06. Hello, brother.

The boy was very tall and had a straight posture. He exuded a fierce and intimidating aura.

The next second, Mu Jia suddenly realized that the two were still locked in a stalemate, in a slightly strange position.

The boy was still holding her wrist.

The golden ceiling lights in the corridor cast an unreal golden glow on his bloodstained profile.

"you……"

Before she could finish speaking, the other person reacted first and let go of her hand.

He straightened up, turned his face away, avoiding her probing gaze, leaving only the hard lines of his jawline visible.

Then, he shifted his body, bypassed her, and turned to walk forward.

Mu Jia could only watch his retreating figure.

The spot on her wrist where he had just held her still felt faintly warm. She had something to say, but couldn't find the words.

She suddenly felt a little wronged; the main responsibility for the collision was clearly his.

It was because he was tall and had long legs, and he was walking quickly with his head down that he bumped into her like a bolt from the blue.

She hadn't done anything; she was just walking normally...

One minute later, the boy stood in front of the sink and washed his hands.

Cold water was poured directly onto the wound on the back of my hand, and the blood and water mixed together, instantly turning the white marble washbasin a pale red.

He gritted his teeth slightly, and the dark blue veins on his arm bulged faintly.

Suddenly, the water flow stopped abruptly.

The boy looked up and saw a pair of hands reaching over to turn the knob on the sink.

A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He turned around and looked up.

The girl who had bumped into him a few minutes earlier had once again come into his view.

"You can't rinse this kind of wound directly with water like that," she said.

The boy stared at the person opposite him, his handsome eyebrows furrowing slightly.

Before he could say anything, his palm suddenly felt soft again. Looking down, he saw that the girl opposite him had gently taken his hand.

For some reason, his hand stiffened for a moment, and he subconsciously tried to pull his hand away, but he didn't know if it was because his hand was wet or because the girl was holding it tightly, but it slipped.

Taking advantage of the moment he slipped, the girl quickly grabbed two tissues from the sink, carefully dried the water around the wound, then took out a pack of band-aids from her pocket, deftly tore open the packaging, and stuck it on the back of his hand.

Mu Jia straightened up, looked at the pink strawberry bear bandage on the back of the other person's hand, and smiled with some satisfaction.

Suddenly, she saw the boy opposite her reach out with his other hand, and she quickly stopped him, "Don't tear it. If you tear it now, the wound will reopen, the bleeding will not stop, and it will leave a scar."

The air in front of the sink suddenly went silent for a second.

She had only given her advice casually and in a hurry, and she didn't expect the other party to listen to her. But to her surprise, a second later, she didn't see the other party make any new moves.

Suddenly, I heard what sounded like a soft laugh coming from above.

She paused for a moment before looking up, only to find that the boy's face was devoid of smiles, and his eyes had regained their usual coldness.

She held her hand to his mouth, then felt it was a bit inappropriate, so she handed him the tissue in her hand, saying, "You, you can do it yourself."

The boy did not make a move.

She wasn't particularly embarrassed. Holding the remaining pack of band-aids, she suddenly smiled and asked, "Do you know Lu Siming?"

Most people probably know that he's ranked first in his grade, right?

Actually, what had drawn her to follow him into the restroom wasn't just him, but also the same school uniform he was wearing—the same one she was wearing, from Pinghai No. 1 High School.

Otherwise, she certainly wouldn't have dared to directly reach out and turn off his water.

It's been over a month since school started, and she hasn't heard of such a person among the freshmen. Meanwhile, the seniors at her school are still having evening self-study sessions on Fridays, so the most likely scenario is that he's a sophomore like Lu Siming.

The boy looked up at her, then spoke his first words to her, "I don't know you."

Concise and to the point, indifferent and detached.

After saying that, he walked past her again and left the restroom by himself.

But the boy seemed not to hear her and continued walking forward without turning his head.

When Mu Jia returned to the private room, she found everyone waiting for her. Yuan Mei asked her why she had taken so long to go to the restroom, as she was about to go out to look for her.

She glanced away nervously, "The restroom is crowded, there's a queue."

After dinner that evening, Mu Xiangming went to the underground parking lot to get his car, while his mother and daughter waited for him in the alley behind the hotel.

Mu Jia was preoccupied with something, her gaze drifting aimlessly. Inadvertently, she caught sight of a familiar figure standing at the alley entrance not far away.

The boy was tall and slender, easily recognizable. In the dimly lit alley, a flickering light could be seen between his fingers.

Mu Jia's heart suddenly skipped a beat again. After a few seconds, from a distance of more than ten meters, she subconsciously took a deep breath. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but she could feel a faint smell of nicotine, as if it had entered her chest.

It was faint, damp, and unfamiliar, yet it didn't disgust her...

His location was darker than theirs, so she wasn't sure if he had seen her.

"Jiajia, what are you looking at?" Yuan Mei noticed her daughter's unusual quietness and absent-mindedness.

Mu Jia suddenly turned around quickly, blocking her mother's view with her body. "It's nothing, Mom. Why hasn't Dad come up yet? Let's walk towards the entrance again."

Then, while linking arms with her mother and walking in the opposite direction, she reached into her school uniform pocket with her other hand and silently squeezed the remaining pack of band-aids.

Actually, Yuan Mei had given it to her as a spare during the freshmen military training last month, but she didn't need it at all, and after the training ended, she forgot to take it out.

I never expected to need it today.

She suddenly thought, "I should have given him the rest too."

After that incident, when she returned to school, she did consider asking Lu Siming about it.

On the one hand, she worried that Lu Siming would talk nonsense to her parents; on the other hand, she felt that although the two boys were likely in the same school and grade, one was an excellent student who was first in the grade, while the other...

Since they are worlds apart, they are most likely to be completely unrelated.

So, it's probably pointless to ask.

Another month passed peacefully, and the midterm exams arrived as scheduled.

Standing before the bustling red list, Mu Jia curiously looked at the face of the new top-ranked person who had replaced her cousin.

Upon meeting her gaze, he was instantly taken aback.

One month ago, that night, the person who used her band-aid and still owed her a thank you just brazenly appeared in front of her.

In the photo, the boy has slightly raised eyebrows, but there is almost no smile on his face.

This time, however, his face was clean, without any bruises or bloodstains, only his pale skin and handsome features, and a pair of dark eyes staring at her through the photo.

Mu Jia immediately began to question the meaning of life, but little did she know that what would make her question life even more was yet to come.

A few days later, at the school gate, Mu Jia watched as Lu Siming put his arm around a boy's neck and introduced him to her, "Jiajia, this is my best buddy, Chu Chiyi."

She then turned to the boy and said, "She is my cousin, Mu Jia. Mu as in 'admiring,' and Jia as in 'honest and virtuous conduct.'"

Mu Jia stared at the face she had seen twice before, and suddenly remembered that more than a month ago, she asked the other person if they knew Lu Siming, and the other person replied coldly and seriously, "No."

Sure enough, a man's words are a liar's errand...

She continued to stare wide-eyed at the boy next to Lu Siming, seeing that he naturally let Lu Siming put his arm around him, and his expression was not as intimidating as last time.

"Say hello! Are you stupid?" Lu Siming suddenly patted her on the back.

She turned her gaze to Lu Siming.

Lu Siming noticed the rare blankness in her eyes and paused for a second before understanding that she was silently asking him, "What's your name?"

He couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with this usually quick-witted and charming girl today.

"Hello, brother!"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly saw Mu Jia look up at the person beside him, utter three crisp words, and then quickly look away...

Little did they know that Mu Jia didn't look at the boy's face when she said this.

Given the height difference between them, what she was actually looking at was his Adam's apple.

After she finished speaking, she looked away, still not daring to look at his expression.

A second later, only out of the corner of my eye did I notice that his Adam's apple seemed to move slightly.

Thinking he was about to speak, she finally raised her head.

But he simply looked down at her leisurely, raising an eyebrow almost imperceptibly: "Hello."

Indifferent and detached, just like the first time.

It was as if they had never met before...

Later, she asked Lu Siming, "Since Chu Chiyi's grades are so good, why wasn't he on the list of the top fifty students in the entire second year of high school in the last monthly exam?"

Mu Jia suddenly realized why her aunt had said Lu Siming's actions during their last meal were a sign of progress...

"But... then he..."

"Alright, look, isn't that Uncle's car? He's here to pick us up, let's go!"

When Mu Jia woke up again, she found herself in bed.

She paused for a moment, then shook her head to bring herself back to reality.

She was alone in bed.

The soft Simmons mattress has just the right amount of elasticity, which effectively relieves muscle soreness caused by long journeys.

Of course, it's also possible that the foot soak I did before bed last night had an effect.

She got out of bed and went into the bathroom to wash up.

When I got to the bathroom door, I saw the large rosewood tub leaning against the door, but the water inside was gone.

She glanced at the bucket and picked up her electric toothbrush that she had left on the sink the night before.

The vibration sounded, and she used her free hand to type a WeChat message to Xiao Yu.

After rinsing my mouth, I couldn't help but glance at the mirror in front of me. I don't know if it was because the amount ingested was so small, or because the loratadine I took after dinner last night had an effect, but the shrimp I ate at dinner did not trigger any allergic reaction.

After Mu Jia finished getting ready, she came out of the bathroom and saw that Chu Chiyi was already sitting on the sofa in the living room.

He was wearing a light gray casual sweatshirt and matching sweatpants, probably having just gone for a morning run and hadn't had time to change.

This unusual outfit slowed Mu Jia's gaze a few seconds, noticing him holding a tablet computer, his eyes casually lingering on it.

She sat down at the table opposite him, took out her phone and swiped around for a few seconds, then looked up and asked, "Chu Chiyi, could you move back to the city center?"

After Chu Chiyi started working, she bought a house in the Pinghai High-tech Zone. She was referring to the house her parents used to live in in the city center.

The man lifted his gaze from the tablet and placed it on her face.

Mu Jia understood his look and explained while complaining, "There isn't even a hair salon downstairs. I just searched, and the nearest one is 3.2 kilometers away..."

Chu Chiyi looked at her: "You want to get a haircut?"

"No, I'm washing my hair."

He raised his handsome, sword-like eyebrows slightly, but she just pouted and didn't say anything more.

"Didn't you say that you use the wrong amount of shampoo from outside and you don't like the smell?"

In foreign countries, labor costs in the beauty industry are extremely high, and the level of technical expertise is limited. Therefore, one of the major projects Mu Jia undertakes every time she returns to China for vacation is hair care, styling, and scalp treatment.

Several times after getting her hair done, she couldn't help but complain to Chu Chiyi that the amount of shampoo used by hair salons in China when washing customers' hair was practically lethal. With such a large amount, the fragrance would linger on the hair even after washing, and the smell was very strong.

"Can I bring my own shampoo and conditioner? After all, it's faster to get your hair washed outside, and they can do both washing and conditioning in one step."

Mu Jia had just applied some lip balm while washing up. As she spoke, her glistening lips moved slightly with each word she spoke. "Besides, the outside is even shinier and fluffier after washing. I'm going to visit my grandma with Xiao Yu later."

Chu Chiyi's calm and bright gaze suddenly froze for a moment, then he raised his head a few inches to meet her gaze.

Doing things you don't normally like for someone you like seems like common sense and perfectly understandable.

He just didn't expect that someone like her would one day do these things for another person.

"For a date, I'll go even if I don't like getting my hair washed." He lifted his thin eyelids slightly, his gaze lowered, and fell back on the case file on the screen in his hand. A smile played on his lips. "It's like being allergic to shrimp, but still having to eat it?"

Mu Jia paused for a moment as she fiddled with her phone.

She then put down her phone, smiled at him, and said nothing.

Mu Jia ultimately did not go outside to wash her hair.

Upon checking the production date, it turned out that none of them had expired yet.

She used a "sandwich shampooing method," which took some time, and the final result was just as good as what you'd get at a hair salon.

However, she has a lot of thick hair, so the drying process after washing it took her quite a bit of time.

While waiting for her hair to dry completely, she didn't rest, hurriedly taking out various cosmetics from her suitcase.

Chu Chiyi's family didn't have a dedicated dressing table, so she lined up the bottles and jars on the dining table in the living room, then started drawing and painting while watching variety shows on her phone. She was in a good mood and laughed heartily from time to time.

After putting on her makeup and changing into the clothes that had been hung up the day before, Mu Jia walked to the full-length mirror in the entryway and glanced at herself a few times.

She wore a white, off-the-shoulder sweatshirt with a gray classic geometric pattern of the brand logo on the chest, paired with a matching pleated skirt.

While exuding a cute and youthful schoolgirl vibe, it also perfectly showcases the advantages of long legs and a slender waist.

The hoodie had a low collar, revealing her slender, fair swan neck.

Suddenly, she remembered something and walked into the living room. "I have a white nightgown. I remember hanging it here with you before I went back to Mexico last time, but I didn't see it in the closet yesterday. Did you see it?"

The man looked up, as if recalling something, then shook his head somewhat blankly. "I didn't see it."

"Think again carefully, that one I really liked, could it be that you left it somewhere?" She raised her hand and gestured to her chest, "Do you remember the one with the lace trim here?"

Chu Chiyi looked her up and down a few times, and under her expectant gaze, he calmly shook his head, "I don't remember."

Mu Jia was finally completely disappointed. She picked up a bottle of perfume from the table and walked out of the living room.

Back in front of the full-length mirror, she raised her hand and gently pressed it against the air.

Before she could take a step forward, a tall figure stood in the fragrant mist and rain ahead of her. Chu Chiyi lowered his head and said, "I'll see you off."

The scent of English pear and freesia blended with his subtle woody fragrance.

Mu Jia resisted the urge to lash out, "No need! I've arranged to meet Xiao Yu downstairs at my grandma's house."

After saying that, she picked up her bag and was about to leave when she turned her head and saw that Chu Chiyi had already turned and walked towards the door. When he reached the table by the door, he stretched out his slender fingers and hooked the car keys in the key tray.