Genshin Impact: Watch me turn the tables and kill my servants at the start!

When Fanes received the purchase intention letter from Liyue, he was squatting in the new warehouse of Winterhold, counting a batch of finished steel products that had just come off the production line.

Taking the document from his secretary, Fanes glanced at the purchase quantity and specifications, silently reviewed the price and delivery time in his mind, then closed the document and handed the letter of intent back to his secretary: "Reply that it's acceptable. Follow the standard contract, and the delivery time should be as stated in the letter of intent."

The secretary took the documents and was about to turn and leave when Fanes called her back: "Wait, I'll go myself."

Three days later, Fanes appeared at the docks of Liyue Harbor.

This time, Fanes did not go through the side entrance of the Northern Bank, but went directly to the General Affairs Department's reception room near the port, which was specifically responsible for foreign procurement.

Ningguang was already inside. In front of her was a table with a map of the area around Liyue Harbor spread out on it, and on the edge of the table were an empty teacup and a closed pen holder.

When Ningguang saw Fanes walk in, she didn't stand up; she simply pointed to the chair opposite her.

"Please sit down. I've already confirmed the specifications of the steel you requested. The quantity remains the same, and the delivery time can be arranged according to your schedule. The only thing left to finalize is the price."

Fanes sat down opposite her, picked up the tea that had already been brewed on the table, and took a sip: "The price will be based on the quote in your letter of intent—that's our standard price. It's a bit higher than the price we give to Mondstadt, but within the normal fluctuation range."

Ningguang looked at him, her tone conveying a knowing "you already know what I'm going to say": "Then this price needs to be re-evaluated in my budget."

Fanes set down his teacup, tracing the rim lightly with his fingertip. "Approving the budget doesn't affect the pricing standard. The standard price is the standard price; I quote based on this price, and you approve based on this price—isn't that just the trade process?"

Ningguang picked up her teacup: "You already know why Liyue imported this batch of steel."

Fanes leaned back in his chair without denying it: "I can roughly guess. Weapon manufacturing, city defense upgrades, and the newly built shipyard at the port. Once you get this batch of steel, there should be a significant improvement in casting and forging indicators in the near future."

Ningguang put down her teacup: "Now that you've guessed its purpose, do you think there's any room to lower the price?"

Fanes looked at Ningguang's composed expression and then spoke: "Since the purpose is clear, I'll be frank. You raised the price of the ore you gave me before, and this time I should recoup the difference. Based on your large-scale purchases, a 5% increase per ton should be within the normal range."

Ningguang paused on the edge of the table when she heard "5%".

Ningguang leaned back in her chair, looking at him across the table, her gaze seemingly patiently waiting for an unresolved conversation to naturally settle into its conclusion: "We've been friends for so many years. I've bought so much, and you still have the nerve to raise prices?"

Fanes picked up the teapot and poured himself another cup: "Are you kidding? You didn't do this back then, did you? When I bought ore from you, you raised the price by a full three percent."

Ningguang lowered her hand on the edge of the table: "No... you're not done with this yet, are you? The transaction for that batch of ore was settled a long time ago."

Fañes leaned back in his chair, holding a teacup: "So this price increase is a continuation of that matter—settling it doesn't mean forgetting it, it just means it hasn't been brought up yet."

Ningguang didn't speak. She looked at Fanes, as if weighing the potential consequences of that old grudge, and then she stood up.

Instead of going around to the other side of the table, Ningguang walked along the side of the chair he was sitting in, stood beside the armrest, and bent down. Her arm came around from behind the chair and rested on his shoulder, her fingertips just resting there without any pressure.

Ningguang's breath was very close to his ear, her voice a little lower than before: "If you insist on this 5% increase, I can have Liyue recalculate the components of the procurement budget, but are you sure you want to be so calculating about our years of friendship?"

Ningguang tilted her head slightly as she spoke, her lips very close to his earlobe, like a leaf tilting slightly in the wind, adjusting its direction along its own trajectory.

Fanes remained seated in the chair. He could feel the warmth of her fingertips resting on his shoulder, and the subtle, warm touch of her breath brushing against the edge of her ear.

Fanes tightened his grip on the teacup slightly, leaving a shallow mark on his fingertips along the rim.

Ningguang noticed that his hand holding the teacup moved almost imperceptibly, and the smile on his lips deepened slightly. When she spoke, her voice carried a knowing tone that said, "I knew you would do this."

"So, young master is shy?"

Fanes looked down at the teacup in his hand, then looked up at her again. His ears were slightly red, but his voice remained steady: "...Do you know how old you are?"

Ningguang lowered her head, turned her face to his ear and whispered, "What do you care how old I am? I'm well-preserved."

As Ningguang stepped back, her fingertips slid down his shoulder, along the outside of his arm to his wrist, before retracting.

Fanes put the teacup back on the table: "...Reduce the price by one percent. Any lower and it won't work. The ex-factory price of this batch of steel can't be lowered any further."

Ningguang stood beside the chair, looking at him with a triumphant air: "Deal."

Ningguang turned around and walked back to her seat. She picked up the prepared contract from the table, flipped to the last page, signed her name in the signature column, filled in the date in the date column, and pushed the contract and pen towards Fanes. "Sign it."

Fanes glanced down at the revised price section of the contract, took the pen, signed his copy, capped the pen, and put it back on the table.

Ningguang put the contract away and looked up at him: "Three days from now, at night, at Qunyu Pavilion. I'll have tea prepared then."

Fanes stood up, buttoned his coat, and turned to walk towards the door. He paused for a moment at the door but didn't turn back, then pushed it open and said, "Understood." He then stepped out and walked down the corridor.

When Ye Lan emerged from behind the screen on the side of the reception room, her footsteps were still so light they were almost imperceptible. She stopped next to Ning Guang, glanced at the teacup that Fanes had used, still sitting on the table with half a rim of unfinished tea, and then looked at Ning Guang again.

"You really don't have a crush on the guy over there, do you? He's more than twenty years younger than you, a friendship between people of vastly different ages?"

Ningguang reached out and picked up the now-cold cup of tea, pouring it into the nearby wastewater bucket: "Can't you say something nice?"

Ye Lan leaned against the edge of the screen, her gaze still fixed on the empty cup: "If Bei Dou knew about this, he would probably faint from anger on the spot."

Ningguang put the empty glass back on the tray: "Let her be angry. Anyway, she'll come back to me for a drink after she's done being angry."

Ye Lan didn't reply. She simply straightened up from the edge of the screen and left the reception room through the side door.

-

Beidou, currently aboard the Death Star: Strange, I have a feeling like my base has been raided!