She separated her outer clothes and undergarments into two baskets—planning to toss the regular clothes into the washing machine later, while the undergarments she would wash by hand. Even though the hotel offered full services and she didn't need to do anything herself, she simply couldn't bear to let others touch her personal undergarments.
After all, how could anyone else touch her little panties and dudou? For girls who hadn't developed enough to avoid awkward bumps, the options were either wearing a dudou or directly using pasties. But Chu Lian had a strong aversion to pasties, finding them far too shameful. So she would rather wear a dudou. Cough cough… if only she had her little sister's kind of figure, she wouldn't need to agonize over it at all… That was her true thought.
Completely absorbed in arranging the clothes, Chu Lian didn't notice that Li Xiu'er—who had been quietly soaking in the bath with only her small head above the water—was slowly swimming over. Taking advantage of Chu Lian's distraction, she suddenly reached out, grabbed her ankles, and gave a little tug.
Splash~ Without any defense, Chu Lian was pulled into the water by the soft, delicate Li Xiu'er. She sputtered a few bubbles, then closed her mouth, wide eyes filled with confusion as she looked at Xiu'er, not understanding what she wanted.
"Chu Lian, you treat Chu Chu and Inori that way—so why don't you treat me the same? Am I not as good as them…?" With only her head above the surface, Li Xiu'er didn't answer her confusion. Instead, she gazed into Chu Lian's eyes, sorrow flickering within her own, speaking to herself.
Chu Lian's eyes widened in surprise. She seemed at a loss at this sudden confession. Struggling, she tried to climb out of the water. But the next second, realizing what she intended, Li Xiu'er fell silent, then dove under the water, wrapping her arms tightly around Chu Lian's body.
The warmth of the water made the closeness of their skin-to-skin contact even more intense. Chu Lian suddenly found herself unwillingly addicted to the sensation. Even though she knew it was wrong—even though she knew Xiu'er was not in the right state—this was the first time she had ever experienced such feelings, and the softness completely conquered her.
Their eyes locked onto each other. In the end, it was Li Xiu'er who acted first. Lowering her head, her tender lips pressed gently onto Chu Lian's, her small tongue slipping past her unresisting lips, sliding inside, entwining with her tongue amidst the warmth of the water.
Chu Lian's eyes went wide in shock. She never imagined Li Xiu'er would do such a thing. But then, as though realizing something, she slowly closed her eyes, allowing her to take what she wanted…
Kissing and kissing, the two girls eventually rose from beneath the water, collapsing together onto the bathroom floor, still maintaining that posture as they gazed into each other's eyes.
Perhaps tired from kissing, perhaps simply wanting a change of angle, every so often they would naturally shift positions, their lips parting only to reconnect again.
Without the water's warmth, their exposed skin gradually cooled. Pressed so tightly together, their bodies warmed each other.
No one knew how much time passed before Li Xiu'er finally lifted her head slightly, inhaled Chu Lian's faint fragrance, and whispered softly: "Chu Lian, I really like you…"
"Mmhm, Xiu'er, I like you too~" A blush bloomed across Chu Lian's face. She bit lightly on her finger to suppress her voice.
After a long time, Li Xiu'er's body drifted lower toward the bath again, her lips brushing closer to Chu Lian's feet…
"This feeling…?" Once again kissed at such a sensitive place, Chu Lian instantly recalled the fish in her dream, then Tina strangely appearing at her bedside, and finally Chu Chu's satisfied smile after bathing. She immediately realized the truth.
It hadn't been Tina. Nor was it the fish in her dream. It was Chu Chu who had done such things to her in her sleep, influencing her dream into that scene.
But she had no strength now to get up and confront Chu Chu—because Li Xiu'er was once again moving up to kiss her. Though she clearly longed for it, Chu Lian knew it couldn't go on. So she gently pushed away the weakened Li Xiu'er, then lifted her in her arms and carried her back into the bath.
This time, it really was just bathing. Neither she nor Li Xiu'er spoke of what had just happened. Yet each time their eyes met, Xiu'er would shyly avert her gaze, lowering her head, too embarrassed to look at her.
What should have taken barely ten minutes stretched into more than forty. By the time they finally emerged, Chu Chu and Inori had already stopped playing around with Tina. Both of them silently glanced their way, but asked no questions.
Chu Lian, well-versed in acting, knew they might have suspected something. But unless they had seen it with their own eyes, they could never truly know what had just happened. So she simply smiled at them, as though nothing unusual had occurred. No matter how much she was dying of embarrassment inside, she had to maintain the brightest smile on her face—that was her creed as a performer.
Compared to her, the introverted and timid Li Xiu'er couldn't handle their gazes at all. Her legs in tiny slippers moved as if fitted with motors, carrying her straight into the bedroom without a word. She flung herself onto the bed, refusing to face anyone.
Seeing her reaction, Chu Lian rubbed her forehead in exasperation. Such a shy girl… but by acting like this, she had only made things more suspicious. Oh well, she would just have to explain slowly later.
"Xiu'er fell asleep inside. I just sat there thinking for a while. By the time she woke up, half an hour had passed, so that's why we came out late." Chu Lian sat beside Inori, covering her mouth lightly as she laughed.
"Hmph, Big Sis, you really didn't do anything strange with Cousin Xiu'er in there? Didn't betray Chu Chu at all?" Chu Chu pouted, muttering with dissatisfaction.
"Oh? Speaking of doing strange things to others, Chu Chu, can you explain what exactly you did to me while I was napping for half an hour before the flight?" She had just been wondering how to clear up suspicions—but unexpectedly, Chu Chu had offered herself up as the perfect scapegoat. Truly a worthy opponent.
"Ah! Big Sis, you've got it wrong. I was bathing at the time, how could I have done something strange to you? You must have imagined it. Just because Chu Chu usually does those things to Big Sis doesn't mean I would sneak up and lick your body while you were sleeping! That's totally a misunderstanding—Chu Chu would never do something like that!" There was no way she could admit it. If she did, she'd be dead. Absolutely dead!
"Oh ho? And when did I ever say that the strange thing involved licking my body?" Sure enough, this hopeless little sister had actually done those shameful things to her in her sleep. Unforgivable!
The warm smile on her face shifted, a dark aura seeming to rise ominously behind her. Chu Chu knew instantly she had slipped up—blurting out what should never have been said. She was doomed. Her big sister had entered blackened mode!
"Big Sis, please listen! It's not what you think—it was just Chu Chu unable to restrain herself, trying to express her love for you. I definitely didn't do anything disrespectful! Please believe me~" Tears streamed instantly down her face, and she cried like a helpless girl wrongly accused.
But how could Chu Lian believe her? Grabbing her by the collar, clothes and all, she hurled her straight to the bathroom door. "Go wash properly and reflect on yourself! If I ever find out you've done such things to me again, I'll throw you off the top floor!"
"Big Sis, I really am innocent—you just misunderstood…" Even now, she could never admit it. If she did, she'd never get another chance. Besides, she didn't even think licking Chu Lian's body was disrespect. To her, it was simply love—love that had to be expressed in this near-reverent way.
Still, since Big Sis was angry, she dared not resist. Crying, wiping her tears, she finally shut the door behind her.
The moment the door closed, the tears vanished. Frustrated, she scratched her hair. "Arghhh, I mustn't ever speak my thoughts out loud again! Every time, Big Sis catches me like this—it's so unlucky~" Of course, her so-called reflection never included the idea that she shouldn't have done those things to Chu Lian in the first place.
Having disposed of this "household trash," Chu Lian clapped her hands lightly, finally relieved. Now that Chu Chu was gone, there were many things she could say to Inori.
"Ah, it was troublesome. During the bath just now, Xiu'er's inner persona appeared, and she did some rather excessive things. But it's fine now. That side of her only comes out when she's under strong stimulation, or when she's doing something she really loves." Chu Lian chose her words carefully, speaking softly to Inori.
"It's fine, Lian. Even if my heart hurts a little… as long as you're happy." She clasped Chu Lian's hand, pressing it to her cheek, whispering gently.
"Your heart aches? Then, Inori, you…" The thought swirled in her mind, but she couldn't say it aloud. After a pause, she continued: "Her inner persona is very bold, very daring… and extremely H…"
"It's okay. As long as Lian stays with me, that's enough…" Inori's voice was still faint and trembling—she was afraid.
Feeling she had to do something now, Chu Lian's eyes firmed with resolve. Reaching out with her other hand, she stroked Inori's cheek, then spoke a promise she would keep for the rest of her life: "If you never leave, I will never abandon you."
Those words finally brought a happy smile to Inori's face. Leaning into her embrace, she slowly drifted to sleep.
Holding her soft body, Chu Lian sat there, eyes on the electronic clock on the wall, her thoughts in turmoil…