Chapter 45 - What Should I Do if My Younger Brother’s Crush Has Taken a Liking to Me?

Chapter 45 When she rushed back to the classroom, the bell for the second period of class had just rung. The movie was still playing, and Xi Ning found her seat by the light cast from the projector. Tu Xiao Yuan had already finished an entire bucket of popcorn and was now holding a pack of fries. Seeing Xi Ning finally returning, she asked, "Where did you go? It took so long... Why are you alone?" Xi Ning's mind was still a little blurry at the moment. She softly responded, "Mm," paused for a moment, and then said, "She went back to the dorm." After saying this, she leaned her arm on the table and lay her head down. The surroundings were pitch dark, and Tu Xiao Yuan didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. She simply assumed Xi Ning wasn't interested in the movie, nodded, and didn't say anything more. It was not until the ending credits played and the movie finished that the last half of the class remained. The monitor turned on the front lights, and Xi Ning slowly raised her eyelids. Shadows moved around her, accompanied by the murmurs of conversation. She straightened up, lifting her head with a bewildered expression. "Ha—" Tu Xiao Yuan yawned and rubbed her eyes. "Tian Jia Bao has good taste in movies. I almost fell asleep watching the latter half. I'm heading back..." As she was about to pick up her chair and return to her seat, Tu Xiao Yuan turned her head and, upon seeing Xi Ning's face, suddenly paused, widened her eyes, and leaned closer. "When did you put on lipstick today?" "...," Xi Ning reacted for a moment before hurriedly placing her hand over her lips, nearly hitting Tu Xiao Yuan's face. The chair legs made a scraping sound as Xi Ning stood up. "I'm going to the restroom." In the blink of an eye, the person next to her vanished. Tu Xiao Yuan looked at the disappearing figure by the door, feeling puzzled. With her head lowered, Xi Ning made her way to the larger restroom at the end of the hall. Inside, there was no one present. She stood directly in front of the sink and slowly released her hand, nervously staring at the mirror in front of her. The cold white light from above illuminated her face as she clearly saw her features and the ambiguous red mark on her lips reflected in the mirror. Her face blushed instantly, and she hastily opened the faucet, grabbing some water and applying it to her lips. In her fluster, the water droplets dampened her collar, and fleeting images resurfaced. Kong Nian Xi had hooked her by the neck, leaned in to kiss her, and gently closed her eyes, the touch soft and heart-stopping. Not only did she feel the bite on her lips in her memories, but she also seemed to perceive the softness of a tongue... Her heart raced wildly. The water pressure was a bit strong, and the water splashed out of the tap, wetting the edge. Xi Ning's fingers tightened, pressing against the sink, and she suddenly raised her head, hurriedly turning off the tap. Was the kiss just now real? Xi Ning suddenly had a feeling of being in a dream. She had never thought that she would experience a kiss with someone, and the very notion of kissing, a term filled with ambivalence, was barely something that would cross her mind, yet... allowing Kong Nian Xi to kiss her without any resistance unmistakably came from herself. Moreover, the other party had also confessed to her, and she had responded, and everything had happened so vividly. Xi Ning stared at herself in the mirror, and a blush crept up to her slender eyelids. When she reached out to touch it, the scorching temperature startled even herself. "Ah... I didn't expect it to end so early. Can I go back to the dormitory early?" "You're wishing for too much..." Footsteps could be heard at the door, and Xi Ning quickly wiped her lips twice, making sure no one could detect anything unusual before lowering her head and leaving the restroom. Returning briskly to the classroom, the interior was brightly lit, surprisingly quiet. Tian Jia Bao stood with his hands behind his back against the back wall, and a few boys were seated sparsely in the last row, cowering and not daring to breathe. Following several girls who had also returned from the restroom, Xi Ning had just sat down on her chair when Tian Jia Bao bellowed, "No organization, no discipline!" ... "Students work hard to relax during the sports meeting, and what's the result? It's not time to leave, and there's no one in the back row?" The classroom fell into complete silence, especially at the rear. They didn't dare move, and Tian Jia Bao seldom lost his temper, except when his mood was not good. "Tell those who left early to come to the office tomorrow, especially Kong Nian Xi. If I see her early in the morning, I'll make her come to me." After venting his anger, Tian Jia Bao finally left through the back door. ... After he left, the classroom remained silent for a long time, until the bell signaling the end of the class rang, and the atmosphere exploded. "Gosh, that scared me. Did Bao Bao eat a bomb? He's like a raging Tibetan Mastiff." "He was probably scolded by his wife again. A few buddies and sisters have been caught in the crossfire." "But it's okay; if the sky comes falling down, we have Xi Xi to take the fall, and Bao Bao won't really get angry with her." "But speaking of which, it's not unusual for Sister Xi Xi to skip self-study class; why did Bao Bao get so angry?" ... Xi Ning slowly packed her belongings, and Tu Xiao Yuan came over to call her. They walked towards the dormitory together. "Wasn't that snobbish guy saying he's going to move to the school? Why haven't we heard anything recently?" As they walked, Tu Xiao Yuan suddenly remembered this. Xi Ning had something on her mind, so she answered a beat late, "Maybe he isn't ready yet." Just after school, students from both ends of the corridor walked downstairs, and a group of people gathered at the staircase. The crowd slowly made their way down. Due to her height, Xi Ning stood out in the crowd as she glanced over the dense sea of heads below. When she was about to reach the second floor, she unexpectedly caught a glimpse of a familiar profile. With his tall figure of over 1.8 meters, Xi Mu was squeezed behind the slightly sparse crowd. His face was adorned with a particularly bright smile, and he was standing next to a beautiful girl. The two of them occasionally leaned in to whisper to each other. Especially the way he looked at the girl... Xi Ning's mind was suddenly filled with the phrase "affectionate gaze." ... Xi Ning took a few glances, and the figure quickly disappeared beneath the sea of people. Although she wasn't particularly fond of her younger brother, she couldn't deny that when it came to appearance alone, Xi Mu did indeed look quite good. Since childhood, he had always been popular with girls at school and this was the first time he had been rejected and fallen out with Kong Nian Xi. Xi Ning rarely concerned herself with his affairs, but she vaguely recalled that he had had close female friends in the past. He really was fickle. Xi Ning half-closed her eyes and an inexplicable emotion surged within her. "At this critical moment, should I make a move, shouldn't I? You are solely responsible for me this time," a message popped up unexpectedly on her phone. She lay on the bed, staring at the other person's profile picture without blinking until another message popped up in the message box. "You're already asleep so early?" Kong Nian Xi wrote. After pausing for a moment, Xi Ning sat up, feeling an inexplicable tension within her. Xi Ning: "Not yet." Kong Nian Xi: "So you sneakily read my message and didn't reply?" Xi Ning: "..." Kong Nian Xi: "Well, this is the last time I'll let it slide." She blinked at her bed until another message appeared. Kong Nian Xi: "I suppose I should let you off once more." Kong Nian Xi: "You must have heard Tian Jia Bao lose his temper tonight, right? I had to return to the dorm early because you accidentally smudged my lipstick. It seems like you need to compensate me, don't you?" Mentioning the lipstick made Xi Ning involuntarily recall those scenes. Her heart throbbed and she clenched her teeth. She was contemplating how to respond when she received a voice message from the other end. She didn't open it right away. It was very quiet in the dorm room, and everyone else had already laid down. It was likely that no one was asleep at this hour. She hesitated for a few seconds, then retrieved a Bluetooth earpiece from under her pillow. After putting it on, Xi Ning gently lifted her fingertips, and a girl's languid and alluring voice sounded in her ear. "What are you thinking about? Why are you silent again?" Even though there were several dorm rooms in between, the voice reached her eardrums directly, as if Kong Nian Xi was speaking right next to her ear. Xi Ning's ear burned, and she took off the earpiece. As she was about to compose a message, her phone screen suddenly switched, and Kong Nian Xi directly initiated a voice call. "Everyone should sleep early at lights-out. What's going on in Room 604?" The dorm supervisor's voice was heard outside, and Xi Ning breathed a sigh of relief, then promptly ended the call. [Xi Ning: The dorm supervisor is outside, not convenient.] [Kong Nian Xi: Is that so?] [Xi Ning: ... She should be arriving at your end soon.] The voices outside gradually faded away. After a while, Kong Nian Xi sent another, longer voice message. Xi Ning rubbed her ear and put the earpiece back on. "Thanks to you, our dorm didn't get knocked on tonight. But it seems our conversation hasn't finished yet?" "Can I, please~" The last phrase was drawn out and carried a nearly coquettish tone. After thinking for a while, Xi Ning typed a response, read it once, pursed her lips, and then deleted it entirely. [Xi Ning: But... it seems like I was the one who was kissed?] Kong Nian Xi: "Then... should I compensate you twofold?"