“Phew, it’s been a long time since I moved my body this well~”
Bai Li flapped her wings and flew back to the palace, stretching as she caught her breath.
A satisfied smile still hung on her lips, and even the tips of her wings swayed lightly.
“From now on, Bai Li can finally fly by herself. I won’t have to carry you around everywhere every day anymore~”
Bai Ning said with a cheerful smile.
“Alright, after all that busy work, it’s time for us to soak in the hot spring together and rest.”
“T-Together?!”
Bai Li’s wings suddenly froze, her eyes widening in shock.
“Yeah, together. What’s wrong with that? Don’t tell me our Bai Li is shy?”
Bai Ning leaned closer, her tone full of teasing as she raised her eyebrows with a grin.
“Th-that’s too inappropriate, men and women shouldn’t touch… We should soak separately!”
Bai Li hurriedly shrank back, her wings stiffening straight.
“No, no. Soaking separately would waste this warm spring water. What a loss. Besides, didn’t you bathe me every day when we were kids? And anyway, we’re both girls now, what’s there to be afraid of~”
Bai Ning waved her hand, giving her reasons one after another.
“That was when we were kids! If I had known you kept your memories, I wouldn’t have bathed you…”
“Bai Li, you’re just taking advantage and still complaining!? The dignified Vampire Queen, dragged into the bathroom by a human and scrubbed clean!”
Bai Ning recalled the old days, puffing her cheeks and putting her hands on her hips, looking like she had remembered some embarrassing incident.
“Uh… when you put it that way, it does seem like it was my fault. But that was because you were pretending to be young…”
Bai Li scratched her head, her tone immediately softening, looking guilty.
“So, you see, what goes around comes around. Now it’s finally my turn~”
Bai Ning gave a mischievous smile, then without another word reached out and scooped Bai Li up, lightly slinging her over her shoulder.
She strode straight toward the bathroom, her movements clean and decisive, leaving no room for discussion.
“No! Bai Ning! Put me down. We have to soak separately!”
Bai Li flailed on her shoulder, her short legs kicking around as she struggled, her face turning red with urgency.
Bathing together with a grown daughter—what kind of person would do that?
That would be downright perverted.
He absolutely didn’t want to do something that ridiculous.
“That’s not up to you, my dear daughter~”
For some reason, Bai Ning suddenly acted on a whim and raised her hand to smack Bai Li’s little butt on her shoulder.
Smack!
A crisp sound rang out.
“Ah~!”
Bai Li was caught off guard by the sneak attack.
Her body stiffened, and she let out a soft gasp.
The blush on her face instantly spread to the tips of her ears.
“Be good! If mother says soak, then you soak. Stop being stubborn~”
Bai Ning patted her back, her tone carrying a doting firmness that left no room for refusal.
“Ugh… you unfilial daughter. Now you’re even slapping your father’s butt…”
Bai Li lay on her shoulder, her eyes slightly reddened, her voice muffled and full of grievance.
Smack!
Before the words even finished, another slap landed on her butt.
This time the sound was louder, clearer, and the force was stronger.
“Mm… mm…”
After suffering a loss, Bai Li instantly fell silent, not daring to say another word.
She could only lower her head and whimper on Bai Ning’s shoulder, her small body trembling slightly in grievance.
The way Bai Ning carried her forward looked especially comical, just like a hunter who had captured a favorite little prey and was triumphantly returning home.
Pushing open the carved wooden door of the bathroom, Bai Ning finally set Bai Li down from her shoulder and rubbed her head.
“Alright. Take it off.”
“Ta… take off… my clothes?”
Bai Li clutched the hem of her princess dress, her gaze drifting.
“What else would you take off? Hurry up. If you keep dawdling, the hot spring water will cool down.”
Bai Ning leaned against a stone pillar nearby, arms crossed as she urged her on, a teasing smile still on her lips.
“Bai Ning… could you turn around for a moment? Just a li—”
Bai Li tugged at her skirt hem, pleading softly.
“Nope~ I need to see whether our silly daughter can take off this complicated royal princess dress by herself. What if there’s no maid around in the future? Would you end up tied up by your own clothes and not even know how to take care of yourself?”
Bai Ning spoke seriously, leaving no room for negotiation.
Damn it! You unfilial daughter…
Bai Li grumbled inwardly, but she had no choice.
She could only resign herself, turn around, and clumsily try to undo her dress, while constantly comforting herself in her heart.
It’s fine, it’s fine.
It’s just taking off clothes. No big deal.
But after struggling for a long time, she realized… she actually didn’t know how to take off this stupid princess dress!
The winding ribbons and layers of buttons left her completely confused.
The more she tried, the more tangled it became, like a little puppet caught in strings.
Now this was truly embarrassing. She wished she could find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
“Hm? What’s wrong? My good daughter, I told you you wouldn’t be able to handle it~”
As if she had expected it, Bai Ning slowly walked over, watching her flustered movements with a gloating smile.
“Mm… stop laughing! Hurry up and help me! Quick!”
Bai Li was completely bound up by her own clothes, her limbs awkward and stiff.
She stamped her feet anxiously, blushing as she asked for help, her voice tinged with embarrassment and annoyance.
“Alright, alright, I’m coming. I won’t laugh at you~”
Bai Ning sighed with a smile, her tone full of affection.
She gently brushed aside Bai Li’s flustered little hands and began undoing the buttons for her.
Her movements were very gentle, brushing across Bai Li’s skin.
As she undid the collar buttons and the cords wrapped around her back, she softly instructed:
“See? You have to take this dress off slowly from top to bottom. Don’t rush, or you’ll end up tying yourself up and won’t be able to get it off at all.”
“It was already troublesome to put on, and I didn’t expect it to be this hard to take off too…”
Bai Li lowered her head and muttered softly, looking utterly lifeless.
With Bai Ning’s help, the complicated princess dress was undone in no time.
Bai Li suddenly felt much lighter all over, but she also instantly froze.
Her skin suddenly met the slightly cool air, along with her daughter’s completely unrestrained gaze falling straight on her body.
The sense of shame instantly swept through her, making her want to wrap herself in cloth immediately.
What made her even more uncomfortable was that while her clothes were off, her accessories were still on.
The cold metal against her warm skin felt strangely magnified, making her whole body uneasy.
“The accessories… there’s no need to take them off! Soaking them in the hot spring won’t cause any problems.”
Bai Li forced herself to speak calmly, pointing toward the hot spring pool not far away, steaming with mist.
She just wanted to hurry into the water and escape the embarrassing gaze.
“Go on in. Stop dawdling, or mother will pick you up again and toss you straight into the pool~”
“Got it!”
Bai Li blushed all the way to her ears.
Her right hand tightly covered her chest, while her left protected the important part below as she hurried toward the hot spring.
But her steps were too rushed—just as she reached the edge of the pool, her foot slipped.
Splash!
With a loud crash, it was a perfect deep-water bomb.
BOOM!
Water splashed everywhere, spraying all around.
Even Bai Ning by the pool was drenched with droplets.
“Oh my, looks like our Bai Li still has a playful child’s heart~”
Bai Ning wiped the water off her face, the teasing words slipping out naturally.
Cough, cough!
“N-No way! I just slipped by accident! It’s not because I wanted to play!”
Bai Li poked her head out of the water, droplets hanging from her lips.
She coughed violently while blushing and protesting.
“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore.”
Bai Ning put away her smile, smoothed her skirt, and looked at Bai Li in the pool, her tone turning more serious.
“Bai Li, watch me carefully now. I’ll show you how to take off the Vampire Queen’s dress. Watch closely~
It’s mostly similar to your princess dress, but the details have a few extra complicated steps. Remember them.”
Hearing this, Bai Li instantly froze in the pool, even forgetting to wipe the water droplets off her face.
No way?!
Bai Ning, you girl, you’re actually going to take off the queen’s dress right in front of me, your father who used to be a man?!
That’s way too improper…