The Ointment and the Apology

“Clas… Class Monitor… what’s wrong?”

Observing Liu Yinuo’s peculiar reaction, Ye Xingmian felt a tremor of unease. She worried she might have done something wrong, fearing Liu Yinuo now disliked her.

The reality, however, was far from what she imagined.

Suddenly, Liu Yinuo lifted her head, her expression fierce, and once again clambered onto the girl. This time, she pinned the girl’s hands, rendering her immobile.

“Tell me! Why did you lie to me!”

Stunned, the girl found herself bewildered by the sudden turn of events.

“Lie… lie to you?”

Her mind flashed back to her earlier explanation about being a girl, and for a moment, she feared her words had been exposed. Her heart sank. She remained silent.

Yet, what Liu Yinuo said next quickly dispelled her doubts.

“You haven’t even been eating properly, have you? How could you possibly have grown so much!”

Liu Yinuo snarled, not forgetting to press firmly on those bulging “sins.”

“Huh? This…?”

Ye Xingmian was utterly bewildered. She had assumed Liu Yinuo was referring to her previous deception, but it turned out to be about *this*? She glanced at the mischievous hands resting on her chest. Despite the discomfort, she didn’t quite dare to push them away this time.

“I… I don’t know… I didn’t mean to… and it shouldn’t be that big, right…?”

She confessed honestly, her gaze flickering away. Little did she know, her words of self-defense struck Liu Yinuo like a bolt from the blue. Now, those few phrases echoed relentlessly in Liu Yinuo’s mind.

‘I don’t know—I don’t know—’

‘I didn’t mean to—I didn’t mean to—’

‘It’s not that big, is it—not that big, is it—not that big—is it?’

Recalling her own “little puddings,” Liu Yinuo felt the profound malice of the world.

She had striven so hard to grow, drinking milk every morning and occasionally trying all sorts of strange remedies, only to remain so small. Now, someone had suddenly come along to tell her, with undeniable proof, that one could grow larger than her even without eating properly. How could she not feel utterly devastated?

As if a mere automaton, she slid off the girl. She ambled away, resembling a large cat who had lost its very soul.

Left behind, Ye Xingmian’s heart was now consumed by guilt.

‘What should I do? It seems I accidentally made her angry. Will she hate me now?’

The girl’s heart was heavy with worry. Watching Liu Yinuo’s retreating figure, she racked her brain, wondering how to apologize later.

‘No, no, an apology won’t do. The Class Monitor doesn’t seem to like it when I apologize… Then I’ll just have to figure out how to comfort her.’

Lacking experience as a girl, she had no idea how deeply her unintentional words had wounded the other. Yet, she was determined to find a way to make amends.

A moment later, Liu Yinuo returned, carrying a mysterious box in her hands.

“Th-that… Class Monitor… I’m sorry… I didn’t realize this was so important to you… I…”

Though she had carefully rehearsed her words earlier, they now seemed to vanish. She found herself utterly unable to speak.

“Shut up!”

Liu Yinuo glared at her. The girl could say nothing more, merely lowering her head to silently chastise herself. Seeing this, Liu Yinuo scoffed and walked over to her side.

She first crouched down, setting the box aside.

“Roll up your trousers!”

“Clas… Class Monitor… what are you going to do?”

Ye Xingmian asked, nervously clutching the hem of her clothes.

“Hmph~ Don’t ask! And don’t you dare cry out later, understand?!”

“…Alright.”

Hearing the “evil big-chested girl’s” obedient reply, Liu Yinuo nodded in satisfaction. She opened the box beside them, and a rich herbal scent immediately permeated the air.

“Class Monitor… is this ointment?”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop talking?”

Glared at by the Class Monitor once more, the girl could only shut her mouth, pressing her lips together in anxious silence.

Watching the girl obediently roll up her trousers, revealing a stretch of pale, slender calf, Liu Yinuo continued.

“A little higher.”

“Higher still?”

Ye Xingmian hesitated. Rolling them up further would expose her injuries. The pain was secondary; the main concern was that they looked unsightly, and she worried the Class Monitor might be displeased.

“Mm.”

Since the Class Monitor had spoken, she obediently continued to roll her trouser legs higher, until the bruised, purplish injuries were fully revealed.

“The other leg too.”

The girl dutifully rolled them up. Each time she passed an injured spot, a pang of pain shot through her, but she endured it, uttering no sound.

Liu Yinuo then took some ointment from the box with her fingers and began to apply it to the girl’s injured areas.

“Hiss—”

It was both cool and painful—that was the girl’s initial sensation. She couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath, a sound that immediately caused Liu Yinuo to look up, displeased.

“Didn’t I tell you not to make a sound?”

“I… I’m sorry.”

“Hmph, I’ll forgive you this time. Don’t let it happen again.”

“…”

She could feel that the pressure of the application seemed to lighten considerably.

Applying the ointment was painful at first, but it quickly improved, becoming a pleasantly cool sensation. Watching the Class Monitor, who was crouched beside her legs, diligently applying the medicine, Ye Xingmian felt an even deeper pang of guilt.

“Class Monitor…”

“Mm? What is it?”

“About… about what just happened… I’m sorry…”

“What exactly did you do wrong?”

“Eh?” Unexpectedly met with a counter-question, the girl hesitated for a moment before finally voicing the comforting words she had prepared.

“Well, because I was always a boy before, I didn’t realize the Class Monitor cared so much about these things… I… I heard… that a girl’s size isn’t just affected by genes and innate factors, so as long as the Class Monitor eats properly and gets enough nutrients, you’ll definitely grow bigger… Hiss!”

A sudden pain shot through her leg. Coming back to her senses, she saw the Class Monitor pinching her calf with considerable force, so much so that the pinched area had turned red. The girl with the tea-colored eyes was now looking up at her with a resentful gaze.

“Shut—your—mouth—!”

“Yes…! Yes…”

Nodding frantically, Ye Xingmian’s voice dwindled. She felt as though she had caused trouble yet again…

‘A girl’s thoughts… are truly hard to fathom.’

The minutes slowly ticked by in silence. Outside the window, the snow showed no sign of stopping, individual flakes like stars falling from the sky, swirling into various shapes with the wind. Bored, the girl gazed out the window, complying whenever the Class Monitor asked her to roll up her sleeves or expose another area. The gentle warmth from the heater brought with it a subtle weariness. Her consciousness, too, settled into an unconscious comfort amidst the warmth. Gradually, she forgot many of her worries, her pink eyes curving gently as she quietly watched the Class Monitor apply the medicine.

“Thank you… Class Monitor…”

She murmured softly, her voice delicate and pleasant, yet so faint it drifted away like a breeze.

“Mm…? Did you say something just now?”

By the time Liu Yinuo noticed and looked up, she found the girl had already closed her eyes, peacefully drifting off to sleep.