"What don't you understand?" Ryou walked over in a few quick steps, sat behind his desk, and looked at Huixin.
"I-it's… some work stuff…" Huixin could barely get the words out. She forced herself to explain, but she couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.
Ryou didn't tease her or press her. He just went through it with her at an easy pace, breaking it down step by step.
It took a while, but Huixin finally got it. Her eyes lit up with admiration. "That's… that's brilliant. I never would've come up with something like that."
"Think it through a bit longer and it'll come," Ryou said with a chuckle. "Most things make sense once you sit with them."
"Ryou… I, um…" Huixin hesitated, then looked up. "I heard the Ministry of Civil Affairs can accept transfers. I… I want to transfer in. Is that possible?"
"You want to transfer to the Ministry of Civil Affairs?" Ryou watched her for a moment, weighing it.
Is this really about work, or is it about me?
If Keqing found out he'd brought Huixin over, she'd definitely start overthinking. Huixin had almost married him once, and her relationship with Keqing was… fine, but not close. Unlike Ganyu—those two were practically best friends.
Besides, with Ganyu, Ryou could actually see a path forward.
Huixin, though? No chance. And with how petite she was… yeah. That would never work long-term.
…Or maybe he was just reading too much into it.
Ryou looked back at Huixin. "The Ministry of Civil Affairs isn't like Yujing Terrace. Are you sure you've thought this through?"
"I have." Huixin nodded firmly.
"Alright." Ryou agreed. "Bring me the application in a bit. I'll let Ganyu know."
"Thank you!" Huixin quickly placed an application on the desk. "I… I already prepared it before I came."
Ryou raised a brow. "So you came with a plan. Fine."
"Sorry for the trouble." Huixin stood and hurried out.
Ryou watched her go, picked up the application, and let out a low laugh. "My charm is getting out of hand…"
"What charm is getting out of hand?" Keqing walked in from outside and immediately spotted the paper in his hand. "Don't tell me that's Huixin applying to transfer into the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
"You saw her leave?" Ryou asked.
Keqing walked over, then sat right down in his lap like she owned the place. "Yeah. I saw Huixin heading out."
She narrowed her eyes, voice turning sharp. "In my memory, she's always looked up to Ganyu. If she wanted to do this job, it was because of Ganyu."
Keqing jabbed a finger at his chest.
"She's not here for the work. She's here for you."
"Keqing, you can't blame me for that." Ryou pulled her closer, holding her snug against him. His mind flashed to that scorching kiss from earlier, and his thoughts immediately started drifting.
Keqing noticed. "Don't tell me you're actually tempted by Huixin."
She scoffed. "She's not right for you. Even if you hadn't married me back then, she wouldn't have lasted with you. Do you have any idea how ridiculous you are? A normal girl can't keep up with you for long—give it a few years and she'd be—"
Ryou pinched her lightly.
Keqing jolted. It stung just enough to make her glare, but it also sent a strange ripple through her that made her ears heat up. She turned her head and shot him a warning look.
"Don't mess around. Behave."
"What? You're overthinking." Ryou sighed. "Yeah, I also suspect she wants in because of me, but you don't need to worry."
He squeezed her cheek, grinning. "I hesitated because I didn't want you getting the wrong idea. You're kind of… the jealous type."
"Me? Jealous?" Keqing slapped his hand away. "I'm not!"
She settled back against him, voice turning more serious. "I'm not going to blame you for that. I trust you."
Then she added, pointedly, "But I'm warning you right now—Ganyu is fine. You can keep seeing her. Anyone else, watch yourself. Especially Tabibito. I swear she's up to something with you."
That made Ryou's heart jump.
Ganyu is fine?
With Keqing's personality, how could she possibly be okay with him getting involved with another woman? And yet… lately, she'd been trying so hard to match him, to keep up, to be perfect. If she really wanted to share him, she wouldn't be pushing herself like this.
So when she said "Ganyu is fine," she wasn't giving permission.
She was warning him to keep it appropriate.
Ryou's mind flashed to that earlier moment, and his nose caught a faint lingering sweetness. Did she smell it on him?
He tightened his arms around her and said softly, "Keqing, don't worry. I'll keep my distance from Ganyu. Next time she comes asking for help, I won't even go."
Keqing: ???
That's what you took from that?
I meant you should spend more time with her! If you two actually get close, I won't have to stress about it all the time! And I'd have my best friend helping me carry the pressure, too!
She'd practically pushed them together more than once already, and this block of wood still hadn't made any progress. Her husband was smart, capable, and decent in every way—so why was he so hopeless when it came to women?
"I… that's not what I meant…" Keqing opened her mouth to explain, but seeing how earnestly he'd promised, she swallowed it back. "…Forget it."
Then she felt something else and immediately pinched him back. "You idiot. We're still in the Ministry!"
"That's because you're the one tempting me," Ryou murmured, leaning in to her ear and whispering a suggestion.
"No." Keqing glared at him. "Wait until we get home. And besides, I already—no. Absolutely not."
Ryou forced himself to cool off, then exhaled and hugged her properly again. "Alright, alright. I'm not bullying you."
He stood up with her. "I'm going to Ganyu's office for a moment. Once we're done, we can head back."
"Mhm." Keqing nodded. "I'll come with you. And we can invite Ganyu to join us afterward."
"Sure." Ryou agreed, and the two of them went together.
Ganyu was in the middle of handling paperwork. When she looked up and saw the pair of them, she clearly didn't expect it. "Why are you two here?"
"Someone wants to transfer from Yujing Terrace to the Ministry of Civil Affairs," Ryou said, placing the application on her desk.
He and Keqing sat down.
Ganyu skimmed it, and when she saw the name, her expression turned complicated. "Huixin…"
Keqing watched her closely. "Huixin treats you like a role model, but now she's applying to transfer anyway. How does that feel?"
"Mm… it's true." Ganyu fell silent for a moment.
Uncle Tian had mentioned before that she should look out for Huixin more, and she knew Huixin admired her. But asking to transfer like this still left her feeling oddly conflicted.
Ganyu glanced at Ryou. "If she's coming to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, it's probably because of you. As far as I know… she almost married you once, right?"
Ryou coughed. "That did happen."
Keqing snorted. "I've known for ages. With me here, I'd like to see her try to steal my man."
Ryou could only give a helpless shrug, and Keqing didn't press the point further.
Instead, she brightened and leaned closer to Ganyu. "Ganyu-nee, we're having a little get-together today. Come with us."
She flicked a glance at Ryou. "If there's anything you can't finish, let this guy handle it."
"I'm basically done," Ganyu admitted, "but leaving Yujing Terrace at this hour…"
It was late afternoon edging toward evening. It didn't feel quite right to walk out now.
Keqing smiled, wrapped an arm around Ganyu, and spoke gently. "Then you should learn from Ryou a little. He's delegated everything properly, so we're much freer."
She squeezed her a bit. "And the people under us will only improve if we actually let them take responsibility. We should give the younger staff a chance. Right?"
Ganyu looked at Ryou. When she saw him nod, she finally relented.
"…Alright."
Not long after Ganyu left, Baiwen arrived outside her office with paperwork. She knocked, waited, and heard nothing.
Baiwen frowned. "Is Ganyu-san not here?"
"Ganyu-sama left Yujing Terrace a little while ago with Ryou-sama and Keqing-sama," a staff member said. "Ganyu-sama said if it's urgent, it can wait until tomorrow."
Baiwen stared at them like she'd misheard. "Are you serious? Ganyu-san is meticulous. How could she leave at a time like this? And these documents—I need her to process them."
"It's true," the staff member said, looking uncomfortable.
With no other choice, Baiwen returned to the Jade Chamber and placed the paperwork back on Ningguang's desk.
Ningguang glanced at it. "Hm? The efficiency at Yujing Terrace really has improved lately. But you haven't been gone that long—Ganyu finished all this already?"
She lifted her eyes. "Did Ryou help her?"
"No." Baiwen shook her head.
Then, remembering something, she added, "Keqing-sama did stay at Yujing Terrace for a bit, but she left soon after."
Ningguang's temples throbbed immediately. Just thinking about that married couple was enough to give her a headache. She massaged her forehead.
"And since the Ministry of Civil Affairs has been running smoothly—everything getting processed quickly—I wasn't going to say anything."
Baiwen swallowed, then continued carefully, "The reason I brought them up is because… when they left, they took Ganyu-san with them."
Ningguang froze.
Her hand covered her forehead more tightly, like the headache physically worsened. Then she looked up slowly. "You're telling me they clocked out, and they brought Ganyu with them… so now Ganyu has clocked out too?"
Baiwen didn't dare answer.
Ningguang's expression tightened. "They're going to be the death of me."
She looked down at the mountain of paperwork, and the pain in her head doubled. "Fine."
She waved Baiwen away, irritated beyond words. "Go. I'll handle these myself."
"Ningguang-sama, if you do all of this yourself, you'll have no time today or tomorrow, and… tomorrow you're scheduled to—" Baiwen looked genuinely worried.
"What choice do I have?" Ningguang snapped, eyes sharp. "If I don't do it, who will?"
She pointed at the door. "Go."
"Yes, Ningguang-sama." Baiwen shrank back and hurried out.
Ningguang stared at the documents and wanted to cry.
She already had too much on her plate. She'd been counting on Ganyu to take some of the weight—and now that idiot Ryou not only left early, he dragged Ganyu with him too?
Unbelievable.
How long am I going to be stuck here processing this?!
[End of chapter]
[200 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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