"Eat, eat!"
Ryou pulled Keqing down to sit, then picked up his chopsticks and started feeding her.
When Keqing saw him offering her Golden Shrimp Balls, something in her chest shifted.
Back when her father first brought up the marriage alliance, she'd resisted. She'd wanted to find someone on her own—at the very least, someone she'd gotten to know first. In the end, she chose Ryou because he excelled in every way and came from a good family, and after her father asked again and again, she finally agreed.
She'd already thought well of him before. Now, that impression was changing again.
Strangely enough, the way he acted now felt more real. He was outstanding, and he cared about her. A man like that was already rare.
Still, he didn't quite match every expectation she'd imagined.
But she could remind him, little by little, and make him better.
At the very least, the man in front of her knew how to care for her, looked after her in every way, and his ability… well. In every sense, he was strong.
"It's really good." Keqing smiled as she bit into the Golden Shrimp Ball, but when she looked at the spread of dishes, she frowned. "Even if we're not short on Mora, we can't be this wasteful."
"Wasteful?" Ryou laughed. "Relax. I'll finish all of it."
The more he ate, the more all-attribute boosts he got. Chances like this didn't come twice, so how could he let it slip?
Keqing watched him with a slight frown at first, thinking he was just talking tough.
Then she realized she'd underestimated him.
In no time at all, he'd put away an absurd amount of food—and he still had a hand free to keep feeding her.
Keqing didn't even know what to say anymore.
They ate for nearly half an hour, and almost every dish ended up in Ryou's stomach.
"Are you… okay?" Keqing noticed a change in his expression and hurried to support him.
"I'm fine." Ryou shook his head slightly.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have gained a 20% increase to all attributes!]
[Ding! Liver entering Darkened Mode!]
[Ding! Darkened Mode active. Resistance increases by 30%!]
Ryou smiled when he saw the rewards.
The resistance boost made him feel a lot better, and he could only pull off eating like that thanks to the 20% all-attribute increase—plus the 100% all-attribute boost his body already had.
Otherwise, he really wouldn't have been able to keep going.
Still, trading it all for that 20% was worth it.
Ryou got up, cleaned everything, and tossed the trash out.
When he returned to Keqing's office, she was flipping through a few books.
Keqing didn't usually have time to read. Between paperwork and traveling around Liyue for inspections, she burned through most of her energy every day. She often left early and came back late, and by the time she returned, it was practically night.
Free time like this was rare.
And if Ryou hadn't handled all her work, she wouldn't even have this much.
Keqing soon noticed Ryou watching her.
She closed the book and looked up. "What are you staring at?"
"My wife," Ryou said, walking over with a quiet sigh. "You're really beautiful."
"You…" Keqing paused, then her voice softened. "Thanks to you, I actually had time today. Normally I don't get time to read. And with you helping me, things really do feel a lot easier."
She'd seen it herself—he'd cleared an insane amount of work in half an hour.
No matter how stubborn she was, she had to admit it.
Ryou was better than her at this.
It wasn't a bad thing that her husband outclassed her, but… it still left her a little uncomfortable.
"If you've got time now, don't waste it sitting in the Ministry of Civil Affairs," Ryou said. "You're done with your work, right? Come on. Let's go out and clear your head."
He took the book from her, set it aside, and pulled her up.
"Th-That's… not good, is it?" Keqing hesitated.
It was still work hours. Even if everything was finished, she'd never gone out for a stroll or shopping during work time. To her, work was work. Even if it was done, you didn't leave early.
But Ryou didn't budge.
In the end, Keqing lowered her voice. "Fine. I'll go with you."
"That's more like it. Let's go, wife!" Ryou pulled her along and walked out of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The scene left everyone inside staring.
Keqing almost never left during work hours.
So why was she letting Ryou drag her out without a second thought?
Note: Chapters up to 20 are available on my Patreon FOR FREE. I'll keep working on this fanfic as long as it's getting enough support to justify continuing.
[End of chapter]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]