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

When Fanes followed Ningguang into the Begonia Hall of Crescent Moon Pavilion, several cold dishes were already laid out on the table. The crab meat lion's head meatballs had not yet been served, but the osmanthus-flavored glutinous rice lotus root next to it was already steaming slightly, and the sweet aroma mixed with the mellow rice wine quietly spread in the private room.

Just as Fanes sat down and put the first slice of lotus root into his mouth, before he could even chew it a second time, a very light footstep suddenly came from behind the screen in the corner of the private room.

The sound was almost drowned out by the noise of the streets outside the window, but the two people in the room clearly heard it.

Ningguang put down her chopsticks and looked up, her gaze passing over Fanes's shoulder and landing on the edge of the silk screen painted with landscape ink strokes.

When Ye Lan emerged from behind the screen, her steps were like those of a cheetah that had come to a stop. She wore a dark, tight-fitting outfit, a long, thin chain hanging from her waist, and a Mora coin that she hadn't yet put away was between her fingers.

Ye Lan glanced at the dishes on the table, then at Fanes, who was holding a slice of lotus root in mid-air, before turning her head to look at Ning Guang with a clear questioning look in her eyes.

"What's going on? I don't recall the dinner mentioning that a Fool's Enforcer would be coming?"

Fanes swallowed the lotus root slice in his mouth, put down his chopsticks, and looked at the figure on the edge of the screen: "Damn, are you a ghost? Where did you come from? I didn't see anyone behind the screen when I came in."

Ye Lan ignored him and continued to look at Ning Guang, as if waiting for an explanation.

Ningguang picked up the teacup in front of her, took a sip, and spoke calmly.

"Yelan, there's no need for that. He's an old friend of mine, and he's not unaware of your situation. He's been coming and going in Liyue quite often these past few years; even if he hasn't witnessed your actions firsthand, he must have heard about them."

Ye Lan's eyebrows twitched slightly as she shifted her gaze from Ning Guang back to Fanes, the copper coin twirling between her fingers: "You know about me?"

Fanes leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped on the edge of the table, his tone carrying a sense of composure that said, "I actually know a little about this."

"I do know a little about that. He's the head of the Liyue General Affairs Department, and he's particularly good at intelligence matters."

Fanes picked up his teacup, took a sip, and added, "If I remember correctly, there was a fur coat that was supposed to be presented to the Ice Queen, but you snatched it away."

Ye Lan's fingertips paused for a moment on the edge of the copper coin, and the corner of her mouth twitched slightly, a hint of smugness in her smile: "I didn't expect you to know about this. It seems I do have some reputation after all."

Fanes placed the teacup back on the table, his tone remaining calm: "It's a pity I already wrapped that thing up. I've already turned it into a coat, and I must say, the quality is really good. I've worn it for most of the winter, and it's even better at blocking the wind than the standard coats distributed by the April Fools' Day."

Ye Lan's smile froze on her lips. The edge of the copper coin paused at her fingertips, as if someone had pressed the pause button. The air in the private room was quiet for a moment, with only the distant shouts from the street outside the window and the indistinct laughter of diners at the next table mingling with the cool afternoon breeze and drifting through the window.

Looking at Fanes' still smiling face, Ye Lan's voice was a shade lower than before: "You're using me as a scapegoat?"

Fanes leaned back in his chair, his tone carrying a nonchalant "what else did you think?" attitude.

"What else did you think? You think you could intercept our intelligence? We use terminal communication now, with encrypted electrical signals, each with its own unique checksum. With your current level of technology, you can't even grasp the form of the signal itself. It's like a dimensional reduction attack, do you understand? These days, who still uses paper to transmit intelligence?"

When he finished speaking, Fanes spread his hands, making a gesture that said, "I can't help it."

Ye Lan's dice made a soft clinking sound at her waist. Her expression remained on the verge of shifting between a somewhat arrogant composure and a certain emotion, like the surface of bronze slowly changing color after being heated to perfection.

Yelan stared at Fanes for a few seconds, then turned and walked towards the door, her pace a little faster than when she came. As she raised her hand, her sleeve swept across the edge of the door frame in an arc, disappearing into the light and shadow of the corridor.

Fanes watched her leave, then turned back and picked up his chopsticks again, taking out a piece of osmanthus-flavored glutinous rice lotus root: "Looks like she's getting desperate."

Ningguang picked up her teacup, looked down at the water, and spoke with a hint of regretful understanding.

"How could she not be furious? Ye Lan had already turned the stolen fur into a coat, intending to wear it forever. She put a lot of effort into altering the design, changing the lining, and adding hidden pockets. Now that you've said what you just said, she probably never wants to wear that coat again in her life."

Fanes chewed on a slice of lotus root and mumbled a reply, "Wow, that's great."

After swallowing, he added, "But don't blame me for talking nonsense. It must be very difficult for you to handle intelligence on the Fatui right now, right? You can't even intercept it, since apart from basic personnel information, most other important information is sent via telegraph. Even if the General Affairs Department raises all the carrier pigeons in Liyue, they can probably only intercept the internet cafe's opening notice."

Ningguang set down her teacup with a clean, decisive motion, as if to break the topic and start anew: "Let's change the subject. Like, your matter."

Fanes poked at the last slice of lotus root on the plate with the tip of his chopsticks: "What else is there to talk about? I can't exactly say I came to Liyue for a blind date, can I?"

Ningguang's expression brightened slightly at this point: "Do you really have such thoughts? If so, tell me and I can give you some advice. There are quite a few girls in Liyue with respectable families and gentle personalities. If you'd like to meet them, I can arrange it."

Fanes put down his chopsticks, a gesture that clearly signaled that "this topic is over": "Let's forget about it, it's not too late to talk about it again in a couple of years. Besides, I'm still in the prime of my career."

Fanes glanced at Ningguang, his tone casually questioning, "Instead of worrying about me, you should think about yourself first. Ningguang, if I remember correctly, you should be thirty already, right?"

The air in the private room fell silent for a moment. Ningguang's movements as she held the teacup didn't change noticeably, but her fingers lingered on the rim of the cup for a second longer than usual, as if the porcelain shard was slowly absorbing the warmth of her palm.

The light from outside the window shone through the window frame and moved a short distance across the table, illuminating the edge of the plate of osmanthus-flavored glutinous rice lotus root, which had already been mostly picked clean.

Seeing Ningguang's increasingly gloomy expression, Fanes quickly grabbed the plate of mostly-leftover golden shrimp balls from the table, held it in his hand, then stood up and took two steps back towards the door: "I'm leaving now, we'll talk later. I'll take this plate of shrimp balls with me, I'll eat them on the way, so as not to waste them."

After Fanes disappeared into the corridor outside the door, the private room fell silent.

Ningguang sat where she was, holding the teacup, staring at the small crease of fabric left on the chair where Fanes had just sat. After a long while, she finally placed the teacup back on the table. Her finger slowly traced an incomplete arc along the rim of the cup.

"I was born before you were born, and you were born after I had grown old. I regret that you were born too late, and you lament that I was born too early."

After reading it, Ningguang chuckled to herself, then turned her gaze away from the doorway and back to the empty spot where the plate of golden shrimp balls, which Fanes had casually taken away, had once been. She looked at the small ring of oil stains remaining around the edge of that spot and said nothing more.

Beidou: ...