226 A Silent Nigh

Yuanen Yehui remained silent for a while. She knew Sheng Feilong was only worried about her, but she couldn't find the right words for a long time. After a while, she thought the matter through, then took a deep breath. "I never joined Daedalus only to find Tang Wulin."

"When I was still at Shrek Academy, I always thought of my Fallen Angel Spirit Essence as bad. I was always apprehensive of training it because I knew what would happen if it got too strong. The Elders of Shrek Academy always kept their eyes on me and whenever someone found out about it, they would be shocked at least; Yue Zhengyu, someone from the same class as me, even wanted to kill me the moment he saw my Spirit Essence..." She spoke in a quiet, but calm voice.

Sheng Feilong's gaze was fixed on her, while Yuanen Yehui continued. "You and Madam She... you were the first ones to really want to help me. Even when it came to my fourth Soul Skill, the Gates of Hell, Elder Cai and others only ever thought of how to suppress it, never to help me control it. When you used the Netherworld Putrefaction Demon to suppress the demon into following my commands, I was so happy that I couldn't put it into words..."

Her voice lost the calm from before, getting more emotional, though Yuanen Yehui never stopped staring at Sheng Feilong. "For the first time in my life, I thought that, maybe, someone could really help me – That I wouldn't have to live as a cripple for the rest of my life if I ever reached the Titled Douluo. I could finally cultivate without fear."

After saying all of that, she paused for a moment. Sheng Feilong remained silent, waiting for her to continue, still not sure if he did the right thing. "...Tang Wulin and the others... the never really felt like 'friends' to me. It was like Tang Wulin was everything that held us together as a group. Zhengyu and I followed him because of his strength and because he was the one that was forging the metals for out Battle Armour."

By this point, Yuanen Yehui frowned slightly. "Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan were similar; They had met Tang Wulin when they represented Shrek a few years ago when they were children. Xu Lizhi and Tang Wulin really were friends, but Ye Xinglan was only interested in his strength. I don't know what happened between Xu Xiaoyan, Xie Xie, Gu Yue and Tang Wulin; They were already a group when they came to Shrek and those three always followed behind him without any doubt, often to the point that it felt simply surreal; If it was something Tang Wulin said, then it was undeniable."

"It became even worse the better I got to know them; All of them seemed to have all kinds of secrets that they never talked about. I know I'm one to talk when it comes to that, but still, it struck me as odd. Even Tang Wulin didn't seem to know everything, much less care about it. After Tang Wulin got injured by Long Yue, all of us lost our... purpose. We simply stopped to function as a team. If it wasn't for you taking the lead and Gu Yue wanting revenge so badly... I think we would've really just thrown the towel." She felt bad about saying all this, especially as she didn't do anything to stop all that from happening.

Sighing lightly, Yuanen Yehui became more emotional once again. "After he vanished in the Dragon Valley, everything simply broke down; Elder Cai didn't care, Teacher Wu couldn't do anything and us students were left alone to deal with it. But we couldn't do anything as well; We had no idea what to do and could only wait, getting more and more anxious the whole time. Then, Elder Cai announced that we'd return to the Douluo Continent without waiting for Tang Wulin any longer. I... I simply didn't know what to do anymore, then, you and Madam She came... and you resolved everything to the best of your abilities."

"Shrek Academy left the continent soon after, but you took me in. I could cultivate however I liked, I knew Daedalus was looking for Tang Wulin as best as they could and.... and you were... always there for me... If anything was wrong I could simply rely on you..." Yuanen Yehui spoke without any restraint, though noticing what she was saying, her voice got more and more quiet and she started blushing with her head hanging low. "I- hyah?!"

Before she could continue to speak, Sheng Feilong suddenly hugged her tightly, his head buried in her shoulder. Yuanen Yehui instantly turned bright red, trying to squirmish away, but was powerless against Sheng Feilong's strength. "F-Feilong, stop this, I-"

"Yehui. Thank you. For everything; For trusting me like that, for saying everything you did." Sheng Feilong spoke in a low voice, his head still buried in her shoulder. Yuanen Yehui was more than flustered by this point and tried to somehow wrestle his arms away. "I-I get it. Come on, let, let go of me already-"

"I love you." Three simple words, yet Yuanen Yehui froze as if the whole world simply stopped. Her hands stopped moving, unable to wrestle Sheng Feilong's arms away, while her flustered expression froze on her face, and she just stared at the back of Sheng Feilong's head, still buried in her shoulder. For a good ten seconds, she couldn't move, nor say anything, before finally being able to squeeze out a tone. "I, wha..."

Sheng Feilong didn't move and continued to hug her tightly, not raising his head from her shoulder. If Yuanen Yehui could see his current face, she would probably start laughing loudly; Sheng Feilong's face was actually more red than her own – He was even more embarrassed than her, yet kept his voice straight. "I said I love you. I'll say it as many times as you want."

Yuanen Yehui starting shaking slightly, her heart racing. She didn't know what to do and stopped struggling. She buried her head in Sheng Feilong's shoulder, just as he did, and put her hands around his waist, lightly hugging him. "You're such a bully..."

Sheng Feilong started giggling like an idiot. He had staked everything on this moment, confessing his feelings for the first time. The two of them had together for a long time by now, but he had never openly stated his feelings for her like this before.

Embracing each other in a hug, they continued to stand in the hallway in silence for a long time, before Sheng Feilong retreated half a step. His face had returned to normal, the red flush gone, and pulled Yuanen Yehui with him into his room, closing the door behind them.

Yuanen Yehui took a moment before realizing what he had just done, then blushed even more furiously than before. Without even waiting for her to say anything, Sheng Feilong pulled her towards the bed and forced her to lay besides him. Yuanen Yehui's whole body shook, her voice incredibly faint, but filled with dread. "Feilong, th-this is- I-"

Before she could say anything, Sheng Feilong hugged her again, pulling her head against his chest. His heartbeat was completely calm and a huge smile was plastered all over his face. Her held Yuanen Yehui in his embrace, tight, but not strong enough to force her to stay if she wished to leave, before whispering lightly into her ear. "Don't worry. I'd never do anything you don't want. I just want you to stay with me. Please?"

Yuanen Yehui's heart beat didn't calm down in the slightest, but the dread in her mind vanished like a lie. She buried her head in his chest again, grabbing the sides of his clothes while speaking in a shy voice. "You're really a bully... you're taking advantage of me; So shameless..."

"Then I'll be shameless..." Sheng Feilong said, the smile on his face widening as he closed his eyes, still holding Yuanen Yehui in in his embrace.

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At another place, She Meixiao was giggling constantly, a mischievous smile on her face, while Song Weihan next to her sighed, keeping a straight face. After a moment, She Meixiao retracted her spiritual senses, turning to Song Weihan with a smile "Who would've thought that those two would be so brazen..."

The latter sighed again, a slightly annoyed expression in his eyes. "They're both of age, so whatever happens happens, but I can't believe they'd be that unaware of their surroundings... Both of them should know that we're watching over everything happening inside the base."

"You say that, yet you still sealed up his room..." She Meixiao spoke, tilting her head at Song Weihan with an interested expression. The latter still kept a straight face, making it impossible to read his mood. "Would you rather have half the base know what's going on?"

Giggling some more, She Meixiao quickly waved her hand, the smile on her face growing wider and wider. "No, no of course not! Brother Song, you're always so thoughtful when it comes to little Feilong..." Song Weihan waved her off with one hand. "Stop it with that voice. You're giving me the creeps."

She Meixiao only giggled some more, while Song Weihan looked at her with suspicion. "...Don't tease the two of them too much tomorrow." She Meixiao looked shocked for a moment, a indignant expression on her face in the next. "Brother Song, please, how could you say something like that... I would never even think of that!"

Massaging the bridge of his nose, Song Weihan only sighed one more, his eyes closed as he thought about Yuanen Yehui and Sheng Feilong in slight pity.