Chapter 65: Clever Xiao Heqing Successfully Comprehends the Dao

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Clever Xiao Heqing Successfully Comprehends the Dao

Xiao Heqing felt overwhelmed by the unexpected favor, but upon hearing Lin Zhengran say "Come here" again, she quickly walked over to him. She turned her back to him first, letting him blow-dry the back of her hair.

Xiao Heqing kept her small hands nervously clasped in front of her. The warm air from the hairdryer felt comforting. Occasionally, she would sneak a peek through the mirror at Lin Zhengran, who was earnestly drying her hair, and a blush crept up her cheeks.

"How tall are you now? You seem to have grown a bit since last year," Lin Zhengran asked casually.

"One meter fifty-seven!" Xiao Heqing replied in a soft, sweet voice. "I just measured myself a few days ago. But it feels like I’ve been growing really slowly since last year. I feel a bit short. It would be great if I could reach one meter sixty-five." She added in a quiet mutter, "Wenwen is already one sixty-three."

Because he was a full head taller than both of them, Lin Zhengran had never really noticed. "Is she? I feel like you two are about the same."

Xiao Heqing absentmindedly played with a strand of her hair. "Yeah, she’s much taller than me. Lin Zhengran... do you think girls look better short or tall?"

"I don’t really have a preference. They’re all about the same to me," Lin Zhengran answered truthfully.

"Then... what type do you like?"

"I’m not picky about that either. I just like what I like."

Xiao Heqing pursed her lips, thinking that he wasn’t answering seriously at all, when in fact, Lin Zhengran had given her a very genuine answer.

"The back is mostly dry," he reminded her. "Turn around, and I’ll do the front and the top of your head."

"Oh!" Xiao Heqing turned around, only to be met with his firm chest. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat, fluttering wildly. Blushing, she slowly lowered her head, leaning closer to him.

Lin Zhengran didn’t hold back, casually running his fingers through her hair as he openly and naturally blow-dried it. But the more natural he acted, the more unnatural and flustered Xiao Heqing became. As he ruffled her hair, her forehead lightly brushed against his chest several times, causing her small hands to clench and relax in tandem.

"This seems to be the very first time he’s ever dried my hair... I’m so happy," Xiao Heqing thought to herself. Her restless little hands stealthily poked at the hem of Lin Zhengran’s shirt as she basked in the warm air blowing over her hair. "Normally, regular boys and girls wouldn’t do this sort of thing together... But with him doing it to me, it doesn’t feel strange at all. Why is that?"

Suddenly, her hands froze. A realization had just struck her.

Past memories and their earlier conversation on the road flooded her mind. In that moment, her clever brain finally figured it all out! Though, an outsider might have had a hard time understanding her particular train of thought.

She covered her flushed face with her hands.

"So... so that’s how it is?

"So that’s what’s been going on!" she thought.

Right then and there, she realized something incredibly, overwhelmingly important.

Seeing her suddenly acting crazy, Lin Zhengran asked, "Why are you covering your face? Keep your head up."

Xiao Heqing quickly complied, instantly lifting her head. She bit her lip as she looked at him. She secretly squeezed the hem of her shirt, talking to herself in her head, "So that’s it, I’ve only just realized... Now everything makes perfect sense! It turns out... him and I, we’ve been boyfriend and girlfriend this whole time! Hehe."

As he dried her hair, Lin Zhengran had absolutely no idea what her "clever" brain was actually cooking up. Once he finished, he put away the hairdryer. "Alright, you can tie your ponytail up yourself."

"Oh! Okay."

Xiao Heqing’s expression had turned immensely joyful. Facing the mirror, she held a hair tie between her lips, gathered her hair together with her hands, and tied it up.

By this time, Lin Zhengran had already gone to the bedroom and was lying on the bed eating an apple. After finishing her hair, Xiao Heqing shook her head from side to side, watching her ponytail swing back and forth.

She spotted the dirty gift box on the floor. Carefully opening it, she took out the scarf, folded it twice, and hid it behind her back.

She walked into the bedroom.

Seeing her acting all sneaky, Lin Zhengran knew she was bringing over her present. He watched her as he chewed his apple.

Xiao Heqing slowly brought the item out from behind her back. It was an exquisitely knitted gray scarf made from fine yarn. "This is the present I prepared. I knitted it for you bit by bit. I specifically chose the fine yarn and knitted it double-layered, so it should be warmer when you wear it."

She explained shyly, "Originally, the meaning behind giving you this gift was meant to serve as..." She shook her head, her voice soft and sweet. "But I just realized I was wrong about that. So, just treat this as a winter present from me. I hope you like it."

Seeing the exquisite light gray scarf, Lin Zhengran felt surprised, yet it also made perfect sense. In his previous life, other girls had given him scarves too, but they were clearly different from Xiao Heqing’s. She had chosen fine yarn, which multiplied the workload exponentially. Furthermore, it wasn’t some rough, simple handiwork. The edges and the detailing clearly showed that a lot of effort had been put into it.

Lin Zhengran sat up, took it, and examined it. "How long did it take you to make this?"

Xiao Heqing had just been about to sit down, but his question made her quickly stand back up. "Half a month," she replied.

"Have you learned how to knit before? It looks really well-made."

This casual compliment was enough to keep Xiao Heqing happy for the entire day. Her tone became visibly cheerful. "I’ve never learned before! This is my first time trying to knit something, so I didn’t really know what I was doing at first. I kept knitting and unraveling, knitting and unraveling. Since it was going to be a gift for you, I didn’t want to just half-ass it."

Lin Zhengran looked up at her expectant face. It was as if she had the words "Praise me! Hurry up and praise me!" written all over it.

Instead, Lin Zhengran reached out and gave her a light flick on the forehead.

"Ah!" Xiao Heqing clutched her forehead. "What’s wrong? Do you not like it?"

Lin Zhengran first said expressionlessly, "I like it. I’ll treasure it carefully."

Xiao Heqing blushed, but then he immediately followed up with, "But just to give me a scarf, you ended up getting hurt during Taekwondo practice and walking around in a daze during the day for half a month? Is there something wrong with your head?"

Xiao Heqing pursed her lips and lowered her arms, talking back to him for once. "How does that mean there’s something wrong with my head? It’s because you’re very important to me." She twiddled her intertwined fingers, her voice barely a whisper. "No one is more important than you."

After she said that, Lin Zhengran flicked her on the forehead again. He felt that this girl simply hadn’t grown up at all.

"I told you a long time ago to always take care of yourself first. Next time you try to give me something, if you end up losing sleep and getting hurt over it again, I won’t accept it. Do you hear me?"

"Mm... I hear you."

With that said, Lin Zhengran looked at the scarf again and casually placed it over his neck.

Xiao Heqing smiled, taking the hint. "Here, let me put it on for you. Let me do it."

"I didn’t say I wanted to wear it."

Xiao Heqing’s hands stopped in mid-air. She stared at him, murmuring as quietly as a mosquito, "Won’t you at least try it on?"

Lin Zhengran shot her a helpless look. Xiao Heqing knew exactly what that look meant and tentatively reached out. Very gently, she crossed the scarf around Lin Zhengran’s neck and tucked one end in, securing it neatly.

"There, all done."

After finishing, she clasped her hands together in front of her. "I knew it would look great on you! I’ll go get a mirror so you can see!" Xiao Heqing excitedly ran off to fetch a mirror.

Since it would still take a long time for her clothes to dry, Lin Zhengran sat at the head of the bed, reading a book under the covers. Xiao Heqing boldly sat down next to him, sharing the blanket with him.

Underneath the covers, her small feet secretly swung back and forth.

"What are you reading?" she asked in her cute voice.

"Linear Algebra."

Because studying was considered cultivation in the eyes of his system, Lin Zhengran practically read whenever he had the time. Of course, an ordinary person might forget what they read shortly after, but the Energy points Lin Zhengran had added not only kept him full of vitality but also improved his memory and focus. Therefore, after all these years of cultivation, the vast repository of knowledge stored in his mind had long since surpassed that of ordinary people.

To Xiao Heqing, the contents of the book looked like absolute gibberish; she couldn’t understand a single word. However, her eyes remained fixed on the scarf around his neck, which he hadn’t taken off since she put it on him. She happily leaned against his side, looking at the book with him.

"Can you understand it?" Lin Zhengran asked.

"No. The things you read are all so advanced. I could never learn this."

"Then why are you joining in the fun over here? Until your clothes are dry, you can go to sleep, or you can go watch TV in the living room. There’s no need to force yourself to sit here and keep me company."

"Umm, I think I’ll just sit next to you. I like sitting here." She saw Lin Zhengran shoot her a baffled look, so she avoided his gaze and continued to pretend to read the book. Anyway, it didn’t matter whether she understood it or not.

As long as she was by Lin Zhengran’s side, Xiao Heqing was in a great mood. It made her feel like today was an incredibly meaningful day.

Her small feet continued to swing back and forth beneath the covers.