Tell Me, Okay? Mei!

"Oh, then let's split..."

Dong Moxuan froze for a moment before finally realizing what she meant.

"Eh?!!"

"Mei, M-Mei,"

Looking at the girl before him, Dong Moxuan even began to stammer.

"W-What do you mean, split...?"

"Mei, have you suffered some kind of shock?"

"No!"

Mei's answer was extremely firm.

"Mei just feels that with Jun Xuan by her side, he'll only hold Mei back."

"Hold you back?"

Dong Moxuan could hardly believe that Mei would actually say something like that.

"That's right. Jun Xuan, you're just an ordinary person, aren't you?"

"In a place like Changkong City, what else can you do besides hold me back?"

Perhaps feeling that this reason was not convincing enough, Mei continued, "And... Jun Xuan, you... seem to know that woman who controls the mecha, too, right?"

"That's right. Cocolia used to be my superior."

"You once told me that you were a friend of my father. But the truth... is that really the case?"

"Mei, what do you mean?"

Dong Moxuan frowned slightly.

"What do I mean?"

As Mei spoke, lightning began to crackle around her.

"This power of mine... surely many people want it, right?"

"Dong Moxuan..."

"Your true identity..."

"Are you really my father's friend, or..."

"Are you a spy that woman placed at my side, waiting for a chance to seize my power?"

"Mei..."

"I'm sorry..."

Mei turned her head slightly, not daring to look into Dong Moxuan's eyes.

"Jun Xuan... there are simply too many suspicious points about you."

"I have no way... to convince myself to trust you."

"Haa..."

Dong Moxuan took a deep breath. Looking at the girl, his tone remained completely flat.

"So this is what you think?"

"This is how you see me?"

"Y-Yes."

Hearing the coldness in Dong Moxuan's voice, Mei's heart trembled slightly.

But she still gritted her teeth and said, "Because Jun Xuan is suspicious by nature, isn't he?"

"You suddenly claimed to know my father, and wanted to live in Mei's home and everything."

"How could Mei trust someone like you?"

Dong Moxuan: "..."

"I never thought it would be like this..."

A bitter smile appeared on Dong Moxuan's face.

"I'm sorry, Mei. I was simply imagining things."

As he spoke, Dong Moxuan stood up and walked to the entrance.

"Lastly..."

Opening the door to the house, Dong Moxuan took one last look at Mei.

"Mei... take care of yourself!"

With a loud bang, Dong Moxuan slammed the door and left.

"..."

Looking in the direction Dong Moxuan had left, Mei sat in the chair without speaking for a long time.

In the end, she seemed unable to endure it any longer. She ran to the entrance and opened the door.

However, outside, the street was empty save for a few scattered Honkai-infected creatures.

"Jun Xuan..."

"Did he... really leave?"

Murmuring softly, Mei slowly crouched down and buried her face in her arms.

It was clearly a decision she had made herself.

She had clearly already prepared herself to face everything alone.

But why?

Why was her heart so lonely and anguished at this moment?

"Jun Xuan..."

Crouching at the entrance, Mei began to sob softly.

She had overestimated her own strength—or perhaps underestimated the place that boy held in her heart.

Only when the sorrow in her heart surged forth like a tsunami did Mei understand how fragile she was without the boy.

"Jun Xuan..."

Was she alone again?

Mei had thought that, as someone accustomed to loneliness, she could endure living by herself.

However, after growing accustomed to the boy's companionship and tenderness, the girl discovered...

She could never return to the way things had been!

"Jun Xuan..."

Mei's call was choked with tears, and the bitterness in her heart grew stronger.

She felt that she might have regretted it.

But she was the one who had driven Jun Xuan away, wasn't she?

After saying such cruel words to Jun Xuan, how could she possibly have the right to ask for his tenderness?

But...

"Jun Xuan..."

"Yes, I'm here!"

Mei: "..."

Hearing that familiar, gentle voice beside her, Mei raised her head in disbelief.

Then she saw the boy standing outside the door at some point, his deep, gentle blue eyes like the sea, a complicated yet tender smile on his face.

"What's wrong, my little Princess Mei?"

The boy spoke gently as he bent down slightly, stroked the girl's silky hair, then caressed her cheek and wiped away her tears.

"Why are you crying like a little kitten?"

"If Big Brother Ryoma saw you like this, he'd probably think I bullied you and try to fight me to the death, wouldn't he?"

"Jun Xuan..."

Looking at the boy before her, Mei did not know why, but the bitterness in her heart grew even stronger.

"You, you didn't leave? Th-Then why...?"

"Yes, I did leave just now. But then I thought of some little idiot who probably wouldn't sleep well, eat well, or even be able to wash her clothes without me!"

"I couldn't stop worrying about you, so I came back!"

"That didn't happen. Mei... Mei can take care of herself..."

Mei straightened up, wiping away her tears as she spoke through her sobs.

"Mm."

Dong Moxuan nodded lightly.

"Mei, don't cry. I'm here!"

Dong Moxuan's words seemed to flip some kind of switch. Mei froze for a moment, then could no longer restrain her emotions and threw herself into Dong Moxuan's arms.

"Waaah..."

She burst into tears.

"J-Jun Xuan..."

"Yes, I'm here!"

Dong Moxuan gently stroked the girl's hair, his voice tender.

"I, I thought you had really left..."

"I thought I'd never see you again..."

"How could that happen?"

Dong Moxuan gently patted Mei's head.

"I told Mei that I would stay by Mei's side forever, didn't I?"

"B-But..."

Mei gently pushed Dong Moxuan away, her eyes darting to the side.

"Mei clearly said such terrible things to Jun Xuan..."

"Mei..."

Dong Moxuan sighed softly, an exasperated look on his face.

"You don't really think your clumsy acting managed to fool anyone, do you?"

"And that excuse..."

As he spoke, Dong Moxuan seemed to find it somewhat amusing.

"Cocolia's spy? When I met you, you weren't a Herrscher yet, were you? Isn't that excuse a little too flimsy?"

Could it be that you knew Cocolia knew you would become a Herrscher?

"Besides,"

The corners of Dong Moxuan's mouth lifted as he spoke with absolute confidence.

"I don't believe that Mei would say such cold words to me!"

"So there must be a reason, right?"

As he spoke, Dong Moxuan gently placed his hand on the girl's head.

"Tell me, okay? Mei!"