With My Ability To Swap, I Will Never End Up In A Love Triangle Mess - Chapter 44

At 6:30 in the evening, the sky unleashed a sudden downpour without warning. White lightning snaked through the clouds, accompanied by deafening thunder.

“Seriously, which cultivator is undergoing their tribulation this time?”

Xia Xi found himself stranded inside a boutique shop, sheltering from the rain. He had originally come out to buy a small gift for his younger sister’s upcoming monthly break, but now he was trapped here.

The worst part? This shop didn’t even sell umbrellas. Just my luck.

“Um… what a coincidence~”

A clear, melodious voice suddenly came from behind Xia Xi, followed by a light tap on his shoulder.

When he turned around, he was surprised to see Lin Xuening standing there.

Weird, I didn’t notice her when I came in. Did she just materialize out of thin air like a ghost?

Lin Xuening had her hair tied up in a high ponytail and was wearing her favorite JK uniform—a white blouse with a red necktie, a green-and-white pleated skirt, pristine white ankle socks, and little leather shoes. The whole outfit radiated youthful energy.

Well…

Except her JK uniform was currently the “completely drenched” edition.

The white blouse was already thin, and now that it was soaked, (content censored for modesty).

Thankfully, pleated skirts didn’t turn transparent like blouses when wet, or things would’ve gotten really awkward.

Lin Xuening seemed to notice Xia Xi’s gaze and immediately blushed, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

“You damn pervert! What are you looking at?!”

Xia Xi’s expression turned to shock.

Buddy, we’re in public! Do you really need to shout that loud and draw everyone’s attention?

Sure enough, Lin Xuening’s outburst attracted the stares of nearly everyone else taking shelter in the shop.

First, they scrutinized Xia Xi, but since he seemed to know the girl, they held back from verbally attacking him.

Then, their gazes shifted to Lin Xuening.

“Tsk, wearing that kind of outfit—so shameless!”

This came from a middle-aged woman in a floral blouse, her eyes filled with disdain.

“Rainy days are the best—free eye candy everywhere, heheh.”

This was from a sleazy-looking uncle who wasn’t just eyeing Lin Xuening but also every other rain-soaked girl in the vicinity.

Xia Xi had always found this kind of lecherous behavior disgusting. (Of course, Luo Xinyu and the others were an exception—that was a different situation entirely.)

“Here, put this on.”

Without hesitation, Xia Xi took off his black windbreaker and draped it over Lin Xuening’s shoulders, covering her now-see-through blouse.

“You…”

Lin Xuening froze in surprise.

Just a second ago, I called him a pervert, and now he’s being this gentle?

The memory of being [redacted for content] by him in cat form back in the classroom resurfaced, making her face burn even hotter.

“…Thanks.”

Her voice was so soft that Xia Xi barely caught it.

“Huh? What’d you say?”

“Nothing! I just said your jacket looks nice!”

For some reason, Lin Xuening got flustered and raised her voice again. Xia Xi had only been asking what she said—why was she so weirdly temperamental?

“My little sister picked it out, so of course it’s top-tier.”

At the mention of his sister, Xia Xi’s lips curled up unconsciously.

Losing our parents was hard, but having such a cute little sister by my side really is the best.

“O-Oh…”

Lin Xuening hadn’t expected him to actually respond to her random excuse. She had only said it to cover her embarrassment.

“Oh! Right!”

Suddenly remembering something, she reached into her skirt pocket.

“As thanks, I’ll give you this!”

In her palm was a chibi Uma Musume (Horse Girl) keychain. When squeezed, it let out a weird “Mambo!” sound.

At first, it just seemed noisy and pointless, but after a few squeezes, it weirdly grew on you.

“What, you think a tiny keychain is enough to trade for my jacket?”

Xia Xi joked as he took the keychain.

“No! It’s just…”

It’s something I’ve been meaning to give you for a while now…

She couldn’t bring herself to say the rest.

Giving a gift to a classmate out of the blue—especially when it wasn’t even their birthday—would definitely send the wrong message, right?

“Whatever, just keep the jacket for now. Even if the rain stops, your uniform won’t dry in time, and I don’t like people staring at you like that. You can return it to me tomorrow at school.”

Back when he had been in Liu Jiaying’s body, Xia Xi had experienced firsthand how uncomfortable it felt to be leered at. He knew Lin Xuening must be feeling the same way.

Since they saw each other at school every day anyway, he could just get his jacket back tomorrow.

“Oh, and your bag’s still at my place. I’ll bring it tomorrow too. Try not to be so forgetful next time—I don’t wanna keep cleaning up after you.”

The bag in question was the one Lin Xuening had left behind in the classroom after that slap incident.

It had been sitting untouched on the shoe cabinet by Xia Xi’s front door ever since.

He hadn’t bothered rummaging through it—no matter what, it was someone else’s property, and a girl’s at that. If he stumbled across something private, it’d just be awkward.

Since his body had been on autopilot for classes lately, he hadn’t remembered to return it.

Strangely, Lin Xuening hadn’t brought it up either.

Maybe she thought she lost it somewhere else?

“So that’s where my bag went!”

Of course, Lin Xuening knew Xia Xi had taken it—she had checked the classroom surveillance footage with their homeroom teacher right after.

But since Xia Xi never mentioned it, she hadn’t known how to bring it up.

That day’s incident had been way too embarrassing—pinning him down, licking his face…

She just couldn’t muster the courage to ask, hoping he’d return it on his own.

“Yeah, it’s at my place. I’ve been busy with other stuff and forgot about it.”

“Then… you didn’t look inside, did you?!”

Lin Xuening tensed up. Her bag held quite a few personal secrets.

“Nope. I’m a gentleman—I don’t go snooping through girls’ belongings.”

Xia Xi declared righteously.

“Good… By the way, what have you been so busy with? You’ve been sleeping through every class lately—nothing wakes you up.”

Oh, so that’s why I’ve been feeling so refreshed after switching back! The system’s been using my body to catch up on sleep during class!

But wait—if he had been sleeping in class, why hadn’t Lin Xuening reported him to the teacher?

Squinting suspiciously, he stared straight into her eyes.

“W-What? Is there something on my face?”