In the end, Li Mu pushed the black card Kiana offered back to her.
“I actually have an asset I can sell.
I wasn’t lying.” “As long as I find the right buyer, funding won’t be an issue.” Kiana blinked, her curiosity written all over her face.
So, Li Mu explained, “It’s something that holds little value to me, but to certain other people, it might be priceless.” “So cryptic,” Kiana muttered, giving up on asking further when she saw Li Mu had no intention of elaborating.
For a moment, the atmosphere fell silent.
Then, Li Mu turned the tables and asked Kiana a question.
“Have you and Mei become friends at school during this time?” Hearing Li Mu’s question, Kiana’s expression instantly soured.
“No.
I have no idea how to become friends with him.
It’s like he’s isolated himself from the rest of the world.
I don’t think I’ve even said ten full sentences to him this entire week.” As Li Mu listened to Kiana vent her frustrations, he glanced at his system’s mission panel.
[This is the beginning of the story, the intersection of fate.] [Mission: Witness the friendship of Kiana and Raiden Mei.
Reward: 300 Crystals, 1x A-Rank Stigmata Option Box] [Mission Status: Key character Raiden Mei not detected.] This was completely normal.
After all, the current Mei wasn’t the young lady of MEI Corp yet; her character profile didn’t equate to “Raiden Mei” in the system’s eyes.
Still, it was necessary to lay the groundwork and help the two of them become friends.
Li Mu offered some comfort.
“Don’t be anxious.
Friendship isn’t built in a day.” Based on the underlying law of the Honkai world that a ‘Mei’ and a ‘Kiana’ are destined to form a bond, it should be easy enough for Kiana to befriend Mei, right?
“I hope so,” Kiana sighed, then continued, “Besides that, Su has also been sending me a lot of messages these past few days.
I’ve been able to get by with texting for now, but I don’t think I can keep it from him for much longer.
You know how perceptive he is.” Hearing Kiana’s words, Li Mu subconsciously glanced out the window before turning back as if nothing had happened.
“Although Su doesn’t have a big role in the early stages, I don’t think it would hurt to let him in on this.
Aren’t you going to tell him?” At that, Kiana looked at her reflection in the surface of her cold drink and shook her head fiercely.
“How could I possibly let Su see me like this?” “We’ve been bros for so long…
if he saw me now…
my life would be over, wouldn’t it?” “I’d probably have to flee to the moon overnight.” After being turned into a girl by Li Mu’s elbow strike, Kiana realized her social life was basically ruined.
At this thought, she couldn’t help but let out a long sigh, her gaze toward Li Mu growing increasingly resentful.
As if feeling her glare, which could probably drain the life from a ghost, Li Mu quickly produced a card and slid it across the table to her.
“Eden is holding a concert in Nagazora City in a few days.
This is a ticket.
I know you’re a fan of hers, so go check it out.
Think of it as a way to relax.” “Soon, the plot is about to hit the accelerator.” “There you go again, saying things that don’t make any sense,” Kiana sighed once more.
Though she was still complaining, she didn’t refuse the offer.
The surreal events of the past few days had shattered her worldview.
Going to a concert to re-experience the beauty of the world didn’t seem like a bad idea.
However, she didn’t take the ticket Li Mu offered.
Instead, she pulled another ticket from her own pocket, twirling it between two fingers and smiling at him.
“Together?” What was the fun in going to a concert alone?
Li Mu just smiled and shook his head at Kiana’s invitation.
“No, you should go by yourself this time.
I have some things I need to take care of.” “What are you planning now?” Kiana asked suspiciously.
“Running around to save the world, of course.” “You’re not denying that you’re planning something?” Li Mu simply smiled without answering, retracting the ticket and settling the bill.
The two soon parted ways at the entrance of the shop.
Just as he was leaving, Li Mu glanced once more toward the street corner but paid it no mind.
After the two had left, a figure peeked out from that same corner, a shocked expression on his face as he watched the direction they had gone.
It was a boy with gray hair and handsome, somewhat androgynous features—prime material for crossdressing.
This was Su, Li Mu and Kevin’s other good friend.
But at this moment, watching Li Mu and Kiana depart, Su was utterly shaken.
After learning that Eden was coming to the Far East for a concert, Su had used his connections to get three tickets, planning to drag his two best friends along with him.
But Mu had politely declined, telling him he had things to take care of.
And Kevin had cut off contact almost entirely, only sending sporadic text messages.
Su was an extremely perceptive person.
He had a vague feeling that he was drifting apart from his two best friends, which left him with the subtle sense of being left behind.
Because of this, his mood had been gloomy for the past few days.
Today, he decided to go for a walk to clear his head, and his feet had unconsciously led him to the cold drink shop the three of them frequented.
And that’s when he saw Mu talking with a white-haired girl.
The moment he saw her, Su felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Why does she look so much like Kevin?
If he were to follow conventional logic, he might have wondered if this was Kevin’s older or younger sister.
But Su was an exceptionally sensitive person, and he gleaned a great deal of information from the white-haired girl’s speech and mannerisms.
One could disguise their appearance, but it was much harder to fake one’s daily habits and behaviors.
After piecing all this information together, he arrived at a conclusion that seemed utterly preposterous.
This white-haired girl talking with Mu was none other than his good friend, Kevin!
“How did Kevin become like this?” Su’s mind reeled as a theory took shape.
“Could it be…
Kevin has a hobby of crossdressing?” Turning into a girl was simply too unscientific, but crossdressing…
that was perfectly logical.
“That makes sense…
that makes sense…” Thinking about it carefully, Kevin did have the features that would be well-suited for crossdressing.
However, a sense of loss still welled up in Su’s heart.
He could understand a good friend having a little crossdressing hobby, but what was the deal with them sneaking around and going out behind his back?
Don’t you guys see me as a brother anymore?!
Recalling all their time together, Su felt a bitterness in his heart, the anguish of being isolated from his own small group.
He took the Eden concert tickets out of his pocket and stared at them.
A dark cloud seemed to hang over his head, and his entire being sank into dejection.
—o—