Chapter 39 Strategy: The Mouth Above on the Thirty-Nineth Day

Xiang Di's mind was in turmoil.

There's a frantic voice in your head urging you to kiss her already! The person you've been longing for is less than half a meter away from you. What are you waiting for? Just kiss her and run away, never to see her again. Just enjoy yourself first.

Another rational side of her was dissuading herself from doing so. If she liked him, she should respect him. Regardless of gender, forcibly kissing someone is a very disrespectful act. She couldn't do something offensive to satisfy her own lust.

The person she liked was so close, and the lips she had longed for were right in front of her. Anyone in this situation would find it hard to stay calm. Xiang Di's heart was pounding so fast that she was worried she might faint at any moment.

Is this a dream? But if this isn't a dream, then why does Bai Jiangxin in front of me look like a wooden figure? Not moving at all.

Realistically, he should have pushed her away by now. At the very least, he could have asked, "How much longer are you going to sit on me?" and she could then legitimately withdraw her inappropriate thoughts and quickly get off him.

But no, he just let her sit on his lap in a daze, his arms still wrapped around her waist, as if... he was waiting for her to do something too.

But she quickly denied the speculation.

Impossible. She preferred to believe that the world she was in was a supernatural one, and that he hadn't pushed her away because time had stopped.

[Wait, if time really stopped, then why am I still conscious? ...Wait, I can still blink.]

Xiang Di blinked cautiously, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, enough to prove that time had not stopped at this moment.

Then why...?

Her breathing gradually became rapid due to some kind of speculation, and the peach-flavored fruit wine once again rushed to her throat, making her dizzy.

She could even feel the arm around her waist slowly tightening its grip, ensuring that it could hold her down should she try to escape.

Bai Jiangxin's Adam's apple bobbed slightly as he watched her face flush pink, listening to her speculations that, starting from an absurd pause in time, gradually approached the truth he wanted her to realize.

Can't.

He heard Xiang Di say in his heart.

She had finally managed to get closer to him over this long period of time, and she couldn't ruin everything because of a momentary impulse.

He was the moon in the sky that she admired. She liked him so much, even if they were just friends, she cherished it more than anything. She could fantasize about him all she wanted, but in reality, she couldn't, and absolutely couldn't, do anything that would make him hate her.

At this moment, her appreciation and respect for him far outweighed her desire and longing for him, and she turned her head away from the flute with difficulty.

If Bai Jiangxin couldn't hear her true feelings, he would definitely think she was a coward again.

But he happened to hear it, and so he just couldn't bring himself to say "coward."

Bai Jiangxin had always thought that her physical interest in him far outweighed any simple psychological attraction, until this moment, he finally realized that she wasn't.

She was indeed very lustful, but compared to her sincerity and cherishment towards him, all of that was insignificant.

Under the colorful ambient lights, the ambiguous light reflected on him, illuminating his black clothes and his aloof face. Fragments of light flickered in his pupils, like the gently swaying flames of a candle.

A warm touch enveloped his entire heart, and Bai Jiangxin could clearly feel his chest trembling violently. He felt what it was like to be cherished and held in someone's heart like a precious treasure.

She wasn't a coward; she was the only person he wanted to connect with constantly in this complex world of human emotions.

Sensing that Xiang Di seemed to want to get off him, Bai Jiangxin subconsciously didn't want to let that soft warmth leave him like that, so he tightened his arms and forcibly pressed her onto his lap.

Under her slightly surprised gaze, Bai Jiangxin pursed his lips, his cold face slightly furrowed, and his flickering eyes showed a struggle, as well as a helpless embarrassment.

She didn't intend to kiss him, but he really wanted her to.

He wanted to kiss her.

She was a gentleman whose reason outweighed her impulses, but he was not.

He leaned closer, feeling a moment of soft touch. His hand, which was gripping Xiang Di's waist, trembled slightly with the force. Xiang Di froze. Then, a loud shout completely shattered the silence of the private room.

Wang Sichen, feeling refreshed after unloading the goods, pushed open the door to the private room with great force.

"Comrades, you've waited long enough! I've returned in triumph!!!"

After shouting, they realized there were only two people in the private room.

Both of them were a little confused. Bai Jiangxin sat on the sofa, his outstretched arms still outstretched, looking at Xiang Di on the ground with a complicated expression.

Xiang Di sat at his feet, her hand on her lower back, looking pained.

Wang Sichen walked over: "What are you two doing? Xiang Di, why are you sitting on the ground?"

"I just tripped and fell..."

She gave a reluctant answer, and when Bai Jiangxin reached out to help her, she lowered her eyes, avoided him, and stood up by herself, holding onto the sofa.

Wang Sichen: "Why are there only the two of you? Where are the others?"

“They’ve gone out,” Xiang Di said. “I’ll go find them.”

Without waiting for Wang Sichen to reply, Xiang Di, supporting her waist, slipped past Wang Sichen at the door like an eel and disappeared into the private room.

Before Wang Sichen could even call out, the nimble little figure vanished into the magnificent golden corridor in the blink of an eye.

He had no choice but to turn his attention to Bai Jiangxin, hoping to glean some insight from him.

He sat on the sofa, hunched over, legs spread wide, elbows resting on his knees, one hand hanging limply with nowhere to go, the other hand covering his forehead, his lips pressed tightly together, his eyes closed, lost in thought.

For two years, Bai Jiangxin had always maintained a high and mighty demeanor, a proud and aloof academic genius. Wang Sichen had never seen him look so dejected before. She asked cautiously, "...What's wrong with you?"

His Adam's apple bobbed nervously as he swallowed, Bai Jiangxin kept his eyes closed, his voice hoarse: "It's nothing."

nothing?

Do you think he's a fool?

Being alone with someone of the opposite sex in a dimly lit private room late at night is something even a god would find hard to resist.

Wang Sichen knew that Bai Jiangxin was definitely lying, but unfortunately he didn't dare to ask.

-

Zhou Linxiao and the other two didn't go far. They each bought an ice cream cone at a milk tea shop not far from the KTV, and stood at the door, eating and chatting.

It wasn't until Xiang Di ran down, found them, and said that Wang Sichen had returned and they could leave.

The three returned to the private room and confirmed that Wang Sichen had regained her energy. Just then, the extra time was up, and the group could finally go home.

It was already past 7 p.m., and the shops along the street lit up with neon signs of all sizes. A group of people walked along the road toward the taxi stand.

Xiang Di walked in front, arm in arm with Liang Qianqian, while the four boys followed behind.

Just like during the day, as they walked, Ye Minjia and Wang Sichen caught up with them, saying they didn't want to be supporting characters for the other two.

The lighting wasn't great at night, but the colorful advertising lights along the street still managed to brighten up the two handsome men's good looks.

Unlike during the day, Xiang Di didn't turn her head even once. Even though she could clearly see the amazement in the eyes of several passersby who brushed past her, and even heard some bold girls behind her asking for their contact information, she resisted the urge to turn around.

It wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she simply didn't dare. She was afraid that if she turned around and met Bai Jiangxin's gaze, she would die on the spot.

She still can't believe what happened in those few minutes in the private room; it wasn't just a drunken dream she had because she was too drunk.

If it's a dream, it can be explained, because Bai Jiangxin's behavior in the dream is, frankly speaking, controlled by her deep subconscious. So whatever Bai Jiangxin does in her dream is a reflection and desire of her own heart. When she wakes up, although she may feel disappointed that it was just a dream, Xiang Di can distinguish between dreams and reality and will not be distracted by a dream.

But that was not a dream.

She had only drunk a low-alcohol fruit wine in the afternoon, which was far from enough to cause hallucinations. So when she accidentally fell on him and was struggling with whether or not to steal a kiss from him, she had just given up when Bai Jiangxin suddenly leaned in at that moment.

His breath brushed against the corner of her mouth, and for that instant, her lips seemed to truly touch something soft with the scent of peach wine.

So, did she run into him? Xiang Di didn't dare to think about it too much. If she did, she probably wouldn't even have the strength to walk anymore.

I subconsciously bit my lower lip, as if I could smell that cool and sweet peach wine mixed together again.

I can't take it anymore, my legs are really weak.

If Bai Jiangxin hadn't been right behind her, she really would have wanted to squat down on the spot, bury her head in her knees, and let her calm down for a few minutes.

Xiang Di suddenly leaned against Liang Qianqian.

Suddenly, a human-shaped pendant appeared on Liang Qianqian's arm. She tried to shake it off a couple of times but couldn't. Helplessly, she said, "Don't you have any bones?"

"Let me lean on you for a bit," Xiang Di said weakly, clinging tightly to Liang Qianqian's arm. "I can't walk anymore."

Wang Sichen, standing next to her, slightly twitched the corner of her mouth.

"Girls are so great. No one will suspect they're lesbians even though they're so lovey-dovey," Wang Sichen said. "If they were two guys, they would have been mistaken for gays long ago, right, class monitor?"

Ye Minjia shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Zhou Linxiao, who was walking behind, also saw them sticking together and said to Bai Jiangxin, "Girls seem to really like sticking together. The girl who asked you for your WeChat just now was holding hands with her friend."

It wasn't just the girl who just asked Bai Jiangxin; several other girls along the way also asked for their contact information, and each girl had a friend with her. So even if they were rejected, at least they had a friend with them.

Bai Jiangxin didn't care at all what the girl looked like or whether she had any friends with her. He just gave a perfunctory "hmm" to Zhou Linxiao's words.

Although Xiang Di and Liang Qianqian were walking at the front, they weren't far apart, and Bai Jiangxin could still hear what she was thinking.

She was making excuses for him in her heart.

[He definitely didn't do it on purpose. It must be because he was drunk, so his body was a bit out of control. After all, drunk people are prone to swaying and staggering. He might accidentally lean forward and... bump into me. Yes, that must be it. It makes perfect sense. So I just need to pretend nothing happened. Maybe he'll forget about it after he wakes up from a nap?]

[It was just a light touch on the corner of their lips, not even a full mouth-to-mouth kiss, not even a tongue exchanged, so it hardly counts as a first kiss, okay? Maybe he didn't even feel it? He didn't even care, so why are you so concerned? If you care, you've already lost, okay?]

[Yes, Xiang Di, you need to calm down. You absolutely cannot show that you're bothered by the accidental kiss on the corner of your mouth, otherwise you'll be completely under his control, understand?]

[You need to stay calm and composed. Don't be love-struck. You need to act like a strong female lead and say, "It's just a little accident. I don't care at all!"]

She had just mentally reassured herself to be a calm and collected leading lady when, in the next second, she was screaming in despair.

But he completely controlled me!

[They only touched your lips, not your genitals. Do you really think you'd get so hot all over, your legs would go weak, and you couldn't even walk? Is that all the defense you have?]

[You spineless coward, you're not even as good as those heroines in erotic novels who cry and beg for mercy after being licked a few times. How could you have the nerve to laugh at those heroines for being so easily slept with?]

She finally realized that she was just a paper tiger. She thought she was well-versed in erotic literature, said she wanted to kiss him to death every day, and considered herself a seasoned veteran who knew everything about men and women. In the end, she was so scared by Bai Jiangxin's light touch that she even used her ultimate move. It was too embarrassing.

The problem is that he was drunk and not thinking clearly, so in the end only she cared, and she was so cowardly that she didn't dare to confront him.

She started complaining about him again.

[Bai Jiangxin, you bastard, how dare you dangle me like that. You're just taking advantage of the fact that I like you. Just wait until tonight, I'll make you suffer in my dreams, tie you up and drip candle wax on your dick...]

"..."

Suddenly, his legs tightened as if he had been burned by something, and Bai Jiangxin stopped in his tracks.

Zhou Linxiao, who was standing next to him, asked, "What's wrong?"

Bai Jiangxin smiled slightly, shook his head, and could only say that it was nothing.

Looking helplessly at the figure walking ahead, Bai Jiangxin sighed deeply.

How could someone be so foolish as to be kissed and then actively defend the criminal?

She defended him in her heart, but he didn't know how to admit to her the offending behavior he had acted impulsively at that moment.

She thought of him as an ideal gentleman, unaware that his inner darkness was no less than hers. She said he was manipulating her, but wasn't she also manipulating him?

-

After all that commotion, Xiang Di was too exhausted to take public transportation home, so she opted to spend a fortune on a taxi.

It's quite convenient to get a taxi at this time. I just placed an order and a driver accepted it. Xiang Di said goodbye to everyone.

"Um, I've hailed a taxi, it'll be here soon, I'll be going now."

Ye Minjia said, "It's so late, isn't it unsafe for you to take a taxi home alone?"

"No way," Xiang Di said. "I used to take taxis alone all the time, and I've never had an accident."

"Just because nothing happened before doesn't mean nothing will happen now. Haven't you seen the news? What if you run into a perverted driver?"

Xiang Di felt a chill run down her spine after hearing what he said.

"Then I'll cancel and take the bus home..."

Ye Minjia said, "It's okay. You've already gotten a taxi, so just take it. Have someone ride with you and take you to your doorstep. That way, everything will be fine."

Liang Qianqian volunteered, "Then I'll go with her."

Ye Minjia clicked his tongue. What a terrible teammate. How come his IQ is sometimes online and sometimes offline?

"You're giving her a ride? That's perfect. If you run into a perverted driver, you two best friends can just send each other to their deaths."

Liang Qianqian thought Ye Minjia looked down on her, and said, "Don't underestimate me, okay? I learned Taekwondo when I was a child."

“Don’t make things worse. You need someone to take you home yourself,” Ye Minjia said. “I won’t feel at ease until I find a man to take Xiang Di home.”

Xiang Di thought that Ye Minjia's words meant that he was already planning to take her home. Her heart skipped a beat, and she was about to say that the class monitor was so kind, but he immediately said, "I can't. My mom just called me and told me to go home for dinner."

Then, ignoring Zhou Linxiao and Wang Sichen, he looked at Bai Jiangxin and asked, "Why don't you take Xiang Di home?"

Xiang Di opened her eyes wide.

The next second, she almost blurted out, "No need, no need. I think what you said makes sense, so for safety's sake, I'd rather not take a taxi and take the bus home."

As she spoke, she pointed to a bus that happened to be passing by on the side of the road.

"What a coincidence! Looks like I'm destined to take the bus home today. I'll be going now, bye-bye-bye!"

Without giving anyone a chance to react, he ran towards the flute.

Ye Minjia blinked, secretly observing Bai Jiangxin's expression.

His dark eyes stared blankly in the direction of the bus. After the bus drove away, he gave a faint smirk and then let out a low sneer.

Others might not know, but Bai Jiangxin did. He had driven Xiang Di home before and knew her address. It wasn't a bus that went directly to her neighborhood.

There's only one possibility: she's avoiding him.

After Xiang Di left, Bai Jiangxin also took a taxi home first.

The other four decided to take the subway home. As they walked towards the subway station, Wang Sichen suddenly said out of the blue, "Don't you guys think there's something going on between Bai Jiangxin and Xiang Di?"

As soon as he asked the question, Ye Minjia and Liang Qianqian spoke up at the same time: "You just realized? We knew a long time ago."

Wang Sichen gave a blank "Ah," then looked at Zhou Linxiao.

"You knew about this too?"

Zhou Linxiao smiled: "More or less, but I'm not entirely sure."

Wang Sichen pointed at herself: "Good grief, so I'm the only one who didn't know there was something going on between them?"

“It’s okay. With your intelligence, it’s already quite good that you figured it out yourself,” Ye Minjia said. “Since you’ve figured it out too, then let’s vote. Qianqian and I both think that they dated and then recently broke up, so they’re in an awkward post-breakup period.”

"What?" Wang Sichen's mouth dropped open. "They couldn't possibly have dated, could they? I had no idea."

Ye Minjia shrugged: "So, I'm letting you vote. Zhou Linxiao thinks they haven't reached the point of dating yet, and it's just Xiang Di's unrequited love."

"What? Xiang Di has a crush on you?" Wang Sichen's questioning tone rose a notch from before. "Then I didn't see it at all."

Zhou Linxiao smiled but didn't say anything.

If he hadn't accidentally seen that her pinned WeChat chat profile picture was Bai Jiangxin's Ragdoll cat, he wouldn't have noticed.

Zhou Linxiao's older sister has been a seasoned BJD enthusiast since childhood. She has raised dolls for many years and has enough dolls to fill a room. So, over the years, he has seen many beautiful and cute dolls with his sister. When he first saw Xiang Di, he was naturally attracted to her appearance.

Petite and adorable, with fair skin, pink lips, and round almond-shaped eyes, she's practically a Chinese doll straight out of a shop window.

Unfortunately, this Chinese doll already has someone she loves. Xiang Di has a great personality and is generous and friendly to everyone, but she is always cautious with only one person. When she talks to Zhou Linxiao, she dares to look directly into his olive-colored eyes, but every time she talks to Bai Jiangxin, her eyes are always slightly lowered, and she doesn't dare to look into his dark eyes.

Ever since Zhou Linxiao discovered that Xiang Di's pinned profile picture on WeChat was Bai Jiangxin's, her feelings for Bai Jiangxin had become impossible to hide in his eyes.

He wasn't afraid of becoming Bai Jiangxin's rival in love. Although Bai Jiangxin was a formidable opponent, he was too aloof, arrogant, and unwilling to let go of his pride. If they really fought, he might not be a match for him. However, Zhou Linxiao didn't want to force the lovely Miss who already had someone she loved, so he chose to offer his blessings.

At this moment, Ye Minjia asked Wang Sichen, "Which one are you voting for?"

Wang Sichen hesitated for a long time before stammering, "I don't think so."

"So what do you think it is?" Ye Minjia said. "Either they were mutually attracted, dated, and then broke up, or Xiang Di had a one-sided crush on him. Are there any other possibilities?"

Wang Sichen grunted: "Isn't there still the possibility that Bai Jiangxin has a one-sided crush on you?"

Ye Minjia laughed out loud.

"Then you still don't understand him at all. The possibility of him being in love with someone unrequitedly is basically less than an asteroid hitting the Earth and destroying it."

It's impossible for two passive people to make progress, so one of them must take the initiative. But Bai Jiangxin is so arrogant that even if the sky falls, it won't be able to crush his head. So it must be Xiang Di who takes the initiative.

-

Xiang Di had no idea that the four of them had already gone on to discuss her and Bai Jiangxin so enthusiastically.

Having finally returned home, Xiang Di, too tired to deal with Xiang Sheng, walked into her room listlessly, closed the door, and collapsed onto the bed.

On her way home, she kept thinking about the scene. Even though she was sure it wasn't a dream or a hallucination, it still felt unreal.

She repeatedly tried to exonerate Bai Jiangxin in her mind, as if he couldn't have done it on purpose. It seemed that only in this way could she explain his behavior today and calm her racing heart.

It wasn't that she hadn't considered a certain possibility, but that possibility was too slim to be true. Xiang Di really didn't dare to think about it, afraid that if she thought too much about it, it would all turn out to be just another wishful dream.

Because if you don't have expectations, you won't be disappointed; this is a must-learn lesson for everyone who has a crush.

She rolled over in bed, the light from the ceiling was so bright that she covered her eyes with her hand and realized that her forehead was burning hot.

She touched the corner of her mouth again; it wasn't hot, just cool, but the sensation was still faintly there.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

Xiang Di clutched his head, feeling like he was about to go crazy.

Bai Jiangxin! I must have owed you something in my past life!

For the first time in her life, she pronounced his name in a fierce tone. Before she could catch her breath, her phone, which she had carelessly tossed aside on the bed, suddenly vibrated.

Frustrated, she picked up her phone. When she saw the notification center showing who had sent her a message, her earlier anger instantly turned into shame and indignation.

She opened the message, and Bai Jiangxin asked her if she had arrived home yet.

She didn't want to reply, but she was afraid that if she didn't reply this time, he wouldn't message her again.

How pathetic. He gestured towards the dice and typed in the input box: "Mmm, I'm home."

No, that tone was too enthusiastic. After thinking for a long time, she deleted the "umm" and "home" from her mind.

【arrive. 】

That makes it less enthusiastic.

Bai Jiangxin seemed unfazed by her coldness: [Is it convenient to talk on the phone now?]

ah!

Xiang Di sat up abruptly from the bed.

God knows how much self-control she had to use to type out the four words "not very convenient".

Bai Jiangxin: [Then let's type it out.]

Xiang Di: [What do you want to talk to me about?]

Bai Jiangxin: [What happened in the private room.]

Xiang Di dared not reply.

She was afraid he would say it was just an accident, and although she had a premonition, she would still be disappointed. She was also afraid he would say it wasn't an accident, and she wouldn't be disappointed, but her heart might explode.