Rainwater slid across the glass and trailed downward in winding lines.
Even after entering the solid shelter of a building, the sound of rain still seemed to echo in the ears, repeating endlessly.
The key turned, and the cold front door opened.
Lin Xuehe stepped aside. “Go in.”
With a towel covering her head, Wen Ya hunched her shoulders and shuffled forward in small steps, looking exactly like a timid quail.
Lin Xuehe watched her step onto the floor without taking off her shoes and frowned. In the end he pressed a hand to his brow and turned around to close the door.
“The master bedroom bathroom is the only one with bathing supplies. You can shower there.” Lin Xuehe handed her the bathrobe he usually wore. “There is no new one, make do with this.”
“Oh.” Wen Ya took it. She was soaked from head to toe, like someone who had just been pulled out of water. As long as there were dry clothes to change into, she had no room to be picky.
Lin Xuehe glanced at her, then at his bathroom. “Remember to clean it up after you are done. Do not let me find even a single hair.”
Wen Ya, now relying on someone else’s hospitality, obediently lowered her eyes. “Oh.”
“Go.”
Lin Xuehe said no more and turned to leave.
Holding the bathrobe, Wen Ya did not dare look around even though she was in Lin Xuehe’s room. After locking the bathroom door, she faced the mirror and saw the miserable face staring back at her.
The person in the mirror looked pale and haggard. Her eyes were so swollen that her double eyelids were almost stretched straight. Strands of wet hair clung to her head, making her hairline look strangely higher.
Wen Ya pressed a palm against the face in the mirror.
Damn, that looks awful.
After being drenched in the rain, taking a hot shower felt incredibly comfortable. Every inch of her body relaxed, as if an invisible force were gently kneading her muscles and easing away the stiffness.
After finishing her shower, Wen Ya threw the clothes she had changed out of into the washing machine. She then carefully cleaned the bathroom, not leaving a single trace of the grime washed off her body. Only after that did she wrap herself in the bathrobe, put on the slippers Lin Xuehe had left in the bathroom, and walk out with soft tapping steps.
This was a house the company had arranged for Lin Xuehe. It was large and empty. Perhaps because the owner did not intend to live there permanently, the place was clean but lacked any sign of daily life.
Wen Ya tried her best to keep her eyes straight ahead and returned directly to the living room.
Lin Xuehe was not there. Instead, faint sounds came from the entryway around the corner that was out of sight.
Following the sound, Wen Ya walked over. After just one glance, she froze in place.
Under the warm yellow light of the entryway lamp, Lin Xuehe was bent over, his fair, slender fingers gripping a mop as he moved it back and forth, carefully wiping the water stains off the floor.
Wen Ya felt conflicted. She felt that such an action did not quite match someone like Lin Xuehe, yet at the same time, this version of him did not feel out of place with the refined Mr. Lin she saw outside.
Somehow, every posture seemed to suit this man.
Lin Xuehe focused on cleaning the floor that the culprit in front of him had dirtied and did not look up. “Go to the kitchen and drink the ginger soup.”
Once he said it, the faint scent of ginger at the tip of her nose suddenly became obvious. Wen Ya sniffed, then shuffled away in her slippers.
Mr. Lin really was an angel.
Love him.
However, her affection came quickly and disappeared just as quickly. After taking a sip of the ginger soup, her face immediately collapsed. She had no idea how much ginger Lin Xuehe had put in it, it was unbelievably spicy.
The sharpness of ginger was different from the spiciness of chili peppers. Wen Ya did not like this kind of heat.
Holding her breath, she gulped down two big mouthfuls. Then she lifted the bowl, planning to quickly dispose of the evidence before Lin Xuehe returned. Unfortunately, she was caught red handed. His expression was cold and his voice was equally cold.
“Finish it.”
Wen Ya struggled. “It is too strong…”
Lin Xuehe scoffed. “Perfect for neutralizing the water that got into your brain.”
“…”
Wen Ya swallowed her anger and tilted her head back, finishing it in one breath.
Lin Xuehe made no comment about her heroic sacrifice. He picked up the mop and walked away. “Clean up the kitchen.”
Wen Ya pouted and began wandering around the kitchen. The kitchen clearly had signs of use, but aside from the utensils and dishes that had just been used, the rest of the place was still spotless. She had no idea how he managed that.
She obediently cleaned the kitchen, then held the used rag under the faucet and scrubbed it hard.
She had not expected to run into Lin Xuehe, much less to be taken in by him.
It seemed that every time she was at her most miserable, this person was there to see it.
“Sigh…”
Wen Ya scrubbed the rag even faster, feeling both angry and despondent.
For the rest of her life she would never be able to hold her head high in front of Lin Xuehe again.
After finishing cleaning the floor, Lin Xuehe placed Wen Ya’s small high heels, which she had left in the bathroom corner, by the entrance. He then opened the unused guest room and cleaned it from top to bottom. After that he took his own spare bedsheets and duvet cover and spread them on the bed for her. By the time he came out again, Wen Ya had already found a hanger and was hanging her clothes on the balcony to dry.
The heavy rain outside showed no sign of stopping. Fortunately, the balcony was large enough that unless a typhoon came, the clothes would not get soaked by the rain again.
After putting the drying pole back where it belonged, Wen Ya slowly stepped closer to the edge and finally rested her hands on the railing.
The rain was heavy, but the wind was not strong. The large raindrops fell almost straight down. Under the streetlights, the rainwater shimmered into strands of silver.
Tonight she had found a place to shelter from the wind and rain, but what would she do tomorrow?
She stared blankly at the curtain of rain, completely unaware that Lin Xuehe had already come up behind her.
“When do you plan to jump down?”
Wen Ya was startled and quickly turned her head, pleading, “Mr. Lin, could you at least make some noise when you come over…”
Lin Xuehe stopped at her left side and looked at her sideways. “Do I need to announce myself to you?”
After two seconds of eye contact, Wen Ya lost the battle completely. “You do not.”
“Go inside. Do not waste my ginger soup.”
Wen Ya lowered her head. After hesitating for a moment, she lifted her chin. “Mr. Lin, do you think I am unlucky?”
Lin Xuehe glanced at her and answered sincerely. “I think I am the one who is more unlucky.”
He always had countless ways to make her unable to continue the conversation. Wen Ya rubbed her cheek, feeling that her teeth had been aching more and more often lately.
The conversation was impossible to continue.
Lin Xuehe brought her to the guest room. The air conditioner was already on. The one point eight meter bed was covered with dark gray sheets and bedding, very much in the owner’s style.
What a sin. She was actually about to use so many of Mr. Lin’s personal items.
Wen Ya’s eyes practically turned green, but she still loved this big bed.
“All three keys are here.” Lin Xuehe placed them in her palm. “You can sleep peacefully tonight.”
The three keys felt heavy in her hand. Lin Xuehe’s slightly cool body temperature brushed her skin for only a moment before disappearing. Wen Ya did not quite react in time. “Hm?”
Lin Xuehe glanced at her. “Next time remember not to go home alone with a man.”
So that was what he meant. Wen Ya laughed and waved her hand casually. “It is fine. I have already spent so many nights alone with you. Would you suddenly…”
The world spun.
At some point Lin Xuehe’s hand had landed on her shoulder. With a light push he pressed her onto the bed. Wen Ya fell silent as she realized she could not move.
Her legs were pinned down, and at some unknown moment her hands had been seized in one of his and raised above her head.
She had always thought she was fairly strong, but in this position she could not use any strength at all. She could not break free.
Lin Xuehe stood above her, his back to the light, his eyes dark. “Are you missing a few brain cells?”
Thump.
Her heart pounded like a drum. Wen Ya nervously swallowed, even squeezing out a double chin.
“I-if you want to take advantage of me, then go ahead.”
Lin Xuehe fell silent.
Wen Ya put on a shrewd expression and said earnestly, “If raw rice gets cooked into rice, I will marry you, enjoy a handsome husband and endless wealth.” Then she added again, “I will reach the peak of life from then on. I am serious.”
They stared at each other. Lin Xuehe narrowed his eyes slightly.
The next second, the pillow above her head flew up and pressed down mercilessly onto her lovestruck face.
Lin Xuehe released her. “Keep dreaming.”
Wen Ya immediately flipped over and sat up, hugging the pillow and laughing. “I knew you would not be interested in me.”
“That kind of trust is fragile.” Lin Xuehe did not bother arguing with her. “I have had moments of bad judgment too.”
Wen Ya shook her head, not agreeing with his statement. “Mr. Lin, your excellence exceeds your own imagination.”
“Not bad flattery.”
Wen Ya cupped her hands politely. “You flatter me.”
“Go to bed early. Even if you cannot sleep, do not make too much noise.” Lin Xuehe stood up. “I have neurasthenia.”
Wen Ya nodded obediently and watched him leave. As soon as he was out of sight, she immediately hugged a pillow and rolled around on the bed.
An angel. Mr. Lin was absolutely an angel.
Rolling alone and wrinkling the bedsheets, she hugged the quilt and soon drifted into a deep sleep in that reassuring atmosphere.
She thought about nothing.