Caught

It was over! Watching Sonia and Vichy push open the room door, Xifulin covered her face with both hands, bracing herself for an utterly debauched scene, along with the cries of the trash bin and the Veela. Apprehensive as she was, her heart was also brimming with anticipation—while Yaxiu getting caught together with Freya was bad news, Yaxiu getting caught was great news! As long as she found a way to shield the Veela in a moment, she could enjoy Sword Princess and the others tearing their boyfriend to shreds to her heart's content! The others realized what was coming as well. Felix's breathing quickened, a faint smile played at the corner of Weise's lips, Diya still looked somewhat bewildered, and only Sonia and Vichy remained expressionless. Yet the sight that met their eyes was merely a cat basking in the sun and snoring, and Yaxiu and Freya holding hands. Seeing them, Yaxiu flinched, but he quickly relaxed. Still holding hands with the Veela, he scratched his head with a wry smile. "You're all here together. You're making it seem like I was caught having an affair..." "If this isn't an affair, what is it?" With her arms crossed over her chest, the red-haired Sword Princess gave Yaxiu a stony look, but her tone softened when she looked toward Freya. "Long time no see, Freya." "Sister Sword Princess..." Freya hung her head like a guilty squirrel. But realizing Yaxiu might be misunderstood, she gathered her courage and hastily explained, "I—Yaxiu didn't fool around with me on purpose! He accidentally walked into the wrong room and only then realized I was here. He had no idea I was here beforehand! Just now he was about to go look for you, but I held him back. He really didn't mean to—" "So you're the one who deliberately had an affair?" Vichy interjected in a snide, neither-warm-nor-cold tone. Blushing to the tips of her ears, Freya gave a gentle nod, letting out an utterly adorable hum through her nose. "Is your fooling around always this tame?" Xifulin muttered. "I didn't expect you two to be so surprisingly innocent. That's fine, that's fine..." "222, why do you sound so disappointed?" Yaxiu said exasperatedly. "What did you think you were going to see?" Xifulin replied, "It just feels a little off." Felix added, "Shouldn't some clothes have come off at least?" "Right." Diya also offered a solemn assessment. "Yaxiu, the way you look with your clothes on is really weird." "Why don't you just wear my silver light clothes in the future, Yaxiu?" Weise chimed in. "That way, just like Vichy, you can strip naked at any moment." Vichy gritted her teeth. "I wear underwear!" Weise thought about it, then nodded thoughtfully. "You're right, Vichy. You did well. Next time I'll keep some underwear on too, to give Yaxiu a greater sense of participation." Although the wholesome scene in the room relieved everyone, because it was far too wholesome, they all felt a bit unsatisfied. It was like catching your lover sneaking a peek at lewd pictures, only to find the pictures were far less lewd than what you yourself wore last night—it was hard not to feel a sense of disappointment: "That's it?" The corner of Yaxiu's mouth twitched. He stood up and snapped exasperatedly, "Let's head back and talk. Cramming ourselves in here isn't going to help, and isn't it about time for lunch?" "Yeah." Felix checked the time. "It's almost noon." Almost noon? Sonia and the others instantly realized something and turned back simultaneously to fix their stares on Yaxiu and Freya. Yaxiu blinked, asking nonchalantly, "What is it?" "Yaxiu, you've been gone for almost half an hour," Vichy said, eyeing him askance. "Have you been holding hands this entire half hour?" Yaxiu hesitated for a moment. To his surprise, Freya spoke up first. "We really were just holding hands! Really!" "Only holding hands?" Sonia stared at her and asked languidly. Freya shrank back a little, but chose to resist to the bitter end: "We chatted too..." "Actually..." Yaxiu was about to come clean when Sonia pulled him aside and took a seat next to the Veela herself. "Freya, your pupils are quite unique. Pink hearts." Shrinking into the corner of the seat, Freya stammered, "Th-this is the effect of a mind miracle..." "This hair," Sonia produced a curved black hair from the corner of the Veela's mouth, "shouldn't be the effect of a mind miracle, right?" "It's mine!" Freya closed her eyes and held out stubbornly. "I can change my hair color!" Sonia looked at her and suddenly burst into a giggle. Patting the Veela's head, she said, "All right, all right, I believe you. No need to be so nervous. I've always known Freya is a good girl." "Sister Sword Princess..." Freya's eyes welled with tears, moved to the core. Sonia took out a piece of chocolate, unwrapped it, and held it to the Veela's lips. "Come, have some Gospel chocolate. Say 'ah—'" Freya obediently opened her mouth. "Ah—" Then Sonia pinched Freya's mouth shut with lightning speed. The Sword Princess leaned in and took a sniff, her eyes turning sharp in an instant as she murmured, "It's Yaxiu's scent. Very strong." "But there isn't any smell in the compartment at all," Felix remarked, sniffing earnestly with a puzzled look. "That shouldn't be possible. If even a single drop leaked out, the scent would become very rich—just like you guys last night—" Thump! Appearing out of nowhere, Daidalos delivered a savage smack to the back of Felix's head and dragged her back. Seeing that the jig was completely up, Freya held the chocolate Sonia gave her in her mouth, eating it while rubbing her teary eyes as she apologized, "I'm sorry! But it has nothing to do with Yaxiu, it was me who couldn't resist ambushing him... I originally just wanted to hold hands and spend some quiet time together, but after Yaxiu kissed me, I suddenly lost control..." "Say no more, I completely understand," Diya said with profound empathy. "This is one hundred percent Yaxiu's fault." Weise smiled. "Seconded." Vichy snorted coldly. "Seconded." "Just what is making you all get along so well?" Caught between laughter and tears, Yaxiu saw Sonia turning her languid gaze toward him. He raised a hand and said, "Can I defend myself?" "How do you want to defend yourself?" "A crime reenactment." Yaxiu drank the black tea in a single gulp, took Sonia's hand, and sat on the other side, gesturing for her to straddle his lap facing him. Because the space between the table and the bench was narrow, Sonia was pressed almost completely against Yaxiu, looking down into his eyes. 'Veela. Male Veela.' 'Trash bin.' Watching this shameless couple begin kissing passionately in broad daylight under everyone's gaze, the bystanders inwardly cursed them while remaining unable to look away. Freya, sitting opposite them, even pursed her lips in sheer envy. When their lips finally parted, their scorching breaths intermingled. Yaxiu tightened his hold around Sonia's waist and whispered, "I'm sorry." How was this a crime reenactment? It was blatant bribery of law enforcement... "Just how many more apologies are you going to give me...?" Sonia glared at him fiercely, her body so limp she could barely stand. "I'll settle the score with you tonight." In truth, Sonia had never intended to lose her temper right now. Regardless of how unsparing she was toward Yaxiu in private, out in public she cared more about his dignity than anyone else. This was partly because she knew throwing a tantrum would solve nothing and only breed resentment in her lover, and partly because she regarded Yaxiu completely as "one of her own"—she and Yaxiu were one, so his dignity was her dignity. Besides that, there was another reason. Although Sonia's possessiveness had never waned, after these past six months of life-and-death journeys—having shared beds multiple times and even taken part in Developers Conferences, honing skills with her teammates by day and honing their lover with them by night—Sonia's bottom line had unknowingly dropped considerably. She would even gamble with Diya and the others over slots at the Developers Conference—though whether she was willing to concede defeat depended entirely on whether she won. A minor episode like this fell within the boundaries of what Sonia could barely tolerate. Had it been someone else, like Annan, she might not have been able to control her temper, but Freya was the sole exception. Once everyone took their seats in the chartered Car 10, Freya took the initiative to bow to Sonia and the others, saying earnestly, "I know only the most outstanding people are worthy of being Yaxiu's lovers, and I've never dreamed of dating Yaxiu. I know the person Yaxiu likes most is Sister Sword Princess. In my heart, you two are the most well-matched couple." Sonia was slightly moved. "Freya, you..." "I agree with everything except that last sentence," Diya chimed in hastily. "Congratulations on escaping the fire pit!" "Indeed," Weise nodded. "Being by Yaxiu's side is too dangerous. Besides, people change—who he likes most today, he might not like tomorrow." "I know I'm not worthy of that kind of happiness, but... but..." Freya took a deep breath and asked sincerely, "If we can't date, could Yaxiu please feed me full every night?" The train car fell dead silent. Everyone stared at the Veela, temporarily struck speechless. After a moment, Diya remarked from the bottom of her heart, "Freya, you really are adorably foolish." Xifulin held her forehead. "Knowing her makes me feel a little embarrassed..." Vichy marveled, "No wonder she likes Yaxiu so much. Birds of a feather really do flock together." Weise chuckled. "Aren't you the same?" "Huh? I can't?" Freya looked utterly bewildered, as if she had merely made a trivial request. Even Sonia couldn't maintain her composure. "Even if you ask us with such an innocent face, there's no way we could ever agree to that..." Freya's expression rapidly shifted from bewilderment to dejection, but she quickly steeled her resolve. Throwing herself forward, she grabbed Yaxiu's arm and declared with suicidal determination, "Anyway, I'm not going to be separated from Yaxiu ever again! No matter who tries to drive me away, I won't leave!" Diya's hair instantly bristled as she rushed over to pull her off, but Freya clung to Yaxiu like a koala, clenching her teeth and refusing to let go, such that Diya, a dignified demigod, actually couldn't budge a mere legendary. Watching the chaotic commotion, Sonia exchanged glances with the others, all of them experiencing an indescribable mix of feelings. If Annan dared to make such an unreasonable fuss, Sonia and the others would genuinely resort to violence against her; even if Yaxiu protected her, they would have plenty of ways to handle her. But Freya was different. Even if Sonia and the others felt disgruntled, they couldn't bring themselves to be cruel to the Veela. Because they could all tell that Freya truly loved Yaxiu. While all of them were sincere, Freya's love was purer than anyone else's—so fierce, so dazzling, without a speck of impurity, like a warm sun that even Sonia felt she could not compare to. To give the most obvious distinction: even Silver Lantern, who supported Yaxiu having a harem, possessed possessiveness. Everyone other than Sonia could only "accept" rather than "encourage" Yaxiu having a harem. Yet with the Veela, the rule that "love equals possessiveness" seemed completely moot. Freya harbored not the slightest jealousy toward Sonia and the others. She genuinely and wholeheartedly wished for Yaxiu to be with the ones he loved; as long as Yaxiu liked them, she liked them, and as long as Yaxiu was willing, she was willing. Of course, Sonia and the others did not subscribe to Freya's devotion-like love, but deep down they admired her to some degree. In fact, simply because Freya loved Yaxiu unconditionally, they couldn't bring themselves to hurt her. In the end, it was Yaxiu who smoothed things over: "We're vacationing in the Blood Moon for these two months. Could you help plan our itinerary?" "No problem!" Freya was so thrilled that her pupils turned into hearts again, and Yaxiu could almost see her tail wagging. "Can I come along?" "For some of it, sure," Yaxiu said with a smile. "It mostly depends on the itinerary. After all, there are things they're interested in and things I'm interested in. Since it's a vacation, there's no need to stick together as a group the entire time. We'll see when the time comes." "How about vacationing on an uninhabited island?" Freya's eyes shone brightly. "It'd definitely be a lot of fun!" The corner of Yaxiu's mouth twitched. "To be honest, we've already been traveling through uninhabited lands for over two months..." "Besides, they're all demigod sorcerers," Xifulin couldn't help chiming in to remind her. "Even on an isolated deserted island cut off from transportation, they'd have plenty of ways to return to civilization. You're not going to get a situation like *Nagasarete Airantou* where they live on a desert island for over a decade and bear children." "Aw, really? We won't?" Freya looked thoroughly disappointed.