"Mei..."
Kiana repeated the name in a low voice, her gaze passing through Su Yu to land on some point in the empty air.
In this world, the Raiden Mei who was so good at cooking had become a top scholar named Mei.
She raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise in her tone.
But that surprise was fleeting, quickly replaced by that sense of detachment, as if she were ready to withdraw at any moment.
"That's good."
She lowered her head and gave a somewhat self-deprecating smile.
"In this world, she doesn't have to bear all those heavy burdens. She can live the life of an ordinary person... That's enough."
"Yeah, it's pretty incredible." Su Yu leaned back in his chair, crossing his hands behind his head. His tone was casual. "That guy Kevin put in a lot of effort to pursue Mei. Who would've thought that deadpan face of his used to be so head over heels in love."
Kiana didn't smile.
She just pressed her lips together lightly, then took a step back, leaning her body against the wall about 1.3 meters away from Su Yu.
That was the slightly more generous safe distance she had just obtained.
She crossed her arms, her fingers unconsciously picking at her sleeve in a classic defensive posture.
"Since she's doing so well... there's even less reason for me to bother her."
Her voice was cold, like a thin layer of ice trying to seal away any potential emotional fluctuations.
"You know, Su Yu. I'm the vessel for the Herrscher of the Void. I'm a person who brings misfortune."
She lifted her head, her eyes so calm they seemed lifeless.
There were no tears, no hysterics, just a statement of a fact she believed to be unchangeable.
"Wherever I am, disaster will follow. I don't want... I don't want anyone else to suffer misfortune because of my existence again."
Her refusal was blunt.
She was like a wild beast accustomed to licking its own wounds in solitude, instinctively rejecting any light that might bring warmth but could also burn.
Even if that person was the counterpart of the one who was once most important to her, she would rather choose to stay far away than risk even the slightest chance of danger.
Su Yu looked at her standoffish demeanor and sighed inwardly.
This deep-rooted self-loathing couldn't be dissolved with a few words of comfort.
She had grown accustomed to blaming herself for everything, accustomed to punishing herself with loneliness.
She even saw this punishment as part of her atonement.
Being too enthusiastic right now would only make her retreat further.
"Alright, it's fine if you don't want to see her."
Su Yu sat up straight, dropping his casual posture and adopting a more business-like tone.
He pulled his phone from his pocket, brought up an electronic ticket, and showed it to Kiana.
"However, since you don't want to see her, I have a small favor to ask. I was hoping we could make an exchange."
He turned the phone screen towards Kiana, his tone laced with a hint of helplessness, yet maintaining a respectful distance.
"That guy Kevin booked tickets for Eden's concert a while ago."
What Su Yu didn't say was that Kevin had booked this ticket on the very day he had "picked up" Kiana.
"It was supposed to be a date for the two of them, but the guy wanted to show off, so he bought an extra ticket and insisted on dragging me along as some kind of witness."
In reality, there was already a spot for Su Yu at the concert, but he wasn't lying, since he was going to be a third wheel anyway.
"You know I'm not good at handling those kinds of situations."
"Being stuck between them as a third wheel and having to listen to that brainiac Mei talk about quantum mechanics is pure torture for me."
Su Yu looked at Kiana, his eyes not showing too much expectation, just calmly making a request.
"So... could I trouble you to come with me? Think of it as helping me out. If two of us go, at least I'll have someone to talk to so I don't look like a complete idiot."
"..."
Kiana looked at Su Yu.
She wasn't stupid; of course she could tell this was also an excuse.
But this excuse wasn't so "heavy."
It wasn't a suffocating "I'm doing this for your own good," but rather a request for help between equals, for mutual benefit.
He needed a companion, and she... perhaps she really did need to get out and get some fresh air.
Besides, she'd been living in Su Yu's house all this time, eating his food, drinking his water, and even troubling him to help her make a game...
Kiana pursed her lips, the scales in her heart tipping slightly.
She didn't like being indebted to people.
If this could be considered a form of "repayment" to him, then maybe... it wasn't impossible.
"...Just as a companion?"
She finally spoke, her voice still a bit stiff. Her gaze didn't land on Su Yu directly, but on the bookshelf beside him.
"Yes, just as a companion." Su Yu nodded. "VIP room, no need to squeeze through crowds, no ID checks, and no one will notice you."
"You can just sit there, listen to the music, and help me endure that guy Kevin's public displays of affection."
Kiana was silent for a few seconds.
Then, she uncrossed her arms and nodded lightly.
"Alright."
Her tone was faint, as if agreeing to a trivial matter.
"It's not like I have anywhere else to go anyway."
"Since you need help... I guess I can go with you this one time."
With that, she turned and walked towards the bedroom, leaving Su Yu with a view of her slightly thin back.
"I'm going to change my clothes."
As Kiana left the range, the Absolute Freedom Time Experience Card began its countdown.
Su Yu let out a soft breath.
At least she agreed.
That was enough.
Su Yu picked up his phone and sent a message to Kevin.
[Su Yu: Save the ticket. I'm bringing a friend.]
[Su Yu: By the way, is that VIP room you mentioned last time still available? Fewer people is better, it's quieter. Also, do something about that tracksuit you always wear.]
Kevin immediately replied with a simple [OK] emoji, adding: [Mei is coming too. See you then.]
Su Yu put his phone away, his gaze drifting to the darkening sky outside the window.
Keeping a distance was fine. Being detached was fine too.
As long as he could get her to go out, even if it was just to see that world of light from a distance, it was a start.
At the very least, it would let her know that world wasn't an unreachable, illusory dream.
——————————
Time passed to the next day.
Su Yu brought Kiana to the outside of the dome arena.
The lighting in the VIP passage was much softer than in the plaza outside, blocking out most of the noisy crowd, leaving only the faint vibrations of a soundcheck in the distance.
Su Yu walked in front, his pace unhurried.
He could feel the footsteps behind him, so light they were almost inaudible, always maintaining a subtle distance—not too far, not too close, about a meter and a half away.
Whenever a staff member with a work pass hurried by, those footsteps would instantly quicken, and that white figure would swiftly shift to the side, using Su Yu's body to block any curious gazes.
Though she had mustered the courage to step out of her territory, she was still ready to shrink back into her protective shell at a moment's notice.
"Su Yu!"
A familiar voice called out from ahead.
Kevin was wearing a simple set of casual clothes, still bearing that same expressionless, cold demeanor.
But the figure beside him made the air behind Su Yu instantly freeze.
Mei was holding Kevin's arm, wearing a well-tailored, deep purple trench coat. Her long hair was casually tied back, and a polite smile graced her face.
Her aura was completely different from Raiden Mei's—lacking that gentle, homemaker-like quality, but possessing an intellectual grace and composure that belonged to a top scholar.
It was a confidence that radiated from her very bones, one that didn't need to depend on anyone.
Kevin's gaze went past Su Yu, landing on the white figure of whom only the edge of her clothes was visible.
He raised an eyebrow, giving Su Yu a questioning look.
"Is this the... cat you picked up the other day?"
Su Yu nodded slightly, returning a look of confirmation.
"That's right."
Just then, Su Yu felt a sudden, heavy tug on the corner of his shirt.
Kiana didn't shrink back in fear as she usually would have. Instead, as if seeking some kind of support, she subconsciously gripped the hem of his shirt.
Her grip was strong.
She peeked out, her gaze locked firmly on Mei's face.
That face... was too similar.
The contours of her eyes and brows, even the slight curve of her eyes when she smiled, overlapped with the name in her memory.
But... her eyes were different.
When Mei looked at her, her eyes were always filled with endless tenderness and doting, as if she wanted to offer her the best things in the world, afraid she would suffer even the slightest grievance.
But this woman's eyes, though friendly, held more of a polite, courteous appraisal.
That rational light was like an invisible wall, clearly defining the boundary between strangers.
She was not Mei.
This realization made Kiana's heart tremble violently. What followed was, surprisingly, a sense of relief bordering on liberation, mixed with an indescribable sense of loss.
It was good that she wasn't Mei.
The relief was that she didn't have to face the Mei she had hurt.
The loss was that the familiar soul was, in the end, still a world away.
"Aren't you going to introduce this shy little friend of yours?"
Mei's voice broke Kiana's train of thought.
She wasn't offended by Kiana's hiding. Instead, she smiled at Su Yu, her tone carrying a kind of elder's tolerance.
"Ah, this is Kiana."
Su Yu smiled and stepped to the side, gently patting the back of the hand that was clutching his shirt, as if to give her a bit of courage.
"My... friend. She was free today, so I brought her out for a change of scenery."
Friend.
At that word, Kiana's fingers loosened slightly.
Not a burden, not a nuisance, but a friend.
Mei nodded, took a step forward on her own accord, and extended her right hand.
"Hello, Kiana. I'm Mei."
Her movement was natural and graceful, without the slightest hesitation, as if she didn't mind the chilly, standoffish aura Kiana exuded.
Kiana stared at the hand extended before her.
It was slender and clean. There were no calluses from holding a sword for years, only the faint marks of holding a pen.
She was stunned for a long while, her breathing a little ragged.
Finally, under Su Yu's encouraging gaze, she hesitantly reached out her own hand.
"I'm... Kiana."
Her voice was hoarse, as if she hadn't spoken in a long time.
"Hello..."
The moment their fingertips touched, Kiana pulled her hand back as if shocked by electricity, hiding behind Su Yu once more.
"Mei, have you become too serious from being a scholar for so long?"
Kevin chimed in from the side, breaking the slightly stiff atmosphere.
He looked at his girlfriend, his tone tinged with helplessness.
"Look, you've scared the poor girl."
"You talk too much."
Mei shot him an exasperated glare and lightly jabbed her elbow into his side.
"I wonder who was in the car just now, practicing their smile in the rearview mirror for half an hour because they were so nervous."
"Ahem... I was checking if I had any vegetables stuck in my teeth."
Kevin spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
Watching the two of them bicker and tease each other without a care for anyone else, that intimate and natural atmosphere was like a warm current, slowly melting the hard ice in Kiana's heart.
No Honkai, no mission, no life and death separations.
Only the mundane worries of daily life, only playful banter and laughter.
Kiana stared at them in a daze.
Her heart trembled violently in her chest, as if something had shattered, and yet, as if something was growing anew.
She slowly released Su Yu's shirt, and her previously tense shoulders finally relaxed.
An extremely faint, almost imperceptible smile uncontrollably graced her lips.
This world's her... is very happy.
She has someone who loves her, a career she likes, and a partner she can tease without restraint.
She doesn't have to pick up a sword to protect anyone, doesn't have to sacrifice herself to save the world.
"This... is good enough."
She murmured softly, in a voice only she could hear.
It wasn't jealousy, nor was it regret.
It was the purest blessing for the person most important to her, a blessing that transcended worlds and fate.
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