"Eh?!"
Ganyu's neck turned with all the stiffness of a rusted weathervane. She stared wide-eyed at the doorway, half a bottle of coconut milk still in her hand.
Xu Zheng stood there like a deer caught in the headlights—too stunned to speak, too polite to flee. After a beat, he forced out an awkward, "Wow, what a coincidence, Master!"
"Mm! Very coincidental," Ganyu echoed with a red face, her back still to him.
From his angle, Xu Zheng didn't actually see anything inappropriate. But the rich scent of milk in the room, coupled with the half-empty bottle in her hand?
Yeah. Some things don't need to be said. If you know, you know. And if you don't… explaining won't help.
[Mission complete. 10 Primogems awarded.]
Even without experiencing it himself, Xu Zheng could easily imagine the level of secondhand embarrassment Ganyu was going through. If shame could manifest physically, she'd have dug a three-bedroom apartment into the floor with her toes.
"I'll just… let you get back to that," Xu Zheng offered diplomatically.
"…Okay."
He gently closed the door behind him.
Inside, Ganyu collapsed to the ground like a dropped dumpling, her little ahoge bobbing with emotional distress.
"He saw… he didn't see… he saw… he didn't…"
She buried her face in her hands, caught in a shame spiral.
"No, no, I was turned around. He definitely didn't see anything."
And even if he did… he's just a kid! A harmless, innocent, clueless little—!
"Ughhh!" She groaned, cheeks blazing. She didn't want to go outside ever again.
Meanwhile, Xu Zheng had already plopped down on his bed, waiting for Ganyu to come back. He was sleepy, sure—but her reaction was going to be so worth it.
And then she walked in.
Expressionless.
"…"
???
No, no, something's wrong here.
Why does she look so calm? This isn't the emotionally-fragile Ganyu I know!
"Hey, Master, where'd you hide that coconut milk you were holding earlier?"
Xu Zheng blinked innocently at her.
"Ah—! I-I put it in the fridge," she blurted, panic breaking through the calm façade.
"Ahh, got it!" Xu Zheng grinned. There it was. The real Ganyu had returned.
Messing with her like this every day? Absolutely worth it.
The next morning, Ganyu woke earlier than Xu Zheng as usual.
She poked his sleeping cheek and watched him twitch adorably before slipping out of bed.
A little later, Xu Zheng got up, dressed, and yawned his way into the kitchen.
"Here," Ganyu said, handing him a cup of coconut milk, cheeks just slightly pink.
He took it, then downed it in one long gulp. Glug glug glug!
Licking the rim, he gave her the classic "I'm still thirsty" look.
"Uhh… there's more, but you can have it at lunch," Ganyu muttered weakly.
[Ganyu's affection +10. Reward: 10 Primogems.]
Xu Zheng's eyes gleamed. Just as he suspected—teasing Ganyu really did boost affection!
Time to check his stash.
When he opened the system panel, his jaw dropped.
Over 160 Primogems?!
Wait. Wasn't the storage cap supposed to be 160?
Glitch alert. Gotta spend it before the system gets stingy.
He cracked open the wish screen. Time to roll.
Single pull. Let's goooo.
A purple streak soared across the screen.
"Bro… no gold?!" Xu Zheng protested. "What is this, scam rates?!"
Still, a four-star wasn't nothing. Begrudgingly, he checked the reward.
[Item: Echoing Flute]
[Rarity: ★★★★]
[Type: Skill]
[Description: Sound waves can have various mysterious effects. Figure it out yourself.]
[Note 1: Created by the Skillmaster Alice after a slime insulted her flute-playing. She stewed it into syrupy slime jelly and wrote this technique the same night.]
[Note 2: Got a flute? No? Go buy one. Don't want to? Cool. Let's plan what I'll cook next.]
Xu Zheng side-eyed the skill page. That's… a lot of lore.
And yes, the slime definitely got eaten. Probably with garnishes.
Most importantly—what the hell does the skill even do?
With a sigh, he hit the "Learn" button.
A flash of light. His brain buzzed.
In an instant, he received all the knowledge: how to use the skill, the effects, and the best flute posture.
He pulled out the purple bamboo flute and gave it a test blow.
The sound was soft, clean, and strangely calming.
Even Ganyu, who was still mentally reeling from the milk incident, felt her mood ease as the music drifted into her ears.
"You're progressing fast, Little Xu Zheng," she praised, visibly more relaxed.
Xu Zheng peeked at her—no blush, no stammering. Huh.
So that's one of the skill effects: emotional calming.
The rest, according to the data, were combat-based. Also, the more beautiful the music, the stronger the effects.
He checked his reward log again—and blinked.
Apparently, even before he woke up this morning, Ganyu's affection had randomly jumped up again. Another ten Primogems.
Xu Zheng narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.
She didn't… do anything weird to me in my sleep, did she?
Later that day, Ganyu headed off to work as usual, while Xu Zheng stayed behind to practice in the courtyard.
Not wanting to distract her, he kept to himself, playing soft melodies on the flute.
Baizhi passed by, arms full of documents—and a suspicious number of snack bags.
"Practicing again?" she asked.
"Yup!" Xu Zheng nodded.
"Did you have breakfast? I brought snacks just in case."
She conjured packet after packet like a magician. Apparently, she'd remembered Xu Zheng saying he hadn't eaten enough the day before.
"Aww, thanks Baizhi-jiejie."
Xu Zheng made a mental note: next time, convince Ganyu to give this snack fairy a raise.
Baizhi smiled and ruffled his hair. "I'll be back to give you a few tips after I deliver these files."
"Okay!"
She headed off toward the office, where Ganyu was buried in paperwork. One stack was labeled: Trade Request from Snezhnaya.
Baizhi was once again amazed by how efficient and serious Ganyu was. If it were up to her, she'd probably still be on page two.
She left the office inspired.
I must teach Xu Zheng well… to help ease Ganyu-sama's burden!
But as she approached the courtyard again, flute music drifted on the breeze.
It wasn't just decent—it was heavenly.
Clear, smooth, soothing. Like pine winds in a thousand valleys, the song calmed the heart and cleansed the soul.
Baizhi stopped in her tracks. Wait. Wait.
That can't be him… right?
She hurried over—and sure enough, it was Xu Zheng playing.
"Baizhi-jiejie! How was it?" he asked, putting the flute down and flashing a sweet smile. "Anything I need to fix?"
Baizhi's face froze in an awkward smile.
"I just remembered something urgent. We'll go over it next time!"
"Okay!"
She turned and hurried away.
Xu Zheng blinked.
"Grown-ups sure are busy."
Farther down the hallway, Baizhi wiped the sweat from her forehead.
No way. He's already better than me?
Yesterday, the kid barely knew which end of the flute to blow into. Today? He was making the trees sigh.
She gritted her teeth.
Ganyu… you're terrifying.
And Xu Zheng—what the hell kind of cheat code are you running?
Some people died, but not completely...