(1)
“Hurry up and take it off~”
“No, let’s not, okay?”
“Take it off!”
“But what does this have to do with the clothes!!”
“We’re washing the clothes together too!”
“But the clothes aren’t dirty!”
“Hurry up and take them off!”
“I-I’ll do it myself! Y-you, you, you…”
“I’m not leaving. Hmph, I want to watch.”
“Hey!”
“You turned around, so sneaky!”
“I-I’m going to take a bath!”
“Alright, alright, you go ahead. I’ll get you some clean clothes.”
“Hoo.”
“How about a dress?”
“I want pants!”
“Then it’ll be a dress.”
“Hey hey hey hey—!!”
(2)
Zhu Ying’s Bathroom was always spotless, and there was plenty of hot water flowing from the showerhead. No matter how long you washed, the water wouldn’t gradually cool down like in the Apartment—sometimes, even boiling water on the spot couldn’t keep up.
“Hoo.” This was the third time An Jing rubbed on body wash. She let out a long breath and let the hot water stream over her body.
Although she should’ve cleaned all the dirt off the first time, she always felt there was a lingering smell on her body.
So she washed herself thoroughly three times.
The last time she washed so thoroughly, she must have been in first grade, when she just couldn’t hold it anymore and went in her pants…
Thinking of this, An Jing’s face instantly turned awkward. Every time she remembered these embarrassing moments, she wished she could find a hole and crawl inside.
She always thought she could control the Ability Side Effect, but she never expected there’d really be a day when she couldn’t hold it…
And she didn’t know if it was just her Ability’s side effects being stronger than others’, or if this time she used it for nearly a whole minute—actually, she was still leaking nonstop even after everyone else left with Sun Wei.
So now, whenever she took a bath, she wanted to drink a few mouthfuls of hot water from the showerhead.
Clearly she was bathing, but she was thirsty—it was a subtle experience.
After the third wash, An Jing stood under the hot water for a good while, until her fingertips wrinkled before she finally turned off the valve.
“Hey—where are my clothes?” An Jing opened the door just a crack and shouted out.
“They’re on the chair by the door!” Zhu Ying’s voice came from the other Bathroom, along with the sound of clothes being scrubbed.
“Hey, hey, these panties are the ones you wore, right!”
“Panties, what are those?”
“Just, you know, the, the triangle ones!!”
“There aren’t any new ones at home, just make do! They’re clean anyway!”
“Guuh…” An Jing stared at the blue-and-white striped triangle panties on the stool, her face slowly turning red. Then she hurriedly looked away. “Why are girls’… always so small? Just a thin bit of fabric, can it really… really cover everything…”
(3)
School let out early today, so even after taking a bath at Zhu Ying’s house, it was still early.
The lazy afternoon sunlight shone on An Jing. The pure cotton, black and purple dress she wore looked especially soft.
Only the chest area was a bit loose, occasionally revealing a glimpse of hidden springtime scenery.
“Hoo, all clean. With such strong sun, maybe things will dry before dark!” “Did the washing machine spin them?”
“Of course, but I still hand-wash the underwear.” Zhu Ying winked playfully and held up the blue fabric. “Xiao Jing, what’s with you? Didn’t wear anything?”
“Too, too embarrassing… so…”
“If you don’t wear them, isn’t it even more embarrassing? That means right now Xiao Jing is—hmph hmph—just wearing a dress?”
“As soon as my shorts dry, I’ll be fine… The sun’s strong, they’ll dry before dark.”
“That’s not for sure.”
“Wah!! What are you doing!” “Eh, I failed to ambush you.”
An Jing nervously clutched her skirt hem: “Don’t lift it up!”
“Come on, at least I helped you wash your clothes, isn’t a little reward okay?”
“Ah… R-right, did you put them straight in the washer?”
“Of course I hand-washed them first, or the washing machine would get dirty.”
“Um.” An Jing scratched her head, avoiding eye contact. “Thanks.”
“So, how are you going to thank me?”
“Are your parents coming back today?”
“Eh—?” Zhu Ying’s eyes went wide. “Xiao Jing, you’re thinking of such impure things!”
“Hey hey! What are you imagining? I mean, if they’re not coming home today, I’ll cook for you!!”
“Eh? Xiao Jing can cook?”
“Yeah, you haven’t tried my cooking yet, have you?”
“I’ve tasted it in a Dream, but I forgot what it tasted like.”
“That doesn’t count…”
“Hmm—alright then. My parents have to work overtime today, probably won’t be home until after ten. My dad still has to drink with the Leader, who knows if he’ll even be back by midnight.”
“Let’s cook now, I’m a little hungry…”
“Using your ability seems to burn a lot of energy.”
“Yeah… Maybe I won’t even need to diet, just use my ability every day and that’ll be enough exercise.~”
“So nice, superpowers.” Zhu Ying hugged An Jing’s soft, fair neck, then pushed her onto the bed. “But Xiao Jing, promise me, don’t do such dangerous things next time, okay?”
“But—”
“I know, but at least tell me first! What if your power fails or something?”
“Ahem…”
“Don’t rely on it too much.” Zhu Ying gently stroked the bracelet on An Jing’s left wrist. “Got it?”
“Y-yeah…”
“Okay~! Let’s cook! I’ll help!”
“No, no! I’ll do it myself!”
“Hmph, you’re looking down on me!”
“Ahem… Th-then can you help wash the vegetables…? I’m not planning to make anything too complicated….”
“Let’s see what we’ve got at home first.” Zhu Ying tossed the blue-and-white fabric onto An Jing’s chest. It still seemed to carry the scent of mothballs. “You really won’t wear this?”
“.Are there really no brand new panties?”
“Nope~”
“Really?”
“Really~”
“Liar!” An Jing pouted. “I’m not wearing ones you wore…”
“Hey, Xiao Jing, this is the second time you’ve looked down on me today, I’ll get mad!”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant, I’m just afraid I’ll get your…um… panties dirty…”
“It’s fine, I’ll give them to you, just wear them home.”
“I don’t want to…”
“Then go without, if you dare.”
“Tch! I won’t wear them! The skirt’s so long, I’m not scared!” An Jing huffed, slipped on her slippers with a clap-clap, and headed to the Kitchen.
Zhu Ying watched her disappear around the corner, covered her mouth, and grinned mischievously: “Pfft… Xiao Jing totally took the bait.”
(4)
Sunlight streamed into the Kitchen through the window, making it especially bright.
The Kitchen looked spotless—even the range hood had no trace of grease. It was even cleaner than Yu Minghui’s place. She didn’t clean her range hood every day either, usually only once a week.
According to Zhu Ying, it was actually her father who did most of the cooking at home, meaning the tall middle-aged man took care of this space.
“Is he a neat freak or just under his wife’s thumb…” An Jing glanced around the Kitchen and muttered, then turned to open the fridge.
There weren’t many vegetables inside, so it seemed like they bought what they wanted to eat each day. Only some things that wouldn’t spoil were left—probably leftovers from previous meals.
“Mm…”
“Xiao Jing, want to wear an Apron?”
“Sure, so I don’t get my clothes dirty.”
“If you’re worried, you can just take your clothes off and wear only the Apron!”
“Ew—what a weird kink!”
“If I wear it, would Xiao Jing want to see~”
“Ahem, ahem ahem!!!”
“Tch, but you don’t like wearing it yourself, huh?”
“D-don’t joke. I’m checking what food you’ve got.”
“My dad said yesterday there’s half a block of old tofu in the middle shelf.”
“I see it—old tofu, and there’s a big bag of pickled vegetables. Hmm… doesn’t look like there’s much else.”
“There’s some bamboo shoots next to the fridge.”
“Bamboo shoots, oh… and you have shiitake mushrooms.” An Jing bent down and nodded lightly. “How about braised bamboo shoots, and then a pickled vegetable tofu stew with some mushrooms added?”
“Braised bamboo shoots, can you make that, Xiao Jing? It’s a common dish, but a tiny mistake makes it taste bad!”
“I should be fine… I’ve seen Sister Huihui make it several times, let me try—hey! Stop lifting my skirt from behind!”
“That wasn’t me, it was the wind.”
“Tell that to someone who’d believe it…”
“It really was the wind! You don’t trust me at all today, Xiao Jing!”
“Who told you to have a record…”
“Really? Then should I actually do it?”
“Hey hey hey hey—!!! Stop it, we’re cooking!”
(5)
With plenty of time, cooking itself was a truly pleasant thing.
Even more delightful was cooking slowly in the bright sunshine.
Zhu Ying rinsed the rice, while An Jing squatted on the floor and peeled the bamboo shoots one by one.
Don’t be fooled by how big the bamboo shoots look—there’s actually just a little bit of meat inside. To make a plate, you’d need at least three spring bamboo shoots.
“Don’t wash it too many times.”
“Why? Isn’t washing more times cleaner?”
“Too many washes, and there’s no rice fragrance left.”
“Really? Hmm—my dad always washes it a lot, but the rice at home isn’t that fragrant. Sometimes, the rice at school even smells better.”
“As long as you wash away the stones and bugs, it’s fine. My family usually washes it two or three times, and for really fresh rice, even once is enough—no bugs, almost no stones.”
“My dad really is a bit of a neat freak.”
“Sister Huihui is too, but compared to your dad, not really.” An Jing shook her head and placed the tender, white bamboo shoots on the stove. “Mm, these two dishes are simple, just a bit of prep and we can start.”
“What’s the most troublesome dish you’ve ever made, Xiao Jing?”
“The most troublesome…? Not really sure… but I remember the hardest to clean up after.”
“What was it?”
“Chives. Especially the not-so-fresh ones, they’re super troublesome to deal with.”
“Why?”
“Because, you have to…”