Under the pale moonlight, the cicadas ceased their chirping, adding a touch of desolation to the silent night.
In Mei's room, she sat by the bed with her knees hugged to her chest, gazing at the moon outside the window.
Her long black hair fell naturally against her fair skin. The moon hung high in the sky, its silvery light illuminating her face.
Her eyes held a deep loneliness and indifference. She stared at the moon, lost in thought. Perhaps she was missing someone, or perhaps she was hating someone…
After killing Ryn and throwing him out, most of Mei's anger had subsided.
Once she wasn't angry anymore, she began to reflect on the story she had read in Ryn's mind earlier.
Mind-reading was a cheat, but it could easily be countered by the other party. Ryn hadn't put up any defenses against her, or perhaps he had been weaving a false story to deceive her all along.
But... could the story of him and the other 'her' be fabricated?
From her father's imprisonment to the Second Great Honkai Eruption, and then to Senba Academy…
After that, the stories that didn't belong to her, but to the Raiden Mei of that world…
Compared to her and her Kiana... they were truly happy.
Mei lowered her hands, looking up at the moon wistfully.
Kiana, huh? Where are you now…
I miss you so much, and I hate you so much…
But the moonlight was silent, and Kiana would no longer answer Mei's calls.
She thought about dying, about stepping into the cycle of reincarnation to start anew with Kiana…
But this world, so full of malice and hatred towards her and Kiana, refused to accept her soul that longed for reincarnation.
Just as it had isolated Kiana who had been observed, refusing her entry…
A ridiculous world…
Mei shook her head with a bitter smile, then spread her arms and lay back relaxedly.
Then she felt something poking her in the back.
She reached back and felt a cool, metallic device. It was Ryn's phone, which he had left behind.
Mei picked it up, examined it, and pressed the power button to wake the screen…
The moment the screen lit up and she saw Ryn's wallpaper, a single tear slid from the corner of Mei's eye, tracing a path down her cheek before dripping onto the bedsheet and vanishing…
It was a picture of Mei and Kiana, one on each side, holding onto Ryn's arms and leaning against him. Both of their faces wore blissful, sweet smiles. And Ryn, sandwiched between them, had his legs together so that the small girl, Kika, could sit on his lap while he hugged her waist.
Beside them were Theresa and Bronya, each held in the arms of a white-haired woman. They looked so much alike, they could have been twins.
This was Ryn's family portrait. In the photo, aside from the twin-like Kallen and the girl in Ryn's arms, Mei recognized the other-world versions of everyone else, more or less.
Seeing these familiar people find their happy endings in another world, Mei couldn't help but feel a sincere sense of blessing and envy.
"Huh... who is this girl?"
Mei, alternating between tears and laughter, zoomed in on Kika's face, looking at her with some confusion.
Long black hair like Mei's, and red eyes like Ryn's…
Huh…
Is this his and the other me's child?
So... they even have a child already…
Truly…
Truly…
I'm so envious…
Mei wiped away the tears that were uncontrollably streaming from her eyes, then buried her head in her knees.
With the phone on the bed, Mei swiped through Ryn's photo album, one picture at a time.
When she reached the very beginning of the album and saw the collection of her own sleeping face, lightning already began to crackle in her hand, as if in the next second she would atomize the phone and destroy it completely.
But in the end, she held back. She only deleted the few photos in the album that she thought were unflattering.
She continued to scroll…
With Kiana? Not interested. That's not my Kiana. Swipe!
With Bronya? Who takes pictures while playing games! Not looking! Swipe!
With Mei…
She stopped her rapid scrolling and tapped on the album of Ryn and Mei.
———————————————
On Ryn and Mei's first date, they walked hand in hand down the street... But it was Ryn's first time holding a girl's hand other than Kiana and his mother, and Mei's first time holding a boy's hand other than her father…
Both of them were so nervous their bodies were tense, and they walked as stiffly as robots…
In the end, they were walking in sync, right arm with right leg, attracting the gazes of passersby. Someone even came up to ask if Ryn and Mei were being coerced and needed help.
They cooked together in the kitchen. The clumsy Ryn only knew how to make simple egg-fried rice and heat up dishes. Every time he chopped vegetables or stir-fried, Mei, who was teaching him from the side, could barely control her emotions and raised the spatula in her hand.
It was hard to tell if Mei wanted to whack Ryn on the head with the spatula, or just tell him to get lost so she could cook herself.
.........
.........
A small smile touched her lips as she continued to flip to the next photo, studying it with intense concentration, as if each one were the most precious treasure in the world.
*Drip— Drip—*
Tears fell onto the cold screen, splashing and scattering.
Her body trembled uncontrollably, and soft sobs escaped her.
Kiana... why…
Why... did things between us turn out like this…
We... we should have been like them, with our own happy future…
——————————————
*Rustle, rustle—*
In the dark room, a big black rat tiptoed in stealthily.
The night wasn't too dark, and under the moonlight, Ryn's sneaky movements were clearly visible to Mei, who was near the bed.
But Mei didn't move or make a sound. Unilluminated by the moonlight in the corner, she was naturally overlooked by Ryn.
Ryn saw that the covers on the bed were messy and assumed it was a bad habit from Mei's childhood, that she still kicked her blankets off.
So he gently tucked the blanket around the life-sized Homu doll on the bed, then got on all fours and started feeling around on the floor for where he'd dropped his phone.
Mei was amused by Ryn's actions. She stifled a laugh, covering her mouth to avoid making any noise that might startle him.
Ryn's phone had landed not far from her, so just as Ryn's hand finally found it.
Mei placed her hand on his. The moment she touched him, Mei could clearly feel Ryn jump in fright, his whole body trembling as the hairs on his skin stood on end.
Mei could almost feel Ryn's art style distorting, his soul frightened out of his body, leaving a trail of afterimages.
Mei leaned down slightly, bringing her face in front of Ryn's. Her eyes curved into charming crescents, and she offered him a gentle smile, speaking kindly.
"You're back?"
"Yeah, sis…"
"Interested in telling me the story of you and her?"
"Uh... huh?"
"And while you're at it, explain to me, when you were with the others, did you make the other 'me' stand aside and take pictures for you?! Just stand there and watch you two be all lovey-dovey?!!"
"No, no, no! Cortana was the one taking the pictures! How could I possibly neglect everyone else and only focus on one person when we're all together!"