My Upperclassman Wants me to confess my feelings - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Secret Kiss

After washing up, Xia Xiaohan came in and took the bean-skin wrap from Ningning, asking her, “Where is Senior Cheng Wu? Why isn’t she here?”

“She has something to do; she left while you were still asleep,” Ningning said, poking a golden-brown sauce pancake with a skewer and taking a bite. The sweet and salty flavor immediately filled her mouth.

Xia Xiaohan finished her food in a few bites, thanked Zhao Ru and Ningning, grabbed her backpack, and headed to class.

This was a large English lecture, and her class was combined with Bei Wenxin’s.

But after sitting down and waiting for a long time, Xia Xiaohan didn’t see Bei Wenxin enter. Even after the bell rang, Wenxin still hadn’t shown up.

She opened her phone to check; the messages she sent hadn’t been replied to.

As Xia Xiaohan flipped through her textbook with the others, she remembered that Bei Wenxin seemed to have been at the cafe yesterday—at least, that’s what Senior Sun Wenze had said.

Opening WeChat, she sent a message to Sun Wenze: Senior, did you see Wenxin at the cafe last night?

After waiting a while without a reply, Xia Xiaohan focused on the lecture.

When class ended, she checked her phone and saw two messages from Sun Wenze.

The first was: I saw her.

But the second one had been withdrawn.

What did Senior Sun withdraw?

Xia Xiaohan wanted to ask further, but Yang Xing came running over in a hurry, pleading for help: “Xiaohan! Did you do the Math Analysis homework? Let me see it, quick! Ding Ming refuses to let me look!”

“Math Analysis homework…” Xia Xiaohan hurriedly opened her bag and flipped through her workbook.

Only one problem title was copied down.

Xia Xiaohan felt a wave of shame; she had gone straight to sleep after returning yesterday and completely forgotten about the homework!

“You actually didn’t do the homework!” Yang Xing was in disbelief; Xia Xiaohan was not that kind of person at all.

Ding Ming, sitting in the front row, turned around and handed over his workbook. “Want to use mine as a reference?”

Yang Xing immediately tilted his head. “Little Ming! You’re actually prioritizing beauty over friendship!”

With this interruption, Xia Xiaohan could only frantically catch up on her homework.

…

After class, Ding Ming turned back to ask her, “Bei Wenxin should have come, right? Why didn’t she show up for class?”

Xia Xiaohan shook her head while packing her things. “I don’t know. I sent her a message, but she hasn’t replied.”

The two left the classroom, with Yang Xing catching up behind them.

He urged Xia Xiaohan to call, but unfortunately, there was still no answer.

Xia Xiaohan turned to Ding Ming. “Should we go check her dorm?”

“Let’s wait and see,” Ding Ming said after some thought.

He was fairly well-acquainted with Bei Wenxin and knew she wouldn’t ignore calls for no reason; she was likely busy with something.

…

When evening self-study ended, Xia Xiaohan received a text about a delivery, so she went to pick it up before returning to the dorm.

While unpacking, she saw the sender’s nickname was “Brother”!

She quickly sped up the unpacking; inside the box was a silver four-leaf clover necklace.

Xia Xiaohan didn’t usually wear jewelry, but since her brother sent it, she put it on immediately.

Not long after, Cheng Wu and Ningning returned together.

“Sister Wu, your necklace is so beautiful! Who gave it to you?” Ningning pushed the door open, staring at Cheng Wu’s gift box and questioning her incessantly.

Cheng Wu came in and set down the gift box. Her eyes landed on the necklace on Xia Xiaohan’s neck, and her gaze narrowed slightly: Where did Xiaohan get a necklace?

Ningning noticed her gaze and also turned to look.

“A necklace too!” Ningning immediately ran over, staring at Xia Xiaohan’s neck. “You have a new necklace too?!”

“My brother sent it.” Xia Xiaohan didn’t like jewelry, but gifts from her brother were different.

Cheng Wu also walked over and saw the gift box on Xiaohan’s desk, becoming even more curious: It’s actually the same brand.

However, hers was a silver rose.

At this point, Ningning suddenly started laughing, her gaze darting between the two of them. “One with green grass, one with a red flower you guys make quite a match!”

“I remember you didn’t pass the CET-6 last time, and the next one is about to start. Aren’t you going to prepare?” Cheng Wu said, looking at Ningning with a smile.

As soon as she finished speaking, Ningning’s face fell, and she scurried off to start her review.

Xia Xiaohan froze when she saw the gift box on her Senior’s desk. After a while, she asked cautiously, “Who gave Senior the necklace?”

“A friend; he’s abroad.” Cheng Wu looked at the necklace on Xia Xiaohan’s neck, opened her phone, and did a quick search.

The four-leaf clover and the silver rose were both this brand’s new Christmas releases for this year.

Cheng Wu put away her phone and asked, “What is your brother’s name?”

“He’s called”

Before Xia Xiaohan could finish, Cheng Wu’s phone vibrated. Glancing down, she saw it was a call from Bei Wenxin, so she waved her hand and walked out. “Wait a second, I’m going out to take a call.”

Watching Cheng Wu departing back, Ningning turned her head curiously toward the door and muttered, “Whose call is it? Why go outside to answer it?”

Xia Xiaohan remembered her Senior’s words from earlier and felt a surge of nervousness. What kind of friend would give such an expensive gift?

She got up and went to Ningning’s side, glancing at the door. Seeing her Senior walking further away, she asked, “Ningning, do you know that friend of Senior’s?”

Hearing this, Ningning raised her eyebrows with a smile. This tone wasn’t right!

She looked at Xia Xiaohan with a grin that grew more and more mischievous, making Xia Xiaohan’s face hotter and hotter until she turned to leave.

Ningning quickly pulled her back and explained, “Don’t worry, that friend is a guy. Sister Wu won’t like him; she only likes you!”

Xia Xiaohan was instantly happy, but still said deliberately, “Senior likes all of you, too.”

Observing her shy expression, Ningning wanted to tease her further, but seeing Cheng Wu returning out of the corner of her eye, she quickly sat down and pretended to be reviewing.

…

After Cheng Wu came in, her expression seemed a bit unusual.

Seeing Xia Xiaohan looking at her, she offered a smile. “Hurry up and do your homework! Otherwise, you’ll be catching up during the breaks again!”

“Oh!” Xia Xiaohan replied quickly and went back to her practice problems for the semi-finals, but she was still secretly paying attention to Cheng Wu.

Returning to her desk, Cheng Wu casually tossed the necklace into a drawer and then opened her laptop, seemingly busy with her studies.

Combining Ningning’s words with her Senior’s indifferent attitude, it seemed she truly wouldn’t like that friend. Only then did Xia Xiaohan begin to focus on her work.

Around ten o’clock, she went to shower and prepared to nestle in bed. In Jiangcheng, the summers were scorching and the winters were bitterly cold; under the covers was the most desirable place to be.

After getting into bed, Xia Xiaohan calculated the time, took a photo of the necklace on her neck, and sent it to her brother.

Zhou Rui replied quickly: Xiaohan looks so good wearing it! Go to sleep early, don’t catch a cold.

Xia Xiaohan replied with an “okay” and snuggled into her quilt to sleep.

Next to her, Cheng Wu’s phone immediately received a message: Do you like the necklace?

Cheng Wu glanced at it, then looked up toward Xia Xiaohan’s side. Just as she was about to ask if he had a sister, Bei Wenxin’s chat window popped up to the top.

Senior, maybe we should meet on Saturday instead. Tomorrow is too rushed, and you’ve been very busy lately; I don’t want to take up too much of your time.

Cheng Wu’s gaze froze. Bei Wenxin was not like Fan Jia; she wasn’t persistent to the point of being a nuisance, nor did she make things awkward. Most importantly, Bei Wenxin was Xiaohan’s good friend.

Lifting a hand to her forehead, Cheng Wu considered it for a long time before finally replying: Okay, we’ll go by your schedule.

Upon receiving the message, Bei Wenxin was ecstatic, but since her Senior didn’t ask about her injury again, her mood slowly dipped. Is she deliberately drawing a line?

Sitting at her desk, Bei Wenxin gave a self-deprecating smile. Her Senior had already agreed; she shouldn’t ask for more.

On Cheng Wu’s end, because of the matter with Bei Wenxin, she wasn’t in the mood to chat. She quickly replied to the person labeled “Zhou”: It’s alright. I’ve been a bit busy lately. Let’s talk about things when you come back for Christmas.

Soon, a “fine” came back from the other side.

…

That night, Cheng Wu slept fitfully. She dreamed of her mother, then her father, and then that funeral from which she had fled Kyoto.

The person accompanying her to the funeral suddenly became Xia Xiaohan. Her grandmother’s crutch swung down violently, and Xiaohan immediately shielded her. Startled, Cheng Wu woke up instantly.

Turning over and looking at the sleeping Xia Xiaohan, she remembered the scene in the dream and comforted herself—it’s fine, it was just a dream.

But even though it was a dream, Cheng Wu was still a bit shaken. She simply put on a cotton jacket and leaned against the wall, watching Xia Xiaohan.

Scenes of Xia Xiaohan flashed before her eyes.

On the first day of school, she was walking through the crowd and noticed Xia Xiaohan at a single glance. Normally, she would just look a few times, but Sun Wenze had approached and was obviously trying to hit on her.

A girl like Xia Xiaohan had eyes as clear as Lake Baikal under a blue sky; one could tell at a glance she was pure and inexperienced. Cheng Wu didn’t know why, but she walked over right then to play the hero saving the beauty.

To this day, she couldn’t forget the look on Xiaohan’s face when she saw her—those round eyes wide open, staring blankly. When she approached, the girl even sniffed her scent. Only after Cheng Wu helped carry the suitcase did Xiaohan belatedly follow, blushing as she asked for her name. Later, she helped Xiaohan register and arrange her dorm.

Cheng Wu couldn’t help but chuckle softly. It turns out I’ve had a good impression of Xiaohan from the very first meeting.

At the freshman orientation party, Xiaohan had rushed over with Ningning, gritting her teeth and glaring at Fan Jia. Even though she was clearly afraid, she became brave at that moment. Perhaps because of that, Cheng Wu had impulsively kissed Xiaohan on the cheek.

The innocent look in the backstage dressing room had made her heart skip a beat. The insistence on holding her hand after leaving the auditorium had touched her. Cheng Wu felt that she had probably liked Xiaohan since then.

The clouds dispersed, and moonlight poured in through the unfilmed top half of the window glass, spilling across Xia Xiaohan’s bed and passing through her raven-feather lashes, creating an alluring atmosphere.

Cheng Wu felt a faint desire seep from the depths of her soul, quickly enveloping her heart.

Never before had Cheng Wu been as clear-headed as she was at this moment. She wanted to kiss the corners of Xiaohan’s eyes, the tip of her nose, the edge of her lips, and all the way down her neck…

In the deep winter night, the desire in her heart grew more intense. Cheng Wu felt she was about to lose control. Xiaohan lay sleeping before her, like a dormant sunflower, quiet and beautiful.

She repeatedly told herself she couldn’t scare Xiaohan. But in the dead of night, Xiaohan was fast asleep and almost certainly wouldn’t wake up.

Cheng Wu licked her dry lips. She slowly bent down, holding back her falling hair, and accurately pressed her lips against the corner of Xia Xiaohan’s eye.

It was warm and soft; the raven lashes lightly pricked Cheng Wu’s tender lips. In this moment, her heart found satisfaction.

Only after a long time did Cheng Wu reluctantly lift her head. She looked down at Xia Xiaohan’s sleeping face, her eyes overflowing with a tenderness that could barely be contained. The conviction in her heart grew even firmer: Xiaohan, I will definitely make you fall in love with me.