Leave It to Me

Early in the morning, Firefly woke up groggily in bed. After she looked around in confusion, the events of the previous night finally came back to her. After everything that had happened, she had lain down on the bed and fallen asleep without realizing it.

She got out of bed and made her way slowly out of the room. When she reached the living room, she found that Lin Yu was already awake and doing something in the kitchen.

Lin Yu noticed her too and greeted her with a smile. "Good morning. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Mm, I slept very comfortably," Firefly replied a little awkwardly.

"Really? That's good." He stopped what he was doing and came over.

"I bought some breakfast. Let's eat together after we wash up."

"...O-okay, thank you!"

Lin Yu patted Firefly's hair, which was a little messy from sleep. "Come on, we're roommates. There's no need to thank me."

Firefly held her head, her hair even messier now. "What does 'roommates' mean?"

"It's what you call people who share a place."

"Anyway, let's talk about that later. Come on, let's go wash up."

Before Firefly could figure out what "roommates" meant, Lin Yu pulled her into the bathroom.

Lin Yu took out a new toothbrush and a cup for rinsing. Both were light green, because light green was the color Lin Yu associated with Firefly! "These two are yours from now on. I didn't know what kind you liked, so I picked ones I thought were decent."

Firefly looked at the two things in her hands and smiled. "No, I like them very much."

"That's good. Now, if you don't know how to use them, just copy me."

Lin Yu began washing up, and Firefly started copying him in earnest. After washing his face, Lin Yu prepared to leave. "Oh, right, your towel is the light green one."

Lin Yu went to get breakfast ready, and Firefly came out of the bathroom after washing her face. As soon as she came out, she saw Lin Yu, who had been waiting for quite a while.

After she sat down beside him, Lin Yu pushed breakfast toward her. "This is called a youtiao, and this drink is soy milk. They're both common breakfast foods here. Give them a try and see if you like them."

Firefly picked up the fork that had been set out for her, speared a piece of youtiao, and put it in her mouth. She chewed carefully, and soon her eyes lit up. "It's so good! The outside is crispy, but the inside is soft, and it gets more fragrant the more I chew."

"I'm glad you like it, but the way you're eating it has no soul."

"No soul? What soul?" Firefly didn't quite understand what Lin Yu meant. Did food have a soul?

"It's a figure of speech. It means it's not quite perfect yet."

Lin Yu began demonstrating the proper way to eat a youtiao. "First, take a piece of youtiao, then dip it in the soy milk and swirl it around. Finally, take it out and put it in your mouth! Mm~ Delicious!"

After watching Lin Yu's demonstration, Firefly tried it herself. When she put the soy-milk-soaked youtiao in her mouth, the soy milk burst out. The rich soy flavor combined with the texture of the youtiao took it to another level.

"Mm! Mm!"

"Right? Isn't it delicious?" Firefly nodded vigorously in agreement, then stuffed her mouth full like a little hamster.

"Do you want to take a bath later?"

"Take a baff?"

"Yeah. Your hair's pretty messy right now, so you might as well take a bath while you're at it."

Firefly swallowed her food. "Oh, okay." But there was still soy milk at the corner of her mouth.

Seeing that, Lin Yu pulled a tissue from the box beside him and gently wiped it away for her. "Eat slowly. Look, you've got food around your mouth."

Firefly's mind went blank when Lin Yu suddenly came close. Once she recovered, she took the tissue from his hand. "...Um, I'll do it myself."

Seeing her reaction, Lin Yu realized he had overstepped.

"O-okay, sorry. Take your time eating. I'll go get some hot water ready for you." Lin Yu made a quick getaway.

Before Firefly could react, he had already run into the bathroom. All she could hear was the sound of running water.

She could tell that Lin Yu was a little flustered, but she couldn't understand why he had apologized. He had only startled her, and she wasn't angry.

"It's just... I have this strange feeling inside." Firefly touched her chest, feeling the sensation, but she couldn't understand why she felt that way, so she decided not to think about it. "Never mind. Eating comes first."

Although Firefly didn't mind, Lin Yu was starting to panic in the bathroom. He had simply seen something on her mouth and wanted to wipe it off, completely forgetting that she was a girl. "Firefly won't hate me, will she?"

Before long, Firefly finished all her breakfast. By then, Lin Yu had the hot water ready too.

He called Firefly over, explained how to use the shampoo and body wash, then took out something he had bought at a nearby supermarket that morning. "Remember to put this on after your bath."

"What is it?"

"Don't ask. All that matters is that you'll need it." What Lin Yu was holding was actually disposable underwear. He had originally planned to buy regular underwear, but he had overestimated how thick-skinned he was. It was too embarrassing for a grown man to go into a women's underwear store alone, so he would wait and take Firefly with him later.

After explaining everything, Lin Yu asked cautiously, "Um... Firefly, I'm sorry about what happened just now."

"Hm? Why are you apologizing? I wasn't angry."

"But the way you reacted just now..."

"Oh, I was just startled. I wasn't angry."

"I see. That's good, then. I won't disturb you. Take your time."

Lin Yu hurried out of the bathroom and ran into his room. "Phew~ Good thing Firefly wasn't angry." He wiped the sweat from his forehead as though he had escaped a disaster.

Hearing the sound of water from the bathroom, Lin Yu found himself imagining the scene inside. "No, no! Lin Yu, you're a gentleman. You absolutely can't think about such filthy things!"

Lin Yu began looking around, trying to forget the images in his head. Then he noticed several rolls of drawing paper in the corner.

"Oh no! How could I have forgotten something so important!"

Only then did Lin Yu remember that he had forgotten to pack up the drawings. They had to be sent out today, but he had to work in the afternoon, and the courier station wouldn't be open at night. He could only finish packing and send them out in the morning.

Luckily, he had noticed in time. Otherwise, he really would have forgotten.

Half an hour later, Firefly came out of the bathroom. When she entered the room, she saw long cardboard boxes scattered all over the floor.

"Lin Yu, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Firefly, you're done bathing? I'm packing a shipment."

"What's a shipment? Do you need my help?"

"Sure, but wait a moment."

Lin Yu ran to the bathroom and came back carrying a hair dryer.

"Let's dry your hair before you help."

Fresh from her bath, Firefly still had a faint blush on her face from the heat, like a freshly ripened apple, pink tinged with red. Together with her wet long hair and the scent of body wash, it gave one the urge to commit a crime, but Lin Yu forcibly suppressed the thought.

Firefly took the hair dryer, thought for a moment, then handed it back. "I don't know how to use it, so sorry to trouble you, but could you dry it for me?"

Hearing that, Lin Yu made an OK sign. "Sure. Don't worry, leave it to me."

He plugged in the hair dryer and waved Firefly over to sit down.

Once Firefly was seated, Lin Yu went behind her, turned on the hair dryer, and began drying her hair.

The warm air rushed through her hair, carrying a delicate fragrance into Lin Yu's nose and leaving him refreshed in body and mind.

Lin Yu couldn't help wondering when his shampoo had started smelling so good. He used it often himself.

As Lin Yu dried her hair, he combed it to keep it from becoming a fluffy kitten after it dried.

He had to admit that girls' hair really was troublesome to care for, especially long hair like this. Just drying it took quite a while.

"Looks like having long hair is pretty tiring for girls."