Chapter 185

The three sisters; only Xia Xuan was naive and clueless, her thoughts isolated two li away; she poked Xia Xi's shoulder and exclaimed incredulously, 'Sis, you're not wearing underwear?'

How could that be?

Xia Yue, being married, easily guessed the meaning behind those words; her cheeks flushed, she vaguely probed Xia Xi: 'Is it what I think? You and Xu Yanfeng…'

Xia Xuan was utterly confused—wasn't she talking about underwear? How did it suddenly turn to her sister's boyfriend?

What exactly were they whispering about? She had listened hard, but still didn't understand.

Having come to this point, Xia Xi felt there was no need to hide anything; they were real sisters, she slowly nodded, overcoming that slight embarrassment: 'Exactly what you think.'

Xia Xuan tilted her head, interrupting: 'Which way? Which way?'

Xia Yue stared blankly for a few seconds, then stammered: 'You haven't… done that yet, have you?'

Xia Xuan kept interrupting: 'Which one?'

Xia Xi knew what her sister was asking, paused two seconds, then shook her head: 'No.'

Xia Yue inexplicably let out a sigh of relief; she had earlier wondered if Xia Xi was pregnant, which was why she rushed to bring her boyfriend home to meet the parents—also a bit far-fetched. However, Xia Xi borrowing underwear from her meant she intended to take that step, and the sigh Xia Yue had just let out instantly turned into a gasp.

Xia Xi lifted her eyelids, gazed at the ceiling, and murmured: 'I'm twenty-one.'

Xia Yue gave herself a pep talk: 'All right. Wait for me.'

She turned slowly, walked out slowly, went to her own room, rummaged through the storage box under her wardrobe for underwear, compared styles and colors, picked one suitable for Xia Xi, and silently sighed.

As the elder sister, she was like a mother, and her feelings were rather complicated.

Xia Xuan felt isolated, frowned, her round face clearly showing displeasure, and loudly protested: 'What are you two talking about? Can you include me?'

The matter settled, Xia Xi's brows and eyes relaxed, her mood eased, she stroked her sister's hair: 'Good girl, you're still young, you don't understand—go play over there.'

Xia Xuan stamped her foot: 'Damn it!'

Xia Yue returned, holding a transparent storage bag containing a brand-new set of underwear, expressionlessly handed it to Xia Xi: 'I bought it, washed it, and put it away—I've never worn it.'

'Thank you, sis.'

Xia Xi acted coquettish, smiling with eyes crinkled as she took it, slid open the bag's zipper, pulled out the item—pure white, no underwire, the upper edge trimmed with translucent lace, exuding a pure yet alluring charm.

She lifted the straps, held them against her chest, furrowed her brow slightly, and plaintively told her sister: 'It seems a bit small.'

Xia Yue: '…'

Different sizes—nothing I can do.

Xia Xuan glanced at the eldest sister, then the second sister; although she didn't know what they were saying, it didn't stop her from trying to join in: 'Just borrow from me—it's not like a set of underwear is a big deal; I have one too.'

Xia Xi ruthlessly refused: 'Yours is even smaller, you little brat.'

Xia Xuan pulled a long face, having meant well to help, yet she felt personally attacked—so unfair. She glanced down at her own flat chest, then at her sister's towering bust, and instantly realized the truth—her sister wasn't attacking her personally; she was just stating the obvious.

After thinking it over, Xia Xi had no other choice; she decided to make do, putting the set of underwear Xia Yue gave her into a medium-sized crossbody bag, planning to change into it after showering at the hotel.

Xia Yue: 'Didn't you say it was small?'

'A bit small is fine.' Xia Xi pulled off the hair tie, re-braided her messy plait, winked at her sister, and added, voice low enough that Xia Xuan couldn't hear, 'Squeezing in makes it sexier.'

Xia Yue had nothing to say.

'I'm off; you two have something nice to eat at home.' Xia Xi brushed her fingertip against her lips and blew them a kiss.

'Hey, wait a sec, I still have something to say.' Xia Yue grabbed her slender wrist, gazed at her lovely face, the words rose to her lips, but she hesitated and didn't speak.

Seeing her hesitate, Xia Xi smiled and waited patiently.

Xia Yue cleared her throat unnaturally, lowered her voice, and cautioned: 'You… be careful, take safety precautions, protect yourself. You're only twenty-one, still very young.'

Xia Xi laughed even more openly, her shoulders trembling.

'What are you laughing at? Straighten up your attitude.' Xia Yue put on a stern face, exerted her elder-sister authority, and tapped Xia Xi's forehead.

'I know.' Xia Xi reined in her smile and nodded properly.

The three sisters went downstairs together, Xia Xuan bouncing ahead, turned the corner of the gentle slope, suddenly spotted a young man sitting on the living-room sofa, head bowed, sipping tea; she couldn't see his face, her slipper slid, she almost fell, but Xia Xi caught her.

'You can't even walk down the stairs honestly—if you don't fall, who will?' Xia Xi lectured her.

Xia Xuan stuck out her tongue; she had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing a white modal-cotton lounge set covered in pink bows, looking like a little kid.

She hadn't known Xu Yanfeng was visiting; no one had told her, so when she suddenly noticed a strange male in the house, she was naturally startled. She pointed at the person on the sofa and asked the sister behind her: 'Who is this?'

Hearing the sound, Xu Yanfeng turned his head, looked up the stairs, and saw three girls with somewhat similar looks and temperaments but quite different dispositions walking down.

Xia Xuan finally saw his face clearly, eyes widened in astonishment: 'He isn't… your brother-in-law, is he?'

Xu Yanfeng's fingers holding the teacup twitched slightly; fortunately there was only a little tea left, so it didn't spill.

Realizing her form of address was wrong, Xia Xuan quickly covered her mouth, cleverly shifted the blame to Xia Xi, and gave Xu Yanfeng a goofy smile: 'It was my second sister who told me to call him that.'

Xia Xi: '…'

In the afternoon, Xia Xi took Xu Yanfeng to the museum, bought a bunch of souvenir merchandise, sat for a while at a café, then went to check out Qianlin's famous local snacks, determined to make him feel the trip was worthwhile.

Seeing her shoulder a bulging bag, Xu Yanfeng hooked his finger onto the metal chain and said, 'Let me carry it for you.'

Xia Xi was about to say 'Sure,' when a sudden flash of insight struck her; she clutched the bag tightly, shook her head vigorously, and refused: 'No, I'll carry it myself.' Her bag contained the 'Secret Weapon'; if he saw it beforehand, the effect would be greatly diminished.

Although he wouldn't deliberately rummage through her bag, better safe than sorry—if he happened to grab a tissue or something else and accidentally noticed… no, absolutely cannot let him touch the bag.

Xu Yanfeng narrowed his dark eyes, feeling that two words to describe her demeanor would surely be 'guilty conscience.'

He liked to think things through, and now he couldn't help wondering what she felt guilty about—it was just a bag; even if it held valuables, it wouldn't warrant such paranoia.

Rewinding time, she had left the hotel, then suddenly said she needed to go home to get something; besides this bag, he hadn't seen her carry anything else. So there must be something fishy inside.

'Xia Xi, what sneaky scheme are you cooking up now?'

Since they started dating, he had also come to understand her: her mind was nimble, she constantly dreamed up all sorts of ideas, leaving people overwhelmed, unprepared, astonished, repeatedly amazed, his heart always ready for a challenge.

Xia Xi snatched the iced coffee from his hand, bit the straw, gazed up at the sky, pretending nothing was happening: 'What are you talking about? I don't understand, I have no ulterior motive.'

The horizon's afterglow resembled orange-tinted oil paint, shifting gradually from light to deep, beautiful as a painting, also foreshadowing that the day was about to end—this was the final brilliance before nightfall.

After gulping down the iced coffee, Xia Xi grew calmer, released the straw, and naturally shifted the topic: 'What do you want to eat tonight?'

Xu Yanfeng: 'You've fed me too much; my stomach has no room left for dinner.' Meaning he was full, even stuffed, and didn't plan to eat supper.

It just so happens to save time. Xia Xi thought to herself.

She wore a harmless expression, as if casually saying: "Where is the hotel you booked? I'll take you there."

Xia Xi went out and drove; it was normal for her to say that; Xu Yanfeng didn't suspect, gave the hotel name. Xia Xi turned her head, suppressing a laugh, returned the unfinished coffee to him: "Let's set off."