Chapter 196: You look beautiful in that dress

Xu Yanfeng lives alone in a room, a special treatment reserved for him alone.

Which room was it again? Xia Xi tapped her chin with her finger, sneaking in the direction she remembered, turning left and right, almost getting dizzy.

She was highly focused, so she naturally didn't notice a shadow flash behind her, looking at her with malice.

Xia Xi stopped outside a room, took a deep breath, as if this was the one.

She raised her hand to knock, then suddenly felt unsure, what if she got it wrong?

Why not send a message first to ask Xu Yanfeng?

But if she asked him beforehand, he would likely stop her.

As Xia Xi hesitated, the door in front of her was opened from inside, Xu Yanfeng inside and she outside stared at each other. Xia Xi silently gasped "wow", it seemed she hadn't remembered wrong—he indeed lived in this room.

Xu Yanfeng was stunned, about to ask something, but she quickly slipped in beside him, turned and shut the door, then took the initiative to ask: "You going out for something?"

"The hair dryer in the room is broken, I was about to borrow one." Xu Yanfeng answered her question first, then recalled what he had wanted to ask: "How did you come over?"

He had just come out of the bathroom, still damp with steam, the scent of his usual body wash—likely he brought it himself, not using the inn's. His black hair was wet and hung loosely, the ends nearly covering his eyebrows; his eyes below were calm as a deep sea at night, always hiding many emotions, impossible to read.

"I… I heard a call from your heart, coming to help you solve your difficulties." Xia Xi spoke nonsense, yet her expression was utterly serious: "Yeah, that's it."

Xu Yanfeng leaned against the chest by the door, looking at her leisurely: "And the hair dryer you brought?"

Xia Xi, thinking on her feet: "Can I dry you off manually, OK?"

Xu Yanfeng let out a light chuckle, could her excuse be any worse?

Xia Xi looked around, her gaze quickly locking onto the black backpack on the sofa chair; she remembered his backpack held clean towels for emergencies, she rummaged and indeed found—not just one.

She took Xu Yanfeng's hand to the sofa edge, pressed her palm on his chest to push him down, then went around behind to dry his hair.

A white towel wrapped his head, fingers applying moderate pressure, rubbing back and forth like drying a big dog—Xia Xi didn't know why she thought of that, she bit her lip, shoulders trembling with suppressed laughter; she held back, otherwise he'd ask what she was laughing at.

The boy's hair is short, dries quickly; Xia Xi used one towel to get it half-dry, then switched to another towel to continue.

Xu Yanfeng raised his arm, caught her hand, worried she'd tire: "No need to keep drying, it'll be dry after a moment."

"No way, someone will again accuse me of being perfunctory, not valuing what I get. A huge black pot, I won't take the blame." Xia Xi pulled her hand free, thoroughly massaging his scalp while drying and pressing.

Xu Yanfeng said helplessly: "Why are you so grudgeful?"

Xia Xi didn't argue, and only stopped when his hair was nearly dry, her arms aching; she moved one arm a few times, exhausted, took a big breath, tossed the towel aside, then from behind wrapped her arms around Xu Yanfeng's neck, bent down, rested her chin on his shoulder and rubbed, seizing the moment to ask: "Can I stay at your place tonight?"

Xu Yanfeng tilted his head, realizing he'd fallen into her trap—she first offered meticulous service, then made her request; he'd have to be ruthless to refuse her.

After waiting a long time without his reply, Xia Xi frowned, tightened her grip on his neck, and threatened: "Will you answer or not?"

"What will you do if I don't agree?"

"Anyway I'm staying here, unless you carry me out and toss me back to my room."

Why bother asking his opinion? She already had her plan; whether he agrees or not seems irrelevant.

Xu Yanfeng chuckled: "Living with you is……"

"It's Xiao Lai!" Xia Xi immediately replied, "I already told her, she'll lock the doors and windows."

Xu Yanfeng grasped her upper arm, pulling her from behind to the front; she tripped on her slippers, fell seated on him, simply stayed put, adjusted her sitting posture, comfortably nestled in his arms, using him as a human pillow.

"How did you tell her?" Xu Yanfeng wondered.

"Just the truth." Xia Xi said matter-of-factly, "How else could I say it?"

Xu Yanfeng shouldn't have asked further; her train of thought is consistently odd.

Night deepened, the two lay on a bed, doing nothing; Xia Xi leaned into his embrace, he held her waist, they slept entwined. Only before falling asleep did they kiss for a long time.

Forget who initiated; perhaps they moved together, breaths tangled, the kiss made the quilt hot, both breaking a light sweat. Xia Xi's sleep dress straps had the outer robe removed, tossed to the bed's edge, one strap loosened, revealing skin still bearing last night's marks.

Xu Yanfeng rarely sweet‑talks; likely overcome by emotion, in the gap of their kiss he whispered hoarsely: "You look beautiful in that dress."

Xia Xi was already dazed and lovestruck; hearing his words, it took her a while to gather a thread of thought, first wondering which dress she wore, then recalling it was just an ordinary sleep dress.

Cinnamon pink, with black lines outlining big flowers, the straps two fingers wide of black velvet, adjustable length, she tied them into a bow like two black butterflies on her white shoulders. Now, one butterfly has flown away.

"Am I not pretty in other dresses?" Xia Xi had many questions, "Am I not pretty without a dress? Am I not pretty as a person?"

Xu Yanfeng tapped her forehead with a finger: "Don't argue."

Xia Xi narrowed her eyes and smiled.

Before, no matter how carefully she dressed, he never complimented her; today she casually threw on a sleep dress and he praised her, she couldn't help feeling unbalanced? But she knew clearly: he didn't think she was unattractive before; it was just that he never voiced his feelings.

Xu Yanfeng retied her loose strap, not making a nice bow, just tying a simple knot.

After the seven‑day vacation, as students we had to return to our original study rhythm, feeling strong withdrawal; professors joked that it felt like they were teaching a bunch of elementary schoolers who couldn't sit still.

The class burst into laughter.

At that moment a post appeared out of nowhere in the campus forum, with pictures and text, pointing out that the renowned Nan Da campus belle, outwardly aloof, is many people's goddess in their hearts, but behind the scenes shameless, a commodity that lures men at midnight.

This is no longer innuendo; it's just short of naming names.

Chen Mian usually idles around, likes browsing the forum to answer underclassmen's questions and share experience posts; when he saw this, his head buzzed and his eyes widened.

He clicked to enlarge the photo; the girl in the sleep robe had her face blurred, he couldn't tell who she was, but the keywords in the description matched immediately.

The Nan Da campus belle is Xia Xi.

Since Xia Xi moved into Xin Xiaoqu, the campus belle throne has not fallen to anyone else.

This was Chen Mian's first encounter with such a thing; he was nervous all over, wiped the sweat from his forehead, swallowed, forced himself to calm down to think of a countermeasure. He first left a comment urging the poster to delete the post, then screenshotted it and sent it to Xu Yanfeng, who was not at school, asking how to handle it.

Best to nip it in the bud before it spreads, otherwise the damage to Xia Xi's reputation would be too great.