Chapter 193 - 161: You Only Know How to Bully Me

Chapter 193: Chapter 161: You Only Know How to Bully Me

"You look good without the jacket, too," he said.

Jiang Xueli blushed. "Now’s not the time for commentary!"

Lin Zhengran brushed past Jiang Xueli and entered the bathroom.

He closed the door.

Another shiver ran through Jiang Xueli, and for some reason, she breathed a sigh of relief.

But then she realized she hadn’t heard the sound of the lock...

She called out a helpful reminder, "Zhengran, you forgot to lock the door."

"There’s no need. Are you going to peep on me? If you’re not going to peep, then I don’t need to lock it," he replied, his logic infuriatingly sound.

Jiang Xueli blinked. ’He kind of has a point...’

But...

She waited a moment, slowly turned the knob, and stuck her head in.

As it happened, Lin Zhengran was just about to get in the shower. Hearing the door open, he turned and met her gaze. They stared at each other for a moment before Lin Zhengran walked over and rapped her on the head with his knuckles. "You pervert! So you really were going to peep on me, huh?"

Jiang Xueli let out a little "ah" as realization dawned on her.

"I didn’t think you’d *actually* leave it unlocked! I just thought I didn’t hear you lock it!"

Lin Zhengran was rendered speechless. "Go wait on the bed!"

Jiang Xueli, mortified, scurried away. "I know, I know!"

Lin Zhengran sighed. ’This silly girl is hopeless.’

He locked the door.

Sitting on the bed, Jiang Xueli wondered, ’Zhengran won’t get the wrong idea, will he?’

’I was really just curious whether he’d locked the door...’

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running water from the bathroom. ’He’s already started?’

Sitting on the bed, she glanced down at her pale thighs.

While it was fine when she was standing, the jacket was just a jacket. As soon as she sat down, it gaped open, hiding nothing.

She quickly gripped the hem of the jacket tied around her waist, pressing her knees together and angling her legs inward.

’This really isn’t going to work... He’ll be able to see everything.’

Water began to drip from her hair.

Usually, after a shower, Jiang Xueli would wrap her hair in a towel to soak up some of the water. Clearly, that wasn’t an option today.

She found the hairdryer, plugged it in, and started drying her hair right away, but it wasn’t very effective.

’It really is hard to dry your hair when it’s this soaking wet. At least it’s much shorter than it used to be.’

"Jiang Xueli!" Lin Zhengran’s stern voice suddenly called out.

Startled, Jiang Xueli nearly dropped the hairdryer. "What?!"

From inside the bathroom, Lin Zhengran stared at the sopping-wet towel in his hands. "What did you do to this towel? Why is it completely soaked?!"

"It’s supposed to be wet," Jiang Xueli explained. "I mean, I already used it. If you were going to use it too, I figured I should at least wash it. So I rinsed it out."

Lin Zhengran was at a loss for words. "Could you at least have wrung it out?"

"But I did wring it out for you?"

Lin Zhengran looked at the towel. It wasn’t dripping on its own, but a single squeeze sent a stream of water pouring out.

A vein throbbed on his forehead. ’This girl is really asking for it.’

"Are you sure? I bet I could squeeze half a bucket of water out of this thing, you want to see?"

"But I really did wring it out as hard as I could! That’s just how strong I am."

Hearing no reply, Jiang Xueli knew she’d made things difficult for Lin Zhengran and quickly tried to come up with a solution.

"W-well... if the wet towel is too uncomfortable, my clothes are still hanging in there. I think only half of my shirt got wet. You could use the dry part to dry off. It’s not like I can wear it tomorrow anyway."

Lin Zhengran’s voice came from inside. "It’s fine. I’ll just wring it out again and make do."

Jiang Xueli flinched, shrinking her neck. She had a feeling she was going to get a smack when he came out.

She continued to blow-dry her hair.

It felt like only two minutes had passed before Lin Zhengran finished his shower, opened the door, and stepped out.

Jiang Xueli looked back at him, surprised. "That was so fast! Has it even been five minutes?"

"Maybe ten minutes," Lin Zhengran replied. "Either way, I washed everything that needed washing."

Jiang Xueli peeked at him. He had put on a pair of pants.

But his upper body... it seemed even more alluring.

A faint sheen of moisture clung to his firm abs and pecs, making them look especially captivating.

She quickly averted her gaze and went back to drying her hair, not daring to look at him again.

’I’ve heard guys shower fast, but I never thought they were *this* fast,’ she grumbled to herself.

Sure enough, Lin Zhengran walked over and tapped her on the head.

Jiang Xueli yelped. She knew she’d get a smack for what happened earlier; she was used to it.

"How much longer are you going to be drying your hair?" he asked.

WHIRRR. The hairdryer hummed in Jiang Xueli’s hand. "This thing’s pretty weak. It’ll probably take another half hour since my hair is so wet."

"Half an hour? My hair would be dry by then. How about I use it first? When I’m done, I’ll help you."

"You’re going to... dry my hair for me?"

Jiang Xueli turned to look at him, but her feminine instincts drew her eyes involuntarily to the muscles of his torso. Blushing again, she quickly looked away and handed him the hairdryer. "You can use it first, then."

Lin Zhengran took the hairdryer. "It’ll be faster if I do it. Go sit on the bed and wait."

’Sit...?’ "I think I’ll just wait under the covers," she said.

"Suit yourself."

Remembering how exposed she felt just sitting on the bed, she dove straight under the covers, touching her still-damp hair.

’All that time with the hairdryer hadn’t seemed to do a thing.’

Meanwhile, Lin Zhengran stood beside the bed, briskly drying his short hair with efficient movements.

Jiang Xueli watched him from the side, her eyes tracing his profile and physique. Those delectable muscles made her gulp involuntarily.

’Even though she and Zhengran were always teasing and roughhousing...’

’...if you really looked at him, Zhengran was undeniably handsome, and his body was incredible...’

’What girl could possibly dislike a guy like this...?’

It only took a few minutes for Lin Zhengran to finish. He got back on the bed, hairdryer in hand, and saw Jiang Xueli pointedly staring out the window.

"What are you doing?"

Jiang Xueli said defensively, "N-nothing. Just... checking out the view. It’s so dark out tonight."

Lin Zhengran ignored her. "Close the curtains."

"Oh."

Biting her lip, Jiang Xueli half-sat up to pull the curtains shut. When she turned back, she saw Lin Zhengran had gotten under the covers too—and was right next to her.

She froze in shock.

’We’re under the same blanket!’

"Zhengran! Why are you so close?!"

"Can you stop being so jumpy? How am I supposed to dry your hair if I’m not close to you? Besides, I have to sleep in pants because you’re here."

Jiang Xueli knew he had a point, but...

’But I’m naked under here!’

Lin Zhengran gestured with his hand. "Come on, let me dry your hair."

"Um... okay..."

Jiang Xueli gulped again, the tips of her ears burning red. She lowered her head and turned to face him.

WHIRRR. The hairdryer hummed in Lin Zhengran’s hand as he cupped a handful of her soft hair.

Jiang Xueli’s little hands clenched into fists, her canine teeth digging into her lip. All she could feel was Lin Zhengran’s hand in her hair and the heat from the hairdryer.

Seeing how tense she was, Lin Zhengran asked, "Are you nervous?"

His words made her flinch. She grumbled inwardly, ’How could I not be nervous when I’m alone with a guy like this...’

"I’m... I’m okay. Not that nervous..."

Lin Zhengran wanted to laugh. "And you were thinking about... *other things*... when you’re this much of a wreck? If we actually did something, I’m worried you’d just burst into tears."

Jiang Xueli looked up, mortified, and retorted, "I’m not that timid! I’m just..."

She saw his hand in her hair, and her mind flashed to an image of a boy pulling on a girl’s pigtails.

Blushing, she lowered her head again. She really couldn’t believe herself.

"I’m just... shy, that’s all... Any girl would be shy if a guy brought her to a place like this! So stop teasing me, you big dummy! All you ever do is bully me. You’ve been bullying me ever since we were little."