“It’s the body wash,” Jiang Nai said with a bright smile, her eyes crinkling. She stepped back and set the bag in her hand on the sofa. “Chengze and I went shopping at the supermarket today. He said you smell really nice.”
Lin Chu’s heart clenched. Her fingers tightened around the towel without her meaning to, and she instinctively tried to explain. “He asked me about my body wash. At the time, I…”
Before she could finish, Jiang Nai cut her off with a laugh. “Why are you acting so nervous? You make it sound like I don’t trust you.”
Lin Chu shook her head, her voice a little urgent. “No, I just don’t want there to be any misunderstandings.”
Jiang Nai watched her for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. There was something difficult to read in that smile. “What could there be to misunderstand? I know you’re definitely not Chengze’s type. He likes lively girls, not quiet ones like you.”
Quiet one.
The words came lightly from Jiang Nai’s lips, as if she’d just tossed out a casual joke.
Still, Lin Chu felt a small knot of discomfort when she heard them. But looking at Jiang Nai’s open, cheerful smile, she wondered if she was reading too much into it.
After all, Jiang Nai had always been outspoken. She said whatever came to mind, and never meant any harm.
Throughout their four years at university, Jiang Nai had called her thin-skinned, timid, and bad at dealing with people. And wasn’t every one of those things true?
Lin Chu pushed down her discomfort and didn’t respond to the remark. Instead, she asked, “Have you eaten?”
“I have.” Jiang Nai’s eyes curved with a hint of pride. “Chengze made dinner for me himself. His cooking is as good as ever—it’s just that not many people get to taste it.”
As she spoke, her gaze returned to Lin Chu, traveling from her damp hair to her face, then taking in her bare features. A trace of appraisal entered her eyes.
Lin Chu had the sort of beauty that grew on you. She wasn’t dazzling or flamboyant; she was fresh and clean, with gentle features, fair skin, and delicate, yet soft, lines. Having grown up in the Jiangnan water towns, she had a tenderness about her that made people want to draw near.
Especially just after a shower, with no makeup at all, her fair cheeks held a faint flush. Her long, curled lashes framed clear eyes, making her look several years younger than she really was.
Jiang Nai studied her for a long moment, then lowered her eyes, hiding their flicker. Suddenly, she smiled. “Actually, you’re quite pretty too. Don’t be so insecure all the time.”
Lin Chu didn’t like being evaluated. It always made her feel as though she’d been put in a glass tank for someone to inspect from head to toe.
She frowned slightly, her voice more serious than before. “Nainai, I’m not insecure. We just have different styles.”
Jiang Nai stared at her frown for a second, then burst out laughing, leaning back as though she’d heard something hilarious. “Look at you—you can never take a joke. No wonder they don’t want to hang out with you.”
Her inexplicable laughter made Lin Chu’s brow furrow even more.
“They” meant the few people they’d both known at university. They were all part of Jiang Nai’s circle—well-off, beautiful, and possessed of an innate air of superiority in everything they said and did.
Whenever Lin Chu was with them, she was always the quietest one. She couldn’t get a word in or fit in. And when she did occasionally say something, one of their jokes—kind on the surface, but somehow uncomfortable—would shut her down.
Over time, she stopped hanging out with them.
Jiang Nai had even criticized her back then, saying, “You can’t go on like this. You need to learn to socialize, to get along with different kinds of people.”
But Jiang Nai didn’t know that Lin Chu wasn’t incapable of it. She simply didn’t like being made the butt of jokes.
“Don’t be so sensitive. You know I like joking around. This is a thank-you gift I bought especially for you.” Seeing that Lin Chu hadn’t replied, Jiang Nai came closer and took a bottle of sakura-pink body wash from the bag, holding it out to her.
“You don’t have to…” Lin Chu glanced at the bottle, about to refuse.
Jiang Nai added pointedly, “Chengze picked it out himself. He said it smelled really nice.”
As she spoke, she unscrewed the cap and sniffed. Then she frowned. “But I can’t really smell what’s so nice about it.”
Lin Chu shook her head firmly. “You don’t need to give me a thank-you gift. I didn’t do much to help.”
“Just take it.” Jiang Nai insisted on pressing the body wash into her hands, then leaned toward her and sniffed. Thoughtfully, she said, “I’ve never noticed it on you before. Now that I have, it really does smell nice.”
She stepped back and looked at Lin Chu, her tone taking on a hint of meaning. “You know, there aren’t many things Chengze cares enough about to pay attention to.”
Lin Chu felt that something about the way Jiang Nai spoke tonight was off. None of her remarks sounded like much on their own, but put together, they had an unmistakable undertone.
As though she were testing her—or warning her.
Lin Chu took a deep breath and steeled herself to explain what had happened that night. “Nainai, that night you were working overtime, actually I…”
“Please, don’t remind me of the night I was on standby for my flight.” Jiang Nai yawned and waved a hand wearily. “Just thinking about it is exhausting. I can’t even hear the words ‘working overtime’ right now. I’m going to bed. Good night.”
With that, she walked into the bedroom without looking back. The door closed softly, but once again Lin Chu’s words were left stuck in her throat.
Lin Chu stood where she was, holding the bottle of body wash. Its coolness seeped through her palm. She looked down at the pink bottle with its cherry-blossom design.
Pressing her lips together, she eventually set the body wash on the living-room table instead of taking it into the bedroom.
Back in her room, Lin Chu sat on the edge of the bed. Her hair still wasn’t completely dry, but she couldn’t bring herself to use the hair dryer. She just sat there, her thoughts in a muddle.
Her phone buzzed. She picked it up and saw a message from Zhou Chengze.
【Sorry to have troubled you today. Jiang Nai and I will treat you to dinner another time.】
(End)