Dong Yin trailed slowly behind Xie Mingjun.
Xie Mingjun turned her head and glanced back at her.
Dong Yin was pinching the hem of her clothes, looking sullen, still seeming a little angry.
She honestly hadn’t expected this girl to have even a bit of a temper.
When Dong Yin was mad, it didn’t show on her face like other people, and she never looked fierce. She just went quiet, lips pressed together, all bottled up with no emotion showing.
Xie Mingjun almost wanted to tell her,
What the hell are you sulking for? Just go curse out Zou Yuxi, will you? What are you moping here for? Who are you pulling that face at?
“You’re not going back tonight. Aren’t you going to text your roommates?”
Xie Mingjun asked.
She waited a moment and didn’t hear anything, so she turned to look.
“I explained it to them,” Dong Yin said.
Xie Mingjun made a vague sound of acknowledgment.
Dong Yin reported on her own, very honestly,
“I told them I’m sleeping at your place tonight.”
“…”
Xie Mingjun turned her head to look at her.
“Do you have a problem with me or something?”
“No.”
Dong Yin’s voice was very soft. Inside, she was cheering:
Yes, I did that on purpose. I want everyone to know I’m sleeping at your place. One person tells ten, ten tell a hundred, and then everyone will know.
“You’ll sleep here. Go shower by yourself in a bit.”
Xie Mingjun pushed open the door to the next room. Inside, it was empty except for a single bed.
“Okay.”
Dong Yin answered at once.
Xie Mingjun glanced over her. Dong Yin always wore the same two outfits, the kind of nine-ninety free-shipping stuff from Taobao. Only today she had on Xie Mingjun’s coat, which made her look a bit different. The Christmas red set off her skin so it glowed white with a hint of pink.
After a while, Xie Mingjun came out of her bedroom with a set of pajamas and tossed them to her.
“Never been worn.”
They were pink with a strawberry print.
Hugging the clothes, Dong Yin could still smell sunshine and laundry soap on them. It was already late, so she went straight to shower. Afterward, she put on the pajamas. The fabric was soft and silky on her skin. She buttoned them up one by one, then stood in front of the mirror and pushed aside the wispy fringe on her forehead.
She stepped out of the bathroom and stopped in front of Xie Mingjun’s door.
There was a bathroom in Xie Mingjun’s room too. She had showered and was now sitting on the bed playing on her phone. The door wasn’t fully closed, and when she sensed someone outside, she lifted her gaze and glanced over.
Dong Yin was in the pajamas. The clothes were oversized, making her look even thinner and more fragile. Back when she’d bought them, Xie Mingjun had picked a size up and then been too lazy to return them, so they’d just sat there washed and unworn.
Her hair was wet, droplets falling from the tips. Damp, her long hair took on a faint wave, the curls cupping her face. Her eyes were dewy and misty, like a doll she’d played with as a child.
They stared at each other.
Dong Yin spoke first.
“Xie Mingjun…”
She nervously twisted the hem of the pajamas, her cheeks tinged with pink, looking terribly embarrassed.
“What is it?”
Xie Mingjun asked.
“Can I borrow your hairdryer?”
“Mm.”
The hairdryer was in the little storage box by her bedroom door. She had used it that morning after coming back and left it there.
Dong Yin took the hairdryer but didn’t blow her hair in that room. It was already late. Outside was pitch-black night; the rain seemed to have stopped and everything was quiet. Dong Yin held the doorknob and peered at her through the gap.
Xie Mingjun looked back at her, as if asking, What are you up to?
Dong Yin didn’t speak. She gently pulled the door shut, took the hairdryer to the bathroom, closed that door, turned the setting to low, and only dried her hair until it was half-dry, worried about making too much noise and disturbing Xie Mingjun.
She went to the room next door and found a paper bag on the bed. Inside were some very thin, very soft-looking little pieces of clothing.
Dong Yin picked one up to take a look, feeling a bit shy.
She sprawled on the bed, staring at the bag.
Xie Mingjun was so considerate.
“Hey.”
A knock on the door made Dong Yin jump. She yanked her hand out of the bag.
She quickly sat up cross-legged.
“What is it?” she asked.
Once she asked, there was no sound from outside. Dong Yin was about to get off the bed and open the door when she heard Xie Mingjun say,
“What are you sulking at me for? If you’re really mad, just go yell at Zou Yuxi.”
There was another pause. Her tone was cool, but her voice was quieter.
“It’s not like I’m blind. Thanks for taking care of me today.”
Is she… thanking me?
Dong Yin blinked. She sat on the edge of the bed, fingers tugging at the sheet, feeling actually a bit embarrassed.
She didn’t really have much of a temper to begin with. She was used to swallowing things down on her own. Once Xie Mingjun asked her to stay the night, her anger had mostly vanished. But now that Xie Mingjun was talking to her like this, almost like coaxing her, it made her puff up inside.
She really, really wanted to push open the door and give Xie Mingjun a hug.
Outside, Xie Mingjun asked again,
“What were you about to say just now?”
“Don’t lock your door tonight,” Dong Yin said.
“Hm?”
“I’ll come check on you later, in case you get a fever again.”
There was half a minute of silence. Then Dong Yin heard a door open and close. It sounded like Xie Mingjun had gone back to her room.
Dong Yin pushed her own door open a crack and looked out. Her gaze fell on the lock, and she was tempted to go try it, to see if Xie Mingjun had really left the door open for her.
She retreated back into the room and lay down on the bed again. The quilt was very soft, with the fluffy, airy feel of having been sun-dried. Her fingers pressed into it, and it felt springy and light.
She couldn’t fall asleep.
She was too excited.
Her eyes stayed glued to that white paper bag, to the English word printed on it:
“Underwear.”
Dong Yin picked up her phone and glanced at it. Zou Yuxi had sent a lot of messages, asking what was going on, asking what she was doing.
Dong Yin really wanted to share her happiness with someone, so she kept chatting with Zou Yuxi, replying:
[Xie Mingjun seems a little tiny bit mad. She won’t let me go home.]
[I really want to go back, but she won’t let me leave. I still have a ton of homework to do and I haven’t turned in my paper.]
[What should I do?]
[What I’m doing right now? I’m wearing her pajamas, lying on her bed. I can’t sleep at all. It’s so painful.]
She even added:
[Ah!]
…
The next morning, when she opened her eyes, the first thing Xie Mingjun saw was Dong Yin.
Half-awake and foggy, she muttered,
“Why am I dreaming about this again. So annoying.”
Then she rolled over, burying her face in the pillow.
Dong Yin was squatting beside the bed, still wearing her pajamas.
“Good morning, Xie Mingjun,” she said.
Bleary-eyed, Xie Mingjun forced her eyes open, then shut them again. After a moment, she properly woke up. She looked at Dong Yin, then at the window, where light was spilling in through the gaps in the curtains.
The light was bright and harsh. She blinked several times in a row, lashes fluttering.
It wasn’t raining today. The rain had stopped. She could hear a fine, soft wind outside, and birds chattering in the big tree.
All those sounds were gentle, nothing like the deafening cicadas from the past few days.
Back when the cicadas were really loud, Dong Yin had kept wondering, once they stopped, where did they go? Had the rain washed them away? Or did they just die with the summer?
“The sky’s clear. Why are you still here?”
Leaning on her arm, Xie Mingjun pushed herself up.
“The sky might be clear, but my clothes aren’t dry yet. I did some laundry yesterday and thought they’d dry fast. I didn’t expect them to still be damp today.”
It used to be blazing hot summer; now it was already autumn. If they’d dried that fast, it would’ve been a miracle.
“You’re so stupid,” Xie Mingjun said helplessly.
Dong Yin stayed quiet.
She really was pretty stupid.
Xie Mingjun went to brush her teeth. When she came out, she could smell something good. Dong Yin had finished making congee a while ago.
Today’s congee was different from yesterday’s. It looked like a mash-up, congee and noodles boiled together, with several big leaves of napa cabbage tossed in.
It didn’t look appetizing to Xie Mingjun at first glance, so she only served herself a small bowl. One sip later, she nodded.
Surprisingly good.
“This is what we call tang fan back home,” Dong Yin said.
Xie Mingjun went back and filled a full bowl. The pot was emptied again. Dong Yin took it to wash, still refusing to let Xie Mingjun touch the water.
Today the sun was just right, not too hot, not too cold. With nothing else to do and no plans to go out, Xie Mingjun tidied up around the coffee table. She picked up Dong Yin’s bag and peeked inside. It was full of books and worksheets, none of them looking like her own major’s textbooks.
Dong Yin opened her schoolbag on the coffee table, took out a book and set it down, then fished out a pen.
“I’ll do my homework. I’ll leave once my clothes are dry,” she said.
“You actually do homework?”
Xie Mingjun laughed.
“Of course. Don’t you have assignments too?”
Dong Yin unfolded a workbook, then asked curiously,
“Xie Mingjun, do you always do your homework in secret?”
“What do you mean, in secret?”
Xie Mingjun genuinely didn’t understand.
“I mean, you don’t write during the day, you wait until night and secretly do it.”
“I’m not that dumb.”
“Then let’s do it together,” Dong Yin said.
After a second thought, she shook her head.
“Forget it. You just got over a cold. You should rest properly.”
Leaning back on the sofa, full of congee and medicine, Xie Mingjun really didn’t feel that bad. Luckily, she’d gotten a shot at the hospital yesterday. Today she was almost recovered. She grabbed the remote and flipped a random channel on the TV.
Dong Yin was very quiet while doing homework. No matter how loud the TV was, it didn’t distract her. After about half an hour, she put away her workbook, moved over to sit beside Xie Mingjun, and reached out to feel her forehead.
Xie Mingjun caught her hand and breathed warm air onto it, looking at her helplessly.
“One touch is enough. Don’t keep doing it over and over.”
Dong Yin looked at her and blinked. They were sitting very close together. After a moment, Xie Mingjun let go of her hand.
“There’s an ear thermometer in the drawer of the coffee table,” she said.
“Oh.”
Dong Yin turned around, opened the drawer, took out the thermometer, and gently pressed it to Xie Mingjun’s ear.
“It’s not hot anymore,” she said.
She was leaning on the sofa, her oversized pajamas gaping a bit, the buttons done up loosely. When the loose fabric folded over itself, patches of skin peeked through.
She’d been trying so hard to get closer to Xie Mingjun that one side of the hem had ridden up to her waist, revealing the slim curve of it, the kind that made your hand itch to grab hold.
“Do you want to kiss me?”
Xie Mingjun asked.
“Your fever’s gone.”
Dong Yin did want to kiss her. And she felt like she could. Xie Mingjun had a sharp tongue, but when it came to Dong Yin getting physically close, she never really pushed her away.
Sitting on the sofa watching TV, Xie Mingjun watched Dong Yin lean on her leg, a hand reaching up to touch her chin.
Xie Mingjun caught her wrist, pushed down on her shoulder, trying to ease her back. Dong Yin ended up scrambling, hands and knees on the cushions, climbing up onto the sofa. When she got close enough, she wrapped her arms around Xie Mingjun’s waist. And Xie Mingjun didn’t push her off, like she’d known Dong Yin would hug her.
And then Dong Yin could smell her.
The body wash bottle said it was pomegranate-scented, pleasantly sweet, but to her nose it didn’t smell much like pomegranate at all.
“Trying to seduce me?”
Xie Mingjun’s voice sounded right above her head.
“Yeah,” Dong Yin answered.
It wasn’t really seducing. She just wanted to cling to her, to hug her, to breathe in her scent, to stick to her like they were glued together. That calmed Dong Yin down, made her feel a little inflated with courage.
But if Xie Mingjun said she was seducing her, then that meant she was seducing her.
“This is what you call seducing someone?”
“At least do this much,”
Xie Mingjun said.
All of a sudden, she reached out and yanked open the buttons at Dong Yin’s collar, giving the fabric a rough tug downward. She only meant to scare the girl a little, but in the next second, the teasing smile froze on her face.
Staring at Dong Yin, she felt a chill on the girl’s shoulders.
“You’re not wearing anything underneath?”
Dong Yin nodded.
“Yeah. I felt too embarrassed to wear your… you know.”
“That’s not… So you’re just fine walking around bare like this?”
As she spoke, Dong Yin’s face went bright red. Last night she’d just lain there and drifted off to sleep.
After that, Xie Mingjun pinched the hem of her pajama top.
“Then… what about down there?” she asked.
Mortified, Dong Yin glanced at her own shoulder, slowly tugged the fabric back up, and re-did the buttons that had come undone.
“I’m not telling you,” she said.
