Chapter 1: Hair Dryer
After burying his face in his pillow for a while, Luo Jing lifted his head, deciding to do something productive to wake himself up.
Everything that had happened since returning to the country seemed a little different from what he had expected.
Subconsciously, Luo Jing had the strange feeling that some sort of progress bar had been maxed out.
Originally, he thought he would continue his internship at his family’s company step by step. Then, after the “second sister” incident slowly faded, in the best-case scenario, he and Huai Dan would return to their previous online chatting mode, and he would find a way to pursue him slowly.
The worst-case scenario would be that due to his sudden and somewhat inexplicable distancing, coupled with Huai Dan’s busy schedule, the connection between them would gradually fade, ultimately ending sadly…
…But it shouldn’t get to that point, he would still try. Although there were no opportunities to meet, didn’t they say opportunities were created?
However, the current situation was completely unexpected.
How had he ended up living at Huai Dan’s house so soon after returning?
Lost in thought, Luo Jing sat on the floor and opened his suitcase.
After seeing the contents, he froze.
The suitcase was filled with underwear and a few winter down jackets.
Luo Jing: “…”
Of the four suitcases shipped back, only this one contained the winter clothes he hadn’t had time to send back before returning home. The others were more or less filled with summer clothes like short-sleeved shirts.
Luo Feng really knew how to choose.
But he had been out all day, and he couldn’t skip showering.
So after five minutes of agonizing, Luo Jing resigned himself to digging out a fleece pajama set and went into the bathroom.
After showering, he silently walked to the control panel, turned the air conditioner’s fan to maximum, set the temperature to 20 degrees Celsius, then sat on the bed, toweling his hair while looking at his phone.
His chat history with Wu Li still stopped before Luo Jing went to Huai Dan’s company.
Wu Li seemed busy and hadn’t replied all afternoon, only sending a message after Luo Jing finished showering.
Wu Li: [So you didn’t really run into him, right?]
Luo Jing rubbed his hair: [I’m at his house right now]
Wu Li: [?]
AAA Internship Seal Wholesaler Xiao Luo: [This is a bit complicated]
AAA Internship Seal Wholesaler Xiao Luo: [I feel like he’s a bit strange, but I can’t put my finger on it]
After chatting with Wu Li for a while about his inner turmoil, he heard a faint rustling at the door. Luo Jing immediately recognized the sound of plastic bags against the door, so he put his towel aside and went to open it.
Outside, the plastic bag, seeing its owner finally open the door, happily squeezed through the crack.
It stayed for no more than two seconds before going back out.
Its retreating figure was very decisive.
It was so cold, even a dog wouldn’t stay.
Luo Jing only realized upon opening the door that the temperature difference between inside and outside seemed a bit too extreme. Feeling again, the hand holding his phone felt a little icy.
Before he could think about raising the air conditioner’s temperature, Huai Dan walked out of the kitchen, carrying a bowl of freshly washed cherries, seemingly intending to bring them to him.
As soon as he reached Luo Jing’s door, he sensed something was amiss.
“Can I come in?” Huai Dan asked Luo Jing.
“Yes.” Luo Jing replied, then moved slightly to the side.
Upon entering, Huai Dan went straight to the air conditioner’s control panel. Seeing the displayed temperature, he paused slightly, then reached out and raised it by five degrees.
Luo Jing followed him in and silently watched the whole process.
Huai Dan also looked like he had just showered. He had changed out of his formal suit from earlier and was wearing a simple gray short-sleeved home shirt. His figure was tall and slender, and he exuded the clean scent of shower gel.
It was actually the same one Luo Jing had just used, but for some reason, he felt there was a slight difference.
“So afraid of the heat?” Huai Dan adjusted the temperature and turned to look at Luo Jing: “The air conditioner is set so low, and your hair isn’t even dry…”
His voice trailed off as he saw the clothes Luo Jing was wearing. Huai Dan reached out and tested the thickness of the fabric, then chuckled: “Can you sleep comfortably wearing something so thick?”
“…” Luo Jing was silent for a moment, then told the truth: “I took the wrong suitcase. It’s all winter clothes.”
So that was all he could do.
Huai Dan was a little helpless: “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Luo Jing lowered his eyes, lying unskillfully: “I only realized after I showered.”
In reality, it was because he didn’t want to bother Huai Dan.
Plus, he hadn’t fully recovered yet.
“Come with me.” Huai Dan said.
Luo Jing obediently followed.
Arriving in Huai Dan’s room, he opened the wardrobe and took out a set of short sleeves and shorts, handing them to Luo Jing: “Wear these.”
The clothes were a bit big on Luo Jing.
Not to an exaggerated degree, just a little loose.
After changing, Luo Jing instantly felt much more comfortable.
He came to the living room and saw Huai Dan sitting on the sofa with a laptop on his lap, seemingly working.
Seeing him come out, Huai Dan looked up and put the computer aside: “Come here.”
“Come here,” Luo Jing said, looking at the plastic bag trying to cause trouble at the edge of the rug.
Luo Jing: “…”
They spoke almost simultaneously. Hearing their voices, the plastic bag instinctively let go of the rug, then looked back and forth, seemingly unsure who to listen to.
In the end, it followed its heart, trotting over to Luo Jing and pawing at his leg, asking to be held.
Luo Jing bent down and picked it up, standing there, unsure whether to move or stay.
Huai Dan smiled and gestured to the hairdryer beside him: “If you don’t dry your hair, what if you catch a cold tomorrow?”
Luo Jing subconsciously touched his hair and realized it was indeed still half-dry. Having lived abroad for a long time, he had developed the bad habit of not bothering to dry his hair after washing it.
After hesitating for half a second, Luo Jing still walked over with the plastic bag in his arms, intending to take the hairdryer.
But he grasped at air.
Luo Jing: “?”
Huai Dan glanced at the cushion on the rug: “Sit.”
Luo Jing was stunned.
Did this mean he was going to dry his hair for him?
Holding the dog, he hesitantly sat down, feeling uneasy about the movements behind him.
Half a second later, the sound of the hairdryer started. Luo Jing felt the warm air continuously blowing on his head. He hadn’t noticed it before, but as the warmth spread, Luo Jing belatedly realized his head had been a little too cold.
Before he could enjoy the warmth, in the next instant, warm, dry palms and knuckles touched his damp hair, and Luo Jing instantly felt like an electric current had passed through his scalp.
He almost instinctively flinched.
“What’s wrong?” Huai Dan immediately turned off the hairdryer: “Did it burn you?”
“…No.” Luo Jing sat up straight again, the words “Maybe I should do it myself” brewing in his mind for several seconds but ultimately remaining unspoken.
“Tell me if it burns.” Seeing that he was alright, Huai Dan turned the hairdryer back on.
This time, however, he deliberately kept a greater distance.
The constant whirring of the hairdryer continued, and the warm air blew in gusts. This feeling should have been hypnotic, but the sensation on his scalp was hard to ignore. Luo Jing felt himself becoming more and more awake.
Fortunately, the hairdryer was loud enough.
He thought.
Otherwise, he worried his heartbeat would be heard.
The plastic bag didn’t like the noise, and after sitting in Luo Jing’s arms for a while, it got bored and jumped down to play with its toys.
After the puppy left, only the two of them were left in the living room, and Luo Jing felt a little like he was sitting on pins and needles.
Huai Dan was meticulously drying his hair, his knuckles moving through the strands, seemingly with no intention of speaking.
He initially wanted to look at his phone, which was placed nearby, but after thinking about it, he felt it wasn’t appropriate.
But it was awkward to sit in silence, and the atmosphere was strangely…subtle. So Luo Jing racked his brains, trying to think of something to talk about.
“Brother, which position are you planning to have me intern in?” Half a minute later, Luo Jing spoke.
“Hmm?” Huai Dan seemed not to have heard.
“I said, internship, what are you planning to have me do?” So Luo Jing repeated himself, his voice a little louder than before.
He must have heard it this time.
The sound of the hairdryer stopped, and the room fell silent again.
In the next instant, a familiar scent of shower gel wafted from behind him.
As if to hear Luo Jing clearly, Huai Dan leaned forward slightly, a mere inch away.
“What did you say?”
Huai Dan’s voice sounded beside his ear, so close it was impossible to avoid.
In a daze, Luo Jing even felt he could sense the vibrations from Huai Dan’s chest as he spoke.
His tone was calm, as if he was simply asking a question.
However, his hand still rested lightly on Luo Jing’s head, not moving away.
Without the warm air, the touch became even more pronounced.
Luo Jing took a light breath.
He really wanted to ask if Huai Dan was doing this on purpose.
Seeing him not speak, Huai Dan gently ruffled his hair, as if reminding him.
Luo Jing endured…and endured.
Upholding the principle of “when under someone’s roof, one must bow one’s head,” he forced himself to ignore his abnormally fast heartbeat and repeated for the third time: “What am I interning as tomorrow?”
Huai Dan finally heard him clearly: “Your sister wants you to be my assistant and learn a little about how to manage a company.”
“You can tell me if you have any other ideas.”
“…No, that’s fine.” Luo Jing said, silently rescuing his head from under Huai Dan’s hand. He then reached up to touch it, finding that it was actually quite dry.
“Thank you, brother.” He slightly tilted his head, staring at Huai Dan’s collar as he thanked him, then grabbed his phone from the side, intending to stand up and leave this troublesome place.
“It seems it did burn you after all,” Huai Dan suddenly said.
Luo Jing: “?”
“Your ears are very red,” he looked down at Luo Jing’s flushed ears, commenting.
Luo Jing: “…”
“A little,” he muttered stiffly, then turned and left the living room without looking back.
Watching his figure disappear from sight, Huai Dan was silent for a moment. He looked at the hairdryer in his hand, turned it on again to feel it, but it didn’t seem that hot.
It must have been the blowing that made them hot.
He thought.
