"Huh?"

Lin Mo hadn't expected her to make such a request at all.

"Ah, ah-ah! I'm sorry, it's my fault." Diona regretted the words the moment they left her mouth. "I didn't really mean it! It's just, um, well... you're just so cute, Xiao Mo, that I couldn't help but want to tease you a little."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not the type to get upset over something like this. It's just a glance, after all! If you want to look, feel free to take another peek!" (Diona)

"..." (Lin Mo)

Lin Mo was indeed taken aback.

However, it wasn't because he was shocked by Diona's boldness. He simply hadn't anticipated such a request from her.

Would he feel troubled if asked? Obviously not in the slightest.

"..." (Lin Mo)

He roughly estimated how long he ought to pretend to be shy. After a while, Diona, who was talking to him through the wooden door of the changing room, began to fear she had crossed a line and angered him.

"Mm."

Lin Mo feigned shyness and whispered, "Sure."

He added, "If doing this means we can let bygones be bygones... then perhaps I could..."

"Ah, ah...?" Diona let out a sound as if her brain had short-circuited.

A long silence followed.

And then some more.

Finally, Lin Mo heard her voice again from beyond the door: "Th-then..."

Smack—!

Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a slap. "Puwu!" Judging by the cry, Diona must have been slapping herself inside.

"Ha, gahahaha—What are you saying, Xiao Mo! Y-you can't just say things like that to a girl! That's absolutely not okay! She might mistake it for an invitation and turn into a big bad wolf to pounce on you!"

"You'll get pushed down! Drained dry! Even if you cry and scream, you won't get a shred of mercy!"

"R-really, Xiao Mo, you're far too kind and think far too highly of girls! I have no idea how you've been protected well enough to grow up like this... Fortunately, it was me who heard that and not someone else. Otherwise, you'd definitely have already..."

Though Diona spoke with righteous indignation, she was in fact completely exposing her own inner thoughts.

The girl's breathing grew quite rapid. She even began pacing back and forth in the changing room, yet she could neither bring herself to burst out like a starving wolf nor bear to give up the temptation and obediently go take a bath.

In contrast, Lin Mo saw right through her hesitation. This only deepened his sense of satisfaction and happiness.

The corners of his mouth curled upward.

He wore a triumphant smile:

"Well, alright then."

He pretended to be puzzled and said, "Thank you, Big Sister. You're so kind to remind me so gently."

"So, let's put that aside for now. I'll leave my shoes by the door. Once you're done washing up, let's continue watching the movie together!"

"Aaahhh!! Okay!"

Diona felt as though she'd been granted a reprieve.

She had nearly rushed out the door just now. But for a tsundere girl like her—who loved to put on airs and pretend to be proper—breaking past that "nearly" was harder than climbing to the heavens...

Now that Lin Mo had taken the initiative to say he didn't mind, she could finally take a proper bath...

Bathing, washing her face, brushing her teeth—and she absolutely had to clean her private areas thoroughly as well.

In short, there was simply too much to do. If she couldn't hold back and rushed out to devour Lin Mo, only for someone to cover their nose mid-act and say, "Huh? Why does your mouth and face smell a bit off, Big Sister?"—that would be the end of everything!!

At that thought, Diona immediately dashed into the bathroom. Soaking in the milky bathwater Lin Mo had just used would have greatly stirred her passions—she might even have managed a couple of rounds right there in the tub... But with the beautiful boy sitting on the sofa just outside, Diona had to conserve her energy!

Even if nothing happened tonight, it wouldn't matter!

She hadn't been expecting anything to happen anyway... But what if something actually did?

"Every time you finish one now, you'll have one less moment of happiness later."

Nodding to herself and spouting such twisted logic, Diona gave herself a quick scrub before lying blissfully in the bathtub.

Wash, wash, wash.

Bubble, bubble, bubble...

Fwhee...

She was truly so happy.

After bathing in complete calm, Diona stood before a remarkably intact mirror she'd found while scavenging supplies last year. She bared her snow-white teeth and clicked them back and forth several times.

"So white."

"Hah—hah—Breath is fresh too."

Perfect.

Diona was now fully prepared to resume watching the movie with Lin Mo.

Back in the changing room, she hesitated between a nightgown and a bath towel. Logically, she should change into a nightgown to watch the movie with Lin Mo... The problem was, the only nice nightgown in the house was the one he was currently wearing.

As for the one here, not only was it ugly and tattered, but even after countless washes, stubborn oil stains still clung to it. It just felt inappropriate.

By comparison, the bath towel was loose and quite large. Wrapped around her, it would perfectly accentuate her slender, graceful curves.

The issue was that wrapping a towel required tying a sash at the waist. Not only would the upper half be prone to slipping, but if the sash came undone, she might end up fully exposing her body to Lin Mo once again...

Fully. Exposed.

Diona pressed her lips together nervously. Her mouth went dry as she pondered for a long time, mainly worrying whether Lin Mo would suddenly look at her with disgust, point his finger, and berate her as a perverted scumbag unworthy of being a woman!

She thought about it seriously for a long while. And thanks to Lin Mo's earlier bashful reaction, she automatically added a generous layer of romanticized interpretation.

"Alright! Decision made."

Diona snatched up the towel, wrapped it twice around herself, and picked up the wide sash from beside her.

"If he sees me, he'll be shy; he'll worry about being violated."

"If I'm seen, I'll be thrilled; I'll want to violate him."

With that line of reasoning, the whole world suddenly seemed bright and clear.

Every option worked in her favor. So, after securing the towel, Diona pushed open the changing room door with a blissful expression.

"Hi, Xiao Mo~~ Did you wait long?"

The blonde girl now wore her long hair down. Amidst her allure, the whiteness of the towel lent her an almost sacred purity.

"Ah, not really. Big Sister Diona, let's hurry and continue... Huh?!!"

The instant he glanced sideways at the changing room door, Lin Mo froze, his eyes widening in that very moment.

He might have been a cold-blooded assassin, but he was also a physically and mentally healthy man.

The magnificent sight before him was simply too stimulating for an immature, still-virgin boy like him.