In the end, Li Mu pushed the black card back.
"I actually have assets I can sell. I am not lying."
"As long as I find the right buyer, money will not be an issue."
Kiana blinked, curiosity written all over her face.
Li Mu explained, "Things that are worthless to me, but priceless to certain people."
"You are being all mysterious again." Seeing he had no intention of elaborating, Kiana gave up.
Silence settled between them.
Then Li Mu asked, "How have things been at school? Have you and Mei become friends yet?"
Kiana's expression instantly darkened.
"No. I have no idea how to befriend her. She is like she has isolated herself from the world. This whole week, I think we have exchanged fewer than ten sentences."
As Kiana vented, Li Mu glanced at the system task list.
This is the beginning of the story. This is where fate intersects.
Task: Witness the friendship between Kiana and Raiden Mei.
Reward: Crystals x300, A-rank Stigmata Selection Box x1.
Status: Error. Key character Raiden Mei not detected.
That was expected. Mei was not yet the young lady of ME Corp, so she did not fully qualify as Raiden Mei.
Still, preparing in advance and getting them to be friends was necessary.
"Do not rush it," Li Mu comforted her. "Friendship does not form overnight."
Given the Honkai universe's fundamental rule that Kiana-types and Mei-types were destined to form bonds, it should only be a matter of time.
"I hope so." Kiana sighed, then added, "Also, Su has been messaging me a lot lately. I can still brush him off with texts for now, but it will not work forever. You know how sharp he is."
Hearing that, Li Mu subconsciously glanced out the window, then calmly looked back.
"Su does not have much screen time early on, but letting him get involved should not be a problem. Are you sure you do not want to tell him?"
Kiana stared at her reflection in the surface of her drink and shook her head fiercely.
"With how I look now? No way I can let Su see me like this."
"We have been brothers for so long. If he sees me like this… my life is over."
"At that point, I might as well flee to the Moon overnight."
Ever since Li Mu elbowed her into becoming a girl, Kiana felt like her entire social circle had been wiped out.
Thinking about it, she sighed deeply and shot Li Mu an increasingly resentful look.
Sensing that vengeful gaze, Li Mu quickly pulled out a ticket and slid it toward her.
"Eden is holding a concert in Nagazora City in a few days. This is a ticket. I know you are a fan. Go enjoy yourself. Think of it as a break."
"Things are about to accelerate."
"What are you even talking about?" Kiana sighed again. She complained, but did not refuse.
After all the absurdity she had been through lately, going to a concert to remember the beauty of the world did not sound bad.
Instead of taking his ticket, though, she pulled out another one from her pocket, twirled it between her fingers, and smiled.
"Together?"
Going to a concert alone was boring.
Li Mu smiled and shook his head. "No. You go this time. I have things to take care of."
"What are you planning now?" Kiana asked suspiciously.
"Running around to save the world, of course."
"You did not even deny that you are scheming."
Li Mu just smiled, put away the ticket, and paid the bill.
They soon parted ways outside the shop.
As he left, Li Mu glanced toward the street corner again, but did not react.
After they were gone, a figure peeked out from that corner, shock written all over his face.
It was a gray-haired boy with handsome, androgynous features. The kind of face that would look perfect in women's clothes.
This was Su, another close friend of Li Mu and Kevin.
Right now, staring in the direction they had left, Su was utterly shaken.
After hearing that Eden was coming to the Far East for a concert, Su had used his connections to get three tickets. He planned to invite his two best friends.
Mu had politely declined, saying he was busy.
Kevin had almost cut off contact entirely, replying only sporadically.
Su was extremely perceptive. He could feel that his two closest friends were drifting away, leaving him behind.
That subtle sense of abandonment weighed heavily on him.
So he went out today to clear his head. Without realizing it, he wandered to the cold drink shop they often visited.
That was when he saw Mu talking to a white-haired girl.
The moment he saw her, an odd sense of familiarity hit him.
She looked so much like Kevin.
Under normal reasoning, he might have assumed she was Kevin's sister or something similar.
But Su was sharp. From her mannerisms and behavior, he picked up countless details.
Appearance could be disguised. Habits were much harder to fake.
Putting everything together led to a conclusion that sounded utterly absurd.
That white-haired girl talking to Mu… was Kevin.
"How did Kevin turn into this?" Su felt his mind shake. A guess surfaced. "Could it be… Kevin has a crossdressing hobby?"
Turning into a girl was too unscientific. But crossdressing? That made sense.
"That makes sense… that makes sense…"
Thinking carefully, Kevin's build really was suited for it.
Still, a deep sense of loss welled up inside Su.
A brother having a secret hobby was one thing. Sneaking out together behind his back was another.
Did they even consider him a brother anymore?
Thinking back on everything, Su felt bitterness rise in his chest, like he had been excluded from the group.
He pulled out the Eden concert ticket from his pocket and stared at it.
A cloud seemed to hang over his head as his whole body slumped in dejection.
…
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