An Unexpected Task

“No way!”

Xia Caihui planted her hands on her hips, standing firm against the pleading club members.

“Why, Teacher Xia? It’s just this afternoon’s practice.”

“Yeah, just let us hang out with Xiao Xi for a bit.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but the competition is coming up soon. You don’t want to hurt our ranking because of this, do you? If the school cuts our activity funds, it’s your own loss.”

Xia Caihui sighed helplessly.

“But still…”

“The competition is important, though.”

The members exchanged uncertain glances.

I sat on the bench in the resting area, watching the members beg Xia Caihui to cancel this afternoon’s practice so they could spend it with Ai Xi, giving her the best club experience. But Xia Caihui was firmly against it, citing the upcoming inter-school competition.

If you asked me, I felt a little sorry for the members. Right now, the Ai Xi they were so worried about was sitting beside me, swinging her slender, fair legs and humming a tuneless melody.

She was probably relieved to finally escape their overwhelming enthusiasm. Being too popular really wasn’t easy.

I took a bottle of water from the cooler and handed it to Ai Xi. She hadn’t drunk anything since she arrived. Even though she didn’t say it, she must have been thirsty—swimming really drains your energy, and I knew that even though I wasn’t training with the team, I’d practiced before.

“Huh? Senior, this is for me? But what about the others? Do you have extras?”

Ai Xi hesitated, not taking the bottle, looking puzzled.

“Don’t overthink it. The school’s budget isn’t so stingy that it can’t spare some water.”

I opened the bottle and pressed it into her hand, signaling her to just drink.

Just moments ago, she was troubled by her seniors, and now she was worried about them. I found it amusing, and something soft inside me stirred.

“Mm, then Xiao Xi will accept it. Thank you, Senior.”

Ai Xi gave me an adorable smile, opened her cherry-like lips, and started drinking.

“Slow down. No one’s going to steal it.”

She seemed in a rush, probably really parched.

“Mm… ah—cough, cough~”

She tried to speak while drinking and ended up choking. She coughed violently.

I quickly stood up and patted her on the back.

“I get it, but did you have to respond right now?”

I looked at her a bit exasperatedly as she coughed, her face red and tears streaming from her eyes.

“Cough… it’s your fault, Senior… cough…”

Was she a child? Still trying to talk while in such discomfort. I shook my head with a wry smile at her resentful expression.

“Fine, fine, all my fault, okay? Wait until you feel better before talking.”

Ai Xi wiped the corners of her eyes and nodded, letting me pat the water out of her throat.

“…In that case, how about Zhou Chen…”

Xia Caihui suddenly mentioned me. I looked up to see she had stopped talking. She and the members were all staring at me—especially Xiao Lu, whose glare was so fierce it made my scalp tingle.

“Not bad, huh? You’ve already won over your junior so quickly.”

Xia Caihui paused for a moment, then switched to a teasing smile.

“Huh? What are you talking about, Teacher Xia?”

I looked around in confusion, not understanding what she meant. There was nothing between me and Ai Xi.

“Oh my, Zhou Chen, still unaware?”

“Uh… huh?”

“…Chenzi, how long are you going to keep your hand on Xiao Xi’s back?”

Xiao Lu’s angry shout startled me. I realized my hand was still gently stroking Ai Xi’s back.

And Ai Xi’s face was bright red—it looked like I was up to no good!

I quickly withdrew my hand and gave an awkward smile. “I was just helping Ai Xi catch her breath. She choked on her water, right, Ai Xi?”

I winked at her, and she gave a slight nod and a soft “Mm.”

“Really?”

Xiao Lu slipped between us, touched Ai Xi’s head worriedly, then eyed me suspiciously.

“Of course it’s true. I—I already have a girlfriend, you know.”

As I said that, I nervously glanced at Ling Yan, afraid she might show disgust. That would hurt too much.

Luckily, she had no reaction. I breathed a sigh of relief, though a pang of pain lingered.

“Mm, Senior Xiao Lu, don’t give Senior Zhou a hard time. He really was helping me just now.”

Ai Xi spoke softly from behind Xiao Lu.

“Fine.”

Xiao Lu looked from Ai Xi to me and sighed.

“But Teacher Xia, I don’t think Chenzi should stay with Xiao Xi. She’s so cute—he’ll definitely get handsy.”

Hey, do you have that little faith in me? We’ve known each other for so long—trust me more!

But I only dared to complain in my head. I wouldn’t dare say that to Xiao Lu. For some reason, she had an imposing aura that made everyone a bit afraid of her.

“Mm-hmm, I think so too. But leaving Ai Xi alone isn’t appropriate either.”

Xia Caihui smirked at me and then pretended to be troubled.

Oh, why was even the teacher acting like this?

“…How about I skip practice and stay with Xiao Xi instead?”

Xiao Lu hesitated, glanced at me, then at Ai Xi, and said reluctantly.

“No. You and Ling Yan are the aces of the swim team. If you miss practice and we lose the ranking, I’ll never forgive myself.”

Xia Caihui’s expression turned serious, and she refused outright.

“But…”

“Um, actually, Xiao Xi thinks it’s fine to have Senior Zhou stay with me.”

Just as Xiao Lu was about to argue, Ai Xi interrupted her.

“Huh?”

I thought this had nothing to do with me anymore, so I let out a confused sound while spectating.

Why was I getting dragged back in? But Ai Xi was probably trying to help Xiao Lu out.

Ai Xi stole a glance at me and said, “If Senior tries anything, Xiao Xi will scream, and then everyone can beat him until he’s toothless.”

As she spoke, she brandished her little pink fist in front of me.

“…Fine.”

Seeing that Ai Xi had said her piece, Xiao Lu had no choice but to compromise. But before leaving, she made sure to threaten me properly.

“Chenzi, if you have any bad intentions toward Xiao Xi, Ling Yan and I won’t let you off.”

I could only nod with a bitter smile. I wouldn’t do anything like that anyway. Now, Ling Yan was enough for me.