Chapter 35 Strategy: Don't Try to Back Out on Your Debt on Day Thirty-Five
Not only Ye Minjia thought so, but everyone else thought so for a moment as well.
Especially Wang Sichen, who always speaks without thinking, directly shouted: "Didn't do anything, and got a free meal?"
That's why he's number one in the grade; he can take advantage of girls so confidently.
But Xiang Di didn't feel at all that Bai Jiangxin was taking advantage of her.
If she could, she would love for him to take advantage of her in some way, and if it were any kind of advantage, that would be even better; she would absolutely welcome him to do so.
If it were anyone else, Xiang Di would think that this person was being too presumptuous. It was just a small favor, yet they wanted to get a free meal from her. But this person was Bai Jiangxin, so the situation was completely different.
She would just think he was too kind; he helped her so much, yet he only asked her to treat him to one meal.
"No problem, I'll treat you to dinner." Xiang Di's tone was straightforward. "When are you free?"
Bai Jiangxin: "We're on holiday this week."
Xiang Di asked, "Sunday?"
Bai Jiangxin quickly deduced from her hesitant answer: "Is something the matter?"
“She does,” Zhou Linxiao answered for Xiang Di. “We made plans to go to a buffet together this Sunday.”
Bai Jiangxin narrowed his eyes slightly: "The two of you?"
“No, there’s also me and Liang Qianqian,” Ye Minjia said. “There are four of us. Zhou Linxiao originally wanted me to invite you along, but I thought you don’t like attending these kinds of gatherings, so I didn’t tell you.”
Ye Minjia quietly added another sentence in her mind.
Well, I don't like attending group meals, but I do enjoy eating alone with someone.
If there's nothing fishy going on between you two, I'll chop off my head and use it as a stool for Liang Qianqian to sit on.
Although she really wanted to have dinner with Bai Jiangxin, she had already promised her friend and couldn't break her promise. Besides, Xiang Di was also looking forward to the buffet this Sunday.
She wanted both fish and bear's paw, so she tried to discuss it with Bai Jiangxin: "How about... I treat you to a meal again next week?"
Bai Jiangxin's face showed no change in emotion, and he said in a calm tone, "Whatever you want."
Xiang Di breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, then it's settled."
She turned around and happily discussed the buffet dinner with Zhou Linxiao this Sunday. When Wang Sichen heard that someone was treating everyone to a buffet on Sunday, he shamelessly went over and asked if he could join them.
Zhou Linxiao readily agreed: "Sure, it'll be more fun with more people."
Xiang Di warned in a low voice, "Hey, you can't just take food from other people's plates that day."
"I know, Grandma." Wang Sichen said helplessly, "How can you hold such a grudge at such a young age? How many years will you hold a grudge over a cream puff?"
That's because you ate the cream puffs I was originally planning to give to Bai Jiangxin. It wouldn't be too much to hold a grudge against you for a lifetime.
Xiang Di subconsciously looked at Bai Jiangxin, only to find that he had already left.
The group was still discussing in the classroom. Ye Minjia originally wanted to join them, but she couldn't abandon Bai Jiangxin, so she chased after him.
"Hey." Ye Minjia chased after Bai Jiangxin downstairs, grabbed his shoulder, and said in a tone that seemed to say, "Now that things have come to this, just be honest with your brother."
He was secretly pleased with himself: "You think you can hide your little affair with Xiang Di so well? Hmph, I knew it all along."
Bai Jiangxin stopped and turned to look at him: "What did you say?"
They've already made up excuses to create opportunities for off-campus dates, and they still won't admit it? Ye Minjia withdrew her hand: "Never mind what I said."
Bai Jiangxin's tone turned serious: "How much do you know about my relationship with Xiang Di?"
"They actually managed to trick me into revealing it!" Ye Minjia exclaimed, her mouth agape in surprise. "Wow, so there really is something going on between you two?"
Bai Jiangxin, a man of keen perception, frowned instantly: "Are you kidding me?"
"It's not exactly a scam," Ye Minjia chuckled dryly. "The main thing is that you just openly asked Xiang Di to treat you to dinner in front of all of us. That's too obvious. You've always refused to eat with others before because you're a germaphobe and you hate sharing utensils with people."
Bai Jiangxin pursed his lips and said calmly, "Xiang Di is different."
Oh dear, everyone else is the same, but she's different. Everyone else's saliva smells bad, but Xiangdi's saliva smells good.
Ye Minjia felt a pang of sarcasm in his heart at those words.
For someone as fastidious as Bai Jiangxin to disregard the issue of tableware, they must have kissed countless times, bitten each other's tongues countless times, and shared each other's saliva countless times in private.
Suddenly, an image of two people doing *that* flashed into Ye Minjia's mind, and she shuddered.
It's not that they're mismatched; after all, one is aloof and ethereal while the other is pure and petite, and they do look quite good together, especially with their adorable height difference. But... it just feels so awkward.
The last time Ye Minjia had this feeling was when he was in junior high school. His Chinese teacher and math teacher actually got married, and later his Chinese teacher even got pregnant. Whenever he thought about how his Chinese teacher got pregnant, he couldn't look at the two teachers the same way.
People who seem completely incompatible to him are actually in that kind of relationship; they might have done even more intimate things besides kissing in private.
Xiang Di was alright, but Ye Minjia really couldn't imagine Bai Jiangxin kissing and being all lovey-dovey with someone.
He had always thought that Bai Jiangxin was definitely a reincarnation of a high monk in his previous life, and that this was just how he was in this life. He never expected that this person would actually have emotions and desires.
The thought that this man would reveal his bestial side in front of his girlfriend in private was unacceptable to him.
It's obvious that Xiang Di is incredibly slow to realize that Bai Jiangxin's purpose wasn't the meal itself, but rather the person who invited her to that meal.
As soon as Xiang Di suggested inviting him to dinner again next week, Bai Jiangxin's attitude immediately turned cold, but she didn't seem to notice anything amiss.
Ye Minjia thought that Xiang Di still didn't understand Bai Jiangxin enough.
Bai Jiangxin is the kind of person who either doesn't care about anyone or anything, but once he starts to care about something, it's like you're being entangled by him.
This level of possessiveness is fine with friends and family, since friendship and kinship are not exclusive, but it's different in love. Selfishness, domineering, and insecurity are the norm. It's easy to imagine how domineering Bai Jiangxin must be in private.
No wonder Xiang Di dumped him; she must have been fed up with him.
Ye Minjia frowned, thinking for a long time, when suddenly a hand grabbed his arm.
Ye Minjia: "What are you doing?"
Bai Jiangxin: "It's okay, you can continue daydreaming."
Bai Jiangxin was originally uninterested in Ye Minjia's thoughts, but he subconsciously felt that Ye Minjia must have been thinking about him and Xiang Di.
Even Xiang Di herself didn't know about his relationship with Xiang Di, so how much would Ye Minjia know?
If he knew, how did he know?
Bai Jiangxin grabbed his arm a little too late. He only heard one sentence: "There's nothing I can do. I'm on my brother's side, so I'm sorry, Xiang Di, I can only ask you to go into the tiger's den again."
"Don't try to pull me like that. Don't you know you're strong? You grabbed my wrist so hard last time that it turned red." Ye Minjia shook off Bai Jiangxin and suggested, "Hey, why don't you come with us to a buffet this week? Buffets have individual cutlery, so it's very safe."
Bai Jiangxin frowned: "I'm not going."
Even if it's a safe buffet, he doesn't want to go if there are too many people, especially since Zhou Linxiao is treating, so he's even less likely to go.
Two tigers cannot share one mountain. He and Zhou Linxiao did not get along, and he only wanted to have a meal alone with Xiang Di.
Bai Jiangxin knew exactly how to quickly establish a connection with Xiang Di. During this time, he had basically figured out the pattern. He could use excuses to hug her or even kiss her.
But he didn't want to do that, even if she might not reject him because of it.
A person accustomed to being upright and proper, even if an uncontrollable change has occurred in his heart, still maintains restraint in his breathing and heartbeat. He cannot let go of his pride. Having already taken the first step of probing, Bai Jiangxin cannot allow himself to go further and do something even more impolite.
Seeing how decisively Bai Jiangxin refused, Ye Minjia thought to himself, "Brother, you really have a lot of nerve."
So he said, "Let me tell you, Zhou Linxiao originally only planned to treat Xiang Di to a meal. It was only after Liang Qianqian and I begged him to come that he reluctantly agreed to let us go."
"Do you think Zhou Linxiao might also have feelings for Xiang Di?"
Bai Jiangxin's brow twitched.
Under Ye Minjia's probing gaze, his voice suddenly turned cold and impatient: "I don't know, don't ask me."
After answering, Bai Jiangxin went straight downstairs.
Ye Minjia called out from behind, "So are you going to the buffet on Sunday or not?"
Without turning his head, Bai Jiangxin said, "We'll see."
Ye Minjia shrugged.
If they didn't say they weren't going, then they went.
-
To make it easier to meet on Sunday, Ye Minjia created a group chat for the group.
Because she skipped an afternoon of classes and spent the entire evening self-study session catching up on several test papers that afternoon, Xiang Di didn't realize she had been added to a new group until she dragged her tired body home.
The group name is simple and straightforward: "Buffet Feast," and there are six people in total.
Six people?
Upon closer inspection, she discovered that Bai Jiangxin was also in the group.
Xiang Di sat up abruptly.
Filled with excitement, she messaged Di privately: 【Are you there? Are you going the day after tomorrow too?】
Bai Jiangxin: [Hmm.]
Xiang Di was happy on one hand, but a little worried on the other. If they went to a buffet together this week, and she invited him to dinner again next week, would he feel disappointed?
No, even though it's not a fancy meal, it's still a token of her affection for him.
Xiang Di: […So we had a buffet this week, do I need to treat you to dinner next week?]
Xiang Di: [I don't have much pocket money, so I probably can't afford to treat you to a fancy meal.]
Xiang Di: [She sheds tears of poverty.jpg]
After sending the message, she locked her phone and waited anxiously for Bai Jiangxin's reply.
Please, please don't say you don't need it.
Soon, the screen lit up, and Bai Jiangxin replied. Xiang Di nervously picked up her phone.
Bai Jiangxin: [Don't even think about reneging on your debt.]
The declarative sentence looked like a warning, but Xiang Di slowly grinned at the corners of his mouth as he heard it.
That means she can see him for two consecutive weekends.
After calming down for half a minute, she replied to him: 【Not bad, not bad!】
Xiang Di happily collapsed onto the bed, excitedly rolling around several times while clutching her phone.
After her heartbeat calmed down a bit, she jumped out of bed and went to the wardrobe to start picking out clothes.
When Xiang Sheng came to check on her, he found that she was still awake, and the bed was a mess, covered with all sorts of clothes.
Xiang Sheng stood at the door with a puzzled look on her face: "What are you doing? Why aren't you asleep? Don't you have class tomorrow?"
"I'm going out to eat with some classmates this week because I have a day off. I'm picking out clothes, so don't worry about it."
Xiang Sheng didn't understand: "It's just a meal, why go in your shabby school uniform? It's not like you're a celebrity walking the red carpet."
Xiang Di ignored him and continued looking for clothes.
Xiang Sheng stood at the door for a while before finally asking, "Are all your classmates male or female?"
"Both men and women are included."
Are you familiar with everything? Do you need me to pick you up?
Xiang Di immediately refused: "Please don't come to pick me up."
Xiang Sheng was embarrassed when he kindly offered to pick her up, but was refused. He said in an unfriendly tone, "Xiang Di, I'm warning you, don't be ungrateful. You should be grateful that your handsome older brother is here to pick you up."
"No." Xiang Di said decisively, "I don't want anyone to know that my brother is a shady online celebrity."
...I'm speechless. He's filmed so many normal videos of himself looking cool before, and she didn't seem to see them at all. But just one video of him showing off his abs has completely ruined his image.
Xiang Sheng sneered: "You think you're so high and mighty? If you're so capable, then never watch any suggestive videos in your life."
Xiang Di said firmly, "Of course I won't watch it."
Xiang Sheng was about to mock him when she smiled sweetly at him again: "What's the point of skirting the edge? It's all half-revealing, like scratching an itch through a boot. Isn't it better to just watch porn? Do you want me to recommend a few websites for you to learn from? There's no future in skirting the edge. You might as well just go straight into the adult entertainment industry."
Xiang Sheng: "..."
Xiang Sheng covered her face in despair, completely defeated.
Could some enlightened master come along and quickly take care of this damned girl?
-
On Saturday evening after school, Xiang Di went to see her aunt.
Her aunt suggested that she shouldn't dress too elaborately, as it would seem like she was trying too hard; a natural and refreshing outfit would be fine.
A person's aesthetic sense is linked to their age and experience. At this time, having a mature and aesthetically pleasing adult woman by your side to give you dressing advice is much more reliable than searching directly online.
Eighteen is an age when you look good even without makeup. However, girls love beauty, and Xiang Di has her own cosmetics, though not as complete as her aunt's. She still has some basic sunscreen and lipstick.
After applying the sunscreen, she took a live picture and sent it to Qianqian for inspection, worried that there might be areas where it wasn't applied evenly.
[It shouldn't be too stark white, right?]
Liang Qianqian quickly replied: 【Baby, you're like a ripe, juicy peach.】
Liang Qianqian: [I'll just kiss him to death -3-]
Xiang Di: [Hehe.]
I wish Bai Jiangxin felt the same way.
Everything was ready, and we headed out to the appointment. We usually wear school uniforms every day at school, and we're used to seeing them. Today, everyone was wearing their own clothes, so we didn't recognize each other for a moment. We showered each other with compliments, saying things like, "The school uniform really hides your unparalleled elegance."
They arranged to meet at the entrance of a large shopping mall. The buffet was upstairs. Xiang Di and Liang Qianqian walked hand in hand, chatting about the latest gossip about top celebrities. But as they walked, Ye Minjia and Wang Sichen, who were walking behind, suddenly caught up with them.
Liang Qianqian: "You guys should walk together."
Ye Minjia shook his head a thousand times, while Wang Sichen pointed behind him and said, "I don't want to be a supporting character for those two."
Liang Qianqian looked back and instantly understood why Ye Minjia and Wang Sichen, despite being good-looking, were unwilling to walk with the other two people.
The two handsome men with completely different styles create a strong visual impact.
Neither of them was wearing their school uniforms today. One was wearing a casual and simple brown jacket, and his thick chestnut curly hair and deep, exotic face gave him the air of a cheerful, sunny, tall, and sexy Meridian-German mixed-race handsome man.
One of them was dressed in all black. Black is actually the easiest and simplest color for men to wear. As long as you're not ugly, you can't go wrong with wearing black. But Bai Jiangxin took the deep black to the extreme. His tall and handsome figure was shrouded in black, paired with his expressionless, ink-wash-like cold face, clean and abstinent, neat and distant.
They were walking side by side, but that wasn't really the case, because there was more than half a person's distance between them. They didn't talk to each other and were both looking at their phones. They turned this short stretch of the mall into a fashion show. Liang Qianqian noticed that several girls stopped to watch them.
Xiang Di turned her head away, clutching her heart.
My goodness, this is so good for her eyes! If she wasn't afraid of revealing her obsessive and infatuated nature, she would have gouged out her own eyes and stuck her left eyeball to Bai Jiangxin and her right eyeball to Zhou Linxiao, so she could look at them to her heart's content.
Liang Qianqian patted Ye Minjia on the shoulder: "I understand how you feel."
Ye Minjia looked touched and said, "Thank you."
Wang Sichen shook her head: "We're all born of parents, how can the comparison be so cruel?"
Left behind by the other four, Bai Jiangxin had no choice but to walk behind with Zhou Linxiao.
Today, Zhou Linxiao is treating everyone. Even if he feels that Zhou Linxiao is not as kind and approachable as he seems, the superficial harmony must be maintained for the time being.
With someone watching them from the side, Bai Jiangxin felt slightly uncomfortable and suddenly spoke up: "Zhou Linxiao."
Zhou Linxiao turned her head to look at him: "Hmm?"
"Thanks for treating today," Bai Jiangxin said. "I'll treat you next time."
Seemingly surprised that Bai Jiangxin would take the initiative to thank him, Zhou Linxiao immediately closed the distance between them and smiled at him: "It's nothing, it's just a buffet, it doesn't cost much, just enjoy your meal."
Seeing the close distance between the two, Bai Jiangxin, unusually, did not avoid Zhou Linxiao as usual. Instead, he raised his hand and put it on Zhou Linxiao's shoulder.
He tried to ask Zhou Linxiao in a calm tone, "I heard you originally only planned to invite Xiang Di to dinner today? Can you tell me why?"
Zhou Linxiao felt Bai Jiangxin touch his shoulder, and was slightly stunned, looking at him as if he were a ghost.
Didn't Yeh Min-Chia say that Pak-Hsin hates physical contact the most?
【Se habrá tomado la medicina equivocada Por qué de repente es tan amable conmigo】
However, Zhou Linxiao still politely answered Bai Jiangxin's question: "Xiang Di is my deskmate. She has taken good care of me during this time. Do I need a special reason to treat her to a meal?"
His answer was flawless, and it was impossible to tell whether he had any feelings for Xiang Di. Bai Jiangxin almost forgot that this man's native language was Spanish. Unless he learned Spanish, Zhou Linxiao was a bug in his system.
Finally, they arrived at the buffet restaurant, and the two handsome men's fashion show was finally over. Just as Ye Minjia said, the buffet was very convenient. You could eat with others without worrying about sharing utensils, which was very safe for Bai Jiangxin.
After a lively meal, the mock exam was scheduled for next week. Zhou Linxiao was the only one without exam pressure. So, to relieve everyone's stress, after the buffet, Zhou Linxiao suggested going to play the next game, and he would treat everyone.
Ye Minjia: "Okay, where should we go?"
Zhou Linxiao: "Whatever you want."
After discussing it, we decided that since we had just finished eating, it wasn't a good time to go to places that involved running or jumping, so we decided to book a private room at a karaoke bar for the afternoon and sing a few songs to relieve some stress.
As everyone knows, KTVs have their own prices for drinks and snacks. Ye Minjia suggested going to a convenience store outside to buy them first and then sneaking them in. Zhou Linxiao immediately said no, saying that he had been having a great time at school recently, all thanks to everyone here, so he wanted everyone to have a great time today.
Although everyone here is an adult and can drink, we are still a group of high school students. If we drink too much and go home, our parents will definitely scold us.
"Ladies, is it alright to drink fruit wine? I hope it won't make you drunk?" Zhou Linxiao asked the two girls for their opinions. "Otherwise, you can have soft drinks too."
Liang Qianqian and Xiang Di both said it was okay to drink, as long as not too much, since fruit wine doesn't have a high alcohol content.
"OK".
Zhou Linxiao ordered two dozen bottles of fruit wine first, and would order more if it wasn't enough.
Two dozen bottles of fruit wine are placed on the table, along with a fruit platter and snacks, and the atmosphere is instantly created.
When squad leader Ye Minjia arrived at the KTV, he remained a good squad leader who served the people, opening a bottle of fruit wine for everyone and placing it in front of them one by one.
"These bottles all look the same, so don't pick the wrong one," Ye Minjia specifically reminded Bai Jiangxin. "If you accidentally drink one of our bottles and throw up on the spot, it's not my problem."
Bai Jiangxin said coldly, "Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"
But he soon realized that this statement was not right.
Because he had drunk the wrong milk tea from Xiang Di before, and then things got out of control.
Looking at someone sitting far away from me, I noticed she was wearing a dress again today, and her lips looked even pinker than when we were at the bakery, thanks to some kind of makeup she had on.
She wanted to come to Zhou Linxiao's invitation for a nice meal this week, and he had no objection. After all, it's first come, first served, and he could come along to create an opportunity for her. But today, she's been clinging to Liang Qianqian the whole time. He wondered, what's so special about two girls being so clingy? Does she like him or Liang Qianqian?
A hint of restrained annoyance flashed across Bai Jiangxin's cold eyes. He clicked his tongue, raised the fruit wine, and drank almost half a bottle in one gulp.
You know perfectly well that this person likes you, and you don't reject her, but she just won't confess her feelings or pursue you. You can't say she's deliberately stringing you along, but that doesn't count. And you can't say she's not stringing you along either, because you are genuinely distracted by her.
He is now both attracted to Xiang Di and troubled by her timidity, only daring to fantasize about him in his heart. Bai Jiangxin has been an aloof beauty for eighteen years, so it is impossible for him to lower himself to confront Xiang Di. Therefore, his current situation is that his heart is hanging in mid-air, unable to go up or down.
She dared not pick it, but he could no longer fall back to where he was.
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