Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 153 You Look a Lot Like One of My Friends

Qiong's non-violent non-cooperation attitude emboldened Bronya, the strategist of Yama, to become increasingly radical.

For example, when Bronya realized that trying to pounce on the dome was useless, she got out of bed and even tried to reach under the dome's bed.

"Bronya, stop!"

Qiong hurriedly stopped him; when a grown man gets serious, he can easily stop a mere little girl.

"Breaking in in the middle of the night, disturbing my sleep, and rummaging through my things, don't you think that's going too far?"

Bronya tilted her head slightly.

Bronya knows she was wrong.

So agreeable? Qiong felt there was still room for negotiation.

"It's good to admit your mistakes, and it's even better to correct them—"

"But Bronya did not regret it."

Qiong: ...

You knowingly committed the crime, didn't you?

"Bronya just wanted to confirm her guess. If Brother Qiong thinks that Bronya has violated your privacy, then I'm sorry, Bronya apologizes to you."

Honestly, looking at Bronya's expressionless face, Qiong really didn't know if she was sincerely apologizing or just being perfunctory.

Qiong cleared her throat.

"Bronya, I don't feel any remorse from you."

"Then how can Brother Qiong sense it?"

Qiong looked at Bronya floating in front of her.

"You know what? A sincere apology requires showing your true colors—"

Forget it, she's just a little kid.

"You're going to stick your butt out and take the beating!"

As Qiong said this, Bronya suddenly covered her bottom with her small hands, but after a moment, she put her hands down and turned her back to Qiong, sticking her bottom out.

"If Brother Qiong is going to hit Bronya before he'll forgive her, then go ahead and hit her! Bronya can take it! But Bronya still wants to know, can you tell me after you're done hitting her?"

"You..."

Bronya's actions surprised Qiong. He didn't expect this duck to be so persistent, even offering its buttocks up for him to hit... Although he was annoyed and a little irritated, he just wanted to scare Bronya.

Would you really hit a duck? Even if you would, you wouldn't hit someone who's smiling at you.

"Fine, fine, I won't argue with you! But what are you doing? Why are you going through my things?"

Qiong's tone softened, and Bronya knew she had escaped a disaster.

"Brother Qiong, Bronya suspects there are clues about Seele in your room, so she decided to investigate, but she unexpectedly discovered..."

“Bronya…”

Qiong frowned. So it was all for Seele again? This Seele this and that, he'd even commit a crime for Seele, right?

If someone just says, "It's all for Seele," they'll really do anything!

"So, you broke into my room at least twice?"

"Bronya didn't! Qiong-gege's room door wasn't locked at all!"

That's the truth. Sora doesn't have the habit of locking her room door, which is why Mei was able to come in and clean from time to time while Sora was away...

There wasn't anything I needed to hide before, so why would I lock the door?

"That's not a reason for you to come in!"

Qiong was a little angry, not sure if he was angry that he was too lazy to lock the door or that Bronya had entered his room for Seele and found the photos—or maybe he was angry at Hanabi.

Yes, it's all Hanabi's fault! If she hadn't inexplicably sent over a bunch of photos, none of this mess would have happened! Hanabi is entirely to blame!

Looking at Bronya, who remained unmoved, Sora decided to take a deep breath and try not to get angry...

"These... are just photos and don't prove anything. I have no comment."

Qiong took the photo from Bronya's hand.

"So, they really are..."

"I don't know, and please don't ask anymore. If you keep asking and Seele doesn't come back, then it's your fault!"

Using Seele to scare Bronya was extremely effective, and Bronya immediately shut up.

The two didn't say anything after that. After staring at each other for half a minute, Sora asked them to leave. Bronya left dejectedly (from Sora's perspective), leaving Sora, who was still unable to sleep from all the torment, alone in the room.

“This Bronya…”

Qiong knew that Seele was very important to Bronya. It was because of Seele that Bronya risked breaking with her to investigate his room; it was also because of Seele that Qiong had just threatened Bronya with the possibility that Seele would not return, which made Bronya leave.

In other words, Bronya is willing to do anything to find Seele, even if it's wrong.

"Seele, Seele..."

Even Qiong himself didn't realize that the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. Although his subconscious thought was that he was angry because of Bronya's disregard for privacy, Hanabi's jerk behavior, and his own laziness in not locking the door, he also felt a little jealous of Seele: He and Bronya were such good friends, yet such a tiny possibility had driven Bronya to take such a risk…

Yeah, just a little bit. He had no intention of replacing Seele or anything like that.

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Qiong had to admit that she was suffering from insomnia.

Why can't I fall back asleep after waking up? Qiong felt it wasn't because she was angry, and it couldn't possibly be because she was jealous of Xier; it could only be because of Danheng.

Why Danheng? Because "in winter, when one speaks, long dreams are easily shattered."

Since I'm not going to sleep, and lying in bed playing on my phone is pointless, I might as well go out for a walk around the academy.

The school was quiet in the early morning, with only the occasional cold wind blowing by; there was really no sign of life there.

Without people around, it's no fun. He wandered out in the middle of the night to get some fresh air and unknowingly ended up in the garden. Qiong was aimlessly strolling when he suddenly heard a soft footstep.

Looking up, I saw a young girl walking alone on the garden path.

"Squad leader?"

Qiong asked tentatively.

"Ok?"

It really is Fu Hua.

Fu Hua's... teddy bear pajamas? And her hair fluttered slightly in the cold wind. Seriously, the immortal without glasses and Fu Hua with glasses look like two completely different people... At this moment, Fu Hua seemed to be staring blankly at a flower until Qiong called out.

"Qiong-kun, aren't you asleep either?"

"Everyone has times when they inexplicably have insomnia."

Fu Hua nodded slightly and continued to look at a certain flower.

Qiong waited for Fu Hua to speak, but Fu Hua just looked at the flowers.

Following Fu Hua's gaze, Qiong saw what appeared to be a small white flower.

"Qiong-kun, you know what? You're a lot like one of my... friends. By the way, I heard from the headmaster and Mr. Welt that you used the Heavenly Judgment and were alright, right?"

Fu Hua turned to look at him, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

"Nothing's wrong."

Qiong shrugged.

"By the way, class monitor, you said you have a friend who looks a lot like me? What kind of person is your friend? How is he doing now?"

Fu Hua remained silent for a long while.

"Him? He's just as handsome as you."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"However, we haven't been in touch for many years. If I hadn't suddenly remembered him today, I probably would have forgotten about him."

Qiong seemed lost in thought. Fu Hua was undoubtedly referring to Kevin Kaslana, but it had only just come to mind today…

Qiong could only draw one conclusion: the cost of using the Divine Key was too high, especially since Yu Duchen's memories had been burned too severely.

"But it's all in the past. I wonder what he's doing now. Sometimes I miss them... Oh well, it's better not to talk about it. After all, it's all in the past. It's more important for us to focus on the present."

For some reason, Fu Hua smiled slightly. She continued talking to herself, not caring whether Qiong understood or not, and walked closer, giving Qiong a heavy pat on the shoulder.

"Sora, treat Mei well. Consider this advice: cherish the beauty before you, because all beautiful things can vanish in an instant..."

"Don't worry, class monitor. Mei is such a good person, how could I possibly bully her?"

"That's good. You must treat Mei well, otherwise..."

Fu Hua suddenly performed several ancient Chinese martial arts moves.

"I'll beat you so badly you'll end up in the hospital for Mei."

Although Fu Hua's words were probably mostly a joke, Qiong felt a chill run down her spine...