"I really like this gift. Thank you, Master."
Xu Zheng said it sincerely—and then, without thinking, without planning, without any divine guidance…
He leaned over and planted a kiss on Ganyu's cheek.
!!!
Ganyu froze. Completely. As if she'd been struck by lightning.
Her brain blanked out, and her heart pounded like a war drum. Not even fighting Archons beside the Geo Lord back in the day had made her this flustered.
She remembered what Xu Zheng had said earlier:
"The gift doesn't matter. What matters is who gives it."
And now he'd kissed her.
Which meant… the giver must be special.
Which meant… Xu Zheng liked her.
Which meant…
"Wuuuuu… Xu Zheng likes me! I'm so happy I could melt!"
From that point on, Ganyu practically floated through the rest of their shopping trip.
Her steps were unsteady. Her thoughts fuzzy. Her face pink.
She was so far gone, she almost walked into a mailbox.
The next day.
Xu Zheng, as usual, spent his morning blowing his flute and knocking out his daily system tasks.
Nothing too crazy today—just bullying some slimes, teasing a few Whopperflowers.
Standard stuff.
Honestly, the monsters weren't the problem.
The real hell was travel time.
Fighting took three minutes. Traversing the terrain? Half an hour.
He had teleport anchors, sure—but only at fixed points. Tasks often popped up in places far from them, so he still had to hoof it.
And along the way, villagers sometimes spotted him and thought they were witnessing a divine being descending from the heavens.
They'd drop to their knees and start making wishes.
Xu Zheng felt awkward every time.
Meanwhile, Ganyu was back at her usual office grind.
But something had changed lately—she'd been quietly offloading the simpler tasks to others.
She didn't mind work itself.
But it did steal time away from the one thing she wanted most these days:
贴贴 (aka "snuggle time").
It was a new word she'd learned from Xu Zheng.
After pestering him endlessly about its meaning, he had solemnly explained:
"贴贴 means friendly disciple-master bonding. Nothing weird about it."
So now, Ganyu was determined.
She was going to bond the hell out of her disciple.
After outsourcing a chunk of her paperwork, Ganyu actually got off work early.
She practically skipped home, sat in a chair, stretched like a lazy kitten, and announced:
"Come snuggle me, Little Xu Zheng."
"…Fine. Let's snuggle."
Xu Zheng sighed.
I really should've kept my mouth shut that day…
"Master, it's getting late. Let's head to Wanmin Restaurant."
Even though Ganyu had gotten off early, it was almost time for their dinner gathering.
Better to show up early than miss the food, right?
"Okay. Then we'll snuggle more tonight."
Xu Zheng opened the door and took one step outside—
"HOLY—!"
He let out a startled yell that could've summoned thunder.
"What's wrong?" Ganyu asked.
"Baimei! What happened to you?! You look like a walking corpse—uh, I mean, you look tired. Really tired."
Standing at the door was Baimei, sporting a pair of monstrous dark circles under her eyes.
"I haven't been sleeping much."
A chunk of Ganyu's workload had ended up on her desk. Not super difficult, but it was unfamiliar to her, so it took extra time. Which meant longer nights. Less rest.
And zero pay raise. Rude.
Today, she was here to ask for some work-related advice.
While she was happy for Ganyu's lighter schedule…
She was not thrilled to inherit the leftovers.
Especially without a bonus attached. Major red flag.
"I'm really sorry," Ganyu said guiltily. "Maybe I should just take the work back…"
"No, no, no—Ganyu, are you saying I can't handle it?" Baimei puffed up.
Seeing her stubborn, Ganyu shared her personal tips for handling the tasks quickly and efficiently.
Baimei left the office… immediately regretting her pride.
She should've said, "This work doesn't suit me. Maybe Baixiao can take it?"
But then again, those two witches said I was fat yesterday.
So screw them.
At Wanmin Restaurant, Xu Zheng confidently led Ganyu into their newly upgraded private room.
After receiving his tea shop profits, he had the place completely renovated.
Aesthetic upgrade? Check.
Soundproofing? Double check.
The kind of soundproofing that let two people "spar" inside and no one would hear a thing.
"Hellooo! You finally made it!" came a cheerful voice.
Inside, Eula, Yanfei, and Xiangling were already seated.
Only Xu Zheng and Ganyu had been missing.
"Sorry we're late!"
"No worries," Yanfei waved. "We figured Ganyu must be swamped."
They all knew Ganyu was a workaholic. The fact she showed up at all was already a miracle.
"I have something for you, Eula," Ganyu said.
She handed over a gift-wrapped box containing the Rex Lapis plushie.
Then Xiangling grinned and handed Eula her own little gift. "This is from me! So you don't forget us when you go back to Mondstadt."
Finally, Xu Zheng gave her a silver bracelet, engraved with a delicate plum blossom.
Plum blossoms bloom in winter, alone, proud and beautiful.
Just like Eula.
"Thank you, Little Xu Zheng. I love it. I'll treasure it," she said, carefully putting it away like it was a priceless heirloom.
And then—
"Wait—YOU ALL BROUGHT GIFTS?! AND I DIDN'T?!?!"
Yanfei stared at the group, betrayed.
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
Laughter exploded from all sides.
Time passed quickly.
Soon, it was time for Eula to head back to Mondstadt.
She still had official duties waiting.
"Come visit again soon!" Xiangling called.
"I will," Eula smiled.
Just as she was about to leave, Xu Zheng leaned in close and whispered near her ear:
"Eula-jie, I need a favor. Liyue's planning to import a huge shipment of rice from Mondstadt.
I want you to lead the escort. I've got a strategy for catching some thieves—but I'll need your help."
Eula's face turned serious. She leaned in to hear him more clearly…
And that's when it happened.
Inches became centimeters. Centimeters became millimeters.
And without either of them realizing—her lips landed square on Xu Zheng's mouth.