Chapter Forty-One: The Tips of His Ears Turned Red

When Luo Yixia woke up the next morning, she found herself alone. She went to the bathroom but couldn’t find an extra toothbrush, either.

Still, she couldn’t possibly go downstairs with her hair wild and tangled like a madwoman, not with Zhou Yun and Song Shaohui around to see her. She had also forgotten to bring a change of clothes the night before.

As she stood there, torn over what to do, Song Chengyi opened the door and walked in, finding Luo Yixia pacing back and forth in the room.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Could you get me some clothes? And I couldn’t find a toothbrush or a face towel in your room,” she said.

Song Chengyi glanced at her and immediately understood her predicament. It was one thing at night, but in daylight, people might see her on the way, and that wouldn’t do.

He went into the bathroom, opened the cabinet, and found a spare toothbrush.

“Use this for now. As for a towel, use mine. I’ll go get your clothes,” he said, dashing out.

“Wait—” Luo Yixia called after him.

Song Chengyi paused at the door.

“Um, I didn’t… cough… I don’t have any underwear. Could you get that for me too?” Luo Yixia’s head was bowed and her voice so soft it was almost inaudible, but he still caught her words.

The tips of his ears flushed red. “Alright,” he responded gently, then left.

Luo Yixia covered her face, mortified. She had counted on her thick pajamas and hadn’t bothered with a bra, though she was at least wearing underwear. When staying at Song Chengyi’s apartment, she never forgot, but at home, she’d slipped back into old habits, thinking the pajamas were enough. She hadn’t thought about what she’d do in the morning.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yun and Luo Hongtao were having breakfast downstairs.

“Chengyi’s here? Has he eaten?” Zhou Yun called out.

“Morning, Dad, Mom. I’m just here to grab some clothes for Yixia.” Song Chengyi greeted them, then dashed upstairs.

Zhou Yun, brimming with satisfaction, said to Luo Hongtao, “See? Chengyi may not talk much, but he dotes on Yixia so much.”

Luo Hongtao saw it all too well, but the thought that the daughter he’d raised for over twenty years was suddenly someone else’s cabbage left him feeling both aggrieved and helpless. He only grunted in response.

Song Chengyi entered Luo Yixia’s room, opened her wardrobe, and picked out a pale yellow dress. Then, remembering her request, he searched the small drawer to the side. As he retrieved the items, his ears flushed even deeper. Looking away, he grabbed two pieces at random, wrapped them in the dress, and hurried off.

He jogged all the way home.

Zhou Yun saw her son come in. “Where have you been running off to so early?”

“I went to get Yixia’s clothes,” Song Chengyi said, lifting the bundle in his hand.

Before Zhou Yun could say anything else, he was already bounding upstairs, feeling as though the things in his hands were burning hot—he didn’t want to hold them a second longer.

Entering the bedroom, he found Luo Yixia already washed up, struggling with a comb and her hair. She hadn’t paid attention the night before, and now her hair was full of stubborn knots.

Song Chengyi handed her the clothes. As she took them, something wrapped inside slipped out and fell to the floor.

Both of them froze.

In an instant, Luo Yixia’s face burned with embarrassment.

Song Chengyi immediately turned around. “I’ll go downstairs. Once you’re ready, come down for breakfast.” He all but fled, shutting the door behind him.

Luo Yixia snatched up her underwear from the floor and dashed into the bathroom.

Too—damn—embarrassing…