Watching as Ye was forcibly dragged away by Furina, Astrea hurriedly followed behind. Hu Tao, however, did not chase after them. Instead, she stood still, touching her lips, her face flushed with a faint blush.
She admitted—after realizing what had happened, her heart was indeed racing.
It was different from the dream, after all.
The dream had felt real, but from a conscious perspective, Hu Tao in the dream had always been in a half-awake, half-asleep state.
She knew what she was doing, and after waking up, she remembered everything clearly. Yet, while in the dream, there was still a hazy, unreal sensation.
Her body was out of control, her mind was out of control—no matter how clearly she recalled the events of the dream afterward, Hu Tao could still maintain a calm detachment, as if watching from afar.
But just now… it was different.
That feeling… even though it was just a touch of lips, the sensation that spread from it and suffused her entire body left Hu Tao's heart pounding even now, her flustered emotions hard to suppress.
She had overestimated herself.
Hu Tao had thought she could handle this calmly, but the truth proved that when faced with such a situation, she simply couldn't stay composed.
Even Hu Tao, in some ways, was just an ordinary girl after all.
"Still… that attitude just now was really…strange."
After standing there lost in thought for a while, Hu Tao turned and headed home.
Meanwhile, back at the rented apartment, Ye was on the verge of kneeling to Furina to apologize.
Kneeling to one's superior to admit fault—wasn't that perfectly normal? Nothing to be ashamed of, right? Extremely common, right? So, what if I kneel? Kneel? Kneel? I really kneeled, okay?!
"Rea, guard the door outside. No eavesdropping."
"Yes, Lady Furina."
Astrea didn't dare look at Ye, vanishing from the room in an instant.
And so, the room was left with only a lone man and woman.
No—a lone god and mortal.
"Alright, explain yourself. Let's see how you plan to talk your way out of this."
Furina crossed her legs, her aura intimidating.
Ye, of course, was… naturally guilty enough to want to kneel, but he managed to maintain a calm expression.
"Actually, I'm innocent—well, not entirely, but this is a long story."
"No problem. I have plenty of time to listen."
"Then it starts with the day I suddenly gained a 'golden finger.'"
"Golden finger?"
"Lady Furina, have you read Inazuman light novels? A 'golden finger' refers to an incredibly powerful ability the protagonist suddenly obtains, allowing them to rise step by step to the pinnacle of life—that's what it means."
"So, you're saying you became the protagonist?"
"Whether I became the protagonist or not, I don't know. But I did suddenly gain a 'golden finger'—the ability to freely construct my own dreams."
"Oh, I see." Furina let out three cold laughs. "'Freely construct your own dreams'? Just say it straight—you can enter other people's dreams and mess with them as you please."
"...Lady Furina, if I said I had no idea the dreams could connect with others' at first, would you believe me?"
"No."
"I figured. But I still have to say it's the truth."
"Oh, I don't believe you."
Furina's expression remained blank.
"Anyway, you must've had a great time lately, huh?"
"Lady Furina, let's talk about something else. The Jade Chamber will soon be fully rebuilt, and once it's done, Osial will surely appear will surely appear. When the time comes, I'll step in to help Liyue."
"Tell me—aside from me and Hu Tao, how many other girls have you bullied in their dreams lately?"
"Lady Furina, Ningguang is not someone to be underestimated. I think she's already aware of our presence in Liyue. Shouldn't you pay her a formal visit?"
"Ningguang's definitely one of them, right? What about Sangonomiya Kokomi? Kamisato Ayaka? Clorinde? Ganyu?"
"Lady Furina, have you heard of Yun Jin? She's the most famous opera performer in Liyue Harbor. This time, she'll be performing on the Jade Chamber. We absolutely can't miss it."
"Ye, the number of girls you've bullied in their dreams must be in the triple digits by now, right? Or even quadruple?"
"ABSOLUTELY! NOT!"
Ye finally couldn't take it anymore and refuted firmly. If Furina kept going, who knew what kind of monster she'd turn him into!
Double digits? Me… wait, let me count.
1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 15, 17, 20, 33...
After counting, Ye straightened up, righteous and unyielding:
"ABSOLUTELY! NOT!"
"…Did you just mentally count them?"
"No."
"You totally did! Confess—you can't even remember how many girls you've messed with, can you?"
"At the very least, I haven't bullied Triple digits' worth in dreams!"
As for reality… what's the point of bringing up things from five years ago?
It's been five hundred years! Let bygones be bygones! Don't bring it up! Don't bring it up! I've already reformed!!
"Sigh… Regardless, you're not allowed to do this anymore."
Furina set aside her anger, letting out a helpless sigh.
At this, Ye hesitated. "Can I… make one last effort? I want to try one more time to see if I can keep it single-player! It's just too stress-relieving—I can't help it!"
"...If you really need this method to relieve stress, then… just keep dreaming of me. You're my Supreme Bishop. As your god, I can… tolerate you. But—but you're not allowed to bully any other girls!"
Watching Furina, her face red as she turned away and spoke in an increasingly softer voice, Ye was truly in a dilemma.
Furina wanted him to abandon an entire forest for a single tree! Was he that kind of man? Could he really do such a thing?
A single tree is what I desire, but an entire forest is also what I desire!
Giving up a forest for one tree—that's not Ye's style at all!
A single tree hidden within a forest, claimed all at once—that's Ye's style!
But in this situation, there was no room for Ye to pull his "adult decision" of wanting it all.
Furina's meaning was crystal clear—what Ye had done was, in her eyes, an absolute crime. Even if no such law existed yet, if Ye kept arguing, Furina would undoubtedly add it to Fontaine's legal code and deliver divine punishment as the Goddess of Justice.
However, if Ye could admit his mistakes and reform, Furina was willing to sacrifice herself, allowing him to continue using her (and only her) in dreams as an outlet for stress. This…
Faced with this two-choice ultimatum from such a merciful goddess, Ye had no choice at all!!!