Bronya and Fu Hua

"Lin Wei-kun, has your existence been discovered?"

That night, on the way back from cherry blossom viewing, Yae Sakura asked a contemplative Lin Wei.

Tesla's pointed phone call earlier was also out of this concern.

"Probably not. Otherwise, it should have been Rita or Durandal who came. They're Otto's most reliable assistants, aren't they?"

Lin Wei smiled, comforting her.

But in any case, the arrival of an "old acquaintance," at such a delicate time, made it impossible for Lin Wei to ignore.

Was it a simple friendly visit?

After all, he'd heard from Anna that she and Yuno were friends.

But…

The situation was unclear; he shouldn't jump to conclusions.

"Let's go, Sakura. We'll find out the truth if we go see for ourselves."

So, early the next morning, Lin Wei disguised himself and boarded a plane to the Philippines.

This time, to conceal his tracks, he didn't choose to buy a ticket and board the plane through normal channels. Instead, he used the Key of Erosion to tamper with the system and slip through.

After all, "observation" was a relatively covert act. It was best to come quietly, watch quietly, and finally leave quietly.

He couldn't be discovered by the observation target, and it was also best not to be discovered by others, especially when he clearly felt something was subtly amiss.

And "observation" was also a relatively tedious and time-consuming act, so it wasn't worth wasting too many words describing it.

The scene shifts for now.

… … … … … …

Far East • St. Freya High.

Bronya had been feeling empty these past few days, her mood incredibly low.

But since she always had this expressionless, emotionless, three-noes appearance, no one around her noticed anything wrong. Only Bronya knew how lost she felt inside.

The reason for all this was simple – Lin Wei had gone silent again.

On the night of Mei's birthday, after a joyful party, everyone, exhausted, left the messy dormitory hall and returned to their own rooms to enjoy a peaceful sleep.

Bronya also left with them, returning to her room.

Then, she turned on her computer, logged into the game, and sure enough, Lin Wei was already waiting there.

"You're online quite late today?" Lin Wei asked.

Having played games together for several days, they were already quite familiar with each other, and their conversation was naturally less formal.

"Mm, a friend's birthday today, it ended a little late."

Bronya typed on the keyboard, replying truthfully.

"Oh. Must be tired, then why not rest early?"

Bronya didn't say whose birthday it was, and Lin Wei didn't ask. The two had tacitly kept their "friendship" within the scope of the game, and didn't ask about anything else.

"No need, I'm full of energy."

When it came to gaming, Bronya was surprisingly persistent.

Since she'd said so, what else was there to say? Another "peak battle" that ground away at the Great Dao.

"Right, there's something I need to tell you."

After a "fierce battle," before saying goodbye, Lin Wei sent a message.

"I have something to attend to, need to be away for a few days, not sure exactly how long. So sorry, I won't be able to play games with you for the next few days…"

Although he didn't know why Bronya didn't seem to hold a grudge, and played games with him for so long every night, since the other party was already expressing goodwill in this way, Lin Wei felt he couldn't just leave without saying goodbye.

Leaving again?

Seeing this message, Bronya's heart inexplicably panicked, as if dawn was approaching, and a dream was about to end.

"When will you be back?"

Her small hands typed a line on the keyboard, but sensing the ambiguity in it, she deleted it and changed it to,

"What is it? Do you need my help?"

Lin Wei had already asked her for help twice, she didn't mind helping a third time, as long as Lin Wei was still willing to play this somewhat childish little girl's game with her.

"Ah, thanks, I shouldn't need it for now."

Lin Wei replied. But after thinking about it, he felt it was better not to be too absolute, so he added,

"If I really need help, I won't hesitate to ask. I just hope you won't block me and refuse then."

Seeing this message, Bronya felt a little relieved, and also clarified beforehand,

"If it's something dangerous, of course I'll refuse."

Lin Wei looked at the time, it was almost time to leave, and he had almost finished informing her.

"Haha, it's settled then. Let's play games together after I get back."

"Mm, goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Lin Wei's ID avatar grayed out.

Bronya felt a pang of melancholy. He'd really left?

After that, Bronya still waited in front of her computer for a while every night, waiting for a certain ID avatar to light up, but every time, she fell asleep in disappointment.

One day, two days, three days.

Several days in a row without any news made Bronya want to run a system self-check, suspecting if she had been hallucinating due to a program error a few days ago…

But unfortunately, it wasn't.

As the saying goes, "If I had not known what light is, I could have borne the darkness."

Life at St. Freya High couldn't be called dark, on the contrary, it was full of simple happiness and warm joy, making Bronya cherish every little thing here.

If it weren't for Lin Wei's appearance, Bronya might have continued to live happily in such a life.

But Lin Wei had suddenly appeared, ruthlessly tearing open the deepest, most painful wound in her heart, making her heart ache again, the pain piercing to the bone.

Her long-dead emotional circuits were once again burned by that heart-wrenching longing, both icy and scorching hot.

And then, Lin Wei, who carried her only glimmer of hope, disappeared once more…

This made Bronya feel abandoned again, sad and helpless.

With her mood sinking exceptionally low, Bronya even lost most of her interest in her most beloved games.

If it weren't for not wanting her abnormality to be too obvious, the matter of "Bronya doesn't like playing games anymore" might soon become the top headline shaking St. Freya High.

In order not to worry her friends, Bronya went to class and finished her homework on time as always. She also accepted Kiana's persistent challenges as always, crushing her mercilessly as always, then watching as she was dragged away by Mei in frustrated rage.

She hid her emotions very well, almost no one noticed her abnormality.

"Bronya hasn't been bickering with Kiana much these past few days?"

An observer sees more clearly. Fu Hua, who didn't live in the same dormitory as the trio, keenly noticed some subtle abnormalities.

"It seems I should investigate further."

Fu Hua pondered to herself. The number of times she could use her feathers was limited, and couldn't be wasted easily. She needed to find another entry point.

But it didn't matter, for the old and wise Fu Hua, "tricks" were always at her fingertips.

"Bronya-classmate, sorry to bother you…"

One day during break time, while Kiana was lying face down on the desk, snoring, and Mei was diligently taking a second set of class notes, Fu Hua walked up to Bronya with a slightly embarrassed expression, and somewhat shyly handed her phone to her.

"My game… I'm stuck. There's a boss I can't beat… Could you please try and help me?"

Bronya looked up at Fu Hua's sincere expression with confusion. She didn't expect this seemingly serious and old-fashioned person to be a gamer?

Then she looked at the screen of her phone. It was a currently popular 3D action mobile game. She remembered the boss on the screen, its difficulty had indeed caused many players to complain.

Bronya silently took the phone, and then, expressionlessly and effortlessly, swiped at the screen for a while – perfect clear, and returned the phone to Fu Hua.

"Bronya-classmate is truly gifted."

Fu Hua took her phone back, offering some perfunctory praise.

"Does Class Monitor… like playing games too?"

Bronya asked curiously.

Playing games wasn't unusual, but for Class Monitor Fu Hua, the contrast was a bit too much!

"Of course. After all, the students are all young people, and they all like playing games. I can't let myself lose common ground with everyone, can I?"

Fu Hua said matter-of-factly, then sincerely said goodbye,

"Class is about to start. Thank you, Bronya-classmate."

Bronya nodded thoughtfully, watching Fu Hua leave. She thought to herself, Class Monitor was indeed Class Monitor, even though she was already a star student admired by everyone in the school, she still maintained such humility.

A sense of admiration arose spontaneously in her heart.

Regardless of what she had experienced before, if someone was willing to talk about games, Bronya wouldn't refuse.

So after that, much to Kiana's bewildered surprise, Fu Hua started to frequently consult Bronya about game-related matters.

Fu Hua had her own explanation for this.

"Learning increases daily, the Dao decreases daily, both lead to the same destination. Whether it's studying or gaming, to reach a sufficient height, the effort required is the same, therefore one shouldn't neglect it, nor should one be perfunctory."

Saying this, Fu Hua pushed up her glasses, looked at Kiana, and lectured her in a flat tone,

"Of course, if you become addicted to it, obsessed with winning or losing, then you've fallen into the inferior path, and the gains don't make up for the losses."

"..."

Bronya looked at her friend getting riled up again, feeling that the communication between these two was problematic, but also felt she couldn't say anything.

After getting along like this for a while, during an online game session, Fu Hua felt the timing was about right, so she asked with feigned confusion,

"I don't know why, but I feel like Bronya-classmate isn't very enthusiastic about games lately?"

Saying this, as if afraid of being too presumptuous, she quickly added,

"Ah, maybe it's just my imagination…"

But Bronya fell silent at this question.

"Bronya-classmate?"

Noticing Bronya's silence, Fu Hua looked at her questioningly.

"Class Monitor, if you have something to ask, just say it directly, no need to beat around the bush."

Bronya put down the controller, and said seriously.

"Being so scheming and probing isn't how classmates should interact with each other."

Bronya had always been very smart, with keen observation and intuition. Rather than letting the Class Monitor approach and probe little by little like this, it was better to bring the topic out into the open herself.

"I didn't mean to probe, Bronya-classmate, you misunderstood."

Fu Hua explained calmly,

"I just noticed that Bronya-classmate seems to have something on her mind recently, and I was worried that asking directly would cause unnecessary misunderstanding, so I had no choice but to resort to this roundabout method."

For her, as long as the result could be smoothly achieved, it didn't matter what the process was like.

"…Is it that obvious?" Bronya asked, stunned.

"No, Bronya-classmate concealed it very well, it's just that I've practiced my family's martial arts since childhood, and can perceive subtle changes in others' breathing, so I vaguely sensed something."

Fu Hua made up a convincing lie.

"If Bronya-classmate is unwilling to say it, there must be some reason, which is also why I didn't approach rashly… But I am your Class Monitor after all, caring for and looking after students is my duty and responsibility, so I resorted to this method. If there's any offense, please forgive me…"

"…No, thank you, Class Monitor."

Bronya curled up her knees, shrinking into a small ball.

"Did something happen? If it's convenient, please tell me."

Fu Hua pressed on while the iron was hot.

"Himeko-sensei, the Headmistress, and I, we'll all help you."

Bronya shook her head blankly. Help her with what?

Help her find and capture Lin Wei?

But even if she found him, captured him, and brought him in front of her, what good would it do?

He wasn't Seele after all…

After all these days, Bronya had gradually accepted reality – "the dream should end."

"Sigh… It's tiring to carry it all alone."

Sensing the girl's vulnerability at this moment, Fu Hua was stunned for a moment, her heart softening. She said gently,

"If you don't want others to know, can you tell me? I'll help you think of a solution. Mm? Don't worry, Bronya-classmate, I won't tell anyone else without your permission."

Fu Hua said, offering a reassuring smile, trying her best to comfort her.

As a "spy" with ulterior motives, Fu Hua actually felt a bit guilty towards these innocent girls. The longer they spent together, the deeper this guilt settled, and the more it affected her emotions.

Bronya slowly turned to look at her, hesitated for a moment, and said,

"It's my little sister… my little sister who I've been separated from for a long time… Bronya misses her very much, but… can't find her… Someone brought Bronya news of her, and then… disappeared… Bronya doesn't feel sad… but… feels very lonely…"

Bronya also wanted to find someone to confide in, but Kiana and Mei were too close, and she didn't want them to worry about her. The Class Monitor, who was relatively familiar but not too close, seemed like a good choice.

Bronya spoke very briefly, and Fu Hua just played the role of a listener attentively, not expressing any opinions, nor asking any questions.

After a while, Fu Hua left Bronya's dormitory and returned to her own.

As soon as she closed the door, her expression turned cloudy. She'd gotten an unexpected answer.

"Lin Wei? That guy, what is he up to?"