A Friend of Mine Has a Friend! / The Queen's Stigmata!

Although Mei's gesture was charming, Ling Feng was still curious. He was a little worried that the three of them might have run into some kind of scam, but on second thought, with Bronya's hacking skills, Kiana and Mei's combat ability, and their backgrounds as Valkyries, anyone who dared deceive them was probably tired of living...

So Ling Feng did not ask any more questions. Anyway, he had accepted the gift!

At dinnertime, Mei's dinner was as lavish as ever, but Ling Feng felt that something was off...

Kiana... seemed a little too quiet tonight. Normally, after finishing a bowl at dinner, Kiana would immediately shout, "Mei, I want more!" But tonight... after finishing, she actually went around to the side and served herself. This... was a little strange!

In any case, Mei and Kiana seemed to be talking less tonight. They had probably been tired after a whole day of work...

But...

Ling Feng licked his lips. There was a hint of sweetness. He did not seem to have eaten any candy today, so why did he taste sugar? And it seemed to be strawberry-flavored...

After dinner, Ling Feng had originally planned to use his professional massage techniques to help the three hardworking girls relax properly...

But Bronya refused. Well, that was normal!

Kiana refused. Uh, that was a little unexpected, but still normal!

Mei refused too. W-Wait... why? Why was this happening...

In the end, there was no massage tonight, nor was he massaged. There was still no lap pillow either. Sigh, what a day without any perks...

The next day...

It was the weekend again...

As usual, the four of them were resting in the apartment, but today Mei and Kiana had both gone out. Mei said she was going to train at the training grounds, while Kiana had taken her homework to the classroom to study. It was a little strange for Kiana to voluntarily do homework...

In the classroom, although Kiana was holding her workbook, she looked distracted the entire time, quietly staring blankly into space. She certainly did not look like she was thinking about homework problems!

"Kiana, is something on your mind?"

At that moment, Fu Hua's voice came from behind her. She then sat down beside Kiana. "If it's a problem with your studies, I should be able to help. It's better than you just sitting here spacing out!"

"Class President..."

Kiana silently looked at Fu Hua, hesitating, not knowing how to say it...

"Kiana, if something's wrong, you can tell me!"

Fu Hua put on a cool expression and looked very confident. "As Class President, besides caring about everyone's grades, other matters also fall within my duties. So if Kiana has any problems, you can confide in me!"

"Um..."

Kiana hesitated again before asking tentatively, "Then... I want to... I don't know how to say it, but... this is about romance. Class President... do you know about that?"

"Eh..."

Fu Hua froze for a moment, panicking inwardly, but her expression remained calm. She pushed up her glasses. "Of course. As Class President, how could I possibly have no romantic history? Whatever Kiana wants to ask, please tell me. I will give you a real answer!"

On the surface... that was what she said, but Fu Hua was panicking inside. When had she ever had a romantic history? But in front of a junior like Kiana, she had to maintain her aloof image. So even if she had to lie, she had to protect that image!

"Eh... then..."

Kiana's eyes lit up. Maybe telling the Class President really was a good choice. Kiana said with some hesitation, "Class President, this... this is about a friend of mine!"

Elsewhere, Mei had just completed a round of training. She was sitting on a chair in the training hall, resting, her feelings somewhat complicated. What she had seen last night... although she had ultimately pretended nothing had happened, still...

For some reason, whenever she thought of the scene between Kiana and Ling Feng, an inexplicable irritation rose in her heart...

"Mei, I didn't expect you to work so hard even on a Sunday!"

Then Mei heard a familiar voice. Tesla came over with a smile, and the two of them were fairly familiar with each other!

"Dr. Tesla? Why are you here?" Mei asked curiously!

"I'm here to test some weapon data. Research is research, after all!"

Tesla spread her hands. This was her daily routine. It looked easy, and in reality... it was easy too...

Tesla really was outstanding...

Mei thought for a moment, then asked, "Dr. Tesla, I... I want to ask you about something related to romance. I-I wonder if you have time?"

"Eh? Romance?"

Tesla was instantly dumbfounded. "Why are you asking me about that?"

"Because... Dr. Tesla is so outstanding. There must be a lot of people who like you, so you should have some romantic experience, right?" Mei had inferred this based on her own situation!

"Uh..."

Tesla hesitated. What romantic experience did she have? Forget romance—aside from examining Ling Feng's body last time, she had never even touched a man...

Ahem!

But as a scientist, her pride would not allow her to be looked down on. Tesla gave a dry cough and put on an experienced air as she asked, "So, what does Mei want to ask?"

"This..."

Mei thought for a moment, then said with a serious, expressionless face, "Actually, I'm asking for a friend. It's about my friend!"

.

P.S. I have something to do tonight, so both updates are being posted now!

My Friend Has a Friend!

"Here's the situation, Class President!"

In the classroom, Kiana spoke while thinking it over. "That friend of mine also has a very good friend, but my friend... seems... seems to have fallen for someone her friend likes!"

"Eh..."

Fu Hua immediately felt a little confused. After sorting it out a bit, she asked curiously, "Then... ahem, what does Kiana want to ask? Liking the same person is not uncommon!"

"I... I just want... I want to ask for my friend, what... what should she do?"

Kiana continued, "My friend also likes her friend very much, but... she also likes the person her friend likes. And my friend's friend knows that my friend likes the person she likes too!"

Fu Hua: "..." Forgive me for saying this, but I really did not understand...

Ahem!

Fu Hua pushed up her glasses and began offering what she considered quite reasonable advice with her zero experience in romance. "Feelings cannot be forced, so letting nature take its course is best. However, if you do not actively seize feelings, they will slip through your fingers, and you will only regret it after losing them. So..."

"So?"

Kiana listened very seriously, more seriously than when Himeko taught class!

"So, rather than waiting for fate to arrive, it is better to seize the opportunity and take the initiative. Of course, there is some risk involved..."

Fu Hua spoke while thinking. "Because... because once she does that, your friend might not even be able to remain friends with her friend. So, whether friendship is more important or the person she likes is more important, let her think about it herself!"

After saying that, Fu Hua stood and smiled. "Then I'll be leaving first. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to ask me anytime!"

Then she fled the classroom as though escaping. Hopefully, she had not said anything wrong. Besides, although she had said so much, it was basically the same as saying nothing. In the end, she had still left Kiana to think for herself. There was no helping it—she truly did not understand this stuff...

"Phew..."

Fu Hua sighed helplessly, then muttered curiously, "Is Kiana's friend Mei? Mei's friend? She seems to have quite a few, but who exactly does Mei like?"

"Dr. Tesla, here's the situation!"

In the training hall, Mei explained what she wanted to ask Tesla. "My friend likes someone, but my friend's friend might... also like the person my friend likes. And my friend even saw my friend's friend secretly kiss him while the person she likes was asleep!"

"Eh?"

Tesla was instantly a little dumbfounded too. It took her several seconds to understand what Mei meant, and she immediately felt that this was complicated. She could only ask, "Um... does my friend's friend know that my friend likes that person?"

"This..."

Mei thought for a moment, then nodded gently. "She should... know. Although my friend did not make it very obvious, my friend's friend should have been able to guess..."

"How can guessing be enough? What if your friend's friend simply did not guess it?"

Tesla did not know what she was saying either, but this was not the time to worry about that. She just had to make something up. "If the fact that your friend likes someone is not something everyone knows, then perhaps your friend's friend truly does not know. So... so your friend's friend should... not be at fault either. And the person your friend likes was asleep at the time, so he was not at fault either!"

"Eh... i-is that so?"

Mei was somewhat speechless. By that logic, it was all her fault?

"Of course!"

Tesla spoke with a serious expression. "Feelings cannot be forced, so letting nature take its course is best. However, if you do not actively seize feelings, they will slip through your fingers, and you will only regret it after losing them. So, before your friend's friend and the person your friend likes establish a relationship, your friend must take the initiative and declare her claim!"

"Of course, this could also start a war and might even cause your friend and your friend's friend to break apart. But if your friend does not do this, then love will slip through her fingers. Love or friendship—your friend needs to think about that herself!"

As she spoke, Tesla stood and walked forward like a reclusive master, looking unfathomably profound. "That is all I can say. Goodbye, Mei!"

"Thank you, Dr. Tesla..."

Mei quietly replied, then began thinking over what Tesla had just said. The real decision had to be made by herself...

"Phew..."

After walking to the other side of the wall, Tesla let out a huge sigh of relief. That had been close. She probably had not said anything wrong, right? Hopefully. But...

Who could Mei's friend be? Kiana? It was possible. Kiana was not very honest with her feelings, so it was normal for her to suffer in these matters. Seriously, would it not be easier if she were just more straightforward? So many examples told them that tsunderes always lost, so she could not be a tsundere!

Forget it. She should first finish the task Ling Feng had given her. Before today was over, she had to calculate the conversion principles of the Rush-type Honkai Beast. But she definitely was not doing it for Ling Feng—she was doing it for all humanity, for fighting the Honkai in the future!

Because she cared about the world. As for romance, she did not care about it at all... Actually, no one had ever pursued her...

Kiana, having finished her homework, and Mei, having finished training, returned to the apartment together. Then, very ordinarily, they met by the lake...

"Mei!"

Kiana immediately called out happily and jogged over, habitually calling Mei's name...

"Kiana, did you finish your homework?"

Mei answered with a smile. At Kiana's normal speed, she should not have finished her homework yet!

"Yep, I finished it!"

Kiana nodded hard, then pouted slightly. "I worked really hard on it today. Otherwise, tonight you guys would be playing while I did homework alone again, and you still would not let me copy..."

"Doing homework is for your own good. Wouldn't copying make it pointless?"

Mei sighed helplessly. She was already used to Kiana's personality...

Then the two walked toward the apartment together. Both of them tacitly chose to forget a certain matter. Although the advice from the Class President and Tesla had been about as useful as no advice at all, it had still helped a little. They both seemed to have decided to pretend that nothing had happened. As for what came later... they could deal with it later!

"Kiana, what do you want for lunch and dinner?"

As they passed the academy supermarket, Mei planned to buy today's ingredients as well!

"Meat!"

Kiana stated without hesitation that she wanted meat!

"Of course!"

Mei was not surprised at all, as though she had expected it. Then she smiled. "But Kiana, you can eat meat, but you are not allowed to sneak any bites, okay? I'll let the first two times slide, but if there is a next time, I won't be so nice!"

"Sneak bites?"

A question mark seemed to pop up over Kiana's head. She was greedy and had snuck snacks or late-night food before, but she did not think she had ever snuck food from a proper meal. She always waited until everyone was present before starting...

"Sigh, pretend I didn't say anything!"

Seeing that Kiana had not understood her tactful explanation at all, Mei looked a little melancholy...

"Eh... what exactly was it?"

Kiana still looked completely confused.

Queen Stigmata!

After dinner, the four of them were once again sitting in the living room as usual, watching television, playing games, and doing whatever they wanted...

"Ling Feng."

At almost the same time as the day before yesterday, Mei spoke up. She deliberately spread her hands and smiled. "Do you want a massage and a lap pillow?"