Early the next morning, Su Yu opened the backend stats out of habit—and froze.
Three Years of Sakura
Reads: 470,000
Bookmarks: 32,000
Comments: 2,891
Trending: #7
"…What the hell?"
He rubbed his eyes, double-checked.
The numbers didn't change—if anything, in the few seconds he sat there stunned, the read count ticked up by a few hundred more.
Overnight… it blew up?
He'd been confident in Griseo's art, and he trusted the script to hit hard—but the speed of the heat buildup still exceeded his expectations.
He opened the comment section and scrolled.
"Drawing World is GOD-tier!!! This style is insane—so much 'shattered' fragility!""Came here from Dan Zhu's livestream. Thought it was just sponsored content—didn't expect yuri to be this good. I'm converted!""That line 'Kiana, happy birthday' broke me. I'm done.""Who even is this writer 'Moon-Sea Fish-Fish Cat'?? Name's cringe-chuunibyou but the story made me cry… Shenxue was too pitiful…"
Dan Zhu.
Seeing that name, Su Yu's lips curled.
Dan Zhu…
In that other world, she'd been an executor of the Ember Project from the Previous Era—Mobius's assistant—and the "Nuwa" who fabricated myths so humanity's spark could live on.
She molded clay figures and narrated legends—turning Fu Hua into the guardian immortal of Shenzhou, "Crimson Kite Immortal." She turned the unbearable weight of history into stories ordinary people could understand.
You could honestly call her the founding ancestor of fandom creation.
And in this world—
She was Drawing World's number-one fangirl. A figurine addict. A big-name influencer who could whip the doujin scene into a frenzy.
Su Yu's grin deepened—carrying a prankster's anticipation.
If Dan Zhu ever found out that the "Drawing World-sensei" she worshipped like a deity…
…was currently wearing a school backpack, cramming homework in Mobius's lab while munching an apple, and—when she got tired—going to "Aponia-mom" to beg for candy…
What kind of face would Dan Zhu make?
Probably die of embarrassment on the spot.
Because in those "recommendation essays" she'd made, she'd praised Drawing World as:
"A myth of the 2D art world.""A magician of lines.""A genius of emotional expression."
Just imagining it made Su Yu feel ridiculously happy.
Sigh. Dan Zhu, sometimes not knowing the truth is a kind of happiness…
"What's wrong?" Kiana's voice interrupted his daydream.
She was holding half a bread roll, cheeks puffed out like a hamster mid-meal.
"Nothing," Su Yu reined in his expression. "Just remembered something that makes me happy."
"What makes you happy?"
"Forget your Little Mermaid act. Serious talk."
He turned to look at her.
"Three Years of Sakura is on fire. Over forty thousand—no, four hundred thousand-plus reads overnight. Trending #7."
Kiana's chewing paused.
"…On fire?"
"Yeah. A big influencer named Dan Zhu pushed it hard. Worked like a charm."
He didn't explain who Dan Zhu really was.
Kiana put the bread down. Her expression turned complicated.
Not just surprise—more like… unreality.
That story. Asakura Miyuki's story—full of despair and twisted love.
People were really reading it? Really remembering that soul that died under the cherry blossoms?
"This is only the beginning," Su Yu said. "A lot of people are remembering you too. They're all saying you're cool and badass."
Kiana didn't answer.
She picked the bread back up, took a bite—but ate slowly now, like she was tasting the wheat… or digesting the impact of the news.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, leaving bright patches across the table.
But Su Yu's thoughts drifted right back to Dan Zhu.
When Honkai Impact 3rd officially went live, that founding-grandmaster of doujin culture would 100% be the first one charging in.
And then—
If she discovered that Fu Hua's in-game design looked exactly like that "Ah Hua" working part-time at a convenience store in real life…
Su Yu leaned back in his chair, unable to hide his smile.
That scene would be spectacular.
"You know the influencer who boosted our comic?" Su Yu said, like he was sharing gossip. "She's Griseo's number-one fan."
Kiana's chewing stalled again.
"Number-one fan?"
"Yeah." Su Yu crossed his arms, tone casual. "The seriously unhinged kind. She made multiple videos praising Drawing World—'magician of lines,' 'genius of emotion,' 'masterpieces only someone with deep life experience could create'—that kind of thing."
He paused, the corner of his mouth lifting.
"Last night during her stream she practically knelt to Three Years of Sakura. Kept calling Drawing World her eternal god."
Kiana chewed, frowning slightly.
In her mind appeared that little girl with messy gray-blue hair who always carried a big drawing board.
Griseo's first impression was: soft, squishy, easily bribed with candy.
When she spoke she tilted her head and stared at you with huge eyes, making you want to dump every sweet in your pocket into her hands.
That… elementary-school kid—
Being worshiped as a "god" by adults? Almost to the point of bowing?
This world really was suspicious.
"…"Kiana went quiet for a few seconds, her expression cracking.
"Does that fan know Drawing World is only ten?"
"Nope." Su Yu shook his head. "Nobody online knows her real identity. All they know is: her skill is ridiculous, she updates consistently, her taste is top-tier—and she's a mysterious, aloof creator."
His tone was openly delighted in the most shameless way.
"Just imagine if the truth ever got out—'SHOCKING! Legendary doujin artist Drawing World is actually a ten-year-old elementary student! Does homework after school! Asks adults for candy when she finishes pages!'"
"The scene would be incredible."
Kiana pictured it:
A grown adult passionately analyzing Drawing World's brushwork—how delicate the strokes are, how profound the emotional language is, how brilliant the composition is…
While the creator on the other end sits on a tiny stool, coloring while chewing an apple.
With unfinished language homework sitting beside her.
"…"
Kiana's mouth twitched.
That image was too beautiful.
"That fan would lose her mind."
"She'd definitely lose her mind." Su Yu laughed. "But after the meltdown, I bet she'd worship Griseo even harder. Ten years old and drawing like that—if that's not genius, what is?"
Kiana took another bite, chewed, swallowed.
"Are you going to tell her the truth?"
"Not now." Su Yu shook his head. "Griseo's identity is a secret. Exposing it would be bad for her. But—"
His eyes narrowed, full of mischief.
"When the timing's right someday… maybe we can arrange for them to meet."
"Right in front of that fan—have Griseo sweetly call her 'big sister' and hand her a signed illustration."
(Though in reality, Dan Zhu had met Griseo plenty of times in Mobius's lab… and had even bought her lots of candy.)
Kiana looked at his eager expression and felt something… oddly subtle.
This man—at his core—was the type who loved chaos as long as it wasn't happening to him.
Truly, unbelievably bad.
"You're terrible," she judged.
"I just think it's funny." Su Yu put on an innocent face. "Don't you? A grown adult yelling 'Drawing World is my god' online—then one day finding out their god is still losing baby teeth. That contrast is priceless."
Kiana didn't reply.
She lowered her head and kept dealing with the bread in her hands.
But beneath the shadow cast by the bread, her lips lifted ever so slightly.
Almost impossible to see.
But yes—she was smiling.
Ding—
The system notification sounded particularly crisp and pleasant in the afternoon air.
Su Yu stared at the panel's constantly jumping value, and even he couldn't help wearing a proud, "dad-like" satisfied grin.
[Current Awareness Level: Lv.2][Activity Range Limit Unlocked to: 1.5 meters]
"1.5 meters…"
Su Yu stood up, pulled out a tape measure, and very ceremoniously measured the length across the floor.
It sounded like only thirty centimeters more.
But for two people who'd been living like conjoined twins…
It was practically an epic liberation of space.
....
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