Chapter 75 - 63: They Are All Washed Clean
The night was deep. One by one, the lights in the surrounding homes went out. Even the few late-night barbershops in the alley pulled down their rolling shutters after taking in their last customers.
A strange city, a familiar alley.
At the end of the alley, a guesthouse named Hua Banli was brightly lit, as if celebrating some joyous event.
It had a courtyard, a garden, and four rooms. The partitions between the rooms were simple wooden panels, offering no soundproofing whatsoever.
Because of the hot weather, the four girls went to shower together as soon as they got back. The pleasant sounds of them playfully splashing in the water could be heard.
"Ah! Aina, what are you doing? Don’t you know how to use the showerhead? Look, you got our pajamas all wet! How are we supposed to wear them now?"
That was Xiao Wanqing’s voice, complaining. If there wasn’t a man outside, they wouldn’t have cared. What would be the harm in just walking out dripping wet?
"Su Ran."
"Su Ran."
"Su Ran."
"Su Ran."
"What, what, what, what?!"
Su Ran felt a headache coming on. He walked to the outside of the bathroom. "Don’t call me unless you actually need something."
"We are calling you because we need something! Aina got our pajamas all wet. Can you get us a new set, please?"
"Oh. Wait here."
"And our underwear."
"..."
Su Ran turned and went to the adjacent room. He opened their four suitcases, which were all filled with the girls’ personal items.
Su Ran shouted toward the bathroom, "Hey, which sets do you want to wear?"
"Oh, just pick for us! Whichever kind you’d like to see us wear, just grab that one."
"Aina, if you keep trying to seduce our Su Ran with your words, believe me, I’ll pinch you till you pop!"
From their suitcases, Su Ran grabbed four slip-style nightgowns and matching underwear. He hung them on the bathroom doorknob, then turned and sat down in the courtyard.
"Hee hee hee... They’re all trimmed with lace. Tsk, tsk. So, Su Ran has a thing for lace."
The four girls looked at the nightgowns and underwear and saw that they were, indeed, all trimmed with lace.
「A moment later.」
Wearing the lacy slip nightgowns, the four girls emerged from the bathroom one by one, toweling their damp hair and swaying their full hips as they walked toward Su Ran in the courtyard.
’To be honest, after spending every day so intimately with them—eating together, living together—I’m starting to get a little desensitized.’
’Still, this enchanting, post-shower sexiness, like lotuses emerging from the water, is a sight I could never get tired of.’
Su Ran leaned back in his chair and asked, "All clean now?"
Xiao Wanqing scoffed. "What kind of lecherous talk is that?"
"What I meant was, now that you’re done showering, come sit down and have a late-night snack. It’s going to get cold."
"Aren’t you going to shower?"
"I’ll shower in a bit."
"Alright then."
The four of them sat down at the round glass table. The view offered by their slip nightgowns was stunning. Su Ran didn’t sneak peeks like a pervert, though. After all, they treated him like one of their own—how sordid would it be to steal glances? So, he just stared at them openly.
The evening breeze carried their sweet, feminine fragrance to him, a truly invigorating scent for the midnight hour.
Su Ran asked, "Can you three drink cold things?"
Three of them nodded. "We can."
"That’s good."
"???"
GLUG, GLUG, GLUG. He poured the beers. They first raised their glasses for a toast. Su Ran then set his glass down and said, "I just saw the news. It’s been raining heavily in Miaojiang, and there have been several landslides. Since Yiren’s hometown is so remote, how about we postpone the trip and go during the next National Day holiday instead? What do you all think?"
The other three girls looked at Xie Yiren.
Xie Yiren said, "My Ah Weng called me today. He said landslides have blocked several of the mountain roads back home. Since we’re on a road trip, it would be very dangerous. Let’s just do what Su Ran said and go next time."
Xie Yiren really wanted to go home for a visit, but there was nothing she could do about the situation.
’Besides,’ she thought, feeling a little insecure, ’to be honest, I’m the one with the worst family background in our group. A small tribe deep in the mountains... Maybe the other three don’t actually want to visit my home anyway?’
Xiao Wanqing glanced at Xie Yiren’s lowered head and said, "How about we just go to the county town near Yiren’s home and walk from there? Anyway, Yiren said they often walk out of the mountains. We all really want to go visit her home, right?"
Aina chimed in, "Yes, yes! A wife should follow her husband. I really want to see my hubby’s home."
Xiao Wanqing added, "Right! It’s just a little walking. These long legs of mine can power a tricycle, so I’m not afraid of a walk. We’re going to Miaojiang, and that’s final."
Xie Yiren’s heart warmed. She smiled and said, "Oh, really, it’s fine. It’s still dangerous to walk the mountain roads in the rain. What if something happened? Let’s just cancel for now. Next time."
"We’ll go next time. It’s genuinely too dangerous right now." Su Ran patted Yiren’s shoulder. "Yiren, when I get rich in the future, I’ll invest in building a road for your tribe. Then you can go home whenever you want!"
Xie Yiren chuckled and teased, "I’ll be sure to remember that. Come on, cheers!"
CLINK!
After another drink, Xiao Wanqing asked, "So if Chongqing is our last stop, when are we heading back?"
Su Ran replied, "Tomorrow!"
The four girls exclaimed, "Tomorrow? We’re not staying one more day? Wait a minute, you make it sound like you’re trying to escape Chongqing or something."
’I’m not trying to escape Chongqing, just this courtyard,’ he thought. ’The sooner we leave, the better.’
"I’m not escaping anything. School starts in a week, and I need to go home early to get ready."
"Alright then. If we’re leaving tomorrow, then tonight, we’re not stopping until we’re drunk! Cheers!"
After they chugged a few more glasses, everyone’s spirits were running high.
Aina said, "Just drinking like this is boring. How about we play a game?"
Liu Jinyu asked, "What is it this time? Your favorite Truth or Dare again?"
"Tch, that’s so old-fashioned. Let’s play something new, a card game I bought online."
Aina scampered back to the room and returned with a box of cards and dice, placing them on the table. The game was simple: roll the dice to see who gets the highest number. The person with the lowest roll gets punished.
Liu Jinyu said, "What kind of punishments are there? Let me see."
Aina replied, "No peeking! The thrill is the whole point. Hey, you three, you dare to play or not?"
Liu Jinyu and the other two girls shrugged. "We don’t care. We’re in."
Aina looked at Su Ran. "Su Ran, are you in? I won’t force you."
Su Ran nodded. "Sure. Since this is the last group game of the trip, let’s all have a good time."
Aina made an OK sign, picked up the dice, shook them, and revealed her roll: 5.
Next, Liu Jinyu: 4.
Next, Xiao Wanqing: 3.
Next, Xie Yiren: 4.
Last was Su Ran. He gave the dice a casual shake and revealed his roll: 6.
Sigh...
Hearing the women’s disappointed sighs, Su Ran laughed. "Hey, what’s with that? Were you hoping I’d lose?"
Aina said, "Duh! We just want to punish you. Wanqing, you got a 3, that’s the lowest. Draw a card and accept your punishment."
Xiao Wanqing casually drew a card and handed it to Aina.
Aina disappointedly showed it to everyone: [Perform a sexy dance].
Xiao Wanqing said, "My back has been sore the last couple of days, I don’t want to dance. I’ll draw another card."
Aina retorted, "No way! You have to have some sportsmanship. Don’t try to get out of it."
Xiao Wanqing sighed, "Fine, fine. It’s just a dance, I’ll do it. Give me a second."
She grabbed a light cyan-colored shawl to put on, then stood barefoot in the courtyard. She nodded at Aina, who gave an OK sign and pressed play on the music.
The intro was slow and soothing, and Xiao Wanqing stood there gracefully.
This was the first time Su Ran had ever seen Xiao Wanqing dance. She performed a piece from "Past Life, Present Life," a routine based on the Legend of the White Snake that was trending on TikTok.
Once the intro ended, she waved her arms, the light shawl fluttering. Her graceful figure moved with the music, her steps perfectly on beat, her sense of rhythm strong.
As Xiao Wanqing performed the dance, her eyes kept drifting toward Su Ran, whether intentionally or not.
The dance was short, only a few dozen seconds.
The music stopped, the dance ended.
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP. (Applause).
Xiao Wanqing returned to her seat, breathing heavily. "Phew... man, I haven’t danced in a while. I’m so stiff."
"Okay, let’s keep playing," she said, and they continued rolling the dice.
Aina: 2.
Xiao Wanqing: 5.
Liu Jinyu: 2.
Xie Yiren: 4.
Su Ran: 1.
"Wow~!"
The girls cheered. They finally had their chance to punish Su Ran.
Su Ran drew a card and handed it to Aina.
Aina looked at the card, then hesitated, at a loss for words. "Uh... this... I... How about you draw another one?"
Xiao Wanqing immediately protested, "No way! ’You have to have sportsmanship,’ that’s what you said. Hurry up and show it to us! Let everyone see what it is!"
Aina reluctantly revealed the card, nearly getting pummeled by her friends for her hesitation.
The question on the card read: [Besides your girlfriend, which girl here would you most want to sleep with?]