The next morning, the sunlight was just right.
Without the shackles of the distance restriction, Su Yu woke up naturally for the first time in a long while.
After washing up, he sat in front of the computer with a cup of coffee.
It was another day full of energy to push forward the Main Mission.
The project file for Honkai Impact 3rd had just been opened, and the cursor on the screen was still blinking, when suddenly a phone ringtone shattered the tranquility.
Su Yu glanced at the screen.
Caller ID: Griseo.
Why would she call on her own initiative?
Could it be that the royalties for The Three-Year Sakura haven't arrived? No, the comic platform should have allocated the funds long ago.
Carrying a trace of doubt, Su Yu pressed the answer button.
"Hello? Griseo?"
From the receiver came the young girl's soft, slow voice, sounding as if she hadn't quite woken up yet.
"Brother Su Yu, good morning."
"Morning." Su Yu slowed his tone, as if coaxing a child. "What's wrong? Did you encounter some problem with your drawing?"
There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds.
Then came a rhetorical question, light as a feather yet striking like thunder on flat ground.
"...Did you, perhaps, forget that we are going to the amusement park with Sister Kiana?"
"!!!"
Su Yu's hand holding the phone jerked violently, almost offering that cup of freshly brewed Blue Mountain coffee as a sacrifice to the heavens.
His brain crashed instantly.
Amusement park?
Did I promise that?
It seems... I really did promise.
That day when he went to the school gate to block her, it was one of the exchange conditions for drawing The Three-Year Sakura.
Cold sweat whooshed down instantly.
During this time, he had been busy livestreaming, hoodwinking—no, helping Old Squad Monitor Fu Hua, and giving psychological counseling to Kiana...
This matter had been thrown completely to the nine heavens!
It's over, it's over.
Deceiving a child's feelings... if Mobius found out about this, he feared he would be sliced into speciments...
No.
Wait a minute.
A scene from that time suddenly flashed through Su Yu's mind.
Back then, Griseo hadn't set a time; she only said she would tell Su Yu when the time came.
Su Yu suddenly snapped back to his senses.
Good heavens.
How is this me forgetting? It's clearly you who never set a time all along!
This little wretched girl is bluffing me!
Teacher Painted World, you are simply a black-hearted loli cut open, aren't you!
"Brother Su Yu?"
Griseo's slightly puzzled voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Were you scared?"
"...No, no."
Su Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed helplessly.
"Teacher Griseo predicts everything divinely, how would I dare forget? So, the time is set for today?"
"...Mhm."
A trace of imperceptible delight revealed itself in Griseo's voice.
"The weather is good. The colors are bright. Suitable for going out to play."
Su Yu turned his head to look at the living room.
Sunlight spilled onto the carpet. Kiana was lying prone there, holding a cat teaser in her hand, playing happily with that heterochromatic kitten, Chongchong.
"Take this! Neko Charm!"
"Meow~"
One person and one cat rolled into a ball under the sunlight.
The young girl's face was overflowing with a relaxed smile. If this were a month ago, that was absolutely something Su Yu wouldn't have dared to imagine.
No haze, no vigilance, only pure happiness.
If it's the current Kiana...
Griseo should be very happy to see her colors, right?
"Okay."
Su Yu spoke into the phone, the corner of his mouth hooking up into a gentle arc.
"Then you get ready. Kiana and I will come to pick you up in a while."
"...Mhm, waiting for you."
The call ended.
Su Yu put down his phone, stretched his waist, and walked into the living room.
Looking at Kiana, who was about to bury her face into the cat's belly, he cleared his throat.
"Ahem."
"Heroine Kiana, stop snorting the cat for a moment."
"Teacher [Painted World] invites you."
"Meow?!"
Before Kiana could react, the cat in her arms was startled first, slipping under the sofa with a whoosh.
She herself also jumped up from the carpet violently as if her tail had been stepped on, the ahoge on top of her head standing straight up instantly.
"Pain—Painted World?!"
"That one who draws doujinshi... no, what does that little painter want with me?!"
Her eyes instantly filled with vigilance, and even a trace of... panic?
Although the manga of The Three-Year Sakura was indeed drawn very well, making her mildly famous in this world.
But!
As long as she thought about that seemingly harmless child privately drawing that kind of... that kind of strange manga where two boys hug each other!
Kiana felt her worldview receiving a shock.
Moreover, that child's eyes were too scary.
Just like those people in novels who cultivated some kind of eye technique; as long as she stared at you for a while, you felt like all the little schemes in your heart were seen through.
It felt like even the color of her underwear these past few days was about to be seen through!
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous."
Watching Kiana's appearance of facing a formidable enemy, Su Yu couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"I'm not asking you to be a model, nor asking you to read doujinshi. Didn't you promise last time? To take her to the amusement park."
"Phew..."
Kiana let out a long sigh of relief, patting her chest.
"Scared me to death... so it's the amusement park."
As long as it wasn't making her face those strange paintings, or being stared at by those soul-piercing eyes for psychoanalysis, then it was fine.
But...
Kiana hesitated for a moment, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, her gaze wandering a bit.
"That... Su Yu."
"Can I... not go?"
"Can't you take her yourself?"
She was truly a little afraid of that child.
She always felt that in front of that child, she, the "adult," was instead like an idiot who had been seen through.
"That won't do."
Su Yu crossed his arms, putting on a strictly business attitude.
"We agreed back then that the two of us would take her."
He bent down slightly, leaning close to Kiana, a teasing smile on his face.
"Could it be... the dignified Eldest Miss of the Kaslana family, the future strongest Valkyrie, is actually going to break an appointment with a child?"
"Or is it that... you're scared?"
This was a very obvious goading tactic.
Although cliché, for Kiana, it was simply a sure-kill technique that worked every time.
"Hah?!"
Kiana bristled instantly, her eyes widening into circles.
"Who—who's scared! How could this young miss be afraid of a little brat!"
"The dictionary of a Kaslana doesn't have the words 'break an appointment'!"
Again, that sentence.
We still don't know if the Kaslanas actually have dictionaries.
Kiana gritted her teeth and hardened her heart.
Isn't it just babysitting?
Isn't it just going to the amusement park?
Could it be harder than fighting Honkai Beasts? Could it be more bitter than drinking bitter melon juice? It's not like she hasn't taken care of children before! For example, that little pipsqueak Bronya is about the same height as Griseo, right!
Besides, that child named Griseo won't eat her!
"Fine! I'll go!"
Kiana waved her hand, setting up today's first Flag with heroic spirit.
"Just bringing a kid! Simple! Watch how this young miss handles her!"
Su Yu looked at the confident Kiana and silently prayed for her in his heart: Hope the person stays safe.
The possibility of Kiana handling Griseo?
Isn't this just like Xiahou Dun looking at Louis XVI—absolutely no head/end in sight?
Hopefully, you won't be hoodwinked until you're crippled by that naturally black-hearted little painter later.
"Then let's go. Taking you to experience a man's romance!"
Su Yu dangled the keys in his hand. That crisp sound of metal colliding, to Kiana's ears, was simply the starting gun to the hometown of happiness.
Kiana immediately threw her nervousness from earlier to the back of her mind.
Car?
Could it be that kind of convertible sports car? Or that kind of cool heavy motorcycle?
Make sense. Although Su Yu usually looked quite like a salted fish, he was at least a hidden tycoon who could take out five hundred thousand for renovation!
Plus that confident look he had just now...
Kiana's mind had already conjured up a cool image of herself wearing sunglasses, sitting in the passenger seat, half her body leaning out, her long hair dancing in the wind.
Of course, a warm reminder: this is very dangerous behavior and violates traffic rules; good children must not imitate this.
But considering Kiana's powerful body that can tear Honkai Beasts apart by hand...
It feels like the ones who should panic aren't Kiana, but the cars coming and going on the road.
Of course.
Although Kiana had already started fantasizing about her dashing style.
However.
Reality is very skinny.
Three minutes later.
At the entrance of the apartment building.
Kiana stared at the round-shaped little electric scooter before her, which even had a somewhat faded "Aima" logo stuck to it, and fell into a long silence.
The wind curled up a withered leaf, rolling desolately past their feet.
Kiana's mouth twitched twice: "This is... a man's romance?"
"Convertible, two-seater, electric drive, green and eco-friendly."
Su Yu patted that weather-beaten seat, talking nonsense with a straight face.
"And in this congested Arc City, it is the well-deserved king. Whether it's the morning rush or the evening rush, only it can take you to kill your way out of the heavy siege."
"Come off it!" Kiana put her hands on her hips. "Didn't you just give the martial arts dojo five hundred thousand?"
"That's called earmarked funds! That steward Lin Zhaoyu is staring at every single account."
Su Yu sighed and handed over a helmet printed with cartoon patterns.
"I also want to buy a Maybach to take you for a spin, but the reality is, my wallet is cleaner than my face. I have a license, but I really can't afford to maintain a car."
Kiana looked at that helmet, then looked at that rear seat which was so narrow it seemed it could only accommodate half a butt.
If she were to sit on it...
Wouldn't her whole person have to be pressed against his back?
This kind of posture... for them right now, isn't it a bit too ahead of its time?
"Um..."
The young girl twisted her fingers, trying to make a final struggle.
"Can we... not call a taxi? Even carpooling is fine..."
"Call a taxi?"
Su Yu sighed, performing a classic 45-degree look up at the sky, his face written with "Life is not easy, the old man sighs."
"Sure. But this expense counts as non-essential expenditure. According to Head Steward Lin's rules, we have to file an application first, then get approval, and finally get reimbursed."
"If you have the courage to face that Eldest Senior Sister who radiates the aura of a school dean all over her body, and explain to her why we need to waste these thirty kuai..."
Kiana trembled all over.
The moment she heard that name, Kiana sucked in a breath of cold air.
The image of Lin Zhaoyu holding a ledger and reciting the need to increase income and reduce expenditure with that cold voice devoid of any modulation instantly floated into her mind.
Even that muscle man Ma Feima was like a quail in front of her...
Go ask her for taxi fare?
She feared she would be lectured until next year!
"...Then, then forget it."
Kiana conceded instantly.
Compared to facing Lin Zhaoyu's mental attack, sitting on a little e-scooter seemed not that unacceptable.
At least... she could save some money to buy snacks.
"That's the spirit."
Su Yu nodded with satisfaction, straddling the bike and propping himself up with one foot.
"Come, get on. Hold on tight; this old driver's speed is very fast."
Kiana put on the helmet unwillingly and straddled the rear seat somewhat clumsily.
Just as she expected.
This vehicle... was too small.
To maintain balance, she had to scoot forward.
With this scoot, her knees almost pressed against the outside of Su Yu's thighs, and the fabric on her chest was only a layer of air away from Su Yu's back.
Su Yu felt the weight coming from behind him, and the corner of his mouth hooked up into a smile.
"Hold on tight, the old driver is departing."
"I know, I know, so verbose..."
Before Kiana could finish her sentence, Su Yu's wrist twisted violently.
Although the little e-scooter looked broken, the torque at the moment of starting was no joke.
"Buzz—!"
"Whoa!"
Under the effect of inertia, Kiana's body leaned back uncontrollably, then slammed forward violently.
With a bang.
She collided solidly against Su Yu's back.
The collision of softness and hardness.
The young girl's elastic chest pressed against the young man's back without reservation.
It was even squeezed out of shape by the impact force.
In that instant, Kiana felt like her face had been burned by fire, turning thoroughly red with a whoosh.
Separated by two layers of thin clothing, she could clearly feel the heat coming from Su Yu's body.
That was the body temperature belonging to an adult male.
And that scent of lemon body wash mixed in; it was the same brand she used.
"Hey! Slow down!"
Kiana shouted somewhat flusteredly, trying to pull away a little distance.
Too close.
Su Yu actually wasn't feeling great either.
The two soft tactile sensations coming from his back were simply a huge test of his willpower.
Especially that impact from Kiana just now; it almost made him rush into the green belt, bike and all.
This was testing the old veteran a bit too much.
"Cough... mistake, mistake."
Su Yu gave two dry coughs, forcibly steadying the handlebars and focusing his attention on the road conditions.
"Hold tight to my waist. Don't pull my clothes; the clothes are going to be torn by you."
Kiana bit her lip.
Although it was very shameful, in order not to be thrown off, she could only reach out her hands and circle Su Yu's waist.
However.
The moment her arms tightened and her palms pressed against Su Yu's side waist.
Her movements suddenly froze.
Something was wrong.
Really something wrong.
As a warrior of the Kaslana family, Kiana's perception of human body structure was very acute.
The Su Yu from before...
To be honest, although not frail, he definitely couldn't be called strong.
When hugged, he felt a bit soft, and one could even feel a little bit of flab accumulated from sitting for long periods.
Just like a lazy house cat, soft and squishy.
But now...
Kiana's fingers pressed down subconsciously.
Hard.
Separated by the hoodie, she could clearly feel the outlines of those rows of firm abs, and the muscle lines on his side waist that were like taut bowstrings.
This was simply not the body a salted fish who stayed home coding for a long time should have!
This density, this hardness, this terrifying sense of power contained beneath the skin...
It was simply like a dormant cheetah, or... a fully grown, massive Maine Coon?
Wait...
What is going on?
It's only been a few days?
How could a human body undergo such a shedding-one's-skin-and-changing-bones transformation in such a short time?
Countless thoughts flashed through Kiana's mind.
Suddenly, an image streaked across her memory like lightning.
Late that night.
She woke up with a start.
Su Yu was curled up in the quilt, his whole body trembling, cold sweat soaking the sheets.
But he gritted his teeth, not making a sound, enduring the severe pain.
At that time, Kiana thought he was sick, or had eaten something bad.
The next day, she checked the bedding while Su Yu went to wash up; not only was it soaked with sweat, but it was even mixed with a faint smell of blood.
At that time, she only knew Su Yu had experienced some kind of inhuman torture, and later Su Yu's physical recovery also exceeded imagination.
But the Kiana of that time had no way to be sure.
But now, touching this body filled with power, she understood everything instantly.
Enhancement.
Some kind of... enhancement method that required paying a huge price and enduring immense pain.
For what?
Why risk his life like this?
Kiana pressed her face against Su Yu's back.
Through that layer of muscle, she heard his powerful heartbeat.
Was it because of that day on the rooftop?
Because he tried his best to grab her, but almost got pulled down due to insufficient strength?
Because he didn't want to experience that kind of... powerlessness of almost losing her again?
"...Idiot."
Kiana buried her face into Su Yu's jacket, her voice so light only the wind could hear.
Her eyes felt a bit hot, and her vision became blurry.
Clearly just an ordinary person.
Clearly just needed to be a game producer.
Why go to such lengths for someone like me... a Herrscher who might lose control at any time?
That shame and awkwardness from just now had vanished into smoke at some point.
Replacing it was an unprecedented sense of peace.
It was like a small boat drifting in a storm finally finding a harbor to dock.
Although this harbor wasn't big, and was riding a tattered little e-scooter.
But it was very warm.
Kiana tightened her arms.
This time, it wasn't because she was afraid of falling off.
But because she wanted to hold tight to this... stupid Senior Brother who cherished her.
"Hey, Kiana?"
Feeling the person behind him suddenly go quiet, and instead hugging even tighter, Su Yu called out somewhat strangely.
"Why aren't you talking? Is the wind too strong?"
No response from behind.
Only those hands circling his waist clasped together more forcefully.
And the warm tactile sensation coming from his back, belonging to the young girl's cheek.
Su Yu froze for a moment.
Immediately, he smiled and didn't ask further.
"Sit tight."
He spoke softly, then twisted the throttle, and the little e-scooter drove steadily toward the front.
Did she fall asleep?
This guy, her heart is really big.
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