93: Bathroom benefits

"Excuse me," Shiina Mahiru said softly. Even though she was a frequent guest at Lin Luo's house, she still maintained proper etiquette.

A familiar sound came from the entrance, and the house suddenly came alive with Life Qi. Yukino Mifuyu was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner for five, her apron-clad figure moving gracefully in front of the stove. In the living room, Kirisu Mafuyu had lesson plans spread on her lap, and the red pen in her hand occasionally made annotations.

There was another figure in the kitchen—Tohru, wearing a smaller apron, was humming a song while preparing ingredients. The scaly tail on the cutting board was particularly noticeable as she skillfully sliced and plated, her face beaming with the happy thought, "Today, I can let Xiao Lin try my tail again."

Lin Luo watched this scene and sighed softly, "Tohru, I've told you many times..."

"But Lin Luo!" Tohru turned around, her Dragon tail wagging happily behind her. "This is the most precious part!"

Shiina Mahiru looked at the familiar scene, a faint smile playing on her lips. She gently placed her school bag on the shelf by the entrance and naturally rolled up her sleeves, heading towards the kitchen.

"I'll help, Young Miss Yukino."

Yukino Mifuyu turned at the sound, revealing a gentle smile. "Mahiru is always so thoughtful."

Lin Luo leisurely strolled to the sofa and sat beside Kirisu Mafuyu. As soon as he sat down, he heard her speak without raising her head, "I heard Furuhashi and Ogata have made great progress in their studies?"

Lin Luo smiled slightly, tidying the scattered stationery on the coffee table. "They declared they'd make you look at them differently in next week's joint exam. All thanks to Xiao Mahiru, she put in a lot of effort."

Kirisu Mafuyu gently closed her lesson plans and raised an eyebrow at him. "That was originally your task; you're quite good at finding external help."

"Am I not also the external help Xiao Mafuyu sought?" Lin Luo replied naturally, a smile in his eyes.

This familiar address made Kirisu Mafuyu's ear tips warm. Although she had gradually gotten used to him calling her that in private, hearing it in front of others still made her instinctively turn her face away, using the excuse of straightening her clothes to hide her reddened cheeks.

"Dinner's ready."

Yukino Mifuyu gently placed the last miso soup in the center of the dining table and turned to softly call towards the sofa. Her gaze swept over the two figures sitting quite close on the sofa, a hint of helplessness in her eyes, but she considerately didn't point it out.

The two, who were nestled in the soft sofa, looked up simultaneously at the sound. Kirisu Mafuyu, as if startled, instinctively moved sideways, creating some distance from Lin Luo. Lin Luo, however, unhurriedly stood up, casually picking up the lesson plans she had forgotten on the sofa.

"Let's go," he extended his hand to the still somewhat dazed Kirisu Mafuyu, a faint smile playing on his lips, "Xiao Mafuyu."

This address immediately brought Kirisu Mafuyu back to her senses. She glared at him lightly, slapped away his annoying hand, and stood up by herself, heading towards the dining room. However, her reddened earlobes were particularly noticeable under the light.

After dinner, the group chatted as usual until late into the night. Kirisu Mafuyu and Shiina Mahiru successively bid farewell and left. Yukino Mifuyu and Tohru remained in the kitchen to clean up. Lin Luo entered the bathroom first, and the warm water quickly enveloped the entire space.

Just as he was rubbing his hair, the bathroom door was gently pushed open. Lin Luo chuckled without turning his head, "Tohru, didn't I say you don't need to help me wash?"

He rinsed the foam from his hair, then turned around—only to unexpectedly meet a pair of shy, timid eyes.

Yukino Mifuyu stood at the door at some point, her ice-blue long hair loosely tied up, wrapped only in a bath towel. Her gaze shyly darted around, not daring to look directly at his body, yet unable to suppress her inner curiosity. When she noticed Lin Luo's surprised expression, a hint of mischievous triumph flashed in her moist eyes.

Lin Luo hastily turned his back, water droplets sliding down his taut spine. He secretly decided that from now on, even at home, he must always extend his Divine Sense; his previous lapse made his earlobes burn. "Yukino, why are you..." He cleared his throat, his voice husky with restraint.

In the misty steam, the girl's figure, wrapped in a bath towel, was faintly visible. Her ice-blue long hair clung wetly to her neck, and water droplets trickled down her delicate collarbone. Lin Luo forced himself to avert his gaze, fearing that another look would shatter this fragile enchantment.

Seeing his apprehension, a hint of slyness flashed in Yukino Mifuyu's eyes. She lightly bit her cherry lips, her slender fingers unconsciously twisting the edge of the bath towel, her voice soft as a feather: "I... just wanted to ask if you'd like me to scrub your back..."

The gurgling water and rising mist blurred the distance between them. She quietly approached, and her bath towel inadvertently loosened and slipped. Her soft body pressed against his back, and her ice-blue hair brushed his skin, almost imperceptibly.

"Tohru told me everything..." She said with a hint of grievance in her nasal voice, her fingertips gently drawing circles on his waist and abdomen, "I was the one who met you first..."

Lin Luo suddenly turned around, water splashing onto her long hair with the movement. As he gently pressed her against the cool tiles, he looked into her shimmering eyes. Water droplets rolled from her wet eyelashes, like morning dew adorning freshly bloomed petals.

He leaned down and kissed her soft lips, tasting the sweet coolness of melting snow. She responded awkwardly, her fingertips unconsciously climbing his shoulders. As his palm caressed her slender waist, feeling her gentle shiver, light footsteps suddenly came from outside the bathroom.

"Lin Luo! I'm here to scrub your back—" Tohru excitedly pulled open the bathroom door, her voice abruptly stopping.

In the misty steam, three pairs of eyes met in astonishment.

Tohru calmly locked the bathroom door behind her, her golden vertical pupils gleaming slightly in the mist. "I knew Xiao Yukino was after Lin Luo." A meaningful curve played on her lips as she slowly stepped forward.

Yukino let out a soft sound and shrank into the bathtub, the warm spring water covering her snowy skin. She tried to hide herself behind the misty steam, but couldn't conceal her eyes, full of shyness.

Tohru, however, naturally untied her clothes, her golden long hair spreading out on the water surface. "Since I've already stumbled upon this," she moved closer to Lin Luo's other side, her Dragon tail gently swaying in the water, "why don't I join in too?"

Lin Luo felt the distinctly different body temperatures on his sides—Yukino's cool softness on one side, Tohru's hot tightness on the other—and couldn't help but take a deep breath. In the rising steam, the figures of the three gradually blurred, leaving only the gentle lapping of water and an almost inaudible sigh.

Lin Luo was about to get up and leave, but Tohru reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Don't go," she pressed her cheek against his wet back, "Stay with us."

Yukino also timidly moved closer, her cool fingers gently resting on his wrist.

He was trapped between the two, unable to advance or retreat. Tohru's body temperature radiated through their touching skin, while Yukino's cool breath brushed against his neck. The water gently rippled, each ripple seemingly teasing his last shred of reason.

"This isn't quite..." Before he could finish, Tohru had already rested her chin on his shoulder.

"What does it matter?" Her Dragon tail secretly wrapped around his calf underwater. "You'll be mine sooner or later..."

Yukino's face turned even redder at her words, but she didn't refute, merely sinking further into the water, only her moist eyes peeking out, looking at him expectantly.

Tohru's hand quietly dipped into the water, her fingertips gently tracing Lin Luo's waist, a sly smile in her voice: "Lin Luo, you're feeling it." Lin Luo swat her restless hand away impatiently, "I told you, don't tempt me like this."

Tohru then looked at Yukino, who was huddled at the other end of the bathtub, her golden vertical pupils gleaming slightly in the misty steam: "Xiao Yukino, why are you so far away? You won't feel anything." Yukino buried half her face in the warm water, her voice so soft it was almost drowned out by the sound of the water: "I'm fine here."

She actually wanted to get closer to Lin Luo, especially when no one else was around. This thought made her ear tips burn, but she could only use the rising steam to hide her inner stirrings. Her fingertips unconsciously stirred the water, her gaze secretly following Lin Luo's figure, only to hastily look away before being noticed.

Lin Luo naturally couldn't really leave.

In such an enchanting situation, no one would be willing to extricate themselves. Although he cultivated, he was not a bitter Cultivator who severed emotions and desires. With soft, fragrant beauties in his arms, and steam swirling around, it was indeed the most difficult kind of beauty to refuse.

Tohru's arm was still around his waist, her Dragon tail brushing against his calf, almost imperceptibly. Although Yukino was so shy that she buried half her face in the water, her shimmering eyes never left him, full of unspoken words.

He sighed lightly, finally relaxing his tense body. The warm water gently rippled, softly erasing the last bit of distance between the three. Tohru sensed his compromise, a triumphant curve on her lips, and pressed her cheek more tightly against his back.

Seeing that he no longer resisted, Yukino also timidly moved closer, her cool hair brushing against his arm with the ripples of the water. At this moment, only the gurgling water and their intertwined breaths remained in the bathroom, weaving an inescapable net in the hazy mist.

Lin Luo fastened the last button of his shirt, his fingertips still damp from the bath. He cleared his throat, trying to dispel the uncomfortable hoarseness in his voice.

His reflection in the mirror still showed an un-faded blush. He raised a hand to touch his burning cheek, muttering to himself, "I really did soak for a bit too long."

His words were soft, but Tohru, with her sharp ears, still heard them. She was drying her wet golden hair with a towel and poked her head out from the bathroom door, her Dragon tail wagging happily behind her: "Next time we can soak even longer!"

Yukino Mifuyu, wrapped in a bath towel, stood in the corner of the bathroom. Hearing this, her ear tips turned even redder, and she silently buried her face in the towel. The misty steam still condensed into beads on her ice-blue hair tips, quietly dripping down as she lowered her head.

Lin Luo averted his gaze, pretending not to see Yukino's shy expression, and didn't respond to Tohru's remark. However, his fingers, which were adjusting his collar, paused slightly as he recalled the intertwined hair in the warm spring and the faintly visible snowy skin in the water.