"Ganyu, you and I are practically sisters at this point. What, you think sharing a meal is going to eat you alive?"
Keqing understood exactly what Ryou's mother was getting at. She turned and took Ganyu by the hand.
"I've barely been to the Ministry of Civil Affairs these past two days. There are things I need to ask you about properly."
"Th-That… okay, then." With Keqing bringing up work, Ganyu could only bite the bullet and agree.
Ryou's mother and Keqing were being too earnest. There was no clean way to refuse.
Still… the pieces didn't add up.
With Ryou and Keqing's relationship, how could Keqing not know what he was capable of? And then there was Ryou's mother—she was far too warm to Ganyu, looking her over the way a mother sizes up a prospective daughter-in-law.
Even after what Cloud Retainer and Shenhe had said, Ganyu still hadn't done anything. She couldn't get past the guilt—doing that to Keqing felt unforgivable. So she buried herself in work instead.
Who knew that even stepping out for a simple meal would still end with her having to see Ryou?
What was this supposed to be? Could she really not get away from him?
She pushed open the private room door and immediately saw Ryou and Xingqiu chatting and laughing together. When they heard the sound, they looked over—still smiling.
That smile hit Ganyu head-on, and her heartbeat instantly went wild. It was back again.
She'd spent so long forcing that reaction down before, and it had only just calmed recently—yet now it flared up all over again.
No, no, not this again…
I can't control it at all.
Inside, she was practically screaming. She had no choice but to gather her adeptal power and let it cling across her face, masking the heat in her cheeks. If Keqing and the others noticed something was wrong, they'd start reading into it.
Only after she covered her entire face with that thin layer did she breathe easier. She drew in a slow breath and walked inside.
Ryou had noticed too. At first glance, he even rubbed his eyes—something about it looked off.
Why is Ganyu's face that red? And… why do her eyes look kind of unfocused?
But if it's really that obvious, wouldn't Keqing and my mom have noticed already?
Or am I imagining it?
[Ding! Eyes entering Darkened Mode!]
[Ding! Eyes: Darkened Mode active. You can see a target's specific emotional state within 100 meters through your eyes, with a certain chance to trigger a special effect!]
Ryou's expression turned odd when the notification hit. He looked again—then froze.
Her face looked even redder now, and she was biting her lip.
Tch…
Ganyu, you're seriously… way too tempting like this.
I can barely keep myself under control.
Don't look. Don't look.
Ryou hurriedly chanted Amitabha in his head. If he kept staring, he was going to do something stupid—especially with Keqing right here. Last time, she'd gotten jealous just because he looked at Ganyu a few extra times.
"Ganyu-san, and Auntie… why are you here?" Xingqiu sounded genuinely surprised when he saw Ryou's mother and Ganyu.
"I'm thinking of your cousin, obviously." Ryou's mother shot Ryou a glare as she spoke. "Ganyu works up at Yujing Terrace. If this brat ever messes up, she can help a little. I'm not asking anyone to cover for him—just to say a word when it matters. That's already enough."
With that, she tugged both women down to sit.
And Ganyu, without any room to resist, got placed right beside Ryou.
Ryou immediately felt awkward. The chairs weren't even that far apart, and he could still catch her scent. On top of that, he couldn't get the image of her flushed face out of his head, and a hot restlessness crept up in him.
He'd planned to take good care of his wife tonight.
Looks like… Keqing's the one who's going to have it rough.
Ryou took a deep breath and forced the heat down. He turned to Ganyu.
"Ganyu-san, I've always kept my head down and followed the rules. But if I ever do something wrong, I hope you'll put in a word for me. That would already be more than enough."
"And if we're talking about looking after someone," he added, "I'm actually hoping you'll look out for my wife. She may be one of the Liyue Qixing, but when she's out handling important matters, trouble still finds her sometimes. If anything ever gets reported up to Yujing Terrace, I'll have to rely on you."
Ganyu could tell he meant every word—he was genuinely thinking about Keqing.
A man like that was hard not to fall for.
But he was already married.
If she'd met him earlier… she couldn't help thinking he might've been the one she ended up calling her husband.
For a moment, she almost envied Keqing.
A shiver ran through her, and she shifted—quietly, carefully—like she was trying to hide the reaction from her own body. Ridiculous. Ryou hadn't done anything. He'd only looked at her.
Yet her face went even hotter, and the first thought she could grab onto was an old, flimsy one: it might rain.
She should go home early and bring the laundry in.
If it got wet… she'd have a problem.
[End of chapter]
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