The lights in the VIP box were dimmed. Outside, the stage crew was still doing sound checks, and the muffled beat of a drum could be heard occasionally.
Su Yu and Kevin were leaning against the window, each holding a can of cola, arguing about the stats of some in-game equipment. Their laughter drifted over from time to time.
Kiana sat on the sofa, a small dent already unconsciously gouged into the popcorn bucket in her lap.
She turned her head to look at Mei beside her.
The gentle, intellectual woman was quietly flipping through a program booklet, her profile appearing exceptionally soft in the dim light.
"Um…"
Kiana hesitated for a long time before finally, unable to hold back, she spoke.
Her voice was very quiet, almost inaudible amidst the background music.
"Sister Mei…"
Calling her "sister" felt a bit awkward, but it was more natural than her previous "hello."
Mei put down the booklet, turned her head, and looked at her with a gentle gaze. "What is it?"
"What do you think…"
Kiana paused, her gaze uncontrollably drifting to the figure by the window before she snatched it back as if she'd been caught stealing.
Her fingers unconsciously twisted the edge of the popcorn bucket.
"What kind of person… is Su Yu?"
As she asked the question, Kiana could feel her face getting hot.
She didn't know why she was asking this.
Perhaps it was because of Mei's comment about it being the "first time he's so formally asked," or perhaps… she wanted to hear how others saw Su Yu, to see if it matched what she saw.
What was the real Su Yu like?
Mei followed her gaze and glanced at Su Yu.
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she seemed to be thinking seriously, her fingers tapping lightly on her knee.
"Su Yu, huh…"
Mei's voice was soft, yet it carried a certainty that seemed to see through to his core.
"That guy usually looks pretty lazy. If he can sit, he won't stand; if he can lie down, he won't sit. He always has the air of a slacker just trying to get by."
"He's always saying things like 'This is so troublesome' or 'I want to retire so badly.'"
"Sometimes I even wonder if he could survive in this society without video games and takeout."
Kiana listened and couldn't help but nod.
Yes, that was exactly it.
Every day, if he wasn't playing games, he was eating instant noodles or just staring blankly at his computer.
"But…"
Mei's tone shifted, the smile in her eyes deepening with a sense of approval for an old friend.
"When he truly wants to do something, or when he wants to protect something… his drive is frighteningly strong."
"Huh?" Kiana was taken aback.
"We've known each other for so long. I've seen him pull all-nighters to beat a difficult game level, and I've seen him use all his connections and resources to help a friend out of trouble, even if it meant running himself ragged."
Mei looked at Kiana, her gaze turning serious.
"Don't be fooled by his usual goofy and flippant demeanor. At critical moments, he's the one who will step up first and carry all the responsibility on his shoulders."
"Anything he promises, no matter how difficult, he will definitely see it through."
"That's Su Yu."
Kiana's heart skipped a beat.
"Entrust your life to me."
"If you don't have a reason to live, then let me give you one."
That day, in that cramped entryway.
That man had held onto her tightly as she tried to flee, his gaze as determined as a blazing fire.
He said he would give her a reason.
And so, for that very reason, he was willing to create that absurd game that no one would believe, all for a ghost without an identity in this peaceful world.
Kiana couldn't help but secretly raise her head and look toward the window.
Su Yu was in the middle of telling Kevin something funny, laughing so hard he was doubling over, without a shred of seriousness.
And yet…
It was this person who, when she felt she had been abandoned by the entire world and could only rot alone in the darkness, had forcibly squeezed into her world and given her a ray of light.
"Entrust your life to me."
Those words were incredibly heavy.
But for some reason…
Looking at that lazy figure now, Kiana felt that if she were to entrust it to him… perhaps it wasn't so scary after all.
She subconsciously clutched the hem of her clothes.
That sour, swelling feeling surged in her heart again.
To hear someone else praise Su Yu like this, she actually… felt a little happy, even a bit proud.
It was as if a hidden treasure that only she knew of had finally been recognized by an expert.
Even if it was just a little bit.
Yes, really, just a tiny little bit.
"And you know…"
Mei's voice rang out again, tinged with a smile.
"For him to care so much about someone, to the point of running himself ragged to save them… Kiana, you must be a very special existence in his heart."
"BOOM—"
Kiana felt her face instantly explode with heat, the warmth spreading all the way to the tips of her ears.
"N-No, it's not like that!"
She hurriedly lowered her head, grabbing a large handful of popcorn and stuffing it into her mouth.
She tried to muffle her wildly beating heart, her voice coming out as an indistinct rebuttal.
"It's… It's just the relationship between a debtor and a creditor! He's just afraid I'll run off without paying my debt!"
Mei looked at her protesting-too-much act and didn't say anything more, but the smile in her eyes grew even more tender.
Youth is a wonderful thing.
Even in a different world, even after experiencing so much suffering.
As long as someone is still willing to reach out a hand to you, as long as you can still feel your heart flutter…
That means this heart is still alive.
.....
Kevin called Mei over to discuss the background of the next song on the setlist. Their figures became somewhat blurry at the other end of the dim VIP box.
Only their occasional whispers and soft laughter added a touch of warmth to the space.
Su Yu glanced over at them, then walked over with a cup of hot cocoa and sat down in the empty seat next to Kiana.
The sofa was soft, making a slight sound as he sank into it.
Kiana didn't flinch away, nor did she immediately create distance as she had before.
She just turned her head, still holding the half-empty popcorn bucket, her gaze fixed on the lights and shadows of the stage outside the window, looking a bit dazed.
"How are you feeling?"
Su Yu handed her the hot cocoa, his tone very light, as if afraid to disturb this rare moment of tranquility.
"Does it… feel awful?"
Although he had been chatting with Kevin the whole time, his peripheral vision had actually been keeping an eye on things over here.
Making Kiana face this world's "Mei" was undoubtedly strong medicine.
While the goal was to help her resolve her inner conflicts, Su Yu wasn't entirely confident.
After all, for a Kiana who had experienced so much loss and pain, seeing the person she loved most have a completely different, happy life…
That huge sense of disparity could sometimes become another, sharper kind of blade.
Kiana took the hot cocoa, its warmth spreading from her palm throughout her body.
She looked down at the dark brown liquid, fell silent for a moment, then gently shook her head.
"I thought… I would feel awful."
Her voice was calm, without a tremor or any suppressed sobs.
It was the kind of calm that comes after weathering a storm.
"I thought I would be jealous, that I would feel resentful, that I might even want to run away."
She lifted her head and looked at Mei, who was nestled against Kevin in the distance.
The woman was smiling happily, her eyes holding a clarity and intellect that had never been shadowed by the Honkai.
That was the most ordinary and yet most precious happiness belonging to a normal girl.
"But… I feel surprisingly calm inside."
Kiana slowly exhaled, as if expelling years of stagnant air from the bottom of her heart.
"I know she isn't Mei."
"Even though they look so alike, even though their smiles are so similar… I know she isn't my Mei."
As she said this, her fingers gently caressed the rim of the cup, a flicker of faint sorrow in her eyes.
"When I saw her being so intimate with Kevin… to be honest, my heart did ache a little."
"After all… I also used to fantasize, if none of it had ever happened, if I could be like her…"
Her voice trailed off.
Her smile held no bitterness, only a heart-wrenching sense of release.
"But I was mostly happy."
"Really." She turned her head and looked earnestly into Su Yu's eyes. "I am genuinely happy."
"This world's Mei… no, this world's Mei can live a happy life."
"She doesn't have to worry about the Herrscher personality inside her awakening, doesn't have to fear Honkai Beasts destroying her home, and doesn't have to be forced to take up a weapon to fight."
"She can be a scholar in peace, she can fall in love with someone she likes, she can look forward to a concert for a long time… just living in this peaceful world as an ordinary girl."
Kiana's eyes were slightly red, but her heterochromatic pupils were astonishingly bright.
"Just knowing this… is enough."
"At least in this world, she is safe, and she is happy."
"And as for me…" She took a deep breath, clutching the cup in her hands. "Just being able to watch her like this, even from a distance… I feel like my battles weren't entirely meaningless after all."
Su Yu listened quietly, watching the mix of fragility and strength on her face.
The Kiana of this moment was no longer a stray cat who only knew how to flee, nor a prisoner burdened by sin.
She was learning to reconcile with her past, learning to accept this new world, and learning… to forgive herself.
"Yeah."
Su Yu reached out, but he didn't pat her head.
Instead, he gently tapped his cup against hers.
"That's enough."
"And…" he looked at Kiana, his tone carrying a tacit understanding that only the two of them shared, "you're the same."
"In this world, you don't have to worry about Herrschers or fear the Honkai either. You can eat pizza, watch concerts, and pull all-nighters to clear a game."
"Kiana."
Su Yu said her name, his voice gentle yet firm.
"You are just a girl. You also have the right to live a happy life."
Kiana froze.
She looked at Su Yu, at his eyes that remained clear even in the darkness.
There was no pity in them, only a determined, reassuring trust.
"You also have the right to live a happy life."
This sentence was like a seed that fell into the long-barren fields of her heart.
Perhaps…
Is it really possible?
In this world without Honkai, even for someone like her, burdened by sin… could she also try to grasp a little bit of happiness for herself?
Kiana didn't speak.
She just lowered her head, using the motion of drinking her hot cocoa to hide the film of moisture welling up in her eyes.
But this time, she didn't shrink away.
Instead, quietly and carefully, she pushed the popcorn bucket a little closer to Su Yu.
"Um…"
Her voice was small, tinged with a stubborn coyness.
"This popcorn… tastes pretty good. You should have some too."
Su Yu looked at the bucket she pushed over and smiled.
He reached in, grabbed a handful, and tossed it into his mouth.
"Mm, it really is sweet."
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