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

The next morning, Fanes was awakened by the wet touch on his face.

It started on his left cheek. It was damp and slightly warm, as if something had been repeatedly rubbing against it. Then it was his right cheek. Next, his forehead. Fañes groggily raised his hand to shield his face, his fingers touching a patch of fine scales.

Fanes opened his eyes and saw Little Black squatting on his pillow, its head bowed, licking his face repeatedly with its tongue. Its tail poked and prodded his belly, as if trying to urge him to get up in multiple ways.

Fanes lay there for two seconds, then said, "Okay, Blackie. Go eat first. Remember to save me some breakfast."

Little Black retracted its tongue, tilted its head, and then spread its wings and flew out of the open window. The sound of its wings flapping echoed a few times in the morning light before fading into the distance, and the shadow on the windowsill disappeared, leaving only the curtains still swaying slightly.

Fanes sat up and rubbed his face. He glanced at the bedside table, where a thermal food container sat. The lid was still closed, and there was no moisture visible around the edges, so it must have been delivered recently.

Just as Fañes reached for the food box, the door was pushed open. Ningguang stood in the doorway, holding a steamer basket. The lid of the basket was slightly ajar, and steam escaped from the gap, carrying the unique aroma of steamed dough and meat filling.

Ningguang walked in, placed the steamer on the bedside table, and pulled up a chair to sit down next to it. She looked at Fanes, her gaze lingering on his face for a moment, as if to confirm that he looked much the same as usual after waking up, and then she said, "Try it."

Fanes lifted the lid of the steamer, revealing eight neatly arranged xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). The skin was so thin that the light-colored filling inside could be seen through. Each dumpling was pinched with eighteen pleats, and there wasn't a single extra wrinkle at the opening. He picked one up, dipped it in vinegar, and took a bite.

The hot broth spread across his tongue, the meat filling was tender, and the dough was chewy. Fanes chewed twice and swallowed, then picked up another one.

Ningguang sat beside him and watched him finish his third one before asking, "Was it good?"

Fanes put down his chopsticks, turned to look at her, and said, "Of course it's delicious. Did you make it?"

Ningguang leaned back in her chair, her gaze fixed on the water stains slowly receding along the edge of the steamer lid, and didn't answer. Fanes picked up another steamer and put it in his mouth, chewing before placing his chopsticks back on the edge of the steamer: "Then this whole steamer will be breakfast."

The two sat quietly for a while. The morning light outside the window had moved from the edge of the windowsill to the center of the floor, spreading a warm patch of light in the space between them.

It was already morning when I packed up and left Qunyu Pavilion. The floating stone descended smoothly, and the rooftops and streets of Liyue Harbor gradually magnified in my field of vision, changing from a fine grid to the recognizable outlines of streets and pedestrians.

Hu Tao stood in front of the floating stone, her hand resting on the edge of the handrail. Her gaze slowly moved down along the edge of the Jade Pavilion, as if she were using the entire terrace as a reference point to calculate the spacing between the column bases and the distribution of light and shadow in her notebook.

After they had gone some distance, a ship was slowly approaching the boarding platform below the Qunyu Pavilion. As Beidou climbed up from the side of the ship, she casually tossed the rope to the crew behind her. She walked up the gangway to the terrace, her gaze falling on Ningguang, who was sitting on the edge of the terrace drinking tea.

"You seem to be in a good mood today?" Beidou sat down in the chair next to her, poured himself a cup of tea from the table, took a sip, and put the cup down.

Ningguang placed the teacup back on the table, the same smile still playing on her lips: "It must be because my luck has turned around."

Beidou leaned towards her: "Oh? Did you find some treasure again? Show it to me so I can broaden my horizons."

Ningguang picked up her teacup and took another sip: "No."

Beidou leaned back in his chair, his gaze still fixed on Ningguang. Ningguang held her teacup, her eyes fixed on the fading outlines of the mountains in the distance, offering no explanation.

Meanwhile, Fanes and his party had already walked along the main street of Liyue Harbor for some time.

Hu Tao walked beside him, her pace slower than usual. She turned her head to look at Fanes' profile, then at the edge of his collar, slowing her steps even further, as if checking an unclassified entry based on that distance and the position of the mark on the fabric. Then she spoke.

"Tell me quickly, what did you do last night?"

Fanes didn't turn around: "What do you mean?"

"I saw Ningguang coming out of your room first thing this morning. You still smell like her. Don't try to fool me."

As she spoke, Hu Tao leaned closer and sniffed near his shoulder. "Really, I'm not mistaken. This scent is the same as the fragrance on her clothes yesterday, but the residue is stronger. She must have been in close contact with him."

Funina was walking on his other side, her head down looking at the paving stones. When she heard those words, her pace noticeably slowed. Her gaze fell on the road ahead, and the color of the tips of her ears was slowly changing, like a program starting up but not yet having finished loading all its code.

Fanes stopped and turned to look at the two of them. "I can't help it, my charm is just too great. Isn't it, little Fufu?"

Fanes's last sentence was directed at Fernina. Fernina turned her head to look at him: "...What, is there anything else I need to do?"

Hu Tao waved her hand: "Don't interrupt. Tell me quickly, what did you two do last night?"

Hu Tao paused slightly as she spoke, her gaze shifting from Fanes's face to the Jade Pavilion they had just left in the distance, then back again. "I'm talking about those special things, things worth recording. You know, the kind of things that require choosing a specific day to do."

Fanes looked at her, his tone still calm: "What are you thinking? I'm still a minor. This kind of thing will have to wait at least another year."

Hu Tao paused for a moment, then followed: "Really? So you've already said yes?"

Fanes continued walking forward, his voice echoing back from ahead: "Who knows what will happen a year from now? But usually a year goes by quite quickly."

Hu Tao followed and walked beside him: "Remember to invite me to your wedding."

Fanes didn't slow his pace: "Don't worry, I'll definitely prepare a unique spot for you."

Hu Tao's eyes lit up: "Really? Such a good thing? Where is it?"

Fanes stopped and looked at her, as if to make sure she was ready to receive the answer: "In the bride's position."

At that moment, Hu Tao's expression resembled the surface of water being slowly rippled by the wind, changing from "I'm listening" to "Wait, what did you say?"

"No... are you serious? Isn't that spot usually reserved for specific people who are qualified to stand there?"

Looking at her expression, Fanes continued, "Of course, we'll invite a few more people along then."

"Should we call a few more?"

Hu Tao blinked. "Who else could you call? You don't mean to call the entire Rebirth Hall, do you?"

Fanes took a step forward: "Perhaps some of the Fools' Enforcers will get married."

Hu Tao stood there for a moment and thought, "That's true." After saying that, she turned to look at Funina walking beside her, "What about Fufu?"

Fanes' voice came from the side: "Of course I'll be with you."

Funina was looking down at the cracks in the paving stones when her name was called. She looked up and asked, "...Who wants to come with you?"