Transmigrating as the Female Supporting Character: Dumb with Deep Pockets - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Video Call with the Parents

University life had officially begun, and naturally, parents were concerned about how their children were settling in.

In the dorm, everyone except Chen Jia had received a phone call or a video chat from home. To avoid overlapping noise, Li Sisi went to the balcony, Sun Yimiao headed to the hallway, and Su Su stayed in the room.

Not knowing what her family said on the other end, Su Su said somewhat indignantly, “Of course I can take care of myself.” She paused, then added boastfully, “Even if I can’t, I have friends!”

Her aunt, Bai Li, teased her, “Oh? Our little ‘useless one’ has made a new friend? You sure it won’t be like before, where you stop talking to each other after two days?”

Su Su felt her judgment was being insulted. “Just you wait!”

She yanked out her earbuds, grabbed her phone, and bolted from her bed to Chen Jia’s side, throwing an arm around her neck to bring her into the frame.

There was indeed a whole family on the other side.

Facing such an audience for the first time, Chen Jia felt a bit stiff. “Hello everyone, I’m Su Su’s friend, Chen Jia.”

When Bai Li saw Chen Jia, her playful expression vanished, replaced by a look of genuine warmth.

“Hello, Chen Jia. I’m Su Su’s aunt. I thought she was pulling my leg, but she actually made a real friend. She’s pampered and high-maintenance, so please, bear with her.”

“It’s no trouble. She’s actually very nice,” Chen Jia replied.

At those words, the entire Su family wore an identical expression of relief.

“Finally, someone sees our Xiao Su’s kind heart! The truth is, the child just doesn’t know how to express herself.”

“Exactly, exactly. We watched her grow up. If you have time, come visit us with Xiao Su!”

“It’s been so long since she’s made a proper friend. You have no idea how silly she was as a kid…”

Su Su’s grandmother couldn’t help but start airing the girl’s dirty laundry as she got excited.

Hearing this, Su Su snatched the phone back in a panic. “Alright, alright, that’s enough! Chen Jia is tired. Stop saying such weird things to her; you’re being annoying!”

She plugged her earbuds back in and mumbled to them for a good while before hanging up.

It took Chen Jia a moment to snap out of the daze caused by the Su family’s overwhelming enthusiasm.

It was clear why Su Su had developed her personality. However, while it was one thing for Su Su to be naive, why did the rest of the Su family seem so unbothered by money as well? Was this just the “carefree” nature of the wealthy?

After hanging up, Su Su crawled down from her bed again and pulled her chair over to sit next to Chen Jia.

“See? You’re a good person. Even my aunt likes you, so you must be a great person.”

Chen Jia raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“With my previous friends, my aunt would take one look and tell me they were no good. At first, I thought she was just tricking me, but she was right every time. Those people acted so nice to my face but talked behind my back.”

Su Su’s aunt?

When Chen Jia had read the original novel, there was no mention of such a character. If someone like her had truly been around, she surely would have seen that Jiang Hanting wasn’t a good match for Su Su, and Su Su’s ending wouldn’t have been so tragic.

“Is your aunt always by your side?”

Su Su didn’t expect her to be so interested in her aunt, but she answered honestly: “Yeah, she’s always been around. But that might change soon.”

Chen Jia looked up at her, and Su Su explained, “She has a partner who’s going abroad to study soon, and she’s determined to follow him. She won’t be back in the country for several years.”

That explains it.

“Why are you so interested in my aunt?”

Chen Jia had just been trying to recall the plot, but when she snapped back to reality, she saw Su Su looking at her guardedly. That was her aunt—no matter how much Chen Jia liked her, she couldn’t steal her away!

“I was just curious.”

Su Su acted like a curious toddler. “Curious about what?”

“Curious why your aunt is so sharp, yet you haven’t learned a thing from her.”

“…”

…

The subsequent military training proceeded normally. As if competing with someone, Su Su vowed never to get caught for anything again, and she managed to stay out of trouble until the end.

Q University wasn’t a top-tier school—it was at the lower end of the “Tier 2” rankings. Its academic reputation was average, but it was very strict about discipline. The month of military training was grueling for the freshers.

On the day of the final review, it was pouring rain. The fifty-year-old principal stood in the torrential downpour and insisted on reading his entire page of closing remarks.

Northern weather is strange; it’s scorching when the sun is out, but as soon as it rains, a chill sets in that makes you shiver uncontrollably. Rain soaked through the fabric of their uniforms, sticking to their skin uncomfortably. Eyelashes felt heavy, and it was hard to keep their eyes open. They finished the military boxing routine relying entirely on the muscle memory built over the past two weeks.

After the training ended, everyone felt differently. Some were full of sentimental attachment toward their grueling instructors, while others let out a silent sigh of relief.

Chen Jia, however, was in a rush to get back to the dorm to shower. She had an appointment to start work at the fruit shop that evening.

As soon as she and Su Su returned to the dorm, the entire building was filled with wails of despair.

“Oh my god, how can the water be cut off now?!”

“Auntie! There’s no water!”

“Auntie, I need a shower!”

…

Refusing to believe it, Su Su rushed into the bathroom and twisted the faucet. Not a single drop.

“Is it really cut off?”

Dripping wet from head to toe, they couldn’t even find a place to sit. Fearing they would catch a cold, they could only temporarily change into dry clothes. But even with new clothes, their skin still felt sticky and gross.

Li Sisi suggested, “How about we go to the public bathhouse?”

Though Q University wasn’t large, it was quite old. Aside from the apartment-style building they lived in, there were several older dormitories that reportedly didn’t have private bathrooms. Everyone there had to use the bathhouse behind the cafeteria.

Since the dorm water was out, they could only head to the bathhouse and hope for the best—maybe it used a different water main.

Li Sisi stood by the window. Plenty of students were already heading toward the bathhouse with tote bags filled with changes of clothes and toiletries.

“It looks like the bathhouse still has water. Let’s go check it out.”

Sun Yimiao, being a typical Northerner, had no objections.

Su Su knew of bathhouses but had never been to one. Chen Jia, having been a Southerner in both her lives, felt a bit apprehensive. Before she could ask, Su Su beat her to it: “How exactly do you wash in a bathhouse?”

Li Sisi answered casually while packing her things, “You just wash yourself, obviously.”

“I know I wash myself, but… does everyone wash together?”

Li Sisi finally realized what she was getting at. “Of course not! Usually, there are stalls. One person per stall, you wash privately.” Fearing she hadn’t been clear enough, she added, “Though there might be double stalls, usually no one uses those together.”