"Pfft."
Hearing Clara's loud declaration, Firefly couldn't hold back and laughed out loud on the spot.
"Wha…what's so funny…? Everything I said…is…"
"The truth…"
Seeing Firefly burst into laughter, Clara tried to argue back, but her protesting voice grew smaller and smaller.
By the time she mumbled the word "truth," it was basically inaudible.
But who was Firefly, anyway? Clearly not your average person. So, she caught every single word of Clara's feeble rebuttal.
Firefly reached out and gently pulled Clara into a hug, resting her head on Clara's shoulder as she spoke softly,
"Mhm, I know."
"Clara~ I feel the same way."
"Everything I say is also the truth."
"I like you, I super-duper like you, I'll like you forever and ever and ever, I'll always like you…"
"Mmm…"
Feeling the impact of Firefly's critical hit, Clara's heart trembled. A warm feeling instantly flooded her entire body.
"Yeah…"
Clara wrapped her arms around Firefly, gave a soft hum in response, and said no more.
…
"So, Clara, what was it that made you so angry last night, anyway?"
At the bathroom sink, Firefly and Clara were brushing their teeth together. Remembering Clara's inexplicable flare-up from the previous night, Firefly asked her curiously.
"Uh… well… um…"
Hearing this, Clara gripped her toothbrush tighter, her arm pausing mid-brush. Her face flushed slightly, and she stammered, unable to spit out the reason.
"Alrighty then╮(╯-╰)╭. Since you don't wanna say, Clara, we'll just drop it." Taking in Clara's expression, the incredibly understanding, super-duper cute beauty Firefly naturally wouldn't press her further.
"I thought… thought you saw me as… as…" Clara took a mouthful of water, rinsed out all the foam, and spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.
"As what?" Firefly stopped brushing, looking at Clara with curious eyes.
What could it be that made Clara so angry? I'm really curious!
"A… a… friend with benefits…"
Clara's face turned red enough to drip blood as she stammered out the two words.
"friend with benefits?" Hearing this, Firefly scratched her head in confusion, puzzled.
"What does that mean?"
"Y-you… look it up on your phone…" Clara didn't want to answer that question. She turned her head away and focused on brushing her teeth.
Taking the hint, Firefly didn't ask further. She opened her phone and searched for this unfamiliar term.
"'Having a direct physical relationship, but the parties are not in a romantic relationship.'"
"'Engaging physically with each other solely to satisfy physical needs.'"
Firefly: …
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA."
Staring at the search results on her phone, Firefly fell silent for a moment, then snorted before bursting into laughter.
"What's so funny?!" Hearing Firefly laugh, Clara's already flushed face turned an even deeper red. She shot an angry glare at Firefly, then pretended not to care and kept brushing.
"I just never imagined you'd see me that way, Clara." The mirth hadn't faded from Firefly's voice as she set down her toothbrush and reached out to ruffle Clara's hair.
"Hmph!" Clara gave a light snort, ignoring Firefly, but she didn't stop the hand mussing her hair.
Watching Clara's act, Firefly didn't mind. She smiled and said,
"Clara, don't worry. I didn't fall for you because I'm into your body."
'I'm into your body because I fell for you~'
"I like your soul, your every move, your every word. I like your whole being…"
"Shut up… just brush your teeth…"
Hearing Firefly's words, warmth spread through Clara's heart, though on the surface she still pretended complete indifference.
"Okay~"
…
"Huh? How… how is everyone here…"
After finishing their morning routine, Clara and Firefly walked into the living room to find Silver Wolf, Kafka, Blade, and even Elios sitting there quietly, as if waiting for them.
Seeing everyone, Clara recalled her super-loud confession from earlier, and her little face couldn't help but flush.
'They couldn't have all heard that just now, right…'
Clara thought to herself, observing everyone's expressions. Not noticing anything out of place, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.
'Ugh… it was like I was possessed back then… how could I have said something like that?╥﹏╥...'
Regret washed over Clara. If she could turn back time, she definitely wouldn't have shouted so loudly…
Silver Wolf: …
'Probably… didn't notice…'
Silver Wolf glanced at Clara's expression and also felt a slight sense of relief internally.
'Looking like this, she probably didn't realize…'
Even though this time it wasn't on purpose—it was an accident, really.
But with Clara's personality, anyone who knows would probably have to be silenced, right…?
So, just to be safe, what she heard this morning absolutely must not reach Clara or Firefly's ears…
For the sake of her own hide, Silver Wolf decided to bury this secret in her heart forever.
'But speaking of which, who would've thought Clara's the bottom?'
'Then again, thinking about it, with Clara's build, there's no way she could be a match for Firefly.'
'Tsk tsk tsk, this Clara, she's really something else~'
Recalling the conversation she overheard while drinking water this morning, Silver Wolf had the whole dynamic between the two figured out in her head.
"…"
Just as Silver Wolf was delightfully pondering Clara and Firefly's relationship, Clara's gaze remained fixed on her.
'Silver Wolf… she couldn't have heard everything, right…?' Taking in Silver Wolf's demeanor, Clara thought just that.
'Whatever, whether she saw or not, only a dead person… can keep a secret forever…'
'Better to be safe than sorry…'
Silver Wolf: !
A sudden chill ran down Silver Wolf's spine, as if she were being watched by some ancient beast of prey, feeling her life was about to be cut short…
Silver Wolf stole a glance at Clara, saw her flash a sweet smile in her direction, and instantly understood the meaning of life.
Welp, I'm done for.
"Ahem." Seeing everyone had gathered, Elios tapped the table.
"All eyes on me, everyone. I have an announcement."
Feeling everyone's focus shift to him, Elios slowly began,
"Next up is the matter concerning the Xianzhou Luofu."
"The Xianzhou Luofu…" Muttering the name, Clara felt a twinge.
'Did I forget something…?'
…
At the same time, on the Xianzhou Luofu. A man and a woman stood facing each other in silence for a while.
Then, the woman slowly spoke,
"What do we do now? The Stellaron isn't in our hands. We can't proceed to the next step at all."
"…"
"Two options."
"First, wait for her. As an Emanator, I don't believe she would deceive us over a single Stellaron, nor would she stoop to it."
"If we keep waiting, she will deliver the Stellaron to the Luofu."
"And the second option?" the woman asked.
"Second, we skip all the intermediate steps and go directly to seek out General Jing Yuan." The man chuckled lightly as he stated the second method.
"…"
"Forget it. Let's just keep waiting."
…
T/N: Still upset about the Stellaron ᗜ ‸ ᗜ
…
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