Chapter 46: Bathing time

Su Yao first went back to her room and turned on the air conditioner, preheating the room in advance.

She took off the scarf Mu Nanqiu had given her, folded it neatly, and placed it on the bedside table.

Then she removed her thick coat and sweater, rummaging through the wardrobe to find some clothes to change into before stepping into the bathroom.

The showerhead sprayed out steaming hot water.

Su Yao tested the temperature with her hand, adjusting it until it was just right.

She then took off the thermal underwear she’d been wearing and walked over to the mirror, which had already fogged up.

She wiped it lightly and looked at her reflection.

The girl in the mirror had beautiful long black hair, slightly tousled and cascading over her shoulders.

Her skin was pale and delicate.

When she straightened up, her figure looked elegant and alluring, clad in purple lace lingerie that hugged her curves—her figure was nothing short of the women in those little ads, maybe even better!

Balancing the weight of her ample chest, Su Yao sighed inwardly.

Pretty, yes, but it really was heavy.

The girl in the mirror mimicked her movements exactly—it was herself.

If the girl hadn’t moved, that would definitely mean a ghost was nearby.

As the steam gradually filled the bathroom, the mirror was covered with water droplets, making it impossible to see clearly inside.

Su Yao licked her smooth, fair elbow.

The skin felt tingly and a little sticky.

As for the taste on her tongue…

She stuck out her tongue with a sour little face.

“Peh, peh!”

The taste was unpleasant—slightly sour and a bit bitter, mixed with a strange salty aroma.

She’d sweated a lot today and had kept it all bottled up, so after being cooped up all day, it was truly uncomfortable.

No matter how pretty a girl was, if she didn’t bathe, she wouldn’t smell good.

Suddenly, Su Yao pursed her lips and shivered all over.

“This is unbearable. Better just wash up quickly.”

She spoke as she shed the last of her barriers, stepping under the shower curtain.

The slightly hot water dripped onto her skin, coloring her body with a faint rosy flush.

Mmm~

After a whole day’s exhaustion, the best moment was coming home to take a bath at night.

Su Yao spent over forty minutes in the bathroom.

She washed not only her body but also her hair—that was why it took so long.

Wearing the black camisole nightdress she had bought earlier, Su Yao stepped out of the thick “smoke” of steam.

She took a deep breath of the cold air outside the bathroom and immediately felt her hair stand on end from the chill.

She quickly closed the bathroom door and hurried back into her room.

The air conditioner was still running at full power, set to twenty-six degrees.

The whole room was warm, much warmer than outside.

Even with only a thin nightdress on, Su Yao didn’t feel cold.

Grabbing a hairdryer, Su Yao prepared to dry her hair.

After accepting the reality she was in, Su Yao had looked up a lot of information about women’s daily life online and seriously studied how to take care of herself.

Whether or not to wear a bra to sleep, the taboos during menstruation—Su Yao had learned it all.

After understanding these things, she was filled with a sudden dread.

She realized she’d been courting disaster all along.

But she really didn’t know—ignorance is bliss!

She plugged an extension cord into a power strip and laid it at the foot of the bed.

Sitting down like a duck, her thighs perfectly held her phone, so she placed it there and watched short videos while drying her hair.

Because she’d recently searched so many topics related to female life, the algorithm pushed a lot of similar videos her way.

At first, Su Yao kept watching them, but when she noticed there weren’t really any other types of videos, she realized something was off.

She wanted to switch back but it was too late—the account was fully “trained.”

In the end, she gave up.

Well, that’s just how it is.

Su Yao knew she had no idea how she ended up like this, so she decided to accept it.

She still needed some time to adjust, but Mu Nanqiu’s appearance gave her a huge push to reach this mental stage earlier.

Beep beep~

Just as Su Yao thought of Mu Nanqiu, a message popped up.

She turned off the hairdryer and placed it on the stool beside the bed, then picked up her phone and opened QQ.

“Should I pick you up tomorrow?”

Su Yao froze for a moment after reading the message.

She thought for a while before replying, “No need, right? It’s not that far. I can walk or ride a bike myself.”

“Okay then.”

Seeing that, Su Yao breathed a sigh of relief.

Having someone pick her up every day would drain anyone’s patience.

But Mu Nanqiu added one more line.

“I’ll take you home tonight. Even though it’s a busy downtown area, it’s still unsafe for you to be alone at night.”

Hmm…

Su Yao was speechless.

But after thinking about it, Mu Nanqiu’s words made sense.

Crowds aren’t safe, and neither is walking alone.

The best and most effective way was to avoid going out alone at night.

After all, there had been news about drunkards assaulting passersby before.

“Then I’ll trouble you to take me after class tonight, Senior.”

“?”

“Nanqu Sister.” (Voice message)

“Mm-hmm~”

Since they were chatting on QQ, Su Yao felt more relaxed than when they met in person.

They even talked about some personal things, like the time she fought with Yun Qing before.

She didn’t go into detail about what Yun Qing had said, only briefly mentioning it.

Mu Nanqiu’s reaction was that Su Yao had done well and that people like that shouldn’t be reasoned with politely.

Still, Mu Nanqiu advised Su Yao to avoid contact altogether.

What Su Yao didn’t say was that she had taken over Yun Qing’s orders.

As their conversation went on, the topic shifted to the upcoming Literary and Art Performance event.

“Nanqu Sister, what program are you participating in?”

“I’m not really part of any program. I’m just accompanying the dance club as their pianist.”

Dancing?

Piano accompaniment?

Su Yao didn’t have much knowledge about dance or vocal performance, but she had a little question she wanted to ask Mu Nanqiu.

“By the way, why is there a piano in the meeting room?”

“That? It’s a long story. About five or six years ago…”

Mu Nanqiu told Su Yao a Campus Ghost Story about X University, involving a late-night campus, an empty dance studio, a girl in a white dress dancing endlessly, abruptly ending piano music, and the sound of something dropping with a thud.

Mu Nanqiu’s voice played through the phone, a bit mechanical and inorganic, like an old radio.

She narrated the tale in a calm tone, as if recounting a real piece of history.

After the last voice message ended, Su Yao snapped out of her trance.

She realized Mu Nanqiu’s voice had hypnotized her into a strange state, almost as if she were there herself.

At that moment, she noticed goosebumps all over her body.

Ugh, why did she have to listen to a ghost story?

Beep beep~

Another message came through, but this time it was from Oyster Sauce…