Zack was feeling a bit of a headache.
Was his junior a little… dense?
What is he doing? There's such a cute girl in front, pretty and sweet-sounding, and he's not even trying to make a move...
Wait a minute—what exactly did this guy mean by "do" her?
Does he mean it literally?
Zack turned around, his face full of complexity as he looked at Su Ye, only to find him gazing far at the girl in the church, his face showing an indescribable expression.
There was awe, joy, longing, and even a hint of guilt.
Zack scratched his head, unsure why he could read so many expressions on Su Ye's face. Normally, he wasn't this perceptive.
"That girl over there, do you know her?"
Finally, Zack spoke, clearly very interested in the range of expressions on Su Ye's face.
A man not interested in the beauty ahead but instead concerned with another man's facial expressions? Now that's a real man!
Su Ye turned. "You don't?"
Zack shook his head, then nodded.
"I know her. She's the target we're supposed to monitor, but she doesn't know me..."
As soon as these words came out, Su Ye was a bit confused.
Aerith was the number-two heroine in Final Fantasy VII, and nearly stole Cloud away from Tifa.
Perhaps to prevent such an event, the writers arranged for her to die for Cloud, getting her "written off" early?
In the story, Aerith was the one Zack entrusted to Cloud before dying.
His line was something like: "I'm done for… take care of your sister-in-law for me."
And Cloud, the protagonist, the most popular character in the entire Final Fantasy series, certainly didn't disappoint Zack.
Under his care, Aerith not only overcame the shadow of Zack's death but also left her past behind and began a new, radiant life.
And naturally, she fell in love with Cloud—the one who cared for her.
A widow falling for her charming brother-in-law—it's a classic movie trope.
The whole grieving widow story, blah blah blah…
If Zack knew this outcome from the grave, I wonder if he'd feel satisfied.
Of course, that was the game's story. In this DLC, Su Ye realized—Zack and Aerith hadn't even fallen in love yet.
No love-at-first-sight, no bond over a flower cart, no lifelong vows.
So… didn't that mean he still had a shot?
Cough! Isn't that a bit heartless?
He already had a whole fish pond at home, overflowing with lovely fish, and he was still eyeing someone else's bowl? Was that really okay?
Su Ye turned to Zack, wanting to say something.
But Zack suddenly smacked him on the shoulder.
"Kid, don't be embarrassed. It's natural to pursue beautiful things—men are born to love beautiful women. I totally get that!"
"And don't hold back just because she's our surveillance target. HQ hasn't issued any special instructions—we're just doing routine observation."
"Outside of surveillance, all our actions are up to us, including interacting with the target!"
"You get what I'm saying?"
Zack fully played the big-brother role, smiling as he spoke.
Su Ye dumbly shook his head. He really wasn't sure what Zack was getting at.
"You're so dumb, rookie!"
Zack kicked Su Ye in frustration.
"If you like her, go for it! Don't say I never helped you—now I'm assigning you a mission. Go make contact with the target. Without exposing Shinra's mission, get as much useful information from her as you can."
"Include things like background, family, occupation, age, height, measurements… and so on."
"This is the first mission I've given you as your big brother. Do you have the confidence to complete it?"
Seeing Zack's serious expression, Su Ye couldn't help but speak.
"Are you serious?"
"What do you think!" Zack raised his hand as if ready to give Su Ye a smack, his face expressing firmness with no sign of hesitation or reluctance.
"But, that girl is really pretty. Don't you want to…"
This was Su Ye's final rational plea. If Zack showed even a hint of affection for Aerith, Su Ye would back off and bless the star-crossed lovers.
However, there was no change in Zack's face at all.
"You little brat, why are you asking so many questions! I'm your big brother, do you really need to worry about my business?"
"Get going, that's an order!"
"I…" Su Ye chose to remain silent.
Although Su Ye didn't understand why Zack was so firm in showing no interest in Aerith, he completely understood Zack's intentions.
And since Zack had said all this, if Su Ye kept questioning him, wouldn't that be wasting his big brother's good intentions?
"Alright, I'll go now."
Su Ye turned to carry out the mission: probe Aerith, learn her details and her depths.
Just as he turned, Zack suddenly called him back.
"Wait a second!"
"What? Having second thoughts? I knew you were the type of guy who says one thing and means another…" Su Ye turned around with a mocking expression.
But Zack pointed to the Buster sword on Su Ye's back.
"Give me the sword. Going to talk to a girl with this thing on your back—are you afraid she won't know something's off with you?"
"Uh…"
One minute later, Su Ye entered the church.
The moment he stepped inside, Su Ye suddenly felt as though his entire being had been cleansed.
This was the slums, a place synonymous with dirt, chaos, and degradation.
But for some unknown reason, the entire environment of this slum gave off a very oppressive and dark vibe. There was not a single hint of green, and everything—from the dilapidated buildings to the zombie-like people—felt incredibly bleak.
But right in the middle of this bleakness stood a church.
The church itself wasn't bright or fancy—in fact, it was a bit rundown.
But inside the church, countless plants and various flowers were growing.
The vast greenery, dotted with vibrant colors, suddenly brought sunlight to this dark and oppressive land, making the world feel alive again.
A thought flashed in Su Ye's mind.
"I really want to roll around on the grass here!"
It would be even better if someone else joined in.
With the sky as a blanket, the earth as a bed...
"Hello!"
Seeing someone enter, Aerith smiled and walked up to greet him.
"May I help you with something?"
Su Ye looked at Aerith, who stood just a short distance away, gazing at her flawless face and listening to her gentle voice. In his mind, he couldn't help but compare her to Tifa.
Appearance, temperament, and figure.
His conclusion?
Aside from being slightly smaller in the chest, Aerith was the perfect girlfriend, every bit Tifa's equal.
Seriously, Cloud really hit the jackpot—two beautiful girls, both his girlfriends.
One even went from being his bro's girl to his own—double the sweetness!
Tsk tsk!
But it's fine, now everything belongs to Su Ye.
After seeing Aerith up close, Su Ye found no reason to give up on her.
Zack himself had given up, so there was no need to consider his feelings.
As for Tifa, she was a generous woman and would likely feel sympathy for Aerith's delicate persona. They should get along well, right?
Su Ye wasn't entirely sure, but that didn't stop him from imagining the possibilities.
"Sir? Sir?"
Noticing Su Ye staring silently, Aerith felt a bit awkward and called out to him.
"May I help you with something?"
"Oh, sorry," Su Ye said, snapping out of his thoughts. "Sorry—I was staring. That was rude of me."
He scratched his head and put on an apologetic smile, looking like a naive, clumsy boy.
Aerith immediately smiled back. "It's nothing. I just felt a little uneasy."
This world wasn't fair.
Many people naturally feel a sense of fondness and are more forgiving toward those with good looks.
Some actor with bad press gets slammed, while a prettier one gets fan forgiveness.
Even that celebrity who had nothing but face and has been in jail for over a year still has fans waiting for his release.
Some clueless girls even started a foundation to break him out…
Whether that's an education failure or social values issue, we won't go into.
What I want to point out here is that appearance plays a crucial and decisive role in the first meeting between a man and a woman.
What's called love at first sight—it's just a more poetic way of saying "lust at first glance."
If Baoqiang wasn't famous and didn't have money, would Ma Jinlian fall for him at first sight?
Liking beautiful things is human nature, so there's no need to overcomplicate this.
In the church, seeing Aerith smile, Su Ye felt like he was already halfway there.
As a self-proclaimed "player" and scoundrel, Su Ye still maintained professional conduct.
At this moment, he had completely pushed Tifa, Gwen, and others out of his mind. There was no guilt or burden—his heart was fully focused on Aerith.
A classic statement from the entertainment world: "I've loved many people, but each one, I loved with all my heart."
Su Ye was the same.
"Well, I never expected to find such a beautiful place in this slum. It's really a pleasant surprise," Su Ye scratched his head, trying to ease the awkwardness.
"Did you plant all these flowers and plants?"
When Aerith heard Su Ye compliment the flowers and plants, a smile immediately spread across her face.
"Yes, I planted all of these."
"That's amazing!" Su Ye praised her sincerely.
"Would you mind showing me around? If it's not too much trouble, I'd love to hear the story behind each of the plants and flower."
"The flowers and plants don't have any stories. They just grow naturally!"
"But the person who grows them has a story. Without careful cultivation, how could these beautiful flowers and plants exist?"
Aerith's face blossomed with a charming smile.
These flowers and plants didn't just grow wildly. It took a lot of effort from Aerith to grow them in this barren slum.
Today, someone finally noticed her work, acknowledged her efforts, and was even interested in her story.
What's more, this person was handsome, seemed to have a good personality, and spoke so kindly.
In that moment, naive Aerith felt like she might have met her destined one.
Aerith wasn't the type to fall in love easily, nor was she a love-struck girl. It's just that fate works in mysterious ways.
In the original story, Aerith fell in love with Zack at first sight, and their relationship was established in no time.
Now, Zack was replaced by Su Ye, and just like in the original, she had started to develop feelings for him.
"This flower is called..."
Aerith began to act as a guide, explaining the origins of the flowers in the church. Each flower had a story.
The stories varied in size, but they were all tied to Aerith's sorrowful life experiences.
In the original, Aerith was a Cetra—an ancient who could communicate with the planet and draw upon the Lifestream.
That's why she could grow flowers and plants in a church in the slums.
In this Marvel universe, Aerith's identity was likely that of Ego's child, an illegitimate daughter.
Making her and Star-Lord half-siblings.
Ego was worse than Mitsumasa Kido—
Kido only spread his seed across Earth. Ego seeded the entire universe.
And after all that, he even sent space pirates to different planets to collect his illegitimate children, to see if they inherited his power.
Those who inherited the genes were kept, while the rest were all killed.
Ego's ruthlessness and ambition made Kido look like a saint.
The Aerith in front of Su Ye was one of Ego's many children.
And she was one of the two children who inherited some of his abilities—the other being Star-Lord.
But here's the problem: after hundreds of years, only two children inherited Ego's abilities, but one was taken by Yondu, and the other was abandoned on Xandar to fend for herself.
Ego spent hundreds of years, and for what? Nothing.
Star-Lord aside, maybe Aerith got left behind because Xandar cracked down too hard on pirates, so they couldn't retrieve her?
None of that matters now.
Since Su Ye was here, no one would take Aerith—pirates, Ego, or Shinra included.
That was a promise.
After listening to all of Aerith's flower stories and her own life tale, Su Ye suddenly turned to leave. "Wait a second, I'm going out for a moment, I'll be right back."