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“Welcome everyone!” Guigui waved twin peace signs at the camera as she bounced back, a wide smile across her face. That same smile was shared by Sushang while Stelle had a more chill one and Huohuo looked ready to pass out. This was her first time on one of these subscriber specials after all and she was kind of having a hard time processing that a couple hundred THOUSAND people were looking at her right now. She didn’t handle a dozen well!
Luckily, she’d been told that she could leave it to Guinaifen as the entertainer said, “We are so happy to be back to give you all this one million subscriber special! You cannot understand how much this means to all of us. I mean, most people are lucky to meet a million people in their lifetime, let alone keep them entertained. At least, I hope you all agree that we have been!”
Sushang nodded before holding her fists up and saying, “And if any of you haters are here, you better remember that a Cloud Knight is here and I have an actual sword unlike the mods!” Stelle backed up the threat by summoning her baseball and giving it a spin, even though what she normally said when she did that went against the sentiment. The two looking tough got a lot of love from the crowd though, especially while Huohuo tried to get them to calm down.
Guinaifen took a sip of her milk tea and smiled happily as she watched Stelle and Sushang start pretending to box as they got a bit caught up in trying to show off for the crowd. Her eyes couldn’t help but make extra sure to watch Sushang’s arms. The muscles in them as the flexed. As they made it clear just how tightly she could squeeze her. That was without getting into Sushang’s thighs of course and very quickly Guinaifen found herself out of milk tea. That… That seemed like a good sign to move things along. “Alright! I think we should move onto the questions. We listed them by how many times they were asked. We got some help from someone Stelle knows for calculating them and helping deal with ones that were similar so I think she has the list?”
Stelle raised her phone up, even as her other arm was locked behind her back by Sushang. She didn’t seem to care too much about that though as she said, “Question one: What are your sizes? Well, mine are-”
Huohuo screeched hearing the question and that was all chat could hear for a solid minute as they had to calm the poor girl down and make it clear it was a joke. Stelle did not seem to see the problem but when told to move on, she did as she was told. “Okay, next is what Huohuo does?”
Guigui nodded at that. It made sense since they couldn’t say what she actually did but she’d been caught with them too many times not to be figured out as part of the group. Huohuo looked pale as a sheet but luckily, there was nothing to fear! “She’s our administrator! You think everywhere I go is available to the public? Heck no. Buuuut with the help of a lot of paperwork and some pulled strings, we can get where most can’t and that’s our little bestie’s job!”
Huohuo let out a sigh of relief. It was close enough to the truth that none of them had to be accused of fraud but not so close that Hanya wasn’t about to have to have a chat with them. Sushang plucked the phone from Stelle’s hand as she said, “The next one just says ‘Step on me’. That’s… Not question?”
“Yeah,” Guinaifen said as she put a hand on her hip and gave Sushang a wink, “I can absolutely bet it’s for you.”
Sushang turned red, though like so often she couldn’t quite say why. She just knew something taboo was being talked about, which really lowered the amount of dom energy she could have. Thus was part of the myriad of problems that her sheltered upbringing on the Yaoqing brought her. She tried not to look like a complete fool though as she said, “Oh, like could I crush a paver with my foot? I bet Stelle could do it too.”
Stelle shook her head as she smiled and looked down at her bat. “No, when March and I play games like that, I prefer to give a new meaning to horny bonking.”
Sushang frowned more at that before saying, “Isn’t that what we do to people breaking rule six?”
“Yeah, it’s what I do to bad girls.”
“Miss Guinaifen, what is she-”
“NEXT QUESTION!” Guinaifen grabbed the phone and read the first thing on it, not ready to ruin Huohuo’s innocence yet as she quickly spat out, “How long have you and Sushang been… dating…”
There was silence from Guinaifen and Sushang but Huohuo tapped her chin. She then squeezed her hands tight to help her muster her courage… And then whispered something into her tail. Tail in turn came out and said, “Yeah, I bet they lost track too. They’ve been dating for as long as we’ve known them though.”
Both of the accused jumped at that while chat celebrated the confirmation. Sushang grit her teeth and looked at Guinaifen. Guinaifen looked away before sighing and stepped forward. “We’re not dating. Next questio-”
“WHAT!?” Huohuo stepped closer before saying, “But you two have sleepovers all the time! And I’ve seen your pajamas! Those are not friend pajamas!”
Stelle shoved her fist into her mouth before she started laughing. Sushang meanwhile shouted, “YOU SAID THOSE WERE WHEN YOU GAVE THEM TO ME!”
Why? Why was this happening? She had one question to dodge today and she just had to go ahead and say it. There was what she told Sushang but, well, she knew which lies wouldn’t work on everyone. Then again, Stelle was a space cadet and Huohuo was a shut in. Maybe, just maybe, this would work. “Look, I’m just not into women.”
Sushang visibly flinched at the statement. Huohuo covered her mouth, her eyes wide before she whispered, “Sorry.” Stelle, however, just slowly pulled her fist out of her mouth and stared at Guinaifen. The entertainer met her eyes before saying, “Please do-”
“Bullshit!”
“Why!?”
Stelle immediately stripped off both her shirt and jacket, leaving her only in a black sports bra. She then turned around to show off the muscles and scars that defined her back. They almost rippled as she raised her arms. Her whole body then turned solid as a rock as she flexed every muscle she had. Guinaifen started hyperventilating at the sight so that she stopped herself from passing out. Stelle looked over her shoulder and said, “That. That is why.”
Sushang looked between Stelle, who looked good to her but she liked lithe more than muscled, and Guinafen. It was hard to deny, especially when it explained why Guinaifen had passed out once coming to the barracks and seeing Sushang coming out of the shower. But that also raised a very big question. One she’d asked a hundred times since she’d been rejected and always just pushed because she had an answer, even if it hurt.
She didn’t though so… “Then why did you say no? You… You could just have said you don’t like me that way.”
Guinaifen looked up at Shangshang and saw the tears in the corners of her eyes. Remembered them from months back when she’d finally confessed. Remembered wanting any answer besides the truth because it was sad. It was serious. It was mature. Everything Sushang didn’t make her feel except when she thought about this. Thought about her feelings.
Guinaifen shut her eyes before swiping her hands in front of her and holding them up flat to stop everything. She then took in a long, deep breath as she brought them in front of her. Only then did she turn to face Sushang. She met the love of her life’s eyes and said, “Because I can’t.”
“When my world died, I should have died on it. When my brother turned to piracy, I should have lost all honor I could ever have.” The words were practiced but painful. Said with the clarity of a seasoned performer, even as her entire body shook. She’d only confessed this to one other person and that was when Ms. Yo convinced her that it was okay for her to pursue her own interests. That it wasn’t a betrayal of the Loufu. After all, “The Xianshou gave me both of those back when they pardoned my family and accepted us. I chose that day that I would do right by my home, my family and my new home and do everything I could to only ever make it smile again.”
“To love anyone and leave them heartbroken for centuries after I’m gone…” She hung her head and barely whispered out, “It’s not that I don’t love you, it’s that I ca-”
CRASH!
“WHY IS THAT YOUR CHOICE!?”
Guinaifen blinked a few times as every eye was on her and Sushang. Sushang’s let go of her sword, which was now firmly planted in the walkway,before she stepped forward and said, “I took an oath to face any problem the Xianshou faced! To be ready to suffer anything to make it and its people safe! That I would be a hero for all! You think I care about something like getting to hold onto the memory of the best person I have ever met, who I will ever meet, just because it’ll only be for a while? Isn’t the phrase ‘it’s better to have loved and lost than to not loved at all?’”
Guinaifen shook her head as she stepped back. This was why she’d rather have lied. After all, “You don’t get it. You haven’t lost things yet. You’re still young and-”
“No younger than you are.” Huohuo coming around Sushang to box in Guinaifen more. “And what about you? Miss Hanya and Xueyi are always telling me I should stop worrying so much about others because I matter too! And you matter to me! So why can’t you be happy?”
She was happy. She was. She was. She… She didn’t even get the words out as Stelle stopped her. The Trailblazer stood firm before thumping a fist against her chest. “And sorry but I sure can’t leave this alone. Himeko would skin me if someone refused the call of trailblaze like this. I mean, you pulled a six star character and you don’t want to spend all of your time with them? Where’s the fun and adventure in that? And here I thought you were the fearless Guinaifen! Ready to do anything!”
Do anything to a point. She said that. The last thing she wanted was to make someone from the Xianshou… Cry…
She stared at the tears coming down Sushang’s face. Tears the knight had stopped from letting herself shed before because she’d had an answer. Because getting upset would be so terrible to Guigui. But now she couldn’t stop them. Not as she wanted to scream at the others to stop. Not when she could see the agony on Guinaifen’s face and considered all of this a mistake.
At least until the most wondrous warmth touched her lips. Her arms hooked around the thin body that pressed against hers almost instinctively. Held her close like it was as natural as breathing. Pressed her lips back to Guinaifen’s like it was second nature. All while Guinaifen finally realized her real mistake.
Who was she for worrying about future tears when she caused such anguish now? She spent almost five minutes in her girlfriend’s arms to make up for lost time as neither was exactly in a rush to get moving. Eventually they both remembered to breathe and gasped before panting and looking in the others eyes just to check. To make sure it felt just as right to the one they loved as it did for them.
Was there any doubt?
Guinaifen panted lightly before leaning to the side and looking at the camera and saying, “Sorry about that chat. We’ve been dating for about twenty seconds now.”
That was the exact sort of thing to get everyone laughing again, even as Sushang refused to let go of Guigui. At least, until Stelle offered her her bat. Sushang blinked a few times before saying, “My hands are full, sorry.”
Stelle shrugged before saying, “I’ll give it to you later then. Guinaifen has been a bad girl after all, hasn’t she?”
“Why would I need your ba-”
“NEXT QUESTION!”