“How is it you!”
The hat guy, hearing this familiar voice, was also somewhat surprised as he raised his head.
“What are you here for?” Lin Che asked the hat guy.
The hat guy then lifted a bag of fruit, hesitated for a moment, and said, “This fruit is for you.”
Lin Che was completely dazed, “For me? Why give me fruit? Are you here to make amends?”
Lin Che carefully observed the person before him. He had not looked closely just now. The guy was slightly taller than himself, his exposed arms looked a bit sturdier, he had double eyelids and large eyes, and his skin was extraordinarily fair. Most distinctively, there was a red mole on his ear, which was even more prominent against his pale skin.
The hat guy struggled for a long time before saying, “Um, my name is Gu Yuan. My family just moved across the hall.”
Lin Che looked past the person in front of him and only then noticed that the doormat across the hall had been placed out today.
He reached out his hand and took the fruit from Gu Yuan’s hand, “Thank you.”
“What are you looking at?” Lin Che asked, seeing Gu Yuan staring at him continuously.
“Your injuries?”
Lin Che looked at the several prominent purple-green bruises on his arms and said, “Minor matter, it does not matter.”
“It would be best to…”
Before Gu Yuan could finish speaking, Lin Che turned his body to politely interrupt, “I do not have anything to give you either. Would you like to come inside and sit for a while?”
“No need to trouble yourself. Um, I will head back first.” Gu Yuan hurriedly declined and then retreated into his apartment.
Lin Che put the fruit into the refrigerator and then slumped onto the chair in his bedroom.
Although the temperature today was not cool, fortunately there was a bit of cross-draft. Only after sitting facing the window for a few minutes did he finally cool down.
He was prone to sweating to begin with, and after tossing around for half an afternoon, his clothes were still half-soaked and sticking to his body. Lin Che pulled at his shirt to let the breeze in, but whenever he stopped, his clothes stuck to his body again as if they possessed consciousness.
Lin Che looked down at his short-sleeved shirt that had turned half-grey, and recalled that grandson Sun Que again.
He cursed in his heart: That grandson calls three people when he cannot win a fight by himself, and calls eight people when three cannot win, treating me like a boss fight.
Thinking of this, Lin Che recalled the boy who had suddenly sprinted out today.
Lin Che recalled his appearance. He was so fair and clean, yet possessed quite a bit of strength.
Lin Che rolled his wrist, cursing silently in his heart: If not for him, I would have severely taught that dog shit a lesson today.
However, he recalled again that the guy had just brought him fruit, and most of his newly risen anger dissipated. Forget it, forget it, just do not let me see him again in the future.
Getting angrier the more he thought about it, Lin Che stood up, stripped his clothes completely bare, and tossed them casually onto the floor. Then he walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower head, intending to enjoy a nice bath. As a result, the hot water that came out gave Lin Che a sharp scald, and Lin Che hurriedly adjusted the shower head to cold water, only for the water to stop completely.
No matter how many times Lin Che tried repeatedly, the shower head seemed as if it had been squeezed dry, unable to produce a single drop of cold water.
Furious, Lin Che took out his phone intending to launch a heavy tirade in the property management group chat, but the moment he entered the group, he saw the pinned announcement.
Announcement: Dear property owners, the water in this residential community will be shut off for maintenance this afternoon from 13:00 to 17:00. We hope everyone understands.
Damn it, Lin Che cursed heavily in his heart. What kind of day is today? Had I known, I would have checked the almanac. Why is nothing going smoothly?
Lin Che had no choice but to wipe the water off his body, lie back onto the chair, and rock the chair up and down. To others, Lin Che looked as if he were bored to death, but in reality, he was forced to a point where he had no options, able only to rock the chair to vent his emotions.
Having just opened his phone, Lin Che looked at the group chat, where his travel frog Sun Kai had started updating dynamics in the group again.
Sun Kai: Let me tell you all, we definitely have to come eat at this noodle shop together next time.
Sun Kai: [Image]
Sun Kai: I call this the most awesome ramen in history.
Lin Che scrolled up through the chat records. No one in the group had replied to Sun Kai’s messages all day long. This guy treated this small chat group completely like his social media feed.
Suddenly, Lin Che remembered that this guy had recommended a bathhouse to him before, but Lin Che truly disliked a crowd of people squeezing together to bathe. He let out a long sigh, not expecting himself to be forced into such a desperate situation today.
Lin Che tapped open the dialog box and sent a message to Sun Kai.
Lin Che: Are you there?
Sun Kai: Present! What instructions do you have, Brother Che?
Lin Che: That thing.
Lin Che: Where is that bathhouse you mentioned last time located? Send me the address.
Sun Kai: [Location]
Sun Kai: Do you want me to personally take you there? [Expectant]
Lin Che: No need, do not come. If you are seen by me, you are done for.
Sun Kai: Then I will go secretly, so I will not be seen by you.
Lin Che: Get lost.
Sun Kai: Just kidding, I have already been there long ago.
Lin Che: .
Lin Che: Goodbye.
Sun Kai: That sentence was also a joke, Brother, do not be angry.
Lin Che: .
He casually brought a few toiletries, packed a set of new clothes, and went out the door.
Just after walking downstairs, Lin Che opened the phone navigation to check the route. The distance was a little over one kilometer.
It could not be considered far, and walking over would take twenty minutes.
Lin Che raised his head to look at the sign: Public Bathhouse. The sign looked quite new, but this name was far too old-fashioned. Without overthinking, he pushed open the door and walked inside. Upon entering the room, he instantly felt the humidity rise noticeably. The air conditioner was running inside, but it seemed to have little effect.
Standing at the front desk was a woman in her thirties, wearing short sleeves and sitting in a chair watching videos on her phone.
Seeing Lin Che walk over, she put the phone aside and asked politely, “Is the handsome guy here to take a bath?”
Lin Che responded, and then asked, “How do you charge for bathing here?”
“The main hall is ten yuan, the small hall is twenty yuan, body scrubbing is ten yuan…”
Listening to this “small hall,” Lin Che felt somewhat confused and asked, “What is the difference between the main hall and the small hall?”
“Literally what it means, the small hall has a smaller room and fewer people.”
“Then I will take the small hall.”
“Just scan the code to pay.”
The woman handed Lin Che a wristband and continued, “The men’s bath is on the left. For the small hall, walk all the way to the innermost part. The number corresponds to the locker where you put your things.”
“Alright.”
The woman continued explaining, “Lock it properly yourself. There are no surveillance cameras inside, so we are not responsible if things are lost.”
Lin Che responded, then put on slippers, and walked with his backpack to the innermost room.
Beside the entrance door of the bathhouse was a full-length mirror. Lin Che looked at himself.
Facing the mirror, Lin Che finally saw the injuries on his body, with several purple and green bruises on his arms. Lin Che turned his body to glance at his back, and the several injuries on his back appeared even more severe. He cursed indifferently in his heart: That group of bastards hit far too fucking hard.
Afterward, Lin Che walked into the bathroom holding his toilet bag. Looking around, there was unexpectedly not a single person. Lin Che secretly felt pleased. Coming to this bathhouse today was truly the right choice.
“Hello there.”
“Holy shit! Who is speaking?” The sudden voice startled Lin Che so much that he nearly threw the things in his hand out.
“It is me.”
Afterward, that person sat up from the water pool, displaying his entire upper body before Lin Che’s eyes.
“Holy shit! How is it you again!” Looking at the boy before his eyes, Lin Che was somewhat shocked. How could he see him everywhere? Lin Che was even wondering whether the boy before his eyes might be a ghost haunting him.
Before Gu Yuan could answer, Lin Che continued asking, “Why are you here?”
“Didn’t our residential community have the water shut off?”
“Uh… Right, right, right, right.”
Hearing Gu Yuan’s explanation, Lin Che finally reacted. He did not know why he suddenly started acting silly. He came outside to bathe because the water was shut off, so his neighbor was naturally here for the exact same reason. As a result, he still asked the person, making it look as if Lin Che were intentionally striking up a conversation.
The small bathhouse had a total of four shower heads on two sides, plus a small bath pool.
Lin Che himself was not accustomed to standing naked before others, let alone with this person being Gu Yuan. The atmosphere in this bathhouse turned slightly awkward.
He did not like soaking in the bath, so he had to stand in front of Gu Yuan and turn on the shower head. He only felt as if he were displaying how he bathed right in front of Gu Yuan.
After rinsing for just a few minutes, Lin Che turned off the shower head. He was not the kind of ostrich that could bury its head in the sand. He only wanted to wash up casually right now, and then hurry up and slip away.
As a result, just after Lin Che opened the body wash, Gu Yuan’s voice came from behind him.
“Are you not going to scrub with a body scrubbing towel?”
“I did not bring one.”
“It is fine, I can lend you mine.”
Lin Che looked at the body scrubbing towel handed over by Gu Yuan, but he had no habit of body scrubbing at all. He did not know why he had said he did not bring one. Wouldn’t it have been fine to just say he did not need one?
“If you mind, then forget it.”
“It is fine.” Looking at Gu Yuan’s somewhat disappointed expression, Lin Che snatched the body scrubbing towel, the words blurting out of his mouth.
Lin Che did not really know how to use this thing either, slipping the body scrubbing towel onto his right hand.
Lin Che only felt that this body scrubbing towel was like sandpaper. He did not know whether it was because pulling against the injuries on his body caused pain, or because scrubbing on the body was naturally painful to begin with.
“If it is inconvenient for you to scrub, I can help you.”
Lin Che waved his hand repeatedly, saying, “No need, no need.”
“Your back should be rather inconvenient, right?”
“It is fine, look.” Saying that, Lin Che reached out his hand to demonstrate, but the moment his hand touched his back, a burst of severe pain came over him.
Accompanied by an involuntary loud cry from Lin Che, the body scrubbing towel in his hand also fell onto the floor.
“You cannot see your back, so let me help you.”
“Then… Alright.”
Gu Yuan leaned down to pick up the body scrubbing towel on the floor, rinsed it clean with water, and then scrubbed lightly against Lin Che’s back.
Although it was called scrubbing, Lin Che felt that Gu Yuan applied almost no force. Rather than calling it body scrubbing, it was more like caressing.
“Your body is quite clean, smooth and tender.”
Gu Yuan looked for topics of conversation from behind while scrubbing.
However, even though Lin Che knew Gu Yuan was complimenting him, for some unknown reason, he felt it was strange.
Furthermore, Lin Che rarely had contact with people, especially under such circumstances of facing each other with absolute honesty. For some unknown reason, Lin Che’s heart rate accelerated somewhat.
“Is it too hot? Why do I feel your ears are a bit red?”
“It feels like there should be no need to scrub anything more. Shall I help you apply the body wash?”
It seemed as if Gu Yuan were asking Lin Che, but before Lin Che could answer, body wash was applied onto his body.
A burst of cool sensation transmitted into Lin Che’s brain. Lin Che had no time to answer, muttering repeatedly in his heart: Do not react, do not react, do not react.
However, whatever one feared would inevitably happen, yet this kind of matter was not something Lin Che could control.
Gu Yuan saw it and said nothing more, merely continuing to help apply the body wash for Lin Che.
“Um, I am not…”