Chapter 33: The Awkward Aftermath

They sat facing each other on the floor, silent.

At the same moment, they looked up, then quickly lowered their heads again, staring at the fluffy carpet in a daze.

After a long silence, Ya Qi noticed Liu Ya was still naked and spoke first.

“Liu Ya, maybe… you should put some clothes on?”

“Ah? Oh…”

Liu Ya looked down blankly, raised a hand to cover herself, got up, and grabbed a normal set of pajamas from the wardrobe. After changing, she returned to sit on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at her shiny toenails.

Ya Qi glanced at her, then lowered her head and whispered, “Um… Liu Ya, why did you say I wasn’t here earlier?”

“Well… you could have said you weren’t here too…”

“I didn’t have anywhere to go either… we would have been caught right away.”

“Oh… that’s true…”

“…”

“…”

Ya Qi’s face was bright red with embarrassment, and she rubbed the carpet fibers with her fingers. Liu Ya was no better, fidgeting with her toes.

“Th-then… Ya Qi, did anything else happen?” Liu Ya mumbled hesitantly.

“J-just now? No… nothing special? Was there something else?”

“I don’t think so. I’m sure there wasn’t!”

“Exactly! I don’t think so either!”

“Is that so…”

“Yeah!”

Both their memories were as blank as if they’d been hit by a truck. Their conversation was vague.

But whether they were actually stunned dumb, or simply unwilling to recall, who could say?

“By the way… you had something to say in the living room, right? What was it?” Liu Ya broke the stalemate. Ya Qi seized the opportunity to change the subject.

“Ah! That… I just wanted to apologize. About dinner…”

“Oh… then go ahead.”

Ya Qi tugged at the carpet fluff and began slowly, “…Um… sorry, Liu Ya. I was wrong…”

“Alright… I’ll forgive you this once!”

“Wrong… Huh?”

Before Ya Qi could react, Liu Ya continued, “But… if you ever do that again… I… I won’t talk to you anymore.”

“Oh… okay! I won’t!”

“Mm. Alright.”

“Mm…”

Liu Ya’s face was flushed, her breathing a bit heavy, and she rubbed her legs together.

She glanced at Ya Qi, who was still looking down and silent, so she urged, “Okay, go take a shower! You smell awful…”

“Huh? Is there a smell?”

Ya Qi lifted her arm to sniff, and Liu Ya said impatiently, “Ugh, it’s sweat! Go wash!”

“Mm… fine. I’ll go now!”

“Go on.”

“Mm! Ouch!”

Ya Qi jumped up and stepped back, but as she turned, she banged her head against the door. Smiling wryly while rubbing her head, she didn’t dare linger and quickly opened the door to head to the bathroom.

After hearing Ya Qi go downstairs, Liu Ya tiptoed to the door, peered out to make sure she was gone, then quietly returned and locked the door.

Downstairs, Aunt Zhao was sitting on the sofa watching TV. She had just picked up a piece of dried fruit when she saw Ya Qi coming down stiffly like a robot.

Aunt Zhao looked bewildered as she noticed Ya Qi’s face was bright red too.

“Ya Qi?”

“Ah! What is it, Auntie?”

“You weren’t outside? I couldn’t find you anywhere just now.”

“Ah… no… I wasn’t…”

“You just…”

Before Aunt Zhao could finish, Ya Qi interrupted her, flustered: “Um, Auntie! I’m going to take a shower first! I’m all sweaty…”

“Oh, okay. Go ahead…”

Aunt Zhao kept the dried fruit in her hand, watching quietly as Ya Qi shuffled step by step to the bathroom. Only when the door closed did she pop the fruit into her mouth, chewing with interest, then turned to look up the stairs with a slight smile.

(Huh. What is that little Liu Ya up to now?)

“Auntie…”

Aunt Zhao was watching TV when Ya Qi called softly from the bathroom.

“Hm? What’s wrong?”

“There’s no towel in here.”

“Oh?”

(Ugh, I forgot… Earlier, Liu Ya took her own towel. Tonight we went out to dinner, so I forgot to bring one in.)

Thinking this, Aunt Zhao immediately got up and went to the bathroom door.

“Sorry, Ya Qi! I forgot… Wait a moment, I’ll get a new one for you!”

“Okay.”

Aunt Zhao went to the balcony and felt the towel hanging there. It was still a bit damp, which made her worry.

Because the weather was good today, she had washed everything that needed washing during the midday cleanup, but she hadn’t expected them not to be dry yet.

While hesitating, Aunt Zhao suddenly remembered there was a new towel in Ya Qi’s room that had been bought and washed but never used. So she went to the second floor.

Arriving at Liu Ya’s door, she heard muffled, heavy breathing from inside. She had a bad feeling but, since Ya Qi was waiting, she gently knocked.

“Liu Ya?”

“Ha… ha… Ah? Uh-huh!”

A loud thud came from inside, as if something had fallen, followed by Liu Ya’s pained moans.

“Ah… it hurts… Oh… oh no…”

“What’s wrong, Liu Ya? Are you okay?”

“No… I’m fine. Auntie, wait a moment… I’ll open the door.”

Liu Ya got up, holding her bottom, and limped to open the door.

“Auntie… is something the matter?”

She unlocked the door, opened it a crack, and poked her head out, breathing heavily in small gasps.

“Mm… Liu Ya? Were you… busy just now?”

“No… not at all! I just fell, that’s all.”

“I see…”

Seeing Liu Ya so meek and red-faced, Aunt Zhao didn’t want to call her out on it, so she gave an awkward smile.

“Um… haha… Sorry, Auntie might have come at a bad time. Can I come in?”

“What?!”

Startled, Liu Ya quickly held the door and closed it a bit more. Aunt Zhao now noticed Liu Ya’s right hand…

“Seems like… it’s not convenient? Haha…”

“Uh… no! It’s fine. You can come in… but what did you need?”

“Oh, Ya Qi doesn’t have a towel. I washed all the towels today, and they’re not dry yet. I remembered you have a new unused towel in your room, so I came to get it.”

“Oh, okay!”

“Then… could you get it for me, Liu Ya?”

“Um… Auntie, wait a moment!”

Liu Ya closed the door and fumbled inside for a while. Then she slowly opened it again.

“Alright.”

“Okay. I’ll be quick!”

With permission, Aunt Zhao quickly entered and rummaged in the wardrobe while Liu Ya stood aside, motionless.

Once she got the towel, Aunt Zhao didn’t dare delay and turned to leave. But from the corner of her eye, she noticed Liu Ya’s twisted pajama pants and sighed helplessly. She closed the door and whispered to Liu Ya, “Liu Ya! Just toss the clothes you need changed in the second-floor bathroom later. I’ll wash them tomorrow.”

“Huh? No… there’s nothing!”

“No? Really?”

Aunt Zhao gave her a meaningful smile.

“There… is something.”

Liu Ya looked away shyly and nodded slightly. Seeing this, Aunt Zhao didn’t pry. She just smiled and made a shushing gesture.

Liu Ya pursed her lips and said softly, “Sorry, Auntie.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Anywhere else?”

“Um… the bedsheet…”

“Alright. I’ll take it later. I’ll give the towel to Ya Qi first, then come help you change it.”

“Okay.”

“But Liu Ya. When you were alone, it was fine. But now Ya Qi is sharing the room with you. Don’t do… that in the room anymore. Go handle it in the bathroom. It’s easier to clean up.”

“Oh… okay. Thank you, Auntie!”

“Mm. It’s fine.”

With that, Aunt Zhao turned to leave, but then remembered something and looked back at Liu Ya.

“Oh, and remember to wash your hands!”

“Huh?”

Aunt Zhao raised her right hand, made a fist, and opened it twice. Ya Qi followed suit, looking at her own right hand. Realizing, she quickly hid it behind her back.

Aunt Zhao covered her mouth with a smile and went downstairs. Liu Ya didn’t waste time either. She quickly rolled the bedsheet into a ball and carried it to the bathroom.

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