Huh?
Hearing Xiao's words, Bonanus couldn't help but narrow her eyes. Just how old are you, exactly? You still need someone to feed you?
"Well, well, look at you, you thousand-year-old baby," Bonanus teased.
Xiao didn't react to her words. His hand remained extended, offering the candied haw, completely still—as if he'd stay that way forever unless she took it.
Seeing this, Bonanus propped one hand on her hip while slowly chewing her own candied haw with the other. Her puffed-out cheeks made her look adorably amused as she said:
"Can't say no to you, can I?"
With her free hand, she took the candied haw from Xiao. After swallowing the bite in her mouth, she couldn't resist teasing him further.
"Open wide, little Alatus. Let big sister feed you."
"Sister Bonanus... don't tease me like that." Xiao shook his head helplessly. He didn't particularly enjoy being treated like a child.
But if it made Bonanus happy, he wouldn't complain.
"Come on, open up!" Bonanus ignored his protest, still using that same tone one might use with a small child.
As she spoke, she slowly brought the candied haw toward Xiao's mouth, giving off strong "mother feeding her kid candy" vibes.
Seeing her hand approach, Xiao didn't hesitate. He bit off one of the little "balls" from the skewer.
Strangely enough, this sugary treat tasted incredibly sweet to him. No difficulty swallowing at all.
Bonanus had some kind of magic—a power that made food delicious. It was remarkable.
"Well? Good, isn't it?" Bonanus watched his expression of enjoyment, smiling as her eyes crinkled.
"Very good." Xiao nodded gently, acknowledging the treat's quality.
"Heh! Told you! No one can resist sweet things!" Bonanus grinned triumphantly. So Xiao wasn't unable to eat everything after all!
At this, Xiao simply smiled faintly. Being by Bonanus's side made him genuinely happy.
With her, he could act like a child. He could make childish requests.
He'd finally found someone who would listen again—someone he could tell all his troubles to, all his worries.
In this moment, Xiao felt a happiness he hadn't known in centuries. It was wonderful, this feeling—soothing, uplifting.
After enduring so many years of solitude, the divine had finally returned his family to him...
Watching Xiao look like he wanted to be fed again, Bonanus shook her head with a chuckle.
Kind of feels like I've adopted a little puppy... Strange feeling, that.
"Alatus! Don't get greedy. You can hold it yourself."
Hearing this, Xiao didn't feel disappointed. That one bite was enough. The first time leads to the second, and the second to the third.
This intimate moment hadn't gone unnoticed by passersby—or by those following them. It seemed they'd discovered something quite remarkable...
Was this a romance between adepti?
More importantly, a certain romance novel expert happened to witness the scene. Instantly, countless plotlines began swirling in his mind.
In a few weeks, a certain novel about Adepti might just appear at the Yae Publishing House.
"Sister Bonanus... you can be so merciless sometimes..."
Xiao helplessly took back his candied haw. Without her feeding him, it somehow felt difficult to swallow again.
"Am I? I thought I was being perfectly normal!"
Bonanus rubbed her chin, thinking over her recent words. She couldn't find anything merciless about them.
Could it be that refusing to feed him counted as merciless? Surely not!
Shaking these useless thoughts from her head, Bonanus took Xiao's hand and plunged into the crowd.
Two diminutive adepti wove through the masses. In this shopping district, the average person towered over them, making them surprisingly inconspicuous.
Besides Liyue merchants, this area also attracted foreign traders. Their wares fascinated Liyue folk, who found them novel and intriguing.
Foreign merchants flowed through constantly—and with them came profiteers.
This district was particularly infamous for shady foreign vendors. Shopping here meant constantly watching for inflated prices.
After all, with unfamiliar foreign goods, ordinary Liyue citizens had no way to judge their true value.
"Alatus! Look at that! That one's beautiful!"
Bonanus pointed with her left hand toward a shop selling Xiao lanterns. The lanterns on display were stunning—truly eye-catching.
The patterns were exquisite, the illustrations practically alive—like something a master painter might create.
"Gaudy," Xiao commented honestly. The lantern was certainly pretty, but he found the patterns somewhat excessive.
"Alatus, you need to develop an eye for beauty." Bonanus put on a serious expression.
She did think the lantern was nice, but she didn't plan to buy it.
At this, Xiao merely shook his head in disagreement. Crossing his arms, he spoke calmly:
"I once made a Xiao lantern. I helped a little girl craft it."
"As for why I helped her... I can't quite remember. But I do recall that the lantern I made personally was fought over by merchants."
"Something about it being 'one of a kind,' I believe?"
Xiao searched his memory. Even he couldn't recall why he'd helped that girl make her lantern back then.
"Really?"
Bonanus looked mildly skeptical. Given Xiao's usual aloof, detached demeanor, it was hard to imagine him helping an ordinary mortal girl with such things.
"That was long ago." Xiao shook his head. He hadn't paid much attention at the time nor made any effort to remember.
Bonanus studied his expression as he spoke. No signs of lying. This was probably 90% true.
He's so gentle. I'm genuinely moved.
"Didn't know Alatus could be so sweet!" Bonanus grinned. She'd assumed his personality would make him indifferent to such matters.
To this, Xiao made no reaction. His face went cold—the same expression as before, completely different from the enjoyment he'd shown while being fed.
This was the same indifferent look as always—that "nothing matters" demeanor.
A true master of changing expressions!
But it didn't affect their date. Though dating someone who constantly wore that cold expression did feel a bit strange...
---
Some time later
Overall, the date had gone reasonably well. Bonanus dragged Xiao around buying all sorts of odds and ends—anything she found pretty or useful, she purchased.
It wasn't her mora anyway. No regrets!
As for where to send all these purchases? Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, naturally. Wangshu Inn was an option too, but it was too far.
If packages ended up there, she'd have to travel forever to retrieve them. Too troublesome!
In a day or two, Wangsheng employees would discover a mountain of packages piled at their entrance.
Hopefully Director Hu's funeral parlor had room for all of them!
Shopping was only half the plan. The other half, naturally, was sampling Liyue's street food!
Liyue Harbor's snacks were not to be missed. While perhaps not matching the dishes of master chefs, their flavor was exceptional.
Xiao resisted every snack with a face of refusal—but as long as Bonanus fed him personally, that expression transformed completely.
Truly a 2000-year-old giant baby...
Along the way, Bonanus occasionally spotted familiar faces: Xinyan performing on stage, Chongyun being dragged to storytelling sessions by Xingqiu...
None of them knew her yet. She'd have to find time to properly introduce herself...