“A Ji, I really, really like you. You’re strong, and you smell really nice too.”
Seeing that Xue Ji in her arms didn’t respond, Sha Ya pressed on with her攻势.
“But those aren’t the main point. In our clan, we admire strength above all. If you’re strong enough, the person you like will return your feelings.”
“But when I saw you, I saw another possibility for the strong. You can be powerful while still keeping that gentle heart.”
“You saved my little brother. You saved Ling Xiaoxiao, as well as Lilith and Eva. More and more people are gathering around you, but I’m still the same as always.”
Sha Ya rolled over, shielding Xue Ji beneath her.
“Sha Ya…” Xue Ji reached out a hand, wanting to touch her face.
But just as her fingers were about to brush Sha Ya’s cheek, Sha Ya caught her hand.
“I’m not strong enough. In your world, I just keep making a mess of things.”
As she spoke, tears started falling from Sha Ya’s eyes.
“That’s not true, Sha Ya.” Xue Ji pulled her into an embrace and let her cry.
“I can’t measure up to Ling Xiaoxiao or Lilith. No matter what it is, I always fall a little short. I can’t accept it.”
“When we fought to take back City A, we were so close! Why did that magic flower just wither on its own? All of you are so strong—how am I supposed to stay by your side? Waaah—”
She broke down in Xue Ji’s arms, no longer hiding her emotions.
This time, it wasn’t about being strong or weak. The very first time she faced Cain, Sha Ya had already felt that gap created by time.
What truly broke her was the despair of watching that gap grow even wider. After watching the recording of their battle against Cain, Sha Ya started doubting whether she even had the right to stand beside them.
And because she had fallen for Xue Ji, that feeling got amplified into a deep sense of inferiority.
“Ever since I was little, I always won. No matter what I competed in, I came out on top. So why—why is it that ever since I fell for you, I haven’t won a single time?”
“Why?!”
Xue Ji didn’t answer. She let Sha Ya cry, waiting until she was tired out and finally calmed down. Then she spoke.
“Sha Ya, you’re really no different from humans now, you know.”
“You’ve learned how to compare yourself to others.”
“Compare?” Sha Ya lifted her head from Xue Ji’s chest and looked at her with red, pitiful eyes.
“It means when someone else has something, you want it too.”
“That’s not what I meant. I just—”
“You just like me?” Xue Ji said it before Sha Ya could.
“If you just like me, then why do you care so much about winning or losing?” Xue Ji cupped Sha Ya’s face and said, “You’ve already done your best. No one can blame you. Besides, without you, I wouldn’t have been able to face my own heart.”
“What does it matter if you win or lose when you compare yourself to the people around me?” Xue Ji said, pinching her cheek lightly.
“If I win, then I can—”
“Hm? Can what?”
Sha Ya was about to say it but quickly changed her mind. Saying to Xue Ji’s face that she wanted to tie her up and take her home as a bride was way too crazy.
“I mean… if I win, then I can confess to you.”
“Then what are you doing right now?”
“Uh… I’m confessing.” As she said that, Sha Ya laughed a little awkwardly.
Seeing her laugh, Xue Ji laughed too.
“Your confession left a deep impression on me. It’s the first time I’ve seen someone confess by crying on top of someone else.” Xue Ji teased her on purpose. “You cried so much your face was all wet. Pretty impressive.”
Hearing that, Sha Ya finally noticed that the entire top half of Xue Ji’s clothes was almost soaked through. The outline of her chest was faintly visible.
“I—I—I… I’m sorry.” Sha Ya’s face turned red, and it got even more awkward when Xue Ji took out a towel to wipe her face.
Xue Ji gently flicked her forehead. “Are you an idiot? Why are you apologizing for something like that?”
“Actually, compared to the others around me, you’re also a kind of special, aren’t you?”
“I’m special too?”
“Compared to them, you’re… specially normal.”
…
In the mountain villa outside City A, Ling Xiaoxiao stared at the floor in front of her, where her phone lay shattered into seven pieces. Her butler, Xia Jin, quietly slipped her own phone into her pocket.
No sooner had she done that than she looked up and saw Ling Xiaoxiao staring at her with a very clear purpose.
“Um… can I watch it on your phone?”
“Am I really that abnormal?”
“Uh… a little. After all, Miss, the story between you and Xue Ji is kind of twisted.”
“Then forget it. I’ll try to be a bit more normal.” Ling Xiaoxiao looked at the poor, innocent phone on the floor and suddenly thought—if she really had Xue Ji completely under her control, would Xue Ji end up like this phone too?
“Never mind.” Ling Xiaoxiao chose to let go for now.
Xia Jin stood nearby with a stiff expression, thinking to herself: Letting someone else poach your crush doesn’t feel very normal either… but honestly, when it comes to Xue Ji, I’m not surprised at all that someone would try.
Maybe Xue Ji isn’t that normal either. A cold sweat dripped down Xia Jin’s forehead.
…
“Being normal is also a kind of special?” Sha Ya was a little confused.
Xue Ji let out a long sigh. She felt that after the Wolf King had taken human form, the fact that she was actually the most normal person around her was a truly sad reality.
“You don’t have Ling Xiaoxiao’s extreme love and hate. You’re not unable to speak. You don’t have restrictions tying you to me.”
“Compared to them, you’re way too normal.”
Sha Ya thought about it, and it was true. Out of all these heavy hitters, her own situation was already the most normal one.
“Back then, you told me to go bring Ling Xiaoxiao back. You didn’t want to see me lose myself.”
Talking about that made Sha Ya a little embarrassed. After all, she had knocked Xue Ji into the water again. Was that the only way their relationship ever progressed?
Xue Ji had no idea what Sha Ya was imagining. She continued, “You’re like a lighthouse. You helped me find my way again.”
“Since the day we met, I’ve kept every moment of your companionship in my heart.”
“Your persistence in the black thunder. Your warnings in the crimson thorns. And all the little moments of everyday life. Even your confession under this starry sky—they’ve all left an unforgettable mark on me.”
“If it’s possible… please stay by my side.”
Xue Ji turned around, her back to the countless stars, and looked back at Sha Ya.
The romantic atmosphere even made Eva—who was nearby, carrying a camera and broadcasting live from within the high-speed world—lose focus for a moment.
But Eva still didn’t say a word, even though she felt like Xue Ji’s earlier comment had kind of offended her.
In that moment, only Xia Jin, watching from afar, saw all of this unfold alone.
Standing next to Ling Xiaoxiao, she broke into an amused, doting smile.
“Hold her, hold her already!”
“Yes, exactly like that! Just go for it—kiss her! She won’t be able to handle it!”
Xia Jin was so into watching that she completely forgot Ling Xiaoxiao was right there.
The next second, her phone lay on the floor, chopped into eighty-one pieces.
“I’ll cover it.”
With that, Ling Xiaoxiao walked into the basement training room.
Xia Jin could feel the entire villa trembling.
She was already drenched in a cold sweat.
