She was suddenly very aware of how close they were, how Bai Li was looking at her with those calm eyes, and how even one small mistake in her own movements might make the whole moment feel even more awkward. She forced herself to keep her voice steady and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Bai Li, who was still looking at her, replied honestly, "Nothing, it’s just a little itchy." She trusted Yan Cijin a little now. That was why she had let Yan Cijin wash her hair and face with her eyes closed in the first place. Otherwise, Bai Li would never have allowed someone to touch her like this so freely. She always felt that kind of closeness was dangerous. Not because she thought Yan Cijin would necessarily do anything bad, but because being unguarded always felt risky to her in general. She was used to keeping control. Used to being careful. Used to not letting people get close enough to become a problem. But right now, Yan Cijin was here, and Bai Li was allowing it.

Yan Cijin listened to her and nodded a little, then said, "Oh, then I’ll apply a little more pressure." But the truth was that after Bai Li stared at her for a while, Yan Cijin did not dare to deliberately touch that sensitive spot anymore. She was still a little embarrassed, and now that Bai Li had opened her eyes, the whole thing felt even more obvious. So she simply used more pressure as she scrubbed the bloodstains along Bai Li’s neck, trying to act normal and ignore the little pulse of heat in her own face. Then she told Bai Li, "Lower your head a little more, it’s time to rinse." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"Okay," Bai Li said, obediently bending down again.

That at least solved one problem. With Bai Li’s head lowered, she would not be staring at Yan Cijin anymore, and Yan Cijin let out a tiny breath of relief. It was a very small thing, but it helped. She put a little more shower gel in her palm and gently rubbed it on Bai Li’s neck again, this time moving a bit more slowly because her mind had started to drift again. She was a little curious. That area should have been sensitive, right? She had rubbed it a little before and expected Bai Li to react at least somewhat, but Bai Li had not really responded much at all. Logically, someone should have had some reaction when touched there. A little tension, maybe. A little more awareness. Something. But Bai Li had only trembled slightly and then stayed perfectly calm. Was she not interested in her? Yan Cijin did not know why that thought made her feel a little unhappy, but it did. A little strange. A little annoying too. Her hands kept moving anyway, and she rubbed that same spot again without stopping, but Bai Li still quietly let her do it, with no visible reaction at all.

In the end Yan Cijin sighed, then took a dry towel from the towel rack and started helping Bai Li dry her hair and neck. "Get up, lift your head," she said softly. Bai Li straightened again, and Yan Cijin used the towel to wipe away the water on her face. By this point, Bai Li’s neck and everything above it were completely clean. The blood was gone, the grime was gone, and the only thing left was the soft smell of soap and shampoo hanging in the bathroom. Yan Cijin looked up at her and asked, "Do you have a shower cap? You haven’t washed yourself yet, and you’ll get your hair dirty again." Bai Li nodded and reminded her, "It’s in the drawer under the sink over there."

Yan Cijin went over and got a disposable shower cap, then came back and helped Bai Li tuck her hair inside it. After that, she looked down at Bai Li’s hands, pressed her lips together a little, and asked, "Are you sure you can wash the rest of your body by yourself?" Her tone was casual, but there was still that same careful concern in it. Bai Li nodded. "Okay, thank you. Wait for me in the living room for a bit." Yan Cijin nodded back. "Alright."

She left the bathroom and sat down on the sofa in the living room, but even after she sat down, her mind did not stop moving. She kept thinking about what had just happened, replaying the little moments in her head. The way Bai Li had looked when she first heard the offer. The way she had gone slightly quiet. The way her ears had turned red. The way Yan Cijin had touched her neck and Bai Li had still stayed calm, too calm maybe. Yan Cijin sat there with her hands resting lightly on her lap, thinking about a lot of things all at once. She did not know exactly how to sort her feelings out yet. There was the teasing part, the part that liked making Bai Li flustered, and there was the part that was trying to understand why Bai Li kept acting a little too controlled whenever the atmosphere got even slightly personal. Then there was the quieter, more confusing feeling underneath all that, the one that made her wonder if Bai Li really did not feel anything, or if she was just holding back because she was injured, tired, or simply too stubborn to show it.

Yan Cijin leaned back slowly on the sofa and let her thoughts run for a while. The apartment was quiet now except for the faint sounds from the bathroom, and she stayed there thinking about Bai Li, about the way she looked under the light, about how composed she always was, and about that strange little tension that kept appearing whenever they got too close. She could not quite explain what exactly bothered her, but she knew that something had shifted. Whether Bai Li was shy, guarded, or simply holding herself back for now, Yan Cijin could not tell yet.

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TO BE CONTINUED.