"Ah, it must be Director Hu Tao. I invited her today as well!" Yanfei looked toward the door. When she had gone to check on the warehouse earlier, she had also stopped by Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Hu Tao was so cute and lively, and she already knew the Yakshas. It only made sense to invite her over.
Actually, she had invited a few others too, but most had politely declined due to other commitments. Understandable.
"Hu Tao?" Bonanus tilted her head. She hadn't expected Yanfei to invite that lively little gremlin. Looks like today was going to be quite eventful.
"Oh? The director's coming? I had no idea." Bosacius said, surprised. After all, he was currently staying at Wangsheng.
"You were probably out at your post at the time, Bosacius. You can't be sitting at Wangsheng all day." Menogias smiled.
"True." Bosacius nodded.
"Even a child could figure that out with a little thought." Bonanus teased. Suddenly, her big brother seemed like a total goofball.
"Ahem..." Bosacius cleared his throat awkwardly. Getting called out by his little sister again. How embarrassing.
"Can't believe you didn't figure that out yourself." Alatus said flatly, arms crossed.
"Ouch. That hurts coming from someone who couldn't even clean a fish."
Bosacius shot back immediately. From now on, whenever Alatus tried to act smart, he would use this comeback. He had finally caught Alatus's embarrassing moment.
"Tch." Alatus clicked his tongue and closed his eyes, saying nothing.
He knew from today onward, Bosacius would use this incident to tease him constantly. That was just how his brother was.
"Haha! Look at you now!" Bosacius laughed loudly.
While they were talking, Yanfei had already reached the door.
She opened it and welcomed the adorable director inside.
"Hehe! I'm here! Did you miss me, Yanfei!" Hu Tao burst in with a bright, mischievous smile.
As she spoke, she hugged Yanfei. The two seemed quite close.
Watching this, Bonanus nodded. Seems like these two had developed a good relationship. She wondered if it would go even further.
"Alright, so did you bring a gift or not?" Yanfei asked with a smile.
Hearing that, Hu Tao excitedly pulled a card from her pocket. This was a good one—she had really gone all out this time!
"Of course! This gift is no joke—a free one-time full-service experience at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor..."
Just as she was about to say the last word of "voucher," Yanfei's warning glare stopped her.
Yanfei's look clearly said: "If you dare say that out loud, you'll regret it."
"Uh... just kidding..."
Hu Tao said pitifully. Yanfei's expression was so fierce. This was the first time she had seen her like this.
Seeing Hu Tao's face, Yanfei shook her head helplessly. Today was a celebration. If you actually pulled that out, you'd make everyone angry. I'm looking out for you.
"Actually, since I heard it's an adeptus's birthday, I specially designed a set of Wangsheng work uniforms! We'd love to have an adeptus join our team!"
Hu Tao pulled out a box containing a Wangsheng uniform, her face beaming.
"You!"
Yanfei clenched her teeth. This Hu Tao! When the voucher didn't work, she went straight for the uniform! Trying to trick Sister Bonanus into working for her?
With that thought, Yanfei didn't hesitate to give Hu Tao a light smack on the head.
There was nothing wrong with this.
Ever since they became friends, Yanfei would often invite Hu Tao out to chat or hang out in her free time.
Their relationship was no longer ordinary.
"Ow! That hurts! What was that for?!" Hu Tao held her head, feeling like smoke was about to rise from it.
"You're asking me? Look at what you just did!" Yanfei crossed her arms, pretending to be angry.
"Pfft..." Hu Tao covered her head and stuck out her tongue at Yanfei.
Seeing that, a vein bulged on Yanfei's forehead. She smiled kindly and prepared to give the director another smack.
"Alright, enough with the domestic violence." Bonanus laughed, gently holding Yanfei's hand before she could strike again.
She took the box from Hu Tao and said with genuine appreciation, "Thank you for the gift, Director Hu Tao. I'll wear this to Wangsheng sometime."
"It's a deal! Come experience life with us sometime!" Hu Tao said happily. She hadn't expected it to be so easy!
"Sigh, what can I say." Yanfei shrugged with a sigh.
"I actually invited Zhongli to come too!"
"But the guy disappeared somewhere. I couldn't find him anywhere." Hu Tao shook her head.
"He did ask me to bring a gift for the adeptus, though."
Hu Tao pulled out a jade-green stone from her pocket. It looked delicate, with beautiful veins running through it.
"Ahem, this jade was found in a cave during my travels. It has absorbed the spiritual energy of the mountains, and over the long years, blah blah blah, something something."
Hu Tao tried to repeat Zhongli's words, but she forgot the rest halfway through.
"Thank you. I'm very happy." Bonanus accepted the jade. A gift from the God of Contracts himself. How nice.
"Hehe, glad you like it!" Hu Tao smiled sweetly.
Just as they were chatting, Bosacius walked up to Hu Tao. He put his hands on his hips with the look of a victor.
"Yo, director. How about a game of chess while we wait for the last dish?"
"Hmph! Bring it on! As long as you don't cheat like last time!"
Hu Tao crossed her arms. Just because she lost one game of chess didn't mean he could gloat.
The big one and the little one went off to play chess. The others gathered around Menogias, watching the ultimate domestic man at work and enjoying the aroma.
Watching the man cook so seriously, Yanfei suddenly spoke up.
"I remember Senior Ganyu is supposed to come later too." Yanfei scratched her head.
"Ah? Maybe we should call it off? Ganyu's a busy person." Bonanus shook her head.
"That's what I thought too, but I still tried inviting her. I didn't expect her to agree." Yanfei rubbed her chin.
"Senior Ganyu said that birthdays are one of the most important days in a person's life. Even for adepti, that's true. She also said she'd bring gifts." Yanfei recalled their conversation earlier.
"That's... not ideal. We barely have any vegetarian dishes." Bonanus looked back at the meat-heavy table, a knowing smile on her face.
"Indeed. The Qilin are very particular about their diet. But I didn't just prepare meat dishes. There are salads too." Yanfei smiled.
"Besides, if you invite someone, you should also prepare the food they like."
"Ah, there goes the fun." Bonanus said, disappointed.
"Hmm?" Menogias, Yanfei, and Alatus all looked at her in confusion. What fun? What was she planning?
"Haha... nothing, nothing. Carry on." Bonanus touched her horns and laughed awkwardly.