Her fingers trembled almost imperceptibly, whether from nervousness or the strain on her legs.
One by one, the buttons came undone, revealing pale, thin collarbones and shoulders underneath. She draped the removed clothes over the armrest of her wheelchair, followed by her skirt…
Soon, the girl’s slender and somewhat fragile body was completely exposed to the slightly chilly air of the bathroom.
Her skin was so white under the light it seemed translucent, faint blue veins visible beneath the surface.
Her chest rose and fell slightly with hurried breaths, her waist so thin it seemed impossible to wrap one’s hands around it. Her legs were straight, yet due to lack of strength and years without sunlight, they looked exceptionally frail.
She didn’t dare fully let go of the hand gripping the sink, using only her other hand to awkwardly turn on the showerhead.
“Whoosh—”
Warm water cascaded down, soaking her hair, face, and shoulders.
Water droplets slid down her neck, past her slender collarbones, over her heaving chest, and finally into the hidden areas below.
The warm water temporarily dispelled the chill from her skin and relaxed her tense nerves just a little.
She squeezed some body wash and haphazardly applied it over herself, her movements stiff from trying to maintain balance.
Foam spread across her pale skin, quickly washed away by the stream of water.
She hurriedly rubbed some shampoo into her hair and rinsed it out just as quickly.
She had no time to appreciate her own body as a girl. Throughout the entire process, her mind was hyper-focused on her legs, which were growing increasingly weak. She silently counted the seconds in her head: Faster, just a little faster.
Hurry up. Almost done.
Gritting her teeth, she dried herself and barely managed to put on her bathrobe when, in that instant—
Suddenly, Yan Yu’s left knee buckled!
It felt as if the supporting bone had been instantly pulled away, and a violent wave of soreness and numbness crashed over her like a tsunami.
“Ah!”
Yan Yu grunted, her body uncontrollably tilting to the side!
In her panic, her other hand instinctively released the towel and flailed wildly, trying to grab something to steady herself.
Thud!
Her elbow slammed into the cold tile wall. But at the same time, the recoil force and the support of the wall kept her from fully collapsing. Her upper body hit the wall, barely stabilizing her teetering form.
The shower’s water continued to pour over her back.
Yan Yu pressed herself against the freezing tile wall, her soaked long hair clinging to her cheeks and neck, her chest heaving violently.
Her elbow throbbed with a burning pain—it was probably already bruised.
And her legs were so weak and numb they had almost lost all sensation. Only the support of the wall and the last shreds of her willpower kept her standing.
“Xiao Yu!”
The muffled thud and suppressed cry of pain from the bathroom were faint, but Ruo Xiaozhen, who had been listening closely for any sound, caught them.
Her heart skipped a beat. Almost by reflex, she sprang up from the sofa, not even bothering to put on her slippers properly as she rushed to the bathroom door in a few steps.
“Xiao Yu! What’s wrong? Did you fall? Are you okay?”
She pounded on the door, her voice urgent and filled with undisguised panic.
The door was locked, which only made her more frantic with worry.
There was a few seconds of silence before Yan Yu’s low voice came through, tinged with forced calm: “I… I’m fine, Zhenzhen. Don’t… don’t come in.”
“Fine? I heard the noise!”
Ruo Xiaozhen was beside herself with anxiety. She twisted the doorknob, wishing she could tear the door down.
“Open the door and let me see! Did you hurt yourself somewhere? Does it hurt? This is all my fault! I knew it was hard for you, I should have… I should have come in to help! At the very least, I should have been right outside watching over you!”
Help… help me bathe?
Those words filtered through the door, and in the bathroom, Yan Yu, who was pitifully leaning against the wall catching her breath, felt her cheeks instantly burn red, even her ears flushed crimson.
Although her body was now female, and her soul had accepted that fact, deep down she still retained traces of male consciousness and a sense of shame.
To have to reveal this frail, powerless body—one that couldn’t even stand on its own—to another girl, and even need her help to complete such an intimate task as bathing…
Just thinking about it, the mix of embarrassment, shyness, and a hint of inescapable humiliation made her scalp tingle and her heart clench.
She would rather grit her teeth and tough it out than expose such a fragile, pitiful side of herself to anyone, even if it was… Ruo Xiaozhen.
But…
She looked down at her legs, still trembling slightly and completely devoid of strength.
The soreness and pain in her knees and ankles from the near-fall were still sharp and clear.
Her wet hair clung to her neck and cheeks, and cold water droplets continuously slid down her skin, carrying away the little body heat she had left, making her shiver uncontrollably.
No matter how strong her will was, right now, this useless body was like a defeated soldier surrendering completely, unable to muster even a shred of strength to stand.
Shame and humiliation churned in her heart, threatening to drown her.
Meanwhile, from outside the door, Ruo Xiaozhen’s anxious voice kept coming, laced with deep concern and self-blame.
“…Xiao Yu! Don’t scare me! Talk to me! Please open the door, okay? Let me see you! Does it hurt a lot? Don’t tough it out alone!”
The worry in that voice was too real, so real that it cracked the cold wall of “self-esteem” in Yan Yu’s heart.
She closed her eyes, water droplets rolling off her long eyelashes.
The cold air filled her lungs, carrying the faint lingering scent of body wash.
After a long moment, she finally squeezed a few words out from the depths of her throat with great difficulty.
“…The lock… is open.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the bathroom door was pushed open from outside.
Ruo Xiaozhen burst in, bringing a wave of warm air from outside with her. Her eyes immediately fell on the scene inside—
Yan Yu was pressed against the wall, soaked to the bone, her slender and fragile silhouette exposed under the light.
Her pale face was wet, impossible to tell if it was water or something else. Her eyes and the tip of her nose were red.
One hand unconsciously covered her just-injured elbow, while the other gripped the wall so tightly that her knuckles were white.
She looked like a chick drenched by rain, trembling and pitiful—pathetic and helpless.
“Xiao Yu!”
Ruo Xiaozhen’s heart felt like it was being twisted, the pain making her breath catch.
Without a second thought, she immediately crouched down. Ignoring the fact that Yan Yu was still dripping wet, she reached out her arms and carefully slid them under Yan Yu’s armpits and behind her knees.
“Don’t… Zhenzhen, I’m all wet… If you get this close, I’ll soak you…”
Yan Yu instinctively tried to dodge, her voice weak.
“Forget the wetness! Don’t move!”
Ruo Xiaozhen’s tone was unusually firm. With a burst of strength, she effortlessly lifted the impossibly light Yan Yu in a bridal carry.
The girl’s cold, damp body fell into her arms, carrying the faint scent of body wash and moisture, instantly soaking the fabric on Ruo Xiaozhen’s chest.