Ningguang heard Ryou say that, and her expression hardened..
So they'd been waiting at the Ministry of Civil Affairs all that time… for nothing?
"Keqing, stop right there! Millelith—block them!"
The Millelith outside hurried to stop Ryou and Keqing, but the next second he just froze. He rubbed his eyes on instinct.
In just a few steps, Ryou had already pulled Keqing a good distance away. The speed was ridiculous—easily three times faster than a normal person.
"Keqing-sama!"
"Keqing-sama!"
The Millelith rushed after them.
Keqing was being dragged along and she was stunned too. They'd only walked for a moment, yet they were already past the Ministry of Civil Affairs and over by the left side of the Feiyun Slope passage.
She'd caught it—one step from Ryou was basically three steps for anyone else. No wonder the Millelith didn't react in time.
"Stop," Keqing whispered, clinging to his arm. "Ningguang and the others definitely need me for something."
"Staying there is a waste of time," Ryou said, shaking his head. "Don't drag your feet. You already handled your work—staying is just overtime. Not worth it for a little Mora."
Keqing held tighter.
"…Ryou," she coaxed softly, acting cute on purpose.
"Only this once!" Ryou's whole body went numb from that tone. He pinched her cheek, then finally gave in.
"I knew you were the best," Keqing said, relief hitting her all at once.
She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
"Don't worry. The things I promised you—I'll do them. But right now we handle business first. Come on. Back to the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
Ryou wrapped an arm around her and laughed. "That's more like it."
They returned to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
"Ryou, we meet again," Ningguang said, walking up with a smile. "Congratulations to you and Keqing on your marriage. And thank you for understanding. This is Wang-sensei, and these are the people in charge. They've been waiting here for a long time."
"Ningguang-san, you're too kind," Ryou replied. With her speaking that politely, he didn't push it further.
Not far away, Lumine was staring at Ryou in surprise. He gave off the air of a scholar—handsome, sure, but nothing else about him stood out at a glance.
And she honestly couldn't understand why Keqing would choose him.
Paimon leaned close and whispered to Tabibito, "Tabibito, that guy is incredible. I saw Keqing-san acting cute with him just now."
"Acting cute?" Lumine repeated. "That doesn't really match Keqing-san at all. I've always heard she's upright and serious."
Thinking of the Keqing she knew, Lumine's expression turned strange.
So this was love?
For a moment, she didn't know what to say.
Or maybe…
…she was a little jealous.
"Keqing-sama!" Wang-sensei hurried over.
"Wang-sensei," Keqing said, her expression turning serious, "didn't I already mark the key points on those documents? Is there another issue?"
Wang-sensei was extremely upright, and extremely capable. In Keqing's eyes, he was someone she treated like a teacher.
Hearing her question, he looked a little embarrassed. He scratched his head. "What you said is right. It's just… the shift in approach is huge. I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I still don't understand some of the finer details. Could you give me a little guidance?"
Keqing stiffened.
A lot of it, she could follow—but the structure and the changes were so different from what she'd learned before. She'd planned to ask Ryou over dinner, but that guy ate like he hadn't seen food in his life. She never got the chance.
Now she didn't even know how to explain it to Wang-sensei.
Ningguang watched Keqing's hesitation and understood immediately: this was probably Ryou's work.
Her gaze shifted to him.
If she'd known he had this kind of ability back then, she would've swallowed her pride and fought to take him for herself.
If he was good enough, what was wrong with an older woman going after a younger man?
Unfortunately…
Keqing got there first.
[End of chapter]
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