"Oh my~! I finally get to see you up close! The real-life Miss Kiana is a hundred times cuter than she is on the big screen~"
After the performance ended.
The moment Elysia stepped off the stage, she zeroed in with perfect precision on Kiana, who was clutching a giant Homu plushie and trying her best to disappear into the background.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Elysia~ Su Yu's very best friend, and the girl who loves beautiful girls more than anyone in this world~"
"Kiana, can we be friends? Can we? Can we?"
Kiana went completely rigid.
She was like a husky that had just been pounced on by an overly enthusiastic golden retriever — her mind a total blank.
Sure, in the Honkai Impact 3rd storyline, Kiana herself was famously the type of idiot who would "save the world for a pretty girl." The cheesy lines and lovesick nonsense she'd unloaded on Mei could circle the globe three times. She'd practically been the self-proclaimed queen of the girl-chasers back in the early Forbidden Academy 2 days — though Forbidden Academy 2 and Honkai Impact 3rd really had to be viewed dialectically; you couldn't just lump them together.
But of course, the real problem right now was...
That had all been one-sided output on her end!
She was used to being the one doing the chasing — the pursuer. She had absolutely zero experience being face-rushed by someone whose "pursuing" rank was a hundred tiers above her own!
This wasn't a case of a small fry meeting a bigger fish.
This was a tutorial-village slime coming face-to-face with a max-level demon lord.
"I — um.... I..."
Kiana stammered, her tongue completely tied.
On instinct, she took a step back and slipped behind Su Yu, peeking out from behind him with just half her face — and one enormous ear of the Homu plushie — visible, eyeing this pink menace with extreme wariness.
"Su — Su Yu.... she... she's so scary..."
Kiana tugged at Su Yu's sleeve and muttered under her breath.
Su Yu sighed helplessly and stepped in front of Kiana like a mother hen shielding her chick.
"Elysia, dial it back a little. You're scaring the kid."
"Oh? Did I scare her?"
Elysia blinked, putting on her most innocent, aggrieved expression.
"I just like Miss Kiana so much~ A girl this pure and full of life — she's as irresistible as a freshly baked crystal cake~"
She might have been saying she felt wronged, but the smile in her eyes only deepened.
"I'm so sorry about that~"
Elysia covered her mouth and laughed, the sound as bright and clear as wind chimes.
"It seems Elysia has been too inconsiderate — barging in on a sweet little family-of-three date like this~"
She put a deliberate emphasis on the words "family of three."
Kiana's face turned scarlet in an instant, and she was just about to retort —
Miss Pink Elf glanced at the elegant ladies' watch on her wrist. The teasing smile faded slightly, replaced by a more earnest expression.
"Alright, no more joking. As much as I'd love to join you all and ride the Ferris wheel with the adorable Miss Kiana... I'm afraid I can't."
She pointed toward the staff bustling about on the other side of the backstage area.
"The donation funds from tonight's performance have already been tallied. As the organizer, I need to personally deliver the money to the foundation right away."
"After all... the children in those impoverished mountain villages are still waiting for this gift."
As she said this, her expression became extraordinarily soft.
Like the warm sun of early spring — no longer the kind of brilliant radiance that could dazzle you, but a pure, simple warmth.
"So~ today's date is all yours!"
Elysia waved goodbye to the three of them and turned to walk toward the backstage exit.
A few steps out, she seemed to remember something and suddenly turned back, blowing a flying kiss at Su Yu.
"Next time you get the chance, you absolutely have to bring Miss Kiana to my tea party!"
"And — if anything comes up, you have to come talk to me about it. No more teaming up with that stone-faced Kevin to hide things from me, understood?"
Su Yu's gaze drifted slightly.
"Do — you — un — der — stand —?"
Faced with Miss Pink Elf's full pressure, Su Yu could only nod in resigned surrender.
"Understood."
"Great, bye-bye then~ Have fun you three~"
That commanding pink silhouette disappeared around the corner.
The sweet, heady scent of peach slowly faded from the air in her wake.
"Phew..."
Kiana let out a long, long breath. She deflated like a punctured balloon and stepped out from behind Su Yu, patting her chest.
"Finally gone... that woman. Her presence is just too overwhelming. The moment you stand in front of her, you can't help but get swept along at her pace..."
She understood now, at least a little, why Su Yu had been so nervous at the prospect of Elysia showing up at their door.
She absolutely could not handle that pink menace!
Absolutely not!
But.
Now that she'd relaxed, Kiana's brain started turning again.
She recalled the faintly ambiguous way Elysia had acted toward Su Yu just now. That casual physical contact. That pouty, teasing way she said "Su Yu-chan." And that flying kiss as she walked away...
That really didn't look like an ordinary friendship, did it?
Kiana hugged her giant Homu plushie, her gaze drifting over Su Yu.
Three parts probing. Three parts curiosity. And four parts... a faint, unnoticed sourness she hadn't even registered in herself.
"Su Yu." The girl asked in a deliberately casual tone, her fingers idly winding circles around the plushie's ear. "That Elysia... what exactly is she to you?"
Su Yu had been about to twist open a bottle of mineral water. At those words, his hand paused.
He turned his head and looked at Kiana's wide eyes, which were broadcasting loud and clear: "Leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist."
And beside her — Griseo, who hadn't said a word, but whose ears were very visibly perked up.
He knew. There was no getting out of this interrogation.
"It was... a fair-weather afternoon."
Su Yu's gaze grew distant, his tone heavy with the weight of a man recounting events from a bygone era.
"Back then, I was just a simple sophomore student."
"Until one day, that thick-browed, bright-eyed guy Kevin suddenly sent me a message on WeChat."
"Just two characters —"
Su Yu held up two fingers.
"'Godfather.'"
"Pfft —"
Kiana nearly choked.
"Kevin?! That expressionless block of ice?! He called you Godfather?!"
The mental image was simply too much. She didn't even dare picture it.
"Yep."
Su Yu shook his head with the look of a man haunted by memories best left buried.
"I knew it the moment I saw it. When that little punk calls you Godfather, nothing good is coming."
"Sure enough — he was asking me to be his wingman for a date with Mei."
"He said he'd invited Mei to the Homu Game Center, but you know what he's like — couldn't squeeze out a word in a whole afternoon. So he needed me there to warm up the atmosphere, and once things got going, I'd make an excuse to disappear and leave all the glory to him."
"Isn't that just normal wingman stuff?" Kiana said, confused.
"The problem was... that game center."
Su Yu bit down on the candy in his mouth.
"My original plan was perfect. While those two academic superstars flirted by discussing quantum mechanics, I'd slip over to the arcade section, play games all afternoon, then go home and sleep."
"But..."
"Just as I was about to make my exit, a pink figure stepped into my path."
Su Yu closed his eyes.
The image was still crystal clear, even now.
In front of a massive pink Homu claw machine.
Elysia was standing there holding an empty basket, staring through the glass at the prize inside with the most pitifully forlorn expression imaginable.
"Oh no~ Why is this claw so mean? I already had it! Why did it let go~?"
"Does even the machine bully cute pretty girls? Wuwuwu..."
At the time, Su Yu — a man with memories of two lifetimes, a former bottom-rung IT coder who had ground himself to dust in his past life only to be reincarnated via cement mixer truck — had long since cultivated a heart as still and undisturbed as Still Water itself.
His one creed in this life: lie flat.
Pretty girls? Romance? Ambition?
All of it could get lost!
All he wanted in this lifetime was to be a happy, drifting salted fish — gaming every day, ordering takeout, coasting along until death!
Nobody could stop his determination to stay horizontal! Not even a pretty girl!
So, faced with Elysia's little "performance," Su Yu's first instinct was — ignore it.
If I walk fast enough, the trouble can't catch me.
However.
Just as he was about to take the long way around, Elysia turned around as if she had eyes in the back of her head.
"Oh? This student looks like someone with a big heart~"
The girl blinked those sparkling star-filled eyes and locked precisely onto Su Yu, who had been mid-escape.
"Could you help poor little Elysia? This Homu... it keeps teasing me, but refuses to come home with me. It's so naughty~"
Su Yu's mouth twitched.
He wanted to refuse.
But Kevin and Mei were over there deep in conversation, and inserting himself as a third wheel right now wasn't exactly a great option either.
Besides... as a former miserable bottom-tier IT code monkey, looking at that claw machine's grip settings had triggered his compulsive streak.
The claw's grip was clearly miscalibrated. That was algorithmic fraud!
And so, out of a certain sense of professional dignity.
Su Yu walked over, inserted a coin, gripped the joystick, and dropped the claw.
Using the physics engine's momentum, he executed a single swinging hook that caught the plushie's tag strap perfectly.
Clunk.
Moments later, the plushie that had been tormenting Elysia for half an hour obediently rolled out into the tray.
"Here."
Su Yu handed it over and turned to leave.
Leave no trace, take no credit — the true discipline of the salted fish.
But.
Just as he turned.
A hand gently pinched the back of his sleeve.
"Wait a moment~"
Elysia's voice drifted over from behind him, carrying a softness that was impossible to refuse.
Su Yu looked back to find Elysia clutching the plushie, head tilted, watching him.
That look in her eyes...
How to put it?
It was like she'd seen straight through the cold front he put on and touched something soft underneath.
"Aren't we both wanderers cast upon the same distant shore?"
Elysia pointed toward Kevin and Mei in the distance, the two of them completely absorbed in their own world, and smiled a meaningful smile.
"Look at those two over there, having such a great time."
"And us... we're both the forgotten extras."
"Am I right? Wingman Su Yu?"
Su Yu's heart skipped a beat.
She'd figured him out.
This woman's instincts were terrifying.
"Since we're both unwanted strays..."
Elysia took the opportunity to grab Su Yu's arm and drag him toward the dance machine.
"How about we keep each other company and spend the day playing with cute little Elysia? Pretty please~"
In that moment.
Faced with those eyes that seemed to hold entire galaxies inside them, and her unabashedly wheedling stubbornness.
Su Yu's hardened salted-fish heart...
Wavered.
It wasn't like he had anything better to do.
Besides... playing games alone or playing games with someone — it's still just playing games.
And so.
That afternoon, Su Yu was forcibly dragged around every corner of the game center by Elysia.
Dance machines to racing games, shooting to fighting.
Elysia was astonished to discover that Su Yu displayed a staggering natural talent for games. Whatever the game, he picked it up instantly and had it mastered in two rounds. He even had her pinned on the floor in the fighting game — though Elysia ultimately wriggled out of that one by invoking "you're bullying a girl" as grounds for a forfeit.
Until the sun dipped low toward the horizon.
When it was time to say goodbye, Elysia took out her phone and pulled up a QR code.
"Here, let's add each other."
The girl smiled sweetly, her tone carrying a firmness that brooked no argument.
"To repay you for the Homu plushie, I'm treating you to a meal next time! No refusing allowed! And if you do refuse... I'll tell Kevin you were peeping at the girl dancing next door!"
Su Yu had naively believed at the time that it was just a polite thing to say. Or simple repayment for a favor.
Little did he know...
That was merely the first step of the Pink Trap.
"From that point on..."
Su Yu covered his face, his voice saturated with regret.
"I fell completely into the pit."
"She didn't just become my friend — she acted like a saleswoman and recommended me to everyone in the Golden Courtyard."
"'Oh no, Vill-V's computer is broken, Su Yu can you fix it?'"
Don't ask why Vill-V couldn't fix her own computer — letting her touch a computer would probably turn it into a world-ending bomb.
"'Kalpas that idiot smashed the router, Su Yu go take a look~'"
"'Eden wants to buy a new sound system, Su Yu you know about these things, go help her~'"
"And just like that... I somehow became the Golden Courtyard's unofficial tech consultant."
"Fixing computers, fixing phones, fixing routers, even fixing a toaster oven..."
Su Yu sighed, but the corner of his mouth curved upward despite himself.
"Vill-V the Great Magician had her computer stuffed full of all sorts of bizarre self-destruct programs. Nearly gave me a heart attack — I almost called the police."
"Kalpas looks scary, but honestly, if you fix his internet for him, he'll quietly shove a box of freshly baked cookies into your hands."
"Eden kept trying to send me all kinds of expensive golden merchandise as a thank-you gift..."
"Anyway, one thing led to another, and I just... muddled my way into actually knowing all of them."
Su Yu looked up at the ceiling.
"Then one day, that idiot Kevin let something slip while eating noodles."
"He said: 'Su Yu, you've seemed pretty happy lately. Mei and I are relieved to see it.'"
"'Asking Elysia to get close to you back then — turns out it was the right call.'"
In that moment.
Su Yu finally understood.
That so-called chance encounter had never been a coincidence at all.
It was Kevin and Mei — those two idiots.
They had seen it in Su Yu: that "nothing really matters to me," "I could vanish from the crowd at any time" kind of detachment.
They were worried that this friend of theirs, the one who just wanted to be a salted fish, would end up growing old in loneliness, unable to find meaning in life.
So they'd gone to Elysia.
That "class counselor" with the power to heal people's hearts.
They'd asked her — in her own uniquely gentle yet immovable way — to go knock on the door Su Yu had shut tight.
It was a genuinely heartwarming story.
But hearing it through Kiana's ears, something felt oddly, inexplicably strange.
Not that Miss Kiana was jealous, of course. It was purely because —
It sounded familiar.
Way, way too familiar.
All this "shameless persistence"...
All this "going along with it half-willingly"...
All this "somehow just getting used to being around each other"...
Why did this whole narrative arc sound so achingly familiar?
Like it had just happened recently?
Kiana snapped her head up, and in that instant, she felt a surge of Sherlock Holmes-like clarity — seeing through the surface straight to the truth beneath.
She stared hard at the man in front of her, the picture of innocence, currently unwrapping his second lollipop.
That rainy night in the corridor.
She'd been on guard like a cat with every hair raised, still wearing her Valkyrie armor.
And what had he done?
He'd insisted on dragging this troublesome stranger home with him, even producing a written contract with "Hand your life over to me" written on it.
Then at home.
She'd been withdrawn, nearly shut down — she'd barely been willing to talk to Su Yu at all.
And what had he done?
Stuffed snacks into her hands. Taken her out to eat. Bought her clothes.
Then there was the stakeout for Griseo and The Three-Year Sakura. The fateful rooftop at Eden's concert. The "Little Junior Sister" cover story he'd woven for her during the livestream to give her an identity.
And just like that, in a muddle, without her even noticing — by the time Kiana came back to her senses —
She was already standing here, clutching a big pink Homu plushie, trading quips and banter with this man.
"Smack!"
Kiana slapped her thigh with a sharp crack.
"Oh, so that's how it is, Su Yu!"
The girl jabbed a finger at his nose, eyes wide as saucers, even her ahoge standing straight up with indignation.
"No wonder you seemed so practiced at it! You were just copying your homework in real time!"
"The whole playbook that pink woman used on you —"
"The whole 'boiling the frog slowly,' the 'soft on the outside iron on the inside,' the 'guilt-tripping disguised as cuteness' —"
"You turned every last trick of it on me, didn't you?!"
Su Yu nearly dropped his lollipop.
He looked at this little Paramecium who had apparently just cracked the entire case, and guiltily looked away.
"Ahem... how could you call that tricks?"
"This is... this is called the inheritance of excellent tactical thinking."
"Besides, Elysia did all that to rope me into free labor. I did it to save a wayward young woman — well, to save the world! Completely different nature, totally different!"
"Like I'd believe that!"
Kiana huffed, puffed her cheeks, crossed her arms, and turned her face away.
She said she was angry.
But somehow, for some reason, that faint sour feeling in her chest quietly faded away.
In its place came an emotion that was subtle and complicated, hard to name.
She snuck a glance at Su Yu from the corner of her eye.
This guy — infuriating sometimes, manipulative always.
But he really had... pulled her out of that cold and hopeless abyss.
Just like that pink elf had once pulled him out of his lonely salted-fish existence.
If...
If Elysia had never appeared.
If Su Yu had stayed alone all along, keeping that detached "nothing matters to me" attitude.
Then that night in the corridor, when he ran into her —
Would he have... just glanced over and walked right past without a second thought?
In that moment, Kiana's heart clenched hard.
A feeling called "retrospective dread" welled up inside her.
If that had been the case...
She might still be wandering in that rainy night.
She might have already been driven mad by the Herrscher of the Void's voice.
She might... no longer be in this world at all.
So...
Kiana bit her lip, her gaze drifting toward the direction where a pink balloon had floated away in the distance.
Even though that woman was overwhelming, exuberant, and loved to play matchmaker without anyone asking her to.
Even though she kept calling him "Su Yu-chan, Su Yu-chan," which was weirdly uncomfortable to hear.
But.
"...Thank you."
Kiana whispered it quietly, inside her heart.
Thank you, you terrifyingly enthusiastic Pink Piggy-Cat.
Thank you for having taken such good care of... this idiot.
It was a very strange feeling.
Like finding a well-behaved, gentle little dog and feeling the inexplicable urge to thank its previous owner — to thank them for not mistreating it, for teaching it how to give affection, so that you could have the chance to... have it now.
If Su Yu could hear Kiana's inner monologue right now, he'd definitely spit his candy across the room.
Wow, we're doing the 'grateful to the ex' thing now? Kiana, what on earth have you been reading on your phone lately?
"Kiana-nee."
Just as Kiana was hopelessly absorbed in her own inner drama, a small hand holding a sketchbook quietly appeared in front of her.
"...Look."
Griseo's voice was as calm as ever.
Kiana looked down.
On that white page, a few simple lines had been used to sketch out a drawing.
It was only a quick sketch, yet the feeling it captured was uncannily precise.
On the left side of the image was a chibi figure in an elaborate dress, surrounded by little star effects.
That was Elysia.
She was beaming happily, holding a thin string in her hand.
The other end of the string was attached to a kite.
That kite... had a pair of dead-fish eyes, messy hair, and wore the expression of someone who desperately wanted to go home.
No question — that was Su Yu.
The kite was up there flying in the sky, looking deeply reluctant about the whole situation, yet held firmly by that string — not falling, not getting lost.
And in the lower right corner of the image.
There was a tiny chibi figure with twin guns, reaching out a hand as if trying to catch the end of the kite's string.
"Pfff —"
Kiana couldn't hold it in. She burst out laughing.
"Teacher Painted World... this is way too accurate. Those dead-fish eyes... that is literally Su Yu's true form!"
Su Yu leaned over for a look and immediately darkened.
"Hey, hey, hey! Am I really that much of a wreck? And why am I the kite? Can't I be the one flying the kite?"
Griseo looked up at him with those clear, bottomless violet eyes.
The little painter tilted her head and delivered a line that could have cracked Su Yu's entire defense.
"Su Yu-gege."
"A kite... only dares to fly so high because it has a string holding it."
"Without the string, the kite would... lose its way home."
"Elysia-nee is a string."
"Kiana-nee is also a string."
"Everyone... is Su Yu-gege's string."
Su Yu went still.
He looked at the little girl's utterly serious face, and suddenly felt as though something was lodged in his throat.
Scheming little troublemaker?
This kid... she didn't talk much, but when she looked at something, she saw it more clearly than anyone.
Yeah.
He — a transmigrator, someone who should have been completely out of place in this world, a stranger in a strange land —
It was precisely because of these bonds.
The trust from Kevin and Mei. The teasing memories with Elysia. Being relied upon by everyone in the Golden Courtyard.
And... Kiana's company.
These were what made him feel like he was truly, genuinely living here.
"Fine."
Su Yu sighed in fond defeat and reached out to ruffle Griseo's little head.
"Being described as a kite held up by a bunch of women... I won't pretend that sounds particularly dignified."
"But... I'll take this drawing."
"I'll frame it when we get home and hang it in the most prominent spot in the house — as a daily reminder to work hard, otherwise you creditors will come cut my strings."
"Mm."
Griseo nodded with satisfaction — but Teacher Painted World's lips curled upward again.
"You have to... remember to pay the commission fee. This is Teacher Painted World's [Limited Edition]."
"Yes, yes, yes! You little money-grubber!"
Su Yu laughed despite himself.
He stood up, dusted himself off, and checked the time.
"Alright! Retrospective segment officially over!"
"Now then —"
Su Yu swept his arm out with a grand gesture, pointing at the roller coaster in the distance that was screaming past in a blur of speed and shrieking passengers.
"It is time for our celebration!"
"Heroine Kiana! Teacher Griseo!"
"While Fu Hua's motion capture stage is still under renovation! While the hellish overtime hasn't started yet!"
"Today — we are going to conquer every single ride in this amusement park!"
"I want that one!"
Kiana responded instantly, pointing straight at the tallest drop tower, vibrating with excitement like a husky that had just been let out of its cage.
"That one looks the most insane! Su Yu you are NOT running away! You are riding it with me!"
Griseo quietly raised her hand and pointed to the carousel nearby.
"Su Yu-gege, I want that one."
Su Yu took Griseo's hand. Kiana marched out in front like a self-appointed trailblazer.
"Yes, yes, yes — we'll do them all! Not a single one gets left out!"
Sunlight fell across the three of them, casting three long shadows behind them.
Kite or string — it didn't really matter.
What mattered was that right now.
They were flying together.
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