"Since you're here, come in." Ryou glanced at Xiangling and Hu Tao, then welcomed them into the house.
Once they were inside, he had the servants bring tea.
Then he stood up and said, "Sit in the hall for a bit. I'll be right back."
A moment later, he returned with a basket.
Inside were a watermelon, a Hami melon, several strawberries, and a durian.
It wasn't that he was being stingy. He simply did not have many seeds yet, and the number of fruits they had produced was limited. If he wanted more later, he would have to save the seeds.
"Watermelon!" Hu Tao's eyes lit up the instant she saw it.
"Are these all fruits? I don't think I've even seen most of them before," Xiangling said, staring at the basket.
Ryou set it on the table and took the fruit out one by one.
"This is watermelon. You've already tried it before, and it's great for cooling off."
He pointed to the others as he spoke.
"These are strawberries. You can eat them as they are. As for the other two, they're Hami melon and durian. Go easy on the durian, but it tastes amazing."
As he spoke, he cut open the watermelon, and everyone immediately leaned in to try it.
Right then, the butler came in.
"Ryou-sama, Instructor Wang is here," he said.
"Instructor Wang? What's he here for?" Keqing sounded puzzled the moment she heard that.
Did something happen?
"Let him in," Ryou said.
"Yes, sir."
The butler went back out.
A short while later, Instructor Wang hurried inside and went straight to Ryou.
"Ryou-sama, someone was brought into the Ministry's lockup. The situation's a little unusual."
"Who is it?" Ryou asked.
Keqing noticed that Instructor Wang had gone straight to Ryou without even looking at her, and she could not help feeling a little resentful.
I'm the Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing, alright? You can't even call me Keqing-sama once?
"It's an Inazuman," Instructor Wang said in a lower voice. "Her name is Kuki Shinobu."
"What?!" Ryou's voice rose at once.
He pressed a hand to his forehead. He had meant to deal with the Kuki Shinobu matter that morning, but he had gotten delayed because of the fruit trees.
Then he had spent half the day asleep in the office, and afterward he had gone straight home.
He really had left the whole issue hanging.
A headache came on immediately.
If she'd been caught again, did that mean another million Mora had to go out? And by now, Shinobu probably hated him enough to kill him.
Just imagining the look on her face when she wanted to murder someone was enough to make his skin crawl.
And although Hu Tao had eased up around him a little lately, things still had not fully improved. With this added on top, it was only going to get messier.
"What happened?" Keqing walked over and asked.
"Kuki Shinobu got arrested again," Ryou said.
"You... didn't cancel the wanted notice?" Keqing asked, staring at him.
Ryou shook his head.
"When would I have had time to deal with it today? Logically, Yanfei should've handled it already, but who knew..."
He trailed off, then suddenly understood.
The wanted notice had another effect attached to it. It lowered the target's resistance to being captured.
So even if he had wanted to let the matter die down, someone still could have caught her and dragged her back to the Ministry.
Ryou turned to Keqing.
"Keqing, stay here and keep everyone company. If I don't go in person, it'll definitely look bad. Shinobu's going to think I had her dragged in on purpose."
"That makes sense. Then hurry back. We'll wait to eat until you return," Keqing said softly.
Ryou nodded.
"Alright."
Then he left with Instructor Wang and headed for the lockup.
When he saw Shinobu, she was standing inside the cell glaring at him, fuming. The look in her eyes was so complicated that even Ryou felt uneasy under it.
He motioned for them to let her out, then stepped forward.
"Shinobu, I'm very sorry. I didn't handle this properly."
He hesitated, then added, "It's already dinnertime, so... would you like to come to my house and eat first? We can talk after."
"No need!" Shinobu shot him a furious glare. "Ryou-sensei, can you please just cancel the wanted notice? I do not want to be dragged back here again for no reason."
"I already canceled it," Ryou explained.
"Good. Then there's no need for dinner either."
She glared at him one more time, then stormed off without another word.
Watching her leave like that, Ryou let out a sigh.
What a mess this had turned into.
The moment he stepped outside, he spotted a familiar figure.
Before he could even speak, she wrapped her arms around him and whispered into his ear, "Are you alright?"
The voice was pure temptation. It caught him completely off guard.
Ningguang again.
The Millelith nearby widened their eyes and immediately turned their heads away, pretending to see nothing.
"Ningguang, what are you doing?" Ryou shot her a look, feeling even more annoyed the moment he remembered how she had schemed against him earlier.
This woman was definitely not harmless. Who knew what kind of trap she might spring on him next?
"Ningguang? You make it sound like I'm a stranger," she said, still holding him and refusing to let go. "I came to check on you, and you're not even happy to see me?"
She leaned in close as she spoke, then kissed his ear.
Ryou's body shivered almost at once.
Ningguang smiled when she felt it.
"Relax. Ganyu went back to Mt. Aocang today, so nothing will get in the way."
She muttered it softly, almost like a secret.
Ryou rolled his eyes, reached over, gave her a squeeze, and pulled her a little to the side. Under her pained look, he said, "Watch the setting a little. If you've got something to say, then say it properly."
"You really don't know how to treat a woman gently," Ningguang said with a pout.
Ryou ignored that and kept walking toward home.
On the way, he asked, "Doesn't Ganyu usually stay at the Ministry to deal with paperwork? Why did she suddenly go back to Mt. Aocang?"
He had not seen her in the last two days, and after sleeping through most of today, he had no idea what had happened.
Ningguang looked at him for a moment.
"You do care a lot about Ganyu. Don't tell me you've fallen for her too."
She watched his eyes carefully, but could not read anything there.
Am I overthinking it?
In the end, though, she trusted his character enough to let it go.
"I heard from Ganyu that her sister ran into trouble. During the battle against the gods, she exhausted too much of her strength, so Cloud Retainer took her back to Mt. Aocang."
Ningguang gave a helpless little shake of her head.
"Ganyu looked genuinely worried. I think... it may be serious."
Ryou immediately thought of Shenhe and grew concerned.
Shenhe had suffered a great deal in her life, which was why her temperament was so different from everyone else's.
And now that something had happened to her, he really should go see her. Maybe there was something he could do to help.
"I'll head to Mt. Aocang tomorrow," Ryou said quietly. "They helped save Liyue Harbor. We can't just do nothing."
Then Ningguang pointed ahead.
"Look over there. The arrangements have already started. People like them deserve to be remembered."
Ryou nodded.
"Mm."
Ningguang liked him even more after hearing that.
She knew he was sincerely grateful to the Millelith.
A man who valued loyalty and repayment like this was a good man through and through.
And the more she saw that, the less willing she became to let him go.
A man like this was hard enough to find once.
Trying to find another like him would be even harder.
After walking a bit farther, Ryou glanced at her and said, "I need to get home. I still have guests waiting."
"You don't mind if I come to your house for dinner, do you?" Ningguang said, hugging his arm.
"I do mind." Ryou shot her a look.
He had gone to the Ministry to handle real business. If he took Ningguang home with him now, how could Keqing possibly not think the wrong thing?
Ningguang smiled faintly.
"I don't think you really mind."
Then she stroked his arm and leaned close again.
"I know you're upset with me today. You think I'm using you."
She looked at him steadily.
"But I truly do want to be with you."
"A good man like you is hard to come by. And with the situation at Yujing Terrace, I don't have many better options."
Then she continued, more seriously this time, "Yujing Terrace has to handle all the official affairs of Liyue Harbor. That's why I recruited so many secretaries in the first place."
She gave a soft, frustrated laugh.
"And yet even after I handpicked them, they still can't compare to the people in your Ministry."
She squeezed his hand lightly.
"So help me out a little, and I'll help you too—"
"Ow! Easy!"
...
By the time they got back, it was already fully dark.
Ryou looked at Ningguang with complete helplessness.
What Liyue Qixing? This woman was pure trouble.
And just when he rolled his eyes at her, she turned and stole another kiss from him.
"Don't kiss me!" Ryou glared at her.
"Little liar. Your body is far more honest than your mouth," Ningguang said with a laugh as she grabbed his arm and led him inside.
The moment Ryou stepped in, he saw that the table was already full of dishes and that everyone had been waiting for him.
Then he noticed Keqing glaring at him.
A moment later, her gaze slid over to Ningguang, and she muttered under her breath, "You've got a death wish."
"Ryou invited me to dinner," Ningguang said as she walked forward without the slightest shame. "And besides... I came because I have serious business. This concerns the adepti."
Then she turned to the butler.
"Bring another chair."
"Yes."
Keqing frowned when she heard that.
She might not like Ningguang very much, but she knew Ningguang would never joke around about something involving the adepti.
And more importantly, Keqing trusted Ryou.
So in the end, she said nothing.
A moment later, the butler came back, but his expression was strange.
"Ryou-sama, Keqing-sama... Tabibito is here."
Keqing's face darkened on the spot.
What is this?
Why are all of these women showing up one after another?
Couldn't steal my man at the Ministry, so now you're coming to my house to do it instead?!
[End of chapter]
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