138: Chapter 138 Was it specially dressed for me?

Chen Fan chuckled, took a step forward, lowered his head, and leaned in close to her ear.

"Are you wearing stockings today?"

Lin Xi's ears turned red instantly.

She bit her lip, said nothing, and just nodded lightly.

Seeing Lin Xi nod, Chen Fan chuckled and leaned in a bit closer, his voice dropping even lower: "Did you wear them specifically for me?"

How could Lin Xi admit it? She raised her head and glared at Chen Fan, the blush on her cheeks still not fading: "What do you mean for you? I only wore them because I was afraid of the cold."

Watching her stubborn attitude, Chen Fan didn't call her out.

In late October in Changan, the daytime temperature was around thirty degrees, and although it was a bit cool in the evening, it was nowhere near cold enough to require stockings for warmth.

But he didn't push it. Girls, after all, it's normal for them not to admit it verbally; as long as he knew in his heart, that was enough.

He could be one hundred percent certain that Lin Xi had worn them for him.

"Let's go, let's go eat first." Chen Fan reached out and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Mm." Lin Xi replied, obediently following him toward the car.

Chen Fan opened the passenger door, and Lin Xi bent down and sat inside. He closed the door, walked around the front of the car, sat in the driver's seat, and started the engine.

The black Porsche Cayenne merged into the traffic, its taillights gradually fading into the night.

The school gate returned to calm, with students coming and going as usual, no one noticing the small episode that had just occurred.

Only the cigarette butt that Zhao Qing had stepped on remained by the flower bed.

...

After they got into the car, Chen Fan didn't rush to start it.

Instead, he first took a bag out of the armrest console and handed it to Lin Xi in the passenger seat.

"What is this?" Lin Xi took it; the bag felt heavy. She looked down at it—it was a pure white bag.

"A gift for you, open it and see."

"Why are you giving me a gift again all of a sudden?" As Lin Xi spoke, she opened the bag. Her movements were slow; her fingertips hooked the seal of the bag, and she took out a square box from inside.

It was a black packaging box, so simple it had almost no extra design, with only the four letters "iPhone" printed on the top of the front.

The moment she saw the box, a flash of surprise crossed Lin Xi's eyes, which immediately turned into disbelief.

"This is… an iPhone 4?"

"Yes." Chen Fan nodded, turned to look at her with a smile on his lips, "Do you like it?"

"I like it."

Lin Xi's voice was soft, but the joy in her tone couldn't be hidden.

She wasn't a materialistic girl, and growing up, her family's circumstances meant she didn't have much of an obsession with material possessions.

But as a girl, it was only natural—how could she not like a product like the iPhone 4, which was so different from all other phones on the market at the time and so exquisite it was like a work of art?

However, she only liked it; she had never thought about asking her family to buy her one.

Even though, given her family's financial situation, buying an Apple phone was nothing.

She turned the box over, her fingers gently stroking the packaging, when suddenly remembering something, she looked up at Chen Fan: "Is this very expensive? I heard it costs over five thousand…"

"Don't worry about how much it costs, as long as you like it." Chen Fan reached out and ruffled her hair, "Open it and see if you like the color."

Lin Xi carefully opened the packaging and took out the phone.

The black body, the glass panel as smooth as a mirror, and the metal frame glinted with a cold luster under the car's interior lights.

She held it in her hands, turning it over and over, her eyes full of fondness.

"Does it look good?" Chen Fan asked.

"It looks good." Lin Xi nodded.

Chen Fan smiled: "As long as you like it."

Actually, Chen Fan had originally wanted to buy the white one.

He remembered that the iPhone 4 came in white—he had seen it in his past life. The white model was indeed beautiful, gentle as jade, and suited a girl better than the black one.

Compared to black, most girls still preferred white, and Lin Xi was likely no exception.

So when he went to the Apple store, he asked the clerk directly for the white model.

"The white one hasn't been released yet," the clerk, a young man wearing glasses, said, his attitude quite good, "Apple hasn't announced the specific release date yet; it might take another few months. We only have the black one in the store right now."

Chen Fan stood in front of the display counter, looking at the row of black iPhone 4s, and was silent for two seconds.

"Alright then, I'll take the black one."

He bought six of them at once.

First, he directly replaced his own Hong Kong version.

Although there wasn't much difference between using the Hong Kong version and the national version, other than the charging head having an extra adapter, he just felt uncomfortable with it.

So it had to be replaced with the national version.

Besides replacing his own, he also needed to give one to Chen Jianjun and one to Wang Mei each.

It was a good opportunity to let the two of them get early exposure to smartphones.

Then there was one to give to Lin Xi, and one for his cousin Chen Tong.

Adding it all up, he realized he had bought one extra.

But the money for that one unit didn't matter to Chen Fan, so he'd just keep it for now.

Chen Fan started the car and turned his head to glance at Lin Xi in the passenger seat.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Hot pot." Lin Xi answered without thinking, as if she had already decided.

"Alright, then hot pot it is."

Chen Fan nodded with a smile, stepped on the gas, and the car smoothly pulled out of the parking space, heading toward the nearest hot pot restaurant.

Outside the window was the street scene around Changan University, with streetlights receding one by one.

Lin Xi placed the bag containing the phone on her lap, pressed her hands gently against it, and turned her head to look out the window.

Chen Fan swept a glance at her from the corner of his eye.

He thought to himself that Lin Xi's outfit today was truly beautiful, carrying a hint of sexiness within her innocence.

The black Porsche sped along the road.

Twenty minutes later, it stopped in front of a Haidilao hot pot restaurant.

Although it was only 2010, Haidilao was already quite famous in Changan.

Moreover, it had already opened several branches in Changan, and its service and reputation were very good.

The greeter at the door immediately came up, wearing a sincere smile on their face, and bowed slightly: "Welcome to Haidilao, is it just the two of you?"

"Yes." Chen Fan nodded.

"Please come in—"

The server led them inside. Chen Fan swept a glance across the lobby; it wasn't crowded at this hour, with only a few tables occupied here and there.

The steam from the hot pots rose up, mixed with the fragrance of beef tallow and tomato, permeating the entire space.

They were led to a booth by the window. Chen Fan let Lin Xi sit on the inside, while he sat on the outside.

Just as they sat down, another server came over with a tray holding two glasses of lemonade and a plate of fruit.

"Please have some water and fruit, and here is the menu." The server handed over the menu and then efficiently set out the tableware.

Chen Fan took the menu, glanced at it, and then placed it between the two of them.

"Take a look and see what you want to eat," he said.