"'Heart'... is dead?"
"To be more precise, it's closer to his passionate heart, right?" Auntie Wang smacked her lips. "But if you want a specific description, I'm not good with words. It's like the difference between a society where people respect the old and care for the young, and one where they say, 'If you didn't hit them, why would you help them up?' Something like that."
Aren't you quite good at describing it... Kiana thought with a wry smile.
Simply put, he had "fallen" from being the embodiment of a Kaslana to having the mindset of a pure bystander who couldn't care less about others' problems. He might help if he saw someone in trouble, but he would also protect himself if he felt it was beyond his abilities.
Whether he could get away in time, well, that depended on his own skills.
Of course, even to twist his personality to this extent had taken Fuli a full three years before his rebirth.
Some things couldn't be rushed. People never achieve great enlightenment just from a single principle, a single sentence, or a single poem.
"I think the little knight is actually fine the way he is now," Auntie Wang said earnestly, holding Kiana's hand. "I don't know if you've ever seen him back then, little girl, but he was—hmm, to use the words of my unfilial son who's obsessed with games, for little Li, helping others was like doing a mandatory daily quest. As if, if he kept accumulating rewards, he could one day exchange them for a piece of epic gear."
"It sounds nice, and the people he helped would be happy, but living like that is not only tiring, but you also get taken advantage of."
Just as a truly honest official had to be more "cunning" than a corrupt one, among all sorts of people, who knew if, while playing the hero, you'd run into scumbags who'd "rescue a drowning girl only to be accused by the little princess of sullying her innocence" or "help call the police after a car accident only to be extorted by the family who rushed to the hospital."
Hearing this, Kiana remembered that morning when they met Dr. Zhou. Faced with the old man collapsed on the ground in the distance, Fuli hadn't immediately rushed to help, but had instead shown a pained expression as if recalling an unbearable past.
He's been screwed over before, the girl thought with a pang of sympathy, and couldn't help but resent her other self, blaming her for making such a promise with Ah Li when they parted.
Sirin: ???
Fine, since I've taken on Kiana's identity, I have to take the blame that comes with it.
Meanwhile, Auntie Wang was still chattering on. "Fortunately, little Li has you by his side now. Although you don't seem very bright (whispering), you're a foreigner after all, so you have a natural advantage in this regard."
It was a well-known fact that once international friends were involved, local laws and official departments had a high probability of becoming reasonable and friendly, fully displaying the demeanor of a great nation.
Don't ask why. The answer is always, "How can that be the same?"
"Um, Auntie," Kiana said softly, "we're working abroad right now. We just happened to be on a business trip here."
"I heard from Old Zhou! He even bragged that he was your employer!" The auntie cheerfully took out three drinks from behind the counter. "Alright, I won't keep you two lovebirds any longer. Take these. Consider them a thank you for taking care of the big orange cat."
She unceremoniously shoved the drinks into Kiana's arms and teased, "Remember to let me know when you get married! I can't say for sure if I can make it, but I'll definitely send you a big red envelope on WeChat!"
The girl, whose blush had just subsided, felt her temperature rising again. She hugged the drinks and nodded emphatically.
"Mmm! I'll definitely let you know!"
Then, her face bloomed into a smile.
Kiana, taking the elevator, soon reached the floor where Fuli and the others were. Standing at the door, she took a deep breath, resumed her usual cute and silly smile, and pushed the door open with force.
"I'm back! I brought you some yummy drinks!"
"Things from the hotel are expensive," said the little housekeeper Bronya, who had just showered, coolly. "The markup will be deducted from idiot Kiana's salary this month."
"They were a gift! A gift!" Kiana placed the drinks on the table. "Besides, Bronya, if you're always talking about money, you'll get wrinkles on your forehead soon!"
Fuli, who had just finished a hundred push-ups, came over and touched the iced tea. Finding it to be room temperature, he immediately switched his target.
"That one's mine!" Seeing her favorite white peach-flavored drink snatched away, Kiana's cheeks puffed up like a blowfish.
While she was protesting, the other bottle of Mizone was quietly taken away by Bronya.
Helpless, the girl looked around, found the room's mini-fridge, and put the iced tea in the freezer.
Room temperature iced tea? Not even a ○ would drink it!
Seeing this, Bronya secretly ordered Project Bunny to quantum-phase into the fridge and take the iced tea once it was cold enough.
The Silver Wolf of the Urals is a type of canine, after all.
Time passed, and before they knew it, it was nine o'clock at night.
Since the entire Xinjiang region used the capital's time, even at this hour, there was still a faint glimmer of light in the sky.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
Fuli, who was sitting on the bed learning a foreign language with Bronya, heard a knock on the door. Thinking it was Cousin Hua coming back, he leaped up and ran to open it.
"Cous— Uh..."
What met his eyes was not a slender yet graceful figure, but a beautiful woman with heavy makeup.
"Traveling to Xinjiang all by yourself, little brother?" She winked, her slender index finger tracing circles on Fuli's chest. "The night is long. Want big sister to comfort your lonely heart?"
Holy crap! A professional!
The boy quickly waved his hands. "No, no! I have a girlfriend!"
He couldn't waste his precious first time on someone like this.
"Who is it? Who is it? Is it the class rep?"
Hearing the commotion, Kiana, who had just showered, walked out of the bathroom, drying her waist-length white hair.
As she walked, her slender waist tensed slightly, creating a smooth curve that showed off her youthful flexibility. A trace of water that hadn't been wiped from her collarbone slid down her skin, blooming into a crystal-clear patch at the collar of her bathrobe.
The woman, who had initially just wanted to have a deep conversation with Fuli, was mesmerized. She gulped and was about to charge into the room. "I'm fine with both men and women, big sister! Don't worry, I'll only charge you for one!"
So she's a bidirectional plug.
Kiana was shocked. Why is this person forcing her way in?
Bronya, on the bed in her Homu pajamas, pouted. "Onii-chan, where's your memory modifier?"
"You two even have a daughter? A high-quality family of three like this... if I could have you just once, I'd have no regrets in this life!"
The professional woman became even more thirsty after seeing her.
The ducky's face instantly darkened.
Who are you calling a daughter! Your whole family are daughters! Are you deaf? Didn't you just hear her call him 'Onii-chan'?
"Project Bunny!" she called out angrily, and the loyal steel knight descended into the cramped room.
"Teach her a good lesson! Onii-chan will be in charge of modifying her memory afterward!"
Isn't it a bit wrong to do this to an ordinary person... Fuli was about to say.
"A-armor play is not out of the question... Please, trample on my dignity as much as you like! Guhehe~"
"Don't worry, Project Bunny! I will make sure not a single memory of us remains in her head!"
HISS!
The steel knight's faceplate exhaled two puffs of white steam. It picked up the gagged woman, took the memory eraser Fuli threw at it with its other hand, opened the window, and left the room.
After closing the window, the three of them looked at each other.
Kiana was the first to break the silence. "Should we tell Auntie Wang?"
Fuli shook his head. "She's just working here. Some things are best left unsaid. It would be awkward for everyone."
Kiana thought so too. She suddenly noticed the boy staring intently at her.
At first, the girl didn't realize what was happening, until she saw her own reflection in the window:
Her pure face was faintly flushed from the earlier panic, her blue eyes misty and even more profound. The loose tie of her bathrobe revealed the gentle curves below her collarbone, and her long, slender legs peeked out from under the hem, revealing large patches of alluring white skin. Even the bones of her ankles seemed to have been polished by moonlight.
Not to mention others, even Kiana herself felt a deep sense of fascination looking at her reflection.
Dammit! How can I be so good-looking?
Hmph, charming a mere Ah Li is a piece of cake!
「What are you being narcissistic for? Show more!」 Sirin, in the mental world, began to command. 「Pull that pesky bathrobe down a little more! Right! And your posture, squat down a bit, then pretend to trip on something and fall, and take the opportunity to fall right into his arms!」
「Huh? Oh, okay!」
Realizing this was a golden opportunity, Kiana quickly did as she was told. She stumbled awkwardly, pulling down her bathrobe slightly at the chest while kicking her small, bare foot at the leg of the bed.
BANG!
"Ow! That hurts!"
She didn't control her strength.
The pain of stubbing one's little toe on something hard is something everyone understands. The little white-haired fuzzball's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Pfft! Hahahahaha!"
Fuli, who had been admiring the beauty, seamlessly switched to looking at an idiot. Even Bronya, who was playing games, had a slight smile on her lips.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
As luck would have it, there was another knock on the door.
After the baptism of the professional woman, the happy trio immediately tensed up.
Kiana and Bronya dived under the covers, leaving only two pairs of large, watery eyes watching everything. Fuli held his breath, placed his hand on the doorknob, ready to slam it shut if things went south, and then pulled hard.
"...What are you guys doing?"
Fu Hua, outside the door, looked confused. Did they find out about me contacting Shenzhou? she wondered.
"Nothing, nothing!" Fuli quickly laughed it off, and the other two, who had been hiding, also came out with sheepish smiles.
"Cousin, is there something important for you to come at this hour?"
"Not really important," the kind-hearted Fu Hua suggested sincerely. "I saw that the three of you were a bit crowded in here, so I was thinking if one of you would like to come to my room."
"Yes, yes!" Kiana raised her hand high. "We'll send Bronya over right away!"
"Bronya refuses."
Kiana's intentions were as clear as day.
If she had asked nicely, Bronya might have even taken the initiative to leave the lovebirds alone in the honeymoon suite.
The girl had always enjoyed seeing someone cuckold Raiden Mei.
But since you didn't even bother to discuss it with me properly, then sorry, I'm not moving today!
Hearing this, Fuli subconsciously looked at Kiana.
"How about... you go?"
"No, no!" The person in question shook her head like a rattle.
Let Ah Li and Bronya stay together? What if something happens and their sworn sibling relationship turns into something else?
Siblings with no blood ties, ha! Not even an airhead would believe that relationship could stay pure forever!
"So, in other words, after all this," Fuli rubbed his chin, "in the end, I'm the one who has to spend the night in my cousin's room?"
Fu Hua: ?
"I have no objection!" said the eagerly watching white-haired husky.
"Bronya neither!" said the Ural silver wolf, glaring back, not to be outdone.
It wasn't that they were really at odds. Fuli had always shown an unusual admiration for Fu Hua, but in the girls' simple worldview, family members definitely couldn't develop that kind of relationship.
Besides, Aizen had said it himself: "Admiration is the furthest thing from understanding."
Towards her little cousin's advances, at least for now, Fu Hua's attitude had been neither close nor distant, showing no signs of a fluttering heart or a secret affection.
But that made sense. They had only officially met for less than half a day. It would be problematic if she were to throw herself at him.
Besides—
The girls' gazes fell on Hua's unremarkable front armor.
"Hah!"
Even Bronya proudly puffed out her chest!
In the three months they had been together on the Hyperion, they had long known that Fuli liked them big.
Someone like Fu Hua... if she were placed in front of him, he wouldn't even bother to get an erection out of respect.
'#!'
"You! Two!"
"Cousin, calm down, calm down!"
The boy quickly hugged his cousin from behind and carried the flailing girl to the room next door.
It was a standard single room with a 1.8x2m bed. The sky outside had already darkened, and it was time to go to bed.
"Just one bed," Fuli said, putting down the sulking girl. "That's a bit embarrassing."
This was the first time in this life that he was sleeping with Cousin Hua. To be honest, he kind of missed that hard feeling.
Seeing how the situation had inexplicably developed to this point, Fu Hua could only sigh. "You sleep on the bed , I'll sleep on the floor."
With that, she planned to sleep fully clothed.
「That won't do, Hua.」
Dr. MEI made her grand entrance.
After tying up the meddling Prometheus, gagging her, and tossing her aside, the triumphant villainess clapped her hands and began bullying the honest girl with a straight face. 「If you want to establish a link with us in your dreams, you need to be as close as possible to my little host, you know.」
Ah Hua's expression changed instantly. 「The... the closer, the better the signal?」
「Yes. Negative distance would be best. That's right, the kind where I'm inside you and you're inside me.」
Seeing her old friend's face turn shades of purple and green like a traffic light, Dr. MEI knew when to quit while she was ahead. 「I imagine you can't accept that method, so how about this: you can sleep together on the bed in a more decent manner, just hold each other, and maintain constant, unobstructed contact between both your cheeks and two-thirds of your skin.」
「This is the absolute bottom line! Oh dear, the signal is bad on the moon side, I'm hanging up now!」
With that, before Fu Hua could react, she directly cut the connection with Fenghuang Down.
Leaving the fifty-five-thousand-year-old girl standing there for a long time.
For the sake of fighting the Honkai... for the sake of protecting Shenzhou...
After mentally preparing herself, she tensed up and reached out her demonic claws toward the completely oblivious, innocent sixteen-year-old boy.
"Cousin, I have a cultivation technique that I need your help with."
As for the name of the technique, the first one to rule out was "Dual Cultivation."
...