Feed the Queen!

The Queen immediately panicked a little and involuntarily backed away. "You... you should know that I don't have any energy. You... don't come any closer, or else... or else I..."

The Queen wanted to threaten him further, but after thinking for a long time, she could not come up with anything else to say...

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. I just want you to eat something..."

Seeing how strongly the Queen reacted, Ling Feng felt a little guilty too. What he had done today might have gone a bit too far. Though compared to what the Queen had done, what he had done to her was nothing at all...

But Ling Feng truly did not intend to force the Queen to eat through threats. That would only treat the symptoms, not the cause, and the Queen's hatred for him would only grow deeper...

"Really?"

The Queen looked at Ling Feng suspiciously. She had already prepared herself to be forcibly kissed again, because in her eyes, a pervert like Ling Feng could not possibly let such an opportunity slip by...

"It's true!"

Ling Feng nodded helplessly. Raising the lunch in his hand, he smiled. "I just want you to eat lunch. I absolutely didn't mean to threaten you with that. Even if you don't eat, I won't forcibly kiss you again. What happened today was my fault. I apologize, okay?"

The Queen fell silent for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "Human, if you want to apologize, then let me go!"

"What do you plan to do after I let you out?"

Ling Feng asked quietly.

"Hmph. Of course, I'll find somewhere to recover my energy, reclaim the Gem, and finally destroy this world!" The Queen looked as though it were only natural, as if destroying the world was the normal thing to do.

Ling Feng: "..." Then why the hell would you think I'd let you out...

"Anyway, what exactly will it take for you to eat?"

Suppressing the urge to make the Queen eat by forcibly kissing her, Ling Feng asked in a fairly gentle tone.

"Hmph, I won't eat!"

No matter how Ling Feng asked, the Queen gave the same answer. "I won't eat a single bite of your food. Even if I starve to death, I won't eat."

Ling Feng: "..." Lu Ren, don't push it too far. Watch me rub you back and forth across the ground...

"Hey, don't be like that. How about you eat a little? I... I'll feed you, okay?"

Ling Feng picked up a spoon in one hand, scooped up a fish ball, and brought it to the Queen's lips. Smiling, he said, "These are Magic City specialty fish balls. They're delicious—crispy outside and tender inside. One bite makes you want two, two bites make you want ten skewers."

But even with the spoon brought to the Queen's lips, she still refused to eat...

A Herrscher must have backbone. I, Chu... I, the Honkai Queen, will never yield!

The situation seemed to have reached another deadlock...

"Queen, do you really hate humans that much?"

Ling Feng set down the spoon and silently looked at the Queen...

"Hmph, of course."

The Queen answered without hesitation. "I was born to destroy humanity. I will return every bit of pain they once inflicted upon me!"

"If it were Kiana, she definitely wouldn't do this."

Ling Feng said calmly...

"But I'm not Kiana. I'm the Honkai Queen!" The Queen still wore a cold and proud expression.

"But half of you is Kiana."

Ling Feng said directly, "I won't hurt you. I hope you can believe me..."

"Heh, you won't hurt me? Don't you want Kiana to regain consciousness?"

The Queen looked at Ling Feng mockingly and said coldly, "If Kiana regains consciousness, doesn't that mean my consciousness must disappear? And you still say you won't hurt me? Every word humans speak reeks of lies."

"I admit that I do want to save Kiana, but... aren't you Kiana too?"

Ling Feng did not refute the Queen's words. Instead, he smiled. "You are a fusion of Kiana's and Sirin's consciousnesses, so you are also half Kiana. As long as you don't keep talking about destroying the world, I actually don't mind letting you occupy this body."

"Hmph!"

The Queen had lost count of how many times she had snorted coldly, but she clearly did not believe Ling Feng...

"Alright, we can talk about the other things later. Can you eat something first?"

They had drifted off-topic again. Ling Feng raised the spoon once more and scooped up the fish ball. "Even if you want to destroy human civilization, you need to eat your fill first. If you don't eat, you'll starve in a few days. If you starve to death, how will you destroy human civilization? So eat a little, my beloved Your Majesty."

Ling Feng did not even know what he was saying. He was actually using the destruction of humanity as a reason to persuade the Queen to eat. If this body had not belonged to Kiana, he would never have been this patient in persuading her...

P.S. Forcing the "it smells so good" meme is pretty awkward, but I just wanted to feed the Queen. Later, I'll feed the Queen something fragrant too... fragrant mushroom chicken!

"Feeding Time, Your Majesty!"

"Hmph!"

The Queen still did not turn around. "I am the Honkai Queen. How could I accept food handed out in charity? I won't eat!"

Ling Feng: "..." Are you fucking done yet...

"Then, Your Majesty, please have dinner!"

Ling Feng had no choice but to bring the dinner before the Queen and say earnestly, "This is not charity. We insignificant humans saw how hard you worked to destroy the world, so we specially offered it up to you as tribute. So please, eat. Ah..."

As he spoke, Ling Feng once again extended that tiny spoon toward the Queen's little mouth...

"..."

The Queen glanced at Ling Feng. Perhaps she felt that this human was too annoying, and besides... it smelled rather good...

This time, the Queen finally opened her mouth.

"Come on, it's delicious..."

Seeing this, Ling Feng hurriedly slipped the spoon into the Queen's mouth. His movements were cautious, exceedingly gentle, afraid that the Queen would change her mind...

At last, the Queen closed her open mouth again, holding the fish ball inside. Ling Feng withdrew the spoon, and the Queen silently chewed...

"How is it? Pretty good, right? Want another bite?"

Ling Feng asked tentatively, raising the spoon again. This time, he scooped up a piece of meat...

Perhaps she had tasted the food's deliciousness, or perhaps she really was hungry. She finally stopped refusing and swallowed the meat from the spoon in one bite...

"Hm?"

Then Ling Feng discovered that the Queen was actually crying...

"Hey, I just persuaded you to eat. You don't need to cry, do you?"

Ling Feng truly could not understand the Queen's situation. He merely wanted her to eat something. Did she need to cry over that? It was not as if he had bullied her—at least, not right now...

"I..."

The Queen was surprised as well. She reached up to touch her face, her expression full of astonishment. "Strange... why... why am I crying? But... this feeling seems... so nostalgic..."

The Queen herself did not know why she was crying, but for some reason, deep down, she liked this feeling very much. This... must have been the influence of Sirin's and Kiana's consciousnesses, but...

This was clearly a consciousness they had abandoned. Why was she still crying?

"Uh... come on, don't cry, don't cry. Keep eating..."

Ling Feng did not dare ask any more questions and continued feeding the Queen. It had completely turned into a feeding play session!

After that, the Queen opened her mouth, and Ling Feng fed her. It felt like a master feeding a pet, though the Queen was far more obedient than a certain pet he had once kept...

"How is it? Is it good?"

Seeing the Queen eat so smoothly, Ling Feng felt slightly relieved. At least this girl was not a picky eater...

"Hmph!"

The Queen gave another one of her signature cold snorts, turned her head away, and said reluctantly, "Humans only have cuisine worth mentioning. The existence of cuisine is probably the only reason humanity deserves to exist!"

"Ah..."

Then the Queen opened her mouth again. Her meaning was already obvious...

Ling Feng: "..."

Though you didn't say it outright, I think what you mean is...

It smells so good...

"Have a bite, bro... uh, no, have a bite, Queen!"

Ling Feng fed the Queen another piece of sausage, the crispy-skinned kind. Looking at the plate, there was not much food left. It really did look delicious, and he had not eaten much at noon. Watching the Queen eat so happily, he was starting to feel a little hungry...

How about... he had a bite too!

Well, it should be fine, right? As for the spoon, they had kissed who knew how many times already. Did indirect kissing even matter? Besides, the Queen's saliva seemed to be...

Ling Feng silently scooped up a fish ball and was just about to put it into his own mouth when...

"Hey, human, what do you think you're doing?"

The Queen swiftly pressed both hands against Ling Feng's thigh, then leaned forward and thrust her head toward him. She directly took the spoon that was about to enter Ling Feng's mouth between her lips and sucked the fish ball into her mouth. Chewing, she said, "Human, don't even think about stealing the Queen's food. This serving is mine. Every bite is mine. You are not allowed to eat a single bite, or I'll get angry!"

Ling Feng: "..." Why did the Queen seem a little abnormal...

In the end, under the Queen's forceful food-guarding, Ling Feng did not get a single bite of the meal. And at the Queen's insistence, he fed her from beginning to end, until she had finished the entire plate. That appetite...

Well, it was Kiana's body. There was nothing surprising about that appetite, okay?

"Um, Queen, remember to eat properly from now on. I'll be going first!"

Lunch was finished, so Ling Feng should get going. After briefly saying goodbye to the Queen, he picked up the empty plate and prepared to leave!

"Hmph!"

The Queen arrogantly turned her head away without even looking at Ling Feng...

Ling Feng could not be bothered to say anything more. He walked out of the room and casually shut the door behind him...

"Impressive, impressive!"

Outside, Tesla clasped her hands in salute toward Ling Feng and said with a smile, "Not only could you get the Queen to eat, you could even feed her yourself. The Herrscher of the Void was conquered just like that. Might you be the legendary master of romance?"

Ling Feng: "..."

"Cut it out..."

Ling Feng did not know where Tesla had learned that wuxia-style way of speaking, but it sounded incredibly out of place coming from her. Smiling, he said, "You flatter me by calling me a master of romance, brother. But if you ever go on a hunger strike too, I wouldn't mind feeding you!"

"Eh..."

Tesla's face reddened slightly, and she haughtily raised her head. "Hmph, I'd never go on a hunger strike. Food is so delicious. Only idiots go on hunger strikes..."

Then Tesla suddenly realized that something was wrong...

"Hm? Ling Feng, did you just call me 'brother'? That's how you address men, isn't it?"

Though Tesla was not from Shenzhou, she knew quite a bit about Shenzhou forms of address. "Brother" was clearly how ancient people addressed male friends!

"No, no, 'brother' is just a form of address. Calling you that doesn't mean I think you're a man. It means I see you as one of the boys!"

Ling Feng patted Tesla on the shoulder and smiled. "Ever since I entered St. Freya Academy, you've always been helping me. When it mattered most, you were the only one willing to lend me money, and you never even brought up repayment. I'll remember this friendship. That's brotherly loyalty!"

"I..."

You see me as one of the boys... Tesla wanted to say something. No, she definitely had to say something...

Fuck, damn it, fuck you...

Of course, Tesla did not say it in the end. She had to maintain her image. If she started swearing, her image in Ling Feng's eyes would be completely ruined...

"Ling Feng, actually, you don't need to do this!"

Even though he had treated her like one of the boys, Tesla forced a smile. "You don't need to be so polite with me. And don't call me 'brother'; just call me by my name. Nikola or Tesla is fine. After all, I'm a girl, you know. Hehe, mm-hmm..."

Tesla acted very demurely, smiling with the appearance of a sweet and adorable young lady...

.

P.S. Do you all like slice-of-life scenes? If not, I'm planning to skip them and start the next main storyline directly!

Honestly, I think slice-of-life is just shameless padding, but without it to build things up, romance would feel like it came too fast. I can't keep forcing myself on the Queen again and again, can I? This is Kiana, after all. What if one day someone with white hair comes looking for me with Tengu's Judgment...? Waiting online, pretty urgent!