NOVEL NEXT Chapter 74 - Try locking YouYu up?
“…Still alive?”
WuYue didn’t react with joy upon hearing Bai Yu’s words. Instead, she froze in momentary shock, then frowned.
“That’s impossible. If YouYu is still alive, then where is he now? If he’s alive, he should be here, right here—”
“Listen to me first, WuYue.”
Cutting her off, Bai Yu sighed deeply and looked at her seriously.
“When I arrived at the battlefield, I saw Ouja. He was standing there, and I saw you collapsed on the ground… along with YouYu.”
“After I got there, I fought him. But I lost.”
“After defeating me, he told me everything. He said you watched YouYu turn into a Negative beast, and when you couldn’t save him, you were forced to attack him. To kill him.”
“I didn’t believe him. So, I checked YouYu’s condition myself. He still had some faint signs of life—barely holding on, but not completely gone.”
“Yes, he was on the brink of death. But he wasn’t entirely dead.”
“Still… his body carried the aura of a Negative beast.”
“Maybe Ouja knew this too. That’s why, after telling me all this, he took YouYu away.”
“He plans to use YouYu to threaten us, to force us into fighting him.”
“…I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop him.”
“…”
“If you don’t believe me, look at this.”
As she spoke, Bai Yu reached for a small red flower on the cabinet nearby. She held it out to WuYue.
“This fell from YouYu when Ouja was carrying him away. If I’m not mistaken, it was a gift YouYu prepared for you, WuYue.”
“After all, you’ve always loved flowers. I’ve often seen you near the school’s flowerbeds.”
“…”
WuYue’s eyes widened in shock and a flicker of excitement as she stared at the flower Bai Yu held. But she quickly calmed herself, taking the flower and examining it closely.
“…It’s YouYu’s scent.”
After a long moment, she let out a deep sigh, gently placing the flower on the edge of the bed. Her gaze lingered on it, her thoughts far away.
Then, turning to Bai Yu, her expression shifted from sorrow to determination.
“Bai Yu, if what you’re saying is true, then we need to act quickly. We need to come up with a plan… a way to defeat Ouja!”
Whether YouYu was truly alive or if Bai Yu’s information was accurate didn’t matter to WuYue right now.
The only thing that mattered was the possibility that YouYu might still be alive.
Even if it was just a slim chance—just a glimmer of hope—
That was enough. Enough to make her fight.
No matter the cost!
“Alright! There’s no time to waste! Let’s go—”
“Wait! WuYue!”
“What is it, Bai Yu?”
As WuYue started to get out of bed, ready to leap into action, Bai Yu stopped her. Taking a deep breath, she hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“There’s… something I need to tell you, WuYue. If I don’t say it now, I might never be able to let it go.”
“What is it, Bai Yu?”
“…Do you have something on your mind?”
Seeing Bai Yu’s somber expression, WuYue paused, realizing this wasn’t something trivial. She sat back on the bed, waiting patiently for Bai Yu to speak.
After a while, Bai Yu looked at WuYue with an apologetic expression and spoke sincerely.
“WuYue, I want to offer you a heartfelt… apology.”
“An apology? To me? Why? Bai Yu, you’ve never done anything wrong to us, except for that one time you borrowed money and didn’t pay it back right away.”
“…That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about something that happened not too long ago.”
Bai Yu shook her head slightly as she continued.
“It’s about when I first started training with you and YouYu. Back then, I wasn’t very good at communicating with you two. Most of the time, it was you or YouYu who reached out to me, trying to talk and include me.”
“At first, I was a bit resistant. I wasn’t used to being around you two. But as time went on, spending more time with you both… I started to feel differently.”
“I really enjoyed talking with you two. It felt relaxing, especially when I heard you and YouYu saying good things about each other or talking about each other’s lives. I couldn’t help but feel happy for you both… and a little envious.”
“…”
Bai Yu paused for a moment before continuing.
“During that time, the person who talked to me the most was YouYu.”
“He often came to ask about how you were doing, or if there was anything you’d seen that you liked, something he could buy for you. Every time he mentioned these things, I felt genuinely happy. He cared about you so much.”
“But… during all those conversations, I failed to notice your feelings, WuYue.”
“Even though I knew—”
“Alright, alright! That’s enough, Bai Yu!”
Before Bai Yu could finish, WuYue waved her hand to cut her off, a faint smile on her face.
“I know what you’re trying to say already! You want to apologize for not noticing me, which you think led to this situation, right? I’ve heard similar apologies before. In fact, I’ve apologized to YouYu like this a few times myself!”
“But you know what? To quote something he said to me once: ‘No one is entirely wrong. Or rather, everyone has their own share of blame!'”
“In the end, the argument I had with YouYu probably happened because I got a little jealous, didn’t it? My own narrow-mindedness was at fault.”
“And as for you… no matter what you did back then, it was your choice. Besides, you only acted the way you did to share updates about me with YouYu, which made him happy, didn’t it?”
“So really, it’s me who misunderstood! You didn’t do anything wrong!”
“…No.”
Bai Yu shook her head, rejecting WuYue’s reasoning.
“Whether it was directly or indirectly, my actions affected you both.”
“This was a mistake that could’ve been avoided, but I didn’t do enough to prevent it.”
“So—”
Lowering her head, Bai Yu took a deep breath, then looked up at WuYue with resolve.
“At the very least, let me take some kind of punishment. Or give me something I can do for you.”
“…That way, at least I can find some peace of mind.”
“…”
“Seeking peace of mind, huh.”
WuYue looked at Bai Yu thoughtfully, then, after a moment of contemplation, spoke in a tone that was half-serious, half-teasing.
“Then… if, and I mean if, we manage to save YouYu, how about we try locking him up?”
“…Locking him up?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
WuYue nodded and glanced at the flower on the bedside table, letting out a soft sigh.
“To be honest, after the argument we had, I stopped having such thoughts.”
“But… now that both Night Demon and Ouja are targeting him…”
“…”
“Maybe, if we really want to keep YouYu safe, we’ll have to keep him at home, locked up where nothing can happen to him—”
“…”
“Is that so?”
Missing the teasing undertone in WuYue’s voice, Bai Yu rested her chin on her hand, seriously considering the idea.
Maybe if they really managed to bring YouYu back this time—
Maybe they should try doing so…