Keqing had been out of Yanfei's place for a while now, and the more she thought about Yanfei's attitude, the more her head hurt.
Yanfei would still talk to her, sure—but the warmth was gone. Every sentence felt distant, like there was a wall between them.
When Keqing got back to the office, she found it empty. She frowned. "Where is he? Did he go out for something?"
She considered asking Ganyu for advice. Ganyu was simply better with people than she was.
Keqing went to Ganyu's office and knocked.
No answer.
She waited, knocked again, and still no one opened the door. When a staff member passed by, Keqing stopped him. "Did Ganyu go out today?"
"No," he said, shaking his head.
"She didn't?" Keqing's confusion deepened. "Then what is she doing in there?"
And Ryou wasn't in his office either.
Keqing's thoughts jumped, and her eyes narrowed.
Don't tell me…
Is my husband in there with her?
Did he finally get it?
She knocked again, louder this time.
Just as she raised her hand to knock once more, the door opened.
Ganyu stood there, her face faintly flushed, and something about her expression looked… off.
Keqing stepped inside immediately, scanning the room.
"Keqing—what's wrong?" Ganyu asked, startled when she saw Keqing searching around.
"I went back to my office and didn't see Ryou," Keqing said, still looking. "I thought he might've come here."
Then her gaze landed on the desk. "Wait… aren't those Bulle Fruit?"
Several Bulle Fruit sat there, and they were clearly infused with spiritual energy.
Only Ryou could do that.
And last night, when they were "watching the moon," Keqing had already noticed the Bulle Fruit trees could sprout and grow.
Which meant one thing.
Ryou had definitely been here just now.
The door had been closed.
And the answer was obvious.
"J-just now, Ryou stopped by," Ganyu said quickly, the caution in Keqing's eyes making her nervous. "He brought me some."
Keqing didn't move. "Then where is my husband? Is he still in your office?"
Ganyu hadn't even sat down yet, but Keqing beat her to the desk. Keqing leaned forward and looked underneath—carefully, suspiciously.
Nothing.
No one.
Had she guessed wrong?
"K-Keqing, what are you doing?" Ganyu forced a laugh, trying to keep it light. "He was here, but he left right away."
If Ryou hadn't warned her in time, Ganyu wouldn't have known Keqing was coming at all.
She'd only just managed to steady her breathing and smooth her expression. Now Keqing was this tense, this sharp—Ganyu's heart started pounding again.
What if Keqing noticed something?
If Keqing found out, everything would be over.
Her plans hadn't even started yet. If she confessed now, they wouldn't just stop being close—she'd lose Keqing entirely.
"Alright," Keqing said at last, glancing at the fruit again. Knowing Ryou, she decided she was probably overthinking it.
She sat down across from Ganyu and let out a small sigh. "Ganyu, I can't even bring myself to talk to Yanfei."
"What happened?" Ganyu asked.
"Yanfei and my husband got into it," Keqing said, laying it all out from start to finish. "And now I can't talk her down either."
Keqing's expression tightened. "If Yanfei digs her heels in, it'll be a nightmare. She's a legal adviser—she knows exactly where to look if she wants to find leverage."
"That… is a problem," Ganyu admitted. "If Yanfei decides she's right, changing her mind won't be easy."
She shook her head slowly. "I'll do what I can and talk to her, but… I wouldn't expect much."
Keqing's shoulders sank. "There's really no other way?"
"I'm afraid not," Ganyu said, almost apologetic.
…
While they were talking, Ryou used the small world to slip back into his office.
Thinking about what had just happened, he still felt a chill down his spine. He'd been a second away from disaster.
He was still distracted when Zhongli walked in.
"What is it?" Ryou asked.
"Someone wants to see you," Zhongli said. "He says his name is Albedo."
"Albedo's here?" Ryou straightened. "Send him in."
A moment later, Albedo walked inside.
"Albedo, what brings you here?" Ryou poured him a cup of tea.
He'd assumed Albedo would be with Xingqiu, discussing the lottery and the anti-counterfeiting work. He hadn't expected him to show up at Yujing Terrace instead.
Albedo took a sip and smiled. "I came to say goodbye. I've already explained the anti-counterfeiting plan to Xingqiu. He can handle the rest."
He set the cup down, calm as ever. "The commission is complete. It's time for me to return to Mondstadt."
"I see," Ryou said. "Then how much do you want for the commission?"
"Mora won't be necessary," Albedo replied. "Klee really likes your juice. If you could give me some as payment, that would be enough."
"That's easy," Ryou said, pulling several bottles out and setting them on the table. "I improved the formula, so the taste is better."
He added, almost apologetically, "There are ten bottles here. It's not that I don't want to give you more—I just don't have that much on hand."
"This is plenty," Albedo said with a nod.
"I'll walk you out," Ryou said, standing.
"In a while, Xingqiu will also be going to Mondstadt," he added. "When that happens, we can meet again."
"Sounds good," Albedo said. "Then I'll trouble you."
Ryou escorted Albedo and Klee to the exit. Only after they disappeared into the distance did he turn back.
Bringing Albedo in had been more than worth it.
Ten bottles of juice were easy to make, but if you called it a proper commission, Albedo's time alone wasn't cheap.
It surprised Ryou, honestly.
Repairing everything after that chaos should've taken a long time. The original Ministry office had only recovered about eighty percent—full restoration would still take days.
Albedo and his people had clearly spent a huge amount of manpower and resources, otherwise it wouldn't have been fixed so fast.
"You went out?" Keqing asked when she returned, looking straight at him.
"I walked Albedo out," Ryou said. "He went back to Mondstadt."
He moved to the chair across from her and sat down.
"He left that quickly?" Keqing was genuinely surprised. "You said you needed him for something important. It hasn't even been four days."
Ryou poured himself tea and took a slow sip. "Albedo has his own work in Mondstadt. He finished the commission, so he went back."
He smiled. "He only took some juice as payment. If he'd asked for an actual fee, it wouldn't have been cheap."
Keqing shook her head. "I don't know about that. Your juice might be easy for you to make, but it can save lives."
She still remembered the steward's condition. Without that juice, he might not have made it.
To Keqing, that payment wasn't light at all—it was heavy.
"Albedo doesn't think like that," Ryou said, amused. "To him, it's simple. Klee likes it, so he asked for it."
Keqing nodded slowly. "So that's what it was."
Ryou looked at her, grin turning playful. "Aren't you jealous? Klee's adorable. Want to work harder and make one of our own?"
"Absolutely not!" Keqing snapped, then immediately regretted how fast she'd said it.
She shot him a look. "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. I do want a child… but it has to be at the right time."
Of course she wanted a baby.
But if she got pregnant, then what about Ryou?
She'd already decided it: before she had a child, she needed to help Ryou "win" Ganyu.
Otherwise, he'd be forced to hold back for months. That wasn't healthy.
Ryou had already been considerate enough—too considerate. And the more he held himself back, the guiltier Keqing felt.
As a wife, she hadn't done what she was supposed to do.
She'd tried. She really had.
But Ryou and Ganyu still hadn't made any progress. They were stuck at "friends," and nothing was moving forward.
Ganyu's character was too good—too careful, too proper.
Keqing couldn't help thinking it.
If only you were a little worse.
I need you to help me carry some of this burden.
You two are going nowhere. You're just spinning in place.
"When's this 'right time'?" Ryou asked, curious.
"I can't tell you," Keqing said, dodging cleanly. "When I'm ready, I'll tell you."
Ryou was smart. He was just strangely hopeless when it came to women.
But if she said too much, who knew what he'd figure out?
"You're keeping secrets from me," Ryou said, standing and walking over.
He pulled her into his arms. "Tell me why."
"Let me get ready first," Keqing said softly.
Ryou studied her, then let it go. "Alright."
Keqing shot him a warning look. "You're impossible. Don't move."
Ryou didn't answer—but his reaction made her face heat up.
Why is he like this in the office?
Then Keqing remembered something and asked, "You brought Ganyu some Bulle Fruit?"
"Yeah," Ryou said. "I harvested some fruit recently, so I brought her a portion."
He added, "Later, come home with me. We'll bring some to my uncle too. And if we have time… we should probably see Yanfei again."
Even if it was annoying, women could be terrifying when they got stubborn.
If he solved one issue over here, Yanfei might immediately pounce on him from the other side. That kind of back-and-forth would be exhausting.
"I'll go with you," Keqing said. "But brace yourself. You really did make her furious."
She couldn't help complaining again. "If you'd explained yourself right after you arrested her, it might've been much easier."
"But you didn't go at all!"
"I had real business," Ryou said, coughing.
"Liar," Keqing snapped, glaring at him. "Your 'real business' was bullying me."
After they got home that day, he'd dragged her into the small world.
And the next time she came out…
It was already morning.
[End of chapter]
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