Chapter 28: Self-Shipping
This UP master1 has been a long-time fan of the Xia Ji CP2. Since this CP came into existence, she has consistently produced content and garnered a large fanbase on the super talk forums.
As soon as this Weibo post was published, it immediately got responses.
[Hahahahaha, I’m dying of laughter!]
[I was worried about Xiaxia’s injury, and here she is secretly watching her own fan edits at home???]
[Sister above is wrong, is she doing it secretly? She liked it with her main account, clearly wanting everyone to know she’s leading the charge in shipping herself, hahahahahaha!]
[Who would’ve thought that the actual person would be secretly shipping herself with her girlfriend!]
[This shows that Meeting One Summer’s3 quality is guaranteed, endorsed by the actual people involved. I hope there will be more content, cute.jpg]
[I laughed so hard I did a backflip out of bed. My neighbor asked why it sounded like there was a goose in my house, goose goose goose!]
[Just became a fan of Xia Linxia tonight. Am I really a fan of such a goofy person?]
[Xia Ji is real! I’ve said this so many times I’m tired of it!]
The next day, Ji Fengxue got up early, bought breakfast on the way, and headed to Xia Linxia’s home. As she was about to call Xia Linxia because she knew she was injured, someone walked out of the elevator.
It was Xia Yangxuan.
He seemed a bit surprised to see her, “You came so early?”
“Yeah, are you here to check on her too?”
“Yeah, there was an emergency at the company yesterday, so I couldn’t come.” As he spoke, he entered the fingerprint code, then asked curiously, “Don’t you have her house code?”
Ji Fengxue awkwardly touched her nose, “We think it’s important to give each other space.”
As they spoke, the door opened, and they went in one after the other.
“Could you go wake her up?” Xia Yangxuan took her breakfast and sat at the table to eat.
Ji Fengxue nodded, walked over to Xia Linxia’s room, and knocked on the door, but there was no response.
She knocked a few more times, and Xia Yangxuan reminded her, “You can just go in. She won’t wake up just from knocking.”
Ji Fengxue had no choice but to steel herself and open the door. The curtains blocked out all the light, making the room dim. The person on the bed lay sprawled out, half-turned on her side, with one leg draped over the covers.
“Xia Linxia,” she called out.
Xia Linxia responded with a soft snore.
Ji Fengxue walked closer and stood by the bed, watching her. Her hair was scattered, lips slightly parted, emitting gentle breaths. As she shifted, her sleepwear rode up a bit, revealing a strip of fair skin on her waist.
Ji Fengxue reached out and tugged the clothing back down a bit, her gaze lingering on the long legs for a couple of seconds.
After a moment, she pinched one of Xia Linxia’s cheeks. “Time to get up.”
Xia Linxia, still in her sleep, swatted at the hand on her face and rubbed against the pillow, scooting a bit further away before continuing to sleep.
Unable to rouse her, Ji Fengxue had an idea. She pulled out her phone and played the music for morning exercises. As soon as the music started, Xia Linxia instinctively spread her arms and moved her legs. Unfortunately, she accidentally kicked her injured leg and opened her eyes in pain.
“Ow—”
Only then did she realize it wasn’t Xiang Huaimeng waking her up.
She turned her head and saw Ji Fengxue, fully dressed and standing beside her. She rubbed her eyes. “Why are you here to… wake me up?”
“You asked for Xu Ji’s breakfast4,” Ji Fengxue replied.
“Oh, right. Where’s breakfast?”
“Your brother ate it.”
“What!” Xia Linxia sat up abruptly. “Go get it back. He has a big appetite and won’t leave me any!”
Ji Fengxue had no intention of taking food from a tiger’s mouth, so she ordered another delivery instead and said, “Get up. How’s your leg feeling?”
Xia Linxia tried to get out of bed and, after standing up, said, “It seems much better. I can walk fine.” She took a couple of steps forward, but her leg suddenly gave out. She grabbed Ji Fengxue in a panic. “Whoa, that scared me.”
Ji Fengxue felt the warmth and softness against her, the fresh and clean scent filling her nose. She didn’t dare hold her, her hands hanging in the air. “Better stick to the wheelchair for now. Try to recover well in the next couple of days. We’ll be filming again soon.”
“Guess I have no choice.” Xia Linxia, still clinging to Ji Fengxue, looked around for her wheelchair.
Ji Fengxue maintained a calm face, though she was internally flustered. Early in the morning, having Xia Linxia cling to her like this was too much.
“Sit tight, I’ll get the wheelchair.” Ji Fengxue half-supported, half-carried her back to the bed, secretly relieved, then went to retrieve the wheelchair from the other side of the bed.
Xia Linxia scooted into it. “Off to the bathroom!”
Ji Fengxue, speechless, pushed her into the bathroom, following Xia Linxia’s commands. “Cup, toothbrush.”
Ji Fengxue obediently squeezed toothpaste onto the brush and handed it to her.
After brushing her teeth, she followed instructions to the letter, fetching clothes from the closet and leaving the bathroom to give her some privacy.
In the living room, Xia Yangxuan had indeed finished the breakfast. Seeing her come out, his sharp features softened into a smile. “How is it? Taking care of her is tough, right?”
Ji Fengxue smiled back, not saying a word.
Xia Yangxuan leisurely wiped his mouth and checked the time. Seeing that Xia Linxia was lively enough to torment Ji Fengxue, he was reassured.
“Don’t spoil her too much. She only remembers a beating, not a scolding. Discipline her a few times, and she’ll learn,” Xia Yangxuan advised like a seasoned veteran.
Ji Fengxue: … Are you really her brother?
“By the way, I heard that last night’s incident was caused by her former teammate?” Xia Yangxuan’s smile faded.
“Yes.” Ji Fengxue was surprised at how quickly he got the information.
She didn’t know that Xia Yangxuan and Jiang Yuan were old classmates. Last night, after learning the details from the production team, Xiang Huaimeng, furious, had called Jiang Yuan to report, who in turn informed Xia Yangxuan.
Xia Yangxuan said, “Thank you for helping investigate this. I’m very reassured with her dating you.”
Ji Fengxue awkwardly lowered her head, thinking: Don’t be. We’re just deceiving you.
“Mom and Dad like you a lot too. They’re even starting to look at wedding planners.”
Ji Fengxue was startled, almost knocking over the cup in front of her. She forced a smile. “Isn’t it too soon? We haven’t been together that long.”
“I understand, and I won’t let them rush things. Their taste in wedding planners is awful. When the time comes, I’ll arrange for a few foreign companies. They have experience with many Hollywood stars’ weddings.”
Ji Fengxue: … Are you and your parents in on this together?
“No need for that. We…” She trailed off.
“Do you two have a preferred choice?” Xia Yangxuan asked.
“No,” she shook her head, thinking about a preferred breakup strategy instead.
She wondered how the Xia family would react when the contract ended.
Thinking about this, another question arose. “Don’t you all oppose this? After all, we’re both women.”
“As long as she likes you and you treat her well, nothing else matters. The Xia family doesn’t need her to carry on the family line, and we don’t care about gossip. Especially after her childhood accident, our parents only want her to be healthy. A bad temper is okay, as long as she’s alive. And you’re more reliable than her ex-boyfriends.”
Ji Fengxue understood now why this family had such a good atmosphere.
While she was lost in thought, Xia Yangxuan assumed she was pondering those ex-boyfriends and explained, “Don’t worry. She never did anything with those guys. Each relationship only lasted a few days.”
“Why?”
“She said,” Xia Yangxuan mimicked Xia Linxia’s tone, “Those guys are so boring! They don’t even like to bathe! They only have good looks, but in a few years, they’ll have nothing left to offer. Better to break up early!”
Ji Fengxue chuckled at him.
Xia Yangxuan coughed twice, then returned to his cold, expressionless face. “Don’t worry, since she’s chosen you, it must mean she really loves you.”
Ji Fengxue couldn’t find words to respond, overwhelmed with guilt, unsure of how she would face the Xia family in the future.
“Bro! You ate everything again!” Xia Linxia angrily wheeled herself out. “I don’t care. You’d better get me something to eat, or I won’t let you off the hook.”
Xia Yangxuan sneered, “I haven’t even confronted you yet. Why did you let Fengxue wait outside for so long this morning?”
“She came too early,” Xia Linxia said, defiant but lacking conviction.
Xia Yangxuan stood up and walked to her. Xia Linxia stubbornly lifted her chin. “You ate it all? Fine, I’ll let you eat next time too.”
Xia Yangxuan was satisfied. He glanced at her leg, “Is it okay?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Xia Linxia is never not okay!” Xia Linxia clenched her fist, “Don’t worry!”
Xia Yangxuan checked his watch again and turned to Ji Fengxue, “I have to go to the office now. Please take care of her.”
“Sure.” Ji Fengxue got up to see him off, feeling even guiltier about deceiving the Xia family, which made her even more attentive in taking care of Xia Linxia.
Xiang Huaimeng visited once and explained the reason for last night’s accident.
Only then did Xia Linxia realize it wasn’t her own mistake! She angrily pounded the wheelchair, pointing at the door, “Take me to the company now. I need to settle this with Fu Xiaoxuan!”
“Give it a rest,” Xiang Huaimeng pressed her back down. “Relax, President Jiang has already decided to shelve her for a while to make her reflect.”
“That’s acceptable.” Xia Linxia fumed, but after half an hour, she couldn’t help but vent again, “Why would she do that! We might not like each other, but I never thought of doing something like that to her!”
Xiang Huaimeng had already returned to the company, so Ji Fengxue replied, “Maybe because you’re better looking.”
“What?”
“Jealous of you.”
Xia Linxia instantly believed it, “Very likely! Do you envy my beauty?”
“No.”
“Why? Do you think you’re more beautiful than me?” Xia Linxia reasoned with her own logic.
“I’m not envious; I admire it.”
Xia Linxia’s eyebrows lifted, and she smiled broadly, “Humph, at least you have good taste.”
The next day, the two set off to record the second episode of the variety show. The production team came to pick them up, and the audience squawked in excitement seeing the two come out of the same house.
[Ahhhh! They’re living together!]
[Did you see that trending topic? Xia Linxia liked a fan-made video of herself and Ji Fengxue, hahaha]
[Hahaha, I saw that video. The editing was fantastic!]
[Xia Linxia breaks her leg but doesn’t forget to surf the internet. She’s killing me]
[Used to hang out on Weibo arguing with trolls, now she’s shipping herself, hahaha]
This trending topic emerged in the middle of the night and was pushed down by other hot searches by morning, so neither of the two protagonists knew about it.
A staff member asked the two sitting in the back, “I heard Linxia liked a fan-made video of herself last night?”
Xia Linxia was startled, and her breakfast suddenly lost its taste.
Ji Fengxue was also surprised, “How did you know?”
Staff: “The whole world knows.”
Xia Linxia stared blankly at Ji Fengxue, “Did you tell on me?”
Ji Fengxue: “…”
[Hahahaha, Xia Linxia, you’re killing me. Are you trying to inherit my debt from Ant Credit Pay? 5]
[Linxia, when will you understand that the internet is transparent, hahaha]
[Suddenly suspecting that when she argued with trolls, she thought it was just a one-on-one battle?]
The staff asked, “So why did you like it?”
“Well… when you see something fun, don’t you want to like it? Liking every creator’s work is the best support for them!” Xia Linxia said.
[This is “Meeting Linxia,” thank you for Linxia’s support. I will keep working hard to make better, sweeter videos!]
[Hahaha, I actually believe her]
[Xia Linxia, honestly, how many videos have you secretly watched?]
The staff turned to Ji Fengxue, “Did you watch that video, Teacher Ji?”
Ji Fengxue looked out the window, smiled slightly, and said, “Yes, she shared it with me.”
[Love that side profile!]
[This is “Meeting One Summer,” my life is complete! Both stars watched my video!]
[What are you all waiting for? Go learn editing, you might get noticed by the stars!]
[Hilarious, so celebrities really do watch these videos!]
Xia Linxia turned to Ji Fengxue, curious, “What did you think of the video?”
Ji Fengxue tried not to laugh, “What do you think?”
Xia Linxia rested her chin on her hand, seriously critiquing, “Not bad, it had a romantic movie vibe. This editor is talented, I couldn’t help but ship it myself… Xia-Ji for life!”
“Pfft.” Ji Fengxue couldn’t hold back, laughing lightly. Unlike the enthusiastic cheers of the fans, she just leaned her arm on the window, covering her mouth as she laughed quietly. The audience only saw her side profile, but her bright eyes were filled with amusement, almost overflowing from the screen.
T/N:
1 UP master – a term used on Chinese video platforms, to refer to content creators or uploader
2 Xia Ji CP – the CP (couple pairing) name 夏季 [Xia-Ji] for 夏临夏 [Xia Linxia] and 季逢雪 [Ji Fengxue] literally spells out “夏季,” which means “summer season” in Chinese. Or figuratively, “when Xia meets Ji” (夏遇季 [xia feng ji]) — like a seasonal, fated encounter.
3 Meeting One Summer – they are referring to the UP master, who is a fan of Xia Linxia based on their username. “相逢一夏” [xiang feng yi xia] lit. 相逢 = to meet, to encounter; 一夏 = one summer, or “a meeting in one summer.” (I won’t translate every single username, but I think this one is relevant for the story and because of how poetic it is if you read/relate it to the ending of 2nd T/N for the Xia Ji CP)
4 Xu Ji’s breakfast – “许记” [Xu Ji] isn’t a person, it’s the name of a restaurant or eatery. The word “记” in this context is often used in Chinese shop names to mean “established by” or “branded by” someone, kind of like “Xu’s [Place]” or “Xu’s Diner.”
5 Ant Credit Pay – 花呗 [huabei] is a consumer credit product offered by Ant Group, the financial affiliate of Alibaba Group. It’s sort of like a buy now, pay later service or a virtual credit line tied to Alipay (支付宝), China’s biggest mobile payment platform.
Baihe Fan 
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