Just as Ryou's mother had said, Liuli Pavilion had already prepared some snacks.
When Ryou asked for them, the staff handed them over right away.
Ryou took the snacks and hurried after Ganyu.
"Ganyu-san!"
Hearing him, Ganyu stopped.
"What is it?" Ganyu asked.
"I don't know why you were in such a rush to leave, but take these back to Yujing Terrace and try them," Ryou said. "No matter how important work is, you still have to eat."
Ryou put the snacks into Ganyu's hands.
Ganyu looked down at the box and stayed quiet for a moment, then accepted it.
"Thank you. I know Keqing and your mother did it for your sake," she said. "But I believe you don't need me to help you with anything. You can stand on your own in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Please tell them not to do this again."
Ryou couldn't help a wry smile.
He wanted that too, but he also understood they meant well.
"Ganyu-san, my mother did it for me. I can't say too much about that kind of care," Ryou said. "I hope you can understand. And if you ever need a hand over at Yujing Terrace, come find me anytime."
"Alright. That won't be a problem," Ganyu said.
Her expression eased.
After a quick farewell, she left.
Ryou watched her go, then looked away.
For some reason, her pace seemed slower than before, and there was an extra sway to her stride—like something had thrown her off.
After that, Ryou stayed with Keqing and his mother for another half hour.
Once they'd eaten and drank their fill, he took his mother home.
By the time he returned to his own place, night had already fallen.
"Keqing," Ryou murmured, wrapping an arm around her and speaking right by her ear.
His breath brushed her skin, and her whole face reddened, plain as day.
"You promised you'd help me bathe. You didn't forget, did you?"
"I know," Keqing said, shooting him a look. "I'll have the servants prepare the bathwater first."
Keqing didn't understand why he brought it up now, but the way he spoke into her ear was obviously on purpose.
Her face turned even redder, and her posture stiffened for a beat.
Still, they were husband and wife now. They'd already been close in every way, so there was no need to act overly shy.
Ryou didn't think much of it as she walked off.
If anything, he figured the rest would be easy.
Earlier today, he'd had Xu buy some materials.
Ryou planned to craft a batch of furniture himself.
When he made things, his hands gave him a noticeable boost—he just needed time.
With that in mind, Ryou gathered the raw materials and stored them all in the small world.
[Ding! Mind entering Darkened Mode!]
[Ding! Mind: Darkened Mode active. You can manipulate objects with your thoughts and make them take shape as you intend; this ability consumes a large amount of mental energy!]
Ryou's eyes lit up.
Figures the mind upgrade would be like this.
With thought-control, crafting would get a whole lot easier.
He tried using his mind to fit wooden boards together into a bed.
Small jobs like that barely touched his mental energy—he'd used less than ten percent.
But when he tried making something bigger from raw materials, like building a house, the ability still worked while his mental energy drained rapidly.
In just a few minutes, he'd burned through more than twenty percent.
The house went up quickly, but the cost was too high.
Ryou dropped the idea at once.
Testing thought-control was fine, but he couldn't drain himself too much.
He needed to save his strength for Keqing later.
With a thought, Ryou appeared in the room.
Keqing stood by the bathtub, checking the temperature.
From the looks of it, the tub could easily fit two people.
"Eh—y-you… Why did you come out of nowhere? You scared me!" Keqing jolted.
"Did I scare you?" Ryou asked, pulling her into his arms.
"Keqing, look. This tub is more than big enough for both of us," he said. "We both sweated a lot today. Let's wash together!"
Ryou held Keqing and guided her toward it.
"Ah, I—I don't…" Keqing started.
She knew he was up to no good, so of course she didn't want to go in.
But the next second, she saw his unbelievable speed again—he stripped in an instant.
Before she could react, she realized both of them were already without any clothes.
[End of chapter]
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