"Whew—I'm stuffed!"
Hu Tao grinned contentedly at Xiangling.
"Xiangling, it's all thanks to you for coming up with that new way of pairing purple ingredients with syrup. Especially that bowl of syrup—it tasted amazing!"
"Indeed," Furina nodded in agreement. "As expected of the chef I've personally acknowledged. Xiangling's creativity is truly extraordinary, unlike some people in Fontaine..."
At this point, Furina's expression suddenly darkened, as if recalling something horrifying, and she quickly shook her head.
"Anyway, Xiangling's dishes are as delicious as ever!"
"Hehe, of course!" Xiangling smiled proudly. "That's my special syrup—of course it tastes good."
Zhongli nodded slightly and offered his evaluation: "A thousand layers of Jueyun Chilies ground into powder, mixed with minced garlic, scallions, salt, vinegar, and soy sauce, then finished with the fragrance of sizzling oil. Behind this seemingly rustic method lies the chef's precise understanding of flavor and seasoning ratios. Hmm—not a drop more, not a drop less. This is what we call 'perfection.'"
"Mhm, mhm, yes, exactly!" Hu Tao nodded repeatedly. "Well, Xiangling? Hit the mark, didn't he?"
"Hehe... Thanks, Mr. Zhongli..."
While the others were busy praising Xiangling, Ye took the opportunity to sneak in a few more bites.
Furina nudged Ye with her foot and said irritably, "Hey, don't just focus on eating—say something!"
Fine. Ye obediently raised his head and looked at Xiangling, sincerely saying—"Xiangling, marry me. I need a wife like you."—Before the words could even leave his mouth, Furina's expression twisted, and she delivered a sharp kick, sending Ye's nearly spoken proposal back down his throat.
Though it didn't hurt, Ye rubbed his knee and glared at Furina with mild annoyance. "What's your problem? Even if you're my superior, that doesn't mean you can just hit and scold me whenever you want, right?"
"Shut up. Nothing good ever comes out of your mouth."
"You're the one who told me to speak, and now you're the one telling me not to. What exactly do you want?"
What I want is to bite you.
Furina gritted her teeth and turned away, refusing to engage with this infuriating man.
Given how well Furina knew Ye, she could already guess what he was about to say the moment he opened his mouth.
So, to prevent the embarrassing scenario of "The Esteemed Supreme Bishop of Fontaine Harassing a Foreign Guest" from becoming reality, Furina naturally intervened with a well-timed kick.
After all, Ye was her Supreme Bishop—if he embarrassed himself, it would ultimately reflect poorly on her.
Besides, Furina was already in a foul mood because she hadn't dreamed of Ye last night. Clearly, this scoundrel had set his sights on some other girl again. Serves him right.
—Meanwhile, Ye was even more irritated.
What kind of god is this? A boss who hits and scolds their subordinate deserves to be taught a lesson.
Fine. I was originally thinking that, since Furina already knows the truth, dreaming about her every night might make me seem too lustful—like I can't go a single day without some kind of release.
But now? I'm going to keep using her for release. Not a single day will be skipped.
Only then can I vent this frustration in my heart.
At that moment, Paimon's voice suddenly cut in: "What delicious food are you all talking about?"
Turning their heads, they saw Lumine and Paimon walking up the steps.
"Hey, Traveler, Paimon! What brings you here?"
Hu Tao asked this but then suddenly waved her hands.
"Wait, don't tell me—let this funeral parlor director divine it... Hmm, you're here for the Lantern Rite, right?"
Paimon immediately threw up her hands. "Isn't that obvious? No need to guess!"
"Ah, come on! We're close, so I'm just teasing you!"
Hu Tao laughed.
Astrea also waved at that moment and greeted, "Big sis, Paimon, long time no see! How have you been lately?"
"We're doing great! How about you, Rea?"
Astrea glanced at Furina and Ye, and her voice instantly grew timid. "...I-I'm fine too."
"Doesn't look like you're fine to me," Lumine couldn't help but shake her head, then shot an accusatory look at Ye. You're the one who made Rea so nervous, aren't you?
Ye completely ignored Lumine's gaze and simply said calmly, "We're trying Xiangling's new dishes. Would you like to join us?"
Paimon instantly lit up. "Yes, yes! We'll eat!"
Lumine glanced at her. "Let's handle the important matter first."
"Huh? W-we're not eating? Fine... Important matter first..." Paimon reluctantly pouted.
Lumine turned to Ye. "I came to find you. There's something I wanted to ask."
"What is it?"
Though he could probably guess, Ye asked anyway—after all, this was the start of the "plot."
In the original storyline, Lumine would have gone to Zhongli, but now it seemed she thought Ye could provide a quicker solution, which was why she sought him out.
"This is what happened..."
Lumine explained the task Ningguang had entrusted to her.
After listening, Ye nodded and summarized: "So, in short, Ningguang is worried Keqing might work herself to death and wants you to persuade her to take it easy. But you don't know how to approach it, so you came to ask if I have any ideas—right?"
Paimon shook her head. "It's not quite that serious..."
After all, Keqing was a Vision holder. Working herself to death... well, that probably... uh, probably wouldn't happen, right?
"You've come to the right person."
Ye placed his arms on the table, adopting the classic "Pose of the Strategist," his voice dropping slightly in gravity.
"Thanks to a certain black-hearted boss, I have deep personal experience with overwork. So I know for a fact that if Keqing keeps this up, she will work herself to death one day."
Thud!
Furina kicked Ye again.
Unfazed, Ye continued, "Keqing is still young, so she doesn't understand the concept of balancing work and rest. But this is easy to solve—just tell her a story."
"A story? What story?"
Paimon asked curiously.
Everyone else also turned their attention to Ye.
"Once, there was a god named the Geo Archon. This deity, known as the Geo Archon, was so diligent that he worked one day a year, never understanding the meaning of rest. And after thousands of years of this, he finally dropped dead from exhaustion."
"..."
The entire room fell into stunned silence.
Paimon hesitantly asked, "Is... is this a joke?"
"No, I'm very seriously telling this deeply educational story."
Ye said with utmost sincerity:
"Think about it—if even a god couldn't handle working just one day a year, does Keqing really think she's more powerful than the Geo Archon?"