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The orange glow of the lantern lights cast long shadows on the streets of Liyue Harbor.
Ganyu stifled a yawn as she ventured out of the large doors of the Yuehai Pavillion.
She hadn’t seen this many lanterns alight when she left work in many moons. They would tend to flicker out by the time she ventured home. The Lantern Rite Festival was nearing, and people were bustling in the square in preparation for the celebration. Shouts for a bouquet of Qingxin flowers resounded in the road, paper wrappers crinkling as the transaction was complete.
Ganyu herself had been diligently assisting with the festival in her own right, all those meetings between the Qixing needed note taking after all. There were only so many responsibilities she could dole out amongst the trusted three.
There was still so much to do.
No matter, there was nothing to be gained by lingering at the Pavillion when she was as tired as she was. Ganyu heaved a deep sigh. Only one more week to endure, then she and the rest of the Qixing would have a break to partake in the festivities. As she breathed in the cool crisp night air, she caught a whiff of the delicious scents radiating from the street food stalls. The rich wafting mushroom gravy, with not one but two different kinds of rare winter matsutake! She was looking towards slurping the noodles sold by Yi’nian that she had heard so much about. It was late enough that the dinner rush may be long over, but she hoped he might still be around.
As Ganyu passed the sea of people she noticed many couples, clinging to each other’s arms. Wide loving smiles, with gazes focused solely on the other’s as they walked home. She supposed the abundance of late-night vendors would be a good opportunity for date nights.
Her heels clicked delicately as she descended the steep stone staircase to the harbor. Her eyes were soaking in the sight of the sheer cliffside meeting the ocean waves when she spotted them.
The unmistakable gleam of lilac hair, smoothed and precisely shaped into her signature tight peaked buns.
A brown leather tome emblazoned with gold, firmly attached to shorts high up on an exposed pair of legs.
It was Keqing and Madame Ping’s granddaughter! What was her name again? Ah yes, Yanfei, the pay-for-hire legal adviser. They were dining at the Baiju Guesthouse’s new outdoor eatery. It was quite the coveted restaurant right now and reservations were certainly not easy to come by, Ganyu recalled.
The two girls appeared to be sharing entrees, sitting side by side as they each held small bowls of rice. Before them on the table sat a large bowl of Crab Roe Tofu and a plate of Qingce Stir Fry. Ganyu couldn’t hear their conversation over the din of the harbor, but she caught a glimpse of delicate pink lipstick on Keqing’s lips.
That wasn’t her normal shade!?
Suddenly, a slice of lotus root slipped out of Yanfei’s grasp, only to be deftly caught by Keqing’s own. Keqing smiled confidently, pleased with herself for preventing the waste of food, while Yanfei’s bright eyes were wide and conveyed her surprise. After a quick thought, she leaned over and placed a hand beside her onto Keqing’s thigh to brace herself as she ate the morsel off the tip of Keqing’s chopsticks.
Ganyu had seen enough.
She quickly strode away from them off to the docks, and settled on the wooden edge of the pier.
She fumed. When did those two start dating? How dare Yanfei get so close to her, they were practically on top of each other! Yanfei has become far too carefree to do such indecent acts in public!
Ganyu had believed for so long after giving Keqing subtle hints of her attraction, that perhaps she wasn’t interested in a relationship. Keqing seemed to at least appreciate her physique, from the way she witnessed several times Keqing’s eyes trailing up her legs as they passed each other in the office hallways. She was so adorable when Ganyu intentionally met her gaze, she always got so flustered.
She sighed, her adepti lineage was the only hangup she could surmise. But Yanfei is also a half-adeptus, which made no sense. Ganyu needed to get to the bottom of this.
Perhaps she needed to redouble her efforts to garner her undivided attention.