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

Fanes placed the teacup back on the table, his fingertip tracing half a circle along the rim before stopping at the tiny notch. He looked up at Zhongli: "But what exactly is this 'Deep Winter Plan' all about? I want to know your position."

The charcoal stove in the tea room made a soft popping sound, and a few sparks flew to the edge of the stove before going out.

Zhongli held the teacup still, his gaze fixed on the canopy of the sycamore tree on the windowsill, which was swaying gently in the wind. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light on the table.

Zhong Li spoke up: "My stance will not influence the decisions made within the Fools."

Zhong Li put down his teacup, the bottom of which made a soft, dry sound as it hit the table. "The Severe Winter Project is an internal matter for Zhi Dong. I will not interfere."

Fanes leaned back in his chair, his gaze never leaving Zhongli's face: "So, will you take action against Tianli? Or rather, you might be the one to deliver the final blow?"

A moment of silence fell over the tea room. Zhong Li turned his gaze from the window to Fanes' face: "Why do you have such thoughts?"

Fanes remained silent for a long time. He looked at Zhong Li, at the sunlight streaming through the window and the swaying shadows of the sycamore trees reflected in her amber eyes, and then he spoke, his voice lower than before: "Because of the plot?"

After Fanes finished speaking, he realized that his reasoning was untenable, but the words had already been spoken and could not be taken back.

Zhong Li fell silent after hearing this. He held the cup of tea, which had mostly gone cold, his gaze fixed on the thin film of water slowly shrinking around the rim. After a long while, he finally spoke again.

"Just for this reason? Then why did I kill Tenri? What was my purpose in doing this? What would I gain? Or is it some benefit to Liyue?"

Zhong Li put down his teacup, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Fanes: "You should know about the Abyss, right?"

Fanes leaned back in his chair, lifting his gaze from the rim of his teacup: "I don't know much about the Abyss. But I know it's not a good thing."

Zhong Li leaned back in his chair: "Tianli is the front line of Teyvat against the Abyss. At least for now. Do you think I would do something that destroys our own defenses? What would happen to the lights of Liyue then?"

Fanes sat there, his fingers resting on the rim of his teacup. He looked at Zhong Li, as if using the ending of Zhong Li's previous statement as a coordinate to recalibrate the direction of his next question: "That's certainly true. But what exactly is your contract with the Ice Queen?"

Zhongli picked up the teacup and took another sip. The rim of the cup paused at the edge of his lips for a moment, as if to confirm that the temperature in the cup was still within a drinkable range.

"You are also in business, so you should know the importance of contracts. Keeping the contents of the contract within the scope of the contract is the best course of action."

Zhongli placed the teacup back on the table. "I can only tell you that the contents of the contract do not violate my promise to Liyue."

Fanes's fingers paused on the rim of his teacup. He leaned back in his chair, not pressing for details, but instead changed direction: "So, do you have any reliable suggestions? I mean, the kind that are practical and can be implemented."

Zhong Li held the cup of tea that had already been refilled once, gazing at the treetops swaying in the wind at the end of the street outside the window. After a moment, he spoke: "Well..."

Fanes sat up a little straighter, reached into his pocket and pulled an envelope onto the table. The envelope was bulging, with the folded corner of a bill peeking out from the edge: "Send next month's bill to the Northern Bank."

Zhongli's gaze shifted from the bill to Fanes, as if he were using the crease of the bill's edge to pinpoint an unrecorded category: "I recommend you leave Teyvat. The farther the better. It's the best option for you."

Fanes' expression froze for a moment upon hearing those words: "What the hell? Explain yourself clearly!"

Zhong Li had already stood up. His movements were neither fast nor slow, but fluid, like an ending that had been written long ago, only to be turned to at this moment. He paused at the door: "That's all I can say. Goodbye."

The door closed behind Zhongli, the sound of the hinges turning lingering in the quiet tea room for a while before disappearing.

Fanes remained seated, his gaze fixed on the now-closed door. He glanced down at the envelope on the table, then looked up at the empty seat opposite him, put the envelope back in his pocket, and took another sip of his now-cold tea.

"Zhongli made me leave the continent of Teyvat..."

Fanes went over the words in his mind, then swallowed them. "Could it be because the harsh winter plan is targeting me? Impossible, I'm not God."

Fanes put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, and looked out at the sycamore trees. "Could there be other dangers lurking in Teyvat? What could they be?"

Fañez leaned back in his chair, his gaze still fixed on the canopy of the sycamore trees outside the window. "This riddle-maker doesn't even explain himself clearly."

The charcoal stove in the tea room emitted one last soft pop, then fell completely silent. On the table, the inside of the teacup remained a completely cooled, light brown water stain, slowly sliding down the side of the cup, forming a long, thin arc at the bottom, eventually merging with the long-still, cool water beneath.

The sycamore trees outside the window were still swaying in the wind, and sunlight still filtered through the leaves. Fanes sat in the chair, looking down at his interlaced fingers, as if using them as a reference point to rearrange the marked and unmarked items on his to-do list. Then he stood up, pushed open the door, and went out.

The door closed behind him with a soft, dry sound, as if something was being carefully put back in its place.

Fanes walked along the street for a while. He slowed down at an intersection, but didn't stop. The thought still lingered in his mind—the question he had asked Zhongli in the teahouse earlier, the question about the "final blow," for reasons he didn't know.

All Fanes knew was that the sentence seemed to have been waiting to be said somewhere before he even opened his mouth, as if it had been on his shortlist for a long time, and just happened to be turned to the right page at that moment.