"It's nothing. What brought you here?" Ryou gently stroked Ningguang, then pulled her into his arms.
Holding her, he walked over to the chair by the desk and sat down.
Ningguang pressed both hands against his chest. "You're different from before. You've loosened up a lot. You're much more forward now."
Ryou lowered his head and smiled. "You were the one teasing me before. Now that I've finally stopped holding back, you're the one getting nervous?"
"Is that so?" Ningguang caressed his face and smiled. "Actually, I like you better like this. You feel much more manly."
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
Only after a long while did she finally pull away from his lips. "This caused quite a stir. The Qixing are already at odds over it."
"It's fine. I'll deal with it." Ryou held Ningguang close, and he had to admit her figure really was exceptional.
Keqing's figure was beautiful too, but Ningguang had a softer, fuller kind of allure.
Especially those generous curves—one hand could barely hold them, and the more he touched, the harder it was to stop.
Ryou glanced outside. "I originally planned to leave tomorrow morning, but now I may have to head out earlier."
"The Ministry's expenses aren't small, and the lottery business is the top priority right now. And... I'm planning to buy a residence at Yujing Terrace."
"If you want to buy a residence, I can help you. I own several properties already."
Ningguang looked at how serious he was and laughed. "I'm only teasing you. But if you're buying one, then buy it somewhere near the Jade Chamber."
"Alright." Ryou nodded.
"Count me in on the lottery as well. Things seem to be going well in Mondstadt, so there's no reason Liyue Harbor can't develop it too." Ningguang shifted in his arms as she spoke.
Ryou looked at her and ran a hand along her soft curves. No wonder Ningguang could wrap people around her finger so easily. A woman like this really was dangerous.
He gave her backside a light squeeze and said at an easy pace, "You can handle it, but make money within reason."
Ningguang shot him a look and kissed him on the lips. "Don't worry. I know where the line is."
"Once you leave for Mondstadt, I'll help keep an eye on the Ministry. Rest easy."
"You already guessed I planned to have them handle official business along the way, didn't you?" Ryou shot her a look.
"With the kind of person you are? How could I not?" Ningguang smiled.
"Then help me relax a little before I go."
"You really are shameless." Ningguang rolled her eyes at him, all charm and amusement.
...
After taking care of everything, Yanfei went home.
"Yanfei, there's a letter for you." Shinobu placed an envelope in Yanfei's hand.
Yanfei glanced at it. It was from a friend in Mondstadt.
That friend was Eula.
Since there wasn't much going on in Liyue Harbor at the moment, Yanfei started wondering whether she ought to make a trip to Mondstadt. It had been a while since she last saw Eula.
She stared at the letter for a while, then turned to Shinobu. "Shinobu, my friend invited me to Mondstadt. I know you've been studying hard lately, so why not come with me and take a break?"
"Mmm... but I still have a lot left to review. Time-wise, I'm not sure..." Shinobu hesitated.
Yanfei knew that Shinobu had been under a lot of pressure lately. The legal advisor assessment had become much harder, and Shinobu had already forgotten quite a bit of the material. If she left now, there was a good chance she wouldn't have enough time to catch back up.
"Relax. Even when you're studying, you still need time to breathe." Yanfei tried to reassure her. "We can deal with the exam after we come back."
"We'll leave later today. I heard Mondstadt's started doing some kind of lottery too. We can go take a look."
"In that case... alright. I'll go get the boss." Shinobu nodded.
"That works." Yanfei agreed.
...
By then, Keqing had finished handling her work and returned to Yujing Terrace.
Along the way, she heard plenty of people talking about how Yanfei had left Ryou's office with her clothes in disarray, and the gossip was getting louder by the minute.
Keqing immediately guessed that something had happened and rushed back with Shenhe.
The moment she arrived, she saw Ningguang stepping out of the office.
Ningguang smiled at her.
For some reason, that smile felt strangely suspicious.
Keqing walked into the office and saw Ryou sitting there drinking tea, clearly in a very good mood.
Then she quickly noticed the bandage wrapped around his arm.
She stepped forward and asked, "What happened to your arm?"
"Yanfei bit me." The moment Ryou brought it up, he got annoyed all over again.
"She bit you?" Keqing found that hard to process.
"She's insane. She almost tore a piece off." Ryou gave a brief explanation.
"That bad? Let me see." Keqing immediately went over to check.
The moment she saw the bite marks, she sucked in a sharp breath. "How could Yanfei do something like this?"
"Don't worry. Baizhu already treated it." Ryou wrapped an arm around Keqing and pulled her into his lap.
"Don't move around. Your arm's still hurt." Keqing caught that arm at once. "What did Yanfei come to you for?"
Ryou explained, "She reported everything to Yuehai Pavilion. Ningguang couldn't keep it down anymore, so she had to come over herself."
"For the time being, the Ministry staff can't leave Liyue. Only you and I can go to Mondstadt."
"And from now on, I can't personally manage the Ministry either."
"Yanfei really went all out," Keqing said.
"But don't worry. The authority you and I have isn't any lower than theirs." She softened her voice to comfort him.
Ryou shook his head. "Even if you're the one managing it on paper, the Ministry will still be under my control."
"You're so full of yourself." Keqing rolled her eyes. "Oh, right, Ryou. We ran into something really strange today."
"What was it?" Ryou asked.
"Today, a lot of people were chasing us," Shenhe said from the side.
Ryou glanced at Shenhe, then looked back at Keqing.
"Shenhe!" Keqing called out, then hurriedly corrected her. "It wasn't exactly chasing. It was just... a lot of women following me around. It was really strange."
"They looked like wolves sizing me up, like they wanted to swallow me whole. Kind of like the look you get when you stare at me."
"What kind of comparison is that?" Ryou glared at her.
"I'm just telling the truth." Keqing shrank back a little, her whole face heating up.
"Maybe my wife's just too charming. Don't overthink it. You've got me, haven't you?"
"Come on. Let's go finish arranging things first."
Ryou stood up and took Keqing with him.
By the time everything was settled, evening had already arrived. In the end, Ryou hired a carriage, and Lumine and Shenhe set out with them as well.
"Aren't your legs tired? Just carry us in," Lumine said as she leaned closer to him.
"Mm... fine." Ryou nodded.
He carried them into the city one by one. Lumine was the last.
The moment it was her turn, she threw herself into his arms and kissed him hard. It took a while before she finally let go.
Ryou patted her lightly on the rear. "Alright. If we go in any later, Keqing will start overthinking things again. We'll meet again later. I've got something I want to talk to you about."
"Alright." Lumine smiled as she held onto his arm.
By the time they got into the city, the crowds on the streets had already thinned out.
Ryou glanced around and said, "Lumine, you've stayed in Mondstadt before. Help me sort out the lodging."
"Alright. Follow me." Lumine led the way.
They ended up at a very ordinary inn. Since there were several of them, they rented a few rooms downstairs.
After settling Keqing in, Ryou kissed her on the lips and said, "Wait for me here. I need to talk to Lumine about something. I'll be back soon."
"What do you need to say to her?" Keqing asked with a frown.
"Something important." Ryou didn't explain much.
Keqing looked at him for a long moment, but in the end she didn't keep pressing him. She trusted that he wasn't that kind of man, and if he was willing to say this much outright, then she chose to believe him.
Ryou went to Lumine's room and shut the window.
The moment the lock clicked, Lumine pulled him inside.
"You still dared to come over this late? Aren't you afraid Keqing will overthink it?"
"I already told her." Ryou pulled Lumine into his arms and sat down with her. Then he gently stroked her and asked, "Do you know Madame Ping?"
"Madame Ping? The old lady at Yujing Terrace? I've seen her before, but I don't know her well." Lumine shook her head.
Ryou fell silent.
So the situation really had changed.
Maybe because Yanfei kept watching him so closely, things had shifted.
Otherwise, Lumine had helped save Liyue Harbor. By all rights, Madame Ping should have prepared the Serenitea Pot for her.
But now, Lumine had nothing.
"So where do you usually stay?" Ryou asked.
"At inns." Lumine answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Hearing that, Ryou held her a little tighter and kissed her on the forehead. "When we get back to Liyue, I'll give you a home."
"A home..." Warmth flooded Lumine's heart. She hugged him tightly and nodded in earnest. "Alright."
He stayed a while longer and chatted with her before finally getting up to leave.
After that, Ryou went to Shenhe's room.
"You came?" Shenhe looked genuinely surprised, then stepped aside. "Come in."
"I wanted to ask you something." Ryou walked in.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I heard the adepti can create pocket worlds. Can your Master do that?"
"Mmm... I've never seen Master do it before, but... she probably can?" Shenhe didn't sound too sure.
"It's fine. We can talk about it again after we get back to Liyue Harbor." Since Shenhe didn't know either, Ryou didn't press the matter any further.
At that moment, something outside gave a sudden jolt.
Ryou turned, intending to say goodbye—
but Shenhe kissed him.
This time, at least, she didn't use adeptal power to pin him down.
"I know you don't like being forced," she said seriously as she held him, "but we're going to end up together. You have to believe me."
"I... I want to see that child. Can you help me?"
Ryou didn't know how to explain it. In the end, he could only shake his head lightly.
"If it's really going to happen in the future, then there's no point forcing it now. It'll happen when it happens. Being impatient won't help."
"I should go back."
"Alright."
And so Ryou finally returned to his own room.
But thinking back on everything that had happened just now, he could feel the fire in his chest burning hotter and hotter.
He pushed the door open and immediately snuffed out the lamp.
Then he slipped under the blanket beside Keqing.
In the very next second, Keqing grabbed him by the ear.
"Talk. Where were you just now? Why do you smell so strongly?"
"There's Tabibito's scent on you."
"And Shenhe's too."
[End of chapter]
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