As she rummaged through the bottom of the box for that possibly non - existent "one - size - larger" pajamas, she was frantically complaining in her heart:
Is this guy really innocent or just pretending?
His eyes look so innocent, but his actions are so provocative!
Does he know how... dangerous he looks like this?
The only sounds left in the living room were the rustling of clothes being moved and the faint breathing of the two people.
The air was as thick as honey, carrying heartbeats, water vapor, and silent probes, slowly flowing under the light.
Pei Jiangmu just stood there quietly.
Like a young god statue carefully carved.
Bathing in the halo, he showed without hesitation the favor of the creator, waiting for the admirer to look up impatiently.
And Meng Ruozhao was struggling to maintain her crumbling defense line in the tug - of - war between reason and instinct, escape and staring.
This silent battle of offense and defense had just begun.
The key to victory or defeat was who would lose their nerve first and break that "safe distance" as thin as a cicada's wing.
Fortunately, Meng Ruozhao first found an unexpected cotton short - sleeved shirt at the bottom of the box.
When she picked up the pure - white men's short - sleeved shirt, the letter "F" embroidered on the chest glowed with a dull sheen under the light.
This shirt that was obviously not made in the store made her hesitate for a moment.
Was it left by a customer, or did she buy an extra sample before?
She subconsciously leaned closer to smell it. The fresh scent of citrus wafted towards her, without the unpleasant smell she had imagined.
"Sister?"
Just as she was staring blankly at the shirt, Pei Jiangmu's voice suddenly came close to her ear, scaring her so much that she almost threw the shirt out.
He had bent down and come closer without her noticing. The water droplets dripping from his wet hair "happened" to fall on the back of her hand. The cold touch made her fingertips tremble slightly.
The edge of the bath towel swayed dangerously again as he leaned forward. Meng Ruozhao immediately stuffed the shirt over.
"Put this on first!"
When Pei Jiangmu took it, his index finger "accidentally" brushed against the base of her thumb. His eyelashes cast a fan - shaped shadow under his eyes.
"Thank you, sister."
He unfolded the shirt very slowly, as if checking something.
She had stared at this shirt for a long time just now. Could it be because it was left by some scumbag?
As far as he knew, Yan Qiubai, that poser, had never been here.
Then who left it? It didn't look brand - new and unworn.
And just as he was holding the shirt and looking at it, Meng Ruozhao suddenly remembered where the shirt came from.
"I bought this shirt to look at the sample before I opened my store."
When opening a new store, it was natural to give out a wave of small gifts. She had selected a lot of things at that time and bought samples to look at.
This short - sleeved shirt was one of them.
The "F" on the chest was also the initial of "Fuyunxuan".
But in the end, she still chose tea sets as small gifts, and this shirt was left at the bottom of the box.
Oh, that wasn't right.
"I think I wore it once, but I'm sure I washed it."
She explained in a hurry.
When the store first opened, she hadn't hired any employees yet, so she had to do a lot of things by herself.
Once she needed to move goods. It was definitely inconvenient for her to wear a cheongsam, so she temporarily changed into this shirt.
But after she finished the work, she must have washed it clean before putting it away.
Hearing her say this, Pei Jiangmu, who had been moving slowly just now, immediately put on the shirt.
As if he was afraid that she would regret giving the shirt to him.
But the moment the short - sleeved shirt was put on, both of them immediately felt something was wrong.
The short - sleeved shirt looked big, but on him, it was obviously one size too small.
The fabric was tight across his chest and abdomen, and the hem barely covered his hip bones.
He deliberately raised his hand to adjust the collar, watching Meng Ruozhao's eyes follow the stretching path of his arm muscles, and then dodge nervously when their eyes met.
"It seems... it's still a bit small?"
Pei Jiangmu tilted his head, showing a troubled expression.
He tugged gently at the fabric around his navel. The outline of his abdominal muscles was clearly visible under the pure - cotton fabric.
This action made the hem of the short - sleeved shirt curl up, revealing a two - finger - wide strip of skin on his waist. His V - line disappeared into the shadow of the bath towel, as if issuing an invitation.
Seeing the tips of Meng Ruozhao's ears suddenly turn red, he immediately put on a cute smile.
"But I like everything sister gives me."
Saying that, he buried his face in the collar and took a deep breath. This possessive action was performed by him as simply smelling the fragrance.
"It smells like nice laundry detergent."
"I'll go pour a glass of water."
Two voices sounded at the same time.
Meng Ruozhao used the excuse of pouring water and fled towards the water dispenser, but heard the sound of bare feet stepping on the wooden floor following her like a shadow.
Pei Jiangmu kept a distance of three steps, like a programmed following robot.
When she turned around and almost bumped into his chest, the man immediately took half a step back and blinked innocently.
"I'm thirsty too."
Meng Ruozhao didn't say a word. She just silently took a bag of ginger tea and poured it into a cup. After filling it with hot water, she handed it to him.
"To prevent a cold."
She said and pointed at his still - dripping hair.
"Also dry your hair. It's not pleasant to catch a cold in this weather."
The rain outside was still heavy. Meng Ruozhao planned to wait until the rain got a bit lighter before going back. So she simply started to make tea.
Seeing that she wouldn't leave for a while, Pei Jiangmu obediently went back to the bathroom, took out a towel, and wiped the ends of his hair as he came downstairs.
When he walked back to Meng Ruozhao's side and picked up the cup of ginger tea with one hand, the action of wiping his hair with the other hand suddenly stopped.
His thick eyelashes cast a fan - shaped shadow under the warm light.
"Sister, do you know? This is the first time in three years that someone has let me take a hot bath."
He deliberately made the end of his voice tremble a little, and his fingers unconsciously stroked the edge of the cup.
Meng Ruozhao looked at the corners of his eyes that were reddened by the steam, and her heart softened again and again.
Studying art was originally an expensive major. After his family cut off his financial support, his life must have been difficult.
In the rhythm of the rain beating on the skylight, she heard herself say, "Then you can stay here for now until you find a new place to live."
The moment this sentence blurted out, she was surprised afterwards.
The guard she had been keeping since she regained consciousness had crumbled in the eyes of this wet puppy.
"Actually," Pei Jiangmu suddenly leaned forward. The scent of pine wood mixed with water vapor rushed towards her. "I wanted to say this in the car just now."
The sound of his Adam's apple rolling was clearly audible.
"Thank you, sister, for taking in the stray dog."
His deliberately lowered voice was like a feather brushing against her eardrum.
Meng Ruozhao looked at his reflection on the glass window and vaguely remembered the "three - hour principle" she had read in a book - one should observe a stranger for at least three hours.
And at this moment, the wall clock showed that they had only been together for 121 minutes.
But she seemed to have no defense against him at all.
"Don't say that."
Meng Ruozhao came back to her senses and gave him a smile, cold yet with a hint of tenderness that even she didn't notice.
"Everyone has difficult times."
When she first woke up, she was full of strangeness and fear towards this world.
In the past six months, as she gradually searched for her past memories and planned for the future, many people had helped her.
Especially the lease and decoration of this store had been unexpectedly smooth.
The two employees she had hired were also very excellent and had helped her a lot.
Although there weren't many orders later, it was enough to support her and the employees.
She was like a person who had lost her direction in the sea and was sailing alone, and finally came to an island. She felt much more at ease.
Since Pei Jiangmu had walked into this store, it was also a kind of fate.