TLWR CH.4: Bath time crisis

Xiao Lang led Shu Lan back to his own home.

Shu Lan had cried for a while and tired herself out. Her little body was almost entirely leaning against Xiao Lang, who was slightly taller than her. If Xiao Lang hadn't been sturdier than most children his age, the two of them would have tumbled to the ground long ago.

"Alright, we're home. Go sleep on the kang yourself." Xiao Lang pulled his arm out of Shu Lan's embrace and gestured for her to climb up on her own.

Shu Lan nodded groggily. She reached out toward the edge of the kang, which was a bit higher than she was, revealing two plump, fair little arms. Then she hooked her right leg over the edge and huffed and puffed as she struggled to climb up. But despite all her efforts, half her body was still dangling off the side, and she just couldn't make it up.

"So clumsy!"

Xiao Lang muttered under his breath. He placed both hands on the little rear end wriggling in front of him, gave it a boost, and pushed her onto the kang, where she rolled a couple of times.

Shu Lan burrowed around with her eyes closed and lay flat on her stomach to sleep.

"Take off your shoes!" Xiao Lang called up from the floor, gritting his teeth.

Shu Lan smacked her lips, reached out blindly, and promptly stuffed her index finger into her mouth—a grimy little finger, rosy little lips, and a tiny face streaked with tears. She was utterly exasperating!

Xiao Lang felt like tearing his hair out. How could anyone be this lazy? Just look at her clothes! His aunt had changed her into a fresh outfit that very morning, yet after throwing herself onto the ground and rolling around, they were already filthy. And her face? It had been perfectly clean before lunch, but now it was smeared with black and white streaks. Argh! She was a human, for heaven's sake!

Thinking of the gentle look in his aunt's eyes when she gazed at him, and the little embroidered pouch his sister Wan had sewn for him, Xiao Lang felt he had a responsibility to look after this lazy girl.

He went to the kitchen, stood on tiptoes to scrub the pot clean, scooped in several large ladles of water, fetched firewood from the backyard, and started preparing bathwater for the two of them. Well, it would be a waste to heat water just for her alone anyway—and the family bathtub was big enough for him too, so he might as well wash up as well.

After a while, the water began to bubble. Xiao Lang put in some effort to mix it to the right temperature, then dragged Shu Lan down from the kang. First, he untied the two little buns on top of her head, and her soft, slightly yellowish hair fell loose, covering her shoulders. Then he took off her shirt and pants, revealing her fair, tender little body.

Xiao Lang glanced at Shu Lan's soft white belly, then at her grubby little hands, and felt even more strongly that she was hopelessly lazy. She'd started out as such a clean, adorable little girl, but she'd managed to make a mess of herself all on her own.

Since Shu Lan was still asleep, Xiao Lang gradually dragged her over to the edge of the bathtub. He held her hand and stepped in first, then pulled her in after him. But his foot slipped, and the two of them tumbled into the tub together.

"Cough, cough—boohoo! Mother!" Shu Lan choked on a big gulp of water and felt absolutely miserable. Instinctively, she called out for her mother.

"Don't cry!"

A sharp voice rang out beside her, successfully shutting Shu Lan up. She opened her eyes and saw a little dark-skinned boy standing in front of her, glaring at her with bright black eyes.

Seeing Shu Lan's lower lip begin to tremble as she was about to start crying again, Xiao Lang impatiently helped her sit down and gently splashed water over her: "Don't cry. Big brother will give you a bath and wash you clean and white. Look at your hands!" He grabbed one of her grubby little hands and held it up in front of her face.

Shu Lan blinked and obediently stayed still. The water around her swayed gently—neither cold nor hot, so comfortable.

Seeing Shu Lan behave herself, Xiao Lang finally let out a sigh of relief and began to scrub her clean.

"Brother Lang, it hurts!" Shu Lan said with her eyes closed, pouting.

Xiao Lang took a closer look and, sure enough, found thin red marks all over her fair little body. He lightened his touch.

That felt much better, and Shu Lan cooed sweetly, "Brother Lang is so nice."

Xiao Lang had long grown used to her temperament—crying when it hurt and acting spoiled when comfortable. He didn't reply. After washing her little legs and bottom, he moved on to her stomach, and gradually worked his way up to her shoulders and neck. Her soft hair floated on the water like seaweed, blocking his view, so he had Shu Lan sit on his lap, swept the hair aside behind her, and raised his hand—only to freeze.

Right there on her delicate shoulder blade were two birthmarks that looked exactly like teeth marks.

As if spellbound, Xiao Lang slowly leaned in. His soft lips pressed against that familiar shape.

The unfamiliar touch made Shu Lan open her eyes. She looked at the little head buried near her shoulder in confusion, then reached up and touched Xiao Lang's arm. "Brother Lang, why are you kissing my shoulder?" Mother had said that if you like someone, you kiss their cheek. Although she often saw Father kiss Mother's mouth, and sometimes even saw him kiss Mother's breasts at night and she'd always felt a little sorry for Father then, because Mother's milk had long since dried up.

The person in front of her suddenly lifted his head. Shu Lan found herself staring into a pair of icy cold eyes—the gaze both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar, because she had seen it once in her past life, the first and last time she had ever made eye contact with another creature, so it was deeply etched in her memory. Unfamiliar, because she had clearly become human now, and this was just her Auntie's son, Brother Lang—why would he look at her with the eyes of a predator?

Shu Lan instinctively shook her head and reached out to cover Xiao Lang's eyes. "Brother Lang don't look at me like that, you're scaring me!"

Xiao Lang grabbed her hand. "What are you afraid of?"

If anyone had witnessed this scene and heard this conversation, they would have been utterly stunned. Good heavens—these were just two five-year-old children, and yet they were saying such misleading things! If they were ten years older, it would be perfectly understandable—just the usual matters between a man and a woman.

Shu Lan grew more and more frightened. Her hands and feet went cold, and even the warm water around her could not stop the horrifying memories surging up from the depths of her soul. She tried to pull her hand back, but Xiao Lang held it against his neck, then opened his mouth wide, revealing a row of white teeth. "Does this look familiar?"

It was him—it really was him! That giant beast that had suddenly lunged at her from behind!

"Mother..." Shu Lan was terrified out of her wits and opened her mouth to scream, but before the sound could escape, she was shoved hard underwater.

"Let me go—glub, glub..." She struggled desperately, but the warm water rushed in. The feeling was unbearable. Shu Lan quickly clamped her mouth shut, her tears of terror streaming out and dissolving into the water. The taste of death was upon her again. She thought resentfully: I died by his jaws in my past life, and now I'm going to die by his hands in this one? All I ever did was like sleeping—who did I wrong? Why did I have to meet him again?

Shu Lan hated him, but Xiao Lang hated her even more.

He had been the Wolf King of the ice plains, and nothing delighted him more than running across the snow and ice. But one day, he had fallen into a human trap, lost consciousness, and woke up imprisoned in a cramped metal cage, living a life without freedom. Finally, he was released again though into a completely unfamiliar place, he was free. After a brief period of adjustment, he spotted his first potential prey: a creature hanging from a tree, asleep, making him wait from dawn till dusk! What was even more infuriating was that this prey with its painfully slow escape speed had taken his life with a single swipe of its claws, just when he had begun to taste freedom again!

Whether it was beast against beast, or him against her, there was a life-and-death grudge between them!

Watching the little body thrashing underwater, Xiao Lang savored the sweet pleasure of revenge. The intoxicating sensation brought a faint red tint to his eyes. It was as if he were back on the ice plains, and all creatures trembled beneath him.

"Ahhh!"

A certain vulnerable spot between his legs was suddenly grabbed with vicious force. Xiao Lang let out a howl of agony, his grip going slack.

Seizing this brief opening, Shu Lan burst out of the bathtub with an unprecedented burst of frantic energy. Without bothering to put on any clothes, she dashed barefoot toward the peanut fields!

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Author's thoughts: Haha, they've recognized each other! How will they get along from now on?