She headed toward where the two of them were.
Kiana was slightly dumbfounded, then laughed. "Little Pudding looks pretty cute when she's this nervous."
"Now no one can steal Mei away from me."
Raiden Mei, whose name had just been mentioned, had only just finished training.
Watching Bronya, who seemed angry, head toward Wendy, then noticing Kiana's teasing expression, she could not help asking, "What happened, Kiana?"
Kiana chuckled. "Mei, Mei, Bronya's jealous."
Bronya: He's a Liar
While Wendy was serving as an instructor at St. Freya, Chen Ran naturally kept an eye on her as well.
He was not worried about Wendy's mental resilience, but if people made her physical disability a topic of gossip, she would probably be hurt too.
The boy seemed to have developed the self-awareness of being a boyfriend, actively protecting everything about Wendy, including her feelings.
"I thought you'd be resting in your room. Didn't expect you to be unable to sit still."
Holding a plastic bag, he smiled. "Look what I found."
"Roasted sweet potatoes."
Wendy caught the familiar scent and was both surprised and delighted. "St. Freya shouldn't have these, right? Where did you find them?"
"I asked the Science Department to buy them. I said they were essential experimental materials."
Chen Ran teased, "That's the convenience of being a professional. Even if people question it, no one will oppose it to your face."
He thoroughly displayed the ugly face of a privileged person.
The boy peeled open a scorching-hot roasted sweet potato, then used a wooden spoon from the bag to scoop it out little by little and feed her.
Wendy happily ate it.
She did not care about other people's gazes. Though it was a little embarrassing, she could accept it.
There was no doubt that the girl was happy.
But this only made Bronya, who was approaching them, even more suspicious.
"No matter how I look at it, that person definitely has ulterior motives."
"Bronya has an obligation to expose his true face."
"However, it's too early to reveal my intentions. It would be easy to put him on guard."
Though Bronya's body was petite, she was very clever.
She concealed her thoughts, then walked up to them. "Instructor Wendy, there are still some things Bronya does not understand. Bronya would like to ask you for guidance."
A trace of confusion flashed through Chen Ran's eyes.
In his memory, wasn't Bronya a genius?
Wendy, on the other hand, did not think too much about it and smiled. "Sure."
Yet Bronya directly used Heavy Onslaught Rabbit to push Wendy's wheelchair away. Before leaving, she did not forget to glance at Chen Ran.
However, because her face was far too expressionless, Chen Ran had no idea what her gaze meant.
He merely shook his head at this.
Chen Ran found Hua, who was also at the training grounds, and asked, "Has Wendy gotten used to this place?"
"She should be adjusting well."
During this period, Hua had been living in the same dormitory as the two of them. Since they were both from Shenzhou, they had some common topics to talk about and were not strangers to each other.
Chen Ran sighed in relief. "That's good. The plan is about to reach a critical point."
Both the experiment he had cooperated on with Mei and Durandal's calculations proved that the key to the Divine Right Plan was actually related to consciousness.
And the Divine Right Plan was actually an auxiliary plan Otto had formulated to make up for the Sirin Plan's shortcomings.
In other words, the theory of relying on the power of emotions to obtain a Herrscher's abilities could also be applied to the Divine Right Plan.
His busyness in the laboratory during this period had actually been just a facade.
His true purpose had been to cultivate feelings between himself and Wendy. If it could happen to Kiana and Mei, it could happen to Wendy too.
From this perspective, he was an emotional con artist.
As for how intense those feelings needed to become, Chen Ran still had to observe it himself.
But after spending these past two days together, the stigmata on Wendy's body had clearly begun to be affected by her consciousness, merging with the Herrscher Core instead of resisting it.
"Hua, after a little while longer, the plan should be close to a complete success."
He smiled. "I don't think there'll be any problems by then."
Hua smiled faintly. "All right."
However, after Chen Ran left, a trace of worry flashed through Hua's eyes.
She hesitated for a long time, but ultimately turned and headed to a secluded place.
Then, she reported everything that had happened here to the Schicksal headquarters.
Bronya brought Wendy before Kiana and Raiden Mei.
Kiana teased, "Little Pudding, you've really got some nerve. You actually snatched her away right in front of her boyfriend."
The words "boyfriend" made Wendy blush, and only then did she realize, "Huh? You didn't want to ask about training?"
Bronya said blandly, "Bronya has mastered the basic training very well and does not require special instruction. But if Wendy wants to instruct Bronya, Bronya can also be instructed by Wendy."
Wendy was a little angry. "You lied to me."
Bronya tilted her head. "Bronya did not lie to you. Bronya merely wanted you to stay away from a liar."
Wendy was somewhat stunned. "What liar?"
"That man."
The girl pointed at Chen Ran and said, "Because of Bronya's past experiences, Bronya has seen many people. Bronya can sense that his feelings for you are mostly just an act."
Bronya was not lying.
Chen Ran treated Wendy very well; that went without saying. But his feelings for Wendy were obviously more complicated than simple affection, more like a disguise. Wendy herself might not have realized this, but Bronya could sense it from just one glance.
A person's affection could not truly be faked.
So Chen Ran was a liar.
That was the conclusion her brain reached after calculating everything.
Wendy puffed out her cheeks. "I may have a pretty good temper, but I'll still get angry when you say something like that."
Bronya remained expressionless. "Bronya simply does not want Wendy near a liar."
"Hmph, it has nothing to do with you."
Wendy stubbornly pushed her wheelchair away.
Raiden Mei, standing nearby, had not even figured out what had happened.
Kiana clicked her tongue in amazement. "Stupid Bronya, look at the mess you made."
"Stupid Kiana has no right to call Bronya stupid."
"Hmph, who says I don't?" She said, "I know you're jealous and want to break them up, but you can't be this tactless. You're even worse than me."
Bronya tilted her head. "What method does Kiana have?"
"Hehe, I've never encountered it myself, but I've heard plenty. Relationships between men and women fall apart because a third party gets involved." She said half-jokingly, "If Bronya were to become that third party..."
"All right, Kiana, stop joking with Bronya. What if she takes you seriously?"
Raiden Mei interrupted her and said, "Bronya, don't overthink it either. I think that man is pretty good, and besides..."
She spoke with slight helplessness. "Given Wendy's current condition, this is probably the best outcome, isn't it?"
Bronya wore a thoughtful expression.
"Is Sister Mei saying Bronya was too direct? Bronya will correct it."
--
Flame-Chaser, First Research Institute.
After Mei left the First Research Institute, Chen Ran (No. 666) was likewise assigned another task:
To analyze the integration of biological transcription genes, hereditary transformation research, and Honkai.
In other words, it was to use the previous research to attempt expression at the genetic level—the stigmata Chen Ran had blurted out to Mei before.
This time, he was no longer in the lead.
Instead, he became Mobius's assistant.
"Then our work begins now. I'm really looking forward to your performance, Chen Ran."
Why Are You So Good to Me?
St. Freya, Valkyrie Dormitory.
After a busy day, Chen Ran was drying Wendy's hair.
The hair dryer hummed. Even in the technologically advanced Honkai world, the vibrations of an electric motor remained a difficult problem to solve.
Because of her limited mobility, Hua helped Wendy wash herself.
However, the girl preferred having Chen Ran dry her hair. The strong warm air gradually dried the moisture, while the fragrance of shampoo spread through the room, leaving her with no worries at all.
Her head tilted slightly backward as she felt Chen Ran's hands kneading her hair.
Sometimes Wendy wondered whether this boy had completely wrapped her around his finger. Otherwise, why would she be so happy?
The hair dryer's motor slowly came to a stop, and at some point, Chen Ran had picked up a hair tie.
"Do you want a braid today, or twin tails?"
"Neither."
Wendy spoke coquettishly. "Braids are too troublesome, and my hair isn't that long. Twin tails are too childish too. I think it's better to leave my hair down."
Wendy did not have long hair, only shoulder-length short hair. She did not need to tie it into any particular style.
This was the hairstyle most Valkyries kept. In fact, long-haired Valkyries like Kiana and Raiden Mei were in the minority, since overly long hair interfered too much with combat.
Chen Ran smiled and did not force her.
He carried the girl to the sofa and quietly told her about what had happened that day.
The boy and girl were like lovers who had just embraced, sharing every little detail of their lives.
Wendy felt that she had probably become addicted to this feeling.
Yet she was also somewhat dazed.
Just as she was about to immerse herself in it, Bronya's earlier words suddenly flashed through Wendy's mind.
He's a liar.
She abruptly shook her head, then happened to meet Chen Ran's eyes.
"What's wrong?" Chen Ran was peeling an apple for her.
"Nothing. It just feels like everything right now is a dream."
Wendy still concealed what Bronya had told her and changed the subject. "The apple in your hand has become all bumpy. Stop peeling it already, there'll be no flesh left."
"Is it that bad?"
Chen Ran looked at the battered apple in his hand, as well as the peels on the table still clinging to bits of flesh, and could not help feeling ashamed.
"Sigh, I used to be used to eating them with the peel on. I just wanted to be a gentle, domestic good man. Looks like I failed."
Before you continue