Chapter Text
They didn’t exactly need introductions. Ganyu and Yanfei were very much aware of each other’s existence, especially since they were the only few half-adeptus workers in Liyue. With their common mixed blood, it was difficult to avoid stories about one another.
It’s true that Ganyu’s legacy often went unnoticed as the citizens pay no mind to the complex behind-the-scenes calculations and details that develop the Qixing’s operations. But for the dedicated scholar, Yanfei, knowing their affairs was as essential as knowing the alphabet. The commitment Ganyu had to Liyue and Rex Lapis was well-recognized in her book, even if Yanfei herself had no contract with him. Admirable, at the very least.
Anyone in Liyue that knew anything about business knew of Yanfei’s excellency. Her performance as one of the top legal advisers of the harbor was acknowledged, praised, and even—feared. It would be embarrassing for Ganyu to not recognize her name. Every time Ningguang spoke of the adviser, Ganyu would curiously lean in closer to the conversation. She couldn’t help it.
Despite all of this though, they had never formally met once. They sometimes crossed paths as workers loyal to Liyue Harbor, but no greetings were ever exchanged. At most, they would cast sneaky glances at each other. A quiet longing to know more.
This changed one cloudy day when Yanfei entered the Wanmin Restaurant late at night. She had been summoned by Chef Mao to settle a heated interaction with an angry customer. Supposedly, the customer had no knowledge of the slime condensate in his dish prepared by Xiangling and was disgusted to discover its addition. He demanded his money back and threatened the business, claiming that he’ll force it to close permanently. Chef Mao and his daughter refused, resulting in a messy situation. It was Yanfei’s time to step in, yet again.
Fortunately, this was not the first time someone wanted to legally challenge Xiangling’s unique cooking so the problem was nothing but a few minutes of blunt-talking. The dispute was resolved in an impressive matter of minutes.
Yanfei watched as the customer left the restaurant fuming. Another clean win for her record.
“Thank you so much, Yanfei,” Chef Mao said, bowing his head in appreciation. “We’re in great debt to you.”
“No worries, just doing my job as always. I will be collecting the payment as stated in the contract now, please.”
“Oh, yes, please allow me to fetch it.”
While Chef Mao left to collect the required mora, Yanfei surveyed the room. She expected the restaurant to be empty due to the ungodly hour and dead silence but to her surprise, one lone customer sat at a two-seat table. The light blue hair and unmistakable horns revealed their identity in an instant.
Ganyu?
The secretary to the Liyue Qixing was quietly chewing on a small spoonful of vegetables in the corner. She didn’t pay any attention to Yanfei, but instead studied her midnight meal with a straight face, stuck in her own world.
Truthfully, this was the closest Yanfei had even been to Ganyu, who sat only a few feet away. It was a mystery how the emissary didn’t feel her presence in close proximity. Ganyu’s eyes were blank as if she was lost in thought. Yanfei cocked her head. Now that she could observe them up-close, they were absolutely gorgeous. Simply limiting Ganyu’s eyes to one color would undermine their beauty. Rather than just one hue like hers, Ganyu seized the whole Liyue sunset in her irises. Purple, pink, yellow, blue.
Breath-taking.
“Here you go, Yanfei.”
At the sound of Chef Mao’s voice, Yanfei’s antlers jumped. She whipped her head around and flashed a smile to mask her scare. Oh Archons, what had gotten to her in that moment? She was usually immune to jumpscares, even to Hu Tao’s surprising tricks.
Hm. She studied the mora in the chef’s outstretched hand. There was an itching thought in her brain that stopped her from collecting the payment. Something in Yanfei’s head told her it was because she wanted to stay, and something in her heart told her it was because Ganyu was eating alone. Well—
Growl.
Yanfei looked down. Perhaps something in her stomach simply wished for food. It had been a long day…
She laughed lightly. “Actually, Mr. Mao, would it be fine if you could pay me in dinner? I know that this isn’t stated in the contract but it will work as a transaction.”
“Yanfei, I couldn’t be any happier to cook something for you. You’ve done a lot for my family business. I assume you want tofu?”
At just the word, she could feel her mouth water. “Yes, please!”
With that, Chef Mao dashed to the kitchen, leaving Yanfei alone with Ganyu again. She looked around. There were a couple of empty tables but it would be a bit sad sitting at a table alone. Eating in silence, too, sounded lonely, especially for the talkative legal expert. Her gaze eventually settled back onto Ganyu, fixating on the empty chair across the table. What’s the harm in eating with someone new? Besides, Yanfei liked to be (legally) carefree sometimes.
Once her delicious-looking tofu dish was cooked, she collected the plate, thanked Mr. Mao, and made her way to the small table in the corner. The clink of the dish and the plop of Yanfei sitting down finally snapped Ganyu out of her reverie. The secretary’s eyes widened in surprise and her lips parted in an involuntary “ah!”
Yanfei flashed a friendly smile before taking a bite of her tofu. Mmm...tofu was undoubtedly her one true love. She shut her eyes to relish the taste.
A second later, she reopened them to Ganyu looking at her wondrously. Yanfei’s eyebrow raised. “What caught your eye?”
Ganyu looked away shyly. Her face was rosy and gentle under the calm lighting of the restaurant.
“Well, I-I was just admiring your eyes. They’re, um, really pretty.”
Her voice was just as soft and kind as Yanfei expected, if not sweeter. It was a tad surprising how palpably cute she was this close. The compliment was nothing new to the adviser since others made the same comment, but hearing it from Ganyu made it more flattering.
“No way! Have you seen yours?” Yanfei countered, pointing her spoon at her tablemate. “I’ve never seen such a fascinating pair of eyes like those before. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone broke the law just to catch a look at them.”
A pink blush colored Ganyu’s cheeks and a small smile pulled at her lips. “But you wouldn’t tolerate it.”
Yanfei shook her head. “No, not at all. But it makes me feel lucky to be both a law-abiding citizen and your dinner date.”
The vegetable lodged between Ganyu’s chopsticks suddenly fell back into her bowl. She cupped her own cheek to cool her burning face. “D-date,” She echoed softly.
“Is that okay with you?”
“Y-yeah. I don’t mind,” She reassured with a shy smile.
Ba-bump. Yanfei nearly choked on her tofu. Sure, it was her being the bold one here, but she didn’t expect it to be well received by Ganyu. She could hear her heartbeat faintly in her head. Hopefully, it wasn’t loud enough for anyone else to notice.
“Anyway,” Yanfei started again after a brief recovery period, “Are you free tomorrow? For the first time in forever, my schedule is light.”
Ganyu mentally assessed her agenda for the next day. As always, it was filled to the very brim beside her daily lunch break at noon. “I have lunch free.”
“Excellent. Then, may I invite you to a lunch date?”
“Yes, I would be honored to.”
“By the way, I’m Yanfei, I’m a passionate legal adviser at Liyue Harbor.”
It didn’t occur to Ganyu that they hadn't formally introduced themselves. It just went unspoken that they knew each other, or more like, of each other.
“Ah, I’m Ganyu, emissary and secretary to the Liyue Qixing”
“Ganyu…” Yanfei eagerly tested. The name smoothly rolled off her tongue, as if she already said it many times before. “Nice to finally meet you.”