Serenade

Chapter 43

Jin Xi angrily left, and Bo Yan frowned as he returned to the dormitory.

Jing Chi and Xu Chaoyang, the two troublemakers, exchanged glances with each other, and didn't dare speak before going to sleep that night.

That night, Bo Yan tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. He took out his phone to send Jin Xi a text to apologize. The message was already typed out:

Jin Xi, I'm sorry. I took the wrong letter. Please give me another chance, okay?

As soon as the message was sent, a red exclamation mark appeared on the left.

He was blocked?

In the next dorm room, Jin Xi curled up in her quilt, with her head facing the white wall and her paws holding her phone, staring blankly at the dim screen.

This guy is so stupid!

Not only stupid, but also fierce, looking as if he wants to eat someone when he gets fierce.

From a young age, Shen Ping Chuan was also fierce to her, but Jin Xi was not a fragile girl. It was just that Bo Yan happened to say harsh words to her, which made her feel wronged.

Chu Zhao, Jin Xi's roommate, wrapped herself in a quilt like a caterpillar, only revealing her small face. She curiously asked Jin Xi, "What did Senior Bo Yan write in his love letter to make you so angry?"

Jin Xi ruffled her messy hair and mumbled, "He told me to marry him."

"Pfft."

Chu Zhao couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Your passionate confession from Senior Bo Yan really took an unconventional approach."

"What confession? This guy was clearly just messing with me!"

Jin Xi decided she would ignore him from now on.

The next morning, she went to class with her books, together with her roommate. They happened to run into several boys coming back from morning drills as they were coming down the stairs.

Having just finished training, the sweat staining the front of their T-shirts was very noticeable, and you could feel the heat emanating from their bodies as they brushed past.

Bo Yan didn't look too happy. There were faint dark circles under his eyes. As he walked past her, he reached out and pulled Jin Xi. "Jin Xi..."

Jin Xi struggled free of Bo Yan's grip and said in a muffled voice, "You reek, don't touch me."

Upon hearing this, Bo Yan immediately let go of her and stepped back, frowning as he went upstairs toward the public bathroom.

After the boys left, Chu Zhao said, "There's no stench. Your Senior Bo Yan is the cleanest."

"He's a nasty man."

Jin Xi was extremely irritated. She finally understood that being vicious to Bo Yan would only make her feel worse.

How could she become like this? She kind of hated herself.

Jin Xi was depressed all day.

At noon, Shen Pingchuan asked Jin Xi to have lunch together.

On the second floor of the No. 3 cafeteria, Shen Pingchuan came over with a tray. As usual, he picked out the biggest piece of meat from the tray and set it aside.

Normally at this time, Jin Xi, the little gluttonous cat, would surely snatch the lean meat from his tray.

But oddly today, she absentmindedly poked at the white rice in her bowl, clearly lost in thought, barely eating a few bites.

Shen Pingchuan asked her to eat with him because he wanted to warn her about the Level 4 exam.

"How's the preparation going? Last time Dad asked, I lied to cover for you. If you don't pass this semester again, even gods can't save you."

Jin Xi looked at him blankly, "When's the Level 4 exam?"

Shen Pingchuan put down his chopsticks in exasperation. "You don't even know when the exam is. Have you been preparing well at all!"

"Yes I have. I review vocabulary every day." Jin Xi took out the vocabulary book from her pocket to prove her innocence.

Shen Pingchuan said impatiently, "Prepare well and try to pass it once. Next semester, pass Level 6. Start preparing for the postgraduate entrance exam in your junior year."

"You've got it all planned out for me?"

Shen Pingchuan said matter-of-factly, "I'm your brother. Of course I should help you plan these things. I was thinking of having you take the IELTS and study abroad for your master's degree, but then I figured no, you're muddleheaded, I wouldn't feel assured with you going abroad alone. Staying in China is fine, you can go to our university, or apply for better ones if you want."

"Then what?"

"Then you can choose the job and do what you like."

"Can I go to Uncle Shen's company?"

Shen Pingchuan asked guardedly, "What for? Want to compete with me for the family property?"

Jin Xi laughed, revealing two small white eyeteeth. "We siblings are of one heart. What's there to compete?"

Shen Pingchuan rubbed her head and said gently, "The Shen family's power runs deep, with many peripheral branches. It's not as simple as you think. Anyway, as long as brother can provide for you, you won't go hungry. Don't worry and just do what you want."

Jin Xi oh-ed, and didn't continue the topic.

During the meal, Shen Pingchuan casually asked, "Are you dating?"

Jin Xi choked on a mouthful of spicy fried rice and coughed violently, with tears and snot spurting out.

Seeing her react this way, Shen Pingchuan frowned. "So it's true?"

"No!" Jin Xi quickly denied, "Why would I date him!"

Shen Pingchuan was puzzled. "Him? So there is someone."

Jin Xi looked at the white rice in her bowl, feeling flustered. "Who's been telling you nonsense?"

Shen Pingchuan laughed. "I'm just teasing you, silly."

Jin Xi wanted to hit him when she heard this. She recalled Shen Pingchuan teasing her often when they were in high school, but she had a clear conscience because his tricks never worked.

Shen Pingchuan put down his chopsticks and asked curiously, "So who's the man?"

His interrogative tone made Jin Xi feel like she was the fallen woman being questioned about her illicit lover in a TV drama.

"There's no one." Jin Xi was a little nervous and said softly, "No illicit lover."

Shen Pingchuan: ...

"I see now." His eyes already showed understanding as he angrily said, "It must be him, that brat! Daring to seduce my sister right under my nose!"

Jin Xi's cheeks turned red as she hurriedly explained, "No, it's not him! He didn't seduce me!"

"All this time you keep running to the club for no reason. Other than that hypocrite Jian Sixun, who else could it be!"

Jin Xi was stunned.

"Huh?"

Shen Pingchuan said unhappily, "Let me make this clear, I don't approve of someone like Jian Sixun!"

Jin Xi felt the huge weight lifted from her heart. She breathed a sigh of relief and had the cheek to ask, "W-why not?"

"I've interacted with him in the student council before. This guy..."

Shen Pingchuan thought hard but couldn't seem to find any faults with Jian Sixun's gentle personality and capable work ethic.

"Anyway he's unsuitable! His physique is too weak, doesn't even have muscles. How can he be my brother-in-law!"

In Shen Pingchuan's eyes, few men in the world deserved his precious sister. If it were up to him, he would definitely choose the best for her.

"What about Senior Xu Chaoyang?" Jin Xi carefully beat around the bush, "He has a strong physique."

Shen Pingchuan flatly rejected it. "That foolish son of a landlord still wants to be my brother-in-law? Dream on!"

"What about Senior Jing Chi?"

"Nothing's wrong with him, just too sly. You silly girl can't handle that kind of craftiness."

"Then..." Jin Xi ran through a circle, asking about each of Shen Pingchuan's roommates, until finally circling back to that person.

She looked at him nervously and asked, "What about Senior Bo Yan?"

"Him?" Shen Pingchuan's eyebrows knotted together. He thought hard for a long time. "He is..."

Jin Xi tightly gripped her chopsticks, staring at him until she could barely breathe.

"Hey, are you playing me, little ass?"

"Bro, I'm going to the library tonight to review for Level 4. Bye!"

Before Shen Pingchuan could react, Jin Xi hurriedly got up and slipped away.

For several days in a row, Jin Xi barely interacted with Bo Yan.

Bo Yan thought to himself that this couldn't go on. He had to take action.

One afternoon in late May, the blazing sun shone intensely, making it hard to open your eyes. Bo Yan sat astride the obstacle wall on the training field, gazing at the wisps of cloud in the distance, unmoving for a long time.

Behind him, Jing Chi climbed up in a few steps. Seeing Bo Yan sitting there in a daze, he patted his shoulder and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Bo Yan gazed at the drifting clouds in the distance and murmured, "Return from death's door."

Seeing the look of tragic resolve in Bo Yan's eyes, Jing Chi still hadn't reacted when Bo Yan closed his eyes. With a "smack" sound—

He leapt down from the three meter high obstacle wall, landing straight on the barren grassland.

Even Jing Chi's mom was shocked speechless.

He quickly flipped over the obstacle wall to check Bo Yan's condition. This guy cleverly avoided all the vital parts, landing on his knees which were scraped and bloodied, but otherwise he was fine.

"Damn! That was too extreme!"

Jing Chi helped Bo Yan up and shouted to Xu Chaoyang who was rushing over, "Go get someone from the infirmary!"

Bo Yan grabbed Xu Chaoyang's arm, and smeared the fresh blood from his scraped knee all over his face, "Go to the library and get Jin Xi, tell her I'm dying."

**

The school infirmary smelled faintly of medicinal alcohol.

Bo Yan sat at the edge of the hospital bed, pants rolled up above his knees.

The nurse in a white coat carefully wrapped medicated gauze around the wound on his knee.

Jing Chi stood guard at the door, turned around and said in a low voice to Bo Yan, "She's here!"

A sudden shriek of pain from the treatment room made the nurse jump in fright.

Immediately after, as if possessed by an actor, someone collapsed straight onto the hospital bed.

The nurse was so scared she immediately stood up, completely confused about what happened.

What was going on? What did she do?

"Student, what's wrong with you!"

Just then, Xu Chaoyang pushed open the door, and Jin Xi followed behind anxiously.

Bo Yan opened his eyes slightly, gazing weakly at Jin Xi by the bed, "Jin Xi, you came."

Jin Xi looked at the thick bandages wrapped around his knee, biting hard on her lower lip until the flesh turned pale.

"It's nothing."

He struggled to sit up, and even coughed lightly, sounding weak, "It's just a small injury, your senior can take it."

The nurse was going blind, it was just a minor abrasion on the knee, yet he made it seem like he had a terminal illness. And he was panting, what was he panting so hard for!

But when she saw the flushed corners of this young girl's eyes, she immediately understood what was going on.

When she was disinfecting his wound earlier, which was the most painful moment, she didn't hear a peep from him. But now he was yelling out.

Turns out it was because his girlfriend came, now it's time to act pitiful.

Jin Xi still ignored Bo Yan, instead asking the nurse anxiously, "Sister, how bad is his injury? It looks really serious, does he need to go to the hospital?"

The nurse looked back at Bo Yan, his eyes shining like stars. This sincere effort, he might as well kneel down for her.

"Well...the situation doesn't look good."

The nurse sister didn't have the heart to say the truth. Going against her conscience she said, "The knee injury is quite severe, excessive blood loss may affect intelligence. Anyway, he needs care and pampering."

"Pfft-" Hearing the words "care and pampering", Xu Chaoyang who was standing at the side almost laughed out loud.

This nurse sister was also quite a character.

After she left the ward, Jing Chi immediately pulled the actor-wannabe Xu Chaoyang away, "Let's go, go get medicine with me."

He was also very thoughtful to gently close the door behind them, winking at Bo Yan.

Their footsteps gradually faded away.

The afternoon sun shone through the creamy white curtains, casting a warm yellow hue into the room. The light breeze lifted the soft curtains, dispersing the stuffy heat in the room.

Bo Yan bent his injured knee, looking up at her, a little nervous, a little guilty.

Because she had jogged over hurriedly, her breathing was still a little rushed, chest heaving up and down. Her clear black eyes were somewhat wet.

She lightly bit her lower lip, looking angry, and somewhat wronged. The two of them were silent for a long time.

Finally, Bo Yan grabbed the waist tie of her skirt, pulling her closer to his side.

Jin Xi snatched back the tie, glaring at him in annoyance.

Bo Yan retied her bow tie for her, his broad palm holding her waist, directly pulling her to sit next to him.

"Jin Xi."

Sitting at the edge of the hospital bed, Jin Xi lowered her head and said sullenly, "Xu teacher said you were dying, that's why I came."

Bo Yan suddenly leaned down, resting his forehead on her slender shoulders, his heavy body weight also settling on her.

"What are you doing!"

"Let me hug you for a bit."

His chest pressed against her back, the scorching body heat transmitted through the thin camo t-shirt to her body, her back felt like it was burning with hot coals.

At this moment the ward was exceptionally quiet, outside the window the breeze blew through the treetops, making a rustling sound.

Jin Xi could even feel his wildly thumping heart in the left side of his chest.

"You...let go of me." She turned her head back, her left ear rubbing past his nose bridge.

Bo Yan took the opportunity to gently nuzzle her earlobe with his nose, his arm circling her waist, tightening his hold.

"I missed you so much."

His voice was low and gentle, like the rustling sound of a pencil gliding across sketch paper.

She stopped struggling, but couldn't break free either, saying sullenly, "We see each other lowering our heads or raising them, what's there to miss."

"You ignoring me is even more unbearable than killing me." His breath was so close, the scorching, wet puffs lightly brushed her ear, stirring her hair, ticklish.

"Don't torture me." He pursed his lips, lightly scraping her earlobe.

A shiver went down Jin Xi's spine.

"What...what are you doing."

Under his teasing, her voice turned soft and whiny, her whole body weak without any strength.

"Be my girlfriend, let me cherish you properly, never bully you again."

This was his sincere confession, wholehearted and ardent.

In this situation, Jin Xi's mind was completely unable to think. She only felt like she had fallen into a huge whirlpool, fallen into the huge web he wove, more and more tightly bound until she could barely breathe.

"You...quickly stop." She shrank back, closing her eyes and saying, "Don't do this, very...very ticklish."

But also very comfortable.

The intense pleasure in her body left her with no strength to escape him.

Bo Yan lifted his head, seeing her ears were already red as if about to bleed, the corners of his mouth quirked up as he moved back a little, saying, "You're too sensitive."

Jin Xi turned around indignantly, puffing up her cheeks and glaring at him fiercely, "You're a pervert!"

"How is that perverted." Bo Yan smiled lightly, "I'm confessing to you."

"What kind of confession is this!"

"Then what?"

"Jian SiXun was very polite, no inappropriate touching, sincerely said a lot of touching words."

"But you still rejected him."

"You're so annoying."

Bo Yan really enjoyed listening to her anxious tone mixed with coquettishness. He couldn't help but reach out to pinch her flushed red cheeks, "From now on, you're Bo Yan's girlfriend."

"Don't spout nonsense, I haven't agreed yet."

Bo Yan's smile deepened, like a sly fox, "You like me, don't you."

"I don't!" Jin Xi's face turned red, stubbornly denying, "Who would be blind enough to like a jerk like you."

"Turns out you don't like me, I was just wishful thinking." Bo Yan's fingertips somehow conjured up a pink envelope, waving it in front of her eyes, "This eight hundred word sincere confession was written in vain."

There really was a love letter!

Jin Xi reached out to take it, but Bo Yan retracted his fingers, not letting her grab it.

"Forget it, I'll throw it away, there are certainly many girls willing to pick it up."

Jin Xi hurriedly grabbed his arm, trying to snatch the love letter from his hand. Bo Yan held it out of reach, raising it high up. She simply stood on tiptoe, reaching up with her arms to grab at it.

"How can you! It was written for me, now you want to give it to someone else."

"You don't want it anyway."

"Who said I don't want it!"

During the tussle, Jin Xi's elbow accidentally bumped into his injured knee. Bo Yan lightly hissed in pain.

Jin Xi immediately stopped, clutching his sleeve and anxiously asked, "Did I hurt you?"

Bo Yan nodded heavily, "It hurts a lot."

Jin Xi reached out, not daring to use any strength, as light as a feather gently touching the gauze on his knee, heartache evident as she said "You mustn't move anymore."

Bo Yan leaned back against the pillow on the hospital bed and started shamelessly acting pitiful, "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

"I'll go call the doctor for you!"

"No need." Bo Yan grabbed her wrist, "Do this, call me darling, and maybe it won't hurt as much."

Call you darling my ass!

Jin Xi knew he was just teasing her. She shook off his hand, turning her back on him, "It serves you right, I hope you hurt to death."

His strong, sturdy arms reached around from behind and encircled her shoulders. His long, elegant fingers held out the envelope containing the love letter, waving it in front of her eyes.

"I was up all night writing this letter, putting into words all that I wanted to tell you, all of my feelings. They're all inside."

Jin Xi took the love letter from him. Just as she was about to open it, Bo Yan suddenly pressed his hand over hers. "If you open it, it means you've agreed."

Her cheeks flushed red. Her slender, fair fingers traced the edge of the envelope before finally opening the sealed flap.

She read over the sappy, passionate words inside the letter.

Meanwhile, Bo Yan's hand came to rest on her waist, gently holding her.

She didn't struggle free. As his newly acknowledged girlfriend, she tacitly permitted any intimate gestures from him.

This made Bo Yan ecstatic. He wanted to fiercely embrace her, press her into his body. He desperately wanted to passionately kiss her, caress her...

But in the end, he didn't do anything. He only leaned in next to her ear, breathing deeply, inhaling her scent, savoring this tender moment.

From this day forward, she was his girl. He could not be inappropriate with her.

He would spend his life respecting her, loving her...

Protecting her.

Author's note: My blessings go with a certain someone finally getting what they wished for! Now scram!