Act with Impunity – Chapter 52

These people were different after eating Su Xu’s snacks. For the rest of the time, they added more stories one after another, completely ignoring Tan Xingwei’s plight.

Talking about recent things would have been fine, but they even brought up old, trivial matters from their freshman year, all because Su Xu asked, “Is there more?”

This session came to an end, and Su Xu fell into an indescribable silence.

The three roommates lowered their heads to eat the fruit Tan Xingwei had personally opened for them, their expressions a bit dazed. It was unclear if they were still trying to think of more to add, or if they had already burned out.

The only one different in the room was Su Xu. Her position was slightly further back, so only Tan Xingwei could see her expression.

What was her expression like? She was staring at Tan Xingwei with a half-smile. Although she didn’t open her mouth, Tan Xingwei could read three big words from her face.

You just wait.

Was this ultimately Tan Xingwei’s fortune, or her misfortune?

The quiet atmosphere gradually dissipated as they ate the fruit, and finally, someone remembered how they had gotten onto this topic.

“Oh, right,” the roommate who remembered first asked Tan Xingwei, “So, Xingxing, who’s your boyfriend? I really can’t think of anyone.”

The other two roommates chimed in, “I can’t think of anyone either.”

Your Xingxing has also burned out.

Tan Xingwei met Su Xu’s gaze, then turned back and said, “Is it possible that it’s not a boyfriend?”

A second ago, someone, not quite understanding, said, “What do you mean, not a boyfriend?” She even reasoned on her own, “Oh, it’s someone you’re seeing, not a boyfriend yet.”

But soon, someone else caught on, “Could it be a girlfriend?”

The next second, someone clapped their hands, “Ah, I get it! Xingxing, you like girls!”

The one who had guessed “boyfriend” also corrected herself, “Girlfriend, girlfriend.”

At this point, the atmosphere was still very playful. Everyone’s tone was clearly more on the side of joking around.

But soon, they truly came to believe it.

Because Tan Xingwei gave Su Xu a kiss.

Yes.

It was a very swift process. She stood up, she leaned over, she bent down, she kissed Su Xu on the lips, she turned back, she sat down.

The three people opposite her were as if frozen in place, framed in a picture.

The scene froze for three seconds, and then.

“Ahhhhh!!!”

“What the heck, ahhh!”

“Wahhhh!!”

“Ahhhhh!!!!!”

…

The three of them couldn’t stay seated at all. They all stood up, jumping and shouting.

“What’s going on?”

“Is this for real?”

“No way, what’s the situation, ahhh.”

…

After confirming that Tan Xingwei wasn’t joking and understanding that this “big sister” next to her was Tan Xingwei’s romantic interest, or perhaps even already her girlfriend, the three roommates became even more excited and hugged each other.

And began the “I knew it” literature.

“I knew it! That explains everything about Xingxing.”

“I’ve suspected Xingxing’s sexual orientation before.”

“Me too, me too. When I tried to imagine a guy in her Moments posts, it always felt weird.”

…

They weren’t entirely heartless. After saying all this, they remembered what they had just said in front of Su Xu, and so they began to speak up for Tan Xingwei.

“Sister, I swear on my life, Xingxing never paid any attention to those people.”

“Sister, Xingxing hasn’t had a single romantic rumor in four years. She’s been very well-behaved.”

“Sister, Xingxing is famous at school for being cold, aloof, and not to be messed with. She doesn’t care about anyone.”

…

At first, Tan Xingwei felt a little awkward listening to them, but when she turned her head, Su Xu was smiling.

Then it wasn’t awkward anymore. As long as Su Xu was happy.

Tan Xingwei was happy too.

Although the roommates accepted it very quickly, they still seemed to find it a bit unbelievable. One moment they’d think, “Oh my god, how amazing,” and the next they’d feel that if it was Tan Xingwei, it seemed quite reasonable.

Now that the relationship was out in the open, the conversation focused even more on Tan Xingwei.

This time, calling her “Sister” wasn’t just because she was older than Tan Xingwei; she was now like half a guardian. Upon learning that Su Xu knew nothing about Tan Xingwei’s university life, the roommates got fired up again.

At first, they talked about recent amusing incidents in the dorm, like how Tan Xingwei calmly dealt with a bug that got into the room in the middle of the night, how everyone hid behind Tan Xingwei when they watched horror movies, letting her shield them from everything, and how whenever there was a need for negotiation concerning the dorm, it was always Tan Xingwei who stepped forward.

Tan Xingwei was always the calmest person in the dorm. She was very capable of solving problems, so usually, whenever they encountered any difficult issue, the first person they thought of was always Tan Xingwei.

Speaking of which, a roommate suddenly exclaimed, “Ah! How could I forget that incident from our sophomore year.”

The other two roommates immediately understood, “Oh, right!”

Su Xu was curious, “What incident?”

The roommate began to recount the story: “At that time, there was a younger female student who had a small conflict with someone from the neighboring department. At first, it was just a personal grudge, but the matter blew up in a group chat and gradually escalated into a conflict between the two departments. One afternoon, someone from that department went all out, writing a long tirade in the group chat to curse people out. That’s when Tan Xingwei appeared. She spoke up for the younger student in the group, spoke up for our own department. The way she spoke, it seemed gentle, but was actually very passive-aggressive, much more sophisticated than that person.” The roommate found it funny just thinking about it. “The other side couldn’t win the argument, so they brought a group of people over. We had just finished class, and a group of them surrounded the doorway, shouting, ‘Who is Tan Xingwei?'”

“Our classmates had actually already formed a scattered protective wall at the door; we weren’t scared. So when he asked, we made a path for him.” The roommate gestured animatedly, vividly describing the scene. “Xingxing was sitting in the third row at the time. The path was cleared very quickly, and the leader of the other group immediately made eye contact with Xingxing.”

The other two roommates were already covering their mouths and laughing.

“Xingxing was super cool. She leaned back in her chair, like this,” the roommate mimicked crossing her arms over her chest and lifted her chin slightly, “‘Something I can help you with?'”

The two roommates had already started clapping.

“That guy was obviously stunned for a moment. His whole aggressive aura, wow, it vanished instantly.” She pointed at another roommate, mimicking a cowardly state, “‘You’d better watch what you say from now on.'”

After saying that, she returned to her own tone, “And then he just left, hahahahaha.”

Everyone laughed together.

“I even have a photo,” another roommate said enthusiastically. “Sister, I’ll find it for you.”

She found it as soon as she said she would look, and everyone gathered around to see.

Su Xu let out a “wow,” saying, “So cool.”

It was from the opposite perspective: students on both sides of the classroom poised for action, and in the middle sat the incredibly cool big sister dressed in black.

It was said that after that guy went back in disgrace, he was ridiculed for many days. The two departments, united in their ridicule of this person, became less hostile towards each other, and so this photo became widely circulated.

A roommate said, “This one went the most viral. It’s stunningly beautiful. A lot of people used it as their profile picture back then.”

Another roommate asked, “What did everyone call Xingxing back then?”

The roommate: “Ice Blade Goddess!”

“Right, right, right!”

Tan Xingwei touched her forehead, “Thank you all so much.”

---

They chatted until the sun set, until it wasn’t so hot outside anymore, and then went to eat together.

After dinner, they parted ways. The three roommates went back to the dorm, and Tan Xingwei took Su Xu for a stroll around the campus.

Tan Xingwei had thought her four years of university were unremarkable, but as they passed each place, she found she could tell many stories.

The military training and PE classes on the sports field, running two kilometers was really tiring; the plays rehearsed in the comprehensive building; the elective courses in the liberal arts building; the science and engineering building that connected to the food street outside the campus.

“I’ll take you somewhere.” As they passed the library, Tan Xingwei took Su Xu’s hand and led her down a small path.

After the small path was another building. Even though it was night, a huge statue of Confucius could be seen in front of it.

“It’s really here,” Tan Xingwei said, pulling Su Xu closer. “Do you see the snacks in front of the Confucius statue?”

Su Xu understood at once. “Does it work?”

Tan Xingwei first muttered under her breath, “Can’t say it doesn’t work,” then said loudly, “It works.”

Su Xu walked a little closer and looked up. “So he’s this big.”

“So?” Tan Xingwei was puzzled. “What do you mean, ‘so’?”

Su Xu said, “I have a schoolmate who went to A University.”

Tan Xingwei was surprised. “Really? What a coincidence.”

Su Xu: “She also told me about your school’s Confucius statue, said it’s very effective.”

Tan Xingwei smiled. “See?”

“She showed me a photo of this statue back then,” Su Xu said, looking up again. “I was wondering at the time, would Tan Xingxing go make a wish? If she did, what snacks would she offer to Confucius?”

The corners of Tan Xingwei’s mouth curled up again. “Admit it, you missed me a lot in the United Kingdom too.” She then added, “You missed me a lot in the United Kingdom.”

Su Xu fell silent.

Tan Xingwei pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry. You should call the police.”

Su Xu laughed.

“I offered him hawthorn,” Tan Xingwei changed the subject back. “Sweet and sour, it cuts through the richness.”

Su Xu raised an eyebrow. “I guessed hawthorn too.”

Tan Xingwei was surprised. “Really?”

Su Xu: “The snack you ate the most at my place was hawthorn.”

Tan Xingwei: “Then I must really love it.”

Before Su Xu could say anything, Tan Xingwei added, “Of course, the one I love most is Big Sister Ah Xu.”

Su Xu was completely speechless and could only pinch Tan Xingwei’s cheek.

Don’t underestimate the activity of touring the campus; one round took them nearly two hours.

Back at the hotel, after a shower, it was already eleven o’clock.

Tan Xingwei opened the curtains and sat by the floor-to-ceiling window. The view before her was her campus. In the campus, there was a large lake, with a circle of lights around its edge, uneven, shaped like an irregular leaf.

But despite such a beautiful night view, Tan Xingwei was thinking about something else.

Thinking about the bold words she had spouted to Su Xu at the airport.

The scary part was, at this moment, she felt no fear at all, but even a hint of anticipation.

Amidst her anticipation, Su Xu also came out of the bathroom.

Tan Xingwei continued to look down below. Su Xu walked straight over. Neither of them spoke. Su Xu quietly drew the curtains.

Tightly sealed, the beautiful view was gone.

Tan Xingwei looked up at Su Xu, watching her walk over on the carpet, then place her hands on the armrests of Tan Xingwei’s single sofa.

Su Xu looked down at Tan Xingwei, and Tan Xingwei looked up at Su Xu.

“What are you smiling about?” Su Xu tilted her head.

Tan Xingwei pressed her lips together to hold it in. “I’m not smiling.”

Su Xu made a sound, and her next question was, “Did you miss me?”

As she spoke, her gaze was fixed directly on Tan Xingwei’s lips.

Tan Xingwei’s eyes curved. “I did.”

Su Xu glanced up at Tan Xingwei’s eyes, then quickly lowered her gaze back to Tan Xingwei’s lips. “How much?”

Tan Xingwei said, “A lot.”

Su Xu drew out the words, “A lot, huh.”

After speaking, Su Xu lowered her head a little.

But not much. She stopped just a few centimeters away from Tan Xingwei.

Tan Xingwei’s breathing became heavy.

“What was it you said?” Su Xu’s gaze was still on Tan Xingwei’s lips, and she blinked slowly. “If there were suitors, then, hmm?”

Tan Xingwei also went, “Hmm?”

Su Xu again: “Hmm?”

Tan Xingwei couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed Su Xu’s collar, pulled her over, and at the same time, she tilted her head up, angled her nose away, and kissed her.

The air conditioning was set low, the kiss was hot and wet.

Su Xu placed her hand on the back of Tan Xingwei’s neck, her touch sometimes light, sometimes deep.

She also squeezed in, kneeling as she came closer.

After a few rubs, Su Xu suddenly stopped. She pulled back a little, looking at Tan Xingwei with a raised eyebrow.

Tan Xingwei blushed.

Yes, she had learned bad habits. She wasn’t wearing any.

Su Xu moved her leg aside a little, lowered her head, and also showed Tan Xingwei the area above.

“Hmm?” Su Xu looked at Tan Xingwei with a smile.

Tan Xingwei had an innocent expression. “Sister~”

Su Xu took a long, deep breath and lowered her head again.

She lifted Tan Xingwei’s chin to kiss her, and said huskily, “I missed you too.”

From the sofa to the bed, they did what was said. It was hard to say if Tan Xingwei did it on purpose, but in any case, both of them were very satisfied.

Four days is really a long time. They had missed each other so much.