Knights of Favonius Headquarters — Acting Grand Master's Office.
"Phew… finally done."
Jean let out a long sigh of relief behind her desk.
Thankfully, the earlier conflict with the Doctor had taken place in a remote area.
Even though the battlefield had been badly damaged, there were no casualties — and no panic among the citizens.
So Jean only needed to send a cleanup squad to handle the aftermath.
And this time, she hadn't even needed to use the Sun Wukong's Hair that Han Feng had given her.
She could still save that for later.
Thinking of Han Feng, Jean took out her phone and began pondering.
"How… should I start chatting with him?"
Her brow furrowed slightly.
"Maybe something like: 'Hello, Mr. Han, I'm Jean, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius. It's a pleasure to chat with you.'"
That was how she'd introduced herself the first time they met.
But after a moment's hesitation, she shook her head.
"Too formal… He already said we're acquaintances — no need to be so polite."
She tapped her finger on the desk, thinking again.
"It's around noon… maybe I should ask, 'Have you eaten yet?'"
She had heard that was a common greeting among people in Liyue.
And judging by Han Feng's name, he did seem to be from there.
"No, that doesn't sound right either. Too awkward for a first message…"
Jean frowned again, deleting the words.
She thought of several other possible openings:
[Thank you for the phone, Mr. Han. Lisa and Klee both love it.]
[How's business today, Mr. Han?]
[What do you usually do when the shop's closed?]
But every option either felt too stiff or too weird.
She deleted them all.
"Why is saying hello suddenly so hard?"
Jean rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
In person, she was never this awkward!
After staring at the phone screen for a long time, she finally typed out two simple words:
[You there?]
At the Solace Book House
Han Feng was lounging comfortably behind the counter, savoring a cup of tea while enjoying a shoulder massage from his loyal maid, Noelle.
It was the very picture of peace and indulgence.
Then, his phone buzzed softly on the table.
"Hm? Someone messaged me?"
It took him a moment to realize what that sound even was — he hadn't used the phone in so long that he'd nearly forgotten what notifications felt like.
Picking it up, Han Feng wondered who it could be.
"Ningguang? Paimon? The Traveler?"
When he saw the sender, his brows lifted slightly.
"Oh? Jean?"
The contact name showed up as 'Jean the Bootyful', and Han Feng couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
He didn't have many friends on his phone — he'd already gone through the list in his head, but hadn't expected Jean to be the first one to text him.
Curious, he opened the message.
[You there?]
Han Feng's expression froze for a second.
"Of all greetings… this one?"
A twitch formed at the corner of his lips.
In his previous world, that phrase was infamous — it was often followed by, 'I'm short on cash. Can I borrow some money?'
Ahem. Anyway…
Still, he couldn't help but find it very fitting for Jean.
"Yeah… that kind of plain, serious straightforwardness—it suits her perfectly."
With a faint smirk, he typed out two words in reply:
[Not here.]
Jean's heart pounded nervously after hitting "send."
Not even facing the Fatui or Stormterror had made her this tense before.
"Did I disturb him? Was that rude?"
She bit her lip anxiously— and then her phone buzzed again.
[Not here.]
"Huh? Not here?"
Jean blinked in confusion.
"If he's not here… then how did he reply?"
After a second, realization dawned.
"Ah… he's teasing me."
Her lips curved upward unconsciously.
Since he had already opened the conversation, she relaxed a little and started to type more freely.
[How's business today, Mr. Han?]
[Pretty good.]
[You have so many amazing items in your shop. It's unbelievable.]
[Then come visit more often.]
[I will! Definitely.]
They didn't talk about anything special— just small, ordinary things.
But to Jean, this simple chat felt different.
It was her first time messaging someone about personal matters, and that someone was Han Feng.
It made her heart flutter in a way she couldn't quite describe, a soft smile forming on her face without her realizing it.
After a while, she remembered something— the strange nickname he had given her on his phone.
She hadn't dared to ask him about it in person, but now seemed like the perfect chance.
[Mr. Han, what does my contact name mean?]
After sending the message, Jean's face flushed a faint red.
Thank goodness she was alone—no one would see.
Han Feng, on the other hand, looked at the message with an amused expression.
"Heh… so she finally asked."
Seems like texting really did make her a bit bolder.
He thought for a second, then replied casually:
[It just suits you perfectly.]
"Suits… me?"
Jean froze, lowering her gaze slightly— then glanced down at that particular area of her body.
Comparing herself mentally to some of the other women she knew, she realized… he wasn't wrong.
"He's been paying that kind of attention to me…?"
Her cheeks burned bright red.
Meanwhile, just outside the office door, two curious pairs of eyes peeked in through a tiny crack — Barbara and Klee.
"Sister Barbara, what's wrong with Captain Jean?"
Klee tilted her head, watching Jean alternate between smiling, blushing, and frowning.
She looked completely baffled.
It was the first time she'd ever seen Jean act like that.
"Hmm… I think she's in love," Barbara whispered thoughtfully.
She'd read plenty of romance novels, and this was exactly how they described it — the flushed face, the little smiles, the dreamy look.
"Love? What's that?" Klee asked curiously.
"Can you eat it? Can you use it to make bombs? Can Klee try it too?"
Barbara: "…"
"Love is something for grown-ups like Captain Jean. You're still too young," Barbara said gently, tapping Klee's head.
"Come on, I'll take you back to confinement. After that, I'll bring you to the manga shop."
Klee had recently been caught blowing up fish again, so Barbara had been tasked with escorting her back to her "reflection room."
But running into Jean's mysterious behavior had been quite the surprise.
"Yay!"
Klee cheered softly.
To her, as long as there were manga involved— even confinement was totally fine.
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