Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles?

Far East, St. Freya Academy.

"Bronya, do you think Mei is angry at me?" Kiana rolls around on the bed, yelling and thrashing about, quickly messing up the bedding. Her pure white hair becomes tangled, "She hasn't been waking me up these past few mornings…"

As everyone knows, St. Freya Academy has top-tier facilities, and the dormitories are no exception—suite rooms with kitchens and bathrooms, and a single room for each person, even the beds are big enough to let the restless students roll around.

"Who told you to do something stupid, you silly Kiana? Daring to skip even Teacher Himeko's class."

"Now the whole class knows about a certain silly girl who, in order to buy a birthday present for Mei, decided to secretly get a part-time job instead of using her own allowance." While talking about Mei, Bronya glances at Kiana, wanting to see her reaction.

Sure enough, Kiana jumps up and shouts, unwilling to accept it, "The more people who know, the better! It's best that everyone knows, so that they don't try to get close to my Mei! Hmph, Mei belongs to me alone!"

She's hopeless.

Bronya looks away and silently mourns in her heart, without sincerity.

"It's a pity that the surprise is gone now. I wanted it to be more memorable…" Kiana collapses again, but this time, she doesn't shout. Instead, she sighs, "Bronya, you know, we've been at St. Freya Academy for a whole year now. At this time last year, we were all a mess, with no mood to celebrate anyone's birthday..."

Unlike her apparent recklessness and carefree attitude, Kiana's heart is actually very sensitive.

"But silly Kiana ruined it herself." Bronya's indifferent remark pulls Kiana out of her regret and strange melancholy. It even makes her slightly defensive.

"Grumble…" Kiana tries to find an argument to defend herself, "It's not entirely my fault, okay? Mei always keeps my allowance card, so I forgot about it…"

Bronya nods, not at all surprised.

Kiana looks at the aloof drill-head who has her back to her. She's immediately annoyed and sits up, saying defiantly, "Only money I've worked hard to earn can show Mei my true feelings! Hmph, you people who just take your monthly salaries wouldn't understand!"

"Don't try to provoke me. Bronya has already prepared a birthday present for Mei, and it's with the money Bronya earned from her part-time jobs. Of course, Bronya wouldn't do something as stupid as what you did." As if performing magic, Bronya pulls out a shiny black card. She turns her head and looks down at the petrified Kiana, whispering like a devil, "If your funds aren't enough, Bronya can let you apply for funding."

"Okay, okay... Wait, let's be clear first. What's the catch?" Kiana is ecstatic, but reacts in the next second, becoming vigilant.

They've been hurting each other or about to hurt each other this entire time. Why would Bronya suddenly be so nice?

Impossible. There must be a catch!

"Slap!" A game controller lands beside Kiana. "I'll give you a chance. If you can beat Bronya, anything is possible."

Bronya's mocking voice deeply provokes Kiana's competitive spirit. She grabs the controller, sits beside Bronya, and shouts, "Let's go! Let's have a good fight! And let's be clear! You're not allowed to cry if you lose to me!"

…

After a fierce battle, Mei comes in through the open door and pulls Kiana back to her room to study. As she leaves, Kiana is still yelling about having a rematch.

It really is fun bullying a fool.

As Bronya is about to log off, feeling satisfied, she sees a pop-up notification on the screen. A strange but familiar ID is inviting her to play a game.

It's strange because that ID has been banned so many times. She's only seen it once.

It's familiar because she has a very deep impression of that event and remembers the calculating guy well.

Is it that guy?

Lin Wei's memory isn't pleasant, and she feels conflicted. But she decides to click "Accept."

This time, she doesn't rashly hack into his network. She's worried about falling into his trap. The reason she accepts is to see what he's planning.

"Hi, long time no see." Lin Wei sends a message first, and then another line appears, "No other meaning, just wanted to let you know I'm safe. After all, thanks to you back then, I was able to resolve XX's corruption and survive."

Lin Wei deliberately obscures the language.

Although private messages in the game are a place that can avoid surveillance, the loophole might be patched if they trigger certain keywords.

"Oh, congratulations." Bronya replies indifferently.

She did have sympathy for that guy who was being corrupted by the Honkai. But pity is for the dead and the dying. Since this guy survived, she only feels disgusted and wary.

"If you want to play a game, let's start. If you keep talking nonsense, I'm leaving." Bronya sends a message that lacks patience.

"Forget it! Playing a game should be pure. Otherwise, there's no point. So I'll save us from that unpleasantness." Lin Wei replies simply and calmly.

"Besides, I'm not living at St. Freya Academy anymore, so you don't have to be wary of me. I won't affect your life."

"That's it, goodbye."

Lin Wei immediately leaves the room after that.

He isn't lying.

Lin Wei's IP address can't be hidden from her, and he doesn't plan to. So Bronya easily finds out that Lin Wei is in Singapore.

However, that doesn't mean she'll lower her guard. After all, that guy is very calculating. She has to be careful that he doesn't have another scheme.

However, Lin Wei's attitude toward games is quite agreeable with her. "Playing games should be pure."

Bronya remembers those words, and for some reason, she feels a faint sense of kinship.

She looks at the greyed out ID in her friend list, thinks for a moment, and decides that when she sees him again, she can give him another chance to play a few rounds with her.

After all, how can someone who likes games be a bad person?

Besides, he still hasn't told her about Seele. He promised to give her a message. What happened?

Bronya's usually calm heart feels strangely uneasy. She is, after all, worried about that.

...

"Done, time to sleep."

Lin Wei turns off the computer and leaves the computer room, heading towards his bedroom. But he sees Yae Sakura sitting on the living room couch reading a book. He changes direction and walks over to her.

"So fast?" Yae Sakura heard Lin Wei's footsteps. She looks at him with surprise, thinking that Lin Wei was going to talk with her for a while.

"It's like breaking the ice. You can't be too hasty. You have to know when to stop." Lin Wei smiles. He used Bronya before. She's now very wary of him. Speaking more will only make his impression worse in her eyes.

It's better to stop before you do too much, leaving the other side with room to imagine. This way, they'll have a chance to continue talking.

Yae Sakura nods, understanding. Then she looks down at her book again, moving over slightly to make room for Lin Wei.

"Stray Birds, by Tagore." Lin Wei sits beside Yae Sakura, seeing the book in her hand. "Sakura is always so gentle and meticulous."

"You flatter me. In our era, reading is a luxury," Yae Sakura feels a little embarrassed by Lin Wei's praise.

"Sakura, you're too modest! Someone who likes poetry is gentle and delicate. How can I be flattering you?"

Lin Wei looks at the book in Yae Sakura's hand. His eyes are drawn to two lines, and he can't help but read them out loud, "Once, I dreamt that we were all strangers. When I woke up, I knew we were all lovers…"

Yae Sakura looks up at Lin Wei. She doesn't hear any flirting in his voice. Instead, it's filled with loneliness.

She also understands that loneliness, but she knows that her loneliness is subtly different from Lin Wei's.

"Am I dreaming or am I awake? Who knows..." Lin Wei is silent for a few seconds, then laughs, shaking his head. He stops looking at the poem. "If it weren't for you, Sakura, I would think I'm dreaming right now."

"This morning, I sat by the window. The world was just a passerby. It just paused, nodded to me, and then left." Yae Sakura reads another poem. It's as if she's describing herself. After reading it, she looks at Lin Wei and gives a gentle smile. "For me, the world hasn't completely left yet. Knowing that is enough."

"Sakura is much more open-minded than me..." Lin Wei is stunned, then smiles, shaking his head. "I'm still not as good as you. A storm is brewing, so if I don't advance, I'll fall behind. If I don't fight, I'll die. That's why I always want more. I'm never satisfied..."

"If Mr. Lin Wei hadn't given me this perspective, and this glimpse of hope, how could I be this open-minded? So don't belittle yourself, okay?" Yae Sakura interrupts him with a smile. If she wasn't aware that she should hold back a little, she would have directly covered his mouth.

"I'm just a small shrine maiden in the mountains. The world in Yae Sakura's eyes was always small, with only a small village and a few people, haha; Mr. Lin Wei, you are different from me."

"..." Lin Wei feels helpless. Someone is trying to comfort you. You can't argue with them at this moment, can you?

That's bad EQ.

He thinks for a moment, reaching over and flipping through the pages in Yae Sakura's book. He points to a poem near the end, reciting softly, "When we love the world, we truly live in this world..." Then he points at himself and shakes his head, "Me? This world? Love? I'm not worthy. It's just lip service... But I'm living in this world for now."

"It seems that Mr. Lin Wei is truly a gentle and meticulous person." Yae Sakura closes the book, changing the subject with a smile. "It's getting late. You should rest, Mr. Lin Wei."

As she speaks, Yae Sakura's figure gradually fades away. She returns to the Stigmata space, leaving Lin Wei alone on the couch in the large living room, with the lights still bright. A copy of Stray Birds is quietly lying on the table.

"Thinking too much is useless. I have to keep living my life." Lin Wei picks up the book, putting it back on the shelf. Then he heads to the bedroom, ready to sleep. He'll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow.

He is still at a disadvantage, and his starting point with Bronya was terrible. He has to slowly smooth things over.

Right now, he'll just try to get by in the gray area that is Southeast Asia.

Of course, it would be best if he could just slack off. (now that real slack off)