The sound of Qiqi's fitness routine echoed continuously in the villa, but Ganyu was curled up, sleeping exceptionally soundly.
"As expected of Ganyu..."
It's said that even if Hilichurls danced beside her, Ganyu wouldn't wake up, and now it seemed true.
However, as Liyue Harbor's top workaholic, Ganyu rarely had time to sleep freely until she naturally woke up. Most of her time was devoted to work, which made her drowsiness come on very suddenly.
Ken bent down, picked up Ganyu, and carried her to the guest room.
Ganyu's weight was very light, and her body emitted a faint scent of Qingxin flowers. Perhaps because the way he held her was uncomfortable, she subconsciously shifted slightly, pressing the soft bossoms against Ken's arm.
A soft, unique sensation came over him, making Ken's spirit waver.
"Who could resist this..."
Ken quickened his steps, placed Ganyu in the guest room, and then left the room himself.
Suppressing the rippling waves in his heart, Ken reopened the system.
[Host, do you wish to stack for a 10x draw?]
He had just opened the 40-draw lottery, and the system's voice followed.
"Stack the draws."
Ken thought to himself.
Back when he drew Zhongli and Ganyu, he averaged around 40 pulls to get them—he could be considered a lucky emperor. Now, with this batch of draws... after stacking 10x, he might get some unexpected good stuff.
[Congratulations, Host, on obtaining Ganyu Brand Coconut Milk *5 bottles]
[Congratulations, Host, on obtaining 100 million in development funds for Genshin Impact sequel]
[Congratulations, Host, on obtaining Treasure Hoarder *9]
[Congratulations, Host, on obtaining Qiqi's full constellation abilities]
The four stacked draws made Ken's lungs ache a bit.
He wanted Zhongli's peak abilities, but the system gave him Liyue's Ice God instead.
But it was acceptable; he was currently lacking ice elemental abilities anyway.
"Extract Qiqi's full constellation abilities."
As Ken spoke, a cold aura gathered from the surroundings and entered his forehead.
With Ken at the center, fine frost flowers seemed to scatter around.
If the elemental power on Blue Star was strong enough, the area would probably start freezing rapidly, not just forming mere frost flowers.
After all, Qiqi had immortal power in her body, plus she had obtained a Vision. Her full constellation strength, while not comparable to Ganyu's, was still decent overall—at least he could now manipulate ice elements.
"Huh? Qiqi... the same?"
Qiqi, who was doing her routine, sensed the ice elemental power behind her, turned around, scratched her head, and her clear eyes were filled with confusion.
This power felt just like her elemental power...
Qiqi stared for a long while but couldn't figure it out, so she simply continued her routine.
She felt that doing the routine here made her body softer, and there was no annoying Hu Tao... Qiqi felt very secure inside and continued lifting her arms and legs, following the TV.
Though she couldn't keep up with the rhythm and her limbs weren't very coordinated, that was what made Qiqi's unique cute clumsiness.
...
Five minutes later.
Ken slowly opened his eyes, retracted the surrounding ice elements, and then turned his gaze to the other items he had drawn.
[Ganyu · Coconut Milk: In ancient times, there were Qilins that drank sweet dew and ate fine grains, auspicious beasts of prosperous times. Their essence condensed into dew that can nourish the body. If ordinary people consume it, it can extend lifespan; it's a rare immortal treasure.]
Looking at the description of the coconut milk, Ken's mouth couldn't help but twitch.
He always thought he was perverted enough, but often the system was even more perverted than him.
It could even draw something like this.
Is this coconut milk really proper?
"It should be produced from the coconut trees Ganyu planted, yeah... I definitely won't think wrong."
Ken took out a bottle from the system space, but his mind involuntarily pictured a certain blue, sheep-like plump Qilin.
Cough cough.
Dispelling the unreliable thoughts from his mind, Ken looked at the coconut milk in his hand. The milk in the glass bottle glowed faintly, seeming to emanate a subtle immortal aura.
Ken opened the bottle and tilted his head back to drink the coconut milk inside.
The cool, milky taste carried a faint Qingxin fragrance, and the rich immortal energy transformed into a blue Qilin silhouette, fully absorbed into Ken's body along with the milk.
"As expected of an immortal product."
Feeling the slight increase in his internal ice elements, Ken couldn't help but sigh.
But thinking about the system's reward like this always felt a bit perverted... If he didn't drink it, it'd be a waste of such rare essence dew, but if he did... he felt pretty perverted too.
Next time, more would be good.
But considering Ganyu's slender build, Ken thought... this kind of condensed dew probably wouldn't be much.
After drinking the remaining four bottles, Ken could feel a clear increase in his ice elemental abilities, and even his surroundings seemed to faintly carry a subtle auspicious Qilin aura, though very weak.
To be fair, Ganyu's coconut milk tasted really good, and the effects were powerful.
It was countless times better than the coconut milk brand he grew up drinking on Blue Star.
Except for being a bit perverted... it was perfect in every way.
"Cough cough... Let's check the Treasure Hoarders."
Ken shifted his attention and took out the Treasure Hoarders from the system space.
Unlike the one he got from the Treasure Hoarder group, the lottery-won Treasure Hoarders didn't need taming; they automatically formed a mental contract with him, ready to work efficiently.
"Now with a total of 10 Treasure Hoarders... conservative estimate of 50,000 Mora income per day."
Ken pondered, planning to place them at the Northland Bank entrance later to freeload a bit first.
...
In the guest room.
"Mm..."
Ganyu, who had been sleeping soundly, groggily opened her eyes, her pale purple eyes shimmering with a soft weakness.
A sudden feeling of emptiness accompanied by swelling came over her.
Ganyu's slender jade hand lightly lifted and placed on the bossom, feeling her clothes gradually tightening, leaving her a bit confused and flustered.
"Strange..."
Ganyu murmured to herself. Although she ate a lot at dinner, even if she gained weight, it wouldn't happen this fast... and her abdomen and waist still fit fine; the clothes weren't tight there.
Borrowing the gentle dim light, Ganyu lowered her head to look at the bossom.
Her beautiful face immediately flushed with a hint of red.
"I've been thousands of years old; could I still be growing again...? And it feels like I've lost something; why is that?"
Ganyu couldn't figure it out.
Qilins were rare in the world to begin with, and after the brutal Archon War, the remaining Qilin clan was even scarcer. In all of Liyue, she was probably the only Qilin left, and a half-immortal one at that.
So even if Ganyu wanted to ask, she didn't know who to turn to.
Moreover, that feeling vaguely resembled how she felt when growing as a youth.
"Sigh... Or is it because half my blood is human?"
Ganyu couldn't think it through, so she shifted her thoughts to her human bloodline.
After all, many humans experience secondary growth.
"My stomach is hungry again..."
Woken by this strange feeling, Ganyu surprisingly found... she was hungry again.
She had just eaten not long ago.
Filled with various doubts, Ganyu belatedly realized she seemed to have fallen asleep in Ken's home, and this wasn't the sofa she had slept on earlier.
"Did Mr. Ken carry me here?"
Ganyu raised her hand to cover her face, feeling a bit embarrassed.
She could always fall asleep easily, and her sleep quality was excellent; even if Hilichurls sang and danced beside her, she wouldn't wake up.
Today, if not for the strange reaction in her body, she would probably still be deep asleep.
After thinking wildly for a while, Ganyu shyly walked out the door.
Outside, the lights were bright; it was already late at night. Ken was sitting at the computer, looking at work-related matters.
"Mr. Ken, I seem to have fallen asleep here just now. I'm very sorry."
For her impolite behavior, Ganyu politely apologized.
As she moved, the bell around her neck jingled.
"It's fine; sleep if you want. You work so much every day; you should rest when it's time to rest."
Ken glanced at Ganyu and felt she seemed a bit different.
Her overall aura had become softer, and her clothes seemed tighter...
This made Ken subconsciously think of the coconut milk he had just drunk.
It couldn't be Ganyu's freshly produced one...
Otherwise, why would she suddenly change like this?
Damn! The system is truly perverted... Ken inwardly cursed; the damn system was no good.
"Huh? Mr. really is prophetic; you even know about my work."
Ganyu's eyes curved into a smile.
Although she had worked in Liyue Harbor for thousands of years, she always felt out of place there. Few Liyue people knew how much effort she, as the secretary of the Qixing, had put into Liyue's development.
"Then, do you know about the Archon's matters?"
Ganyu thought of this and hurriedly asked.
Three thousand years ago, she signed a contract with the Geo Archon to work for Liyue.
In her heart, she had always seen the Geo Archon as her faith; she deeply respected the Geo Archon and everything he had done for Liyue.
Though her faith was like that of Liyue's citizens—pure respect for the god who protected Liyue for millennia, without other special emotions—she had a work contract with him.
So... this incident with the Archon left her in confusion; she didn't know where her path would lead.
"Some things will be known when the time comes. What I can tell Miss Ganyu is to follow your own heart. A thousand years may pass like a fleeting moment for immortals, but you should live each day earnestly."
"Just like Qiqi; though she's become a little zombie, with a stiff body, no sense of taste, and forgetting things in an instant, she's still trying hard to live and make the most of every day. I hope Miss Ganyu does the same."
Ken said meaningfully.
He couldn't help it... He wanted to tell Ganyu the truth, but if she knew, she would unconsciously show relief and joy. As a devoted fan of the Archon, acting that way after his "death" would surely arouse suspicion from the Qixing.
For Grandpa Zhongli's plan, he could only let Ganyu be confused for a while.
"Follow my heart... Live earnestly each day..."
Ganyu placed her right hand on her chest, her pale purple eyes showing contemplation. "Can I see about Qiqi's background?"
She still remembered Ken's words from earlier.
Qiqi becoming like this was related to Jueyun Karst.
Ganyu wanted to see the cause and effect.
"Sure." Ken took out a tablet, pulled up Qiqi's information, and handed it to Ganyu. "Take a look. After reading, rest well; tomorrow is a new day."
Mainly, after drinking so much coconut milk, he didn't know if it would weaken Ganyu's body... Better let her rest properly.
Ganyu took the tablet, curiously looking at the strange object, but soon her attention was drawn to the information on it.
A carefree herb-gathering girl who accidentally entered Jueyun Karst and was caught in the immortal-demon war... Sealed in a cave by a boulder, watching her life slip away helplessly... Finally obtaining a Vision just before death.
Ganyu's beautiful brows furrowed slightly, a trace of sadness on her jade-like face.
Though the background was glossed over, just imagining Qiqi trapped in the cave, enduring the despair and agony of waiting for death, was enough to weigh heavily on the heart.
"She's had a hard life..."
After reading Qiqi's information, Ganyu was silent for a long time before slowly speaking.
She suddenly fully understood Ken's words.
Even if the Archon had passed, Liyue Harbor still stood... She had worked in Liyue for three thousand years, which had already encompassed most of her life.
Whether the Archon was there or not, she shouldn't let it disrupt her mind.
Live by following her heart...
"Thank you, Mr. Ken."
Ganyu smiled, like Qingxin petals after rain, pure and beautiful.
"Go rest a bit; tomorrow is a new day," Ken said. Ganyu had always been unable to integrate into Liyue's human society; this loneliness had lasted thousands of years, so overthinking was normal.
Once she figured it out, it would be fine.
Ganyu nodded slightly. "Then I'll impose on you."
Though it was embarrassing to disturb him here, the strange feeling in the breast was still continuing... Ganyu felt she needed a good rest to suppress that odd sensation.