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She’s feeling awfully restless today. Fidgeting with the weighty pipe she always carries around, with her lacquered silk fan, with a gold-embellished pen, with whatever object is within reach.
It’s unlike her, Ningguang sighs to herself for the umpteenth time, to let herself be so distracted.
A cup of tea rests at the corner of her desk. It’s still freshly brewed-–Baishi had brought it in no more than a minute ago–-with tendrils of steam dissipating slowly into the air above. Next to it sits a sizable pile of paperwork that on any other day, Ningguang would be at least halfway done with by now.
But not today. Today, she has been too on edge to do any substantial work. It actually would have been completely fine if she had opted to stay home and take the day off instead of milling around her office, pretending/attempting/convincing herself to work. And normally, she probably would have done just that-–go home after lunch or whatever. But not today. Today, she absolutely needs to be in the office.
Ningguang picks up her pen again, leafs through the first few pages of a proposal again, even manages to read a fraction of it this time, before finally giving up. Again. She’s gone through this whole farce at least ten times today with no progress to show for it.
The cup of tea continues to sit there, untouched and mocking her. It looks exactly the same as it did the last time she looked at it, with steam rising and curling into nothing. She’s not entirely sure how many minutes have passed, but surely enough time has crawled by such that the tea would have at least cooled down, no?
No. Ningguang tries to soothe her anxiety with a sip of some nice, warm tea--only to immediately burn her tongue. A scorching glare at the clock hanging across the room tells her that it’s 3:52 in the afternoon.
It’s only been three minutes since her assistant brought her the tea.
She frowns. She swears it's felt like much, much longer. Hours, even. She taps a perfectly manicured nail against the varnished surface of her desk, eyeing the clock. Willing the second hand to move faster.
Can it move any slower? If forcefully prying open the clock and cranking its hands forward will actually turn time forward, Ningguang is ready to do it.
She sighs to herself, slouching back into her chair. From the corner of her eye, she can see the gates of Liyue Harbor through her window. There’s a line leading beyond it, curving and winding where the seashore meets rolling plains. Sitting up, she turns to face the window directly and squints into the horizon. Nothing but trees and grass and the occasional mountain. She traces the line downwards until it meets the city walls. Still nothing.
She feels like her thoughts are racing. She feels like everything around her is moving at some god-awful glacial speed, and she alone is hurtling forward. She feels like gently banging her head against the wall until enough time passes.
There’s no way she’s doing that though. Her hair today is perfectly done, her makeup impeccable, her outfit painstakingly put together. And just for the rest of today, at least, she needs to maintain this high standard of appearances. Just until it’s time.
She steals a glance at the clock again. The numbers 3:56 briefly make her consider screaming in frustration, but a knock at the door has her up in an instant.
Baishi peeks her head in. “Just checking if you wanted a refill for your tea, my Lady.”
Ningguang stares at the full cup of tea on her desk. Her own reflection stares back at her. She sighs and forces the disappointment out of her voice. “No thank you, Baishi.”
“Understood, my Lady.” Her assistant’s head retreats back behind the heavy oak door.
Ningguang sinks into her chair and reaches for the tea. It’s still warm, she notes with distaste. She decides to set it back down without drinking from it.
Another knock at the door has her scrambling to her feet again. This time, it’s only Ganyu, coming to deliver some documents. Ningguang waves her in and suppresses a groan as the secretary delicately stacks them atop the preexisting pile. If Ganyu notices it, or the fact that the pile is exactly the same height as it was this morning, she does not comment.
“Oh!” Ganyu pauses on her way out the door. Ningguang hates that she subconsciously leans forward in anticipation. “Shall I bring you some light refreshments, Lady Ningguang?”
A moment of silence passes as Ningguang struggles to gracefully decline. “That won’t be necessary, but thank you.” Ganyu nods as she turns to close the door behind her, only to stop again.
“One more thing, Lady Ningguang.” Ningguang tears her gaze away from the clock and smiles tiredly. “What is it, Ganyu?” She doesn’t think she can take three strikes of disappointment in a row.
“Lady Keqing has just returned.” And with that, Ganyu departs.
There’s a smile on the adeptus' face that hints at a deeper understanding of how Ningguang is feeling right now that she doesn’t really want to dissect at the moment. It miffs her a little bit.
Though it doesn't weigh on her for long, because Keqing is finally back.