Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

"It's nothing. The food just tastes a bit weird. The store probably ripped me off."

"Fu Lin, how about I start making lunch for you too?" Mei offered, hearing his complaint.

"Really? That'd be great! Thank you!" Fu Lin agreed without hesitation. Who wouldn't want home-cooked meals from Mei?

"It's no trouble. You said we're friends now, remember?"

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Watching the two finally finish their meal, Fu Lin felt relieved, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He helped them clean up the dishes and trash, and then they all went back to their own classes.

Later that afternoon, outside the school gate, Fu Lin saw Mei waiting for Kiana. Before long, Kiana ran out of the classroom and snuggled up next to Mei.

"Fu Lin, do you want to come shopping with us?" Kiana noticed Fu Lin in the distance and1

Fu Lin shook his hand, indicating that he had to go home and take care of his "sister," who wasn't quite mentally mature.

Kiana watched Fu Lin's disappearing figure with disappointment, then turned to bury her face deep in Mei's chest. "It's a shame Fu Lin isn't coming, Mei."

"Yes, I wanted to ask him what he wanted to eat," Mei replied, patting the bug that kept rubbing against her chest, trying to make her move away.

The scene shifts to Fu Lin.

Walking down the street on his way home, Fu Lin noticed a plush toy store by the side of the road.

Carrying his school bag, he walked inside.

"Excuse me, do you take custom orders for plush toys here?" Fu Lin asked.

The woman lying on a lounge chair looked at the handsome young man, got up with a smile, and approached him. "Little brother, what kind of plush toy do you want to order? How about one like me?"

"...?" Fu Lin looked at the woman who started making suggestive jokes right off the bat, then glanced at the shop sign to make sure he was in the right place.

"Ahem! I'm a decent person."

"You're no fun, little brother," the shopkeeper said with a smile, sensing Fu Lin's embarrassment.

"So, what kind of plush toy do you want? Do you have a picture?"

"Is this okay? Just palm-sized, and I'll need ten of them to start," Fu Lin handed over a picture he had drawn earlier that afternoon.

"Your drawing is quite good," the shopkeeper said, looking at the picture. She accepted the order. "Of course, I can do it. You can come pick them up tomorrow afternoon. Sure you don't want to reconsider ordering a plush toy like me?"

"Here's the deposit. I'll come by tomorrow afternoon to pick them up," Fu Lin paid and hurriedly left the shop, afraid he might actually be tempted to order something inappropriate. "That shopkeeper sure knows how to tease. I should learn a few of her tricks."

When he got home, Fu Lin tossed his school bag onto the sofa and went to look for Fu Shi, but she wasn't there.

"Where's my cute little sister?" Fu Lin felt frustrated, almost on the verge of crying as he searched everywhere.

Suddenly, a sound came from the living room's window. Fu Lin pulled back the curtains and saw the Herrscher of Sentience climbing through the window. The two of them stared at each other.

They locked eyes. It was clear "I've found the right person."

"Aren't you going to open the window for me?" the Herrscher of Sentience urged when Fu Lin didn't make a move.

"Oh!" Fu Lin sat on the living room sofa, looking serious as Fu Shi stood in front of him.

"Where did you go?"

"I was hungry, so I went out to find something to eat." She carefully handed him some skewers she hadn't finished. "There are a few left, do you want some?"

Hearing her explanation, Fu Lin suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to prepare food for her. But then again, even if he had, she couldn't really eat it (●—●).

"Where did you get the money for these skewers?" Fu Lin asked, munching on the skewers.

"Hehe, that's no problem for me. I just robbed a few punks." The Herrscher of Sentience proudly placed her hands on her hips.

"...Good job. Just don't do it again."

"Oh." She nodded in agreement, though she fully intended to keep robbing punks for food money.

After spending the day outside, Shi Bao cleaned herself up and sat with Fu Lin to watch some TV. Before long, she fell asleep.

The next morning, Fu Lin woke up and found Fu Shi lying on top of him, which explained the discomfort in his chest.

"You're awake, Ah Lin," the Herrscher of Sentience wiped her eyes, still drowsy.

"Why are you in my room?" Fu Lin looked at her, now sitting cross-legged on his stomach, and suddenly remembered carrying her to his room the night before. He also breathed a sigh of relief that there hadn't been any embarrassing "early morning situations."

"I don't know. Maybe I sleepwalked," she lied, unwilling to admit that she just wanted to spend more time with him.

"I have to go out for something today," she said before disappearing from sight, returning to Fu Lin's consciousness space to secretly protect him.

Not paying attention to what she said, Fu Lin grabbed a piece of bread and ran out the door with his school bag. As he passed by office workers, he prayed in his heart, "In a few days, none of you will have to struggle so hard for a living."

A good day begins with sleeping in class. Of course, it would be even better if he didn't have a certain "paramecium" clinging to him.

Even Fu Shi, the Herrscher of Sentience succumbed to the teacher's lullaby-like lecture, drifting off to sleep. The Herrscher of Sentience was no match for the teacher, falling into slumber. It was quite the sight.

Time in class flew by, and soon it was lunchtime. The legendary meal prepared by Mei was just a few steps away, waiting for them on the rooftop.

When he reached the rooftop, Fu Lin was greeted by the sight of Mei, glowing with a maternal aura.

He really wanted to rush toward her like Kiana did, burying himself in her soft chest. It was a treasure Fu Shi didn't have.

But of course, that was just a thought.

No! I wouldn't think such a thing. I am upright, pure, and morally incorruptible. How could I entertain such dirty thoughts? It must have been the Herrscher of Sentience messing with my mind.

Fu Lin forgot that Fu Shi, who was back in his consciousness space, had clenched her fists. "You're finished. Not even a Herrscher's powers will save you now. Just wait to feel the 'brain-buster' punch."

"Achoo!" Fu Lin sneezed and wiped his nose as Mei handed him a lunchbox, oblivious to the red "danger" symbol flashing above his head. "Who's talking about me behind my back?"

"Mei, your cooking keeps getting better and better," Kiana praised, giving a thumbs up as she munched on the food.

Fu Lin ate some of Mei's cooking and muttered to himself, "As expected, Mei's cooking is amazing. I can die happy."

"What are you mumbling about, Fu Lin?" Mei asked, having overheard him but not quite catching the words.

"Mei, your cooking is really good. No wonder this idiot Kiana sticks to you every day."

"It's not that special," Mei replied shyly, tugging at her skirt.

'It'd be great if Fu Shi could also taste Mei's food. I left some money at home, so hopefully, she won't go around robbing punks again,' Fu Lin thought while eating, not paying attention to the two girls beside him.

"Don't think you can get away with this just because you care about me..." The Herrscher of Sentience muttered to herself, her pride hurt by his concern. "Fine, maybe I'll go easy on you!"

After finishing the meal, Fu Lin grabbed Kiana, who was still clinging to Mei like a cat, and left the rooftop with his face covered in embarrassment because of Kiana.

After school, Fu Lin went back to the plush toy store from the previous afternoon. The shopkeeper was still there, lazily sipping tea.

"Oh, little brother, you're finally here. Here are the ten plush toys you ordered."

Fu Lin picked one up, gently stroking the soft, dense fur. It felt smooth and plush. "How much do I owe you after subtracting from the deposit?"

"Because you're so good-looking, how about I give you a 20% discount?" the shopkeeper suggested, smiling.

Outside the store, Fu Lin attached one of the plush toy to his phone, storing the rest in his system space. He planned to surprise Fu Shi with them when he got home.

Unbeknownst to him, the Herrscher of Sentience, who had overheard his thoughts, had already left the consciousness space to act like she knew nothing about the surprise.

After a day of observation, she had reached a conclusion, Fu Lin wasn't using the Herrscher core to sense her location. While she should have been happy about that, for some reason, she felt a little disappointed.