Qian Renxue's Jealousy

Her mother had never given her a bath.

Not once.

Ever since she could remember, it had always been Nurse Zhou who bathed her.

Nurse Zhou's hands were gentle, the water was always just the right temperature, and after every bath, she would rub fragrant powder onto her skin.

Sometimes she wondered when her mother might give her a bath, too.

Even if it was only once.

She would sit perfectly still and be good. She wouldn't cry or make a fuss.

But it had never happened.

Now her mother was learning from Nurse Zhou how to bathe her little brother.

Her heart felt so sour.

It was as if someone had squeezed a sour lemon against her heart, making her whole body scrunch up.

Qian Renxue bit her lip hard, choking back a soft sob without daring to make a sound.

She couldn't cry.

If she cried, her mother would get angry.

Last time she cried, her mother had told her to go back to her room and hadn't even looked at her again.

But the tears wouldn't listen.

One slipped from her eye and rolled down her cheek.

Qian Renxue hurriedly raised her sleeve and scrubbed it away.

But as soon as she wiped one away, another fell. She kept wiping, and soon a large patch of her sleeve was damp.

She rose onto her tiptoes and stayed where she was.

She didn't dare leave, but she didn't dare go in, either.

All she could do was listen from a distance, her heart full of jealousy and hurt.

Just then, the door opened.

After learning a few things about bathing from Nurse Zhou, Bibi Dong carried Luo Dong out. Then she paused in the doorway.

She saw Qian Renxue.

The little girl, barely over three years old, stood not far from the door, shoulders hunched, pressed against the wall. Her eyes were red, and a large patch of her sleeve was soaked.

Her lips were bitten pale, and tear tracks she hadn't managed to wipe clean still streaked her face. Every now and then, she choked back a sob.

Bibi Dong's gaze rested on Qian Renxue for a moment.

Then she looked away.

She didn't say a word.

She didn't give her another glance.

Carrying the baby in her arms, she simply walked past Qian Renxue.

Her footsteps gradually faded down the corridor.

Qian Renxue stood where she was, watching her mother's silhouette grow smaller and more distant until it disappeared around the corner at the end of the corridor.

At last, she let out the sour breath she had been holding in her throat. All strength seemed to leave her, and she slowly crouched against the wall.

The tears began to fall again, more plentifully and more violently than before.

But she didn't dare make a sound. She covered her mouth with her hand, her shoulders trembling as she sobbed.

The three-year-old girl didn't yet understand favoritism, or why her mother didn't love her.

She only wondered whether she had done something wrong.

If she were just a little more obedient, a little better, would her mother treat her the way she treated her little brother?

Would she give her a bath herself, just once...

Nurse Zhou stood in the doorway, watching the little girl crouch on the floor and cry silently. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, all that escaped her was a soft sigh.

Their relationship was too complicated. She was only an ordinary nurse and had no place meddling in it.

She should just do her own job and not get involved.

Bibi Dong carried Luo Dong back to the room and closed the door behind her.

She went over Nurse Zhou's instructions in her mind, then began to prepare.

A copper basin.

A jug each of warm and cool water.

A soft towel.

Clean clothes to change into. A small, dry blanket to wrap him in.

She laid everything out, one item at a time, on the low table beside the bed, all within easy reach.

Then she began adjusting the water temperature.

First, she poured in the hot water, then added the cool.

She tested the temperature with the inside of her elbow.

Nurse Zhou had said that the skin there was the most sensitive, more accurate than a fingertip.

The first time she tested it, the water was a little too hot. She added some cool water and tested it again. It was gently warm, about the same as body temperature.

Just right.

She turned and began unwrapping Luo Dong.

Layer after layer of cloth came away, revealing his fair, soft little body.

Luo Dong felt the chill on his skin and instinctively kicked his legs, letting out a little grunt.

Bibi Dong's hands paused.

Then, following Nurse Zhou's instructions, she reached out.

One hand securely supported the back of Luo Dong's head and neck, while the other cradled his soft little bottom. She lifted him out of the swaddling cloth.

The baby's body was unbelievably soft.

His neck had no strength to support his head at all, and his little head could loll to the side at any moment.

Bibi Dong kept her palm firmly beneath the back of his head, not daring to let up for even an instant.

She carried Luo Dong over to the copper basin, dipped the soft towel into the warm water, and began by wiping his face.

Her movements were slow.

Her touch was as light as it could be.

The towel passed over his forehead, cheeks, and chin, skirting his eyes and ears as it moved gently across his delicate skin.

Then came his little neck.

Nurse Zhou had said that dirt tended to collect beneath the neck.

Bibi Dong folded the towel into a little corner and carefully cleaned every crease.

Luo Dong lay in Bibi Dong's palm, feeling the warm towel glide over his skin.

It was neither hot nor cold, and her touch was so gentle that he nearly let out a pleased little sigh.

He looked up at Bibi Dong.

She had her head bowed, her brows faintly furrowed, her expression as focused as if she were performing an exquisitely delicate craft.

Her breathing was soft, and her hands moved with steady tenderness. After wiping each spot, she lowered her head to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

The usually cold expression on her face had taken on a hint of warmth.

Her lips were gently pursed. Her eyes held no coldness or distance, only complete, earnest concentration.

A feeling Luo Dong couldn't quite explain welled up inside him.

This woman was truly putting her heart into learning and doing this.

Whatever her original motive—whether it was to become stronger or something else—in that moment, every movement she made was filled with a tenderness she had never shown anyone.

But she was learning how to be a mother.

After washing his face and neck, she moved on to his arms, little belly, back, legs, and, last of all, his tiny feet.

She washed every part of him with care, not even missing the spaces between his toes.

At last, Bibi Dong wrapped him in the dry towel she had prepared beforehand.

She bundled him snugly from head to toe, leaving only his little face exposed.

Then she held him in her arms and gently patted his back.

Luo Dong let out a comfortable yawn.

His whole body was warm after the bath, and as the soft little blanket wrapped around him, sleepiness washed over him like the rising tide.

Just then, a system panel lit up in both their minds.

[Mission Complete]

[Reward Granted: Soul Power Level +1]

[Current Soul Power Level: Rank 85]

Bibi Dong's arms tightened slightly around Luo Dong.

She had gained another rank.

From Rank 83 to Rank 85—two ranks in a single day.

At this rate, there was probably no second case like it in the entire history of the continent.

And now she could be certain that every mission given by this system was real.

Every reward brought a genuine increase in strength.

Her gaze fell on Luo Dong's sleeping face, and complex emotions surged in her eyes.

Excitement.

Shock.

And, without her even realizing it, a glimmer of maternal warmth was beginning to stir within her.