Troubled by her conscience, Katherine feared that this team without certificates might die. That's why she asked Illustrious to save them if she saw them in danger.
...
On a Western-style bed lay a naked girl. One of them was Ganyu. Ganyu was using the blanket to cover her graceful figure, only exposing half of her chest for air. Ganyu's rhythmic breathing, in and out, combined with her tightly closed eyes, indicated she was asleep and sleeping very soundly.
The other was Illustrious. She was half-reclining, her back against the wall, gazing at the night moon. Her heart held no fluctuations, as if she had entered a state of sage-like detachment.
Illustrious was contemplating life. I'm a decent person. I'm a principled person. I already have a wife. Why? Why? How did things turn out like this?
Logically speaking, two girls sharing the same room and sleeping in the same bed shouldn't be a big deal. After all, they're both girls. What could happen? Nothing could happen.
Illustrious had thought the same at the time, believing nothing would happen. Yet, she and Ganyu ended up doing everything. Illustrious looked at a damp stain on the bed. Yes, that was made by her and Ganyu.
Hugging herself tightly, looking heartbroken, Illustrious felt she was no longer pure. The culprit was this woman sleeping soundly.
At the time, Illustrious had already fallen asleep. Then Ganyu directly took her, devouring her so thoroughly not even bones were left.
Illustrious touched her chin with her hand. There was one thing she couldn't understand at all. Why did Ganyu take her? It couldn't possibly be love at first sight, could it?
*No! Or perhaps this is the truth. Because I'm too cute and too beautiful, Ganyu liked me from the very first glance, liked me so much she wanted to have me.*
Pfft! Illustrious couldn't help but laugh. That was too far-fetched! She and Ganyu had known each other for less than three days. This development was too fast! Fast as a rocket.
So what was the real reason? Could it be that Ganyu taking her had some ulterior motive? For example, Ganyu was forced, forced by the Liyue Qixing. The Liyue Qixing did this with the aim of pulling a gnosis holder to their side. That way, their Liyue would have two gnosis holders.
Illustrious suddenly felt this answer was more plausible. *Poor Ganyu. To think she served the Liyue Qixing with utter devotion, only to be sold out by them. The Liyue Qixing are simply inhuman.*
Looking at the sleeping Ganyu, Illustrious's feelings of blame vanished, replaced by pity. She thought to herself: *Ganyu, you've had it too hard. Don't worry, I won't let the Liyue Qixing bully you anymore. From now on, I'll protect you well.*
Turning around, Illustrious used her finger to poke Ganyu's cheek. It felt soft, especially elastic. After just a few pokes, Illustrious's hand was slapped away by the sleeping Ganyu. Illustrious could only withdraw her hand with some regret.
Very sleepy, Illustrious's eyelids kept drooping. Better sleep early, or I'll have dark circles tomorrow. After lying flat on the bed with her eyes closed for about three minutes, Illustrious fell directly asleep.
Not long after Illustrious fell asleep, Ganyu woke up. She gazed affectionately at Illustrious, gazing until she lost herself in thought. After looking for about five minutes, Ganyu finally snapped out of it. She tightly hugged Illustrious's arm, as if Illustrious might leave her at any moment.
She didn't want that. Only by holding Illustrious's arm now did she feel a sense of security. The warmth of her beloved transmitted from her hand let Ganyu know this wasn't an illusion, but reality. She, Ganyu, was no longer alone. She had someone she loved, and that person was Illustrious.
This was all thanks to the Tianquan Star. Otherwise, she would never have found her other half. Ganyu recalled the scene when Ningguang came to her office that day.
Three days ago, the Tianquan Star of the Liyue Qixing suddenly came before Ganyu and said, "Ganyu! I have an urgent matter here that needs your help!"
"Lady Ningguang, what matter is so urgent?" Ganyu had never seen Ningguang so tense before. She asked, somewhat puzzled.
"How can I not be urgent? This concerns Liyue's survival. How can I not be urgent?" Ningguang said with heavy emphasis.
Hearing it concerned Liyue's survival, Ganyu's expression turned serious. "Are the Fatui going to attack Liyue?"
"We haven't reached that point yet, but it's close. You know Illustrious, right?" Ningguang waved her hand.
Asked if she knew Illustrious, Ganyu recalled information about this person and said quite flatly, "Haven't met her, but I heard she's the Guang Family's useless young lady, 16 years old without a vision. Why are you suddenly bringing her up?"
"The problem is, she's not useless anymore. She now possesses a gnosis, and it's the cryo gnosis at that. The cryo gnosis is incredibly powerful. Holders of other elemental gnoses are no match for it." Ningguang directly pointed out the error in Ganyu's information.
"So what? Illustrious is one of our Liyue people! Surely she wouldn't defect to the Fatui, would she?" Ganyu didn't believe Illustrious would become a traitor.
Regarding Ganyu's words, Ningguang didn't agree. "Who knows? But I do know that Illustrious might marry into Snezhnaya and become the Tsaritsa's empress."
"What? What exactly is going on?" Hearing this matter actually involved the Snezhnayan Tsaritsa, Ganyu immediately became unsettled.
Ningguang explained the situation to Ganyu. "The Snezhnayan Tsaritsa received news. The news said the Guang Family's young lady, Illustrious, possesses a gnosis. The Tsaritsa believes the Cryo Archon plus the cryo gnosis is a powerful combination. So she wants to marry Illustrious, to make Illustrious her empress."
After digesting Ningguang's words, Ganyu pondered for a moment and said, "If it's truly as you say, and Illustrious becomes the Snezhnayan Empress, then Snezhnaya would have two holders of the cryo gnosis! By then, if Snezhnaya attacks Liyue, how could Liyue possibly resist?"
"By the way, where did you get the news about the Tsaritsa wanting to marry Illustrious?" Ganyu was somewhat curious about how Ningguang knew this so clearly.
Ningguang didn't hide it, directly stating the source of the news. "I got the news from the Geo Archon. The Snezhnayan marriage alliance envoys have already arrived in Liyue. The Tsaritsa ordered them to bring Illustrious back to Snezhnaya at any cost, even if it means attacking Liyue. Otherwise, they need not return to Snezhnaya."
"When the marriage alliance envoys met with the Geo Archon, they demanded he hand over Illustrious. Otherwise, Snezhnaya would attack Liyue."
"How outrageous! Do they really think Liyue has no one? What did the Geo Archon say?" Ganyu's chest filled with anger.
Ningguang sighed. "The Geo Archon is now in a dilemma. If he hands her over, Snezhnaya will have two Cryo Archons by then. With two Cryo Archons, the Fatui's covert efforts to bribe Liyue families will proceed even faster. After all, with two Cryo Archons, they won't fear the Geo Archon. If he doesn't hand her over, Liyue will immediately go to war with Snezhnaya."
"Then fight! Since when has our Liyue feared anyone? As long as the Geo Archon is here, we can surely slaughter them until not a single armor plate remains." Ganyu said, brimming with fighting spirit.
Looking at Ganyu, who seemed eager to rush to the battlefield immediately, Ningguang shook her head and sighed. "Sigh! You're over a thousand years old! Why are you still so competitive? Of course we're not afraid to fight. But it's the common people who will suffer when the time comes!"
"You're right. In the end, it's the common people who suffer. So how is the Geo Archon dealing with those marriage alliance envoys?" Ningguang's words made sense. Ganyu found nothing wrong with them. Indeed, if war broke out, regardless of victory or defeat, it would be the common people who suffered.
Ningguang's expression was somewhat helpless as she said, "There's no other way. The Geo Archon is using his poor health to play them off, saying we'll discuss the matter another day. Since you've come from afar, you should settle in first."
"That marriage envoy definitely won't obey quietly!" Ganyu didn't believe the marriage envoy from Snezhnaya would be so compliant.
"Exactly! They said if we don't hand over Illustrious within a week, Snezhnaya's army will be at our gates." Ningguang's expression turned grave.
"Then why are you still here? Hurry and prepare for war! We might be fighting in a week." Ganyu said nervously.
Ningguang pressed down on Ganyu, who was about to stand up, telling her not to get so worked up. "You don't need to worry about war preparations; I've already arranged everything. If the worst happens, we won't be caught off guard. I have an urgent matter I need your help with. If it's completed, perhaps Liyue won't have to go to war with Snezhnaya, and Liyue might even gain another gnosis holder."
Hearing there were so many benefits to completing this task, Ganyu patted her chest and declared confidently, "I'll definitely help with this. As long as it can spare Liyue from war, I'll spare no effort."
Ningguang was very pleased. She'd been waiting for those words. "Good, that's all I needed to hear. This matter has also been unanimously approved by all members of the Liyue Qixing. You could call it a mission! We, the Liyue Qixing, want you to'seduce' Illustrious, make her fall for you. Then wouldn't Liyue have two gnosis holders?"
Ganyu's face flushed bright red instantly. "Se...seduce! You want me to seduce Illustrious? But even if I could seduce her, that doesn't mean the marriage envoy would just leave!"
"Don't worry about that. We've already spoken with the Geo Archon. He will acknowledge you as his long-lost illegitimate daughter. Then, as a princess, your consort would naturally be Illustrious! As a consort, she would have to stay in Liyue. Then the marriage envoy would have no choice but to slink away." Ningguang said with a smile.
"B-but I don't know how to seduce anyone! How am I supposed to make Illustrious fall for me?" Ganyu became a bit flustered. In her thousand years, she had never been in love! She had no idea how to make someone like her.
"Sigh! No one is born knowing how. You have to try to find out. How will you know if you don't try? I believe with your beauty, you can definitely win over that Illustrious." Ningguang encouraged Ganyu.
Seeing Ganyu's dazed expression, Ningguang was glad she had come prepared. She pulled a book from under her skirt and handed it to Ganyu. "I can't bear to watch. Here! Take this book and read it. After you finish, you'll know what to do."
Taking the book, Ganyu looked at the title: 'One Hundred Ways to Seduce a Man'. Looking at Ningguang, Ganyu's face was full of gratitude. She really needed this right now. "Great, thank you, Ningguang. Don't worry! I will definitely complete the mission and successfully se...seduce Illustrious to become my consort."
"I trust your ability to get things done. But hurry, we only have a week. Liyue's survival depends on you." Not wanting to disturb Ganyu further, Ningguang left the office after speaking.
Looking at the title 'One Hundred Ways to Seduce a Man', Ganyu murmured softly in confusion, "But why 'a man'? Isn't Illustrious a woman? Oh! I get it. Lady Ningguang must be telling me that men and women are the same, different paths leading to the same goal."
"Truly, Lady Ningguang is exceptionally wise."
Actually, Ganyu had misunderstood. The reason Ningguang chose this book was because there was no book like 'One Hundred Ways to Seduce a Woman'. The other books weren't suitable either, so she finally settled on 'One Hundred Ways to Seduce a Man'.
Ganyu, full of fighting spirit, began her crash course, nodding from time to time, having moments of sudden realization. After ten minutes, Ganyu had finished reading the entire book.
Ganyu was now brimming with confidence. She was ready to go to the battlefield—her destination was where Illustrious was currently staying.
Not long after going out, she found Illustrious eating roasted boar meat at Wanmin Restaurant. What should she do now? If it were her old self, she might have walked right up to her and said, 'Hello, I want to seduce you. Please let me seduce you!'
But after the education from that book 'One Hundred Ways to Seduce a Man', she wouldn't do that. Doing so would only make people think she was crazy and scare them away.
'One Hundred Ways to Seduce a Man' - Method One: Men are inferior creatures who only care about a woman's appearance, so first impressions are crucial. You need to dress up meticulously, like a little fairy, so the moment she sees you, she'll like you.
Ganyu checked her makeup and outfit in a compact mirror. The lipstick color was correct, the makeup was light, not too heavy, and her clothes were neat and clean! Looking left and right, finding no issues, Ganyu went straight for it.
"Um, excuse me, can I share this table?" the blue-haired girl said gently.
"Sure." Illustrious glanced at Ganyu and then ignored her, as if Ganyu didn't exist.
Looking at Illustrious's appearance, Ganyu was struck by her celestial beauty. Such a beautiful person! Those sky-blue eyes were so captivating, like the sky itself, refreshing and pleasing. Her cherry blossom-like lips were so tender, making one want to kiss them. Her smooth silver hair was like a snowy country, making it impossible to look away once seen, as if frozen by ice.
Taking a light sniff, even from a distance, Ganyu could clearly smell her fresh and elegant natural scent. With each inhale and exhale, Ganyu couldn't help but sigh: This fragrance is so enchanting! Once smelled, it's hard to forget, making one reluctant to leave.
Ganyu's heart suddenly started pounding uncontrollably, her face continuously blushing, her breathing becoming more and more rapid. Ganyu knew the reason. According to the introduction in the book 'One Hundred Ways to Seduce a Man', these reactions indicated that Illustrious had successfully seduced her. She had fallen for Illustrious.
---------------------------------
I hope you enjoy this fanfiction! If you're having fun and want to read 30 chapters in advance, feel free to check out my Patreon: patreon.com/TLScarlet
Your support means a lot so if you like the story, don't forget to drop a Power Stone.