"R-Ryou... what are you trying to do?" Xiangling's voice was trembling.
She liked him. She really did.
But him dragging her off toward some deserted place like this—what was that supposed to mean?
Was he planning to do something bad to her?
And this place was way too remote. Even if he really wanted to do something... it definitely wouldn't be comfortable here...
Wah—
What am I even thinking?!
Ryou shot Xiangling a look.
What was going on in that head of hers? Did she really think he was that kind of man?
Besides, she kept rubbing against him like that. The fire in him had only just gone down, and she had practically stirred it right back up.
He sped up and flew toward the farmland near Yaoyao's house.
But the more he thought about Xiangling's frightened, pleading expression, the hotter he felt. She just looked far too easy to bully. And with how tightly she was clinging to him, every little touch felt like a spark landing on dry tinder.
Xiangling heard his heavy breathing and immediately thought back to what had just happened. She lowered her head, but the moment her eyes landed on him, her whole face flushed as if it had caught fire.
She turned her face away and forced herself to calm down.
"R-Ryou, let's hurry and get there."
"Alright."
Ryou slowly got himself back under control and put a little more distance between them.
Knock, knock, knock.
A pretty little girl opened the door. The moment she saw Ryou and Xiangling standing there, surprise filled her face.
"R-Ryou-sama! Xiangling! What are you doing here?"
That one soft little "Ryou-sama" hit him in a strangely satisfying way.
Yaoyao was small and adorable to begin with, but when she looked up at him with those bright eyes and called him that, it was hard not to think a little too much.
"Yaoyao? You're alright?" Xiangling asked at once.
"I was always fine," Yaoyao said, scratching her head in confusion.
Xiangling rested her chin on her hand and muttered, "If it's not Yaoyao, then who could it be? Inazuma's still locked down, so Shinobu shouldn't be able to come from there. If it's not her, then who are we even looking for?"
"Let's head back and ask Yanfei properly," Ryou said. "This one's on me. I was being too cautious, so I got everyone worked up for nothing."
"Okay." Xiangling nodded.
"Be careful on the way back," Yaoyao said. Then, as if something had just occurred to her, she looked at Ryou with shining eyes. "And... Ryou-sama, thank you for saving Liyue Harbor. I saw it. You crushed three gods by yourself. You were amazing!"
The scene from yesterday was burned deep into Yaoyao's mind.
Ryou really had not expected someone this smart and well-behaved to be such an enthusiastic fan of his.
He crouched down and patted her on the head.
"Yaoyao really knows how to talk. Here, take this bottle of juice as a little gift."
"Thank you, thank you, Ryou-sama!" Yaoyao hugged the bottle happily.
Ryou smiled and ruffled her hair again. Compared to girls like Klee, Qiqi, or Sayu, Yaoyao wasn't spoiled at all.
She was thoughtful, sensible, and even knew how to take care of other people. It was only natural for someone like that to be liked.
As long as that kind of liking stayed innocent, anyway.
On the way back, Xiangling kept glancing at Ryou from the corner of her eye.
Her heart felt heavy.
At some point, without even noticing it, she had fallen for him.
The words her father had said before were still clear in her mind. At the time, she had felt both happy and miserable. After living all these years, she had never liked a man before. Plenty had pursued her, but she had never felt anything for them.
And now, after finally falling for someone and thinking she might get to taste what love was like...
he turned out to be married.
So this was it?
Her first love was over before it had even begun?
Xiangling felt miserable.
Why did she have to meet Ryou so late?
With her head lowered, she kept walking, her thoughts a mess.
Then, without warning, she felt her arm tugged backward.
Before she could react, she stumbled straight into Ryou's arms.
Something seemed to explode inside her head.
She suddenly remembered a story a friend had once told her—about a young couple, where the boy pulled the girl into his arms when she wasn't paying attention, looked down at her, and then slowly kissed her.
That scene began replaying over and over in Xiangling's mind.
Would Ryou do the same now?
Would he pull her close... lower his head... and kiss her?
B-But this is still my first kiss...
Ryou felt the soft warmth of a young girl in his arms, along with her sweet scent, and instantly sensed that troublesome fire threatening to surge up again.
Just as he was about to say something, he noticed Xiangling leaning forward slightly, almost like she was waiting for him to kiss her.
He looked at the pillar in front of them and fell silent.
He had only pulled her back to stop her from walking straight into it.
So why did it look like she was waiting for him to kiss her instead?
If this had been the old him, he really might have gone through with it. Xiangling clearly liked him, and she still had no formal engagement of her own.
But now he was a married man.
He already had Keqing, and then there was Ganyu too. How could he do something like that?
So instead, he tapped Xiangling on the forehead.
"Didn't you see the pillar in front of you?"
"Ah... I..."
Xiangling's whole face burned like she had swallowed a Jueyun Chili whole. Hot, spicy, and unbearably intense.
What had she just been thinking?
Seeing her like this, Ryou could only steady her and keep her from bumping into anything else. But the moment he held her, the fire inside him didn't die down at all. It only got worse.
Just now, she had almost walked into a pillar.
And now she had run straight into him.
Ryou hesitated for a moment, then said quietly, "I'm flattered, but you should know I've already married Keqing. We were never going to work. I hope you meet a good man someday. We're not suited for each other."
Xiangling felt as though she were standing atop the peaks of Jueyun Karst, those towering mountains that rose into the clouds and had stood for thousands of years. Even looking up, you could never see where they ended.
Her mind went blank.
Everything around her seemed to go silent.
The only thought left in her head was—I'm done for.
How could this bad man treat me like this?
"Xiangling, did you understand what I just said?" Ryou asked.
He knew Xiangling was a good girl, and he didn't want her to keep having ideas about him.
Seriously, what was with all these women staring at him like this?
Ningguang, that mature beauty, had been shooting him looks and saying she was bringing wine to his house. Xiangling was like this now. Yanfei was acting strange too. And then there was Shenhe...
If he weren't already married, he probably would've been so happy he wouldn't have been able to sleep.
But he was married.
Keqing treated him so well, and on top of that, he was already hiding his relationship with Ganyu from her. He absolutely could not allow any more trouble.
He was just a pure-hearted young man who wanted to devote himself to Keqing.
So why was everyone so determined to make him into a scumbag?
"Oh... okay."
Xiangling answered in a daze.
Truthfully, her mind had been running wild the whole time, and she barely remembered anything he had said.
By the time they returned to Yujing Terrace, Ryou could tell something was wrong with her. Her face was still flushed, and she didn't look well at all. He assumed it was because of what he had said, so he decided it was better not to speak and just let her recover on her own.
Earlier, Ryou had already used [Eyes] to check where Yanfei was, and had seen that she was in Ganyu's office.
So he brought Xiangling over and pushed the door open.
The moment he saw the two inside, he felt something was off.
Ganyu's entire face was bright red, and her eyes were full of panic. Yanfei, on the other hand, was wearing a wicked smile and had Ganyu wrapped in her arms while saying something to her in a very aggressive way.
Anyone would get the wrong idea looking at that scene.
So now it was Ryou's turn to think too much.
Nice one, Yanfei.
He only happened to see you naked once, and now you're already doing this with Ganyu?
"R-Ryou, don't misunderstand! We weren't doing anything!" Ganyu sprang to her feet the moment she saw the look in his eyes.
Yanfei, meanwhile, got annoyed the second she saw him barging in like that.
You shameless man. You were the one who peeped on me, and now you still have the nerve to look righteous?
"What are you staring at?" Yanfei snapped at him. "Ganyu and I are close. What's it to you? And what kind of look is that? Why are you so filthy-minded?"
"You..." Ryou nearly choked on the accusation.
Xiangling hurried over to smooth things out.
"Yanfei, calm down first. We came because of something important. Didn't you tell Ryou that one of your junior sisters had gone missing?"
"Junior sister? What junior sister?" Yanfei blinked, clearly not following.
Ryou glared at her. "You asked me to help you find someone. Did you already forget?"
"Oh... right. Kuki Shinobu." Yanfei finally remembered the main issue. "She came to Liyue Harbor the day before yesterday, but for some reason, she suddenly disappeared."
Then she seemed to remember something else and immediately got angry again.
"I had barely started telling you my junior sister was missing before you ran off in a hurry. I didn't even get the chance to tell you who it was. Why were you in such a rush? Are you hiding something?"
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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