Running Wild

Nan Xingyu's phone rang.

She pulled it out of her bag, and the moment she saw the familiar string of digits, cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck.

She hadn't saved Xi Jin's number under his name.

Mostly because she was afraid someone might see it.

And expose her secret with Xi Jin.

Jiang Yu handed her a grilled oyster and happened to glance at the digits on her phone.

0930.

"Why aren't you answering?"

Nan Xingyu's hand shook, and her thumb accidentally hit the "decline" button.

The moment the screen went dark.

She felt blood rush to the top of her head.

The sound of Lin Piaopiao and Li Ziyan laughing and chattering suddenly grew distant.

All she could hear was the thump-thump of her own heartbeat.

It felt like she was a child who had sneaked out to play, only for her parents to call and check up on her.

Forcing herself to stay calm, she put down her phone. "It was probably a spam call."

"A spam caller with a number that good?"

Jiang Yu smiled. "0930. Isn't that your birthday?"

"Hm?"

Nan Xingyu's mind was still caught up in the lingering fear of having hung up on Xi Jin.

Would he call again?

Would he suspect she wasn't home?

Could he have found something out?

Countless "what ifs" spun through her head.

She hadn't heard a word Jiang Yu said. She looked up blankly. "What?"

Jiang Yu smiled at her dazed expression.

"I said September 30 is your birthday, right? That number just now had the same digits as a friend of mine's."

"Oh."

Nan Xingyu answered absentmindedly.

Her gaze fell on the phone lying face down.

Her feet shifted to the side of their own accord.

As though moving a little farther from the phone would take her a little farther from the risk of being found out.

"I think this friend of mine went to the same high school as you."

Jiang Yu suddenly remembered.

Nan Xingyu nodded woodenly. "Oh."

But her thoughts were entirely on her phone.

Why hadn't it rung again?

Or was Xi Jin preparing an even harsher interrogation?

"His name is Xi Jin."

Jiang Yu spoke softly, but his words exploded beside Nan Xingyu's ear like a thunderclap.

"..."

Nan Xingyu's pupils contracted sharply.

Which Xi Jin?!

Jiang Yu went on, "He's at Peking University with you now, too. He just won the shooting world championship. You must have heard of him, right?"

"..."

Heard of him?

How could I not have heard of him?

This person.

He had occupied her life from the age of seven to twenty-one.

He was the "master" she had to face every day, the shackles she wanted to escape but couldn't.

Good heavens!!!

They actually know each other?!

She suddenly came to her senses and turned to look at him.

"The friend you said you ran into just now, don't tell me it was..."

Lin Piaopiao finished for her. "Don't tell me it was Xi Jin?"

Jiang Yu looked across the table. "Yeah. You all know him, right?"

"..."

Nan Xingyu's mind went blank. She couldn't hear a word they were saying.

Only one thought remained: I'm done for.

Clinging to the last of her composure, she picked up her phone from the table. "Um..."

Her tongue tangled in her mouth as she stammered,

"I... I'm full. I'm going o... outside to help my food digest."

Her knees had just tensed as she prepared to stand when the private room's door was suddenly pushed open.

A familiar, cool scent swept over her.

The moment she looked up.

She froze.

The person standing in the doorway.

He wore an all-black outdoor jacket and pants, the collar zipped to the top, both hands tucked into his pockets, his posture as relaxed and casual as ever.

But his eyes, like a precise radar, landed squarely on her.

His face was expressionless, giving away neither pleasure nor anger.

But one look from him had already pinned Nan Xingyu in place.

She even forgot to breathe.

Her bottom had barely left the seat before it dropped back onto the chair with a thud.

Another layer of cold sweat broke out on her palms.

"Xi Jin?"

Pleasantly surprised, Jiang Yu stood to greet him.

"What brings you here?"

Xi Jin casually shifted his gaze from her to Jiang Yu.

"I came to have a look at Brother Jiang's... fated match."

Hearing that, Jiang Yu hurriedly tugged at his arm and leaned close to whisper,

"She doesn't know yet, so don't let it slip. You might scare her."

He took the initiative to introduce him to the others. "This is Xi Jin. His shooting coach is my dad."

"Hello, hello!"

Lin Piaopiao nodded, her eyes shining.

She tugged at Liu Ziyan's sleeve under the table, holding back her excitement as she lowered her voice. "Oh my god, it really is Xi Jin. This meal was so worth it."

Xi Jin paid no attention to their stares.

He walked toward the table at an unhurried pace.

His gaze never left Nan Xingyu, like a tangible thread binding her firmly to her chair.

Finally, he stopped beside her.

And sat in the seat Jiang Yu had just vacated.

Seeing this, Jiang Yu patted his shoulder.

"Xi Jin, those are my utensils. I'll ask the server to bring you a set..."

"No need."

Xi Jin cut him off. "I'm only staying a few minutes."

Jiang Yu could hardly say anything more, so he sat down beside him.

Xi Jin leaned back in his chair, his face largely expressionless and his features composed.

He seemed to notice the person beside him by chance.

"This classmate looks awfully familiar."

"..."

Nan Xingyu was going crazy inside.

You're messing with me, aren't you?

She secretly raised her eyes, only to meet his dark gaze.

A trace of icy amusement lurked in them.

As if he were toying with his prey.

It carried a sinister delight.

Knowing she was shy, Jiang Yu took the initiative to introduce her. "Her name is Nan Xingyu. She went to the same high school as you, and now you're at the same university. Maybe you've met."

"In that case."

Xi Jin smiled, though there was no smile in his eyes. "We must be quite fated."

"..."

Nan Xingyu thought to herself, An ill-fated bond.

Jiang Yu hurriedly cut in. "You already have a girlfriend, kid. Don't tease her."

"Oh, right."

Xi Jin looked as though he had just remembered. "I almost forgot. My girlfriend goes to Peking University too."

"..."

Nan Xingyu's fingertips gripped the tablecloth tightly.

The answer seemed ready to leap out.

Xi Jin's gaze remained fixed on her scarlet face.

"Her grades weren't good in high school. I watched over her tutoring every day and made her work through practice problems. Only then did she scrape past the cutoff for Peking University."

"Wow!"

Lin Piaopiao exclaimed softly, her eyes sparkling with the light of gossip.

"Great God Xi Jin, you mean your girlfriend goes to Peking University too?"

Across the table, Lin Piaopiao had just gotten a huge piece of gossip.

So the legendary abstinent male god really did have a girlfriend in high school.

So the story about him turning down Peking University's special admission so he could wait for his girlfriend and go to university with her.

Wasn't a rumor!!!

Xi Jin shifted his gaze from Nan Xingyu's face and looked across the table.

"Of course."

"Not bad, kid!"

Jiang Yu teased with a laugh. "You locked down your girlfriend back in high school? You kept that well hidden."

"Earlier than that."

Xi Jin rested one hand on the table, his phone spinning between his fingers, his gaze seemingly drifting toward Nan Xingyu's tense profile.

"We're childhood sweethearts. We've known each other since we were seven."

"Childhood sweethearts?!"

The news nearly blew the top of Lin Piaopiao's head off.

She gripped Li Ziyan's hand even harder and lowered her voice. "Help, it's like a novel came to life."

Li Ziyan frowned from the pain, but she couldn't help looking at Xi Jin curiously too.

Jiang Yu was somewhat surprised. "I've known you for so long. How come I've never heard that you had a childhood sweetheart?"

Xi Jin turned to look at him, a lazy smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"I'll introduce you to her when there's time."

"Sure. I'd really like to meet the person who caught your eye."

"A kid who likes to lie."

Seeing how unserious he was, Jiang Yu grew suspicious. "You're making it up, aren't you?"

"What do you think?"

As he spoke, Xi Jin looked at one person without the slightest restraint.

"She's such a good girl. She goes straight home after class. She'd never sneak out and run wild with other people."

"..."

Nan Xingyu swallowed nervously.

When it came to barbed remarks.

No one could beat him.

Jiang Yu said, "I knew you were joking. The way you describe her, your girlfriend must be the good-girl type."

"Some good girl she is."

Xi Jin smiled for no apparent reason. "This junior of yours looks... very well-behaved too."

Those last three words.

Even though he had done his best to sound natural.

Nan Xingyu could tell he had said them through gritted teeth.

She felt like a duck roasting over a fire.

Every word Xi Jin said felt like a foot coming down on her taut nerves.

She was afraid he would keep talking and expose their relationship, which couldn't see the light of day.

But she was also afraid he would suddenly change tack and expose her lie about being "at home."

He was used to doing whatever he pleased.

There was no telling what he would do the next second.

Oblivious, Lin Piaopiao added to the trouble by asking curiously:

"Great God Xi Jin, is your girlfriend really at Peking University?"

"What's her name?"