I Just Want to Do the Wrong Thing

Sonia had, in truth, seriously considered giving up. As a millennia-old sorcerer and Soul Demigod, Vichy was without doubt one of the world's finest persuaders. Even if you brushed her words aside at the time, they lingered like fishbones stuck in a rice ball—impossible to swallow down, impossible to spit out. Even when striving not to think of them, you would still be pricked by the pain. Because Vichy was right, and they were the ones in the wrong. People like her were the most infuriating: even when you knew full well she harbored malicious intentions, she wrapped her selfish motives neatly inside the greater good. Not only could you not refute her, but the more you dwelled on it, the more unsettled you felt, and the more you reflected, the more you doubted yourself. For Yaxiu, what he needed most was not a lover, but teammates who could fight alongside him. For the team, female sorcerers living in harmony were far better equipped to meet the upcoming challenges than a gaggle of scheming romantic rivals. And for their own lives, cultivating their sorcery was far more important than developing romance. There were things Vichy hadn't said aloud, yet anyone could hear the mockery tucked beneath her tongue— What if, one day, Yaxiu no longer liked them? What if, one day, they no longer liked Yaxiu? People changed; feelings had expiration dates. Promises were like ripe fruit—the moment they fell, they were sincere, but whatever was meant to rot would still rot. Perhaps long before reaching the point of suffering for love, the light in their eyes when looking at each other would have dimmed. Qualities that once shone brilliantly would become as trivial as grains of white rice, while flaws once negligible would glare like splatters of mosquito blood... In the end, looking back, nothing would remain but self-loathing over their own naive impulses. Wasn't staking one's life on an emotionally promiscuous trash bin a bit too reckless? Compared to lovers bound to sour, weren't teammates striving forward together far better? One either had to never listen to Vichy in the first place, or, once heard, the fishbone-like prick would stab at the heart time and again, and uncontrollable thoughts would spread swiftly through the mind like vines: *Is love truly so indispensable to me?* Sonia didn't know about the others, but her own answer was inevitably no. Neither the education she had received nor the hardships she had endured allowed her to turn into someone blinded by love. If she truly became a man's appendage, unable to survive without clinging to him just as a vine could not live without wrapping around a great tree, then how would she be any different from the village girls back home? A girl like her, who had grown up watching Daidalos's plays and films, dreamed above all of taking control of her own destiny. And so Sonia truly had wavered over the past few days. She, too, weighed pros and cons, and knew what was best for her. If she had never liked Yaxiu from the beginning... if they had only ever been teammates from start to finish... even if Sonia would still have followed Yaxiu in rebelling against Stars, she wouldn't have had to toss and turn over him so often, bursting with grievances time and time again. Sometimes Sonia felt she was utterly pathetic and degrading herself. She had always held the deepest contempt for foolish women who jumped headlong into fiery pits despite knowing full well what they were, thinking they deserved whatever misery scumbags inflicted on them... Yet when it came to herself, she desperately scrambled for excuses to cover for Yaxiu, treating him like some peerless, priceless treasure that she simply could not bring herself to abandon. Perhaps fate had offered them a window of escape: what had mostly started as a half-joking pact of abstinence had led them to discover a flawless alternative. They didn't need to part ways with Yaxiu, merely step back to being friends for now; they no longer had to scheme against the Witch and the others, united instead as a demigod team sharing common interests; and she would never again become jealous and suspicious over Yaxiu, losing herself in the process. Everyone could move toward a better future; everything could head in a better direction. Sonia could hardly find a single reason to refuse. It was so perfect, so sensible, that everyone—including Yaxiu—would agree. Even she felt that these past few days had been pleasant and carefree, free of the vexation and turmoil of the previous half month. And yet. And yet. Beneath the quilt, two flames seemed to intertwine, their warm pants the only sound within the cramped space. Sonia locked her fingers tightly through Yaxiu's, kissing the corner of his lips and trailing down his neck. Perhaps owing to the Shadow Sword curse, a light sheen of sweat soon formed over Yaxiu's soul body. Sonia didn't mind at all. She licked gently along his collarbone, deliberately rubbing her soft, supple curves against his chest and abdomen, sliding back and forth and pressing lightly. Yaxiu felt as though his heart and soul body were melting like ice cream. Unable to restrain his desire, he pulled Sonia into a deep kiss, his hands slipping free of her grasp to roam and conquer without restraint. Sonia gave his lip a gentle bite, chiding his wanton lust under her breath, yet her own hands slid down his chest, lower and lower, until reaching the hottest place on the bastard's body. Yes, Vichy was right. Yes, he truly was a fiery pit. Yes, love truly wasn't indispensable to me. Yes, remaining teammates was best for everyone. *But I just want to do the wrong thing.* I just want to leap into this fiery pit called Yaxiu and be melted by his heat; I just want love, even if it leaves me bruised and battered; I'm just not satisfied with being teammates. I love him right now, so right now I want to hold him and kiss him. I know what's good and what's bad. I understand all the grand principles. But the moment I see him, I still fall completely and hopelessly. A village girl is a village girl, an idiot is an idiot. I'm an irredeemable fool of a girl, and he is my little horn. After who knew how long, Sonia suddenly held Yaxiu tight, her soft body abruptly stiffening as she clamped a hand firmly over her mouth. A moment later, she let out a languid whimper, their scorching breaths mingling together. Yaxiu called softly to her, "Sword Princess..." "Don't blame me if I hurt you..." Sonia's soft chuckle carried a hint of bashfulness. After minutes of tempering heat, Sonia snuggled into Yaxiu's arms. Yaxiu was practically a furnace, his entire body radiating warmth; holding him truly felt like melting away. "I've been played by you," Yaxiu suddenly said. "Hm?" "We can't turn on the light right now," Yaxiu murmured resentfully. "And I want to see you so badly." "Use your imagination! You can tell just by touching, can't you?" "It's not the same. I mainly want to see you blush—especially watching you lower your head in shy embarrassment under the lamplight. That would definitely be fun." "Wicked." Sonia hummed lazily. "I knew you were a bad man with no good intentions." "Clearly you're the bad woman here." Yaxiu tapped her nose with a laugh. "We agreed to celibacy together, and yet you sneaked a bite all by yourself." "It doesn't count as sneaking if they don't find out. Besides, you and I are accomplices now. If we get caught, I'll pin all the blame on you—saying you forced me in here and used all sorts of wicked tricks to shatter my steadfast willpower." Sonia lightly thumped his chest. "I'm merely an innocent, pitiable, beautiful village girl." "Aren't you being far too unreasonable?" Yaxiu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I was the one putting up a stubborn resistance!" "That's right, I am being unreasonable," Sonia said fiercely. "What, don't you like it?" Yaxiu bit his lower lip slightly, rubbing his cheek against Sonia's. "The resolve I agonized over the entire day crumbled like paper before you. Could you not be so cute? I might really cling to you for the rest of my life." "Can't be helped, I'm just this cute. You'll just have to cling to me forever," Sonia said softly. "It's all your fault, you know. You made me become so unlike myself. You have to take full responsibility for me." Yaxiu gave a soft hum. After lingering in intimacy for a while, he asked again, "Are you sure we won't be caught? You all worked so hard to build such a great atmosphere these days, and I really don't want to become a curse upon you again..." "That sounds a bit strange. Lines like that are usually said by home-wrecking mistresses trying to stir up discord." Sonia asked, "Have you been watching romantic dramas lately?" "I just watched *White Night* tonight." "No wonder... Don't worry. I can already use Shattered Lake to sever the Gospel God's prophetic connection. As long as we don't make any noise or light, they won't find out." Sonia chuckled softly. "Even if I come to see you every night, it won't affect our team training during the day." Hearing this made Yaxiu's heart race. Sonia immediately heard the hiss of a jacket zipper being pulled down, and scorching lava once again crept onto soft peaks. Biting her lower lip, half teasing and half bashful, she said, "Haven't you had enough yet?" Just as the temperature beneath the quilt surged once more, a distinct rainbow thread suddenly lit up in the darkened tent. Before their eyes, the thread curled into the shape of a heart, and then they heard the faintest sound of a zipper— The tent flap was being unzipped!