Ryou froze.
Wait—seriously?
Ningguang, are you for real?
He looked at her again, and the more he watched her expression, the more he got the feeling she wasn't joking at all. An emotion indicator even popped up—and it only kept intensifying.
Ryou shot her a look. "Ningguang, don't mess with me. Even if Keqing's asleep, I can't do something like that."
"If you want to stay the night, I'll have someone prepare a room for you. But anything else? Forget it. I'm going to bed."
He tossed that out and hurried off.
If he actually got tempted into doing something stupid, he'd be in deep trouble. Better to leave now—fast.
Maybe if he weren't married, he might've… considered it. Ningguang was beautiful, and she was Liyue's richest woman. He wasn't going to pretend the thought wouldn't cross his mind.
But he was married now. And Keqing trusted him that much.
He couldn't betray her.
Watching him insist on leaving, Ningguang's expression soured.
She'd made the first move, and he still walked away without hesitation.
Was she really not as good as Keqing?
Still… she could tell he had principles. Men like that were rare.
In the end, Ningguang stood up and let out a quiet sigh.
"Keqing… sometimes I really envy you."
"You found yourself a good man."
She shook her head and headed outside.
Truthfully, she was happy he'd resisted the temptation.
But for some reason, a small, stubborn disappointment still lingered in her chest.
…
The next morning.
Keqing opened her eyes and found Ryou holding her as he slept.
Warmth spread through her chest.
Then last night's memories hit her all at once, and her face went bright red. She reached up and lightly traced his cheek, whispering, "You jerk… could you at least show some restraint? You just had to bully me like that…"
"Mmph."
And then—Ningguang…
Keqing's expression tightened.
That woman had made it clear more than once that she was interested in Ryou. There was no way she'd just let an opportunity pass.
Keqing had fallen asleep last night. Ryou went to see Ningguang alone.
So… did they…?
But when she touched him again, she knew she was overthinking it.
If he'd done anything, she'd be able to tell. And the scent on him—every trace of it—was hers.
So yeah. She'd imagined the whole thing.
Honestly… her husband didn't need worrying.
Still…
Why did her body feel so much better than before? The soreness was noticeably lighter.
Did he secretly treat her while she was asleep?
…That actually sounded possible.
Ryou had taken one look at Uncle Tian and immediately realized he'd been poisoned. If he could do that, his medical skills couldn't be bad.
Having a man like that…
Keqing leaned down and kissed him.
"Keqing," Ryou said, eyes cracking open, "sneaking kisses this early in the morning?"
His gaze slid over her clothes, heat sparking in his eyes. He pulled her tighter into his arms.
"Think you can take advantage of me and run? Not a chance."
"Mmph! Y-you—don't mess around," Keqing stammered, struggling with a flushed face. "I have to go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs today!"
But under his kiss, every bit of resistance melted away. In the end, she gave in before she even realized she'd stopped fighting.
…It's fine.
She hadn't gone to the ministry for two days already. Taking one more day to rest…
Probably wouldn't kill anyone.
Keqing covered her face.
Since when did she get this lazy?
Keqing, Keqing… you can't keep drowning in lust like this!
…
Ryou arrived at the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
"Ryou-sama!" a staff member hurried up.
"Hm." Ryou nodded. "Has Zhongli arrived?"
"Not yet. Also… Zhongli-san sent over a lot of bills yesterday. The total's around three hundred thousand Mora."
The staff member reported it carefully, like they were walking on thin ice.
Ryou's eyes narrowed. "He hasn't worked a single day. Why did you pay his bills?"
He gave them a hard look, then glanced toward the office area.
"Today, all paperwork goes to Zhongli."
"This is the Ministry of Civil Affairs. You don't get to just eat and do nothing."
"And next time—if you feel generous enough to cover his bills, then you can pay it out of your own pocket."
"Ah… yes. I-I understand." The staff member looked like they were about to cry.
After giving a few more instructions, Ryou went into Keqing's office.
Today, he couldn't leave the ministry.
He wasn't about to give Zhongli the chance to pull anything.
Before long, Zhongli arrived.
"Zhongli-san!"
Several of the female staff practically lit up when they saw him.
Zhongli's looks and talent were dangerously attractive, and most of them were single—of course they had thoughts.
Zhongli cleared his throat. "Everyone, I'm here to handle some work today. Could you arrange a seat for me?"
"Sit here!"
One of the women was especially enthusiastic, tugging him over beside her.
"Oh, right—Ryou-sama specifically instructed us that all these tasks are for you to handle."
"Zhongli-san… did you offend Ryou-sama somehow?"
Zhongli blinked, confused.
He and Ryou hadn't clashed at all.
But the moment he saw the mountain of paperwork, cold sweat broke out.
…This is insane.
"I didn't offend Ryou," he said slowly. "But I do have something I need to ask him. I'll bring it up while I'm there."
Thinking about the Fatui matter, Zhongli stood and walked toward Ryou's office.
Keqing hadn't shown up at the ministry for days, so everything was currently under Ryou's control.
He knocked. A voice inside said, "Come in," and only then did he open the door.
"Oh? Zhongli-san." Ryou's tone stayed calm as his eyes flicked over him. "This early, and you're not working. What do you need?"
Ryou already knew exactly why Zhongli was here.
He wanted him to release La Signora.
But Ryou had worked too hard to catch her. He wasn't letting her walk.
And he knew La Signora hadn't left precisely because of the deal she'd made with Zhongli. That restriction was the only reason she was still obediently staying put.
Otherwise, she'd have already fought her way out of the ministry.
"Ryou, no need to be so formal," Zhongli said. "Just call me Zhongli."
"I wanted to ask—what are you planning to do with those Fatui?"
With his current identity, Zhongli couldn't openly say, Let her go. That was something Ningguang would have to handle later.
So he tested the waters instead.
Ryou raised a brow. "Zhongli… I've suspected for a while that you were working with the Fatui and selling Liyue Harbor's information."
"And now you're speaking up for them?"
"It's hard not to start connecting dots."
He lifted his teacup, took an unhurried sip, then set it down.
"If you don't want to set yourself on fire, don't stick your head into this."
"Go do your work."
"Oh, and I heard you sent bills to the ministry?"
"I-I did," Zhongli said, and his posture stiffened under Ryou's gaze.
"You're here on your first day," Ryou said flatly. "You haven't contributed a thing, and you're already sending bills?"
"I've also heard you like sending bills to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. That habit stops here."
"I'm putting out a public notice. If anyone dares sell to you on credit, I'll personally bring ministry staff to their door and have a nice, long talk with them."
Ryou's voice turned sharp at the end.
Zhongli stared at him. "I was just speaking casually, and you're taking it that far?"
"If you do that, won't every merchant in Liyue Harbor stop sending bills altogether?"
He let out a dry laugh. "Ryou, you're exaggerating. Something like this doesn't need you stepping in."
"Ahem. I'll go work."
Ryou clearly wasn't budging, and Zhongli knew changing his mind would be difficult. With no other choice, he left the office.
But the moment he saw that massive pile of tasks again, he pressed a hand to his forehead.
…There's way too much.
"Zhongli-san, are you okay?" a staff member asked quietly.
"I'm fine," Zhongli said, sinking into his seat. "I just need to work."
Luckily, the tasks weren't complicated.
Still, even so, it took him over an hour to finish them all.
When he finally set down his pen, Zhongli exhaled.
The work was too scattered, and even for him it took time to think through—especially with the numbers involved.
"Zhongli-san, have some tea." The same staff member hovered beside him, practically glowing with eagerness. "Honestly, you're already incredibly fast."
"It's manageable," Zhongli said. "Once this is done, I'll have much more breathing room."
"Now I understand why Keqing-sama has it so hard."
"She has to oversee construction projects outside, and then come back and handle all this work at the ministry too."
"No wonder she's always overwhelmed."
His brows knit as his eyes drifted to the stack of bills beside him.
The staff member blinked. "Keqing-sama used to be busy, that's true. But things aren't like before."
"Back then, even if she was sick and couldn't go out, she'd still come to the ministry to work."
"But now she hasn't shown up for three days."
"Three full days."
Then she leaned in, lowering her voice like she was sharing the most delicious secret. "Still… I really envy Keqing-sama."
"Ryou-sama is basically the perfect man."
"He handled everything in the ministry flawlessly."
"And I'll tell you something—these past three days, all the work was done by Ryou-sama."
"And he only needed half an hour."
Zhongli: ???
Half an hour?
Was she joking?
This work was so tangled up that thinking through it properly would take more than half an hour on its own.
Half an hour to finish everything—and perfectly?
Impossible.
And yet, Ningguang had also said Ryou's handling was outstanding. His proposals were impressive—especially that idea about medical insurance.
Even Zhongli had found it hard to believe, because it was simply too clever.
So Zhongli had always thought highly of him.
But hearing that Ryou cleared all of this in half an hour, and did it flawlessly…
Zhongli could only stare, stunned.
He left the Ministry of Civil Affairs still shaken by those words.
Maybe he really was getting old.
He couldn't keep up with the younger generation anymore.
Shaking his head, he headed toward the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
On the way, he passed a shop and immediately noticed a pair of antique jade pieces—smooth, rounded, and clearly high quality.
"Boss," Zhongli said, eyes fixed on them, "I'll take that pair. Send the bill to the Ministry of Civil Affairs—"
The shop owner froze when he saw who it was.
Then he forced a laugh. "Zhongli-san, not this time."
"If I send a bill to the ministry, I'm afraid Ryou-sama will show up at my house in the middle of the night and flip the place upside down."
"I heard the way he handles things is basically like a bandit."
Zhongli went blank.
He remembered exactly what Ryou had said when he left the office.
His face darkened.
…No way.
Did he really publish that notice?
Over something this small?
[End of chapter]
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