Bathing Bai Lin

After a long while, the urge to vomit gradually subsided. Bai Lin rubbed her stomach, finding she didn't even have the strength to stand up. Seeing Chi Thanh standing before her, watching, Bai Lin used one hand to support her body, the other propped on the ground, intending to stand.

However, she felt her limbs were powerless; her body seemed no longer under her own control. Let alone standing up, she probably couldn't even lift a leg, a simple movement.
She didn't know if it was from prolonged contact with the ground, but Bai Lin felt extremely cold. The pain in her body was also tormenting her, especially her chest and between her legs, two private areas, which ached intensely. Her hands couldn't rub, couldn't touch; she could only let the pain torment her. However, these pains were nothing compared to Chi Thanh's gaze fixed on her.

It was a cold gaze. Even when facing a stranger, she would show a little pity, but not towards her. It was as if she wasn't her daughter, but merely a speck of dust, nothing more. Well... that was fine too. She didn't need pity, nor did she need her care or affection.
Let her lose all hope; that way, she wouldn't think about it anymore, wouldn't harbor the vain hope that one day, Chi Thanh would treat her a little more gently.

The two, one standing, one sitting, confronted each other for a long time. Gazing intently at Bai Lin's pale yet defiant face, Chi Thanh knew that Bai Lin was just like that. No matter how she tortured her, or how she forced her, Bai Lin would not obey her.
Hesitating for a moment, finally, Chi Thanh turned and left the bathroom. She left decisively, without hesitation, and so she didn't see that as she turned, Bai Lin's dark eyes, once full of yearning, became dim, finally leaving only a desperate black.

Kneeling on the ground, Bai Lin held onto the sink with both hands, struggling to stand up. She turned on the faucet, rinsed her mouth, and washed her face, until her vision cleared, then she had the chance to assess herself once more. Standing before the mirror was a naked person, not even wearing underwear.
Her entire body was covered in white ointment, and on her shoulder was a round hole as if about to bleed. Her face was deathly pale, truly like a vengeful ghost emerging from a grave, without a trace of color. Looking at the old and new scars, large and small, on her body, Bai Lin told herself, this person was her.
It was clearly her, or rather, she was still alive.

Her stomach cramped a second time, and her entire body became cold as ice. Looking at the large bathtub behind her, Bai Lin bent down, turned on the warm water, and sat in. The wound's contact with warm water brought waves of intense pain, but Bai Lin was accustomed to it; she didn't even frown a little. She leaned against the edge of the tub, tiredly closing her eyes.

She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had relaxed like this. It seemed that ever since she decided to leave Chi Thanh, she had lost her freedom. That's right, leaving Chi Thanh, she had, on the contrary, lost her freedom. Being kept by her side, she felt free.
Aside from Bai Lin, no one knew how she had endured these past five years. She did things she never dared to think of before, helping the man she hated, completing the tasks he assigned. Although her body was free, her heart was so tired it was on the verge of collapse.

Every day and night she had to put on a show; there was no one around she could trust, and she had to hide her tracks to avoid being found by Chi Thanh. For five years, Bai Lin hadn't had a peaceful sleep. Now, she was once again by the side of the one she loved. Even though her mind and body suffered torment, she had no complaints, no regrets. After all, being by her side, she was free.

Bai Lin thought in silence. At this moment, the bathroom door was pushed open again. Seeing Chi Thanh standing by the bathtub, Bai Lin was stunned for an instant; her first reaction upon regaining her senses was to hastily cover her exposed body. Before, Chi Thanh had never entered while she was bathing, so Bai Lin hadn't locked the bathroom door, but today...
"I've seen every part of your body; you don't need to hide."

Just as Bai Lin was shocked and confused, Chi Thanh suddenly spoke these words, striking Bai Lin's head (metaphorically), making her both embarrassed and shy. She also knew that her body had long been seen countless times by Chi Thanh, whether when she was little or now.
In front of Chi Thanh, she didn't need to hide anything, and she didn't want to hide anything; even if the other party saw her entire body, it was fine. It was just that Chi Thanh didn't understand that what she wanted to hide was this body full of scars.

"Your wound can't touch water, yet you're bathing in here, Bai Lin. Do you want to die?"
Chi Thanh said in a low voice, slowly approaching Bai Lin. Just now, to maintain her principles, she had left Bai Lin alone in the bathroom. She had originally thought this person would come out after recovering her strength, but unexpectedly, the other party went to bathe.
Seeing streaks of blood on the water's surface, Chi Thanh felt her eyes sting because of it, and even her heart ached. To be honest, this feeling was not unfamiliar to her. A long time ago, Chi Thanh had discovered that whenever something unfortunate happened to Bai Lin, she would also feel uncomfortable. For a short time, Chi Thanh sneered at this feeling, because she felt this was a spiritual connection between mother and child; perhaps it was still the same now.

Facing Chi Thanh's question, Bai Lin, as always, gave no answer. She sat with her head lowered by the edge of the tub, her slender shoulders more than half-covered by her long hair. Standing beside Bai Lin, she truly resembled her younger self in some ways. Before, Bai Lin was often injured and couldn't move, yet she refused to let the servants help her bathe.
Many times, Chi Thanh saw her stubbornly bathing her blood-stained body herself, and couldn't help but help her. And it had been a very long time since she had done this for Bai Lin. Thinking of this, Chi Thanh shook her head, wet the washcloth by the tub, and slowly brought it to Bai Lin's back.

The damp, soft washcloth felt comfortable against her back, but what captivated Bai Lin even more was the scent of grass and plants emanating from the person beside her. Bai Lin stared blankly at Chi Thanh standing before her, unable to believe she was dreaming.
The warm water made the surroundings a bit hazy; Chi Thanh appeared and disappeared within it, but the breath around her and the sensation on her back were incredibly real. Bai Lin couldn't believe that the person helping her bathe was Chi Thanh. After all, before, only when she was severely injured would Chi Thanh treat her so gently.

However, this time Chi Thanh was different. There was no coldness on her face; instead, it was flushed pink from the heat. She didn't intentionally hurt her like before; she even lightened her touch when touching the wound.
Bai Lin stared blankly at Chi Thanh like this, so much so that even when the other party looked at her several times, she didn't notice. This moment was a scene she had only dreamed of, even fantasized about, because Bai Lin had never dared to hope that Chi Thanh would one day be so gentle with her.

The sudden change intoxicated Bai Lin and made her body weak. She felt Chi Thanh's hand seemed to possess magic; each time she rubbed the washcloth over her body, that warm sensation seemed to melt her entire being.
"What's wrong with you?"
A cold voice pulled Bai Lin back to reality. She saw Chi Thanh lower her head, turn to get body wash. For some reason, she felt Chi Thanh's ears were a little red. This redness wasn't from the heat, but seemed to be from shyness.

Before Bai Lin could think much, Chi Thanh returned with the body wash. She saw her pour the transparent liquid into her hand, gently rubbing it onto her back. The liquid flowed down Chi Thanh's palm, from her shoulders to her waist. It was clearly a simple movement, yet it made Bai Lin's body go limp.
She weakly leaned against the tub's edge, both hands gripping the rim to keep herself from collapsing into the water. The current scene was beautiful, truly surreal, making Bai Lin feel that this was like exchanging her entire life for a fleeting moment of happiness. Once this gentleness passed, perhaps she would die.

However, even if she truly had to pay with her entire life to be treated so gently by Chi Thanh, to be so close to her, Bai Lin would not hesitate to trade. After all, she was the person Bai Lin loved most. Just like now, Chi Thanh cared for her while she bathed; even with the pain in her body and the anguish in her heart, everything vanished in this instant.
The bathroom was silent; only the sound of their breathing and running water could be heard. Chi Thanh's hands were not smooth, but calloused from years of training. Her body temperature wasn't high; it was always cold all year round, but to Bai Lin, it was completely different; Chi Thanh's warmth was enough to melt Bai Lin's heart.

Bai Lin leaned against the tub, deeply etching this beautiful moment in her heart. The scent of body wash filled the entire bathroom; she could smell it, but still only wanted to enjoy the scent of grass and plants from Chi Thanh. Before, she had seen many harmonious mother-daughter scenes. The daughter's small body embraced by her mother; the little girl was happy, lively, liking to bury her head in her mother's neck, smelling her mother's familiar scent.
Bai Lin had also once harbored the vain hope that she could do the same with Chi Thanh, but she also understood that such a scene would never happen between them. Now, that vain hope had transformed. She no longer simply hoped to smell Chi Thanh's scent, but wanted to tightly embrace Chi Thanh, be with her, on equal footing, or to protect Chi Thanh from the storms.

Such thoughts were wrong; this kind of feeling should never exist. If that was the case, Bai Lin was willing to let this feeling remain in her heart forever, even if her heart ached because of it, she wanted to keep this secret. Even if she would never know how much Bai Lin had done for her, it didn't matter.
Just as Bai Lin was stunned, the hand on her back kept moving. Feeling that hand begin to touch each scar on her back, Bai Lin nervously paid attention to Chi Thanh's every move. She knew the other party was staring at her back.

At this very moment, Bai Lin was both nervous and afraid. She was afraid Chi Thanh would detest her body even more because of these ugly scars, and she was also afraid she would become suspicious, thereby doubting the true reason she left five years ago. Bai Lin was in a state of terror; her heart beat faster with Chi Thanh's every movement.
"What kind of wound is that?"
Finally making up her mind, Chi Thanh still asked this question. She didn't notice a flicker of fear and helplessness in Bai Lin's eyes after hearing the question. She just silently waited for the other party to answer. However, the answer she didn't expect consisted of only five indifferent, ice-cold words.

"It has nothing to do with you."