Past countless stars, somewhere along the near infinite cosmos, a room could be seen.
Several thousand Antimatter Legion bowed themselves at a singular giant figure.
"You're telling me, not only did they fail to infiltrate the ship, but they were killed in action!" Her voice, though beautiful, contains a hint of danger.
"Correct, Lord Ravager Phantylia, but he wielded a flame similar to heliobus-." A loud slam interupted his speech.
"Not only did you fail to bring my vessel, but you also dared to find an excuse." Phantylia's words were full of venom.
Before he could say another word, green flames burst around him, consuming him completely. The flames were similar to Qin Shaoqing's yet appeared more sinister.
"Sigh, any other who dares to find an excuse for their failure?" The entire room fell silent, save for Phantylia's impatient tapping.
"I will give you another chance, bring that girl to me, and I'll spare you the fate of a painful destruction." After her final command, the hologram deactivated, leaving the room hollow and dark.
...
"Say Tingyun, I noticed no one is accompanying you." Qin Shaoqing looked around to see no Cloud knight in sight. The last time he saw her, she had multiple guards, but now, contrary to his expectation, she came unguarded.
"Well, I didn't really tell anyone that I would go out." Tingyun's voice contained a hint of mischief, which confused Qin Shaoqing for a moment.
"Aren't you afraid those assassins won't come back?"
"With Benefactor around, I'm already feeling super safe. I'm sure you won't leave a defenceless lady in need, would you?"
"Haha," Qin Shaoqing made a slightly nervous laugh in response, "I'll protect you just fine, Lady Tingyun." He reassured.
"Ah~ Then I'll be in your care then." Tingyun's tail sways in happiness as she begins to walk to a starskiff dock.
Looking at her back with a complex expression, he shortly let it go.
Following closely, Tingyun approached one starskiff farer.
"Sir, can I ride a starskiff?"
"Ah, of course, lady, where to?"
"Hmm, how about a leisure tour around Luofu?"
"I can provide it, but that will be pricey."
"Of course, here." Tingyun casually handed a stack of credits clearly exceeding the usual amount as the driver's eye became lit.
Seeing this, he felt uncomfortable, not because of the generosity, but because of her action.
She is a shrewd merchant through and through, always reaping the most benefit in every situation; generosity is only an investment for her, but her actions contradict her nature.
Boarding the ferry, they took off at a steady pace, creating a relaxed ride.
Looking at the dock that was now a mere speck, Qin Shaoqing took his time appreciating the Luofu. All this time, he had only seen the galaxy-faring ship from illustrations, but seeing the actual thing gave a whole different feeling.
They are a mere speck in the vast galaxy, yet noticeable enough to scream for its attention as if it's saying, "We are here. We exist"
After a long time, he finally turned to Tingyun, who was watching him with amusement.
Though he was the one who wanted to build a connection with Tingyun, looking at her now, he suddenly felt nervous, as if the one in front of him was not Tingyun at all.
"You seemed nervous, Benefactor." Tingyun expressed her worry.
"It's... nothing, I just had a strange dream, and it's been getting me paranoid." Qin Shaoqing told the truth.
"My, someone such as you also has nightmares sometimes?"
"Nightmares are people's inner worries after all, and all living beings have worries of their own"
"That's true."
The two looked at each other in silence for a minute, Qin Shaoqing measuring her intentions. His usual self is nowhere to be seen.
Somewhat suffocated by the atmostphere, Qin Shaoqing decided to break the ice.
"...so, what did you bring me here for?" He got straight to the point
"Well.." Tingyun trailed off before continuing, "I don't know."
"You... don't know?" Hearing her answer left him a bit stumped.
"If I were to put it into words, then... You interest me." She paused before adding, "But not in a romantic way, I'll clarify."
Qin Shaoqing continued to look at her, as if she were a puzzle.
"...Could you explain?"
"Well, I'm not sure as well." She smiled 'Well, actually, I know what it is.' Tingyun thought, but bringing it up would embarrass her.
Still confused, Qin Shaoqing quietly looked through his skills to see if any of them could be the cause of it.
[Body full of dew: every long-life species and Foxians near you will feel an inexplicable attraction towards you]
Right.... Right...
Qin Shaoqing messaged his temple quietly and complained to himself about forgetting that this exists.
'No wonder I've been getting weird glances!' He finally solved the long case that had stumped him for the last three months.
Now spotting the prime suspect, he was unsure of how to proceed with this conversation.
Qin Shaoqing took a deep sigh and relaxed; his paranoia finally disappeared after knowing the cause of her invitation.
"Well, Miss Tingyun, can I ask if this meeting is wholly personal?"
"Mhm, this is only for my personal interest."
Seeing her honest answer gave Qin Shaoqing more comfort; he wasn't that great with business stuff, all he knew was sugarcoating and getting out of situations, not politics and business practice.
Now more relaxed, Qin Shaoqing returned to his usual self, chatting along with Tingyun like friends.
Their conversations flow, but they have no inherent meaning; it's only purpose is to know each other.