Chapter 26: The Public Bathhouse and a Crushing Realization

The “friendly” coercion of her three “guardians” ultimately left Jin with no time to even order the luxurious takeout she had imagined.

She found herself half-pushed, half-consenting, swept along toward the base’s public bathhouse—a space that was excessively spacious and perpetually veiled in a steamy mist.

Stepping into the bathhouse, warm, humid air, mingled with the fresh scent of shower gel, immediately enveloped her.

The massive bathing pools, rows of individual shower stalls, and the assortment of toiletries provided in every corner all bespoke the completeness of the facilities.

Yet, for Jin, whose sole desire was solitude and a fleeting moment of peace, this place felt less like a bathhouse and more like a public execution ground.

She reluctantly sought out the most secluded shower stall in the furthest corner, practically wishing she could melt into the wall.

However, the other three clearly had no intention of affording her any opportunity for “self-isolation.”

Lin Wan, moving with the agility of a fish, promptly occupied the stall right beside Jin, humming a cheerful tune as she began to rinse.

Xia Yue, in contrast, selected a slightly more distant position, yet one offering an excellent vantage point, her movements as elegant and composed as ever, as if she were not there to bathe but to perform an inspection.

Yu Niannian, even more insistent, clung closely to Jin’s side, playfully fiddling with the shower controls, sending splashes of water that nearly plastered Jin’s face.

Jin: “…”

She silently adjusted the showerhead to the lowest possible stream.

Turning her back to them, she mechanically began to wet her hair and apply shampoo, desiring only to quickly conclude this “public execution.”

White foam gradually enveloped her hair, carrying a fresh, invigorating scent of mint.

With her eyes closed, she massaged her scalp, attempting to wash away all the embarrassment and helplessness along with the suds.

Just as her hair was completely covered in foam, her vision entirely obscured, and her senses somewhat dulled by the ceaseless rush of water—

A restless hand, stealthily and with undeniable mischievous intent, reached out from beside her!

It was Lin Wan!

Taking advantage of Jin’s closed eyes and the moment she spent rubbing the foam, Lin Wan’s fingers, like a nimble snake, burrowed into Jin’s thick lather, then—gently tickled the very crown of her head!

“Yikes!”

The sudden, ticklish touch caused the unsuspecting Jin to jolt violently and cry out, much like a cat whose tail had been abruptly stepped on.

She instinctively recoiled her neck, her body arching backward from the sudden reflex, and the floor, already slick with shower gel beneath her feet, instantly became treacherously slippery!

“Thud-splash!”

Accompanied by a dull thud and a spray of water, Jin completely lost her balance, landing squarely on her backside on the wet, slippery floor.

The sharp pain radiating from her posterior made her wince.

To make matters worse, a considerable amount of the white foam from her head, dislodged by the fall, splattered onto the innocent Yu Niannian beside her, with some even reaching Xia Yue’s feet a short distance away.

“Hahahahaha!” The culprit, Lin Wan, erupted into a thunderous, unsympathetic peal of laughter at Jin’s utterly disheveled state.

She bent over, laughing so hard that tears welled in her eyes.

“Jin, your reaction is absolutely priceless! You’re like a startled rabbit!”

Yu Niannian, splattered head-to-toe with foam, froze for a moment.

Far from being angry, she found the situation rather amusing, and soon began to giggle along.

She even dabbed a finger into the foam on her face, examining it with childish curiosity.

Though Xia Yue did not outwardly laugh, her lips curved upward in an almost imperceptible smile as she observed Jin, who was still seated on the ground, her head adorned with foam like a white top hat, a bewildered and mortified expression plastered across her face.

Her composure swiftly returned, however, and she merely cast a faint, warning glance at Lin Wan.

“Lin! Wan!” Jin, still seated on the ground, mortified and seething with anger, her head still crowned with foam, pointed an accusing finger at Lin Wan, who was convulsing with laughter, her voice trembling.

“You! What were you thinking?!”

Her backside throbbed, and a faint, residual itch lingered on her scalp.

Most importantly, it was utterly humiliating!

To have fallen flat on her back in front of so many people—even if it was only the four of them!

“Oh, come on, it was just a joke~” Lin Wan managed to rein in her laughter, leaning closer and squatting before Jin, a mischievous grin still playing on her face.

She reached out, intending to brush the foam from Jin’s face.

“Who told you to wear such a miserable, resentful expression earlier? I just couldn’t resist teasing you.”

“Get away!” Jin indignantly slapped her hand away.

She struggled to stand on her own, but the treacherous, slippery floor almost sent her tumbling once more, saved only by Yu Niannian’s flustered but timely support.

“Are you alright, big sister?” Yu Niannian asked, her voice laced with concern, her small hands gently patting the water off Jin’s back.

Jin looked from Yu Niannian’s innocent face to the still-grinning Lin Wan beside her, and then to Xia Yue in the distance, who, though not directly involved, had clearly condoned the entire spectacle.

A profound sense of helplessness washed over her.

Being with these three, she realized, her sense of modesty and her days of peace were likely gone forever, never to return.

She sighed resignedly, her head still a chaotic mass of foam, and rinsed herself under the flowing water.

Her mind, however, was already plotting: next time she bathed, she would absolutely lock the door.

No, even better, she would find a secret base they could never, ever discover!

However, no sooner had this thought flickered into existence than she heard Lin Wan’s enthusiastic suggestion from beside her.

“Let’s all bathe together every day from now on! It’ll be so lively!”

Jin: “!!!”

‘No—!’ Her inner self let out a desperate wail.

It seemed that even her most basic freedom to bathe was now poised to be mercilessly stripped away.

****

Having finally managed to rinse her hair and body clean, Jin felt utterly spent, as though she had just fought a grueling battle.

She was then half-surrounded by the three, “invited” into the spacious, steaming hot spring pool nestled on one side of the bathhouse.

The warm spring water, enveloping her body, did indeed bring a fleeting trace of solace, yet the expression of utter resignation on Jin’s face showed no signs of easing.

She slid down, leaning against the pool wall, allowing the spring water to rise to her chin, revealing only a face etched with the sentiment “life is not worth living.”

Her gaze, devoid of focus, stared vacantly at the swirling, humid air.

Yu Niannian, like a happy little fish, playfully splashed twice in the hot spring before swimming over to Jin.

Observing her companion’s dismal appearance, Yu Niannian’s small face was etched with worry and confusion.

She leaned in closer, whispering, “Big sister… are you truly so unwilling to bathe with us? Are you… unhappy when you’re with us?”

Her voice, soft and tinged with a hint of grievance, brushed against Jin’s eardrum like a delicate feather.

Jin slowly turned her head, gazing at Yu Niannian with a blank expression.

Her eyes, unconsciously carrying a comparative nuance she herself hadn’t even registered, swept over Yu Niannian’s chest, which, damp from the hot spring water, outlined a subtly undulating curve.

Then, with a swift, almost despairing motion, Jin’s gaze dropped to her own chest, a feature so negligible and flat it resembled an airport runway.

An indescribable bitterness, coupled with a wave of self-pity, surged through her.

She lifted her head, her gaze fixed on Yu Niannian with an expression of profound resignation.

In a voice that was almost a monotone, like a sleepwalker’s, she blurted out an utterly nonsensical question:

“…Niannian, what’s your… cup size?”

“Eh?” Yu Niannian was momentarily bewildered by the abrupt question, blinking her large eyes as a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

Despite her confusion, she answered honestly, with a hint of small pride: “It’s, it’s a B!”

‘B…’

This single letter struck Jin’s already fragile nerves with the force of a lightning bolt.

She fell silent.

For a full five seconds.

Then, under Yu Niannian’s puzzled gaze, Jin silently and slowly raised her hand, picked up the dry white towel draped nearby, unfolded it, and then—abruptly covered her entire face, completely obscuring her despairing expression.

She instantly seemed to lose all color, transforming into a grayish-white sculpture of “despair” in the hot spring.

“Big sister?” Yu Niannian grew even more confused, reaching out to pull back the towel.

“What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?”

Jin pressed the towel firmly against her face, her muffled, trembling voice emerging from beneath it: “…Don’t mind me… Just let me… have some peace…”

She needed a moment to process this cruel reality, to mourn her all-encompassing “barrenness,” which manifested not only in her magic but also in her physical attributes.

Lin Wan, who had witnessed the entire exchange, first froze, then erupted into even more exaggerated laughter than before, doubling over and slapping the water’s surface.

“Pfft hahahaha! Jin, you… why did you ask that?! Were you looking for humiliation, hahahaha! Oh, I can’t, I’m dying of laughter!”

Even the usually composed Xia Yue, seeing Jin with her head covered by the towel, exuding an aura of “I need to be alone,” couldn’t help but turn her head, her shoulders shaking almost imperceptibly, clearly struggling to suppress her own amusement.

Yu Niannian looked at the laughing Lin Wan, then at Jin, who was feigning death under the towel.

Though she didn’t fully grasp what had happened, she vaguely sensed that she had unintentionally said something that disheartened her big sister.

Her small mouth drooped, and she stirred the hot spring water, a little at a loss.

Beneath the towel, Kazami Jin listened to Lin Wan’s infectious laughter, sensing the “malicious” world around her, and her heart sank into a desolate abyss.

‘This life is truly unbearable!’

A magical weakling, of questionable identity, pursued by high-ranking witches, watched by organizational bigwigs, and now surrounded by three eccentric “guardians” who could embarrass her at any moment… and now, even her most basic “dignity” as a woman had been cruelly crushed!

Was her witch’s journey destined to be utterly trampled in every sense of the word?

In that moment, Jin deeply felt that, more than any life-or-death struggle, it was these pervasive “mental attacks” from life and her companions that truly drove her to the brink of collapse.