Chapter 36: Sweet Shrimp

“I’m done washing up.”

Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, Jiang Ling, who was sitting on the sofa, looked back and met those phoenix eyes.

Fang Chenxi was wrapped only in a bath towel, exposing large patches of her fair skin.

Her wet hair clung to her back.

The towel wasn’t short, but on the tall Fang Chenxi, it was clearly lacking, reaching only the base of her thighs and leaving her slender, white legs exposed to the air.

Because of her exercise, Fang Chenxi had a beautiful figure with a slender waist and long legs.

Jiang Ling felt she was already at the level where she could participate in a Beauty Pageant.

“Staring?”

A faint laugh rang out, and Jiang Ling snapped back to her senses.

Fang Chenxi had already walked up to her in sandals at some point, her beautiful eyes looking at her with a half-smile.

Perhaps intentionally, she braced the towel slightly with both hands, creating a small gap where it covered her lower abdomen.

Jiang Ling turned her head away, her speech becoming a bit stuttered.

“Didn’t I prepare a nightgown for you? Why… why didn’t you put it on!”

She had clearly given her one of her own new nightgowns.

Fang Chenxi didn’t answer.

Jiang Ling was puzzled, but then she suddenly heard a rustling sound.

Fang Chenxi had taken off the towel!

‘Wait, is she wearing nothing at all?’

She nervously closed her eyes, but then she felt Fang Chenxi sit down beside her.

The faint scent of body wash filled the air, making Jiang Ling feel a bit lightheaded.

“Why are you so nervous? Did you think I was wearing nothing?”

Her tone was full of mischief.

Jiang Ling jerked her head back to see that the Purple Nightgown was perfectly in place on Fang Chenxi!

Realizing she had been played, Jiang Ling was speechless.

She huffed and decided to ignore Fang Chenxi altogether.

Fang Chenxi’s figure was truly tall.

This nightgown was something Lu Yuyao had bought for Jiang Ling a while ago, but on Fang Chenxi, it barely covered her thighs.

It looked suggestive, giving off an unexpected vibe of a piece of lingerie.

Fang Chenxi wiped her hair with a towel, the corners of her mouth curving upward.

Jiang Ling’s gaze could hardly move away from her, which made Fang Chenxi very happy.

“Sister Chenxi, are you finished?”

Lu Yuyao’s voice came from upstairs.

Soon after, Lu Yuyao appeared, leaning over the railing.

Seeing that Fang Chenxi had come out, she looked toward Jiang Ling.

“Then I’m going to wash up now.”

Jiang Ling nodded.

The water heater in the First-floor Bathroom was broken, so the three of them had to take turns using the Second-floor Bathroom.

Fang Chenxi had just finished training and was covered in sweat, so naturally, she became the first one.

After the two of them bumped into Fang Chenxi at the Playground, Lu Yuyao was very happy and immediately invited her over to the house for a bit.

After all, the two families lived very close to each other, but Fang Chenxi rarely visited normally.

Jiang Ling sometimes wondered why.

Even though they lived so close and there was such a good opportunity to cultivate their relationship, Fang Chenxi never took advantage of it.

‘What is she thinking?’

Instead, she spent all day hanging around Jiang Ling.

‘She can’t possibly be interested in me, can she?’

Jiang Ling scoffed in her heart.

She wasn’t that narcissistic yet.

Even if she was a Blonde Beauty now, the others around her were also top-tier beauties.

In terms of status and family background, she had no basis for comparison with Lu Yuyao.

Analyzing it rationally, the probability of Fang Chenxi falling for her was less than one in 100 million.

“Where’s the hairdryer? Let me borrow it.”

Fang Chenxi had wiped her hair briefly with the towel, but it was still damp and uncomfortable.

“It seems to be in my room. Wait a moment, I’ll go get it.”

She had forgotten to put it back in the bathroom after using it last night.

Jiang Ling remembered it was in her room, so she stood up and hurried upstairs as if she were running away.

It was indeed there.

Jiang Ling entered the room, and the hairdryer was sitting on the vanity.

She picked it up and was about to leave when she heard footsteps behind her, followed by the door closing.

Fang Chenxi, wearing the Purple Nightgown, had followed her in and closed the door behind her.

She was now curiously surveying the bedroom.

“Fang Chenxi, I told you to wait outside.”

“It’s all the same. I can dry it here too.”

Jiang Ling was almost driven to laughter by her.

‘What do you mean “it’s all the same”? Are you treating my bedroom like a bathhouse?’

But Fang Chenxi didn’t care at all.

She took the hairdryer from her hand, sat down comfortably in the chair in front of the vanity, plugged it in, and then looked innocently at the still-standing Jiang Ling.

“So, would you please help me dry my hair?”

Jiang Ling was dazed.

The Fang Chenxi in her memory was always assertive and proud, but what was happening now?

That same Fang Chenxi always acted like a delicate woman in front of her, speaking with a soft tone.

Jiang Ling admitted that she was still an inexperienced girl and really couldn’t resist this kind of temptation.

By the time she realized it, her left hand was already gathering the damp, beautiful hair, and her right hand was holding the hairdryer, serving Fang Chenxi.

Fang Chenxi wore a smug smile, her legs crossed.

Her fair, tender thighs overlapped and swayed slightly, catching the eye like white waves.

Jiang Ling’s position was awkward.

She could only force herself to look up to avoid seeing the bottomless temptation wrapped in that Purple Nightgown if she looked down.

“It’s done.”

“That fast?”

Fang Chenxi seemed a bit reluctant to let the moment end, but her reaction only earned a glare from Jiang Ling.

“Otherwise, were you planning to dry it here for a lifetime?”

Jiang Ling’s meaning was clear, but Fang Chenxi was in no hurry to get up.

She scanned the bedroom one more time before slowly standing and following Jiang Ling out.

Usually, a girl’s bedroom would have some dolls, stuffed animals, or some pretty wallpaper.

However, Jiang Ling’s bedroom was very plain — so plain it looked like a rental property that had been cleaned out and was about to be vacated.

‘This room wasn’t like this in the previous life.’

Walking behind Jiang Ling, Fang Chenxi narrowed her phoenix eyes.

She knew about Jiang Ling’s family situation.

Originally, Jiang Ling was just leeching off Lu Yuyao’s family, but in this life, she was being so frugal and had even started working as a Game Companion.

‘Is she planning something?’

‘For instance, saving enough money to leave.’

That thought seemed plausible.

After all, the current Jiang Ling gave her the feeling that she didn’t want to live by relying on others’ charity.

Fang Chenxi shook her head; in the end, it was just her speculation.

“Hey, what are you doing standing there blankly on the stairs? If you have nothing to do, come help me cook.”

Jiang Ling liked to shower before bed.

Seeing that Fang Chenxi had nothing to do, she called her over to help.

Hearing her call, Fang Chenxi quickly came to Jiang Ling’s side.

She naturally took the apron hanging by the door and put it on, looking at her with a resentful gaze.

“You used to let me watch TV and drink tea.”

She made Jiang Ling sound like some kind of heartless woman who abandoned her.

Jiang Ling couldn’t be bothered with her.

Their time together lately had taught her that Fang Chenxi was a woman who loved to stir up drama.

A “bad woman” like her should be ignored; otherwise, there was no telling what kind of trouble she would cause next.

***

At the dinner table.

Lu Yuyao and Fang Chenxi were chatting happily.

It was completely different from the atmosphere when they first met.

The slight awkwardness of their reunion had been erased, and the current tone of their conversation was more like that of childhood friends who had grown up together.

Jiang Ling just ate her meal quietly, not speaking, leaving the conversation to the two of them.

“Jiang Ling, do you want to go back to my hometown with me for National Day?”

“Back to your hometown? Why?”

Jiang Ling was currently peeling a shrimp.

When Lu Yuyao suddenly asked her, her hand paused.

Lu Yuyao seized the opportunity, and her pink, tender mouth directly closed around Jiang Ling’s finger, taking the fresh and delicious shrimp into her mouth.

Jiang Ling was stunned.

Fang Chenxi was also stunned.

Lu Yuyao didn’t seem to realize that Fang Chenxi was sitting right across from them.

She usually joked around with Jiang Ling like this and had made the move subconsciously.

‘Sister Chenxi is still watching.’

A moment later, seeing the shock in Fang Chenxi’s eyes, Lu Yuyao’s cheeks turned crimson.

She coughed twice to ease the embarrassment and had to pretend nothing had happened as she continued asking.

“You’ll be bored at home by yourself during National Day. Come back to my hometown with me.”