Pei Jiangmu followed her gaze and looked at the bag in his hand.
In the rain, he looked meticulously disheveled.
The water dripping from his hair tips just accentuated his superior neckline. His shirt was deliberately dampened, revealing his faintly visible waistline.
But his eyes were full of pure unease. He lifted the bag and explained in a low voice.
"The coat looks very expensive, so I've wrapped it up well. It definitely won't get wet..."
Before he could finish, he sneezed. His red nose made him look just like a large dog soaked in the rain.
Just then, a chorus of car horns came from afar.
Pei Jiangmu suddenly held up his phone. The screen showed the interface of a ride - hailing app with the message "The driver is 50 meters away from you".
He pursed his lips. His Adam's apple bobbed twice before he spoke. "Where are you going, sister? I'll take you there first."
This question was just right. It didn't seem too eager, but it was enough for Meng Ruozhao to see his fingertips that had turned white from the rain.
Meng Ruozhao suddenly remembered that he had said in the afternoon that the landlord had changed his lock.
Rather than asking where she was going, the more important thing was whether he had a place to go, right?
"Take you first. My place is quite far."
The Du family's villa was indeed quite far from here.
Pei Jiangmu pursed his lower lip. Before he could say anything, a blue - and - white taxi pulled up precisely in front of them.
Pei Jiangmu took a half - step ahead and opened the back door.
"The taxi's here. Get in, sister."
As he bent down, Meng Ruozhao caught a faint whiff of pine wood on him.
This definitely shouldn't be the smell of someone who had been in the rain for so long.
But at this moment, he was carefully holding the car door, his wet hair drooping. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with star - like light.
The doubt in Meng Ruozhao's heart flashed by.
"Watch your head."
Meng Ruozhao thanked him and got in first.
Pei Jiangmu also sat in the back.
After confirming the information with the driver, he sat shyly in the corner, keeping a distance of exactly three centimeters between his knee and Meng Ruozhao's.
The car radio was playing "Occasional".
Suddenly, he softly hummed, "The glints that cross in this encounter..."
The end of the note was drowned out by the rhythm of the windshield wipers.
When Meng Ruozhao turned her head, she saw his profile as he quickly averted his gaze. The tips of his ears were so red that they seemed to be bleeding.
"Do you know, sister?" Pei Jiangmu suddenly said, unconsciously rubbing the corner of his clothes with his fingers. "Actually, I was really dejected just now."
He didn't dare to look at her when he spoke. His eyes were fixed on her reflection on the car window.
"I performed just so - so in the interview. When I came out, I lost my umbrella. I dirtied your clothes. And when I got back, I couldn't even get into my home..."
The sound of the heavy rain pounding on the car window perfectly covered up his rapid heartbeat.
He had rehearsed these words 17 times, even calculating the pauses in his breathing precisely.
"I was just thinking, what a terrible day. What should I do? And then you showed up, sister."
The slightly rising intonation at the end of his sentences was like a puppy gently wagging its tail.
Meng Ruozhao turned to look at him.
The streetlights cast shadows on his eyelashes.
She couldn't help but look at his right arm. If it had been broken, in this weather and after being in the rain for so long, it should feel uncomfortable, right?
"Would you like to..." Even she was surprised when the words came out. "Stay in my shop first? There's a sofa bed in the attic where you can rest."
Pei Jiangmu's pupils suddenly constricted. The sound of his Adam's apple bobbing was clearly audible.
Suddenly, he buried his face in his palms. His shoulders trembled like a fledgling bird in a storm.
When he looked up again, his wet eyelashes were clumped together, but he broke into a smile that made the car radio seem mute.
"Are you an angel, sister?"
The look in his eyes when he looked at her was even more pious and clear than that day in the temple.
"Or..."
The sudden ringing of his phone cut off the second half of the sentence. The word "Landlord" on the screen flashed frantically.
He pressed the screen off with force, but then turned to her with a soft look like a puppy licking its wound.
"I won't dirty your sofa bed, sister."
These words, mixed with the sound of the rain, hit Meng Ruozhao's eardrums like a secret contract being established.
Meng Ruozhao laughed. "You can take a shower in the attic. I sometimes stay there too."
The implication was that she wouldn't let him sleep in a dirty state.
Pei Jiangmu's ears turned red quietly. He thanked her in a low voice.
When the taxi turned onto the side road leading to the studio, Pei Jiangmu quietly loosened his fist that had turned white from clenching.
In the rear - view mirror, the driver gave him an almost imperceptible nod.
In the rain, the lit shop was getting closer and closer.
He lowered his head to hide the smile on his lips.
Every detail of this encounter, from the time she walked out of the restaurant to the congestion on the ride - hailing app, was a script he had carefully calculated.
But at this moment, he just hugged the bag closer to his chest. At an angle where Meng Ruozhao couldn't see, his trouser leg gently brushed against the hem of her cheongsam.
In the sound of the heavy rain, his voice was as soft as a sigh.
"So nice to meet you."
When they arrived at "Fuyunxuan", Meng Ruozhao led him to the attic and pointed to the bathroom. "You can take a shower first."
After all, he had sneezed several times on the way.
Who would have thought that as soon as she finished speaking and turned around, she saw Pei Jiangmu obediently taking off his clothes.
The way he undid the buttons seemed unconscious, but when his wet shirt slipped off, it stopped precisely at his waistline.
When he bent down to put his shoes away, he deliberately tightened his back muscles. The V - line cast a shadow under the light.
This was an angle he had practiced in front of the mirror in the gym 287 times.
When the water droplets rolled down his abdominal muscles and into his waistband, he heard Meng Ruozhao's slight gasp.
Meng Ruozhao quickly realized her gaffe and quickly averted her gaze. "You take a shower first. I'll go find you some clothes."
Saying this, she didn't look at him anymore and rushed downstairs in a hurry.
Pei Jiangmu watched her back, hooked the corner of his mouth, and walked into the bathroom.
Meng Ruozhao almost fled down the stairs in a hurry, but stumbled on the steps at the corner.
When she leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, she found that her palms were full of fine sweat.
"Damn it."
She stared at the blushing woman in the fitting mirror and slapped her hot cheeks hard.
To be honest, before this, she had always thought that she was just naturally cold - blooded.
After all, she could remain calm in front of Yan Qiubai's face.
But why was she so out of control in front of Pei Jiangmu?
She shook her head, trying to shake off the distracting thoughts, and buried her head in the box looking for clothes.
She remembered that she had bought several sets of pajamas for research before.
But no one came to order pajamas, so she didn't know where she had stuffed those pajamas.
Just as she was rummaging through the box.
"Sister?"
A voice with a hint of moisture suddenly came from behind.
Meng Ruozhao turned around suddenly and saw Pei Jiangmu standing at the top of the stairs with only a towel around his waist. The water droplets from his hair tips were collecting into a small puddle in the hollow of his collarbone.
He casually wiped his hair with a towel, a movement that made the muscles in his arms form a perfect textbook - like arc.
Meng Ruozhao's gaze lingered on the middle of his chest muscles for 0.3 seconds, a time long enough for a professional tennis player to complete a smash.
She quickly turned her head back and continued looking for clothes, but couldn't control the soft sound of swallowing in her throat.
"Wait a moment. I'm still looking for clothes."
When she spoke, she found that her voice was even hoarser than his after being in the rain.