Mondstadt International

In a post-apocalyptic world with no living people, where monsters roamed in packs, Ye Ming and the beautiful girl relied on each other day after day, and their feelings gradually grew warmer. But good times did not last. For some reason, Ye Ming was inexplicably infected by the virus, and his body began to deteriorate irreversibly.

On the last night of his life, in order to let the girl survive, Ye Ming waited until she had fallen asleep before heading out alone. With his last bit of strength, he cleared every monster blocking her path, and then...

Then the dream changed. In his haze, Ye Ming felt what seemed to be a warm, soft body throw itself into his arms. That supple, elastic body pressed tightly against him, and then he seemed to reach out and grab it. The girl's movements were not only clumsy, but somewhat rough. Even so, dream-Y e Ming could not help but shudder.

Oh no!

Ye Ming's heart skipped a beat. He abruptly opened his eyes and threw back the covers.

Everything was normal. Nothing he had expected had happened.

Phew~

Ye Ming let out a sigh of relief and looked around, only to realize that he was sleeping in the guest bedroom.

What was going on? Shouldn't I have been in the master bedroom? How did I end up here?

Ye Ming scratched his head.

He remembered that last night, he had been writing until he unknowingly fell asleep slumped over his desk. He had no idea why he had ended up in the guest bedroom.

And besides...

Ye Ming took a deep breath.

Why did the room smell like air freshener?

There seemed to be the faint sound of water coming from the bathroom. Ye Ming got out of bed and looked in that direction.

The bathroom door was tightly shut. Someone seemed to be taking a shower inside.

"Laffey?"

Ye Ming called out tentatively, but the moment the words left his mouth, he felt something was off. Laffey was such a little sleepyhead that she could fall asleep while walking in broad daylight. How could she possibly be up this early?

That left only one possibility.

"Fu Hua? Was it you who moved me onto the bed last night?" Ye Ming asked.

"Mm. When I came back last night, I saw light coming from your room, so I went in to take a look. I found you asleep on the desk. I was worried you'd feel awful when you woke up in the morning, so after thinking about it, I moved you to the bed."

Fu Hua's voice was soft and indistinct amid the sound of running water. Maybe it was just his imagination, but Ye Ming felt that she sounded a little muffled.

That made Ye Ming thoughtful. "Last night, you slept..."

"Of course I slept with Laffey. What did you think?" Fu Hua raised her voice.

"Haha, I just wanted to ask whether you were used to sleeping here for the first time. I didn't mean anything else."

Ye Ming also felt that he was overthinking things. He returned to the bedroom and tidied up the bed, then headed to the balcony to open the windows and air the place out.

But the moment he reached the balcony, Ye Ming froze again.

Several pieces of clothing were hanging there. One of them was the white dress Fu Hua had worn yesterday. The other two, one inner and one outer, were both Ye Ming's pants.

Huh? These looked like what I wore yesterday. Did I do laundry after getting back yesterday?

Ye Ming felt like something was off, but when he thought carefully, he did seem to vaguely remember doing laundry yesterday.

"Looks like I was too tired from staying up late yesterday."

Ye Ming yawned, stretched hard, and rubbed his slightly sore waist and back.

He really had to take better care of his health from now on. He could not keep staying up late.

Otherwise, once there were more Ship-Girls, life would become impossible.

He had to exercise properly and take good care of himself.

Ye Ming silently made up his mind. When he returned to the living room, Fu Hua was still not done showering. After thinking about it, and not wanting to disturb Laffey's sleep, he simply went downstairs to buy breakfast.

This time, he did not run into the hardcore character fangirl who called herself Yae Sakura again. By the time Ye Ming returned with breakfast, the bathroom door was open. Fu Hua had finished showering and changed clothes, and was blow-drying her hair on the balcony.

Ye Ming set the breakfast on the dining table and casually turned on the TV. Just as he was about to call Laffey to eat, his nose twitched. He sniffed hard twice, then froze.

After hesitating for a moment, Ye Ming walked out to the balcony. He watched Fu Hua dry her hair, his expression somewhat complicated.

"Fu Hua, um, that smell..."

Fu Hua's body suddenly stiffened. She instinctively switched off the hair dryer and drew her hand back. "Smell? What smell? You must have smelled wrong!"

Ye Ming smiled. "It's not like I've lost my sense of smell. The perfume is so obvious. How could I possibly smell it wrong?"

"I remember that you never used perfume before, Fu Hua. You weren't wearing any when we met yesterday either, so why did you suddenly put some on today? Honestly, I think you smelled better before, when you didn't wear perfume. Now that you've put it on, it feels a little strange instead."

Hearing that, Fu Hua let out a sigh of relief. "Mm, since you say so, I won't wear it anymore."

That natural obedience was completely unlike the Fu Hua in Ye Ming's memories. For a moment, it made him feel a little embarrassed instead.

"I was just saying it casually. Whether you wear it or not is your choice. You don't have to listen to me."

Ye Ming smiled and turned to leave the balcony, but after taking just one step, he turned back again. "All right, I still think it's better without it. Yesterday, we..."

"Ye Ming."

Fu Hua spoke, cutting him off. She looked into Ye Ming's eyes and said softly, "I think there are some things we don't need to rush. The road ahead is still long. We can slowly do the things we want to do."

What did that mean? Giving up, or persisting?

Ye Ming did not understand what Fu Hua meant, but looking into her eyes, he found himself unable to say anything for a moment.

At that moment, there seemed to be an indescribable emotion in Fu Hua's eyes.

For some reason, Ye Ming felt that those words and that gaze were oddly familiar.

Ye Ming thought for a long time, but could not remember where he had heard those words before. However, he remembered Fu Hua's gaze.

When they were children, Fu Hua had clearly been close to him, yet she never joined his games. Whenever he played with others, Fu Hua would always stand in the distance and watch him silently. Whenever he got into conflicts with others, whenever he encountered danger, she would always be the first to appear and protect him.

That was the gaze of a guardian.

For some reason, Ye Ming suddenly thought of the Red Oriole Immortal from the game, who had spent fifty thousand long years and then guarded Shenzhou for five thousand years because of a promise to someone.

"Are you the Fu Hua from the game!?"

For no reason at all, the words slipped out.

Fu Hua's eyes widened in surprise. After a moment, the corners of her lips curled into a faint smile, and she shook her head in denial. "What foolish thing are you saying? How could I possibly be a character from a game?"

"I am Fu Hua, but not the Fu Hua from the game."

P.S.: Replying to the earlier comments, I'm not some big-shot author's alt account, so please don't misunderstand. If I really were a big-shot author's alt, I would have started networking with all the big shots long ago. How could I still have no big-shot connections at all? Just thinking about it makes me feel so miserable. ┭┮﹏┭┮

Mond International

For a moment, Ye Ming truly had the thought that the Fu Hua before him was the Fu Hua from the game.

But that impulse was probably just a lingering suspicion after the appearance of the Ship-Girls.

After all, since the Ship-Girls from Azur Lane had appeared, perhaps characters from other mobile games might appear as well?

However, Ye Ming knew very clearly that the Fu Hua before him really was the childhood sweetheart who had grown up with him. Moreover, he had already checked that his Honkai account was still there and had not changed like his Azur Lane account.

So after the impulse passed, Ye Ming found his own suspicion a little amusing.

"I think my brain short-circuited too. Maybe I didn't rest well last night." Ye Ming smiled awkwardly. "I bought breakfast already. Hurry up and finish drying your hair, then come eat."

"Mm." Fu Hua responded. When she heard Ye Ming say that he had not rested well, she somewhat awkwardly rubbed her hand against her skirt.

Ye Ming did not notice that slight abnormality. He left the balcony and pushed open the master bedroom door.

"Laffey, time to ea—"

"Laffey!?"

The moment he pushed open the door, Ye Ming was startled by the sight on the bed.

The blanket and pillows had all fallen onto the floor, and half the bedsheet had been rolled up. Little Laffey lay on the messy bed, her camisole having slipped below her shoulders. She hugged two empty wine bottles in her arms, her little face flushed red as she slept soundly. Every now and then, she would lift an empty bottle to her lips and smack her lips against it, revealing a satisfied smile.

Ye Ming recognized at a glance that the two empty wine bottles in Laffey's arms were the red wine he had deliberately hidden under the bed the day before yesterday.

"Laffey? Laffey!? Wake up!"

Ye Ming pulled Laffey's camisole back up, then shook her shoulders in alarm. "Wake up, Laffey!"

"Ura!"

Laffey suddenly shouted with her eyes closed, startling Ye Ming.

"Wake up, Laffey. You're not Tashkent, so why are you shouting 'Ura'?"

Both annoyed and amused, Ye Ming picked up the little girl and smacked her bottom.

"Mm~ Commander?"

The little girl who had been smacked opened her eyes to a narrow slit. Her wine-red eyes looked hazily in Ye Ming's direction, and only after a long while did they focus. "Mm~ Laffey, Laffey didn't secretly drink any alcohol."

As she spoke, the little girl licked her lips again, her face full of bliss. "So this is the happy thing Akagi talked about. Laffey is so satisfied."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Ye Ming could not understand a word the little girl was saying. "Laffey, wake up. Are you drunk?"

"Laffey isn't drunk."