Chapter 122

Zhao Lei had just been about to say that the boy looked somewhat familiar; upon walking closer she discovered he was indeed someone she knew—Jiang Yunfan, who had knocked into Xia Xi on his bicycle yesterday.

What's going on here?

Did the collision spark feelings?

Jiang Yunfan stared straight at Xia Xi, his ears as red and hot as a branding iron; he handed over the flowers in his hand and a gift bag containing a new phone.

"Xia Xi, I'm sorry—I wasn't paying attention yesterday, which hurt you and broke your phone." Jiang Yunfan struggled to straighten his tongue, avoiding a stammer, "I bought a new phone as compensation; please accept it."

Xia Xi glanced at the roses: "Then these flowers are…"

Compensating for the phone doesn't require such a fuss.

Under the gaze of those unique eyes, Jiang Yunfan couldn't steady himself and stammered: "I—I want to say, I like you."

Before he had never interacted with Xia Xi, only hearing rumors about her; she was beautiful, not just beautiful but also smart, with an open, flamboyant personality, a free spirit, radiant like the sun, drawing people in.

He had paid attention to her, like many other boys, treating her as an unattainable goddess.

Yesterday's accident brought them together; his previously dormant thoughts could no longer be restrained, becoming restless. He spent the night awake, turning it over and over, finally deciding to follow his true feelings and confess to her.

Although he knew the outcome might not be as expected, he still wanted to try.

Like a gambler.

Jiang Yunfan said: "I know you like Xu Yanfeng; I can't compare to him, but I will always treat you well. Could you… could you give me a chance? I want to stay by your side."

Involving Xia Xi, a figure of note, the confession became far more interesting; a crowd of onlookers quickly gathered, some holding up their phones to film wildly.

Last time Su Yuanjia confessed, Xia Xi could at least sense his sincerity; this Jiang Yunfan before her, she felt, was merely a momentary impulse, hot-blooded, not really knowing what he was doing.

Xia Xi couldn't be bothered to respond, her expression flat: "Sorry, I don't accept. Yesterday I made it clear—I've been compensated for medical expenses, so the incident is over."

Jiang Yunfan's face turned ashen, slightly dejected, yet he tried to struggle a bit more: "The phone…"

"You don't need to compensate for the phone," Xia Xi said truthfully. "It wasn't broken; it still works."

Jiang Yunfan had nothing else to say; the light in his eyes faded bit by bit.

Xia Xi tugged Zhao Lei's sleeve: "Let's go."

Zhao Lei came to her senses, quickly propped up Xia Xi's arm and headed toward the dormitory building, sighing: "Yesterday I even entertained a conspiracy theory, wondering if Jiang Yunfan was someone Zhao Yinshu had sent to trip you up—turns out not."

"To be honest, I thought the same yesterday."

Xia Xi lifted her gaze to the winding stairs, took a deep breath, and began the day's most difficult moment—climbing the stairs on one leg.

In the internet age, news spreads fast.

Within less than ten minutes, half the school knew Xia Xi had been confessed to again.

In the cafeteria, Chen Mian slurped noodles with his head down, phone never leaving his hand, turning the screen toward Xu Yanfeng, gulping down a mouthful of noodles, sucking in a breath from the heat, he said: "I already said it—Xia Xi's underclassman is hot property; since that night she confessed to you and you didn't show up, all the guys secretly crushing on her have become active. Look, Su Yuanjia's gone, and now another unknown has appeared."

Xu Yanfeng picked up a piece of beef, frowned, and pushed it aside; the cafeteria lady had given him the wrong dish—he hadn't ordered beef, so he couldn't eat any.

He was irritable.

Chen Mian's voice was also irritating, like summer cicadas, nonstop, repeatedly mentioning "Xia Xi," filling his ears with the name until he could barely take it.

Xu Yanfeng wasn't sure if the rice soaked in beef broth would trigger an allergy; to be safe he put down his chopsticks, picked up the bottled water nearby, opened the cap with one hand, poured it into his mouth, and took the chance to lift his eyelids and glance at Chen Mian's phone.

In the open space before the dormitory building, a circle of roses had been laid out; boys stood in the middle like fools, while beside them stood Xia Xi, whose legs were inconvenient, supported by her roommate, her expression bland.

Nothing compared to when he was in front of her, always smiling with squinted eyes, alluring.

Perhaps "alluring" isn't precise, but he just felt her smile was bewitching.

Xu Yanfeng lowered his lashes, screwed the cap back on: "Done? Let's go."

"Holy shit, you're not eating?" Chen Mian looked at the plate before him, still half-full of food, complained about wasting food being shameful, then thought of something and gave his trademark smirk: "Hearing that Xia Xi's underclassman got confessed to, I can't swallow."

Xu Yanfeng fiddled with the mineral water bottle, really wanting to smack Chen Mian's head with it.

Chen Mian grinned: "I hit the nail on the head, you've got nothing to rebut, right?"

"If you say another word, I guarantee the food on the tray will end up on your face—then it won't be waste." Xu Yanfeng's tone carried a threat.

Chen Mian raised the white flag in a flash, making a zipper motion with his chopsticks over his mouth, no longer mentioning Xia Xi, phone pocketed, he focused on slurping noodles.

But it's strange: Chen Mian stopped talking, yet the "Xia Xi" that had filled Xu Yanfeng's ears didn't vanish; it traveled along his meridians to his heart and took root.

As for when it will sprout and bloom, that depends on the person involved.

November 18, the school held a basketball game in the indoor gym. That Tuesday afternoon, classes were off, and every corner of campus showed faces brimming with excitement.

Xia Xi's foot wasn't fully healed; she walked slowly, a bulky device hanging from her neck.

"Where did you get such a professional camera?" Wang Qiuyu exclaimed at the lens, longer than her forearm; she had only seen such a thing in the hands of celebrity-chasing site staff.

Xia Xi cradled the camera like a treasure: "I borrowed it from a friend. To photograph Xu Yanfeng—apparently it can capture even the fuzz on his face clearly; get ready for my divine shots, sisters."

She had borrowed it from Zhou Du. This was Zhou Du's bottom-of-the-box treasure; not to mention lending it out, others couldn't even touch it. She had pestered him for ages until he had no choice but to hand it over, with countless warnings: don't scratch the lens—it's foreign merchandise, nearly impossible to obtain.

Entering the gym, she located her class's spot in the stands; she found their class had fortunately been assigned the middle section.

She had earlier greeted the class monitor, Ding Wen Qi, citing her inconvenient leg for climbing stairs, and asked him to reserve a few seats in the second row.

Dressed in grayscale, Xia Xi drew countless gazes as she approached, even though her gait resembled that of a disabled person. She currently does qualify as a disabled person, so leniency is warranted.

Xia Xi sat down, placed the camera on her lap, and asked the monitor somewhat excitedly: "When does it start?"

"Half an hour left."

Ding Wen Qi's words fell, and a group of striking beauties appeared in everyone's view, uniformly wearing orange-yellow vests and white short skirts, bare legs straight and long, led by Zhao Yinshu, walking gracefully.

Xia Xi crossed her arms, staring at the spot that should have been hers.

Zhao Lei, fearing she'd feel upset, teased: "The uniforms are also tacky; good thing you didn't join."

Xia Xi had already averted her gaze, locking onto Xu Yanfeng behind the cheerleaders in his blue-and-white trimmed jersey; among the players he stood out strikingly handsome, with a headband across his forehead, his exposed arms and legs showing firm, even muscles, radiating strong hormones.

Unable to contain herself, Xia Xi rose, set the camera on the chair behind her, and shouted loudly: "Xu Yanfeng!"

The girl's clear, pleasant voice pierced the entire gym.

Xu Yanfeng looked over; not only him, but his teammates and the spectators in the arena all turned their gazes to Xia Xi.

But Xia Xi's eyes held only Xu Yanfeng; she raised both arms high, fingertips of each hand meeting at the top of her head, forming a perfect heart: "Give it your all! I'll love you forever!"

The whole venue erupted in an uproar.

Last time, at Nan Guangchang, she confessed but got no response; this time, she finally expressed her surging love to him in front of everyone.