Ryou scooped Keqing into his arms and glared at Chaoxi, fuming. "Hey—what the hell are you trying to do? In broad daylight and you're not even wearing clothes. Have you no shame?"
"I… I don't have any clothes!" Chaoxi noticed Ryou looking over. His face visibly changed, and he took an instinctive step back.
The next second, he slipped and tumbled into the sea.
Splash.
"Chaoxi…!" Sisi cried from the side.
Keqing had seen everything Ryou just did. For a moment, she seriously wondered if he had some weird hobby. Chaoxi looked perfectly decent, and that alone had affected her judgment a little. From what Chaoxi said earlier, she hadn't made up her mind yet, but Ryou immediately called him a scumbag—wasn't that too much?
Ryou heard that and gave her butt a quick swat. "I'm your man. You think I'd lie to you? If you don't believe me, then in a minute we'll have the Millelith haul him out, and you can see for yourself."
With how certain he sounded, Keqing hesitated—but in the end, she still called the Millelith.
Chaoxi was pulled back onto shore. A few Millelith soldiers stared at him without speaking, but when their eyes swept past a certain area, their expressions clearly turned a lot more contemptuous. Keqing was right there, so they didn't say anything. They simply tossed him a set of clothes.
"K-Keqing… th-thank you for saving me, Keqing-sama." Seeing it was Keqing who had him rescued, Chaoxi was filled with gratitude.
Keqing didn't respond.
Ryou had been so confident, and now that confidence started making her uneasy. What if he really was right? What if she'd judged wrong?
Just then, a young girl came rushing over. She threw herself straight into Chaoxi's arms, her voice trembling with tears. "Chaoxi-san, you're okay—thank goodness… I heard the Millelith say you fell into the sea and almost—almost… I was terrified."
"Chaoxi-san, what's wrong?" She stared at his face. "Why do you look so awful? I'll take you to Bubu Pharmacy—let them check you out."
Chaoxi froze like he'd been struck by lightning, staring down at the girl in his arms, completely speechless. He had no idea what to do—like even he hadn't expected things to turn out like this.
Beside them, Sisi was already sobbing. She pointed at Chaoxi with a shaking finger. "Chaoxi… you…"
"Chaoxi-san?" Cui'er's voice went quiet, like she'd just put it together.
Ryou sighed and shook his head. "It's obvious. This guy's been two-timing. And besides you two, I remember there's a girl from Sumeru who hates his guts even more. She's making money and learning to fight over there, and she's planning to come back and chop him into pieces."
Chaoxi's face turned even paler.
Ryou looked at him and thought, seriously? Man, you really know how to play. But you're just an ordinary guy—pulling this kind of stunt is basically begging to die. You think you're me? You think one person can handle that many women?
He glanced at Sisi and Cui'er and spoke more gently. "He tricked you, but at least he didn't take things that far. You can still cut your losses. And if you hate him so much you can't stand it, come to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and find me. I'll help you deal with this little punk."
"Thank you, sensei… We… we'll talk it over first.""I… I will too."
Sisi and Cui'er's expressions grew complicated. They didn't say anything else—just grabbed Chaoxi and dragged him away.
A Millelith soldier quietly asked if they should follow to make sure nothing happened, but Ryou shook his head and sent them back.
Watching Chaoxi leave with Sisi and Cui'er, Keqing's face didn't look good. She hadn't expected that decent-looking man to lie straight to her face too.
Guilt hit her hard.
She hugged Ryou, voice full of remorse. "Ryou… I misjudged him. I shouldn't have doubted you. He looked so proper, and I… I got fooled."
"Hmph." Ryou stared her down. "Now you regret it? You were just accusing me of lying."
Keqing's cheeks burned.
Ryou kept his eyes on her. "Fine. I can forgive you. But you have to show me something first. Don't say I'm taking advantage of you… that costume. No more excuses, right?"
Keqing's whole face went red-hot, like it might steam. She knew perfectly well he was using this moment to bargain, but she'd been the one who messed up.
Still… a costume really wasn't happening.
She lowered her voice, blushing hard. "Um… How about… a qipao?"
[End of chapter]
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