Ye was genuinely startled by Hu Tao.
Not by anything else, but by her attitude.
Anyone with half a brain could figure it out—with Hu Tao's appearance and charm, was there any chance Ye would let her off in his dreams?
Never mind the solo dreams—those were irrelevant, just Ye amusing himself without involving others. But during multiplayer dreams, Ye had definitely "played" with Hu Tao in his dreams more than a few times!
Yet, look at Hu Tao's attitude now. When she saw him, there wasn't even a hint of strangeness. It was as if she had never had such dreams at all.
Could it be… Could it be that I misunderstood Baoyu? Maybe there was no such thing as multiplayer dreams? Was it all just my delusion?
—If not for Barbara's reaction not long ago, Ye might have actually believed that.
But what exactly was going on with Hu Tao?
She hurt Ye's feelings even more than Barbara did.
Was sharing a dream romance with me just like a breeze brushing past willow leaves for you, something you'd forget in an instant? Could you really not retain even the slightest impression of my face, which is so good-looking?
Ye couldn't help but start doubting himself.
Even Barbara's fear of him was better than Hu Tao's complete disregard!
Of course, Hu Tao wasn't ignoring Ye—she was ignoring the Ye from her dreams. And that hurt even more than being ignored in reality!!
Ye remembered Hu Tao so clearly—even which parts of her felt the best to touch. Yet, she dismissed him so thoroughly and decisively. How tragic did that make him look?!
"Ye."
As Ye wallowed in his grief, Furina's voice snapped him out of it, and he turned to look at her sitting across from him.
The seating arrangement was as follows: Ye and Furina faced each other, while Hu Tao and Zhongli sat opposite one another—Zhongli to Ye's right, Hu Tao to his left.
Ye studied Furina's expression. She looked perfectly calm, even smiling.
Good. This was still the Furina he knew. It seemed his stress-relief dreams had indeed been quite effective for her. She had fully returned to the state she was in decades ago, able to handle such an unexpected situation with such composure, without a single crack in her demeanor.
If this had been the Furina from the original story, worn down to her limits, she would have long since given away her nervousness in front of Zhongli.
"What is it, Lady Furina?"
"Reuniting with Mr. Zhongli today is truly a joyous occasion. So, I've decided… in accordance with Liyue's customs, we should host a grand banquet to celebrate."
Furina raised her right hand with a snap of her fingers, smiling cheerfully as she said:
"Let's reserve Wanmin Restaurant entirely and set up tables and chairs all along the street—everyone can come and go freely. The Lantern Rite is coming up soon, so this can be an early celebration for the people of Liyue."
"Wow! Such extravagance!"
Hu Tao gasped in amazement, then turned to Ye and asked:
"You just called her 'Lady Furina'? She must be some kind of big shot, right? This feels even more lavish than Ningguang!"
"Naturally."
Ye replied calmly.
"We're from Fontaine. Lady Furina holds a very high position there."
"From Fontaine? High position?" Hu Tao blinked. "Like the Liyue Qixing, then?"
"Something like that."
As he spoke, Ye had already stood up to arrange the task Furina had assigned.
Such was the life of a subordinate—when the boss had a sudden whim, the underling had to run their legs off! When could he finally resign?
Unaware of Ye's renewed desire to quit, Hu Tao turned her excited gaze to Furina after Ye left.
"If you're someone as important as the Qixing in Fontaine, how about we discuss some business?"
"Business? What kind?"
Though Furina showed no outward signs, she was inwardly relieved to be talking to Hu Tao. Right now, she dreaded speaking with Zhongli—the more they talked, the more likely she was to slip up.
So, avoiding topics with Zhongli was the priority.
No matter what business Hu Tao wanted to discuss, Furina was prepared to humor her with a smile—but this resolve didn't last long.
"I've been wanting to expand the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's business to other nations, but I've had no connections to make it happen. Since you're someone as influential as the Qixing, could we collaborate to establish Wangsheng in Fontaine? How about giving you a 30% cut of each deal we close?"
"The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor…" Furina's smile stiffened slightly. "If I recall correctly, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor handles funerals, correct?"
"Yep! Any problem with that?"
There's a huge problem, okay?
Furina wasn't entirely ignorant about Liyue's Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
They monopolized all funeral affairs in Liyue, with branches spread across the nation, a vast and complex network of members, and influence so extensive that they could arguably be called Liyue's largest and most mysterious civilian organization.
Comparing Fontaine's famous civilian groups to Liyue's Wangsheng Funeral Parlor… there was simply no comparison.
The Spina di Rosula only dealt with the living—the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor managed the dead as well.
From the intelligence Furina had gathered, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor had guarded the boundary between life and death for thousands of years. Though she didn't fully understand such matters, the information available made it clear just how extraordinary this organization was.
But that wasn't the main issue.
—The main issue was that this business proposal was absolutely impossible.
If she entertained this topic with Hu Tao, the Geo Archon would undoubtedly think she was an idiot.
"Director Hu, each nation has its own culture—and its own funerary customs. Liyue's funeral practices likely wouldn't find a market in Fontaine."
"Eh? Is that so?"
"That's how it is."
Furina shut the topic down decisively.
Unless it was a Fontaine-based Liyuen, what native of Fontaine would want a Liyue-style funeral?
Discussing this kind of business would make her seem…
"No problem, we can learn!"
Hu Tao wasn't ready to give up so easily.
"You arrange it, and I'll pay for experts from Fontaine to teach our undertakers. Once they're familiar with Fontaine's funerals, we'll open a branch there! And once we're in Fontaine, we can even hire locals. It's totally feasible!"
"..."
After a long silence, Furina turned to Zhongli, sending a silent plea for help—dealing with this kid seemed even more exhausting than dealing with the Geo Archon.
Zhongli picked up his teacup, took a sip, and pretended not to notice.
Fortunately, at that moment, Ye returned after briefly settling matters with Chef Mao and paying the deposit.
Upon his return, he immediately rescued Furina:
"Director Hu, let's set aside business talk for now. There is, however, a funeral I'd like the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to handle."
"Oh? Whose?"
Hu Tao's eyes instantly lit up as she abandoned Furina and turned eagerly to Ye.
Ye replied calmly:
"Beisht 's funeral."
Zhongli's hand, holding the teacup, paused mid-air.