Genshin Impact: Joining the Genius Society-Chapter 227: Ruan Mei’s Disappointment, Promise, and Final Request
"Of course... not!"
As if he were from another universe.
If the Honkai: Star Rail world counted as a universe at all, then at best it was merely a subsidiary universe of the one Su Ran came from.
After all, the level of technology, cultural background, and narrative structure here all originated from his world.
There was no way Su Ran was from some other universe.
At most, he was sent over from headquarters.
After all, he belonged to the class known as upper-layer narrators.
"As for the multiverse, I don’t have any concrete evidence either. It only exists in theory, doesn’t it?"
Whether a multiverse truly existed was still an unsolved mystery.
There were no verified witnesses.
Even Su Ran himself couldn’t prove it.
He couldn’t exactly tell them that the worlds he’d seen came from other works of fiction, could he?
"Then how do you know about races from other universes?"
Herta’s instincts told her Su Ran was still hiding something.
As for what that secret was—
She had no idea.
"I saw them with my own eyes."
Su Ran pointed at his eyes.
"Can I borrow them?"
The moment Herta finished speaking, Su Ran’s fist landed squarely on her head.
The puppet dropped to its knees on the spot.
Fortunately, he hadn’t used much force.
Otherwise, Herta would’ve needed to log in with a new body.
"My puppet’s senses aren’t synchronized, so I don’t feel pain."
Herta dusted herself off and stood back up.
She wasn’t stupid enough to install unnecessary sensory feedback.
Otherwise, if someone ever dismantled her puppet, she’d have to experience losing limbs firsthand.
"No worries. I can write a virus that transmits feedback directly to your real body and blinds you instead."
Su Ran said this calmly, almost politely.
"Sorry! My bad!"
Herta surrendered instantly.
Offending an all-powerful ally was the height of stupidity!
Losing her eyesight would be unbearable for a genius like her!
And she had no doubt Su Ran wouldn’t simply blind her puppet—
It would be consciousness-level blindness.
At that point, there’d be no escape.
"...What was I talking about again?"
Herta’s interruption had completely derailed him.
Luckily, Ruan Mei gently reminded him.
"You said you saw races from other universes with your own eyes."
"Oh. Then that’s it."
"..."
Wait—that’s it?
You built all that suspense for this?
Just... nothing?
For a moment, Ruan Mei couldn’t tell whether he was targeting her or Herta.
"...Could you think a little more?"
She asked unwillingly.
If that was all, then there were literally zero clues.
"Herta annoyed me. I can’t make anything up right now."
Su Ran shrugged helplessly.
Make something up??
"You’re messing with us?!"
Herta bared her teeth like she was about to bite someone.
Even Ruan Mei looked stunned.
Sensing the atmosphere, Raiden Makoto also put on a shocked expression.
"Of course not. I haven’t even made anything up yet. Everything before that was real."
Even so, even someone as emotionally restrained as Ruan Mei felt anger bubbling up.
Let alone Herta, whose temper was already bad to begin with.
The fact she hadn’t pulled out a giant hammer was proof of immense restraint.
"I do have my secrets. But I’m not obligated to tell you—especially you, Ruan Mei. We’re not even friends. Why do you think you have the right to be angry?"
Those words were like a bucket of cold water.
Ruan Mei’s anger was extinguished instantly.
"...You’re right. We’re not even friends. How could I justify being angry at you?"
She wasn’t even his friend—
Yet she wanted to pry into his secrets.
Wasn’t that arrogance?
Raiden Makoto looked at Ruan Mei, who now seemed quietly dejected, and felt a bit sympathetic.
Back in Inazuma, she’d never seen Su Ran treat anyone with such cold detachment.
Seeing someone receive that level of indifference made her, as a bystander, feel it was a little too much.
"Su Ran... aren’t you being a bit too cold to Miss Ruan Mei?"
"Am I? Ruan Mei’s emotions are naturally subdued for certain reasons. I don’t think this troubles her much—she doesn’t really care about these things anyway."
Su Ran pointed at Ruan Mei, who had already regained her composure.
On the surface, it looked like she truly didn’t care.
But that was only outwardly.
Emotional detachment didn’t mean no emotions.
The fluctuations were small—but the discomfort still existed.
She just wouldn’t show it.
"Relax, she treats you like her gran—no wait..."
Herta suddenly remembered this puppet was thousands of years old.
If anything, she could be Ruan Mei’s ancestor.
But then—why did she have breathing and a heartbeat?
Before Raiden Makoto could react, Herta leaned in and pressed her ear against Makoto’s chest.
"Hey!"
Makoto jumped in surprise.
"Nothing. Just checking."
Having confirmed Makoto was a living being, Herta didn’t ask further questions.
It was probably another one of Su Ran’s doing.
The sudden interruption also broke Makoto’s train of thought, reducing her sympathy for Ruan Mei somewhat.
"So... is it because of my emotional detachment that you treat me with such indifference?"
Ruan Mei believed she’d finally found the reason.
But how could that be something she could easily change?
No... maybe she could.
Human emotions were influenced by hormones.
If hormones could be controlled, then emotions could be controlled as well.
"Su Ran, I promise you—when we meet again, you’ll see a different me."
In the cold halls of the space station, Ruan Mei made her promise.
"I’ll be waiting."
Su Ran didn’t know what kind of change she planned to make—
But he found himself genuinely curious.
"Before I leave, I have one final question."
Ruan Mei’s clear eyes held not only hope, but also a trace of hidden fear.
"Would you be willing to research Aeons together with me?"
"I’d be happy to."
To prevent Ruan Mei from becoming a completely shut-in after rejection,
Su Ran accepted her request for collaboration.
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