"Eeya~" (Last dish incoming~)
Yiya carried a plate of roasted suckling pig with both hands, then frowned at the table taller than herself.
"Thank you, little Yiya."
Ganyu saw Yiya's difficulty and smiled as she took the plate from Yiya's hands.
"Mm—it smells so good."
Xiangling came over to help, eyes sparkling as she sniffed the roasted suckling pig.
The two girls placed this final dish in the center of the table, then sat back down.
"So fragrant..."
While Xiangling's eyes sparkled, Paimon nearly drooled: "Ganyu, can't we eat yet?"
"Paimon don't rush—the dumplings aren't here yet. Just wait a little longer." Ganyu advised.
"But if we wait longer, all these dishes will get cold."
Paimon's gaze lingered on the delicious food on the table—she had completely forgotten her earlier dejection when learning the chefs were on holiday.
"Just bear with it a little, Paimon. Eating dishes without staple food loses half the flavor."
Xiangling comforted Paimon by targeting her weakness as a chef—the effect was immediate.
"Then I'll wait a bit more." Paimon held herself back.
Seeing Paimon calm down, Xiangling nodded, then went back to the kitchen with Yaoyao and Yanfei to check on the dumplings.
Ganyu looked at the dishes on the table and smiled: "Making a whole table of food—must have been difficult for Senior."
The table had fish and meat, seafood and poultry—everything present. It was a reunion dinner even more sumptuous than Guili Assembly's traditional one.
Ordinary people might not see the issue—probably just think it took a lot of time to prepare.
But Ganyu had participated in the Archon War and was essentially raised by Jun Bai.
So she knew very well what kind of mental preparation Jun Bai needed for this table.
Seafood—back then when Jun Bai and Rex Lapis fought a god's army on the open sea, it left psychological scars.
As for poultry...
Jun Bai's true form was a phoenix—a true phoenix, king of all birds by nature. Asking the king of birds to personally cook his subjects' corpses into dishes...
This was like asking vegetarian Ganyu to eat meat.
Not impossible—but it required sufficient mental preparation.
So in Ganyu's eyes, this meal represented Senior's care for the younger generation at this table.
Thus, she whispered to Shenhe beside her: "Shenhe, tonight's dishes—you can't do like before in Liyue Harbor, taste one bite then put down your chopsticks and stop eating."
Shenhe said calmly: "But Senior Sister, I still need to return to Mt. Aocang to continue training—eating like this will affect cultivation."
"Junior Sister, just listen to Senior Sister this once."
Ganyu clasped her hands in plea.
Shenhe began thinking.
Before she could reach a conclusion, a small hand reached over and tugged her sleeve.
Yiya dragged a stool behind her, stood behind Shenhe and Ganyu, and said: "Eeya."
Shenhe turned, meeting Yiya's gaze.
Then she probed: "You want to sit beside me?"
"Eeya." Yiya shook her head, then pointed at Ganyu.
Ganyu guessed: "You want to sit beside me—so you're asking Shenhe to move over?"
Yiya nodded:
"Eeya." (Brother said so)
Ganyu looked toward Jun Bai's direction and saw Jun Bai nod toward her as he took his seat.
Ganyu understood—this was Jun Bai asking her to take care of Yiya.
So she let Yiya put down the stool, then picked Yiya up and placed her on her lap.
"Huh? Yiya is sitting with us too?"
Paimon looked at the scene in surprise: "I thought Jun Bai would have her sit with him."
"And I don't quite understand—is there some significance to this seating arrangement? He even separated me and Lumine."
On this table—plus Yiya who just arrived—were Paimon, Ganyu, Shenhe, and Xiangling, Yaoyao, Yanfei who were busy in the kitchen.
On another table—the five Yakshas, Ah Ping, Mountain Shaper, and Moon Carver sat together.
Finally—Xianyun, Guizhong, Zhongli, Jun Bai, Jun Mo Li, and Lumine sat at the same table.
Paimon couldn't understand this seating arrangement.
"This is because..." Ganyu was about to explain the reason for Jun Bai's seating arrangement.
At that moment, Xiangling and the others in the kitchen called out.
Yaoyao's energetic voice came: "All Adeptus masters, uncles, aunties, brothers and sisters! The dumplings are ready!"
As the words fell, a dark green figure flashed by.
Xiao headed straight for the kitchen.
Not because he wanted to eat dumplings—but because if he let other Yakshas handle his bowl, Xiao couldn't guarantee whether the number of dumplings in his bowl would fit in one bowl.
Paimon immediately asked: "Where? Where?"
Yanfei walked out carrying a tray toward Ah Ping: "In the kitchen—meat filling, vegetarian filling, and three-delicacy."
"Paimon wants which kind? I'll scoop some for you." Xiangling asked from the kitchen.
"All of them!" Paimon replied domineeringly.
"Shenhe, you want vegetarian filling, right?"
"Senior Sister, anything is fine for me."
"Then what about little Yiya?"
"Eeya!" (All!)
Worried Ganyu might not understand, Yiya pointed at Paimon.
"All of them? Alright—Ganyu sister understands."
Ganyu settled Yiya in her seat: "Sit properly here—wait for Ganyu sister to come back, okay!"
For a moment, the younger generation at this table no longer mentioned the seating issue.
Of course, since Lumine wasn't in a rush to eat dumplings, she asked the same question as Paimon:
"This seating arrangement—does it have any special significance?"
"No other special meaning—just that if the younger generation sat with us elders, they would definitely feel constrained and uncomfortable all over."
Xianyun watched Ganyu constantly taking care of people at the same table and said.
If sitting with elders, forget taking care of others—she probably wouldn't even dare eat without seeing if Xianyun had picked up her chopsticks.
Jun Bai looked at Zhongli who was drinking tea: "And this guy is retired, right? If he sat with the kids, we'd have to cover for him."
"If someone slipped up, explaining would be troublesome." Jun Mo Li said. "Not every mortal has my stable mental resilience."
"Like if Xiangling knew Zhongli is Rex Lapis—when Zhongli eats at Wanmin Hall in the future, how would Xiangling treat him?"
(Adeptus disciples—only Ganyu knows Zhongli is Rex Lapis.)
As he spoke, Jun Mo Li looked at Zhongli: "That's the case, right? Zhongli."
"By common reason, yes." Zhongli set down his teacup. "Compared to everyone sitting together but unable to speak freely due to concerns."
"Like now—separated, unconstrained—better fits Lantern Rite's atmosphere."
Guizhong tapped her porcelain bowl with chopsticks and smiled: "Right, right—Lantern Rite is supposed to be joyful. Not daring to speak freely isn't joyful at all."
Jun Bai nodded: "So I didn't have those in the know like Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper sit with us."
"The Yakshas are my subordinates—sitting with me, they'd subconsciously follow my orders. Similarly, if Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper sat with Zhongli, they'd probably feel pressure."