"Ahem. Let's keep this between us," Venti said with a light cough, then looked at Hu Tao. "Did any of you bring a Kamera?"
Hu Tao shook her head.
Keqing shook hers too.
"I did." Venti pulled out a Kamera and put it in Ryou's hand, then winked at him.
"An opportunity like this doesn't come twice," Venti said. "You'd better take some pictures while you can."
"Barbatos!" Dvalin snapped.
"Oh, don't be angry, Dvalin. It's just a photo. It's not a big deal," Venti said.
Ryou looked at Dvalin and could tell the dragon was in a bad mood. The pressure from earlier was gone, but those eyes were still enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
He took out some spiritual fruit and set it on the ground. "These fruits carry spiritual energy. They should be helpful to you, Dvalin. Just a small gift from me. So…"
"What relationship do you have with the adepti?" Dvalin asked, lifting his head to look at Ryou after seeing the fruit.
"None," Ryou said, shaking his head.
"Just this once," Dvalin said.
Ryou gave Hu Tao, Xiangling, and the others a look. "Quick, get into position. I'll take the picture. Here, like this… yeah, like that…"
"Oh, okay!" Hu Tao bounced to the front and copied the pose Ryou showed her.
Click.
A photo slipped out.
First Hu Tao, then Xiangling, then Keqing, then Klee—Ryou took them one by one.
"Keqing-nee, can you take one of me and Daddy?" Klee tugged at Keqing's clothes.
"Of course." Keqing smiled at her.
After that, Ryou took photos with Klee, Keqing, Hu Tao, and the others in turn. Only then did the little photo session finally come to an end.
"Thanks," Ryou said to Dvalin.
Dvalin said nothing.
"Alright, we've already disturbed Dvalin enough. It wouldn't be right to keep bothering him," Ryou said.
"Okay."
Ryou led the group back to the tent.
Once they were back, he took out all the photos one by one. He quickly realized the Kamera itself wasn't all that good. It could take color photos, sure, but the image quality was poor.
Ryou brushed a hand over them, raising the quality by one level.
Then he looked at them again, and under the glow of his Eyes, the quality rose by another level.
The blur slowly faded from several of the photos. They became sharper and clearer, with far better color and depth than before.
"Wow, they look so pretty!" Klee exclaimed as she crowded in next to Ryou.
"Let me see too!" Hu Tao immediately leaned over. The moment she saw the photos, she cried out in shock.
She grabbed her hat and stared. "That's impossible. Xingqiu's guild sells Kameras too. I've used them before."
"The photos they take are never this clear. But yours… these are way too good."
Venti froze for a moment too when she saw them, then looked at Ryou. "You… how did you do that?"
"Secret." Ryou winked at her.
"You…" Venti rolled her eyes, but kept staring at the photo in her hand.
Compared to the pictures she had taken before, this looked like something from a completely different world.
Ryou handed the photos out one by one.
After that, he lit a bonfire outside the camp and set out a table, several plates of barbecue, and all kinds of ingredients.
"R-Ryou, isn't that a bit too much?" Xiangling asked, going a little pale when she saw him slathering on a thick layer of barbecue sauce.
Not long ago, that chili paste had nearly killed her. This sauce looked even heavier.
"Relax. This level of spice is completely normal. You'll know once you try it," Ryou said.
"U-Um… alright." Xiangling swallowed nervously.
"Xiangling, there's regular barbecue sauce here too." Keqing held up the bottle in her hand.
Xiangling nodded.
Before long, Ryou had everything ready and laid it out on the grill. Then the whole group sat around the fire and ate together.
They chatted, laughed, and enjoyed the barbecue around the bonfire.
Soon, all the food was gone.
Afterward, Ryou sent the others into the tent to rest, while he and Keqing stayed outside to keep watch.
"Ryou…" Keqing called softly as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Not tonight. We're on watch. If the two of us disappear and something happens to them, what then?" Ryou shook his head.
"Pah, I wasn't thinking about that at all! You're the one with dirty thoughts, and now you're blaming me!"
Keqing's whole face burned as hot as the fire in front of them, like it would never cool down.
Ryou grinned. "Now you're the one thinking about it."
"You!" Keqing bit her lip, lifted her head, and bit down on his shoulder.
The next second, Ryou smacked her lightly on the backside.
Her whole body turned even hotter.
Then Ryou pulled her into his arms, but Keqing quickly realized he wasn't actually trying anything. He was just holding her.
With her arms looped around his neck, she asked, "Are we going back to Liyue Harbor tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow I still need to meet with Albedo. Once I finish handling things, we can head back to Liyue Harbor," Ryou said near her ear. "There's still the lottery business to arrange afterward."
"Mmh… right." Keqing bit her lip and grabbed his arm.
Ryou gave a soft laugh and hugged her tighter. "Don't let your imagination run wild. We're just keeping watch. You're the one with unhealthy thoughts."
"Pah, my thoughts are perfectly healthy. You're the unhealthy one!"
"Is that so?" Ryou stared at her.
Keqing immediately started to squirm under his gaze.
It wasn't because he was looking at her.
It was because his reaction was way too obvious.
Her whole body heated up again, and she whispered, "Don't…"
"Keqing." Ryou stroked her hair gently. "Back at Starfell Lake, I got the feeling something was off about the way you were looking at Xiangling. Did she do something to you?"
"What do you mean, something was off?" Keqing asked.
Looking at Ryou now, she could tell he wasn't pretending. He genuinely didn't seem to understand.
That made her feel much better.
And honestly, she felt a little guilty too. Ryou's character had always been obvious for anyone to see. She really shouldn't have doubted him.
Keqing hugged him tighter. "Ryou, I noticed the way Xiangling looked at you. And before that… the way Tabibito looked at you too."
"I-I got nervous. It's all your fault for being too kind. You haven't been out there flirting, but they keep coming closer on their own."
"I'm scared that one day… you won't want me anymore."
Ryou held her and shook his head. "I married you properly. My father, your father, all of Liyue saw it. You are my wife."
"I don't think I'm some great man, but I know this much—abandoning my wife and children is something I would never do."
"Keqing, you're amazing. And you're beautiful too. How could I possibly stop wanting you?"
Keqing held him tighter, warmth spreading through her chest. "If only we could…"
"Tonight, we're keeping watch. That's final." Ryou shook his head.
The night wind was cold, but Ryou barely felt it. Even after keeping watch the whole night, he didn't feel especially tired.
By dawn—
"Mmh… what is it?" Keqing woke up in Ryou's arms.
"Keqing, everyone's going to wake up soon. Let's make breakfast," Ryou said.
"Mmh." Keqing nodded.
Ryou got up and made side dishes and rice porridge for everyone, layering them with buffs as he worked.
Under all the boosts, the porridge reached Quality +3, while the side dishes hit +4. The taste was outstanding.
"So good!"
"This is way too good, Ryou! Another bowl!"
"M-Me too!"
…
Venti, Hu Tao, and Klee all called out at once.
Xiangling tasted one of the side dishes, then looked up at Ryou. "Ryou, your cooking is even better than mine."
"When we get back to Liyue Harbor… could we maybe exchange pointers?"
"I feel like when it comes to simple dishes, we're about even. Maybe you're even a little better than I am."
"For a while now, I've been looking for a chance to break through. And you… you showed me one."
"That probably wouldn't work," Ryou said, shaking his head. "I only cook like this once in a while. And honestly, I don't think I'm better than you at all. You're giving me way too much credit."
After all, he knew perfectly well that he could only reach this level because of all the stacked buffs.
If Xiangling were the one cooking under the same conditions, Ryou had no doubt the taste would probably reach +6 or +7.
At that level, it would be true culinary perfection—one of those flavors that was almost impossible to describe.
If Venti were given a bowl of rice and a plate of those dishes, Ryou honestly suspected she'd be so moved she might eat the plate too.
That was how absurdly good it would be.
Seeing Ryou turn Xiangling down, Keqing felt a warmth spread through her heart.
She knew he had taken her words from last night to heart. He had deliberately kept some distance and refused direct contact with Xiangling.
Keqing knew Ryou's cooking was incredible. If he really did trade pointers with Xiangling, his skills might improve even further.
So she understood what this refusal meant.
He had done it for her.
She noticed the disappointment in Xiangling's eyes as she sat back down and stopped bringing it up.
Then Keqing thought it over again.
She knew Xiangling's personality well enough. Xiangling probably hadn't meant anything else by it.
After all, Xiangling's standards in cooking were already extremely high. To her, food was everything.
That request just now had probably been sincere—nothing more than a genuine wish to learn and exchange ideas.
Keqing looked at Xiangling for a while, then said, "Ryou, your cooking really is amazing. You and Xiangling are at least evenly matched. Maybe you're even a little better."
"If the two of you exchanged ideas, it might help both of you."
Xiangling's heart warmed when she heard that. She looked at Keqing and said, "Thank you, Keqing. I really didn't mean anything else. I just wanted to learn from Ryou and exchange ideas."
Hearing that, Keqing understood that she really had been overthinking it. And she trusted Ryou's character enough to know she shouldn't be suspicious of him on something like this.
"Ryou, then…" Keqing looked at Ryou.
Ryou shot her a glare.
Weren't you the one who told me to keep my distance from Xiangling?
And now you want me to spend more time with her?
If his cooking were actually that good, maybe he would have had something to say.
But it wasn't.
Not even close.
Teach Xiangling?
Teach her what, exactly?
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]