Chapter 27: The Bathroom
“Oh…” Ji Junxin’s slightly embarrassed face peeked out from behind the opened door. Her gaze swept over the flowers in Mi Hongdou’s hands and the luggage at her feet. After a moment, she finally said, “You’re here, come in quickly…”
Why didn’t her idol seem very happy to see her! Could it be that Qiao Rubai had forced this cohabitation on Ji Junxin? Although Mi Hongdou had been apprehensive and tried to refuse the arrangement before, she still had an indescribable sense of anticipation in her heart. This small anticipation, fueled by Yang Lianyi’s forceful encouragement on the way, had made her so nervous that she felt feverish. But now, Ji Junxin’s reaction made Mi Hongdou’s heart sink. She felt like crying, but she couldn’t show it on her face. Having come this far, there was no turning back.
Mi Hongdou gritted her teeth and stepped inside, not even glancing at Yang Lianyi in the hallway. Those who sell out their teammates today will be sold out themselves one day!
Inside, the smell of vinegar was even stronger, pungent even. The source of the smell was immediately apparent. Just two steps from the entrance, on the floor, lay a broken glass vinegar bottle, a puddle of vinegar, and a pile of vinegar-soaked paper towels. Vinegar was still slowly spreading from the edges of the paper towel mountain. The scene was quite spectacular in both scale and volume.
Why would there be a broken vinegar bottle in a hotel room? Mi Hongdou’s gaze instinctively moved upwards from the broken bottle. Hmm, the suite was quite luxurious, it even had an open kitchen. Eh, what were those? Mi Hongdou wanted to take a closer look, but a nimble figure darted out, blocking her view.
“Cough… this was an accident. I’ll have someone clean it up right away.” Ji Junxin nervously rubbed her fingers and gave Mi Hongdou an awkward smile. “Why don’t you go check out the room first?” She pointed towards the bedroom and gently pushed Mi Hongdou’s back.
After being pulled by her idol’s sleeve, she was now touched on the back by her idol! Mi Hongdou felt her previously cold heart suddenly warm up. The warmth continued to rise, threatening to rush to her face. Instinctively, Mi Hongdou felt that she shouldn’t blush, so she subconsciously wanted to get away from Ji Junxin and hide. She couldn’t care less about the items that had piqued her interest earlier.
Holding the flowers and dragging her suitcase, Mi Hongdou quickly darted into the small study. From the layout of the suite, Mi Hongdou was now out of Ji Junxin’s sight, but she could still hear her calling housekeeping to clean up. “Phew…” Mi Hongdou breathed a sigh of relief and touched her face. It was indeed a little hot.
After suppressing the inexplicable blush, Mi Hongdou finally had the chance to observe the place where she would be living with Ji Junxin for quite some time. She hadn’t had time to look at the living room outside. Now, standing in the small study, the bedroom was on one side, and the bathroom was on the other. She looked at the bedroom first. There was no door between the bedroom and the study, so they were practically connected, making it seem quite spacious. Standing in the study, facing the bedroom, there was a row of wardrobes on the left and a floor-to-ceiling window on the right. Between them were two single beds. The single bed by the wardrobe had a duvet cover with a white background and a light yellow puppy pattern, warm and playful. The bed by the window had a light purple jacquard duvet cover, looking elegant.
In her previous life, Mi Hongdou had watched many of Ji Junxin’s interviews and variety show appearances. In one episode, the artists were asked about their little-known quirks. Ji Junxin had mentioned that she always brought her own bedsheets, duvet covers, and pillowcases when staying away from home. Perhaps for the sake of the show’s effect, the host didn’t let her off so easily, saying that many people did that, so it couldn’t be considered a quirk, and urged her to share another one. Ji Junxin thought for a moment, but instead of mentioning a new quirk, she added to the previous one. When staying away from home, it was usually for work, and other people would inevitably enter her room. So, when she was out, the bedding she brought was usually in mature, elegant, and generous patterns. But in reality, what she truly liked and used at home were cute patterns. For example, pink bunnies, brown bears, and various colorful cartoon fruits… Mi Hongdou still remembered Ji Junxin’s slightly shy expression after saying that on TV, which made the other artists laugh. This self-exposure finally satisfied the host.
So, it was within Mi Hongdou’s expectations that Ji Junxin would bring her own bedding. However, what surprised her was that there was also a set for her. Her heart felt warm, an indescribable feeling.
The bedroom was clean and simple, and she finished looking around in a few glances. Then she looked at the small study next to her. There was a fruit bowl on the table, filled with apples and oranges that could be stored for a while, and a lot of fresh lemons. Using fresh fruit to scent the room was another one of Ji Junxin’s little hobbies. Because of this, Ji Junxin always had a faint fruity fragrance about her. It seemed that she liked lemons recently. No wonder she had smelled a faint lemon scent when they talked earlier. Mi Hongdou poked a small lemon in the fruit bowl with her finger, a smile appearing on her face.
One familiar little detail after another gradually calmed Mi Hongdou down. Although she and Ji Junxin weren’t considered friends yet, she felt that at this point in time, when Ji Junxin hadn’t been hurt by the scumbag yet and wasn’t so guarded against others, she could do more. Perhaps their relationship could go beyond just eating and drinking together like in her previous life. They could become closer friends, spend more time together, and have a longer-lasting relationship. Mi Hongdou’s thoughts at this time were still very pure, just wanting to get closer to her idol, be a good fan, and be a good friend.
Precisely because of this purity, when Mi Hongdou finished looking around the bedroom and the small study and turned her gaze towards the bathroom on the other side, she froze, then was completely stunned.
Meanwhile, Ji Junxin was marveling at the hotel’s amazing service. Not only were they willing to disassemble, buy, and move beds without complaint, but even the housekeeping service was lightning fast. The broken bottle and the paper towel mountain were swept away. Disinfectant spray, spray, spray, mop clean, disinfectant spray, spray, spray, wipe clean with a cloth. No more shards, no more stains. Soon, the sparkling floor looked as if nothing had happened. Watching the unsung hero finish the job in two minutes and leave, Ji Junxin closed the door, finally feeling… less embarrassed.
So, in a good mood, Ji Junxin appeared behind Mi Hongdou at her most awkward moment. “How is it? Is the room okay? The beds were just changed this afternoon. If you need anything else, we can add it.”
“Uh…” Mi Hongdou turned around woodenly, speechless.
Ji Junxin, taking the bouquet from Mi Hongdou and looking for a place to put it, didn’t hear anything after the “uh” and looked at Mi Hongdou questioningly. The person in front of her hesitated, as if she wanted to ask something but couldn’t bring herself to say it. Just as Ji Junxin was about to ask, she suddenly had a thought and quickly closed her mouth.
Could it be… that she had seen through it?
If she had known, she wouldn’t have been so hasty… Ji Junxin regretted it very much. After wiping the induction cooktop until it sparkled, Ji Junxin stepped back, stepped closer, looked left, looked right, and still felt that it wasn’t eye-catching enough, and its practicality wasn’t strong enough. After some consideration, Ji Junxin asked the hotel for a set of pots, pans, bowls, and dishes, and went to the supermarket near the hotel to buy some oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Ji Junxin wanted to make the place look natural, like a place where she would actually cook, so even though there was a small refrigerator in the living room with decent capacity, she had to reluctantly give up on various ingredients she wanted to eat and only bought some eggs and rice. There was no other way, she only knew how to make egg fried rice… However, without measuring cups and an electronic scale, she hoped that Mi Hongdou wouldn’t actually suggest that she show off her skills. Time was tight, and there were some flaws in her setup, but to create this atmosphere, Ji Junxin had put in a lot of effort and was exhausted. Just before Mi Hongdou knocked on the door, Ji Junxin had just discovered another flaw: the seasonings she had just bought were all new and unopened. A bunch of brand new things just sitting there looked too unnatural! But Ji Junxin was unlucky. Just as she opened the first bottle of vinegar, the knock came. Startled while trying to figure out how much vinegar to pour out to make it look more natural, her hand trembled, and the bottle of vinegar smashed on the floor. Then, hearing someone turning the doorknob outside, the panicked Ji Junxin could only hurriedly throw a pile of paper towels onto the spreading vinegar and open the door.
Could it be that she saw the brand new seasonings and suspected that they were all bought recently, and then misunderstood that she was inviting her to stay with the same intention as the girl who wanted to buy the rice, to have her cook? … Ji Junxin was anxious. Yes, the egg fried rice and peanut candy made by Mi Hongdou were delicious, but cooking was just a bonus, it wasn’t the main reason for inviting her to stay! She shouldn’t have been so hasty… It wouldn’t be good if the little empress misunderstood.
Ji Junxin’s setting up the kitchen was undoubtedly with the intention of creating a nice environment, arranging everything, and living together for a while. If Mi Hongdou was in a good mood one day and decided to cook something, she could also benefit. But if this caused Mi Hongdou to misunderstand and created a rift between them, it would be a great loss. Ji Junxin was anxious, but she didn’t know how to explain, afraid that speaking up would only make her seem more suspicious.
Anxious and flustered, Ji Junxin forgot that she was still holding the bouquet. Her subconsciously tightening grip on the flowers made the wrapping paper rustle. In the quiet room, where neither of them spoke, the sound was particularly noticeable. Ji Junxin immediately loosened her grip upon hearing it. However, this slight sound was enough for Mi Hongdou to notice Ji Junxin’s unease.
Mi Hongdou was worried that Ji Junxin’s slightly displeased expression was because she was dissatisfied with the room arrangement, so she no longer hesitated. She pointed at the bathroom connected to the small study, swallowed, and said, “The bathroom… it’s completely transparent, is that okay?”
What? Ji Junxin followed Mi Hongdou’s finger and froze…
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