Chapter 70: That Blending
Long hair has its own troubles, especially when bathing, and after bathing.
After a few months, without noticing, Mu Le’s hair had already grown very long.
At the beginning, it even grew very quickly, almost like an explosion. Luckily, it slowed down later and returned to normal.
It’s not like she never thought about cutting it. In fact, Mu Le wasn’t very used to having long hair.
It was troublesome when sleeping and bathing, and it also took a lot of time to take care of.
But whenever she mentioned cutting it to Xiao Yuze, he would shake his head. His attitude was unexpectedly firm.
Mu Le once asked him why. Xiao Yuze just looked at her for a while. When she started to feel annoyed, he calmly said,
“Because I like you like this.”
That answer didn’t really satisfy Mu Le. But for some reason, her desire to cut her hair short slowly faded away.
She told herself it was just because she didn’t want trouble, but she forgot that long hair was actually more troublesome.
Maybe it was because Xiao Yuze liked it? But why should she care about what he liked?
Mu Le had been confused about this before.
Or maybe, ever since she became like this, she had often felt confused about many things.
Maybe girls are naturally more emotional than men? Or maybe it was just her personality.
Usually, after bathing, Mu Le would take care of her hair herself.
Well, “take care” was a bit of an exaggeration. She would just dry it a little, then play games while letting it air dry.
Luckily, her hair quality was very good. Even after months, it was still smooth, shiny, and neat, just like at the beginning.
Because of that, her classmates often asked her what products she used. But the brand names they mentioned sounded like a foreign language to her.
After all, even though she had become a girl, her habits hadn’t really changed.
The few skincare products she had were bought by Xiao Yuze because he couldn’t stand it anymore, and she rarely used them.
Alright, that’s a bit off topic.
The longer the hair, the harder it is to manage.
But Xiao Yuze was very patient. Sitting on the bed with a hair dryer and a wooden comb, he carefully combed and dried the hair of the girl sitting on the carpet in front of him.
Mu Le let him do as he wished, holding her phone and playing a simple but fun game.
But maybe because she wasn’t fully focused, the game ended quickly because of a big mistake.
Her finger paused on the “play again” button for a couple of seconds, but in the end, she pressed “exit.”
After closing the game, Mu Le blinked and suddenly asked,
“Hey… do you like me?”
The question made the man behind her freeze for a moment. After a pause, he said softly,
“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”
Xiao Yuze could clearly feel that something was off in her tone.
And it was true. Mu Le was still troubled by that strange feeling from earlier. Maybe even she didn’t know why she asked that question.
Mu Le didn’t answer. Xiao Yuze also stopped what he was doing, putting down the hair dryer and the comb.
He stayed silent for a moment, then suddenly bent down and reached under the girl’s arms. Since she wasn’t heavy, he easily lifted her onto his lap.
“Then, Lele… do you think I like you?”
“…I don’t know. No, it’s not that I don’t know, it’s just…”
Surprisingly, Mu Le didn’t resist this close contact, but her voice sounded confused.
Seeing her unsure expression, Xiao Yuze couldn’t help but smile.
He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently rested his chin on her shoulder.
“I… like you very much.”
“I know.”
This time, Mu Le answered more quickly.
Feeling the warmth from behind, her expression became complicated.
She had always known that Xiao Yuze liked her.
But what she didn’t know was… how deep that feeling really was.
Feelings like “liking someone” can actually have many different meanings.
But what Mu Le cared about wasn’t that, because she already knew the answer. What she really cared about was…
“Then let me ask you something. Lele, do you like me?”
Just as Mu Le was feeling confused, his voice sounded again by her ear.
“I do.”
There was no hesitation. Her voice was soft, but the answer was so direct that even Mu Le herself felt a little surprised.
But soon, she relaxed. Liking someone was just liking them, there didn’t seem to be anything hard to say about it.
“Then isn’t that enough?” Xiao Yuze held her a little tighter, his voice calm with a slight smile.
But after a small pause, Mu Le suddenly shook her head.
“What I mean is… do you like me as I am now, or… do you only like the ‘current’ me?”
Yes, this was the question she had always avoided, the one she didn’t dare to touch.
Deep down, Mu Le was gentle but a bit distant. She had always been afraid, because everything between her and Xiao Yuze now was built on this “change.”
Did he only like the person she had become now?
If one day, everything disappeared like a dream…
What would she do?
It was a very real question. Her world wasn’t like the stories she wrote, where everything had a clear cause and result, where everything followed a single path and stayed under control.
This sudden change had altered her life, changed everything about her. If she lost it all… then what?
She had been avoiding this question, because the deeper she got into her current life, the more she feared returning to the past.
It shouldn’t be like this. What she once wanted the most had, without her noticing, become the source of her fear.
But thinking about it, maybe people are just like this. Compared to the past, something more important had already taken its place.
What she had lost before had been replaced, even surpassed by something more precious. So how could she ever want to go back to how things were?
Maybe this kind of thinking shouldn’t belong to her, but feelings are not something that can be explained clearly.
What you wanted before may not be what you want now.
Like a toy you loved as a child, once you get something better, you naturally lose interest in the old one.
It’s not exactly the same, but the idea is similar.
Mu Le liked her current life. She couldn’t deny it, and didn’t want to.
At least now, she was happier than before.
If this change didn’t bring pain, but instead made her happier, then it was a good change.
Maybe that’s exactly why she was afraid of losing it.
Hearing her troubled question, Xiao Yuze also fell silent. Only now did he realize that even though he had done his best, there were still things beyond his control.
Feeling the uneasiness of the girl in his arms, he sighed softly and said slowly,
“What I like is just you. Only you. That’s all.”
He simply liked her, for who she was. Why should it matter whether it was the past or the present?
Past, present, or future… it could only be her. Nothing else.
In the end, she was just overthinking, just too afraid of losing what she had now.
“What are you even saying?” Mu Le blinked, not fully understanding.
Before she could think more, her body was gently pushed down onto the soft bed.
“Do you want me to explain it to you?” The man above her smiled, his voice as gentle and warm as always.
Mu Le thought for a moment, then tilted her head and smiled.
“Sure.”
Before she could finish speaking, her lips were already covered by something soft.
Some words couldn’t be spoken, some feelings couldn’t be clearly explained. In the end, they could only be turned into a quiet, sweet closeness between the two of them, blending into the night.
It was the strongest kind of emotion, so strong that it didn’t need any words.
The uneasiness and fear in her heart slowly faded away, leaving only warmth, and a soft, dreamy feeling…
And somewhere deep inside, a quiet, natural sense of longing began to grow.