Chapter 94

Xia Xi, feeling bitter, turned back, printed two forms at a print shop near the school gate, stuffed them into her bag, and took a taxi to that whatever Huai Xi Bu Xing Jie.

Sitting in the car, her phone gave a low battery warning; Xia Xi rummaged through her bag, fortunately she had brought a power bank. She plugged her phone in, and a message popped up in the dormitory four-person group.

Wu Qinglu: "It looks like it's going to rain outside, Xi Xi, why aren't you back yet? @Xia Xi"

Zhao Lei: "Didn't you say you'd just practice golf for two hours? What time is it now?"

Wang Qiuyu: "@Xia Xi"

Xia Xi's arms were sore; she didn't want to type, held down the voice key, and said weakly: "Comrades, you were right about it—our department head is giving me a hard time, making me go to Huai Xi Bu Xing Jie to solicit sponsorship right now; I'm on my way there."

The group chat exploded.

Wang Qiuyu: "I knew that little bitch wouldn't let it go; she'll definitely seize any chance to get revenge on you. You're also stupid—why listen to her? Can't you go tomorrow? Look at those dark clouds, so gloomy."

Xia Xi: "If I don't do it, I'll just have someone else do it; later I'll go to Xu Yanfeng to complain about him—he might seize the opportunity, using the pretext to stop me from harassing him by making me quit the Student Union, and then I'd lose more than I gain."

Zhao Lei: "Sigh, it all comes down to Xu Yanfeng. Men are just disasters!"

Xia Xi: "You can scold me, but not him—it's not his fault."

Zhao Lei: "……"

Wu Qinglu: "Do you want us to come with you?"

Xia Xi: "I'm almost there; you guys rest in the dorm, I'll hit a few places to get this done and then head back."

Wang Qiuyu: "Then you stay safe on your own and keep in touch."

Xia Xi: "OK."

Xia Xi put her phone back in her bag, turned to look out the window at the sky—there had been a faint glimmer, grayish, but now it was black as spilled ink. She muttered to herself, "It's not really going to rain, is it? I didn't bring an umbrella."

Upon arriving at Huai Xi Bu Xing Jie, Xia Xi felt like she'd seen a ghost—where was the scene Zhou Xiaoyu described of "still crowded after midnight"? It wasn't even seven yet, and the street's foot traffic was pitifully low.

She was deceived by Zhou Xiaoyu.

Indeed, she shouldn't have believed a word Zhou Xiaoyu said.

"Since she's here, she might as well make the best of it," Xia Xi murmured, zipped up her jacket, walked into a sportswear store on the street, and smiled: "Hello, is the manager in?"

"That's me," said one of the older sisters, stepping forward. "What do you need?"

The manager could tell Xia Xi wasn't there to buy anything.

Xia Xi introduced herself briefly, stating her purpose; the manager seemed unwilling to sponsor and was about to politely refuse, but Xia Xi saw what she was thinking and didn't give her a chance to speak: "It's like this: the debate competition our school is hosting is huge, with teams from several well-known universities in Beicheng; we'll post related articles on our official account and stream the whole thing on major social platforms—this is definitely a positive and effective promotion for you. Please consider it, sister. Look, the jacket I'm wearing today is your brand, and I'll personally promote you even more in the future."

Today Xia Xi's outing was mainly to learn golf, so her attire was naturally sporty: a white T-shirt under a silver-gray jacket, paired with white tapered sports pants. Coincidentally, the jacket is from this brand.

When she spoke, her eyes crinkled with a smile; she deliberately softened her voice, making it sound sweet, which softened hearts and made it hard to refuse her request.

The manager stared at her, hesitated a few seconds, then changed her mind: "All right. Seeing how sincere you are, I agree."

"Thank you so much!"

Xia Xi had never done this before; closing the first store gave her a big confidence boost.

She filled out the forms and went to the second, third, fourth shop… Of course it couldn't be smooth everywhere—some agreed, some refused. Wanting to finish quickly, she hit seven or eight stores in a row, exhausted to the point of being snappy.

Coming out of an eyeglass store, Xia Xi prepared to buy a bottle of water when suddenly thunder boomed from the horizon—the rain came down just as it was announced. Large raindrops hammered the ground, kicking up dust, and in an instant the surface was soaked.

Xia Xi stood in the hallway outside the store, blankly staring at the rain curtain that joined sky and earth, silently sighing "What bad luck"—it hadn't rained earlier or later, but chose this moment.

The convenience store was across the street; given this downpour, running over would be no different from taking a shower, so Xia Xi scrapped the idea of going to buy water and maybe an umbrella. She walked forward down the hallway into the next shop.

She clung to the hopeful thought that maybe the rain would stop soon.

Xia Xi kept going to a few more stores; seeing it was past nine, the rain showed no sign of letting up, let alone stopping.

The sky seemed to have been punctured, and the temperature dropped along with it.

Xia Xi crossed her arms and rubbed them, standing in a sheltered spot in the hallway to keep splashes from wetting her pants. The street was empty, not even a passing taxi in sight, and she waited there helplessly.

Zhou Xiaoyu really screwed her over.

Her phone buzzed repeatedly with messages from the dorm group; her roommates were worried and asked where she was.

Xia Xi replied: "I'm fine, just waiting for a ride."

*Huai Xi Bu Xing Jie isn't exactly a bustling area, but there's a hot pot restaurant that's been open for thirty-odd years and is extremely famous, doing booming business. Tonight the members of Sushe are celebrating Chen Mian's birthday there.

Xu Yanfeng drove a Mercedes-Benz GLS, low-key and unobtrusive, almost blending into the heavy rain night.

Inside the car, several people were chatting about the soccer match being broadcast on the hot pot restaurant's projection screen, talking excitedly as if they were at the stadium. Xu Yanfeng, as always silent, rested his hands on the steering wheel and drove smoothly through the wet streets.

A familiar figure flickered in his peripheral vision; Xu Yanfeng tapped the brake, slowing gradually, recognized Xia Xi, released the brake, and drove past her.

"Hey, isn't that Xia Xi, the junior?" Chen Mian, in the passenger seat, also saw Xia Xi; with hardly anyone around, she stood alone and conspicuous, and he exclaimed, "With this downpour and how late it is, how is she supposed to get home?"

Fang Huaiyuan and Yu Tingbo in the back seat peered around: "Where?"

"We just passed—look back, left side, the girl in white pants outside the clothing store." Chen Mian pointed them out, then turned to the unmoving Xu Yanfeng at the wheel: "Won't you give her a lift?"

Xu Yanfeng, sparing with words: "Not acquainted."

"How can you not know her? She's been chasing you for days—don't tell me you don't remember her. You're the chairman of the Student Union; shouldn't you look after your members?" Chen Mian glanced left and right at the windows; the heavy rain meant no customers, some shops had closed and their lights were off. "Let me tell you, this area isn't safe—there have been robberies before; I heard a girl's gold earring got ripped out, tearing her ear, and the blood…"

"Screech—"

That was the sound of an emergency brake.

The tires scraped against the muddy road, coming to a steady stop; Xu Yanfeng's gaze was calm and unreadable as he looked at the chattering Chen Mian. The latter, slightly guilty, avoided his eyes, looked up at the car roof, and retorted stubbornly: "I'm stating facts—believe it or not."

Xu Yanfeng tightened his grip on the steering wheel, held still for a few seconds, then restarted the car.

Chen Mian thought he was truly heartless to abandon Xia Xi, but the car drove past the next intersection, flicked its tail, turned around. Three minutes later it stopped opposite Xia Xi on the road.

Xu Yanfeng turned on his hazard lights to alert the person still waiting foolishly for a ride.

When he first saw her, he instinctively hit the brake, thinking to give her a ride. A girl standing alone in a deserted place on a rainy night is indeed unsafe. Although he doesn't like her, he still has basic decency and doesn't want anything to happen to him. But he also worries that doing so would make her think he's giving her hope, and she'd never give up pursuing him.

In his hesitation, Chen Mian spoke up, conveniently giving him a reason to stop.

If she asks, he can say it was Chen Mian's idea and has nothing to do with him.

You're so stubborn, Xu Er (*^▽^*) (End of chapter)