Explanations and Misunderstandings

Seeing that Xiao Lu didn’t lose her temper, I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I could explain.

After all, this was just a misunderstanding. I didn’t know what had gotten into me, messing around with Ai Xi like that.

“Actually, I was just joking with Junior Ai Xi.”

“Joking? Forcibly taking off someone’s clothes?”

Xiao Lu let out a cold laugh, her gaze growing more terrifying by the second.

No, what was I saying? This misunderstanding was clearly getting worse.

“No, that’s not what I meant. Ah, Junior Ai Xi, you explain.”

I scratched my head in frustration, completely at a loss. I had no choice but to turn to Ai Xi for help.

Come to think of it, wasn’t Ai Xi equally at fault here? Yet she just stood there staring at us blankly, not stepping in to explain earlier.

“Ah, um, yes. Xiao Xi was just joking with Senior. Senior Xiao Lu, you really misunderstood Senior.”

Ai Xi nodded at Xiao Lu, forcing an awkward smile.

“Then what really happened?”

Xiao Lu furrowed her brows, still unconvinced that we had been joking. After all, who would joke about stripping a girl’s clothes?

“It’s just—”

“Chenzi, shut up! Let Xiao Xi speak!”

Xiao Lu shot me a terrifying glare, instantly silencing me.

So Xiao Xi told everyone about how she had felt a little cold, and I had lent her my jacket.

Xiao Lu’s expression softened a bit, but she still looked gloomy. The way she looked at me sent chills down my spine.

However, the club members wore expressions that said, “So that’s what happened.” That made me breathe a little easier. As long as Ling Yan didn’t misunderstand me, everything would be fine.

Even though she could never fall for me, I absolutely didn’t want her to hate me.

“……I see. But Xiao Xi, you should take off that jacket. We girls have jackets too, and we can lend you one. Besides, ours are clean.”

Xiao Lu thought for a moment and spoke gently to Ai Xi.

“Okay. Xiao Xi understands. Thank you very much, Senior Xiao Lu.”

Ai Xi obediently took off the jacket and held it in her hands, bowing to Xiao Lu.

“Then about Senior’s clothes…”

Ai Xi looked at me after straightening up, then glanced at the jacket in her hands.

“Well, just give it back to me.”

“No way!”

Xiao Lu turned back and glared viciously at me.

Sigh, I couldn’t even get my own jacket back?

I gave an awkward smile. I hadn’t even done anything, had I?

“Xiao Ning, go to the changing room and get a jacket out. And take Chenzi’s jacket with you.”

Xiao Lu took the jacket from Ai Xi, folded it, and handed it to Xiao Ning.

“Okay, got it.”

Xiao Ning, a club member about the same build as Ai Xi, nodded at Xiao Lu and ran excitedly into the changing room.

“Alright, Chenzi, don’t just stand there. Go do what you need to do.”

Xiao Lu rolled her eyes at me, signaling for me to get back to work.

But I hesitated, rooted to the spot. “Um, Xiao Lu, about my jacket…”

“Jacket? Don’t even think about it today, Chenzi. I’ll keep it for now, wash it, and give it back to you tomorrow.”

By then, Xiao Lu had already loosened the hair tie that held her ponytail. She tilted her head back, revealing her fair neck, and shook her wet hair. A few drops of water, mixed with a faint fragrance, splashed onto my face.

“Uh, that’s so embarrassing. You don’t have to trouble yourself, Xiao Lu.”

I touched my nose and averted my gaze from her face.

“Gulp, gulp… Pfft! Chenzi, do you think I’m simply washing your jacket out of kindness?”

Xiao Lu pulled a bottle of water from the box, unscrewed the cap, and downed half of it in one go. She let out a satisfied sigh and looked at me with disdain.

“Huh? Isn’t it?”

Xiao Lu didn’t answer. Instead, she hugged Ai Xi, who had been watching us the whole time.

“Ah, Senior Xiao Lu, why are you hugging me again?”

“I can’t help it. Xiao Xi is just too cute. So I have to protect her well, to keep a lecherous guy like Chenzi from having any weird ideas.”

Xiao Lu rubbed her cheek against Ai Xi’s and shot me a cold glance.

I smiled bitterly. Now I understood what Xiao Lu meant. She was afraid I might do something perverted with the jacket she had worn. That was really hurtful.

“Senior Xiao Lu!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

I watched as Ai Xi gently pushed Xiao Lu away and looked seriously at Xiao Lu’s puzzled face.

“Senior would never have perverted thoughts about Xiao Xi!”

After saying that, Ai Xi glanced at me with a slightly flushed face.

Was… was Ai Xi an angel? I was so moved I could cry.

I looked triumphantly at Xiao Lu, who seemed surprised, and was about to gloat.

But Xiao Lu wasn’t looking at me. She was staring blankly at Ai Xi.

“I knew it…”

Xiao Lu murmured softly, then suddenly fixed a fierce glare on me.

“Chenzi, what are you still doing here? Haven’t you seen the club members waiting for ages?”

“Ah, right. I almost forgot. You guys keep talking.”

I suddenly remembered I still had work to do. I had been chatting too long with Xiao Lu and Ai Xi. I hurriedly handed out water and towels to the resting club members.

……

“Seriously, Zhou Chen, did you forget about us?”

“We’ve been waiting forever.”

“……”

Facing the club members’ half-joking complaints, I smiled and apologized, making my way to Ling Yan.

As usual, the members around her dispersed, but unlike her usual self, she didn’t dip her crystal-clear feet into the water to kick up splashes. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her slender legs and silently gazed at the pool’s surface.

“Um, Ling Yan, your towel and water.”

I looked at Ling Yan, who seemed different from usual, and my heartbeat quickened. I had told myself I shouldn’t see her as a girlfriend anymore.

But it was only natural for my heart to race when I saw something beautiful, right? I consoled myself, feeling pathetic.

“Thank you, Zhou Chen.”

Ling Yan looked up at me calmly, letting go of her legs. She took the water and towel I handed her.

But she didn’t open the bottle. Instead, she set them aside, stretched her legs into the water, and gently swayed them. Ripples spread out in the direction of her movements.

“Why are you and Xiao Xi so close?”

“Huh?”

Ling Yan’s question, almost like an interrogation, caught me off guard. But her tone was still as light as ever, completely devoid of any emotion.

She was probably just curious.

I thought for a moment and said, “Probably because I feel like Junior Ai Xi is like a little sister who needs to be taken care of. I don’t have a sister, but… how should I put it? It’s just that kind of feeling.”

I scratched my head, embarrassed by my own words. But maybe that was honestly how I felt.

“Is that so.”

Ling Yan’s clear, dark eyes stared at me until I felt a bit creeped out. Had I said something wrong?

“Probably?”

I replied uncertainly, afraid that Ling Yan might think I had strange thoughts about Xiao Xi.

Ling Yan studied me for a while before finally shifting her gaze from my face to the water bottle beside her.

Her feet no longer swayed gently. Instead, she kicked the surface, sending up little splashes.