Behind a thick velvet curtain in a shady private room, the fat merchant cracked the door slightly and peeked outside.
"Bro, chill," Yellow Hair reassured him lazily. "This room's soundproof as hell. Plus, there's a secret tunnel to the Northland Bank, and goons on every corner."
"You don't get it," the fat merchant muttered nervously. "The Millelith have been tailing me for days. If that esteemed Harbinger hadn't warned me, I'd already be six feet under."
"Even if they catch us, so what? That big-shot's got powers beyond our understanding. We're golden," Yellow Hair replied with an infuriatingly relaxed smirk.
"Hmph." A cold snort came from the corner. It was the thief Livien — still bitter after his last failed mission to intercept the Mondstadt supply caravan. "And if you fail again, will your precious Harbinger take the fall for you?"
The thought made his blood boil. The memory of some bastard freezing his crew solid still haunted him. If he ever found that smug little prick…
He wouldn't just break his limbs.
He'd shatter his Vision.
Let him rot in despair without even a wish to cling to.
Livien exhaled slowly, regaining composure. "Did you finish investigating that ice-wielding rat from last time?"
The fat merchant scratched his chin. "You only told us he had a Cryo Vision. That's half of Liyue, man. We've been digging, but it's a slog."
He'd pulled a lot of strings — after all, if the rice heist got exposed, he'd be more than just broke. He'd be buried.
"Just so we're clear," Yellow Hair growled, "we want to find that little bastard too. Don't act like you're the boss here."
The room dropped a few degrees colder.
But Yellow Hair quickly shifted gears.
"Ganyu has a Cryo Vision," he offered casually.
That sparked something.
The fat merchant, Chayevich, rubbed his chin again. "Now that you mention it… few days ago, my carriage got into a spat with her group. Some brat beside her froze my whole damn axle. Might've been that same little punk."
He paused. "Kid's name was Xu Zheng. Cryo Vision. Kind of adorable. Kinda dangerous."
The other two scoffed. A child? Come on.
"No way a little gremlin like that wrecked an entire blockade," Livien snorted.
"Anyway," Chayevich cleared his throat, "next topic."
Yellow Hair stood up and dramatically raised a cup.
"You guys probably wonder what this is," he grinned, swirling the ice cubes. "Try it."
They both sipped cautiously… and paused.
Their eyes widened.
Wrinkles smoothened.
It was divine.
Chilled, creamy, sweet — perfect for summer.
"This is milk tea," Yellow Hair explained. "And the bastards who invented it? Stole half my business. Same with this ice cream thing."
Chayevich blinked. "Milk tea? Ice cream? Never heard of them."
"I did some digging. Apparently, Ganyu's boy husband came up with both."
He got the info from a woman who spoke like she was half-drunk on sugar and secrets.
Chayevich's eyes narrowed.
"Wait. Xu Zheng? I thought he was her disciple."
"…You sure?"
"Maybe someone got the story wrong," Chayevich muttered, mentally filing away the inconsistency.
Still, that didn't matter now. The food was revolutionary.
"This stuff's got potential," he admitted. "Let's copy it."
"Exactly my plan," Yellow Hair grinned. "I'm bribing their chef as we speak."
And knowing Xiangling's trusting nature, success wasn't far off.
"Next issue," Chayevich said darkly. "Some old hag actually went to the Millelith to report me — brought in the best damn lawyer in Liyue."
"You what?!" he turned furiously to Yellow Hair. "How many times have I told you — con the nobodies, not the well-connected!"
"This wasn't my fault! Xu Zheng interfered again!"
"Xu Zheng. Again."
They both said it at once, seething.
———
Achoo! Achoo!
At that moment, Xu Zheng sneezed twice in a row inside Wanmin Restaurant.
Weird. With Cryo powers, it wasn't like he could even catch a cold.
Currently, Xu Zheng was a humble kitchen apprentice under Chef Xiangling — part of his newly acquired "culinary disciple" path.
Every afternoon, he shadowed her around the kitchen. Not that he cooked much. He mostly learned the sacred art of taste-testing and being adorable.
At exactly 6 PM, Ganyu arrived at the restaurant door.
"Thanks for taking care of my disciple," she said with a perfectly civil smile… that dripped with sugar-coated territorial rage.
"Of course, of course," Xiangling smiled back sweetly. "Taking care of my disciple is a master's duty."
Inside, customers could taste the gunpowder in the air.
Xu Zheng, in a flash of self-preservation, grabbed Ganyu's hand and yanked her out of the building.
———
Late that night, after finishing her duties, Ganyu finally brought Xu Zheng home.
But tonight, something was wrong.
There was no warm milk.
Ganyu hadn't done her evening squeeze session.
She figured: One night off won't kill him. He can wait till breakfast.
But Xu Zheng had other thoughts.
Tonight was Night Three of his secret "milk mission." The system demanded coconut milk every night — and tonight was the final stretch.
He couldn't fail now.
So, he looked up at her with big, sad baby eyes… and dropped the nuclear line:
"Rich mommy… hungry baby… need food."