"Ganyu… I'm starting to think you're not the Ganyu I knew anymore," Ryou said, his voice coming out a little more wounded than he intended.
Ganyu's face burned. She lowered her voice. "I've figured things out. I believe you'll marry me eventually."
"Taking a little 'interest' in advance isn't unfair, right?"
"Besides, you made me worry and panic before. It's only reasonable that I take a little advantage back."
Ryou rolled his eyes. As if I'm the one who made you worry.
Why does Ganyu suddenly feel… more and more unreasonable?
Kissing her did feel good, but with Keqing right here at home, Ryou didn't dare say much.
"I'm not talking to you anymore," Ganyu said, turning away. "I'm going inside to treat Keqing."
She quickly headed into the inner room—Ryou's slightly resentful stare was making her squirm.
Once Ganyu was gone, Ryou finished his tea in one gulp and looked out toward the street.
Liyue Harbor was lively today. Several new specialty shops had opened lately, too.
Perfect. He was definitely buying a few more outfits for Keqing while he had the chance. Otherwise, it'd be like the evening dresses—once they were washed, they wouldn't dry for ages, and that was just inconvenient.
Not long after, Ganyu and Keqing came back out together.
They'd only done light makeup, but they were both stunning. Ryou had to force himself to look away.
He coughed and stepped forward. "Alright, let's go."
"Mm." Keqing walked up and hugged his arm.
The moment they stepped out, Liyue's bustling energy hit them head-on. Vendors called out from every direction, and the streets were so packed it was almost shoulder-to-shoulder.
Down below was Feiyun Slope—busy as ever. The crowd was thick, and Ryou even spotted someone holding a guitar and singing at the top of their lungs.
The voice carried ridiculously far. People gathered around, chattering, and some were listening like they'd been enchanted.
But the singing kept getting louder and louder, and within moments, a few Millelith had already moved in.
"Is that… Xinyan?" Keqing recognized the singer immediately. That booming voice was hard to forget.
"You know her?" Ryou asked.
"Yeah. She's a rock singer—pretty well-known around Liyue Harbor," Keqing explained. "She looks loud and wild, but a lot of people really love her."
"Whenever there's a holiday, she comes out to perform."
"But you can hear it. It's too loud. People complain to the Millelith all the time. This isn't the first time it's happened."
Keqing paused, then said, "Let's go take a look. I'm acquainted with her. If I can help, I'll say a word for her."
"Sure." Ryou nodded.
"Officer, I admit I got too loud just now—sorry," Xinyan pleaded to the Millelith. "Can you let me finish my set before you take me away?"
"I finally grabbed a good spot. If I leave, I'm losing it for nothing!"
She'd worked hard just to claim that place. Of course she wanted to perform properly.
She'd just gotten too fired up, her volume spiked, and someone reported her.
It wasn't the first time, but still—getting hauled off now would be a disaster.
Liyue didn't have that many major festivities. Even though the Rite of Descension had been postponed, Liyue Harbor was still packed with travelers and visitors.
She couldn't waste a chance like this.
But the Millelith weren't budging. In the end, Xinyan could only sigh.
"Fine, fine. I'm unlucky. I'll go with you to the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
"Wait." A clear voice cut through the crowd.
Keqing stepped forward.
The Millelith jolted when they saw the three of them. "Keqing… Keqing-sama! Ryou-sama! And… Ganyu-sama!"
These were not ordinary people. Ryou and Keqing ran the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and Ganyu oversaw Yujing Terrace. Any one of them had connections all over Liyue.
"Keqing-sama!" Xinyan was stunned too. Then her eyes flicked to the man beside Keqing, and she immediately guessed who he was.
So that's her husband. Handsome, too.
"I noticed from up there," Keqing said evenly. "Liyue Harbor is crowded and lively today, and this spot is a good one."
"It'd be a shame to take it away from her over this."
"Let's leave it at a warning. Give Xinyan a chance. How about that?"
"Yes, Keqing-sama," the Millelith answered without hesitation.
"Thank you, Keqing-sama! I'll definitely watch my volume!" Xinyan said quickly.
"It's fine," Keqing replied. "Your singing has great rhythm. Just turn it down a little, that's all."
"I will, I will!" Xinyan nodded hard.
"Then keep performing. We won't bother you," Keqing said. Then she hugged Ryou's arm again. "Ryou, let's go."
Ryou nodded and followed.
They hadn't gone far before the chatter behind them got even louder—mostly envy.
Ryou pinched Keqing's cheek. "You know, you just invited me a lot of trouble."
"Hmph. I did not." Keqing snorted.
"Fine. I'll deal with you later."
Ryou pointed toward a shop ahead. Only part of it was visible from this angle—you'd have to turn the corner to see it fully.
"That's a new shop, isn't it?" Ganyu asked.
"Probably," Keqing said.
They stepped inside.
Keqing's eyes landed immediately on a white-and-black outfit on display.
A miko outfit.
She remembered what Ryou had said before, and her face instantly heated.
The shop owner noticed where Keqing was staring and made a slightly odd face. She walked over and explained, "That miko outfit is from Inazuma."
"I originally bought it for my daughter. She wanted to serve at the Grand Narukami Shrine."
"But she changed plans and went into boutique work instead, so it ended up staying with me."
"If you like it, I can give you a discount."
"Ah… I…" Keqing's cheeks went bright red. She didn't know what to say.
Ryou cleared his throat, smiling at the owner. "That outfit looks great. Please take it down so my wife can try it on."
"Of course." The owner took it down and handed it to him.
Ryou took Keqing's hand and led her toward the fitting room. He leaned close and whispered, "Keqing, looks like you really took my words to heart."
"Since you asked for this outfit, it doesn't count as the 'one outfit' you owe me."
"What? No!" Keqing glared at him. "I didn't ask for anything. You're the one who brought it over!"
"Alright, alright," Ryou said softly. "Go try it on. You don't have to come out—just tell me if it fits."
"Huh?" Keqing blinked, then laughed. "You really are petty."
She understood immediately—Ryou didn't want anyone else seeing her in a miko outfit.
Ryou pinched her cheek. "Of course I am. You're my wife. Why would I let anyone else look?"
"Go on and try it. Want me to help you?"
"No!" Keqing snatched the outfit from him and shoved him aside, then hurried into the fitting room.
Ryou shook his head, then turned—only to find Ganyu staring at him.
He coughed. "If you like that kind of outfit, I'll buy you one too."
"That's more like it." Ganyu's tone was dead serious. "You can't play favorites. You have to treat everyone equally."
Ryou didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
You might be confident you can persuade Keqing, but right now, nothing's even happened between us. How am I supposed to 'treat everyone equally'?
Still, with Ganyu looking at him like that, he could only play along. "Relax. I'm not the type to get excited over someone new and neglect someone else."
"I'll be fair."
He looked around the shop. "So what do you like?"
"Clothes?" Ganyu thought for a moment. "I'm not too picky. How about you pick something for me?"
She looked to him.
A lot of the outfits here had an exotic flair—showing far more skin than Liyue fashion usually did. Some were bold enough to make anyone blush.
They were beautiful, sure, but wearing them out in public would be… questionable.
Ryou scanned the racks, then settled on a light-blue short dress.
The embroidery and stitching on the upper part were excellent, but the hem was much shorter than most people in Liyue would be comfortable with.
It had been placed toward the back, like it was being hidden. The style was great, but clearly no one wanted to buy it.
"You want that one?" the shop owner asked, surprised.
"Mm." Ryou nodded. "It looks well-made. If it's this good, why is it tucked away in the back?"
"That can't be helped," the owner said. "People in Liyue are more conservative than other places."
"And these designs came from a Fontaine fashion designer, so they're bolder."
"A Fontaine designer…" Ryou asked. "You mean the one named Chiori?"
"Yes." The owner smiled. "Chiori-san is incredible—her taste and skill are top-tier."
"My daughter is learning from her. I picked up a few tricks too, little by little."
"So that's how it is." Ryou nodded.
Chiori was well-known in both Inazuma and Fontaine. A dress like this made sense.
Fontaine's style was completely different from Liyue's—and Natlan would be even more so. Of course sales here weren't great.
Ryou turned to Ganyu. "Take a look. If it fits, I'll buy it. But don't try it on here."
"Mm… alright." Ganyu held it up, her face warming as she gauged the size. After a quick mental check, she nodded. "I can wear it."
"Then I'll take it." Ryou turned to the owner.
"Alright." The owner nodded, but her expression shifted slightly as she looked at him. She didn't say anything, though.
A man bringing two women shopping, buying outfits for one of them in a hush-hush way… it was easy to imagine what people would assume.
The only reason she kept quiet was because she was the shop owner.
Still, she was already thinking she'd say a few words to Keqing later.
She hated men like this—especially when he clearly had something going on with the woman beside him, while the woman inside changing clothes was being kept in the dark.
[End of chapter]
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