The bottle in her hands was already empty, but she still squeezed like her life depended on it. After finally realizing nothing was coming out, she tossed it aside and reached out to grab at any unopened bottle that was left on the nearby rack.

She pulled the cap open and squeezed more into the tub and onto the bath scrubber. Then, she started to scrub her skin. Her skin was looking slightly wrinkled due to prolonged soaking in the water. She had probably tortured herself in such a manner for quite some time already because certain parts of her skin were so rough that trails of blood could be seen.

From where he was standing, Su Zhinian could see the obvious feeling of disgust that was lodged between Song Qingchun's brows. That feeling of disgust might not have been something others understood, but he understood it perfectly well. She was feeling disgusted at herself.

He understood it because he had gone through the same thing when he was trapped in the sanatorium. Back then, he had been pressed under the middle-aged woman, and she had touched him all over his body. At the time, he had scrubbed his skin until it was red, too, just as Song Qingchun was doing. Even when he saw the blood flowing from his skin, he still felt like he was very dirty.

Su Zhinian lowered his gaze, and with a stretch of his lips, he stepped forward to pull the scrubber away from the girl's grip.

As if jolted by electricity, the girl whipped her head up and demanded in a shrill voice, "Give it back!"

Then, she jumped up from the tub and reached out to wrestle it away from him. Afraid that she might slip, Su Zhinian grabbed hold of her arms and tossed the scrubber aside. She lashed out at him, trying to get the scrubber, and Su Zhinian, without an option, pulled her into his tight embrace, trying to stop her struggle. At the same time, he whispered consolingly, "Enough, you can stop showering already."

As she continued to struggle in his arms, she mumbled incessantly, "Not yet dirty"

Her torn top fell off her body when she stood up, and it was then floating in the tub. Her wet skirt was sticking to her body, and as she tried to wiggle her way out of his grasp, she drenched his shirt and slacks.

However, no matter how hard she struggled, Su Zhinian did not let go. Unable to escape his hold, the girl started to cry. Following her tears, the force of her struggle started to weaken.

Su Zhinian did not say anything but pulled her deeper into his embrace. His silent action caused the girl to give up struggling completely. As if having found her rock, she hid deeper into his chest and started to wail.

He stood there quietly beside the bathtub, holding her, accompanying her.

Her cries were like knives slashing one gaping wound after another on his chest. The more she cried, the more painful he felt; however, he understood that she needed this release, so he merely stood there quietly for her to unload all her stress and frustration on him.

She continued crying there for a long time until her throat was hoarse. Su Zhinian reached out to gently and slowly patted her on her back. Even though he had not whispered a word, that rhythmic patting managed to slow her crying down.

Using his superpower, Su Zhinian managed to sense the calm that started to settle over her heart. Thus, he slowly pulled her out of his arms, raised her reddened face up, and used his thumb to slowly rub the tears away from her face.