Chapter 112

Zhou Xiaoyu's expression changed, and she could not get the remaining words out no matter what.

Xu Yanfeng's gaze swept over her face; for an instant, Zhou Xiaoyu met his eyes, feeling his gaze like an arrow aimed straight at her.

Zhou Xiaoyu trembled, hastily averting her gaze; the hands resting on her legs unconsciously clasped and gripped tightly, sweat beading in her palms.

A chill without cold—probably this is what it feels like.

Then, with a 'pa—' sound, something slammed onto the conference table, making Zhou Xiaoyu shudder again. She glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw Xu Yanfeng toss the folder in his hand onto the tabletop.

Zhou Xiaoyu always felt it was aimed at her, yet she could find no reason.

Xia Xi didn't have as big a reaction as Zhou Xiaoyu's startle; she slowly screwed the lid on her thermos, set the cup on the table, in case she coughed later and would have to rummage through her bag.

It had been days since they last saw him, yet Xu Yanfeng remained serene and lofty, standing atop a peak, untouchable by others. Unlike her, who had reduced herself to such a sorry state—years without illness, then sickness struck like a collapsing mountain, coughing made the earth shake and mountains tremble, her head buzzing.

Even if she wanted to say a few more words to Xu Yanfeng, she lacked the energy; she might start coughing the moment she opened her mouth.

Xia Xi suppressed her restless thoughts, sitting silently in her seat, dazed, wondering what to eat after the meeting ended.

Before everyone had arrived, Xu Yanfeng sat down without speaking, and the conference room was filled with a low pressure, colder than outdoors.

Xu Yanfeng opened the folder, one hand pressing down, appearing to organize what he would say at the meeting, but his gaze occasionally flicked toward Xia Xi.

On the way to the teaching building this morning, after all there was some distance; perhaps he had misjudged, failing to see Xia Xi's true emotions. Now, observing her up close, aside from her illness making her complexion a bit wan, she seemed truly unaffected.

If she had been punished, she would not be so calm.

Given her usual behavior, it was possible that the school would punish her one second, and the next she would try to make him take responsibility for it.

Although Xia Xi was zoning out, she wasn't unaware; she felt someone looking at her, the direction of that gaze being……

A name popped into her head; she lifted her eyes in disbelief—and there he was, Xu Yanfeng.

Xu Yanfeng's thick lashes fluttered quickly as he turned a page, as if he hadn't been looking at her just moments before, merely thinking through a problem when his gaze happened to fall on her face.

When everyone had gathered, Xu Yanfeng collected his thoughts, cleared his throat, and began speaking about the few academic lectures next week, saying the related work needed to be done: 'Set up conspicuous signs around campus, and arrange the auditorium; I hope……'

Cough cough cough cough—

Xu Yanfeng's speech was interrupted by a bout of coughing.

Faced with dozens of eyes on her, Xia Xi covered her mouth with one hand and coughed softly, raising the other hand to gesture: 'Sorry.' She looked at Xu Yanfeng, 'You……cough cough cough……continue.'

Xu Yanfeng glanced at her, then continued: 'The auditorium's arrangement should convey solemnity and seriousness; remove unnecessary decorations, order flowers a day ahead, and have the secretary department head approve the budget. Furthermore, teachers have reported that since winter began, class attendance……'

Cough cough cough cough—

Another violent bout of coughing erupted, drowning out Xu Yanfeng's voice.

Xia Xi struggled to keep her mouth shut, but couldn't stop coughing; she hastily unscrewed the thermos lid and took a few sips of water.

Xu Yanfeng watched her; when she first came in her face was pale—not a normal pallor but a bloodless, sickly pallor, her lips dry and cracked, showing the lines on them; after successive coughs her face gained some color, and her lips, moistened by water, were no longer so dry.

Xu Yanfeng fixed his gaze on her thermos, a light purple one, the one that boy had given her this morning……

Having withdrawn his gaze, Xu Yanfeng sped up his speech: 'The Discipline Inspection Department will cooperate with teachers and class monitors, as well as the Youth League branch secretaries, to conduct random roll calls at any time, especially the first class in the morning.'

There were a few more items of work; after Xu Yanfeng finished speaking, he announced the meeting adjourned.

Xia Xi listened from start to finish and realized there was nothing for their External Relations Department; she instantly felt the trip had been wasted, aside from getting a few extra looks at Xu Yanfeng, she gained nothing.

Moreover, the few things Xu Yanfeng mentioned at the meeting weren't that important; they could have been announced via a group notice, with no need to call everyone to a meeting.

Xia Xi thought silently, not saying a word, gathered her things from the table and prepared to leave—unlike previous meetings where she would linger after they ended, pestering Xu Yanfeng with questions and annoying him to no end.

She picked up her thermos, glanced sideways, and suddenly froze, her hand pressing onto the notebook Zhou Xiaoyu was using to take meeting minutes.

Zhou Xiaoyu was about to close her notebook when Xia Xi's reaching hand blocked it; her brows knit instantly and she shouted angrily, 'What are you doing? Want to fight?!'

People still in the conference room turned their heads to look.

Xia Xi withdrew her hand and slowly revealed a smile to Zhou Xiaoyu, laden with meaning.

Zhou Xiaoyu's tightly furrowed brows showed no sign of relaxing; instead they tightened further. She didn't understand what Xia Xi was smiling about, but Xia Xi's smile now resembled the one she had shown after snatching away Zhou Xiaoyu's sponsorship achievement.

It was the smile of someone who had victory in hand, looking on at others' performance with confidence—a light, contemptuous smile.

Zhou Xiaoyu felt a creepy sensation.

Xia Xi stood, slung her bag over her shoulder, and raised her hand to slap Zhou Xiaoyu's shoulder twice hard, making her body jerk. Xia Xi did not call her out publicly; as she brushed past Zhou Xiaoyu, she leaned in slightly and gritted her teeth, whispering in her ear: 'Next time you write a complaint letter, remember to use your left hand.'

Zhou Xiaoyu's pupils contracted; she slumped into her chair, her hand knocking the notebook over so it fell to the floor.

Xia Xi kept smiling at her, this time without lowering her voice, saying: 'But if there's a next time, I'll slam a meal tray onto your face. Oh, the kind of stainless steel tray they use for set meals in the cafeteria—remember that, former department head.'

That final 'former department head' was pure sarcasm, since Zhou Xiaoyu was no longer the head of the External Relations Department—yet they still felt the need to add the prefix.

Zhou Xiaoyu felt cold all over, her nails digging into her palms.

How did Xia Xi know the complaint letter was written by her?

It was an anonymous complaint, slipped into the principal's mailbox; to avoid being discovered, she had deliberately chosen to drop it off early in the morning, at five a. m.

Xia Xi walked out of the building, another bout of violent coughing; she bent over, as if that would make her feel a bit better.

Someone lightly patted her back, and a clear voice rang out from above: 'Aren't you supposed to be better? Why are you coughing like this?'

Xia Xi was already familiar with that voice; she straightened up and faced Su Yuanjia's worried expression. She blew her nose with a tissue, speaking in a muffled voice: 'How come you're here?'

'I waited for you on purpose.' Su Yuanjia naturally helped her with her bag, saying, 'I have a buddy in the Student Union who said you'd have a meeting after school, so I've been waiting here.'

Xia Xi opened her mouth, but before she could speak, she started coughing.

Su Yuanjia frowned, his worry deepening; he lifted his chin and said, 'Let's go—I'll first take you to the cafeteria to eat, then accompany you to the infirmary to get some cough medicine.'

'No need, I already bought medicine. My cough is just hard to shake.' Xia Xi tried to take her bag back, but Su Yuanjia raised his arm, preventing her; having no choice, she tried to reason with him: 'Su Yuanjia, I really have no other feelings toward you—don't do this.'

'Can't we at least start as friends?' Su Yuanjia blinked his round, puppy-dog eyes, his voice dropping, making one's heart soften.

Xia Xi sighed: 'I'm going to the cafeteria to eat.'

'Then together.' Su Yuanjia immediately turned up the corners of his mouth and followed her, gleeful.

'Don't you want your bicycle?' Xia Xi pointed to the black bike by the roadside and reminded him.

If you hadn't said anything, I would have almost forgotten.

Su Yuanjia laughed, strode to the bike, gripped the handlebars with both hands, kicked back to lift the stand, and pushed it forward, walking slowly, step by step, keeping pace with Xia Xi the whole way.

The wind blew, her long hair floated up softly, and the tips occasionally brushed his arm.

He smiled foolishly and asked Xia Xi, "What do you want to eat?"

Xia Xi said, "I don't know; I'll decide after we get to the cafeteria and have a look."

Xu Yanfeng walked down the steps in front of the building, turned around, and saw a beautiful scene ahead on the road: a boy and a girl walking side by side. Evergreens were planted on both sides of the road, their green leaves swaying gently in the wind, and the boy was carrying the girl's white canvas bag.

His heart felt as if stabbed by something, Xu Yanfeng did not dwell on it, and walked in the opposite direction.