Thinking of how the oaf Lin Jun Feng had tear-inducingly scrubbed Chen Zhao and Xian Yu Chao's back during their baths together, Mo Di shook his head relentlessly at him: "No need, I'll do it myself. Have you guys waited long?"
"Hahaha, no, I've only just finished packing and spoke with Zhao Chun Cheng here a few words." Lin Jun Feng patted his tummy and made a loud chortle that trembled with each pat.
Mo Di could not understand this newfound behavior of his. He bent to pick up his things and said to Lin Jun Feng and Zhao Chun Cheng: "Let's go."
Zhao Chun Cheng smiled and responded: "Alright, let's go."
Mo Di grinned briefly.
In actuality, Mo Di was not sure if Zhao Chun Cheng would be able to do anything just now, the timing was too short. He wanted to plan this out slowly as it went.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Chun Cheng was too eager to make him suffer.
The camera was connected to his phone and he saw very clearly that in the two minutes of his absence, Zhao Chun Cheng had swiftly changed his shampoo bottle.
He was curious about the bottle's contents. If he were to switch it back… maybe he would be able to watch a good show.
Um, but he had to calm down. What if the bottle held something more dangerous than he had expected. This could cause irreplaceable damage were Zhao Chun Cheng to use it, and also make it difficult to pin this on the Mo family.
It was still better to take it one step at a time.
They had to walk almost through the whole school, passing the boy's basketball court and also the girls' dorm to reaching the bathhouse.
Coincidentally, they met up with a familiar face at the girls' dorm.
"Hey! Juniors!" Sun Ru Ru was just coming out with her roommate when she saw them and called out: "Where are you going?"
"Bath House. Our dorm's water pipe is broken." Lin Jun Feng said bitterly, "Senior, we're so miserable."
"That's indeed troublesome. Lately, our school has been undergoing a lot of renovations but it's the first time a water pipe was hit, and you guys just got the short end of the stick." Sun Ru Ru walked to them with a smile and said: "It should be fixed by tomorrow."
"Senior, what're you up to? The counselor is making you work again?" After Lin Jun Feng became the class monitor, he came to realize how busy the school committee was.
"No, we're going to the supermarket." Sun Ru Ru looked at Mo Di's bath basket and made an "ah" sound. She grinned teasingly: "Little junior, you're still using baby shampoo?"
"…" Mo Di: "It's a raffle prize. It's just a waste not to use it."
"Being economical is of good quality." Sun Ru Ru nodded with a smile. "Oh, I've also heard that this shampoo is really good for washing brushes.
"Brush? What brush?"
"Make-up brush, the kind that girls use. Not something you boys would understand." Sun Ru Ru unscrewed her water bottle and took a sip, "it's said that the shampoo does not damage the bristles while cleaning."
Mo Di had no idea what to say, female makeup was like another science to him.
"It's true. I've also heard this shampoo works really well." Sun Ru Ru's roommate said. "I wanted to give it a try but was worried that it was a hoax. After all, it's not a professional makeup item."
Sun Ru Ru pursed her lips, she looked at Mo Di and said: "Little junior… why don't you lend us some to use and I'll send you a red packet later?"
"We don't need much, just enough to fill this bottle cap." Sun Ru Ru held the mineral bottle cap out, "I'll try it on the brush. If it works, I'll buy a big bottle."
Before Mo Di could refuse, Zhao Chun Cheng already opened his mouth for him. He said with slight anxiety: "No, that's not good."
"Why not? I'm not asking from you."
Sun Ru Ru was a little embarrassed as she gave Zhao Chun Cheng an annoyed look. "I'm only asking for a small amount, and I'll be giving the little junior a red packet later. I don't intend to take advantage of him."
"No… it's not what I meant. Senior please don't misunderstand."
Zhao Chun Cheng was in an awkward situation after that, but he quickly dug his way out: "You can use mine. It's also the same baby shampoo."
"Why should I use yours? We're not that familiar." If Zhao Chun Cheng had told her right in the beginning to use his instead of Mo Di's, she might still think he was interested in her but now... she only felt inexplicably suspicious and annoyed with him.
Mo Di eyed the two of them and instinctively felt he could manipulate this situation to his advantage.
Zhao Chun Cheng's nervousness, was it because the little stunt that he pulled could easily be discovered in a non-foggy and less scented environment?
"It's ok seniors. But I don't want the red packet."
Mo Di pretended to agree. He put his stuff on the ground and took out the shampoo bottle and said: "Senior, pass me the bottle cap."
"Not too much, just a few drops will do." Sun Ru Ru said as she handed him the cap.
"En." Mo Di took the cap and opened the lid. After pouring a tiny amount, his brows suddenly creased. "Something's wrong….. The shampoo seems to have gone bad."
Sun Ru Ru: "What?"
Mo Di: "I think the shampoo is thinner. And…. the smell isn't right, there's a strange acidic odor. It was not like this the last time I used it."
"Acidic odor? Even if it's expired, it shouldn't produce that smell." Sun Ru Ru closed in to give it sniff, "tsk, it does smell a little sour."
"Ha, don't you guys think that's quite frightening?" Sun Ru Ru's roommate suddenly laughed and said: "I've watched a horror movie about two sisters competing for status and one actually poured sulfuric acid into the other's shampoo while she was washing. As a result, she used it and screamed bitterly! Just think how painful that was!"
"Ai, let's not talk about this." Zhao Chun Cheng interrupted. His face was a little unnatural. "Since the shampoo is spoilt, just throw it away. Mo Di, you can use mine later."
"I don't think I should throw it. It's unlikely that this shampoo had expired. The acidic smell is definitely a problem." Mo Di put the bottle back in his bag, "I think I need to get some explanation from the supermarket."
Zhao Chun Cheng was acting even more abnormal. "What's there to ask about. Didn't you get this for free? If you went there to ask, they'll just think you're making trouble."
"Why would they think that my family's Xiao Di is making trouble? We can't even ask? It's not like we're demanding a new bottle or anything." Lin Jun Feng was getting uncomfortable with Zhao Chun Cheng: "I find that today you're particularly targeting my family's Xiao Di."
"I don't think to do this is causing trouble." Mo Di looked at Zhao Chun Cheng and said: "Are you misunderstanding something?"
"What could I possibly misunderstand."
Mo Di said: "I said I wanted an explanation, not to blame them. I just wanted to ask if they knew about this and also as a reminder for them to check their goods and see if there's another batch with the same problem."
"Oh you're quite outspoken." Zhao Chun Cheng's face was turning pale by the minute. "But is there really a need for this, just throw it away."
"After I have a talk with the people at the supermarket, of course, I'll throw it away. Why would I keep it when it's obviously spoilt." Mo Di turned to Sun Ru Ru and said: "Senior, I'll go with you to the supermarket, I'll have to get a new shampoo anyway."
"I want to come too." Lin Jun Feng hurriedly said.
"Then …I'll go take a bath first." Zhao Chun Cheng was obviously relieved when he heard that Mo Di was going to throw out that bottle of shampoo, but his eyes were still uneasy as he left with his things.
Zhao Chun Cheng was no longer in the mood for a bath. He walked back to his dorm, preparing his report to that person.
He did not understand how things could get so out of hand. His plan was foolproof and he had always been meticulous!
Even knowing that his fingerprints would be erased after washing, he still wore gloves when handling the bottles, there was no way to trace that he was the one who switched them out. Mo Di would not be able to accuse him even if he took it to the police.
In the worst-case scenario that the police found that the shampoo was his, he could still claim that Mo Di was the one who mistook their bottles. Regarding the sulfuric acid inside, he could attribute it to someone else trying to cause him harm.
Were the police to check up his testimony, they would find that he did have an ongoing feud with Lu Ding Zhou, an old chemistry classmate who was also studying here at Jing Da. Maybe he could even take advantage of this situation to drag Lu Ding Zhou into trouble. Fittingly, Lu Ding Zhou also majored in chemistry and thus, had easy access to chemicals and such. Moreover, he even visited him this morning at his dorm and they got into a heated argument.
This is killing two birds with one stone!
No matter how things unfold, he should be cleared of suspicion. It's just that this time, Mo Di got away unscathed and he would be more vigilant in the future. That was just too …unpredictable!
Mo Di's luck was just too good!
After Zhao Chun Cheng left, Lin Jun Feng was not only unhappy but felt a little odd: "Zhao Chun Cheng is a little weird today."
"How could he not be?" Mo Di took out his phone and his face was frigid: "Later when the police arrived, please be my witness. You only have to tell the truth of how Zhao Chun Cheng was acting."
"What's going on? Why are the police involved?!" Lin Jun Feng's expression changed drastically.
"Because I know that he actually switched my shampoo bottle." Mo Di slowly unlocked his phone and explained briefly in a calm voice: "At first I thought that he was just being frugal, switching his half-used bottle with my newer one so I wasn't planning to make a big deal out of this. But then just now I realized that there was something amiss with this shampoo and it was not just a simple swap."
"Sh*t! Zhao Chun Cheng that motherf**ker!" Lin Jun Feng was both aghast and infuriated, "He did something to the shampoo?!!"
"My god." Sun Ru Ru also turned pale: "No wonder he was acting so strange and refused to let little junior give me some."
"Could it possibly be … sulfuric acid?" Sun Ru Ru's roommate grimaced at everyone in horror and said: "For real? I guessed right?!"
"We'll know after we checked it." Mo Di dialed 110 but the line was busy. He said to the others: "Can we… go to the nearby police station together? I'll treat everyone to dinner after this."