Hearing the sound of water coming from next door, Jiang Hai couldn't help but glance across the street warily. He couldn't see anything, but the unfamiliar sounds made him uneasy. He called out loudly, "Who's there?"
Perhaps Jiang Hai's voice startled the people on the other side. After a brief pause, a voice slowly responded, "It's me."
Upon hearing the voice, Jiang Hai felt relieved, though confusion crept over him. He recognized the voice—it was Bernice. But why was she here in the dark?
"You really are something," Bernice said, her voice carrying over. "Didn't you tell us that if we wanted to soak in this hot spring, we'd have to wait a few more days to let it soak in the sun? What are you doing here tonight?"
Jiang Hai couldn't help but feel a little speechless. He hadn't exactly come for his own enjoyment, though that's what it might have seemed like. "Well… yeah, it's true that it needs more sun exposure. But I was thinking about your safety, so I came in to try it out first."
"Ha, I don't buy it." Bernice chuckled from the other side. Hearing her tone, Jiang Hai awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. He wanted to change the topic but couldn't come up with anything at that moment.
Then, an idea struck him. Although the two pools were separated by a wall, the water from both sides actually came from the same source. The hot spring's water flowed underground and came up into four barrels, each one supporting a bathing pool. He realized the wall only separated the water, but both sides were essentially mixed. The thought of this made Jiang Hai blush. Was this what they called "mixed bathing"?
As he thought about it, his mind wandered to what Bernice might look like across the way. He felt slightly embarrassed and didn't know what to say.
"Thank you, Jiang Hai!" Bernice's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Uh, oh. Ah, it's nothing," Jiang Hai stammered. He hadn't expected her to thank him. "But what are you thanking me for?"
Bernice's voice became teasing. "You're not up to something strange, are you?"
Jiang Hai's unstable response made her pause for a moment. He flushed red with embarrassment but quickly deflected, "No, you're just talking nonsense. Am I that kind of person? Anyway, you still haven't told me what you're thanking me for."
"It's not a big deal," Bernice replied. "I was thanking you for helping Xiaoya."
Jiang Hai relaxed, his tension easing. "Ah, well, that's no big deal." He laughed, feeling better.
It had been almost ten days since Jiang Hai returned from China. During this time, although he couldn't openly use his spiritual energy to heal Xiaoya—it would be too obvious—he had been using small doses of it every day. Little by little, he had been healing her, improving her body.
Bernice had noticed the changes in Xiaoya. Before, Xiaoya's body couldn't handle sunlight at all. Despite taking calcium supplements, she was always calcium-deficient, leaving her weak with no muscle mass. But in the past ten days, Xiaoya's body had transformed. She was taller, had subtle muscle tone, and had gained strength. Bernice noticed that Xiaoya could even lift a spoon with one hand, her strength doubled compared to before. But despite this, Xiaoya's skin and hair still showed no improvement—they remained as pale and fragile as before, which left Jiang Hai confused. He knew it wasn't because the spiritual energy wasn't enough, but he was still uncertain why it wasn't working on her skin and hair.
In the meantime, Jiang Hai had been keeping Xiaoya company every day, playing games, watching TV, and talking about cooking. It made Xiaoya very happy. For years, no one had played with her. She had been isolated because of her illness, and even though her family tried, they were always too busy. So, Jiang Hai's attention made her smile more often. Darlene and Marian also started spending time with her.
Bernice, watching her sister's improvement, silently appreciated Jiang Hai. She was so grateful for what he had done for Xiaoya that she decided to thank him, but tonight, she found herself secretly following Jiang Hai to the hot spring.
"Whether it's a small thing to you or not, to me, Xiaoya is my only family," Bernice said softly. "So I really want to thank you."
Jiang Hai, ever the joker, responded with a smile, "Hey, enough with the thank yous. How about you take action instead?"
"Action?" Bernice raised an eyebrow. "How about you promise me with your body? Come over now!"
Jiang Hai quickly stiffened, his embarrassment growing, and stammered, "What are you saying? If you want to thank me, how about you help me with something—like cleaning the room or something?"
Bernice laughed, clearly enjoying herself. "Alright, alright, I'll come over and thank you properly. But I'm done with my bath. You have the key to my room, so come over when you're ready."
As her voice faded, Jiang Hai sighed, half-smiling, though still slightly embarrassed.
Just as he was about to leave the situation behind in silence, he suddenly heard a loud noise from the other side.
"Ouch!" Then, a crash, followed by splashing water.
Jiang Hai immediately jumped to his feet, alarmed. It sounded like Bernice had fallen. Without a second thought, he dashed over, scaling the three-meter-high wall with ease. Once over, he saw Bernice curled up in the water, her head submerged. Alarmed, he quickly ran over, pulled her out of the water, and helped her onto the shore.
She looked at him, her eyes wide with surprise, and for a moment, they both stood there, stunned.
Bernice had indeed fallen, injuring her leg on a nearby rock. The pain had caused her to crouch in the water, rubbing her leg. When Jiang Hai rushed over, she hadn't had the chance to get back up before he pulled her out.
Neither of them had been wearing swimsuits—since the hot spring had only recently been completed and there weren't many people around—so they were both naked. Despite the dark, the full moon tonight made everything clearer.
They stood there, locked in a gaze, unsure of what to say next.