Her fingers trembled almost imperceptibly, unsure if it was from nervousness or the strain on her legs.
She undid the buttons one by one, revealing pale, slender collarbones and shoulders.
She draped the removed shirt over the armrest of the wheelchair, then the skirt…
Soon, the girl’s delicate and somewhat frail body was completely exposed to the slightly chilly air of the bathroom.
Her skin looked translucent under the light, revealing faint blue veins beneath.
Her chest rose and fell with slightly hurried breaths, her waist was so slender it seemed one could encircle it with a hand, and her legs were straight, yet they appeared exceptionally fragile due to lack of strength and years without sunlight.
She didn’t dare fully let go of the hand supporting her on the sink, so she had to awkwardly use her other hand to turn on the showerhead.
Whoosh—
A stream of warm water cascaded down, wetting her hair, face, and shoulders.
Droplets slid down her neck, over her slender collarbones, the curves of her chest, and finally gathered in more private areas below.
The warm water temporarily dispelled the chill on her skin and allowed her tense nerves to relax just a little.
She squeezed out some shower gel and hastily smeared it on her body, her movements stiff as she struggled to maintain balance.
Foam spread over her pale skin, only to be quickly washed away by the water.
She gave her hair a few hurried rubs with shampoo before rinsing it off.
She had no time to appreciate her own female body.
Throughout the entire process, her mind was intensely focused on her increasingly sore and weak legs, silently counting the seconds.
Faster, just a little faster.
Quick, almost done.
Gritting her teeth, she dried herself and managed to put on her pajamas.
But in that very instant—
Suddenly, the knee of Yan Yu’s left leg gave way!
It felt as if the supporting bone had been yanked out in an instant, a violent wave of soreness and numbness crashing over her.
“Ugh!”
Yan Yu let out a muffled groan as her body uncontrollably tilted to the side!
In her panic, her other hand instinctively released the towel, flailing wildly to grab onto something, anything, to steady herself.
Thump!
Her elbow struck the cold tiled wall.
However, the recoil force and the support from the wall prevented her from falling completely at the last possible moment.
Her upper body slammed against the wall, barely stabilizing her teetering form.
The shower’s water continued to pour down her back.
Yan Yu pressed her entire body against the cold tiled wall, her soaked long hair clinging to her cheeks and neck, her chest heaving violently.
Her elbow throbbed with a burning pain, probably already bruised.
And her legs… they were so sore and weak they had almost lost all sensation, relying solely on her body pressing against the wall and the last vestiges of her willpower to hold on.
“Xiao Yu!”
Although the muffled thud and suppressed cry of pain inside the bathroom were faint, Ruo Xiaozhen, who had been listening intently for any sound, still caught them.
Her heart lurched.
She practically sprang up from the sofa on reflex, not even bothering to put her slippers on properly before rushing 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 unable to hide her panic.
The door was locked, which only made her more frantic.
Silence came from inside for a few seconds before Yan Yu’s low voice, laced with forced calm, finally came through.
“I’m… fine, Zhen Zhen. Don’t… don’t come in.”
“What do you mean fine?! I heard the noise!”
Ruo Xiaozhen was beside herself with worry, twisting the doorknob as if she wished she could just tear the door off its hinges.
“Open the door and let me see! Did you hurt yourself somewhere? Does it hurt? It’s all my fault! If I’d known you were this… inconvenienced, I should’ve… I should’ve come in to help you! At the very least, I should’ve waited right outside!”
Help… help me bathe?
Those words, coming through the door, made Yan Yu—who was leaning against the wall in the bathroom, panting in her disheveled state—feel her cheeks instantly blaze, a flush spreading all the way to the roots of her ears.
Even though her current body was female, and her soul had accepted this fact… deep down, she still retained the consciousness and sense of shame of a male.
The thought of exposing this sickly, weak body that could barely stand to another girl, even needing her help to complete such a private act as bathing…
Just imagining it, that mix of awkward embarrassment and a sense of inescapable humiliation made her scalp tingle and her heart clench.
She would rather grit her teeth and endure it herself than expose such a fragile, vulnerable side to anyone, even… to Ruo Xiaozhen.
But…
She looked down at her legs, which were still trembling slightly, utterly devoid of strength.
Although she had barely managed to avoid falling just now, the soreness and pain in her knees and ankles were unmistakably clear.
Her soaked hair clung to her neck and cheeks, icy droplets continuously sliding down her skin, stealing what little body heat she had left, making her shiver uncontrollably.
No matter how resilient her will was, at this moment, this useless body was like a defeated soldier who had surrendered completely, unable to muster even a shred of strength to stand.
Shame and humiliation churned in her heart, threatening to drown her.
Outside the door, Ruo Xiaozhen’s anxious voice continued to drift in, filled with deep concern and self-blame.
“…Xiao Yu! Don’t scare me! Say something! Please open the door, okay? Let me see you! Does it hurt a lot? Don’t try to tough it out by yourself!”
The worry in that voice was so genuine, so real, that it caused a tiny crack to form in the cold wall of “self-respect” within Yan Yu’s heart.
She closed her eyes.
A droplet of water rolled off her long lashes.
She inhaled the cold air into her lungs, carrying the faint, lingering scent of shower gel.
After a long moment, she finally managed to force a few words from the depths of her throat, with immense difficulty.
“…The lock… is open.”
The moment the words left her lips, the bathroom door was immediately pushed open from the outside.
Ruo Xiaozhen burst in, bringing with her the warm air from outside, and took in the scene at a glance—
Yan Yu, soaked through, leaning against the wall inside, the fragile outline of her slender body exposed under the light.
Her pale face was wet, indistinguishable whether from water or something else, the rims of her eyes and the tip of her nose tinged red.
One hand was unconsciously clutching the elbow she had just hit, the other gripping the wall, her knuckles white with the force.
She looked like a drenched, shivering fledgling bird—disheveled, helpless.
“Xiao Yu!”
Ruo Xiaozhen’s heart felt as if it had been viciously wrenched, the pain stealing her breath.
Without another word, she immediately crouched down.
Not caring that Yan Yu was still dripping wet, she carefully slid her arms under Yan Yu’s armpits and behind her knees.
“Don’t… Zhen Zhen, I’m wet… You’ll get all wet if you come close like this…”
Yan Yu instinctively tried to pull away, her voice faint.
“Wet, my foot! Don’t move!”
Ruo Xiaozhen’s tone held a rare note of firmness.
With a strong heave of her arms, she effortlessly scooped up the unbelievably light Yan Yu into a princess carry.
The girl’s cold, damp body fell into her embrace, carrying the faint scent of shower gel and the moisture of steam, instantly soaking through the fabric over Ruo Xiaozhen’s chest.