Chapter 34 : Can You Help Me Bathe?

The sunset’s afterglow poured onto the slightly mottled Rooftop, stretching the shadows of the two people below very, very long.

The evening breeze gently brushed past, catching the silver-white hair of the young girl and softly sweeping it across her face.

Her gaze quietly watched the black-haired girl standing before her, silhouetted against the setting sun.

Bai Yu had said this was where they first confirmed their relationship, and where they had made a promise to stay by each other’s side for a lifetime.

Unfortunately, looking at the scene before her, Loweia still couldn’t recall that past.

She tried to remember, but her mind remained a complete blank.

She still couldn’t remember anything, no matter how hard she tried to search for those fragments of memory called the past.

Ultimately, she couldn’t reach anything, and it only made her head throb with pain.

“Ugh…”

Loweia pressed her temples to soothe the headache.

Although she couldn’t remember anything, witnessing this scene stirred a different kind of emotion deep in her heart.

She reached out and placed a hand over her chest, feeling her heart beating faster.

*Thump… thump…*

The vibration from within her chest was so clear.

Ordinarily, she wouldn’t feel such a flutter.

‘Why?’

‘Is it because of the girl in front of me? Is my heart beating for Bai Yu?’

Loweia stared blankly at Bai Yu, watching the girl bathed in golden light.

The evening breeze stirred the girl’s black hair and also tugged at Loweia’s heartstrings.

This feeling couldn’t be faked.

Memories could be forgotten, and the past could be lost, but this body, this heart — this heart that might be fluttering for her — seemed to be whispering the feeling called love.

Watching Bai Yu’s smile in the sunset, Loweia involuntarily took a step forward and walked toward her.

Since she couldn’t remember, she shouldn’t dwell on the past anymore.

Instead of racking her brains to search for a past lost somewhere unknown, it was better to seize every minute and second of the present and cherish the person before her.

If she couldn’t recall the past, then she would leave traces belonging to the present.

The traces left in this moment would become their new memories.

Loweia stepped up to Bai Yu’s side.

The evening breeze blew the loose hair on her forehead as she reached out and grabbed Bai Yu’s sleeve.

“Bai Yu, can I ask a favor of you?”

“What is it?”

Bai Yu asked instinctively.

“Even though I can’t remember anything about the past, or how I felt when I first came here… even though you brought me here specially, I…”

Just as Bai Yu was about to offer comfort, Loweia suddenly shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter. If I can’t remember, I can’t remember. Right now is what’s most important. So…”

Loweia looked at Bai Yu’s beautiful profile, a glimmer of expectant earnestness flashing in her eyes.

“Bai Yu, I want to remember the ‘now.’ I want to create new memories that belong to our present as a commemoration of us getting to know each other again. Is it okay if we take a new photo together here?”

“Mhm, of course.”

In fact, Bai Yu had been waiting for those very words.

“I also really want to leave memories of the present with you, Wei Ya.”

As she spoke, she pulled her phone from her pocket, opened the camera, and switched it to selfie mode.

“Wei Ya, come a little closer.”

Bai Yu held up the phone, searching for the best angle to capture the afterglow of the setting sun behind them.

Hearing her words, Loweia leaned toward her.

Their shoulders brushed together, and two close figures appeared on the phone screen in real time.

The black-haired girl on the right had a radiant smile, while the white-haired girl on the left looked a bit shy.

“Wei Ya, look at the camera and smile…”

“Okay…”

Loweia cooperated, trying hard to squeeze out a radiant smile like Bai Yu’s.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t match Bai Yu’s brilliance. Instead, because she was trying too hard, it looked a bit stiff.

“No need to be so nervous. Just be natural, Wei Ya. You don’t have to force yourself to look exactly like me.”

‘Eh?’

‘Was I found out?’

Loweia’s face flushed red, and she awkwardly turned her head away.

“Sorry…”

“There’s no need to apologize. Just be natural, think about how you feel right now, and give your most genuine smile.”

‘A most genuine smile?’

Loweia nodded and looked at the lens again.

This time, although her smile was still a bit reserved and subtle, it looked much better than it had before.

“Three, two, one, cheese!”

As Bai Yu’s finger tapped the shutter button, the image on the screen was frozen in that moment.

On the Rooftop at dusk, the evening clouds were like brocade.

In the picture on the screen, the black-haired girl’s smile was radiant, seemingly capable of dispelling all gloom just by looking at it.

Meanwhile, the white-haired girl beside her had a subtle smile, though her eyes brimmed with peace and joy.

Her gaze wasn’t entirely fixed on the lens; instead, she had turned slightly to look toward Bai Yu.

“It’s done. Wei Ya, come see how it turned out.”

Saying this, Bai Yu opened the gallery and held the phone screen before Loweia’s eyes.

Loweia’s gaze fell on the screen, seeing the image of the two girls leaning against each other.

This was them now.

Unlike the photo on the nightstand that felt like a stranger to her, she had clear memories of this photo.

Just moments ago, she and Bai Yu had taken this photo right here.

“It looks very nice.”

Surely, this photo would become a new memory for them.

In the future, as long as she saw it, she would remember everything that happened here today.

—

They didn’t leave the Rooftop until the sunset faded and twilight descended.

Upon returning home, Bai Yu plunged straight into the kitchen.

Loweia, having been out all day, felt a wave of exhaustion the moment she sat on the sofa.

She closed her eyes and took a short nap.

By the time Bai Yu finished cooking, Loweia happened to wake up.

“Dinner is ready. Come and eat.”

Loweia nodded and came to the dining table.

Dinner concluded in a harmonious atmosphere.

After the meal, Bai Yu took the dishes to the kitchen, while Loweia returned to her room carrying the underwear and other items she had bought today.

After organizing her closet, she took her nightgown and walked into the bathroom.

After washing the dishes, Bai Yu sat on the sofa in the living room and took out her phone to browse the recent news.

Aside from the recent reminders for the residents of Red Maple City to be careful when going out, there wasn’t much new.

Bai Yu continued scrolling through her phone, though she found it a bit strange.

It had been quite a while, yet she hadn’t heard the sound of running water from the bathroom.

‘Strange. Could it be that Loweia doesn’t know how to use the showerhead?’

Just as she was thinking about getting up to check on her, she heard the bathroom door being pushed open.

Loweia poked her head out, her exquisite face tinged with a flush of crimson.

“Um… Bai Yu, can you… can you help me bathe?”