Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 392 You have a feminine charm?

"Ouch! Isn't this our 'A' Rank Valkyrie? How did she get beaten up... Hahahaha..."

Seeing Qiong's face covered in bruises, the gloating paramecium burst into loud laughter at him—in a sense, seeing Qiong turn around and flee in a sorry state after being beaten, and then comically raise her hand to admit defeat, the class monitor didn't let up and kept punching her with crazy punches, made him happier than if she had won.

"You idiot Na, haven't you laughed enough?!"

Just as Kiana was laughing so hard she was doubled over, Sora, who was covering her face, took the cold towel from her girlfriend's hand.

"Qiong, class monitor was so reckless, are you sure you're alright? Should we get you checked out?"

"Oh yeah, the class monitor hit so hard, you didn't break any bones, did you?"

Thinking of this possibility, the white fluffy ball stopped laughing wildly. She took a step forward and moved closer to Qiong, examining his face—hmm, he seemed fine.

"Alright, stop looking. I'm not that fragile..."

Qiong rolled his eyes helplessly, pushed Kiana away, and put the ice pack that Mei handed him on his face. Actually, it wasn't a big problem. With his recovery ability, the bruises would disappear in a while, and he would probably be completely healed before Xing came back.

"Mei, I feel much better... but the class president was really ruthless..."

"Brother Qiong, what exactly did you say to the class monitor?"

Compared to Kiana, who seized the opportunity to mock, Mei, who was only concerned about Sora's injuries, and Seele, who was currently too afraid (and perhaps still sulking?) to watch from afar because of what happened last night, the observant Bronya noticed that Sora and Fu Hua's initial heated exchange of blows had turned into a hesitant and timid Sora being chased by the class president who had been buffed by Bloodrage...

When Bronya asked her the question, Sora's expression froze instantly, and her eyes drifted towards the sky.

"I just... uh... how should I put it? I mentioned that her chest looked a bit like a steel plate..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qiong felt a chill coming from both in front of and behind her—the chill in front of her undoubtedly came from Bronya, and the chill behind her…

"Qiong-kun, I don't think the 'competition' we just had counts. What do you think?"

Not far behind the dome, Fu Hua, cold as ice and with a gloomy look in her eyes, was holding two bottles of water and seemed to be walking over—it seemed one of the bottles was for the male classmate she had chased and beaten, but for now…

Even though she was in a bad mood, the ever-calm Bronya still noticed that the class president's free knuckles were cracking loudly...

Logically, Bronya, as a good friend, should have advised Fu Hua to remind Qiong to protect the weaker party at this time. However, because the joke about the steel plate was too malicious and had too wide an impact, she only gave a cold and indifferent suggestion.

"Brother Qiong".

"Bronya, is there anything you want to say?"

"Bronya suggests you immediately purchase the most expensive life insurance..."

Bronya glanced again at Raiden Mei, who was still holding a towel.

"Please remember to fill in Mei-neechan as the beneficiary."

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"Mei, you have to do your best!"

"Yes, I'm sure I'll win!"

Frustrated, Qiong watched Mei go to take her exam—although her face didn't hurt anymore and would recover in a while, Fu Hua and Bronya seemed to have some issues with him, probably because of this. Bronya even abandoned them and ran off to Seele's side.

But to be honest, can you blame him?! He never expected that the mighty Crimson Kite Immortal would be so petty, unleashing a power on a completely different level just because of this little provocation—and let me tell you, the force was really great, it hurt.

But to put it bluntly, wasn't he just stating a fact? A punch landed without any flesh to cushion the impact, making his fist hurt. What else could it be but a steel plate?

Soul steel plate?

And why is there no signal on Xiaoxing's end...?

"Dead Gray Hair~ What are you thinking about~"

A coquettish voice came from behind her, and Qiong turned around helplessly to see the paramecium who had been laughing the whole time.

This guy is really... no, he has to find a way to get rid of this worm!

Soon, Qiong came up with a good idea—a good way to get revenge on Kiana.

"I wasn't thinking about anything, just whether or not to approve your application to join the team. Oh dear, this is so difficult! After all, we're such good friends, unless Mei objects, there's no reason not to approve you. But, I don't think any captain would want a member who always disagrees with the captain... Don't you think so, Ms. Kiana Kaslana?"

Qiong deliberately dragged out the last syllable of her name and raised her eyebrows at the white fluffy ball.

"Ugh?"

Kiana, who had been smiling just moments before, froze instantly. The expression on her face changed from schadenfreude to panic, and then immediately to fawning.

"wait wait wait!"

Kiana jumped from the back row to the front row, grabbed Sora's arm and shook it hard—knowing Sora as she did, this gray-haired guy was actually very soft-hearted, and as long as it wasn't something too outrageous, he would be willing to help if she said a few nice words.

"Dead gray hair! No, that's not right, it's Brother Qiong! Our St. Freya can defeat the acting captain of an S-rank Valkyrie and my future captain. I'm very obedient, and I will definitely exceed your instructions. Besides, I'm also very strong in combat..."

Kiana pried open Sora's fingers, her voice growing softer and softer as she spoke, finally looking up at Sora with a pitiful expression.

If she wasn't afraid of choosing Mei as a team member, why would she have gone to such lengths?

"So, joining you..."

Looking at the paramecium in front of her, which had gone from being arrogant to being cowardly, Qiong was overjoyed.

Hey, you're still me, Qiong-ge. Do you think you're some kind of End Worm? Even if you were an End Worm, you'd still be controlled by yourself... Okay, I mean when you turned into a rice cake, you were controlled by yourself. Once you got bigger, you couldn't control yourself anymore.

"Well then, since you've so sincerely asked to join, I can't very well refuse..."

Qiong pretended to be deep in thought, which made Kiana want to grit her teeth but she held back.

"Then I'll give you a week-long observation period. If you dare to disagree with me again during this time—"

Absolutely not!

Upon hearing Qiong's proposal, Kiana immediately straightened her back and raised her right hand above her head in a soldier's salute.

"I, Kiana Kaslana, will absolutely obey Captain Sora's orders!"

"That's more like it."

Unable to keep a straight face any longer, Sora's words were full of smugness. Kiana also wanted to show her dissatisfaction, but she couldn't.

One word: Endure!

She just didn't expect that she, as the team leader, would decide to start exercising her powers as team leader right now...

"Well then, Xiaoqi..."

Xiaoqi?

Upon hearing this, Kiana's face flashed with reluctance. In order to join the team, she had inexplicably gone from being Sister Kiana to Little Kiana.

"As your team leader, I'm giving you my first order: Go get me a bottle of water right now!"

She's even being ordered around to fetch water... If she can fetch water today, will she fetch food tomorrow? And for the whole week starting the day after tomorrow, will she be doing all the work of serving tea, water, and picking up packages?

However, considering that Qiong wasn't that kind of person, and given the ugly look on her face when she mentioned the observation period, and adhering to the principle that "a small act of impatience can ruin a big plan," she chose to put on a smiling face.

It's only been a week. Endure it all—it's all for Mei! For her grand plan!

Once she succeeds and becomes an S-class Valkyrie, she'll bring that dead gray hair into the team and make him pay back ten or a hundred times in terms of strength and length!

From now on, she'll treat Qiong like a beast of burden, making him watch her and Mei show off their affection while she does so!

"Alright, Captain, please wait a moment!"

After Kiana finished speaking, she ran off to get water, and returned shortly afterward.

Qiong took the water but didn't drink it; she just looked at Kiana with satisfaction.

"Not bad, Xiaoqi! You're quite efficient!"

Kiana suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and punch the gray-haired guy's head a few times, and forced out a smile.

"That's right, Captain. I will definitely do my best to complete the task you assigned me!"

Kiana thought that Qiong was satisfied and that everything was over, but unexpectedly, Qiong pointed to her hands and feet again.

"Xiaoqi, look, I just finished a match, my arms and legs are sore! Come on, give the captain a shoulder massage and a leg massage."

"What?! You actually want me to massage your shoulders and legs?"

Kiana stared wide-eyed at Sora in disbelief. Her lips twitched slightly, and she cursed Sora in her heart, but she still managed to force a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Captain, don't you think..."

"What, you're already unwilling to obey the captain's orders? This is just the beginning, the observation period is still long."

Qiong deliberately dragged out her words, looking at Kiana with a half-smile.

Kiana's breathing became noticeably heavier, her fists clenched and trembling slightly. She stared intently at Sora's smug face, the string of reason in her mind on the verge of snapping...

Kiana's face was clouded with gloom.

"Captain, don't you think you've gone too far?"

"Huh? What do you mean by 'excessive'?"

Qiong seemed oblivious to Kiana's impending anger; he simply swung his leg.

"It's only right that my new teammate helps our tired captain relax, isn't it? Hurry up, stop dawdling, or your performance during your probation period will be..."

Despite being blackmailed by Sora in such an increasingly aggressive manner, Kiana still wanted to endure it, after all, for Mei's sake...

For Mei! For Mei! For Mei...

She kept repeating it to herself, but her body told her brain she didn't want to move. At the same time, another thought came to mind: Did she really have to sell her soul and dignity to this gray-haired guy and become his slave just to get Mei?

Other options are worth considering, but asking her to sell her soul by massaging the legs and hands of that dead gray-haired guy? She wouldn't do it!

Seeing that she didn't move, Qiong sighed, using a regretful tone—but to Kiana, it sounded like an annoying tone.

"Sigh, it seems that this is all the sincerity some people have. They're not even willing to do this small thing, so what's the point of talking about absolute obedience? I think this application to join the team..."

"you--!"

Kiana, who was still struggling with her inner conflict, stopped thinking. All her patience and all her thoughts of considering the bigger picture vanished at this moment because of Qiong's smug and arrogant face.

"You've gone too far, you dead gray hair!"

A roar completely shattered the pretense that had been barely maintained.

Just like at noon, all her plans and grand schemes were completely forgotten. Forget your plan to infiltrate and then break up!

"You think you can take advantage of my kindness? I've been putting up with you for far too long!"

Kiana was so angry that she trembled all over and pointed at Sora's nose, cursing him.

"I can let you get me water, but you actually want me to massage your legs and hands? Do you think I'm Rita, someone who can be your maid?! Huh? Next, are you going to have me warm your bed? And Xiaoqi? Who are you to call Xiaoqi? You should call her Sister Qi!"

When Kiana mentioned "becoming a maid," Sora looked at her in surprise, then solemnly shook her head.

"First of all, Kiana, I would never treat you like a maid. Secondly, ask yourself honestly, do you even consider yourself feminine?"

"You dead gray hair, what do you mean by this?!"