Work Text:
Although it was late, I still was running around, with a few notes sticking from under my arm. Lady Ningguang asked me to run errands again, and since I wasn’t exactly the person to turn down a request, I was about to have another long night. I sighed, but still made myself walk towards Yujing Terrace. I was tasked with observing newly arrived ships today and if possible, verify whether they haven’t brought with them anything suspicious.
And somehow, none of them were clear. Even though only four ships arrived, there was something wrong with every one of them.
The first one had a suspiciously huge pile of mora hidden under the deck.
The second and the third one had treasures, which their owners didn’t acknowledge during their entry.
And the last one, they actually tried smuggling a bunch of treasure hoarders from Sumeru. They were either stupid or truly convinced that it would work. Well, the latter meant the same as the first one.
But now, it was time to bring the information back. Ningguang instructed me to leave the notes on Ganyu’s desk, but much to my surprise, the half adepti was still working. I sighed and after tying the papers to my hip using the string from my hook, I hauled myself onto the desk.
Somehow, she was yet to notice me, so I walked over to her closest hand and pulled at her fingers.
“Huh? Miss Lapis? Do you have the notes?” she asked. Although she tried to hide it, I could tell how tired she was.
“I was supposed to leave them for you to see in the morning, not hand them over directly,” I replied and tied off the papers from my hip. For me, those were as big as my torso, but for Ganyu, she could easily pick them up between her two fingers.
“About that… I just had to finish some things. That’s why I’m working overtime,” she explained and took the notes. “Thank you for your work, Miss Lapis. I can handle things by myself from this point, so you can leave,” the woman said after checking what I wrote. But, instead of leaving, I moved so that I was now standing in front of her and said
“Since you’re overworking yourself again, allow me to help. And after we are finished, go to sleep.”
“You don't have…” she tried saying with a troubled expression, but I simply cut her off.
“No. I want and I will help. Now, tell me what you were working on and we will see if there's something I can do.”
“Remind me again, why are you accepting all this work?” I asked, feeling fed up at this point. I said I would help.
But, I've never seen so many papers at once in my entire life, the whole twenty-three years I walked on Teyvat.
“Well, since I'm a secretary, it’s obvious that I have to handle all kinds of matters,” Ganyu explained, but I wasn’t really convinced. I expressed it by saying
“I know, but you're not the only worker here. I'm sure that people here would manage if you were to get yourself a normal sleeping schedule.”
“I can assure you that you don’t have to worry about me. I’ve been doing this job for a very long time. Besides, my work is nothing compared to what Rex Lapis did for the people of Liyue,” she replied. And, I hated how confident she sounded. Another sigh left my lips and honestly, I stopped counting them.
“You adepti, you should worry more about yourselves,” I stated, while writing down the most important parts of the document I just read. She simply glanced at me with a bit of embarrassment on her face, before returning to work. I decided to do the same. The faster we finish, the faster I can drag her and myself to bed.
“Alright. That should be all,” Ganyu stated as she put away the last paper.
“Are you sure? Or did you hide some documents from me, which you plan on pulling out when I’m gone?” I asked, to which she gave me a troubled look. “Again? Really?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to trouble you with my work,” she admitted, while pulling out a small stack of papers and a scroll.
“If it was trouble for me, I wouldn’t offer my help in the first place,” I said and rubbed my eyes. My part consisted of writing summaries for more lengthy texts, so that Ganyu could handle them quicker, but I had to admit that all that reading was tiring. Fortunately, unlike a certain secretary, I was yet to yawn, so I could still hide my tiredness.
“Come visit me during my breakfast. I will treat you to some tea,” she offered and handed me the scroll. As I opened it to check its length, I replied with a sheepish smile
“I’m afraid that I will have to pass this morning, but I will gladly come by the next day.” As I began reading, I also began hoping that I could wake up on time tomorrow, since I was supposed to have a meeting with Lady Ningguang. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but now? I could very well just leave Ganyu with all the work, but it didn’t feel right. So, reading it was.
“It's unusual for you to be late, Miss Lapis,” I heard, as soon as I put my feet on the table in Liuli Pavilion.
“Forgive me, Lady Ningguang,” I apologized and bowed my head to the Tianquan, before explaining “I stayed up late helping Ganyu with her work and I slightly overslept.”
“So I assume that you also delivered the notes to her?” she asked, to which I nodded. “I'm very glad for it. Thank you for your hard work,” Ningguang said, her face assuring me that her words were genuine.
“You’re too kind. I'm always happy to help,” I replied and moved an inch closer. I was about two feet away from the woman, standing next to a pot behind which I concealed myself in case someone were to enter. She most likely noticed this, because she said
“I instructed the waiters not to enter unless I call them, and the businessman I have a meeting with won't come for another half an hour. There's no reason to hide.” I thanked her for it and stepped out of pot's shadow, so that I was now standing about a foot from her, and I asked
“Do you require my assistance with anything else?”
“I was hoping you could keep me company while I wait,” she explained. A simple request.
“Of course,” I replied with with a smile, to which she replied with a smile of her own
“If you haven’t eaten breakfast yet, you can help yourself from the dishes here.” I glanced at the whole table and felt my mouth watering at the sight of all the food. I indeed skipped breakfast to come here as quickly as possible, so since Lady Ningguang allowed it, I gladly took it.
After that, we began talking. All kinds of topics went through our lips, until it was time for Lady Ningguang’s guest to arrive.
“Well then, I hope to see you in the near future, Miss Lapis,” the woman said and after replying
“Same for me, Lady Ningguang,” I left the room and headed back home, where I decided to handle my chores for the rest of the day. After that, when the sun was about to set, I went to bed early. I overslept for the meeting with the Tianquan, but I didn’t want to be late for the meeting with Ganyu.
As she promised, Ganyu shared her tea with me. She also picked a spot without people, so that I wouldn’t risk being seen. We idly chatted for a few minutes, until the woman suddenly admitted
“I sometimes worry about you, Miss Lapis.”
“I should be the one saying that, especially after what happened a few days ago, but go on” I replied, surprised by her words.
“You constantly run errands and try to help out everyone you can. I admit, I often work overtime at the cost of my sleep, but you? You often risk your life,” she explained with worry written on her face, making me huff. She had a point.
“Well, I have to somehow repay what you giants do for me,” I replied, to which she tilted her head in confusion.
“Repay? There’s surely no need for it, isn’t it?” she asked. I began fiddling with my empty cup, trying not to get emotional. But, I had to say something, so I took a breath and said
“Xiangling offers me food and Mister Zhongli offers me tea whenever I visit them. I’m always welcome at the Bubu Pharmacy when I fall ill. Lady Ningguang made sure that I have a lot of spots across the city where I won’t be bothered and whenever I need to travel outside of Liyue Harbor, I can count on Gaming to help me with it. Compared to my life from before meeting you all, I live in luxury now. So, it’s only right for me to do something in return. If not directly, I can help out the city itself by running errands for those who overlook it. ‘Always pay back for what you took’. My mother used to say that.” I felt uncomfortable when silence fell, but I wasn’t sure what to say next.
For some reason, it was just easier to cry and let my emotions show themselves, which I certainly wasn’t doing in front of someone as important as Ganyu, so silence it was.
“No wonder you care so much for everyone. I would probably be working till morning if it weren’t for you offering help that night. ‘Helpful spirit’ certainly suits you,” she suddenly said and it was the last thing I needed to do exactly what I didn’t want. I rubbed my eyes before any tears could flow from them and with a smile I said a simple
“Thank you.” This made her also smile, after which she stood up and said
“Thank you for your company, Miss Lapis. But, I must head to work.”
“Of course, I’m not holding you anymore,” I replied and waved her goodbye as she left. I sighed and stood up, after which I began heading to Bubu Pharmacy. I promised Qiqi and Yaoyao that I would play with them today. And after that, I was meant to meet up with mister Zhongli. I had a busy day ahead of me.