Chapter 17: She was extremely unwilling

The hallway fell silent in an instant.

Those who were about to leave froze, turning toward the direction the bell rang from.

Just beyond the door, Xia Xi leaned against the wall, devoid of any will to live; at this moment she really wanted to faint, so she wouldn't have to face this dilemma of neither going out nor hiding.

Lu Mingji realized something and hastily hung up the phone.

But he seemed a step too late; seeing the dazed expressions of the others, it seemed they all guessed Xia Xi was in the private room.

Could it be…?

Their gazes turned to Xu Yanfeng, just like Ling Yan's, and they quickly noticed his abnormality—his lips were red as blood.

Everyone present wasn't foolish; a little thought made it clear what was going on, leaving them only astonished.

No way? Xu Yanfeng and Xia Xi's old flame reignited, like dry tinder meeting fire, and they couldn't restrain themselves in the private room?

Their respective girlfriends and boyfriends were still here! In an instant, the crowd split into two groups—one looked at Ling Yan, the other at Lu Mingji, curious about their reactions. The former's face turned pale, as if unable to bear the blow; the latter had stronger mental fortitude, showing no abnormality at all, prompting people to sigh that he truly deserved to be a boss.

Inside the private room, Xia Xi heard no movement outside for a while, assuming everyone had left, and then she opened the door and stepped out.

However, the sight before her left her dumbfounded.

Everyone seemed to have received some command, uniformly turning their gazes toward her, their eyes filled with various emotions. Xia Xi instantly felt as if she were standing in a hail of gunfire.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say a few words in defense, but no sound came out.

The instant Ling Yan saw Xia Xi, her body swayed, almost unable to stand.

Xia Xi's hair was disheveled, her eyes reddened, her makeup smudged, her lips red and swollen, with a split near the corner where blood had stopped but left a dark scab; especially on her fair neck, there were mottled red marks.

Those were… kiss marks.

Ling Yan's mind was flooded with uncontrolled images: in the dark, empty private room, Xu Yanfeng's usually calm and restrained emotions collapsed, and he passionately embraced Xia Xi, kissing her from the corner of her lips to her collarbone and then to her neck. His kiss was so fervent and intense that it left marks hard to erase.

The whole hallway resembled a sculpture gallery; the classmates who had come to the gathering were petrified, frozen in various poses.

At this moment, the same voice echoed in everyone's hearts: This is the true shura field! Lu Mingji was the most composed, as if nothing had happened, he walked slowly to Xia Xi and lightly patted her arm: "It's getting late; let me take you home."

Xia Xi felt her scalp about to explode, but given the situation, aside from leaving there seemed no other choice, so she followed Lu Mingji in silence.

Like a wandering soul, she didn't even know how she had entered the elevator or exited it.

After they left, the rest also came to their senses and swarmed out.

Soon the hallway held only Xu Yanfeng and Ling Yan.

Xu Yanfeng's demeanor remained utterly calm, showing no embarrassment or awkwardness at being caught; in fact, thinking of Xia Xi's thunderstruck expression when she came out of the private room, he almost wanted to laugh.

On the contrary, Ling Yan was on the verge of tears: "Ah Feng, you and Xia Xi… what… what's going on?"

Although she knew she had no right to pry into his private affairs, she still couldn't suppress her inner impulse and asked.

She didn't expect to get an answer from Xu Yanfeng.

Indeed, he merely gave her a casual glance, offered no explanation, and went to press the elevator button.

Ling Yan followed up, futilely reminding him: "I'm not trying to interfere in your affairs; I just want to tell you that Xia Xi has a boyfriend, and I don't want you to be deceived by her again."

The elevator doors opened, Xu Yanfeng stepped inside, no longer giving her any glance, and said lightly: "Regarding this matter, I already told you last time."

Last time?

Ling Yan staggered, then recalled: he had said he was an adult with his own judgment, not a three-year-old child, and didn't need anyone telling him what he could or couldn't do.

Xu Yanfeng: "I still have some things to do; call a driver to take you home."

After he spoke, the elevator doors closed, shutting Ling Yan out. She stood there dazed for a moment, a surge of anger rising to her head; she frantically pressed the elevator buttons, but it was too late—the elevator had already begun descending. She ran to press another elevator; that one was on the basement level, slowly ascending.

*In the parking lot, Xia Xi refused Lu Mingji's offer to send her home, mainly because she didn't want to trouble him further; she had already caused him quite a bit of trouble tonight.

"I drove here myself." Xia Xi pulled out her phone from her bag, opened a ride-hailing app, and said, "Just call a designated driver."

Lu Mingji saw her classmates trickling out of the elevator, stepped closer, grabbed her hand, and whispered: "Do the act all the way through, got it?"

Xia Xi lifted her eyes, also saw the crowd, sighed silently, and stopped refusing.

She spotted Zhao Lei in the crowd and called out to her.

Zhao Lei gripped the strap of her sling bag with one hand, trotted over in high heels; the scene she had just witnessed in the hallway had hit her too hard, and she still hadn't recovered. Faced with Lu Mingji's handsome, striking face, she couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed and kept wanting to say a couple of words to comfort him.

As Xia Xi's current boyfriend, seeing her entangled with her ex-boyfriend must have hurt him quite a bit.

Xia Xi really, what's going on between her and Xu Yanfeng? Doesn't she know he already has a girlfriend?

Xia Xi didn't know what she was thinking, lifted her chin, and said: "Get in the car; we'll send you home."

Zhao Lei thought they might have something to talk about, so she didn't want to be a third wheel: "I'll just call a taxi myself, so I won't bother you."

Xia Xi wouldn't allow any argument: "Get in."

She had also been drinking; it's not safe for a woman to take a taxi alone late at night.

Zhao Lei said "oh," slowly climbed into the back seat, and sat properly.

Xia Xi sat in the front passenger seat, and just then saw not far away the elevator exit where that impeccably noble man stepped out; her heart clenched and raced.

Lu Mingji earnestly followed the principle of "doing the act all the way through," leaning over to fasten Xia Xi's seat belt.

Xu Yanfeng happened to glance over; from that angled view, the two people in the car looked as if they were kissing, his eyes dimmed, and then he thought, her lips are all bitten up—can she even kiss?

Lu Mingji sat back, buckled his own seat belt, started the car, and drove out of the parking lot.

Zhao Lei in the back seat tried to minimize her presence, staying silent while secretly observing the two in front. Lu Mingji appeared not at all angry, and their relationship showed no tension.

She couldn't figure it out.

No matter how deep the feelings, they probably couldn't withstand such a storm.

The disheveled state Xia Xi showed when she walked out of the private room made it seem as if she had done something with Xu Yanfeng inside; does her boyfriend Lu Mingji not mind?

Could it be that, with this outsider present, they didn't want to argue? Lu Mingji broke the silence in the car: "Miss Zhao, right? Where do you live?"

Zhao Lei snapped to attention: "Huh? What did you say?"

Lu Mingji repeated: "Your address."

"Oh." Zhao Lei, not wanting to disturb them, gave the name of a subway station: "Just drop me off there; I'll take the subway home myself."

Xia Xi said: "Just do as she said."

Lu Mingji nodded.

Ling Yan was the last to arrive at the parking lot; she could only see Xu Yanfeng's car flashing its red taillights, speeding away in the blink of an eye. She shouted at the top of her lungs, and an echo rippled across the empty lot, but the car didn't stop—whether the people inside didn't hear her or simply didn't want to acknowledge her, she didn't know.

She raised the back of her hand to cover her eyes, but still couldn't stop the tears from flowing.

Why? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get close to him—why exactly? She felt utterly unwilling.

Ling Yan's eyes were red and wet; she took out her phone and called her cousin. When the call connected, she sniffed, trying to make her voice sound natural: "Brother, send a few reliable people my way—I could use them… Don't worry, I'm fine, I just need them to help me with something."

Ling, Ling Sis, don't be like that—I'm scared… (｀ω)(End of chapter)