Chapter 132: Are You Allergic to Romance?

Xia Xi woke up, her neck stiff, she propped a hand on the back of her neck and sat up; the coat on her back fell to the floor. She bent to pick it up, brushed off the dust, draped it over the chair back, and picked up her phone on the desk to glance at.

She thought she had slept for a long time, but in fact it had only been half an hour.

Xia Xi stretched, glanced aside; Xu Yanfeng wore headphones and was looking at his computer. She tilted her neck, taking the chance to glance at his screen—a foreigner speaking on stage, apparently an academic lecture video.

She lost interest, withdrew her gaze and got busy with her own things.

Two hours flew by; her study plan for the day was completely finished, so the last item on her to-do list on the scratch paper was crossed out, and she let out a long sigh.

Because Xu Yanfeng was here, Xia Xi didn't want to leave; she idly read a book, kept zoning out, and simply followed her true feeling, turning her head to admire Xu Yanfeng's profile.

Thinking of something, Xia Xi curled her lips, searched her phone for a saved origami tutorial. She pulled out a blank sheet of paper, pressed a ruler on it and cut it into a narrow strip, then followed the tutorial to fold a rose.

The white rose was too plain, so she took a pinkish‑red marker from her pencil case, dabbed a few strokes on each petal, turning the plain white rose into a gradient pink rose.

Xia Xi glanced at Xu Yanfeng; he stared fixedly at the computer screen, still watching that lecture, which had been going for two hours without finishing—she didn't know what it was about, yet he was so absorbed.

She casually tore off a piece of paper, wrote "For you" in three characters, and pushed it together with the rose toward him.

Xu Yanfeng tapped the touchpad with his fingertip, paused the playing video, lowered his eyes to look at the note and the reddish thing before him, then turned his head to look at Xia Xi.

She rested her chin on one hand, raised an eyebrow at him, eyes smiling.

Xu Yanfeng picked up a pen and wrote on the note: "What is this lump?"

He handed the note to her.

Xia Xi saw clearly what he had written, and the smile in her eyes vanished instantly.

That's a rose! I folded it myself! He actually called it a "lump"! Unforgivable!

Xia Xi tore another slip of paper, fuming, and wrote: Are you allergic to romance?

She slapped the paper onto Xu Yanfeng's hand with a "pah"—his knuckles turned red.

Xu Yanfeng looked at her angry expression—it wasn't real anger, just an act. He deliberately teased her, writing below: I'm allergic to you.

Xia Xi grew even angrier, glaring at him, her eyes practically shooting fire.

Don't think she had nothing left to say; she snatched the paper and scribbled a bunch of words on it.

【Do you know how to fight allergies? There's a treatment called desensitization. Let me be your girlfriend, make me your habit, and after a while you won't be allergic anymore!】

Because the library forbids loud talking, the two played note‑passing like elementary school kids, back and forth, and didn't even feel childish.

When Xia Xi finished writing, she tossed the note to Xu Yanfeng; sure enough, he had nothing to say.

The game ended there.

After flipping through the whole December calendar and entering the new year, once the New Year's holiday passed, everyone was busy reviewing for the upcoming final exams; Xia Xi also gathered her thoughts and focused on preparing.

In the three‑person chat group, Liang Yuan asked her when she would finish her exams.

Xia Xi checked the exam schedule posted in the class group and replied that she would finish her last exam on the 26th.

Liang Yuan: "OK, then I've booked my ticket for the 27th?"

In previous years, the three of them always came to Nancheng together at the start of term and returned to Qianlin together during breaks, without exception. Lately Xia Xi hadn't seen Xu Yanfeng much; she wanted to wait until after the exams to contact him, but felt bad leaving Liang Yuan and Zhou Du behind, making it seem as if she were forgetting friends for love.

After weighing it, she still agreed to Liang Yuan: "No problem."

Liang Yuan had booked his return ticket, sent a screenshot to the group, and it turned out the three of them happened to have three adjacent seats on the same side.

After finishing her last exam, Xia Xi didn't even have time to pack her suitcase; she sprinted to Xu Yanfeng's dorm building, hailed a random passing guy downstairs to relay a message to him, and waited below.

Xia Xi paced back and forth in the cold wind, waited a few minutes, then the guy came out and said Xu Yanfeng wasn't in the dorm.

Xia Xi slumped her shoulders slightly disappointed, her frame looking much thinner. She had messaged Xu Yanfeng when she left the exam hall, asking where he was; he didn't reply, and she had thought she could catch him at the boys' dorm, but ended up making a wasted trip.

She had looked at Xu Yanfeng's exam schedule earlier; he still had a test tomorrow morning, so he shouldn't have left campus.

Xia Xi detoured to the cafeteria to eat, then returned to the dorm to pack her things, pushing the packed suitcase against the wall, occasionally glancing at her phone.

After she finished washing up and was about to lie down to rest, Xu Yanfeng's reply finally arrived.

Just two words: "At home."

WeiaiXYF: "You still have an exam tomorrow—why did you go home?"

Xu Yanfeng: "I have something to do."

Xia Xi replied with an "Oh."

Xu Yanfeng asked if she had anything going on.

Xia Xi said she had nothing, she just wanted to have a meal with him; she was leaving school tomorrow, and the next time she'd see him would be after the winter break when school resumes.

Xu Yanfeng replied that he had no time.

Xia Xi was used to it; she slipped her phone into her pocket, went out with her roommate to the supermarket—conveniently, she also needed to buy some food for the road tomorrow.

The next day, Liang Yuan and Zhou Du came to meet Xia Xi; the three took a vehicle to the high‑rail station, having skipped breakfast, and grabbed something at KFC.

At 8:47, they checked in and entered the station; Liang Yuan sat by the window, Xia Xi in the middle, Zhou Du next to the aisle.

Xia Xi placed the bag of snacks she'd bought the night before on the small middle table, telling them to help themselves to whatever they wanted. Liang Yuan opened a packet of chips, his eyes darting around twice: "Someone seems to have forgotten something, but I remember it crystal clear."

Xia Xi was drinking the leftover soy milk from her breakfast: "What thing?"

Zhou Du let out a humored chuckle and exposed it: "We made a bet—you lose. We agreed that if you chased down Xu Yanfeng within a semester you'd win; now the break's here, a semester has passed—did you catch Xu Yanfeng?"

Xia Xi: "……"

If they hadn't reminded her, she would truly have forgotten about the bet.

She remembered that losing meant she had to treat them both to a month of big meals, with the restaurant of their choice. She wasn't unwilling to pay; she nodded and declared boldly: "I lost—over the next month, tell me what you want to eat and I'll foot the bill!"

Xia Xi struggled desperately: "Actually I feel I'm just a hair's breadth from victory. I'd bet my life on it—Xu Yanfeng likes me, but for some reason he just won't agree to be with me."

"How does that sound a bit scummy?" Liang Yuan frowned, analyzing: "He likes you but won't be with you—is he keeping you as a backup, sis?"

"No!" Xia Xi denied quickly and decisively, without hesitation: "He's not being ambiguous with any other girl—I'm absolutely sure of that!"

Zhou Du considered it from a male perspective: "Eighty percent chance he was hurt by some woman before and now fears getting into a relationship easily. I advise you to be careful—if his white moonlight ever returns, you'll lose utterly."

Xia Xi: "……"

The two of them attacked from both sides, not giving her any chance to escape, right?

However, she really didn't know whether Xu Yanfeng had ever had a girlfriend before; according to rumors around the school, he had been single since he enrolled.

Xu Yanfeng is so noticeable; if he had ever dated any girl, there would surely be some news about it.

Could it be a puppy love from high school?

Xia Xi immediately thought of someone——Fu Li.

She was glad she had, after careful consideration, added Fu Li's contact information; he and Xu Yanfeng had grown up together since childhood, so he would surely know Xu Yanfeng's love history.

Xia Xi made a quick decision and sent Fu Li a WeChat message: "Has Xu Yanfeng ever had a girlfriend, or ever liked any girl?" Unrequited love can also be deeply memorable.

In a moment, Fu Li replied with a single word: "Yes."