Kiana sprang up from the sofa like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, fur bristling and hissing at the computer.
"This is slander! This is defamation! This is—this is—"
Her face flushed red as she held her breath, pointing a trembling finger at the "Mei 1 is correct" ID on the screen.
"How could I possibly be a 0! How could I—I'm clearly—"
But despite holding her breath for a long time, she couldn't squeeze out a single sentence of defense.
How could she defend against this?
Prove she was a "1"? But... how to prove that? She definitely liked Mei, but... they only held hands, hugged, and occasionally she would attack... uh...
Anyway, their relationship wasn't even official yet! How could she possibly prove she was a "1"?!
But if she didn't prove it, wouldn't that mean...
Wow! The person who invented this is truly malicious! Using such an unsolvable problem to make things difficult for a confident, fierce top like her!
And... with Mei being so gentle... how on earth could she be considered... wait...
Kiana suddenly remembered that in the later story arcs Shu had shown them, Mei's personality seemed to have changed for a period of time...
Ah! Could it be because of that!
But doesn't that make it even more impossible to prove? That was clearly Mei showing her love! How could they say I'm the one...
AHHHH!!
No! Some forbidden knowledge is invading Kiana Kaslana's brilliant brain! Damn it, get out of this lady's head right now!!
The completely flustered Kiana finally squeezed out a weak sentence to Shu—her only audience.
"I... I'm definitely not... not that..."
Yeah, sounded exactly like someone being stubborn.
Shu looked at her, his expression calm.
Not knowing what Kiana thought of next, perhaps seeking a kindred spirit, she suddenly looked at Shu, her eyes full of sincere pleading for confirmation.
"Shu! You tell me! I absolutely cannot be a 0, right?!"
Shu didn't speak.
Kiana's eyes widened even further:
"Right? Right? Right?!"
Shu looked at her.
Then he revealed a smile.
A very helpless kind.
A very gentle kind.
The kind one gives when looking at a noisy child.
The kind that says, "Mm, as long as you're happy."
Kiana's heart finally died peacefully.
"Ah..."
Her voice became emptier than a soul.
"So... so everyone sees me like that..."
She looked as if all color had been drained from her, turning from color to black and white, from 3D to 2D, from a lively Kiana into a pile of soulless drafts.
She slowly slumped back onto the sofa, turning into a puddle of liquid, her eyes losing focus, her mouth slightly agape.
Kiana had burned out in the fiercest battle of Honkai Impact 3rd, turning into a pile of pale ash.
Shu looked at her like that, and ultimately couldn't hold it in.
"Pfft."
He laughed out loud.
Although it was just a short burst, and he immediately stifled it.
But Kiana heard it.
Her eyes instantly regained focus.
"Shu—!!!"
She threw herself at him, raising her fists to pummel him.
"You're still laughing! You're still laughing! You're still laughing!"
Small pink fists fell like raindrops on Shu's arms.
She didn't use much force; after all, with her strength, if she really hit hard, Shu would become Shu-sauce.
So these punches felt more like she was giving Shu a massage.
But Shu played along perfectly.
Kiana's attack only succeeded in breaking Shu's reserve. He laughed even louder, raising both hands to protect his head and shrinking back, making exaggerated self-defense motions.
Kiana hit even more enthusiastically.
"I'll teach you to laugh! Laugh! Laugh!"
"Hahahaha—stop, stop—I just thought of something funny—hahaha..."
"Ugh! You're clearly laughing at me! You haven't stopped!"
The living room was as lively as a martial arts movie set.
After fighting for a while, Kiana finally retracted her hands and sat back on the sofa, puffing her cheeks, arms crossed over her chest, face still red, lips still pouting.
Shu also "struggled" to sit up from the sofa, straightening his "messed up" clothes, the hint of a smile still lingering on his lips.
Kiana saw it.
She hmphed and turned away, ignoring him.
Three seconds of silence.
Kiana couldn't resist sneaking a peek at the screen.
That "Mei 1 is correct" was still hanging there, as if mocking her.
She puffed her cheeks and hmphed again.
Then she reached for the mouse, closed the friends interface she had opened, and prepared to distract herself with the game.
"Wait."
Shu's voice came from the side.
Kiana looked back, asking "What?" with her eyes.
Shu looked at her and asked a very serious question:
"Do you want to register your own account?"
Kiana paused.
"My own account?"
"Yeah." Shu nodded. "Playing on my account might be inconvenient for you, and the story experience might have gaps. I can help you create a new account and start from the beginning."
Kiana blinked and thought seriously.
Then she shook her head.
"No need for that."
Shu looked at her.
"I'll just use yours," Kiana said naturally. "Besides, I don't need my own account."
She paused, then added:
"And we don't need to be so separate... yours is mine, mine is yours, why separate so clearly?"
Perhaps the topic from earlier was still in Kiana's mind, but as soon as she finished speaking, she realized it sounded a bit strange, and her face turned a little redder.
But she didn't take it back.
Shu was silent for two seconds.
Kiana stole a glance at the silent Shu, then immediately continued to add:
"Uh... if you're afraid I'll mess up your account or something, opening a new one is fine too. It just won't have the characters and outfits, no big deal, I just want to go through the story."
Oh... so she wants to use my characters... hmm...
Shu understood, then started thinking about whether to tell her that some story parts force you to use system-provided characters.
But well...
What Kiana said was right too... isn't what's his... hers?
He shook his head gently.
"No need."
"Eh?"
"Just play," he said. "I won't mind."
Kiana's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Then I won't be polite!"
She turned back, grabbed the mouse, and excitedly clicked open the game interface.
Shu directed Kiana from the side to open the CG playback.
Chapter One.
Dusk, Girl, Battleship.
That white-haired girl stood on the rooftop, looking confidently at the massive battleship in the sky.
Kiana stared at that tiny version of herself and suddenly quieted down.
"Shu."
"Hm?"
"Say..." Her voice was soft. "Does that me know what's going to happen later?"
Shu was silent for a moment.
"She doesn't know."
"That's good," Kiana said. "Let her be happy for a little longer."
Then, she clicked "Start," letting "herself" begin the journey toward the future.