Left alone in Keqing's boudoir, Xiangling's heart brimmed with envy.
This room was just too pretty!
The walls were coated in snow-white plaster, hung with a few little photos of Ye Xi and Keqing.
It looked so warm and cozy.
The bed was an adorable shade of pink, full of a girlish charm.
Beside it sat a whole row of cloth dolls—so cute, so full of character!
Xiangling felt that this was exactly the house of her fantasies.
And yet everything in those fantasies of hers was something Keqing already possessed, which made her cry out with boundless envy.
She couldn't help but sit down on the bed.
At once, a comfortable springiness rose up beneath her, drawing an involuntary gasp of amazement from Xiangling!
"So soft——!"
Back at her own home, the bed was hard, and far, far less bright than this.
A soft bed like this gave one the urge to burrow under the covers and take a nap!
Still, no matter how you looked at it, this was Keqing's room, and Xiangling forced down the desire in her heart.
She gently stroked the fluffy quilt; the smooth, tender feeling was just like touching a girl's skin.
It was so very much more comfortable than the ordinary fabric you'd find in a commoner's home!
This made Xiangling all the more torn.
'It's just... if it's just lying down for a moment! That should be fine, right...'
Thinking this, Xiangling swallowed, and reached out toward the quilt.
.....
Downstairs.
Keqing pushed open the front door, and at once caught the savory aroma of cooking.
"Ah-Qing's back~"
Lumine waved her hand and hurriedly invited her over: "Dinner's about to start, come on over and sit down."
There were far too many people in the household; a single table simply couldn't seat everyone.
Ye Xi also disliked setting up a long table—it would make things too formal, and anyone who didn't know better would think some royal aristocrats were dining.
They were all one family; where was the need for so many rules?
So they simply set out lots of small tables.
Everyone could go by their mood and sit wherever they pleased.
That way it was more relaxed.
The atmosphere would also be very easygoing and harmonious.
Keqing went to the washroom to freshen up, and when she came back, she said to Lumine: "I'll... go eat upstairs first."
"Eh!?"
Lumine was quite surprised: "Are you not feeling well?"
Ye Xi, off to the side, also found it a bit odd: "Keqing, what's wrong?"
"No... nothing, I just simply want to go back to my room, that's all."
Keqing put on a natural expression, feigning composure: "I'll come back down once I've eaten! It's just that I still have a bit of trivial work, and I plan to finish it off while I eat."
As she spoke, she took a few grilled meat patties from a plate, and ladled out a bowl of Sweet Madame.
"I'll head upstairs first, then!"
Ye Xi didn't think much of it, and simply nodded.
Watching Keqing's retreating figure go up the stairs, he ate his Sweet Madame and said: "Ningguang, in a little while let's go take a look in Keqing's room."
"I just keep feeling—could she be unwell somewhere?"
Ningguang also felt Keqing was a bit strange.
Having worked with Keqing for so many years, she saw at a glance that something was off about her.
Driven by intense curiosity, Ningguang agreed.
....
Upstairs.
When Keqing returned to the room carrying the food, she discovered that Xiangling was nowhere to be seen!
"Eh!?"
She froze for a moment, then, inside her own covers, she spotted a silly little face sleeping soundly.
This couldn't help but make Keqing laugh out loud.
"Xiangling, Xiangling! Time to get up~"
Hearing the call, Xiangling opened her drowsy, bleary eyes.
Seeing Keqing's face full of smiles, she snapped awake all at once.
"Eh——!?"
"I.... I actually fell asleep——!"
"I'm sorry, Keqing! I..."
"I actually slept in your bed!"
Xiangling's face was full of shame.
She had only meant to lie down for a moment, but after lying down, the soft sensation enveloping her whole body, along with the warm, swaddling comfort, instantly brought on a wave of drowsiness.
Who knew she'd doze right off just like that!
Even between good friends, suddenly falling asleep in someone else's bed was just going too far!
But Keqing waved her hand with a smile: "Aiya, what is there to apologize for!"
"It's just a little snooze under the covers! If you ever feel like it in the future, you can move in and sleep with me!"
"Chatting together at night would surely be wonderful!"
Though she had already become Ye Xi's little bride, after all Ye Xi was only one person, and with so many wives, how could he ever keep them all company?
So the times she slept alone were still quite many.
With a companion like Xiangling, the nights wouldn't be lonely.
Hearing Keqing say this, Xiangling was deeply moved.
She hurriedly nodded: "Okay! As long as you don't mind the smoky cooking smell on me, then let's be together, hehe!"
"What's wrong with a bit of cooking smoke? Go soak in the hot spring in our courtyard."
"Every trace of the smell will be gone! And it's especially comfortable!"
"Once you've eaten, hurry over while no one's there!"
Speaking of the household's hot spring, Keqing was quite pleased with herself.
Last night she'd taken a soak, and felt all the weariness in her body vanish completely!
What's more, in the courtyard there was a great big cherry blossom tree, and the petals would drift down into the hot spring, lending the water a fragrance.
After bathing, your skin would be smooth and sweet-smelling.
Of course, there was no worry about the pool being unclean either.
During the daytime, Water Slimes would go in and eat up the petals that had soaked too long along with any grime, purifying the hot spring.
A hot spring like this—she truly wished she could soak in it every single day!
Xiangling's little face was full of delight: "There's a hot spring too?! That's just too amazing!"
"Good thing I tagged along!"
"If I'd hesitated a while longer, and Ye Xi stopped liking me, wouldn't I have lost my chance for a whole lifetime?"
"All right, all right, hurry and eat your food!"
Keqing pushed the plate of food in front of Xiangling.
"Smells so good~ then I won't stand on ceremony!"
Xiangling picked up a meat patty and started eating, and her eyes lit up at once: "This... so delicious! This is no mean culinary skill!"
"This one, it should be Collei's doing—she said it's called Forest Rangers grilled meat!"
Hearing Keqing's explanation, Xiangling suddenly wanted to meet Collei..
She felt that Collei's culinary skills were quite good too!
Though she wasn't a professional little cook, and her skills could go a step further still, for an ordinary young girl, to be able to make something this delicious was already quite remarkable!
Marry her home as a wife, and you'd be the sort to enjoy real good fortune at the table!
"Xiangling, try this Sweet Madame too!"
"This is a very famous delicacy from Sumeru!"
Xiangling picked up a spoon, took a bite, and her eyes lit up at once: "Mm~ this one's delicious too!"
She had never tasted such a unique flavor before.
Because Liyue and Sumeru had had little contact for several centuries, she had rarely tried the spices from Sumeru.
Tasting this bowl of Sweet Madame and the Forest Rangers grilled meat, she felt as though she'd had her first collision with Sumeru's spices!
Even more dishes and recipes had already taken shape in her mind!
Seeing Xiangling looking so blissfully happy, Keqing was quite pleased.
She explained: "This bowl of Sweet Madame was made by Dehya. Everyone's dinner, actually, is something each person takes part in—unless they have something to do and aren't home."
This rule, too, had been laid down by Ye Xi.
To promote household harmony and prevent any one of the girls from contributing too much, regardless of whether one could cook or not, everyone had to help finish it together.
Of course, as the master of the house, he naturally reaped the rewards without lifting a finger.
That's right.
He was the head of the household, so he could hold himself to a double standard.
That feeling—it was beyond satisfying!
Xiangling nodded thoughtfully; she hadn't expected Ye Xi to be so considerate of his wives' feelings.
Living in this same household, no one would want to be the one always giving, right?
Wouldn't that be exhausting?
And the fact that Ye Xi could think this far showed how much he doted on his wives, how good he was to every single one of them!
Just as she was thinking this, Xiangling suddenly caught on.
"Keqing, why aren't you eating?"
"I..."
Keqing was taken aback for a moment, then said with a smile: "It's fine, I'll just sneak off and eat tonight!"
To avoid raising suspicion, she hadn't taken too much.
Her appetite was small to begin with—if she'd taken two people's portions, wouldn't that be as good as telling everyone she'd hidden someone away!
Xiangling was nearly moved to tears by Keqing, and she promptly handed the other meat patty to Keqing: "You eat one too, to tide yourself over!"
"Eating all by myself, I feel kind of bad about it!"
Keqing had meant to refuse, but Xiangling was very insistent, so she could only nod in agreement.
And so, the two little beauties huddled by the bedside, hugging their meat patties and eating away.
Just then, clear footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.
Keqing's little face went pale with fright, and she hurriedly said: "Oh no, someone's coming!"
"Ah!? Wha—what do we do!"
Xiangling instantly grew a little flustered.
Keqing saw all those cloth dolls on the bed and her eyes lit up at once: "Xiangling, quick, hide under the covers!"
"I'll pile some more dolls on top of you, and then no one will be able to tell!"
"Oh... oh! How thrilling! Hehe!"
Xiangling laughed and shrank under the covers, while Keqing hid Xiangling's shoes under the bed.
The next moment, the bedroom door opened.
...
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