Lin Wangxi froze for a moment, not expecting him to ask such a question.
She immediately felt a bit annoyed. “How is that possible? I’m not crazy.”
Zhou Jinyuan was taken aback and realized that his question had crossed a line.
“Sorry, that was inappropriate of me.”
Lin Wangxi lowered her head and said nothing more.
If it were not for her limited mobility and lack of other options, she would not have let Zhou Jinyuan help her in the first place.
Since he was already helping her, she could not possibly act coy and difficult about it.
She just had not expected that her straightforwardness would cause Zhou Jinyuan to misunderstand.
In the past, Lin Wangxi would not have cared about what others thought of her.
But hearing Zhou Jinyuan’s words now, an indescribable irritation rose in her heart.
Zhou Jinyuan’s gaze fell on the nape of her lowered neck, and he also fell silent.
Neither of them spoke. He quickly finished wiping her, then tossed the towel back into the bucket.
“All done. You can handle the rest yourself. I’ll head out first.”
Without waiting for her reply, he turned and left the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
After coming out, he sat on the sofa for a while.
Then he got up and went downstairs.
It was past eight in the evening, and the street was lively, with people coming and going and all the shops open.
He stood downstairs for a while, wanting to feel the breeze, but there was no wind that day.
His gaze drifted to the convenience store across the street. After a brief hesitation, he walked over.
He asked the shopkeeper for the cheapest pack of Baisha cigarettes and a lighter.
Standing outside the store, Zhou Jinyuan lit a cigarette.
He did not know how to smoke. After taking a puff, he coughed several times from the irritation.
Looking down at the cigarette in his hand, he steadied himself before taking another puff.
A moment later, he returned to the store.
“Boss, can I return this cigarette?”
The shopkeeper paused, glanced at the already opened pack in his hand, and replied irritably, “You’ve already opened it. How can you return it?”
“Half a refund is fine.”
The shopkeeper curled his lips. Even a 13-yuan pack of cigarettes, and he still wanted a refund—just how poor was he?
Perhaps feeling a bit sympathetic, the shopkeeper waved his hand, took the cigarettes back, and pulled out five yuan from the drawer, tossing it to him.
“That’s all I can refund.”
“Thank you.” Zhou Jinyuan nodded, pocketed the five yuan from the counter, and walked out.
Just then, a couple passed by. The girl held onto the boy’s arm and said sweetly, “Baby, I want milk tea.”
The boy smiled indulgently. “Alright, I’ll buy it for you.”
Zhou Jinyuan watched them walk away, then followed after them.
Lin Wangxi had already finished washing up, but after calling out for a long time, Zhou Jinyuan still did not come in.
She had no choice but to struggle out on her own.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Yuean came in. Seeing her hopping out with difficulty, she stepped forward to support her.
“I’ll help you out.”
Lin Wangxi looked at her gratefully. “Thank you.”
Zhou Yuean shook her head, indicating it was nothing.
Lin Wangxi noticed that the siblings both seemed rather aloof and not very talkative.
Zhou Yuean helped her to the sofa and asked, “Is there anything else you need help with?”
Lin Wangxi shook her head. “No, that’s all. You can go.”
“Mm.” Zhou Yuean nodded, went to the restroom, and then shut herself back in her room.
Lin Wangxi felt a bit helpless. She had thought that with another person around, she would have someone to talk to.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Yuean was even more introverted than her brother.
With nothing to do, she played a couple more pieces on the electronic piano.
Finally, Zhou Jinyuan returned, now holding two cups of milk tea.
He walked up to Lin Wangxi, placed one cup in front of her, and carried the other to Zhou Yuean’s door.
Lin Wangxi picked up the milk tea curiously and examined it.
“Why did you buy milk tea for me?”
Zhou Jinyuan looked elsewhere, a little uneasy. “What I said earlier… was wrong.”
Lin Wangxi understood—it was an apology.
“Oh, I didn’t take it to heart. No need to apologize.” Although she said she did not mind, hearing Zhou Jinyuan apologize still made her happy.
However, she rarely drank this. It was not that it tasted bad—she just worried about gaining weight.
She paid great attention to maintaining her figure. Even when she did drink it, she would only choose thirty percent sugar and take a few sips at most, never finishing an entire cup.
What Zhou Jinyuan bought was not only mixed milk tea, but also full sugar.
One sip of this would probably require three days of yoga to burn off.
“Don’t buy this next time. I don’t really like it, and you even got full sugar.”
Zhou Jinyuan came back to her side and said, “I messaged you, but you didn’t reply, so I just bought it casually.”
Lin Wangxi smiled awkwardly. “My phone was turned off.”
“Do you not have a charger?” Zhou Jinyuan suddenly realized this important detail and turned to leave again. “I’ll go buy you one.”
Lin Wangxi grabbed him. “No need. I turned it off myself. I can just use yours to charge.”
She pointed to the charger plugged into the wall behind the sofa.
Zhou Jinyuan glanced at it, nodded, and came back.
Lin Wangxi inserted the straw into the milk tea and took a sip.
Ever since Lin Tanyu posted that update, many people had been messaging and calling her to ask what was going on.
So she simply turned off her phone—out of sight, out of mind.
Zhou Jinyuan seemed to have guessed part of it and did not say anything more. He went straight to the bathroom.
He was going to wash Lin Wangxi’s clothes.
Holding her milk tea, Lin Wangxi watched him finish washing the clothes and carry the basin out.
Her gaze unconsciously followed his movements. At first, she had felt a bit embarrassed that he was helping her wash her clothes.
But now, she had already gotten used to it.
After hanging the clothes to dry, Zhou Jinyuan carried the empty basin back inside.
He noticed that she had placed the milk tea back on the table, with no intention of drinking more.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Does it taste that bad?”
“A little.” She felt that saying “a little” was already quite polite.
“…”
Lin Wangxi picked up the milk tea again, wanting to drink but unable to bring herself to do it. Her brows knitted together, looking quite conflicted.
Zhou Jinyuan walked over and sat beside her.
He took the milk tea from her hand. “If you don’t like it, don’t drink it.”
“But it would be such a waste.”
Hearing those words come from her own mouth, both Lin Wangxi and Zhou Jinyuan were momentarily stunned.
Lin Wangxi felt that after staying here for a few days, she had somehow been influenced by Zhou Jinyuan.
For a milk tea that cost just over ten yuan, she had actually used the word “waste.”
Zhou Jinyuan stared at the straw—it had been bitten slightly flat by her.
“It won’t be wasted.”
Lin Wangxi was still wondering what he meant when she saw, in shock, that he put the straw into his mouth.
“I already drank from that—why are you…”
One sip of the overly sweet milk tea nearly made Zhou Jinyuan lose control of his expression. He frowned and swallowed it with difficulty.
He turned to look at Lin Wangxi. “What?”
Lin Wangxi looked at him with sympathy. “Why do you always like eating other people’s leftovers? Do you have some kind of special fetish?”
“…”
Zhou Jinyuan’s lips twitched slightly.
In the end, he did not argue with her.
Seeing his serious yet hard-to-read expression, Lin Wangxi did not know what to say for a moment.
She stared at him blankly, then took another sip herself and forced it down with difficulty.
Lin Wangxi suggested, “Maybe you should go to the hospital and get that checked. This kind of habit… isn’t good.”
Zhou Jinyuan’s eyelid twitched. He suddenly stood up. “I have something to do. I’ll head out first.”
“It’s already so late—where are you going?”