After the two entered the house, Lu Yan spoke in a gentle voice, as if coaxing a child, "It's getting late. Go take a shower and go to bed early."
Ning Anmiao took off her shoes at the door, grabbed her pajamas and a change of clothes, then headed into the bathroom.
Lu Yan was tired too. He hung his coat on the hanger, then slumped onto the sofa, rubbing his temples with his fingers.
The man's well - defined hand rested on the armrest of the sofa. His eyes and eyebrows were casually lazy. He raised his eyebrows and watched as she came out of the bathroom with a hair dryer in her hand, ready to dry her hair.
She didn't rest well last night, was busy all afternoon today, and had a meal outside in the evening. Her energy was almost depleted, and drowsiness gradually crept over her.
Ning Anmiao sat on the sofa. The hand holding the hair dryer slowly drooped, and her head bobbed. Her eyes were already closed.
Seeing that she was about to fall asleep, Lu Yan curved his lips into a smile. He got up, took long strides towards her, stood behind her, and easily took the hair dryer from her.
Then he held the hair dryer in one hand and supported her long hair with the other, methodically drying her hair strand by strand.
His technique was excellent. He controlled the airflow and temperature just right. The warm air made Ning Anmiao's scalp feel cozy, and she felt even sleepier.
With someone taking such meticulous care of her, she simply slumped lazily into the sofa, squinting her eyes comfortably and enjoying the warm breeze.
Before she knew it, she almost fell asleep.
When her hair was almost dry, Lu Yan saw that her eyes were closed. Thinking she was already asleep, he turned off the hair dryer and put it aside.
He walked around the sofa, came in front of the seemingly sleeping girl, bent down to pick her up in his arms and carry her into the bedroom when she suddenly opened her eyes.
"Wait a minute. I haven't done my skin - care routine yet."
Women always attach great importance to skin care, and Ning Anmiao was no exception. She struggled to get up and go to the bathroom, but the man pushed her back onto the sofa.
Ning Anmiao looked up at him in confusion. Lu Yan took the hair tie from her wrist and skillfully gathered up all her long black hair, revealing her smooth forehead.
Then he wrapped the remaining hair around a few times. Before Ning Anmiao could react, he had already tied a ponytail on top of her head that was perfect for washing up.
She reached out to touch it. It was neither too tight nor too loose.
"Now you can go." His tone was serious, and he didn't think there was anything inappropriate about what he had just done.
But Ning Anmiao felt a bit uncomfortable inside.
She couldn't quite describe the feeling. When Lu Yan so skillfully tied her hair, she even felt a twinge of unease.
He had told her not to get too close to other men, but here he was, so skilled at tying a girl's hair!
It was said that a person's true experiences were most likely to be revealed inadvertently. Didn't this prove that he had had other women before?
Ning Anmiao started to let her imagination run wild and sat still on the sofa.
Seeing that she didn't move for a long time, Lu Yan cleared his throat. "Why aren't you going? Aren't you sleepy?"
Ning Anmiao looked into his gentle eyes. Not sure if she had become bolder recently, she blurted out directly, "Have you been in a relationship before me?"
Lu Yan frowned slightly, surprised by her question. "No. Why are you asking this?"
His answer was so off - the - cuff that Ning Anmiao began to doubt its credibility. "Then why do you know how to tie this?"
There was a serious accusation in her tone. She raised both hands and pointed her index fingers at the ponytail on top of her head. She was pouting angrily, as if she was going to hold him accountable.
Lu Yan's eyes were deep. Looking at the little girl, who seemed to have caught him red - handed and was being so self - righteous, he wasn't in a hurry to explain.
He folded his arms across his chest and watched her with interest.
Seeing that he didn't refute, Ning Anmiao got more and more excited. The drowsiness from before was completely gone. "You just said that I shouldn't get too close to other men, but here you are, knowing how to tie a little girl's hair!"
"Lu Yan, this is so unfair!" She pouted. "I really don't know who was so lucky to teach you how to tie a ponytail. After you learned it, you must have tied it for her countless times!"
"I did tie it for her quite a few times." Lu Yan's smile deepened.
He actually liked seeing her throwing a tantrum at him. She was so willful and cute, with a kind of cuteness that came from within.
"Humph!" Seeing that he admitted it, Ning Anmiao's anger gradually turned into grievance. "I knew it. The feeling of one planting the trees and another enjoying the shade is really bad..."
Seeing that Ning Anmiao's little face was about to crumple up, Lu Yan knew he couldn't keep joking. He cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, "You're the one who planted the trees, and you're also the one enjoying the shade."
"Go quickly, my little ancestor."
Ning Anmiao was speechless. Seeing his extremely perfunctory attitude, the words she wanted to say got stuck in her throat. She stormed into the bathroom in a huff.
When she entered the bathroom and saw her own face, she suddenly remembered that she had taught Lu Yan how to tie this ponytail when their bodies were swapped. She saw that it was so troublesome for his hair to stick to the sink when he was washing up, so she taught him out of convenience.
The memory suddenly rushed into her mind. Her hand stopped mid - air as she was about to pat on skin - care products. Thinking of how she had acted as if she had caught him having an affair, she felt extremely ashamed.
She even felt too embarrassed to go out.
Lu Yan sat on the sofa and waited for a long time, but Ning Anmiao didn't come out. His patience was wearing thin. He got up, walked to the bathroom door, and knocked twice.
Lu Yan said, "Miao Miao, are you done? I haven't taken a shower yet."
Ning Anmiao was feeling extremely embarrassed. The man's calm voice came in, startling her. She turned around and opened the door.
"I'm done."
She quickly rushed out of the bathroom, hardly making eye contact with Lu Yan for a second, and fled into the bedroom like the wind.
Lu Yan stood at the bathroom door, couldn't help but shake his head and smile. He knew she had remembered.
It turned out that unknowingly, the two of them had so many memories.
He admitted that he had tied that ponytail subconsciously just now, but when reminded by Ning Anmiao, he also realized.
Some of their habits had already been deeply ingrained in their memories.
They could never be forgotten.
...
The next day, when Ning Anmiao was rushing to finish the last batch of design drafts at the company, she suddenly received a call from Yin Yiyan.
"Miao Miao, Zhou Si suddenly quit his job today. Do you know what's going on?"
Ning Anmiao was a bit stunned. She was a bit surprised when she first heard it, but thinking of the conversation between Lu Yan and Zhou Si yesterday, although she didn't know what had happened, she could guess roughly.
"Maybe our temple is too small to hold this great Buddha."