Chapter 13 Where to touch after soaking?
Around 7 p.m., the night was warm and inviting, and Anlin City was immersed in a lively, bustling atmosphere. The city center was ablaze with neon lights, and a grand declaration of love was scrolling across the electronic screen of the Media Building.
Yin Xiao glanced at it, then quickly looked away, grimacing as she touched the non-existent goosebumps on her arm. "I can't take it."
She took a few steps forward, stopped in a corner of the empty square, and quietly looked up to her right.
Yi Zhiyan walked unhurriedly beside her, his coat open, ostentatiously revealing the thin black shirt underneath. His face was as cold as ice, maintaining that aloof demeanor that made the surrounding temperature seem to drop several degrees.
Yin Xiao let out a sigh, half helpless and half annoyed, "What were you thinking just now? Why did you rush up there? It was unnecessary to fight him, and you got hurt. If this gets out of hand, the school will hold it against you, and then..."
Yi Zhiyan turned to look at her. The flickering light behind him illuminated his face, revealing a small red swelling at the corner of his mouth. She met his clear eyes and suddenly couldn't continue speaking.
“I didn’t think about anything, and I knew it was unnecessary to hit him. I just wanted him to apologize.” He frowned, reluctantly raised his hand to touch his face, and gasped in pain. “So I didn’t expect him to hit me, and I certainly didn’t expect… I almost lost.”
Seeing his defiant expression, Yin Xiao laughed out of turn and patted his shoulder on tiptoe.
"That's amazing! Anyway, thank you for..."
Before she could speak, she was suddenly enveloped in an embrace. His hands gripped her back, forcing her half-dazed head to bury itself against his chest.
The heat from her chest burned her through the thin fabric, colliding violently with the howling cold wind beside her ears. The oversized windbreaker draped over her back, bringing a strange, complete sense of security.
Her breath hitched, she leaned half her face against his chest, and said in a muffled voice, "Could you loosen your grip a little?"
The grip on her shoulders loosened considerably, and Yi Zhiyan's voice was low and hoarse.
"Yin Xiao, although our marriage is fake, I will do everything I can to help you solve your problems within this year under the guise of marriage. I can give you anything. You can come to me..."
Yin Xiao raised her hand listlessly, fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, and pouted.
She hated listening to his serious-sounding rhetoric, saying he could give her anything, but he was just making empty promises... Besides, her neck was almost stiff from holding it in.
Yin Xiao lifted her chin, struggling to tilt her head back a few times to adjust the angle of her neck, finding a comfortable position before leaning back peacefully. She looked over his shoulder at the large electronic screen opposite her, her gaze suddenly stopping.
"Yi Zhiyan, look!" She punched him hard and shoved his shoulder away without hesitation.
Yi Zhiyan released her, staring intently down at her, still lost in his own emotions, "You can..."
Yin Xiao hurriedly grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around and look at the scrolling electronic screen outside the building.
"Look at the names on the electronic screen."
He squinted at the wind, "Yin Yi? Your sister?"
"Look down, there's more below the heart! The blue signature is Qi Chen."
"Qi Chen?" He paused. "Is it the Qi Chen I know?"
"Why don't you ask?"
Yi Zhiyan nodded in agreement, while touching his phone and complaining, "It really does seem like something he would do."
Yin Xiao stared intently at his phone, when her own phone suddenly vibrated; her sister, Yin Yi, was calling.
"Sis? I have something to ask you." She answered the phone and couldn't wait to ask, "Do you know a guy named Qi Chen? He goes to the same school as me."
"I know him; he was interning in our company's development department."
Yin Xiao paused, covered her phone with both hands, looked up at Yi Zhiyan, and quietly mouthed, "It might really be true."
Yin Yi asked anxiously, "What's wrong? What kind of trouble has he caused this time?"
"Oh, no... I just saw a big confession screen at Hongye Square. Maybe it was given to you by him, you know?"
"That little brat is serious? It's so embarrassing to actually put a big screen on it, I'm speechless!" A series of crackling sounds came from the other end, and Yin Yi's anger almost pierced through the screen. "I'll settle the score with him later! Ahem... let me tell you the important thing first."
"Serious business? What is it?"
“Our dear Boss Qian’s mom just called and said she wants to send us foot bath packs. I asked her to send them to you as well, and I’ll pick them up from you when they arrive.”
Yin Xiao frowned. "Sent to me? Sent to the school?"
"No, I think the address is your home, isn't it? It's called Qiyuan?"
"Qiyuan?" Yin Xiao glanced at Yi Zhiyan. "I'm not staying here anymore. I just stayed here for one night yesterday."
Yin Yi said slowly, "Judging from her tone, you're going to stay for a long time."
Yin Xiao remained silent for a moment, her eyelashes fluttering in surprise, before she gave a perfunctory reply and hung up the phone.
The electronic screen across the street had been looping for who knows how many times, displaying a declaration of love that changed color with each word, a romantic yet somewhat unsettling display that attracted many passersby to stop and watch.
Seeing that the square was getting more and more crowded, Yin Xiao subconsciously reached out and grabbed Yi Zhiyan's sleeve, and whispered.
“My mom thought I was still living at your place, so she sent a package to Qiyuan. I might need you to sign for it. I’ll pick it up when it arrives.”
“Actually, when we were eating just now, I came out to talk to you about this.” He took her wrist in his hand. “Your mother sent me a message, urging us to live together.”
He paused for a moment, his tone natural.
"I agree."
Before the words were even finished, the fountain in the center of the square turned on at the appointed time. White bricks formed a circle, with exquisite textures and soft lines, reflecting the splashing water and shimmering under the streetlights.
Yin Xiao's attention was drawn to the grand and elegant fountain, and she vaguely heard a hesitant explanation.
“I… am worried that too much rejection will arouse suspicion.”
Yin Xiao stared at the water splashing on the stone sculpture, raised her phone to take a picture, acknowledged his reasoning, and slowly spoke.
"Then I'll go back and submit the application to my counselor. It should be approved in about two days. When are you free to come help me move my luggage?"
"I need to meet with my advisor for a group meeting on Thursday, but Friday is fine."
"Hmm..." Yin Xiao casually snapped a couple of photos, then turned to look at him. "Then let's move on Friday morning. The sooner we move, the more at ease we'll be, so my mom won't call and cause a surprise visit."
She took two steps back, stuffed Yi Zhiyan into the viewfinder, pretended to accidentally press a button, and moved her mouth to cover it up.
"But I won't go back with you this morning. Can I leave my luggage in your car first? There's a college basketball league this afternoon, and I promised my roommate I'd volunteer."
In the video, he stared intently at the camera, seemingly unaware that he was being filmed, and struck a pose with his hands in his pockets with considerable interest.
"I'll listen to you."
—
This year's college basketball league is highly competitive. Anlin University will face last year's champion, Dongke University, in the divisional competition. Even with home advantage, the chances of winning are slim.
The afternoon competition started at 2 p.m. Dai Lan rushed to the student council as soon as she finished lunch, reminding Yin Xiao a couple of times before leaving.
Yin Xiao moved her luggage five or six times in the morning, seemingly out of her mind. She mumbled a reply, took off her coat, and fell asleep immediately.
In a daze, a figure drew closer in the dim sunlight. His shirt was soaked through, water droplets running down his chin and onto his collarbone. Suddenly, the hem of his shirt was pulled up, revealing a large expanse of firm abdominal muscles. She involuntarily raised her hand forward, only to have it grabbed by the man. Looking up, she saw a high-bridged nose and brown eyes…
!!
Yin Xiao opened her eyes instantly, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her phone beside her pillow vibrated faintly. She patted her forehead, forcing herself to wake up quickly, and answered the call with squinted eyes.
"Yin Xiao! The competition is about to start, where are you?"
"Huh?" Yin Xiao glanced at the time; it was almost 1:30. She immediately threw off the covers and sat up. "Coming, coming."
After hanging up the phone, a dozen unread messages flashed on the screen in the dormitory group chat, one of which was tagged @everyone.
Yin Xiao scrolled to the top to check.
[Weiqi: Your Highnesses, are you all free tonight? I just passed my internship assessment, so I'll treat you to a big meal and a fun-filled trip to Anlin!]
Scrolling down, Dai Lan and Zhao Xiaoxun both agreed, and the group even tagged her several times.
Yin Xiao quickly agreed, got out of bed, dressed, picked up her backpack, and ran towards the gymnasium.
Before she even arrived, she could see the long queue outside the stadium. She went around to the other side and entered through the staff entrance. Unexpectedly, the stadium was already crowded and noisy. Shouts, stomping, and whistling assaulted her fragile nerves, making her already drowsy head ache even more.
Yin Xiao lowered her head and rubbed the back of her head, hung her volunteer certificate around her neck, walked to the registration area, and received bottled water and soda crackers.
She put the cookies into her backpack and searched for Dai Lan all over the place while unscrewing the bottle cap.
"Xiao, you've finally arrived..."
A familiar force wrapped around her neck, and sure enough, when she turned her head, she saw Dai Lan's excited face.
"The competition hasn't even started, why are you getting so excited?"
Dai Lan glanced at her disdainfully and pulled her towards the back of the field.
"Look, look... you'll miss it if you're any later."
Yin Xiao looked in the direction she was pointing and saw two rows of male college students standing on the open space beside the field, bending over and stretching. Each of them was wearing a vest and shorts and had strong muscles, exuding a strong sense of hormones.
Yin Xiao's eyes twitched, her tone tinged with despair, "The 'bonus package' you promised when you dragged me to sign up, could this be it?"
Dai Lan was shocked. "This isn't good enough? Your standards for handsome men have gotten so high now?"
"..." Yin Xiao raised her hand and gestured a zipper over her mouth, then mute herself and put one hand on her hip as Dai Lan excitedly introduced it to her.
"I heard that the coach from Dongke University used to be a professional athlete, and the captain has also undergone professional training. Two new players joined the team this semester. This match is going to be tough for us..."
Yin Xiao unscrewed the bottle cap to drink water, her gaze following her as she passed through the boys opposite her, unexpectedly stopping at the very edge of the second row.
She stared wide-eyed for a moment, unconsciously clenching the plastic bottle. She and the boy who was inexplicably smiling at her stared at each other for two seconds in silence. The next moment, she saw him grin and raise his arms to wave.
"sister in law!"
Oh no, she remembered. This baby-faced boy was Yi Zhiyan's half-brother!
He actually still remembers her? Could it be that he's still holding a grudge about her arguing with him at the manor last time, and is deliberately calling her out in public to embarrass her?
Yin Xiao thought for a second, tightened the bottle cap, picked up her backpack, and ran away.
"You...you wait! You don't remember..."
The voices behind me were intermittent, sometimes loud and sometimes soft, but they were like a shadow that I couldn't shake off.
She quickened her pace, weaving through the crowded aisle, her head covered as she moved forward.
Why are you running?
Her hoodie hood was suddenly grabbed, and when she turned around and broke free, she felt as if a stick had hit her on the head when she saw Yi Zhiyan's handsome face.
"Why are you here too! Your brother is here... I don't want to be recognized." She looked around, then pushed him around the corner without saying a word, grabbing a few basketball game promotional banners and using them as a shield.
She rested her right shoulder on the tiles, and with her left hand pushed the display stand open a little, carefully observing.
"You're too close, move back..." She absentmindedly moved to the side, raised her hand to rub behind her, and pressed her palm against the person behind her.
The shirt fabric was silky smooth and felt very comfortable to the touch. As she touched it, she suddenly felt a full and firm texture in her palm, with distinct contours and a clear sense of strength.
The image from her midday dream inexplicably flashed into her mind: sunlight, water droplets, and lean, powerful...abdominal muscles.
The small, dark corner was gloomy and oppressive, and she gradually drifted off into a daze, her fingers tracing her waistline downwards.
Her wrist was suddenly grasped, and the dry scent of wood fell on her neck.
Where should I touch?
A note from the author:
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