Chapter 56: Post-Dinner Bath

After dinner, Lu Yue sprawled on the sofa, engrossed in Magic Kill.
Alice Phil, curious, leaned over to watch her daughter’s gameplay.

Characters like Realm Lavoisier and Wisdom Isaac were clearly based on historical figures, but what did those prefixes mean?

Alice Phil couldn’t make sense of it.

Though she occasionally played games, card-based ones weren’t her thing.
Still, a game like this shouldn’t require in-app purchases, right?

She recalled playing similar tabletop games with friends as a child, where the cost was just a deck of cards—cheap enough.
Magic Kill seemed like one of the lower-cost games out there.

My Little Yue’s so frugal, Alice Phil thought.
Lu Yue never squandered her allowance, always claiming she saved it when asked.

Over time, Alice Phil stopped questioning her spending, simply increasing her monthly allowance.
She figured Lu Yue’s thriftiness stemmed from feeling her allowance was too small, making her hesitant to spend.

Shaking her head, Alice Phil moved to the dining table to clean up the leftovers and dishes.

After a short while, she packed the trash and set it outside the door, wiping her brow as if sweating—though, of course, she wasn’t.

Exhausted from half a month of grueling work, Alice Phil felt close to burnout.
She desperately needed a bath and a long sleep.

“Mom’s going to take a bath and then sleep, Little Yue. You should rest early too,” she called to Lu Yue.

“Got it, Mom,” Lu Yue replied, raising a hand from the sofa.

Alice Phil nodded, heading to the bathroom.

She turned on the bathtub faucet, stripped off her clothes, and stood bare.
After a quick rinse, she tied up her clean silver hair.
By then, the tub was nearly full.

Standing by the tub, she tested the water with a pink toe, then slid in, leaning against the edge with a contented sigh, her cheeks faintly flushed.

So comfortable.

…

Lu Yue finished a Magic Kill match, tossed her phone aside, and sank into the post-loss emptiness.
Sitting up, she glanced toward the bathroom, where the sound of the shower had stopped.

She couldn’t quite describe the feeling of seeing her mother after half a month.

Her parents had been away on their honeymoon, leaving her alone.
Lu Yue felt a twinge of resentment.

Why didn’t Mom tell me about the trip?
She didn’t know how she’d endured those lonely nights at home.

Not even a single call. That’s too much, Dad. And you didn’t come back today either… though Mom did.

During her hospital stay after the perilous incident, Lu Yue had longed for her parents and considered calling them.
But, nearing adulthood, she didn’t want to worry them and held back.

Still, I missed Mom so much.

Even with today’s delicious dinner, it didn’t fully soothe her.
The reunion felt incomplete.

Staring at the lit bathroom, an idea sparked in Lu Yue’s mind.

Slipping into her slippers, she marched to the frosted bathroom door, gathered her courage, and yanked it open.

…

Startled by the loud noise, Alice Phil, who had been soaking with her eyes closed, sat up, sending ripples across the water.
Thinking something had gone wrong, she pulled back the shower curtain and looked toward the door.

Little Yue?

Puzzled, she asked, “Little Yue, is something wrong?”

Lu Yue, seeing her mother’s concerned expression, blushed and glanced nervously at the bathroom tiles before stating her intention.

“Mom, I… want to bathe with you.”

She began undressing, tossing her clothes into the laundry basket where Alice Phil’s were, then stepped under the showerhead to rinse off.

Alice Phil sighed helplessly.
Standing, she wrapped a white towel around herself from the rack, then approached Lu Yue, lifting her slightly damp silver hair to tie it up.

“Little Yue, you’re not a kid anymore. You can’t just bathe with Mom,” she said, her tone conflicted.

When Lu Yue was younger, bathing together as Alice Phil was fine, but now that she was grown, it felt inappropriate.

“I just missed you so much,” Lu Yue said stubbornly, though it was only part of the reason.

“Oh, you…”

Alice Phil shook her head, sighing.
She couldn’t blame Lu Yue.
Leaving her alone for half a month was her fault, and for a clingy child like Lu Yue, this was understandable.
She couldn’t refuse.

Stepping away from Lu Yue to return to the tub, Alice Phil noticed Lu Yue’s leg wobble as she tried to move.
Losing balance, Lu Yue slipped backward.

“Mom!” she cried in panic.

Hearing her daughter’s scream, Alice Phil spun around, diving to catch Lu Yue, ready to cushion her fall with her body.

As Lu Yue fell, her flailing arms accidentally tugged the towel off Alice Phil.
Her back landed against Alice Phil’s chest, and they both crashed onto the wet bathroom floor.

“Ugh!”

Alice Phil grunted.
Her Eighth-Tier body felt no pain from the fall, but the impact forced the air from her lungs.

Hearing her mother’s groan, Lu Yue scrambled up, cradling Alice Phil’s head on her lap, her eyes red and voice trembling with tears.

“I’m sorry, Mom! Are you okay? It’s my fault… I shouldn’t have come in…”

“It’s okay, baby. Mom’s fine,” Alice Phil said, lifting her head from Lu Yue’s lap and pulling her into a comforting embrace.

“As long as you’re safe, any price I pay is worth it.”

Hearing her mother’s words, Lu Yue’s tears broke free, streaming down her face.