Honkai Double Transmigration, Taking Xilian to Honkai Impact 3rd

"I feel the same."

Raiden Mei said with equal sincerity.

Only Xilian remained behind, unable to keep up with the group.

She crossed her arms over her chest in dissatisfaction, her small face filled with jealousy. She could only pout to herself, puffing up on the spot like a disgruntled pufferfish.

A-Cheng was having such a good time chatting with them...

Even though she was happy that A-Cheng could make new friends...

But... but...

Jiang Cheng's hand descended upon her head the next moment, enveloping her small crown in warmth.

A single-handed suppression, refined in an instant.

As if stroking a cat with ruffled fur, he carefully smoothed away all the dissatisfaction that this lively, eccentric girl had accumulated from being left on the sidelines.

"I'm sorry, I neglected my most, most important Xilian. I'll tell you everything that happened to me properly from now on."

"It's okay~ A-Cheng?"

Xilian's dissatisfaction vanished instantly.

The fairy-like girl revealed a smile like a flower awakened by the spring breeze, her eyes curving into gentle crescents.

She took the opportunity to stand on her tiptoes, rubbing her small head firmly against his palm—that intimacy and reliance were displayed before everyone without reservation.

"Neglect is still neglect."

However, Jiang Cheng's voice sank at this moment.

"Even if it's just an unintentional dismissal, it doesn't change the essence of neglect. Once a rift forms between two paths, they can never intersect again. I don't want us to reach that point one day."

For the first time, he did not choose to gloss over things easily; for the first time, he did not let himself be easily set aside.

Only at this moment was his expression so serious, his golden eyes reflecting the girl's slightly stunned face.

"A-Cheng..."

At this moment, Xilian really wanted to cup his face, look into his eyes earnestly, and shake her head to say "it won't be like that," but he was too tall, and his expression right now was far too serious, as if he had truly lost many friends before.

"Don't worry, we will never abandon each other."

Therefore, this girl, who was always so gentle, could only carefully take Jiang Cheng's hand and press it gently against her chest. Through the soft fabric, she offered warmth with her body heat.

"Right?"

In Jiang Cheng's eyes, she performed the most familiar gesture—one that belonged to Elysia, and also to Xilian—

She took him into her gaze gently, and then—

She winked her right eye playfully.

PS: Should one say...

Are these two girls truly alike?

Both had rather unpleasant childhoods, both had a Herrscher Core implanted in them without their consent, and most importantly, both were very heavy-hearted when it came to emotions.

Kiana could fall into a state of collapse upon realizing she had killed Himeko and that her past life had been destroyed, with hallucinations of Himeko constantly appearing before her eyes;

Raiden Mei could choose to fall into the darkness herself to save, or rather, to stop Kiana from spiraling into self-destruction, making a deal with Kevin and saying, "I will fall into the darkness in exchange for your return to the light." In her eyes, Kiana alone was more important than the entire world.

However, this should also be considered a good thing. The similarity between them meant a higher possibility of becoming good friends, having more common topics, and being able to empathize and resonate with one another.

Of course.

It also meant they were more likely to fall for the same things.

50. Is Xilian an immortal?

Everyone followed in Raiden Mei's footsteps, entering the classical Japanese-style manor that resembled a labyrinth.

Narrow corridors were paired with classical windows.

The twilight seeping in from outside had, at some point, been replaced by the night and the bright moonlight.

Silver radiance spilled onto the wooden corridor; with every step taken, invisible ripples seemed to spread out beneath their feet.

The air was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood, intertwined with the cool, fresh, grassy scent brought in by the night breeze from outside, creating a strange illusion.

Strolling through it, one felt as if they were in another world.

"Jiang Cheng's room is this way."

Raiden Mei's voice pulled him back from his trance.

The process of assigning rooms was simple—Jiang Cheng, Kiana, and Xilian were each provided with independent quarters. Except for Jiang Cheng, the other two were attended to by servants summoned by Mei.

Due to Raiden Ryoma's previous business failures, the original staff of over a thousand servants had been largely dismissed. Those who remained were only members of hereditary butler families who had nowhere else to go, and a few old servants who were unwilling to leave. They were no longer enough to support the full operation of this massive manor.

This was precisely the reason why Raiden Mei did not arrange a servant for Jiang Cheng, choosing instead to lead him there herself.

It was—very—obvious.

They did not believe it at all.

Even Kiana, a girl whose denseness in certain aspects was truly outrageous, looked at Raiden Mei with a hint of subtle superiority.

"Mei--sen--pai--~"

She deliberately drew out the tone, the rising inflection at the end sounding as if she had discovered some earth-shattering secret.

The girl who, only a few hours ago, had acted as the perfect wingman to facilitate the feelings between the two, now seemed to have transformed back into a teasing bystander.

"That is how it is. You two should go to your own rooms first."

Raiden Mei's voice was as steady as usual, as if she were displaying the same sharpness she had used in the past to reject confessions.

She knew better than anyone how clumsy her acting was.

But as long as she remained calm, she could avoid the questions; as long as her expression remained unchanged, she could dispel their suspicions...

"Do I have to live separately from A-Cheng too?"

--Clearly, this tactic was completely ineffective.

Under Xilian's undisguised gaze, no matter how straight Raiden Mei stood, it only made her feel even more exposed before those eyes.

Even though she already knew that Xilian and Cheng-kun had been together for a long time, far longer than she could ever compare to.

Yet Raiden Mei had never imagined...

Not even this...

As emotions and thoughts churned within her, Raiden Mei's train of thought suddenly took a sharp turn.

Since Herrschers and superhumans already existed, and rulers of the Inner World, secret warlords, and all sorts of mechs had popped up... why couldn't there be an immortal who refused to die?

In her memory, during a lull in a fierce battle, Xilian's long pink hair had swayed in the wind, revealing her earlobe for a fleeting moment...

--The storm in Raiden Mei's eyes subsided in an instant.

"I understand."

She nodded slightly, her tone regaining the composure typical of a young lady of status. Her slender fingertips rested gently against her proud chest as she offered a sincere apology to Xilian.

"I misjudged the situation for a moment."

"???"

Xilian tilted her head, completely unable to comprehend the change in tone. The only thing she could feel was--

Eww, such powerful malice.

"However."

Raiden Mei spoke again, the corners of her lips curling upward. "Even an immortal who has lived through long ages must keep up with the times. You cannot judge things by outdated concepts, otherwise, you will start to smell of rot."

"Eh eh eh--!!!"

Xilian's pupils dilated to their limit in an instant. She was so flustered she nearly jumped on the spot, immediately crossing her hands in front of her chest to form a giant "X"!

"You, what are you thinking about--!"

Her soft voice cracked, bordering on a wail. "I am a youthful, beautiful, and cute girl! I am not some old antique like you're talking about!"

Raiden Mei couldn't be entirely certain about her own wild speculation just now.

Therefore, she chose to ask one more time.

"...How long have you been maintaining this appearance?"

"..."

Xilian's lips parted.

--She fell silent, a wretched silence, especially under Raiden Mei's pressing gaze.

----Gulp!

This girl, who looked unfairly cute from every angle, let her little head droop lower and lower.

Her long bangs fell, obscuring her entire face. A heavy shadow seemed to coat her entire body as if it were physical, and even her soft, pink hair seemed to lose its luster.

Is it really to that extent?

Jiang Cheng slowly conjured a question mark above his head.

Jiang Cheng knew that because Xilian looked too young, she couldn't fit into adult circles, and because she was an elder and a girl, she wasn't genuinely liked by children either...

If Xilian knew what Jiang Cheng was thinking right now, she would probably clench her little fists and retort: A-Cheng, how would you know what I've been through in the past?

"Sister Xilian, no matter how you look at it, this isn't suitable..."

"Sister Xilian, how old are you anyway? Why do you want to play with us kids?"

She kept receiving replies like that from others.

In the end, she became a free agent who couldn't go anywhere or join any small group.

However.

Jiang Cheng always felt that he could no longer interfere so rashly--

This appeared to be a mundane exchange between young girls, yet he could clearly perceive the low pressure permeating the air.

That pressure seemed to form a storm-like field of momentum in the surroundings. Anyone who stepped into it would be torn to shreds in an instant, as if caught in the midst of multiple entangled typhoons.

Each of the young girls was a storm eye in her own right, and simultaneously, the epicenter where the storm raged most violently.

Must not enter.

Only "I/Jiang Cheng"... must absolutely not barge into any of those storm eyes.

"I feel like..."

Jiang Cheng still wanted to struggle a bit, but his voice was cut off the moment it left his lips—

"Since Xilian looks like a girl, acts like a girl, and everyone's initial perception was that she is a girl, then there shouldn't be any problem calling her a girl, right?"

Kiana waved her small hand and said bluntly.

"It's just like an orange. As long as something looks like an orange and tastes like an orange, then this young lady will treat it as an orange and eat it all up without hesitation!"

Thank you, Kiana!

Despite that, they ended up living separately in the end.

Actually, is that even accurate?

Jiang Cheng had only been staying with Xilian in the Aili Secret Pavilion's chapel, much like tenants living in the same apartment building; at most, it was a lodging arrangement.

And Raiden Mei did not seem to have selfishly whisked him away to some place known only to her.