Chapter 43: Someone like Chu Yi should be...should be...
Xie Mo's curiosity was completely piqued. He took a half step closer, lowered his voice and asked with a smile: "So... what is the relationship between you two? Why does our Master Xie Huaiming care so much about you?"
Chu Yi felt a little embarrassed by the question, but he felt that there was nothing to hide, so he confessed: "There is no special relationship. We just met once before on a blind date arranged by our families."
"Blind date?! You and Xie Huaiming?!" Xie Mo was so startled that the basin in his hand almost slipped and fell to the ground. He quickly caught it, his voice unconsciously rising a few notes, his face full of disbelief, "You two... were on a blind date?!"
For him, this news was even more outrageous than hearing that the production team was going to heaven tomorrow.
Xie Mo's last words, which were so exaggerated by the shock, were - "Blind date?! You and Xie Huaiming?!"
Zhou Ai, who had just finished taking a shower and had water dripping from her hair, came out with a basin to wash clothes. She heard everything clearly.
Zhou Ai's footsteps stopped instantly.
Chu Yi was embarrassed by Xie Mo's overly shocked reaction. He didn't know how to end this unexpected conversation about "blind date" and subconsciously turned around to avoid the uncomfortable questioning.
But I was caught off guard and suddenly bumped into a chest that smelled of hot water vapor and fresh shower gel after a shower.
Chu Yi was knocked back half a step, looked up in shock, and met a pair of deep, dark eyes.
Zhou Ai had stood behind him at some point. He had clearly just showered, his silver-gray hair draped across his forehead, dripping from the ends, water trickling down his neck into his loose collar. He was casually dressed in a black T-shirt and sweatpants, exuding a lazy yet dangerous aura.
He just stood there silently, looking down at Chu Yi, his eyes complicated and difficult to read, filled with emotions that Chu Yi couldn't understand.
It seemed a little cold and heavy, as if it was suddenly angered by something, but was trying hard to suppress it.
Chu Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he was completely confused.
How had he offended this moody prince? Wasn't he fine when he was harvesting the corn just now?
Is it because I bumped into him?
The atmosphere between the two of them instantly froze. Even Xie Mo, who was still in shock, noticed something was wrong. He subconsciously shut his mouth and looked at the two of them with curiosity and trepidation.
Chu Yi felt uncomfortable under Zhou Ai's gaze and just wanted to leave the center of this weird atmosphere as soon as possible.
He pursed his lips, suppressing the confusion and slight unhappiness in his heart, turned sideways, and spoke in a calm and even a little distant tone:
"Excuse me."
After saying that, without waiting for Zhou Ai's response, he carried the basin still filled with wet clothes and stepped through the narrow space beside Zhou Ai without even a hint of hesitation.
Zhou Ai remained standing, neither stopping nor speaking. He simply tilted his head slightly, his gaze following Chu Yi's departing figure. His peach-shaped eyes narrowed slightly, the darkness within them growing even darker.
"Blind date...Xie Huaiming..." He repeated these two key words in a very low voice, so soft that only he could hear it, and the corners of his mouth curled up in a cold arc.
Xie Mo looked at Zhou Ai like this and secretly groaned in his heart, feeling as if he had accidentally ignited a barrel of explosives.
He laughed dryly twice, trying to ease the atmosphere: "Teacher Zhou, are you here to wash clothes too? Haha... It's raining so hard today..."
Zhou Ai then slowly withdrew his gaze and glanced at Xie Mo. That look automatically silenced Xie Mo's next words.
He didn't respond, but just walked to the faucet and started to collect water silently. The air pressure around him was frighteningly low.
Xie Mo touched his nose, not daring to stay any longer, and quickly slipped away with his own basin.
Zhou Ai was the only one left standing by the faucet. Water was flowing into the basin, but he seemed a little absent-minded, and the conversation he had just heard was echoing in his mind.
Chu Yi...blind date?
Zhou Ai's hand was immersed in the cold mountain spring water. The temperature was freezing, but he was unaware of it.
In my mind, I was trying hard to combine Chu Yi and the act of blind date.
How could someone as cold and aloof as Chu Yi be willing to go on a blind date?
So, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with blind dates?
Zhou Ai could even imagine Chu Yi, out of good upbringing, occasionally responding to the other person with a smile...
Why?
Someone like Chu Yi should be...should be...
Zhou Ai found that he couldn't find a suitable word to describe it.
Shouldn't it be high and mighty, untainted by dust?
Or should I only show the slightest difference to myself?
He shook his head irritably, trying to get rid of these messy thoughts, but it was no use.
Instead, even more outrageous images surfaced in his mind—for example, Chu Yi and that Xie guy were chatting happily, even exchanging contact information, and perhaps they would contact each other occasionally in the future...
"Fuck!" Zhou Ai cursed softly and suddenly turned off the faucet.
The sound of flowing water stopped abruptly, but the turmoil in his heart did not subside at all.
He stared at the swaying water in the basin, and the distorted waves reflected his own gloomy and unhappy face.
Zhou Ai took a deep breath, but felt the sour and stuffy feeling in his chest become more obvious.
He had lived for more than twenty years, everything had gone smoothly for him, and everything he wanted was always easy. He had never tasted this sour and bitter feeling, which was strange and uncomfortable, but... it couldn't be shaken off.
————
After Chu Yi returned to his room, he considered that everyone had been caught in the rain and would easily catch a cold. He took out enough cold granules from the medicine box he had brought with him, carefully divided them up, and then took the medicine, starting from the second floor, and delivered them to the program members and guests in each room.
When he reached the door of Zhou Ai's makeshift room, which was made up of a long couch in the main hall, he found it empty. Chu Yi hesitated for a moment and placed the hair dryer on the small stool beside his couch.
After delivering the medicine to others, Chu Yi walked back to the front and was about to return to his room when he subconsciously looked towards the faucet again.
Sure enough, Zhou Ai was still standing there, staring blankly at the basin of barely touched dirty clothes, his posture seemingly unchanged. The faucet had long been turned off, but he seemed completely absorbed in his own thoughts, not even noticing Chu Yi's approach.
"Not finished washing yet?" Chu Yi asked.
Zhou Ai snapped back to his senses, as if pulled out of some deep thought. He turned around and saw Chu Yi standing not far away, still holding the last box of cold medicine in his hand, looking at him.
Chu Yi's eyes swept over his basin of dirty clothes and his still-damp hair, his brows furrowed slightly. He handed him the box of cold medicine, "After you wash, drink one pack as a preventative measure. You've just recovered from your cold, don't catch another."
After saying that, Chu Yi raised his finger and pointed at Zhou Ai's hair, which was still dripping with water. "Remember to blow dry your hair."
Zhou Ai took the box of cold medicine that still had the warmth of Chu Yi's palm in a daze, and his mood was complicated for a moment.
The previous second he was still feeling sour and depressed about the "blind date", and the next second, the "culprit" who made him upset appeared in front of him, calmly handed him medicine, and told him to blow-dry his hair.
This contrast made the depression in his chest stuck there, unable to go up or down.
Chu Yi actually vaguely noticed that Zhou Ai seemed a little unhappy, and those eyes that always showed various emotions were now a little heavy.
But he felt that he had no right and no need to pry into other people's private affairs.
After delivering the medicine and fulfilling his duties, he did not stay any longer and turned back to his room.
Zhou Ai stood there, looking down at the cold medicine in his hand, then at the basin of dirty clothes. He suddenly lost the mood to continue washing. He carried the basin and the medicine and returned to his temporary bedroom.
After Zhou Ai answered the room, he glanced at the cold medicine in his hand, silently took the thermos cup that Chu Yi had given him last time, and stood up to pour hot water.
When the warm and slightly bitter liquid slid down his throat, he always felt as if it could not warm the sour corner of his heart.
After drinking the medicine, he touched his still half-wet hair and remembered Chu Yi's instructions just now.
I was thinking about how to go to Chu Yi's room to borrow a hair dryer in a natural way, but when I turned around, I kicked over the bench next to the couch.
The hair dryer that Chu Yi had just placed also fell down.
Zhou Ai was a little surprised. He clearly remembered returning the hair dryer to Chu Yi that night. He picked up the hair dryer on the ground and took a closer look at the logo. He confirmed that it was exactly the same as the one Chu Yi took that night.
So? Chu Yi even came to give him a hair dryer?
Zhou Ai was holding the hair dryer in his hand and laughing like a fool. He fell on his small couch with a bang, put one hand behind his head, and looked at the wooden partition above his head and laughed.
————
Chu Yi returned to the room and found that the temperature in the mountains had dropped a lot after the rain, and the air was filled with a refreshing damp chill.
He squatted down, opened the suitcase, and tried to find a thicker coat to change into.
As soon as I took out the clothes, I could faintly hear the buzzing sound of a hair dryer next door.
Chu Yi paused slightly and subconsciously curled the corners of his lips. It seemed that someone was obediently blowing his hair.
He had just taken out a light blue thick windproof jacket from his suitcase and put it on. Just as he zipped it up to the top, there was a knock on the door.
When I opened the door, Zhou Ai was standing outside. Her hair had indeed been blown dry and fluffy, and her silver-gray hair looked particularly soft in the dim light of the corridor.
The gloom on his face was swept away, his peach blossom eyes were shining brightly, and he looked at Chu Yi with a smile on his lips.
"Thank you." Zhou Ai handed over the hair dryer in his hand.
Chu Yi took the hair dryer and asked casually, "Have you taken the medicine?"
"I drank it." Zhou Ai nodded, his eyes falling on Chu Yi's new coat.
Chu Yi took the hair dryer in his hand but didn't put it away immediately. He looked at Zhou Ai's fluffy hair and hesitated for a moment before saying, "The hair dryer... I'll leave it with you for now." He paused and added, "Come and get it when I need it."
Zhou Ai hadn't expected Chu Yi to say that. She was stunned for a moment, then seemed to be struck by a huge surprise. She couldn't believe it and subconsciously scratched the hair on the back of her head that had just been blown dry. Her cheeks felt slightly hot and she muttered softly, feeling a little flattered and embarrassed: "This...isn't this a bad thing?"
How can you borrow something and not return it, and then ask people to come and get it when they need it?
Chu Yi found his expression a little funny and deliberately extended his hand: "If you think it's not good, then give it back to me."
"Forget it!" Zhou Ai reacted very quickly. He immediately retracted the hand holding the hair dryer and held it tightly in his arms, as if protecting something precious. "Just leave it with me! I'll keep it well for you!" His tone was anxious and a little bit shameless.
After he finished speaking, he noticed that Chu Yi was obviously dressed for going out, and he was holding a medicine box in his arms.
The smile on his face faded a little, and he asked, "Are you going out?"
"Yes," Chu Yi nodded, "Let's go to the village clinic to see if Doctor Li needs any help. By the way, give some of the spare medicines I brought from Beijing to Uncle Li. He has a chronic rheumatism problem, which is more likely to occur on rainy days."
Zhou Ai turned her head and glanced out the window. Although the rain had lightened a bit, it was still drizzling. The mountain road must be muddy and difficult to walk on.
"Wait for me! Two minutes! It will be quick!" After saying that, he turned around and ran towards his room.
Chu Yi looked at his hurried back and shook his head helplessly. He took out a black umbrella he had prepared in advance from behind the door, hugged the medicine box, walked to the door, opened the umbrella, and prepared to leave.
Just as he took a step forward, Zhou Ai rushed out of the room like a gust of wind. Seeing Chu Yi standing in the rain with an umbrella, he suddenly became anxious: "Didn't I tell you to wait for me?"
Chu Yi was carrying a heavy medicine box in one hand and an umbrella in the other, which was indeed a bit strenuous. He looked at Zhou Ai and asked, "You want to go with me?"
As he asked, his eyes swept over Zhou Ai's outfit—a pair of loose white jeans on the lower body, a colorful plaid shirt on the upper body, and a light blue denim jacket on the upper body. It was fashionable, but in the muddy countryside in the rain...
Chu Yi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and reminded: "You don't want these pants anymore? The road outside is full of mud."
Those white jeans are basically ruined after a walk outside.
Zhou Ai then looked down at his pants. He had been so busy chasing after the man that he had just grabbed a pair and put them on. He waved his hand nonchalantly, "It's okay! It's just a pair of pants!"
Chu Yi stood there, looking at him, his tone still calm, "I'll wait for you here, go in and change." After saying that, he glanced at Zhou Ai and even added, as if to appease the other party's impatience, "Don't worry."
Zhou Ai looked into Chu Yi's calm eyes, the words of refusal stuck in his throat. He pursed his lips, then finally gave in and rushed back to his room.
Soon, he changed into a pair of dirt-resistant black overalls and ran out.
Chu Yi was still standing there, waiting for him. One hand held the black umbrella, tilted slightly toward the door, shielding him from the incoming rain. The other held the medicine box, his body gently leaning against the doorframe, his gaze fixed on the rain outside. He seemed lost in thought, his profile looking particularly gentle and quiet in the rainy light.
Zhou Ai walked over quickly and naturally took the umbrella handle from Chu Yi's hand, holding it firmly above their heads. Then he reached out to take the medicine box in his arms and said, "Let's go."
Chu Yi obediently watched him take the umbrella, but when Zhou Ai's hand was on the medicine box and he was about to take it, he pushed the medicine box away and said, "Let me do it. It's inconvenient for you to hold the umbrella."
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