Night.
At Mother Jiang's home.
It was past nine.
In the bathroom, Dong Xuebin stripped off his clothes, slipped into a pair of plastic slippers that he had no idea belonged to whom, stood beneath the showerhead, and turned on the hot water to wash his hair and shower. The moment the hot water fell over him, the comfort was beyond words. But Dong Xuebin wasn't showering just to feel good. Mother Jiang and Jiang Fangfang had insisted on keeping him there, and he still had no idea where he would sleep tonight. Would he share a blanket with Jiang Fangfang again like last time? Or sleep on the sofa? He had been run ragged these past few days and hadn't had time to shower for several days. No matter where he ended up sleeping, he couldn't exactly crawl under the covers filthy. He had to keep up appearances and not let Sister Jiang and the others laugh at him.
Ten minutes...
Twenty minutes...
Half an hour...
Dong Xuebin washed himself thoroughly, getting himself spotlessly clean. At the end, he even used mint-scented body wash, leaving himself smelling fresh.
All right, time to head out.
After blow-drying his hair, he opened the bathroom door. A waft of Chinese medicine immediately crowded in from outside. The old lady had probably just finished drinking her medicine. Jiang Fangfang was clearing bowls from the table, while Mother Jiang wasn't in the room, likely having returned to her bedroom. Then Dong Xuebin spotted something on the floor in front of the living room TV cabinet. Another floor bed had been made. There was a mattress and a bamboo mat underneath, with a thin double blanket spread over the mat and two pillows covered in woven grass pillowcases. Everything was laid out neatly. Jiang Fangfang