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ArabicHonkai Star Rail: My Death Feeds Their Madness — Chapter 33
Chapter 33: Come Here, Help Teacher Massage Her Feet
Kagashi had no choice but to yield. His entire body went rigid, his gaze locked firmly on the tiled wall, terrified of casting even a fleeting glance over his shoulder.
Behind him, the soft rustle of discarded silk echoed through the humid air, followed by the gentle slosh of displaced water.
Unbidden images of his teacher—inebriated, entirely unclothed, and slipping into the bath—threatened to flood his mind. He pinched his thigh with punishing force, using the sharp sting of pain to banish the stray thoughts.
“Kagashi, step behind Teacher.”
Relying entirely on spatial memory, Kagashi shuffled backward toward Ruan Mei, keeping his eyes fixed rigidly straight ahead. From this precarious angle, even the slightest downward drift of his gaze would cross a line he could never uncross.
The proximity was suffocating.
He quietly retreated another half-step, establishing a careful perimeter where he could just reach her shoulders with his arms fully extended.
Above the porcelain rim of the bathtub, the delicate slope of Ruan Mei’s shoulders emerged from the swirling, misty steam. The nape of her neck was pristine, as smooth and unblemished as the finest Xianzhou silk. The elegant lines of her collarbone were softened by the haze, her skin adorned with a few stray droplets of condensation that traced slow paths downward. The heat of the bath had coaxed a healthy, natural flush to her usually pale complexion, giving her a warm, moist luster.
Kagashi had never been exposed to such an intimate sight. Heat rushed to his cheeks, painting them a furious crimson. This was entirely inappropriate. The sensation of drifting so dangerously close to a taboo boundary made his pulse hammer against his ribs. He held his breath, his hands hovering in the air, paralyzed by propriety.
“What are you waiting for, Kagashi…” Ruan Mei’s voice was a soft, slightly slurred drawl. “Hurry. Teacher’s shoulders are terribly sore.”
A quiet sigh escaped his lips—the sound of a young man accepting his fate. Steeling his resolve, Kagashi gritted his teeth and lowered his hands to her shoulders.
The tactile feedback was immediate and overwhelming. Beneath his fingertips, her skin felt incredibly soft yet firm, like a piece of flawlessly carved, high-quality jade.
His heart threatened to hammer its way out of his chest.
“Your hands are burning.” She leaned slightly into his touch. “Are you falling ill?”
“…No, I am perfectly fine. Teacher, shall I begin the massage?” It was not just his hands that were burning; his entire being felt as though it had been set alight.
He applied a tentative, rhythmic pressure. After a few moments, Ruan Mei spoke again.
“Too light.”
He adjusted his grip, pressing deeper into the tension of her muscles. “…How is this, Teacher?”
Ruan Mei let out a soft, contented hum, the tension melting from her exquisite features as she surrendered to her student’s careful ministrations.
“That is just right… keep it exactly like this.”
Fifteen minutes drifted by in heavy silence.
Ruan Mei did not ask him to stop, and Kagashi dared not utter a single word, terrified that breaking the quiet would shatter the fragile inner peace he had painstakingly built. But as the clock ticked past the half-hour mark, the silence stretched from peaceful to concerning.
Hesitantly, he slowed his movements and let his hands fall away. It took him a moment to realize the truth: his teacher had fallen fast asleep. Her breathing was a slow, even rhythm, light and undisturbed.
A deep dilemma washed over Kagashi’s face.
‘She is asleep. What do I do now?’
He could not simply leave her to soak in the cooling water; it would invite illness.
Caught between waking her and letting her rest, Kagashi opted for a desperate compromise.
He tiptoed out of the humid bathroom to the kitchen, quickly preparing a bowl of hangover soup. Perhaps the clatter of the stove would rouse her by the time he finished.
Unfortunately, he had severely miscalculated a drunkard’s slumber.
Returning to the bathroom door, he knocked three times. He called out her name three times. Silence answered him. With no other recourse, he gently slid the frosted glass door open and peeked inside.
A single glance was all it took for him to violently snap his head away. Setting the steaming bowl of soup on a nearby counter, he tilted his chin toward the ceiling, relying entirely on his peripheral vision to handle back into the room.
“To think… such a thing actually happened.”
In the ethereal void of the Remembrance, the present Ruan Mei let out a trembling breath, her expression a storm of complex, agonizing emotions.
It seemed the old adage about alcohol wiping away memories was entirely accurate. She possessed absolutely no recollection of this night.
What was even more unthinkable was the realization of her own actions. As a respected scholar and his teacher, she had used her authority to force her student into such an intimate position while inebriated. It was a gross breach of propriety.
Watching the memory unfold, she could easily tell she had fallen asleep less than five minutes after Kagashi’s hands had touched her shoulders.
She could also read the deep struggle on her student’s face as he stood frozen behind her. He had wanted to wake her, yet his heart ached for her, knowing how thoroughly she neglected sleep and sustenance in the name of her research. He wanted to let her rest, yet he feared the chilled water would ruin her health.
The melancholic regret in Ruan Mei’s eyes deepened as she watched the phantom of her student in the Remembrance walk to her side, quietly bracing himself for what had to be done.
“Teacher,” Kagashi called out, his voice raised slightly.
No response.
“Teacher?” he tried again, louder this time.
Still nothing.
“…Teacher!”
Gritting his teeth, Kagashi reached out and firmly patted her bare, fragrant shoulder. When that failed to rouse her, he gripped her arm and gave her a gentle shake. The calm surface of the bathwater rippled violently against the porcelain.
“Teacher, if you do not wake up in ten minutes, I will… I-I will take liberties!”
Ten agonizing minutes ticked by.
“Teacher, please wake up…! If you do not wake up in another ten minutes, I really will… take liberties.”
Another ten minutes vanished into silence.
“…Please, just wake up…”
The young man’s face, still holding the soft traces of youth, twisted into an expression of utter misery. A drunken slumber was truly an immovable mountain.
“T-Teacher… just another ten minutes…”
And so, after his empty threats collapsed time and time again, Kagashi finally accepted the inevitable.
Muttering nervously to himself about the medical dangers of prolonged soaking, he grabbed a small hand towel and tightly blindfolded himself. Blindly reaching out, he pulled down the large, fluffy bath towel hanging from the rack.
“I am so sorry, Teacher… Please forgive your student’s deep rudeness!”
Jaw clenched tight, he plunged his left hand into the water, feeling around until he found the back of her knees. His right arm wrapped securely around her fragrant shoulders.
With a smooth surge of effort, he hoisted her out of the water, swiftly wrapping her enticing, dripping figure in the thick bath towel.
Only when she was securely bundled did he rip the makeshift blindfold from his eyes. He carried his teacher out of the bathroom, his gaze locked firmly on the hallway walls, refusing to look down. He was not yet skilled enough to handle the entire Manor completely blind.
After carefully depositing Ruan Mei onto the soft mattress of her bed, Kagashi retrieved the hangover soup. He gently propped her up against the pillows, carefully feeding her the warm broth spoonful by spoonful.
His conduct was the picture of absolute propriety; he kept his distance from any inappropriate contact and strictly policed his own gaze.
But as he set the empty bowl aside, a new dilemma presented itself.
His teacher was clad only in a damp bath towel. She would have to sleep like this, as it was physically impossible for him to dress her in pajamas.
Just as he pulled the heavy quilt up to cover her, Ruan Mei’s long eyelashes fluttered. Her eyes drifted half-open, clouded with a hazy, drunken fog.
Kagashi froze instantly, his muscles locking up as he hovered over her.
“…Teacher, you are awake.”
“My feet ache.” Her voice was soft and hazy. “Massage them for me.”
“That… I have not finished the research task you assigned me yet. You should really get some rest.” Kagashi clung to a desperate sliver of hope, slowly backing away toward the door.
“Stop right there.” Her tone carried an inescapable weight.
The young man halted, a bitter smile touching his lips.
“Come here. Help Teacher massage her feet.”
Defeated, Kagashi trudged back to the bedside. He hesitated for a fleeting second before sitting on the edge of the mattress. He caught a brief glimpse of his teacher, who had half-propped herself up against the headboard, and immediately averted his eyes.
“Good boy.” A faint, hazy smile touched her lips.
Ruan Mei sank back into the pillows, lifting her delicate feet and resting them gently across Kagashi’s lap.
“Teacher will reward you properly later…”
The young man stared down, momentarily dazed.
Her ankles were slender and supple, the skin possessing a silky, almost luminous quality in the dim light. Faint, elegant blue veins traced delicate paths across her exquisite feet, winding upward toward her beautifully sculpted calves. The soles bore a healthy, flushed crimson, and her toes were perfectly formed, plump and round like a string of flawless pearls.
A faint, intoxicating fragrance drifted from her skin. No matter how ironclad Kagashi’s self-control was, a deep blush crept up his neck and settled furiously on his cheeks.
He let out a long, shuddering sigh.
There was no escaping this. He could only face the trial head-on.
Hypnotizing himself with thoughts of academic duty, Kagashi steeled his heart. He reached out, taking hold of those exquisite feet, and began to massage them with a careful, practiced strength.