"Hic... How can this be, how can this be..."
Mei, eating the dishes Wende had prepared, sank into deep disbelief. How... how could it be this delicious?
It wasn't that she had never had Shenzhou cuisine before, but this tasted completely different from what she made...
"Waaah, so yummy! Mei! I want to eat this again in the future!" Kiana's cheeks were puffed out as she looked at Mei with shining eyes.
At the side, Wende smiled and shook his head, taking the opportunity to place a piece of his cherry pork, Wendy's favorite, in her bowl.
"Thank you..."
Wendy glanced up at the three people across from her, her face flushing slightly. She then lowered her head, took a bite of the meat Wende had given her, and began to quietly eat her rice.
Over this past week, if it weren't for Wende helping her exercise every day, she would probably have started to get a tummy, right? Although Wende's meals were nutritionally balanced, she couldn't help but overeat every time...
"If you like it, eat more," Wende said with a smile to the three guests.
Noticing that the 1.2 preview livestream was about to start in five minutes, Bronya quietly put down her bowl and chopsticks, her eyes darting toward Wende.
She still held a sliver of doubt about his words. If miHoYo's headquarters were really in Shenzhou's Modu, why wouldn't Schicksal know about it? And if he were really just an ordinary person, how could he have been chosen as an employee by miHoYo?
Most crucially, one of his expired cookies was enough to knock out a B-rank Valkyrie... and he had also used his own medical skills to save Kiana, a complicated case that had stumped the entire branch's doctors and equipment!
This Wende seemed honest on the surface, but in reality, he was a pack of lies. He could probably only fool Kiana.
"Achoo!"
Kiana, who was busy scarfing down her food, suddenly sneezed and rubbed her nose in confusion.
"Strange, who's thinking about me?"
"..."
Bronya silently turned her head away.
Seeing Bronya's attention was now fully on the preview livestream, Wende thoughtfully turned on the TV and switched it to the Star Rail program.
In fact, because Honkai: Star Rail was practically a household name in the Honkai world, some television stations, for the sake of ratings, had long since "bought" the rebroadcasting rights for the preview livestreams.
Of course, it was the kind without any actual copyright, since miHoYo's main entity didn't exist in the Honkai world.
Soon, the preview livestream began. Seeing this, Mei and Kiana also put down their utensils and began to watch intently.
The entire living room suddenly fell silent, leaving only the sound of Wendy chewing her food in small bites.
Swish...
The Honkai: Star Rail logo flashed across the screen, followed by the same Version 1.2 preview video as the one from the real world.
It was the same as ever: the debut of Blade, Kafka, and the five-star Wende. But when the camera focused on the five-star Wende, Wende unconsciously turned his head to the side...
Good lord, where does this feeling of shame from being publicly executed come from! If he hadn't mastered the power of Primordial Chaos by now, he'd probably still have to change into that outfit every time he used his five-star template...
Watching his on-screen self, who looked like a carefree wanderer, like an immortal descended to the mortal realm, and those shameless clothes...
"Sigh... Dammit, it would have been better if I had hosted it myself! At least I could have controlled the narrative a bit!"
Wende instantly felt a pang of regret. This... this was a public execution!
"Wende, you look so cool."
Wendy looked at the dazzling five-star Wende in the preview, her face slightly flushed as she gave Wende a heartfelt smile.
"..."
"Mm..."
Wende forced a smile. Whatever, as long as the kid likes it.
"Wow, Wende! You have a five-star form! How is it? Is it strong?! What element is it!?"
Kiana watched the five-star Wende's cool entrance and immediately got a sense of his power from his gaze! If this character joined her team, wouldn't it become the strongest team in Star Rail!
"Er, the details will be out soon. Don't be so impatient, Kiana."
Mei tugged awkwardly at Kiana's sleeve, not daring to look directly at Wende.
Under normal circumstances, she might have seriously considered with Kiana whether to pull for him, but... with the man himself right here, it was probably best not to...
The preview livestream lasted for half an hour. The content for Version 1.2 was incredibly rich and dazzling. For Wende, however, it was just a replay of his dark history.
Hiss...
Sigh, the water in the sink is so cold today. Maybe I should buy a dishwasher...
---o---
After sending the trio off, Wende finally breathed a sigh of relief. Alright, he decided it was best to have his groceries delivered for the next few days. He had already witnessed the fervor of the people in Oceania, and judging by the density of the live comments just now, his five-star template was about to stir up another "bloody storm" in the Honkai world.
It was getting late. Wende carried Wendy to her bed and gave her the daily pre-sleep massage to relax her body, which would help her better absorb the natural energies that drifted in the night.
"Goodnight, Wendy."
Wende tucked her in and said softly.
"Goodnight... Um..."
Wendy clutched the corner of her blanket, burying the lower half of her face in it. Her eyes darted around, looking very hesitant.
"Mm?"
"Can... can we go back to St. Freya together? I, I kind of want to go back to the old St. Freya, but I still want to be with you. I... am I being a little greedy..."
The dim yellow bedside lamp cast a faint glow on Wendy's cheeks. A hint of mist seemed to flash in her cyan-green eyes.
"..."
Wende didn't answer, just smiled and gently ruffled Wendy's short hair.
"Don't worry. I won't leave you until you're fully healed."
He made his promise to the girl before him. Seeing the joy that flashed in her eyes, Wende couldn't help but smile as well.
"Then, goodnight, Wende."
"Mm, goodnight, Wendy."
Click.
Wende turned off the light for her and walked to the living room window. Gazing at the bright moon in the sky, a hint of worry grew in his eyes.
Going to St. Freya with Wendy... seemed to go against his initial plan, but since it was what Wendy wanted... he would go along with it.
Anyway, he was already exposed to everyone's eyes now...
Isn't that right?
Looking at the swaying trunk of the large tree outside the window, Wende shook his head and drew the curtains.
"..."
"Lord Bishop, he noticed."
"Yes... we are withdrawing now..."