Chapter 6

The young boy smacked his lips and slunk over. According to Li Pu's usual temper, he would have argued back regardless of whether he was right or wrong. However, the hardships of these past few days had taught him a lot. Everyone was in a bad mood, and his behavior just now, if seen by someone unfamiliar, would have looked like he was slacking off. Normally, it wouldn't have mattered, but at this time, it would have seemed like he deserved a beating.

"Still, I should finish the main task first, then go back and discuss it with Xiao Xian." Despite having many questions, Li Pu couldn't think of any solutions for the moment.

The spontaneous search and rescue efforts in the disaster area continued until dinner time. Li Pu's stomach was already growling with hunger. However, the few adults around him weren't much better off. These days had been tough, and the physical labor of searching and digging had been exhausting, both physically and mentally.

When the group returned to the refugee tent area, it was already past six. Li Pu saw from a distance that the square, where a large number of refugees were housed, was filled with dozens of Dongfeng trucks loaded with supplies. People were crowded in layers, waiting to receive aid.

On the front of one of the Dongfeng trucks, several city government officials and soldiers stood. A middle-aged man with a dignified appearance and a powerful voice was addressing the refugees below, saying things like, "Please trust the Party and the state; we will do our utmost in the rescue efforts." "The second batch of relief supplies has already started distribution. Don't worry, the third and fourth batches are on the way, and everyone will get their share!" These were typical soothing official statements.

"Oh, it's Uncle Qin?" Li Pu thought. This official was the father of his classmate Qin Xia'er, the young and capable mayor Qin Yuancheng.

Mayor Qin was in his forties and had a good reputation among the people. Li Pu remembered his father praising Mayor Qin as a real man when drinking with friends. Perhaps because of this, Li Pu almost didn't get a beating from his father after "bullying" Qin Xia'er in public.

Qin Xia'er might be talkative, but they were still classmates. In the early years of elementary school, Li Pu had often lifted her skirt and pulled her pigtails, so they had a bit of a history. After some thought, Li Pu decided to go over. First, to see if he could get some relief food, and second, to ask if Class Monitor Xia'er was safe if he got the chance.

When he got to the crowd, Li Pu was delighted to see a girl busily distributing supplies at one of the trucks. It was none other than the class monitor, Qin Xia'er, who always acted so confidently.

"Skinny arms and legs, and she's still helping to move relief supplies. She's still the same, always trying to show off..." Li Pu felt a bit relieved but also rolled his eyes.

To watch the commotion, a half-grown kid could squeeze in, but to actually get the relief supplies, he had to wait in line. By the time Li Pu reached the front of the line, it had been over an hour.

"...I didn't expect her to be so diligent."

At first, Li Pu thought that the "show-off and pampered girl" Qin Xia'er was probably more of a hindrance than a help. But seeing Qin Xia'er, drenched in sweat, still gritting her teeth to help move the corrugated boxes and distribute supplies to the refugees, he had to admit he had misjudged her.

When Li Pu reached the front, the overworked Qin Xia'er finally noticed her "underachieving" classmate smiling at her.

"Hey, Li Pu? What are you doing here?" She held a small box of relief supplies that she was supposed to hand to Li Pu, looking a bit surprised.

"Ha, we're always running into each other," Li Pu said, raising his eyebrows. Seeing Qin Xia'er's slightly dazed expression, he couldn't bring himself to praise her, and instead fell back on his usual way of annoying her, "Class monitor, playing the role of a public servant again today?"

"Pah! Who's your enemy?" Qin Xia'er immediately went into her usual argument mode, "Hmph, you're fine, aren't you? Good people don't live long, but troublemakers last a thousand years."

After saying that, the girl roughly threw the corrugated box of relief supplies to Li Pu, "This one is yours!"

Li Pu instinctively raised his hands to catch it, but his left arm, which was still healing from an injury, was hit by the corner of the box. He winced in pain, almost shouting out.

"Still faking it," Qin Xia'er saw Li Pu's grimacing face and first mocked him, but then couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Your hand... does it hurt? Are you injured?"

Actually, Qin Xia'er was quite happy to see Li Pu. After the disaster, this was the first time she had met a living classmate—albeit the most troublesome one in the class. Even so, she desperately wished to go back to a few days ago when everyone was together, and no one was missing.

"It hurts like hell," Li Pu muttered, shrugging at Qin Xia'er, "I provoked you first, so it's even. I'm out! Bye!"

"Wait a minute," Qin Xia'er called out to the boy, "Have you seen any other classmates?" She mentioned a few names, all of her closest friends in the class.

Li Pu was silent for a moment, then shook his head, "Besides Xiao Xian, you're the second living classmate I've seen. Oh, I did see the homeroom teacher of the next class at the hospital, but he was in bad shape..."

The conversation between the boy and the girl made a middle-aged woman waiting behind Li Pu a bit impatient. She loudly complained, "If you want to chat, go somewhere else. Don't block me from getting my supplies! What time is it? Get a move on!"

In this situation, wasting others' time was considered impolite. Qin Xia'er made a face at Li Pu, indicating that they shouldn't chat and disrupt the order. Li Pu shrugged, indicating he understood, and prepared to leave with the corrugated box.

"Qin Xiaomei, you've been helping for a long time. Go rest for a bit, and I'll take over here. Go take a walk with your friend," a staff member responsible for moving the relief supplies jumped down from the truck and advised Qin Xia'er.

Li Pu noticed that the staff member's tone was not at all like that of a child, but rather had a hint of flattery. This was not surprising. Before the disaster, Qin Yuancheng was a promising and powerful figure in the city. Qin Xia'er, the mayor's beloved daughter, might have come to help out of a lively spirit, but using her as a worker would be a big mistake.

Qin Xia'er herself was also a bit exhausted. She nodded but still said stubbornly, "He's not my friend, just a classmate. Hey... don't wait for me, Li Pu!"

The girl hurriedly followed the boy holding the small corrugated box, and they walked into the refugee area one after the other.

Qin Xia'er caught up with Li Pu and asked, "Are you staying here now? Is Chen Xian also with you?"

"Yeah, but Aunt Chen Xin is here too. Want to see her?" Li Pu answered casually.

"Ah, um, yes," Qin Xia'er nodded repeatedly, and after a while, said out of the blue, "I wanted to see Chen Xian. I was planning to compete with her in the final exams. Hmph, the only one who can compete with me at No. 3 High School is her."

Competition? Li Pu rolled his eyes. Class monitor, everyone in the grade knows you study super hard. Your grades are second in the grade, not much worse than Xiao Xian. But do you know how much time Xiao Xian spends on her textbooks? If you knew, you'd probably explode with anger—she only listens in class and never reviews at home! She reads more "harmful books" than I do, knows more about cartoons and movies, and plays video games more crazily than I do!

In other words, Chen Xian uses less than a tenth of her energy to consistently outperform Qin Xia'er. Sigh, the tragedy of a genius. Thinking about this, Li Pu looked at Qin Xia'er with a bit of pity.

"Seriously, you should change your goal," the boy said earnestly.

"I know you want to protect Chen Xian," Qin Xia'er misunderstood, mimicking the "confident and graceful lady" she had seen on TV, "but this is a matter between girls."

"Like moths to a flame, how foolish," Li Pu could only shake his head in the style of Kong Ming from the TV series. However, when he brought Qin Xia'er back to the tent where he was staying, Chen Xian was not there.

"She and Aunt Chen Xin are still at the emergency hospital. Let's see what we got first!"

Li Pu opened the small corrugated box of relief supplies. Inside were a few buckets of Master Kong instant noodles, a bag of Shuanghui sausages, several bottles of Jianlibao and mineral water, five oranges and five apples, a large pack of Wannianqing cookies and sliced bread, a mug, toothpaste, and a toothbrush, and some common medicines and mosquito repellents.

More importantly, there were bottles of Narcissus wind oil and Liushen water.

It was mid-summer, and the mosquitoes and flies were rampant in the refugee tent area at night. Li Pu unscrewed the bottle cap, poured several grams of wind oil into his hand, and rubbed it all over his limbs and body.

"Ouch, so refreshing!" The stimulating effect of the wind oil made the boy grimace and jump around. Seeing Li Pu's reaction, Qin Xia'er burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha, you're such an idiot," Qin Xia'er laughed, "Are you taking a bath with wind oil? It won't kill you, but it will burn!"

"What do you know, this is the best way to prevent mosquito bites!" Li Pu twisted his body, feeling the burning sensation all over his skin, and looked at Qin Xia'er with a grin, "Want me to put some on you?"

"Hey?" Qin Xia'er panicked, putting on a stern face and glaring at the little troublemaker, "Li Pu, you dare?"

This tactic worked on other boys, but not on Li Pu. He didn't care about her weak threats and, without hesitation, dripped a few drops of wind oil on his hand and approached Qin Xia'er with a "don't run, girl" expression.

"Hey, hey! Don't be silly, don't come over!"

Qin Xia'er had nowhere to run and pushed Li Pu with her hands. Li Pu took the opportunity to smear some wind oil on her exposed white arm. The girl immediately pulled back her hand as if electrocuted. Seeing the little troublemaker about to bully her again, she crouched down and grabbed the empty corrugated box, covering her head with it.

"Hey, you even have a defense mode." Li Pu couldn't help but laugh. He actually felt a bit hesitant to smear her, as he had noticed that the girl who used to be a victim of his pranks in elementary school had grown into a young woman.

Like Xiao Xian and himself, Qin Xia'er had grown up. Her "certain part" was more developed than Xiao Xian's, and she was taller, perhaps one of the few areas where she surpassed Xiao Xian.

After a while, Qin Xia'er, feeling that Li Pu wasn't going to attack her, cautiously peeked out from under the corrugated box, her eyes slightly teary, and asked, "You can't do it again, okay?"

"Sure, I won't mess around anymore," Li Pu nodded. He had only been trying to scare the weak Qin Xia'er.

"Really?" Qin Xia'er frowned, confirming again.

"Really, more real than high-fidelity," Li Pu bluffed.

"Do you swear?" Qin Xia'er was still not convinced.

"Alright, I'll swear. If I use wind oil on Qin Xia'er again..." Li Pu thought for a moment, "I'll be separated from Xiao Xian forever!"

Hearing Li Pu's answer, Qin Xia'er finally let go of the corrugated box but still sat on the bamboo mat, hugging her knees. She suddenly tilted her head and said, "You even swear using Xiao Xian, your relationship must be really good."

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