Warm Water Burns, Chapter 13

She’d gotten a stomachache from cold drinks before, so there was no way she should be having anything iced right now.

Fu Lanzhuo reached up to the top shelf of the cooler and pulled down a bottle of almond milk. “Have this. It can be heated up. There should be a shared microwave downstairs in your dorm building.”

“I’m allergic to almonds.” Wen Yan’s gaze fell on the bottle in his hand.

“Allergic?” Fu Lanzhuo put the almond milk back. “Besides almonds, what else?”

“Walnuts, peanuts, chestnuts, and sunflower seeds.”

The corner of Fu Lanzhuo’s mouth twitched upward. “Your list of allergens is… rather unique.”

“Why do you say that?” Wen Yan turned to look at him.

Fu Lanzhuo stepped back slightly. “You’re the first person I know who’s allergic to nuts.”

Wen Yan’s lashes swept down. She turned her attention back to the cooler, scanned it quickly, and pulled out a carton of Shanhua whole milk. “I’ll get this. It can be heated up too.”

Fu Lanzhuo gave a low hum of acknowledgment and grabbed a bottle of cola.

“Let me treat you.”

As they walked toward the register to pay, Wen Yan pulled out her student card and said to Fu Lanzhuo.

He glanced at her and didn’t refuse. “Sure.”

Outside the convenience store, the night felt even quieter. Fu Lanzhuo raised his wrist to check the time. “It’s almost eleven. Head back to your dorm.”

Wen Yan nodded. “Mm.”

“Remember—heat up that milk before you drink it.” Fu Lanzhuo’s brow furrowed slightly, but he reminded her all the same.

“I know…” Wen Yan suddenly felt like Fu Lanzhuo was very much a parent.

“This is for you, gege.” Wen Yan held out the pack of biscuits to Fu Lanzhuo.

He paused.

The streetlight cast a soft glow over Wen Yan’s vivid, well-defined features. A few stray wisps of hair by her ear were lifted by the evening breeze, and a faint blush colored her cheeks.

The muscles at Fu Lanzhuo’s temple tightened.

Author’s Note:
———————-
This book isn’t very long, and the pacing will be fairly quick. That said, the male lead is quite restrained in the early chapters—given his age, that’s only natural. But he’ll lose control of himself soon enough! As always, every comment on this chapter gets a red envelope [shy][shy]

Chapter 10: Aurora – Pretty Tasty

The bathroom was thick with steam. Hot water poured from the showerhead, trailing down Wen Yan’s smooth back in winding rivulets, gathering at her waist into thin streams before disappearing into the soapy pool at her feet.

The exhaustion in her body washed away little by little.

After her shower, Wen Yan stepped out of the bathroom to find Xiao Xinrui just finishing the cup of instant noodles she’d bought for her, cradling the paper bowl and sipping the broth.

Wen Yan set her small toiletry basket on the wooden rack by the balcony and gave her a sidelong look. “Ruirui, who was it that said she was dieting? And you’re drinking the broth too.”

Xiao Xinrui ignored her completely, head buried in the bowl, slurping away. She loved instant noodle broth more than anything. Only after she’d drunk her fill did she pause and look up at Wen Yan. “It’s fine! I’m very optimistic. Tomorrow I’ll get back on the battlefield—meaning the diet. And Yan Yan, this one you got me is actually really tasty. I’ve never had this flavor before. It’s genuinely great. I’m buying this again next time. Ahh—I refuse to give up! Tonight is my last indulgence!”

Her outburst startled Zhong Youyou on the bed, whose head popped out from behind the bed curtain. “Honestly, you should stop doing the whole starvation diet. That’s the easiest way to rebound. Just go for a run tomorrow.”

Xiao Xinrui got up from her chair, pressed the lid back onto the noodle cup, and tossed it into the trash.

“But I hate running. In high school, P.E. was my absolute least favorite class.”

“Then you’re hopeless,” Zhong Youyou said.

“Can’t you just encourage me a little? Dieting for love—is that so easy?”

“It’s not like I’m the one dieting for love.”

“Zhong Youyou, you are absolutely going to have nightmares tonight!”

Wen Yan listened to the two of them bicker while collecting two pieces of laundry from the balcony. She folded them neatly and tucked them into the wardrobe. Her gaze caught on a black jacket. It was folded neatly on the second shelf, sitting beside a pink storage box.

Fu Lanzhuo had probably already forgotten about this jacket.

She couldn’t exactly throw it away, either.

After staring at it for a moment, Wen Yan pulled her gaze back and closed the wardrobe door.

In the dorm, Zhong Youyou and Xiao Xinrui were both still awake. Qiu Xue wasn’t staying in the dorm tonight, so Wen Yan sat at her desk to dry her hair. She’d only gotten it half-dry when she noticed her phone buzzing on the desk.

Yuanning: [Made it home.]

She’d almost forgotten—they had each other on WeChat, though after exchanging a few messages on the first day, the chat had gone dormant.

Wen Yan set down the hair dryer. Her half-dry hair draped over her shoulders and chest, the ends still carrying a cool dampness, occasionally letting a drop or two of water fall. She picked up her phone and replied: [Glad you made it home safe. I’m drying my hair.]

Yuanning: [Just got out of the shower?]

Zhemuw: [Mm.]

Yuanning: [Is it dry yet?]

Zhemuw: [Not yet.]

Yuanning: [Then don’t reply to me. Keep drying.]

Wen Yan pressed her lips together, set the phone back on the desk, and picked up the hair dryer again.

This time, the hot air blowing from the nozzle felt warmer than before—almost stifling. Wen Yan gathered her long hair to one side and lowered her head, carefully drying the ends strand by strand.

Once she was done, she unplugged the dryer, grabbed her phone, and climbed up onto her bed.

[I’m done drying.] She sent the message to Fu Lanzhuo.

Yuanning: [That was fast. Are you sure it’s fully dry?]

Zhemuw: [Mm, completely dry.]

Yuanning: [Sure?]

“…”

Once again, Wen Yan got the feeling that Fu Lanzhuo worried about her a great deal. In the past, her parents used to fuss over whether she’d dried her hair properly too.

Zhemuw: [It’s really dry. Do you want me to take a photo to prove it?]

Yuanning: [No need for that. You’re in a sensitive period right now. Best to stay warm.]

Zhemuw: [I know.]

Yuanning: [Get some rest early.]

Zhemuw: [Is gege going to shower now?]

Yuanning: [No, I need to reply to a few emails.]

Wen Yan’s brow creased slightly: [Am I taking up your time then, gege?]

Yuanning: [No.]

Zhemuw: [Then go take care of your work, gege.]

The chat window kept showing “typing…” but for the longest time, no message from Fu Lanzhuo appeared. He seemed caught in some kind of internal debate.

Wen Yan’s cheeks grew warm. Her knees bunched up the thin summer blanket, and she pressed her face—framed by a few loose strands of hair—into the pillow.

Finally, a new message popped up.

Yuanning: [I’m not busy tonight.]

Zhemuw: [Can those emails wait until tomorrow morning?]

Yuanning: [Mm.]

Zhemuw: [Are you sure, gege?]

Yuanning: [Copying the way I talk, are we?]

She wasn’t, really. Wen Yan had genuinely been worried about wasting Fu Lanzhuo’s time. She rolled over on the bed.

“Hey, Yan Yan! Quick question.” Xiao Xinrui, who hadn’t climbed into bed yet, suddenly appeared at the edge of the bed frame, rising on her tiptoes to pat Wen Yan’s mattress.

Wen Yan gripped her phone and pulled back the bed curtain.

Confronted with Wen Yan’s face—fresh from the shower, still flushed faintly pink from the steam, fair and soft—Xiao Xinrui blanked for a split second. Then she shook her head. “Yan Yan, a girl from our department told me that Jiang Lu’er is actually some kind of golden princess. And her uncle is Fu Lanzhuo! The VIP guest the university invited to the welcome gala—the chairman of Yaoheng! You joined the student council, so you probably know more than I do. Is Jiang Lu’er really Fu Lanzhuo’s niece?”

Wen Yan remembered Shao Tingyu saying this was inside information, so it didn’t seem to be common knowledge. She replied, “Mm, she really is Fu Lanzhuo’s niece.”

“Holy crap!! I’m so jealous of her. I wish I had an uncle who was rolling in that kind of money! Jiang Lu’er really hit the jackpot being born into that family!”

“Mm…”

Come to think of it, Wen Yan was a little envious too.

“Oh, right, Yan Yan—do you remember that older guy we ran into at the seafood buffet that day? That was Fu Lanzhuo! I thought he was a teacher at our school at the time.”

“I remember…”

“And he’s so incredibly handsome, oh my god. Why can’t I have an uncle who’s both gorgeous and loaded?”

The moment Xiao Xinrui finished that sentence, Wen Yan’s phone buzzed twice in her hand.

Yuanning: [I’m eating that pack of biscuits you gave me.]

Yuanning: [Pretty tasty.]

Wen Yan picked at her phone case with her fingernail.

“Yan Yan, why is your face redder than before? Though you really do look beautiful. I want to give you a kiss.” Xiao Xinrui leaned in deliberately.

Zhong Youyou smacked her bed frame in disgust. “You’re so gross!”

Knowing Xiao Xinrui was just joking, Wen Yan only felt awkward for two seconds before she twitched her lips. “Ruirui, you should go brush your teeth and get to sleep.”

“Fine, I’m going to brush! And after that, I’m going to do a horse stance to offset the guilt in my heart!” Xiao Xinrui spun around and headed for the bathroom.

The bed curtain fell back into place, blocking out the harsh white fluorescent light. Inside the enclosed, narrow space of the bed, all that remained was the glow of the phone screen. In that light, Wen Yan’s face looked translucent, a soft pinkish white. Her curled lashes hung low as her gaze rested on the screen.

[Eating this late at night—it’ll be hard to digest, won’t it?] Wen Yan typed back.