CH 17

“Um…”

A silence that was neither long nor short.

But this brief pause was enough for Kong Nianxi’s mind to wander in all directions.

Given Xi Ning’s introverted personality, it was natural for her to be shy, and Kong Nianxi completely understood this. She had plenty of patience to wait for the other person to adjust. In fact, every time the other person inadvertently showed signs of discomfort or tension, it gave her a sense of satisfaction.

The other girls in the dormitory were still laughing and joking behind her, occasionally using foul language. It seemed like they were playing games together, and no one noticed the commotion at the door.

Xi Ning stood in the corridor outside the door, already changed into her pajamas. It was a plain warm color with no pattern, and her long arms and legs were wrapped tightly. She even buttoned up her shirt tightly when she went to sleep. The long, slender, and fair neck that protruded from her collar was smooth, and her soft long hair fell on her shoulders. The slightly messy hair on top of her head looked fluffy and soft under the orange light, giving her a cute and contrasting look to her normally cold and expressionless face.

Kong Nianxi’s gaze passed over her chin and fell on the graceful shoulders beneath her thin pajamas. She suddenly thought of the giant plush toy in the same color scheme on her bed.

She had an urge to go over and give her a hug.

“Um…”

Xi Ning’s rosy lips moved slightly, and Kong Nianxi’s lips curled up as she listened intently for her next words.

“I want to ask… Is Wen Yao here?”

“…”

There was no response for a long time, and Xi Ning vaguely felt that something was off. She thought about it and explained, “Um, she should be the one who moved in today…”

“Wen Yao?”

Kong Nianxi’s smile widened again, but Xi Ning didn’t feel much warmth from it. She even felt a hint of coldness behind her.

She hesitated for a moment and replied, “…Yes.”

“Wen Yao, someone’s looking for you.”

Kong Nianxi turned her head and called out to the inside, but she turned back and took a big step forward, saying calmly, “Excuse me.”

Xi Ning quickly took a step back, and Kong Nianxi put away her smile and wiped her shoulder as she walked by.

Looking at the wide path in front of her.

Xi Ning: “…”

Immediately after, another girl walked out of the dormitory. She was thin, not short, with well-defined features. She wore a leather jacket and a short skirt, and her long legs were clad in Dr. Martens boots. She was a cool beauty.

“Are you looking for me? What’s up?” The girl looked at Xi Ning.

“I-“

Su Yuqi just wanted to confirm if the person was there or not. She didn’t say anything else. She originally wanted to ask about Su Yuqi, but given her understanding of Su Yuqi, she thought for a moment and dismissed the idea of mentioning her to the girl.

Seeing Xi Ning’s hesitation, Wen Yao sneered, “I just transferred here today. Where did you hear about me from? Ha…I didn’t expect this school to be crazier than my last one.”

Xi Ning: “…?”

Wen Yao folded her arms and stared at Xi Ning’s face for a few seconds before suddenly smiling, revealing her teeth. “Although you’re not my type, I have to admit that you’re pretty.”

After she finished speaking, she took out her phone and handed it over.

Xi Ning looked down at the very cute phone case in confusion and raised her head in doubt.

Wen Yao laughed, “You came all the way here at night, didn’t you want to hit on me? Don’t you want my number?”

“…”

Xi Ning raised her hand to her forehead and suddenly just wanted to go back to sleep.

“Classmate, you misunderstood.”

“Misunderstood?”

Wen Yao took back her phone and laughed indifferently, “Fine, it’s boring.”

After speaking, she seemed to lose interest and turned directly back to the dormitory.

…

Returning to her own dormitory to the sound of the lights being turned off, Xi Ning lay on her bed and sent a message to Su Yuqi. The other party replied quickly, but only with the words “Thank you,” and nothing more.

Given the other’s unusual reaction these past few days, and the particularly unique girl just now, Xi Ning couldn’t help but ask for more information.

It wasn’t until she was about to fall asleep that she received Su Yuqi’s reply:

“My mom is getting remarried, and she is my nominal step-sister.”

…

In the blink of an eye, it was Friday. Xi Mu was unusually quiet these past two days. Compared to the “information bombing” of the previous few days, he was obediently quiet.

Xi Ning had originally planned to wait for him to send her cat videos to tempt her and then directly express her refusal, but she didn’t receive any more messages from him afterwards, saving her from having to waste her breath.

It seemed that the basketball game on Wednesday had really hurt his fragile teenage heart, or maybe he had given up after the initial three-minute enthusiasm.

But for Xi Ning, it didn’t matter. As long as the other party didn’t come to bother her again, it was the best outcome.

“Ring ring…”

After the second class in the morning, Xi Ning followed the dark crowd out of the computer room and headed towards the teaching building.

“Ha~”

Tu Xiaoyuan followed the person in front of her listlessly. Her English was never good to begin with, and a whole period of listening and speaking exercises left her sleepy and anxious, especially since the class was scheduled in the morning. As she walked, she yawned and rubbed her eyes, which were blurry from tears. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed Xi Ning’s pinkie finger, who was walking beside her.

However, Xi Ning pulled her hand away in the next second.

Tu Xiaoyuan didn’t pay attention and, after a while, she saw a girl in front of her holding hands with someone, so she subconsciously reached over to hold Xi Ning’s hand. As a result, Xi Ning pulled away from her again. She finally realized something was wrong and said unhappily, “What’s wrong with you lately, Xi Ning? Do you look down on me? If you keep doing this, I’ll go find Zhuai Zhuai!”

Xi Ning walked forward with an unchanged face and said lightly, “Hmm, go ahead.”

Looking around and not seeing Su Yuqi’s figure, Tu Xiaoyuan pouted and said, “Why is Zhuai Zhuai so elusive these days? Could it be that she’s not dating anymore!”

Hearing her say this, Xi Ning noticed that Su Yuqi, who had originally come out with them, was nowhere to be seen. She looked around and saw that the crowd around them had already dispersed quite a bit. She had originally come to find Su Yuqi, but in passing, she caught sight of a figure that was quite familiar.

Well, she didn’t know when it started, but she was so familiar with Kong Nianxi’s physical features that she could recognize her at a glance even from the uniform back that looked the same as everyone else’s.

Her uniform coat was still not properly worn, loosely draped over her shoulders, and the fair skin behind her collar was faintly visible through her soft hair, giving off a warm glow in the morning sun.

At the moment, she was walking alone along the side of the road, her head hanging down and her pace extremely slow. Originally, there was still some distance between Xi Ning and her, but after a while, they walked side by side.

Walking on opposite sides of the small path, Xi Ning withdrew her gaze and prepared to go straight across, but she saw Kong Nianxi still hanging her head and walking straight towards the open drain on the side of the road. Xi Ning’s brow furrowed, and she took two steps forward and grabbed her arm, saying, “Be careful!”

Because she was in a hurry, she unconsciously raised her voice, attracting many curious glances from around them.

Xi Ning pursed her lips, let go of the other person’s arm, and bumped into Kong Nianxi’s dazed, slightly blurred eyes. She was slightly stunned.

Kong Nianxi, who hadn’t slept well last night and was suddenly pulled by someone, looked up and saw Xi Ning’s face, which was so close to her own. She blinked and showed an unconsciously vulnerable smile, then pounced on her shoulder like a cat.

“So sleepy…”

“…”

On the other side, Tu Xiaoyuan, who had been pushed away twice, looked at Xi Ning, who had been hugged by Kong Nianxi for a long time without moving, and said, “???”