Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 346 Danheng, will you stay with me?

"Lady Serim, we beg you!"

Holding the newly made "rice cake" from the tailor shop, Song Que's voice trembled with an almost pleading tone.

"Please, just dress up and wear this to see him this once!"

"Bai Zhu really needs some comfort. He may not say it, but he must be in great pain inside..."

Serim: ...

Through the mirror, Serim's amethyst-like eyes silently watched the pleading Song Que, Luo Chenxue who was also trying to persuade her, and the silent Shafulai. There was no anger or sympathy in her eyes, only a faint impatience from being disturbed—if Song Que hadn't been a familiar acquaintance of hers, she would have stormed off in anger long ago.

Yes, she had plans to use her family's wealth to enter the entertainment industry of Luo Xing, and even intended to bring Song Que, an "acquaintance," to her side and make her famous... It was one thing for Song Que to refuse her proposal, but why did she ask her, the boss who was still in the planning stage, to play the role of a dead alien heroine? Isn't that a bit too outrageous?

She had no close relationship with the new knight or the dead hero, but now, because of the absurd reason that they were both good-looking with white hair and purple eyes, Little Sparrow asked her to play the role of a comforter—in this kind of stand-in way.

She was, after all, a noblewoman, and nobles have their own dignity!

"Um... listen to us, we have our reasons!"

Uncomfortably, Safrai held down Serim's slender arm, trying to force Serim to focus and persuade her, but she was not good with words and could only leave it to Morning Snow.

“Miss Serim! Bai Shu… his lover sacrificed himself for our planet Luo Xing. A few days ago, I wanted to talk to him—as I told you, my sister is the ‘Thirty-First Day,’ so I can freely enter and leave the tower… I mean, a few days ago, I couldn’t find him anywhere in the tower. Later, my sister told me that Bai Shu was right at the top of the tower, motionless, guarding our god, and even had the dragon beside him drive away everyone who came to disturb him… He ignored everyone, just holding a pen and gesturing and muttering to himself, and later even comforted the god until he was moved to tears… But what about himself? He was comforting his wife’s killer for us! If it were us, I think he would go crazy if he didn’t do something to vent his anger.”

Serim frowned, listening to Chenxue's words, her impatience wavering slightly. She looked at herself in the mirror, then at the dress—but she was still incredibly annoyed!

"Are you trying to use me as a sacrifice? You make it sound so nice, why don't you go yourselves?"

Upon hearing this, the sparrow quickly stepped forward and grabbed Serim's other hand.

"Lady Serim! How could we dare! Don't worry, he won't do anything inappropriate to you! As for us... we'd like to go too! But you look so much like that hero, maybe he'll feel better if you go..."

"Serem, please."

Looking into Song Que's expectant and earnest eyes, her resistance gradually disappeared—well, considering how earnest they were, she would give it a try.

"Fine, fine! I really can't stand you guys."

Serem finally gave in. She stood up, picked up the dress, and went into the dressing room.

The thin, light garment, belonging to a deceased person, felt irritatingly cool on her.

"How about it?"

"Not quite right, the overall vibe is too lacking..."

Saffra turned her gaze to Pine Sparrow, only to receive the answer that Pine Sparrow was "not quite right," while Morning Snow nodded in agreement, which greatly annoyed Serim.

"What do you mean 'not quite right'! I've already put it on as you instructed, what more do you want from me?"

Serem was so angry that she put her hands on her hips. If she got any angrier, she might just quit!

Seeing that Serim was getting angry, Sparrow quickly tried to calm her down.

"Lady Serim, please don't rush! Try imitating Mochi's expressions and movements, maybe it will..."

Are you sure you'll make it in time?

Serim rolled her eyes at the sparrow.

Why was it too late?

"Hmm? Didn't you know he came to visit Young Master Bai today, which is why you came to ask me for help?"

Serim looked at Song Que with a puzzled expression. Song Que then looked at Shafulai, who in turn looked at Chen Xue with a puzzled expression. Chen Xue's face turned deathly pale instantly.

"What? My sister didn't tell me!"

"Our master didn't mention it to us!"

"None of you... knew he was coming to Langqiu today?"

Serim felt a surge of anger rush to her head. She was amused by Song Que and Chen Xue – the people closest to Qiong were actually less informed than her informants?

"Little Sparrow, you came to beg me without even knowing the time? Now you're saying all this, do you expect me to appear in front of him right now wearing these clothes?"

"Or should we just forget about it?"

"Forget it? I think we should go now!"

Serim shook her head at Chenxue's suggestion.

"You just want me to try and persuade him, right? Then I'll just go."

--------------

It has been almost a month and a half since the outbreak of the Shadow Disaster.

With the tide receding and the crisis resolved, the cleanup work was proceeding smoothly. Bai Ji also had some free time and began to advance his orphanage plan and the Star Ring re-research operation. Everything was very ordinary.

If there's anything worth mentioning, it's that to find a trustworthy teacher for the new orphanage and to eliminate a charlatan, Bai Ji formally accepted Song Que, who, according to Ajieta, possessed considerable "skill" potential but lacked formal education, as his apprentice. Thus, Langqiu lost one charlatan, Song Que, and gained a teacher, Maria (though everyone still habitually calls her Song Que, just like Qiong's code name). Perhaps in the future, there will be another "skill" master?

But Bai Ji could never have imagined that Qiong, who was theoretically so busy he was practically on his feet or had found a way home from the gods and was preparing to embark on his journey back, would come to visit him, and the first thing he would say to him would be...

"Master, please accept my bow!"

Bai Ji was completely stunned. He stared blankly at the gray-haired star core spirit in front of him, and for a moment he even wondered if he had misheard.

"Qiong, you...you want to become my disciple?"

Bai Ji's voice was full of surprise. Although Qiong had misspoken "Teacher Bai" a few times before, it was probably out of admiration for his own experience. He, Bai Ji, was just an ordinary mortal. How could he be the teacher of the Shadow Rider of God and the Interstellar Traveler?

"Teacher Bai, don't you take on apprentices?"

Bai Ji's eyes were filled with shock and confusion. He slowly stood up, circled around Qiong a few times, and looked at her carefully again and again—yes, this was indeed Qiong.

"Qiong, why...did you suddenly have this idea?"

Why? Of course, it's to resolve historical issues and then leave!

Lithost is still alive, but Qiong can't find him at all. Rumors say he's in Langqiu, others say he's in Baiyu, but Qiong's requests for so many people to keep an eye on Lithost's movements have yielded no results… One thing is certain: Lithost refuses to show himself. That bastard seems to want to dump all the work on him, letting this new Luo Xing deity manage everything, while he, a living dead man, finds a corner to enjoy his retirement! But Qiong considers himself capable in management…

It seems that the area he was in charge of the most was the Zaixing Jinren Alley in my memory—from managing a street to managing a planet, that's obviously beyond his scope, isn't it?

Moreover, he is going home, so Qiong also wants to relinquish the power that Lithost has handed over, and Baiji is the substitute... cough cough, successor that Qiong has chosen.

Qiong looked at Bai Ji with a serious expression.

"Professor Bai, I want to learn from you about human-machine interaction... oh no! Cough cough, the more I get involved in management, the more I realize how many shortcomings I have. I greatly admire your wisdom and experience in dealing with various situations. I want to learn from you so that you can 'guide' or even 'act on my behalf' in some things I'm not confident about..."

Bai Ji appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil—he understood. Qiong didn't know many people and didn't have enough subordinates, so he recommended talented people regardless of personal relationships, right?

However, I should still decline.

"What merit or ability do I possess to be your master? Qiong, are you really sure about this?"

Qiong nodded vigorously.

"I've made up my mind, Master."

Seeing Qiong's resolute attitude, Bai Ji was still somewhat hesitant, but more than anything, he was moved—moved that Qiong trusted his knowledge so much, and he would definitely help Qiong well...

"Since you are so sincere, then I will accept you as my disciple. However, I am not very knowledgeable and may not be able to help you much."

Bai Ji saw that Qiong had a smile on her face—but why did this smile look like a smile of a successful conspiracy?

And that's exactly what happened. Qiong plans to go back immediately and announce Bai Ji's identity as his teacher to everyone, so that "seeing Bai Ji is like seeing him." In this way, he can transfer the responsibility of the Shadow Rider of God to the reliable Bai Ji, so that he can run away!

"Thank you, Master! I won't bother you any longer, I'll be going now!"

"Wait, Qiong! I—I have a few more things I'd like to ask you..."

Bai Ji wanted to say a few words of concern and mention that Song Que had become his senior sister, but seeing Qiong's expression, he decided not to ruin the atmosphere.

"I've sponsored an orphanage. What do you think would be a good name for it?"

"A name? How about Saint Feu... never mind."

The thought of St. Freya Academy being used on Mars made Sora feel a little strange.

"How about we name him Helios?"

After careful consideration, Qiong offered her advice.

"why?"

“Because I wish each of them were a Phaethon, a child of the sun—Helios is the sun god, and the Phaethon are the children of the sun. The orphanage…it holds the most precious and beautiful treasure in the world: hope. Isn’t it reasonable to say they are children of the sun?”

……

"He's out."

Wearing a "rice cake" outfit, Serim and three other women squatted at the door, watching the jubilant Sora walk out of Baiji's house. She was a little confused.

"Are you sure... he needs comforting?"

The three women nodded in unison.

"We need to, we absolutely need to! He's wearing a mask! Go, Serim! Tear off White's disguise!"

"Lady Serim, it's all up to you!"

"come on."

Although she felt it wasn't necessary, she was already here... Serim rolled her eyes helplessly, straightened her clothes, and walked towards Sora.

As Qiong was humming a little tune and preparing to leave, he suddenly saw Serim dressed in "mochi" clothes, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes: Why is Serim Nutricia wearing Kiana's clothes?

Perhaps because of Bai Ji and the others' promotion, Kiana's clothes have become the most popular new style in Langqiu? But he doesn't seem to be familiar with Serim, does he? And he's in a hurry to go back and leave the mission to Bai Ji...

Let's avoid that then.

Serim noticed Sora's gaze and thought she should bite the bullet and go over.

"Darling, darling, are you... are you alright?"

Serim, who had never done this before, felt her ears burning, the heat quickly spreading to her entire face. Her mind raced, frantically rehearsing all the relatively elegant follow-up lines and actions she had prepared—her self-defense strategy for when Sora went crazy and pounced on her for a kiss; how she would teach him a lesson when he saw her beautiful and lecherous; about the dress, and the immortal spirit of its owner… and the pre-planned lines of pleading for mercy and escape route for Sora to yell “You’re not her!” and then pull out a weapon to beat her up.