After Being Widowed For Ten Years - Chapter 6

An Rong waited and waited outside, but Pei Chongxi just wouldn’t come out.

“What on earth is she so busy with?”

An Rong watched as that person claimed she was going to work, only to turn around and head straight into the bathroom.

An Rong remembered that Pei Chongxi used to have a weak constitution, if she stayed in the shower or bath too long, she would get dizzy.

Back then, An Rong even joked. “You’re just destined to live a hard life. If we make big money in the future and go on vacation to soak in a hot spring, you’ll faint right after getting in. What kind of nonsense would that be?”

An Rong tilted her head like a curious cat, looking left and right, but there was still no sign of anyone coming out of the bathroom.

She cleaned up the dishes, wiped them down, and even tidied up the already pristine first floor of the villa.

Yet, after more than half an hour had passed, Pei Chongxi still hadn’t emerged.

“Rich people are so troublesome. With a house this big, how do they even manage to keep it clean?”

An Rong muttered childishly. Her attention remained entirely fixed on the tightly shut bathroom door.

“Pei Chongxi!” An Rong called out loudly.

Her voice echoed through the empty villa, but no one responded.

Frowning, An Rong called out again, “Pei Chongxi! Be careful not to let your wound touch the water.”

Putting down the cleaning rag in her hand, she walked over to the door uneasily and knocked.

“Pei Chongxi, are you in there?”

Through the semi-transparent glass, the bathroom looked completely shrouded in thick mist.

“Oh my gosh, don’t tell me you fainted inside. How are you still the same as before, so delicate and utterly incapable of taking care of yourself? How on earth did you survive these past ten years?”

An Rong complained and rapped her knuckles against the door. “If you don’t say something right now, I’m bursting in.”

Still, nothing but silence greeted her.

She and Pei Chongxi had been friends since high school. Having lived in a dorm together and gotten used to public bathhouses, and later frequently squeezing into the shower together after renting an apartment, they naturally didn’t share any sense of shyness around each other.

With a loud clang, An Rong forcefully pushed the bathroom door open. A wave of warm steam immediately rushed against her face.

An Rong quickly waved her hand to clear the air. What she saw was one of Pei Chongxi’s arms dangling limply outside the bathtub. The woman had already closed her eyes, completely drifted off to sleep.

She was just a hair’s breadth away from having her nose and mouth fully submerged in the water.

Pale with fright, An Rong didn’t even care to change into the bathroom slippers. She rushed straight inside, shut off the gushing hot water, and slapped Pei Chongxi’s face hard several times with both hands.

“Pei Chongxi, wake up! Have you completely lost your mind? You’re going to drown yourself one of these days without even knowing it! Honestly, how did you even live your life when I wasn’t around?”

An Rong’s slaps were by no means gentle. Pei Chongxi’s cheeks, already flushed from the hot soak, turned even redder under the impacts, looking as though she had suffered terrible abuse.

The bathtub, filled with bath oils, was covered in a thick layer of dense foam. Some snowy-white bubbles clung to Pei Chongxi’s collarbones, faintly drifting right at the waterline.

An Rong paused slightly in her attempt to pull the woman up.

She didn’t know what kind of bubble bath had been used, but it left a layer of fine shimmer glittering on the skin. The thoroughly hydrated skin possessed the luminous luster of fine jade, just looking at it gave the impression that it would be incredibly smooth to the touch.

Without thinking, An Rong reached down and gave Pei Chongxi’s thigh a stroke.

“Hmm, it feels just like before, very nice to touch. But your body is in much better shape than it used to be. Looks like you’ve formed a habit of working out.”

An Rong didn’t feel even a shred of embarrassment about her behavior, instead, she found it entirely natural.

Back in the high school dorm bathhouses, giving a classmate’s butt a playful smack was common practice, let alone touching a leg or helping scrub each other’s backs, these were standard social interactions. Besides, if you hadn’t even bathed together, how could you claim to be completely open and honest with each other?

Pei Chongxi opened her eyes dazedledly.

Her eyelashes were wet with water, clumping together and catching faint glints of the shimmer.

Both of her cheeks stung with a burning pain, and then she felt a hand moving up and down, feeling her thighs, calves, the backs of her knees, and her collarbones.

The stroking motion carried absolutely no romantic or sensual undertone; instead, it felt exactly like someone picking out a good cut of pork at a wet market, patting it and prodding it from time to time.

By the time Pei Chongxi fully opened her eyes, she saw An Rong pouring warm water over her body.

“Hurry up and stand up to rinse off. What kind of bizarre things do you rich people use anyway? The bubbles on your body won’t wash away no matter what I do.”

As An Rong rinsed her, she used her thumb to scrub hard against Pei Chongxi’s waist, much like scrubbing a kitchen countertop with dish soap, refusing to stop until it made a squeaking sound.

Pei Chongxi: ?

Pei Chongxi stood up from the bathtub, took the showerhead with one hand, and quickly rinsed off the remaining foam.

A dull ache throbbed at the back of her head.

“Why are you here?”

She had just been dreaming about the time they lived together in that rented apartment.

An Rong had insisted on helping her carry the financial burden. Seeing that Pei Chongxi was gifted at drawing and excelled in her studies, An Rong used the excuse of “investing early in a friend” to take on countless part time jobs outside.

In truth, it was simply because An Rong was inherently kind-hearted.

An Rong believed that if she worked hard enough, Pei Chongxi would have the time to study properly and draw well. But they were both in the midst of the high school graduation sprint both of their time was precious. Who was to say one person was more noble than the other…

An Rong had done plenty of grueling work outside, working convenience store shifts and waiting tables. In the winter, her hands broke out in severe chilblains, yet she simply rubbed them with snow from the green belts outside, smiling as she told her that she was thick-skinned and it was fine.

Snapping out of her daze, Pei Chongxi saw An Rong hooking her fingers around the pearl necklace sitting on the vanity counter nearby.

An Rong looked up and said, “Is this necklace the one I gave you back then?”

It was for Pei Chongxi’s seventeenth birthday. An Rong had worked so hard to scrape together a hundred-odd yuan from her part time jobs just to pick it out at a shopping mall. But things in the mall were so expensive that a hundred yuan could only buy the simplest design.

Pei Chongxi gave a soft, low “Mm.”

She stood rooted to the spot, completely naked. With the foam gone, her toned, exercised body was fully displayed before An Rong. Due to being cleansed and moisturized by the body wash, her skin radiated a soft, lustrous glow.

Seeing that Pei Chongxi was fine, An Rong let out a sigh of relief. Then, with a stern face, she pointed a finger at her and scolded, “Do you have any idea that you almost drowned just now? If I hadn’t been here, nobody would have known until your body started to rot in the bathroom.”

The girl’s brow was furrowed tightly, her mouth unleashing a torrent of reprimands.

An Rong didn’t look back at the pearl necklace, but the mood in her heart improved slightly. Ten years had passed, and her best friend was still keeping a ten-year-old necklace. It was clear that Pei Chongxi really did care about her.

However, even that couldn’t excuse her failure to take care of her own health.

An Rong nattered on and on behind Pei Chongxi for a long time.

Pei Chongxi grabbed a bath towel, unhurriedly wiping every single water droplet off her body before turning to gaze quietly at An Rong.

An Rong stared back at her until she finally sighed, admitting defeat.

“Fine, I don’t expect a thank you anyway. Just pay attention next time and don’t fall asleep in the bathtub again. If I’m not around, you’ll really be helpless.”

Being stared at by those dark, obscure eyes made goosebumps erupt all over An Rong’s skin. She felt less like a living person in the other woman’s eyes and more like a prey that was being targeted.

Accompanied by the warm steam and a faint scent of lemon, Pei Chongxi’s mind grew hazy.

She had only just woken up from a dream, and her chronically sleep-deprived body was currently craving a certain stable, certain, and warm presence.

Consequently, Pei Chongxi pinned An Rong straight against the corner where the walls met.

“Mm… you were staring at me the entire time just now.”

When Pei Chongxi said this, her gaze remained fixed on An Rong’s parting lips.

She hadn’t listened to a single word of An Rong’s lecturing just now. Facing the favor of having her life saved, Pei Chongxi didn’t possess even an ounce of gratitude.

Pei Chongxi’s fingers pressed directly onto An Rong’s soft lips. She pressed down once, then pressed again, and subsequently rubbed them with her thumb until the lips turned completely crimson.

“Pei Chongxi, what are you doing?”

An Rong was both shocked and angered.

She raised her hands, wanting to push Pei Chongxi away, but keeping in mind Pei Chongxi’s injured hand, she didn’t dare make any sudden, forceful movements. She could only endure Pei Chongxi’s actions.

The young girl’s face flushed red with anger.

“I’m talking to you about serious business, I’m not messing around! You’ve grown older by years, so how are you even more unreasonable than before?”

An Rong thought Pei Chongxi was merely dodging the topic.

Turning her head to the side, the girl snapped, “Fine, fine, fine, I’ll never meddle in your business again, okay?”

The moment the words left her mouth, a pang of regret hit An Rong’s heart.

In the past, it was always Pei Chongxi taking care of her more. But now, she realized that Pei Chongxi really lacked someone to look after her.

A hand gripped An Rong’s wrists, the force so strong it brought a sharp sting of pain.

An Rong lowered her eyes, her voice dropping. “Sometimes, you really seem to have changed into someone I don’t even recognize.”

If it weren’t for the fact that this face and certain aspects of her personality shown at times were identical to the Pei Chongxi of ten years ago, An Rong would truly think she was dealing with a potentially dangerous element of society.

Pei Chongxi spoke in a possessive, low murmur, “Why were you touching me the whole time just now?”

An Rong was instantly struck speechless. “How did I touch you? I just wanted to rinse the bubbles off your body. How was I supposed to know you rich folks don’t bother scrubbing yourselves clean, leaving you so slippery even now…”

Leaning her body forward, Pei Chongxi pressed her lips against An Rong’s cheek.

She opened her mouth to ask once more. “Why did you look at my body? Why did you touch my legs? An’an, are my legs beautiful?”

Only three words popped into An Rong’s mind. Are you insane?!

What on earth was wrong with girls looking at each other’s bodies and touching each other’s legs?!