Chapter 125: The Abs Are So Sexy

After eating a bowl of claypot seafood noodles in the cafeteria, Xia Xi hurried back to the dormitory, sat cross-legged at the desk, imported all the photos from the camera into the computer, and appreciated them one by one.

Before, she used to secretly save other people's photos of Xu Yanfeng on the tieba; now she also has exclusive ones.

Xia Xi wanted to retouch them a bit, but upon looking she found no need for editing at all—not even a filter—and the originals were already devastatingly handsome.

The effect produced by that outrageously expensive camera is simply different; many details can be rendered, such as his curled eyelashes, the small black mole beside his ear, and the tendons on his arm—every hair distinct. Of course, the main reason is that the person in front of the camera has outstanding natural qualities.

After admiring them alone with her chin resting on her hand, she picked out a few she especially liked and set them as her phone and computer wallpapers.

She wanted to share them with the person concerned, so she first sent a WeChat message to ask his opinion, but he didn't mention the photos at all and instead noticed her newly changed nickname.

What's up with her nickname?

WeiaiXYF, Weiai Xu Yanfeng—what's the problem with that?

Isn't a nickname just an expression of one's preference, state, and feeling?

Her current preference is Xu Yanfeng, her state is loving Xu Yanfeng, her feeling is only loving Xu Yanfeng—so this nickname has nothing wrong with it, and she certainly won't change it.

Xia Xi noticed the words "the other party is typing" flashing several times in the upper-left corner of the screen, but the other side never sent a message; she understood perfectly and lightly curled the corner of her mouth.

The heroic and mighty Xu Yanfeng was left speechless by her.

Not wanting the chat to end just like that, she steered the topic back: "I'll send you the photos. You definitely don't know what you look like on the court—super handsome."

Without waiting for his reply, Xia Xi sent a bunch of photos over.

Over at Victory Tower, his roommates and teammates were still gulping down meat and alcohol, the private room filled with laughter and chatter; Xu Yanfeng's appetite was normal—he had already put down his chopsticks but hadn't left his seat, holding his cup and drinking coconut juice.

Chen Mian poured him a glass of ice-cold beer, but he pushed it aside with the back of his hand and didn't touch the alcohol.

Suddenly, his phone rang nonstop with message alerts, so dense it sounded like an alarm from some malfunctioning device.

He guessed it was Xia Xi causing trouble again; knowing that, he still couldn't resist opening WeChat, where a long stream of photos flooded the screen. The last one showed him leaping for a dunk, explosive power strong, the hem of his jersey lifted with his arm, revealing a clearly defined thin muscle in cold white, slick with sweat, disappearing into the waistband of his pants.

I don't know what equipment Xia Xi used to shoot this, but it's incredibly clear—definitely not a phone.

Right, he remembered glancing over during halftime and seeing her carrying a huge camera in her arms, like a professional paparazzo.

WeiaiXYF: "My photography skills are average, but you're good-looking enough to produce divine shots."

WeiaiXYF: "Did you see that last photo? The abs are so sexy."

Xu Yanfeng was taken aback, coughed once, the refreshing coconut juice caught in his throat, and suddenly he felt cloyingly sweet. He set down the cup, switched to another glass of ice beer, swallowed a mouthful, and finally dispelled that cloying sweetness.

"Stop staring at your phone—is there a hand in there pulling you?" Chen Mian speared a thick piece of lamb with his fork, leaned in, and wanted to know what Xu Yanfeng was looking at so intently.

Xu Yanfeng's reaction speed had never been this fast; he flipped his wrist, turned the phone face-down on the table, trying to cover up: "Nothing."

He had never been so flustered before; Chen Mian immediately grew suspicious, combined with what they'd just been chatting about, and instantly guessed the truth: "You're chatting with Xia Xi, the junior."

He didn't even phrase it as a question; his tone was completely certain.

Xu Yanfeng lifted the rim of his cup with three fingers, clinked it against Chen Mian's wine cup, and said, "Drink your wine."

Chen Mian raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp, without pursuing the topic: "I just heard them say that Xia Xi, the junior, waited until all the spectators left, then made a bet with you—if she could sink a three-pointer, you'd add her on WeChat. She won."

Just now his phone emitted a burst of urgent sound—couldn't that be the WeChat message notification? There were quite a few of them.

The answer was obvious—it was Xia Xi.

Chen Mian had already figured out Xu Yanfeng's routine; he's usually completely open about everything, but whenever something involves Xia Xi, he becomes evasive—colloquially, he's playing dumb.

"A girl chasing you to this extent is already pretty good. If you really have feelings for her, that's about enough—stop putting on airs." Chen Mian spoke to him more boldly, possibly emboldened by drink, "You probably haven't looked in a mirror—"

Xu Yanfeng showed no displeasure and asked him, "What does looking in a mirror have to do with anything?"

Chen Mian pulled the bottle opener, pried open a new bottle, poured it into the cup, and added a bit to Xu Yanfeng's cup: "I just want you to see yourself—you've been hooked by Xia Xi, the junior, till your lips turn up, yet you're still putting on a deep, mysterious act."

Xu Yanfeng denied it: "Say another nonsense word and you're paying the bill tonight."

Thinking of the numbers on the bill, Chen Mian shuddered, instantly became honest. He stopped talking to Xu Yanfeng, raised his wine cup, turned and hooked his arm around Fang Huaiyuan's neck, pretending to be close brothers: "Come, let's clink."

Xu Yanfeng took two sips of wine, picked up the phone pressed face-down on the table, glanced at WeChat, and saw that Xia Xi had retracted the message "The abs are so sexy."

After showering, Xia Xi sat hugging her knees on a chair, scrolling through her chat history with Xu Yanfeng. Remembering last time's lesson, she worried her words might cross the line again and get her banned to the little black room, so she withdrew that slightly over-the-top message.

I don't know whether Xu Yanfeng saw it or not.

Zhao Lei walked past behind Xia Xi, saw her fingers pressing on the phone screen, swiping back and forth, only saw it was the WeChat chat interface, nothing else, and curiously asked, "Who are you chatting with? You look so torn."

Xia Xi sighed, lifted her neck, half-dead and slumped against the back of the chair: "Who else could it be? Xu Yanfeng. This can't even be called chatting—clearly I'm just one-sidedly outputting."

Zhao Lei was almost at the balcony; hearing that, she stopped, stepped back, and said, "Wait a minute, what plot did I miss? Xu Yanfeng… he didn't block you, did he?"

Xia Xi hung her neck over the chairback, upside-down looking at her: "After the game ended, I told you guys to go first, I stayed there waiting for Xu Yanfeng…"

She then explained the bet in detail.

After hearing it, Zhao Lei smacked her lips, thinking she was too reckless: "How dare you make such a bet? If you didn't make the three-pointer, you really wouldn't plan to keep pestering Xu Yanfeng?"

Xia Xi lifted her chin, wrapped her hand around the back of her neck and gave it a pinch: "No way, I just said it offhand. If I win I gain; if I lose, worst case I default on the debt—still not illegal."

Zhao Lei: "……"

Otherwise, how could she keep saying she admires Xia Xi? This woman is indeed impressive.

Originally the physical fitness test was supposed to be this weekend, but due to poor weather conditions—overcast and rainy continuously—it was postponed again and again until the end of November when it finally cleared up, and then each college conducted the test in turn.

The Architecture Institute was scheduled for November 30; early in the morning, Xia Xi put on sportswear over her wool sweater, faced the mirror, and tied her hair into a ponytail: "My luck is really good—if the test had gone ahead as originally planned, my foot wouldn't have healed, I'd definitely have missed it, and later I'd have to find another time to make it up."

"But your foot is fine now—running shouldn't be a problem, right?" Wu Qinglu said with a hint of worry.

Xia Xi jumped on the spot: "No feeling at all, it's fine."

The four of them ate something in the cafeteria, then went to the sports field to assemble; the class monitor led the boys, the Youth League branch secretary led the girls, and they proceeded with the tests one by one.

After the girls finished the 800-meter run, they were collectively exhausted and applied to rest a bit before the next item. The Youth League branch secretary had prepared a plan in advance, clapped her hands to signal everyone not to stay slumped: "Next we'll do the seated forward bend—it's not tiring, everyone follow me. In a bit, when another class arrives, we'll have to wait in line for a long time."

This item really wasn't tiring, so nobody complained, and everyone got moving.

After the seated forward bend was finished, the Youth League branch secretary led everyone to the next testing point, where a row of military-green foam mats had been laid out for the sit-ups. Immediately, groans rose from the crowd.

Someone even shouted outrageously, "Let me do sit-ups? I'd rather run another 800! I really can't do a single one of these!"

Xia Xi wanted to say it wasn't necessary, really it wasn't.

The teacher blew a whistle, requiring the girls to spontaneously split into two groups—one group to test first, the other to help press down the legs, then they would switch later.

Xia Xi lay on the sponge mat, tugged down the hem of her clothes, and clasped her hands behind her head. Zhao Lei teamed up with her, knees resting on top of her feet, hands clasped around her calves.

"If Xu Yanfeng were to press my legs, I could do a hundred in one minute." Xia Xi suddenly had a whimsical thought.

"Don't brag." Zhao Lei turned her head, just happened to see Xu Yanfeng passing by, raised an eyebrow, "Shall I go call Xu Yanfeng over to help you press your legs? You better walk the talk—if you can really do a hundred in one minute."