In the plush living room, Keqing sat prim and tense across from Su Xuan.
"Lumine and Paimon told me you gave them all the Mora you'd saved," Su said. "All so they could tell me you wanted help with the Chasm."
Keqing nodded—then laid out everything else she'd come for. Yesterday, she only wanted the Abyssal sludge problem solved. Today, she wanted more: the same power from beyond the world that Ningguang and the others had received.
Ningguang had already scheduled out the new Jade Chamber project and—once the dust settled—planned to roll out star-barges for the public. She'd even persuaded Su to transfer control of the first demo craft to her and tucked fifty more conjured frames into the Foundry's queues. When that phase finished, Keqing knew where Ningguang's hand would reach next: the Chasm, Keqing's turf.
"If she reopens it," Keqing said, cheeks hot, "she'll manage it her way. And the Yuheng… won't have a chair at that table."
Su smiled. "You're overthinking it. Ningguang's not like that. And you have a diary copy—she won't cut you out."
Keqing shook her head. "Better to hold my fate myself." Then she caught her own words and looked down, embarrassed under that false sky. Su chuckled.
"Don't deflate. You've got a Vision—willpower outside the curve. Maybe you're one of the ones who doesn't walk the rails."
"I still trust your power more than the sky's," she muttered. "You feel more reliable."
"Blunt as ever," he said, amused.
He set down his tea, pulled a bundle from storage, and tossed it into her lap.
"It's early. For the rest of the day, wear that and help me clean, cook lunch and dinner. Tonight I'll go to the Chasm with you. If you can't manage it, pretend I never agreed."
Keqing sprang up, thrilled—until she opened the bundle in a side room.
"You're kidding…!"
A few minutes later, still in purple dress and stockings, she hurried back, face crimson.
"This… is not what people wear to mop floors."
"I don't make 'low-level mistakes,'" Su said, perfectly calm. "If it offends your eyes, don't wear it."
"Then—there's another set?"
Silence. The terms were the terms. Keqing pinched a fist, glanced up.
"Do Ningguang and the others…?"
"They're more easygoing than you. Honestly, I can't keep up with them."
"…Ningguang too?"
"Better than you."
Keqing frowned, then exhaled through her nose. If that was the bar everyone else had cleared, then the Yuheng would not be the weak link. She turned on her heel and went to change.
Night fell over Teyvat.
"Another day gone in a blink!" Paimon twirled, bags of snacks in both hands.
"Leave Su alone for now," Lumine said. "Keqing went to see him."
They drifted back toward the Jade Chamber in good spirits.
Two silhouettes dropped from the clouds at the Layered Rock Chasm. Wind tore at Keqing's coat; she hugged it tighter and eyed Su.
"You and Ningguang play 'looks normal outside, surprises inside' often?"
"You're adapting fast," he deflected, amused.
She flushed. "It's not 'adapting.' It's knowing what a new future costs. Compared to that, a few… games are nothing."
"Good answer." He tilted his head. "Since you can do what they can, I can relax and make you mine when we get back."
Keqing blinked. "As in…?"
"Ningguang and the others are my people. That's why I said she won't cut you out. She listens."
Her mouth fell open. She'd assumed simple transactions—turns out the ties were deeper than contracts.
"Talk later," Su said. "Work first. I promised Cloud Retainer I'd also bring Azhdaha back to daylight. After we move the Chasm's entire underground mine, I'll lift him from under the Dragon-Queller Tree. Two birds, one night."
"Wait—Azhdaha, the one storyteller Tian Tiezuì—"
"—Yes. Hold that thought."
The ground shuddered. Keqing swayed and instinctively grabbed Su's arm as a vast shadow surged upward. In the span of a breath, what had been far below rose like a mountain.
"Did you—"
"Hoisted the entire underground district to the surface," Su said mildly. "Because the Chasm is tiered, it looks like a cliff now. Next I'll scrub out the sludge in one pass."
He gathered force—then Keqing squeezed his arm.
"W-wait! Before that—what did Ningguang and the others offer you to become 'your people'?"
Su stared, then laughed under his breath. The "hardest" cat had walked herself to the door and asked to be admitted.
"Finish the job first," he said. "Then I'll tell you. Classified."
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