"What you're hoping for?" Zhongli stroked his chin, one arm crossed over his chest, his head slightly lowered in thought. Soon, he looked up again.
"From a universal perspective, what you're hoping for is to see Griseo, isn't it?"
Yun Fan: ദ്ദി・ᴗ・)✧
"You... next time, don't phrase things so ambiguously, okay?" Yun Fan sighed helplessly. Had Zhongli been influenced by someone? Why was he speaking in such a roundabout way now?
"Not at all. What I said wasn't ambiguous. It's just that your own thoughts are skewed," Zhongli shook his head slightly, his meaning clear. It wasn't that he, Morax, had said something misleading—it was that Yun Fan's mind was in the wrong place.
"..."
———
"Where have Lumine and Paimon gone? Why haven't I heard from them in so long?" One morning a few days later, the silver-haired young man tidied his disheveled hair in front of the mirror and muttered to himself.
He hadn't seen Lumine in a while. He didn't know where she had gone to take on commissions. If it weren't for the feedback from the "feather" he had left in Lumine's consciousness, assuring him she was safe, he would have gone looking for her himself.
As Yun Fan pondered this, he heard a creak as the door to his room opened.
"Huh?" Yun Fan turned toward the sound and saw that the person who had opened his door was none other than Lumine, the very person he had been thinking about. However, her current state didn't seem great. She looked dejected, her expression dull, and her entire being radiated a sense of exhaustion.
Yun Fan had never seen Lumine like this before. Since he had met her, she had always been upbeat and optimistic, occasionally even a bit mischievous. Why had she suddenly become like this?
Could it be... Yun Fan suddenly thought of a possibility. Had the "We Will Be Reunited" storyline already happened? It had only been a few days—how could the plot progress so quickly?
With this in mind, Yun Fan walked over and, as a friend, pulled the dejected Lumine into a hug, comforting her softly, "Lumine, I don't know what's happened, but you still have me, and you have Paimon. We'll always be here for you."
Hearing Yun Fan's words, Lumine's small hands instinctively reached around his back, and she couldn't help but savor this moment of peace and warmth.
Yes, I still have Yun Fan and Paimon. As for that brother who abandoned his sister to live a life of luxury... Hmph! Let him drift away with the wind! Lumine thought bitterly.
But soon...
"Hey, hey! Don't just ignore Paimon like that! We're all companions, you know!" Paimon stomped her tiny feet in the air, hands on her hips, her big eyes glaring at the two of them.
"Pfft!" Seeing Paimon's indignant expression, Lumine couldn't help but laugh.
"Thank you, Yun Fan. I'm fine now," Lumine pulled away from his embrace and picked up the sulking Paimon, playfully rubbing her little face.
"Hey, stop that..."
Watching the two of them interact, Yun Fan chuckled softly. Moments like these were nice.
"Lumine, what exactly happened? Why were you so down earlier?" Although Yun Fan had a rough idea that Lumine had already met Aether, he still wanted to confirm.
"Well, we took on a commission..." Acting as Lumine's voice, Paimon recounted the events of the past few days to Yun Fan, who listened attentively, nodding occasionally.
"I see. So, what's your next step, Lumine?"
"I don't know," Lumine shook her head honestly. She wasn't sure what to do next. The purpose of her journey was to find her lost brother.
But now, even though she had found him, Aether had become the "Prince of the Abyss Order" and refused to return to her side. What was the point of continuing?
She had wandered and worried about him all this time, while he sat in the Abyss Order giving orders, living a life of luxury...
Thinking of this, Lumine gritted her teeth. She felt her fists clenching. Ugh! This is so infuriating!
Seeing Lumine's expression, Yun Fan's eyes sparkled with an idea. He thought of something interesting.
"Lumine, from what Paimon just described, it seems your brother still cares about you. But I can't accept him abandoning his adorable sister like this. How about this? I have a great idea. Let's do this..."
Yun Fan leaned close to Lumine's ear and whispered something. As she listened, her eyes gradually lit up, though there was also a hint of shyness in them.
"Can we really do that..." Lumine scratched her golden hair, hesitating out of modesty, but the gleam in her eyes betrayed her true feelings.
"Don't worry. Leave the rest to me," Yun Fan smiled broadly. He felt like he was growing more and more fond of stirring up trouble, gradually becoming a true "troublemaker." When the third seal on Jing Yuan's character card was unlocked, allowing him to connect to the Paths, should he choose the Path of Elation? Hmm, that could be fun.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Yun Fan."
"Haha, we're companions. No need to be so formal."
———
The next day...
Bang!
In the Abyss Order, the golden-haired man slammed his fist onto the table in front of him. With a loud crash, the table, made of Cor Lapis, shattered into pieces, scattering across the floor.
"Are you telling the truth...?!" Aether's face was dark as he glared at the Abyss Mage reporting to him, his voice trembling with barely contained rage.
"P-Prince, I wouldn't dare lie to you. It's just... it's just..." The Abyss Mage stuttered, too afraid to look up at Aether.
"Just what?!"
"It's just that now, all of Liyue Harbor is talking about it. They say the golden-haired traveler who helped Liyue repel the demon gods is getting married in three days..." At this point, the Abyss Mage didn't dare to look up at Aether, but he could feel the prince's fury burning like a raging fire.