"Hey! You—"
"Stop with the 'hey.' I have a name. You can call me Ye Chen."
"Okay, Ye Chen, can't you think of something to help me?"
Ye Chen shrugged. "There's nothing I can do. Here, I have a set of clothes I just bought, never worn. If you don't mind wearing men's clothes, you can use these."
"Men's clothes…" The girl hesitated.
Ignoring her reaction, Ye Chen pulled out a set of men's clothes from the wardrobe and placed them in front of her. Then he grabbed his basin and headed for the bathroom.
Just as he reached the door, he seemed to remember something and turned back. "There's a basin under the bed for bathing. It has shampoo and body wash. If you don't mind, you can use those."
"Hey… Don't you have a toothbrush?"
"Uh!" Ye Chen paused, returned to the dorm, grabbed a new toothbrush from the cabinet, and handed it to her, along with his toothpaste.
"Thank you!"
It was the first time the girl had thanked him. Ye Chen shrugged again and left to wash up.
When Ye Chen arrived at the bathroom, the captain and the others had already finished washing up but hadn't returned to the dorm, clearly waiting for the girl to leave.
"Sorry about this, Captain."
"It's not your fault. Has she left yet?"
Ye Chen shook his head. "She's probably washing up now."
Captain Li Gang looked at Ye Chen and said, "Forget it. Let's eat first. We can change our clothes after breakfast."
"Okay," Ye Chen agreed, then turned to Zhao Peng. "Let me use your toothpaste."
"Brother Chen, you gave her your toothpaste?" Zhao Peng asked, handing it over.
"What else could I do?"
"Uh!" Zhao Peng scratched his head, unsure how to respond.
Once Ye Chen finished washing up, the five of them returned to the dorm. The girl was gone, and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
But they didn't change clothes yet, fearing she might walk in while they were changing.
"Ye Chen, we're going to eat. Make sure she leaves when she comes back."
"Got it. I'll send her off."
"Good."
After the others left, Ye Chen sat in the dorm and waited. One minute, five minutes, ten minutes, half an hour passed, and the girl still hadn't returned. Ye Chen smiled wryly.
He knew women could be slow, but he didn't expect it to take this long just to shower.
By this time, the others had finished eating and returned. "Is she gone?" Li Gang asked.
Ye Chen shrugged. "She might still be showering."
"What? It's been so long," Fuzhu checked his phone.
As a married man, Li Gang seemed to understand women better than the three bachelors. He didn't say anything but told Ye Chen, "We'll go for a walk. Call me when she's gone."
"No need, Captain. You've been on duty all night. You should rest."
Li Gang shook his head. "No way. We're security guards, tasked with keeping the peace. How would it look for us to be sleeping while a girl is here?"
"It shouldn't matter. We're helping her," Ye Chen scratched his head.
"Doesn't matter. We must maintain our image as security guards."
With that, Li Gang led the others outside, probably to find a secluded spot to rest.
About twenty minutes later, the girl returned with the basin. Seeing her, Ye Chen was momentarily stunned and rubbed his nose, feeling it itch.
The girl was tall, at least over 1.7 meters, even in flat shoes. Though not much shorter than Ye Chen, her slim figure made his clothes look very loose on her. Particularly around the neck, it revealed a fair expanse of skin, making Ye Chen momentarily lose his composure.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing…"
The girl tugged at the oversized clothes. "These clothes are too big and uncomfortable, and the fabric is so rough."
Ye Chen's clothes were made of ordinary material, nothing like the quality she was used to.
Ye Chen had planned to scold her, but her appearance made him forget. Now, it felt awkward to say anything.
"At least you have something to wear. Oh, by the way, where are your clothes?"
"They're in the bathroom. Why?"
"You left them there? Didn't you wash them?"
"I don't know how."
"You…" Ye Chen didn't know what to say. He quickly ran to the women's bathroom, encountering a cleaner coming out.
"Excuse me, ma'am, could you do me a favor and bring out the clothes inside?"
"Clothes?" The cleaner gave Ye Chen a strange look before going inside.
A minute later, she returned with a dress.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome. Is it for your girlfriend?"
Ye Chen smiled awkwardly. "No, not exactly. Just a friend who had a bit too much to drink."