Chapter 178: Do You Still Get Shy?

After waiting a long time, Xia Xi kept refreshing the interface, but no message came.

She understood something, a smile playing at her lips, and sent another message: "Why aren't you replying to me?"

Xia Xi personally saw the words "the other party is typing…" flash, and then four characters popped up on the screen: "As you wish."

She held down the voice button and softly said: "Then I'll wear the blue one."

Which one is the blue?

Xu Yanfeng had no impression; he hadn't looked closely earlier, so he reopened the picture, his gaze locking onto the blue item: the fabric was pitifully little, a strappy bodysuit with a tiny skirt sewn on below, extremely short—imagining her wearing it, it would barely cover the upper thighs, and any slightly larger movement would expose her.

Girls have freedom in what they wear; he shouldn't interfere, so he voiced no opinion.

The next morning, Xia Xi stuffed the swimsuit she had picked the day before into her bag, went out without makeup, bare-faced, wearing a baseball cap whose brim shadowed half her face.

After getting into the Mercedes, she took off her cap, and Xu Yanfeng handed her a breakfast.

Xia Xi was already used to eating in his passenger seat; halfway through, she realized the route was wrong. The Blue Whale Swimming Pool she often went to was very close to school, reachable within ten minutes without traffic.

They had been driving for a quarter of an hour, she had finished a bagel, and the swimming pool was still not in sight.

Xia Xi tilted her head to look at the calm driver; outside the window sunlight shone brightly, the early spring light not too fierce, a warm hue that made him look like an otherworldly immortal.

She stared, momentarily forgetting what she wanted to say. Only when Xu Yanfeng asked what was wrong did she utter an "uh", her mind turning a few times, recalling her earlier question: "Where are you taking me?"

"You know the answer." Xu Yanfeng said, "To go swimming."

Xia Xi first doubted her memory, glanced outside, then dismissed the doubt—she had been to the swimming pool many times, couldn't be mistaken—and firmly said, "This isn't the way to the swimming pool."

A red light ahead, Xu Yanfeng stopped the car, eyes forward: "Who said only that swimming pool can be used for swimming?"

Xia Xi blinked a few times, her expression showing a hint of bewilderment.

The thirty-second red light quickly turned green; Xu Yanfeng drove off steadily, glanced at her expression, and silently lifted one corner of his mouth: "Rest assured, I won't take you to the boonies to sell you off."

Xia Xi snorted a laugh; he actually could joke too.

She stopped probing, held the paper cup, and drank the sweet milk.

The road outside the window shifted from unfamiliar to familiar; Xia Xi gradually dug up a memory from the back of her mind, widened her eyes, and said: "This is… this is the way to your villa!"

The villa where the Student Union last held a gathering!

She had always come and gone by car, never paid special attention to the route, so only a vague impression remained in her mind.

Xu Yanfeng did not deny it.

Xia Xi certainly hadn't forgotten that the villa had an indoor pool, floor-to-ceiling glass offering a view of the backyard, its specifications larger than the swimming pool's, enough to accommodate a group of boys competing.

She finished the last sip of milk, lowered the side window; wind blew in, lifting her black hair and smearing it across her face. She covered her face, about to burst into laughter, and to stifle a sound gave a light cough.

Still, Xu Yanfeng caught the anomaly, his attention drifting to her.

Xia Xi reminded him: "Watch the road."

Xu Yanfeng knew she was changing the subject and asked: "Are you laughing?"

"I can't laugh." Xia Xi didn't want to expose him; since he insisted on asking, she wouldn't blame herself—there was no one else in the car, she called him "baby" and said, "You don't want me to wear that swimsuit at the public pool where others could see, so you brought me to the villa, right?"

Xu Yanfeng pressed his lips, a flash of obvious regret crossing his eyes—he shouldn't have asked what she was laughing about; he should have pretended not to notice.

"Don't stay silent." Xia Xi stopped hiding, laughing unrestrainedly: "I'm laughing precisely because I thought of that."

"Don't guess wildly; it's not like that."

"Then what is the reason?"

"I just want to swim at home."

Xia Xi had long known he said one thing but meant another; otherwise she wouldn't have once given him such a note.

The car drove into the villa's front yard, gradually slowed, stopped under the porch; before the engine was turned off, Xia Xi first undid her seatbelt, climbed over the center console, and straddled Xu Yanfeng's lap.

One of his hands still rested on the steering wheel, his whole body frozen; compared to kissing, this level of intimacy was nothing, yet his chest felt tightly constricted.

Xia Xi always did this—suddenly, without warning, delivering a blow to his heart.

Xia Xi grabbed the open collar of his shirt: "Forgot to ask—dressed so formally, are you going to the office?"

A muffled "en" escaped his lips, somewhat low and hoarse, and he added: "This afternoon."

Xia Xi didn't know he had shifted it to the afternoon for her sake; he should have been at the company in the morning as well. She knew nothing.

Her fingers traced the collar, fingertips lightly grazing his neck, a tingling sensation; he seized her two mischievous hands: "It's time to get out."

How could Xia Xi not know she should get out? Instead she refused, leaned in, and pressed her lips to his—he rarely initiated kisses, so if she wanted to kiss him she had to do it herself.

Xu Yanfeng tasted the sweet, milky flavor; she had just drunk it.

He didn't know whether Xia Xi was naturally this flirtatious or only acted that way toward him; he could barely endure it—each time his body tensed like a rubber band stretched to its limit, ready to snap, yet he submitted again and again, sweetly.

If he continued to indulge himself like this, and if she someday stopped liking him so much, he wouldn't know what to do—he might go mad.

The hand gripping her wrist lowered, resting on her waist; his long fingers spread, able to cover her entire lower back. She wore a soft striped top, a gray pleated skirt, its flare spreading out and laying across his pure black trousers—similar hues, yet giving a strong sense of contrast.

Xu Yanfeng lowered his eyes halfway, his other hand gripping the back of her head, responding fervently.

When Xia Xi got out of the car, her legs were numb and she couldn't walk; she clung to Xu Yanfeng's arm, hobbling up the steps.

The gate suddenly swung open from inside, and a familiar face stepped out—the butler who had hosted them last time, about fifty, very attentive. Xia Xi, mindful of her image, let go of Xu Yanfeng, her body swayed, she almost fell, but Xu Yanfeng caught her, nodded to the man, and said gently, "Uncle Ping."

Xia Xi's expression was slightly embarrassed; she nodded at Uncle Ping, the corner of her mouth twitched as she tried to smile, but couldn't.

The butler, however, smiled at her, asked nothing further, and reported to Xu Yanfeng: "The cleaning staff has finished tidying up and just left; I'm also about to go—call me if you need anything."

Xu Yanfeng: "Take your leave slowly."

Xia Xi glanced at the huge floor-to-ceiling window of the main hall, her face hot, she hesitated, then whispered: "We were just… kissing in the car, weren't we seen?"

Xu Yanfeng watched Uncle Ping walk away, his gaze falling on Xia Xi's face; because of the kiss, her cheeks were redder than usual, her lips too: "You still get shy?"

"What do you mean!" Xia Xi smacked his arm, as if her skin were as thick as a city wall.

Xu Yanfeng smiled faintly, a sentence putting her at ease: "Uncle Ping knows his bounds; he won't stare."

Xia Xi secretly breathed a sigh of relief; after entering, she rested a while, then casually went into a room, changed into the swimsuit she had brought, draped a white towel over herself, and her two straight, snow‑white legs were exposed.

She didn't see Xu Yanfeng in the main hall; she called out to him once, but got no reply.

Xu Yanfeng took the chance while she was changing to go to the pool, wearing black swimwear, immersed in the water, having already swum halfway.

Xia Xi walked over, lifted the towel from her body and tossed it onto the white lounge chair by the pool. She stood barefoot on the icy ceramic tiles, not entering the water for a moment, watching Xu Yanfeng like a swift black whale, churning spray, swimming happily.

Xu Yanfeng stopped, his head surfacing, he pushed back his wet hair and looked toward the person on shore. She wore that light blue swimsuit, thin and clinging, large expanses of creamy skin flashing into his view.

Xia Xi stepped onto the stairs and slowly slid into the pool, her arms parting the water as she swam toward him.

Xu Yanfeng then realized the true design of the swimsuit was at the back—nearly naked, with only a thin insignificant strap crossing, her beautiful shoulder blades and protruding vertebrae fully visible.

Back when he rescued her at the swimming hall, he never imagined things would come to this.

Back then, how did he manage not to treat her as a person, simply dragging her ashore like a sack?

It's all fate.

Xia Xi swam up to him, her smooth white cheeks dotted with water droplets, like a lotus rising from water, she placed her hands on his shoulders, her eyes full of smiles: "Let's race? Two hundred meters."