Ningguang's subordinate... unpredictable movements... extraordinary methods... Yelan's fingertips unconsciously tapped his arm. This description was... far too accurate, so accurate it felt somewhat absurd.
Was it a coincidence? There were many talented people in Liyue Harbor; people with similar traits weren't unheard of. But to concentrate these traits so heavily into a fictional character, and have that character involved in a romance... "The best part is the ending!" the blue-banded woman lowered her voice, unable to hide her excitement. "During the Lantern Rite Festival, A-Lan personally released a sky lantern for A-He, painted with patterns of the two of them. On the lantern was written, 'My heart delights in you, I wish to stay with you forever'... Heavens, imagine that scene. Under ten thousand sky lanterns, the A-Lan who always calculated everything actually set a trap named 'Love,' just for one person!"
Hearing this, the suspicion in Yelan's heart felt as if the dust had settled. His face remained expressionless, even the faint, ambiguous smile at the corner of his lips persisted, but his eyes had turned into a deep, dark shade.
A-Lan... A-He... He quickly searched his mind. A-He, Shenhe?
That disciple of the adepti raised by Cloud Retainer—white hair, red strings, a cold temperament, and skilled with a polearm... the traits seemed to match the "A-He" they spoke of.
Yet he, Yelan, and that Shenhe had clearly never even met face-to-face. What he knew of him was limited to a few lines in intelligence reports and a few distant glimpses of that ethereal white figure. They were two non-intersecting parallel lines, living in completely different worlds.
So, where did this book "for whom the love trap is set"—which meticulously depicted how "A-Lan" (a character highly overlapping with his own traits) stepped by step led "A-He" (highly overlapping with Shenhe's traits) to fall into the trap of love—actually come from?
Who was the author "Hanabi"?
Was it some writer who had accidentally glimpsed his actions and happened to know of Shenhe's existence, thus creating a match out of thin air? Or... someone with ulterior motives, trying to use this obscure method to convey a message or test his reaction?
Either possibility made Yelan feel a slight discomfort. Of course, it wasn't because he was being written about, but because things were spinning out of control.
He was accustomed to hiding behind the mist, controlling the situation, and laying traps for others. Since when had he himself become a character depicted, arranged, and even given an emotional destination by someone else's pen?
This feeling was like discovering his own shadow had escaped control and was dancing a bizarre dance on the wall.
He looked at the two women still heatedly discussing the plot. They were completely immersed in that fictional romance, knowing nothing of the reality that might be hidden behind the story, and even less likely to imagine that one of the "prototypes" they were talking about was currently standing in the shadows not far away.
His training as an intelligence officer allowed him to calm down. He let out a soft breath, suppressing the surging doubts and the slight displeasure of things being out of control.
Yelan looked toward the Sanyu Bookstore once more, but his gaze no longer lingered on "a bite of liyue."
It seemed that, besides paying attention to that Little Melusine author, he needed to personally "read and study" this book "for whom the love trap is set."
Furthermore, he had developed a keen interest in this author with the pen name "Hanabi."
Truly interesting. Ever since Lovia appeared, Liyue's literary world had begun to... become bizarre and grotesque.
Yelan's thoughts spread out like the invisible silk threads at his fingertips.
He had only recently gone to the Sanyu Bookstore to investigate Lovia's identity. Shortly after, this "for whom the love trap is set" had suddenly appeared. The pen name wasn't "Lovia" but "Hanabi," yet the timing was too coincidental, and the style—similarly focusing on specific figures for bold "re-creation"—made it hard not to link the two.
Could "Hanabi" be another pen name of Lovia?
Yelan straightened his body. The last trace of nonchalance in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by the sharpness and prudence of a top Liyue intelligence officer.
He only needed one confirmation.
An author's writing style is fixed; once established, it is difficult to change. Therefore, he only needed to buy the book and read it to find out.
He wanted to see what else was written in this story that forcibly "shipped" him and Shenhe together. Was this "Hanabi" truly "Lovia"?
And, just what kind of trap this really was.
He gave a soft snort, his fingertips toying with a die that had appeared out of nowhere, as he stepped toward the Sanyu Bookstore.
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