Liyue in Teyvat, six in the evening.
"Phew… a whole day's work, and these documents are finally approved."
Keqing put down her brush after approving the last document on her left, then leaned back in her chair and stretched comfortably.
She moved her stiff limbs, and a series of creaks echoed from her joints.
Looking at the stack of approved documents on the right side of her desk, Keqing nodded with satisfaction. Today's tasks were completed today.
"Huh? Where did Ling Feng go? Did he finish memorizing the books that quickly?"
Keqing's gaze shifted to the assistant's desk next to her. Ling Feng was not in his seat. The books she had given him were neatly stacked there.
"Grrr—"
Abruptly, a growl from Keqing's stomach echoed through the entire office. Her face flushed slightly. If Ling Feng were here, she would have been thoroughly embarrassed.
"Creak…"
The door was gently pushed open, and Ling Feng entered carrying a bag of food that emanated an enticing aroma.
Upon entering, Ling Feng saw that Keqing had finished her work. Her pair of slightly purplish pink eyes were fixed on him.
"You're back. Where were you just now?"
Although Keqing was asking Ling Feng, her gaze kept drifting to the food bag he was carrying.
Ling Feng, of course, noticed this. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he walked forward with the food and placed one of the bags on the desk.
"As your assistant, of course, I went to buy you some food. You must be hungry after a long day of work," Ling Feng said with a faint smile.
(｀・w・´)
"That's good. Did you finish reading all the books I gave you?" Keqing asked, crossing her arms. Although she was looking directly at Ling Feng, she couldn't help but swallow a few times, enticed by the aroma of the food.
"Yes, in a day, I could basically memorize them by heart." Ling Feng nodded. With his current memory capacity, memorizing several books in a day was quite simple.
"That's good. Tomorrow, we..."
"Grrr~~"
Before Keqing could finish speaking, a loud protest from her stomach erupted in the office.
Both Ling Feng and Keqing froze. The previously quiet office fell silent, as if time had suddenly stopped.
"Where were we? Ah, yes, our main task tomorrow is..." Keqing said, her face blushing.
"Grrr~ Grrr~ Grrr~"
Perhaps Keqing's stomach was rebelling, as one growl wasn't enough; it had to make three, demonstrating the intensity of its defiance.
Truly, it was the height of absurdity.
The situation was now incredibly awkward.
Ling Feng looked at Keqing's apple-red face, her mind seemingly overheating.
Considering his understanding of Keqing's high favorability in the game, the correct course of action to preserve her dignity would be:
"By the way, I suddenly remembered I have a question for Sister Ganyu. I'll be leaving for a moment."
Ling Feng turned and rushed out of the room, closing the door. The entire maneuver was executed flawlessly, as if Ling Feng had practiced it many times before.
Only when he pressed his ear against the door and heard the sound of Keqing opening the bag to eat did he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Huh? Is Sister Ganyu still busy?"
The door to Ganyu's office not far away was open, and the light from inside spilled into the corridor.
Ling Feng walked slowly to the door and peered inside.
It was just as he had expected.
Ganyu was still seated at her desk, her purple eyes rapidly scanning the documents in her hand. She then picked up her brush, signed her name, affixed a seal, and placed the approved document into a neatly sorted file box.
She then picked up the unapproved documents on her right and continued her review. There was a large stack of unapproved documents on the desk to Ganyu's right.
"With this workload, how late will Ganyu have to work?" Ling Feng thought to himself in surprise.
Keqing had been busy with her stack of official documents all day. For Ganyu... it would likely take her through the night.
Furthermore, several more piles of documents were placed in the open space to her right, and it was unclear if they were for tonight or tomorrow.
Ling Feng looked at Ganyu's slender figure with a hint of concern.
"Ling Feng, do you have something to ask or consult about?"
At some point, Ganyu had put down her brush. Her beautiful eyes were now looking at him brightly, as if this work was nothing to her and she was long accustomed to it.
"Sister Ganyu, how long will this take you to finish?"
"Ah, w-why do you ask?" Ganyu was startled at first, then glanced at the numerous documents piled up in the room and said softly, "To finish, it will probably take three to four days."
"Three or four days? Then when will you eat?"
"Th-this… This… I last ate probably two or three days ago. I haven't had time to go out and eat because of how busy work has been… e"
"Hey, Ling Feng… what are you doing?" Ganyu seemed confused by Ling Feng's actions.
"I just want to treat Sister Ganyu to a meal, using this bit of free time." Ling Feng suddenly pulled out a large clay pot and placed it on the table.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, this smell is! Ultimate Sea Cucumber Stew."
Ganyu's expression was one of extreme shock upon smelling the long-lost aroma.
"Yes, it's Ultimate Sea Cucumber Stew, and it's of the highest quality. Sister Ganyu, you haven't eaten for over three days. This pot of stew should help replenish your lost nutrients," Ling Feng said with a smile.
"No, no, no. My clan strictly adheres to vegetarianism. Please allow me to decline meat dishes.
'Drinks must be sweet dew, food must be fine grain.' This is my code. Therefore, please remove that plate of 'Ultimate Sea Cucumber Stew' from my sight… I'm really serious."
Ganyu's face clearly conveyed her refusal. However, despite her words, her constant swallowing and her eyes fixed on the stew completely contradicted her statement.
Ling Feng pondered for a moment, then came up with a method that had a chance of making Ganyu eat the stew, a sly smile playing on his lips.