"Ahem… Baixiao, Baiwen, Baishi, let's go pick a manga."
Seeing Keqing blushing furiously, Ningguang quickly slipped away.
She had only meant to tease her a little, but who knew it would be this fun?
Why had she never noticed before?
Ah, of course—Keqing hadn't had cat ears back then.
Not bad. Next time, she'd do it again!
"Yes, Lady Ningguang!"
Her three secretaries nodded hurriedly, well aware that now was not the time to provoke Lady Keqing.
The four of them soon reached the bookshelves.
As they flipped through the titles, Ningguang furrowed her brows.
"Boss Han, which manga has the bamboo-copter?"
she asked.
She wanted to see just what kind of manga it was.
Why would a child's toy yield such a miraculous power?
"Doraemon."
Han Feng replied without hesitation.
"Much obliged, Boss."
Ningguang quickly located the volume.
Glancing at her secretaries, who seemed hesitant, she said directly:
"No need to overthink. Just pick one."
In her view, if each manga granted rewards, then every single title was precious.
There was no need to agonize over choices.
Reassured, Baixiao, Baiwen, and Baishi each took a book.
Together, they headed toward the quiet reading area.
Keqing, left alone by the counter, suddenly felt far too self-conscious to linger.
Just imagining Boss Han possibly harboring those thoughts about her made her unable to stand still.
Flustered, she hurried into the back to find a seat.
Han Feng's gaze turned to his system panel.
[Host: Han Feng]
[Manga: One Piece – East Blue Arc, Cardcaptor Sakura, Digimon Adventure, Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Cooking Master Boy, Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious, Detective Conan, Journey to the West, Tom and Jerry, Doraemon, Mr. Vampire]
[Task 1: Host 10 customers to draw one manga. Progress: 9/10 (0 draws available)]
[Task 2: Host 100 customers to receive a unique reward. Progress: 60/100]
"Always just one more person short of a draw…"
Han Feng sighed, but expectation gleamed in his eyes.
What would the next manga be?
This feeling was great.
The more manga he accumulated,
the broader his reward pool would be.
Perhaps his anticipation summoned fate, for just then, another customer entered the shop.
He looked like a simple passerby.
But within the manga store, no disguise escaped Han Feng's eyes.
"Well, well… the Abyss Prince finally shows himself."
Han Feng's lips curled faintly.
Indeed, this ordinary "passerby" was none other than Aether.
After careful planning, he had finally come.
Before arriving, he had altered his appearance and build.
Unless someone stared closely, even Lumine would fail to recognize him.
"So this is the mysterious manga shop?"
Stepping inside, Aether was slightly surprised.
It didn't match what the Abyss Mage had described.
According to its report, the shop was tucked in a narrow alley, small and unimpressive.
But before him stood a vast building, radiating an atmosphere entirely its own.
Still, none of that mattered.
As long as manga brought rewards, that was what he had come for.
"Welcome. If you'd like to read manga, the shelves are over there. One Lakh mora per person.
Only once per day."
Noelle greeted warmly.
"My thanks."
Aether nodded and walked forward.
"Ah, welcome, brother-in-law— wait, no, Aether."
The words slipped from Han Feng's mouth before he caught himself, and he quickly corrected.
But it was too late.
Both Aether and Noelle froze.
Aether: (⊙⊙)
Noelle: (⊙⊙)
"Did I hear that right? Boss just called him… brother-in-law?"
Noelle blinked in shock, turning to glance at Aether.
She had studied Liyue culture before— brother-in-law meant the elder brother of one's wife.
So… when had Boss gotten married?
As his maid, was she supposed to prepare a wedding gift?
"Brother-in-law? So it's true… this Boss really has designs on Lumine."
Aether's lips twitched.
He knew it!
There was no such thing as rewards for nothing.
Why else would Lumine keep getting such powerful prizes?
Of course—this was the reason!
Case closed.
That ten-thousand-mora fee? A sham!
Han Feng, you're just drooling over my sister!
Poor Lumine… she probably hadn't realized yet.
"Ahem… so, do you want to read a manga?
There are still a few left."
Han Feng coughed, rubbing his nose in embarrassment.
He had spoken too quickly just now.
But it wasn't his fault!
He was a decent man!
This was all Paimon's fault— she had egged him into such thoughts.
Yes, that was it!
At that very moment, on the road from Mondstadt to Liyue…
Paimon was happily recording the scenery with a camera.
She wanted to capture the journey, so she and Lumine could relive it later.
"Achoo! Achoo!"
Suddenly, she sneezed twice in a row.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Lumine looked at her with concern.
"I'm fine, probably just Boss Han badmouthing me."
Paimon sniffed indignantly.
"Hmph! When we stop for lunch, I'm going to eat extra."
"Don't be silly. Boss Han even waived our fifty-thousand-mora rent.
Don't speak ill of him, Paimon."
Lumine wagged a finger at her.
Paimon: (⊙_⊙)
How was she supposed to explain this?
Should she tell Lumine the truth— that she had been "sold off" in exchange for the fifty-thousand-mora rent?
If she said that, Lumine would kill her!
Forget it.
Better to let her keep misunderstanding.
ε=(′ο｀*))) sigh
This was too hard…
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