Chapter 165: Kiss His Lips

Xia Xi had made good plans, but Xu Yanfeng was busy; unlike their high school early romance, they could no longer see each other daily in class—Xu Yanfeng was already a senior, and aside from required courses he spent all his time at his own company, making it hard for Xia Xi to see him, and she herself was busy too.

At times like this, she would resent some of the school's decisions, such as why the Architecture Department only moved back to Xin Xiaoqu in the third year.

If she had stayed in Xin Xiaoqu since her freshman year, she couldn't imagine how wonderful it would be.

Based on her pace of catching up to Xu Yanfeng, they would have gotten together by the second semester of her freshman year, and the remaining days would have been all sweetness—how could it be like now, with both of them busy?

During a break from lunch, Xia Xi searched her phone for recently released movies, but after scrolling through she found none worth watching; picking the best of a bad bunch, she finally chose a romance film suitable for couples.

She saved the movie poster and sent it to Xu Yanfeng.

Xia Xi (kid's mom): "Do you have time this Saturday? Let's go see a movie?"

Usually she had no time, so she could only make plans for weekends, and had to book in advance so he wouldn't have other plans; if she suddenly asked him out, it would put him on the spot. She was so considerate—she was hardly an unreasonable, clingy girlfriend.

It was now 12:30 p. m., and Xu Yanfeng was still in a meeting at the Xu Clan Group; he currently had no real authority in the company, and before a group of senior executives whom he called uncles, he was merely in the posture of a learner.

When his phone vibrated in his pocket, he didn't check it right away; only after the meeting chair finished explaining a project point did he put down his pen and take out his phone.

At first glance he was drawn to Xia Xi's note; even after seeing it many times, he still couldn't escape being shocked.

After collecting himself, Xu Yanfeng read her message; he had never even heard of that romance film, but what the film was didn't matter—if she wanted to see it, he could accompany her.

He replied with a single simple word: "Okay."

Xia Xi asked him: "What are you doing?"

Xu Yanfeng glanced at the others in the meeting room, all with stern faces, serious to the point of near coldness, the atmosphere also solemn. He typed two characters and sent them: "In a meeting."

Xia Xi then sensibly stopped bothering him, switched to a ticket‑purchase app, and booked two movie tickets, choosing a couples' seat. After buying the tickets, she began to think about what to wear on Saturday… and how to trick Xu Yanfeng into a kiss.

Since he had some physical issue, this sort of thing still had to rely on her.

Shouldn't she look up some tutorials beforehand? Is there a tutorial that teaches how to arouse someone's desire while kissing?

After all, she was also a half‑baked novice with no practical experience at all.

Xia Xi shyly searched online and indeed found kissing tips—some said to use the tongue to write 'ABCD' in the other's mouth, others said to write 'abandon', and the comments below were also interesting; was this like taking an English CET‑4/6 exam in the mouth?

Xia Xi laughed at it.

Before she could work out any takeaways, Saturday arrived.

In the afternoon, after five, Xu Yanfeng drove to the school to pick up Xia Xi; the first thing she did upon getting in the car, as usual, was to hug him and ask: "Do you miss me?"

Xu Yanfeng wore a white casual shirt and a stiff, light‑colored thin windbreaker; when she hooked her arm around his, their fabrics rustled, almost drowning out his soft 'mm'.

Xia Xi heard it, but she pretended not to, resting her chin on his shoulder: "Did you just say something?"

Xu Yanfeng lowered his gaze to her face, seeing nothing; she sometimes acted so well that no trace of pretense could be found, so he obliged her wish, clearly and firmly saying: "I miss you."

Xia Xi was best at pushing her luck: "Who says they miss me?"

Xu Yanfeng smiled, flicked her forehead with a finger: "How sly you are—you won't quit until you're completely satisfied."

Xia Xi took it as praise, curled her lips, and accepted his evaluation: "If I weren't sly, could I have won you over?" Dealing with him required slyness; if she had used the slow‑boil frog approach, she'd probably still be lukewarm.

After chatting a while, Xu Yanfeng drove the car and asked: "What time does the movie start? Should we grab a bite first?"

"It starts at 5:50," Xia Xi said. "I'm not hungry yet; let's eat after the movie. Are you hungry?"

Xu Yanfeng shook his head and followed her plan.

About half an hour later, a car pulled into the mall's underground parking lot; the two took the elevator up to the fifth floor, where a left turn led straight to the cinema entrance. Xia Xi went to the machine to pick up the tickets, while Xu Yanfeng glanced around—although he had never gone to a movie with a girl before, he knew the procedure, and headed to the counter to buy drinks and popcorn.

Xia Xi returned holding the two movie tickets, saw what Xu Yanfeng was holding, and raised an eyebrow.

Time was tight, so after only a few minutes outside they had to go inside.

Following Xia Xi to the red loveseat, Xu Yanfeng then realized she had booked a couples' seat; his expression froze for a brief two seconds before he sat down composedly.

Xia Xi sat beside him, biting the straw in her drink cup, secretly watching his reaction; he had long since returned to his usual immovable‑as‑a‑mountain demeanor, so she naturally could discern nothing.

After the ads finished and the studio logo appeared, the movie began, the theater darkened, leaving only the light from the big screen shining on their faces, casting light and dark contours.

Xu Yanfeng tried to focus on the film, but it was simply not very good—the leads bickered and broke up repeatedly, making it hard to get into. He wasn't the only one who thought so; Xia Xi also found it dull, couldn't last half an hour, her mind wandered, and in the end she wasn't looking at the screen at all, her eyes tracing his face in the shifting light and shadow.

He noticed, turned his head slightly, lowered his eyelids, and met her gaze.

In each other's eyes there seemed to be a gel‑like substance; upon contact it stuck, making them hard to pull apart.

Xia Xi gulped down a mouthful of orange juice with a 'glug', her lips parting slightly, the straw slipping from her mouth and falling silently into the cup.

Not knowing where the film had progressed, the big screen went completely dark; the handsome face before her turned into a blurry shadow, and Xia Xi raised a hand, feeling his lips by memory—softer and hotter than she had imagined.

Xu Yanfeng felt the exact opposite—her hand, having just held a cold drink cup, was slightly cool on the fingertips, like a small piece of ice landing on his lips.

It wasn't clear whose breathing had gone awry first; the movie played some ambiguous sounds—the male and female leads desperately entwined in a rundown rental, seemingly sending some signal—Xia Xi's mind heated, and she lunged forward without hesitation.

Not landing the expected kiss on his lips, she froze for a moment; the screen's light flashed on, her eyelashes twitched, the dim view gradually cleared, and she realized the sensation on her lips was wrong—she had actually kissed his chin in the confusion.

A shy emotion crept up her cheeks after a few seconds; she drew back a little, too embarrassed to look at him, turned her face away, and gulped down several big mouthfuls of orange juice, nearly choking.

Damn it, things got off to a bad start—such a chance would be hard to come by again!

Xia Xi's face seemed to be roasted by fire, a deep red all over, steaming with heat.

She felt heat in her face, while he felt heat in his heart; even from the moment he saw her buy the couples'‑seat movie tickets, he had been mentally prepared for her to pull some stunt, remaining as steady as Mount Tai and watching calmly.

Although he had intended to keep her in suspense and delay gratification, when she drew near he was instead filled with anticipation, and all the rules he had set for himself were shattered.

When the movie ended, Xia Xi could barely recall the leads' names; she stumbled dazedly down the steps, almost bumping into the person ahead, and Xu Yanfeng promptly grabbed her, then naturally took her hand.

Their palms pressed together, Xia Xi sensed something different—his hands were usually dry and warm, but now they were slightly damp, like the sultry wind that blows before a midsummer rain.

Was he hot?

Xia Xi glanced at him; his complexion was normal.

"What would you like to eat?" Xu Yanfeng asked calmly.

Xia Xi said anything was fine.

Xu Yanfeng took her to the downstairs Chinese restaurant, ordered a few dishes to her taste, but she ate absent‑mindedly the whole time, her mind replaying the cinema scene over and over.

She seized on a key point—if she really went in for the kiss, Xu Yanfeng would not refuse.

In the instant the lights came up, although she was shy and wanted to hide, her gaze swept across his face, and his expression at that moment was clearly one of intoxication, not resistance.

"Xia Xi." Xu Yanfeng's voice was gentle, calling back her thoughts, "Are you full?"

She hadn't moved her chopsticks for a long time, just in a daze.

Xia Xi set down her chopsticks, nodded slightly, and said, 'Mm, I'm full.'

Xu Yanfeng paid the bill, took her out of the restaurant, rode the elevator to the underground parking lot, found the parking spot, pulled out the car key and unlocked it. As his fingers just touched the door handle, Xia Xi grabbed them.

With her other hand she pushed his shoulder; he was puzzled, but followed the force and turned his body sideways to face her.

Xia Xi's eyes flickered, yet showed a hint of determination; the hand that had been holding his hand withdrew, the hand that had pushed his shoulder also withdrew, and both hands rose together to encircle his neck.

The lighting in the underground parking lot wasn't very bright, but this time she could see clearly, wouldn't make a mistake again; she tiptoed and precisely kissed his lips.