Bang!
Abyss Order.
Aether was truly pissed off this time.
The Abyss Apostles kept their heads down, trembling in fear. The bolder ones stole a glance and saw that Aether's face had already twisted into a mask of agony.
"If only I'd known..."
Aether was filled with regret now.
But there was no medicine for regret in this world.
"Why'd I have to be so stubborn? Look what happened..."
Aether felt utterly numb.
"Better watch the video to calm down... Will Lumine be sad that I left?"
Aether steadied his emotions and watched his sister in the video, a gentle expression softening his face.
If not for certain unavoidable reasons, he never would have wanted to part from her.
In the video.
"They're gone."
Gu Chen spoke up after watching the Abyss portal vanish.
"Woo... Lumine, don't be so sad... We'll find them! Think on the bright side—at least we got some really useful clues this time!"
Paimon fluttered over to Lumine's side, her little face full of concern as she patted Lumine's shoulder to comfort her.
Lumine fell silent. She snapped out of it, glanced at Paimon, then at Gu Chen who was lost in thought nearby, before calmly saying, "I'm not sad."
"Eh?"
"Really?"
"But you finally found your brother, and he just left after saying some cryptic stuff. I thought you'd be heartbroken..."
Paimon blinked in surprise.
A relaxed smile crossed Lumine's face as she placed her hands on her hips. "Don't think I'm that fragile, okay? Besides, this is clearly a good thing!"
"A good thing?" Paimon was baffled.
"As long as I know he's alive, that's enough!" Lumine replied.
Aether, watching the video: "..."
What did that mean?
"As long as you know I'm alive, that's enough"?!
Was the rush to find me just to check if I was dead or not?!
Was this sister even worth keeping?
Aether's brows furrowed tightly. He was dying to hear what Lumine would say next!
"What do you mean?"
Paimon scratched her head in confusion.
Lumine sneakily glanced at Gu Chen, saw he wasn't paying attention, then leaned in close to Paimon's ear and whispered, "Knowing my brother is alive means I don't have to rush to find him anymore. Now I can travel the Seven Nations with peace of mind, take it slow, and enjoy my own life!"
Paimon's eyes widened in sudden realization.
She glanced at Gu Chen, then covered her mouth and whispered, "So the next part is your chill and fun dating time, right?"
Lumine's cheeks flushed red. She didn't reply, but nodded in confirmation.
"Ooh~"
Paimon grinned mischievously.
Aether, watching the video: "..."
Damn it!
Did he, the big brother, mean nothing anymore?!
Knowing he was alive meant she could just ignore him?!
Aether clutched his chest. It hurt so much.
The little cabbage he'd raised for years was about to be snatched away!
Rage boiled within him.
Aether couldn't hold back anymore.
[Your Highness]: I f*cking... you... %￥#... grass %￥￥!!
[Kaeya]: It's okay, I get how you feel. But don't panic—you're in a rush, I know. This is past-life Lumine!
[Lumine]: Finally, someone explains it for me! (Klee · Yay!)
[Paimon]: Then why'd you smile right after saying that in the video? (Confused)
Liyue, Watatsumi Island.
Wangshu Inn. Lumine was waiting here for the people Ningguang had sent to pick her up, while also enjoying Liyue's cuisine.
After seeing Paimon's message, Lumine shot her a sharp glare. "Don't blab everything to the group!"
"Mmph mmph, got it."
Paimon hurriedly covered her mouth and nodded repeatedly.
She was actually a bit confused by Lumine these days.
At first, Lumine had strongly resisted the idea of her past self getting close to Gu Chen.
But gradually—whether from the groupmates' teasing or something else—Lumine seemed to be accepting it.
From Paimon's outsider perspective, Lumine had slowly become like everyone else: an outsider looking in, fully separating herself from her past life.
But now, Lumine seemed to be gradually stepping into her past self's shoes.
Why was that?
It wasn't just Paimon who didn't get it—Lumine herself didn't fully understand either.
She could feel the changes in her heart most clearly.
Those emotions surging up uncontrollably felt so real.
It was her past life, after all. Was that why it hit so deep?
If Lumine set her mind to it, she could definitely suppress this weird feeling. But she didn't. A decision from the depths of her heart made her let it be.
"Do I really like Gu Chen?"
Lumine murmured softly to herself.
She recalled everything about Gu Chen from the videos. Perfect? Well, he did some pretty abstract stuff sometimes. Flaws? She couldn't name any.
It gave her a strange feeling that being with Gu Chen wouldn't be so bad.
[Kaeya]: Calling on the male lead to speak! @[Gu Chen]
[Gu Chen]: Bro knows bro's handsome. Don't fall for bro—bro's just a legend. (Kaeya · Winking with rose, heart-stealing rogue)
[Yae Miko]: Calling on the female lead to speak! @[Lumine]
[Lumine]: Sis knows sis is super charming, but don't fall for sis—sis is the woman you can never have! (Yoimiya · Chin rest)
[Kaeya]: 6
[Venti]: Alright, alright, playing like that, huh? I'll haul over an Anemo Archon Statue for you. When's the wedding? (Hu Tao · Sly grin)
[Zhongli]: What?! A wedding banquet?! (Alert)
[Rahu Dragon King]: Morax, look at you. I don't even wanna talk about it!
[Osel]: Since we're all in the same group, we're all friends, right? Friends witnessing a wedding? Totally reasonable, yeah? (Nahida · Excited)
[Nahida]: (Nods)
[Raiden Ei]: (Ponders) Makes sense! (Nods)
[Your Highness]: No way! I absolutely refuse!
[Kaeya]: Uh oh, big bro-in-law says no. What now? (Giggle)
[Furina]: Super simple!
[Venti]: Spill!
[Neuvillette]: (Alert)
[Furina]: So what if Aether disagrees? Once Gu Chen and Lumine make the rice into cooked rice and give him a nephew, he'll have to agree even if he doesn't want to!
[Gu Chen]: I told you the Water God is full of wisdom! (Claps)
[Furina]: (Hu Tao · Sly grin)
[Lumine]: You guys are ridiculous!!
[Paimon]: Yo, why's your face red? (Lumine blushing photo)
[Lumine]: Cut it out! Let's get serious—the video showed a way to Inazuma. I saw Mr. Kaedehara Kazuha!
[Kaedehara Kazuha]: Nothing much to see about Kaedehara Kazuha. Let's circle back to the earlier topic—that one's way more fun! (Kaedehara Kazuha · Sneaky grin)