Chapter 59: Taking a bath

“I can’t take this anymore!”

Bai Yao was startled.

He turned to look at the suddenly frantic Qiu Ye, completely confused.

‘Did this guy really hit his head that hard?’

Qiu Ye scrambled up, opened the wardrobe, and pulled out a change of clothes.

“I’m taking a shower today, no matter what!”

Ever since he fractured his arm, he hadn’t had a proper shower.

At most, he’d ask Bai Yao to wring out a towel so he could wipe himself down.

But with only one good arm, he couldn’t reach his back.

He hadn’t washed his hair in days, either; it was greasy and itchy.

“Didn’t you just have surgery? Can you even get it wet?”

Chen Zhilong asked curiously.

“No.”

“Then isn’t that your answer?”

“As long as I don’t get this arm wet, it’ll be fine. I’ll just keep it raised.”

Qiu Ye wasn’t exactly a neat freak, but he absolutely couldn’t tolerate going days without a shower in the sweltering heat of summer.

Once a day was his absolute limit.

It had been fine when he was stuck in the air-conditioned hospital room every day, but now that he was discharged, the walk to and from class left him drenched in sweat.

By the second day, he was already at his breaking point.

Chen Zhilong had just finished assembling his gaming chair and sat down comfortably.

“Do you need help?”

“Help…”

Qiu Ye instinctively looked at Bai Yao.

Bai Yao kept his face expressionless and looked down at his phone.

Asking someone to help him bathe?

Even though Chen Zhilong had offered, Qiu Ye wasn’t close enough with him to feel comfortable with that.

It was a bit embarrassing.

But if it meant troubling his little angel, Bai Yao, again…

Qiu Ye felt like he could accept it.

He might as well go all the way; he had already troubled Bai Yao enough as it was.

“Bai Yao?”

Bai Yao shifted his weight and turned his back to Qiu Ye.

“Just help me scrub my back.”

‘That doesn’t seem too impossible to accept?’

Bai Yao knit his brows in internal conflict but remained silent.

He was waiting for the system to issue a task! Helping his ‘romantic interest’ scrub his back?

How could the system pass up an event so beneficial for their relationship?

He needed to make some money.

[Your romantic interest has requested that you help him bathe! Why not just shower together? Being naked and honest with each other will help the relationship heat up!]

‘Heat up my foot! If I were really a girl, being naked and honest with him would probably end with a trip to the maternity ward!’

Even as a man, he felt like he was at risk of needing a proctologist.

[Of course, since you are currently maintaining a pure and innocent persona, you should just scrub his back. While you’re at it, why not check if his hardware meets your requirements?]

[Reward Cash: 100]

The money finally arrived.

Bai Yao understood now.

As long as it involved flirting with men, if he hesitated for even a moment, the system would definitely use one hundred yuan as bait to lure him in.

‘Only a hundred! Whose integrity are you trying to trample on? You need to add more.’

“Bai Yao… Big brother? Sister? Dad! I haven’t showered in so many days, I’m starting to stink.”

Qiu Ye acted shamelessly, standing behind Bai Yao and massaging his shoulders.

A grown man was actually acting spoiled.

“Mom, thank you for your hard work!”

The other guys in the dorm couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Bai Yao’s face flushed slightly from the teasing.

Even setting the task aside, he couldn’t handle a man acting like this toward him.

He pulled a trash bag out of his drawer and looked up with a cold expression.

“Give me your hand.”

Looking up into the light was a terrible angle for anyone’s appearance, but as Qiu Ye looked down, he could clearly see the faint spots, acne marks, and comedones on Bai Yao’s forehead.

He could even see the fine peach fuzz on his face.

However, the lack of makeup made him seem more real and vivid.

Qiu Ye obediently held out his left arm.

He watched as Bai Yao helped him slip the trash bag over his forearm and tied a knot, doing his best to ensure the fractured arm wouldn’t touch any water.

“There.”

Bai Yao stood up and grumbled under his breath, “It’s not like you’ll die if you don’t shower for a few days.”

Though he sounded reluctant and usually hated trouble, he actually quite liked the feeling of being needed.

Besides, Qiu Ye always provided plenty of emotional validation after being helped.

It reached a point where looking at Qiu Ye’s “tough guy” face almost made him want to laugh.

It was like looking at a husky that happened to look like a gray wolf.

***

The school bathroom wasn’t very large.

It was generally divided into a shower area and a raised squat toilet area.

The hygiene was mediocre.

A layer of dust had settled on the floor.

Usually, the dorm would do a deep clean once a week to pass inspections, and they maintained it well enough on a daily basis.

At the very least, it wasn’t unusable.

As the two of them stepped into the bathroom, the already small space felt cramped.

As soon as he entered, Qiu Ye stripped off his shirt and pants, hanging them on the side and leaving only his boxers on.

It had to be said that this guy’s skin was quite good.

It was a wheatish tan that looked smooth and healthy, without many blemishes.

Although Bai Yao had never seen him exercise, and he certainly didn’t have a six-pack, his muscle lines were quite nice.

He had a well-proportioned build—slightly sturdy, lean muscle, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs.

Qiu Ye was testing the water temperature when he suddenly felt a gaze lingering on him from behind.

A sense of self-consciousness abruptly welled up in his heart.

He turned his head and saw Bai Yao’s delicate, aloof face.

His awkwardness immediately morphed into shyness, and he suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands and feet.

As a Northerner, he had been to public bathhouses plenty of times.

It was just a bunch of guys; seeing each other naked was no big deal.

But facing Bai Yao, his gaze flickered nervously.

“Uh… maybe I’ll wash my hair first?”

“Okay.”

Bai Yao noticed Qiu Ye’s slight embarrassment.

‘No way! Does this guy think I’m a woman? What’s there to be shy about? Didn’t he used to run around the dorm shirtless every day?’

Qiu Ye bent over to wash his hair under the showerhead, holding his other arm high in the air for fear of it getting wet.

However, this inevitably caused water to splash everywhere, soaking Bai Yao.

He took a step back, standing on the raised toilet area, and looked down to brush off the water droplets.

It was a good thing he had put a bag over the arm beforehand, or it definitely would have gotten wet.

Qiu Ye finished washing his hair in less than two minutes.

He shook his head like a dog and gave it a quick wipe with a dry towel.

Then, still wearing his boxers, he stepped directly under the shower.

Even though they were close, it hadn’t reached the point where he would strip completely naked.

However, as the boxers got wet, they began to sag and cling to his skin, clearly outlining the “snack” beneath.

Qiu Ye could only force himself to act like nothing was happening.

He kept his back to Bai Yao, trying his best not to appear shy.

“Help me put some body wash on my back.”

“Oh.”

Bai Yao squeezed out some body wash and rubbed his hands together to create a lather before spreading it over Qiu Ye’s back.

His small hands were cool, smooth, and soft, as if they had no bones.

‘These are clearly a man’s hands, right? How can they be described as soft and boneless?’

Qiu Ye was starting to regret asking Bai Yao for help.

It wouldn’t have been the end of the world if his back didn’t get washed.

At most, he would have broken out in a few pimples.

That was much better than this current awkwardness.

“You splashed water all over me,” Bai Yao muttered discontentedly.

Qiu Ye glanced back.

A large portion of Bai Yao’s shirt was soaked.

The thin summer tee clung to his chest, giving a clear outline to the “buns” that usually weren’t very noticeable.

‘So sexy!’

Qiu Ye’s face turned beet red.

He looked down and pretended to continue washing.

‘Little brother, get it together! Don’t go embarrassing me right now!’

Bai Yao picked up a towel and began scrubbing Qiu Ye’s back with all his might, as if he had a grudge, hoping to hear a cry of pain.

Unfortunately, the guy didn’t feel a thing.

His attention was entirely focused on suppressing the “uprising” in his lower house.

“Uh… that’s enough.”

Bai Yao paused.

“It doesn’t hurt?”

“In my hometown, I go to the bathhouse to get scrubbed all the time. Those masters scrub way harder than you.”

“Fine. Watch your hand; don’t let it touch the water.”

Bai Yao muttered as he prepared to leave.

Before walking out, his gaze instinctively flickered downward.

‘Holy shit?!’

‘Wait… that’s not right!’