That shout was a little too loud.
A few customers chatting in the milk-tea shop all turned to look, their expressions turning… complicated.
A grown man making an elementary schooler cry—then getting pointed at and called a "bad guy"… the scene looked uncomfortably like something straight out of a legal-awareness TV show.
Kiana stared at Su Yu like he was trash, and couldn't help scooting her butt sideways, trying to draw a clear line between herself and him.
"Hey—bullying an elementary school kid like that… you're seriously going to get arrested."
"Ahem." Su Yu coughed twice, immediately wiped the villain grin off his face, and replaced it with an expression of righteous anguish and long-suffering martyrdom. He turned to Kiana.
"Kiana… this is all for you."
"Huh?"
"For our grand manga project—for you to get your footing in this world—I have no choice but to shoulder the infamy of being cursed as a big bad villain…"
He clutched his chest, tragic like he was about to die heroically.
"This is the adult world. It's full of helplessness… and sacrifice."
"Oh, spare me." Kiana's mouth twitched. She rolled her eyes and sucked down a huge mouthful of pearls, hard.
"Using me as a human shield. Have you got any shame?"
Su Yu spread his hands innocently.
Griseo watched the two weird adults bicker. The tears in her eyes hovered—ready to fall but not quite—while her expression shifted from panic to confusion.
What… exactly is the relationship between these two?
Kiana had already braced herself for Su Yu to keep pressing. She'd even started composing the words to tear into him.
But his next move made her freeze.
"Griseo." Su Yu's voice was much calmer now. The mocking pressure from a moment ago was gone. "I didn't show you those things to threaten you."
"Eh?" Griseo blinked, her big eyes still wet.
Even Kiana looked at him in surprise—like she was silently asking, Did your conscience finally wake up? Or did someone steal your heart?
"I just wanted you to know I already know who Huishi is," Su Yu said, "and I know how incredible she is."
He pushed the script back toward Griseo.
"If you truly don't want to draw this, I won't force you. And your secret—I'll keep it for you."
Griseo went blank.
She'd been ready to be forced by a "big bad villain." She'd even—quietly, wronged and resigned—accepted it in her heart.
But now this big bad villain was saying…
…he would respect her choice?
"…Why?" Griseo's voice was tiny, testing. "Su Yu-gege… why do you want this drawn?"
Su Yu didn't answer immediately.
His gaze drifted out the window, toward the street—toward a young mother holding her child's hand. He watched for a few seconds, then turned back.
"Because…"
"This is the story of a very important idiot friend of mine."
"She's been through a lot of terrible things. Some of them are so awful that… if you said them out loud, no one would believe you."
His finger tapped lightly on the script.
"But those things—those pains, those choices… they made her who she is now."
"I think they deserve to be recorded."
"Not as some heroic epic. Just… as proof that a person lived."
He paused, then added quietly, "And I think Teacher Huishi is the only one who can draw those colors."
Griseo's gaze moved back and forth between Su Yu and Kiana.
She looked at Kiana.
This white-haired big sister—ever since the very first glance—had been wrapped in an impossibly complicated palette: cold gray, scorching red… and a fragile pale gold that was almost invisible.
A combination Griseo had never seen before.
The sadness, distortion, despair described in the script… overlapped faintly with the "colors" she sensed in this big sister.
She reached out her small hand, picked up the script again, and carefully flipped through a few pages.
This time, her expression was even more focused. Her light-violet eyes reflected the words on the paper as though she were reading a painting's color composition.
A few minutes later, she closed the script and looked up.
"…Griseo will draw it."
This time, her voice held no grievance and no coercion—only a calm decision.
Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "You're sure? No pressure?"
"Mhm." Griseo nodded. "The colors in this story… are special. Griseo wants to paint them."
She hesitated, then added, "But in exchange—"
Su Yu mentally prepared himself for hush money or a massive snack gift set.
"—You and Big Sister Kiana have to take Griseo to the amusement park."
"Huh?"
Su Yu and Kiana both froze at the same time.
Griseo looked deadly serious, counting on her fingers. "Teacher said next month we have to hand in an essay. The topic is 'A Day Out for Fun.'"
"Aunt Mobius has been very busy in the lab lately, and Kosma has to prepare for exams… so only Su Yu-gege is free."
Su Yu's face collapsed instantly.
"Hey, hey—when you say it like that, it sounds like I'm some unemployed bum," he protested. "I'm a legitimate independent game developer, okay?"
"But Su Yu-gege plays games at home every day," Griseo said, blinking innocently. "Elysia-jiejie told me."
"That's work! Game testing! Market research!" Su Yu fought to salvage his dignity. "And what do you mean 'Elysia-jiejie'? She taught you to call her that?!"
Kiana couldn't hold it in—"pfft"—she laughed.
It was the first time she'd truly laughed all day, though she immediately pressed her lips together afterward.
Su Yu shot her a glare, then sighed in surrender.
"…Fine. Amusement park it is."
He looked at Griseo.
"But you have to draw the line art for Three-Year Sakura first. I need to check the quality."
"Deal." Griseo held out her pinky.
Su Yu helplessly hooked his finger with hers.
Griseo hugged the rest of her strawberry milkshake and sipped it in tiny mouthfuls, eyes curving into crescents.
"Then… when will Griseo start drawing?" Su Yu asked.
"Tonight." The little girl answered crisply. "Griseo already knows how to draw the first page. I'll use… a very deep blue, and a little bit of shattered pink."
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward Kiana again—like she was confirming the precision of a certain shade.
Kiana, made uncomfortable by the look, turned her face away.
Outside the window, the sun began to sink, coating the street in warm gold.
The after-school crowd had already dispersed, and the road returned to calm.
It was time to go home.
....
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