Serenade

That night, Bo Yan of course did not let Jin Xi off easily.

The intimate time between couples is always ambiguous and lingering. Jin Xi could feel Bo Yan's tenacity and endurance like granite from his restrained kisses.

He pressed her on the sofa, his kisses were so passionate, as if he wanted to swallow her into his belly.

Jin Xi's consciousness was somewhat groggy. She reached out and unconsciously clung to his shoulders, tilted her head, and let him recklessly draw from her.

The sounds of the two people's lips and tongues entwining were amplified in the quiet studio, making people's hearts ripple.

Jin Xi was almost out of breath. There were faint sounds from the corners of her mouth, like low pleas.

This sound made him swallow her with increasing fervor, as if all the restraint in his body had to be released through kisses.

The little girl was almost crying. She breathed with difficulty during his kisses, tense and hurried.

"Bo Yan."

His name seemed to be her lifeline. She called him lowly, her voice soft and tender.

Bo Yan affectionately rubbed his nose against hers in response.

Her words were always interrupted by his kisses: "I, don't do this to me..."

What she was referring to was of course not just his overbearing kisses, but also his nimble and disobedient fingers.

Jin Xi couldn't withstand Bo Yan's fierce offensive. How could a boy be so bad?

Her cheeks were unnaturally flushed.

Bo Yan had already stopped his actions. He circled her in one arm and gently hugged her.

The girl's body was soft, with a faint sweet milk scent.

Her jet-black eyes were wide open, not daring to move, staring straight at his slender neck.

After a long time, Bo Yan's Adam's apple rolled, and she heard the slight swallowing sound, restrained and suppressed.

His warm palm stroked her face, and the rough pad of his thumb stroked her left cheek over and over again.

"When will you grow up a little more?"

Jin Xi put her arms around Bo Yan's hard waist, leaning her head in his neck crevice, which was the part that made her feel most at ease.

Since he had promised Shen Pingchuan not to touch her, he would keep his promise and never mess around, even if he occasionally went "too far", it was within her acceptable range.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Shen Pingchuan rode a bicycle and picked up Jin Xi downstairs at the studio.

Tonight was especially weird. Shen Pingchuan sent Jin Xi a WeChat message every half an hour, constantly asking her what she was doing. Jin Xi said she was with Bo Yan, but Shen Pingchuan always seemed worried.

It was hard to wait until it was time to go home. Shen Pingchuan seemed afraid that Jin Xi would not come back. He specifically asked for her location and then waited for her downstairs.

Although her brother didn't rush her, she couldn't keep letting him wait. Jin Xi had to reluctantly say goodbye to Bo Yan.

Bo Yan sent Jin Xi downstairs. Shen Pingchuan was leaning against a street lamp, looking down at basketball game videos, with the shadow of his bangs covering his handsome double eyelids.

"Brother Shen." Bo Yan called him first.

Shen Pingchuan looked up and reminded: "Don't play so late outside in the future."

"Bro, you're too nosy." Jin Xi was very dissatisfied with his harassment of her all night: "I'm an adult now."

"When you really grow up, I won't interfere with you."

Shen Pingchuan straightened the bicycle and said to Bo Yan, "Going home?"

"Yeah." 𝐟re𝚎𝘄𝚎𝐛𝚗o𝚟el.c𝐨𝚖

Bo Yan looked around, seemingly unable to find a taxi. He took out his phone, ready to call an online car-hailing service.

"Why don't you get on, I'll take you home first." Shen Pingchuan was already sitting on the bike and patted the back seat.

"What about Xi Xi?"

"She sits in front."

Bo Yan frowned slightly: "Can it work?"

"Of course, silly Xi Xi, get on."

Jin Xi skillfully sat on the horizontal bar at the front of the bike. Shen Pingchuan held the handlebars with both hands, naturally circling her. Bo Yan sat on the soft cushion on the back seat.

The night breeze was blowing, and the air was slightly cool. The fallen leaves brought news of autumn.

Bo Yan's feet tapped the ground sporadically, his hand holding Shen Pingchuan's waist, pinching it, and couldn't help saying: "Brother Shen, why is your waist so soft?"

It was an uphill road. Shen Pingchuan panted and said, "You think everyone is like you guys, without a bit of soft flesh on your body."

Bo Yan smiled lightly: "For a man, it's better to be hard."

Jin Xi looked back at Bo Yan and said, "Don't be fooled by my brother's tall stature. His body is weak. It would be best if you could take him with you when you work out in the morning."

Bo Yan readily agreed: "No problem."

"Hey, what are you touching!" Shen Pingchuan lowered his head and saw that Bo Yan's hand had slipped directly into his side seam and was wandering around his belly.

Bo Yan pulled at the fat on his belly and said, "With your physique, still wanting to pursue girls from our college, you are overreaching yourself."

Shen Pingchuan snorted coldly: "Isn't my talent charming?"

Jin Xi giggled: "He and Miss Xia Qing will most likely fail. She doesn't even look at him. Brother Bo Yan, please help keep an eye out for young ladies from your college for my brother."

Shen Pingchuan grunted unwillingly: "No need."

"You really are hanging yourself on a tree."

"Just let him hang." Bo Yan's cell phone went through Shen Pingchuan's side waist, and then held Jin Xi's hand: "Chasing women requires some hardship."

Jin Xi smiled and held Bo Yan's hand in return.

Shen Pingchuan lowered his head to look at the two people holding hands tightly, and let out a silent single dog sigh.

Students from poor families enrolled in the Spring Sprout Project need their campus cards to go through the bank for backup. Therefore, the campus cards for students who have applied for the Spring Sprout Project's poverty assistance are issued later than those of ordinary students.

Yang Xiaoyuan inadvertently mentioned this to Bo Yan's grandfather. Bo Yan’s grandfather immediately asked Bo Yan to give his campus card to Yang Xiaoyuan for use.

Of course Bo Yan was unwilling, but his grandfather insisted again and again, saying that he had many friends at school. Bo Yan could use his roommate's campus card when eating, and then pay the money back to the roommate. Yang Xiaoyuan, who was new here, was also introverted and very self-conscious. Of course, it was not good to let her borrow other students' campus cards.

Grandfather had watched Yang Xiaoyuan grow up and spent a lot of effort to sponsor and cultivate her, so he treated her quite well.

Bo Yan rarely defied his grandfather, especially in these small matters. It was just a campus card anyway, so he didn't think too much about it and gave his campus card to Yang Xiaoyuan. He ate with Xu Zhaoyang and the others, and used the campus card together with them.

There were still a few hundred dollars left in Bo Yan's card. Yang Xiaoyuan insisted on transferring the money to Bo Yan, but Bo Yan didn't want it. All Yang Xiaoyuan's living expenses were subsidized by his grandfather, so transferring back and forth was still his family's money anyway.

But in Yang Xiaoyuan's eyes, Bo Yan's actions all had different implications. She felt that he treated her as family.

Therefore, when classmates inadvertently discovered that the campus card Yang Xiaoyuan was using turned out to be Bo Yan's, the shocked expressions made Yang Xiaoyuan feel a strange sense of satisfaction.

"Xiaoyuan, this card... this card is actually Bo Yan's! Is it the Bo Yan from the National Defense Academy?"

Yang Xiaoyuan showed her roommate the photo on the front of the card: "Yeah, it's him."

"Oh my god, how do you know Bo Yan!"

"That's a secret."

Yang Xiaoyuan pretended to be mysterious and did not make clear her relationship with Bo Yan. This aroused the omnipresent gossip spirit of her classmates even more.

"Xiaoyuan, tell me, what exactly is going on between you and Bo Yan, I'm dying of curiosity."

"Yeah, unless there's something shady, there's nothing that can't be said."

Yang Xiaoyuan waved her hands again and again: "It's not what you think, there's nothing between us."

"Nothing, how could he give you his campus card."

The more Yang Xiaoyuan explained vaguely like this, the more suspicious her classmates became. Some even directly asserted that Bo Yan was pursuing Yang Xiaoyuan.

Not everyone knew that Bo Yan had a girlfriend. Jin Xi was relatively low-key to begin with. She rarely showed affection with Bo Yan openly at school, mainly because Bo Yan's college had a "tyrant clause" prohibiting students from dating.

Therefore, Yang Xiaoyuan was then taken by default by the classmates as Bo Yan’s girlfriend. Even if she wasn’t his girlfriend, she must be having an ambiguous relationship with him.

Yang Xiaoyuan severely underestimated the gossiping energy of the girls around her. In just a few days, the news about her ambiguous relationship with Bo Yan spread like wildfire across the grade.

Her original intention was only to make her classmates look at her differently and regain the dignity she lost at the freshman social. Moreover, she was quite ordinary and unknown in the past, so few paid attention to her.

Now, she had become the focus of public attention.

Although she pretended to be nonchalant on the surface, she was still somewhat smug at heart.

However, things started to develop in an uncontrollable direction for her. She also gradually became afraid that Bo Yan would get angry because of this. She was also afraid that after being exposed, she would suffer even bigger ridicule and disdain.

Yang Xiaoyuan started to painstakingly clarify that she and Bo Yan were just friends and there was nothing going on between them.

But the more she clarified, the more convinced others became that there must be something fishy between them.

Yang Xiaoyuan was truly exasperated.

Being pushed into the limelight sometimes wasn’t necessarily a good thing after all.

...

At the club fair where all the school’s clubs were aggressively recruiting new members, Yang Xiaoyuan was holding a stack of promotional flyers and stopped in front of the Hanfu Club’s booth.

The senior sisters from the Hanfu Club had their hair up in buns and were dressed in beautiful Hanfu in varying styles, giving an ethereal and refined air. Some senior sisters were playing the tune of “Fishing Boat Song at Dusk” on the guzheng, attracting quite a number of onlookers.

Yang Xiaoyuan was attracted by the senior sisters’ gorgeous dresses. She excitedly walked to the Hanfu Club’s booth, wanting to fill out an application form.

The president of the Hanfu Club was a third-year senior sister. She wore a light green ruqun and sat on a chair, bowing her head to tally the new student applicants.

After Yang Xiaoyuan filled out the application form, she handed it to her.

“Let me see your campus card.”

So Yang Xiaoyuan handed over both Bo Yan’s campus card and the application form to the senior sister, while observing her expression.

Whenever other female students saw that she was using Bo Yan’s campus card, their eyes would show envy, so she thought that by relying on her connection with Bo Yan, she could attract attention from the start.

The senior sister first glanced at Yang Xiaoyuan’s application form, then caught a glimpse of the campus card.

The photo on the left side showed Bo Yan’s appearance when he was a freshman. Compared to now, his facial contours lacked some sharpness and he looked more refined and fair. Although the photo looked a bit silly, it didn’t affect his handsome brows at all.

The senior sister’s expression immediately darkened as she asked, “Why are you using someone else’s campus card?”

“Um, my campus card hasn’t been issued yet, so Bo Yan let me borrow his temporarily.”

Two girls wearing ruqun whispered to each other, saying, “I heard a freshman girl managed to get the campus heartthrob Bo Yan, could it be you?”

Yang Xiaoyuan still feigned innocence and said, “No no, there’s nothing between me and Brother Bo Yan.”

With her expression and attitude, in the eyes of the third-year senior sisters, she had become a hypocritical schemer, which disgusted them.

The president placed her application form on the table and sneered at Yang Xiaoyuan, “Then just wait there.”

...

Next to the Hanfu Club was the Literature Club. Jin Xi didn’t notice Yang Xiaoyuan at first, until an excited Chu Zhaoxing came over and told her, “That student surnamed Yang was taught a lesson by the senior sisters next door.”

Out of curiosity, Jin Xi looked over to the next booth and caught a glimpse of Shu Man.

Shu Man was no angel. In the past, she was crazily obsessed with Bo Yan and had done many outrageous things to pursue him, like confession through the school broadcast system, and even cornering him in a small grove, almost sexually assaulting him.

Bo Yan was not an easygoing man. After being harassed repeatedly, he was furious too. If not for Jing Chi and Xu Chaoyang stopping him, he probably would have just punched Shu Man.

After Bo Yan lost his temper that time, Shu Man did restrain herself a lot and didn’t do anything too outrageous to him again. But it was common knowledge that Shu Man liked Bo Yan.

Now that Yang Xiaoyuan had offended this she-devil, of course she wouldn't get off easy.

Shu Man didn't process Yang Xiaoyuan's application form and left her hanging at the side.

Yang Xiaoyuan watched other students who came to apply get registered and leave in three minutes at most, while she had been waiting for at least thirty minutes. The president simply ignored her.

"President, how much longer do I have to wait?"

Shu Man casually replied, "Just keep waiting."

Yang Xiaoyuan was arrogant by nature, so she was a little angry now: "On what grounds can people who came after me leave first while you're clearly just wasting my time? I still need to go to the library!"

Shu Man looked her up and down and pulled out her application form: "Fine, pay the membership fee of 100 first."

"100!" Yang Xiaoyuan exclaimed: "Other clubs only charge 20!"

Shu Man said impatiently, "The fabrics of our clothes are of fine quality, not some cheap online stuff. Just one piece costs thousands. Future expenses won't be low either. If you can't afford it, don't play."

The other girls shot her looks of contempt.

Yang Xiaoyuan's face turned red. The most sensitive nerve in her heart was severely pricked. She had always been arrogant, believing that one could become an accomplished person regardless of family background through hard work and perseverance.

Who were they to look down on her!

"I got into college solely by my own efforts." Yang Xiaoyuan's lips turned white from biting: "It's true that I'm poor, but I can say with a clear conscience that compared to you guys who only rely on your parents, I am more promising!"

As she said this, her eyes even glanced at Jin Xi in the crowd.

"Are you crazy?" Shu Man laughed. "Who isn't here by their own ability? What makes you think you're better than us?

"That's right, if you're so capable, show us what you've got. Anyone can talk big."

Shu Man stood up and looked at her condescendingly: "Can you play any instruments or dance? If not, you can at least sing right? As long as you have one skill you can show off, I'll let you join the Hanfu Club without paying a cent."

Of course Yang Xiaoyuan couldn't do any of those. She had never learned to play instruments or dance before. Even for singing, the simplest skill, she wasn't good at it and hit wrong notes.

She sorrowfully realized that apart from the perseverance and diligence she took pride in, she actually couldn't do anything.

What right did she have to claim she was better than others?

Even when it came to diligence, she might not necessarily be better than those study nerds who went to occupy seats at the library at six in the morning.

Under everyone's contemptuous gazes, Yang Xiaoyuan angrily spat out "Don't bully the poor" before leaving dejectedly.

Jin Xi watched Yang Xiaoyuan's humiliating state and felt no schadenfreude at all, just a bit of pity.

But she brought this upon herself.

There were countless girls at school who adored Bo Yan. Even Jin Xi as his girlfriend didn't dare be too high-profile, lest it attracted jealousy. Yang Xiaoyuan boldly tried to cling to him despite not knowing her place, so being taught a lesson was only natural.

She had to pay the price for her vanity.