"Teacher Zhenyu, have you written anything new lately?"
"Chief Editor Yae, do you personally come all the way to Liyue just to urge authors to submit manuscripts?"
The second young lady of the Feiyun Commerce Guild—no, the second young master, Xingqiu—said helplessly. As the chief editor of Yae Publishing House, Yae Miko had met him several times before, and they had also corresponded through letters. His A Legend of Sword was widely popular in Inazuma's literary circles. Even he was rather puzzled by it. It was not that popular in Liyue, yet somehow, it had become famous abroad instead.
"I just happened to be passing by. Teacher Zhenyu's fans in Inazuma are all looking forward to reading your new work," Yae Miko said.
It had to be said, Xingqiu really was handsome and delicate. If he changed into women's clothing, he would simply be a boy whose looks did not lose to most girls.
"I haven't written anything yet."
Xingqiu awkwardly scratched his head. Writing was only his hobby. With his family background, even if he did not work at all in this lifetime and simply chose to lie flat, he still would not need to worry about Mora.
"Fine."
Yae Miko did not force the matter either. She had only mentioned it casually. It was not as if Yae Publishing House relied on that one book to survive.
"Dear nephew, you're here too." Koji looked at Chongyun and tilted his head in greeting.
Chongyun: "???"
Chongyun, who was in the middle of eating a popsicle, froze slightly. Since when did he gain an uncle?
"Chongyun, are you related to Mr. Koji?" Xingqiu asked with interest.
"I don't know. Isn't Mr. Koji from somewhere else?" Chongyun scratched his head and said in confusion.
"I'm in a partner relationship with Shenhe, Chongyun's aunt, so you should call me uncle," Koji said with a smile.
"So that's how it is…" Chongyun nodded as if he understood, then could not help rolling his eyes.
He had suddenly gained an uncle out of nowhere.
"Shenhe, huh…"
Miko sized Chongyun up, then compared him with her impression of Shenhe, that fairy-like woman untouched by the mortal world. The resemblance was not very high.
"It's normal that the two of them don't look alike. When Shenhe was little, she cultivated under Cloud Retainer. What she absorbed was immortal air."
Chongyun did not refute Koji's words. That aunt of his truly was as cool and distant as an adeptus. Even though the two of them were relatives, they had barely exchanged more than a few words.
"Your constitution is very rare. You have an extremely strong yang energy. Among humans, that can be said to be exceptionally uncommon," Miko said. As a fox adeptus, she naturally saw Chongyun's special trait at a glance.
"My constitution is a pure yang constitution," Chongyun nodded and said directly.
He was also very helpless about his own constitution. Once it acted up, it made him extremely heated and unbearably uncomfortable. Eating popsicles was one of the ways he cooled himself down.
Although it was beneficial for cultivation, he would rather have the constitution of a normal person. After all, he was the only special case in his family. The others could still cultivate just fine without it.
"Dragonspine is a pretty good place. You can go there for a walk," Koji said.
"I've been there, but I didn't go deep in. It really is a good place."
Chongyun nodded. The cool air there was refreshing and soothing, and it could even suppress the heat of his pure yang constitution.
However, he had not ventured deeper inside. His clan had records about Dragonspine. There were taboos in its core region, and one could not easily step into it, lest one fail to come back out.
Even a pure yang constitution would not work. Dragonspine's cold was no joke. It was completely different from ordinary winter cold.
"Xingqiu, do you want to consider changing into a different outfit?" Koji took out the women's clothing Xingqiu had left piled up at his place.
If Xingqiu dressed as a girl, he could crush many girls in looks. Walking down the street, he would probably attract countless people trying to strike up conversations.
Xingqiu: "…"
Seeing that outfit, Xingqiu's expression almost collapsed. This was obviously not something a boy would wear. There was no way he would cross-dress.
This was a matter of dignity. Once he put it on, it would become an indelible dark history.
Xingqiu looked at Chongyun in disbelief. Were they still good brothers or not? Why would he even tell others about this kind of dark history?
In fact, Xingqiu himself had almost forgotten about this matter. If no one had brought it up, he probably would never have remembered it in this lifetime. It was his brain's own voluntary act of forgetting.
"Oh my, I didn't expect Teacher Zhenyu to have that kind of childhood. Indeed, Teacher Zhenyu's looks are quite outstanding, enough to blur the line between male and female," Miko, that fun-loving fox, had found another piece of entertainment.
"Please don't make that kind of joke. It isn't funny," Xingqiu said helplessly.
Childhood was childhood, and now was now. Back then, he had still been ignorant and naive. Now that he looked back on it, it was truly a dark history he wanted to delete.
"Xingqiu, do you know Hu Tao gave you the nickname Second Young Lady of the Feiyun Commerce Guild?"
"…I know."
Xingqiu did not know whether to laugh or cry. Of course he knew. Hu Tao had even said it to his face.
Wasn't he just a little delicate-looking? How did that make him a girl? This was simply slander.
Koji glanced at Chongyun and added another casual tease, "Then what about Chongyun? Does he think so too?"
Chongyun, who already had a pure yang constitution, instantly turned completely red. That color was even redder than a Jueyun Chili. It was not the figurative kind of "so embarrassed he was smoking," either. His head was genuinely giving off steam.
"N-No, there's no such thing…"
Chongyun stammered.
Xingqiu's face darkened. They were good brothers, not that kind of relationship. He did not like men either. His orientation was normal.
"Just a joke." Koji expressed his apology.
Even if Chongyun said to Xingqiu, "Bro, you smell so good," Koji would not find it strange.
"By the way, Teacher Zhenyu, I'll have to trouble you with these signatures." Yae Miko casually took out two hundred copies of Xingqiu's work.
"No way, this many?"
Xingqiu's mouth fell open. This many books needed signatures, which meant he would have to sign six hundred characters. By the end, he would probably even find those words unfamiliar.
"Actually, there are another six hundred copies, but we can talk about those next time," Yae Miko said with a smile.
"Ahem, ahem…"
Xingqiu could not help coughing. She really wanted his life. Two hundred copies alone was already a huge project.
Sigh. It seemed he would have to carve a seal for signatures in the future. Otherwise, who knew how much time he would waste?
"Xingqiu, work hard by yourself. I'll be leaving first."
Chongyun patted Xingqiu on the shoulder and left straight away. What came next had nothing to do with him. He did not know how to sign Xingqiu's name, so he could not help.
The corner of Xingqiu's mouth twitched. Forget it. In the end, he had to do it himself anyway.
"Then I'll leave them here for now. I'll come pick them up when I leave Liyue." Miko left, preparing to go chat with Ganyu.
"Take your time signing."
Everyone left. Xingqiu looked at the tall stack of novels and his vision went dark.
At this moment, being unknown seemed fine too. At least then, he would not have to do things like autograph books.
(End of Chapter)
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