My 10-year-old daughter always rushed to the bathroom as soon as she came home from school. When I asked, “Why do you always take a bath right away?” she smiled and said, “I just like to be clean.” However, one day while cleaning the drain, I found something. The moment I saw it, my whole body started trembling, and I immediately…

dinner, I decided to ask.

I kept my voice light, casual, almost teasing. “Why do you always take a bath right after school?”

Lily was sitting at the kitchen table, peeling the label off her water bottle in tiny strips. At the sound of my question, her hands stopped.

Just for a second.

Then she looked up and smiled.

“I just like to be clean,” she said.

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