Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 388 Willing to "Explore" and Fulfill the Promise of "Love"?

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Qiong opened his eyes.

He didn't sleep all night.

There was no way to fall asleep with Mei beside him. Mei had absolutely no defenses against him; her loose pajamas seemed to be deliberately showing him what it meant to have incredibly smooth, old shoulders…

Beneath the old, cunning shoulder lay the physical engine that was squeezing him, and... in short, he had been used as a body pillow all night.

What's more, there are those three guys who ran away, and he can't contact them by message. If he hadn't received Theresa's message late at night, he would have gone out to look for them...

Why didn't those guys come back all night?

Stopping thinking about the problem, Qiong looked at his girlfriend: Mei was still lying quietly on the bed, her chest rising and falling slightly with her breathing... she showed no signs of waking up.

"bud--"

Qiong initially wanted to wake Mei, but then she thought better of it—what kind of logic is it to rush your girlfriend out of bed? What would she need Mei for? To make breakfast?

Let her sleep a little longer, she can go out and find something to eat later...

Although I'm not used to not having slept at all, it's not a big deal. It just means I might not perform as well on today's exam.

"Ha~"

Qiong yawned, gently hugged Mei, covered her with the blanket, and reluctantly got out of bed.

Why does life fall asleep? Because the blankets are too warm.

Especially when people want to catch up on sleep.

But I have a lot to do today: exams, dealing with those two annoying things from last night, and the Martian backdoor on Xiaoxing's body...

As Sora opened the door, Mei on the bed opened her eyes, looking at Sora's departing figure with a helpless expression.

Last night I waited so long as Bronya told me to, and all I got was a hug?

Although she was quite happy that Qiong gave her a hug, and she even used Qiong as a body pillow—it would have been even better if Qiong had the guts to hug her back (since she's already using Seele as a body pillow, what's there to be afraid of?) But he didn't.

And that wretched Herrscher of Thunder, Qiong's defeated foe, actually dared to come out and "conquer" her in the middle of the night? How could she possibly let that guy succeed?

After that, she was locked in a battle of wills with the Herrscher of Thunder. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but the Herrscher of Thunder was making her head ache, and holding Sora was so comfortable that she didn't even know when she fell asleep. According to Bronya's suggestion, she should at least have stripped Sora down to her underwear or made Sora reach out her wicked hands to her, but she did neither.

After Sora closed the door, Mei stared at the ceiling, her heart filled with regret. It was a pity Sora couldn't be more proactive… but he would probably, like he promised last night, formally propose to her at the right time, wouldn't he?

"Sigh, I wonder if my father will agree..."

Mei lay on the bed lost in thought. After all, Raiden Ryoma was one of Anti-Entropy's people. Whether Ryoma agreed or not, would Anti-Entropy trust someone whose daughter and future son-in-law were both on the side of their mortal enemy, Destiny?

Why don't we ask Father to leave North America and return to the Far East?

Then, Mei got out of bed—she was going to make breakfast.

Hmm, I need to make two more for Seele. If necessary, I should let Seele go to the hospital for treatment. Compared to the other Seele, the Herrscher personality in my head seems cuter—at least the Herrscher personality won't let me crawl into Doflamingo's bed.

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"Teacher, are you home?"

An hour before the exam, Qiong stood at the door of Baiji's dormitory, knocked, and the door opened.

The one who opened the door was naturally Bai Ji. He looked sleepy, with dark circles under his eyes even more noticeable than Qiong's, and his hair was unkempt and looked somewhat messy. When he saw it was Qiong, Bai Ji was taken aback for a moment before smiling.

"It's Qiong, cough cough cough... What's the matter that you're looking for your master so early?"

Bai Ji's eyes darted away, but after a struggle, he still managed to step aside and make way for Bai Ji.

"Come in."

When Bai Ji turned around, Qiong caught a glimpse of his eyes glaring inwards.

"Teacher, do you have guests at home?"

Qiong stood still. If Bai Ji's family happened to have a few Seven Arts practitioners lying in ambush, and she didn't have time to react, and she didn't want to hurt their friendship, wouldn't she be in trouble?

Bai Ji chuckled twice more.

"Hehe, you're joking. I live a secluded life, so I don't have any guests. It's just that the house is a bit messy, and I was afraid you'd find it amusing."

Qiong naturally didn't believe it, but he was prepared to go in and talk to Bai Ji on high alert—in any case, he had to ask Bai Ji to help with Xiao Xing's matter. Just then, a dog barked from inside the house.

"Hey Baiji, who are you talking to? Come here..."

No customers?

Qiong raised an eyebrow, a playful expression on her face. Bai Ji's expression remained unchanged, but she coughed a few more times.

"Cough cough cough... I only said there were no guests, but there were guest dogs."

When Qiong entered Baiji's house, she quickly saw Donigor, who should have been next to the lamp. Donigor was also taken aback when it saw Qiong, and then scratched its ear with its paw somewhat awkwardly. Qiong didn't recognize it now, at most she had heard those little girls mention that it was a talking dog... She should not meddle in their affairs, she should just live a life of leisure and wait to die.

Perhaps due to the Earth's environmental conditions, Donegal now has a glossy coat and a dignified posture. If Qiong hadn't just heard it speak and recognized it, she would have really thought it was just an ordinary pet dog!

"Mr. Guest Dog, haven't we met somewhere before?"

Qiong sat down on the sofa, looking at Donegal with a half-smile—as an extension of Lithost, he had always believed that this dog, Donegal, possessed great wisdom…

Hmm, I think so?

Donigor's ears twitched. He glanced at Bai Ji and noticed that Bai Ji was making a sound that was almost a sigh. If he continued to pretend that he couldn't speak, then he would be going too far.

"Woof woof woof! Cough cough! Of course I've seen you before! Remember, my name is Donigor, not Dodo! But you can call me Brother Dog, understand?"

"Oh~ Brother Dog?"

Qiong's lips curled up slightly, revealing a mocking smile, but Donigor did not catch the implication that Bai was about to cough up tuberculosis.

"That's right, Brother Dog! Let me tell you, I'm the biggest dog in this area! Call me 'brother,' and if you ever need to find a cat or dog, just come to me!"

Qiong: ...

He suddenly seemed to understand why the poorest of the Seven Arts, the Lantern Society, was responsible for raising Donegal: before it became a dessert shop, one of the main jobs of the Yorozuya was finding cats and dogs, right?

However, looking at the two of them—no, the man and the dog—it was clear that they hadn't communicated. It seemed that Baiji was really keeping it a secret... But if he wanted to guard against Deng, he needed a loyal dog to keep him informed of Deng's possible actions at all times.

Donegal, you're all I have!

Qiong cleared her throat and looked intently into Donigor's beady eyes.

"Hey 'Dog Bro,' have you ever heard this opening line? Regardless of whether your world has a concept of day and night, I'd like to wish you a good morning, noon, and evening?"

"Of course I know! I also know that the next part is 'Welcome to today's show—wait, you actually remember that?!"

Donigor realized what he was saying as soon as he blurted it out, and abruptly covered his mouth with his front paws, his beady black eyes wide open. His tail twitched uneasily.

"Do you...do you still remember the opening remarks of 'Walking into Langqiu'?"

Donigor lowered his voice, staring in shock at the gray-haired man who was crossing his legs.

"You remember everything? No... no! Your attitude towards me that time was wrong! You remember everything, right? But why didn't you come to us after you remembered? Do you know how much suffering your father endured at Deng's place because of you!"

Bai Ji looked at the excited Donigor and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Things are different now. It seems someone... cough cough, a dog is going to get dragged into this mess.

……

“I do remember, but I had my reasons for not saying it. Now I have something I'd like to ask you.”

"I won't help!"

In a fit of anger, Donigor decisively buried his head in his claws. Qiong hadn't expected Donigor to refuse so readily, and the scene became a little awkward.

"Donigor, don't be so quick to refuse. Qiong must have his reasons..."

If Baiji hadn't spoken, things would have been fine, but once she did, the grumpy little dog turned its attention to her again.

"Woof woof woof! And you, I didn't mention you, did I? Huh? You know how much those women miss him! And you, to help your eldest apprentice put on an act, you even kept it from me, huh? What happened to the most basic trust between people? Baiji, what happened to our camaraderie and trust! Last night I was kind enough to send you all back, and you were completely fine? I knew it! What a 'hypocrite,' you really played your cards well!"

"Help the eldest apprentice?"

Upon hearing "help the eldest disciple," Qiong's eyes flashed with a hint of wariness as he looked at Bai Ji. Bai Ji immediately waved his hand in denial.

"No, actually Song Que didn't know either..."

Donegal: ...

After a long silence, Donigor looked at the sky and whispered something.

"You little rascal, Bai Ji really loves you."

Sometimes emotions are just so unpredictable. When Donegal thought that Bai Ji had ulterior motives, he felt betrayed, but after learning about Bai Ji's impartial attitude...

It doesn't seem so bad... Sigh, it's still too soft-hearted, all bark and no bite.

Donegal, whose anger had mostly subsided, jumped onto the table. Now it was eager to hear what Qiong had to say.

"Alright, for the sake of our old friendship, I'll listen to what you want to ask of me."

Donegal raised his head, and if he were a person, his current attitude would be arrogant.

"However, you have to explain yourself clearly! I'm not going to do anything foolish! Let me ask you first, why don't you accept them? What's wrong with them?!"

"Because I shouldn't have accepted it! Serim was an accident, and Sparrow was only accepted because I protected them, right? I won't even mention Ajeta, and Lantern was completely fooled by you guys..."

Qiong couldn't help but shudder. Donegal's presence reminded him of when he and the other two went to clean up the mess after the Shadow Disaster, and Lamp was pushed over by Serim, who said she was giving them "lollipops that spit milk"...

When he finally realized what was happening, he was so angry that he almost smashed a stick on Serim's head to give her physical therapy. Wasn't this just throwing a light at a stone to test the waters?

"Really? So you prefer a smooth, gradual development of feelings, where things naturally progress from dating to marriage?"

Seeing Qiong's expression, Donigor tilted his head, as if he had thought of something—no wonder Song Que wanted to follow the teacher-student romance formula, it's just a pity...

It should be said that they suffered a crushing defeat.

"Maybe, but not entirely..."

Qiong didn't know how to answer for a moment, but he did prefer something more stable, yet with a little excitement—like how he used to like San Yue… But for now, he'd choose Mei, since she had already agreed.

To reiterate, for Qiong, a romance born from saving your life or a momentary impulse driven by adolescent hormones, where the smaller head controls the larger head, is not the kind of romance he wants. It is clearly a misunderstanding of gratitude and other emotions as "love." As that excitement gradually fades, only confusion remains in his heart.

Based on this, he rejected most girls, even Mei, with whom he initially agreed to stay until they turned eighteen... Whether in the past, present, or future, he will probably only choose Mei...

Just like the small inscription on the quill pen made of Feather Dust that Kiana gave him in the end: "May we 'explore' and fulfill the promise of 'love'?"

Although the recipient was wrong, and the last note easily evokes images of a certain pink-clad fat woman.

"Alright, I'll accept your reasoning for now. So, what do you want?"

Upon hearing Donigor's acceptance, Qiong immediately began to make demands.

"Brother Gou, we're practically brothers! We've been through thick and thin together! You still owe me two dog lives! Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this to morally blackmail you, I'm just reminiscing about the old days... I'll have to rely on you a lot more in the future! If there's any movement from the lamp, I'll need you to let me know."

It went to monitor the lights? Donegal felt his head was in danger...

"Oh, and one more thing, please, teacher, we need to hurry up with Xiaoxing's situation!"

"star?"

Donigor, who was about to refuse, swallowed his words back. He had watched Xing grow up, which was the reason why Qiong called him "Dog Brother"—Qiong considered Xing's brother rather than his father, thus demoting him by a generation.

"What happened to her? Didn't she say she wouldn't lose her memory anymore?"

When the stars were mentioned, Donegal, who had previously been in a bad mood, became quite serious.

“She certainly won’t lose her memory again, but her condition isn’t good. The Martian goddess Leera has already descended upon her…”

Donigor froze. His dog eyes widened in disbelief.

"Leyella? That crazy woman?"

Its voice dropped to a low hull after the first bark, as if afraid of being overheard.

"When did this happen?! How did you confirm it?!"

"Just a few nights ago, Teacher Bai also knew that, although it was only for a short while, it was indeed Leiera..."

Qiong sighed silently, which startled Donigor so much that he spun around three times in place, anxiously scratching at the wooden table legs with his claws.

"We're doomed! This is a huge problem! Bai Ji, if that crazy woman comes, we're all finished!"

Seeing Donigor's panic, Qiong added another sentence.

“Sometimes she seems to appear during the day… I told Xiaoxing a story about ‘Miss Sheena,’ and she was particularly interested in it…”

"Qiong, do you think the stars might like the stories you tell?"

Bai Ji stroked his chin and analyzed, "Qiong is just being overly sensitive."

"Then I told her that Miss Sheena was a man in drag and a dog general, and she almost rebelled."

Blake & Donegal: ...

No need to think about it, it's the power of Leiera at work! As the most likely victim, Donegal took the lead in proposing the initiative.

"We must find a way to get that crazy woman out of Xing's body immediately!"

Qiong and Bai nodded in agreement.

"Alright, in that case, I'll keep an eye on things over there for you. I'll let you know immediately if there's any movement and make sure they don't come over to bother us!"

After all, if that crazy woman came, they wouldn't need to argue anymore...

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Genshin Impact: GIF of Nefertari; Honkai Impact 3rd: GIF of Xilian; Territory Zero: GIF of Idlib. And Honkai Impact 3rd…

What, are you bullying the old folks? It's not hard to post a GIF for the 9th anniversary, is it? (Just put up Cupid's image, isn't that what we see on loading/unzipping screens all the time...?)