098 Familiar Profile

Lin Xia was about to answer when she felt her sleeve being tugged by Xie Xitong. Then she heard her whisper, "My aunt is almost here. She said she's coming to pick me up." Xie Xitong smiled at Jin Ye. "You go ahead and take care of your business. We still have some things to attend to."

Jin Ye didn't mind. "Then I'll be going." He nodded at Xie Xitong and turned to leave.

The two of them watched him until he disappeared from sight. Only then did Xie Xitong grab Lin Xia's sleeve and exclaim, "Wow, wow, he's absolutely cool personified! How do you know a man like that? He's got such style!"

Remembering the circumstances of their previous encounters, Lin Xia's face flushed slightly. At least this time it had been a normal meeting.

Seeing her like this, Xie Xitong shrieked as if she had discovered a new continent. "Wow! You can actually blush too! Wow wow wow wow! That's explosive, isn't it!"

Lin Xia: ...

She was human too, wasn't she? Why couldn't she blush?

"Alright, alright, I know what you want to say, but in all the time I've known you, you always have that calm and composed look about you. It's so boring, nothing like a girl our age." Xie Xitong hooked her arm through Lin Xia's, rested her chin on Lin Xia's shoulder, and pouted. "When you saw my brother, you didn't blush, and you didn't react at all. When you saw Ah Xin, you were the same. And when you saw that rascal Zhou Meng, you didn't show a hint of girlishness either. Isn't that strange?"

"Qianqian and I even discussed it in private, wondering what kind of man you'd fall for. Could it be that you like the older-man type? But that man was so old, probably seven or eight years older than you!"

Lin Xia retorted, "He's not that old at all. He's only twenty, okay? Besides, the older a man gets, the more charm he has, right? The guys at school now are all little brats, immature in everything they do. How could I possibly fancy them?"

Hearing this, Xie Xitong jumped away from her, pointed her index finger at Lin Xia, and squinted with a grin. "Haha, now you're going to confess, aren't you? Did you take a fancy to that man from just now? Come on, spill the truth this instant!"

"Oh yeah? You dare try to trick me into talking? Watch me destroy you." Lin Xia rubbed her hands together and started tickling her.

"It seems it's true! Ooh ooh, now there's a show to watch—falling for an old uncle, hee hee."

The two of them laughed and fooled around for a while before Lin Xia said seriously, "Don't talk nonsense. A man his age definitely has a girlfriend already. Besides, I've only seen him twice. How can you talk about love or not love? You're still a little kid. Stop thinking about romance and love all day."

"What do you mean little? I'm already fifteen. Next year I'll be in high school. If I don't have a romance in high school, then how are we supposed to get through our youthful prime? Are we just supposed to bury our heads in books all day? Just thinking about that makes my whole youth seem bleak and dreary!"

"That's true. Youth really does need a bit of color to brighten it up. Come on, tell me, what happened between you and your Zhou Meng? How come you went home with him yesterday, and today you've come rushing over to me?" Lin Xia teased her back. She was absolutely certain something had happened between the two of them.

Otherwise, given Xie Xitong's personality, she would never have taken the initiative to run away. Remembering how she had leaned against Zhou Meng's shoulder and cried yesterday, Xie Xitong's face suddenly flushed red, like two dewy, plump peaches, looking utterly delicious.

Just as she was feeling flustered, her phone rang. Xie Xitong breathed a sigh of relief and answered it.

"Hello——"

"Tongtong, it's your aunt. I'm at the airport entrance right now. Where are you? There are too many cars here and it's all jammed up. Come out with your classmate and walk toward the left side. There's a whole block of traffic backed up over here."

"Mm, we'll be right there."

"Be careful on the way!"

"Got it." She hung up and said to Lin Xia, "My aunt's already here. She said the entrance is blocked, so we should go find her."

Lin Xia nodded. "Yes, I had to run through that stretch by the entrance just now. If you drive in, it really is congested. The cars can't get through."

"Then let's go. She said she's at the fork on the left."

Following the flow of people, they walked out of the airport, turned left, walked several hundred meters, and spotted a silver-white sports car at the fork. Leaning against it was a stylishly dressed beauty, radiating an air of intellectual refinement.

Lin Xia admired her silently. Their family really did have powerful genes—every one of them was a beauty.

Seeing the woman, Xie Xitong quickened her pace, dashed up, pounced on her, rubbed against her, and cooed, "Auntie."

Lin Xia was speechless. What a girl who loved to act spoiled.

But in that way, she was extremely adorable. No wonder everyone in her family doted on her so much. The woman stroked Xie Xitong's hair and pinched her cheek. "You're this grown-up now, but you still love acting spoiled just like when you were little."

"In front of Auntie, I'll never grow up." Xie Xitong hugged her arm and shook it, flattering her.

The aunt and niece chatted briefly, then the woman looked at Lin Xia and smiled. "So this is your classmate? Aren't you going to introduce her to your aunt?"

"She's my best friend, Lin Xia."

Lin Xia hurriedly smiled. "Hello, Auntie."

Seeing how gentle and refined Lin Xia was, without a trace of pampered airs, Xie Chunhua took an immediate liking to the young girl. She smiled and said, "Get in the car. I'll take you two out for a big meal."

"Oh, wonderful! I want to eat B City's signature dishes—the famous roast duck, donkey roll, and the Donglaishun hotpot."

"You're such a foodie." Lin Xia was at a complete loss for words: ...

Xie Chunhua, however, adored Xie Xitong. Her face was all smiles as she said again and again, "Alright, alright. Stay a few extra days at your aunt's house, and we'll get to eat all of these."

"Oh, that's great! Auntie, I love you!" Xie Xitong cheered. "Oh, right, what about cousin Yunjin and cousin Yunqian? Are they at home?"

"You're the perfect example of 'where there's milk, there's a mother.'" Xie Chunhua laughed. "The two of them are both busy. Your uncle went to meet a client, so today it's just the three of us. Let's have a proper feast."

"Yay!"

Xie Chunhua shook her head with a smile and took the two of them to Beijing's famous destination—Wangfujing. And among the roast ducks, Quanjude's roast duck is considered the most authentic.

In the middle of the meal, Lin Xia took a moment to call Chen Qing, explaining the situation and telling her to go eat on her own first, that she probably wouldn't be back at the hotel until after lunch, and so on.

After parking the car, the three of them walked into the restaurant.

After the meal, Xie Xitong insisted on browsing around the department store. Xie Chunhua, unable to resist her pestering, gave in.

Lin Xia had gone to bed late the night before, so she was still feeling a bit drowsy.

Her gaze drifted inadvertently, and at the counter ahead, she caught a glimpse of a boy's profile turning around.

Lin Xia stared fixedly at him. Strange—why did this boy look so familiar?

PS: The whole class is going on a spring outing. We'll be out for three days and come back on the fourth. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll probably be taking a few days off from updating. (*^__^*)