Honkai Impact 3rd: My Days as a Captain in Schicksal

"Wow, honey, you don't love me anymore! You've changed your mind!"

"Huh? You just found out?"

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, the husband suddenly burst into tears, covered his face, and ran upstairs, leaving behind his wife, who remained as calm as ever, and their child, who was already used to it.

The wife pointed at her son with her chopsticks with practiced ease: "Go, pull your dad down, don't let him steal my snacks."

The son sighed; similar scenes were not uncommon in his family. He used to worry a lot about his father, but ever since he discovered his father hiding in his room secretly eating his mother's snacks, he stopped worrying.

She was even a little angry—you won't let me eat snacks, but you secretly eat them yourself.

This time, just like always, Dad sat cross-legged on the bedroom floor, surrounded by a multitude of open snacks. He sat amidst the snacks, munching on potato chips with a vicious glare.

"I'll eat all your snacks... I'll eat all your snacks... I'll make sure you have no snacks left to eat..."

The son sighed, "...Dad, can we not be so embarrassing?"

……

In the end, after this battle of wits, the husband returned to the table at the cost of giving him a quarter of his son's braised pork knuckle, and continued his family's usual dinner routine: "Hey... actually, back then you guys had an older sister named Xiao Yingying, but she left home to be independent after she grew up—"

"puff……"

The son looked at his mother, who had suddenly burst out laughing, somewhat bewildered, wondering what had happened—was it because he suddenly had a sister? What was so funny about it?

Ignoring his wife's sneer, the husband continued reminiscing about the glorious past: "Back then, your sister loved to steal my snacks. To teach her a lesson, I hid the snacks on top of the refrigerator. She was short back then, so she couldn't see anything high up—don't even think about it, all our snacks are in your mother's stomach, not on top of the refrigerator—hey wife, why are you poking me?"

"Just eat your food!" The wife poked her husband's cheek with the end of her chopsticks, her face flushed with anger. "Eating won't shut you up."

"Then how come I've never seen my older sister?" The son seemed a bit skeptical of his father's words. "If she's the older sister, shouldn't she live with us?"

“Your sister works in another city and hasn’t been home for years.” The husband’s face was full of nostalgia as he gestured with his hands as if he were rowing a boat. “Hey, let me tell you, do you know what your sister’s special skill is? Rowing! When she was little, I took her to play by the pond, tied two spatulas to make a paddle for her, and used a big plastic box as a boat… Wow, the little one rowed that boat really well—it was the first time I’d ever seen someone row a boat that could flip seven times in a row without falling into the water. My fishing net was sitting there waiting for ages and it didn’t even get a chance to be used.”

"If you keep nagging, Yae Sakura will pluck all your hair out." The wife's gaze wandered, as if she was recalling something, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face.

"Haven't she pulled my hair out enough before?" The husband rolled his eyes, looking indignant. "I raised her with great difficulty, and this is how she repays me—Kengma, you can't do that again."

The daughter, who had been engrossed in eating, immediately looked up and smiled sweetly: "Yes! I will definitely be very filial!"

Then he continued to eat heartily with his head down.

Even now, the son, who had been listening intently to his father's story, hadn't finished even half a bowl of rice, while the daughter had already eaten half a bowl.

Just then, his wife's phone suddenly rang. She instinctively picked it up and glanced at it, seemingly surprised, but after the initial surprise, her expression gradually softened.

Although her expression softened, the hesitation on her face grew stronger. She looked at her husband with pleading eyes and handed him the phone.

The husband, understanding the unspoken message, took the phone: "Hello? Oh, Theresa, what's up?"

"Huh? We're in Antarctica." The husband's voice on the phone wasn't muffled, drawing a sidelong glance from his daughter.

The daughter didn't seem surprised, but the son looked out the window with some confusion—weren't we in Nanjing? How did we end up in Antarctica?

"Yes, yes, it's a scientific expedition, so we can't go back for a while—can I have Kiana answer the phone?"

After saying that, the husband handed the phone to his wife, his smugness evident on his face.

The wife took the phone knowingly, but for some reason, the hesitation on her face deepened.

Since their last parting, she and he have been avoiding them for three years, but they still have each other's contact information. They just don't want to get involved in their past lives anymore.

They have already fought the good fight.

They have run the distance they were supposed to run.

They upheld the principles they were supposed to uphold.

She and her husband had agreed to wait until the children were older before considering going back, so she had to avoid her past family members.

Neither he nor she had a normal childhood, and they hoped that at least their children could grow up smoothly as ordinary children before considering anything else.

But... it's been three years. Since we parted ways, three years have passed, and she misses her former friends very much.

I wonder if Mei has found her Mr. Right yet. Bronya and Seele should have grown into young women by now. Auntie and Yae Sakura should still be the same as before. I wonder what will become of Himeko...

As for Himeko-sensei... news about her has become increasingly scarce lately, but I hope she is doing well.

Although you can learn about these things over the phone, it's still different from seeing them with your own eyes.

Suddenly, she remembered the afternoons when she was still at St. Freya Academy. Back then, she would often skip class when afternoon classes started, depending on the content of the lesson, and then her teacher would come out and drag her back.

Until she discovered the magical place, the girls' restroom, where she could hide until the teacher had no choice but to return to class.

This tactic worked until the teacher discovered that she could send another Valkyrie to drag her out of the girls' restroom. Sometimes it was Mei, sometimes Bronya, and sometimes Himeko-sensei who dragged her out.

There was no other way; ever since the teacher discovered that throwing tear gas into the toilet would get him hung up and beaten by the principal, he had no choice but to send someone to drag him out.

These events... seem like only a few years ago, yet they give the illusion of an old photograph tinged with caramel color. Perhaps it's because the world changed so much after that event that people's memories, using it as a boundary, created a distinct sense of the era.

She smiled, looking at her husband, her eyes filled with longing.

"Hello? Auntie?" she asked the person on the other end of the phone.

"Keng Huo said you're in Antarctica?" The voice on the phone sounded nervous, but it was unclear what he was so nervous about.

"Yes, he wants to study the ecology of penguin colonies, so we came to Antarctica to stay for a while. It just so happens that it's summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so the weather is a bit better."

“Oh, I see…” Theresa’s voice trailed off, sounding hesitant, “Well, I’ll tell you something then…”

"What's wrong?" The wife smiled at the child, got up, and left the dining table.

"Your house has been burgled."

"Huh?" The wife slowed her pace and froze on the spot.

“We…we didn’t break our promise…we just…we just wanted to surprise you…” Theresa’s voice sounded a little nervous. “We hesitated for a long time about whether or not to come see you, but it’s been three years…today is your birthday…we…”

"Hey, let's not talk about that! Weren't you guys not home? Now your lights are on and it sounds like people are talking in your house, you've definitely been burgled! We've cornered the thief in your house, we're going to catch him for you! We'll talk to you later!"

"No, how did you know where we live?" the wife asked hastily, but she was a beat too late; all that could be heard on the phone was a busy signal.

Suddenly, her gaze fell on her husband, who was nervously staring at the ceiling counting stars.

But the situation left her no time to think about it.

A small foot kicked the door open with a bang, and a young girl's imposing roar echoed through the air: "Where did this little thief come from, daring to steal my niece's things!"

With a flourish, the husband leaped onto the sofa: "Who dares to be so insolent here! I, Keng Huo, the 78th generation successor of the Xiaoyao Sect, am here! You scoundrels, surrender at once! Once I unleash my true energy, I will make sure you are reduced to ashes!"

Staring at the man standing on one leg on the sofa, the young girl and the group of Valkyries who had kicked the door open were speechless for a long time.

If this really is about catching a thief, then this petty thief is probably the most miserable wanted criminal in history.

But there were no thieves, only a former captain who resigned and skipped work, a former Valkyrie who resigned and retired, and their two children.

The husband's expression was slightly subtle: "I said, actually you misheard me. I wasn't talking about Antarctica, I was talking about Nanjing. I'm here at the aquarium studying the ecology of the penguin colony..."

An awkward silence descended, but no one expected that the first to break it would be the bewildered wife, holding her phone. And strangely, instead of blaming the intruder who kicked down the door, she grabbed her husband's face and started rubbing it.

"Was it you who did this?! Tell me! Did you snitch on me?!"

"No! It wasn't me!" the husband wailed, clutching his head and running around the house like a headless fly. "I, Keng Liang Huo Ying, just want a peaceful life! What would I be thinking to call them to drag me back to work?!"

The room was in complete chaos, and Kengdie, who had no appetite, craned his neck and secretly glanced towards the door, only to meet the gaze of the leader.

They exchanged a confirming glance, and the two strangers immediately recognized each other.

The two children in this family, the daughter seems shrewd and mature, while the son seems a bit simple-minded—but in reality, it's the opposite; the son is the one who's truly cunning.

At least he perfectly inherited his father's quirks and intelligence-gathering abilities.

And Oscar-worthy acting skills.

He truly lives up to his name.

————————————————————————————————————

Although caught red-handed, Theresa assured that she wasn't trying to drag Keng Huo back to work, which immediately put the (pseudo) head of the household at ease. Furthermore, since there hadn't been any major conflict between them—it was simply one of them not wanting to go to work—the atmosphere instantly became harmonious.

“Come, come, let me introduce you. This is Mommy’s aunt,” Kiana said, leading the two children. After a moment’s hesitation, she filled in the family tree in her mind. “According to seniority, you should call her… uh… cousin-in-law?”

Theresa retorted, dissatisfied, "I'm not that old!"

The husband stepped in at the opportune moment to smooth things over: "Yes, yes, in terms of seniority, she's my grandniece, you should call her... uh... yes, niece..."

"Go to hell, you jerk!"

Ignoring the little nun's kicking attack, the husband turned to the person behind her with a smile: "...Little Sakura, you're here too."

"Miss?"

Before Yae Sakura could reply, a little boy's voice rang out. Yae Sakura looked down, somewhat bewildered, at the little boy circling around her with expectant eyes, before her gaze quietly shifted back to the girl beside her.

The girl next to him, with the same light pink hair, shook her head rapidly, spinning like a top: "No, no, this has nothing to do with me, I don't know, I don't know anything."

"Hey sis, here's some of my snacks—aren't you really good at rowing?"

"?"

The husband broke out in a cold sweat, grabbed his son, and walked around Yae Sakura to the last two people in the group: "Come, come, these are your Aunt Zaychek and Aunt Freya—this is my son Kengdie, and this is my daughter Kengma..."

"Pfft..." Seele chuckled, bent down, and greeted the two little ones, "Hello~"

Beside her, Bronya held two large boxes stacked in her arms, a stark contrast to her slender figure: "Because I was worried that a stupid person's child would be just as stupid, Bronya specially prepared a gift—this is a newly developed intelligence growth stimulation device from Bronya's company. It has undergone repeated and multiple tests, and it can not only stimulate intellectual growth but also fill in the gaps in the brain. As long as you use it according to the instructions, it's guaranteed..."

"...You think I don't know what a game console is?"