"Hey, hey—what's with that look?"
Xingqiu stared at them, then pointed a warning finger like he'd caught them red-handed.
"I'm telling you right now—my cousin is married!"
He'd noticed Xiangling and Lumine's eyes lighting up, and he could already guess what they were thinking. He rushed to talk them down.
Sure, his cousin was ridiculously talented—especially in business. Even Xingqiu's father praised him. But no matter how amazing his cousin was…
You still couldn't set your sights on him.
Hu Tao scratched the brim of her hat, then turned her head toward Xiangling and Tabibito, her tone openly teasing.
"Xiangling, Tabibito… don't tell me you two actually have ideas about him. He's been married, what, two or three days?"
She grinned wider.
"Still, if you really do like him, I support you."
Then she leaned in, voice dropping like she was sharing a secret.
"But before you do anything, I suggest you place an order with my place first. Otherwise, if you get beaten to death, you won't even have anywhere to be buried."
"I'll give you thirty percent off. Deal?"
"Knock it off, Hu Tao—stop talking nonsense!" Xiangling snapped, squirming under the way Hu Tao and Xingqiu were looking at her.
Truth was, Xiangling didn't even know Ryou. But not long ago, she'd run into him while shopping with Yanfei. She'd seen him walking with Keqing, chatting and laughing, so openly sweet it left an impression.
She just hadn't expected he'd turn out to be Xingqiu's cousin.
Lumine, on the other hand, looked more caught off guard than embarrassed. The memory of what she'd seen at Yujing Terrace—Ryou's father—flashed through her mind, and the irritation came back in a small, stubborn knot.
"You know my cousin?" Xingqiu asked, watching their reactions. He was starting to connect the dots.
"Not really," Hu Tao said. "But that wedding caused a huge stir in Liyue Harbor. I didn't expect he was your cousin."
She brightened, seizing the opening.
"So, can we stay and join the fun?"
"No," Xingqiu said immediately.
"Hu Tao, I'm treating him to a meal tonight. This is a family dinner. We're friends, sure—but not this time."
"Xingqiu…" Xiangling murmured. "Maybe you could ask your cousin later?"
"No."
Xingqiu glanced at them, and his look turned openly suspicious.
"Why are you all so invested? Don't tell me you actually like my cousin."
He frowned harder.
"He's a married man!"
…
At the same time, Ryou was walking toward Liuli Pavilion with Keqing.
"Zhongli-san rarely goes out," Keqing said. "He probably had something on today. If we come by tomorrow, we should be able to catch him."
She paused, then added bluntly,
"But if you're trying to convince Zhongli-san to work at the Ministry… that's going to be hard."
Earlier that afternoon, Ryou had taken advantage of some free time and brought Keqing to look for Zhongli. They hadn't seen him—and they hadn't seen Hu Tao either.
"It's fine. I'll go again tomorrow," Ryou said with a smile, slipping an arm around her.
Then he lowered his voice.
"Keqing… I got a little too excited yesterday. Today I'll be more careful. I'll make sure I don't hurt you."
Keqing's face went hot all at once.
She shot him a look, thinking, You say you won't hurt me—like that's even possible.
Sometimes she seriously wondered if being a Vision holder meant nothing. How was she still the one falling apart the moment he got his hands on her?
Sure, Mother had taught her a few tricks this time… but Keqing still didn't feel confident.
During the day, he looked like a perfect gentleman.
At night, he turned into a demon king.
Keqing had never been scared of much, but when it came to Ryou at night… she really did get nervous. At this rate, she needed to drag Ganyu into it—fast. If Ganyu helped share the load, things would be a lot easier.
She just didn't know how Mother's visit to Yujing Terrace had gone today.
Keqing hugged Ryou closer and whispered in his ear, "Ryou… can we call a truce tonight?"
"Keqing," Ryou said calmly, "Father scolded me today for not taking good care of you."
Keqing hesitated.
What was she supposed to say—comfort him? After the way he'd bullied her yesterday?
So she waited.
Ryou kept going. "That's one thing. The other is… I refused to take over Father's seat among the Liyue Qixing. He gave me a brutal lecture."
He smiled like he'd already won.
"But I convinced him. He said as long as we have a child, he'll work a few more years. Then he'll hand the position straight to our kid."
He spread his hands as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Think about it. The moment our child is born, they're already standing at the top. They inherit a seat among the Liyue Qixing and keep bringing glory to Liyue. Isn't that great?"
Keqing's eyes softened, the image forming too easily.
"Yeah… with the talent the two of us have, our next generation will definitely be outstanding. If we raise them properly, they could change a lot for Liyue. Father-in-law has a point."
"Exactly," Ryou said.
"So we should work hard. Better yet, have a few kids."
He looked straight at her, completely shameless.
"As for a truce… no."
Only then did Keqing realize what he was really doing.
So this was just another excuse to bully her.
Having kids was a good thing, sure—but if he kept "working hard" like this every day, would she even live long enough to see that day?
No.
She had to speed things up and pull Ganyu in—immediately.
[End of chapter]
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