Under Mei's calm, unmistakable "main wife" pressure, Bronya had to retreat—strategically.
Plan B.
"By the way, Mei, we haven't gotten together in ages. How about next weekend? Seele can come too."
Bronya kept her tone gentle, refusing to sound eager.
"Oh?" Mei smiled. "It has been a while since we've seen Seele. Honey—should we go?"
Her hand rested lightly on Su Ming's shoulder. Strictly speaking, it wasn't professional to be affectionate in the workplace, but she didn't mind showing a little in front of her "good sister."
Su Ming understood Mei well.
Mei wasn't the type to forbid him from speaking to other women. Her bond with Kiana, Bronya, and Seele was real—so long as it didn't involve Su Ming.
She held girls' tea parties with them often. Even when they "suggested" bringing Su Ming along—despite their obvious motives—Mei would still agree.
That was the confidence of the main wife.
So Su Ming nodded quickly.
"I'm fine. Any time works."
"Next Saturday, then? Everyone should be free."
Bronya pulled out her phone to coordinate with Kiana and Seele.
Mei tilted her head, deliberately sweet. "Then shall we go see the factory now?"
"…Let's not," Bronya said quickly. "Too many people. Online coordination is fine."
She hated walking, and she knew Mei would spend the whole route flashing their relationship like a spotlight.
"Then let's work," Su Ming said, desperate to restore normalcy.
"I have no objection," Bronya replied, switching into business mode. She really was here for the contract.
…
The discussion moved quickly. Everyone in the room knew what they were doing.
"Then the deposit will be transferred to Anti-Entropy tomorrow."
"Bronya, take care on your way out," Mei said warmly as she saw her off at the entrance.
Once Bronya left—
"It's about time," Su Ming said, slipping an arm around Mei's waist. "Want to visit Father?"
"We're still at the company…" Mei's cheeks pinked. She resisted half-heartedly, then gave in.
"Since when does the company ban affection after hours? If I see employees being sweet, I'd hand them a wedding gift."
Su Ming pulled Mei into the car—then stole a quick kiss.
"Pervert," Mei hissed, smacking his thigh.
To him it felt like a mosquito bite.
The driver in front pretended not to hear anything, only thinking: young people really do have energy.
…
At the Raiden family estate.
Raiden Ryoma had been enjoying life lately. His daughter had married well, his successor was competent, and the company was steady. For a man his age, what more was there to chase?
Now he could practice swordsmanship, hum little tunes, tend the garden, sip some drinks—life was comfortable. The only regret was that his wife had left too early to see Mei like this.
But Mei and Su Ming were considerate. They visited often. The house never truly felt empty.
"Master, Miss and Sir have come to see you."
Ryoma's face lit up.
He put down the gardening shears, brushed the dirt off his hands, and said:
"Have them wait in the sitting room. I'll change clothes."
He refused to greet them looking disheveled.
Soon he arrived in casual wear—and found the young couple sitting close, affectionate. He cleared his throat with a smile.
"Ahem."
Mei nudged Su Ming. Su Ming sat up properly at once.
"Mei, Su Ming—how have you been? Any difficulties?"
"We're the same as always," Mei replied with a gentle smile. "No need to worry."
"And the company? How is it?"
Ryoma looked at Su Ming.
"It's running well. We recently took major orders from World Serpent and Anti-Entropy…"
Su Ming presented a prepared report—charts, figures, everything—and walked him through it.
Ryoma listened, satisfied.
"Good. Cashflow is healthy. You didn't overexpand just because you took big projects, but you're still increasing capacity steadily. For a large company, stability matters most. You can stand on your own now."
"I'll check the kitchen," Mei said, sensing the next part of the conversation. "See if they need help."
Once she left, Su Ming got to the point.
"Father—since we're family, I'll be direct. I know ME Corp is effectively under Anti-Entropy, even if you hold most of the shares. But is there something deeper behind that relationship?"
Ryoma thought carefully.
ME Corp was a consumer electronics company. It didn't exactly have "secrets," beyond the usual industry realities.
"I don't know," Ryoma admitted after searching his memory.
Su Ming wasn't surprised. He'd already toured ME Corp, Schicksal, and Anti-Entropy facilities earlier to test the world. He'd found no trace of Honkai energy. If even that was absent, Ryoma wouldn't know more.
So Su Ming asked what really mattered.
"Do you have any particular impression of World Serpent Group?"
Those people—who shouldn't exist in this era—were too abnormal to ignore.
"Well… their chairwoman is obviously more of a mascot. Their equipment division head feels more like the real leader."
Fair.
Elysia's "professionalism" peaked at culture-building and chaos; actual management was Dr. MEI's burden.
But Su Ming needed something else.
"Anything else—like when they were founded?"
He'd investigated and found no clear founding date.
Ryoma nodded. "That I remember. World Serpent was founded the year Mei was born. Their technology shocked the world back then, so it stuck with me."
The year Mei was born.
In the original Honkai timeline, that would be the year before the Second Eruption.
And yet… knowing that alone didn't solve anything. Was he supposed to believe thirteen "ancients" had simply awakened in sync?
His thoughts jammed. Su Ming tugged at his hair in frustration.
"Is something wrong with World Serpent?" Ryoma asked, concerned.
"It's not that. It's just…" Su Ming couldn't exactly say, They're ancient cryo-sleep survivors. He tried a different angle. "Do you have any impression of Schicksal's previous Overseer?"
Otto Apocalypse—the root of so much disaster—had vanished in this worldline. Su Ming only knew that, the year they graduated St. Freya, Theresa had urgently returned to Schicksal HQ and became Overseer.
"Otto Apocalypse," Ryoma said, decisively. "Ambitious. Powerful presence. Anyone who met him would agree."
He paused. "But there was no public, confirmed information about his abdication. Anti-Entropy intelligence suggests Schicksal had no internal turmoil at the time—headquarters or branches. It was likely a smooth transfer of power."
A smooth transfer meant Otto hadn't simply died. He'd likely delivered a formal abdication inside Schicksal.
So where did he go?
The familiarity of it all made Su Ming think of Otto's infamous move in the original story—his ultimate gamble.
But that raised more questions.
And if Otto's actions were involved, then—
Where did Anti-Entropy even come from in a world without Honkai?
Without the First Herrscher, without the split, without the nuclear escalation—Anti-Entropy shouldn't exist as "Anti-Entropy." It should've been "Schicksal North America."
And yet it existed, with Welt Yang, Einstein, and Tesla in place.
If he forced it under "slice-of-life worldline quirks," he could hand-wave it. But the system itself had signaled anomaly. That meant he couldn't.
His head throbbed.
This is supposed to be Mei's Bond Quest Two. Why is it unraveling the whole cosmology?
He wanted to dump it onto Einstein—or Dr. MEI—someone whose IQ didn't cap at ten.
"Father… do you know anything about Schicksal or Anti-Entropy's spatial technologies?"
Ryoma considered. "I saw some related tech in my early years under the Alliance leader, but I don't know recent developments…"
Then he offered: "Since all your questions link back to Anti-Entropy, I can introduce you to the Alliance leader. I've already mentioned choosing you as successor. In about half a month, I'll take you to North America for the succession ceremony. You can discuss these matters directly then."
-------
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