From that day on, Ningguang's way of life was no longer the same.
In the past, only on rare occasions—when she happened to be in a particularly good mood—would she visit Liyue Harbor to watch Yun Jin perform, or dine at Liuli Pavilion or Xinyue Kiosk. Other than that, her days were almost devoid of leisure or entertainment.
But from then on, her life became unexpectedly rich and colorful.
For example, on one particular day—
"Whew… finally finished."
Lin Mo placed a thick stack of processed documents onto her desk.
"These are…?" Ningguang looked at his haggard face, unable to hide her concern. "You didn't sleep all night, did you?"
"This is all the work for this month," she said as she gently brushed his tired cheeks. "You really didn't need to rush everything into the first three days of the month…"
Before she could finish—
Lin Mo smiled and raised a golden mask in his hand.
"Lady Ningguang, put on a mask and go on a business trip with me."
"Huh? A business trip?"
Her beautiful eyes filled with confusion.
None of their work required travel. If there truly was a trip, it would be handled by officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs. As the Tianquan, why would she personally go on assignment?
"Mm. Mondstadt's Windblume Festival is coming up," Lin Mo said with a smile. "A good chance to study and experience Mondstadt's culture of freedom."
"That's just traveling for fun…"
Ningguang shook her head helplessly. Using 'cultural exchange' as an excuse to vacation.
She thought for a moment, then a trace of apology surfaced on her face.
"I still have a lot of work on hand. It might take several days to finish…"
"Why don't we go together next year's Windblume Festival instead?"
...
"I knew you'd say that."
A triumphant smile appeared on Lin Mo's face.
"Here. While you were back resting, I went ahead and finished your work too."
"Ah… you—"
Ningguang stared at him in disbelief. "You… finished both of our monthly workloads in three days?!"
"Oh, that's nothing," Lin Mo waved it off casually.
Three days to do a month's work—what's so hard about that?
Back on Blue Star, he could finish two months of summer homework in one night before school resumed.
Still, facing this sudden trip, Ningguang couldn't help feeling uneasy.
She had rarely left Liyue in her life. Now, suddenly traveling so far away, her heart tightened with nervousness.
"I've never traveled far," she said softly.
"It's fine. I've been everywhere," Lin Mo said confidently, patting his chest.
"But… your beauty is far too striking. It'd be easy for people to recognize you."
As he spoke, he handed her the golden mask.
"Come on. One mask each."
"In Mondstadt, let's pretend we're a merchant couple from Liyue."
"A merchant couple…"
Ningguang's eyes trembled slightly.
Unconsciously, her slender fingers tightened around the mask he handed her.
"Mm. You can call me Lin Mo—no one knows me anyway."
"But your name, Ningguang, is famous across the continent."
"As for me… I'll call you Guang'er."
...
After several days on the road, they traveled with merchant caravans toward Mondstadt.
At Wangshu Inn and at Stone Gate, they checked into single rooms under the guise of husband and wife.
Thankfully, Lin Mo's self-control was solid. Even sharing a room, he kept his impulses in check, allowing Ningguang to naïvely believe that nothing would happen on this pleasant journey.
But fate had other plans.
Immersed in the joyful atmosphere of the Windblume Festival, with bards singing late into the night and a bit too much wine involved—
When they returned to the Goth Grand Hotel in Mondstadt…
Under the influence of alcohol—
Every time Ningguang recalled what happened that night, her cheeks burned with heat.
Their relationship, on that very day of the Windblume Festival, crossed a decisive threshold.
From then on, year after year, Lin Mo found all sorts of excuses to take Ningguang traveling across the nations.
They had slipped into the closed-off Inazuma, embracing beneath falling cherry blossoms.
They strolled hand in hand through lantern-lit festivals, sitting beneath the torii gates of Kannazuka, watching brilliant fireworks paint the night sky.
They ventured deep into the northern lands of Snezhnaya, where snow blanketed the earth in endless white.
There, Ningguang experienced snowball fights and skiing for the first time.
In the end, they even left behind ice sculptures in Snezhnaya that bore an uncanny resemblance to the two of them.
Behind their twin golden masks—
He was Lin Mo, a merchant well-versed in the cultures of every land.
She was his gentle, considerate wife, always by his side.
Memories flooded Ningguang's heart.
And now, seeing Lin Mo's face once more, the anger and resentment within her could no longer be suppressed.
"Have you calmed down?"
Lin Mo gently brushed her cheek.
"This diplomat from Mondstadt," Ningguang smiled lightly.
"May I ask—are your current actions on behalf of yourself… or Mondstadt?"
"Hah—"
Her eyes widened.
The familiar scene replayed itself.
In the dream, it was in the office of the Jade Chamber.
In reality, it was in the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
After a long while, the two finally parted reluctantly.
Yet resentment still lingered in Ningguang's gaze.
Lin Mo avoided mentioning Guizhong entirely.
Instead, he smiled and asked,
"Lady Ningguang, did you miss this gentle, considerate, and resourceful secretary of yours?"
"What I missed," Ningguang replied, her voice still tinged with grievance,
"was a gentle, considerate, resourceful, and devoted secretary."
"Are you the Secretary Lin Mo I longed for?"
Her tone made it clear—thinking of his many romantic entanglements still stung.
Lin Mo could only smile bitterly.
"Lady Ningguang, think about it. If I could so easily betray everyone else… wouldn't that mean I could just as easily betray you someday?"
Ningguang fell silent.
She understood.
This was his answer.
Though unwilling to accept it wholeheartedly, what was done was done.
As Lin Mo said, she would rather have a Lin Mo who shouldered responsibility and never abandoned anyone—
than someone who would casually discard others just to please her.
With that, Ningguang chose not to pursue the topic further.
Instead, she took out two golden masks from her bosom and said softly,
"I had these made in reality as well."
Lin Mo smiled and replied,
"Then let's find a time and travel together again."
He knew there was still a knot in her heart—but she had accepted the real him.
"But we've already traveled across all seven nations," Ningguang asked.
"Won't revisiting old places with me grow tiresome?"
"Tired? How could I ever get tired of being with you?"
Lin Mo chuckled.
"Besides, our next journey doesn't have to be to cities."
"Mondstadt's Starsnatch Cliff."
"Inazuma's Watatsumi Island."
"Those are all incredibly romantic places."
As he spoke, Lin Mo took his golden mask from her hand and put it on, smiling as he asked,
"Once we finish handling the aftermath of this disaster—"
"Guang'er, will you come with me to Inazuma again?"
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T/N:
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