Chapter 117: I might end up kissing his lips raw

Xu Yanfeng was being pushed back step by step by Xia Xi's unreasonable manner, his usually indifferent face showing embarrassment.

Xia Xi stared at him, waiting for him to give her an answer.

Unfortunately she failed again; Xu Yanfeng would only say to her "Shut up." Apart from these two words, he had nothing else.

He grabbed her arm, fingers clenched, used some strength, forcefully pulling her away from his embrace, and quickly adjusted his expression; that trace of embarrassment vanished, replaced by an aloofness that kept people at a distance, the ripples in his eyes calmed down, as still as lake water. Although in the dim environment, no one would notice the change in his expression and gaze.

Xia Xi pouted, not very happy about him being so rude to her.

The light tube flickered a few times, the chatting classmates quieted down, waited a few seconds, the light switched on with a swish, and the crowd burst into a cheer.

Xu Yanfeng turned off his phone flashlight, placed the phone face down on the desk, keeping his hand pressed on the phone's back cover, his gaze lingered on the already darkened computer screen for a long time, unable to regain his previous focus.

His mind was in utter chaos, the only remaining thought was to get away from this place.

But leaving just now would be too much like fleeing in defeat.

Xu Yanfeng suppressed the urge to get up and leave, his fingers randomly tapped the keyboard, the computer screen lit up, he closed the drawing interface, intending to do something else to pass the remaining time.

He felt coming to the library today was a mistake. On a weekend night, he should have stayed in his private apartment, enjoying solitude.

Now saying anything is useless.

It was past ten; his roommate finished homework, came over to call Xia Xi, glanced at Xu Yanfeng beside her, tone hinting teasing: "Xi Xi, are you leaving or not?"

"Let's go." Xia Xi stood up, gathered her things, slung her bag over her arm, bent down, tilted her head, showing a bright smile, waved at Xu Yanfeng: "Senior, bye, see you next time."

Xu Yanfeng didn't reply; she didn't mind, went downstairs with her roommate and left the library.

Walking back to the dormitory, a girl ahead excitedly pinched her companion's arm, her voice cracking: "Let me tell you what I saw today! I sat diagonally opposite Xia Xi and Xu Yanfeng; during the blackout, goodness, Xia Xi was like a seductive female demon, wildly flirting with Xu Yanfeng! Even as a girl I felt my face heat. Xu Yanfeng actually held up, is he even a man?"

"That intense?" The girl's companion also excited: "Quick! Spill it!"

"Wait, my mind is a mess now, let me organize my thoughts… I don't know if they kissed or not, but from my angle they were awfully close."

"What? They kissed? No way! Didn't Xia Xi's confession fail?"

"I said I didn't see whether they kissed or not."

Hearing their conversation, Xia Xi felt a bit embarrassed, lowered her head slightly, raised her hand to touch her forehead.

When she lowered her hand, three heads popped up before her eyes, startling her, their voices wavering: "You, you guys, can't you be normal? Don't scare us like that."

After the two in front walked away, the three began to interrogate Xia Xi.

Zhao Lei: "How intense was it? I want to hear it straight from the parties involved."

Wang Qiuyu: "So did you two kiss or not?"

Wu Qinglu: "Leniency for confession, severity for resistance."

Xia Xi waved both hands like windshield wipers on a car: "No, no, how could we kiss? He's not my boyfriend; even if you gave me ten guts I wouldn't dare kiss him without permission." She paused, then suddenly shifted: "If he were my boyfriend, I couldn't guarantee it—I might…"

"What would you do?" Zhao Lei asked.

Xia Xi lifted her head, looked at the moon, threw caution to the wind and continued: "I might end up kissing his lips raw."

Roommate: "……"

Can they even hear that?

Wu Qinglu, always the most level-headed, tugged at Xia Xi's sleeve, pointed behind, voice low: "Xi Xi, look at that guy behind us—doesn't he resemble Xu Yanfeng?"

Xia Xi, while thinking how impossible it could be Xu Yanfeng, turned her head; under the streetlamp, that tall figure, wearing a black overcoat over a white shirt, exuding a noble aura—who else could it be but Xu Yanfeng?

Xia Xi's eyelashes twitched as she blinked rapidly; what had she just said?

—If he were my boyfriend, I couldn't guarantee it—I might end up kissing his lips raw.

Xia Xi jerked her head back, as if she could no longer walk, her steps stiff and slow like a rusted robot. She pressed her lips, then quietly asked Wu Qinglu: "Given the distance between him and us, could he hear what I just said?"

Wu Qinglu, this kid has been honest since childhood: "If he isn't deaf, I think he could."

Xia Xi: "……"

Xia Xi felt hopeless, withdrew, and dragged the people beside her to quicken their pace and flee.

Zhao Lei and Wang Qiuyu chased behind, panting. Wang Qiuyu, enjoying the spectacle, said: "What are you running from, Xi Xi? Whenever you see Xu Yanfeng, don't you always want to stare at him longer?"

Zhao Lei laughed heartily.

Xia Xi: "……"

She decided to cut ties with them for the night.

Xu Yanfeng walking behind found it hard to describe his feelings; he had deliberately waited for Xia Xi to leave before exiting the library, but he hadn't expected the girls to walk so slowly, running into them shortly after he came out.

Not wanting to run into Xia Xi, he didn't overtake them, silently followed behind, planning to turn at the upcoming fork.

Then he unexpectedly heard Xia Xi's "bold words."

Back in the dorm, Xia Xi sat down, slumped over the desk, her face buried deep in the crook of her arm, her forehead burning as if a mass of hot air were steaming: "I need to calm down."

"Don't calm down, come look at this." Zhao Lei patted the back of her head, and when she lifted her head, handed her the phone: "Our school is going to hold a basketball tournament."

Xia Xi didn't understand; what did the basketball tournament have to do with her? Although she had joined the basketball club for Xu Yanfeng, she had hardly practiced at all. Each club activity, she just showed up to sign in, bounced the ball a few times, and that was it.

Because she never ran into Xu Yanfeng there, she wasn't very interested in the sport.

"Silly, I'm telling you to look at the next line." Zhao Lei reminded her: "A basketball tournament definitely needs cheerleaders; the cheer squad is currently organizing sign-ups—I think you should give it a try."

"What are you joking about?" Xia Xi crossed her arms: "How could I be interested in cheerleading?"

"Please remember what you just said." Zhao Lei leaned in, solemnly announced: "According to rumor, Xu Yanfeng will participate in this basketball game."

"Cheerleading? Sounds kinda fun; I'll check where to sign up."

"Who just said they weren't interested in cheerleading?"

"Was that you? Anyway, it wasn't me."

"……"

Changing faces so quickly, Zhao Lei was convinced. She copied a QQ number and sent it to Xia Xi, saying: "This is the contact of the person in charge; add her and then you can sign up. There might be an interview later; after that, it's up to you."

Xia Xi abruptly changed from her dejected state, jumped up and gave Zhao Lei a hug: "Thanks, my sis!"

Before Zhao Lei could even reach out to hug her back, Xia Xi let go, turned, sat on the chair, picked up her phone, added the person-in-charge's QQ, filled out the personal information form as required, and confirmed the interview time.

Zhao Lei's two arms were stiff in midair, she let out a long sigh for this plastic sisterly bond.