25: Chapter 25 Harem Route

The air at the bathroom entrance seemed to have been sucked dry, leaving only a suffocating heat.

"Three... three?"

Leng Qingxuan's brain, which usually operated at high speed, felt as if a bucket of glue had been poured over it, causing it to stutter severely.

She stared fixedly at Huang Mao's half-smiling face, frantically analyzing the situation before her.

Is this jumping straight to the harem route?

According to Galgame logic, this kind of option usually only appeared in hidden DLCs after clearing the game, or in those crude, straightforward adult games.

If one forcibly initiated a multi-person activity branch without sufficient affection, it was highly likely to trigger a "Yandere Ending" or a "Fisherman Ending."

However...

Leng Qingxuan's gaze swept over Huang Mao's calm and collected expression, then glanced at An Ran, who, despite being flushed, clearly had no intention of backing down.

This man seemed to truly have the capital for it.

The current situation was a classic "Prisoner's Dilemma."

If she refused, and that brainless Sports Student, An Ran, agreed just to win, then after tonight, did she even need to ask who the mistress of this villa would be?

Leng Qingxuan bit her lower lip, a sense of powerlessness rising in her heart.

Is this the operation of a pro player? Using the psychological loopholes of competitors to forcibly push forward a high-difficulty plot.

His level is too high! I can't outplay him at all!

On the other side, An Ran's CPU was already smoking.

【Pervert! Closet pervert! Big lecher!】

An Ran cursed Huang Mao ten thousand times in her heart.

He had clearly been acting like a mother hen just a moment ago, wrapping them in bath towels and saying he was afraid they'd catch a cold, and yet, he turned around and said such shameless things!

But... what if she didn't agree?

An Ran snuck a glance at Leng Qingxuan.

In order to win, this woman had even worn that shameful winning lingerie paired with black stockings; was there anything she wouldn't do?

What if she left, and the moment the bathroom door closed, something inappropriate for children happened inside...

No! Absolutely not!

Even if she had to die, she had to die on the battlefield; she absolutely could not be a deserter!

Huang Mao looked at the two statues in front of him, secretly amused.

As expected, they were all talk and no action. A moment ago, they were aggressive and determined to launch a night raid, but when it really came down to the wire, they all chickened out.

"Alright, just teasing you..."

Huang Mao waved his hand, preparing to give them an out, letting these two naive young girls go back to their rooms to wait while he finished his shower.

"I have no problem with it!"

A cold voice, carrying a tremor, abruptly cut off Huang Mao's spellcasting.

Leng Qingxuan suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with a determination to face death, her speech speed as fast as if she were reciting a tongue twister:

"Since Master has issued a party invitation, as a player who wants to clear the game, there is no reason to refuse the dungeon. I accept."

Huang Mao: "?"

Before Huang Mao could digest this, An Ran, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, shouted with her eyes closed:

"I'm going too! Who... who's afraid of whom! It's just a shower! It's not like we haven't bathed together when we were little! Bring it on!"

Her voice was so loud that the voice-activated lights in the hallway flickered twice.

Huang Mao opened his mouth, looking at the two girls in front of him whose faces were as red as monkeys' butts, yet who were both stiff-necked and refusing to back down.

He swallowed the words "I'm joking" that were on the tip of his tongue.

He had really overplayed his hand.

These two were clearly worked up, devoid of reason, and were only holding on by a desire to win.

If he said "Actually, I was joking, you guys go back" now, he wouldn't just be seen as a coward; he would also be seen as insulting by these two women who were in a state of high stress.

Since that was the case...

Huang Mao's eyes flickered, and he quickly switched his battle plan in his mind.

Plan B, initiating.

"Fine."

Huang Mao nodded, his expression instantly convergence, becoming serious and solemn, as if what was about to happen wasn't some erotic group bath, but a serious academic seminar.

"Since you're both coming in, you have to follow my rules."

He held up a finger and swept his gaze over them.

"First, nothing inside your bath towels is allowed to be taken off. Bras, panties, keep them on properly. Whoever dares to take anything off will be thrown out immediately."

Leng Qingxuan and An Ran were stunned for a moment, then subconsciously nodded.

"Second," Huang Mao pointed to the bathroom door, "I'm going to close the door and put on some pants. Wait until I call you before you come in."

After speaking, his gaze finally landed on Leng Qingxuan's long, beautiful legs wrapped in black stockings.

It had to be said, these legs were truly top-tier. Straight, well-proportioned, and the way the stockings squeezed her thighs was a stroke of genius.

"As for you..." Huang Mao pointed at Leng Qingxuan's legs, his tone casual, "Take off the stockings. They'll probably be very uncomfortable once they get wet and stick to your legs."

Leng Qingxuan subconsciously pulled back her legs, a flash of panic crossing her face.

Huang Mao's lips curled into a mischievous smile, and he added: "Of course, if you don't mind the wet feeling, you can keep them on. After all..."

He paused, his gaze filled with a touch of appreciation, and he unabashedly looked her up and down.

"These legs are really suited for wearing this."

"Very beautiful, thanks for the treat."

Having said that, without waiting for Leng Qingxuan to react, Huang Mao stepped back and closed the bathroom door with a "click."

Outside the door, the reactions of the two in the hallway were quite spectacular.

Leng Qingxuan leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, her chest heaving violently.

She felt her cheeks were hot enough to fry an egg, especially her legs, which seemed to still retain the temperature of Huang Mao's gaze from just a moment ago.

Thanks for the treat...

These four words seemed to have magic, echoing wildly in her mind.

What was this? Teasing? Or a compliment?

Damn it, they were just a few light words, why was the lethality so high?

An Ran squatted on the ground, covering her face with both hands, a flush of red showing through her fingers.

"It's over, it's over... Now I really have to go in..." She muttered to herself, sounding as if she were regretting it, yet also trying to psych herself up.

A moment later, the sound of the door lock turning came from the bathroom.

"Come in."

Huang Mao's voice came through the door, with no discernible emotion.

Leng Qingxuan and An Ran looked at each other.

At this moment, they were no longer rivals, but comrades-in-arms about to head to the execution ground.

The two took a deep breath, simultaneously reached out, and pushed open the door to the unknown.

...

A few minutes later.

The bathroom door was tightly closed, and thick water droplets condensed on the frosted glass, making it impossible to see the scene inside.

Only the sounds were clearly transmitted out.

"Ah—! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! Gentler! Huang Mao, be gentler!"

An Ran's wailing, tearful scream suddenly rang out, echoing in the small space.

"Bear with it." Huang Mao's voice was low and calm. "You have to use force here."

"I can't... I really can't... Ah!"

"Don't move around. Relax, open up your body."

"Wuwuwu... too fast... too ruthless... I can't take it anymore..."

"Where are we even at? Didn't you just say you had no strength earlier?"

The sound of water flowed, mixed with An Ran's rapid, mournful cries and intermittent pleas for mercy.

Immediately after, Leng Qingxuan's voice also rang out.

However, compared to An Ran's tragic cries, her voice held more shock and shyness.

"So amazing... Master, you... are so skilled..."

"Is this..."

...

Inside the spacious bathroom, Huang Mao was wearing a pair of gaudy, oversized shorts, with a green exfoliating towel wrapped around his hand—the divine artifact of northern bathhouses.

At this moment, he was like a heartless assassin, pressing down on An Ran, who was lying on a small stool, carrying out a sacred and great project—

Exfoliating.

"Ah—! So good!"

The matter of exfoliating is quite magical; those who have been scrubbed will wonder why anyone wouldn't do this, while those who haven't will wonder why anyone would do this.

As Huang Mao's hand rose and the towel fell, a healthy flush instantly appeared on An Ran's originally fair back.

An Ran, who had just been screaming like a pig being slaughtered, was now burying her face in her arms, letting out a moan that was both painful and pleasurable.

"I'm saying, can you not scream so horribly?"

Huang Mao stopped his movements, shook the exfoliating towel in his hand, and looked at An Ran with an expression of disgust. "If people didn't know, they'd think I was abusing you. It's a good thing this is a detached villa; if we lived in an apartment building, the neighbors might have misunderstood."

"But... but it really hurts!"

An Ran raised her head, physiological tears still hanging from the corners of her eyes, but her face wore an expression of enjoyment. "But after the pain... it feels so good! It feels like all my pores have opened up!"

She turned her head, looking at Huang Mao, her eyes sparkling: "Huang Mao, when did you practice this technique? It's so much better than the random scrubbing from when we were kids! Really, I even want to buy a membership card for you! Officially certified by a Sports Student, top-tier technician!"

Huang Mao rolled his eyes: "Stop the chatter. Turn over, scrub your collarbone a little."

"Alright!" An Ran turned over very cooperatively, exposing herself to Huang Mao without any defense.

Although she was still wearing that so-called "winning lingerie," in this atmosphere filled with the rustic, northern vibe of a bathhouse, the original eroticism had vanished, replaced by a strange sense of harmony.

Leng Qingxuan, who was sitting on a small stool nearby, was wrapped in a bath towel, watching this scene with her jaw dropped.

What she had originally imagined as a "three-person bath" was that kind of ambiguous scene filled with pink bubbles, splashing water at each other, and occasional physical contact.

As a result... just this?

Where is this a harem anime? This is clearly a hardcore lifestyle documentary!

But...

Looking at An Ran's expression of being purified and sublimated, Leng Qingxuan was indeed a bit envious.

It seemed... really comfortable?

As a young lady who had been strictly controlled by her family since she was a child, she had always used expensive body wash and soft sponges when bathing; where would she have ever experienced this rough and direct northern exfoliating culture?

"Um..."

Leng Qingxuan hesitated for a moment, and when An Ran was finished and started the final rinse, she still couldn't hold back, and weakly raised her hand.

"Master, may I ask... is there a full-body package?"

Huang Mao was rinsing An Ran, and upon hearing this, he said without turning his head: "Only the back. If you have such high demands, well, I've already finished washing anyway; once I finish rinsing her, I'm going back to sleep."

"Don't!"

Leng Qingxuan was anxious.

How could that be? Whatever An Ran had, she must have too! This wasn't just a matter of exfoliating; this was a matter of treatment! It was a matter of family status!

She tore off the bath towel on her body, revealing the black lingerie underneath that, despite covering her well, still outlined her perfect curves, and quickly lay down on the small stool An Ran had just occupied.

"Just doing the back is fine! Come quickly! Please... use a bit more force!"