And so—
Zhongli walked ahead.
Bai Ge followed one step behind.
Rather than Zhongli escorting Bai Ge home,
the scene looked more like a father leading his son back by the hand.
There's an old saying in Ultraman:
If Cosmos thinks you can be redeemed, then you'd better actually be redeemable.
If Ace thinks you can't feel pain, then you'd better truly be numb.
Applied to Bai Ge's current situation, the saying worked just as well:
If a big shot thinks you need to be escorted,
then you'd better really need that escort.
Nearly walking with arms and legs on the same side, Bai Ge followed Zhongli onto the road home.
What made Bai Ge's heart go cold, however,
was that Zhongli seemed even more familiar with the route than he was.
This clearly wasn't just because of Hu Tao.
The fact that this big shot even knew where his home was meant only one thing—
Bai Ge's abnormalities had already been exposed.
The only thing he truly cared about now was this:
How much had Zhongli—
the Geo Archon who had ruled Liyue for thousands of years—
seen, guessed, and understood?
The one piece of good news was that the Geo Archon was magnanimous
and didn't care much about trivial matters.
As long as Bai Ge obeyed the law and followed the rules,
nothing would happen to him.
So—just lie flat. That was the plan.
Sometimes, you don't try to guess what big shots are thinking.
You just turn off your brain and follow along.
Thinking this way, Bai Ge finally relaxed a little.
"Director Hu has a rather lively personality," Zhongli said after a while of silence.
"Getting along with her isn't easy, is it?"
"Ah—yes, yes, absolutely!"
Bai Ge, desperately cooperating with the big shot's small talk.JPG
Seeing Bai Ge like this, a trace of helplessness flashed through Zhongli's eyes.
The casual questioning continued.
...
...
Before long—
With a stiff smile and a back soaked in cold sweat,
Bai Ge waved goodbye to Zhongli.
The door closed.
That pressure-filled presence vanished.
Only then did Bai Ge finally let out a long breath.
Once his thoughts returned to normal,
recalling how he'd behaved after meeting Zhongli tonight,
Bai Ge狠狠 gave himself a slap.
"Smack—!"
A loud, crisp sound echoed.
Tonight had been nothing short of humiliating.
Bai Ge didn't believe for a second that his self-assured "acting"
had fooled Zhongli's eyes.
A god who had lived for thousands of years
was not something a former corporate slave could match
just by transmigrating.
It wasn't just strength—
It was presence, temperament, cultivation, experience—
a complete, overwhelming suppression on every level.
And honestly, you couldn't even blame him for losing composure.
It was like, back in his previous life,
the emperor went undercover and said,
"Come, let's have a little chat."
No one could stay calm in that situation.
At his current level, Bai Ge was basically no different from a normal person
in front of the Geo Archon.
The only consolation was that
the big shot really did seem to just want a chat today.
They talked about mundane things—
daily life, trivial matters, household chatter.
"But what did he mean at the end by telling me to be more proactive?"
"More proactive in life? Or more proactive at work?"
Bai Ge shook his head, unable to figure it out.
Forget it. Shower and sleep.
Still gotta keep lying low.
Thinking back to how timid and stiff he'd looked in front of Zhongli,
Bai Ge sighed from the depths of his soul.
Clack.
After his shower, the lights in Bai Ge's room went out.
And just as he had guessed—
After that walk together, Zhongli had already seen through many things about Bai Ge.
"Seven elements… all coexisting within his body?"
Recalling what he had discovered earlier,
a hint of surprise flashed through Zhongli's eyes.
"Most likely some kind of unusual mixed lineage.
Or perhaps a human carrying traits of elemental lifeforms.
Either way, it's similar."
"Too weak."
Zhongli sighed with regret.
"Sometimes, being all-inclusive simply means mediocrity.
Having all seven elements is inferior to mastering just one…"
"…Though there's no real 'though' to that."
Thinking of the fleeting idea he'd just had,
Zhongli chuckled and shook his head.
"That he could recognize me is mildly interesting,
but nothing worth paying attention to."
"The kid's nature isn't bad.
Observe a bit longer. He's a little lazy—
but with more diligence, he could be taught."
Zhongli reached his conclusion.
"Only thing is… the number of girls he's involved with
seems a bit excessive."
Thinking of the information gathered so far,
even Zhongli felt a headache coming on.
"Well, well… that's not something I should concern myself with."
Just as Bai Ge had guessed—
A god standing so high above would never deliberately target
a minor character like him.
As for Bai Ge's so-called secrets,
Zhongli cared even less.
The Thousand-Rock Greatsword, the ancient Millelith sword techniques—
none of these were things worthy of special attention.
As for the Falling Star he used against the Fatui?
The Geo Archon was mighty, but not omniscient.
He had no knowledge of that incident.
Thus, a tormenting trial passed.
The next morning, Bai Ge woke up refreshed.
After confirming that he hadn't been subjected to FBIOPEN,
he cheerfully went off to work.
But on the other side—
Keqing's mood was… not very good at all.