The two of them walked into the bathroom. The bathtub was full of hot water, and beside it sat a small, fruit-green fabric stool. A water scoop of the sa color floated in the water.
Ning Guiwan sat sideways before the bathtub, twisting her upper body to face it, and lowered her head.
Aunty Zhang first combed her hair, revealing a faint, inch-long scar. Even healed, it looked startling.
"Does it hurt?" Aunty Zhang asked, seeing that pulling the hair roots tugged at the scar.
The pain wasn’t too severe, but the scar did feel the pull. Ning Guiwan supported herself with her hands on the edge of the bathtub. "I’ll tell you if it hurts."
Hot water poured over Ning Guiwan’s head, flowing into her eyes and causing her to squeeze them shut.
Suddenly, a knock ca from outside.
Aunty Zhang stopped what she was doing and stood up. "I’ll go check."
After a mont, Aunty Zhang’s voice ca from outside, "Sir?"
"Where is she?" It was Quan Yu’s voice.
Ning Guiwan’s chest tightened. She wanted to grab a towel to wipe her face but accidentally knocked the dry towel off the edge of the bathtub. Outside, Aunty Zhang responded to Quan Yu, "I’m washing Miss Ning’s hair. Are you looking for her?"
Footsteps approached the bathroom—steady, composed steps. Soon, Quan Yu’s voice ca from the bathroom doorway, and Ning Guiwan felt his gaze upon her.
"You go busy yourself; I’ll take over here," he said.
"Ah?" Aunty Zhang’s voice held a trace of surprise, but the next mont, Ning Guiwan heard her say compliantly, "Then I’ll go help in the kitchen..."
Ning Guiwan found the towel, wiped the water from her eyes, and looked up to see the man’s suit pants, crisply ironed with razor-sharp creases.
A deep male voice ca from above. "Brother will wash it for you."
Ning Guiwan was taken aback. Her gaze shifted upward as Quan Yu removed his cufflinks, casually placing them on a nearby shelf and rolling up his sleeves.
As he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, she uncomfortably averted her gaze.
"Don’t joke around," she said, attempting to stand up. "I’ll call Aunty Zhang back..."
Quan Yu pressed down on her shoulder. "Don’t worry, my skills are second to none."
That comnt sounded almost boastful.
Ning Guiwan wanted to say sothing more, but Quan Yu added, "You probably have questions for too... Lower your head."
Perhaps due to his authoritative deanor, Ning Guiwan found herself involuntarily obeying his command. Indeed, she did have so questions for him regarding Qiao Youning.
She kept her body turned towards the bathtub, her head bowed. Her view was filled with her cascading hair, the rippling surface of the water, and the pristine bathtub.
Quan Yu’s hand rested on her nape. Hot water poured down, instantly reaching her eyes. She instinctively shut them tight as his fingertips glided through her hair, over her scalp.
His neatly trimd nails weren’t sharp, but they were hard, conveying a sense of strength.
Ning Guiwan gripped the edge of the bathtub tightly, feeling a strange magnetic field wherever his fingers moved.
In her mories, only her mother had washed her hair like this. Back then, she couldn’t sit still, always playing in the water while her hair was being washed, which both amused and exasperated her mother.
"Your hair used to be straight," Quan Yu spoke up.
Ning Guiwan’s body stiffened; she couldn’t move and even forgot to wipe her eyes. Hearing his words, she responded, her voice inexplicably hoarse, "Nothing stays the sa forever. You certainly understand that better than I do." Ti changes, things change, including people’s hearts.
Quan Yu carefully avoided her wound, gently massaging her foamy hair. The girl’s hair was thick and dense. Hearing her response, Quan Yu chuckled softly. "You’re not old, yet you speak with such an old-fashioned air."
Ning Guiwan felt his fingers graze the back of her ear, circling around her hairline. Her own fingers tightened their grip on the tub.
"Um..." She usually spoke articulately, but now she faltered slightly. "Mrs. Qiao ca to see not long ago. You know about that, right?" She guessed he had co to her about this very issue.
"Mm." He humd softly. Just as Ning Guiwan was about to relay Guo Shuzhen’s intentions, she heard him ask, "Do you trust that much?"
Ning Guiwan paused, not understanding his words.
"Do you truly believe that Qiao Youning not getting into the training class has nothing to do with ?" Quan Yu asked her.
Ning Guiwan suddenly realized what he was referring to. It wasn’t surprising he knew. There had been servants nearby at the ti, and it would have been easy for him to learn what she and Guo Shuzhen had discussed.
"Why wouldn’t I trust you?" Her lips curved into a faint smile, her tone confident. He had trusted her once; therefore, she was willing to reciprocate that trust.
Quan Yu’s movents slowed as he watched her. The girl’s collar was pushed down, revealing her entire slender, fair neck, her cheeks tinged with a faint blush.
So mories suddenly invaded his mind:
"I didn’t push her; she intended to push ."
"Confound it! Making mistakes and not admitting them, but instead spewing slander! Xi Huixi, is this how you raised your child?!" His grandmother had always disliked him; at that mont, her dislike bordered on hatred.
"Ayu, apologize to your sister-in-law—"
"She reaped what she sowed. Why should I apologize?"
"Ayu!" His mother had slapped him, her eyes red, her gaze complex as she looked at him. "Stop it. Apologize to your sister-in-law."
Later, in a basent in Toronto, a little girl with clear eyes had looked at him and said, "Grandma Quan said Big Brother was sent here because he did sothing wrong. But Big Brother is so good, he wouldn’t do anything wrong. When Big Brother is better, shall we go back and clarify things with Grandma Quan, okay?"
...
Ning Guiwan spoke up, "I promised Mrs. Qiao I would help explain things to the Examiner Team, but I’ll also need your help. Please co with ." The Examiner Team from the Beijing National Orchestra probably wasn’t easy to get a hold of.
Quan Yu’s thin lips curled into a smile. "Just rest well for now. Don’t worry about other things."
He paused, then added, "I’ll explain it to them later."
Ning Guiwan thought for a mont but didn’t object.
"I’ll be troubling you again."
"I’m happy to be of service." Quan Yu sounded like he was joking. Ning Guiwan detected a hint of smooth-talking in his tone, but before she could ponder it further, the pads of his fingers wiped away a blob of foam from her neck. The roughness grazed her skin. Suddenly, her wrist felt weak. Unable to support herself, she slipped.
Quan Yu was gathering her hair and quickly caught her, reacting swiftly.
"Be careful." His voice carried a reprimand.
"I... I wasn’t careful..." Ning Guiwan explained dryly. After speaking, she felt it was unnecessary, pursed her lips, and said no more.
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