"Hmm? It's you guys."
Shenhe stopped, her cool gaze sweeping over the petrified crowd at the entrance of Wanmin Restaurant, and nodded slightly, acknowledging them.
Her exquisite face remained expressionless, as if carrying Liyue's top intelligence officer with one hand, like a cat by the scruff of its neck, through Chihu Rock Street was the most normal thing in the world.
"Cough, cough... Um... Shenhe..."
Lumine was the first to recover from the immense shock. She cautiously pointed at Yelan, who was held by Shenhe, had completely given up struggling, and exuded an aura of "life is meaningless." Lumine's voice was slightly distorted.
"You... what are you two... doing?"
"Her name is Yelan."
Shenhe introduced her concisely, her tone as flat as if she were introducing "this is a radish, this is a cabbage."
"Just met her."
She added, then tilted her head slightly, a rare hint of genuine confusion in her ice-blue eyes.
"I don't understand why, as soon as I see her, my body uncontrollably wants to take her with me... take her everywhere."
She paused, her free hand gently pressing on her left chest, her brows slightly furrowed, as if carefully sensing some unfamiliar emotion: "And... here, when I see her or touch her, it beats very fast, and it's a bit warm. Is this feeling... 'heartbeat'?"
She looked up, very seriously asking her friends, who seemed very experienced (at least more experienced than her), for confirmation.
"Where did you learn the word 'heartbeat'?!"
Jesse almost dropped his mask, blurting out the question.
Her vocabulary improved too fast! Who taught her?
Shenhe raised a finger and pointed at a young woman who had just passed by, was blushing and whispering as she looked at them: "Just now on the road, I asked that person. She saw me and Yelan and excitedly shouted, 'It's the feeling of a heartbeat!' So I asked what it meant."
Everyone: "..." (That unknown young woman, you can ship them, but why are you also giving live lessons?!)
"So... Shenhe..."
Yelan, who was being carried, finally couldn't take it anymore. She struggled to turn her head, looking at Shenhe's perfectly calm and beautiful profile so close to her, and said in an almost pleading tone: "Could you... please let go of me first? This way... it's not very convenient to talk."
She tried to move, only to find Shenhe's fingers unmoving.
Upon hearing this, Shenhe looked at Yelan, then looked up at the Wanmin Restaurant sign, seemingly making an important decision.
Then, she said very naturally: "Perfect, we can eat a meal together."
Her tone was like, "It's on the way anyway."
After speaking, she completely ignored everyone's petrified expressions, and naturally, with one hand still carrying the life-weary Yelan, walked steadily into Wanmin Restaurant, even politely nodding to the dumbfounded Xiangling and Guoba.
Everyone: "..."
No! Miss Shenhe! Are your "perfect" and "can" used in the wrong places?!
And is there some fundamental misunderstanding about your way of "taking her with you"?!
Finally, an extremely bizarre scene appeared at the largest round table in Wanmin Restaurant: Shenhe and Yelan sat side by side.
Shenhe sat perfectly straight, her posture impeccable, even thoughtfully setting out chopsticks for Yelan.
Yelan rested one hand on her forehead, while the other, filled with resignation, mechanically held her chopsticks, tasting the "Golden Shrimp Balls" in front of her.
It wasn't that she hadn't tried to escape, but every time she showed the slightest inclination to get up, Shenhe's seemingly casually placed hand on the back of the chair would swiftly and accurately press down on her shoulder, with a gentle yet irresistible force.
In terms of reaction and speed, she, a top human intelligence expert, had no chance against an Adeptus disciple who was determined to "take her with her."
Yelan was crying inwardly: How do I explain that I'm currently being 'forcibly loved' by an Adeptus beauty and having lunch together?! Forget it, Ningguang's budget for this month has to be doubled! Otherwise, it won't make up for my mental damages!
Thinking this, Yelan took a deep breath, as if making a major decision, turning her grief and indignation into appetite, and began to seriously and attentively savor the delicious food in front of her—after all, Wanmin Restaurant's food was indeed delicious.
As for the one next to her... for now, she'll just be a self-cooling, extremely clingy, overpowered... dining companion.
Across the table, Jesse, Elliot, Zane, Lumine, Paimon, Xingqiu, and Chongyun all looked back and forth between Shenhe, Yelan, and the guilty-looking culprit Zane, with expressions mixed with shock, sympathy, suppressed laughter, and intense gossip.
Paimon whispered to Lumine: "Traveler, I feel like... Liyue's harbor area... is about to become even more 'exciting' than before..."
Lumine silently took a sip of water, deeply agreeing.
She could already foresee how many chaotic events would unfold in the future.
And all of this stemmed from a certain Blazing Axe Mitachurl's accidental "fate vacuum cleaner" operation.