Bronya stared blankly at her husband.
After a long and bitter search, her wish was finally granted. In this single moment lay eternity.
Ye Feng walked forward, looking at the slender, curvaceous, silver-haired beauty before him.
"My good Duckie, who else could I be?"
The husband she had yearned for day and night was right before her eyes. Bronya could no longer hold back and threw herself into Ye Feng's embrace.
Her movement was so fierce that her high heels fell off, lying askew on the floor, their glossy black leather reflecting Bronya's beautiful, black-stockinged feet.
Script? Simulated world?
All of it was thrown to the back of her mind. At this moment, all that mattered was enjoying her husband's warmth.
Although she couldn't figure out what was going on with Elysia, one thing she said was right: the world is fake, but the love is real.
That feeling alone would never change.
Bronya pressed herself against Ye Feng's chest. It was still as broad, strong, and reassuring as she remembered.
She lightly sniffed her husband's scent, felt his beating pulse. Everything, every single thing, matched her memories.
The warmth of home, the longing for a person.
Bronya, who had been adrift for half her life, had absolutely no resistance to this.
"The Bronya thought... I would never see you again..."
Ye Feng was also taken aback for a second. He looked down, his gaze a little dazed as he watched the Big Duck Duck in his arms.
He had thought that after learning the truth, even if she didn't harbor resentment towards him, she would surely be angry, would complain, would accuse him.
At the very least, they wouldn't be able to interact as naturally as they did in the simulated world.
But none of that happened.
What this silver-haired girl felt for him was nothing but pure longing.
In Bronya's world, feelings weren't that complicated. If she liked someone, she liked them. If she didn't, she didn't.
Like a silver wolf on the Ural steppes, once it locks onto a target, it bites down and never lets go. And once Bronya was certain of her own feelings, she would charge forward with courage!
"..."
With a warm, soft, jade-like beauty in his arms, it was the first time Ye Feng's heart felt as pure as a blank sheet of paper.
His hand came to rest on Big Duck Duck's back, gently patting her silver hair.
"Welcome back, Big Duck Duck."
Bronya's shoulders trembled slightly. She then tightened her arms around Ye Feng, burying her head in his chest and nuzzling him gently.
"Mhm."
The two embraced tightly.
Bronya noticed a stiffness in her husband that was different from before.
Though the difference was small, almost negligible, as his wife, she still sensed it.
Bronya lifted her head, her soft curves pressed against Ye Feng's chest, and looked up at her husband with earnest eyes. "What's wrong?"
At this moment, Big Duck Duck had the appearance of a powerful, silver-haired career woman, yet her tone was tinged with the unique, charming sweetness of a young wife.
Ye Feng held Big Duck Duck's soft body and said softly, "Hmm... I'm just a little surprised."
"Surprised about what?"
Bronya, of course, knew what he was surprised about, but she asked anyway.
Just like how her husband used to ask her mischievously, "Do you want more? Do you want more? If you don't say it, I won't know."
Just as the two were immersed in the sweetness of their reunion, a sudden knock on the door pulled them back to reality.
"Feng-kun? Are you in there?"
It was Mei's voice, accompanied by the sound of the doorknob turning.
Bronya's body went rigid. She shot out of Ye Feng's embrace, then took two steps back, putting some distance between them.
The door was pushed open from the outside, and with a sway of her purple hair, Mei walked in.
Like Bronya, she was also piloting her "large size" model. Her voluptuous and succulent body was wrapped tightly in a black bodystocking, showcasing an even more defined and exquisite figure. Even though she had just changed back into an OL outfit, it could hardly conceal her charm.
"Hm?"
Mei froze for a moment, clearly not expecting to find two people in the room.
And one of them was the grown-up NPC version of Bronya.
"Feng-kun, what are you doing in here?"
Mei's gaze went straight past Big Duck Duck, so she didn't notice her fleeting moment of awkwardness.
Ye Feng straightened his back. His original plan was to play some adulterous games with either Duckie or Mei, but after embracing Bronya just now, he had changed his mind.
He wanted to be open and honest.
"Mei."
"Yes."
Ye Feng walked to Big Duck Duck's side and said, "This is..." my wife.
He was about to say it.
However, he was interrupted by Bronya. "I am a friend from a parallel world. Hello, Raiden Mei."
Bronya stood up straight, even changing her verbal tic.
This wasn't difficult for her. In the simulated world, Bronya had already adapted to referring to herself as "I."
Ye Feng turned his head, and when he saw the determination in Bronya's silver-gray eyes, he said no more.
Mei let out a small "eh" and stared blankly at Big Duck Duck.
"...A parallel world?"
Bronya nodded. Her right hand, clad in a fingerless glove, extended forward politely in a gesture of a first-meeting handshake.
Big Duck Duck's expression was calm, without a trace of anything unusual. "Mr. Ye Feng told me earlier that there was a Mei in this world as well. I didn't believe it."
Mei stared at Big Duck Duck, somewhat in disbelief.
She knew that parallel worlds did indeed exist in this universe.
But she never expected to encounter one here.
And it was a grown-up Bronya?
Mei dazedly extended her hand, her palm making brief contact with Bronya's before pulling away.
"I'm not very familiar with this world yet. You two can talk first, I'll go for a walk."
Big Duck Duck turned and left with such clean, sharp movements that Ye Feng couldn't help but feel that everything that had happened before Mei came in was just a dream.
"Feng-kun... Feng-kun?"
"Ah?"
Ye Feng, who had been watching Big Duck Duck's retreating back, snapped back to his senses.
"Is she really... from a parallel world?"
"That's what she said."
"A parallel world... are there really people and events just like ours?"
Knowing it was one thing, but seeing it with her own eyes was another.
Mei found it incredible.
Ye Feng shrugged. "Perhaps."
Mei tilted her head, looking thoughtfully in the direction Big Duck Duck had disappeared.
Ye Feng collected himself, secretly sent a message to Big Duck Duck, then wrapped his arms around Auntie Mei's slender waist.
Her soft, supple curves were covered by a thin white blouse, her ripe, tender hips were tightly wrapped in a hip-hugging skirt, and below that, her long, slender legs were encased in a pair of sheer black pantyhose, which also covered her delicate, fair feet.
"Hm? Mei, why did you change out of the bodystocking?"
Mei stopped thinking about Big Duck Duck. She lowered her head shyly and said, "The remote is with Kiana... she's too mischievous, I don't trust her."
The two whispered intimately, their heads close together.
It was precisely this kind of atmosphere that Kiana couldn't stand, which was why she had gone to the rooftop for some air. By the time she returned to the office, it was already empty.
"Damn it! They left me here again, meow!"
Kiana puffed up her cheeks in anger.
More importantly, she didn't know what kind of game that dog bastard Ye Feng had taken Mei to play now, and would other girls be joining in halfway through?
On the other side.
Bronya received Ye Feng's message:
[There's a surprise waiting for you in the library at St. Freya High School.]
She mounted her motorcycle and sped through the night sky, her long silver hair streaming behind her in the wind.
In Ye Feng's world, traveling from Arc City to St. Freya High School was like traversing from one world bubble to another in the Sea of Quanta... no, it was actually more troublesome than that, because it required "permissions."
Just like Cangxuan before, if Ye Feng hadn't granted her permission, she would have been stuck on Mt. Taixu forever.
But Big Duck Duck had been granted access to the entire map from the moment she arrived.
Soon, she found the library Ye Feng had marked.
From the outside, the library here looked no different from the one at St. Freya High School.
But the inside layout was different from St. Freya's: upon entering, there was a large, L-shaped counter, stocked with stockings, ready for replacement at any time.
The beautiful girls who came here, after their walks in the afternoon and evening, would each spend four hours to change into a new pair of stockings—that was from more than twenty days ago.
Now, there were not only stockings, but also various outfits, convenient for exercise after putting them on; if one was willing to spend more time, one could also get [Customizations] done in the library, not just clothes, but also props, used for setting the mood.
If one stayed for a dozen hours or so, one could even engage in [Creation] here and experience a different kind of Elysian Realm, but the beautiful girls who came to the library were mostly quiet and well-behaved, and generally had no such inclinations. Only those outside the library would ask for hot dogs and soy milk, savoring them slowly, all the while complaining that the hot dogs were too hot and the soy milk too thick and didn't taste good.
Bronya walked past the reading area. There was a hole in the bookshelf ahead, seemingly just big enough for one person to squeeze through.
Not understanding the intent behind this design, Big Duck Duck glanced at it and continued forward.
Ye Feng said there's a surprise here, what could he mean?
Thinking of her husband, Bronya's mood was once again tinged with a bit of gloom.
After hearing Elysia's explanation, Bronya had already made her choice.
She would acknowledge her husband.
But she didn't want to make things difficult for Sister Mei either.
Therefore, the current approach was the best one.
But why... could the "void" in her heart still not be filled?
Did I really want to walk out of that office back then?
That was the place where she had released A-Post-Honkai-Odyssey.
Bronya walked forward in silence. As she turned a corner, lost in thought, she froze once again.
The reading area ahead was spacious and bright. Beige sunlight streamed in through the windows, making the neat chairs glitter.
A girl as blue as the sea sat serenely in the clear light.
"...Seele?" Bronya murmured.
As if sensing her, Seele looked up from her book at the tall, silver-haired beauty standing by the bookshelf.
An NPC of the older Sister Bronya?
Why is she here?
Eh? She's walking towards Seele. Is this Brother Ye Feng's prank?
Seele's sea-blue eyes widened. A certain guess had already formed in her heart, but she was afraid it wasn't true.
Until Bronya walked right up to Seele and took her hand—
"Seele."
The fresh, sea-blue girl's body trembled. A gentle breeze blew through the sunlit library, and ripples spread across Seele's azure eyes.
"...Sister Bronya?"
"Mhm, it's the Bronya."
"It really is you, Bronya! Seele knew that Sister Bronya would find Seele!"
Seele excitedly squeezed Bronya's hand back.
The two had been through so much. Reunited again, their feelings from the past had not faded, but had instead grown even purer.
An unprecedented softness appeared on Bronya's face. Is this the surprise my husband was talking about?
Bronya suddenly felt as if she had no more regrets in life: For the first time, she had someone she loved dearly. And she had a girl who could be her friend for life. Two happy things have come together. And these two joys brought her even more joy.
"Sister Bronya, you now..."
After the initial surprise, Seele looked at the tall, voluptuous, black-stockinged Duckie and couldn't help but speak.
It's only been two years, how has Sister Bronya changed so much?
Didn't Brother Ye Feng say this was Sister Bronya in her twenties?
"This is the Bronya's body in this world. Hmm... don't worry about it too much."
When it came to the matter of being a wife, Bronya found it a bit difficult to talk about. Besides, she couldn't just openly declare "the Bronya is Ye Feng's wife" right now.
"Seele, are you doing okay now?"
Seele nodded forcefully. "Yes, with Brother Ye Feng's help, I've finally made it to a World Bubble. As long as we wait for the right time, I'll be able to transition out of the Sea of Quanta soon. By the way, since Sister Bronya is here, you must know Brother Ye Feng too, right?"
"...Mhm."
Seele grew a little worried. "Then... has Sister Bronya been bullied by him?"
"Bullied?"
"No, why does Seele ask?"
"N-nothing..."
Bronya blinked. "Could it be that he has bullied Seele?"
"Ah? No, Brother Ye Feng... has never bullied Seele. He's just a little forceful sometimes, but he's very good to Seele."
However, she couldn't say the same for other people.
Seele had personally seen Brother Ye Feng leading his white-haired master by the hand... ungh, so embarrassing!
The innocent Seele squirmed slightly. Bronya narrowed her eyes. "Forceful? How was he forceful?"
"Eh?"
Seele grew even more flustered. She let go of Bronya's hand and waved her own frantically. "N-no, that's not it. Brother Ye Feng was just doing it for Seele's own good... probably."
After all, the process of signing the contract was just too embarrassing to talk about.
"By the way, Seele made a friend in the World Bubble. She came over too. Seele will take Sister Bronya to meet her later."
Seele changed the subject.
Bronya didn't press the matter further. She had a pile of her own problems to solve.
Now that she had finally found Seele, she should of course talk about happy things.
"Mhm."
St. Freya High School.
The three little ones finished breakfast and headed to class together.
The continuous gloomy, rainy weather had finally given up, and a fresh chill permeated the air.
"By the way... Bronya, did you see your husband?" Mei suddenly turned her head and asked.