The Hua of the Past.

The girl stared at her toes, not even glancing at Su Qing'an beside her, and asked softly:

"May I have your name?"

Su Qing'an found it particularly amusing to watch her originally fair earlobes gradually turn red.

The barriers in his heart had crumbled, as if vibrant life had been drawn from a dead seed, or as if an ancient flood had submerged all the buildings on earth, causing everything that was not bright to vanish into thin air, leaving only a clear and pure void.

For the first time, positive emotions dispelled the burdens that had once weighed him down. Su Qing'an looked at the slight ripples in her eyes, like layers of a painting being unveiled, revealing its magnificent beauty, just as beautiful as he had seen her before.

Compared to the tired and indifferent eyes I had seen before, she now appeared more youthful and innocent.

Having not experienced any severe hardships and unaware of the Honkai, the girl was clearly still very naive. However, this bizarre encounter at different times not only gave Su Qing'an a sense of wonder but also gave him some unusual thoughts.

If I had met her at that time, perhaps I could have done my best to make her path less bumpy.

Based on the memories she still possesses, Su Qing'an can deduce from the information the girl once told her that the first place she truly faced the Honkai outbreak was in Canghai City.

At that time, Fu Hua had been studying at an academy in Canghai City for half a year. Just as she was about to board the plane home, the Honkai broke out.

Based on this timeline, if the girl in front of me is about to go to Canghai City to study, then the Honkai will likely occur in about six months.

Su Qing'an had studied history about Previous Civilization very seriously, although the lessons only covered some clues about Previous Civilization and many things were just hypotheses and speculations.

But Su Qing'an understood one thing: the scale of the catastrophe represented by the Honkai of the Previous Civilization and the Honkai of his own era was far more terrifying.

If the Third Honkai Outbreak in Changkong City affected only one or two cities, then given the gap in technological development, the level of Honkai that occurred in Previous Civilization should far exceed Su Qing'an's current imagination.

The worst-case scenario is that Canghai City is not the only outbreak point; localized outbreaks around the world are a very likely possibility.

Even a single outbreak point could have an impact on an area that would reach Fu Hua's hometown.

In other words, there's nothing strange about this city right now.

This makes Fu Hua's original fate clear: after losing her friends at the academy, she stayed alone in that emergency shelter for a while and was successfully rescued by the Moth to Fire, but the devastating news she received was the destruction of her hometown.

It goes without saying what would happen to a normal male in an environment with a high concentration of Honkai Energy.

Fu Hua's father died in the Honkai, and the girl lost all her relatives, embarking on an eternal journey that would last for tens of thousands of years, completely alone.

Fu Hua's journey only truly came to an end in the future that Su Qing'an glimpsed.

But that kind of future is not the future Su Qing'an wants to see.

The prolonged silence and unwavering gaze made the girl uneasy. She glanced at the boy's dazed expression; his mental state was clearly poor, even to the naked eye. This prompted her to ask:

"Are you alright?"

But given Fu Hua's personality and experience, all she could come up with so far was such dry, meaningless talk, which made her start to doubt whether she could really make any friends in Canghai City in the future.

You're so bad at talking.

Just as Fu Hua had suspected, Su Qing'an's mental state was indeed not good, otherwise her thoughts wouldn't have wandered off so quickly.

Upon seeing the familiar figure, an intense drowsiness inevitably spread throughout his body along with a sense of security. A languid fatigue locked within every cell of his limbs and bones. If he hadn't deliberately maintained his consciousness, it wouldn't be surprising if he had fainted at any moment.

The boy was stunned for a moment after hearing this before realizing that the other person had forgotten about him.

Now he needs to reintroduce himself.

Su Qing'an replied:

"My name is Su Qing'an."

The voice was naturally cold, with a slight hoarseness, but the tone that reached her ears was so gentle and sweet that it made the girl's earlobes turn even redder. She quickly and quietly took a few steps back, as if she were moving away from some dangerous creature.

Fu Hua had realized that her feelings for this person were too strange, almost nonsensical and unreasonable.

That won't work.

After calming down, the lingering emotions she had felt earlier seemed to dissipate, giving the girl the courage to continue looking directly at him. She said:

"My name is Fu Hua. I noticed something was off about you, so I pulled you out of the picture."

Recalling the boy's behavior throughout and his initially clearly blood-stained clothes, she couldn't help but ask without much thought:

"Where are you from?"

Su Qing'an said seriously without hesitation:

"I come from a civilization 55,000 years in the future."

Before Fu Hua could even reflect on her somewhat rash question, the other party gave her a very outrageous answer. Looking at the boy's serious expression, she naturally made a reasonable judgment.

Fu Hua let out a soft sigh:

"It seems you're in such a bad state that you're not even fully conscious. We'll talk about this later."

The girl felt the gazes that were gathering around her. Su Qing'an's blood-stained face was really eye-catching, and this subtle sense of shame made her want to leave the scene immediately.

But since I've already pulled him out of this mess, I can't just turn around and walk away, abandoning him.

Regardless of whether Su Qing'an needed her help in his current state, Fu Hua wasn't really keen on parting ways with him until she understood the reason behind the strange feelings that had suddenly welled up inside her and the bizarre intuition she had today.

"As for now..."

Looking at Su Qing'an's seemingly frail physique, Fu Hua found an excuse to convince himself.

Although bringing a complete stranger home is quite outrageous for a girl's personality, it's the most realistic answer at present.

If Dad isn't around, there's not much to explain in a short time, and even if he were a bad guy, given his physique and physical condition, he'd most likely be no match for me.

By selectively ignoring the possibility that the other party might possess other mysterious abilities, Fu Hua made her decision.

"Su Qing'an, right? You can come home with me for now."

"How?"

Su Qing'an had little energy to consider the reasons for the other party's overly friendly attitude. Given his trust in Fu Hua, he naturally nodded in acceptance.

Half an hour later, Su Qing'an entered the girl's house.

Previously, he had been following Fu Hua's instructions to use the [Conceal] ability to hide his identity along the way in order to avoid causing any unnecessary trouble.

Fu Hua's home is an apartment in a residential complex. She is well-known to all the neighbors, and everyone who sees her along the way greets her. Clearly, this quiet girl is very popular with the elders around her.

This is enough to show that without the existence of [Zang], Fu Hua's actions would likely have spread throughout the streets and alleys of this area the very next day.

Even though she knew that no one could see Su Qing'an beside her, Fu Hua still acted a little more unnaturally than usual. She only relaxed slightly after entering the room.

In the girl's previously conventional life, this was the first time she had done something so exciting.

The peaceful daily life was torn apart by the ghostly boy and the strange throbbing in her heart, which would be a typical protagonist's predicament in some novels she had read out of boredom before.

Even though Fu Hua didn't find her previous life boring, the imagination she should have at her age still easily led her thoughts to wander in all sorts of random directions.

The boy appears obedient and well-behaved; if it weren't for the faintly visible wounds and extensive bloodstains, no one would likely find him strange.

The alien's appearance alone is enough to disregard his true nature; even his nationality becomes clear the moment he opens his mouth, revealing him to be either a deserter or an assassin from a mysterious organization.

With her imagination, which seemed rather dull compared to girls her age, she could only imagine things progressing to this point. She even attributed Su Qing'an's earlier words to the other person's poor mental state, to the point that they were talking nonsense.

Fu Hua pulled out a chair for Su Qing'an to sit down, and then ran into the room to find a brand new bath towel.

Even if she wanted him to rest properly, she had to let him wash himself first. The boy's brand-new clothes were filled with a strong smell of blood, which was why she asked him to "hide." If the police saw this, the situation would obviously be very bad.

Neither Fu Hua, who knew nothing, nor Su Qing'an, who understood a great deal, understood the true reason behind the current harmonious outcome.

But soon, Su Qing'an will likely be able to uncover some of the truth behind the restart through some past details.

Not long after, she handed him a bath towel and pointed towards the bathroom, saying:

"Go take a shower first, then rest for a bit."

"I'll take you to the landlord's place to ask if he can let you stay for a few days."

Su Qing'an took the bath towel she handed him and said:

"I don't have any money, so don't bother me too much."

"If it's too troublesome, don't insist. I'll figure something out myself."

The boy paused slightly before turning to enter the bathroom, and said:

"Thank you, Hua."

Thank you for saving me from a situation I absolutely couldn't afford to fail at the most crucial moment.

Even if it's not for this reason...

Just seeing her made Su Qing'an very happy.

The clear water sculpted his streamlined muscles as if they were cast a new form. What the girl thought was a slender body had actually been forged into a terrifying form through countless painful experiences.

Through the mist, Su Qing'an's body was covered with scattered scars, as if someone had drawn wild patterns with brushes of varying shades.

Two of the scars were the deepest, as if a palette had been accidentally overturned and landed on a blank sheet of paper, the colors incredibly intense.

It's in the center of the chest.

The deepest scar remains where Murata Himeko once pierced through with her sword.

And also...

The boy subconsciously touched his left shoulder, then looked at his still-present left hand, his gaze drifting to the joint where the bones were connected, where grotesque flowers bloomed, as if silently telling the story of the pain he had suffered.

Gods... what a twisted sense of humor.

These scars, which could clearly be traced back to nothing, were all deliberately preserved by Him, as if bearing witness to Su Qing'an's journey.

The boy's scarred ankles were stained crimson with blood and filth, which completely stained the ground. His face was cleaned up in the warm water.

The faint traces of wounds left on his face had all healed. He lowered his eyes and let the water droplets fall freely along the curve of his eyelashes. The bloodshot in his dark eyes gradually faded, and the gradually recovering whites of his eyes made his gaze appear gentler.

Clearly, Su Qing'an's physical functions are completely different from those of a normal human. After the Mirror of Enlightenment, his body seems to have been forcibly shaped to be even stronger. His physical recovery ability, nerve reflexes, speed, strength, and other conditions have once again been pushed to different limits than before.

These things didn't feel very real to him before he died, because that opponent was a powerful enemy who was defeated entirely by Rin's strength; physical attributes had almost no impact on the battle at that time.

But now, it is the reason why he was able to survive these three days. On that day, Su Qing'an used his Collapse Force to penetrate the shield of the Temple-class Honkai Beast, shattering its head and half of its bright white body. This was a feat he could not have accomplished without Honkai Energy.

The improvement in martial arts and physical fitness has given Su Qing'an the combat power of A-rank Valkyrie, even with her sword heart clouded. Moreover...

He glanced silently at the Mind Lake, where the cracks were gradually disappearing and the darkness was slowly fading.

With just a period of calm, Su Qing'an will be able to return to his peak condition.

Hopefully, he can resolve his issues regarding his body and swordsmanship before this Honkai occurs.

The warm water made the boy even sleepier, but it also made him continue to think about his attitude towards Fu Hua.

Restart...

Is it really that complete?

This was the first time Su Qing'an had begun to question this issue.

Su Qing'an understood Fu Hua's personality quite well during this period.

During their first meeting, the girl completely revealed her past life to him, and judging from her appearance, the time span between then and now should not be more than a year.

Therefore, he understood that even Fu Hua at this stage would not extend such a helping hand to strangers.

Bringing a stranger home, even one skilled in martial arts, is an unwise choice, especially since she had no reason to do so.

In Fu Hua's eyes, this should be a strange stranger, and it would be a normal choice to glance at him once or twice and then leave.

Just like you wouldn't readily offer help to someone who is behaving strangely and has a dirty face and is in distress in public.

Choosing to call the police is actually a more realistic option.

But the fact that she did this can only mean that in Fu Hua's subconscious, Su Qing'an is not a stranger, and she might even feel somewhat close to him, which is why she would take him home directly.

As for the fact that she would develop a good impression of someone she had just met, Su Qing'an could only guess that this was the lingering [Ashes] left over from the reboot.

It is precisely because Fu Hua's feelings for Su Qing'an from the previous timeline were somewhat inherited by Fu Hua in the current timeline that these events can be explained.

"Hua, do you like me?"

His voice echoed softly in the light mist, but no one responded.

No one could answer the boy's questions, and the promise the immortal wanted to make was ultimately overturned in those seemingly non-existent times.

Su Qing'an was not disappointed. Perhaps there would be no response to these questions, but the girl's attitude towards her had already proven a lot.

It was like a silent response from the [Ashes], or a gentle comfort, leaving Su Qing'an momentarily unsure whether to cry or laugh.

I will try my best to make things less tiring for you.

The showerhead stopped spraying warm water, and Su Qing'an's decision, which she had secretly made, was quietly hidden away, like the ground that had been washed clean by a large flow of water.

The smell of blood on his body was almost completely washed away by the shower gel and shampoo. He pulled back the curtain, rubbed his wet hair with a towel, and then prepared to pick up the clothes hanging on the glass sliding door.

That was something Su Qing'an had taken from the mall.

The boy silently memorized the prices of the clothes, intending to return them later, since earning money wouldn't be difficult for him.

But the boy suddenly realized that the clothes hanging there had turned into a set of pajamas.

Seemingly hearing the water stop, Fu Hua explained from a short distance away:

"I've put your clothes in the washing machine; they all smell of blood. So, you can wear my dad's pajamas for now."

"He's been unwell lately and is in the hospital. The second room on the left after you come out of the bathroom is empty. Your eyes are bloodshot; you should go in and get some sleep."

The girl chattered on and on, and unconsciously, she seemed to be having a natural conversation with someone she knew very well.

Fu Hua poured laundry detergent into the washing machine. Suddenly realizing the awkwardness of their overly natural conversation, she pursed her rosy lips and chose to end the conversation there.

Wearing his pajamas, Su Qing'an walked into the living room. He looked at the girl standing on the balcony. The well-lit area reflected off her beautiful features, making her look like a painting that would be etched into his heart.

It can be remembered for a very, very long time.

She turned around at the sound of footsteps, a hint of surprise in her eyes.

The boy's slender figure and upright, bamboo-like back made his pajamas look strangely handsome. His damp hair clung casually to his forehead, and his face, now free of bloodstains, was unexpectedly delicate.

He was looking at himself at that moment.

It was as if a piece of the sky had fallen into those eyes, reflecting the unrestrained blue of youth, the wispy clouds, and himself.

He said softly:

"Thank you for your help, Hua."

Fu Hua stopped looking at him and said indifferently:

"Go to sleep first."

Su Qing'an rubbed his eyes. Although he could continue to force himself to stay awake, there was no need to. So he obediently followed the girl's advice and went into the guest room.

On the balcony.

The girl looked at the excess laundry detergent in the washing machine and felt that she was acting really strange today.

However... there seems to be something worth writing in my diary.

Yeah, just a little bit.