323. The Scrubbing Board【3/99】
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Chen Yao was lounging on the sofa, legs crossed, glued to his computer screen like it was the last day on Earth—not that he was watching a thrilling movie or anything, more like a dramatic documentary on paint drying.
His cheeks still puffy from who-knows-what, he wasn’t exactly feeling up for lunch, either. Living alone in this rental apartment after having shared a space with Lin Nan should have meant more freedom, but instead, boredom wrapped itself around him like a thick blanket. He glanced around the tidy room, concluded that cleaning wasn’t on his agenda today, and sighed.
What’s taking Lin Nan so long to get back?
Is she okay out there?
Did she even eat lunch?
The more he pondered, the more irritable he became, wanting to jump into a game to occupy his mind. But his anxiety was so peculiar, he felt like doing nothing at all—just staring at the ceiling while lying awkwardly on the tiny sofa.
Finally, after what felt like centuries, he got up and traipsed into the bedroom, only to be greeted by a sad sight—piles of clothes cluttered up at the sink.
His and Lin Nan’s laundry was normally washed every two days, with each of them doing their own. But today, with nothing to do, he figured he might as well wash Lin Nan’s clothes too.
He filled a bucket with water and tossed in both stacks of clothes, when lo and behold, a bra floated to the surface, catching his eye.
Wait—Lin Nan likes cute pink and white bras? Who would’ve guessed?
It always felt like her clothes carried a fragrance, and washing them didn’t seem so bad after all. In fact, it made him a bit eager.
As he diligently scrubbed, he suddenly heard the front door creak open.
“Chen Yao! What are you doing?” Lin Nan’s voice rang out, and her head peeked through the bedroom door. Once she spotted him working with the laundry, she exclaimed, “Why are you washing my clothes too?”
Chen Yao turned his head with a wry smile. “Just bored, thought I’d help out.”
“And my underwear?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s soaking too.”
Lin Nan frowned, “You can leave that for me to wash.”
Without skipping a beat, he continued scrubbing and replied, “Why not? If it’s easier this way, I can just do your laundry from now on. You handle the cleaning around here.”
“Careful, or you’ll spoil me into becoming a little princess who does nothing!”
“Being my little princess doesn’t sound so bad.”
Lin Nan’s scowl softened a bit as she stepped inside again. “Are you sure?”
“Why not?”
“Well, you know that means I’ll just eat and wait for you to do everything at home!”
“If I have time…”
She peeked into the sink behind him, checking how he was doing with the laundry. Seeing him adeptly washing clothes calmed her nerves. “Just don’t stretch my clothes out, and have you eaten yet?”
“Not yet, no appetite.”
“Stop for a moment. Look what I brought back for you!”
Lin Nan tugged at the hem of Chen Yao’s shirt, dragging him outside. Chen Yao, reluctantly putting down his work, mumbled, “What could be so great? Flowers? Chocolate?”
“Seriously? That’s so basic! You liked those before?”
“Please don’t tell me you brought home another guy?” Chen Yao quipped, his mood lightening with the joke.
As they exited the bedroom, Lin Nan suddenly covered his eyes from behind, giggling, “No peeking! Surprise!”
Surprise, huh?
Images of Lin Nan revealing herself as the surprise danced in Chen Yao’s mind.
She guided him to the coffee table, exclaimed excitedly, and hastily ripped open the packaging of a game console, placing a copy of ‘Zelda’ on top.
“Okay, open your eyes!”
Obediently, Chen Yao opened his eyes to see… a game console staring back at him.
He froze for a moment, then turned to Lin Nan, “Where did you get the money for this?”
“My uncle bought it!”
“That lacks sincerity.”
Lin Nan handed him the console, her brow crinkling slightly. “Why do you look so unexcited? Isn’t it said that guys love game consoles?”
Taking the console, Chen Yao felt a twinge of disappointment. This wasn’t the surprise he imagined, and it was a conned gift from Lin Nan?
“I paid for it!” Lin Nan huffed, her chin up defiantly. “I didn’t want to get ripped off, so I had my uncle buy it. Once he did, I just secretly transferred the money to him! So technically, I bought it myself!”
“I still have over a thousand from my last job, plus your mom gave me a nice sum and so did mine—birthday money and living allowance included—after getting the console, I still have over a grand left!”
“Mhm.” Chen Yao’s face was still void of enthusiasm. He fiddled with the console for a moment and then placed it back in the box. “Let’s just return it? No need to waste money.”
“Huh?” Lin Nan’s eyes widened as she frowned. “If you want to return it, you can do it yourself! Getting to that store will cost us over thirty bucks for a taxi!”
She thought this gift would make Chen Yao jump for joy, but instead, he seemed ungrateful.
She had worked diligently the last few days researching prices online and had even found a shop with excellent reviews and reasonable prices. Afraid of getting something faulty, she had enlisted her uncle’s help to buy it since he owned three gaming consoles already—far more knowledgeable than she was.
Fuming, Lin Nan turned to march back to the bedroom. Chen Yao paused, quickly flashing a grin as he followed her, “Okay, okay! No return, how about we play the console together tonight?”
“Not interested!”
“Wait, it’s not that I don’t like it, I just think it’s too expensive.”
“Whatever!”
Chen Yao hurried to block the bedroom door, flashing a sheepish smile at Lin Nan, who looked adorably irritated.
She lifted her chin, glaring at him. “Move! Go return your console!”
“I said we’re not returning it.” Chen Yao sighed, “You know I can be quite blunt…”
“Blunt? That’s just a lack of social skills!” Lin Nan kicked at his leg. “Normally, you’re not this dim-witted! Just think if you’d given Xiong Da ‘Monster Hunter’ and he said he didn’t like it? How would you feel?”
Chen Yao imagined it for a second and confidently replied, “He wouldn’t say he didn’t like it, and it’s not like I said I don’t like game consoles! Mainly, I know you don’t have that much money, so this is too much. Honestly, I’d be just as happy if you brought me takeout.”
“Tsk!”
“Alright, alright, enough already.”
“Who’s causing a ruckus?”
With her hands on her hips, Lin Nan shot daggers at him.
“I’m the one causing a ruckus! I’ll kneel on a scrubbing board! Kneel on a keyboard! Kneel on a durian!”
At that, Lin Nan’s face lit up, and all her anger evaporated as she dashed to the bathroom and dragged out the scrubbing board.
Chen Yao’s expression turned from eager to terrified in an instant.
