"No... I can wash myself."
Her voice drifted through the mist, trembling faintly.
"Why not?"
Through the hazy steam, two overlapping figures could be seen.
A pair of hands held a hemp cloth covered in foam, slowly sliding down from Maiden's rounded shoulders.
"You were in the sewers for so long. Those spores are tenacious—I won't feel at ease unless they're washed off properly." He Xi's voice was close, practically brushing Zoya's ear. "Didn't you say just now that we should help each other?"
Zoya huddled in one corner of the bathtub, her soaking silver hair plastered against her fair back, her violet eyes filled with embarrassment.
She had said that in front of Tata, hoping to make that fish-stealing cat behave herself.
And the price was that the warm palm had now, under the lubrication of the foam, circled around to her front.
Her breathing grew hurried as well.
"Th-this part... I can do myself."
Feeling his hand linger, Zoya puffed out her cheeks.
Yet that feeble protest meant nothing. He even wiped several times before reluctantly withdrawing his hand.
"Alright, I'll wash your back for you," He Xi said softly.
The blush on the little elf's face had reached the tips of her ears.
Stand up again?
She absolutely would not stand up again!
She would never fall for the same trick twice! Otherwise, she really would become a stupid elf!
The moment she turned her head, her gaze inevitably swept past it.
"Th-this... how..."
Zoya blurted out instinctively, then abruptly noticed his detestable gaze. As if scalded, she hurriedly shut her eyes, muttering, "Don't be curious, don't be curious."
A few seconds later, her long lashes trembled. One left eye quietly narrowed open, secretly examining something. As a little elf who loved reading, Zoya's mind raced.
The