What Should I Do if My Younger Brother’s Crush Has Taken a Liking to Me?

Chapter 18 – Was it because I wasn’t good-looking enough?

Kong Nianxi couldn’t help but bite her lip when she noticed the other party’s sudden awkward body language under the school uniform jacket. Although it was weak enough to be ignored, feeling the warm body temperature and faint fragrance of shampoo from Xi Ning’s body had removed half of the drowsiness from her sleep. However, after being gently supported by the slender but strong arms, she clung to Xi Ning like a boneless mass. “Mmm… I’m really tired. Shouldn’t the class representative spread some love among the classmates and take me back to the classroom?”

The girl’s soft voice sounded a little hoarse with a teasing nasal tone, as if she had just woken up from a nap during class.

But…

When Xi Ning heard this assertive tone, she inexplicably thought of the experience of being “scammed” by a stray kitten she had picked up on the roadside.

“…” She hesitated for a second, then lifted her hand to lift Kong Nianxi, who was soft and clinging to her.

Kong Nianxi had been lying in the computer room for a class, and her long hair was a bit messy from being pressed down. A few fine and broken hairs playfully raised at the forehead under the sunlight. At this moment, she was weakly caught in Xi Ning’s arms, her eyes slightly red, blinking innocently at her, especially like some kind of furry little animal being held by the back of its neck.

Xi Ning’s eyes paused for a moment, and her heart seemed to be poked by the furry paw. A sudden itch arose, and her lips moved unconsciously, wanting to push the other party away, but the movement eased.

In Kong Nianxi’s eyes, this hesitant movement seemed to have a meaning of both refusal and acceptance.

She lowered her head and smiled, then sighed helplessly, before taking the initiative to hug Xi Ning’s arm and lean against her, hanging her whole body on her. “Okay, let’s go.”

So with Kong Nianxi’s “dominance,” Xi Ning stumbled for two steps, regained her senses, and was then intimately held by her, and they walked towards the teaching building together.

Tu Xiaoyuan said “Ah” and hurriedly followed.

…

On the way, most of the conversation was between Kong Nianxi and Tu Xiaoyuan. Xi Ning, who usually didn’t talk much, was like a stick in the middle, only responding with a few words when the topic was brought up.

As for why she was like a stick, the external reason was that she was the tallest of the three, but the internal reason…

Xi Ning secretly glanced towards her right shoulder, where Kong Nianxi leaned on it with a smile, and the “furry” head rubbed against her from time to time. Every time this happened, she involuntarily stiffened her back.

She really wanted to reach out and smooth Kong Nianxi’s messy long hair…

In fact, she had always thought that Kong Nianxi’s eyes were like a pair of cat pupils. But today, when the messy hair was illuminated by the sunlight, especially when she smiled, the image of a delicate stuffed cat appeared in her mind.

And once she accepted this setting…

Xi Ning suddenly withdrew her gaze.

Kong Nianxi: “…”

Catching Xi Ning’s gaze that had secretly glanced over for the nth time, Kong Nianxi raised her chin, and the corner of her lips quietly curved into a smile.

The three continued to walk along the path, and in order to shift the focus, Xi Ning looked up into the distance, her gaze scattered aimlessly. Suddenly, she saw Su Yuqi’s figure under a tree next to a billboard on the right. She slowed down and looked closely, but saw that there was also a girl standing next to Su Yuqi, who was none other than Wen Yao, whom she had met yesterday. The conversation between the two did not seem to be going well. Su Yuqi’s face was tense, and it was clear that she was deliberately suppressing her anger.

Xi Ning couldn’t help but feel suspicious, staring at them without looking away. After a while, her vision suddenly turned black, and a cold and delicate fragrance penetrated her nose. Someone covered her eyes with their hand.

Startled for half a second, she raised her hand to remove the covering hand, and looked up to meet Kong Nianxi’s smiling gaze.

“Does Miss Xi look so affectionate when she sees a beautiful girl?”

“…”

As she listened to Kong Nianxi’s words, there was a hint of mockery in them. Xi Ning thought about it for a while, then looked at her, still confused, and muttered, “What… deep feelings? I don’t think so…”

“Heh.”

But Kong Nianxi coldly laughed, paused, and then hooked her lips, tiptoeing to her ear and whispered, “Is it because I’m not good-looking enough?”

“??!”

Warm breath brushed past her ear, like electric sparks, tingling and burning her cheeks. Xi Ning widened her eyes in surprise.

Although Kong Nianxi’s voice was small, it couldn’t escape Tu Xiaoyuan’s sharp ears. She instantly felt like her ears were stuffed with a large orange.

Oh my god, this sentence was too suggestive!

Ever since Kong Nianxi leaned against Xi Ning earlier, she had felt that something was off. She didn’t dare to think about it at first, but now she wondered if straight girls could flirt like this. It was even better than the yuri manga she bought!

So, the question was, can two straight girls flirt with each other?

As for Xi Ning, who wasn’t good at socializing, she had entered a brief state of confusion.

They arrived at the teaching building just then. Kong Nianxi let go of her hand and turned around. When she saw Xi Ning’s fair face, which was usually expressionless, now showing a slight blush, she felt much better.

The half-squinted eyes slightly curled up, she couldn’t help but reach out and touch the reddened earlobe before the other could react, then quickly retracted her hand. Kong Nianxi smiled at Tu Xiaoyuan and said, “I have something to do. You guys go upstairs first.”

After speaking, she turned and walked away.

Xi Ning watched the graceful figure gradually disappear and breathed a sigh of relief.

It had been a week since Kong Nianxi took the initiative to talk to her. Even if she was slow to react, she could feel that something was different – Kong Nianxi seemed to be interested in her.

But Xi Ning still attributed this interest to the fact that Kong Nianxi, a popular beauty, wanted to make new friends who were different. This fleeting interest would soon dissipate, just like the three-minute crush that Xi Mu had on her. Now that Xi Mu had given up, they had no reason to continue to interact. Soon, they would return to their previous state. After all, they didn’t seem like people who could be friends.

With this in mind, Xi Ning’s hesitation only disturbed her during one class break. When the next class started, she focused on her studies.

On Saturday, after finishing their last class of the afternoon, it was time for the students to rest for the weekend.

Qingye High School required freshmen to have weekends off, sophomores to have a rotating schedule of weekends on and off, and seniors to have no weekends off.

Sophomore students alternated between having one day off and two days off per week. Last week was a two-day weekend, so naturally, they could only have one day off this week. However, even though it was only one day off, the students had to return to school early on Sunday afternoon, and because the school was located in a remote area, it took quite some time to travel back and forth. Therefore, many students who chose not to go home for the weekend stayed at school.

After finishing their last two classes in the afternoon, it was only a little after four o’clock. Under the pressure from Xi Nian and Su Yuqi, Tu Xiaoyuan managed to finish all of her homework by seven o’clock, and the three of them finally left the school gate and headed towards the barbecue stall that Tu Xiaoyuan had been talking about for a long time.

“Ah, I told you to leave some time. You insisted on finishing your homework, and now there’s almost no place to sit!” Tu Xiaoyuan stood in front of the “X Sister Barbecue” sign and looked at the dozens of tables in front of the barbecue restaurant, all of which were full of people. She complained.

After turning left out of the school gate and crossing a crossroads, they arrived at a crowded and narrow commercial street. This was the only place in the area that provided food, drink, and entertainment, and it was considered the “commercial center” of the area. In the evening, especially on weekends, there were all kinds of snack shops along the road, and most of the people walking around were students from the three schools.

“Here’s a seat, little students, come and sit here.” The boss lady warmly welcomed them and led them to a big round table.

“Isn’t there any space? Isn’t this table big enough?” Su Yuqi sat on a low stool and started ordering food with a pen. “What do you want to eat?”

“This restaurant has the best barbecue. It’s always packed with customers, and we’ll have to share tables with others soon. It’s really…” Tu Xiaoyuan pouted and stared at Su Yuqi while also ordering food. “I want honey-glazed chicken wings! Grilled eggplant, mushrooms, and chicken bones…”

Xi Nian wasn’t picky about food, and with Tu Xiaoyuan around, she didn’t have to worry about what to order. The three of them quickly made their choices.

The big round table was located near the roadside, with a crowded and lively street just one meter away from the edge of the table. In some narrow places, they could even hear the noise from the billiard hall across the street.

Just as Xi Nian picked up a string of golden and sweet grilled corn kernels, she heard the boss lady’s voice next to her, “There’s still a place, this big table is just right.”

“I told you we would have to share a table.” Tu Xiaoyuan complained, and then she saw a curly-haired boy walking towards them.

The curly-haired boy was walking in front, and when he saw Xi Nian and her friends at the round table, he came over familiarly.

Tu Xiaoyuan ignored the curly-haired boy, but happily waved to someone behind him, “Xixi!”

Under the street lamp, Kong Nianxi stood at the forefront of the crowd. She was tall and slim with a white Bluetooth earphone in her left ear, which was visible under the light. She seemed to be on the phone with someone, and behind her were three tall and big boys and a girl with big wavy hair.

When her gaze swept over to Xi Nian, she took off her earphones and finished her call, then walked over with long strides.

When she got closer, she saw that Xi Nian was biting the corn and not looking at her, so she pursed her lips, pulled out a chair, sat down one seat away from Xi Nian, and greeted Tu Xiaoyuan.

“You guys order first, I’ll go get some drinks.” A boy with ear studs and Huang Mao stood up, went to the freezer, and brought back several bottles of beer and cups.

Soon, there was a pile of beer bottles on the table next to the two big bottles of plum juice on their side of the table.

Xi Nian glanced at them and frowned slightly.

“Come on, it’s the weekend, let’s fill up our cups for Sister Xi!” Huang Mao used a bottle opener to open the cap and poured a full glass of beer, pushing it toward Kong Nianxi.

“Cough.” Kong Nianxi coughed lightly, glanced at the plum juice in front of Xi Nian, and pinched the bottom of the cup, pushing it back. “What’s the point? I don’t drink.”

Huang Mao: “…”