Then, when Fu Lin whispered something and Kosma's face turned red, her eyes grew even bigger.
She coughed dryly.
"Ahem! Fu Lin, Kosma, what are you two doing?"
But inside, a storm of emotions raged as she clutched her face, unable to bear looking directly at them, 'Could it be that Fu Lin is gay? Then what was the point of me and Kiana? But… why do I feel like shipping them…'
'No, wait, what am I thinking?!'
-----------------------------
Fu Lin heard Mei's shout, turned his head to look, and then silently let go of Kosma's cheeks when he saw Mei's slightly surprised and puzzled expression.
"Mei, why are you here?!"
Fu Lin wrapped an arm around Kosma's neck, winked at him, and then explained to Mei, "Kosma and I were just having a conversation, right, Kosma?"
Kosma blinked blankly at Fu Lin but still went along with his words, "…Yeah, Fu Lin is going to find Kalpas, and I was a little worried…."
Mei walked over to Aponia and Griseo behind her. When she saw the painting on Griseo's canvas, her eyes widened in shock, "Griseo, is this…?"
Without looking up, Griseo continued painting and slowly replied, "It's Kosma and Uncle Fu Lin."
Mei, "..."
Hearing that Griseo was painting him, Fu Lin immediately let go of Kosma, excitedly ran over to Griseo's side, and wanted to see how she depicted him.
"..."
But when he saw himself and Kosma in the painting, he fell silent. He turned 45 degrees to gaze at the starry sky. If he had a cigarette, he would have lit one to soothe his wounded heart.
"…What's wrong?"
Kosma also walked up to Griseo and looked at the painting, only to feel his vision darken, "..."
Griseo stopped her brush, looked up at Kosma, and asked, "Kosma, what do you think?"
Facing Griseo's innocent eyes, Kosma pressed his lips together and encouraged her, "…Not bad."
Fu Lin, "..." Kosma, I never expected you to be this kind of person!
Mei, "..."
Griseo nodded, studying the painting with a thoughtful look. "I think it's pretty good too, but something feels missing…?"
Out of nowhere, Elysia and Fairy Ellie popped up and stared at the painting of Fu Lin on the canvas.
"Aww, is this little Griseo's new painting? It's really nice," Elysia praised.
"If you could make your dear Uncle Fu Lin look a bit more mature, it would be even better," Fairy Ellie suggested, covering her eyes shyly. "So embarrassing~"
Griseo nodded in half-understanding, then looked at Fairy Ellie with some confusion. "That does seem to be the case… Thank you, Elysia—huh? There are two Elysia's?"
Fairy Ellie reintroduced herself, "I'm a fairy from La~La~ Land and also the administrator of the Elysium Archives!"
"Mm, Griseo will remember." Griseo nodded and then turned back to her painting. "Next, I'll deepen Uncle Fu Lin's eyes a bit more."
Mei raised an eyebrow, only now noticing what Griseo was calling Fu Lin. She glanced at Fu Lin's face and asked, puzzled, "You call Fu Lin… uncle?"
Griseo, "Mm."
Mei pressed further, "Why?"
Griseo, "..."
Elysia covered her mouth and giggled, "Hahaha, Mei, don't make things difficult for little Griseo."
Aponia, watching Elysia's bright smile, sighed, "Elysia, seeing your smile as radiant as ever… truly brings peace to the heart."
Elysia waved a hand and smiled mischievously. "It's the same for me, Aponia. Seeing you always makes me so happy!"
...
After the painting was completed…
Elysia clutched her stomach, laughing without restraint, clapping as she praised, "Little Griseo, this is amazing! Hahaha! Fu Lin, don't you want to take a look?"
Fu Lin shot a resentful glance at Elysia. "I can't bear to look at this 'masterpiece.' Of course, if you replaced Kosma with a beautiful girl, I might consider keeping it."
Ahem! Getting sidetracked.
(Friendly reminder: Shipping everything indiscriminately will only lead to disaster!)
Elysia clasped her hands behind her back, leaned close to Fu Lin with a teasing smile, and asked, "So, dear Fu Lin, who would you like to replace Kosma with? Mei? That mysterious Kiana you've never met? Or… me?"
Fu Lin casually placed his hands in his pockets, gazed at Elysia's mischievous grin, and lightly ran his tongue over his molars. "How about all of you together?"