SWNOVELXO Chapter 123 - Did you sleep together?
Watching Bai Yu walk up to them hand in hand with YouYu, WuYue and Liu Meng were momentarily stunned, unsure of what expression they should wear.
But after a brief daze, they quickly composed themselves, returning to their usual expressions—except for WuYue, who lowered her head, her emotions visibly conflicted.
After all, the moment she saw Bai Yu holding hands with YouYu, a certain image from last night resurfaced in her mind.
That photo…
It was of YouYu lying on a bed. He looked… well, really good. Very… No, wait! That wasn’t the point! The important part was the background of that photo.
In the past, whenever she and Bai Yu called each other to exchange information about YouYu’s whereabouts, they mostly relied on voice calls, only occasionally switching to video.
And whenever they did video call, Bai Yu would usually be in her own room. Because of that, WuYue had a fairly good impression of its layout.
So… the bed YouYu was sleeping on in that photo—it was Bai Yu’s bed. The blanket, the mattress… everything about it was too similar to hers.
At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it, simply assuming Bai Yu had let YouYu sleep in her bed to take better care of him.
But…
If that were the case, then why were they holding hands now?
And also…
“……”
Lost in thought, WuYue slowly lifted her gaze, looking at Bai Yu and YouYu, who were now seated across from them.
Staring at their still tightly interlocked hands, WuYue’s expression blanked for a moment before she subconsciously asked:
“Why… are you two still holding hands so tightly?”
“……”
Bai Yu, who had just been about to speak, instantly fell silent, as if completely thrown off by the question.
Meanwhile, Liu Meng, who had barely been managing a strained smile, also found herself unable to hold it together, the corners of her mouth twitching.
Sensing that things were going south, YouYu quickly withdrew his hand from Bai Yu’s grip, sighed, and looked at her.
“Alright, alright… just hurry up and explain already, Bai Yu.”
“If we let this misunderstanding drag on any longer, it’ll only get worse.”
“…Ah! Right, okay!”
Snapping out of it, Bai Yu coughed a few times to collect herself, then returned to a more serious expression as she spoke.
“WuYue, Liu Meng, you should have seen the messages I sent you before coming here, right?”
“…Yeah, we saw them.”
With Bai Yu finally letting go of YouYu’s hand, Liu Meng, though still visibly conflicted, let out a small sigh.
“You had something to tell us… about YouYu, right?”
“Mhm!”
Nodding, Bai Yu skipped any unnecessary buildup and got straight to the point—the reason she had brought YouYu here today.
“WuYue, Liu Meng, I saw everything that happened between you and YouYu yesterday.”
“At the time, YouYu wanted to stop your conflict, so he tried to resolve things through a ‘choice’…”
“But the truth is, he never wanted to choose between the two of you. It would have been too painful for him… because no matter what, it meant hurting one of you.”
“In short… what I’m trying to say is—”
After a brief pause, Bai Yu continued:
“For now, let YouYu come with me.”
“At least this way… there won’t be any more disputes between you two.”
“And YouYu won’t have to suffer through that kind of pain again.”
After finishing, Bai Yu took a sip of water, her gaze shifting between the now-silent Liu Meng and WuYue, who seemed to be deep in thought.
Then, as if sealing the statement, she reached out and once again took YouYu’s hand, waiting for their response.
Of course, she had already prepared herself for rejection.
She had even steeled herself for the possibility of having to make a “sacrifice.”
But before it came to that… she still had the chance to talk things through with them.
If they agreed, then good—it would keep things from escalating further.
And if they didn’t…
Just as she had said before, for YouYu’s sake, she would do whatever it took.
So even if they refused… she wouldn’t let them take YouYu from her.
“……”
“Bai Yu… even if you put it that way,” Liu Meng muttered, her gaze falling on Bai Yu’s hand still clutching YouYu’s.
“What you’re doing right now… feels a bit strange too.”
“……”
“…Forget it.”
“…If this is really what YouYu wants.”
Looking at YouYu beside Bai Yu—who hadn’t voiced any objections—Liu Meng let out a deep sigh.
“Then… I’ll leave him to you.”
After all, given the situation, whether it was her, Bai Yu, or WuYue, their attitude toward YouYu was essentially the same.
The only difference was… whether or not they made him feel “pain.”
Looking back at what happened yesterday… part of it had been her fault. If she hadn’t gotten so caught up in the argument, forcing YouYu to make that choice, he probably wouldn’t have suffered so much.
So now… if she had the chance to make up for it—
Then letting Bai Yu take YouYu didn’t seem like a problem.
Besides, at the end of the day, Bai Yu had been the one who “saved” YouYu yesterday.
So leaving him in her care…
Might just be the best option.
At least it wouldn’t force him to make another “choice.”
“……”
“Alright.”
Hearing Liu Meng’s response, Bai Yu was briefly taken aback, but quickly composed herself and nodded.
Then, shifting her gaze to WuYue, she asked:
“And you, WuYue?”
“……”
“…Bai Yu.”
The moment the conversation turned to her, WuYue’s voice suddenly took on a darker tone.
Then, without warning, she stood up, took out her phone, and pulled up the photo—the photo Bai Yu had sent her.
Holding it up, she spoke:
“Before I answer your question… I have something to ask you first.”
“YouYu, in this photo… he’s sleeping on your bed, isn’t he?”
“……”
“…That’s right.”
Bai Yu hesitated for a moment, then gave a direct answer.
“……”
“…Wait, what?”
“Alright.”
After getting the confirmation she needed, WuYue completely ignored Liu Meng’s now panicked expression, nodded, and walked up to YouYu.
Then, after a quick scan—her gaze locked onto a small strand of blue hair clinging to YouYu’s sleeve.
And that strand… held a faint trace of mana.
“……”
From past experiences, WuYue had learned that a fallen strand of a magical girl’s hair would retain a detectable mana fluctuation for around 24 hours before gradually dissipating.
Judging from the current mana wave…
It had already been over ten hours—just barely traceable now.
It definitely hadn’t fallen recently.
Which meant…
“……”
Turning her gaze to Bai Yu, WuYue’s tone was eerily calm.
“…Bai Yu.”
“You and YouYu…”
“…Did you sleep together?”