Showbiz Scandal: The Official Announcement of My Ex and Myself-Chapter 246: I’m Young and Fit

After crossing the river, Xie Qingci bent down slightly, and Yu Xia swiftly slid off to take down the big backpack hanging on his chest.

"Put on your shoes first, here, tissues, quickly dry off, the water’s cold, isn’t it?"

The softness behind him moved away, Xie Qingci looked down and sat on the ground, saying, "It’s okay."

Having been teased by her all the way, keeping his cool was an achievement in itself—who had the mind to think about whether the water was cold or not.

Upon hearing him, Yu Xia nodded reassuringly, "Then I’ll go see which path we can take up, you put your shoes on first."

After speaking, she walked forward, responsibly scouting the path along the riverbank.

This was a typical example of someone not easily swayed by emotions; if others said it wasn’t cold, she genuinely believed it wasn’t cold, making it impossible for one to segue into another topic—she would’ve been the epitome of old-fashioned rigidity in ancient times.

Others are the Eight Great Jin and Song Scholars, she’s someone who pretends to be oblivious every day.

Xie Qingci grudgingly put on his shoes and followed her, watching her spacing out in front of a clump of reeds.

"What’s up?"

Yu Xia turned her head with eyes wide open, speaking in a mysteriously hushed tone, "There’s a nest of eggs here!"

He stepped forward and took a look, sure enough, there was a nest of eggs, probably duck eggs, with a faint greenish tint on the shells.

"You want to..." raise ducklings?

Yu Xia: "I want to eat them!"

Xie Qingci: "..."

He restored the reeds to their original state and pulled her away, "No time left, we need to get to the museum to gather the clues before the pursuers catch up, remember?"

Yu Xia looked back longingly, as if gazing at a platter of roasted duck eggs, preserved eggs, and tiger-skin eggs that had already flown away.

She sighed, adjusted the backpack strap, and continued trudging alongside Xie Qingci.

A few minutes’ walk from the riverbank led to the path going up the mountain. According to an aunt turning over crabs, following this path for just a few minutes would lead to the Pingzhang Folk Museum.

This path wasn’t a stone path, thankfully, making the soles of her feet more comfortable.

"Let me carry the backpack," Xie Qingci extended his hand to take the pack.

Yu Xia avoided his hand, "It’s fine, you’ve been carrying it all this time, let me carry it for a while, it’s not heavy."

She was still grasping the backpack straps with both hands, so Xie Qingci couldn’t just snatch it, and could only press his lips together, lifting the bottom of the backpack with his fingers.

This greatly alleviated the pressure on her shoulders.

But with the two of them so close one in front of the other, Yu Xia feared they might bump into each other if she stopped abruptly.

So, she could only seriously insist that she didn’t need his help.

"I’m actually quite strong, carrying this backpack is no problem. If I get tired, I’ll totally let you carry it later."

Xie Qingci said nothing more, and after releasing his hand, he continued to follow behind her.

She tried not to keep looking back at him, but through the sounds of movement and the warmth of his presence, she could still sense that he remained close for several seconds.

Pine trees thickly lined both sides of the path, their dense needles blocking much of the sunlight’s heat. They were the only two people on the path, and when they weren’t speaking, all you could hear were the sounds of birds in the forest.

In such a serene setting, she couldn’t help but ponder as they walked—what was he up to? The path was already narrow, and he was staying so close; wasn’t he worried about being spotted?

What big plans was he hatching, and how did he plan to execute them without any pretense of concealment...

Her train of thought was interrupted as a hand was extended over, with a string of blue numbers on its wrist.

Xie Qingci had walked up beside her, extending his palm towards her with a small bread inside.

"Have a bite, care for some water?"

Oh, so that’s why his movements had been so rustling earlier—he opened the backpack to take out bread and water.

She wanted to say no, but meeting his eyes, her words swallowed back as she accepted the small piece of bread.

He added, "It’s inconvenient to eat while carrying the pack. How about we trade one piece of bread for the backpack, okay?"

"...Okay, okay, if you want to carry it, just carry it."

Like taking a cloak off an emperor, he pulled the backpack off her, and Yu Xia ate the bread and drank the water in the meantime.

And sure enough, feeling a lightness after removing the backpack after just two minutes of uphill walking made one quite happy.

She was nibbling on the bread, glancing at Xie Qingci.

He didn’t seem tired at all, from yesterday to today, always looking relaxed.

Could his stamina really be that good?

In this quiet atmosphere, she casually asked, "You don’t look tired at all, are you sure you didn’t graduate from a sports academy?"

Xie Qingci glanced at her and replied, "I’m just young and healthy."

Yu Xia recalled having previously told He Ci, "After all, he’s young and in good physical shape," and rolled her eyes, shyly scrubbing her nose.

"The way you say it, I’m not old, either."

He said, "But you’re a girl."

"So what if I’m a girl, it’s about the matter not the gender. There are plenty of strong girls, I’m only talking about the difference between you and me."

Xie Qingci changed his approach, "Then it’s because I train more than you do."

"Oh, you practice martial arts, but aren’t short sticks more about reaction time?"

He pushed aside some weeds in front of him, casually admitting, "Without stamina, there’s no reaction time. Even blocking requires a lot of strength. But I’ve trained in more than just that, I’ve tried all sorts of things in martial arts."

When they came upon a high spot that needed climbing, Xie Qingci extended a hand to help her up.

Seeing her still holding the bread while eating, with her wide-eyed innocent look, her rare cute demeanor softened his heart, and his tone considerably gentled as he continued:

"I was lucky that my winter and summer breaks weren’t filled with remedial classes; the time was long and difficult to pass. So I learned martial arts, but it couldn’t occupy all my free time, so sometimes I’d also join a summer camp for fun."

Yu Xia took a bite of bread and muffled, "What kind of fun?"

She always thought summer camps were organized by schools to learn English or math or something.

Xie Qingci: "Climbing, skiing, surfing, diving; anything fun I hadn’t learned, I tried."

He enjoyed seeking out fresh challenges and excitement.

Yu Xia was amazed, not by all his skills, but by—

"Summer camps actually do these kinds of activities?"

Xie Qingci raised a brow slightly, asking kindly, "You didn’t know?"

She shook her head, "I thought all summer and winter camps were just school-organized, to learn math and English."

As such, she once thought they just renamed classes as camps.

Xie Qingci suggested, "Then you should try attending one sometime, it’s quite an experience, but it’s best to go with friends."

Well, more like with a boyfriend.

Yu Xia pretended not to understand his look, chewing her bread with nod indifferently.

"We’ll see. Your holiday activities sound so fun, with so many talents, you must be quite popular at school, right?"

Though initially attracted to his looks and physique, whenever she asked him if many people liked him at school, if he was like the school heartthrob, he always dodged the topic, only ever calling her "Sister" repeatedly.

Xie Qingci lifted an eyebrow, giving her a look filled with hidden meanings.

"Average, we just focus on studying."

Who would act like she did, going for what she fancied straightaway—girls in his class had his contact for half a year without daring to send even one message.

Only her.