4 PM.
There was still one hour until getting off work, but Qingque sitting at her workstation was getting restless.
She looked at the three-missing-one invitation from her mahjong friends on her phone, then at the Russian female boss still sleeping on the sofa in the rest area. The slacking soul hidden in her heart could no longer be contained!
"Haru, Haru, help me with a small favor..."
Qingque quietly walked to Haru's side, hands clasped together, looking sincere.
"I want to leave early. Can you take care of the studio and boss alone? I'll bring you a small gift later!"
It was Friday after all, and the boss hadn't assigned any work either. Wanting to leave early wasn't unreasonable.
As a fellow worker, Haru glanced at Qingque and nodded at this lively and cute girl, agreeing to her request.
"Alright, you can leave first. I'll wait for Bronya to wake up before leaving. Don't worry, I won't tell the boss you slacked off today."
"Hehe, then I'll trouble you. See you next week!"
Getting Haru's permission, Qingque's harmless little face was filled with joy as she immediately slipped out of the studio like a light little sparrow.
"Recent college graduates really have energy. That's nice."
Watching Qingque's disappearing figure, Haru touched his slightly stubbled chin, his tone somewhat emotional.
By biological age, he was only 25 this year.
However, having experienced so many loops, Haru's heart had long become as weathered as Kevin the fusion warrior, losing interest in many things.
Fortunately, no matter how old men get, their passion for beautiful girls never fades.
Haru's interest in that aspect hadn't been worn away in the loops - he just had a high threshold after tasting too many good things, unlike Kevin who had the surgery and remained a virgin for 50,000 years due to physical reasons.
Thinking about it this way, a world without Honkai might be a good thing for Kevin.
Although Kevin had now become an ordinary corporate slave programmer, his body no longer emitted terrible cold air, so he could do naughty things with Mei.
"If Mei gets pregnant with Kevin's child in the future, I'll be the top contributor. Kevin better give me some big red envelopes then."
Haru thought cheerfully, then took out his phone to browse the Elysian Realm group chat.
Pardofelis was promoting goods she had picked up from who knows where, Mobius was having her daily argument with Elysia, and Vill-V was introducing her new invention to the group - the Burn Your Boats Treadmill.
Haru carefully looked at Vill-V's invention that supposedly helped with weight loss, concluding that this thing looked more like a torture device with little practical use.
As for the other people in the Elysian Realm, they should all be busy with their own work right now and not active in the group.
Haru scrolled up through more messages and saw Eden suddenly mention that Children's Day was coming, then started hinting that a certain couple should consider children.
"Eden is doing her daily urging for babies, but there's more than just me and Elysia as a couple in the Elysian Realm..."
Rubbing his somewhat aching head, Haru recalled his earlier thoughts about Kevin and thought this pressure shouldn't be his alone to bear.
He decisively chatted with Kevin about his romantic situation, gave Kevin a few moves as someone experienced, then urged Kevin to quickly achieve positive results with Mei...
After doing all this, Haru nodded with satisfaction.
He felt his pressure had lessened considerably. As for whether Kevin would feel pressure because of this... better a dead friend than a poor monk!
"Eh, after playing with my phone for a while, it's already five o'clock?"
Haru exited the group chat, looked up, and found it was already time to get off work.
But Bronya didn't seem to be awake yet...
Haru walked to Principle Studio's rest area. The light gray-haired girl was lying on her side on the sofa like a resting imperial cat, covered with a small blanket.
This small blanket with a sparrow pattern was provided by Qingque.
According to her, whenever forced to work overtime, only wrapping herself tightly in the small blanket could give Qingque a sense of warmth in this cruel society.
"You can tell Qingque really doesn't want to work overtime, but unfortunately, she met the career-driven Bronya."
Haru shook his head somewhat amusedly, then sat down on the sofa opposite Bronya.
"But sleeping for a whole day today, Bronya probably didn't just stay up late last night - she pulled an all-nighter..."
He supported his chin with one hand, observing the girl's slightly haggard face after deep sleep, and couldn't help but let out a worried sigh.
Haru knew that Bronya was extremely passionate about games.
In past loops, the girl who was still flat-chested often stayed up all night gaming. Mei had lectured her about this several times, and he and Kiana were scolded along with her.
Now having entered the gaming industry, Haru could understand Bronya's passion for making a good game.
But working overtime every day, even pulling all-nighters and living directly at the company - this was being too desperate!
"Based on my understanding of Bronya, normally she wouldn't go to this extent. Could it be that Anti-Entropy is putting a lot of pressure on her? What's Yang doing?"
Haru frowned, suspecting whether there were people within Anti-Entropy vying for power and forcing the girl to quickly prove her abilities.
But among Anti-Entropy's high-level officials, the only one who liked power struggles should be Cocolia.
And as Bronya's adoptive mother, Cocolia would definitely be on the girl's side. How could she possibly pressure Bronya?
He couldn't figure it out. Could there be some new changes in Anti-Entropy in this timeline?
Or was it unrelated to Anti-Entropy, simply because Bronya had become more competitive after growing up?!
"Regardless of the reason, you can't neglect your body like this. This world doesn't have Honkai energy to strengthen the body - constantly pulling all-nighters will cause big problems sooner or later..."
Haru unconsciously leaned forward, wanting to touch the girl's cheek, but suddenly realized what he was doing the moment he extended his hand.
He was now in a brand new timeline.
His past bonds with Bronya had been ruthlessly reset, and he was already engaged. Making such intimate gestures toward other girls wasn't appropriate.
"Although I'm already used to it, every time I realize this, it still feels unpleasant."
Haru recalled a concept he had once read in a book.
A person experiences three deaths in their life.
The first is brain death - this is your biological death. The second is the funeral - this is your social death. The third is being forgotten - when no one in the world can remember you anymore, only then are you truly dead.
According to this theory...
Every time he experienced a loop, every time he was forgotten by the Valkyries, did it mean he truly died once?!
Haru still couldn't figure out the answer to this question even now, but he had resolved the source of the problem, which was also a kind of answer.
"The past is in the past. At least I'm alive now and can create unforgettable memories with the person I love. That's enough."
Haru smiled with relief, then decided to work overtime.
Although Bronya had forgotten all their past together, he still remembered. Those many beautiful moments that happened in the loops were also part of Haru's life.
He would take care of Bronya as much as possible. Anyway, today was Friday - he could go home after the girl woke up!
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