked at Yeling was like they were looking at something dirty. Some boys even made dirty jokes about her.

Yeling wasn't the type to suffer in silence. She directly threw her water cup in his face. She cursed: "Toad trying to eat swan meat. Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself? Even if I end up alone for life, I wouldn't want you."

Then she looked at the other girls in the class. "Today he can say vulgar things to me, tomorrow he could say the same to you. Girls should unite and resist this kind of disgusting behavior from boys."

A girl muttered quietly: "He doesn't even talk to us. He only acts this way toward you."

Yeling became angry: "What do you mean—are you blaming me? Victim-blaming? What era is this? How can you still have such thoughts?" "No, I, I..." The girl's face turned red. She stammered and finally just shut up.

The boy, having been slapped in front of so many people, felt humiliated. He raised his hand and slapped Yeling back. "Stop pretending to be some virtuous woman. Look at what you are. I wouldn't want you anyway. I'm afraid I'd catch a disease. There are so many girls in this class—why don't I joke with the others?"

Jiangjiang tightly gripped my arm. In our previous life, this was the same boy who had asked her how much she charged for a night. You could say neither of them was any good.

Yeling froze, realizing she had been hit. After all, she was still a young girl and immediately started crying. "You actually hit me? Even my parents have never hit me. I'll fight you!"

She charged at him like a madwoman. The boy didn't dodge but moved forward instead, taking the opportunity to pinch Yeling. Yeling screamed, and classmates quickly rushed forward to separate them.

The situation escalated, and the counselor found out, calling both of them to his office. The boy claimed Yeling was a sex worker, while Yeling threatened to call the police, saying the boy was harassing her.

The counselor had already criticized Yeling about the video incident and didn't have a good impression of her. But he wouldn't wrong a student in such a matter and specifically investigated the situation.

The result backfired on her—it was confirmed that Yeling had printed the cards herself, and they traced them to the copy shop.

Jiangjiang and I were called to the office. School leadership was present too. The counselor was very polite. "The copy shop owner said you two changed the phone number. Why did you change it?"

Yeling glared at me angrily. "Why did you harm me?"

I looked completely innocent: "How did we harm you? You said you wanted to find a boyfriend for Jiangjiang. But Jiangjiang is shy and embarrassed, so she wanted to leave your phone number for you to check first? What's wrong with that?"

Yeling was choked up. She stamped her foot: "Then why didn't you tell me? And why did you secretly change the number? You've ruined me."

I looked even more innocent: "You didn't tell us you were printing cards. I thought you were giving Jiangjiang a surprise. Didn't you print the cards yourself? How did this become harming people?"

"You..." Yeling wanted to say something, but she didn't have a case. After all, she had done this herself. If she argued, wouldn't that mean she had intended to harm Jiangjiang?

Yeling and the boy each received a disciplinary warning. The counselor helped clarify the situation about Yeling. But what people really thought—that was something only they knew.

Yeling still felt wronged. "I meant well, trying to find Jiangjiang a boyfriend. How did it end up like this?"

I expressed understanding: "We know you meant well. It was just a misunderstanding." Jiangjiang didn't understand why I was saying this but still nodded in cooperation.

Yeling immediately perked up: "I'm glad you understand. It hasn't been in vain that I've been good to you."

"Xiaohui, why did you say that?" "Can reasoning with her ever work?" Jiangjiang fell silent. Yeling just couldn't understand normal human speech. She had her own set of logic. So with people like her, they only understand when they suffer losses themselves.

7

Yeling invited us to eat mala tang, saying she wanted to apologize for her good intentions that turned out badly. I looked at the thick layer of sesame paste on top and refused. "I won't eat. You can just apologize to Jiangjiang."

"I already bought it. Not eating would be wasteful." I shook my head: "I'm allergic to peanuts. The cafeteria auntie said their mala tang sesame paste is made from sesame and peanuts."

Yeling got excited: "How can anyone be allergic to peanuts? This is just a rule your brain has set for your body. Break the rule and it'll be fine." I ignored her, lowering my head to read my book.

But Yeling wouldn't give up. She even found evidence to show me. "Look at this video. A lame person sleepwalks normally. This proves their body isn't really a problem. It's just a rule their brain set, making them think they're lame. Trust me, this can be overcome. I'll help you."

I looked at her calmly: "No need. I've been allergic to peanuts since childhood. Eating them really could kill me." Yeling didn't believe it: "Peanuts aren't poison. How could they kill someone? If you won't eat, fine. Jiangjiang and I will eat."

Her eyes were bright. I knew she wouldn't give up.

Sure enough, Jiangjiang said she saw Yeling buy peanuts. At noon, we went to the cafeteria to eat. I wanted fried rice, and Yeling volunteered to get it for me, saying she wanted some too.

When she placed the fried rice in front of me, she looked at me expectantly. I was about to ask Jiangjiang to help distract her when Yeling's mother called. She was gone for a long time before returning. I had already finished eating.

Yeling stared at me for a while, looking smug. "I told you there's no such thing as allergies. You ate peanuts and you're perfectly fine. You've trapped yourself with your own thinking. If it weren't for my cleverness, you would have had a lot of trouble. Xiaohui, I helped you overcome your allergy. You should thank me properly."

I exclaimed: "You put peanuts in my fried rice?" "Yes, I ground them very fine and mixed them in with the rice. You can't even taste it."

In our previous life, she had also secretly put peanuts in my food. I nearly suffocated to death. Thankfully, Jiangjiang discovered it in time and got me to the hospital to save me.

Afterward, when I confronted Yeling, she didn't think she had done anything wrong. She even felt regretful: "I must not have hidden it well enough, letting you taste it. If I ground it finer, you wouldn't have had an allergic reaction."

In this life, I called the police immediately, saying she was maliciously poisoning me. Yeling was stunned. "You're perfectly fine. How did I poison you?"

"You should be grateful I didn't eat the fried rice. Otherwise, you'd be a murderer now." I handed my hospital records to the police. I explained that I had clearly told Yeling about my severe peanut allergy, which could be fatal, and her actions constituted malicious poisoning.

Jiangjiang testified for me. In the end, Yeling was taken away but released after being lectured.

I wasn't surprised. Since her intention wasn't to kill me, and she hadn't given me actual poison, and I was unharmed, the law can sometimes be too lenient.

Yeling looked like frost-bitten eggplant. Seeing me, she wiped her eyes grievously. "Xiaohui, I was kindly helping you overcome your allergy. How could you treat me like this?"

My eyes were cold: "Your kindness almost killed me. I can't accept it." It was her "kindness" that killed Jiangjiang and destroyed my entire life.

We had been admitted to a prestigious university, full of ambition—our futures should have been bright.

8

Because I called the police, Yeling stopped talking to me. But she would still look at me with resentful eyes from time to time, as if I had committed some terrible crime.

When other students found out, no one blamed me. "I think Yeling might have something wrong with her brain. Who would knowingly give someone food they're allergic to? A normal person wouldn't do something like that." "There might be something wrong with her brain, but her college entrance score wasn't low. I think she's just blaming you for not voting for her as class president and intentionally trying to harm you." "That's not right either. Who does bad things and then brags about them afterward?" ... Everyone guessed but couldn't figure out Yeling's way of thinking.

To be honest, even after two lifetimes, I couldn't understand Yeling's thinking. Jiangjiang and I did everything together, ignoring whatever Yeling thought.

She wanted to find someone to hang out with, but from the start of school, she had been causing one incident after another, so no one would associate with her. She cried pitifully in the pavilion in the school's backyard.

A boy took pity on her and came to comfort her. She didn't hide anything and told him everything. "I clearly meant well, yet they treated me like this. The whole class is isolating me." The boy comforted her at length.

Yeling started getting close to this boy, and Jiangjiang and I ran into them. Fate. In our previous life, these two had dated.

On a day off, we went out for a nice meal. Suddenly, Jiangjiang's whole body trembled, her teeth chattering: "Xiaohui, Xiaohui, look over there."

When I clearly saw who it was, my body instantly froze. I felt all the blood in my body turn to ice. I tried to take deep breaths, telling myself it was fine, fine, nothing had happened.

We kept our eyes on the group. That was Yeling's boyfriend. He was talking with several men. He called one of them "brother." And those men were the same young men from outside the university who had assaulted us in our previous life.

No wonder Yeling knew people from outside the university and rented our dormitory to them. It was Yeling's boyfriend who had made the connection. No wonder they broke up after what happened to us.

Right at the start of the holiday, Yeling was in a good mood and voluntarily spoke to us. "I'll find a way to help our dormitory earn some income. When school starts, I'll treat you to a big meal." She even snorted: "I won't be petty like you two. I forgive Xiaohui for calling the police."

I was packing my things and originally didn't want to engage with her, but thinking of my plan, I still smiled and nodded. "Sure, you're the bigger person. Then let's consider ourselves reconciled." "Of course, I'm the most generous person."

As soon as she left, Jiangjiang pulled me, eager to leave immediately, and kept reminding me, "Xiaohui, definitely don't come back to school early. Forget it—I'll come find you, and we can come together." After being reborn, Jiangjiang had only wanted to avoid those disasters, never considering revenge or fighting back.

I sighed: "Jiangjiang, as long as Yeling is around, we won't have peaceful days. Even if we avoid this time, there will be a next. She should taste her own medicine, otherwise, we'll be the ones to suffer."

Jiangjiang was stunned at first, then her eyes widened as she had a moment of realization. "But, Xiaohui, I, I'm scared."

I discovered that Jiangjiang's mental state still wasn't very good—she was constantly tense. That's right—being reborn doesn't mean getting a new brain.

I pulled Jiangjiang away but didn't go far. That night, we watched as several young men from outside the university entered our dormitory building.

9

During the holiday, I spent some time with my parents. I also went to Jiangjiang's house. Her parents were very warm to me, cooking delicious food for me every day. Perhaps with her parents by her side, Jiangjiang became much more cheerful. She also agreed with my plan.

Just like in our previous life, we returned to school early. But we didn't go back to our dormitory.

That evening, I called Yeling. She had said she wouldn't go home for the holiday, that she had rented a place with her boyfriend to work a summer job.

I spoke with an anxious tone: "Yeling, have you gone back to the dormitory?" Yeling immediately became nervous: "I haven't been back since the holiday started. Didn't I tell you? I rented a place. What's wrong?"

"Sigh, I forgot my necklace. I wanted to wear it and just remembered it. The dormitory has been empty, and I'm afraid it might get stolen." Yeling seemed to relax: "Oh, I'll help you check tomorrow. It's just a necklace. You're so anxious—I thought something terrible had happened."

"The necklace was a gift from my mother for getting into college. It's worth 20,000 yuan. I'll be back at the dormitory tomorrow morning." "That expensive?" Yeling screamed: "Wait, you're coming back tomorrow morning? School doesn't start for several more days."

I pretended to be casual: "Yeah, I was visiting Jiangjiang's house. Since I had nothing else to do, I came back early." "Oh, oh." Yeling responded perfunctorily and hung up.

Jiangjiang nervously asked me. "Will she come back?" I sneered: "She definitely will. Twenty thousand yuan. We know about the buffet refund money, and she never mentioned paying us back."

In our previous life, this was when we returned to the dormitory. Those young men had been drinking heavily, with porn playing on their phones, and some had their pants half down. We were lambs entering a tiger's den—no amount of struggling or begging helped.

After calling the police, Yeling said she had a "brilliant idea" to help the dormitory earn income. The young men happened to need a place to rent, and the dormitory was sitting empty, so she rented it out. She didn't intend to keep the money for herself—she planned to split it three ways.

Yeling hadn't broken any laws and was released after being lectured. And the school, fearing the incident would affect its reputation and enrollment, kept the matter tightly under wraps, only giving Yeling a major demerit. She continued her classes as if nothing had happened. Only Jiangjiang and I had our lives destroyed.

Yeling did go back to the dormitory. Her boyfriend hadn't finished work yet. She went alone, mainly not wanting her boyfriend to know about this.

As soon as she entered, smoke filled the air—the smell of tobacco, alcohol, and stinky feet was so overwhelming she could barely open her eyes, feeling nauseous. She immediately became angry. "How can you live like this? It's a pigsty. Hurry up and move out. My roommate is coming back tomorrow, and I need to clean up. This is so annoying."

She was still complaining unhappily but didn't see the predatory gleam in the men's eyes. By the time she opened her eyes and clearly saw everything in the room, it was too late to run. The evil she created herself would ultimately return to her.

When Jiangjiang and I arrived at the dormitory in the morning, the men had already fled. The room was filled with a nauseating mix of odors. Yeling lay motionless on the ground, as if dead, covered in injuries. I felt like I was seeing myself from our previous life.

I immediately called the police. To preserve the crime scene, we didn't enter. The police arrived very quickly.

10

From the counselor, I heard that several of the young men had been caught. After sobering up, they were terrified and had run to the station, where they were apprehended.

After Yeling was discharged from the hospital, she didn't return to school. Her parents came to pack her things, their faces full of sorrow. But my heart remained calm—I didn't feel they deserved pity. In our previous life, hadn't my parents been the same? When Jiangjiang's parents came to pack her belongings, how desperate had they been? Yeling had brought those men upon herself—she had sown her own seeds.

The dormitory was left with just Jiangjiang and me. Jiangjiang seemed to have found redemption, gradually returning to her true self, with more smiles on her face. She became the chatterbox she once was, talking nonstop all day.

I also experienced a complete college life. How wonderful.

Jiangjiang was looking through her clothes, her mouth still busy. "Xiaohui, get up! A company is recruiting at school today. We need to put on makeup. Oh, did you wash your hair? We can't leave a bad impression."

I threw off the blanket, feeling helpless: "What time is it? I still have time to take a shower."

We arrived at the recruitment event full of energy and successfully secured internships at a major company. The company had excellent benefits and treatment. We worked hard and stayed with the company. Later, we bought apartments with loans and became neighbors.

Life was smooth sailing ahead.

Once, on a business trip, I ran into Yeling. She had become a slovenly woman, holding a little girl's hand. She looked more like a grandmother than a mother. She recognized me first, turned in panic, and ran away—only then did I realize it was her.

A vegetable vendor next to me shook her head and sighed. "She married a drunkard who does nothing. When he's drunk, he beats her. A woman supporting the whole family—such a promising girl worn down like this."

I strode into the office building next to us. This business deal would be successful, and there would be a substantial bonus. Jiangjiang and I had already made plans to travel together.