“H-Help me wash my hair.” Her voice grew softer and softer, the last two words barely audible.
“I'm serious.”
Flora fell silent.
She stood at the top of the stairs, her face flushed red. After a long moment—long enough that Chen Mian thought she was going to refuse—she suddenly spoke in a tiny voice, “Then... okay.”
Chen Mian walked up the stairs and followed her into the bathroom.
Flora stood in front of the sink, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her dress, looking like a startled little animal.
Having just bathed not long ago, she was currently wearing a simple, solid-colored house dress, her hair loosely tied back with a hairband.
“Sit here.” Chen Mian patted the small stool next to the sink.
Flora nodded blankly and sat down with her back to him, her spine held perfectly straight.
Chen Mian untied her hairband, letting her light brown hair fall free. The ends indeed had some flour dusted on them.
He adjusted the warm water to a comfortable temperature, tested it with the back of his hand, and then gathered her long hair into the basin.
Flora's body tensed up instantly.
“Is it too hot?”
“N-No, it's not.” Her voice trembled slightly.
Chen Mian's movements were very gentle. The warm water soaked through her hair, slowly rinsing away the flour and debris.
Flora's hair was very soft, and once wet, it felt even softer, like a sheet of light brown silk.
He lathered the shampoo, and a fresh floral scent quickly filled the bathroom.
Flora's body gradually relaxed from its stiff posture. Unconsciously, she leaned her head back a little, resting almost entirely against Chen Mian's palm.
Then, realizing what she was doing, she suddenly bolted upright. “S-Sorry!”
“It's fine.” Chen Mian gently guided her head back. “You can lean back, it's okay.”
She didn't lean back again, but she was no longer tense either.
Suds slid from her hair, dispersing in the warm water.
As Chen Mian's fingers brushed past the side of her head, he accidentally grazed the tip of her ear. Flora shuddered, nearly jumping off the stool.
“Th-That spot is a bit sensitive,” she whispered.
Remembering the exact same thing happening when he blow-dried her hair last time, Chen Mian couldn't help but chuckle. “I'll be careful.”
He gathered her long hair, avoiding her ears, and rinsed it thoroughly with warm water.
Once finished, Chen Mian wrapped her hair in a dry towel and gently pressed it to absorb the moisture. “All done.”
Flora sat up and looked up at him.
Her face was flushed from the warm steam, and though a trace of nervousness still lingered in her eyes, she looked mostly happy, her lips curved in a soft smile. “Thank you.”
Chen Mian grabbed the hairdryer and plugged it in. Flora obediently sat back down on the stool with her back to him.
The hum of the hairdryer filled the bathroom as warm air blew through her damp hair.
“Mr. Chen Mian.”
“Mhm.”
“When you helped me blow-dry my hair last time, I was actually really nervous.” She paused. “This time, it didn't seem as bad.”
“I never thought anyone would ever wash my hair for me.”
Chen Mian's fingers paused for a fraction of a second before continuing.
The hairdryer droned on.
“So...” Her voice grew softer. “So, thank you.”
Chen Mian switched off the hairdryer.
The bathroom fell into sudden silence.
He wound up the hairdryer's cord and hung it on its hook. “You're welcome.”
Flora stood up. Her fluffy hair fell around her shoulders, the slightly curled ends catching the light with a soft luster.
Her lips parted slightly. “...Was today's condition met?”
“What condition?”
“The daily contact thing you mentioned before...” The tips of her ears turned red again.
Chen Mian let out a soft chuckle. “Yeah, it's done. Just like the massage.”
【Today's Interaction Quest completed: Help Flora wash her hair. +50 Points.】
【Current Points: 2690.】
...
That afternoon.
On the training field, Loviki sheathed her rapier and shook out her numb wrist.
“Monster,” she muttered under her breath. She reached down to pick up her water bottle, took a few gulps, and prepared to stand back up to continue training.
“Wait a minute.”
Loviki's movements paused.
She turned her head and saw Chen Mian standing nearby, holding a hair tie.
“What are you doing?”
“Tying your hair.” Chen Mian patted a nearby boulder. “Sit.”
“I can tie it myself.”
“During our sparring earlier, you swung your head too much. Your hair kept blocking your line of sight,” Chen Mian said, his face completely expressionless. “Retie it. It'll make your afternoon training more efficient.”
Loviki stared at him for three full seconds, her eyes brimming with suspicion. But Chen Mian's expression was flawlessly sincere.
“...Make it quick.” She sat down on the rock with her back to Chen Mian. “I still need to train.”
Loviki's body was held perfectly straight, but she didn't leave.
However, when it was time to actually start braiding, his movements paused.
Loviki waited for a couple of seconds. When nothing happened, she tilted her head back, a hint of doubt in her eyes. “Do you not know how?”
“I'm figuring it out.”
Loviki was silent for a moment, her voice laced with disbelief. “You offered to braid my hair, and you don't even know how?”
Chen Mian remained unfazed. “I'm starting. Don't move.”
Chen Mian gathered her hair once more.
Her black hair was very long. It was slightly coarser than Flora's, but very smooth.
He began braiding according to his own logic.
His very first attempt went crooked.
Without a change in expression, Chen Mian unraveled it and tried again.
Crooked again.
He unraveled it once more.
Loviki sat perfectly still, but her voice drifted back to him, carrying a hint of barely suppressed amusement. “So you actually have things you're not good at.”
On his fourth attempt, the braid finally took some shape, but it was incredibly loose, with several stray strands sticking out in all directions.
He unraveled it again.
“If you keep unraveling it, all my hair is going to fall out,” Loviki said.
“Almost got it.”
After a while longer.
“Done.” With that, Chen Mian took a step back to admire his work.
Loviki sat on the rock with her back to him. Two braids hung down from behind her ears, their ends resting neatly against her chest.
Still wearing her black, form-fitting training gear, she looked clean and sharp.
She walked over to the water barrel at the edge of the training field and looked down at her reflection.
Then, she froze.
Reflected on the water's surface was a black-haired, red-eyed girl. Two braids hung from behind her ears, resting over her shoulders, with black hair ties securing the ends. Combined with her usual icy expression, the look was... striking.
“...Chen Mian.”
“Mhm?”
“What is this?”
Chen Mian leaned against a large tree with his arms crossed, studying her seriously. “It's pretty cute.”
The air fell silent for a few seconds.
Starting from her neck, a deep flush spread across Loviki's face at a speed visible to the naked eye, all the way to her forehead.
She opened her mouth. “...What did you say?”
“It's pretty cute,” Chen Mian repeated. “It's different from your usual cold-faced look, but very cute.”
“Wh-Who asked for your opinion!” Loviki's hands flew to the hair ties, ready to rip them out.
But as her fingers pinched the hair ties, she stopped.
She looked down at her reflection in the water once more.
“This braid style...” She bit her lip. “Does it really block my vision less than my previous high ponytail?”
“It should.”
“...I'll take your word for it this once.” Loviki turned around, her expression dead serious. “I'll leave it until training is over. It's not for any other reason—it's purely for practicality.”
“Right, practicality,” Chen Mian agreed with a nod.
【Today's Interaction Quest completed: Help Loviki braid her hair once. +50 Points.】
【Current Points: 2740.】
Once training was over, she strode back toward the apartment, her twin braids swaying back and forth with each step.
Back in the apartment, she went straight into the kitchen, poured a glass of chilled Moonlight Grass tea, turned around, and handed it to Chen Mian. “Your payment!”
Chen Mian took the glass. Loviki walked straight upstairs, followed by the sound of her bedroom door slamming shut.
Flora sat on the sofa, her shoulders shaking slightly.
“Laugh if you want to.”
“I'm not laughing,” Flora said, her voice trembling. “I just think Loviki really is quite cute.”
Loviki's shout drifted down from upstairs: “I heard that!”
Flora pressed her lips together, her shoulders shaking even harder.
In her room upstairs, Loviki sat on the edge of her bed, staring down at her reflection in the mirror. “Pretty cute? That's the first time anyone has ever called me cute...”
She reached out and touched the braids in the mirror. The corners of her mouth curved up unconsciously before she quickly pressed them back down. “Is there something wrong with his eyes?”
She then placed the mirror face-down on the desk, collapsed onto her bed, and buried her face under a pillow.
Her two braids lay quietly across the blanket.
...
In the middle of the night, Chen Mian sat up and rubbed his forehead.
He seemed to have dreamed of the white-haired goddess who had reincarnated him into this world. She seemed to want to say something to him.
But as for what she actually wanted to say, he hadn't heard a single word clearly.
Maybe she wanted to explain why the system had been late?
Forget it. He couldn't hear it anyway.
Tomorrow, he would be able to upgrade the apartment to Level 3. He wondered if the Magic Hot Spring would have any effect on Flora's curse.
Rate on N.U.
