As Bronya left, Fu Lin turned his gaze to Himeko. His only hope now lay with her.
Fu Lin rushed to Himeko, hugged her leg tightly, and looked up at her with pleading eyes, urgently saying,
"Himeko-sis~ The only one who can calm Kiana☆ down now is probably you. You said I could come to you if I needed help—please, I'm begging you!"
Fu Lin's eyes were full of helplessness and hope, as if her agreeing would solve everything.
Hearing this, Himeko was momentarily speechless. She glanced at Kiana☆, scratched her head, seeming troubled, but still chose to help,
"Ah... sigh. Kiana☆, how about listening to Fu Lin's explanation? I really don't like the way you're acting right now."
---------------------------------------
"This is how things are."
With Himeko's mediation, Fu Lin also explained everything that had happened in detail.
Kiana☆ bit her fingernails tightly, her once beautiful and charming face now unusually gloomy, as if shrouded in a thick layer of dark clouds.
Kiana☆ furrowed her brows deeply, her eyes fixed forward. Her tone was low and tinged with disbelief as she asked:
"So... that girl named Stelle, when she woke up just now, upon seeing you and the Herrscher of Sentience for the first time, she didn't hesitate at all and directly called you and the Herrscher of Sentience her dad and mom?"
"How is that possible? So casual?!"
Faced with Kiana☆'s sharp questioning, Fu Lin nodded repeatedly in agreement:
"That's right, I thought the same at first, but no matter how many times we told her, she just wouldn't change it."
Herrscher of Sentience interjected from the side:
"But after spending some time with her, both Fu Lin and I liked her, so we accepted it."
After saying that, Herrscher of Sentience smiled proudly.
Fu Lin cleared his throat and continued:
"Ahem... Uh, Fu Shi is right. Even though Stelle sometimes does embarrassing things, she's adorably silly, so we just went along with it."
Hearing this, Kiana☆ frowned slightly, seemingly quite intrigued by this so-called "Stelle."
Kiana☆ took a few steps forward to stand in front of Fu Lin, gently caressing his cheek with her fingers, her eyes full of tenderness and warmth as she said:
"In that case, Fu Lin, when will you let me meet this adopted daughter in person..."
At the same time, Kiana☆ subconsciously extended her pink tongue and lightly licked her rosy, moist lips.
"Next time for sure, um... Kiana☆, Stelle is still just a one-year-old child, so please don't do anything inappropriate..."
Faced with this situation, Fu Lin could only nod helplessly, expressing understanding, while secretly pondering:
'Sigh... Drawing a ticket to the Honkai: Star Rail universe is easier said than done.'
But at the same time, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind:
"I wonder if Luocha really read every word of that letter aloud in front of Welt?"
Just thinking about it made Fu Lin's lips curl up unconsciously, his eyes gleaming with an irrepressible excitement.
If he could personally hear Luocha recite those words, and witness Welt's reaction firsthand — what an amusing and thrilling scene that would be!
Just imagining that scenario made Fu Lin's heart race with excitement.
"Umm—!"
Just as Fu Lin was immersed in his fantasy, a deep voice from the throat suddenly broke his thoughts.
Fu Lin turned around, puzzled:
"What is it, Fu Shi?"
"Umm! I forbid you to smile at Kiana☆."
It turned out that without mind-reading abilities, the Herrscher of Sentience had mistakenly believed that Fu Lin's smile was directed at Kiana☆. Jealousy flared up instantly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, fur standing on end.
Her cheeks puffed up, and her crimson eyes stared at Fu Lin, clearly unhappy with his behavior. At this rate, Kiana☆ would surely steal him away.
At that moment, the Herrscher of Sentience, who shared system privileges with Fu Lin, opened the system interface and began searching carefully for useful items within the system space.
When her eyes landed on the last remaining World Mission Scroll, she paused in thought, her eyes lighting up before she decisively clicked "Use."
With that, no matter how powerful Kiana☆ was, it would be difficult for her to follow. Meanwhile, she would use the consciousness clone in Fu Lin's mind to spend some time alone with him — victory would surely be hers.
Thinking of this, Herrscher of Sentience's lips curved into a confident, determined smile.
Soon after, the system notification sounded:
[World Mission Scroll used successfully...]
"Wait, I..."
Fu Lin was about to speak, wanting to explain that Sirin was still with his other body, but before he could finish, a strong and familiar wave of dizziness surged over him like a tide.
At that critical moment, just as Fu Lin was about to be teleported away, Kiana☆, wielding the power of the Herrscher of the Void, clearly sensed an extremely subtle yet distinct fluctuation in the surrounding space.
Kiana☆'s eyes flashed sharply as a thought struck her. Without hesitation, she used her powers to forcibly activate a time stop, buying herself more time.
In this frozen world, Kiana☆ first erased the consciousness clone that Herrscher of Sentience had left deep within Fu Lin's mind.
"Hmph, I knew you'd try to play tricks."
Then, using her deep understanding and control of spatial laws, she subtly manipulated the teleportation, embedding a small personal twist into the process.
Though seemingly insignificant, this small act cost Kiana☆ an unimaginable amount of energy.
In an instant, Kiana☆'s once vibrant and rosy face turned deathly pale, as if all life had been drained from it.
Beads of sweat appeared densely on her forehead, as if she were bearing an unbearable burden.
Yet, even with her body at its limit, Kiana☆ showed no signs of retreat. In her heart, if this effort brought even the slightest chance, it would all be worth it.
Meanwhile, within the same stopped-time space, Mei☆, who could also move freely, witnessed every detail of Kiana☆'s actions.
Mei☆ silently watched everything unfold, her eyes filled with complex emotions — surprise, admiration, and a trace of concern that was hard to detect.
"Sigh~"
A soft sigh escaped Mei☆'s lips.
"So this is the karmic cycle the class president spoke of... Fu Lin meeting the younger me, in the end, was something I helped bring about..."
Kiana☆ smiled, but inside, she felt an unprecedented sense of fulfillment.
Finally, the time stop ended. Under the stunned and disbelieving gazes of Fu Hua and Himeko, Fu Lin's body slowly dissipated like a wisp of smoke, vanishing completely from the air, leaving no trace behind.
Fu Hua and Himeko rubbed their eyes, feeling a strange unfamiliarity with the world — a living person had simply vanished.
"Where's Fu Lin?"
Mei☆ stepped forward and supported the nearly collapsing Kiana☆, her eyes filled with complicated emotions, hesitantly asking: "Kiana☆, are you... okay?"
Himeko came to her senses and looked at Kiana☆ with concern, asking:
"Weren't you fine just a moment ago? Why did you suddenly become so weak?"
Kiana☆ forced herself to endure the discomfort, struggling to squeeze out a smile more painful than crying, replying weakly:
"Himeko, it's nothing serious, just a bit of overexertion... I'm a little out of strength, that's all."
Meanwhile, the Herrscher of Sentience seemed to realize something. Her face instantly turned red, and she exploded like a firecracker, shouting:
"What did you do!!"
Kiana☆ glanced at her with a knowing smile, then passed out as well.
Fu Hua stepped forward, held Herrscher of Sentience's hand, and said softly:
"Fu Shi, let's wait until Kiana☆ recovers before talking about it."
Seeing the old antique say so, the Herrscher of Sentience could only clutch her head and stomp angrily in place. Facing the unconscious Kiana☆, she couldn't take advantage of the situation.
"...." Arghhh, damn you, Kiana☆!!!