Keqing and Yelan were together in the living room, sipping tea.
Of course, Yelan had already tidied up the living room beforehand, so it was at least in a usable state now.
It was just that the lingering scent in the air wouldn't dissipate anytime soon.
"This Precious Baby, I keep feeling like he looks somewhat familiar."
Keqing blew on his teacup, but he didn't bring it to his lips. Instead, he slowly placed it on the table.
"Familiar?"
Yelan looked at Keqing with some curiosity.
According to Aether, this Precious Baby was a high-ranking member of the Treasure Hoarders who was active outside year-round, so why would Keqing find him familiar?
"Yes, I just feel like I've seen him somewhere before."
Keqing's brows were slightly furrowed.
He only had a vague feeling about it, but if he had to recall carefully, he couldn't remember it for a while.
However, if he had seen him, it must have been in Liyue Harbor, as he hadn't left Liyue Harbor for a long time.
Except for the last time he went to Tianheng Mountain for a mission.
But during that mission, he barely saw anyone on the way, only coincidentally encountering Lumine and Paimon at the very end.
"There are many people in the world who look alike. Perhaps you just remembered incorrectly."
Yelan shook his head and said.
"Hmm… that's possible too."
Keqing nodded, then stopped thinking about it.
"Speaking of which, how are things at The Chasm?"
Keqing began to inquire about serious matters. He knew that Yelan had already investigated The Chasm beforehand, but for now, he couldn't go deeper inside.
Yelan came from an ancient family. His ancestors once fought a great calamity in the area of The Chasm.
According to him, something there seemed to be constantly attracting him…
Of course, no one could clearly explain what was going on, but the mining accident that occurred in The Chasm was a real event.
After that, Liyue sealed off the entire Chasm, prohibiting ordinary people from entering or exiting.
"The outside is acceptable, but it's impossible to know what the inside is like without going in."
Yelan pondered for a moment, then looked at Keqing again:
"If necessary, I need to go deep into The Chasm."
"…That's a bit too dangerous."
Keqing said, frowning.
"But we need to find out what's going on in there, don't we?"
Keqing frowned and didn't say anything more.
He wasn't Yelan's direct superior, after all. Besides, even if Ningguang came, he probably couldn't persuade Yelan.
"Forget it, it's a rare day off, let's not talk about these things."
Yelan was a bit helpless; every time he chatted with Keqing, the conversation always drifted back to work.
"It's your day off, not mine."
Keqing chuckled softly.
If he hadn't come to get something, he probably wouldn't have had time to enter the Serenitea Pot these past few days.
"Speaking of which, isn't this taking too long… Can Precious Baby endure it?"
Upon hearing this, Yelan also looked up at the clock on the wall.
Indeed, a long time had passed. Adding the previous period of confinement, Precious Baby's body was probably already dehydrated.
"Aether has his limits. Even if something really happens, it's that guy's own fault."
Yelan didn't seem to care much about this.
He was also considered to have a "checkered past"; sometimes, interrogations went too far and accidents would happen.
Keqing obviously knew this, but that person was still a very important suspect after all.
"Maybe I should go check."
Keqing prepared to get up, but was pulled back by Yelan.
"Calm down. It's not too late to go if he still hasn't come out in a bit."
—
"No, please, I beg you…"
Precious Baby was indeed starting to break.
He had finally witnessed Aether's capabilities.
Just moments before, when Aether had unbound him from those chains, he had thought this might be one of his few chances.
The truth proved that Aether had enough confidence to unbind him without worry.
During this time, Precious Baby barely had a chance to breathe, constantly enduring Aether's storm-like assault.
"That's all it takes for you to give up?"
Aether looked down at Precious Baby from above, a slight curve to his lips.
Precious Baby had been saying that for over ten minutes already.
And the truth proves that if you don't try again, you'll never know how much water is still in a towel you thought was already dry.
Such was Precious Baby; at least, in Aether's eyes, there was still a lot of moisture that could be squeezed out of him.
Of course, Aether wasn't a devil. Although Precious Baby's initial malicious intentions towards him had made him angry, he had been severely punished by now.
Since that was the case, he would let him off for now. He also needed to save some energy for the evening.
Thinking this, he reached out and brushed away Precious Baby's damp hair, looking at Precious Baby's face.
"Speaking of which, you always make me feel like I've seen you somewhere before…"
Aether's fingers caressed Precious Baby's cheek.
Like Keqing, Aether also felt like he had seen Precious Baby somewhere before.
But he was certain that this was his first time meeting Precious Baby in the ruins.
Which meant he must have seen someone who looked very similar to Precious Baby.
Who could it be…
"Oh, right, there's something I forgot to ask. Are you really that Nan Changjie?"
Aether suddenly asked.
He had been too preoccupied with his own enjoyment earlier and hadn't asked the crucial questions.
"No…"
Precious Baby shook his head with some difficulty. Seeing that Aether finally seemed to intend to stop, Precious Baby dared not speak anything but the truth at this moment.
"No? Then do you know Nan Changjie?"
Aether raised an eyebrow and immediately asked again.
"Yes, I know… Nan Changjie is my younger sister, Yan'er."
"Oh?"
Aether immediately became interested; this was unexpected information.
Precious Baby actually had a younger sister.
Yan'er… Wait!?
Aether suddenly widened his eyes and quickly looked down at Precious Baby.
The more he looked, the more he felt his guess was correct. He knew where he had seen someone who looked very similar to Precious Baby.
"You… don't tell me you have another sister named Ying'er?"
Aether asked with a look of suspicion.
They looked too much alike, and the naming convention also matched.
If they weren't sisters, Aether would find it hard to believe.
"Ying'er?"
Precious Baby, however, looked at Aether with confusion.
"No, I only have that one sister…"
He didn't know anyone named Ying'er at all.
"Is that so?"
Aether looked at Precious Baby; his expression didn't seem like he was lying.
However, Aether didn't know, and he couldn't rule out the possibility that Ying'er might be a long-lost sister of his.
But this would be left for Yelan or Keqing to investigate later.
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