Peaches and Plums Don’t Speak – Chapter 77
by Little PandaLP: This chapter might be a bit rough to read!
Suddenly All Grown Up
When they got home, Yan Xi told Anzhi to go rest upstairs. She went downstairs to check if they needed to buy anything. The house had already been tidied up by Anzhi, so there was nothing for her to do.
Did this little one do a deep clean yesterday?
Anzhi had to be careful with her diet for the next few days. She couldn’t have anything spicy, and no shellfish. She could only eat bland food.
Yan Xi let Anzhi know she was going out and then drove to a nearby supermarket.
It felt wonderful to go to the supermarket on a workday—comfortable and quiet. After she finished shopping, she drove back, the gentle breeze caressing her face. She rarely slacked off on a workday, and it felt wonderfully relaxing. Perhaps she had been working too hard all these years; she needed to unwind a little.
She made a call to the station and decided to just take the whole day off. She was playing hooky.
For lunch, she had originally wanted to try her hand at a few dishes, but in her frantic fumbling, she burned everything. In the end, only the congee was successfully cooked—or more accurately, the pot it was in was successfully cooked. Yan Xi felt a little dejected. She really had no talent for cooking whatsoever.
Anzhi’s smiling gaze made Yan Xi even more embarrassed. In the end, they could only order takeout.
In the afternoon, Anzhi read a book. She sat on the rug by the round wooden coffee table in the second-floor living room, her legs stretched out. She had the book propped open, turning the pages with only her left hand and drinking water through a straw. But she was completely engrossed. She didn’t even seem bothered by the noise when Yan Xi sat on the sofa nearby, watching a movie.
“What book is so good?” Yan Xi asked.
“Oh, it’s about the little-known stories of scientists. Second Uncle gave it to me.”
“What’s it about?”
“Um, interesting anecdotes about some scientists. I just finished the section on Madame Curie, and now this one, He Zehui. I’d never even heard of this female scientist before. I just looked her up on Baidu1.”
“He Zehui? Hmm, Qian Sanqiang’s wife?”He Zehui… Qian Sanqiang2
“That’s right! See, she was incredible too, but she’s not even in the textbooks and is rarely mentioned. I’ve noticed it’s like this all over the world. The achievements of women are belittled, while their private lives are gossiped about. But if a man does even the smallest thing, it’s written about in grand style…” Anzhi said, pouting.
Yan Xi sighed softly and nodded. “Yes, that’s just how this society is. It’s very harsh on women.”
“This book talks about a lot of amazing female scientists. I want to be like them in the future!” Anzhi said excitedly.
“Become a scientist?” Yan Xi asked, looking at her with a smile.
“Mmm… but I don’t think I can be like them and not care about money. I want to have a career that I love and can also make money from!”
Yan Xi smiled in approval. “That’s a great goal. As long as you like it, that’s all that matters.”
“Liking it isn’t enough. It has to make money, a lot of money,” Anzhi said.
Yan Xi raised an eyebrow. “What will you do with a lot of money?”
Anzhi paused, a little abashed. “…I’ve spent a lot of your money since I was little… all the way until now.”
Yan Xi’s expression softened as she gazed at her. “It wasn’t that much. Besides, your father has always been sending me money, and… your mother has been, too, for the past few years.”
“But you never spent any of their money. I know.”
“That’s because I didn’t need to,” Yan Xi said. “Your schooling didn’t cost anything either. It was just for some regular living expenses.”
Anzhi said in a low voice, “But I still want to pay you back. I was thinking, I can get a job after the college entrance exams, and then I can apply for financial aid3 in university…”
“A job? No. You’re not an adult yet, it’s not legal.” Yan Xi immediately shut her down. “I don’t agree.”
For some reason, a sweetness bloomed in Anzhi’s heart.
“No, do you hear me?” Yan Xi was actually a little stern.
“I know,” Anzhi said with a sweet smile, taking it as her promise.
She turned back to her book. “Look, it says here that when Ms. He read, she liked to use pebbles to weigh down the pages, so she would pick them up when she went for walks. Giggle, that’s so cute.” With that, she buried her head in her book again.
Yan Xi glanced at her and smiled softly. Yes, so cute.
The entire afternoon, they read and watched movies in the same space without disturbing each other. It was a scene that hadn’t occurred in a very long time.
That evening, a heavy rain began to fall outside, and the temperature plummeted. The world beyond the windows was a vast expanse of gray. Yan Xi locked the doors and set the security system early, then turned off the first-floor lights and went upstairs.
Anzhi was getting ready to apply her burn ointment for the nth time. The few red spots on her left hand hadn’t blistered, so they were fine now, but her right hand was still in bad shape. A row of blisters stood out on three-quarters of the back of her hand and a section of her wrist. The tea-colored residue of the ointment on top made for a gruesome and unbearable sight, and looking at it put Anzhi in a foul mood.
“Need me to help?” Yan Xi walked over.
“I need to wrap it with some sterile gauze,” Anzhi said.
Yan Xi came over to help her. “Why do you need to wrap it?”
Anzhi said embarrassedly, “I want to take a shower.”
Yan Xi frowned slightly. “It’ll still get wet even if you wrap it. And isn’t your hand still very uncomfortable?”
Anzhi grew even more embarrassed. “But… but I didn’t get to shower at the hospital last night…”
Yan Xi shot her a smiling, sidelong glance. Anzhi was so mortified she looked like she wanted to hide under the table.
“Well, nothing for it then. I’ll help you wash.” As if she hadn’t just said something extraordinary, Yan Xi patted Anzhi’s head and stood up, heading toward her room. “Go to the bathroom first. I’ll get your clothes.”
Behind her, Anzhi’s jaw dropped in shock. She was completely stunned, unable to close her mouth.
Yan Xi’s voice came, raised, from the room. “Is a nightgown okay? And where are your panties… oh, I see them.”
Anzhi finally managed to close her mouth, still in a state of shock.
“I’ll just put them on the bed.” Yan Xi grabbed a towel and headed for the bathroom. “Let’s go.”
Anzhi could only stand up and slowly shuffle over, her mind reeling. Does she know what she just said? Does she have any idea how much of an impact that has on me? Judging by how she’s acting, probably not. She probably still thinks I’m a little kid…
Yan Xi turned on the bathroom heater4 and glanced at her. “What, shy? Don’t you remember when I used to help you bathe as a child?”
Anzhi’s face instantly burned. How could she not remember? But Yan Xi had only ever washed her hair, not her whole body.
Besides…
I’m not a child anymore… she wanted to say, but she was so nervous the words wouldn’t come out.
“Do you want to wash your hair?” Yan Xi asked softly.
“Mhm,” Anzhi replied, lowering her eyelashes as her heart began to race.
Yan Xi turned on the water, wet her hair, and began to gently massage in the shampoo. Anzhi sat on a small stool, seemingly obedient, but in reality, her whole body was tense with nerves.
“Is my technique okay?” Yan Xi’s light chuckle came from above her.
Anzhi’s face was flushed. Yan Xi’s movements were gentle, and she could feel her soft yet strong fingers gliding through her hair.
“I was just thinking about the first time I washed your hair for you. It was so chaotic then.” Yan Xi’s gaze was tender.
Time really flew.
Soon, her hair was washed and rinsed. Yan Xi used a towel to rub it dry.
Anzhi’s hair wasn’t very long, just past her shoulders. It was incredibly dark, shiny, and fine. As Yan Xi pushed the semi-dry locks aside, she revealed the girl’s pale, tender, and slender nape, as well as her small ears.
“I can just wash the rest myself… You… you can go.” Anzhi stood up, nervously trying to shoo her out.
“Careful with your hand,” Yan Xi said, looking at her with amusement. “What’s wrong? Shy? It’s not like I’m a man…”
The moment the words left her mouth, both of them froze.
Anzhi awkwardly averted her gaze. Only then did Yan Xi remember the secret Anzhi had told her. But still, it should be fine with her, right? They were so familiar with each other… Besides, even if someone liked the same sex, it didn’t mean they couldn’t bathe with them, right?
Yan Xi’s thoughts were a bit of a mess. The two stood in strange silence for a few seconds.
Yan Xi brushed back her hair. “Hm?… It’s okay, right?”
Anzhi bit her lip and gave a silent nod. Yan Xi knew she was shy, so she turned away first to rinse the bathtub and run the hot water.
Anzhi was still wearing the sky-blue sweatshirt and jeans she had worn to the hospital the day before. She gripped the hem of her shirt with her left hand. A few stray, damp strands of hair slipped inside her collar, cool against her gradually rising body temperature. She wasn’t left-handed, and her movements were shaky and unsteady from nervousness. The shirt bunched up, blocking her view, and as Anzhi struggled to pull it up, a familiar scent drew near. A hand took hold of the corner of her shirt, and in an instant, it was peeled away from her skin.
Underneath the sweatshirt, Anzhi was only wearing a white lace bandeau top. Her delicate, silky shoulders were bare, and the top pushed up the gentle curve of her chest.
Anzhi’s breathing was shaky. She kept her head bowed, completely unable to speak.
At this point, Yan Xi still didn’t think much of it. It was only when her fingertips truly touched the girl’s youthful, supple skin, and she caught a brief, revealing glimpse beneath the bandeau…
…that she felt something was different.
Those two pink, tender, and lovely budding peaches trembled with the girl’s breathing. A few strands of hair clung to her collarbone, one falling right at the tip of a peak.
Yan Xi felt as if the scene had frozen. Maybe the bathroom heater was on too high; it was getting a little stuffy.
Neither of them spoke. Anzhi’s hand slid down to unbutton her jeans. Still looking down, she used her left hand to tug the denim down, clumsily bending her knees to help the motion.
Yan Xi seemed to stand rooted to the spot for several seconds before reaching out to help her.
The jeans dropped to the floor, and Anzhi’s pale feet stepped out. All she had on was a pair of pink cotton panties, printed all over with tiny rabbits.
The only sound in the bathroom was the whoosh of water from the showerhead, and perhaps the patter of rain from outside.
Yan Xi suddenly spoke. “I’ll go check the water.” She turned and walked to the bathtub. With a burning face, Anzhi took off her panties and stepped toward it. As she drew near, Yan Xi angled her body away, avoiding her.
Anzhi stepped into the tub and sank into the water.
Without a word, both of them let out an imperceptible sigh of relief.
Yan Xi found the most suitable spot to crouch down, facing Anzhi’s slender, bare back.
When Yan Xi spoke, she found her voice was unexpectedly a little hoarse. She said, “Lift your right hand up. Don’t get it wet.”
She said only that, and then silently washed her. They had a perfect, unspoken understanding; Yan Xi’s washcloth never had to touch the front of Anzhi’s body.
The bath was over quickly. Yan Xi held open a large bath towel, conveniently blocking her own view, and wrapped it around Anzhi’s warm, smooth body. Anzhi held up her right hand, and Yan Xi tucked a corner of the towel around the curve of her chest.
Up close, the girl’s skin was as translucent and dewy as a pearl. The touch of Yan Xi’s fingertips felt like a slow-motion shot in a movie.
Anzhi’s bowed face was completely flushed. She bit her lip, feeling that the silent atmosphere was too suffocating. She said in a tiny voice, “I don’t know… how… but… this part of me suddenly got bigger.”
She’d read physiology books and knew why. This was a girl’s most normal, most unique, most beautiful body part. Perhaps it was still very new, but she selfishly wanted the person she liked to see it.
Anzhi finally lifted her eyes to look at her, her expression a mixture of unspoken words and bashfulness.
Footnotes
- Baidu (Bǎidù) is China's largest and most popular search engine, equivalent to Google.
- He Zehui (Hé Zéhuì, 1914-2011) was a renowned Chinese nuclear physicist. Her husband, Qian Sanqiang (Qián Sānqiáng, 1913-1992), was also a prominent nuclear physicist, and together they were leading figures in the development of China's nuclear program.
- Zhùxuéjīn (助学金) refers to various forms of financial aid for students, including scholarships, grants, and student loans.
- A yùbà (浴霸) is a common bathroom fixture in China that combines a heater (usually with infrared lamps), a ventilator, and a light all in one unit.
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