Honkai Impact 3rd, what should an ordinary player do at the start?

If you can't do that, then just keep doing it like this, as my father said.

Again and again, she sincerely expressed her straightforward love.

Raiden Mei realized the source of the problem and also broke the information gap in Jiang Cheng's behavior.

Why did they treat me that way at first? Why did they become so distant from me later? Why did they keep rejecting me when I confessed my feelings?

Wanting the best ending is nothing to him—even an ordinary Jiang Cheng has never been afraid of this. The only thing he would ever truly fear is love itself.

Therefore, no matter how ashamed or embarrassed you are, you must summon the courage you had when you pushed Jiangcheng back then and say it word by word.

"--I love you."

……

……

that's true……

Looking into those eyes that were blinking and trying to hide, Jiang Cheng finally realized his long-standing problem.

Because of their ordinary past, ordinary life, and ordinary personality, even something as simple as love becomes something to be meticulously calculated.

Because of the fear of being deceived, ruined, and drained of money, only to be cuckolded and have a son who isn't even one's own, and because of the dark skin on his face.

But that's Mei.

The person in front of me is Mei.

……

……

"To be honest, after living with you for so long and experiencing so many of your subtle emotions and roundabout tactics, even if I throw away my knowledge of the future, I should realize what you want."

"Saying 'I love you' like you would be a bit too much for you. It would be bad if you fainted because you couldn't breathe properly. So please allow me to use something more suitable for you."

Finally realizing her own foolishness, she also discovered the source of the subtle differences and sense of alienation she had sensed since the beginning—Jiang Cheng was once again staring directly at her, those beautiful purplish-red eyes, those eyes that had been trembling with shyness ever since he bluntly said "I love you," yet still met her gaze firmly.

Her face was already flushed red, and even her ears had gone limp. You could clearly see through her drooping hair that the red marks on her long, swan-like white neck were indistinguishable from the marks left by her own pinching, and the red marks were a mixture of shyness and embarrassment. Her exposed, pure white skin was covered with a faint rosy blush, making her look as charming and lovely as a newly blossoming rose.

Even so, she raised her head with teary eyes, biting her soft, delicate lips as she did so.

Listen to what he has to say.

"I need you, Mei."

"A person named Jiangcheng needs Raiden Mei."

……

……

……

Her eyes, clear as a lake, rippled with excitement. She stared wide-eyed in utter astonishment. On her fair nose, as delicate as a spring mountain, a glistening drop of sweat clung—the traces of sweat that hadn't been wiped away during the training and had only intensified with her self-torture seemed to freeze into ice crystals along with the heightened emotions she felt at that moment.

Yes.

Nothing could strike a girl more than this.

Nothing touches a tender heart more than this.

Even the time a few days ago when I took the initiative to push him back and feel the boy's aura, and when we were intimately together, couldn't compare to that.

Even my heartbeat was accelerating rapidly.

It seemed as if Jiangcheng, so close at hand, could hear it clearly.

"These words really worked on you, didn't they?" Jiang Cheng, who already knew the result, moved forward a little more, lifted his long, silky hair, and gently pressed his lips and tongue against the girl's delicate earlobe hidden in her hair. "My most needed and most beloved Raiden Mei."

Her clear, deep purple eyes suddenly widened—her breath caught in her throat for a moment.

Her body trembled as if she had been electrocuted. Her pure and innocent yet voluptuous and alluring body was completely absorbed into the arms of her lover, who was so close to her. The girl's full and perky breasts pressed precisely against Jiang Cheng's chest.

If one hadn't become a stigmata holder and their physical abilities hadn't been enhanced, given their chaotic state upon arrival and subsequent corruption, this scene might even have shrunk to the point where they were crushed like a cart beneath them.

Jiang Cheng, who had taken the initiative to provoke all of this, even needed to calm his mind to barely resist. Even without any active touch, his hand, which was simply resting there naturally, was unconsciously pushed down to the girl's slender waist by her twisting body, and was completely swallowed by her smooth and soft breasts, which were like a large milk pudding, with only a small part of the back of his hand showing.

The only one who probably didn't know much about this was Raiden Mei herself, whose body was still weak from that sentence and whose faint blue-green veins were showing under her snow-white neck due to her disordered breathing.

This……

This is absolutely outrageous.

If Jiang Cheng had said those words earlier, I probably wouldn't have been able to refute a single word.

The girl, whose ears were already red, muttered complaints in her heart about the boy's excessive behavior. It was more stimulating and heart-wrenching than being splashed with water in a toilet stall. Just a moment ago, she had been barely maintaining a proper posture, and the corners of her mouth, which were expressing her love, were suddenly turned into pouty lips.

“But that’s how it is, right?” Jiang Cheng could only use his stubbornness to argue against the rest of the argument, so he continued without delay, “It’s precisely because I need you and value you that I consult you on everything. Otherwise, why would I tell you about needing the medication when I know you would disagree?”

The body in my arms became even softer, smelling sweet and tender.

I could feel it starting to twist again.

It seemed that he was lowering his head, trying his best to bury it in his chest, avoiding eye contact, hiding his head like an ostrich.

"Since you know I'm a prophet, you should know that many things could have been avoided if I hadn't wanted them to. So I don't regret anything I've done."

"And what you just said is also wrong. I do treat love like a mathematical problem, calculating it rigorously with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, but weren't you the first person to do that?"

"I thought you were the one who dragged me down. I thought it was because you confessed to me that I needed the drug and had to face those enemies... My heart was breaking when you pinched yourself."

The boy, who was continuing his conversation and trying to make his tone sound as relaxed as possible, was suddenly interrupted.

The girl felt a movement against her chest again, and she raised her head, her face buried in her chest.

Her eyes, clear as a lake, rippled with emotion. She stared wide-eyed, shyly and adorably, and pitifully furrowed her delicate crescent-shaped eyebrows, presenting a demeanor that evoked pity.

He was practically begging Jiang Cheng to stop talking.

Its mouth looks pitiful too.

What a pity.

He would no longer run away. No matter how much he witnessed touched his heart, how much he couldn't help but soften, he would continue to declare—

“I understand you, I completely understand you, so I hope you can understand me too. Since I chose to stay by your side, it means I will never regret it. Not everyone in this world keeps their problems to themselves. At least I will never have anyone to confide in again. Even after having someone I can absolutely trust, I'm still depressed all the time... You probably don't want to see me like this, do you?”

Jiang Cheng looked at her in his arms, gazing into her beautiful, watery eyes that were still teary as before. "Even though you have a lover, you still bury all your problems in your heart, keeping them all to yourself. Even if it ruins your health and makes you sick, you won't say a word."

Of course, this was unacceptable—the girl refused without hesitation, without even needing to think.

"Then please treat me the way you treated me."

Jiang Cheng's smile remained unchanged.

……

……

Mei, who has been consistently overlooked, simply needs to be needed.

This was never a temporary phenomenon caused by bullying; it was a lack of love that existed from the very beginning.

Her mother died early, and her father was like a feudal patriarch, unpredictable in his moods. All he would make were demands. Even if he loved and cared, he would act as her teacher through the Homu Sword Saint, who wore a ridiculous doll costume and accompanied her during her sword training.

By setting high standards for themselves, they try to become better, to be outstanding students, to train more brilliantly, and to gain more people's favor, hoping to win their father's attention. But in the end, their hopes are dashed, just like chasing nothingness or trying to draw a simple sun.

Perhaps for Raiden Ryoma, he simply doesn't know how to get along with his daughter as a father, even though he has been spending a long time with her as the Houmu Sword Saint.

But can a teacher who doesn't even dare to reveal his true identity, a teacher in theory, and a teacher who has only been with him for such a short time, really shoulder the responsibility of love?

He presumptuously offered love and help, and then presumptuously lost because of his own arrogance. He never received love and never knew that the girl he loved would welcome him with harm from the unknown, which he didn't even understand. When he woke up, the whole world hated him, and even his only friendship and self-confidence were trampled to pieces.

What was extinguished by the bucket of water poured in the toilet stall—a perfectly intact soul or an already profound emptiness? Was it an empty shell, never truly satisfied, barely sustained only by the dignity, confidence, friendship, and praise of others?

The greatest tragedy in the world is that everyone fails to see far enough ahead—clinging to what's in front of them, avoiding difficulties, taking shortcuts in various euphemistic ways, and then thinking they've done enough, while ignoring the crises lurking further away.

Even Jiang Cheng had shirked responsibility, which led to the bomb exploding now.

That crucial question about foresight, about prophecy, about neglect.

Although he did those things to prevent the bomb from exploding in front of him and to shirk responsibility and run away, now that he is personally facing the trap he once laid, he—Jiang Cheng—must pay the price for his mistakes and take on the responsibility he should bear—the responsibility of defusing the bomb he once shirked.

Correspondingly, since they have taken on this responsibility, protecting their lover and safeguarding their future happiness is also a responsibility that both of them need to bear.

Therefore, in the end, after their most unreserved conversation and mutual expressions of love, Raiden Mei finally made the final decision regarding the use of the potion.

"—I want to use it too."

She looked at the dumbfounded Jiang Cheng.

His face showed the same composure as before.

"No matter what hardships you suffer, Lord Cheng, I will bear them in the same way."

"I think my love is definitely deeper and more unconditional than yours, so let me experience more pain."

“Comparing each other is the most useless thing, but Jiang Cheng, you still can’t love me properly, so I’ll fill in this gap.”

Even if it makes me look stupid or like a sycophant, I don't care.

He chased after her after she rejected him.

He had already done the most shameless thing imaginable, confessing his feelings to the girl himself more than once, only to be cruelly rejected in the end. Despite the most humiliating and disgraceful situation, where his dignity and love were trampled on without hesitation, he still chose to pursue her again and shamelessly confess his feelings.

From that moment on, Raiden Mei no longer had any dignity to speak of, so why should she care about something she doesn't have now?

I love you.

Whether you love me or not, I love you.

Love is such a simple thing.

Jiang Cheng instinctively wanted to open his mouth to refuse, but his mouth was directly blocked because his combat power replenishment did not require any medicine—those soft fingertips were already gently placed on his lips.

"This is my minimum requirement. If you still refuse, I will knock you out and then go alone with the Jizo's Soul to fight Otto."

"Please believe me, if you do that, I will probably cross some line, and I will lock you in the basement more and more often in the future."

What came out of his lips was an undisguised threat.

Do not……

Jiang Cheng rejected those two words—because the girl's posture, as he could see, was by no means threatening.

That was just telling the truth.

"Not only that, Mr. Shiro, you should have realized that as well."

At this moment, what is gently blinking is a pure and flawless purple light, like a high-altitude thunderclap in a clear sky. Fragments of lightning drift in the air, like stardust falling leisurely.

"As long as you say you want to break up with me, I will agree to any of your demands and I will kneel down and beg you. And I can tell you now that it's the same now, the same yesterday, and the same tomorrow. As long as you threaten me in this way, I will kneel down and beg you whenever it happens."

"I know you're insecure, Jiangcheng, and you really want to take the initiative, but because of your conflicted feelings, you don't like to take the initiative in other areas. So you can test me as much as you want. I'll always be here. I won't get annoyed or tired of it. You can confirm with me as many times as you want."

"I've said this once before, but I can say it a second, a third, or even a hundred times."

It was as if the posture of the girl who confessed her love high in the sky was being reenacted, and the expression on her face was exactly the same as her former enlightenment.

……

……

……

The greatest trust in the world is to give your own vulnerabilities and weaknesses to others without reservation.

If there has to be a higher level of trust than this, it would be to bluntly say that you can test me anytime, hurt me anytime, and I will never get annoyed or tired of it no matter how many times you test my trust—this is equivalent to giving someone a truly unlimited get-out-of-jail-free card.

Nothing can be more trustworthy than this.

This has fallen into the category of being a simp.

Although Raiden Mei had long been a simp—Jiang Cheng had only survived by clinging to the girl's coattails from the very beginning.

He was clearly a good-for-nothing who lived off women, but he managed to become someone who lived off women and almost became the one in control.

Strictly speaking, he could be considered the one in charge. As long as he didn't do anything too reckless, he would usually allow all the girl's actions. Unless she really crossed the line, she wouldn't be thrown into the basement.

So much so that someone who had been summoned by the raven rushed over as soon as they heard the voice, worried that a conflict might arise between the precious Herrscher of Thunder and the Stigmata holder.

In order to ensure maximum stability and prevent any low-probability events, even the Gray Serpent, which was the core and sole entity, put aside all its work and rushed over, and happened to be at the door of the training room, was stunned. Even its self-control as a mechanical creation could not help but ask a question.

"Who taught you your dating skills?"

"Get lost." Jiang Cheng didn't even bother to turn his head.