Chapter 49: While You’re at It
“Suit yourself! No one is looking forward to your return!”
The tone of great annoyance and dismay made Lu Xingzhi giggle. Well, by the looks of it, he had to fight for a longer holiday with those brats this Chinese New Year.
In the bathroom, Jiang Yao felt her face turning hot and red. Although she was behind the closed door, she could hear faint laughter from outside.
The woman looked at her blus.h.i.+ng face in the mirror. She lowered her head and washed her face, was.h.i.+ng away all the agitation and annoyance. As she turned around, she saw the red marks on her neck. She grinned as she recalled the mosquito bites that her mother-in-law had suggested this morning. Yes, the mosquito had a name, his name was Lu Xingzhi.
Jiang Yao came out of the bathroom and Lu Xingzhi took his turn to shower. She wore the nightdress that Lu Xingzhi had helped her put on last night. The pajamas with the torn b.u.t.tons lay pathetically in the wardrobe drawer.
As she thought of it, Jiang Yao took the pajamas out and found a needle and thread to get the b.u.t.tons fixed. Her needlework was not good, but she could manage simple work such as sewing b.u.t.tons on. Her mother had taught her this when she was in the middle-high school, believing that this was necessary and simple enough to learn.
The differences between men and women were not only reflected in their physical anatomies but also in conducting daily ch.o.r.es.
Jiang Yao took half an hour to take a bath and Lu Xingzhi finished his bath after just a few minutes. As soon as he came out of the bathroom, he saw Jiang Yao sewing b.u.t.tons on her pajamas. Swiftly, he took out a s.h.i.+rt from his luggage and tossed it at Jiang Yao.
“While you’re at it.”
Lu Xingzhi was tossing his s.h.i.+rt so casually that it landed directly on top of Jiang Yao’s head, covering her vision.
Exasperated, Jiang Yao flung her hands around like a blind kitty before she could take the s.h.i.+rt off her head. She clutched the s.h.i.+rt in her fists and glared at Lu Xingzhi in a huff.
Lu Xingzhi recoiled in shock. It wasn’t intentional, after all. However, he found her exceptionally adorable when she was desperate to get the s.h.i.+rt off her head.
“While you’re at it, help me sew the b.u.t.tons on the s.h.i.+rt. The first two b.u.t.tons are loose,” Lu Xingzhi repeated his request.
Jiang Yao put her pajamas aside and then flipped the s.h.i.+rt around. As expected, the first three b.u.t.tons were barely hanging on as the threads were loose. She groaned faintly, “You were so rough to unb.u.t.ton me, were you the same with your s.h.i.+rt?”
Lu Xingzhi heard her but he didn’t offer any explanation about the b.u.t.tons being loosened during a fight. Glancing at the scene where Jiang Yao did her needlework earnestly and quietly, he felt that it was particularly enchanting.
Fixing the b.u.t.tons took just a matter of a few minutes. After completing the task, Jiang Yao folded Lu Xingzhi’s s.h.i.+rt neatly and put it in his luggage, and accidentally saw the items lying inside.
They were the five-pointed stars she placed in the gla.s.s jar in her room. She was aware that he had taken the jar, but she didn’t know when he had actually taken the stars.
Jiang Yao put his s.h.i.+rt in without saying anything. She sat back on the bed, pretending she didn’t see anything.
“Here, take this.” Lu Xingzhi didn’t notice what she saw in the luggage. He handed over to Jiang Yao the paycheck bankbook that he had put on the bedside table long ago. “Going to college will cost you. Use the money in this account and buy anything you need. The pa.s.sword is the last six digits of your ID. If the balance is insufficient, call me.”