Lin Wanqing · Chat

When she pushed the door open and came in, I was chatting with my counselor. "Is the hair dryer in your room?" Without even looking up, I pointed toward the nightstand. She walked over, pulled open the drawer, rummaged through it, and found it. "Your dad's old one broke again," she said. "We need to buy a new one tomorrow." She started to walk out with the hair dryer, but turned back at the doorway. "By the way, what time do you finish class tomorrow?" "Four thirty." "Then bring one back on your way. Don't get one that's too expensive." "Got it." She stood at the door, wrapping the hair dryer's cord around it a couple of times, but didn't leave. "My hair is still wet." I looked up. Her hair was indeed wet, wrapped in a towel, with a few damp strands slipping out and sticking to her neck. "Then dry it." "My arms are sore." She let out a small laugh. "I spent the whole afternoon moving files at work today." I put down my pen, stood up, and walked over. She straightened up from the doorframe and handed me the hair dryer. "Turn around." She turned around, her back to me. I plugged it in, and the hair dryer began to hum. Her hair was very wet; I parted it with my fingers, the warm air following my touch. She stood still, her head slightly bowed. Her hair slowly dried, turning from a dark brown to a light chestnut. There were some stray hairs at the nape of her neck, standing up from the warm air; I pressed them down with my fingers. The hair dryer turned off. "Done." She gathered her hair together and turned back to look at me. "Not bad." "Of course." She smiled, took the hair dryer, and left. I went back to my desk and picked up my phone again. The desk lamp illuminated half a page of the *University Handbook*. Those few stray hairs on the nape of her neck just now, when they were blown up by the warm air, the skin at the roots... I spaced out for a few seconds, flipped the scratch paper over, and started calculating again. A breeze blew in from the window, slowly dispersing the scent of her shampoo left behind in the room.