"Klee! Come back with me right now!"
Jean's stern gaze locked onto Klee as she strode quickly toward them.
In Lin Mo's eyes, her steps still carried a certain elegance.
But to Klee, they were terrifying.
Coupled with Jean's severe expression, little Klee immediately tensed up, clutching tightly to Lin Mo's pant leg and saying in a small, aggrieved voice, "Daddy… Acting Grand Master Jean is going to scold Klee…"
"Shh—Klee, don't forget our agreement," Lin Mo reminded her gently.
Klee instantly realized she'd used the wrong form of address.
She was supposed to stop calling him "Daddy" and change it to "Brother Ganqing."
"Brother Ganqing… what should I do…"
"Acting Grand Master Jean is so scary, so scary…"
Klee hid behind Lin Mo, peeking out with half her little head, timidly watching Jean approach in a fury.
"Klee! Didn't I tell you already?!"
"During the dragon crisis, you are not allowed to leave the city to play!"
Jean's severity made it clear to Lin Mo—she was genuinely angry.
"Um… Acting Grand Master Jean, please calm down," Lin Mo said quickly with a wry smile.
"Look, Klee's perfectly safe. We're almost at the city gates anyway. As long as nothing happened, that's what matters, right?"
"When something happens, it's already too late!"
"And you are…?"
Only then did Jean lift her gaze to properly look at Lin Mo's face.
The moment she saw him—
Buzz—
It was as if a low hum rang out in her mind.
Fragments of a dream that had once been blurry suddenly began replaying in her head like slides on a projector.
"Jean, your grip on the sword isn't quite right."
"It looks elegant, but it lacks practicality."
"Come on, let me guide your hand and show you. See if it feels better after the adjustment."
At the Knights of Favonius training grounds, under countless watchful eyes, Lin Mo teaching her swordsmanship hand over hand appeared vividly before her.
"Why is your hand so hot? Your face looks a little flushed too."
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"Why don't you head back to your quarters and rest for a bit? We can train another day."
From that day on, Lin Mo, as the Grand Master of the Knights, not only handled Mondstadt's countless affairs—
he also deliberately set aside an hour each day to train with Jean at the Western training grounds.
Twenty years.
Two hundred and forty months.
Rain or shine.
…
One night, at the Knights of Favonius headquarters, in the Grand Master's office.
Seeing Jean standing at the doorway, Lin Mo smiled and asked,
"Jean, why are you still in the office so late? Not heading back to rest?"
"If you, the Grand Master, can work this late for Mondstadt,"
Jean replied matter-of-factly,
"then why can't I?"
"But haven't you already finished your work?" Lin Mo asked curiously.
"That's because you took all the most complicated tasks upon yourself,"
Jean said, a trace of resentment flickering in her eyes.
"I'm only responsible for the lighter duties. Of course I finish faster."
Lin Mo glanced at her resentful yet beautiful gaze and couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Why do you look… unhappy about that?"
"As the Deputy Grand Master, I have both the responsibility and the obligation to shoulder the heavier workload,"
Jean said, the resentment in her eyes turning firm once more.
Lin Mo looked down at the mountain of documents on his desk, then back up at Jean.
"You mean… you want to help me share some of the work?"
"Grand Master Lin Mo, I'm not helping you,"
she said seriously.
"This is work that the two Grand Masters should be completing together."
…
Meeting her resolute gaze, Lin Mo smiled and pushed a stack of documents toward her.
"Alright then. Look through these files. If everything's in order, help approve them."
"Understood."
Jean took the documents without hesitation, pulled over a chair, and sat down directly across from him at the desk.
"Huh? Jean, you're not going back to your own office?" Lin Mo asked, surprised.
"You are the primary person responsible for these documents,"
Jean answered calmly.
"If I work here, I can ask you immediately if there's anything I don't understand."
Lin Mo didn't press further.
But from that day on—
The late-night figures working at the Knights' headquarters became two instead of one.
An unspoken understanding seemed to form between them.
From that day forward, Lin Mo never closed the office door after hours again.
Because he knew that after dinner, someone would come and work late with him.
And at some point—no one remembered exactly when—
Jean even began bringing him warm, carefully prepared dinners.
Through their shared effort and companionship, Mondstadt grew better and better,
and in just twenty years, it became the strongest nation in all of Teyvat.
…
At this moment, Lin Mo had no idea that Jean was reliving fragments of a dream.
Seeing the puzzlement in her eyes as she stared at him, Lin Mo quickly smiled and introduced himself.
"My name is Mode Ganqing. I'm a traveler journeying across Teyvat," he said politely.
"Acting Grand Master Jean, I've heard so much about you."
As he spoke, he extended his right hand in a gesture of goodwill.
Pulled back from her memories by his voice, Jean returned to reality.
Mode Ganqing?
Why that name?
Confusion filled her eyes.
Because the man standing before her was exactly the same person from her dreams—
the Grand Master Lin Mo who had once worked alongside her to build Mondstadt's glory.
So why would he call himself Mode Ganqing?
Still, seeing the hand extended toward her, Jean instinctively reached out and took it.
The moment their palms met, her eyes trembled.
"You…"
That familiar sensation in his hand—
After countless moments of guiding her grip, of sword and blade dancing together—
Jean was utterly certain.
The man before her was no "Mode Ganqing."
He was the Grand Master from her dreams.
The one who had led Mondstadt to greatness.
Lin Mo.
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T/N:
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