Chapter 64: Lady of the House to the Core

Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Lady of the House to the Core

She thought, "But all of a sudden... I’m really looking forward to high school... I can’t wait to grow up."

Xiao Heqing slowly rested her forehead against Lin Zhengran’s back, her face growing increasingly flushed.

"It’s digging right into my back. What exactly are you holding? You’ve been clutching it since yesterday," Lin Zhengran suddenly asked.

"Ah? Is it poking you?" Xiao Heqing replied softly, adjusting the position of the box. "It’s a present for you. I’ll show it to you when we get home." After adjusting it, she asked, "Is that better?"

"A bit better."

Before Lin Zhengran brought Xiao Heqing to his home, she had nervously asked on the way, "By the way, are your parents home?"

"They’re not home. You can just go straight to the shower when we get there."

"Okay."

Arriving at the door, they took off their muddy shoes and swapped them for slippers. Even though Xiao Heqing’s shoes were ruined, her socks were still perfectly white, her small feet as pristine as ever.

She went to the bathroom, intending to take off her winter coat, only to realize she was still holding the present.

Lin Zhengran took off his own mud-splattered jacket and reminded her, "Just put the gift down. I won’t peek."

He knew Xiao Heqing had been preparing this gift for a long time. After all, she had been low on energy for the past half-month, her attention clearly focused on a singular task. She had likely been busy with this the entire time. Lin Zhengran couldn’t be bothered to do anything boring to spoil the surprise.

Hearing this, Xiao Heqing adorably set the box on the floor. "I’ll show you after my shower."

She slipped off her coat, but accidentally smeared a speck of mud from the jacket onto her sweater.

Xiao Heqing let out a panicked gasp. "My sweater is dirty too! Now I have to wash this as well."

She took off the sweater, revealing a pure white undershirt beneath it. However, because she was so clumsy taking it off, the mud on the sweater transferred onto the undershirt too.

Blushing, Xiao Heqing stared at the stained shirt in shock.

"My undershirt is dirty too! Everything is dirty!"

Lin Zhengran was truly speechless, wondering how anyone could be this clumsy.

"What are you doing? Do you have to get mud on every single piece of clothing?"

Xiao Heqing didn’t know why she was so clumsy either. She lowered her head aggrievedly, her small hands slowly picking at the mud on her shirt. She wanted to say that it really wasn’t on purpose.

Exasperated, Lin Zhengran turned and headed for his bedroom. "I’ll get you a set of pajamas. You can wear mine until your clothes are dry."

Xiao Heqing mumbled in agreement. Soon, hot water began running in the bathroom, and she went inside, locking the door behind her.

Sure enough, because she had plopped right into the mud while rescuing the puppy earlier, the thermal leggings under her pants were completely filthy too. Only her underwear... was still somewhat clean.

Along with her bra.

While showering, Xiao Heqing angrily mimicked Lin Zhengran’s habit of knocking on her head, utterly frustrated with herself. "What are you doing? Lin Zhengran just said he dislikes useless girls, and here you are acting like a brainless idiot!"

She squeezed out some body wash and shampoo, soaking herself and lathering up her entire body.

Lin Zhengran lay on his bed reading a book, listening to the sound of Xiao Heqing showering. He thought back to yesterday afternoon. Aside from Xiao Heqing, could that idiot Jiang Xueli have also wanted to say something like that to him? These two kids were getting too ridiculous.

Xiao Heqing’s voice called out from the bathroom. "Lin... Lin Zhengran! Which towel is your mom’s? What should I use to dry off?"

Lin Zhengran shouted back, "My mom and dad share the same one. Use mine. It’s the white one with the blue trim. I just washed it yesterday anyway."

"Ah? I... I’m using yours?" Even though it was just a voice through the door, he could already feel just how embarrassed Xiao Heqing was.

"Just make do. There are no other towels."

"Okay! Got it!"

In the shower, Xiao Heqing let the hot water cascade over her head. She turned to look at the blue-trimmed towel hanging on the wall and bit her lip. "This is his towel..." She stared at it intently. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind, and she turned down the hot water’s flow.

She reached for the towel, slowly... slowly wanting to bring it to her nose for a sniff.

But right before it touched her nose, she immediately blushed, squeezed her eyes shut, and hastily hung it back up. She cranked the hot water back up, vigorously rinsing her face to calm herself down.

She chanted in her heart, "I’m not a pervert. I’m not a pervert. I’m not a pervert. I can’t do something like that."

Another ten minutes passed before Xiao Heqing finished her shower. Her long hair, freed from its ponytail, draped over her shoulders. Putting on Lin Zhengran’s pajamas, she was surprised to find them so much bigger than her own.

The shirt alone was long enough to cover part of her thighs. Furthermore... the clothes carried a very strong scent of him.

Xiao Heqing stealthily poked her head out of the bathroom to see if Lin Zhengran was in the living room. Finding it empty, she carefully wrapped her hair in a towel. A girl’s hair was hard to dry all at once, so wrapping it for a bit helped prevent catching a cold.

After that, acting like the lady of the house, she gathered her filthy clothes, carried them to the balcony, and tossed them into the washing machine. Since she had visited his home countless times since childhood, she was very familiar with where everything was kept.

Once the clothes were in, she didn’t stop for a break. She grabbed a mop to clean the puddles off the bathroom floor, then placed her used bath towel into a basin to hand-wash it. Along the way, she accidentally spotted the socks Lin Zhengran had just taken off and left in his shoes.

Hearing her bustling about outside, Lin Zhengran walked out of his bedroom out of curiosity.

He found that she truly was treating this place like her own home. The washing machine was spinning, the mop was neatly set aside, and the little girl was currently scrubbing the bath towel in the sink.

She had even tossed in the socks he had taken off earlier when changing his shoes.

"What are you doing?" Lin Zhengran asked.

Xiao Heqing turned her head. "Washing the towel." She held up Lin Zhengran’s socks. "I figured I’d wash your socks while I was at it. I’m already done, actually."

"Huh?" He didn’t understand. "Don’t we have a washing machine? Plus, I just put those socks on this morning."

"The washing machine is doing our clothes. I thought since I have nothing else to do right now, I might as well wash the towel. As for your socks, you went outside earlier, so it’s cleaner to change into a fresh pair. They’ll dry fast anyway."

She wrung the water out of the socks. "Go back to your room and rest for a bit. I’ll cut up some fruit for you in a minute. I saw apples and pears on the table. Which one do you want?"

Lin Zhengran was speechless.

"Apple," he replied.

"Okay, I’ll cut one for you soon."

He watched her carry the freshly washed towel and socks out to the balcony to hang them up. Xiao Heqing then returned and neatly stored the mop out on the balcony as well.

After finishing everything, she actually let out a happy sigh of relief.

"All done."

With that, she sat on the sofa, picked up a paring knife, and sliced the apple. She delicately stuck a few toothpicks into the slices, effortlessly assembling a fruit platter, and brought it over to the nightstand in Lin Zhengran’s bedroom.

"It’s all cut up. Just eat it whenever."

[After a fierce battle with the Red Celestial Demon Dogs, He Fairy was covered in blood and filth. You brought her to your dwelling. Out of gratitude, she washed your clothes, cleaned your home, and prepared fruit for you. These items are all imbued with He Fairy’s innate Spiritual Qi. By coming into contact with them, you gain Strength +1 and Charm +2.]

Xiao Heqing ran to the bathroom and started unwrapping the towel from her head to blow-dry her hair. However, when she grabbed the hair dryer this time... she froze slightly.

It was a new hair dryer, and she had never used it before.

"Lin Zhengran, how do you use this? Teach me..."

Lin Zhengran let out a heavy sigh and walked over to her. "You use it like this."

He showed Xiao Heqing how to operate it, but then he noticed her hair, which now reached halfway down her waist. When it was tied up in a ponytail, he hadn’t really paid attention, but now that it was let down, he hadn’t expected it to be so long.

Watching her clumsily try to blow-dry her hair after learning how to turn it on, it honestly looked like quite a struggle.

"Since you did so many chores for me, I’ll help you," Lin Zhengran said. "Give me the hair dryer and come stand next to me."