Even the way she addressed him had shifted unconsciously—from the playful “little Yan Zhen” to the more formal “Yan Zhen.”
After a good while, Yan Zhen sensed that Madam Mi had left the outer room. He quickly said, “Senior Sister Xue’er, hold on—Auntie’s gone.”
Mi Xue’er elegantly tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and smiled shyly. “Since I’ve already washed you this far, I might as well finish the job. It’s my first time serving someone a bath, and it feels pretty novel. Besides, little Yan Zhen, you helped me out so much. Repaying the favor is only right~”
Yan Zhen still preferred it when she called him “little Yan Zhen.” It felt far more intimate.
“Then I’ll have to trouble you.”
Mi Xue’er attended to him diligently, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to wash his entire body. After scrubbing his upper half, she tactfully stepped aside.
Soon, Yan Zhen finished bathing and stepped out.
Mi Xue’er had intended to soak next, but with her intentions so obvious, she instead summoned a servant to fetch fresh water.
She had only just sunk into the tub when Madam Mi sauntered back in. She spotted Yan Zhen seated at the table, sipping tea, then glanced toward the silhouette behind the screen—graceful and alluring. Her expression darkened slightly.
“Son-in-Law Yan Zhen, Xue’er went to all that trouble to bathe you, yet you don’t know how to return the favor?”
Yan Zhen froze. What kind of talk was this? He hurriedly replied, “I appreciate everything Senior Sister Xue’er has done for me. I’ll definitely repay her someday.”
“What do you mean ‘someday’? Only irresponsible men talk like that. Like right now—just go serve her bath. What’s this about someday?”
“Uh, well…”
Yan Zhen was utterly stumped by her words.
They sounded reasonable at first glance, but something about them felt off upon closer inspection. Madam Mi was a master sophist!
As a seasoned keyboard warrior, he never imagined running into a worthy opponent here!
On any other day, Yan Zhen would have happily sparred with her for three hundred rounds. But now, in the midst of this pivotal plotline, he couldn’t afford to break character. He could only yield. “Auntie, I was just worried Senior Sister Xue’er might feel shy, so I held back… We’re courting, sure, but we can’t be too forward and offend such a fine lady.”
Madam Mi replied coolly, “Xue’er doesn’t like you touching her? So you two really are fake lovers after all?”
“—Of course not!” Mi Xue’er’s voice drifted from behind the screen. “We just think things are moving too fast. We want to take it slow.”
“Too fast? One of you is nineteen, the other sixteen—you’re both adults. Until you’ve had a child, nothing counts as too fast.”
“W-Well, I’m shy.”
“Shy about what? You’ll have to get used to it eventually.” Madam Mi always had an answer for everything. “You do for him, he does for you—that’s how a couple should be. One-sided giving or taking does nothing to sustain love. As they say, love is made, not just felt.”
Holy crap!
Yan Zhen was thunderstruck to the core. Even Mi Xue’er, a reincarnator herself, could barely handle it.
There was a saying for this: The older the ginger, the spicier it gets—your mom is still your mom!
“Son-in-Law Yan Zhen, all I want is for you to treat Xue’er well—not just in words, but starting with the little things.”
She tilted her head, gesturing for him to go over.
Yan Zhen’s scalp tingled under her relentless gaze. Like a snail, he inched back behind the screen.
“Senior Sister Xue’er, ahem… Let me help bathe you. If you’re not comfortable, just say so. I don’t want to make you unhappy.”
Mi Xue’er shrank down into the tub, murmuring a feeble sound of assent. Her cheeks burned like the evening glow.
“Y-You do it, little Yan Zhen. I’m fine~”
Yan Zhen’s vision went black. Sis, didn’t you get what I meant? I wanted you to voice your discomfort and get us out of Auntie’s teasing!
Senior Sister Xue’er was usually so sharp—why was she clueless at the crucial moment?
Yan Zhen approached the edge of the tub and looked down at Mi Xue’er inside. Her skin gleamed white tinged with pink, a vision of loveliness.
Her long hair was piled up, revealing a slender jade neck and glistening earlobes. The line from her collarbone to her fragrant shoulders was strikingly sensual. Her breasts below weren’t overly large but pert and shapely like water droplets. Her long legs pressed tightly together and drawn up high, just concealing the girl’s most private area.
“Little Yan Zhen… D-Do I look good?”
Mi Xue’er half-covered her chest with her arms, her beautiful eyes gazing timidly up at him from below—part bashful, part tempting.
Yan Zhen nearly choked at the question.
Don’t ask stuff like that—who could resist?
“Ahem, you look good. Really good.”
Mi Xue’er beamed with delight.
Yan Zhen composed himself. “Well then, let me scrub your back too. Fair’s fair.”
“Sure.”
Mi Xue’er obligingly leaned over the tub’s edge, baring her smooth, pink back to him.
With her permission, Yan Zhen rolled up his sleeves, soaked a towel, and began gently scrubbing her back.
The elastic skin flushed a mature peach-like pink under the towel’s touch—enticingly appetizing, stirring an impulse to take a bite and savor it.
Mi Xue’er had never dreamed she might one day enjoy Yan Zhen’s ministrations during a bath. Happiness welled up inside her, nearly overflowing.
“—Son-in-Law Yan Zhen, that’s not how you do it.”
The voice drew near. To their shock, Madam Mi had followed him over, startling both Mi Xue’er and Yan Zhen.
“Mom? What are you doing here? This is so embarrassing!”
Mi Xue’er frantically shielded her chest, mortified at exposing herself before her own mother.
“Which part of you haven’t I seen?” Madam Mi shot back at her daughter before turning to Yan Zhen. “Son-in-Law Yan Zhen, Xue’er’s skin is delicate. Don’t scrub too hard with the towel, or you’ll hurt her. Give me the towel—I’ll show you how to wash her properly.”
Madam Mi extended her hand. Yan Zhen dumbly passed her the towel. She dipped it in water and began gently scrubbing her daughter’s back.
“Mom, nooo.”
Mi Xue’er was beside herself with shame, burying her face in her arms. She wriggled in protest, but Madam Mi gave her a light smack—crisp and resounding!
“Don’t fidget.” Madam Mi said coldly, then instructed Yan Zhen. “When bathing, don’t just do the back. Clean under the chin, the armpits, under the breasts—the overlooked spots. Women are different from men; it takes extra care… Do you understand, Son-in-Law Yan Zhen?”
Like hell I do! Yan Zhen desperately wanted to retort, but to preserve his character, he held it in and replied emphatically, “G-Got it, more or less.”
“Good. Your turn.”
Madam Mi handed the towel back to Yan Zhen, her eyes fixed intently on him—as if to say, “I’m watching to make sure you do it right.”
Yan Zhen truly couldn’t fathom what was going through Madam Mi’s mind. She was an elder, after all; he couldn’t get rough with her. He had no choice but to follow her lead.
He resumed scrubbing Mi Xue’er’s back, only for Madam Mi to interject disapprovingly, “Back’s done. Now the other areas—Xue’er, turn around and let your lover serve you.”
