Chapter 188: A Girl Is Digging at the Wall of Her Relationship

Xia Xi finished a whole hearty egg ham cheese ciabatta sandwich, drank a cup of hot milk, started feeling carb‑dazed, possibly from staying up late, she felt drowsy and wanted to sleep, pulled a neck pillow from her bag, slipped it onto her neck, and leaned on Xu Yanfeng's shoulder to catch some sleep.

She complained his shoulder was too hard, patting it and saying, "Why can't it be a bit softer?"

Xu Yanfeng was amused by her unreasonable words and wanted to laugh, "Is his body structure something he can decide?"

Although she spoke nitpicking words, her speed of falling asleep was astonishingly fast; in the slight bumping and swaying of the bus, her breathing gradually became even, her lips lightly pursed, carrying a sweet milky scent.

He always liked to bring her hot milk, occasionally coffee.

Xu Yanfeng tilted his head and lowered his gaze, his eyes landing on her face; not knowing whether she had woken too late to put on makeup or was simply too lazy, she bore a bare face, her skin visibly smooth and delicate, seemingly breakable at a blow.

The pad of his finger slid across her cheek, he silently curled his lips in a faint smile, and did not disturb her further.

After a two‑hour ride, Xia Xi did not wake midway, sleeping until the destination; when Xu Yanfeng woke her, she opened her eyelids, looking dazed, not knowing where she was, only aware of a sore neck, the neck pillow seemingly useless, and her waist somewhat stiff.

She propped herself up with one hand on her waist and sat upright, hearing Xu Yanfeng whisper, "We've arrived; the rest of the way we have to walk ourselves."

Xia Xi looked out the window, seeing nothing but green; early autumn, all things still unfaded, verdant mountains lush, cliffs rugged, birdsong drifting from the woods, listening closely, there seemed to be the sound of trickling water.

Very pleasant.

Xia Xi put away the neck pillow, stretched luxuriously like a bow pulled taut, drew a deep breath of mountain wind pouring through the cracked window, and experienced what true refreshment of spirit feels like.

Passengers disembarked one after another; Xia Xi and Xu Yanfeng were the last to get off.

Xu Yanfeng carried two bags, one of them Xia Xi's, stepped down first, turned slightly sideways, and reached in with one hand; she had just woken, her limbs not yet coordinated, and he feared she might topple.

Xia Xi's eyes held a smile as she handed him her hand; he gripped her fingers and helped her down.

She jumped down from the vehicle, and indeed she couldn't keep her balance, falling into his embrace.

Some people were already used to it, calm‑faced, while several newcomers stared, each with different thoughts. During the bus ride they were bored, browsed the campus forum, and roughly learned the story of the campus belle Xia Xi chasing her male god—a tale worthy of a textbook.

But not everyone can learn from this textbook; some are self‑aware enough to comment on the forum, "Lend me twelve guts and I still couldn't be like Xia Xi."

Changyan Mountain is a small peak; two hours suffice to reach the summit, and the inn they're headed to lies at mid‑mountain, reachable in about an hour.

Everyone was full of energy, running and jumping all the way, and they saw the inn's front gate in forty minutes.

It was run by a married couple who had saved enough money to live a carefree, hermit‑like life; somehow they obtained the permit, opened this inn, which unexpectedly went viral online, spurring nearby bars, cafés, pottery studios, and so on.

The department head assigned the rooms, two people per room, with Xu Yanfeng having a room to himself. Xia Xi shared a room with a female student union member she had known for a while and got along with; she put her things away, took a quick shower, then lay on the bed and continued sleeping.

After riding the bus for two hours and climbing the mountain for so long, everyone is now focusing on rest, with no group activities underway.

Feng Xiaolai, who shared the room with Xia Xi, tidied up her belongings quietly, wanted to stroll around the inn, grabbed her phone and headed out; after just a couple steps she ran into Xu Yanfeng walking this way.

"Is she inside?" Xu Yanfeng stopped, asking the person before him in a calm tone.

"This 'she' of course refers to Xia Xi," Feng Xiaolai nodded, saying, "Xia Xi went to sleep right after her shower."

"Again sleeping?" Xu Yanfeng's expression froze for a second, he changed his plan to find her, turned back the way he'd come, and bumped into a girl who smiled faintly, brushed her wavy hair beside her ear, and spoke in a soft, coquettish voice: "Senior, I'm Cheng Man Yi, a first‑year; nice to meet you."

"Hmm."

Xu Yanfeng's face was expressionless, his reply very cold.

Cheng Man Yi's smile faltered, she stiffened momentarily, then laughed again: "Do you drink coffee? I saw there's a coffee machine in the kitchen; the boss said we can use it, I'm going to make myself a cup."

"No, thanks."

Xu Yanfeng shifted his body, went to the balcony, sat on a walnut‑colored folding wooden chair, crossed his legs, and gazed at the mountain scenery.

Cheng Man Yi lightened her steps and followed, her hand resting on the doorframe leading from the corridor to the balcony, staring fixedly at that person.

Even though he was alone, he exuded an aloofness that kept people at a distance, separating him from everything around, making it hard to approach, let alone blend in.

Cheng Man Yi pressed her lips together, feeling timid, she dared not rush forward to disturb him, turned and went to the kitchen to make coffee.

Perhaps if she brought the coffee over, having a topic would ease the awkwardness.

Xia Xi slept soundly, and it was past lunchtime.

As she climbed out of bed, Feng Xiaolai was sitting in the room's wooden chair, head down looking at her phone; hearing the movement, she lifted her gaze and asked, "You're awake?"

Xia Xi replied with a hoarse "hmm," the corner of her mouth turning up slightly.

She went to the bathroom to wash her face, pulled out cosmetics from her bag, and applied powder and defined her eyebrows in front of the mirror.

Feng Xiaolai's attention wasn't on her phone; she glanced at Xia Xi several times, and on one glance Xia Xi caught her in the mirror as she was dabbing blush on her cheeks, not turning her head, she asked offhand, "Xiaolai, do you have something to tell me?"

"I…" Feng Xiaolai looked embarrassed, "First let me say I'm not gossiping. There's a girl—I can't remember her name—new arrival, with a head of wavy hair, constantly being attentive to Xu Yanfeng, making coffee and bringing food."

"Huh?" Xia Xi, holding a blush brush, turned to look at her.

"Really." Feng Xiaolai raised her hand to swear, "I saw it with my own eyes."

Feng Xiaolai recounted to Xia Xi in detail: she first bumped into that girl in the hallway introducing herself to Xu Yanfeng, which in itself was nothing, but the girl's eyes shimmering, the little gesture of stroking her hair, and the deliberately softened voice were obvious to any girl. She had wandered around the inn, wanted to go to the balcony for a breeze, and ran into the girl again, who offered her a cup of self‑made coffee to Xu Yanfeng. Xu Yanfeng refused; she ignored him, set the coffee on the small round table beside him, sat in another chair, and chatted about amusing anecdotes from military training, then pulled a small biscuit from the pocket of her shirt‑dress and offered it to him.

Feng Xiaolai witnessed all this, said nothing, quietly retreated, and returned to the room.

That girl perhaps didn't know Xu Yanfeng had a girlfriend, or perhaps she knew and did it anyway.

Xia Xi listened, stunned, the brush turning on her fingertips.

Feng Xiaolai studied Xia Xi's expression, couldn't gauge her thoughts, and asked, "You… don't mind?" A girl digging at the wall of her relationship—given her temperament, she couldn't tolerate it, could she?

"Thanks for telling me this." Xia Xi replied earnestly, "Well, it's not that I don't mind; I'm just thinking objectively—if Xu Yanfeng were really that easy to pursue, I wouldn't have gone to such trouble in the first place."

Feng Xiaolai stared, then burst into a chuckle, realizing she'd laughed too loudly, quickly covered her mouth, and nodded heavily: "That makes perfect sense."

Xia Xi finished her makeup, left the room, and found a few people gathered in the hallway discussing going to the mountain peak to pitch tents for camping, to watch stars and have BBQ together at night—just the thought made them happy.

Xu Yanfeng appeared behind Xia Xi at some point, grabbed her wrist and gave a gentle tug.

Xia Xi was taken aback, startled slightly, relaxed only when she turned and saw it was him; he leaned close and whispered, "Are you hungry?"

"Not bad," Xia Xi said, "I brought snacks; I can eat if I get hungry."

After the group finished discussing, they came to ask Xu Yanfeng for approval.

He had no objection; everyone cheered, returned to their rooms to pack, and ten minutes later, shouldering bags of various sizes, they set off for the summit.

The little hill was easily conquered; everyone reached the top successfully, took a brief rest, then began dividing tasks to pitch the tents together.

Xia Xi tied up her hair, rolled up her sleeves, and with a hammer she hammered ground stakes for half a day, huffing and puffing; she stood, wiped her sweat, wanted a sip of water, and unexpectedly saw a girl wearing Xu Yanfeng's jacket sitting on the moon chair to rest.

That girl had a head of wavy hair, secured at the side with a leopard‑print hair tie, her makeup not overdone, just right in its delicacy, holding a sapphire‑colored insulated cup, sipping it in small mouthfuls.

Xia Xi tilted her head, momentarily at a loss whether to laugh or cry; this must be the girl Feng Xiaolai was talking about.