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Liao Tingyan has been fortunate since coming to this strange world. She arrived unexpectedly, but at least she was fully dressed and her hair was properly tied up. And it seemed when she combed her fingers through it hours later, to have been freshly washed. Since women in dramas always slept with their hairstyles intact, sometimes with all the decorative pins still in them, she was confident in just taking out the obvious adornments and settling in for bed. Changing such adornments was not too difficult, as the style was expertly wound and very resistant. She could accomplish a great many looks with the same hairstyle and the pins swapped out and rearranged.
But it’s been nearly a week since she’s come to this world, and she’s beginning to feel a bit… Oily.
She’s been bathing, of course—there’s a lovely bath in her quarters. And with her master’s gift, she can summon any number of salts and soaps she may need from the ever-bountiful qiankun pouch. But while her skin has been well taken care of, her hair is beginning to suffer. It hangs, rather limp, down her back. And her scalp! Her poor scalp is itching like she’s never known it possible. She needs to wash her hair and do it fast.
The only problem is… She doesn’t know how to fix her hair after.
She’s tried to study the hairstyle without taking it out, of course she has, but she’s never had this much hair to work with! Even when she grew her hair long, she never grew it this long. It would’ve been impossible! She would’ve been too frustrated to commit to it. Now, she’s severely regretting never once attempting growing out her hair or popular hanfu hairstyles on herself. Those styles required a good amount of teasing and extensions and hairpieces, and she simply did not have the time to even think about it.
But what’s she to do now? She cannot live like this, with her hair all greasy and itchy and pulling at her scalp. And if she looks even remotely off or out of place with a less-than-perfect hairstyle, that may not bode well for her life here. She’s trying her best to blend in after all! If she’s in any way exposed as a false Liao Tingyan, she’s uncertain what would happen to her. And if she dies in this world, does she die in real life, too?
She mustn’t think like that.
No, what she needs is someone who knows what they’re doing who won’t ask questions and won’t judge. And there’s only one person she can think of who fits such a description.
Ruling’s eyes are wide with surprise when she sees Tingyan at her door. Usually, they meet at a common area, or in Tingyan’s quarters. She hasn’t even seen inside the other girl’s rooms. She’s so mysterious and secretive. Not that Tingyan can blame her! The other girls here all seem so vicious and scheming, it’s no wonder Ruling still keeps her a little at arm’s length. But maybe this here will make her trust her. To admit to something so embarrassing is surely a marker of friendship.
“Tingyan,” Ruling greets.
“Ruling—I hope I’m not disturbing you,” Tingyan replies with a smile. “Can I come in?”
Ruling blinks, hesitates, and ultimately steps out of the way to let her in.
Her rooms are a bit darker than Tingyan’s, with deeper colours decorating its walls and floor. But it feels very Ruling. It works with the robes she has on. She spins around to get a better look of the entire ensemble.
“I love it! It suits you,” she remarks with a smile.
Ruling’s brow furrows a little, but she still smiles. Hesitant again, wary.
“What can I do for you, Tingyan?”
Heat rushes to Tingyan’s cheeks, though she’d played out the scene in her head over a dozen of times. It’s an embarrassing thing to admit, not knowing how to do something so basic. But she must grin and bear it, as she has since the moment she’s arrived here. At the very least, this may soften Ruling’s heart.
“I need your help,” she admits, reaching for the girl’s hands. “I… Well, it’s difficult to explain, but…”
Ruling raises her eyebrows encouragingly, her lips parting slightly with a silent question.
“Before my master sent me here, I seemed to have suffered a little accident, and I’ve forgotten a great many things… Including… Doing my hair…”
She winces and touches her hair unconsciously. She grimaces, feeling the oily texture of her roots, and quickly wipes her hand on her skirts.
Ruling winces a little, putting two and two together. “But your hair…”
“Well, it was like this before the accident, so…” She shrugs. “I’ve just been freshening it up as best I can, but I really need to wash my hair! It’s feeling absolutely dreadful, and I’m sure it will start to look it too.” She gasps with a sudden realization. “And what if Grandmaster notices and considers my uncleanliness to be an insult to him?”
Ruling laughs a little. “Are you really afraid of him? You seem so confident.”
“A little,” she admits, swatting at the air between them . “Oh, I try not to show any weakness in front of him, or anyone, but you know… He is rather powerful and scary, don’t you find?”
Who couldn’t find Sima Jiao intimidating? Even if he has his moments, he is ultimately much more powerful than she is, and ultimately could discard her whenever she ceases to amuse him—or whatever she does for him. She still hasn’t worked that one out just yet.
Her friend—Tingyan hopes she can call her a friend—laughs softly. “Well, yes. Who doesn’t? I’ll help you freshen up for Grandmaster. In your rooms?”
“Good idea,” Tingyan agrees. “All my favourite soaps are there. Come on.”
She grips the other girl’s hand tighter and drags her to her own quarters. Ruling has to run to keep up.
Bathing is something she knows how to do in this strange world. It’s not much different from back home. The aesthetics and the ambiance are of course better, but it’s fundamentally the same. Still, when Ruling offers to help her wash her hair, she can’t pass up the offer. After all, she’s never had this much hair before. And as Ruling helps her remove the structurally integral pins from her hairstyle, she realizes just how much it is. And it all comes from her head—no extensions or extra pieces inserted for volume. All just her own hair! No human woman could ever!
She practically cries the moment Ruling dumps a pitcher of water over her head. Glorious water! She’s never felt more energized. She can’t even begin to imagine how she’ll feel when there’s soap in her hair.
Ruling takes her time with the soap, making sure to massage it into every strand. Not even at the most luxurious salon has she received such treatment. What else does this world have? People here seem to be amazing at everything!
“Ruling,” she murmurs, “I’ve never felt this amazing. How can I ever repay you?”
The other girl hesitates, fingers freezing against Tingyan’s scalp. Slowly, she combs her fingers through her hair, as though remembering to move.
“If you can’t think of it now, just tell me later,” Tingyan suggests. “As long as I can do it, I will.”
“…Thank you.”
Tingyan smiles to herself. Ruling is still so wary, and she can’t blame her. But in time, she will surely understand her intentions are good. She only wishes to make a friend, someone she can ask for help now and again. In this place, she has no one on her side—except perhaps Grandmaster. But Grandmaster is not a friend. He is not someone she can confide in. She isn’t sure what kind of person he is just yet. Whatever he wants, she will do her best to provide it. As long as she survives, that’s all that matters.
But maybe Ruling could be her friend. It would make some things so much easier, just knowing she had one.
After her hair has been thoroughly washed, Ruling helps her comb it out. They brush in oils from Tingyan’s pouch that make her hair shine as it had the first day she arrived in this new world. Then, Ruling slowly guides her through the process of styling it in a similar fashion to the one she had before. Her hair must be magic, even, because it doesn’t take nearly as much teasing as Tingyan would have assumed. It’s all quite easy.
“I almost feel silly asking you now,” Tingyan admits, gazing at the finished product in her mirror. “It just looked so complicated.”
“Of course, it would seem that way if you’d forgotten,” Ruling reassures her. “At least now you know.”
Tingyan hums happily, giving her head a little pat as she examines it some more. It really is done quite well, and so similar to her previous style. No one will notice a difference!
“Can I ask you something?” Ruling inquires hesitantly.
She turns from her mirror to face the girl head-on. “Of course!”
Ruling glances downward, pursing her lips. She takes in a deep breath before asking, “Why’d you ask me for help?”
“We’re friends,” Tingyan replies with a shrug. “Aren’t we?”
Ruling frowns slightly, like she doesn’t quite believe it. “But if I told anyone about your… memory loss…”
“But you won’t,” she asserts confidently. “Because we’re friends.”
Ruling gazes up at her, eyes shining in the candlelight. If Tingyan knew her better, perhaps she’d think she was holding back tears. This world is so cutthroat—she expects Ruling hasn’t had many friends. She overheard the way some of the girls talk to her. But Tingyan trusts her. She’s decided to trust her. She has to trust someone, even if it’s the wrong person.
She doesn’t think Ruling is the wrong person. She can just tell.