Heart-to-Heart, Knowing Each Other

As night deepened, Zhu Yufeng and the others waved goodbye to Ying at the entrance of the family quarters and boarded the bus back home.

Pardo and Disaster sat together discussing the games they played together that day. Hua sat quietly in her seat with her eyes closed, resting. Elysia sat next to Hua, typing on her phone. Kosma sat next to Zhu Yufeng, glancing at Zhu Yufeng, who was also typing, from time to time, then at Disaster, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

"Why are you staring at me like that? If you have something to say, just say it. Don't be so secretive. You can't always expect others to guess your thoughts based on your expressions." Zhu Yufeng said softly as she typed. "Besides, some things won't be conveyed to the person you want to tell them if you don't say them out loud."

"I..." Kosma opened his mouth, then glanced at Zhu Yufeng's phone screen again. Well, his phone had a privacy screen so he couldn't see... Anyway, Kosma figured it was most likely that Zhu was chatting with Elysia.

(The progress of the relationship between Kaede and Elysia... has gradually become commonplace. Can such straightforwardness really lead to a relationship like theirs? I am not Kaede, Disaster is not Elysia; between Disaster and me... there is a lifetime separating us.)

"Do you like Disaster?" Zhu Yufeng asked abruptly.

Kosma was taken aback by the question. He felt his face burning, but he also knew that no matter how much he argued, it would be useless. The people who were reborn with him... basically all knew about his longing for Disaster afterward, and there was no need to say anything about his feelings.

"If you think you don't need to say it, then you are very wrong." Zhu Yufeng's eyes never left the screen. "Some feelings, you have to say them out loud, then you will have the courage to face them. We all know that, and you know that too, but that is not a reason for you to remain silent."

"And what about you and Elysia?" Kosma felt he should have some say, and he thought Feng shouldn't have the right to lecture him on this point.

"Different people have different perspectives. Elysia and I... have already gone down the path of merely looking at each other once, and you've seen the result—even the Present, cracks remain. As for you and Disaster, it's basically a question of who's willing to be the one to speak up," Zhu Yufeng said calmly. "Or is it that you're afraid of something?"

"...Perhaps," Kosma said. "The incident years later, I..."

"You're afraid that once you get used to that kind of relationship, you won't be able to accept leaving, right?" Zhu Yufeng put down her phone and looked at Kosma as she spoke.

Kosma hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "... Yes."

"Then you'll just keep hesitating like this, and watch the same thing happen again." Zhu Yufeng shifted her gaze to the phone screen. "Then you'll regret not only what you didn't do, but also... what you did nothing at all."

"Why are you so sure?" Kosma asked.

"Because there is someone...that's what she thinks," Zhu Yufeng said. "As for my personal opinion, I think that rather than reminiscing in the future, it's better to cherish the memories you shared with this person."

Kosma remained silent. Could that person be Elysia? He remembered that it was only after the Tenth Law incident in his previous life that he first learned Elysia actually cared deeply for Zhu Yufeng. However, at that time, Zhu Yufeng didn't even want to look at Elysia, and there was no possibility of a relationship between them. As for Zhu Yufeng's feelings for Elysia, he heard it casually from Mobius when he received treatment from Mobius's treatment for his excessive weight and transformation, which restored him to human form.

No one is Heroes from the beginning. Whether it's Kevin or Feng, Kevin has always followed Mei's will and fought for Mei. As for Feng, he joined the Fire Moth and became Fusion Warrior all for Elysia.

After being reborn, Kosma, who truly understood Elysia's feelings for Maple, also had a question: since Elysia had special feelings for Maple, why did she just watch and do nothing before the Eleventh Law incident?

"That's all I have to say. Before you get involved in my relationship problems, I think you'd better sort out your own feelings," Zhu Yufeng said with a sigh.

Kosma didn't speak again, and Zhu Yufeng didn't say anything more either. He just stared at the phone screen, his finger hovering over the button, unable to press it for a long time.

Elysia: "Maple, I had a lot of fun today! (≧ω≦)"

Zhu Yufeng: "I think you are happy every day."

Elysia: "But today is especially happy, [especially]!"

Zhu Yufeng: "So, why is that?"

Elysia: "Of course, it's because we've gotten one step closer together! (/≧▽≦/)"

Zhu Yufeng: "Elysia... I'm a little curious, when exactly did you start caring about me so much?"

Elysia: "I've always cared about you!"

Zhu Yufeng: "I know how you feel about me, but I also want to know why."

Elysia: "Maple... you really have no self-awareness at all when it comes to this aspect."

Zhu Yufeng: "?"

Elysia: "Alright, after you go, can you come with me for a bit? We can take this opportunity to have a proper talk, how about it?"

Zhu Yufeng: "Okay."

Elysia: "Kosma seems to be talking to you about something. Is it a secret topic between boys? Can you tell me about it?"

Zhu Yufeng: "It's nothing. I just helped him re-evaluate his feelings for Disaster. It's not a good way for the two of them to continue like this."

Elysia: "Hmm... how did they manage to stay single when they were mutually in love?"

Zhu Yufeng: "In my opinion, it's because Kosma is afraid that he can't accept the future that has already happened."

Elysia: "Is it because you're afraid of having had it that you're afraid to face losing it?"

Elysia: "Then, Maple, please tell him for me that if he still chooses to stop moving forward, when the same thing happens again, what he will regret will not only be what he did wrong, but also what he did nothing at all."

Elysia: "The reason I say this is because I understand this feeling better than anyone else."

Elysia: "I've always just watched, hesitating on the path of our relationship, until you and I drifted further and further apart, until we never saw each other again."

Zhu Yufeng stared at Elysia's message on the screen, unable to imagine what she was feeling when she typed that message. He turned to look at Elysia, who was sitting in the row behind him. Elysia simply gave him a gentle smile and gazed at him.

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

Don't let him feel guilty anymore... The more you look at him like this, the more easily he'll recall everything from his past life...

If things continue like this, my feelings for Elysia will eventually turn into more guilt... The Present, there's probably a bit of that feeling in me, isn't there? Because I feel guilty about the harm Elysia caused by my actions in the previous life, such as the Tragedy of Binding, I tacitly approve of everything Elysia is doing the Present.

Sometimes he wonders if it's really okay to just let things drift like this.

We've arrived at the train station.

Zhu Yufeng got out of the car first, followed by Elysia. Disaster glanced at Pardo Zhu Yufeng gestured for her to follow as well, so as not to fall behind.

Pardo just tilted her head and watched the two figures leave through the car window, saying, "Normally, we would follow them, but today... Brother Yu Feng and Sister Elysia must have something very important to talk about."

Disaster looked at Pardo in surprise, then at the two people who were almost out of sight. Now that Pardo said that, it seemed to be true. Although the two were together, the distance between them was different from how they acted before.

It seems... a bit far?

Disaster seemed thoughtful; it seemed there were still many things between Maple and Elysia that she didn't know...

As she pondered, Kosma's voice sounded beside her, "Disaster... would you like to come with me?"

Disaster: "Huh?!"

She looked up in surprise at the boy standing in front of her. His eyes were firm, and he no longer avoided her gaze.

She pursed her lips and said, "Okay, it's been a long time since we've had a chat, hasn't it, Amo?"

"Um."

Honest Hua first looked at Elysia and Zhu Yufeng together, then at Disaster and Kosma together, and then she looked at Pardo.

Pardo: "..."

Hua, what's with that look? If it weren't for today's special circumstances, we'd go with whatever Brother Yu Feng said! Don't look at us like that!

Pardo said helplessly, "Hua, don't look at us like that, let's go together."

Hua looked puzzled. "Is there something wrong with my gaze?"

Pardo paused for a moment, then said, "... It's nothing, maybe it's just our imagination. Let's go, Hua."

Well, the way Hua looked at her was like an elder looking at a younger person, and then asked her, "Where's your boyfriend?" That kind of look... could also be because she still had some lingering resentment and a misconception.

Hua nodded. "Mm."

On the other side.

The moonlight shone on the two people standing side by side in a garden, neither of them speaking.

After a long pause, Zhu Yufeng carefully chose his words and began, "Elysia, we..."

Elysia sighed, "At least... you actually spoke up this time, Maple."

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

Were they waiting for him to ask the question?

"Before I answer your question, may you hold my hand?" Elysia asked, "So that I know you're still by my side."

Zhu Yufeng remained silent for a long while before reaching out his hand. He paused just before touching Elysia 'Elysia hand before taking her hand in his.

The next moment, his hand and Elysia's hand intertwined.

He looked at Elysia.

Elysia looked at him too. "I wonder how many girls you've held hands with before me? Oh well, Lilith definitely had a place in that..."

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

Well... how should I put it? Including the time Lilith forcibly kissed me in this life, it seems that Lilith and I have really done everything except for going all the way to the end...

Seeing the complicated look in Zhu Yufeng's eyes, Elysia looked away somewhat defiantly and whispered, "At least, for now, you belong to me..."

The two walked for a while before Elysia spoke again, "As for why I fell in love with you... thinking about it carefully, I don't seem to have a clear answer. Is it because you've always supported me unconditionally, or because your eyes were full of me when you confessed? Or is it your handsome figure when you fought against the Honkai, or your gentle smile every time we met... or is it all of these?"

Zhu Yufeng listened quietly.

Elysia continued, "I've actually thought about it too. Is there guilt in my feelings for you? Guilt for everything you've carried for me, guilt for not being there for you when you needed me the most?"

"What a coincidence, there's someone here who feels guilty towards you too," Zhu Yufeng thought to herself.

"I cherish your gentleness, and I feel guilty for all you've done..." Elysia said, somewhat lost. "Maybe there's also a bit of selfishness involved. I wish you were only gentle to me, I wish you could only have eyes for me... Because I've felt all of these things before..."

"Elysia ..."

Elysia looked at Zhu Yufeng: "Is my feeling for you no longer pure?"

"No, that's not true," Zhu Yufeng said. "All the feelings you have right now are normal for an ordinary girl. If you're going to say that... well, actually, I also feel guilty towards you. You've always been a very special person to me, and I've said before that even at the end, I never hated you. But I never thought that in the end, I would be the one who hurt you the most. So... after knowing your feelings, I've felt really guilty."

"Is that so..." Elysia lowered her beautiful eyelashes.

The two walked for a while longer.

Elysia then spoke again, saying, "I no longer know if my feelings for you are pure, but I do know that I hope I can see you every day now, and I hope that you and my love can stay together forever."

"Is that so..." Zhu Yufeng said thoughtfully, "Then what I want to say is that I hope your life can be free of gloom, and your future can be full of stars... In fact, I have never changed in this regard."

"But I want to be with you, and that has never changed since I realized my own feelings," Elysia said.

On Kosma's side.

"Amo, you've been silent the whole way. You wouldn't... really just want to have sex with me, would you?" Disaster couldn't help but ask.

"..."

"I shouldn't have had feelings for you, you blockhead..."

"I like you."

"Huh? Huh?!!!"