After they arrived, the two of them got off the electric scooter.
Mo Liang stood in place, looking up at the old residential building before her.
“So this is where Shen Zhiyi lives…” she muttered inwardly, glancing around with a hint of emotion.
She actually lives in a place like this? She thought it’d at least be some kind of fancy apartment, but it turned out to be this run-down.
Watching Shen Zhiyi start walking, she quickly shook off those messy thoughts and trotted along close behind her.
Inside the old hallway, the sound of their footsteps echoed through the narrow space.
They climbed up to the third floor, and Shen Zhiyi stopped in front of Room 302, pulling out a key from her bag.
The lock clicked open, and she pushed the door aside, reaching for the switch on the wall. Warm yellow light instantly filled the entire room.
Mo Liang peeked her head in from the doorway, slipped off her shoes, and carefully stepped inside. She’d expected Shen Zhiyi’s place to be bare-bones, but the room before her was unexpectedly tidy and cozy.
The decor wasn’t luxurious, but every corner was spotless. Mo Liang nodded in satisfaction.
“Wear these.”
Shen Zhiyi’s voice came from behind.
Mo Liang turned around and saw her pulling a pair of pink slippers from the shoe cabinet and handing them over.
She nodded obediently, took them, and slipped them on.
“I want to take a shower, is that okay?”
Mo Liang tilted her head and asked Shen Zhiyi softly.
She really did want a shower. She’d waited outside in the summer heat for that trash for over two hours, her whole body sticky with sweat, skin feeling like it was coated in a thin layer of glue. It was miserable.
“Aren’t you going to change your clothes?”
Shen Zhiyi asked.
That was a good question! She looked down at the outfit she was wearing—everything from head to toe had been given to her by Xu Lingxue, even her underwear.
She didn’t have any other clothes that fit a girl.
“No…”
Before she could finish, Shen Zhiyi had already taken a neatly folded set of pajamas from the wardrobe and handed them over.
“These are ones I used to wear. If you don’t mind, you can use them.”
Mo Liang took them, shook them open, and looked. Pure black, thin summer style, short sleeves and shorts, soft to the touch.
She nodded, hugged the pajamas, and followed Shen Zhiyi to the bathroom, where she was also handed a clean towel.
“Treating me like a kid?”
Mo Liang watched her turn and leave, then closed the bathroom door.
She casually balled up her discarded clothes and tossed them to the side.
Water sprayed from the showerhead, and steam quickly filled the bathroom.
Mo Liang stood in front of the mirror, seriously examining her body for the first time.
The face in the mirror was flushed pink from the steam, delicate features.
Water droplets slid down her collarbone, tracing a slender but not frail figure. That golden blonde hair, soaked by the hot water, clung in strands to her smooth back, with droplets dripping steadily from the tips.
She really was good-looking.
Standing under the shower, Mo Liang scrubbed herself thoroughly. As her fingers slid over her skin, she belatedly realized something.
This body was so sensitive. Just applying body wash normally—why did it feel so strange? Still, she didn’t dwell on it, since this was her first time being a girl.
This was all probably normal, right?
Though washing the bruises on her arms hurt enough to make her wince.
Suddenly, Shen Zhiyi’s voice came from outside the glass door: “Are you done yet?”
Mo Liang jumped in surprise but still answered, “Almost!”
Her heart was pounding inexplicably fast. She knew the other couldn’t see her, yet standing behind the frosted glass, she felt a strange sense of shame at being seen through, the tips of her ears turning red.
Drying off, Mo Liang put on her own underwear, then slipped into the pajamas Shen Zhiyi had given her.
After getting dressed, she looked down and discovered a serious problem.
All the bruises on her legs were exposed. She’d planned to keep wearing the jacket to cover the marks on her arms and at least fake it, but with these shorts, her legs were covered in patches of purple and blue—no way to hide them.
Her legs were fine—slim, long, and pale—but these bruises ruined the look, and she felt oddly annoyed.
She walked out in her slippers, hair still damp and hanging over her shoulders.
The hair dryer sat on the small table by the couch, and coincidentally, Shen Zhiyi was sitting on the other end of the couch looking at her phone.
Mo Liang ignored her, walked over, grabbed the dryer, and started blowing her hair dry first.
The warm buzzing air had just started when Shen Zhiyi looked up, her gaze landing on Mo Liang’s bare calves and arms.
Something flickered in those calm eyes. On closer look, it was probably sympathy.
“Don’t look.”
Mo Liang noticed her gaze, raised a hand to block it, and turned sideways to keep drying her hair.
She blew for ages, and her hair was still half-damp. Her arm was getting sore from holding the dryer, and she cursed inwardly.
Being a girl was way too much trouble—just drying hair took this long.
As she was getting irritated, the dryer in her hand was gently taken from her.
Shen Zhiyi had somehow moved to her side. Slender fingers slid through her wet hair while the other hand held the dryer, blowing it softly for her. The hot air mixed with the touch of fingers brushed across her scalp. Mo Liang froze for a moment, then obediently sat still and let her take over.
Shen Zhiyi was so close to her!
“Trash… you’re actually pretty good at taking care of people.”
She figured Shen Zhiyi really knew how to care for someone. Maybe living with her wouldn’t be so bad.
After all, she liked girls, and she herself… wait, what the hell was she thinking?
Suddenly, her forehead got a light tap.
Mo Liang looked up, dazed, and realized her hair was already dry.
Shen Zhiyi looked at her spaced-out expression and asked curiously, “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing!”
Mo Liang shook her head rapidly, as if trying to shake that dangerous thought out of her mind.
Even though she kept denying it out loud, the blush on her face wouldn’t fade, clearly painted across both cheeks.
She kept her head down, not daring to look at Shen Zhiyi, but a small panic stirred inside her.
She’d actually been thinking about that just now—living with Shen Zhiyi? That thought was way too weird.
Back then, she’d never thought about what her future would be like.
But today, these thoughts had actually come to her. Could it be that after becoming a girl, it wasn’t just her body—even the way she thought had changed?
Seeing her so distracted, Shen Zhiyi didn’t press further. She just picked up a comb and quietly ran it through that messy golden blonde hair.
The comb glided over her scalp, gentle and rhythmic. Mo Liang snapped out of her wandering thoughts and sat still without moving, but the flutter in her chest hadn’t fully settled yet.