Chapter 30: My Hand Through Your Golden Hair

The sound of water from the bathroom came in fits and starts. Gao Qinghe waited outside the door, her heart pounding with anxiety, afraid that Lin Xi might lose her balance and collapse.

Even after taking anti-nausea medicine, Lin Xi had still thrown up once. Gao Qinghe had brought her water, helped her to the bathroom, and fussed over her for a long time.

It was already the early hours of the morning, and Lin Xi insisted on taking a shower.

Gao Qinghe grew impatient waiting, but she didn't feel comfortable just barging in to check on her. So she stood dumbly outside the door, wringing her hands together.

'If she and Lin Xi were still together, she'd have rushed in to check on her without a second thought.'

'...But maybe not, either.'

'Back then, Lin Xi always said I had no sense of boundaries. For example, he once barged into the bathroom while she was showering, and she gave him a thorough scolding.'

'He couldn't claim he had no intention of peeping... but they were boyfriend and girlfriend. It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other before. What was there to hide?'

'Besides, he only got casual because he was close to Lin Xi, right? Facing a stranger or an ordinary friend, she wouldn't just barge in while someone else was showering...'

"Qinghe, could you help me with something?"

The sound of water had stopped at some point. Lin Xi's voice came faintly from the bathroom.

"Okay, sure!" Gao Qinghe was startled into a jump, her voice twisting and nearly cracking. "I'm coming, Sister Lin Xi. I'm coming in..."

She gently pushed the door open.

A dense fog of steam rushed toward her, carrying the grapefruit scent of body wash. The bathroom light was soft, and a thin layer of mist clung to the mirror. Lin Xi had her back to her, her figure curving in all the right places. Her fair, slender body was enveloped in mist, like a hazy ink painting. Her back was bony and lean, the outline of her shoulder blades clear, like two delicate butterfly wings, glowing with soft yet sharp lines under the light. Her long hair was swept to one side, and water droplets traced an elegant path from her long, beautiful neck, flowing slowly down the groove of her spine, over her slender waist, washing over a very sexy brown mole on her lower back, then cascading over the soft, tempting curve of her hips. Crystal-clear water droplets outlined every contour of her body.

"What are you... what are you doing?!" She turned her head. Her eyes, confused and endearing, widened slightly. Her eyelashes fluttered. Her cheeks instantly flushed crimson with a hint of panic. One arm crossed in front of her chest, pressing against her not-large-but-perky softness.

Then her eyes narrowed quickly. Her lips trembled slightly. Her voice, no longer shy, instantly turned into a sharp shout: "Gao Jingdong, do you have a problem?! Didn't I tell you not to come in, not to come in?!"

...

"Qinghe? Qinghe, are you okay?"

None of that from the memory happened.

Gao Qinghe looked at Lin Xi, who was staring at her with a confused expression. By now Lin Xi had already changed into loungewear. Her hair was tied up high with a towel, and a few drops of water still clung to her collarbone. Her gaze was gentle, without the usual sharpness in her brows and eyes. Because she had just showered, her eyes and the tip of her nose were both red. The rising mist in her eyes made her look fragile and adorable.

"Ah, ah, I'm fine! What's up?" Gao Qinghe snapped back to reality and blinked.

Everything felt familiar, yet completely different.

"I was just wondering if you could help me blow-dry my hair?" Lin Xi smiled, a little hesitant and a little embarrassed. "I might need to find a place to sit down... How embarrassing."

The hair dryer buzzed. Lin Xi sat on the living room chair, letting Gao Qinghe's fingers run through her golden hair.

But Gao Qinghe was struggling.

Was the hair dryer really this heavy? After holding it for a while, her arm started to ache, but she didn't dare slack off. When she got tired, she switched hands repeatedly, maintaining the position of her arm for fear of shaking too much and burning Lin Xi. With her other hand, she gently worked her fingers into the roots of Lin Xi's hair to separate the wet strands. When the hot air blew, the skin on the back of Lin Xi's neck flushed slightly, and Gao Qinghe, a bit worried, raised her hand a little higher.

Lin Xi, on the other hand, had her eyes slightly closed, her body leaning back against the chair. The sharpness and fatigue at the corners of her eyes softened for a moment. Her head tilted slightly with Gao Qinghe's movements, making it easier for her fingers to comb through every part.

Lin Xi's hair, bleached too often, had become fine and soft, completely different from the healthy, resilient feel it had when she was in his arms before. Now, as the golden hair slipped through her fingertips, it carried a fragile softness, a little dry, as if it would break with just a slight pull.

Lin Xi had long become more distant than before.

Whether it was the increasingly pale blond hair or the thin, sharp eyeliner, in the later stages of their relationship, she had grown colder and colder. She no longer asked for help with big or small matters, as if she didn't need him anymore.

But now, Lin Xi seemed so fragile and soft, as if she truly felt at ease and genuinely depended on Gao Qinghe, the person she was.

"It should be about done, Sister Lin Xi. Feel and see if there's any spot still wet?" Gao Qinghe ran her hand through Lin Xi's golden hair again, gently working her fingers through the strands and smoothing them out.

"Mm," Lin Xi reached up and touched her hair. "Pretty good. Thank you so much, Qinghe!" Lin Xi turned her head, surprise even showing in her eyes. "I'm sorry for making you hold such a heavy hair dryer... Ah, you really helped me out a lot today. I'm glad you're here." Lin Xi smiled sincerely and warmly, the curve of her lips incredibly soft and sweet. This, in turn, made Gao Qinghe a little embarrassed.

"Oh, don't say that, Sister Lin Xi... I should be the one thanking you for letting me stay over." Gao Qinghe turned her head away, her cheeks warming slightly, her long hair brushing over her shoulders. "You should go to sleep. I'll take care of cleaning up."

Watching Lin Xi's back as she entered the room, Gao Qinghe felt a mix of emotions.

Lin Xi had never depended on her like this before. That kind of smile—she had never seen it since the first day she met Lin Xi.

'What changed? I should still be the same person, flustered and at a loss when things happen. All I can do for her is boil water and get her medicine—I've even gotten weaker physically.'

'Why is Lin Xi able to depend on me like this?'

Gao Qinghe reached into her pocket and touched the Tiffany necklace she had carelessly taken off before going to the hospital. Her heart suddenly jolted. Then, in her mind, she suddenly saw the mocking expression on Lin Xi's face when she had described Xiang Bei as someone who didn't know how to take care of people.

'Depend on me, not Xiang Bei—'

A faint sense of superiority rose in Gao Qinghe's heart.

'She's different now.'

'Just because she chose me and showed her vulnerability in front of me, that proves I'm more useful than Xiang Bei.'

'Ha, perfect.'

Passing over the necklace, she took out her phone and opened the clock app.

Then, she set a series of alarms on her phone: 5:30, 5:40, 5:50.