Liyue Harbor.
Night had fallen, and the lanterns had just been lit.
People who had worked all day flocked back into the harbor and began hunting for something to eat.
The snack street was packed to bursting.
But if you wanted to talk about the most thriving business of all, it had to be the Wanmin Restaurant over at Chihu Rock.
Inside the main hall, every seat was taken.
Jiayi, Jingming, and Yicheng of the Millelith had brought a few colleagues along to the Wanmin Restaurant for a feast.
But upon seeing the unfamiliar faces bustling about inside the hall, they couldn't help but be greatly surprised.
"Strange—how did Chef Mao take on so many waiters?"
"Where's Xiangling running the kitchen?"
"Normally it's Xiangling rushing about everywhere—how come we can't see Xiangling today?"
"Hey, have you all noticed? These dishes aren't the handiwork of our little cook Xiangling—they taste more like Chef Mao's!"
"You know what, you're right!"
These few had been eating at the Wanmin Restaurant for a good ten years or more.
An ordinary customer wouldn't be able to taste the difference in flavor at all.
But they could!
Xiangling had only been in charge of the kitchen for three or four years, whereas before that they'd been eating Chef Mao's cooking for a good seven or eight years.
This familiar taste—one bite, one sniff, and they could tell it was Chef Mao's handiwork.
Clearly, the one cooking today wasn't Xiangling; it had gone back to being Chef Mao.
This made everyone all the more puzzled.
Where was Xiangling?
Just then, Chef Mao came out from the back kitchen carrying a large platter of Boiled Black-Back Perch.
Hollering as he walked: "Coming through! Boiled Black-Back Perch!"
Seeing Chef Mao appear, Jiayi and the others all wanted to ask him about it—not eating Xiangling's cooking left them thoroughly out of sorts.
Especially Yicheng.
He could never seem to eat his fill, and now and then while standing guard or on patrol he'd even entrust some passing blonde idiot to help buy him food, to satisfy his bottomless stomach.
Eating Xiangling's cooking, he could surprisingly hold off hunger for a long while.
But eating Chef Mao's, he couldn't hold out.
However, a few old regulars at the next table cut them off.
"Hey, hey, hey! You officers, don't bother asking!"
"Little cook Xiangling really isn't here—we just asked ourselves!"
"From now on, we might still get to eat Xiangling's cooking at noon, but in the evenings? Forget about it!"
"And don't go running your mouths asking, you hear? Don't get this old cook started bragging!"
The fellows at the next table ate their food and drank their wine, yet couldn't stop sighing.
This left the several regulars utterly baffled.
Why couldn't they eat Xiangling's cooking in the evenings now?
What was this about not getting Chef Mao started bragging?
What had happened?
"Well... if we can't ask, we won't ask. But surely I can still order a pot of wine from Chef Mao, right?"
With that, he waved his hand: "Chef Mao! A pot of wine!"
Hearing this, Chef Mao turned his head: "What? I didn't catch that!"
"I said, a pot of wine!"
"Eh? How did you know my Xiangling married that Master Ye Xi?"
Jiayi: ...
Jingming: ...
Yicheng: ...
The fellow at the next table: .....
"Chef Mao... I said a pot of wine.... We're off work and want a drink——!"
Chef Mao nodded over and over with a smile: "Ah! Yes! My Xiangling is so doted on!"
Jiayi: ...
"Chef Ma— never mind, we won't drink, let's just eat, let's eat."
Jiayi had meant to say more, but in the end he held his tongue.
Seeing he'd gone quiet, Chef Mao roared with laughter and returned to the back kitchen.
The surrounding customers, hearing of this matter, were instantly thrown into an uproar.
"Did you hear that? Chef Mao just said Xiangling has married into Master Ye Xi's household!"
"Master Ye Xi? You mean... that one——!?"
"That's right! The very same big shot who has Adepti for friends!"
"Heavens, the Wanmin Restaurant has made it big! That master's reputation these days is just about catching up to Lord Rock King's!"
"Who says otherwise! In the harbor, the wealthy gentry can't stop praising Master Ye Xi to the skies—they reckon he can stand on equal footing with Lord Rock King!"
"Of course they do—if Master Ye Xi's plan to remake Liyue succeeds spectacularly and the Guili Plains and Wangshu Inn districts develop, then every one of those gentry will get rich too. How could they not praise him?"
"The Wanmin Restaurant really is something now! Having latched onto that master's coattails—won't the owners of Liuli Pavilion and Xinyue Kiosk just weep themselves dry?"
"I just pray the Wanmin Restaurant's dishes don't go up in price! The food here is so cheap and so delicious! If the prices stop being affordable, I won't know where else to go eat!"
The diners chattered away, all talking at once.
Meanwhile, at a table of young folks in the corner of the hall, every face was dejected and crestfallen.
"It's over! Someone beat us to Xiangling!"
"This is too tough—with that Ye Xi as a rival, how are we supposed to compete!?"
"Forget it, I give up. She's already spoken for."
"Say, if I'd brought ten times the betrothal gift to propose earlier, do you think Chef Mao would have agreed?"
"Don't be silly. Whether you pass Chef Mao's hurdle doesn't matter—what really counts is Xiangling! If she hasn't taken a liking to you, no amount of betrothal gifts will do any good!"
"Just look at Master Ye Xi—Xiangling is willing to go and be his concubine, and gladly at that!"
"..."
These few were members of what you might call Xiangling's "fan club" organization.
Some came from well-off families, some were just ordinary working folk, but without exception, every one of them had wanted to propose to Xiangling.
Only, for the longest time, nothing ever came of it.
Now, seeing that Xiangling already had someone she loved, they beat their chests and stamped their feet.
Back in the kitchen, Chef Mao was in an incredibly good mood.
He'd been worrying over this matter before, never imagining Xiangling would go out last night and settle it all in a single evening.
Now his mind was at ease.
He believed that, following Ye Xi, his daughter wouldn't suffer—she'd be very happy.
And that was enough.
...
On another side.
From within Ganyu's office came a clamor of voices.
"Miss Ganyu, if you truly won't agree, then we'll have no choice but to drag you there by force!"
Baiwen and the other two little secretaries pleaded.
Yet Ganyu shook her head desperately.
She really didn't want to go mooch a meal anymore!
Because a very, very terrible thing had suddenly happened!
That's right!
She'd discovered that she seemed to have gotten a little fatter!
Lately she'd been eating delicious fruit at Ye Xi's house all the time, and before she knew it she'd eat a great deal!
Once she was full, she'd start to doze off.
If this life of eating then sleeping, sleeping then eating, went on, she really would turn into the way she'd been a thousand years ago!
...
Because her body was so huge, she'd get stuck in some great monster's throat or the like!
How utterly humiliating——!
Ganyu was so distressed she wanted to cry but had no tears.
Seeing how resolute Ganyu's attitude was, the secretaries let out a sigh.
"Miss Ganyu, if you're going to be like this, then don't blame us for being rude!"
"Baixiao, take out the magic treasure Master Ye Xi gave us!"
"Mm!"
With that, Baixiao pulled a banana out of the bag on her back.
Ganyu swallowed, her lovely eyes fixed in a dead stare.
"Miss Ganyu, come with me~"
That's right.
This was the method Ye Xi had told them.
If Ganyu wouldn't come, then tempt her with delicious fruit!
A mere Cocogoat—there was nothing a single banana couldn't solve.
And if it truly couldn't be solved, then add a bunch of grapes.
Sure enough, a struggling expression appeared on Ganyu's face.
At this very moment, Ganyu's reason told her she absolutely had to hold out!
However, Baixiao once again pulled a bunch of grapes out of the bag.
"Endure... endure..."
Hearing Ganyu's pained little whimper, Baishi pushed up her glasses frames and spoke: "Baixiao, take them all out!"
"Righto~"
With that, she took out a box of cherries.
"Eh!?"
Ganyu licked her lips, drool nearly spilling out.
That tempting fruity fragrance wafted over her, the sweet aroma making her saliva flow endlessly.
Hami melon, watermelon, pineapple, Zaytun Peaches, Rukkhashava Mushrooms....
As more and more things were laid out before her, Ganyu finally couldn't hold back.
"I... I'll go with you, all right!"
In an instant, Ganyu caved.
The last time!
One last indulgence!
After today, she'd absolutely never eat this much again!
And so, the three little secretaries successfully brought Ganyu back home.
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