Chapter 58 Strategy: The Fifty-Eighth Day - Another Sneak Attack
Xiang Di leaned out of the car and asked him.
Where are you going?
"The restroom," Bai Jiangxin said, his voice slightly hoarse, his back to her. "Wait for me in the car."
Before Xiang Di could say anything, he was already gone.
She glanced around. The parking lot was full of cars. The senior students were having a parent-teacher meeting, and the junior and sophomore students were having evening self-study sessions. There weren't many people outside.
Even if this is at school, we can't be completely oblivious to safety.
Isn't he afraid she'll steal the car? Even if she can't steal the car, she can always steal the valuables inside.
Xiang Di sighed. He really trusted her completely, just handing over a car worth ten million to her for safekeeping.
I gave a small complaint that his safety awareness was still somewhat lacking, but I was mostly pleased that he trusted me.
It's better that he's gone. This Rolls-Royce will belong to her alone until he comes back.
They got right to work. Xiang Di closed the car door and fiddled with the control panel. It was all in Chinese, and the navigation was very intelligent. No instruction was needed; Xiang Di figured it out on his own after a while.
Since this was Bai Jiangxin's car, Xiang Di didn't dare to do much. She simply adjusted the ambient lighting inside the car, set the starry sky ceiling effect, and then took out her phone to take pictures of herself.
Everyone has a bit of vanity, so Xiang Di specifically searched for some socialite photography tips and imitated them to create two pretentious socialite photos.
After taking the photos, I admired them on Xiang Di Meimei's screen, then scrolled to the previous photos of me and Bai Jiangxin, and felt a surge of sweetness in my heart.
These photos are enough to prove that she wasn't dreaming; her dream really came true.
Xiang Di happily held her phone to her chest, leaned back in her seat, looked at the dazzling starry sky on the car roof, and then glanced outside.
The parking lot was dimly lit, but the adjacent school buildings were brightly lit, making it seem as if the inside of the car was one world and the outside world was another.
As she looked around, Xiang Di's gaze gradually became unfocused. After her rapid heartbeat subsided, the car became quiet. This feeling of impending happiness gave her an inexplicable sense of emptiness and a feeling of unreality at the realization of her dream.
Is this true? Is this really true?
She had liked Bai Jiangxin for three years, and now Bai Jiangxin liked her too, but why did he like her?
When did he start liking her? Not long ago, he didn't even know her name, and his gaze towards her held only a strange calm.
The happier something is, the more afraid it is of losing it. Contentment brings happiness, while greed is insatiable. Xiang Di understands this principle, so from childhood to adulthood she has always been learning to be content—content with herself and content with her family. It doesn't matter that her parents are busy with work; she only needs to know that her parents love her.
But with Bai Jiangxin, she felt that she couldn't be content, because she had grown to like him more and more, to the point that she had crossed the line of unrequited love. What was once a secret crush without expecting anything in return had completely turned into a possessive liking.
So she really wanted to know when he noticed her and how he fell in love with her.
But he never told her why he liked her, and she was too embarrassed to ask.
People tend to overthink when they are quiet, so Xiang Di fell into a mood where her dream had come true, yet she inexplicably started to feel sentimental, until someone gently knocked on the car window from the outside, pulling her back to reality.
Bai Jiangxin has returned.
Xiang Di quickly composed herself, opened the car door, and smiled at him: "You've finished using the restroom?"
Bai Jiangxin hummed in agreement. Xiang Di noticed that there was a little water stain on the collar of his school uniform shirt, and the ends of his hair on his forehead were also a little damp.
So clean! After using the toilet, she not only washes her hands, but also her face.
Bai Jiangxin said, "Let's go find Ye Minjia and the others."
Xiang Di got out of the car, Bai Jiangxin locked the car, and the two left the parking lot and walked together towards the teaching building.
It was already past 7 p.m., and Bai Jiangxin hadn't eaten dinner yet. He didn't plan to eat either. He was carrying the milk tea that Xiang Di had bought for him in one hand and the bread and cream puffs that she had bought for him in the other.
The cream puff was prone to bursting with cream when bitten into, but Bai Jiangxin ate it very politely, chewing slowly and carefully, without getting his mouth dirty at all.
Xiang Di always thought that eating would only make viewers feel hungry if it was done with great gusto like in mukbang videos, but she never expected that eating in a visually appealing way could also make people feel hungry.
Even though Xiang Di had already eaten dinner in the cafeteria, she still couldn't resist the temptation.
She was too embarrassed to ask Bai Jiangxin for some. She had bought it for him, yet she was still craving it. What kind of behavior was that? She was making herself look like a greedy little girl.
"Is it good?" she asked.
Bai Jiangxin: "It's alright."
Sometimes her emotions are really easy to guess, so easy that you don't even need to listen to her inner thoughts. With that unwavering gaze, she definitely isn't looking at him, because she simply doesn't have the courage.
She was looking at cream puffs.
Bai Jiangxin: "Want to try some?"
He picked up a cream puff and fed it to her.
Sometimes Xiang Di really wondered if Bai Jiangxin could know what she was thinking, otherwise why would he always do the same thing as she thought?
But how could that be? Xiang Di stopped these unreliable guesses, whispered a thank you to him, and stretched out her finger, intending to take the cream puff from his hand.
Bai Jiangxin pulled his hand away, leaving her with nothing.
Bai Jiangxin asked her, "Did you wash your hands?"
Xiang Di shook his head: "...No."
She stayed in the car the whole time, so how could she have had a chance to wash her hands?
"Don't touch food without washing your hands." Bai Jiangxin brought the cream puff to her mouth again. "I'll feed you, open your mouth."
He was worried that her hands weren't clean, so he fed her. He really is very hygienic.
Even so, Xiang Di was still very happy. She carefully opened her mouth and accepted his feeding.
"Now you know to open your mouth," Bai Jiangxin said in a low voice.
Xiang Di didn't hear him clearly, and puffed out her cheeks to ask him, "What did you say?"
"Nothing, want one more?"
Bai Jiangxin seemed to have no intention of stopping as she fed him one after another, and Xiang Di couldn't bear to refuse, so most of the few cream puffs in a serving ended up in her stomach.
After eating several cream puffs, it's inevitable to feel a bit greasy and need something sweet and sour to balance it out. Bai Jiangxin took out the milk tea she had bought for him, inserted a straw, and handed it to her to drink.
Xiang Di felt embarrassed to accept any more and repeatedly refused, saying, "No, no, I bought these for you in the first place, don't let me eat them all."
Bai Jiangxin said, "Drink up, and buy me another cup next time."
She ate most of the food, and even drank the refreshing peach-flavored Four Seasons Spring tea. Bai Jiangxin only managed to get a meat floss bread to eat.
He finished the pork floss bread in a dry, unrefined manner. Xiang Di thought for a long time before finally mustering up his courage, pulling out the milk tea straw, turning it around, and handing it to him: "Um, if you don't mind, why don't you have a sip to cleanse your palate?"
Bai Jiangxin looked down at the milk tea, then at her slightly nervous expression.
Inviting someone to share a cup of milk tea is a signal of intimacy, and he shouldn't have refused.
But Bai Jiangxin frowned slightly, something flashing in his eyes, and still said, "No need."
When refused a drink of milk tea, Xiang Di looked embarrassed for a moment.
Oh no, she got a little too cocky. She assumed that since they had kissed, he wouldn't mind sharing a cup of milk tea with her, forgetting that he has severe mysophobia.
She was about to apologize when Bai Jiangxin spoke first, saying, "If I drink it, you probably won't want to drink it anymore, so you can drink it by yourself."
"Huh?" Xiang Di shook her head. "No, I didn't refuse."
"Is that so?" Bai Jiangxin said indifferently. "I thought you looked down on me."
Xiang Di immediately widened his eyes, as if he had said something absurd.
"What?... How could I possibly dislike you? You're the one who's afraid you'll dislike me."
Bai Jiangxin chuckled and twitched his lips, said nothing, bent down, pressed her shoulder, and kissed her on the corner of her mouth.
Xiang Di: "!"
[Sneak attack!]
He flicked her cheek and asked softly, "Do you still think I dislike you?"
The spot where his fingertips had touched felt hot, and Xiang Di quickly shook her head.
"Then, then I absolutely didn't look down on you. If I looked down on you, I wouldn't have been able to get into university!"
The viciousness of this curse is something any high school student understands.
Bai Jiangxin knew, of course, how serious this curse was, and he raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Then why wouldn't you open your mouth when we were kissing just now?"
Xiang Di was stunned.
"Isn't it because you're disgusted by my saliva?"
Xiang Di was stunned again.
"No..." Caught off guard by such an ambiguous question, she panicked for a moment. "I'm not looking down on you, I... I'm just... because I've never been with anyone before, so..."
What is she saying?!
In her incoherent ramblings, she suddenly heard a soft laugh.
Now she was even more embarrassed and didn't know how to explain it to Bai Jiangxin.
"I didn't look down on you, really, I just..."
She absolutely hated her awkwardness; why couldn't she just say it?
“I know,” Bai Jiangxin said.
She exclaimed "Huh?" and just as she raised her head, her vision suddenly darkened. The person in front of her bent down and gently pecked her lips again.
[Ah! They ambushed me again!]
They were standing not far from the teaching building. Luckily, it was during evening self-study and there was no one on the road. Xiang Di opened her eyes wide and heard him ask in her ear, "You're not used to this with me yet, are you?"
...I'm really not used to it.
Xiang Di pursed her lips and nodded.
Even a simple peck would make her heart race and her whole body feel electrified, let alone... opening her mouth, which she couldn't do, at least not right now.
Xiang Di felt somewhat frustrated. Even though he had been very proactive, she couldn't give him a warm response.
She really wanted to tell him that she liked him more than just liking him; she liked him very, very much.
She was just too shy to know how to start the conversation.
"I'm sorry..." Xiang Di bit her lip and said with difficulty, "This is my first time, um... so I'm being a little dramatic."
Xiang Di felt his head being rubbed.
Bai Jiangxin said, "I know."
Xiang Di pleaded softly, "Then, could you give me some time to get used to it?"
Please be a little more patient with me. Once I get used to it, I will definitely muster all my courage and tell you again how much I like you.
It's definitely more than you like me.
Xiang Di needs time to slowly express her thoughts to him, and Bai Jiangxin certainly knows this.
He would patiently wait for the day when she would willingly tell him how much she liked him, instead of admitting it only because he half-coerced her.
Bai Jiangxin: "Okay."
Hearing his agreement, Xiang Di felt a little relieved and boldly suggested, "Then let's try to get used to one kind of contact first, and once we're used to it, we can move on to the next one, okay?"
Bai Jiangxin said yes, and then asked her, "What kind of contact do you want to start with to get used to it?"
Xiang Di grunted in response, his expression hesitant.
Bai Jiangxin thought for a moment. Kissing her was probably not an option. It would be too stimulating for someone like her who had the desire but not the courage. She needed half a day to mentally prepare herself even for a kiss on the cheek. So he reached out his hand to her.
"Holding hands?"
"Let's kiss..."
Bai Jiangxin was slightly taken aback when she said the words almost simultaneously; she had underestimated her.
"Your starting point is quite high."
"Ah no! I..." Xiang Di started rambling again.
Damn it, I've been reading too many erotic novels. It's all the authors' fault. They always arrange for the male and female leads to have sex right after meeting, to the point where they lose themselves in passion and become so ruthless that they forget everything else. It makes me forget that normal relationships between men and women start with holding hands innocently!
Her brain, poisoned by pornography, was truly beyond saving. Xiang Di helplessly covered her face, feeling utterly ashamed and trying to bury her head in the sand.
"Can you pretend I didn't say anything just now, and do as you say, let's start by holding hands..."
Her head was almost buried in her chest as she tremblingly extended a friendly, innocent hand to him, trying to salvage her image.
However, Bai Jiangxin coldly refused: "No."
That's it, he'll definitely think she's two-faced, pretending to be so innocent on the surface but actually so lewd, thinking about kissing all the time.
Xiang Di's heart sank, and then a hand suddenly lifted her despairing chin.
Then, Bai Jiangxin kissed her on the corner of the mouth again.
[They ambushed me again!]
Yeah, I ambushed you again! You're just too cute.
Under Xiang Di's blank gaze, Bai Jiangxin said, "Since you said to start with this, let's start with this."
Why is he doing this again...?
Xiang Di suddenly realized that Bai Jiangxin seemed to really enjoy launching surprise attacks.
How many times has this happened? Would anyone kiss so many times on the very first day they fall in love?
And why does she feel like she's starting to get used to him being like this?
A slight itch stirred within her, and her hand, hanging unconsciously at her side, gripped the hem of her school uniform skirt as she whispered to Di, "So... how long will it take to get used to this?"
Bai Jiangxin said, "Until the end of the college entrance examination."
Bai Jiangxin didn't know if things would go too fast and affect her. After all, she usually relieved stress by fantasizing about him when she was tired from studying, but he couldn't do that. He didn't have her level of self-control, so it was better for him to restrain his behavior before the college entrance examination.
The reason he refused the milk tea she offered was because he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to make it through these last few days, spending every day in the same classroom with her.
After all, just seeing the mole on her leg was enough to overwhelm him.
"Wait until after the college entrance exam? That long?" Xiang Di was initially disappointed, but she quickly realized that it was understandable. After all, studying comes first. If it were too fast, she probably wouldn't be able to concentrate on her studies and would only think about being intimate with him all the time.
Xiang Di nodded: "Okay, then let's wait until after the college entrance exam..."
She swallowed hard and asked tentatively, "By the way, after the exams, will we be officially... boyfriend and girlfriend?"
Bai Jiangxin raised one eyebrow, a wry smile playing on her lips, seemingly exasperated that she was still agonizing over the most obvious question.
"Yeah, otherwise what would I be after?"
After hearing his answer, Xiang Di was completely relieved.
Once the college entrance exam is over, as long as she's with him, the surreal feeling that arises in her heart along with the realization of her dream will eventually turn into the most solid happiness.
Anyway, after the college entrance exam, they will be officially boyfriend and girlfriend. At that time, why would they be afraid of not having a chance to be intimate?
-
"Oh my god, my dear master and mistress, you two are finally back! If you hadn't come back soon, the parent-teacher conference would have been over."
Finally, the two returned. Ye Minjia spoke to them in a sarcastic tone, like an old butler.
He apologized to Di with a guilty tone. Bai Jiangxin never liked to apologize to people in a humble manner, so he directly said that he would treat everyone today.
Just as Ye Minjia was waiting for him to say that, she immediately replied, "Okay! I forgive you!"
After gathering, the group walked towards the school gate to catch their bus.
In order not to distract her friends during the last month or so, Xiang Di planned to keep her relationship with Bai Jiangxin a secret until after the college entrance examination.
Bai Jiangxin had no objection. Anyway, the two of them had already talked things out, and as for the others, he didn't care. It didn't matter whether he was notified sooner or later.
To avoid suspicion, the two did not walk together. Xiang Di, as usual, walked ahead of the boys with Liang Qianqian.
But her mindset today is completely different from before. Before, she wanted to steal a glance at him without him noticing, so she would quickly look back and then immediately look away, satisfied.
But now, she takes two steps and wants to catch a glimpse of Bai Jiangxin.
She felt restless and yearning when she couldn't see him.
Then she'll watch, and she'll watch openly and honestly!
She turned around abruptly, and before Bai Jiangxin could even notice, Ye Minjia next to him laughed: "Hey classmate, who are you staring at with those big eyes of yours?"
As soon as he said that, Wang Sichen asked, "My god, look at that hateful eyes! Tell me, who owes you money? I'll go help you collect the debt. Zhou Linxiao, do you owe her money?"
Wang Sichen playfully patted Zhou Linxiao's arm.
Zhou Linxiao laughed and said, "I'm innocent, I didn't do it."
Several boys teased her together, but Qianqian didn't help her and just laughed. Xiang Di felt a little innocent; she hadn't glared at her, she was clearly looking at her with affection.
She looked at Bai Jiangxin, hoping he would notice her affectionate gaze, but he only raised an eyebrow and slightly curved the corners of his mouth.
"I don't owe you any money."
"..."
Xiang Di wrinkled her nose at him discreetly and turned her head away.
He didn't even get it. It seems she needs to practice her eye acting more so she can eventually seduce him with her deep, affectionate eyes.
Xiang Di, arm in arm with Liang Qianqian, walked forward with their heads down, followed by several boys. Ye Minjia asked Bai Jiangxin with some curiosity, "Hey, didn't you say you went home? Did Xiang Di go to your house to look for you?"
Bai Jiangxin said, "I didn't go home."
"Where were you just now?"
"In the car."
Which car?
"My dad's car."
Ye Minjia suddenly widened her eyes: "Your dad's Rolls-Royce? It hasn't been driven away yet?"
Bai Jiangxin said, "No, it's still parked in the parking lot."
"Damn, you should have said so earlier! I thought it had already driven away." Ye Minjia quickly stopped everyone. "Friends, hold on a minute, I need to go admire the Rolls-Royce first."
He wanted to admire the luxury cars, and he couldn't let everyone else wait for him in the same spot, so they had to accompany him to the next parking lot.
Anyway, apart from Zhou Linxiao, the others also wanted to see the world and touch luxury cars.
Upon reaching the car, Bai Jiangxin unlocked it, then stood aside, making room for others to freely tour it.
Ye Minjia had only admired the exterior of the car at Bai Jiangxin's house before, and had never actually sat in it. He touched the red leather seats of the car and kept sighing that it was good to be rich.
Liang Qianqian tugged at his school uniform: "Have you touched enough? Get down, it's my turn to touch."
"Wait a minute." Ye Minjia shook her off and looked at the control panel in front of the VIP seat. "I heard that Rolls-Royces all have a starlight headliner. Can I turn it on? How do I do that?"
Ye Minjia didn't know what he had suddenly pressed, but the back of the VIP chair suddenly tilted back, and he quickly shouted, "Brother, help me!"
Bai Jiangxin remained unmoved; it was his own fault for pressing the buttons randomly.
The others were also using it for the first time and didn't know how to adjust it. In the end, Xiang Di took the lead. While Bai Jiangxin was in the bathroom for about ten minutes, she had already mastered the control panel.
"You pressed the recliner mode, and that's how you get back to normal." As he nimbly manipulated the panel, he said to Di, "You want to see the starry sky ceiling, right? You can bring it up here."
She pressed the button, and sure enough, the car roof lit up.
Ye Minjia suddenly looked at her with some surprise: "How come you are so familiar with this car's control panel? Do you perhaps own this car?"
“How could that be?” Xiang Di said. “I just came to the car to find Bai Jiangxin, so I took a look at this control panel.”
"Oh—" Ye Minjia let out a long "oh," "So while we were waiting for you for half an hour, you and Bai Jiangxin just sat in this car the whole time?"
His words made the others realize that they hadn't thought of this point before.
Ye Minjia asked with a smile, "So for the past half hour, you've been studying this control panel, and Bai Jiangxin has been studying it with you, right? Didn't you two study anything else?"
Xiang Di: "..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com