Chapter 114: A Plea for Solace

Listening to Stella’s heartfelt confession, Bai Yu’s heart ached for her, yet she found herself utterly helpless.

“Oh, it’s truly no use coming to me,” Bai Yu sighed. “You’re well aware of how my mother is; there’s no changing her mind, especially since she holds no interest in women whatsoever.”

Bai Yu shook her head gently, understanding.

This was Stella’s very first taste of infatuation, and having cast Bai Yu’s mother as her unattainable ‘white moonlight,’ rejection was bound to wound her deeply.

“I…” Stella began, her voice trailing off.

Her words stumbled, and a faint blush crept across Stella’s cheeks, a stark contrast to her usual composed demeanor.

Whenever she had faced Tianyu, Stella had always playfully uttered ambiguous declarations of affection.

Though Tianyu had perceived them as mere jests, every single word had been spoken with profound sincerity.

It was only through the veil of humor that she could ever reveal the depths of her true heart.

“What ‘I’?” Bai Yu retorted, her hands on her hips. “Are you implying I possess some miraculous solution?”

With her hands planted firmly on her hips, Bai Yu stood barefoot on the bed, gazing down at Stella with an air of superiority.

Given that she was considerably shorter than Stella, this elevated stance was the only way to make her appear even slightly more formidable.

Stella, however, remained oblivious, her gaze not rising to meet Bai Yu’s, but rather fixating entirely upon Bai Yu’s exquisitely flawless bare feet.

Once her eyes had fallen upon them, Stella found herself utterly captivated, unable to tear her gaze away, and thus completely failed to notice Bai Yu’s growing irritation.

“Hey, where exactly are your eyes wandering?” Bai Yu demanded, her voice sharp. “Are you even listening to a word I’m saying?”

Bai Yu was so exasperated, she almost considered shoving her foot directly into Stella’s mouth, just to see if that would finally get her attention.

Yet, a part of Bai Yu worried that such an extreme measure might not actually convey the intended lesson.

“M-mm!” Stella mumbled, startled.

Startled, Stella quickly averted her gaze, her face flushing crimson as she remained silent.

Bai Yu gazed at Stella with a sigh of resignation, wondering how her personality could have transformed so drastically since leaving Tianyu.

“…Xiao Yu,” Stella murmured softly, her voice barely a whisper, “if it’s at all possible, could you… stay with me forever?”

Stella bowed her head, uttering this unexpected plea when Bai Yu was no longer in her direct line of sight.

“What?” Bai Yu exclaimed, taken aback.

Bai Yu paused, a flicker of disbelief crossing her features.

She questioned if her ears had deceived her; what exactly was Stella implying?

What did she mean, ‘stay with her forever’?

“I have nowhere left to go,” Stella confessed, her voice thick with despair. “Nowhere at all…”

Enveloping her knees with her arms, Stella buried her face, and tears began to stream down her cheeks once more, rapid and unchecked.

Bai Yu quickly moved to her side, gently wiping away the fresh tears.

“You’re truly embarrassing,” Bai Yu chided softly, “crying like a small child even at your age.”

As Stella felt Bai Yu draw near, she suddenly lunged forward, pulling her into a tight embrace.

“Why me, though?” Bai Yu pondered aloud, a hint of confusion in her tone. “You saved my mother, yes, but it seems…we haven’t known each other for very long, have we?”

This was the source of Bai Yu’s bewilderment.

Logically, she and Stella should have had little to no intersection in their lives.

After all, Stella had been brought home by her Mother to live with them, and it was only then that Bai Yu had come to know her mother’s new colleague.

Stella fell into a brief silence, seemingly struggling to find the words.

“Because you resemble your mother so incredibly much, and so…” Stella began, her voice barely audible.

She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence, a clear indication that she recognized the profound impropriety of her words.

Bai Yu felt a vein throb at her temple, a familiar sign of burgeoning anger.

The sheer audacity of it made Bai Yu laugh, a sharp, humorless sound.

Fine, fine.

Here she was, having foolishly believed Stella was drawn to her by some inherent charm or allure.

Apparently, she was merely a stand-in, a substitute meal.

“Oh, excellent, you’re treating me like a replacement, aren’t you?” Bai Yu seethed, her voice laced with incredulity. “And to think I was actually concerned about you!”

With a swift, indignant motion, Bai Yu spun around, intent on getting off the bed and making her exit.

Yet, Stella suddenly threw herself onto the bed, wrapping her arms tightly around Bai Yu’s slender form.

“Please, don’t leave,” Stella pleaded, her voice muffled against Bai Yu. “I’ll do anything you ask!”

Clinging to Bai Yu with desperate strength, Stella refused to release her, her eyes squeezed shut, as if bearing an immense emotional burden.

“Oh, Stella…” Bai Yu sighed, a weary exhalation.

Turning back, Bai Yu caught sight of Stella’s truly pathetic state, and a pang of unwilling sympathy struck her.

After all, Stella’s past was indeed tragic, and the only person who had offered her a glimmer of hope had so unequivocally spurned her advances.

Thus, Bai Yu could comprehend Stella channeling all her nascent affection and desperate hopes onto the daughter of the woman she so intensely admired.

Yet, Bai Yu had always viewed such matters from the detached perspective of an observer.

Now that it was directly impacting her, Bai Yu found herself at a loss.

‘It’ never said *she* would be the one to become that person.

“Oh, what good would it do for you to follow me?” Bai Yu sighed once more. “I am not my mother.”

A second sigh escaped Bai Yu’s lips.

“It doesn’t matter,” Stella insisted, her voice raw. “I’ll be your beast of burden, your s*ave, anything.

I can even warm your bed, please.”

Stella gazed up at Bai Yu with large, pleading eyes, her fluffy clothes subtly revealing hints of her form beneath.

Coupled with her desperate words, this sight genuinely caused a flicker of hesitation in Bai Yu.

Observing Bai Yu’s continued lack of response, Stella tightened her grip on Bai Yu’s leg, refusing to let go.

“Don’t leave,” Stella begged, her voice now trembling with a profound vulnerability. “If you wish to… to do *that*, it’s fine.

I have no experience whatsoever.

My first time will be entirely yours, I beg you.”

Stella’s voice was steeped in such abject humility that anyone witnessing her plight would have felt a deep unease.

Stella’s face was now pressed against Bai Yu’s foot, her tears soaking Bai Yu’s skin.

“You… you rascal!” Bai Yu exclaimed, a mix of exasperation and disbelief in her tone.

Bai Yu spun around, delivering a firm, resounding hand chop directly to Stella’s head.

“W-wuwuwu,” Stella whimpered, rubbing her head. “Hitting me is fine, just… just don’t go…”

Stella, believing Bai Yu intended to take out her frustration on her, nodded vigorously, almost frantically.

‘If Mother knew you were acting like this, what would she think?’

Bai Yu spoke to Stella with a surge of vexation, her voice laced with a complex mix of emotions.

Her outburst was met only with Stella’s heavy silence, punctuated by quiet sobs.

‘Mother saved you back then precisely so you could embrace true freedom, to possess your own emotions, not to be used like a mere tool by others!’

Bai Yu spoke with earnest conviction, and as she looked at Stella, her own anger began to dissipate.

It wasn’t that she disliked Stella; rather, she felt a profound sense of injustice on her mother’s behalf.

‘If you continue like this, how is it any different from before?

You’re still clinging to others, a soul devoid of self-awareness.’

Bai Yu knelt, bringing herself to Stella’s level, and gently caressed her face.

“Therefore, please, don’t utter such words again,” Bai Yu said softly. “I won’t leave you.

While I cannot be a substitute for Mother, I can still help you discover your own purpose.”

Stella lay sprawled on the bed, her eyes swollen and red from weeping, her golden hair cascading around her ears.

Her azure eyes, now fixed on Bai Yu’s gentle smile, seemed to mirror the very first time Tianyu had gazed upon her.

The tone, the appearance, even the very essence of her personality—it was all uncannily identical.

“Mmm, thank you…” Stella whispered, her voice still thick with tears.

Stella leaned closer, rubbing against Bai Yu’s hand much like a small kitten seeking comfort.

Bai Yu, with a helpless sigh, stroked Stella’s head.

This iteration of Stella, she realized, was truly her authentic self, stripped of the pretense she had worn before her mother.

Finally, she gently wiped away the last of Stella’s tears.

“Get some proper rest now,” Bai Yu advised softly. “After all, this journey ahead still requires your protection.”

Bai Yu’s tone was gentle, though it was abundantly clear that Stella, at this moment, was the one truly in need of protection.

‘Honestly.’

Bai Yu pressed a hand to her forehead, a profound sense of helplessness washing over her.