Chapter 146: Failed Sneak Kiss

The originally pleasant gathering was disrupted, and several people hadn't eaten their fill; Chen Mian, always the organizer of the lively atmosphere group, stepped forward and suggested finding a place to restart the party.

Having said that, he waited for Xu Yanfeng to state his position.

Xia Xi suddenly turned her head and glared at Chen Mian—couldn't he wait a bit before thinking about food? She was in the middle of discussing "life's big matters" with Xu Yanfeng.

Chen Mian received an eye-knife, scratched his head in bewilderment, not knowing how he had offended this junior schoolmate.

Xu Yanfeng nodded, accepting Chen Mian's suggestion.

He had driven over, but the car couldn't fit that many people; Chen Mian took charge of arrangements: "Ladies first, let them take your car; we few gentlemen can just hail a taxi."

Xu Yanfeng drove the car out.

Zhao Lei and the others, not being familiar with him, dared not act on their own, glancing at Xia Xi.

"It's fine, get in, there's still time." Xia Xi calmly opened the passenger door.

The remaining people stopped hesitating, one after another taking seats in the back.

Wu Qinglu felt something on the seat and instinctively muttered, "What is this?"

She held it up, using the streetlight outside the window to examine it closely, but couldn't make out what it was for a while. Zhao Lei glanced at it and laughed at her: "Isn't this a dried rose petal? Flowers turn this color when left too long."

Upon hearing that, Xia Xi reflexively turned her head back, staring at the thing on Wu Qinglu's fingertip for a moment, then shifted her gaze to Xu Yanfeng's face and said, in words only the two could understand: "Wasn't it supposed to be left at the club? How did it end up in the car?"

Xu Yanfeng was at a loss for words, seemingly not expecting such an oversight.

On New Year's Eve, he had indeed placed the flowers in the back seat and brought them home; over the following ten-odd days he never used the back seat, so he didn't notice the fallen rose petals.

A hint of heat rose on his face; Xu Yanfeng calmly lowered the window a crack, and a cool breeze blew in through the narrow gap, dispelling the warmth on his face.

The car stopped at a red-light intersection; he rested one hand on the steering wheel, raised the other, elbow against the window sill, his evenly proportioned fingers supporting his chin, head slightly tilted, gazing at the street scenery outside.

Xia Xi looked at the boy who had his back of head toward her, raised her eyebrows slightly, and smiled a little smugly. He truly lived up to the WeChat remark she'd given him—"saying one thing, meaning another."

Ten-odd minutes later, they arrived at the eating place, and Xu Yanfeng opened a private room.

The two dormitory groups had only met in passing before, not exactly close, but after this meal their relationship grew considerably closer.

Xia Xi had never found a chance to talk alone with Xu Yanfeng; after the meal, he drove them back to school, the car entered the campus and slowly stopped outside the girls' dormitory gate.

Zhao Lei and the others were very savvy; they nudged each other and got out first.

In an instant, only Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi remained in the car.

After a while, seeing Xia Xi unmoved, Xu Yanfeng finally turned his deliberately averted gaze to her face—she wore a calm smile, completely at ease. He calmly asked, "Aren't you getting out?"

Xia Xi: "We haven't seen each other in a whole break; I just wanted to look at you a bit more."

Sweet words came easily.

Xu Yanfeng startled, then corrected her: "There hasn't been a whole break."

"Oh, you still remember we met on New Year's Eve—I thought you'd forgotten." Xia Xi brought up the old topic: "You still owe me two unanswered questions. One is whether my feeling that you like me is correct, since you never told me. The other is, you clearly took the rose flower—why did you lie to me? It made me upset."

"You're upset?" Xu Yanfeng countered.

"What's wrong? Is it so strange for me to be upset? I'm human too—aren't humans supposed to feel upset?"

"Being human means knowing that not every problem in the world has an answer."

……

Arguing grand principles, Xia Xi couldn't win against him; he was skilled at sophistry. She stared at his clear jawline, a impulse flashed through her mind, she with one hand unfastened the seatbelt restraining her body and leaned forward.

She had intended to sneak a kiss on his cheek, but Xu Yanfeng reacted incredibly fast, reaching out to push her face away, veins bulging at his temple: "What are you doing?"

The sneak attack failed; Xia Xi slumped back into her seat, opened the car door and got out, then after a thought reopened the door, bent over and shouted at the person inside: "Comparing patience—I have plenty, humph!"

She slammed the door again, fingers hooked on her bag, head held high as she walked into the dormitory gate.

Xu Yanfeng's ramrod-straight back slumped as he leaned into the seatback. In that instant when she drew near, a fragrance not belonging to the car's interior slipped into his nostrils—faint, yet enough to overpower other scents, easily evoking the dream he did not wish to recall.

Xu Yanfeng rubbed his forehead, turned the car around, and drove out of the school gate.

He wouldn't be staying on campus tonight, expecting Chen Mian and the others to cause a ruckus and interrogate him; finding it bothersome, he simply drove to an off-campus apartment and stayed there.

That row of brightly lit girls' dormitory buildings was left behind in the car's wake, the distance growing ever greater.

Xia Xi's footsteps echoed in the stairwell; not long after, she returned to the dormitory, her bag not yet put down, when three people surrounded her, demanding she tell the truth about what she and Xu Yanfeng had done in the car.

She pulled out pajamas from the wardrobe, shrugged her shoulders, and summed it up in four words: "Failed sneak kiss."

Zhao Lei widened her eyes: "Who kissed whom?"

Xia Xi pressed her lips, gave a dry smile—wasn't the answer to that question obvious?

Wang Qiuyu: "Idiot, obviously it was Xi Xi who failed to sneak-kiss the senior."

Xia Xi didn't want to speak, gave her a thumbs-up to show she was right, then went to the bathroom to wash up.

March 25th is Xia Xi's birthday; after it passes she will be twenty-one.

Several days in advance, Liang Yuan and Zhou Du asked her how she wanted to celebrate.

That Wednesday, with professional courses piling up to death, Xia Xi decided that just having a meal to celebrate would suffice, with no extra frills.

After school, Xia Xi gathered her roommates and two childhood friends, meeting at a mid-to-high-end Western restaurant; just as they sat down, the SF Express courier called to say she had a package arriving.

Xia Xi told the courier to leave it at the security office.

After hanging up, her sister Xia Yue video-called, with Xia Xuan beside her, both saying "Happy birthday" to her.

Under the crystal chandelier, Xia Xi smiled like a blooming flower: "Thank you."

Xia Yue said: "I bought you a bag; I saw the logistics info showing it's out for delivery."

Xia Xi nodded: "I just got the courier call; after I finish eating and return to school I'll go pick it up."

Xia Xuan's face drew close to the screen: "Let me secretly tell you—sister bought you a hugely expensive bag, and I contributed some funds too, so that bag is a joint gift from us."

Xia Xi's smile brightened: "Got it, you two are the best."

Xia Yue handed the phone to Su Jinru and her grandmother; they exchanged a few words with Xia Xi, then ended the call saying they wouldn't disturb her meal.

Xia Xi put away her phone, still wearing a happy smile, and looked at the others in the private room: "Have you all ordered?"

"Just waiting for you." Zhou Du handed her the menu.

A card lay on the menu; Xia Xi picked it up and saw it was the annual pass to her favorite Lan Jing Youyong Guan. She glanced at Zhou Du, who took a sip of lemon water: "Although you lost the bet, a birthday can't go without a gift, so I still gave you one."

Liang Yuan tossed her a key: "The Giant bike I bought for you is parked in the carport in front of your dorm; count from south to north, it's the third one."

Xia Xi held up the menu to shield her face, her two eyes blinking a few times; she sniffled dramatically, tears of joy falling: "Goodness, how could I be this happy?"

"Cut the chatter, hurry up and order." Zhou Du kicked her chair; being overly sentimental doesn't suit Xia Xi—she's just a thoughtless, carefree girl.

Six people at the table enjoyed a pleasant dinner; during the cake-cutting, Xia Xi put on a colorful pointed party hat, clasped her hands, closed her eyes, and made a wish before the flickering candlelight.

She didn't believe the notion that "spoken wishes won't come true," and directly voiced her heart's desire: "May I soon catch Xu Yanfeng."

Everyone: "……"

Xia Xi paused, her smile deepening, then added two more wishes: "May my family be safe and joyful, everything go smoothly. May my friends be healthy and happy, and get rich soon."

"Haha, thanks for the kind words—I'll be waiting for that riches." Several people chimed in cheerfully.

Zhou Du had at some point moved to the opposite side, used an entry-level DSLR to take a photo of Xia Xi, then called over a waiter and took a big group photo of everyone present.

Xia Xi picked up a knife to cut the cake and handed it out; someone smeared a dollop of cream on her face, and a romp broke out in the private room.

Night deepened; Xia Xi carried the leftover cake back to school, passed the guardroom, picked up a delivery, returned to the dorm and unpacked it—an orange paper bag and packaging box came into view; she sucked in a breath—sure enough, it was a terribly expensive bag.

After everything wound down, Xia Xi felt something was missing; she took out her phone, received the photo Zhou Du had sent her, forwarded it to her Moments, and added a caption.

WeiaiXYF: "Everyone, drop what you're doing and let's wish this underage a happy birthday."

She posted four pictures in total: one of the food on the table, one close-up of the cake, one of Zhou Du's personal shot of her while she was making a wish, and the last a group photo taken by the waiter.

Xu Yanfeng probably hasn't blocked her updates, right?

All she's missing is his "happy birthday".

But by the time she lay in bed ready to sleep, having gathered countless blessings, the only one missing was Xu Yanfeng's.

Xia Xi tossed and turned, then thick‑skinnedly sent a private message to someone: "To‑day, my, birth, day!"