By the ti the two had finished dinner, it was already ten o’clock at night, and Zhou Yiyi hadn’t washed off her makeup, so her attractiveness still dazzled, catching Zhou Mo’s frequent glances and embarrassing her every ti. "Do I look like a different person? I’m actually not used to wearing makeup."
"No, you look very beautiful. You have a good foundation, and it feels like you barely have any makeup on, yet it highlights all your best features, especially your eyes which are incredibly clear, like the stars in the sky," Zhou Mo said.
Zhou Yiyi was stunned; she hadn’t expected Zhou Mo to utter sweet nothings. Moreover, he had backed her into a corner and was supporting her chin with his right hand—their posture was...
Zhou Yiyi’s face turned red in an instant. She wanted to push him away, but he held her shoulders and leaned toward her irresistibly. She instinctively backed up until she hit the wall, and when their lips t, Zhou Yiyi tensed up, and her eyes widened...
His kiss was gentle, and the look in his eyes seed almost watery. Zhou Yiyi felt her legs go weak, and her body began to slump, but he instinctively supported her waist and softly called out to her, "Yiyi, you’re so sweet!"
With a bam, Zhou Yiyi felt like her head was about to explode, her cheeks burning hotter and hotter, and she buried her head in his chest out of embarrassnt, to which he laughed, "Congratulations, you’re officially an adult today."
She did not dare to respond, thinking to herself that she, an old demon, seed to be taking advantage of a young fresh at. It wasn’t shyness she was feeling, but sha.
Since it was very late already, they returned to the house where Zhou Yiyi stayed.
Her house had actually started undergoing renovations in June. Since she didn’t understand anything about plumbing, tiling, or such matters, and had no ti to check on them, it happened that her neighbors across the hall were also renovating. Their space was about the sa size as hers, bought by an elderly couple for a younger couple’s wedding. Zhou Yiyi went over to cozy up to them, and they beca sympathetic upon learning she was an orphan and a student, and that the house was bought with all her family’s savings, agreeing to help oversee her house renovations.
Of course, she didn’t let them renovate for her without compensating; she gave five thousand yuan in labor fees. The couple tried to refuse several tis but ultimately accepted. They beca even more diligent with her house. Zhou Yiyi’s requirents weren’t high; she just wanted her house done the sa way as theirs, since she wouldn’t live there often and would eventually rent it out.
In those days, house renovations weren’t as fanciful as in later tis. All that was needed were functional plumbing, floor tiles, a wardrobe, kitchen and bathroom facilities, curtains, a sofa, and a bed. Once these were in place, the renovation was complete, and it all amounted to about 40,000 yuan— even including the 5,000 yuan she contributed.
Since she didn’t have to worry about anything, she felt the five thousand yuan was well-spent. The house was ready at the beginning of August, and she had been airing it out recently to get rid of the formaldehyde as quickly as possible, even buying many devil’s ivy plants.
Her place was on the first floor with a small garden at the entrance. Buying the first-floor unit was motivated by this garden space, where she could grow vegetables and the like in the future.
Of course, that was the upside. The downside was the limited natural light inside.
Zhou Yiyi found out at the end of July that she had won First Prize in the Shanghai competition and Second Prize in the Beijing one, bringing her winnings to eighty thousand yuan. Initially broke after the renovation, she now had money again.
Her house had all the fundantal anities to cook, use the toilet, shower, and sleep. Although simply decorated, it was ready to be lived in.
In that era, the cost of concrete, sand, timber, beds, and curtains was far cheaper compared to before the sharp increase in property prices. Since she didn’t buy big-ticket items like a refrigerator, washing machine, color TV, or air conditioning, spending 40,000 yuan to achieve its current state was quite decent, especially for a sixty-square-ter space. It also showed that the materials chosen by the neighbors were of decent quality.
Zhou Mo walked into her place and looked around before comnting that the money was well-spent. "And there’s even a door on the balcony!"
"Yep, it leads right into the garden. It’ll be very convenient later for planting vegetables or growing flowers."
"The elderly couple across the way really thought of everything, they’ve even installed burglar bars."
As both houses were on the first floor, they ca equipped with security bars on all front and back windows, offering a high level of safety.
"That’s why I say the five thousand yuan I gave them for their hard work was worth it."
Anticipating the possibility of a makeshift overnight stay, Yiyi had purchased bedding for both bedrooms. The mattresses were delivered with the beds, the mattress pads were old family ones she’d modified when she had ti, the quilts were new purchases, and she’d even bought slippers – everything was thoroughly prepared.
So, Zhou Yiyi and Zhou Mo didn’t take long to make up both rooms. Zhou Yiyi used pink sheets and a duvet cover for her bed, while she set up sky blue sheets and a duvet cover for Zhou Mo, also laying out a bamboo mat. Finally, she handed him her sleep dress.
"I don’t have any clothes here for you, so wear this after your shower," Zhou Yiyi said with a smile, holding out the garnt to Zhou Mo, who shook his head as he looked it over.
"I can’t fit into this; it’s too small. Look at my shoulders, it won’t work," he said.
"Then what do we do, you might as well skip showering," she suggested.
"No way, I’m exhausted today, I sweated a lot, I have to shower."
Zhou Yiyi rummaged through her own closet for a while and found a set of a vest and shorts her father had worn. These had been stored in her space for so years and weren’t very clean. "How about you wrap yourself in a sheet?"
To her surprise, Zhou Mo didn’t mind taking the old clothes. "I’ll just wear Uncle’s clothes," he said.
"But they haven’t been washed for many years, they might be dirtier than what you have on!"
"No worries, I’ll wash my clothes tonight, another shower in the morning, and I’ll be fine," Zhou Mo replied.
Seeing this, Yiyi didn’t object further. After all, she had everything in the house, including laundry detergent, shower gel, shampoo, and so on, all stockpiled in her space, so she got everything ready for him before his shower.
After Zhou Mo washed up, he hung his own clothes on the balcony where a clothes rack was installed.
"You should rest early, I’ll go to sleep too after I’ve sorted this out."
Yiyi slept in the master bedroom, which had a balcony. However, balconies of that ti were not all glass like in later years; instead, they had a wall at the bottom and windows above.
After sorting the contents of her closet, Zhou Yiyi took a shower and was toweling off her hair on her way to turn off the lights in the living room when the door to Zhou Mo’s room suddenly opened. As she turned around, she saw Zhou Mo standing before her, wearing her father’s dark green T-shirt and blue pants, looking intently at her with deep eyes.
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