Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

40. We met without knowing it.

Seele glanced at her naked reflection in the mirror. Her lingerie, adorned with snowflakes, covered most of her figure, but it held back her rounded weight and accentuated her beautiful shape. The remaining cleavage and snowy skin still possessed an allure and temptation that was incongruous with her age.

The little girl herself was somewhat aware of her own issues, and compared to other girls of the same age in the orphanage, she did seem to be a little different.

But Seele herself didn't think it was a big deal. Her gaze didn't linger on her own body for long before falling on the girl next to her.

Perhaps because the indoor heating was on full blast, she took off her heavy coat, revealing a white turtleneck sweater underneath. Only an inner shirt was left to completely conceal the outline of her bra, and the undulating curves and slender waist beneath the fabric spoke freely of youth.

Seele discreetly compared the visual sizes, only to find that they appeared roughly the same from the outside. So, she unhooked the back of her bra, casually switching to a different style, and asked:

"Doesn't Sister Xiaohua need it?"

Fu Hua's gaze never lingered on the other person. This respectful and self-assured approach made her completely oblivious to the slight upturn of Seele's lips. She simply shook her head and said:

"Huh? Seele can buy it, I don't need it."

"It's not good to keep Su Qing'an waiting outside for too long."

Seele pulled her fingertips out from between the soft flesh and the bra. Her requirements in this regard were practically zero; style and comfort were not reasons for her repeated consideration.

Essentially, the little girl was simply using this time alone with Fu Hua to grow closer to her in her own way.

This is the result Su Qing'an hoped to see, so Xi'er will try her best.

Seele embraced Fu Hua from behind, her pale arms passing under the girl's armpits and encircling her soft waist, their ten fingers interlocking, her breath causing her small earlobes to turn slightly red.

She then slightly raised her head and whispered in Fu Hua's ear:

"It's okay, my brother will definitely like it if I get closer to Sister Xiaohua."

Oh dear! What's wrong with this child?

Feeling the softness of the fabric pressing slightly against her back as she leaned forward, Fu Hua was bewildered by the warmth and itching around her ears.

However, since Fu Hua's sexual orientation is normal, these maneuvers still failed to land critical hits, which is why Seele's proposal was not immediately approved.

Fu Hua was a little uncomfortable with such close contact, but she wasn't averse to it. She said helplessly:

“Seele…I already have one, there’s no need to buy another one.”

The little girl's smile deepened, and she pleaded in a soft, pitiful voice:

"Sister Xiaohua, just keep Xier company for a while."

This is so hard to bear...

It seems only Master Su can make Xier a little more obedient and well-behaved.

Although she knew that if she agreed, the child might take advantage of her, Fu Hua was inherently difficult to refuse.

Moreover...

The fine, indelible needle marks on the girl's pale arm were clearly visible in her blue eyes, like the gradually cracking ice on a lake in winter, symbolizing incompleteness and harshness.

Considering that this child's past likely rarely included such pleasant times, her attitude towards Seele could only develop in the direction of pampering.

Fu Hua gently removed Seele's restless little hand from her waist and replied helplessly:

"OK then."

The little girl's eyes lit up.

Yay!

……

……

By the time Su Qing'an and the other two came out, half an hour had passed.

Since they had pre-ordered the items through their accounts at the store and the payment was automatically deducted, the group didn't need to make a special trip to pay, which also avoided the awkward situation of the boy seeing a detailed bill for a pile of women's underwear.

Although she was very curious about what had happened that left both of them with blushes on their faces when they came out, Su Qing'an wisely chose not to ask.

More than the reason for their shyness, the boy was more concerned about the light and spirit that Seele's bright, darting eyes had gained since yesterday.

It was like a dusty, decaying object receiving a baptism of rebirth.

The hidden resentment and hatred, the deep-seated confusion and helplessness—these elements that should have intensified the change in temperament—were tempered within a short day.

At this moment, Su Qing'an realized that he couldn't let her stay at home forever; he needed to let Xi'er witness the world firsthand.

She might have been just like the cold number on her white coat—a precious experimental subject, not entitled to enjoy freedom.

In such an environment, the only perspective one can get is hopeless darkness and terror, which in turn breeds only hatred and anger.

Love and brilliance cannot grow in such soil; it can only fuel the anger and hatred that even Seele herself doesn't quite understand.

Even after leaving that environment, that mindset has already become ingrained.

Without guidance, it's hard to imagine what the little girl's future will look like.

This is a broken world.

It is precisely because of this sorrowful and destined-to-be-gloomy world that our hearts must be filled with enough fuel to burn brightly and illuminate the path ahead.

If possible, Su Qing'an hoped that the firewood wasn't simply a symbol of hatred.

The boy looked ahead, listening to the two whispering secrets, his gaze becoming deep and unfathomable.

Moreover, this child's Honkai energy cultivation is in no way inferior to Hua's.

Even... a little better than Hua.

Looking back on the people he had met in the past, the boy carefully considered them and realized that only a few of them had Honkai energy proficiency at the same level as Seele.

This made Su Qing'an worry about the potential risks involved.

The only preventative measure he could take was to let her see more of the beauty in the world.

Let this little one understand that besides darkness, she can have many more colors.

In this way, even if the worst happens, there will still be a glimmer of hope.

Xi'er was unaware that Su Qing'an, who was walking beside her, had been going through so many worries and anxieties about herself. She was only recalling the magnificent world under the turtleneck sweater in the fitting room, and her face was slightly flushed.

The spring scenery that lingers in my mind is like snow in the warm spring, piling up to create a cool and warm landscape.

The overall impression is more profound than the specific curves and details.

Seele naturally didn't have any strange desires; she simply thought it looked beautiful.

The little girl's limited vocabulary and limited experience made it difficult to describe the scene in words. If she had to put it into words, it would probably be that everything was just right, gentle and harmonious.

But if she continued to think about it, it would seem strange, so she gave up.

Fu Hua has returned to normal, and she feels it is a shameful thing for a character like her to lose her composure in front of Seele.

Tell me a tongue twister.

Fu Hua felt more ashamed of the fact that she felt shy because Seele had seen through her heart than of the shyness she felt from it.

However, this time it was just due to a lack of experience. If there were a next time, the girl would probably feel no emotional reaction whatsoever.

Yes, that's what she thinks.

In reality, due to Seele's limited experience, her mischievous nature only has a significant effect on pure and gentle people like Fu Hua.

Although Su Qing'an also meets the above conditions, his gentleness is not entirely indulging.

So, to avoid the terrifying punishments that have become an internalized hierarchy of punishments—such as not being able to watch TV for twenty minutes, being forced to eat three green peppers, being locked in a dark room for ten minutes, having her face pinched for five minutes, etc.—Seele has become smart.

She was determined to be a well-behaved child in front of the boy.

Being a good child is a simple and enjoyable thing.

For example, when Xi'er finished lunch, she offered to wash the dishes herself. Upon hearing this, Su Qing'an smiled with satisfaction and said that Xi'er should just watch TV and he would wash the dishes.

Sometimes taking the initiative can help you get rid of burdens that might fall on you.

This is the lesson Seele learned from this incident, and she is determined to apply this lesson to make her life more carefree in the future.

But the naive little girl didn't know that as she practiced this principle more often, some unpleasant things might happen.

For example, there is an idiom that means "to walk into a trap."

There is also an idiom called "to let go in order to catch someone".

Only then will Xier realize how meaningful the smile on Su Qing'an's lips was.

The three then continued browsing in the mall.

It's winter now, so clothes for this season are also on my shopping list.

Since these clothes don't require much consideration of chest size, children's clothing stores naturally became the next target.

Here I must talk about Su Qing'an's personal philosophy on clothing.

Actually, you can tell a thing or two from the fact that Seele was forced to wrap herself up like a ball when she went out in the morning.

This person is a complete pragmatist.

Judging from his current style of dress, he might seem like someone who prioritizes style over warmth and is at the forefront of retro trends, but this is purely because Su Qing'an's current physical condition is no longer that of a normal human and he only has one set of clothes.

If time could be rewound to winter in Su Qing'an's original world, he would be the kind of guy who would stuff hand warmers under his feet, wrap himself in a scarf, wear a beanie, and only go out when he was fully equipped with thermal underwear, long johns, wool pants, and several sweaters and down jackets.

Now, due to her physical condition, she no longer needs to wear many heavy clothes to keep warm, so Su Qing'an naturally feels that it is normal to go out wearing just a trench coat.

In short, this habit of prioritizing practicality over aesthetics has continued to this day.

Su Qing'an himself was very confident in what the clothes he would choose would look like, so his invitation to Fu Hua to go shopping together was entirely to cater to Xi'er's aesthetic sense.

While the group was enjoying their shopping, their roommate, who had bought a baseball cap and was wearing it, followed behind them, sometimes browsing intently and sometimes watching the three of them interact with great interest.

So this is what they call a date?

The roommate, who had no prior experience, began to use her knowledge gained from reading books and browsing the internet to understand the current situation of the three of them.

What appears to be a dangerous love triangle is actually a robust triangular system.

Although there's an extra third wheel in the middle, for couples who are shy in the early stages of a relationship, this third wheel plays an important role in easing the atmosphere and relieving awkward situations where they occasionally run out of things to talk about.

She nodded to herself.

Xiao Hua may seem inexperienced, but she actually knows a lot.