Chapter 93 Intentionally, she hugged the entire quilt, as if tightly...
"Yeah, I changed it before I left this morning, so it would be easier for you to remember." The man had his back to her, speaking casually.
Perhaps in his eyes, it was just a trivial matter. If she hadn't asked, he wouldn't have bothered to explain.
As for where the password came from, they both kept it a secret, and neither of them took the initiative to say it.
Zhu Liushuang stood behind He Ming, staring at his tall and straight back in a daze, a silent smile spreading across her lips.
The hallway was quiet; she could hear her own heartbeat, so joyful and passionate.
The electronic door lock clicked, and the door was pulled open by a large hand.
The man went in first, casually taking off his coat and hanging it in the wardrobe in the entryway. After changing into slippers, he looked up at the person still standing motionless in the doorway and said, "Why aren't you coming in?"
Zhu Liushuang twisted her fingers together and entered the room with a restrained smile.
It felt like two different seasons inside and outside. The moment she closed the door behind her, a warm, cozy feeling enveloped her. For her, still wearing a turtleneck sweater and down jacket, this temperature was definitely a bit too warm. After standing there for only half a minute, she felt her neck and back burning.
The man tapped his pale fingers on the wooden cabinet door and reminded him, "The floor heating is on in the house. From now on, when you come back from outside, take off your coat and hang it in the wardrobe in the entryway."
"Okay," Zhu Liushuang replied, her fingers climbing up the zipper of her down jacket. She quickly took off her coat and, mimicking He Ming's earlier actions, lightly tapped the door panel twice with the tip of her shoe. The pine cabinet door popped open, revealing an empty wardrobe with several black clothes hangers dangling from the wooden rod, all hooks pointing to the right.
She pretended not to see He Ming's outstretched hand, ready to help, and tiptoed to get the coat hanger, then hung the pale yellow down jacket next to the dark gray coat.
The two coats were very close together, almost touching.
Unfortunately, her little secret thoughts, which she couldn't share with outsiders, were quickly extinguished by the homeowner's "lack of understanding."
"Liu Shuang, hang your clothes on the left. That way... it'll be easier to tell them apart." The man suddenly reached out and grabbed the top of the hanger, quickly and decisively moving her down jacket to the other side of the wardrobe.
"Okay, I understand." Looking at the two coats separated by the "Chu River and Han Border," Zhu Liushuang smiled bitterly to herself.
She got carried away with her success!
However, she couldn't afford to let her mind wander right now.
The cabinet door opposite the wardrobe was pushed open, and He Ming pointed to the wooden compartments one by one and said, "The shoe cabinet is here. Similarly, put your shoes on the left."
After saying that, he hesitated for a few seconds, then tilted his head and asked her, "Do you girls have a lot of shoes? If you don't have enough space... maybe we can buy a standing shoe cabinet to put outside the door?"
The cabinet was quite large; a rough estimate suggested it could hold at least seventy or eighty pairs of shoes. Zhu Liushuang glanced at the side belonging to He Ming; the bottom two shelves held different styles of black leather shoes, and above that were brown leather shoes and white sneakers. A dozen or so pairs of shoes were neatly arranged, making it difficult to identify any other color.
"Liu Shuang? Do you need to..." Seeing her staring blankly at the shoe cabinet, He Ming asked again.
“Oh, no…no need. I don’t have that many shoes, this space is enough.” Zhu Liushuang interrupted, snapping out of her suspicion that “he might have mild obsessive-compulsive disorder.”
He Ming nodded, then bent down and took out a pair of crimson cloth slippers from deep inside the shoe cabinet for her.
The shoes were handmade, with neat stitches, and looked quite old. Zhu Liushuang sat on a low stool, changing her shoes while trying to guess who the shoes originally belonged to. Several faces flashed through her mind, but she rejected them all.
In the end, He Ming took the initiative to clear up her doubts.
"I didn't know your shoe size, so I didn't buy you slippers in advance. These cloth shoes were left to me by my grandmother, and they might be a little small. Let's go buy some new ones this afternoon."
Zhu Liushuang's feet are considered small for a girl; she usually wears size 36 shoes without any problem. But these cloth shoes she's wearing right now are too tight. She turned the soles over and found that they were marked with "34," no wonder she couldn't fit into them.
She shook her cloth shoes helplessly, then lifted her foot to show He Ming the half of her heel sticking out, her voice soft and coquettish, "Grandma's feet are so small, only size 34..."
The shaking was too forceful, and the slipper slipped off her foot, falling to the floor with a "thud".
Hearing the sound, He Ming lowered his eyes, and his hand, which was about to close the cabinet door, missed its target.
The crimson cloth shoes lay askew to one side, and the foot above them, covered by a white woolen sock, looked small and delicate, with slightly curled toes and an arched instep like rolling waves, the wood trim around the ankle faintly visible.
He subtly looked away, turned around and went to close the cabinet door again, but his movements were a beat slower than usual.
"Then let's wear shoe covers." He Ming thoughtfully took out two dark-colored shoe covers from the drawer and handed them over.
Zhu Liushuang wanted to say, "It's so warm on the ground, it's fine not to wear shoes," but thinking of how smoothly he had lifted her coat earlier, she didn't dare to speak.
Since staying at someone's home is already quite a disturbance, one should naturally follow the host's arrangements.
After changing into shoe covers, she was led by He Ming to visit the living room, balcony, and kitchen in turn.
"The oven and steamer are here, the gas switch is under the cabinet, and there's also the refrigerator, dishwasher..." He stopped in front of the island, casually pulled open the blinds, "I don't use the kitchen often, see if there's anything else we need, and we'll go buy it all this afternoon."
Soft sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the white cabinet, some dark, some light, like the staggered black and white keys of a piano. His face was turned toward the window, his dark eyes gleaming with a touch of gold, transforming into a warm, tantalizing brown.
Zhu Liushuang was quite engrossed in watching.
She found herself holding several instruction manuals for electrical appliances, and her attention was focused on her palms, where the warmth of her fingertips still lingered.
"I don't see any seasonings." She stopped thinking and made conversation.
"Oh, the rice, oil, and seasonings are all in the wall cabinets." The person who had just left the kitchen turned back and pointed to a row of cabinets in front of her.
Following the direction of his finger, Zhu Liushuang raised her hand to reach the high cabinet door. She strained on her tiptoes, but still couldn't reach it.
"It's so high!" she muttered to herself, wondering where she could get a stool.
Just as she was pondering this, He Ming's shadow approached before his voice could reach her, looming over her head.
"Let me do it—" His shirt sleeve brushed against a strand of hair at her temple as he reached the cabinet door. With a click, the wooden door opened, and taking advantage of his height, he easily took the items out one by one and placed them on the stone slab.
If he hadn't quickly stepped back, she would have almost thought he did it on purpose.
His warm breath brushed against the back of her neck, his scent so close. It was the scent she loved—the fragrance of camphor blossoms after the rain. Faint, crisp, just like his temperament.
She stood frozen in place, remaining on tiptoe, completely still. Dust danced in the light, leaping into her eyes.
After a rustling sound, the rock slab was filled with things.
The house was stocked with a full range of unopened, packaged and bottled seasonings. Clearly, the owner of the house hadn't cooked in a long time.
Zhu Liushuang belatedly loosened her legs, letting her feet land firmly, and then, with a slightly flushed face, checked the production date of the seasoning.
"I bought them at the beginning of the year, but then I was afraid they would get damp during the rainy season, so I put them in the wall cabinet. If you hadn't asked about them today, I probably would have forgotten they even existed." A deep voice sounded in my ear, carrying a hint of melancholy that was hard to detect. "There's a decent local restaurant outside the neighborhood, and I usually have dinner there."
That's true, cooking for one person always takes away from the fun. Especially since he's so busy with work, he'd rather spend his spare time sleeping than messing around in the kitchen.
Zhu Liushuang nodded in empathy, her fingertips touching her earlobe. She said shyly, "I don't get off work late. From Monday to Friday, I can take care of your dinner, after all—" She drew out the last syllable, quickly glanced at him, and tilted her head in distress, "It's quite a burden to eat and live here for free."
He still had to pay the water, electricity, gas, and property management fees even if she didn't come. For He Ming, Zhu Liushuang's unexpected intrusion was just a ripple in his monotonous life, a bit noisy, but not enough to cause any major upheavals.
He never intended to share any expenses with her; having her in the household wouldn't be a significant financial burden on him. He understood the source of Zhu Liushuang's unease, but didn't want to hurt her pride by discussing it further, so he simply said "okay" to soothe her initial awkwardness upon arriving at his home.
Upon receiving his response, Zhu Liushuang breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that she now had a place to use her talents in this family.
“However… I often work overtime on weekdays, and when I do, I have dinner at the office.” He added as he bent down to put the things on the slab into the cabinet below.
The man's hunched back resembled a gracefully curved arch, his shirt neatly tucked into his trousers, the black leather belt creating subtle creases. Zhu Liushuang gazed at He Ming, who was half-squatting on the ground, her eyes involuntarily drifting to his taut thighs, strained from the effort.
Her Adam's apple bobbed, and she subconsciously licked her lips, a blush rising to her cheeks.
"Understood." She composed herself before speaking softly, "Then, if you're coming back for dinner in the future, please let me know in advance."
"Hmm." He Ming got up from the ground, preparing to take Zhu Liushuang to see her bedroom, when he unexpectedly caught a glimpse of a rosy oval face with tiny beads of sweat glistening on the sides of her nose.
He was taken aback, his gaze sweeping over her neck, which was covered by a turtleneck sweater, and said, "It should be 22 degrees Celsius indoors now. Would you like to take off another layer?"
"Huh?" His voice was very soft. Zhu Liushuang didn't react and stared at him blankly with her big, bright eyes.
The man chuckled and raised his voice slightly: "It's quite warm in here, aren't you hot wearing a turtleneck sweater?"
Why isn't it hot?
At first, she only felt slightly hot, but after that moment of daydreaming, her face was burning hot.
"Yes...it's a bit hot!" she said, then fled in a panic. "I'm going to the bedroom to change my clothes."
In the blink of an eye, Zhu Liushuang rushed from the kitchen to the living room. She quickly opened her suitcase, picked out a thin sweatshirt, and walked to her left without thinking.
Behind her, He Ming reminded her at the right moment: "Liu Shuang, your room is on the right, and the master bedroom is on the left."
"Sorry, senior." Hearing his voice, Zhu Liushuang felt even more embarrassed. She scratched her head, turned around, and walked back to the west side of the suite.
There are two south-facing guest bedrooms on the west side. The one she chose was located further inside, and it was the furthest from the master bedroom.
Under He Ming's voice-activated command, Zhu Liushuang pushed open the door and quickly took off the sweater that was so hot it was itchy around her neck. After changing into a sweatshirt, she took a moment to look around the guest bedroom.
The layout of the guest room was almost identical to the photos he had sent her before. The only difference was the Simmons bed placed in the middle of the room.
In the photo, the bed is empty, and the dusty gray mattress stands out.
At this moment, the quilt, blanket, and pillows were all ready. He had even changed her bedding beforehand. The oatmeal-colored jacquard fabric looked incredibly gentle, a style that girls would love.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she could no longer suppress the jubilant joy in her chest and pounced onto the bed.
She sank into the soft cotton quilt, her nostrils filled with a familiar fragrance, exactly the same as his own scent.
She hugged the whole quilt, as if she were holding him tightly.
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Author's Note: [Chin resting on hand] It took me three whole days to write just this little bit. I was really looking forward to writing the story after we started living together, but once I actually started, I realized how difficult it is!
I tried my best. [Chin resting on hand]
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