Chapter 100

Following that hand, she saw a black cuff; she remembered Xu Yanfeng wearing all-black sportswear today, and her inner unease and agitation receded like a tide, replaced by delight.

She turned her head, but what came into view was not Xu Yanfeng's stern face, and she froze for a moment.

How—how could it not be him? Fu Li didn't look at her, his gaze fixed on the middle-aged man, with little courtesy: 'Jiang Shu, she's our caddy, waiting for her to find the ball; it's not appropriate for you to ask her to come play ball, is it?'

The middle-aged man called Jiang Shu, upon seeing Fu Li, instantly put aside his earlier domineering, intimidating expression and switched to a kind, benevolent elder demeanor: 'Oh, it's Xiao Fu, you're also playing ball here?'

This Fu family kid is on good terms with the Xu family; we can't offend him.

Fu Li tilted his head, letting him see clearly the few people behind him, then said, 'The caddies at Maple Leaf Lake Golf Course are in short supply; I'll go back and report to their manager to hire more people, so we don't have this snatching-people situation again, which harms harmony.'

The middle-aged man gave a hollow smile, echoing his words: 'Yes, yes, we should indeed report it properly.'

'If you have nothing else, Jiang Shu, we'll go ahead. Enjoy your game.' Fu Li gave a slight nod, took Xia Xi's hand, and walked away.

'Wait a moment, my coffee hasn't been fetched yet.'

Xia Xi broke free of his hand, took the coffee, sundae, and dessert from the car; with both hands full, Fu Li helped her carry two of the desserts.

'Thank you,' Xia Xi said to him.

The person who helped her wasn't the Xu Yanfeng she had hoped for; she felt a bit disappointed, but she was grateful for this timely assistance—otherwise, although she could have handled that situation herself, she would have had to deal with it for a while.

Fu Li shook his head, gazing into the distance at Xu Yanfeng, who was focused on playing golf; the person she actually wanted to thank was Xu Er. Earlier, Xu Er had noticed Jiang Shu blocking Xia Xi, and because he knew Jiang Shu's shady character, Xu Er worried Xia Xi would suffer a loss, so he called Fu Li over to rescue her.

He then asked Xu Er, 'Why didn't you go yourself?'

Xu Er gave no explanation, poked him with his golf club, urging him to cut the chatter and hurry over.

That's how his timely appearance and the hero-saving-the-beauty scene came about.

Since that person didn't want to be named, Fu Li didn't expose it outright, merely saying vaguely, 'I'm a friend of Xu Er,' meaning he was helping her for Xu Er's sake.

Unfortunately, Xia Xi didn't catch his implication: 'I know—I just saw you and him playing golf together.'

Fu Li placed the two desserts on the table, gave her a nod, ran over to Xu Yanfeng, and bumped him with his elbow: 'I've taken care of things for you. Now can you tell me why you didn't go yourself?'

Xu Yanfeng said nothing, lightly tapped his golf club, and rolled the ball into a nearby hole.

He didn't speak, so Fu Li could only guess: 'You don't want her clinging to you?' After a moment, he shook his head and smiled, 'But I see that girl's stubbornness—no matter what face you give her, she won't stop clinging to you.'

Xu Yanfeng raised his eyes at him: 'Are you still going to play golf?'

'Play, play, play.' Fu Li ended the topic.

Xia Xi served the coffee the ladies had requested one by one; Ling Yan took a sip, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, making a face as if she wanted to spit it out, and began to complain: 'I asked for hot coffee, but this isn't hot at all—lukewarm, it tastes like hot-pot water.'

She set the coffee, having taken only one sip, on the table, her expression showing irritation.

Another lady followed suit: 'My sundae has melted—how am I supposed to eat it?'

Xia Xi wanted to explain—the trip was a bit long, and the earlier incident had delayed things—but putting herself in the customers' shoes, not receiving ideal service would indeed make them unhappy.

She proposed a solution: 'How about I go back to the service area and get you fresh ones in a thermal cup? Would that work?'

Ling Yan opened her mouth, about to say yes, but then saw Xu Yanfeng walking over; fearing he'd notice she was deliberately giving Xia Xi a hard time, she swallowed the words already at her throat and changed her answer: 'Never mind getting it—I'll just make do with this.'

After a pause, she looked at her companion and kindly advised: 'Although it's warm today, it's still autumn—don't eat cold things; if you want something sweet, have cake and biscuits, which Xia Xi has just brought.'

Xia Xi: '?'

Just now her expression clearly indicated she wanted her to make another trip to the service area, yet suddenly she became so agreeable; Xia Xi hadn't figured it out when a familiar voice sounded from behind her: 'Which bottle of water is mine?' On the table lay several half-drunk bottles of mineral water, hard to tell whose was whose.

Ling Yan didn't know either, preparing to get him a new bottle, but Xia Xi pointed precisely at one of them and confidently told Xu Yanfeng, 'This bottle is yours.'

Xu Yanfeng had no doubt, picked it up, twisted off the cap, and took a few sips. He had been playing for a while, sweat covering his forehead, face, and neck, his breathing slightly rapid.

As he screwed the cap back on, Xia Xi promptly took the water from him and handed him a clean towel: 'Wipe your sweat.'

Ling Yan, sitting there, clenched her fingers, hoping in her heart that Xu Yanfeng would ignore her.

But the fact was the opposite of her expectation.

Xu Yanfeng took the towel from Xia Xi's hand, wiped the sweat from his face and neck; Ling Yan saw Xia Xi's mouth curl upward because of Xu Yanfeng's gesture, and thought that smile was more glaring than sunlight.

Xia Xi is the type who, given a little encouragement, will keep climbing; she seized the moment to approach and say, 'Xu Yanfeng, when do you have time? Let me treat you to a meal.'

Xu Yanfeng's wiping motion stalled; he slowly turned his head to look at Xia Xi, a puzzled expression on his face. 'What game are you playing now?' The reason is to thank you for just helping me out of that situation,' Xia Xi explained.

'You've got it wrong—it was Fu Li who helped you; you should go treat him to a meal.'

Xu Yanfeng tossed the towel aside, lifted his leg and walked away; Xia Xi took two strides to block his path, regardless of onlookers watching, and muttered to herself: 'When I thanked him, he could have simply said you're welcome, but instead he said he was your friend—I didn't catch it then, but later I realized he was implying that his help came at your behest.'

Xu Yanfeng glanced at Fu Li, who was playing golf in the distance, as if telling him to mind his own business.

He refused to admit: 'Xia Xi, could it be that you're overthinking things?'

Xia Xi countered: 'Am I overthinking?'

Xu Yanfeng answered firmly: 'Yes.'

Xia Xi shifted gears: 'Then you treat me to a meal.'

Xu Yanfeng: '?'

Sometimes I really want to crack open her skull to see how her brain is wired—whether it has many more ravines than others—otherwise how could she spout nonsense day after day.

But Xia Xi doesn't think she's talking nonsense; her reason is solid: 'Don't you remember? Last time in the library, I even helped you kill the moth you were afraid of…'

'Xia Xi!' Xu Yanfeng hurriedly cut her off, his face turning extremely unnatural, almost impulsively covering her mouth to stop her nonsense.

Fu Li, Luojinnan, and Tang Yizhou walked over; if they heard he was afraid of moths, they'd surely tease him about it. He also cares about his dignity.

'I'm not asking for a big meal—just breakfast would be fine.' Xia Xi, unaware of Xu Yanfeng's thoughts, kept haggling there.

Xu Yanfeng didn't want to hear her talk about this anymore, so he compromised: 'Alright, let's have breakfast.' Breakfast is short, so we can settle it quickly.

Xia Xi stared, disbelieving it was real—had Xu Yanfeng really agreed? 'Um, could you say that again?' Her thick eyelashes fluttered, her eyes shining brightly, she said with a smile, 'I feel like I haven't woken up, I'm dreaming.'

Xu Yanfeng forced himself to turn his head away, not looking at her eyes: 'Hmm.'

Afraid he might change his mind after thinking it over, Xia Xi immediately set a definite time: 'Then how about Thursday morning next week!'

Today is Sunday, so the only option is to schedule for next week; aside from Thursday, every other day starts at eight in the morning, and rushing to class early would definitely prevent her from sitting down for a proper breakfast. If postponed to the weekend, she worries the delay will drag on and come to nothing.

Who could understand her fear of long nights bringing many dreams…

Finally managed to set a date for a meal! Falling for someone starts with yielding to them……_(: з」∠)_(End of chapter)