episode_0022

In the small rented apartment, playful singing from Xu Nian drifted out of the bathroom.

At this moment, Su Qingya was quietly admiring a photo frame in her hands.

Inside was a picture of her and Xu Nian from their middle school days.

Her fingers lightly brushed the glass of the frame, an indescribable nostalgia washing over her.

The photo showed two girls standing together on a school playground.

The black-haired girl was serene and elegant, exuding a scholarly air, while the white-haired fox girl was mischievously cute, her arm draped around the black-haired girl, their closeness evident.

Su Qingya’s thoughts couldn’t help but drift back to that afternoon.

“You’re Su Qingya, right? Everyone says you’re hard to get along with, that you’re a weirdo, and they all want to isolate you.”

“So?”

“So, I’ve decided to be friends with you.”

“I don’t need friends.”

“Huh? Why not? Come on, be my friend! I’m super easy to be friends with… Pfft, don’t tell me you’re scared~? How pathetic, too scared to even make friends.”

Back then, her fists had clenched.

And with that one punch, she’d ended up with a girlfriend she was now responsible for.

Clutching her thigh, impossible to shake off.

Left with no choice, she figured she might as well give it a try.

Really, she’d been completely fooled back then.

She’d thought the little girl’s idea of “friends” was just ordinary bestie stuff.

But then…

Turns out, “friends” in her book actually meant lovers.

It had been a massive shock to her young heart.

Perhaps because she was still young, her worldview still malleable.

Su Qingya found herself accepting it surprisingly quickly.

But the main reason was that after realizing what the other girl meant by “friends,” she’d tried to scare her off with some unconventional tactics.

Like desperately searching up all sorts of things about yuri relationships, and then…

And then, this relationship had persisted all the way to the present.

Now, she found herself unable to let go of this mischievous fox girl.

One could say she’d grown accustomed to having her by her side every moment.

But then, why did this fox girl feel fear toward her?

Su Qingya began to reflect.

She realized that the interactions between her and Xu Nian weren’t intimate enough.

Eating together, chatting together, studying together, occasionally teasing each other.

That clearly wasn’t enough.

Not enough to cultivate a deeply intimate bond.

Perhaps she should start with small things, do something more intimate, to gradually chip away at that fear.

In fact, today’s lunch had already proven this point.

Setting the photo frame aside, she shed her clothes one by one, grabbed a towel, and pushed open the bathroom door.

“Eek!”

A girl’s shriek came from inside the bathroom.

“I—I locked the door, didn’t I?”

“The bathroom door’s been broken for a while. Didn’t you know?”

“Since when? I just tried it earlier and it worked!”

Instinctively, Xu Nian covered the parts of herself that needed covering.

This was way too sudden.

“Just now.”

“What do you mean ‘just now’? Listen to yourself!”

Suddenly, Xu Nian seemed to realize something.

“Pfft, don’t tell me you’re planning to join me? No way, no way~”

“Exactly. I’m joining you. Move your hands. Couples should be open with each other, right?”

“W-what? You’re really joining me? That’s—that’s not okay! I-I’m not done yet! If you want to wash, can’t you wait a bit?”

“Oh? No?”

The girl’s flawless figure was now fully exposed to Xu Nian’s gaze.

A pitch-black star was etched at the top of her cleavage, strikingly vivid.

Su Qingya’s towel barely covered anything—it was practically a full display of spring scenery.

The bathroom in the rented apartment wasn’t spacious enough for two, so Su Qingya hadn’t closed the door.

But…

If they squeezed close, they could still enjoy the bath together.

Under the warm spray of the shower, Su Qingya felt all her fatigue melt away.

It was strange, really.

She loved this feeling.

But what about Xu Nian?

Xu Nian was pulled into Su Qingya’s embrace, the water cascading over Su Qingya’s smooth, fair skin before trickling onto Xu Nian.

Xu Nian’s face instantly turned crimson.

“D-don’t you think this is too cramped?”

[Fear Level: 59%]

“Not at all. In fact, I love it. Let me wash your hair and apply soap for you.”

Su Qingya’s idea of “washing Xu Nian” really was just washing.

She squeezed out a large dollop of shampoo, vigorously massaged it into Xu Nian’s hair, then transferred the suds to her own head.

“We’re not that poor, are we?”

“What do you know? This is Nian Nian-brand shampoo.”

“Idiot! Idiot!”

Xu Nian was at her limit.

This was the first time the two of them had squeezed into such a tight space to bathe together.

It wasn’t like she’d never seen Su Qingya’s body before, but now, with the glistening water droplets, the sight of her like a freshly bloomed lotus was overwhelming.

She couldn’t take this anymore.

She really couldn’t.

If Su Qingya started applying soap to her…

A delicate hand coated in cool, sticky lather, warm palms pressing against her skin.

The initial chill, the shiver, then the fragrant foam gliding over every inch of her smooth body.

Just imagining it made her feel like she’d explode.

“I’ll apply the soap myself.”

With that, Xu Nian reached for the bottle.

Strangely, Su Qingya didn’t stop her.

But just as Xu Nian was about to lather herself…

Su Qingya intervened.

Leaning close to Xu Nian’s head—where her large fox ears twitched—Su Qingya whispered:

“Nian Nian, you should be the one applying it to me.”

Then, she guided Xu Nian’s hand to her own chest.

“Every inch~”

“Just like how I washed you.”

“Mmmph!!!”

Xu Nian’s blood rushed to her head.

Her legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed.

This was mortifying!

What kind of nonsense was this?!

No more!

“I’m done. I’m not washing anymore.”

She tried to bolt.

But her escape attempt was too obvious.

Su Qingya reached out, grabbed her fluffy tail, and yanked her back.

The floor was slippery, and fearing Xu Nian might fall, she pulled her into an embrace.

“Where do you think you’re going, darling?”

[Fear Level: 54%]

[Fluster Level: 87%]

Xu Nian’s legs wobbled, and she nearly crumpled to the floor, saved only by some mysterious force holding her up.

Too bad Su Qingya couldn’t see Xu Nian’s fluster level—she had no idea the girl had turned into a full-blown Thomas the Tank Engine of embarrassment.

Xu Nian, oh Xu Nian!

You can’t lose face like this!

You were originally a guy, weren’t you? Can’t even handle this level of skinship?

And with the other side being so proactive for once!

No, no, no!

Can’t let this loser Su Qingya outdo you!

Pumping herself up internally, Xu Nian straightened her posture.

She steeled herself.

So what if she had to grope around? Such a trivial thing couldn’t defeat Xu Nian!

“Bring it on!”

She extended her hand.

“Nian Nian, Nian Nian, n-not like that—ow, ow! Wait, why are you lingering so long on my thighs? They’re already clean! N-no, that technique—that technique—stop, switch spots, please, I’m begging you, don’t wash there anymore!”

Watching Su Qingya, who’d been so confident earlier, now completely at her mercy, Xu Nian couldn’t help but smirk.

But alas…

What goes around comes around.

Su Qingya would inevitably be scrubbed clean.

And next…

It’d be Xu Nian’s turn.

“Eep! No!”

“No? Nian Nian, that’s not what you said earlier.”