The old uncle reached out and knocked on little Hu Tao's head. "What kind of talk is that? What do you mean by saying I'm going to cause trouble for the pretty girls in Inazuma? Am I that kind of person?"
Little Hu Tao started counting on her fingers. "Last time, when we parted, you said you were going to see little Barbara in Mondstadt, but when you came back, you brought big sister Eula.
Now, somehow, you've invited another big sister Shenhe from who knows where. Old uncle, haven't you noticed? You seem to only know how to play with cute girls."
The old uncle fell silent. The old uncle said nothing. The old uncle didn't know what to say.
No way around it—the old uncle isn't from Rongcheng (the city famous for advanced colorectal medicine). From childhood to adulthood, he had hardly ever played with girls. Now that he's in Teyvat, can't he just follow his heart a little and make up for his childhood?
"Sigh... The old uncle has never been liked by girls his own age."
The old uncle entered an emo and burned-out state.
Little Hu Tao patted the old uncle's back.
"It's okay, old uncle. Even if no girls really like you, I'll always like you a lot."
The old uncle Cid looked at little Hu Tao, who was still a little milk dumpling.
Come on. At your age, you could lose your own dad and not even have any related memories—let alone remember the old uncle like me?
Cid smiled and rubbed little Hu Tao's head.
"Mm-hmm. Then I'll trouble little Hu Tao to keep me in your thoughts."
Next was little Shenhe. When there are many people around, she's a quiet and introverted child; when no one's there, she doesn't even dare to speak—she only dares to look at the bustling Liyue Harbor with curious eyes.
He absolutely couldn't let her stay so bottled up; that's not very friendly to a child.
"Shenhe, big sister Eula should be making delicious sweets right now. Go help her, okay?"
"Mm, okay!" Little Shenhe slipped off toward the kitchen as if she had been set free.
"Eh? Shenhe, wait for me!" Then little Hu Tao followed Shenhe and slipped away too.
The old uncle watched as the place that had just been lively suddenly became quiet.
"Speaking of which, today I heard the storyteller recount the legend of an adventurer titled 'The Adventurer from the Snow Country'..."
Old Master Zhongli, who had been chatting with Xianyun, shifted the topic to Cid.
"Hm? Cid is already a legendary adventurer? Tell your aunt some interesting stories about him."
Looking at the two elders of the older generation at the table.
The old uncle Cid understood—he had to step onto the ladder called adulthood.
...
"Why spend so many Mora buying that water heater? Could it possibly be better than one your aunt makes? Just wait—your aunt will build you a house where you can enjoy life even on the snow mountain!"
Watching Cloud Retainer, who was becoming more and more proficient at calling herself "aunt," Cid was very happy. This elder, Cloud Retainer, is super cute and loves to chat.
"Aunt, isn't it a bit much to give me so many things? Is that really okay?"
"Hmph. My disciples all have their own matters to attend to. Usually, your master here just studies mechanisms. What's the difference what I research? Rest assured—leave it all to your aunt!"
"The dishes are here!" At this moment, Chef Mao came carrying steaming hot food.
And behind him followed three little milk dumplings.
Oh ho, Hu Tao and the others have made a new friend.
"Lulu~"
And following behind the three little milk dumplings was a small yellow bear.
Aunt Xianyun, seeing Guoba for the first time, experienced a pupil earthquake.
Marchosias has awakened!?
Old Master Zhongli remained calm and composed.
Clearly, Old Master Zhongli had known about this all along.
"Lulu~"
Guoba seemed to sense a familiar aura and waddled left and right straight to Aunt Xianyun's side of the table.
Carefree and heartless, shaking its head back and forth.