Chapter 124: Please…

Ru Yi blinked severally, unable to believe the words she was hearing. "You want me to get down and beg?"

"What do you think?"

Ru Yi gulped.

There was something about Yexue acting like a brat that turned her on even more. She could worry about the consequences later but right now she needed Yexue inside of her.

So, Ru Yi pushed herself up to her knees and turned around. Her hands pressed into the ground as she struggled to steady her breathing in anticipation for what was to come.

There was something raw in the way she lowered herself in front of Yexue. Her head hung low, hair falling forward to hide the red flush of her face.

Then she tilted her head to the side, looking at Yexue from over her shoulder. "Pleas—"

The word was barely out of her mouth when she felt Yexue’s fingers thrust deep into her. She threw her head back as a gasp tore through her lips.

"So obedient," Yexue muttered and she pumped her fingers in and out with an intensity that shook the both of them.

Her eyes were glued to the slim curve of Ru Yi waist as she arched further into her. Watching the release and clench of Ru Yi’s walls around her fingers.

It was the most magnificent sight she’d ever been blessed with.

"Holy heavens," she rasped when she added the third finger and Ru Yi’s cry tore through the tent.

She didn’t care if anyone outside heard them...the heavy breathing, the saliva dripping slowly down Ru Yi’s chin as Yexue pushed into her with reckless abandon.

"How does it feel?" Yexue asked as she moved faster, her other hand holding Ru Yi’s waist in a bruising grip.

"Ghsitrskys ogde dwnzoihwfy." Only incoherent words spilled out of Ru Yi’s mouth as she cried out.

Yexue grabbed Ru Yi’s hair which forced Yexue’s fingers deeper into her.

"Answer me when I ask you a question, Ru Yi," Yexue said in a rush. "How does it feel?"

"Good!" Ru Yi moaned, pushing back against every thrust. "You make me feel so good."

That finally brought a smile to Yexue’s face. She quickened her pace, pleased with the squishy sound that her fingers made.

"I want you to need me, Ru Yi," she muttered, not caring that her companion could probably not hear her.

Yexue didn’t even realize a tear had slipped down her face. "I only feel loved when I’m needed..."

Ru Yi’s final cry as she hit her climax drowned out the words. Her entire body shook, her body falling to the ground in a heap of exhaustion.

But...Yexue kept going, hitting her soft walls as she milked every moan that Ru Yi could readily give her.

"Ru Yi..." she said as she pushed her fingers in for the final time. "I think I’m in love with you," she finished in a whisper that didn’t reach Ru Yi’s ears.

Instead of cleaning Ru Yi up with a towel, she bent down and kissed away every evidence of what they’d done.

Then she laid down beside Ru Yi and pulled her onto her chest. She pulled a thin blanket loosely over them.

Ru Yi’s breathing was slow and steady but she wasn’t asleep. Her fingers curled into the fabric of Yexue’s robes like she didn’t want to let go.

Yexue’s gaze traced the faint outline of Ru Yi’s form in the dim light, watching the rise and fall of her shoulders. She grounded herself in the simple fact that she was here—safe and within reach.

"When we get to Emberfall," Yexue said quietly, her voice low enough that it barely disturbed the silence around them. "We’ll buy a ring."

Ru Yi’s fingers twitched but she didn’t move. "A ring?"

Yexue nodded. "We’ll say we’re married for the rest of the journey," she continued, her voice practical. "Men are less likely to interfere if they think you belong to someone."

Her jaw tightened at the last word, but she did not take it back.

Ru Yi raised her head slightly to look at Yexue. She took in her words and the intention behind them. Protective. Certain.

Possessive in a way that didn’t feel suffocating, but safe.

Yexue exhaled quietly when Ru Yi didn’t say anything. "It’s not a big change. We already belong to each other."

Ru Yi felt something shift in her chest, something warm threading through the remnants of everything that had hurt earlier. Not totally erasing it...but softening the edges.

"Alright," she finally answered.

"Are you sure?" Yexue asked quietly. "I don’t want to force you to do something you’re not comfortable with."

"Yexue..."

"I’m just saying."

Ru Yi pushed herself with her elbow. "Yexue..." She made the other woman look at her. "I like that you’re trying to protect me."

"But—"

"I like the way you make me feel."

"But—"

Ru Yi sighed in frustration. "There’s no ’But’. I like you, and I like the idea of acting like I’m married to you even more."

Yexue’s nose scrunched up in doubt. "You do?"

Ru Yi shook her head before leaning in to kiss Yexue on the lips. "I might not have said it to your face, but I like you."

She put her palm on the side of Yexue’s face, eyes searching hers. "I think I’ve liked you for a really long time but I just didn’t realize it."

The tear that slipped out of Yexue’s eyes didn’t go unnoticed this time. "What do I have to do for you to keep liking me?" she asked in a tone that almost broke Ru Yi’s heart.

She kissed Yexue again. "Nothing. You just have to be you."

Yexue didn’t seem satisfied with the answer but she hugged Ru Yi close and kissed the top of her hair.

Ru Yi let out a soft sigh that showed content. Her thoughts drifted somewhere deeper than the pain that had defined the earlier hours.

Bad things might happen. She knew that now more than ever.

The world didn’t soften just because you wished it to. It didn’t protect you simply because you deserved it.

But—

If you held on long enough...If you endured even when it felt impossible... The world would reward you with a bit of kindness.