Back in the room, Varesa didn't put Bai You on the bed, but instead carried her straight into the bathroom.
"I need to take a shower first; I'm still all dirty, it's uncomfortable to sleep like this."
As she spoke, she freed one hand to turn on the bathtub faucet, tested the water temperature, adjusted it to lukewarm but not scalding, and then let the water slowly fill up.
Bai You was so sleepy that her eyelids were almost glued together, and she slumped limply against her.
Varesa gently and quickly removed her wrinkled pajamas, piece by piece.
Once the bathtub was about half full of water, I helped her sit down carefully.
Warm water rushed up, enveloping her aching limbs. Bai You let out a soft sigh of comfort, and even her drowsiness dissipated.
"You wait here quietly for me," Varesa said, placing a towel behind her neck so she could lean against the edge of the bathtub.
"I'm going outside to tidy up the bed, I'll be right back to help you wash. Don't move around, okay?"
"I heard you." The Bai You, soaking in warm water, lazily waved its hand.
Varesa then got up and left, leaving the bathroom door slightly ajar for ventilation.
In the bedroom.
Bai You lay on this bed all day. Although she had been wiped down, the sheets and blankets had been changed before she felt at ease.
She ripped off the old sheets and blankets and piled them aside, then opened the closet, took out a brand new mattress and blanket, made the bed, and fluffed up the pillows in one go.
Once she had a soft and warm bed, she took Bai You's change of clothes, draped them over her arm, and turned to walk towards the bathroom.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Bai You was soaking in warm water, lost in thought.
The warm water enveloped her, and as she looked down at her blurry reflection on the surface, she suddenly remembered something.
I feel like I'm a fish too, currently in the water. Should I not come out and play around?
"Let's give it a try," Bai You whispered to herself.
She closed her eyes, trying to draw upon that familiar power, letting it flow down her waist and abdomen.
Underwater, her legs first shimmered with a very faint, soft, white light.
Immediately afterwards, a strange, not uncomfortable, tingling sensation spread—her legs slowly came together and lengthened in the soft light.
Translucent fins grow from its ankles, covered with glistening scales that shimmer faintly beneath the water's surface.
When the light faded, Bai You looked down and saw a fish tail in the water.
Its scales are a light sky blue with a hint of moon white, and its thin, supple tail fin is translucent, gently stretching with the current.
With a thought, the fish tail tentatively swayed in the small bathtub, splashing a small spray of water that landed on her face.
"Oh." Bai You blinked, but couldn't help but giggle, and then swayed again.
This caused the entire pool to ripple gently, and the warm water flowed along the patterns on her scales, making her squint in comfort.
She stared at her beautiful tail, looking left and right, having a great time, and even her sleepiness vanished.
The bathroom door creaked open, and Varesa walked in carrying clean clothes.
She was saying, "Look how my little baby is doing in the bath--"
I spotted the bluish-white fish tail gleaming faintly underwater.
She was slightly surprised, but her eyes crinkled into a smile, her tone full of laughter. "Why are you making your tail out to play?"
Bai You shyly buried her head in the water.
Varesa casually put the clean clothes on the rack, rolled up her sleeves, and sat down by the bathtub.
"Come on, lift your head out of the water, let me wash your hair first." She reached out to test the water temperature and added some more hot water.
Bai You obediently raised her head, her back to her.
Varesa scooped up some warm water to wet her hair, then poured some shampoo into her palm and rubbed it in.
The little hand gently scratched her head, one stroke at a time, making Bai You squint her eyes and let out a soft hum from her nose.
After rinsing her hair, her gaze fell on the fish tail underwater.
"The tail needs to be washed clean too." Varesa took a soft cotton towel, soaked it in warm water, and waved it at her.
"Come on, bring your tail closer."
Bai You nodded gently, holding onto the edge of the bathtub, letting the bluish-white fish tail slowly float to her face.
Varesa gently supported the fish's tail with one hand, and with the other hand, she held a cotton towel and patiently wiped down the scales, one by one, following the lines of the scales.
When she touched the gaps between the overlapping scales, she softened her grip even more.
"It'll itch if there's any foam stuck here, I need to rinse it off," she whispered as she rinsed.
Unfortunately, the fish's tail is the most sensitive spot. Warm water flowed along the seams of the scales, and a cotton towel was gently rubbed against the base of the tail.
Bai You couldn't help but chuckle, its tail twitching and splashing a small spray of water.
"It itches..." She blushed and tried to retract her tail.
"Don't move! You're not finished washing yet. Who told you to turn into a fish and wash like that?"
Varesa suppressed a laugh and gently pressed her other hand down.
"But it wasn't a big problem, so I just washed it a little longer."
"And your tail is so pretty, it can't be left unwashed. Just bear with it a little longer, it'll be done soon."
She picked up the showerhead again, adjusted it to a gentle stream, and poured water from the fish's tail all the way down to its translucent tail fin.
The tail fin was so thin that she couldn't bear to touch it too hard. She only gently ran her fingers through the water twice to make sure there were no more bubbles left in the crevices of the scales before she stopped.
"Okay, arrange it again and shake off the water."
Bai You nodded, her fish tail swaying gently twice in the water.
"Splash!" The splashing water droplets landed on Varesa's sleeve once again.
"Oh dear!" Bai You quickly covered her mouth.
Varesa glanced down at her soaked sleeve, then at the little one in the bathtub, who was huddled up with a look of "I'm sorry."
He was neither angry nor amused, and in the end, he simply flicked her forehead lightly with his finger.
"Little rascal." She wiped her cuffs with a towel, but her eyes held an unyielding tenderness.
"Are you clean? If you're clean, I'll carry you out. You should tuck your tail in now, otherwise you'll sleep in the bathtub tonight."
"No." Bai You immediately retracted her fishtail, revealing her legs again, and opened her wet arms to her, softly pleading, "Hug me--"
"Here it comes." Varesa smiled and picked up a large bath towel from the side.
Varesa pulled the person out of the water, wrapped them up tightly, leaving only a steaming, rosy, adorable little face showing.