Chapter 194

He had hidden for a long time, never expecting she would still find out; Xu Yanfeng sighed: "Sleep, you'll be fine soon."

Aren't you feeling uncomfortable?

Just don't move around.

"I'm right here—why should I endure?" Not having happened before, enduring was fine, but now that it's happened, does he still need to endure? Xia Xi couldn't quite understand.

Xu Yanfeng didn't want to explain, but she was always persistent; without an answer she'd keep asking, he fell silent for a moment, then reluctantly said, "Your body…" He only said half, believing she would understand.

Xia Xi understood, feeling both moved and amused; she rubbed her perky nose tip against his face, her warm breath: "My body is great, stamina is awesome, running is powerful, swimming is fast."

Xu Yanfeng's ears were filled with the duck's "ga-ga" sound, he couldn't help laughing.

It was pitch dark all around; Xia Xi strained her eyes, but she could never see his expression, only hearing that he seemed to be laughing.

What's he laughing at? Does he think she's joking?

Xia Xi turned over and pressed herself onto him, knowing he couldn't take any teasing at this moment, so she stirred things up. In no time, Xu Yanfeng's breathing grew heavy; he grabbed her waist and switched their positions.

A wave of dizziness left Xia Xi no chance to talk nonsense; only her breath remained, humming out a moan.

The morning after the rain cleared, the air was fresh; the blackout curtains blocked the daylight, leaving the room still dim, like the gray hour before yesterday evening's rainstorm arrived.

Xia Xi woke first, switched on a wall lamp, her brain started working; many images from last night flooded her mind, she turned her head and saw Xu Yanfeng's unguarded pure face.

She felt an itch in her heart and in her hand; she quietly reached out a hand, stopping when her fingertip was only two centimeters from his high nose bridge, hesitating to let it fall—she feared waking him.

Xia Xi hugged the blanket and half sat up, leaning against the headboard, using her gaze to gently caress his brows, eyes, nose, lips; unconsciously, a smile spread across her brow, as if she had peered through time to glimpse a scene of their daily life decades later.

In his dream, Xu Yanfeng felt like someone was staring at him intently; his eyelashes twitched, he lifted his lids, his vision slowly focused on Xia Xi's tranquil face. He moved his lips, his voice hoarse: "Did you sleep well?"

"Mm." Xia Xi leaned sideways, falling into his embrace, arms tight around his waist: "I can't believe I actually got it."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

Early in the morning, he was startled by her overly blunt words. This is the best way to jolt the brain awake, even more effective than coffee.

Xu Yanfeng gave a low cough: "Have you ever faked it?"

Xia Xi told him: "Before, when I thought of you falling asleep, I would have erotic dreams."

Xu Yanfeng covered her mouth again, his brow twitching: "Xia Xi, don't you feel embarrassed?"

Xia Xi bent his fingers back one by one, freeing her mouth, then she spoke without restraint: "What's there to be embarrassed about between us? I don't believe you've never had such a dream. Do you dream of me?"

Xu Yanfeng instinctively felt continuing this conversation would be dangerous; he decisively got up, opened the curtains, letting outside light in.

The sun came out; yesterday's rainstorm felt like a dream, and Xu Yanfeng felt as if he'd gone through a dream—except now awake, his beloved was still by his side, reminding him that dreams can become reality.

After breakfast at the hotel, Xu Yanfeng checked out and drove Xia Xi back to Changyan Mountain.

Xia Xi saw a supermarket through the car window, recalling yesterday's purchases, and suddenly exclaimed: "Oh no, will the meat in the trunk go bad after sitting overnight?"

"Yesterday I had the hotel staff move it to the fridge to keep fresh; I just put it in now, packed with lots of ice packs, it won't spoil." Xu Yanfeng explained patiently.

Xia Xi's heart settled back; she leaned wearily against the passenger seat's backrest, her eyelids half-closed, unable to resist wanting to nap. She had woken up inexplicably early this morning, and now she started feeling sleepy.

The mountain road was bumpy, killing any hope of catching up on sleep; Xia Xi's head kept nodding, several times almost bumping.

Xu Yanfeng noticed, feeling a bit pained, but there was nothing else to do; when her head drooped again, he gently patted her shoulder: "Hold on a bit longer, we'll catch up on sleep at the guesthouse."

"Mm."

Xia Xi mumbled a response, struggling to keep her heavy eyelids apart, she glanced at the road ahead; Xu Yanfeng drove steadily and quickly, the guesthouse wasn't far, so she sat up straighter, patted her cheeks to perk up.

About twenty minutes later, the car arrived at the destination, just as they ran into companions who had finished breakfast and were strolling in the courtyard; Xu Yanfeng prepared to get out, but then caught sight of the kiss mark on Xia Xi's neck—so obvious, she hadn't even used any concealer to cover it.

Xia Xi pushed open the car door, about to jump out, when Xu Yanfeng grabbed her arm; she looked back, her eyes showing confusion.

Xu Yanfeng pinched the collar of her shirt and pulled it up; Xia Xi then understood, she covered her neck: "Use a little less force, don't pull my clothes apart."

Xu Yanfeng: "……"

The two lingered in the car; someone who didn't understand came up and knocked on the window, smiling and saying, "Senior, you've worked hard."

Xu Yanfeng didn't hesitate for a second, got out and called everyone to unload the trunk. Xia Xi took the chance to slip out the other side, jogged back to her room, leaned against the inside of the door panting heavily, then locked eyes with Feng Xiaolai in the room.

Feng Xiaolai had just stepped out of the bathroom, her hands half-raised, water droplets still on them: "You're back?"

Xia Xi nodded, walked in calmly, and heard Feng Xiaolai ask concernedly: "Where did you and the senior stay last night?"

"The rain was too heavy, there was nowhere else to go, so we stayed at a hotel." Xia Xi sat at the table, calmly applying makeup; she first pulled out the concealer and dabbed it on the red spots on her neck.

Her movement obviously didn't escape Feng Xiaolai's eyes; her face flushed, she stammered: "I… I… I'm going to the bathroom."

Xia Xi turned to look at her: "You just came out of there, didn't you?"

Feng Xiaolai scratched her head: "... Oh right, right, right."

Taking advantage of the good weather, everyone discussed in the group and carried out yesterday's unfinished plan. Tomorrow we have to leave; we don't know when we'll come back next time, so we must go without regrets.

When asked about Xu Yanfeng, he gave no response; he was busy sending Xia Xi a private message: "Did you sleep?"

Xia Xi put on light makeup, set down her lipstick, picked up the phone on the table and replied: "No. Isn't the group discussing going mountain climbing and barbecuing again?" Feng Xiaolai had just read it to her.

Xu Yanfeng told her: "If you don't want to go, you can stay and rest at the guesthouse." She was so exhausted in the car she was banging her head against the glass—how could she still be thinking about mountain climbing and barbecue?

Xia Xi didn't want to make a fuss: "I don't feel very sleepy right now."

After Xu Yanfeng confirmed with her three times, she said she was completely okay; only then did he reply in the group, and they set off twenty minutes later.

This time, before heading out, everyone checked their belongings to avoid another round of losing things.

The guesthouse owner personally saw them off, repeatedly reminding them to find an open, flat spot for the barbecue and to avoid open flames.

Cheng Man Yi had been caught in the rain yesterday and caught a cold today; wearing a black sun-protective shirt, she coughed twice with each step, feeling listless, lacking both energy and courage to sway in front of Xu Yanfeng again.

What he said to her yesterday wasn't serious, yet it made her feel as if she'd been slapped, crushing her confidence.

Zhou Xiaoyu glanced at her a few times, secretly mocking her as useless; she had originally hoped Zhou would make Xia Xi uncomfortable, but instead she was defeated so quickly—just a paper tiger.

The group reached the mountaintop; the tents they had pitched yesterday still stood in place, the rain beads on them evaporated by the sun, the air filled with a pleasant herbal fragrance, even more refreshing than yesterday.

Xu Yanfeng took Xia Xi's hand and led her to their orange tent, inside which an inflatable mat was laid; he pulled a blanket from his pack: "Go get some sleep."

Xia Xi looked around; the boys and girls gathered together, assembling the grill, arranging ingredients and seasonings, slicing fruit: "Everyone's busy; if I just sleep soundly, will that be bad?"

"No." Xu Yanfeng said matter-of-factly, "I'll take care of your share of the work."

Xia Xi pressed her lips, a smile escaping her eyes: "You're so good to me, how should I repay you?"

Xu Yanfeng furrowed his brow, disliking her saying the word "repay," which sounded distant. But the next second, she stepped closer and softly said in his ear: "How about…"

The sound behind grew even softer; he had to hold his breath and listen closely to catch what she said.

His heartbeat quickened for an instant, his neck flushing red, like an allergic reaction.