Chapter 175

Chapter 175: Autumn Foot Bathing

Mei Fang, Guo Yun, and the three of them were enthusiastically discussing plans for a new game project. They talked until it was almost evening before Mei Fang checked his phone and realized there were missed calls from Liu Xiaoyu. She had already gone home by car with Xiang Bingbing after their shopping trip.

“Let’s leave it at that for today… We promised our families we’d be back for dinner, so we won’t have dinner together.”

“Oh… It’s fine, I haven’t eaten yet.”

Guo Yun chatted with Mei Fang for a bit longer. Even though Mei Fang was behind Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi, she didn’t seem nervous at all. It was clear that she was much more confident now than before.

The four of them said their goodbyes at the entrance of the mall. Mei Fang stopped a taxi at the intersection and went straight home.

Youxian gets carsick easily, so Mei Fang and Xia Yuan agreed that for long trips in the future, they should let her do what makes her most comfortable.

“There are new projects to develop, new music to write, and midterm exams to prepare for. You probably won’t sign up for any events in the sports meet. Your schedule is packed.”

Xia Yuan stretched out with a big yawn, making a cute “mew” sound. “I’ll rest well tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll start doing my homework and preparing for the exams.”

“There’s still plenty of time today, can’t you study later?”

Lin You Xi smiled and said, “Even if you decide to take liberal arts later, every little bit of physics helps, right? It’s never bad to learn something.”

“Eh—uh—”

Xia Yuan nodded somewhat hesitantly. “I know! Youxian, you’re really strict.”

It was already late October, and just a few days ago everyone was still wearing short sleeves and skirts. But now, they had started wearing autumn clothes.

On their way back to the neighborhood in the evening, the cold wind was blowing fiercely, and the chill was piercing. Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi pushed Mei Fang forward, using him as a human shield against the cold.

Although it was very cold outside, it felt warm once they got home.

Liang Meijuan had prepared dinner. After washing their hands, they began eating. Lin You Xi told Liang Meijuan about her experience playing games at the street corner. As she served soup to the three of them, she listened to Lin You Xi speak.

“Is it true that you can take as much food as you want at a buffet? That sounds great. But wouldn’t it be a loss for the restaurant if I sneak some food home?”

“Haha, Auntie Liang, it’s not that easy. There are cameras everywhere, and it’s generally not allowed. The food quality at buffets isn’t always great, but you can definitely eat your fill. One of Aofang’s classmates, a girl, could eat a lot…”

Everyone talked happily during dinner. Liang Meijuan clapped her hands and said, “Speaking of which, with the weather turning cooler, you don’t need to bathe as often. Starting today, why don’t we just wipe ourselves down? I bought mugwort today, and we can use it for foot baths to ward off the cold and benefit our health.”

“Mm-hmm! I understand, Auntie Liang.”

After finishing dinner, they all disciplined themselves to do their homework and read in the living room. To avoid disturbing them, Liang Meijuan didn’t watch TV, only occasionally bringing fruit over, then falling asleep on the sofa.

Around nine o’clock, Liang Meijuan woke up, and the three of them had almost finished their homework. After checking on their progress, she started heating water for their foot baths.

Unlike the southern regions where people bathe daily, and some northern regions where bathing is less frequent, Chu Bei Province bathes daily during spring and summer, and usually once a week during fall and winter. At other times, they would wipe themselves down instead of bathing, and change their underwear daily to stay clean.

The wiping process generally consists of four steps: washing the face, hands, bottom (at which point a new towel is used), and finally, soaking the feet.

Soaking the feet is the most sacred part of this routine and is one of the joys that standing showers cannot provide.

One by one, the three of them completed the first three steps. Mei Fang brought out the basin from the bathroom and saw Liang Meijuan pouring hot water into Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi’s basins.

SPLASH—

Steam rose from the basins in front of the two, and the mugwort steam made Xia Yuan feel very comfortable.

Xia Yuan stood with her feet on the edge of the basin, looking at Lin You Xi who hadn’t put her feet in yet.

“Youxian, your water must be cold, try the temperature.”

Lin You Xi shook her head. “I’ll wait a bit longer.”

“You’re still so afraid of hot water. It won’t scald you.”

Mei Fang sat down next to Lin You Xi and said to Xia Yuan, “When we were in elementary school, there was one winter when Youxian stayed overnight at our house. My mom wanted her to soak her feet, but she was terrified of getting burned and refused. In the end, she had to step in with my foot, which really burned me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin You Xi elbowed him hard, and Xia Yuan’s eyes widened:

“You two actually soaked your feet together when you were young! Wouldn’t that be very unhygienic? You could catch something… I mean…”

“It’s okay! When we were kids, we all soaked our feet together. Our feet were small, and my basin was big, so we all washed together.”

“Speaking of which, Xiao Ya used to love soaking her feet with me. She was the opposite of Youxian; she would put her feet in first and tell me the water wasn’t hot, but it ended up burning me…”

Although Xiao Ya was a troublesome sister, Mei Fang hadn’t seen her in nearly half a year, and he missed her a little.

At this moment, Liang Meijuan came over with a hot water kettle, adding mugwort and hot water to Mei Fang’s basin.

“You guys are living in such a good era. Back in our day, it was hard to get a foot bath. Everyone waited for the coal-heated kettle to boil, and everyone rushed to use it. In the end, we all did it together.”

Liang Meijuan squatted down in front of Lin You Xi to test the water temperature.

“It’s almost cold. Why aren’t you soaking yet, Youxian?”

“I… I’ll wait a bit longer.” Lin You Xi pursed her lips.

Mei Fang snickered at Lin You Xi’s bashful expression, earning a glare from her.

“Don’t worry, it’s not hot at all. How could your auntie Meijuan deceive you? You always have cold hands and feet; you should soak your feet more often to improve blood circulation… Come on, don’t be afraid.”

Liang Meijuan forcibly placed Lin You Xi’s feet in the basin.

Then Mei Fang and Xia Yuan saw Lin You Xi’s face turn red.

She wanted to shout “hot,” but she didn’t want to lose face in front of Liang Meijuan by acting like a child. So she just held her lips tightly and endured silently.

“See, it’s not hot at all, right?”

Lin You Xi blushed and nodded, but kept her head down.

After placing Lin You Xi’s feet in, Liang Meijuan moved to Xia Yuan.

“I’m putting it in, I’m putting it in, I’ll put it in right away.”

Xia Yuan was watching Youxian tease her. Although she didn’t have many opportunities to soak her feet, she actually enjoyed it.

Let me check the water temperature…

Xia Yuan stretched out her little foot and lightly touched the hot surface.

“It’s hot, hot, hot… Let me wait a bit longer.”

“There’s no way it’s that hot. If the water isn’t hot, how can you soak your feet?”

Since Liang Meijuan knew Xia Yuan well and saw her reluctance, she helped her directly.

“Aah, it’s hot, hot, hot…”

Xia Yuan finally settled down and started soaking her feet after a few splashes.

“Haha, Yuan Yuan is also afraid of the heat.”

Mei Fang mocked Xia Yuan’s weakness, and Lin You Xi, who had been enduring it for a long time, kicked Mei Fang’s foot when he wasn’t paying attention.

Because Mei Fang’s basin had just been filled with hot water and hadn’t cooled down much, stepping in immediately caused him to yell loudly. Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi laughed at his awkward appearance.

(End of Chapter)