Bubble

The man on the other end of the phone was Ye Shuang's close friend Chen Hai, who currently worked as a manager at a major bank in the city and was doing quite well for himself.

After sorting out the cash situation, Chen Hai continued asking, "Where are you now? Should I come pick you up?"

"I'm staying at someone else's place for now. Don’t worry, I’ll send you the location on WeChat later. Come get me tomorrow," Ye Shuang declined.

"Alright, how about 10 a.m. tomorrow?"

"Sure."

After hanging up, a faint, sweet fragrance drifted over. Ye Shuang turned his head—the long-haired girl beside him was staring at him motionlessly, her face almost pressed against his.

"What’s wrong?"

"You… are leaving?" Bai Yuyou tugged at Ye Shuang’s sleeve, her fingers tightening slightly as she asked.

She had just heard Ye Shuang say, "Come get me tomorrow," and thought he was leaving.

"No, I’m just depositing all this money in the bank so it’ll be safer," Ye Shuang explained, leaning back slightly to put some distance between them.

"Why haven’t you gone to shower yet?"

"I want to shower with you," Bai Yuyou said.

Her voice was light and delicate, and hearing such a request made Ye Shuang cough awkwardly for a moment. But considering that taking advantage of her naivety would make him no better than scum, he quickly dismissed the thought.

Looks like she needs more education about boundaries between men and women.

"Maybe next time?" Ye Shuang deflected, then changed the subject by pulling out the shower gel and other toiletries he had bought that afternoon. "Use these when you shower from now on. Go ahead."

"Mm." Hearing that Ye Shuang was willing to shower with her next time, Bai Yuyou obediently hugged the toiletries and headed into the bathroom.

Once she was inside, Ye Shuang picked up his phone and logged into WeChat. Since his phone number had changed, verifying his identity took a little longer than usual.

Without any chat history restored, there were no messages. He sent Chen Hai the location of the residential complex.

"OK, it’s past 8. Time for late-night snacks, bro!" Chen Hai quickly replied with a goofy-eyed emoji.

"Just ate. You’re ridiculous."

The next second, Chen Hai video-called him, and Ye Shuang answered.

Chen Hai was slightly chubby, with a round face and body, neatly trimmed short hair, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses.

At the moment, he was wearing wireless earbuds, and from the background, it seemed he was eating at a restaurant.

"What the hell, man? Why stay at someone else’s place instead of mine? And whose place are you at anyway?" Chen Hai grumbled, though he never uttered a single curse word at work—always the picture of politeness, completely unlike his usual self.

After all, everyone in this world wears a mask, only showing their true selves to those closest to them. The two had grown up together, so formalities were unnecessary.

"No way I’m staying at your place. Do I really want to listen to you and your wife rocking the bed every night? Besides, your wife’s home, and I’m unemployed. Aren’t you worried?"

Chen Hai scoffed on the other end of the call. "Oh, screw you. Like I don’t know you?"

"You still haven’t told me whose place you’re at!"

"A friend’s. Just a friend." As Ye Shuang spoke, he noticed from the corner of his eye that the bathroom door had opened.

Bai Yuyou stepped out, dripping wet and covered in soap bubbles, her slender, pale figure barely concealed beneath the foam. "Ye Shuang, these bubbles won’t come off…"

Ye Shuang’s mouth fell open.

"Huh? Was that a girl’s voice? And such a sweet one too? Holy shit, dude, did you actually get adopted by a sugar mommy?!" Chen Hai’s voice blared from the phone before Ye Shuang hung up.

Standing up, Ye Shuang pushed the clueless Bai Yuyou back into the bathroom.

"Sit down." With no other choice, Ye Shuang had her sit on a stool while he used the showerhead to rinse the bubbles off her.

Even though his view was mostly limited to her smooth back and the faint curves barely hidden by her long hair, Ye Shuang still felt his self-control wavering.

Rubbing his temples, he focused on washing away the bubbles.

Her hair, in particular, was extremely long—reaching her waist—and after Bai Yuyou had applied a generous amount of shampoo, the foam seemed endless.

No matter how much he rinsed, more remained.

Unlike men, women don’t wash their hair every day, not just because it’s a hassle but also to protect their hair. Yet Bai Yuyou had never used shampoo before, and her hair was still incredibly soft. Some people are just born with good genes—this kind of hair quality can’t be achieved without genetics.

Once she was clean, Bai Yuyou noticed Ye Shuang’s pants were soaked and reached out to pull them down. "Pants… wet."

"Wait—!"

A short while later, Bai Yuyou, now dressed, was unceremoniously tossed out of the bathroom.

Sitting on the floor in a "seiza" position, she turned her head toward the closed bathroom door, blinking innocently before tilting her head. "Is he… mad?"

Soon, Ye Shuang finished his shower and stepped out, wearing only boxers and drying his hair with a towel.

Noticing Bai Yuyou still sitting by the door, he asked, "Why are you still here?"

"Are you hurt?" Bai Yuyou looked up at him with concern.

"No…?" Ye Shuang was puzzled. Why was she suddenly asking this?

"I saw… the swollen part. Did you get injured?"

Ye Shuang: "…"

"That’s not an injury. Come on, let’s dry your hair." He pulled her up, but her legs, having gone numb from sitting too long, gave out, and she tumbled into his arms.

"You okay?" Ye Shuang instinctively wrapped an arm around her waist.

The girl naturally carried a faint, sweet fragrance, but after her shower, the floral scent was even more intoxicating.

Ye Shuang wasn’t sure how much longer he could resist this girl, who had absolutely no sense of personal space.

For now, he’d just have to take it slow.

"So warm…" Bai Yuyou murmured, pressing her cheek against his body and closing her eyes contentedly.

Ye Shuang could only sigh helplessly before gently stroking the back of her head.

This girl must have been starved for affection. He wasn’t even sure what role he was playing in her life anymore.

After a while, seeing that her hair wasn’t drying easily, Ye Shuang brought out a hairdryer.

Bai Yuyou was unfamiliar with hairdryers—she often went to sleep with wet hair, only to be met with strange looks at school the next day.

"You smell awful. Do you even dry your clothes?"—this was something she heard often.

Though she didn’t understand why people said such things, she simply continued living the only way she knew how.

But as the warm air from the hairdryer blew against her hair, Bai Yuyou suddenly felt…

that her life really was different now.

And she loved it.