After the Real Young Miss Became My Canary - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Bath Time

Shen Ying expressionlessly fed her the spoonful of rice.

Song Zhi’s eyes were wide, but she instinctively chewed the rice in her mouth. After swallowing the food, she looked at Shen Ying’s face and was just about to speak.

Another spoonful of rice was fed to her.

Seeing her constantly staring at her, Shen Ying thought the food might be bland and explained, “You need to eat light for a couple of days. You can eat other things later.”

Song Zhi chewed the rice very hard to prevent Shen Ying from worrying that she was eating this way because the food wasn’t good.

So, until the very end, she never got to ask that question.

In the Bathroom

When it was time to wash up, Shen Ying dug out Song Zhi’s toiletries from when she had previously stayed at the house. Who would have thought that Song Zhi would laugh the moment she saw them? Shen Ying secretly wondered if the person hadn’t just hit her hand but her head too, otherwise why would she be laughing like that just for washing her face.

Song Zhi was beaming, showing no embarrassment about having to rely on someone else for her daily living.

Shen Ying waited for her to continue spouting nonsense, but she only heard her say softly and sweetly, “So you didn’t throw them away.”

Her voice was warm and soft, like the little black and white cat. It was then that Shen Ying noticed that when Song Zhi intentionally widened and arched her round eyes, she also looked like that cat.

Just for this moment, Shen Ying decided to forgive her. Forgive her for one moment.

Just for the little cat.

This one time, she told herself, forgive her one last time, and then, never see her again.

Otherwise, where would the hatred that had supported her all this time go?

Should it just disappear, dissipate into the air like water vapor?

What about the dead person? How could she come back to life? How could Shen Ying forgive on her behalf?

Shen Ying: “Less idle talk. Don’t call me if you run out of water.”

The tenement building used an old-fashioned pressurized pump system. It was difficult to pump water, and it was easy to run out during peak usage hours at night.

At first, Song Zhi didn’t know this. She would often chatter away at Shen Ying when told to take a bath, until one time, she had just turned on the water and wet her body when not a single drop came out of the pipe.

She thought she had broken the faucet, so she squatted on the floor and tried to fix it for a long time. It was only when Shen Ying, outside the door, didn’t hear the sound of water and asked what was wrong that Song Zhi, stammering for a long time, realized she couldn’t fix it and confessed guiltily.

She was truly afraid Shen Ying would throw her out then.

Song Zhi picked up her clothes and the wash basin and entered the tiny makeshift bathroom separated inside the kitchen.

The bathroom was truly tiny. After accommodating her, there was only a palm’s width of space on either side.

Using only one hand, because her right hand was bandaged, Song Zhi struggled to roll up her clothes with her remaining hand.

The bathroom and the outside were very quiet right now, so she heard faint sounds from outside the door.

Shen Ying’s footsteps were light, and then they stopped. Song Zhi listened closely and heard the sound of the faucet running water.

Clatter.

This was the sound of the kettle lid closing.

A thought suddenly sprouted in her mind.

She listened to the footsteps getting closer and then walking further away.

If she didn’t do something now, it would be too late.

She had a strong premonition for some reason.

It felt like more than just footsteps were walking away.

Before she could think clearly, her voice came out first.

“Shen Ying.”

Shen Ying stopped, placed the kettle on the table, and walked to the bathroom door.

The so-called bathroom door was merely a hanging fabric curtain, which was suspended above the ground for waterproofing.

She stood not too close and not too far. From her angle, she could see a section of snow-white instep exposed on the floor.

Because she had just showered, the heat hadn’t dissipated, so swirling steam enveloped the pair of feet. The steam escaped through a small gap, pervading the air in front of Shen Ying.

It coiled around her cheeks.

The clear voice inside spoke again: “Shen Ying?”

The sound abruptly shattered the mist entangled in front of Shen Ying.

Everything became clear to Shen Ying.

She was like a drowning person clutching at a straw, suddenly snapping back to reality and abruptly taking a large step backward.

Shen Ying: “What’s wrong?”

For some reason, Song Zhi felt that Shen Ying’s voice outside the door was a little cold.

She immediately thought back and realized that recently, besides taking away the cat that used to linger around Shen Ying’s building, she hadn’t done anything else.

Shen Ying wasn’t an unreasonable person; she couldn’t possibly be angry with her for no reason.

Song Zhi’s voice wavered: “Could you please, help me take off my clothes?”

The Closeness

There was a long silence outside the door.

Just as Song Zhi thought Shen Ying wouldn’t respond, Shen Ying lifted the curtain and stepped in.

The heat was quickly pulled up by the curtain and diffused between the two. Song Zhi was caught off guard and met Shen Ying’s gaze.

Separated by a thin layer of fine mist, she met those slightly upturned eyes. When those eyes looked at something seriously, they seemed to be full of affection.

Moreover, the space was small enough that she felt Shen Ying’s body temperature was already transferring to her.

Instantly, her heart thumped rapidly. Neither of them spoke in the bathroom. The silence in the bathroom was so profound that she could only hear her own heartbeat.

Song Zhi’s mind raced, desperate to speak, terrified that her heartbeat would be too loud in this confined space and be heard.

Shen Ying didn’t speak. She lowered her eyelashes, reached out to her waist, and cautiously rolled the clothes upward.

All the thoughts swirling in Song Zhi’s mind instantly vanished. All she could feel was the hand slowly rolling upward on her waist.

A tingling sensation began to rise from where the hand was placed. Song Zhi shivered all over at that moment. Fortunately, she caught a glimpse of Shen Ying’s eyes, and her mind was jolted back to alertness.

She stopped trembling.

She also didn’t dare to look down at the person standing in front of her. Her eyes looked up, down, left, and right, just not forward.

Shen Ying rolled the clothes upward with her eyes closed until Song Zhi let out a little “Ow.”

What happened?!

She nervously opened her eyes. A expanse of fair, taut abdomen came into her view.

Boom!

Like a bolt from the blue, her mind went blank, filled only with that dazzling white skin.

But the rationality she had maintained from years of being calm was not lost. That rationality and calmness clamored in her mind alongside the image of the fair, smooth skin. In just a few seconds, the two had already battled several times. The victorious rationality urged her to quickly turn her back.

Song Zhi was raising her hands slightly, waiting obediently.

Then her hand was violently bumped, and she saw that the person she was so intent on hooking was already turning her back.

Her expression twisted for a moment, but she managed to stabilize it precariously.

She looked at Shen Ying pitifully and said, “My clothes, they haven’t been taken off yet.”

Shen Ying didn’t move: “How is your hand?”

Song Zhi was annoyed. Her hand was fine; she wasn’t very well.

Only caring about the hand, not the person, that’s why the person wasn’t well.

She muttered, “Hand’s fine. Person’s not fine.”

Shen Ying wondered if she was imagining things, but Song Zhi’s voice sounded quite gritting. She didn’t have time to think about it. Her mind was telling her non-stop at this moment:

Song Zhi is a woman. She is the same sex as her. It’s nothing for people of the same sex to see each other’s bodies.

From high school to college, many students saw each other’s bodies. This is normal. It’s nothing.

She told herself this. After a while, the thoughts in her head gradually dissipated. She let her mind clear. As her mind cleared, she thought of that casual glance just now.

Song Zhi’s abdomen looked snow-white and soft, yet the lines were taut, with a clear outline of abdominal muscles, reflecting a lustrous arc under the light.

It was a very moving physique…

Shen Ying’s voice was flat: “What’s wrong with the person?”

Song Zhi was frustrated hearing this. This person left her here with her clothes halfway off and still asked what was wrong?

And her tone was so utterly unconcerned!

Song Zhi: “What’s fine? My shirt is still hanging around my neck!”

The moment she finished speaking, Shen Ying suddenly turned back. Song Zhi’s voice immediately quieted.

Shen Ying expressionlessly reached out a somewhat cold hand and comfortably placed it on her abdomen, then slowly rolled up the hem of her shirt. As she rolled up the clothes, she stared at Song Zhi the whole time, looking very serious and focused.

This, on the contrary, made Song Zhi a little uneasy. The hand at her waist seemed to brush against her skin as it rolled up the shirt. Just that one touch, and a tingling sensation instantly rose from her waist. Her whole body stiffened. She was slightly taller than Shen Ying. At this angle, she could see the person’s slightly lowered eyelashes, casting a shadow over that pale, cold face. The person was expressionless, looking very cold.

But when Shen Ying leaned in to adjust her sleeve, her faint, shallow warm breath sprinkled against Song Zhi’s ear. The scorching breath was completely contrary to her cold appearance. The warm light from above softly illuminated the top of Shen Ying’s head. Her ink-like hair showed a warm yellow glow under the light.

In this instant, Song Zhi actually felt an atmosphere called warmth.

She silently watched the swirl of Shen Ying’s hair, intentionally not breaking the hard-won moment between them.

But then a large surge of hot air was breathed onto her neck.

This caused Song Zhi to shiver all over, and her heart thumped with excitement. The two were now this close. Fearing that Shen Ying would hear it, she clenched her jaw until a curve tightened beneath her chin, trying not to let Shen Ying detect anything unusual.

This moment of warmth was no different from something she had stolen. She was afraid Shen Ying would discover it and then abandon her, like the stray cats and dogs she liked but didn’t keep.

She wasn’t a cat or dog that Shen Ying could discard at will! She was a person! She wouldn’t be abandoned by Shen Ying just because she felt like it.

Shen Ying lowered her head, working on her sleeve. These few short minutes felt like hours to Song Zhi. It wasn’t until Shen Ying said faintly, “All set,” that she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But then Shen Ying gently touched the bandaged arm, lowered her head, and blew on it: “Hoo-hoo.”

She didn’t even look up, but her hand lightly touched Song Zhi’s head: “Pat-pat.”

Song Zhi simply couldn’t describe her feelings at that moment. She couldn’t remember the last time someone touched her wound and asked if it hurt, or the last time someone gently stroked her wound.

Her eyes instantly stung, and a wave of uncontrollable sadness surged from the bottom of her heart. Her hand, which wasn’t hurting at all, started to ache at that moment.

The hand on her head made her lower her head slightly. She desperately controlled the urge to rub her head against the warm palm.

She finally managed to expel the choked-up bitterness in her throat and was just about to speak.

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