Lu Heng noticed something interesting.
The phone Yae Miko used and the one she prepared as a gift for Raiden Ei were colored to match each other's hair.
Right now, Yae Miko was carefully etching a lightning element pattern onto the back of the phone.
Lu Heng recalled how, back in his hometown, plenty of fans online shipped the Miko-Ei duo.
Whether the two shared that kind of relationship in reality was hard to say.
But their bond was undeniably strong.
Yae Miko's thoughtfulness toward Ei proved that much.
After finishing her work, Yae Miko admired her phone with a satisfied smile.
Then, she turned to Lu Heng with a playful grin. "Mr. Lu, care to add me as a friend?"
"Sounds good," Lu Heng replied with a nod. "It's easier to stay in touch that way."
"Exactly," Yae Miko agreed, her tone carrying a hint of wonder.
Having a phone made communication so much more convenient.
She thought back to before their trip—Shota had posted something online from home, and people as far away as Liyue could see it instantly!
Phones could even livestream, letting countless people watch the same moment in real time.
The technology was nothing short of astonishing.
Those who grew up with it might take it for granted, but Yae Miko, coming from a different world, felt its impact deeply.
After successfully adding Lu Heng as a friend, she smiled and said, "If I were to start playing Genshin Impact now, would I be too far behind?"
"Huh?"
The question caught Lu Heng off guard.
He paused, then answered, "It depends on how much effort you're willing to put in. If you grind hard enough, you can catch up pretty quickly."
Yae Miko's expression faltered slightly, a mix of frustration and realization.
It was a kind of backwardness—a sense of falling behind.
But then her face brightened.
She was lucky to have caught up to this new era at all.
Sure, she wasn't at the forefront yet, but she was far ahead of those still clueless about gacha cards.
Inazuma still had time to catch up.
But for her and Ei, time was running short.
"Done with your business, Miko?"
Ganyu approached, her gentle voice breaking the moment.
Knowing Shenhe was happy staying with Lu Heng, Ganyu felt reassured.
Her concern hadn't been that Lu Heng couldn't care for Shenhe, but that Shenhe's quirks might trouble him.
Thankfully, her worries were unfounded.
Turning her attention to Yae Miko, Ganyu noticed the fox's relaxed smile. "Looks like you had a good haul?"
"Good?" Yae Miko chuckled. "That's an understatement."
Her urgency from earlier had melted away after pulling her cards.
She even had the mood to tease Ganyu a bit before saying, "Ganyu, I'll probably head back to Inazuma in a couple of days."
"So soon?" Ganyu blinked, surprised, but she quickly understood.
Unless someone's strength was overwhelmingly unmatched, individual power couldn't compare to a collective.
Yae Miko didn't have the might to dominate an entire nation alone, so she needed to bring her newfound "opportunities" back to Inazuma, sharing them with her people.
Realizing this, Ganyu asked, "Need me to arrange anything?"
"Captain Beidou's ship leaves in about three days, right?" Yae Miko glanced at Gorou.
Gorou nodded. "Yeah, she said they'll set sail after loading the cargo."
Beidou had picked up new orders at the Outlying Islands, so another trip was inevitable.
"The Death Omen's speed isn't quite enough, is it?" Ganyu shook her head. "If you're in a hurry, Miko, I can arrange a plane for you."
"Won't that disrupt anything important?" Yae Miko's interest was piqued.
The Death Omen was fast—about eighty kilometers per hour, by Lu Heng's calculations.
But compared to a plane? It was no contest.
Yae Miko had learned about these technological marvels on the ship ride over.
A plane could hit nearly a thousand kilometers per hour, saving her two or three days of travel.
"It's no trouble," Ganyu reassured her. "Things are calm across Liyue right now. Coordinating a plane is simple—we have plenty."
Yae Miko's hand went to her forehead, half-dramatically.
Ganyu's gentle, matter-of-fact tone had just delivered a subtle flex of Liyue's wealth.
It was almost too much.
Yae Miko fell silent, letting Ganyu take the lead.
Though it wasn't exactly a defeat, seeing Yae Miko—the woman with a thousand tricks up her sleeve—reduced to this expression was rare.
Lu Heng couldn't help but grin.
If it weren't impolite, he'd have snapped a photo to capture the moment.
"How about we head out after dinner?" Ganyu suggested. "You'll reach Inazuma by early morning."
"Sounds good," Yae Miko agreed.
That was at least five days faster than her original plan.
A few hours in the afternoon? She'd treat it as a chance to explore Liyue Harbor.
"Mr. Lu, got any plans tonight?" Yae Miko asked.
"Me?" Lu Heng thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Nope."
"Then how about I treat you to dinner? A little bonding time?" she said with a smile.
"Sure," Lu Heng nodded.
"Ganyu, you're coming too," Yae Miko added. "Work can wait. It might be a while before I visit Liyue again."
With the invitation framed like that, Ganyu couldn't refuse. "Alright, I'll join."
"Since you're not familiar with Liyue Harbor, Miko, let me handle the arrangements," Ganyu offered.
"That… would be great. Thanks, Ganyu," Yae Miko said, not refusing.
She really didn't know the modern Liyue Harbor well.
"Then let's head out now," Ganyu said to Lu Heng, then turned to Yae Miko. "We'll settle things early, and you can spend the afternoon exploring."
"Sounds perfect," Yae Miko replied with a nod. To Lu Heng, she added, "See you tonight, Mr. Lu."
"Evening," Lu Heng said with a slight nod.
As the trio left, Lu Heng turned to Shenhe, who had quietly stepped to his side. "Pick up on anything?"
Shenhe paused, lost in thought. She pulled out her phone, searched something online, then said with certainty, "Social dynamics."
"Not bad!" Lu Heng grinned. "Told you observing more would help. The internet's a good teacher too."
Shenhe nodded earnestly.
The digital age was not to be underestimated.
Back in Lu Heng's hometown, kids before the information era were far more innocent.
But in today's world of endless data, some kids knew more than adults in certain areas—not life experience, but niche knowledge from odd corners of the internet.
The web was a treasure trove of lessons, though you had to filter the good from the bad.
Thankfully, Teyvat's online environment was still relatively pure, so Lu Heng wasn't worried about Shenhe picking up bad habits.
They chatted casually for a bit.
Lu Heng flopped onto the couch, picking up his phone to scroll through short videos.
The first one that popped up was a leggy beauty. Feeling Shenhe's gaze, he quickly swiped up.
Another one!
"You like watching these?" Shenhe asked, curiosity in her voice.
She glanced down at herself. In her natural stance, she couldn't see her toes, so she lifted a leg slightly, inspecting it from both sides.
"Don't get any ideas," Lu Heng said sternly.
"Why not?" Shenhe looked puzzled.
His phone was full of these videos!
She knew now that the algorithm pushed content based on what you liked.
This meant Lu Heng was into this stuff.
"Just trust me on this," Lu Heng said, exasperated.
Scrolling further was awkward now, but stopping felt weird too.
Thankfully, a live stream notification popped up, and he tapped in immediately.
It was Lumine, walking along a beach.
With a mischievous grin, she spoke to the camera. "Hey, everyone! Version preview time! Guess where I am?"
"IP says Fontaine, no need to guess."
"You were grinding artifacts in Mondstadt, how'd you end up in Fontaine?"
"Fontaine's artifacts are better, obviously!"
"Yo, streamer, did you pull any god-tier artifacts? I just got a crit rate 20+ crit damage headpiece today!"
"Who asked you?!"
Lumine's face twisted in frustration.
Lucky players were the worst—especially when they rubbed it in like that.
"Enough talk. Check this out!"
She aimed the camera ahead.
"I asked around in Fontaine. This used to be a Domain, packed with artifacts!"
"Stick with my POV, and I'll show you some new artifacts and their set effects!"
Lu Heng's eyes widened.
Lumine was in Fontaine, and the Domain she was showing was none other than Denouement of Sin!
That Domain dropped Nighttime Whispers in the Echoing Woods and Song of Days Past.
Everyone knew Genshin Impact didn't just divide players into whales and free-to-players—it had god-tier artifacts and trash ones too.
Some artifacts' effects were so broken they felt unfair.
And on Lumine? They looked insanely good.
As Lumine dove into her Domain run, Lu Heng slipped out of the stream and scrolled to a new video.
This one was a polished edit of the Ballad of the Fjords quest: If You're Trapped in a Windless Land.
With everyone focused on grinding main story quests to see their nation's future, few paid attention to character story quests.
But this creator had.
Not only did they complete the quest, they'd edited it beautifully.
The comments were flooded with emotional reactions.
But when Lu Heng saw the top comment with over a million likes, he nearly fainted.
Venti: Moved to tears, huh? Hit that follow button! When I hit eight million, I'll livestream spinning the gacha!
Give me back my emotions!Wait, Mondstadt's Anemo Archon is this unhinged?You're right, that's our Lord Barbatos of Mondstadt! When everyone's crying and in awe, he cracks a joke to lighten the mood. What's wrong with that? He's just trying to keep things from getting too heavy, even though he's using his late friend's face, carrying all that pain himself… (tears)
Zhongli: Too lazy to roast.
Lu Heng liked Zhongli's comment.
He kept scrolling.
Then a message popped up—Furina had shared a video.
He tapped it.
"Did you know? Stockings don't just come in different colors, they also…"
Checking the creator's name, it was clearly a seller's account.
Lu Heng watched.
The seller modeled the stockings themselves, showing them off.
Halfway through, Furina messaged again.
Furina: I bought a full set for everyone at home, all colors! (smirk)
Lu Heng slapped his thigh.
Furina was on point.
Lu Heng: Nice work! Make sure to get white for the Dendro Archon!
Furina: Got it~ (OK)
She understood, huh?
Perfect.
Lu Heng's mood lifted.
Then Shenhe spoke up. "You got a new follower."
"Hm?"
Lu Heng checked his notifications, followed her back, and wondered what she was up to.
Shenhe's fingers were a blur.
Buzz, buzz, buzz…
His phone vibrated like crazy.
One video, two, three…
Lu Heng stared, dumbfounded, as Shenhe sent him a flood of videos.
"What are you doing?"
"Hm?" Shenhe looked confused. "Don't you like these? I'm helping you find them."
"You don't need to send this many!"
He glanced at her phone.
She'd searched "beautiful legs" and was forwarding everything to him.
Only Shenhe would do something like this—anyone else, and it'd be too awkward to handle.
Lu Heng sighed, exhausted. "Come here, sit down. Let me explain this slowly."
Words alone weren't enough to clarify this mess quickly.
Time for some digital wisdom.
Three minutes later, Shenhe's eyes lit up with understanding.
Lu Heng had broken it down in detail—why men liked these videos, why women posted them.
"Got it?"
"Got it," Shenhe nodded, dead serious.
"So you can't post stuff like that," Lu Heng said. "You've got to respect yourself and your reputation."
"I can't post those videos?" Shenhe pondered.
"Nope," Lu Heng shook his head. "Not unless you fully understand what it means and have a real reason for it. And even photos—best to avoid them."
"No photos either?"
"Better not," Lu Heng confirmed.
Shenhe tilted her head, half-understanding. "What if it's just for you?"
"That's… fine," Lu Heng said, catching himself mid-sentence.
Oh, Lu Heng, you slick talker, changing your tune like that?
He couldn't help but laugh at himself.
"Then just for you," Shenhe said, her face earnest. "And I get it now. Completely."
What did you get?!
Lu Heng was floored.
Shenhe had her own logic now.
Lu Heng = her savior.
Lu Heng = her non-blood-related guardian.
She genuinely understood what he'd explained.
To her, it wasn't a casual thing.
"In those romance novels," she said, "a life-saving debt could be repaid with a lifelong commitment. Showing my legs to my savior? That's nothing."
She'd even built a whole reasoning around it.
Lu Heng was stunned.
Guilt hit him like a tidal wave.
Sure, his intentions were good, but had he just led Shenhe astray?
If Master Cloud Retainer or Ganyu found out…
His scalp tingled at the thought.
Master Cloud Retainer trusted him to care for Shenhe.
And this was how he was doing it?
Shenhe, meanwhile, thought it was fine—perfectly logical, even.
But Lu Heng was sweating bullets.
The good news? It was just about showing her legs. Not a huge deal.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "Shenhe, don't forget everything I just told you."
"Self-respect, right?" Shenhe nodded.
She added, seriously, "But if it's just for you, it's fine. It makes me happy."
Her clear, innocent eyes sent Lu Heng's mind into chaos.
Deep down, he couldn't deny a part of him was tempted.
But when someone as pure as Shenhe was ready to show you, suddenly you're the one preaching restraint.
It was like dragging someone down and then trying to pull them back up.
With anyone else, Lu Heng wouldn't feel this guilty.
But Shenhe? Her purity made it hit differently.
His conscience was screaming at him.
After triple-checking that Shenhe truly understood, Lu Heng finally shook off the fear of corrupting her.
Small problem, though—it still felt like he was walking a tightrope.
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T/N:
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