"Lin Niu…" At the sound of that bloodcurdling scream, Yan Ting sprang toward the stairs, only to realize in an instant that the shriek had not come from Lin Ruofei. Yet there was no time to dwell on it. She raced down the stairs at full tilt.
When Yan Ting rounded the corner to the bathroom door on the first floor, she was met with a sight that left her utterly dumbfounded.
Lin Ruofei stood frozen in front of the half-open bathroom door, and inside, a completely nude Fang Yu was clutching a towel over his most intimate parts. The scene was steeped in excruciating, suffocating awkwardness.
"What on earth do you two think you're doing?" Yan Ting's delicate cheeks flushed bright scarlet at the sight. She grabbed Lin Ruofei's arm in a hurry and all but dragged her back up the stairs.
He watched the two women scamper up the stairs before slamming the bathroom door shut with a sharp crack.
A bitter, hollow feeling welled up in Fang Yu's chest, leaving him on the brink of tears with none to shed. He was still a pure, untainted virgin, for heaven's sake. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined his body would be seen in its entirety by a strange woman like this.
As he toweled the water from his skin, Fang Yu replayed the incident over and over in his mind. He had already finished his shower, and was just about to pull on his clothes, when the bathroom door had suddenly swung open, and a beautiful young woman had appeared right in front of him.
He had been completely naked at the time, every inch of him bare. Thankfully, his reflexes had been sharp enough to snatch up a towel and cover his groin at the last second. Otherwise, he would have been left with absolutely nothing left to the imagination.
If word of this got out, if it turned into some kind of "Fang Yu Scandal", his hard-earned reputation would be ruined forever.
"What the hell is this?" Fang Yu felt a surge of frantic frustration, only to shrug it off a moment later, a lazy smirk crossing his face. The woman who'd just seen him was stunning, with a figure to match. It wasn't as if he'd lost out by being seen. If worst came to worst, he could just sneak a look at her in return next time.
After a few moments of this self-assurance, Fang Yu pulled on his new clothes in a flash, blow-dried his hair, and finally stepped out of the bathroom.
"Fang Yu. Get over here." The moment he stepped out, Yan Ting and Lin Ruofei made their way down the stairs from the second floor, their faces thunderous with rage—so furious, in fact, that they looked as though Fang Yu had been the one peeping on them in the shower, not the other way around.
"What is it, Miss?" Fang Yu turned slightly, his gaze falling on Yan Ting, who had now planted herself directly in front of him.
At his question, a fresh surge of fury welled up in Yan Ting's chest. Yet when her eyes fell on Fang Yu, clad in his new outfit, the words died in her throat, unable to pass her lips.
"Xiaoting, this is the frumpy hick you were telling me about earlier?" Lin Ruofei stared at Fang Yu for a long moment, then leaned in to murmur in Yan Ting's ear, her voice laced with amused teasing. "I think he's actually quite handsome."
"Oh, shut up. If you think he's so handsome, you can have him as your boyfriend." Yan Ting shot Lin Ruofei an exasperated glare, before her gaze drifted back to Fang Yu, a flicker of bewilderment stirring in her chest. Was this really the same man from earlier? He looked absolutely nothing like the frumpy country bumpkin who'd walked through her door mere hours before.
Fang Yu stood silently to the side, not interjecting a single word into the two women's conversation. Yet when he saw the utterly unrecognizing look on Lin Ruofei's face, a twinge of disappointment crossed his mind. Seriously? She'd just seen every inch of my naked body, and she's already forgotten all about it?
He fell silent for a brief moment, watching the two beautiful young women bicker back and forth in front of him, a dull frustration settling in his chest. It seemed they'd called him over here for no other reason than to gawk at him like a monkey in a zoo.
And what's worse, they weren't even paying him for the privilege. The absolute nerve.
"Miss, did you call me over here to give me an order of some kind?" Seeing that they were still paying him no real mind, Fang Yu spoke up slowly. If they had nothing to say to him, he was more than ready to go find a bed and sleep.
"It's nothing. You can leave." Yan Ting spoke flatly, her voice icy cold as she jabbed a finger toward the door.