Chapter 257: Drying Hair

 Chapter 257: Drying Hair

"Master, the handkerchiefs you asked for!"

In the cabin, Defu entered with several clean cotton handkerchiefs, glanced at Miss Yan, who was obediently standing, and then at the silent master. He quickly placed the handkerchiefs on the table before swiftly exiting.

Upon seeing the handkerchiefs, Daohua glanced at her damp hair and immediately smiled, reaching out to grab one. "This is for drying my hair, right?"

She spoke as she brought her long black hair to the front, beginning to rub it with the handkerchief.

Xiao Yeyang glanced at Daohua, his face stern. He stood up and snatched the handkerchief from her.

Daohua furrowed her brows, confused. "What are you doing?"

"Sit down!" Xiao Yeyang motioned to the chair with his chin.

Daohua studied his expression, thought for a moment, and decided to sit down obediently.

As soon as she sat, she felt her hair being moved to the back of her neck. Turning her head, she saw Xiao Yeyang holding the handkerchief, preparing to dry her hair.

"Actually, I can do it myself!" she said, reaching out for the handkerchief.

Since she had joined Xiao Yeyang on this trip unexpectedly, and the porridge stand needed extra hands, neither she nor Yuanyao had brought anyone along. Drying her hair was something she had planned to do herself.

Xiao Yeyang raised his hand, avoiding Daohua's, and coldly said, "Sit still."

Daohua sighed inwardly, realizing he was clearly angry. It seemed better to go along with him for now. She lowered her hand and remained still.

Only then did Xiao Yeyang begin to dry Daohua's hair.

Daohua sat quietly for a while, noticing he was silently drying her hair without saying a word. She figured he must still be upset, so she decided to speak up.

"Well, you should know, I'm very cautious about my life. I wouldn't joke around with my own safety."

Xiao Yeyang didn't respond but grabbed another clean handkerchief, continuing to dry her hair.

Seeing this, Daohua couldn't help but glance at his face.

Xiao Yeyang immediately said, "Don't move!"

His tone was sharp—he was still angry.

Daohua sighed internally and continued, "I thought carefully before jumping into the water to save them. First, I can swim; second, I was tied to a rope."

"I know," Xiao Yeyang cut her off, "you’ll say anything can go wrong, but even if the rope breaks, there's still you!"

"You were on the boat, and there were plenty of other sailors who could swim. Surely that would have been enough to pull me back up, right?"

"At worst, if something happened to me, I deserved it."

Before she could finish, Daohua felt her hair being pulled tightly. She turned to see Xiao Yeyang staring at her with an unhappy expression.

"Are you really cursing yourself?"

Daohua mumbled, "I didn’t mean it like that."

Xiao Yeyang growled, "Just be quiet!" As he said this, he accidentally pulled on her hair too hard.

"Ouch!" Daohua quickly grabbed her hair, glaring at Xiao Yeyang. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Xiao Yeyang wanted to explain but didn't want to weaken his stance, so he remained silent.

Seeing his reaction, Daohua huffed and loosened her hair. "Fine, I’m a bigger person. I won’t hold it against you."

Seeing her settle down again, Xiao Yeyang resumed drying her hair.

The two were silent for a while.

Daohua allowed Xiao Yeyang to continue, occasionally glancing at his face. Gradually, Xiao Yeyang’s stiff expression softened, and he focused intently on drying her hair.

Daohua's hair was long, thick, and soft. Every time the strands passed through his fingers, he felt a slight tingling sensation in his heart.

It was his first time drying a woman's hair, and he felt a little awkward. To ease the discomfort, he spoke up.

"Don’t ever do anything dangerous like that again!"

As soon as Daohua heard him speak, she turned around with a smile. "You’re not angry anymore?"

Xiao Yeyang snorted. "When was I angry?"

Daohua teased, "Just now, now, and maybe in the future. You’ve been angry the whole time, otherwise, why are you frowning?"

Xiao Yeyang paused for a moment. "I don’t care about your business. When we get back, let your three brothers handle it."

Hearing this, Daohua couldn’t help but stand up, which caused her hair to tug painfully.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed.

Xiao Yeyang quickly released his hand. "I told you not to move!"

Daohua rubbed her head, ignoring the pain. "Xiao Yeyang, you must never tell my three brothers about today, especially my eldest brother. If he finds out, he’ll nag me for half the day!"

Xiao Yeyang remained unmoved: "I think your big brother should properly manage you."

"Don't!"

Daohua reached out and tugged at Xiao Yeyang's sleeve, shaking it a few times, then said pitifully, "If my three big brothers find out, my grandmother and mother will definitely know too. Once they know about me saving someone from the river, I’ll never be allowed out of the house again."

"Xiao Yeyang, do you really have the heart to leave me locked up in the backyard and not let me out?"

Xiao Yeyang glanced at her and pulled his sleeve away: "I do."

Daohua's breath hitched, then she placed her hands on her hips and said, "Are you still my friend? It's just a small favor, and you're making such a big deal out of it."

Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua and turned his gaze away, remaining silent.

Since the tough approach didn't work, she tried a softer one.

Daohua immediately stood in front of him, clasped her hands together, and pleaded, "Xiao Yeyang, please don’t tell my big brothers about what happened today. I don’t want to be locked up in the backyard. Please, I beg you!"

Xiao Yeyang: "Then why didn’t you think about this before going into the river?"

Daohua's eyes twinkled: "Isn't it because I trust you? I knew you wouldn’t betray me, that you’d help me, right?"

Seeing her like this, Xiao Yeyang rubbed his head, then saw his sleeve being tugged again. He sighed deeply, yanked his sleeve away, and snorted, "This is the last time. Don’t expect it again!"

Daohua immediately smiled and clapped Xiao Yeyang on the shoulder, "This is what friends are for. Not asking you to go to the mountains of knives or the seas of fire, but to stand together, that's all. Thank you."

Xiao Yeyang raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "Don’t celebrate too early. Just because I won’t say anything, doesn’t mean others won’t."

Daohua smiled: "Don’t worry, Yuanyao won’t say anything. The people on the boat are all your people. If you didn’t tell them, they wouldn’t dare speak."

Xiao Yeyang: "You’ve thought of everything."

Daohua wore a proud expression.

Xiao Yeyang shook his head: "Aren’t you going to dry your hair? If you go back like this, without us saying anything, your brothers will figure it out."

"Dry, dry, dry, of course I will."

Daohua quickly sat up, then urged, "Use some strength and dry my hair quickly!"

"You, don’t take advantage of me!"

"Ah, be gentle, it hurts!"

"..."

Half an hour later, Daohua appeared back on the deck with her hair neatly styled. She looked around and asked Defu, "Where's Yuanyao?"

"Miss Dong is taking care of the people we rescued at the back of the cabin."

(The End of This Chapter)