Chapter 89: This is my seat

On Saturday, there was a makeup class; the afternoon class was the last two periods, and after it ended it was already past five, with no time to sit down and eat slowly, Xia Xi bought a wrap she could eat while walking, said goodbye to her three roommates, and went to the teaching building where the Student Union was holding a meeting.

Having reached the downstairs, Xia Xi had just finished eating, not in a hurry to go up, she took out a wet wipe from her bag to clean her mouth, then took out her compact and lipstick in turn, and began to touch up her makeup.

Studying architectural design makes it impossible not to stay up late; staying up late makes it impossible to have a perfect complexion, so using makeup to conceal some of the aftereffects of staying up late is very necessary.

Xia Xi pursed her lips at the small mirror attached to the compact, then rubbed her lips back and forth with her fingertip twice to spread the lipstick evenly, finally checked both sides of her face in the mirror to ensure there were no flaws, and only then satisfied put her makeup back into her bag.

She looked up, and several girls walked past in front of her, giving her strange looks.

Although Xia Xi was used to being stared at, she could tell whether the gaze was kind or malicious. Among them, a girl wearing a purple floral dress and a knitted vest looked at her with obvious contempt.

Xia Xi felt puzzled.

'Am I bothering anyone by doing my makeup here?' Xia Xi didn't let this negative feeling linger in her heart; she raised her hand, gripped the strap of her canvas bag on her shoulder, quickened her pace, and entered the teaching building.

Those few girls were walking ahead of her, chatting and laughing; Xia Xi didn't overtake them, silently following behind as they went up the stairs.

"Wasn't that just Xia Xi? I've heard of her before, but this is the first time I've seen her. Why is she here at this time?" It had been quite a while after school ended; besides these Student Union members who needed to attend a meeting, no one would come here.

"You don't know? She joined the Student Union."

"Huh? I heard she's a junior, and most people quit the Student Union by their third year, so why is she still going in?"

"What else could it be? As the saying goes, the drunkard's intention is not in the wine; their target is none other than our Chairman." said with a sour tone.

"Tsk tsk, really persistent. But she came at the right time; Xu senior will definitely come today, having recruited a batch of newcomers, he as the Student Union Chairman has to show his face anyway."

After hearing their conversation, Xia Xi understood a bit; they were from the Student Union, possibly admiring or having a crush on Xu Yanfeng, which is why they took issue with her.

That's understandable.

Having gotten the answer she wanted, Xia Xi no longer lagged behind them; she took two steps at a time, squeezed to the edge of the stairs, and lightly said, "Excuse me."

The girl beside them instinctively moved inward to make way for those behind; when Xia Xi walked past them, the girl who had given way suddenly changed expression, exchanged glances with the others, and silently mouthed: "It's Xia Xi."

The faces of the other few were also unnatural; having their behind-the-back gossip caught red-handed by the subject herself was truly embarrassing.

The girl in the floral long dress and knitted vest snorted, rolled her eyes upward, didn't lower her volume, unafraid of being heard by Xia Xi: "What's there to fear? We haven't said anything bad about her; aren't we just stating facts? If anyone should feel guilty, it should be her."

When the few girls arrived at the meeting room, Xia Xi had already found a seat and was sitting there, legs crossed, playing with her phone.

She wore a white lace-knit long-sleeve shirt, through which a matching camisole could be faintly seen, paired with black denim A-line skirt and flat ankle boots, revealing a slender white section of leg that was dazzling. The outfit was very simple; on anyone else it wouldn't convey Xia Xi's vibe—cool, alluring, blended just right, neither too much nor too little.

Zhou Xiaoyu furrowed her brows, walked behind Xia Xi, tapped the chairback, and reminded this person who had taken over her nest: "This is my seat; please get up."

Xia Xi lifted her gaze from her phone screen, glanced briefly, and saw the girl in the floral long dress and knitted vest—the same one who had looked at her unfavorably downstairs earlier.

"Did you write your name on it?" Xia Xi didn't stand up to yield the seat as she suggested, but instead asked seriously.

Zhou Xiaoyu's brows furrowed even deeper.

"Xia Xi, you joined the External Relations Department, right?" Zhou Xiaoyu said with a cold face, nothing like the 'smile' in her name, "I'm the head of the External Relations Department—what are you doing? Don't you take me as the department head seriously?"

On the day of the External Relations Department interview she wasn't there; it was handled by a few others, and if she had been present, she would definitely not have accepted Xia Xi.

Xia Xi didn't respond to that, but instead looked at the two male students sitting opposite, whom she had already met; they were the heads of the Publicity Department and the Discipline Inspection Department, and she asked, "Are seats fixed during meetings?"

The two boys didn't grasp the undercurrents between the girls; the head of the Publicity Department answered honestly: "No."

The head of the Discipline Inspection Department then added: "You can sit anywhere."

Xia Xi gave a slight smile, turned to look at Zhou Xiaoyu, whose face had turned ashen, and said: "Then how can this head of the External Relations Department claim I'm occupying her seat?" Originally she had wanted to apply for the Secretariat; the Secretariat staff assist the Chairman's team in carrying out work, which would give her a chance to get closer to Xu Yanfeng. Unfortunately, heaven doesn't always grant her wishes—the Secretariat had already filled its quota, so she had to settle for second best and join this so-called External Relations Department.

Zhou Xiaoyu indeed had no grounds; unable to refute her, she angrily pulled out her chair with a loud scrape and sat down to Xia Xi's lower side.

Xia Xi rested her chin on her hand, tilted her head to look at her, and said innocently: "I've never joined a Student Union before; I'd heard that some schools' Student Unions are terribly bureaucratic, but I thought Nan Da wouldn't be like that—after all, it's a century-old prestigious school with deep foundations and a good reputation. Yet just now I heard the department head throw her weight around with every sentence, throwing her authority around like a big official, and I suddenly started to doubt."

Zhou Xiaoyu's face shifted from green to purple to white, changing like a revolving lantern, even showing a hint of panic: "Don't talk nonsense, I haven't."

Since Xu Yanfeng took the seat of Student Union Chairman, discipline has become especially strict; his first demand was to strictly forbid Student Union members who hold even a little power from engaging in bureaucratism.

Once discovered, the consequences are severe.

Zhou Xiaoyu had barely managed to become head of the External Relations Department; she wouldn't dare lightly challenge Xu Yanfeng's authority, so pinning this hat on Xia Xi was like hitting the snake's vital spot.

Xia Xi wasn't intentionally making things difficult for her; she was just letting off steam: "Oh, sorry, I misunderstood."

Zhou Xiaoyu grit her teeth silently.

From the moment the name 'Xia Xi' reached her ears, Zhou Xiaoyu knew this person was no ordinary character; in their first encounter just now, she had lost to her, which also served to confirm her suspicion.

People trickled in one after another, soon filling the meeting room; those who arrived late found the tables surrounded, so they voluntarily brought stools to sit in the back.

Xia Xi sat up straight, looking expectantly toward the door.

A few minutes later, Xu Yanfeng appeared, and the classroom suddenly fell silent.

He was dressed more formally than in previous meetings—a light blue shirt almost white, black suit trousers, completely wrinkle-free, one button undone at the shirt collar, a low-key silver-gray watch on his left wrist, holding a blue folder in his hand, striding over as if bringing a gust of wind.

His whole body exuded a chilly aura.

Xia Xi's gaze followed his movements unwaveringly until he took the main seat beside her; at that moment she was immensely glad she had freed up her dinner time to snag a seat.

Before Xu Yanfeng even sat down, he noticed the girl beside him, his body pausing slightly.

"Her? How is she here?" Xia Xi curled the corner of her mouth, flashing him what she thought was her brightest smile, waved her hand slightly beside her face to greet him. Though she didn't speak, her eyes said: "Hey, long time no see."

Xu Yanfeng retracted his gaze without a word, sat down, opened the folder, gave a brief self-introduction before getting to the main topic, then went on to explain the Student Union's various rules and the work to be carried out next.

The school is organizing a debate competition at the end of this month, with debaters from other schools coming to our campus; the Student Union is responsible for related matters, such as promoting the event, seeking sponsorship, receiving the debate teams, and so on.

Xia Xi noted everything down in her notebook; more often she simply rested her chin on one hand, staring dreamily at Xu Yanfeng as he spoke. His voice was pleasant, unhurried, with clear enunciation, making her think of cold jade striking metal.

She caught a faint scent from him—she couldn't tell whether it was detergent or perfume—but it smelled like a very clean, natural herbal plant aroma.

She also noticed that when he spoke for a while, he would unconsciously lick his lips once, which she caught.

After the main points were finished, Xu Yanfeng paused and asked if anyone had any other questions.

Xia Xi immediately sat upright, raised her right hand with her left hand supporting her right elbow, just like a student eagerly answering a teacher's question in class. Xu Yanfeng looked at her and signaled with his eyes for her to speak.

"Could I get a senior's WeChat to facilitate future work?" Xia Xi said.

That reason is more than justified; Xu Yanfeng should not refuse, right?

Xia Xi had thought it would be wonderful, but Xu Yanfeng had a hundred reasons to refuse her, each even more justified than hers: "If anything comes up, I'll inform the Secretariat, the Secretariat will contact your department heads, and they will arrange the specific work. Any other questions?"

Xia Xi was stunned, hearing a low snicker from beside her: "A toad wants to eat swan meat."

(End of Chapter)