A Peach Wood Comb

If one does not count the time when he was young, poor, and powerless and could only court Hou Yueqin, this was the first time after his success that he wanted to win someone’s favor, and that someone was his own. From a status perspective, she was the last person he needed to court. However, when did it start? He began to care about her every smile and frown, her every anger and sorrow, even childish enough to tease and mock her in words; when did it begin, that he got used to her sitting beside him reading a book, playing mobile games, or knitting while he watched TV? His eyes suddenly widened; every expression of hers was etched in his mind, so clear. He even guessed that once she left the room, she would certainly be lying on the bed flipping through a book, not seriously reading, but just killing time while waiting for him to finish his bath so she could dry his hair. Thinking of this, he stepped out of the tub, dried his damp body, put on a robe, and opened the door, as if to confirm, staring intently at her reclined on the bed. Lai Hui looked up from her book, saw him standing at the door, hurriedly tossed the book aside, walked up to him to tie his robe, and then went back into the room to fetch a dry towel. “Huh… didn’t you wash your hair today?” She didn’t notice his expression, turning back into the room with the towel. Zhou Yuqian stood there stunned, as if not knowing how to react, his clever mind blank, only wanting to confirm, but the result was something he was completely unprepared for. When did it start, that they knew each other so well, that everything was so natural? By the time he came back to his senses, Lai Hui was already in front of him, poking his chest with her finger, saying, “Are you just standing here to block the way?” “What are you doing?” the door god asked awkwardly, but still moved aside to let her pass. Lai Hui pointed at the clothes in the rattan basket, then raised the robe in her hand. “I need to take a bath, and I have to wash your clothes too. You standing here is making it inconvenient for me to move in and out.” “Are you annoyed? Do you expect me to run around while I bathe?” He meant well, but it was unappreciated; she just wanted him to rest early because she saw he was tired, otherwise, she wouldn’t bother telling him not to stand there like a statue. Defeated, she slumped her shoulders and sighed, “Fine, stand as long as you want; I don’t mind having a billionaire bodyguard standing outside while I bathe!” With that, she was about to close the door, but Zhou Yuqian quickly stuck his leg in, stopping the door, and said, “I didn’t wash my hair; you help me wash it!” So, Zhou Yuqian sat on the marble ledge by the tub, and Lai Hui stood inside, scrubbing his scalp vigorously, thinking all the while how to pull out a handful of his hair without him noticing it was on purpose. Zhou Yuqian squinted comfortably, his mouth still not idle: “Soap got in my eyes… scratch my ears… spray less water, it’s dripping down my neck!… Hey! Do you even know how to wash hair?!!” Lai Hui stifled a laugh, holding a small clump of his soapy black hair, and slowly said, “I don’t, and you’re asking too late!” With that, she began to scrub his scalp again, more fiercely. Zhou Yuqian grunted, squinting his eyes again, this time in pain. “Hey, come with me to the north next week!” “To the north? What for?” “To celebrate your birthday, and I’ll take a vacation too!” His scalp tingled with pain again; he furrowed his brows and turned his head to escape the claws. “Are you doing this on purpose? It hurts!” “Oh… sorry!” Lai Hui quickly apologized, softening her touch. “Why go to the north?” “It’s a good opportunity to inspect the branch office there!” What he didn’t say was that a few days ago, she had mentioned that it was snowing in her hometown, and she hadn’t seen snow in years. Moreover, if he didn’t take her away, she would definitely spend her birthday with her mother and Xie Jiayi. “You’re still thinking about work while on vacation?” she grumbled, then troubled, “But I always spend my birthday with my mom!” “You can come back to Lan for your birthday night, right?” Lai Hui nodded, forgetting he was facing away from her, his back to her, and her hand still absently scratching his scalp. After a while, she heard Zhou Yuqian’s voice again. “What have I given you for your birthday in the past?” “Nothing!” Zhou Yuqian looked up. “Nothing?” “You always gave me jewelry or checks after the fact!” It seemed there was some truth to that. He tried to recall; he hadn’t come here often in the past, unlikely to be here exactly on her birthday, and when it was mentioned later, it was always perfunctory. “I did give you something; it’s not like I neglected you.” He defended himself, then stood up. “Alright, I’ll rinse myself off; you go out for a while!” Lai Hui washed her hands and stepped outside, her bare feet on the birchwood floor, feeling a chill. She turned back suddenly, seeing a trail of wet footprints leading to the closed wooden door, the sound of water splashing through the door, faintly echoing in the quiet room, she suddenly felt lonely, hoping the sound of water would be louder, much louder. She stepped back a few paces, almost pressing her ear to the door, until the water stopped, then walked back and turned on the TV, flipping through channels – news, ads, entertainment gossip – she just wanted some noise in the room. “You can go wash now – why are you watching TV today?” Zhou Yuqian asked, running his hand through his wet hair, his heart jolted when he met her seemingly abandoned gaze. Lai Hui stared at him for a long time before asking herself in her mind – why watch TV? The cheers from the sports channel filled her ears, one wave after another; she furrowed her brows, then smiled at Zhou Yuqian with a comforting smile, “You think it’s noisy too, right? I was just thinking the same thing.” She turned off the TV; his voice alone was enough, the TV was just unnecessary noise. Zhou Yuqian saw her go back into the room to get a towel to dry his hair, quickly grabbing her hand. “No need to dry my hair; you go take your bath first!” The temperature had dropped, and they hadn’t turned on the heater. Zhou Yuqian hugged her tightly, pressing her hand against the warmest spot on his chest. In the darkness, he whispered, “Are you cold?” She shook her head. “No, are you?” But she didn’t ask if he wanted to turn on the heater. “I’m not cold either!” Outside the window, tree shadows swayed, and the winter wind howled; the warm bed gradually heated up, and he gently kissed her lips, the kiss growing more passionate. He felt the slender hand on his waist slowly tighten, her kiss becoming more enthusiastic. This cold winter night, there was no anger, no release, just the slow release of the tender emotions long hidden in their hearts. A black JAGUAR luxury sedan was heading towards a villa. Gazing towards the end of the asphalt road, there stood several European-style houses with pointed roofs, painted in blue. Lai Hui only glanced at them before turning her head towards the window. Through the green-tinted glass, the northern beach only bore a few long footprints. Of course, this was her guess; although no one could be seen on the pale sand, such a beautiful beach must have been visited by someone, even in the cold winter, when some romantic souls couldn’t resist the allure of the blue sea, waves taller than a person, and the slightly rosy clouds. Listening to the roar of the sea, the car soon pulled into the yard of a blue house. With white wrought-iron gates and a two-story elegant small building, they alighted beside the marble steps on the ground floor. The crisp sea breeze enveloped her, and Lai Hui tightened her coat collar, linking arms with the leisurely Zhou Yuqian as they entered their new home. At the entrance, they took off their shoes, and Lai Hui circled around a redwood lattice screen, stepping onto the polished hardwood floor, where she lowered her head to see her own dark shadow. With a childlike demeanor, she rubbed her right foot on the floor, then looked up to meet Zhou Yuqian’s half-smiling eyes. Slightly embarrassed, she said, “Is the floor… warm?” Zhou Yuqian looked at her feet and then her face, “Do you want to press your face to the floor to check the temperature?” Lai Hui gave him a look of “how boring” and retorted, “I’m not inexperienced!” “In the northern winter, it’s either heating or floor heating!” Zhou Yuqian handed his coat to the worker and said to Lai Hui, “I still have some work to handle; you rest for a bit, and we’ll go out for dinner later!”