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

So, in order to avoid making her feel too uncomfortable or angry after hearing the rumors, and also to avoid exposing the fact that he was following her.

Hmm, the second one might be the more important one.

Even though Sato Yuno sometimes mischievously mentions to Fu Hua that the school recently had a new teacher who enrolled with the new students, she never goes into detail about the specific name or other details.

So, given this information gap and clever misunderstanding, Fu Hua's reaction was surprisingly bland. Her nonchalant and indifferent demeanor made Sato Yuno wonder if Fu Hua was actually a very good actress, or if she was actually quite skilled in this area.

Sato Yuno, who considers herself a love guru (in theory), felt like she had been outmaneuvered. To avoid being fooled by such subtle details, she rarely brought it up again.

Moreover, her original reason for posting wasn't out of a perverse sense of humor to see Fu Hua's strange expressions.

Her initial goal was simple: she felt that a teacher of Su Qing'an's caliber shouldn't have only one pitiful student in the classroom during class.

If Sato Yuno were to put herself in the other person's shoes and think about the current situation, she would inevitably feel disappointed.

So even though she didn't manage to trick Fu Hua, she didn't feel defeated by her goal.

It's a real shame that we can't see Xiaohua's funny expressions.

In a sense, this person's hobbies are the same as Su Qing'an's.

……

……

Around noon, Fu Hua, sitting on a bench in the school, quietly finished packing her lunchbox and glanced at the girl next to her.

Her name was Carol, and she was the second friend he had made at the academy.

The reason their relationship has developed to its current state is due to an accident.

To summarize, the urban legend tells of Carol being attacked by assassins in a dark alley at night, but ultimately being rescued by Fu Hua.

Then, their relationship naturally developed into what it is today.

Incidentally, Su Qing'an was also present at that time.

However, given his desire to test Fu Hua's practical application of the Taixu Sword Qi, he chose not to make a move.

The assassins produced at this stage are very weak. They don't even need the support of the Void Sword Qi. Fu Hua's own martial arts skills alone are enough to fight them. This is why the young man felt at ease letting her take action alone.

And the result was...

Fu Hua grabbed Carol and ran off.

It was an unexpected yet reasonable choice.

Su Qing'an dealt with the assassins herself. Although her desire to see her combat skills was not fulfilled, her decisive choice to flee won the young man's favor.

Fu Hua frowned slightly as she looked at Carol's outfit.

This wasn't the first time she'd seen how thin Carol's clothes were; in fact, she'd gotten somewhat used to it by now.

However, out of concern and care, Fu Hua couldn't help but say:

"Aren't you cold dressed like that? You'll catch a cold."

Unlike Fu Hua, who dutifully wore her winter school uniform, Carol had completely altered it, appearing as if she had already disregarded school rules and regulations since she had only recently enrolled.

Her innermost layer was a black sports bra, and on top of that was a white off-the-shoulder top made from a summer school uniform short-sleeved shirt. She had designed a hole in the original stand-up collar, through which a small black tie was threaded, giving the overall style a slightly playful feel. Her lower body was covered by black tight shorts that partially covered the top.

In this increasingly cold winter, only the blue denim fleece jacket wrapped around her waist can prove that the season is still normal.

Unfortunately, even this seemingly normal coat serves the purpose of styling, as evidenced by the various accessories attached to it, revealing Carol's obsession with pursuing her own style.

In fact, this outfit did make her look energetic and exceptionally beautiful.

But from an outsider's perspective, aside from the first impression of her good looks, one can't help but wonder if she feels cold.

So it's no wonder Fu Hua asked her this question. This is a very normal outfit for summer, and compared to her own rather demure white down jacket, Carol's outfit was obviously quite different.

In response, Carol blinked her golden eyes, glanced at Fu Hua, and said earnestly:

"Xiaohua, for a girl this age, feeling cold or catching a cold are insignificant details compared to releasing youthful energy."

Looking at Fu Hua's seemingly incomprehensible expression, Carol shook her head, twirling a strand of her short white hair between her fingers as she spoke:

"Although I know I'm a bit too focused on my appearance, that's just the kind of personality I should have at this age. It's reasonable to do immature things at an immature age, right?"

She continued with a smile:

"So it's not a big deal. Besides, I've always been paying attention to exercising."

Suddenly, this lively girl seemed to have an idea when she thought of the word "exercise," and she asked excitedly:

"Xiao Hua, doesn't your family own a martial arts school? Then your former senior brothers must have had the daily practice of practicing boxing in the snow in winter, shirtless and barefoot."

After careful consideration, Fu Hua looked at her and said softly:

"No way, because that's not practice at all, it's self-torture. Even Dad wouldn't do something so pointless to show off his martial arts skills."

"It's not very difficult to box in this kind of environment without any obstacles, but it can be a bit strenuous for beginners who are not at a certain level."

"Moreover, very few students in martial arts schools truly want to learn martial arts well. Most people just treat it as a way to exercise, so even if this training method is really effective, no one will accept it."

Carol was somewhat surprised to hear this. She had only asked casually after thinking about the movie plot, but after hearing Fu Hua's response, she realized that it could indeed be attributed to a training method.

It feels somewhat unbelievable.

"Xiaohua, can you do that?" she asked.

Fu Hua hesitated for a moment before coming to an answer.

The reason for needing to consider this is that she herself has never done such a thing, so it is naturally difficult to make a specific judgment.

However, after she had shaped her sword heart, her martial arts level was already infinitely close to the Mind's Eye. She could indeed lock in her body heat for a short period of time and practice punching on the snow without hurting her skin in the slightest. So she quickly nodded her chin, and what she got in return was Carol's heartfelt praise.

"Wow, Xiao Hua, this is kung fu! If I weren't worried about my body getting bigger, I would love to learn it too. Just imagining it is so interesting. If I knew kung fu, I wouldn't be afraid of those monsters the other day."

Fu Hua secretly touched her slender calves, then looked up in protest:

"Practicing martial arts won't turn you into that."

Carol's face showed disappointment and sorrow. She waved her hand and sighed, saying:

"I know Xiaohua, you've got a great physique since you started practicing martial arts, but I have reasons to be worried about it."

She recalled her mother's robust physique, then glanced at her own tanned skin, a result of excellent genes, and a fierce fighting spirit suddenly ignited in her golden eyes:

"Even if there's only the slightest possibility, I must prevent and nip it in the bud!"

She immediately deflated and complained:

"I was so lazy when I was a child, but I still worked hard to learn ballet for a while because of this."

Fu Hua tilted her head upon hearing this, and asked in confusion:

"Did you only study for a short time?"

Carol gave an awkward laugh, then sighed and said:

"At that time, I was so obsessed with maintaining a good figure that I secretly intensified my training, and ballet requires maintaining a straight leg position for a long time..."

She paused for a moment, as if she knew this was embarrassing, but still said:

"Then, because I didn't stretch properly afterwards, and my movements weren't correct when I practiced on my own, my legs ended up getting even thicker..."

Fu Hua found the girl's naive appearance somewhat amusing. She slightly raised the corners of her lips but did not comment on it, instead simply listening quietly to Carol's narration.

"In short, I was terrified after that incident, and I immediately started crying and making a fuss with my mother, refusing to learn ballet anymore. I remember that it really annoyed my mother, and she still brings it up to this day."

Carol said, somewhat guilty yet also somewhat self-righteous:

"She has no idea about my troubles."

Immediately, the girl changed the subject:

"However, my mother still respects my ideas. Even though I have such a criminal record, she will still sign me up for any interest-based learning activities I like, and she is not afraid of my short-lived enthusiasm."

"Looking back now, I realize that my personality is partly due to my mother's parenting style. In any case, thanks to that, I quickly figured out what I truly like."

Fu Hua vaguely recalled her mother, but that was during her childhood, and her memory was so hazy that only a few scattered images remained.

All she remembered was that she was a woman who spoke very gently and had a very gentle personality.

As for the rest, all that remains are the nursery rhymes that my mother occasionally hums in my ears and the gentle tone in which she softly recites fairy tales.

"Xiaohua, are you alright? You look a bit dazed."

Carol's worried words immediately pulled her out of her past memories. Fu Hua came back to her senses, shook her head, and said softly:

"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered my mother."

Carol's expression froze. She suddenly realized that Fu Hua came from a single-parent family, and this topic seemed somewhat sensitive under such circumstances.

So the straightforward girl chose to follow her first instinct.

She clasped her hands together, bowed her head, and apologized to Fu Hua, who looked puzzled.

"I'm sorry, Xiaohua. I don't think things through when I speak. Please forgive me. I'll treat you to ramen as an apology."

Fu Hua paused for a moment, then smiled flusteredly, mixed with helplessness, and said:

"What does it matter? Carol is willing to talk to me about your family, which means she considers me a friend, right? I'm very happy and I don't feel sad or anything, so there's absolutely no need to apologize."

Carol quietly opened one of her previously closed eyes. She breathed a slight sigh of relief and returned to her original state after realizing that the other person really thought it was okay.

The girl sighed and said:

“I know you won’t be angry about this, Xiaohua, but you also know that I tend to be unfiltered with people close to me without thinking. To put it nicely, I say whatever comes to mind, but to put it bluntly, I sometimes step on people’s landmines.”

"Once or twice is fine, but if it keeps accumulating and not addressed, even the best of friends will be ruined. So I think it's best to deal with any problems as soon as you discover them, so that our friendship can last a long time."

As Fu Hua watched the smile that naturally appeared on her face as she spoke, she couldn't help but smile along with her.

She liked Carol's personality in every sense of the word.

Such a straightforward and sincere girl is always surrounded by laughter and joy. She seems to be radiating her own light and warmth at all times, and her unconventional yet principled behavior is also a unique charm.

For Fu Hua, she was already one of her rare friends.

Fu Hua changed the subject; she didn't want the other person to dwell on the matter for too long.

"By the way, didn't you say you found what you truly love? What is it?"

Upon hearing this, Carol pointed to the coat wrapped around her waist, its decorations particularly eye-catching, and said excitedly:

"It's a design, a design! Look at the clothes I'm wearing now, they're my own design. What do you think? They really reflect my personal style, right?"