Chapter 155: Just a kiss on the cheek will do, right?

Xu Yanfeng never expected that Ling Yan would stop him for this reason.

Considering she was a girl, it was indeed unsafe for her to go back alone late at night, and Fu Li and the others were not on the way to her home. After a moment's thought, Xu Yanfeng said to her, "Wait a moment," walked aside, and called the butler.

Ling Yan unfolded the shawl draped over her arm, wrapped it around herself, and looked at Xia Xi with an arrogant expression. She wanted to see whom Xu Yanfeng would choose between her and Xia Xi.

Not long after, the butler who had been watching the janitor clean inside the house hurried out, holding a set of car keys.

Xu Yanfeng instructed: "Take Ling Yan home; her family's driver has left on business."

The butler nodded: "Rest assured, I will guarantee Miss Ling's safe return home."

After seeing Ling Yan off, Xu Yanfeng said to Xia Xi, who stood with her arms crossed and her coat pulled tight, "Let's go."

Ling Yan stood frozen, hearing the butler's solemn voice: "Miss Ling, please wait a moment while I get the car out of the garage."

Ling Yan did not respond to the butler, incredulously watching Xu Yanfeng walk away. Shouldn't the butler be taking Xia Xi back to school while he personally escorts her home?

Compared to Xia Xi, isn't it obvious who is closer and who is more distant?

The Xu and Ling families have had friendship for several generations; she and Xu Yanfeng grew up together—what is that Xia Xi?

However, what followed made her jealous to the point of her eyes blazing—

The Mercedes-Benz that Xu Yanfeng often drove was parked in the courtyard; he pressed the key fob, the lights came on, he walked to the passenger side, opened the door, and stood waiting.

Xia Xi lagged a few steps behind him, saw this, quickly quickened her pace, paused when passing by Xu Yanfeng's side, did not sit in the front passenger seat, and softly said, "I'll sit in the back with Lu Lu." She thought it wouldn't be right to leave Wu Qinglu alone in the back.

Xu Yanfeng had no objection; he casually closed the passenger door and opened the rear door.

Xia Xi tugged Wu Qinglu's arm, signaling her to get in first.

Wu Qinglu felt flattered and surprised to enjoy the treatment of Young Master Xu helping open the car door, feeling somewhat surreal.

After she settled in, Xia Xi bent to get in, turned her head and winked at Xu Yanfeng; only then did he close the door, walk to the driver's seat, fasten his seat belt, start the engine, steer with one hand onto the main road, and drive out of the villa gate.

Wu Qinglu belatedly realized this was somewhat impolite, but felt embarrassed to say it outright, so she whispered to Xia Xi: "We're both sitting in the back—aren't we treating the upperclassman like a driver?"

Xia Xi had an indifferent attitude, her head comfortably resting against the seatback: "It's fine; he won't mind."

Wu Qinglu said nothing more.

The whole trip was silent, which was rare for the talkative Xia Xi; she didn't doze off, and throughout she observed Xu Yanfeng's driving from a rear-side angle—just a small half of his profile was enough for her to admire back and forth dozens of times.

She never got tired of watching.

As she watched, she couldn't help but feel secretly pleased—this guy had become her boyfriend from today onward.

How could she be so lucky? Maybe she burned incense in a past life, or perhaps she had been doing so since eight lifetimes ago.

As Wu Qinglu was about to fall asleep, she heard a sound like a mouse squeaking, suddenly opened her eyes, and saw Xia Xi there foolishly smiling at Xu Yanfeng's face. She herself hadn't even realized she was laughing out loud!

Wu Qinglu felt she needed to remind her, otherwise it would be truly embarrassing; so she sat up straight and tapped Xia Xi's thigh with her knee.

Xia Xi glanced sideways, looked at Wu Qinglu, and a soft, questioning "hmm" drifted from her upturned lips.

Wu Qinglu worried Xu Yanfeng might hear, took out her phone, typed a message to her: "You're laughing out loud while looking at Xu Yanfeng."

The message alert sounded from her coat pocket; Xia Xi startled, pulled out her phone, saw Wu Qinglu's just-sent message, and replied, "Am I laughing really loudly?" She truly hadn't realized it.

Wu Qinglu: "Like a mouse's squeak."

Xia Xi: "……"

How would she know what a mouse's squeak sounds like?

Xia Xi shoved the phone back, to prevent herself from laughing out loud again, and pressed her finger against her mouth.

The night roads were smooth; the same trip took much less time than in the afternoon, and Xia Xi felt they hadn't been going long before they reached school. The gatekeeper recognized Xu Yanfeng's car, needed no greeting, and lifted the barrier to let them through.

After the car came to a stop, Xia Xi pushed open the door, got out first, and Wu Qinglu followed closely behind.

Xu Yanfeng also got out of the car; the streetlight spilled over him, as if a warm-toned soft-focus filter had been added.

Xia Xi's heart fluttered; she glanced at Wu Qinglu standing beside her, then still ran over to Xu Yanfeng, grabbed his lapels on both sides, tilted her head up, and asked, "Are you staying on campus tonight or going home?"

If he stayed on campus, she could let Wu Qinglu go up first, then linger a while with him; if he went home, she would only be able to let him go.

Wu Qinglu still didn't know they were together; seeing Xia Xi grab Xu Yanfeng's coat, her mouth fell open, she inhaled a breath of cool spring night air, fearing that in the next second Xu Yanfeng would give Xia Xi a shoulder throw—she admitted she was over-imagining, given Xu Yanfeng's character, he would likely not strike a girl, but would simply ease out the grasped clothing with a light, indifferent motion.

Just like before, when the girl named Ling Yan grabbed his sleeve, he merely raised his hand to avoid unnecessary contact.

What she hadn't expected was that after a few seconds passed, Xu Yanfeng showed no reaction at all, as if it weren't his clothing being pulled.

"I'm going home," Xu Yanfeng reported his schedule, "I have something to do at the company tomorrow, so I won't come to school."

Xia Xi let go of him; a cold wind blew, she shrank her neck, walked backward while waving at him, then turned, linked arms with Wu Qinglu, and headed toward the female dormitory's fence gate. Looking back through the gap in the fence, she saw him still standing by the car, gazing at her, and felt deeply moved.

After rounding the corner, when she could no longer see him, Xia Xi finally turned her head back.

Xu Yanfeng sat in the car, hands on the steering wheel, lingered without moving, eyes fixed on some point in the void, as if in thought, but actually he himself wasn't sure what he was pondering.

Suddenly, the side car door was pulled open from outside; he startled—it was Xia Xi returning. She bent at the waist, her lovely blue-purple skirt hem dragging to the ground, the lower edge of her white wool coat also on the floor, but she didn't care.

Her eyes were always bright and sparkling, full of spirit; taking him off guard, she cupped his face and kissed his forehead.

She even felt justified: "If you won't let me kiss your lips, at least let me kiss your cheek!"

Afraid of angering him, after the kiss she stepped back, straightened up, and flung the car door shut with a bang—"Bang!"—sending leaves on the ground flying, then she sprinted toward the female dormitory's fence gate.

Her long black hair fluttered in the dim night, her skirt swayed in wave-like arcs, the small bag slung across her body bounced up and down, showing how fast she was running.

Xu Yanfeng sat dazed in the driver's cabin; after a moment, he lifted a hand, his fingertips lightly touching his left cheek, as if the soft touch and faint fragrance of her lips still lingered on his skin.

Xia Xi ran upstairs, pushed open the dormitory door, leaned against the door panel with a fully flushed face, her heart pounding wildly.

Wu Qinglu, who had returned a step earlier, was standing with her hands on her hips, recounting the party's events to two absent people; when the main character came back, Wu Qinglu immediately stopped talking, seized Xia Xi's arm, and stared intently.

If she didn't ask soon, she felt she would burst.

"Didn't I warn you not to get near the pool? Why did you go anyway? You were knocked into the water by Zhou Xiaoyu and Zhao Yinshu! And, most importantly, what's going on between you and Xu Yanfeng? I sense something's off between you two!"