Henry arrived at the shop early morning, only to find that he wasn't the first one there.
Atsuko was already outside adjusting one of the bikes while Xingqiu stood near the counter inside, calmly arranging papers and ledgers with the ease of someone who had spent years around business discussions instead of merely reading about them.
Henry had given them both the keys to the shop before they had left yesterday.
"You're both early," Henry said as he stepped inside.
Xingqiu looked up first, grinning at Henry. "First impressions matter in business. Arriving late on opening day would be disastrous."
"That is a good attitude to have, Xingqiu. Good, good."
Meanwhile, Atsuko looked far less composed than either of them. She had been trying to stay busy by checking the bikes repeatedly, but the nervousness on her face was obvious enough that Henry noticed it immediately.
"What if nobody buys anything?" she finally asked, voicing the worry that had clearly been bothering her since morning.
Henry glanced toward the entrance before pointing outside.
"Look," he said simply, "that won't be a problem."
Even before the official opening, people had already started gathering near the shop out of pure curiosity alone. The strange two-wheeled machines lined neatly beside the entrance looked completely alien compared to the horse carriages and wooden carts the people of Liyue had spent their entire lives seeing.
Some people whispered quietly among themselves while others pointed openly without even trying to hide their curiosity.
"Does it really move without a horse?"
"How are you even supposed to ride that thing?"
"It looks unstable…"
A child tugged excitedly on his father's sleeve. "Dad, I wanna try it!"
The father immediately pulled him back a step. "That thing looks expensive."
Henry folded his arms as he watched the growing crowd with satisfaction. Curiosity was always the easiest thing to sell to people, especially when they had never seen anything remotely similar before.
"Alright," he said, turning toward Atsuko. "Showtime."
Atsuko took a deep breath before nodding. Even though she was still nervous, the training over the past few days had clearly paid off, because unlike before, she no longer looked terrified at the idea of riding in front of people.
She wheeled one of the bikes toward the open area near the city exit before carefully climbing onto it, and the crowd gradually quieted as more and more attention shifted toward her.
Then she pushed forward.
The bike rolled ahead smoothly, wobbling only slightly before Atsuko corrected herself and steadied the handle properly, and the reaction from the crowd was immediate.
"It's moving!"
"There's no horse!"
"How is it balancing?"
Several people instinctively stepped aside as she rode past them before turning in a careful wide circle and heading back toward the shop, looking noticeably more confident than when she started.
Henry grinned slightly.
Perfect.
Now that people had seen the bike actually functioning, hesitation immediately began turning into fascination. More people started approaching the shop, no longer content with staring from a distance as they crowded closer to inspect the strange machines properly.
Some bent down to inspect the wheels while others poked cautiously at the frame like they expected the entire thing to collapse under scrutiny.
And then a familiar deep voice entered the chaos.
"I didn't know you were here to introduce a new vehicle to Liyue, young man."
Henry turned almost immediately.
Brown robes with golden patterns, amber eyes that carried the same calmness as always, and an expression so composed that even the noisy crowd around him didn't seem capable of disturbing it.
CEO of Geo.
Daddy Zhong
Geo Dude
"Mr. Zhongli," Henry greeted instinctively.
Zhongli gave a small nod as though the attention gathering around him didn't exist. "I came to inspect this 'bike' I have been hearing about. It seems Miss Ganyu has already been seen riding one around Liyue these past few days."
Of course she had.
Henry could already imagine the kind of attention Ganyu riding through the streets must have attracted.
Still, the moment Zhongli's eyes settled on one of the adult bikes, Henry immediately sensed danger.
Sure enough—
"I'll take one," Zhongli said calmly after inspecting it for a few moments.
Henry's expression brightened for half a second before reality immediately hit him.
"…Wait."
This was Zhongli.
The same man who treated Mora like some abstract philosophical concept rather than actual currency.
Henry narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "You're paying yourself this time, right?"
Zhongli actually paused to consider the question seriously.
"…Put it on Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's tab."
"Bruh."Henry almost rejected him on the spot.
Then another thought quietly entered his mind.
Hu Tao.
Her thighs.
Her thick thighs.
Maybe personally going to collect payment from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor wouldn't be such a terrible experience after all.
"He he."
[Pervert.]
Henry ignored Orianna completely.
"…Fine," he finally said with a cough. "Take the bike, Mr. Zhongli."
"Much appreciated."
Zhongli accepted the bike with complete dignity, as though placing absurd expenses onto Hu Tao's account was a perfectly ordinary occurrence and not financial terrorism against his boss.
The crowd only became larger after that. If even someone as composed and refined as Zhongli showed interest in the strange new vehicle, people naturally became far more willing to approach instead of merely staring from a distance.
Inside the shop, Xingqiu suddenly found himself completely surrounded.
"How much is this one?"
"What about maintenance?"
"Can children ride them?"
"Is it difficult to learn?"
Questions came one after another without pause, yet somehow Xingqiu maintained his composure through the chaos while Henry watched from nearby with growing appreciation. Behind the counter, a large board had already been placed clearly on display.
---
Swift Bikes!
Adult Mountain Bike: 20,000 Mora
Kids' Bike: 10,000 Mora
---
The moment people noticed the prices, hesitation immediately spread through the crowd.
"Twenty thousand?!"
"That's expensive!"
"These are top-quality bikes," Xingqiu explained calmly, pointing first toward the smaller children's version before gesturing toward the larger adult models. "Something designed for daily travel, durability, and long-term use was never going to be cheap."
"That's still too much!" someone argued from the back.
Without missing a beat, Xingqiu grabbed a brush and began writing numbers down across a nearby sheet.
"You're looking at the total price incorrectly," he explained while writing. "If divided into installments across several months, even lower-income households could manage the payments reasonably."
The crowd quieted slightly.
People leaned forward now, paying proper attention as Xingqiu calmly broke down the costs one by one, explaining monthly installments, repayment periods, and how much time and travel expenses the bikes would save compared to relying entirely on carriages or walking.
Henry blinked.
"…Damn."
"Xingqiu was actually good at this."
The hesitation in the crowd slowly began disappearing as people exchanged looks among themselves before stepping closer again, this time with genuine interest instead of simple curiosity.
Soon enough, a proper line had started forming near the counter as more and more people pushed forward, eager to inspect the bikes personally now that owning one no longer sounded completely impossible.
Unfortunately, excitement also brought chaos.
"Hey, don't push!"
"I was here first!"
"Move aside a little!"
Henry immediately stepped forward before things could become worse.
"One at a time!" he called out loudly. "You'll all get your turn, stop crowding the bikes unless you want Atsuko to run over you next."
A few people immediately backed away awkwardly while Atsuko nearly choked from the side.
"I-I wouldn't actually do that!"
---
Powerstones Please.
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