Things like arriving at the library at a precise ti, a plan for one hundred pages of deep reading, and what level of progress she needed to reach in a new foreign language...
She was always busy; she'd never experienced a night like this, one that felt like a complete waste of ti.
The Jiang Ning of the past would have certainly looked down on her current self. She used to treat ti as if it were her life, terrified of shafully wasting days that would never return.
But now, all she wanted was for this tranquility to last a little longer, and then a little longer still.
'It would be best if it never ended...'
She could zone out without a care in the world, her heart filled with imnse anticipation as she waited for Chen Yuan to co out of the bathroom.
When he did, Jiang Ning could look at him and casually say, "All done?"
Life was often made up of these utterly ordinary bits of dialogue.
However, Jiang Ning didn't get to see Chen Yuan erge. All she got was a shout.
"Ningning, can you grab my underwear for ! I forgot it!"
"Huh?" Jiang Ning froze.
...
"Where is it? I couldn't find it in your suitcase."
She'd been rummaging for a while. There were only a few articles of clothing, and she hadn't seen any underwear.
"In one of the side pockets. There are only two of them. I forgot which one I put it in, could you check?"
"Fine... Seriously, how could you forget that before a shower?"
Jiang Ning's cheeks flushed slightly. She unzipped the pocket and, sure enough, saw the underwear inside, still in its packaging.
Solid gray.
She grabbed the whole package and brought it over, not daring to take out a single pair.
'That would be way too embarrassing. After all, it was his most private, personal clothing.'
Wearing her slippers, Jiang Ning padded over to the bathroom. The door, which had a frosted glass panel, was slightly ajar.
Wisps of white steam drifted out, and she could faintly sll the scent of his shower gel. It was quite nice. She held out the package and called,
"Here."
"You can just co in," Chen Yuan's voice replied, muffled by the small space.
"Do you want it or not? If you don't, then just co out naked!"
"That works too. I can just wear a towel."
As he spoke, Chen Yuan actually swung the door open and stepped out.
His bare torso imdiately filled her vision. Jiang Ning was stunned for a second, her eyes widening. She never thought Chen Yuan would be so bold!
Droplets of water trickled down his shoulders. His skin, already quite fair, looked healthy and glistening with moisture. The most eye-catching part of his firm, youthful torso was his washboard abs—all six of them.
Arranged neatly on his abdon.
Jiang Ning's gaze landed on his abs. Her pupils dilated slightly before she quickly looked away.
With a towel wrapped around his waist, Chen Yuan took the clothes from her hand while rubbing his wet hair.
He didn't seem to think anything of it and walked straight toward the living room.
'Then again, it's perfectly normal for a guy to be shirtless!'
"You... you have abs? I underestimated you," Jiang Ning asked, genuinely surprised.
"Huh?" Chen Yuan was baffled. He turned back to look at her, surprised. "Haven't you seen them before?"
"I... I forgot!"
Jiang Ning suddenly realized she'd slipped up. Her face went pale in an instant. She waved her hands nervously, a drop of cold sweat beading on her forehead as she explained guiltily, "I've been so forgetful lately. Maybe I haven't been taking enough of my dicine."
"That's true. Yaoyao has seen them," Chen Yuan muttered to himself. He then quickly pulled on a long-sleeved shirt and walked over to Jiang Ning. "Your hair is still wet. I was just about to use the hairdryer, so why don't I dry yours first?"
"Okay."
"Then have a seat. There's a chair right here."
Jiang Ning then sat down on the chair, her back to Chen Yuan.
She unwrapped the towel from her head. Freed from its confines, her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall over her smooth shoulders. The damp strands were tangled together, exuding a refreshing and pleasant fragrance.
Chen Yuan stared for a mont, his gaze softening.
He lifted a section of Jiang Ning's hair. The hairdryer WHIRRED to life, sending a stream of hot air through her lovely locks. In that instant, they both fell silent, the only sound being the low hum of the quiet hairdryer.
They savored the tender mont.
Chen Yuan was the first to speak.
"This is my first ti drying a girl's hair, so let know if I do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I used to see comnts on short-form videos from girls complaining about how rough their boyfriends were—one second the air is too hot, the next it's too cold, and they just blast it at one temperature the whole ti. I rember thinking back then that I'd have to be more careful when I finally got a girlfriend."
"And now's your ti to shine?" Jiang Ning asked gently, catching his eye in the mirror.
"Exactly. Though the wait was a bit too long. I first had that thought at the beginning of my freshman year of high school. In the blink of an eye, I'm in college, and I'm only just now in my first relationship."
"I see... There's really no rush," Jiang Ning said nonchalantly. "It's never too late to fall in love. The most important thing is waiting for the right person. Getting into a relationship just so you have soone to be with—that's what's irresponsible. The way you are is great."
"Of course it's great. I'm so glad I waited until now and t you."
Chen Yuan's voice was low as he held the hairdryer.
It sounded magnetic and was especially pleasing to the ear.
'She didn't know if it was because of the affection laced in his words, or if his voice was simply that pleasant.'
...
Jiang Ning didn't answer right away. Her hands twisted together in her lap as she lowered her head and blinked.
"I'm also very happy I t you. To be honest, I never thought I'd one day be dating a guy eight years younger than . If I could go back in ti and tell my past self that this day would co, my old self would never have believed it in a million years."
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