Chapter 123: Chapter 22: Xia Xiqing’s First Time Initiating an Invitation

Early the next morning, Zhang Yan dressed neatly and prepared for his morning run.

Occasionally orchestrating a chance encounter could add a little surprise between two people. However, if they just so happened to run into each other every single time, as long as the other party wasn’t a fool, they would realize they were actually being followed or monitored. Zhang Yan naturally wasn’t foolish enough to make such a mistake. Therefore, he didn’t plan on "bumping into" Xia Xiqing today. He just wanted to go for a casual run and wait for her at the ginger cat’s living area at the last moment. But life was always full of surprises.

Xia Xiqing, who almost never initiated a conversation, actually left a message for Zhang Yan early in the morning.

Evening Breeze Xixi: "Are you coming for a run today?"

"Yeah, just about to head out."

Evening Breeze Xixi: "Then I’ll wait for you at the North Gate."

"Okay."

Zhang Yan turned off his phone and smiled faintly. It seemed the progress of his conquest was steadily advancing, and Xia Xiqing was changing bit by bit. Driving to the North Gate of Cuiquan Spring, Zhang Yan parked his car a good distance away. After all, if Xia Xiqing found out that he didn’t actually live nearby but had specifically driven all the way over here, a lot of things would be seen through.

He deliberately took a detour and walked up from behind Xia Xiqing. "Senior Sister Xia, have you been waiting long?"

Hearing his greeting, Xia Xiqing turned her head. The early morning light hit her just right, painting an absolutely stunning portrait of light and shadow. Xia Xiqing was truly someone who could take a person’s breath away at any given moment.

It wasn’t until she saw Zhang Yan arrive that she put on the baseball cap she usually wore. It turned out she had specially taken it off just in case Zhang Yan couldn’t find her. To this, Zhang Yan really wanted to tell her she was overthinking it. Even if she was bundled up tightly from head to toe, he would still be able to recognize her right now just from those long legs alone.

After Xia Xiqing approached him, she impatiently asked, "Did you wash the dress?"

Zhang Yan merely smiled and gave a perfunctory reply. "I don’t wear it, so why would I wash it?"

"Then give it to me."

"Are you asking for a present?"

"I’ll wash it when I get back and then return it to you."

An evening dress worth over a hundred thousand yuan was essentially impossible for an individual to wash; it usually had to be sent for professional dry cleaning. Xia Xiqing had made up her mind. Even if it made her already very tight finances worse, she had to get that dress back. More than once, a scene had surfaced in her mind: Zhang Yan holding the evening dress she had worn, toying with it in his hands, as if she were still inside it. Even though she knew it was all just her imagination, just thinking about it caused a strange, unprecedented sensation to well up within her, making her squirm with unease.

"There’s no need. It’s my dress, so I’m the boss. I don’t think it needs washing." Zhang Yan finished with a smile and, without waiting for Xia Xiqing’s reply, started jogging on his own.

Xia Xiqing looked at Zhang Yan’s retreating back and pursed her lips. There was nothing she could do, so she could only hurry up and match his pace. Zhang Yan noticed how she looked like she wanted to say something several times but stopped herself, yet he pretended not to see it. He actually wanted to see if Xia Xiqing’s habit of remaining silent while running could be broken. Facts proved that no habit was unbreakable.

After running just one lap, Xia Xiqing spoke up. "What exactly do I have to do for you to get that dress washed?"

"What, are you worried that I’ll do something weird with the dress you wore?"

"No."

"Then what is it for?"

Xia Xiqing was exasperated, but she also didn’t know how to explain. Zhang Yan decided to stop teasing her, feeling that if he continued, it would backfire. "Haha, have lunch with me at noon, and I’ll give the dress to you then."

"Then let me treat you. I can’t always let you be the host."

"Do you still want that dress or not?"

Although Xia Xiqing didn’t want to constantly accept his help, for the sake of her dress, she could only temporarily compromise. She helplessly muttered, "I do."

Zhang Yan silently ran the last half of the route, recalling everything about Xia Xiqing in his mind. Combined with the information Brother Gan had provided earlier, Xia Xiqing was someone who was extremely unwilling to owe anyone favors. All along, she accepted neither help nor gifts from others. Therefore, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call the past Xia Xiqing aloof and proud.

Even recently, though she had gradually started accepting gifts from some people, those people were exclusively women—friends who had shared at least a few years of friendship with her. And for those gifts, she would always give a return gift, such as the "knitted ginger cat" from before. But when it came to the opposite sex, her threshold was still incredibly strict.

Counting Si Mingcheng—a guy she had known for a long time and found somewhat interesting—along with Zhang Yan, she had no more than five men on her WeChat. As for men from whom she had formally accepted a gift, there were absolutely none. She seemed to harbor an innate vigilance and scrutiny toward men.

What Zhang Yan needed to do now was gradually break through this barrier and make himself the special exception. Treating her to meals and such in the past hadn’t yielded great results. After all, once the food was eaten, there was no lasting impact. The evening dress this time was a highly suitable breakthrough point. It was valuable enough, suited her perfectly, and even held resale value. Furthermore, the reason for giving it to her was fully justified. Since Xia Xiqing had helped Zhang Yan so much at the banquet, returning the favor with an evening dress didn’t seem abrupt in the slightest.

...

After petting the cat, Xia Xiqing left in a hurry.

According to the constant stream of information sent back by Li Fan, Xia Xiqing seemed to have become increasingly anxious lately. She now frequently went to the sample tasting areas of various supermarkets to snag free food and drinks, seemingly reluctant to even spend money on her daily meals. Once, she had a stroke of luck on the sidewalk by a park and picked up several drawing commissions from tourists. Thrilled, she stayed in the exact same spot all day, waiting until the sun set before finally leaving. On that day, not only did she endure the blistering sun, but she also only drank a bottle of tap water filled from who-knew-where and ate a single piece of bread.

Zhang Yan, however, was naturally not anxious about this. Going hungry for a few days wouldn’t kill anyone, and she didn’t seem to have any spare weight that would be a pity to lose anyway. The greater the difficulties Xia Xiqing encountered, the easier it would be to exploit her vulnerability, which would be more conducive to him completing the system’s side quest. Therefore, his top priority was still to complete the system’s main questline as soon as possible.

Provincial University Library.

For today’s critical breakthrough, Zhang Yan had sought out numerous supplementary materials interpreting Being and Time. He was determined to leverage the miraculous effects of the Concentration Potion and elevate its progress to "Understanding" in one fell swoop! Sofia arrived rather early today. Just as Zhang Yan had arranged all his things, she sat down next to him holding a tattered magazine.

"Hi, Aiser, you’re just as diligent today."

"Hello, Sofia, and you’re just as charming today."

But Sofia clearly saw through his perfunctory attitude. "Aiser, if you truly find me charming, then why won’t your eyes leave your book for even a second?"

"That is, of course, because this book is even more charming!"

Zhang Yan was completely resolute in completing the questline today, so he had no mood to bicker with Sofia. Having already drunk the potion, he swiftly entered the zone.

He thought, "Brother Tongzi, let me see your generosity!"

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