"Oh, it's on, it's on!"
Kiana's voice interrupted Shu's sorrowful thoughts.
He snapped back to reality and looked at the screen.
The computer had finished booting up and was now on the desktop. The wallpaper was an exquisite dynamic illustration—
Long white hair flowing behind her like a veil lifted by the wind, azure eyes as pure as a silent blue moon, but the familiar smile was warm sunshine.
The person in the picture wore a tight combat suit familiar yet unfamiliar to both of them, draped with a thick orange-and-white jacket that made her attire less revealing.
The background was a dazzling city nightscape, but the chaotic neon lights didn't steal the show at all; the sole focus of the entire image was this girl.
It was Kiana.
I'm done for!!
Shu felt like a camera had just done a Hitchcock zoom right onto his face, stretching his entire being into a fish-eye perspective.
He really hadn't used this laptop in a long time—so long that he had forgotten what desktop wallpaper he had set!!
So—right now, this wallpaper was being displayed blatantly in front of Kiana in 1920x1080 high definition.
Shu's brain entered a wondrous state of overload in that instant.
Why didn't I check before taking it out?
Why was I so careless?
What will she think when she sees this?
Will she think I'm a pervert?
Will she think I have weird thoughts about her?
Will she be guarded against me because of this?
Will she think I approached her with ulterior motives?
Will she—
"Wow—!"
An exclamation of wonder, like a small hammer, gently interrupted his brainstorm.
Shu froze.
He turned his head to look at Kiana.
Kiana was staring at the screen, eyes wide and round, mouth open in a perfect 'O', her round face filled with pure, heartfelt surprise.
Her eyes were full of shock and admiration.
She looked left and right for several seconds, then suddenly turned her head to give Shu a look full of approval.
"Shu! You really have great taste!"
Shu: "..."
Did his brain just... commit suicide in that instant?
He no longer had the capacity to consider if her words were sarcastic, because her sincerity had already relaxed his tense skin.
"This picture is really beautiful! I feel like even if I posed for it myself, it would be hard to look this good?!
"Shu, Shu, do you have any other pictures like this? Do you have Mei? If not... uh... Bronya is okay too! Show me, show me!"
"Cough..." Shu, whose brain had briefly crashed, finally spun the wheel in his head. He coughed lightly twice. "I found this online... there shouldn't be a series... right?"
...Right, there isn't.
Shu recalled for a moment, then established an answer in his heart.
"Oh~"
Kiana's disappointed voice came over, and Shu realized that Kiana always deflated like a punctured ball when disappointed.
This is truly wearing one's heart on one's sleeve, isn't it?
So cu... uh...
Shu felt his face heating up and could only quickly turn away, avoiding Kiana's potential gaze.
"Do you want to play this?"
Shu pointed a finger at an icon on the desktop, not daring to look back.
Kiana didn't notice Shu's strangeness but looked solemnly towards the icon he was pointing at.
Kiana, launch!
That white-haired Tuna was making a finger gun with one hand, smiling confidently at the person outside the screen.
And that white-haired Tuna herself was currently sitting on the sofa, following Shu's finger to look at that icon.
Kiana blinked.
Then she turned to look at Shu.
Shu's expression remained calm, his gaze fixed on the screen as if it were just an ordinary icon, nothing special.
But who is Kiana?
She is the heir of the Kaslana family!
Her intuition—
Okay, no need for intuition this time.
"Oh—!"
She suddenly understood, a gleam of wisdom appearing in her eyes: "You want me to play this?"
The corner of Shu's mouth twitched.
"...Mm."
Just one word.
Kiana looked at his obvious attempt to feign composure and almost laughed out loud.
But she held it in.
Because she was really interested in this game!
Back when everyone had just arrived in ARC City, Shu had shown them the stories of Honkai Impact 3rd.
But back then, everyone watched with the mindset of "gathering intelligence," sitting upright and analyzing seriously the whole time, like being in class.
Not like now—
Sitting on the sofa, holding the computer, with Shu right beside her...
She could play it herself!
Kiana's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"I wanna play, I wanna play, I wanna play!"
She was already impatiently reaching for the mouse.
Shu handed her the mouse and conveniently placed the headphones on Kiana's head.
Kiana cooperated, letting Shu put the headphones on her properly, and then without a word, double-clicked the icon.
Buzz—Buzz—
Two not-so-piercing alarm sounds came from the headphones.
The screen went black, and an evil logo appeared.
Then, the familiar gray elevator appeared.
The transparent metal doors were closed, revealing the looping background animation behind them.
As the green loading bar filled up quickly and changed to "Click anywhere to enter the game," Shu looked down and saw a familiar string of yellow numbers.
Hm?
Wait!!
That's my account—!
Shu's reaction was godlike. Almost the instant he recognized what that mysterious string of numbers was, he was about to take action, reclaim control of the computer, and switch accounts for Kiana.
But he seemed to have mistaken one thing—
He was the challenger!
And his opponent was—Kiana Kaslana!
In the split second Shu prepared to act, Kiana had already engaged her super wisdom, combined her super reaction time with her super hand speed, and decisively clicked the left mouse button.
Shu was Super Breaks!
The gray elevator shook and finally ascended to where it was supposed to go—
A white platform, seemingly built in the void, leading nowhere but knowing where it came from, floated silently. On the platform, a white-haired girl with fluffy Roman curls, dressed like the most precious princess of winter, turned around.
Those dazzling eyes, seemingly containing all things beautiful like stardust, looked through the screen, and then transmitted the confusion of the girl named "Kiana."
...No joke, it was genuinely confusion from Kiana.
"Eh eh eh? Why is it me again? Wait, what's this name? Ki... Kia-baby?"
Life is over.
Shu thought, his heart a silent wasteland.