I Won't Let You Go to Mei!

"It's not that I'm hard on myself. Sleeping on a firm bed is more comfortable. A bed that's too soft might feel better for your muscles, but it can affect your bones."

"So if you really want your body to feel comfortable, it's better to sleep on a somewhat firm bed."

Hearing Su Moqian's explanation, Kiana gave it some thought. "So that's how it works."

During the time she'd spent traveling across Eurasia on foot, she'd slept in a tent most of the time, so she had a serious fixation on soft beds.

"I thought a rich guy like you would sleep on a super-huge, super-soft bed that was a hundred meters wide!" Kiana exclaimed.

Su Moqian's mouth twitched. He added, "You should read fewer Mary Sue novels. How could anyone sleep on a bed that big? Do you think they're Ultraman?"

"Don't go imagining all sorts of other things. Going to bed early and getting up early is good for you. Good night."

With that, Su Moqian turned off the light and lay back down on his makeshift bed.

He'd been forced to watch several horror movies with this little Kiana today, and they had nearly driven him crazy. At last, he could get some rest.

Su Moqian let out a long breath, but just as he closed his eyes, Kiana's voice came from the other side of the room.

"Moqian, do you think Ultraman really exists?"

Su Moqian: "...Maybe."

After giving her a perfunctory answer, Su Moqian was about to fall asleep, but Kiana spoke up again.

"I don't think what you said was right, Moqian. Even Ultraman couldn't sleep on a hundred-meter bed. They'd probably sleep on a fifty-meter one."

Su Moqian: "..."

"Hey, Moqian, those Honkai Beasts look so strange. How do they sleep?"

Su Moqian: "..."

"Moqian, look at that Honkai Emperor. It's surrounded by blades of light all over its body. It can't lie down on the ground to sleep, can it?"

Su Moqian: "...My dear young lady, forget about them. Just go to sleep already."

Only then did Kiana realize she was being a bit of a chatterbox. She gave an awkward laugh.

"Sorry, Moqian. I'm a little too excited. I've gone to sleep alone for so many years, and it's been ages since I chatted with someone before bed."

"I won't bother you anymore. Let's get some sleep."

Perhaps remembering what it was like to fall asleep alone, Kiana pouted and stopped talking.

But at that moment, Su Moqian sat up and said softly, "Kiana, actually... I think your questions are highly academic. If we can figure them out, maybe we'll discover where Honkai Beasts live."

At that, Kiana perked right up and sat up in bed too.

"Right? I think I'm a genius!"

Even though it was nighttime, Kiana's eyes were still so bright.

Seeing her like this, Su Moqian felt something soft inside him stir.

He smiled and asked, "So, the ultimate, invincible, super-cute Miss Kiana, do you have any other brilliant ideas?"

"Of course! I have so many more brilliant ideas! I'll tell you about them one by one."

Once she got excited, Kiana shared every one of the strange ideas that came to her when she went to sleep alone each night.

Including, but not limited to: "Why does Za Warudo's five seconds sometimes feel so long, but other times feel way too short?"

"If Eren had received nine years of compulsory education and been steeped in Marxism, would he still be so obsessed with fighting?"

"There are two Sun Wukongs in this world. If they fused, would they turn into Super Saiyan Monkeys?"

Ideas like those made Su Moqian chuckle, but he chatted with Kiana about them with complete seriousness.

"As the story went last time, Lin Daiyu had attacked Zhu Village three times, and sent Zhao Zilong to borrow the Plantain Fan. Just as they were about to make their move..."

After who knew how long, Su Moqian was about to continue the story when he suddenly realized that Kiana had already closed her eyes and was breathing evenly.

"Hm? Did she fall asleep already?"

Noticing that Kiana was asleep, Su Moqian glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight.

"Ugh, it's so late again."

He'd already been tired and had wanted to turn in early tonight.

But when he heard Kiana say it had been so long since she'd chatted with a friend before bed, his heart softened.

Su Moqian sighed. Looking at Kiana's peaceful sleeping face, he gently tucked her in, then shook his head with a smile.

"There's just no talking you out of it, Kiana."

At the Su residence, meanwhile,

Although it was already the middle of the night, Raiden Mei, who had moved into Su Moqian's room, hadn't gone to sleep.

Instead, she was looking around the room, seemingly searching for something.

At last, Raiden Mei found several full-color art books tucked between the manuals on the bookshelf.

"Found them."

A glint flashed in Raiden Mei's eyes as she took them out and flipped through them.

After blushing as she looked for a while, Mei nodded in relief.

"Looks like Moqian still likes the same things as before. Moving in with Bronya hasn't given him any strange new tastes. That's a relief."

After confirming that, Raiden Mei quietly put them back, then slipped into Su Moqian's bed.

She stretched, then gave a pleased little hum, the corners of her mouth curving upward.

"Hmm-hmm? I must be the only girl in the world who gets to sleep in Moqian's bed, right?"

At the same time, Su Moqian, who had just fallen asleep, suddenly felt someone touching him.

At first, he thought it was his imagination, but soon he clearly felt something step on his chest.

Su Moqian: "!!!"

The movies he'd just watched had left him shaken, and cold sweat broke out all over him as he jolted awake.

Only then did he realize that Kiana had rolled to the edge of the bed.

One of her delicate feet dangled over the edge and had landed right on him.

Seeing that, Su Moqian let out a relieved, helpless laugh.

"How does this little Kiana sleep so restlessly?"

Su Moqian reached out and took hold of Kiana's little foot, guiding it back onto the bed.

Then, as he sat up, he suddenly noticed something.

Kiana's sleeping face was tense, her brows knitted together as if she were having some terrible dream.

Su Moqian couldn't help sighing.

"I told you not to watch so many of those movies. Now you're having a nightmare, aren't you?"

Unable to bear the thought of her being troubled even in her sleep, Su Moqian rubbed his eyes, fought off his drowsiness, and sat at Kiana's bedside.

Then he reached out and gently brushed her brow, rubbing it softly until it smoothed.

Kiana seemed to sense Su Moqian's presence in her sleep.

Under his gentle touch, the tension in her expression finally began to ease.

Just then, the system inside Su Moqian suddenly reacted.

[Wait, this familiar aura...]

[Host! The simulation result that went missing last time must have ended up inside Kiana, and it's playing out as a dream.]

Hearing the system's words, Su Moqian's heart lurched.

"What?!"

He knew all too well what kind of endings his simulations had. Almost none of them were happy endings!

And in most cases, he ended up dying in all sorts of ways.

He was used to seeing them himself, but could Kiana handle it?

If he could, Su Moqian wanted Kiana to live forever in a sunlit garden. He didn't want her to see the cruel side of the world.

After finally making that decision, had fate really arranged for Kiana to witness his death?

Just as Su Moqian was reeling, Kiana, who had only just calmed down in his arms, suddenly went pale and began to struggle uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Su Moqian hurriedly held her tight and kept reassuring her by her ear.

"Don't be afraid, Kiana. I'm here. I'm right here..."

Kiana struggled in Su Moqian's arms for a long while before her movements gradually settled.

At the same time, her eyes slowly opened.

Kiana stared at Su Moqian, who was holding her tightly, frozen for a moment. Then tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes.

She wrapped her arms around him too and cried out, "I won't let you go to Mei! She'll get you killed!"

"What did you say?" Su Moqian's pupils contracted.

Kiana buried her face in his chest. Whether or not Moqian believed her, she continued to cry.

"A powerful organization has its sights set on Mei. You'll be caught up in it and killed if you get too close to her!"

"Moqian, I'll save Mei. I'll save her! So please, hide somewhere far away by yourself, okay? I don't want you to die!"

Feeling the dampness against his chest, Su Moqian fell silent.

This was probably the first time Kiana had ever cried in front of him.

Then again, even a strong girl like Kiana might break down only at her most vulnerable, just after waking from a dream.

And Su Moqian knew exactly who was responsible for all this.

Someone who was willing to sacrifice the lives of everyone in Changkong City to achieve her own goals.

And who had used Raiden Mei to plot against him, and now had hurt Kiana too...

As Su Moqian thought of it all, his anger surged. His fists clenched tight.

"Damn you, Cocolia. If I ever let you have it easy again..."

He couldn't put this off any longer. The core mission of the Blondie Simulator targeting Cocolia had to be carried out immediately!

Although Su Moqian was furious, his first priority was to comfort Kiana.

He would have to wait until tomorrow to act against Cocolia.

To keep this little Kiana from worrying too much, Su Moqian forced down his anger and returned to his usual gentle manner in front of her.

He stroked Kiana's head and softly reassured her.

"It's okay, Kiana. I believe what you saw about the future, so can you trust me too?"

"Hm?" Kiana lifted her head from Su Moqian's chest.

Su Moqian continued, "I can handle this. I still have time. Even if there are countless ways I could die in the future, I'll find a perfect route through them."

"To give all of us a better future, and for my own sake too, I'll make it through in one life!"

At that, Kiana slowly shook her head, still looking unwilling.

Unlike Su Moqian, she hadn't just seen the future described in words.