Holding the keys to his new home, Xin Yu was walking along a path at the academy when he suddenly spotted a cherry blossom tree.
He paused, gazing at the tree which, surprisingly, still had a few blossoms clinging to its branches.
Xin Yu walked over and placed a hand on its trunk, murmuring, "Sakura, I have a home again..."
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and the branches of the cherry tree swayed gently, as if in response.
Xin Yu looked up at the branches. Ever since Kiana's impassioned confession, it seemed the illusions born from his own longing had ceased to appear...
Was that a good thing, or a bad thing?
Xin Yu opened the door to the small villa and found the interior to be quite clean, free of dust. It seemed someone had been regularly tidying up, even if it had been unused.
Placing the keys on the shoe cabinet by the entrance, Xin Yu took off his shoes and retrieved a pair of slippers from the cabinet.
"I'll organize the rooms and do another sweep. I'm not sure if Kiana will move in, but it's best to have it clean just in case. Plus, some guests might be coming over tonight, so I need to prepare the ingredients and plan the menu."
Xin Yu took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and pant legs, and summoned a broom, rags, and an array of other cleaning supplies from behind him. He then began the customary deep clean that followed moving into a new home.
What? Why not just use his abilities?
It's a matter of ritual. Most people don't clean either because they're lazy or because they don't have the time. Xin Yu, however, had an eternity of time and was anything but lazy.
---o---
In the girls' dormitory, Kiana was humming a tune as she packed clothes into her suitcase. It was clear she was planning to move.
"Kiana... are you, are you moving in with Xin Yu?"
Raiden Mei stood to the side, watching Kiana's cheerful and relaxed demeanor. For reasons she couldn't quite pinpoint, a medley of emotions churned within her.
Why? Her benefactor had returned, and her best friend had found happiness. Both were wonderful things, so why did she feel so down when they were put together?
Kiana seemed to pick up on the complex emotions in Mei's voice. She stopped what she was doing, turned around, and looked at her. "Mei, if you want, you can move in with us."
"But... you two are a couple. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to move in."
"It's fine! I can share Xin Yu with you. I like you, and I like Xin Yu. If the three of us are together, it'll be like each of us has two people we love! We can build a happy little family."
"Kiana! What are you talking about?! You... How could you say something like that! You have to be joking, right?"
Mei was so taken aback by Kiana's utterly world-shattering words that she reflexively took several steps back.
"Mei, I'm not joking. Mei, you have feelings for him, I can see it. And the reason I'm willing to share Xin Yu isn't just because I want to have both of you."
"Xin Yu's situation is rather unique. He... needs to have sufficient ties to this world. Otherwise, he's going to be in trouble one day."
"What kind of trouble?"
"...I don't know. My future self wouldn't tell me. After she entered Xin Yu's sea of consciousness, all she said was that we have to give Xin Yu more people to care about in this world... Otherwise, he will cease to be himself."
"...The future..."
"That's right. The crystal Xin Yu gave me was from my future self for him to pass on to me. Mei, you probably don't believe me, but..."
"No, I believe you."
"What?!"
Kiana looked at Mei in surprise, realizing she wasn't just humoring her—she genuinely believed that Xin Yu had the power to traverse time.
Mei took a deep breath and shared a secret she had kept locked in her heart.
"Actually, I met Xin Yu back when my mother passed away from cancer. He brought my drunk father home that day, and he comforted me when I was lost and terrified from losing my mom. He told me..."
"My mother had become a star in the sky, watching over me."
"I still remember the song he sang back then. It was so beautiful, so reassuring."
"Mei, you're smiling."
"Huh?"
"You're smiling when you talk about the past."
"..."
"So, shall we go together?"
---o---
Ding-dong!
"Coming!"
Xin Yu opened the door and saw Kiana, holding a suitcase, and behind her, a bashful Raiden Mei, head bowed, also pulling a suitcase with one hand.
"Xin Yu, Mei and I are both moving in~ You're going to be living with two beautiful girls, about to start a life filled with rosy romance. Are you happy?"
Xin Yu looked at Kiana's mischievous grin, then at Mei, whose face was so red that steam was practically rising from her head. He sighed helplessly, reached out, and gently tapped his playful girlfriend on the head. "You and your shenanigans."
Then, he looked apologetically at Mei behind her. "I'm sorry, Kiana must have said some nonsense again. As her best friend, Mei, you probably didn't want to disappoint her, so you went along with her antics. I'll have Kiana help you take your things back to the dorm and get you settled..."
"Stop, stop! Hey, let me finish talking!"
Kiana held up a hand to cut Xin Yu off, then explained, "I didn't force Mei. She wanted to move here on her own. And you shouldn't you think about what you once did to Mei?"
"Me...?"
Xin Yu pointed at himself in bewilderment. If his memory served him right, he hadn't had any particularly deep relationship with Raiden Mei in the past, had he?
"You waltzed right into her heart when she was just a little girl~ That's a seriously foul move."
Xin Yu blinked, still a bit confused. All he'd done was comfort a little girl who was having trouble sleeping. Why would someone remember that all the way to the present?
And was her affection level really that high? Why did it feel so unnatural?
Raiden Mei remained silent with her head lowered. While that childhood encounter was certainly important, and Xin Yu had likely forgotten it by now, Mei still remembered. She remembered that when the entire world questioned her, when everyone suspected her, there was only one person who was willing to believe in her. Only he had told her that he was willing to believe.
He had later stopped her from losing control, preventing her from making an even greater mistake.
The hero saving the damsel in distress might be a cliché, but it was an eternally effective method.
This was especially true for a girl with a touch of a chuuni streak like Mei. For someone who had fallen into darkness, even the smallest glimmer of light was enough to send them into raptures of joy.
Not to mention, Xin Yu's very existence represented the dawn of hope.
Raiden Mei remembered the promise Xin Yu had made to her before. Combined with his abilities, she knew what he was going to do.
This, this was her hero.