Chapter 311 Shower Gel

Xiao Jue suddenly felt his throat was dry again.

He picked up the water glass on the table and took a big gulp. The water was cold, and the coolness traveled from his throat all the way to his stomach, but it did not extinguish the inexplicable restlessness in his chest.

"Did you understand?" Zhou Heng asked, his gaze still fixed on the book as he turned a page.

"That's about it."

"About how much different?"

Xiao Jue did not answer the question.

Zhou Heng raised his head.

Xiao Jue was looking into his eyes.

"Zhou Heng".

"Um."

"Are you this nice to everyone?"

Zhou Heng's finger paused for a moment on the edge of the book page.

"...What?"

"It's nothing." Xiao Jue suddenly smiled again, putting the smile back on his face, and looked down at the draft paper. "I didn't understand this step. Can you explain it again?"

Zhou Heng was silent for a moment, about to explain the calculation principle of that step, when Xiao Jue's chair moved a few centimeters closer to him again.

The distance between the two people's shoulders has changed from a fist's width to a gap of two fingers.

Zhou Heng didn't notice. His entire attention was focused on the problem, his pen tip pointing to a line on the draft paper, explaining it word by word.

Xiao Jue rested one hand on the table, his body slightly leaning towards him.

The scent of the shower gel still lingered in the air, though fainter than before, almost imperceptible, like a wisp of white smoke about to dissipate.

The delicate aroma of white tea mingled with the clean warmth of Zhou Heng's body, creating an indescribable atmosphere that made one want to get closer yet dared not approach too closely.

After Zhou Heng finished explaining the steps, he turned to him and asked, "Do you understand?"

The two people's faces were very close at that moment.

Xiao Jue was so close that he could see the curve of Zhou Heng's eyelashes, from root to tip, each one as if drawn with an extremely fine brush.

He could feel Zhou Heng's breath as he spoke; it was warm, with a hint of the minty coolness of toothpaste.

Xiao Jue's fingers curled slightly.

"I understand," he said.

But his gaze never left Zhou Heng's face.

Zhou Heng nodded and turned back to continue reading. He turned a page and wrote a few words in the margin with a pencil; the handwriting remained neat and undisturbed.

Xiao Jue lowered his head and looked at the draft paper filled with the solution steps.

On the bottom line of the paper, Zhou Heng wrote, "Note: The law of diminishing marginal utility applies only if other conditions remain unchanged."

The handwriting was neat and elegant, forming a stark contrast with Xiao Jue's own crooked numbers on the paper, as if two completely different worlds were converging on the paper.

When night fell, the lights in room 409 were already off.

The curtains weren't fully drawn, and the light from the streetlights seeped in through the gaps, drawing a thin, long, bright line on the ceiling.

The air conditioner hummed, blowing out a dry, cool breeze characteristic of late autumn, keeping the room temperature just right so that no one could fall asleep.

The four people were each on their own beds, and the light from their phone screens shone from different directions.

Zhou Heng lay on his side, holding his phone in his hand, scrolling up and down.

Xiao Jue's voice suddenly came from the opposite bunk. It wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet room, like a pebble thrown into a still lake.

"Zhou Heng".

Zhou Heng's thumb paused on the screen for a moment.

"Um."

There was another few seconds of silence. The light from the phone reflected on the ceiling and flickered slightly, probably because Xiao Jue had turned over and was facing him.

"Where did you buy that shower gel?" Xiao Jue's voice was slightly unnatural and casual.

Zhou Heng was stunned for a moment.

This question came out of nowhere.

He turned his head and looked at the bed opposite him through the dim light.

"I just...grabbed it at the supermarket," Zhou Heng said, his voice slightly sluggish, as if he had just been pulled out of his focus. "I didn't pay attention to the brand."

"Oh," Xiao Jue responded. After a moment, he added, his tone no different from before, even more casual, "It's just sitting in the bathroom, right? I'll check it tomorrow."

"Okay," Zhou Heng said.

Then he locked his phone, turned over, and closed his eyes, facing the wall.

The breathing gradually became even.

Xiao Jue lay in the darkness, his eyes still open.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the dormitory was still filled with the lingering chill of the previous night.

Cheng Yue's snoring was very rhythmic, like a metronome that sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

Fang Yuzhou turned off his alarm clock after it rang once, probably because he had classes in the first two periods and wanted to stay a few more minutes.

Xiao Jue silently rolled down from the upper bunk, his bare feet stepping on the cold floor tiles, which made him shiver slightly.

He slipped on his slippers and tiptoed to the bathroom door, then pushed it open.

The bathroom is very small, with the sink, toilet, and shower area squeezed together. You have to be careful not to bump your elbow when you turn around.

The moisture hadn't completely dissipated, leaving a thin layer of mist on the tiles, and the air was filled with the mixed smells of toothpaste, facial cleanser, and various toiletries.

White tea flavor.

Xiao Jue stood in front of the sink, his gaze sweeping over the bottles and jars on the counter.

Fang Yuzhou's facial cleanser, Cheng Yue's shampoo, and a bottle of conditioner whose owner was unknown were squeezed together, like a group of roommates who weren't very familiar with each other but were forced to share an apartment.

Then he saw the bottle of shower gel.

The bottle is white with a pump head and the label is printed with simple text; it's not fancy packaging.

He hadn't heard of the brand much; it was a very common supermarket brand with almost no brand recognition. If it were placed on the shelf, it would probably be lost among hundreds of similar products, and people wouldn't even glance at it when passing by.

Xiao Jue glanced at the brand of the shower gel and memorized it.

Then he returned to his seat, opened his phone's notes app, and typed out those words.

Xiao Jue had no classes in the afternoon, so he went to the supermarket near the school by himself.

The supermarket wasn't big. The shelves in the daily necessities section were stacked in rows, and the fluorescent lights made the whole area look white and harsh. There was a strong, almost pungent, scent in the air, a mixture of laundry detergent and air freshener.

Xiao Jue walked among the shelves, his eyes sweeping over the rows of colorful bottles.

Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel—different brands, different scents, different effects: "long-lasting fragrance," "deeply moisturizing," "for men"—it's a dazzling maze of bottles and jars.

He searched for about three minutes and finally found the white bottle at the very bottom of the third shelf.

It's exactly the same as the bottle in Zhou Heng's bathroom.

Xiao Jue squatted down, picked up the bottle of shower gel, turned it over to look at it, and then turned it over to look at the label on the front.

Then he put the bottle in the shopping cart, stood up, pushed the cart to the checkout counter, and paid.