That evening, Keqing, dressed in simple, understated clothes, suddenly became intensely curious about something.
Glancing at Qin Yu beside her, who was happily devouring grilled skewers, Keqing hesitated for a moment before casually asking, "By the way, Qin Yu, can I ask you something?"
"Hmm?"
Keqing cleared her throat awkwardly. "It's nothing important, really."
"Hmm."
Just spit it out already.
Keqing fiddled with her bangs and asked, "What do you usually do for Ningguang? Aren't you her maid? I'm really curious about what maids do."
I thought it would be something more troublesome, Qin Yu thought.
After a moment's thought, Qin Yu carefully phrased her reply: "In the morning, I prepare breakfast and wake Lady Ningguang."
"Wake her up..." Keqing murmured.
Ever since we parted ways, Qin Yu hasn't woken me up even once. And Ningguang gets that privilege every day? Keqing's brow furrowed imperceptibly at the thought.
"Then I brush Lady Ningguang's hair."
Keqing's frown deepened.
She even brushes her hair!
It's probably best not to mention the times Ningguang touches my face and hair, Qin Yu thought. Those things are just too embarrassing to talk about.
"You don't... you don't also help her change clothes, do you?" Keqing asked anxiously.
"No, no, absolutely not! That's impossible!"
Impossible... probably.
Ningguang's tendency to push boundaries was extraordinary. Heaven only knew what she might demand next. Shenhe and Hu Tao were the same; only Yanfei seemed relatively trustworthy.
Keqing's anxiety eased.
Good. Just as it should be, she thought.
"After that, it's just the day's work," Qin Yu said with a smile. "In my spare time, I drink tea and play chess with Lady Ningguang, chat about various things, and occasionally go for walks, watch plays, or admire the scenery."
Being able to earn Points while relaxing both body and mind—it's truly ideal.
Compared to that, Keqing... well, never mind. She's always been like this. Qin Yu sighed inwardly, hoping her words might finally make Keqing see reason and slow down.
Unfortunately, Keqing didn't grasp Qin Yu's intention. She simply nodded knowingly.
"Ningguang has always been like that."
And you've always been like this too, Qin Yu thought resentfully, taking another sullen bite of her grilled skewer.
"By evening, once I've finished my work, massaged Lady Ningguang, and organized the day's information, I can finally rest."
"A massage?" Keqing muttered.
Learning about Qin Yu's life with Ningguang made Keqing feel even more restless.
No, I can't stand this! I haven't even experienced any of these things, yet Ningguang gets to enjoy them every day? Driven by this disparity, Keqing leaned in and grabbed Qin Yu's shoulders.
"Qin Yu!"
"Eh? Ah, uh, hmm..."
Qin Yu was bewildered and confused by Keqing's sudden action, unable to react.
Does she want to kiss me?
But we're in the street, and I'm eating this greasy skewer—my mouth's all oily. That would be awful. Even if she wanted to... a headbutt!
Don't even think about it.
As Qin Yu's mind raced, Keqing said earnestly, "Starting tomorrow, you're going to do all that for me too!"
Ha?
The next day.
Did Keqing make that request out of jealousy? Qin Yu wondered, standing at Keqing's door. It's not a big deal for me, though...
She took a deep breath, pulled out the key Keqing had given her, and entered.
If Keqing wanted Qin Yu to treat her like Ningguang, then naturally Qin Yu would have to wake her up.
Come to think of it, childhood friends waking each other up was a classic trope.
"Sleepyhead, how long are you going to sleep? Get up already!"—A stereotypical tsundere childhood friend might say something like that.
Wait, does tsundere have anything to do with me? Qin Yu thought, arriving at Keqing's room.
She gently knocked on the door.
"Keqing, are you awake?"
"I'm awake. Come in," a lively voice called from inside.
Whoa, so energetic this early in the morning? I'm still sleepy... Usually, when I wake Ningguang up at this hour, she'd at least show a hint of drowsiness.
Qin Yu opened the door.
Keqing was slowly sitting up, feigning a yawn and rubbing her eyes.
"Good morning," Qin Yu greeted.
You've been awake for ages, haven't you? Qin Yu thought to herself.
Then, with a playful smile, she teased, "Been waiting long?"
Hearing this, Keqing, her hair still loose, blushed and stammered, "W-what are you talking about? I just woke up!"
"Really?" Qin Yu pressed.
Keqing looked away. "Sorry, that's a lie. I woke up about half an hour ago. By this time, I'd usually have finished my sword practice, but since you weren't here yet, I just stayed in bed."
Half an hour? Even if you wanted me to wake you up, there's no need to go this far.
Waking someone up is supposed to get them up earlier, not to have them lie back down on purpose!
"If you'd just told me beforehand, I could have come earlier," Qin Yu said helplessly.
"You can't wake up too early, can you?" Keqing teased with a smile.
"Ah... uhm..." Qin Yu replied awkwardly.
Keqing smiled nostalgically. "You always loved to sleep in when you were little. It seems that hasn't changed even now that you're older."
Nagging.
Evaluation: D
"You too, step aside."
Qin Yu secretly pursed her lips, feeling a slight resentment towards Keqing's words.
To stop her from reminiscing, Qin Yu quickly changed the subject. "Then, Keqing, why don't you go practice your swordsmanship while I make breakfast? Is that okay?"
"Sure. By the way, why don't we spar? Your swordsmanship earlier was surprisingly good—it even astonished me," Keqing suggested, her interest piqued.
Qin Yu stammered, "I... I'd rather not."
"Why not?"
Qin Yu didn't want to answer, but brushing it off completely would be rude, so she said, "I'm afraid of getting hurt..."
"Don't worry! We have plenty of medicine at home; if you apply it, it won't hurt. Besides, you can't train without getting injured sometimes!" Keqing persisted.
I already said I'm afraid of getting hurt, and you're telling me about what to do after I get hurt? Qin Yu thought, grumbling inwardly.
"So, Keqing, you're not afraid of pain?" Qin Yu asked casually, hiding her annoyance.
"Of course not," Keqing replied confidently.
Hmph, then let's see about that.
Discomfort morphed into impulse. Qin Yu's rationality had always been fragile, and this time was no different. She abruptly grabbed Keqing's hand and bit down on her index finger.
Keqing stared in shock. "Why did you bite me?"
To test you, of course.
Qin Yu increased the pressure slightly. Keqing felt a sharp pain and couldn't help but exclaim, "Ow! Stop, stop, stop! Don't bite me again!"
Hmph, and you said you weren't afraid of pain, Qin Yu thought smugly, feeling like she had won a small victory.
But seeing Keqing's tightly furrowed brow and her eyes flickering with confused unease, Qin Yu's triumphant mood instantly evaporated, replaced by anxiety and nervousness.
Did I go too far?
Unable to bear the growing unease, Qin Yu impulsively licked the tooth marks several times.
Evaluation: C-
Keqing's face flushed crimson, utterly flustered. She had never anticipated Qin Yu would do such a thing. The pain gradually gave way to the warmth of a mouth that wasn't her own.
Seeing Qin Yu like this, Keqing's heart began to race uncontrollably.
Fortunately, Qin Yu quickly ended her "treatment," wiping her mouth with a handkerchief and apologizing awkwardly, "I'm sorry, I got carried away with the teasing."
"Teasing?" Keqing snapped out of her daze, her voice raspy.
"Yeah, because you said you weren't afraid of pain... Anyway, I'll go make breakfast and boil some water. After you finish practicing your sword, take a bath before eating."
Qin Yu fled the room as if escaping.
Left alone, Keqing stared blankly at the clear bite marks on her index finger. Even though Qin Yu left such a visible mark on me, she thought, I don't hate it at all. In fact, I feel... satisfied.
Has Ningguang ever been treated like this? Definitely not!
Keqing couldn't help but laugh.
What Qin Yu did to Ningguang, I'll have today. What Qin Yu never did to Ningguang, I already have.
Keqing knew that competing over such things was pointless. She was already Qin Yu's absolute special existence, needing no competition. Yet the feeling was undeniably good.
She pressed her finger to her lips, then snapped back to reality.
What am I doing? I should hurry and practice my sword. I've already wasted too much time. Exhaling a warm breath, Keqing grabbed her sword and strode into the courtyard.
Keqing was in excellent form today, her swordsmanship seemed to have improved again—not bad.
Satisfied, Keqing returned to the house, where Qin Yu had already prepared breakfast. After a quick shower, Keqing sat beside Qin Yu.
"Ah, so refreshing," Keqing said contentedly.
"Indeed, a shower after exercising is wonderfully refreshing. Alright, let's eat breakfast—we still have just enough time," Qin Yu said, her composure restored.
Seeing her acting as usual, Keqing felt a surge of inexplicable dissatisfaction.
"Hmm, it's been a while since we've had breakfast together like this."
As she spoke, she deliberately picked up a piece of meat from her bowl with her chopsticks and placed it in Qin Yu's bowl.
"Eat more—you need your strength."
Qin Yu was about to reply when she noticed the faint teeth marks on Keqing's index finger, which hadn't fully faded. Her heart skipped a beat, and she hastily averted her gaze, flustered.
"Y-yes, you too," Qin Yu stammered.
Only then did Keqing smile contentedly.
Evaluation: C+
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Author:
I originally didn't bother setting the tags, assuming everyone would realize the protagonist was destined to be thoroughly consumed by all sorts of women. But I didn't expect people to think this was a single-route story.
So let me clarify: this is a harem.
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Spy: 0_0