Chapter 164 Su Mu: Attended a Parent-Teacher Conference and Gained a Wife, Who Can Relate?
"Lord Durandal, you truly are decisive. On your very first day in Arc City, in just a few dozen minutes, you confirmed a husband-and-wife relationship with Mr. Su Mu. Your speed is truly unprecedented and unrivaled..."
Rita Rossweisse covered her mouth slightly, trying her best not to laugh out loud, but her desperately trembling shoulders betrayed her.
"Rita, you brat! You're clearly just here to watch me make a fool of myself!" Bianca, clutching a giant white goose plushie in her arms, irritably grabbed a nearby yellow duck cushion and hurled it at Rita.
Rita was quick, catching the cushion while her face remained split by a smile. "It truly is just like you, Bianca, to create such a massive misunderstanding. I really wonder what kind of expressions Siegfried and Lady Cecilia will have."
"Uuugh—"
Bianca's cheeks were so red they looked ready to drip water. Thinking back to the scene earlier that day, she felt like she could dig through the floor with her toes! It was simply too embarrassing!
As the eldest sister of the Kaslana family, Bianca had always been known for being serious, responsible, and rigid. This personality also meant there were absolutely no men around her; she was simply too forceful. Consequently, Bianca had zero experience with such matters from childhood through adulthood. In this regard, she and her sister Kiana were cut from the same cloth; though their personalities differed, they were coincidentally identical in this specific area... biological sisters confirmed.
Today, Bianca had skipped the dating phase entirely, gaining a husband in the span of a single parent-teacher conference. And next week, they were supposed to appear together before the media... This was essentially putting her on an execution rack!
Bianca could already imagine the shocked faces of Siegfried and Cecilia the moment they saw their eldest daughter on screen appearing alongside Su Mu.
"Bianca, I sent you to be Kiana's wingman, and you backstabbed her by taking Su Mu for yourself?"
Thinking further, once Kiana found out, she might stare with shocked, angry eyes and roar like a wounded cub: "Big Sister, you—you're too much! You laid a hand on my husband! I'm disowning you; there's no room for a sister like you in this house!!"
Bianca clutched her chest and slumped onto the bed, feeling her head spin. Just imagining that scenario gave her a stomachache!
Fortunately, Sirin knew it was a blunder, so she hadn't told Kiana yet. Even so, Bianca had no idea how to face Kiana right now, so she could only stay temporarily at Rita's apartment.
"Kiana is really going to hate me now... I wanted to take this chance to improve our relationship... now, forget getting closer, we're probably heading for a total fallout!!"
Watching the distraught Bianca, Rita suppressed her smile and let out a helpless sigh. Others might not know, but Rita knew well: Bianca "Durandal" Kaslana was actually a very clumsy person. Rather than saying she was straightforward, it was more that her body always moved faster than her brain; all her talent points were invested in action.
In private, Bianca had expressed her distress over this trait to Rita, but whenever words reached her lips, she couldn't help but blurt them out. Of course, Rita didn't dislike this honest dummy. Every time she saw Bianca's post-event regret, Rita felt that while Bianca appeared tough on the outside, she was actually quite a cute girl.
Seeing Bianca return from Sirin's school looking so soul-shaken was so endearing that Rita couldn't resist teasing her a bit more.
"Well, if you're really that concerned, how about not going next time?"
Bianca shook her head. "But I promised Sirin's teacher. How can I break my word?"
Rita spread her hands. "I knew you'd say that. You really are an absolute dummy, Bianca."
Bianca's eyes widened. "You're so mean, calling me a dummy over and over since just now..."
Life is hard; Rita sighed. "I'm only stating facts... Since you're unwilling to break your word, there is only one option left. However... I actually don't think this misunderstanding is a bad thing."
Bianca looked at Rita suspiciously, not understanding her meaning.
"I know your purpose for coming here... The romantic progress between Mr. Su Mu and Lady Kiana is unsatisfactory—to put it bluntly, there is no progress."
Rita pulled a small whiteboard over and began sketching rapidly. Before long, several photos and a complex web of character relationships appeared on the board. One might have mistaken it for an assassin's target network. Bianca looked closer and realized it was MiHoYo's internal social web.
She was shocked. Bianca realized that Rita's previous reports had only been a fraction of the story and weren't detailed enough... At the center of the web was Su Mu's photo.
[Game Director, Jack-of-all-trades, showing startling talent in various fields. Workaholic, friendly to those around him.]
Rita's evaluation was four simple words: [Central Air Conditioning?]
"Central Air Conditioning? What does that mean?" Bianca asked.
"It refers to a man who, whether intentionally or unintentionally, actively or passively, maintains constant, messy, and ambiguous relationships with multiple women." Rita paused. "Of course, the term is quite derogatory. From my observation, Mr. Su Mu hasn't reached that level, but his luck with women is indeed overwhelming."
Even without Rita saying it, Bianca could see it. The board full of women was the strongest proof.
"However, so far, within my knowledge, there are only four people maintaining an ambiguous relationship with Mr. Su Mu." Rita circled four names: Bronya, Seele, Elysia, and Kiana.
"Bronya and Lady Kiana, as company veterans who stayed with Su Mu to create the myth of MiHoYo's revival, both have significant mutual affection for him, in my view."
"Elysia is somewhat special. She seems to be watching Su Mu at all times, yet hasn't shown any clear romantic inclination. However, she is a very noteworthy rival."
"Seele is Bronya's sister from the same orphanage, and her relationship with Mr. Su Mu is extremely close. I noticed a period where someone seemed to be manipulating things behind the scenes, causing their time spent together to double..."
"Perhaps she and Mr. Su Mu are a couple, but based on my understanding of him, he isn't the type to hide things; if they established a relationship, he would announce it. But there might also be circumstances we aren't aware of."
Seeing Rita's logical analysis, Bianca couldn't help but ask: "So based on this, Kiana's chance of winning is actually one in four?"
"....I don't know what logic you used to reach that conclusion." Rita sighed. "These are just the four with clear 'ambiguous' tendencies. The remaining women also have the potential for further development."
"Lady Eden of the Golden Courtyard played a role in MiHoYo's rise. She is the largest shareholder and was hired by Mr. Su Mu as the Music Director. You should understand the terrifying influence Lady Eden possesses. As far as I know, she has negotiated with both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, stating that she backs Su Mu and warning others not to move against him."
"Since we are theorizing, we might as well consider the worst-case scenario: Mr. Su Mu might be Lady Eden's lover, which is why she backs him so unreservedly."
This deduction left Bianca stunned. "Eh? Kiana vs. Eden? Can—can she win?"
Rita shook her head. "It's just a theory. If reality is indeed so, then Lady Kiana's odds... you know."
Though Rita didn't say it, Bianca understood: Kiana vs. Eden would be a massacre.
"To be optimistic, Lady Eden might just value Mr. Su Mu's ability and consider him a friend worth knowing... After all, that lady is a free spirit."
"What about the others? Why do I see Auntie on there? Is Aunt Theresa also a potential rival for Kiana?"
"Regarding that... Lord Durandal, have you played Honkai Impact 3rd lately?"
"You know I've been busy; I haven't had any time to play it."
"Then I'll make it brief: I believe there is a high probability that Mr. Su Mu has an unrequited crush on Lady Theresa."
"??" Bianca froze on the spot, turning into a "Goose" just like the plushie in her arms.
"The evidence comes from several plot updates: Everlasting Memory centered on Lady Theresa, the event story A Midsummer Night's Fantasy, the Chronicles The Forgotten, the awakening of Twilight Paladin in the main story... and the special Magical Girl TeRiRi collaboration in this version."
"Su Mu has poured massive resources into Lady Theresa, even introducing a parallel world version of her as a brand-new independent character... it forces me to suspect that Su Mu harbors strong feelings of admiration for her."
Following the analysis, Bianca felt her head throbbing. "Love... really is war. I didn't expect Kiana to have so many rivals, even Auntie might be one... Helping Kiana won't be easy."
"Mhm. But right now, Lady Kiana's biggest rival isn't any of those people."
"Eh? Then who?"
Rita pointed a smiling finger at Bianca.
"Eh?" Bianca was stunned.
"As Mr. Su Mu's wife, does Lord Durandal wish to deliver a victory speech?"
Seeing Rita's mocking face, Bianca used the big white goose as a weapon and launched a Flaming Lance Charge directly at her!
"Stop laughing at me! Stop it!"
"Do you wish for a pillow fight? Even if the opponent is Bianca, I won't hold back!"
A short while later, the two of them lay breathless on the bed. After the brawl, the entire bedroom was a mess.
"Whew, looks like I'll have to clean up later." Rita scanned the messy room and sighed helplessly. "You're as childish as ever, Bianca."
"You're one to talk."
"Hehe... Bianca, I know your concerns, but appearing on stage isn't necessarily a bad thing."
"?"
Looking at the confused Bianca, Rita stood up and straightened her clothes. "There is a tactic called 'beating the grass to startle the snake.' Our current intelligence is insufficient—exactly how many women harbor feelings for Mr. Su Mu? This is a perfect opportunity, isn't it?"
"But if we do that, Kiana..."
"It's also a way to stimulate Lady Kiana. If she truly cares for Su Mu, she will inevitably react strongly. It might even push her to confess her feelings to him."
Bianca felt conflicted. Stealing the person my sister likes without a word, and carrying out the misunderstanding even though I know it's a mistake... is that really okay?
Rita continued to persuade her: "In a way, your actions are helping Lady Kiana clear the obstacles. I think Lady Kiana would have a higher success rate competing one-on-one against you rather than against dozens of other women, wouldn't she?"
Bianca found it hard to accept. "But it's too underhanded. Su Mu is my first male friend, yet I'm using him like this. I feel terrible."
Rita thought for a moment. "Mhm, if that's the case, how about clarifying the situation through the media after attending Sirin's award ceremony? That way, you still stimulate Lady Kiana and can observe the movements of other rivals."
After an intense internal struggle, Bianca finally chose to agree. she hadn't forgotten her goal; to help Kiana, she would do her best.
"If you truly feel bad for Mr. Su Mu, then do something that makes him happy to compensate him."
"Something happy?" Bianca was somewhat puzzled.
The corner of Rita's mouth curled up; she seemed to be enjoying this. "Leave it to me. I will support you, Bianca."
END OF CHAPTER
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