Chapter 102: I

Fu Li was surprised, glanced back, and saw the girl in the back seat sleeping soundly; her phone slipped from her hand and fell onto the adjacent seat, but she didn't notice.

"She guessed it? She's pretty smart." Fu Li said, "I just hinted a little, didn't say it outright, so if you want to blame someone, you can't blame me."

Xu Yanfeng lightly curled his thin lips and let out a cold "Heh."

"Alright, I admit I did it on purpose." Fu Li raised both hands in surrender, "You ask why? Of course because… because of the phrase 'hero saves the beauty'! I can't let a true hero go nameless."

Xu Yanfeng turned his head, gave him a glare through his sunglasses: "Thanks for finding trouble for me."

"Watch the road, watch the road." Fu Li reminded him, still wearing a smile, as if it were none of his business: "What an interesting girl—how could she be trouble?"

"You think she's interesting? Then go after her."

"You can't just say things randomly." Fu Li wiped off his smile, solemnly telling him to never say such face‑slapping words, "If you really end up with her someday, your face will hurt."

At that moment, Xu Yanfeng didn't think he would have anything with Xia Xi, and he dismissed Fu Li's warning.

*After returning, Xia Xi set a schedule reminder on her phone, with the note reading "First meal with Xu Yanfeng."

She counted the days on her fingers, and when the last class on Wednesday ended, she felt excited all over; her roommates suspected she had mistaken the date, treating Wednesday as Friday.

After dinner with her roommates in the cafeteria, the first thing Xia Xi did upon returning to the dorm was pick out what to wear the next morning.

She picked out a few favorites, tried them on one by one, and asked her roommates for advice: "Which one looks best?"

"You don't have class the first two periods tomorrow, so you don't need to get up early—you have plenty of time to choose clothes. Are you rushing a bit by picking now?" Zhao Lei hadn't finished dinner, tore open a bag of chips, and, chewing like a mouse, watched Xia Xi turn the dorm hallway into a runway, constantly changing outfits.

Wang Qiuyu: "Xi Xi is choosing her clothes so carefully—she must be meeting that big shot. Is the Student Union meeting again tomorrow? Or did you find another chance to meet him?"

Xia Xi was wearing a milky‑white suspender knit dress, with a slightly darker camel‑colored open‑front cardigan of the same tone, her hair loose, a leather beret on her head, walking back and forth in the hallway: "Hard to say."

She stopped, put one hand on her hip, and solemnly declared: "I, Miss Xia Xi, will have breakfast with Xu Yanfeng tomorrow morning!"

The dorm fell silent for a moment; Wu Qinglu thought it unlikely and asked tentatively: "You don't mean you'll both be in the same cafeteria, you in the south and him in the north, and that counts as eating breakfast together, do you?"

The other two nodded like pounding garlic; obviously they shared Wu Qinglu's view.

Xia Xi: "……"

It's not their fault; it's hers for repeatedly hitting a wall with Xu Yanfeng, gaining nothing, which made them stop believing her.

"Xu Yanfeng and I are having breakfast alone, not in the cafeteria—we're going out on a date!" Xia Xi spread her arms, turned gracefully in place, her slightly flared skirt swirling a ripple in the air, "Is that clear now?"

Zhao Lei asked blankly: "How did you manage that?"

"Well, I can't explain it in a sentence or two—I'll tell you later. Quick, help me see if this outfit works?" Xia Xi pointed to the pile of clothes stacked on the nearby chair, "Or are those earlier few sets better looking?"

Zhao Lei pinched a chip between her fingers and pointed at her leg from afar: "It's already the end of October, big sis—are you planning to go barelegged?"

Xia Xi: "I'll wear leggings tomorrow."

"Then this one—it looks good."

Grown up like Xia Xi, even wearing a burlap sack would be fashionable.

Xia Xi finally settled down, tidied the clothes she'd pulled from the closet and put them back, humming a song as she went to shower; she didn't stay up late, went to bed early for her beauty sleep.

The next morning, before seven, Xia Xi woke up, didn't linger in bed, and while her other roommates were still chatting with Zhou Gong about life, she got out of bed silently, washed up, did her makeup, and changed clothes.

After she was ready, it was already 7:45; Xia Xi glanced at the time and thought to herself, she'd gotten up a bit late.

She grabbed her bag, left the dorm, and started running.

Since moving to the new campus this semester, there's been nothing Xia Xi disliked or been dissatisfied with—this is the first time she's disliked the new campus; it's too large, and the distance from the dormitory building to the school gate is so great.

If it were the old campus, she'd get there in just a few minutes.

As she neared the school gate, Xia Xi slowed her steps, raised a hand to tidy her wind‑blown hair, then pulled a mirror from her bag to check her makeup and hat; seeing nothing amiss, she relaxed.

Xu Yanfeng had arrived early; sitting in the car, he took in the sight of Xia Xi hugging the mirror to herself, then after a moment he shifted sideways, grabbed the backpack from the back seat, and placed it on the front passenger seat.

That way she could only sit in the back…

Xia Xi opened the car door, glanced at the backpack on the seat, naturally picked it up and put it in the back, then greeted Xu Yanfeng with a smile: "Morning. Didn't keep you waiting too long, did I?" Xu Yanfeng: "……"

How could he forget—this person isn't the obedient type.

Xia Xi sat down, fastened her seatbelt, and heard Xu Yanfeng ask over the engine noise: "What should we eat?"

"You decide."

"Would a northern breakfast place work?"

"Sure."

Xu Yanfeng brought Xia Xi to a northern breakfast shop two kilometers from the school; from the outside you could see the interior was clean and bright, with good hygiene, unlike those dirty, messy roadside stalls.

Actually those small stalls also hide plenty of tasty food, but since Xu Yanfeng was treating, she didn't complain and went with his preference.

When Xia Xi stepped inside, she realised this wasn't just any northern breakfast place—it was an authentic Beicheng breakfast shop, with the walls plastered with menus of famous Beicheng snacks.

Xu Yanfeng went to the counter, ordered what he wanted, then turned and asked her: "What do you want to eat?"

Xia Xi was distracted, didn't hear what he'd just ordered, and casually said: "Same as you."

Xu Yanfeng hesitated: "You… sure?"

Xia Xi nodded.

Xu Yanfeng told the clerk behind the counter to get another serving of the same.

Afterward, they found an empty table and sat down; Xia Xi rested her chin on her hands, watching the boy across from her—he pulled out a napkin to wipe the already clean tabletop, then picked up the tea kettle and rinsed the chopsticks with hot water.

At that moment, Xia Xi understood the saying: what you eat doesn't matter; who you eat with does.

Soon, the server brought up their ordered breakfast; Xia Xi caught a strange smell, looked down, and saw what seemed to be the legendary douzhi that supposedly makes you spit two li after a sip. Of course, that might be an exaggeration, but it shows how hard this stuff is for most people to accept.

Xia Xi's face matched the bowl of douzhi before her—neither gray nor green. She couldn't help wondering if Xu Yanfeng had deliberately brought her here just to mess with her.

But she saw Xu Yanfeng scoop a spoonful, drink it calmly, paired with a youtiao and sesame pancake, plus a small dish of pickles, eating it with relish—clearly he truly enjoys it.

If he didn't really love it, who would use such a self‑harming method to mess with someone?

Xia Xi recalled that when Xu Yanfeng had asked what she wanted to eat, she'd said the same as his, he'd been a little unsure and double‑checked with her. So the fault was hers.

To avoid smelling it, Xia Xi held her breath, took a sip of the douzhi—the flavor hit her hard, she couldn't swallow it and gagged.

Xu Yanfeng looked up.

Not only him, half the customers in the breakfast shop looked toward Xia Xi.

Xia Xi felt a little embarrassed, covered her mouth with her hand, and made up an excuse: "Sorry, it's morning sickness."

The others smiled kindly, looked away, stopped staring at her, and lowered their heads to eat their own breakfast.

"Xia Xi, you…" Xu Yanfeng almost laughed in anger, "Can't you just not open your mouth?"

Xia Xi wanted to take back those words, but what to eat was still important…

Even facing Xu Yanfeng's face, handsome enough to make gods and men resentful, she couldn't swallow a second sip.

Xia Xi put down her spoon, her eyes full of autumn water, looking at him pitifully, continuing the act: "Don't worry, I'll raise the child myself, you don't have to take responsibility."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

The customers at the nearby tables turned their gazes over again; their looks at Xu Yanfeng held something strange—actually, contempt.

Xu Yanfeng gritted his teeth, tightened his jawline, voice laced with warning: "Xia Xi!"

Xia Xi got into the act: "Don't shout so loud, it'll disturb the fetal qi."

Xu Er: ………… I'm convinced.

(End of chapter)