"Now that I think about it."
Caelus drew his gaze back from the bustling spectacle outside the window.
"Whatever happened to Oswaldo in the end?"
Ever since the man had signed the contract to repay the maintenance costs and taken Bryce away with him, Caelus hadn't paid the matter any more attention.
Topaz elegantly tucked a stray lock of falling hair behind her ear, a faint smile at the corner of her lips:
"At the board meeting, he was 'lovingly' focus-fired by the top brass—no shortage of scoldings and penalties. This year's performance bonus is definitely down the drain."
Having said that, her tone shifted slightly:
"But then again… Oswaldo is an old fox after all. Entrenched for so many years, he still has some deep-pocketed connections and a core of die-hard loyalists tucked away."
"He deployed every last political chip he'd hoarded over the years, plus the staunch backing of that faction of fanatics within the IPC."
Topaz spread her hands.
"Boss Diamond went all-out, guns blazing, but in the end still couldn't kick him completely out of his candidate seat on the board of directors."
"Of course."
Topaz looked toward Caelus, her smile brilliant.
"The top brass's heavy penalties, plus that enormous chunk you gouged out of him—for Oswaldo, it definitely counts as a bone-deep, vitality-draining injury…"
Summed up in one phrase: a huge win!
"From here on out, in the fight over that key seat, Boss Diamond can be said to have seized every advantage."
"This time, I really do have to thank you."
Topaz spoke sincerely, her plain, slender hand lifting a goblet brimming with a fresh, ruby-like liquid, gesturing toward Caelus with a refreshing smile:
"Come, a toast to you—here's to a pleasant partnership!"
Caelus smiled and clinked glasses with her.
Topaz savored the fragrant, mellow red wine bit by bit.
Giving up the Jarilo-VI debt project at the start had indeed gotten her symbolically docked a bit of bonus within the department, but it had also boosted her internal performance somewhat—overall, no gain, no loss.
Afterward, Caelus wanted to "reasonably claim damages" from the IPC, while Diamond wanted to seize the opportunity to strike a heavy blow against his old rival Oswaldo. The two hit it off immediately, and she became the link connecting these two parties.
Neither Oswaldo nor Topaz herself had ever imagined Caelus could stir up such an enormous production!
The appearance of the Erudition Emanator Bronita left Oswaldo without even room to struggle—he could only obediently sign the treaty of surrender.
Part of the credit for this beautiful, sweeping victory was chalked up by Diamond to Topaz, the one who had threaded the needle.
The result: not only was the bonus previously docked returned in full, her performance bonus was doubled, and she was even bumped up several basis points on her long-term dividend points!
This was the real, massive windfall!
And finally, there was the current event—the universe-sweeping, unprecedentedly hot Aether Front Interstellar Gala.
The over-the-top battle scenes of Stelle, Caelus, Haxxor Bunny, and Wolf King became prime hype-triggers, successfully pushing Aether Front to break out of its niche completely.
The powerful, opponent-crushing style drew in bewildered bystander viewers.
Of course, none of this would have been possible without the marketing geniuses in the IPC's Market Expansion Department fanning the flames—they keenly seized on wildly controversial topics like "Aether Spirits beyond the backend data," "Guardian-class dimensional-reduction strikes," and "Are Haxxor Bunny and Wolf King cheating?", hyping them up frantically across every major platform to funnel traffic.
Even bad publicity is publicity, and traffic is king!
The bigger the controversy, the higher the attention!
"Thanks and all, but how about something concrete."
Caelus lifted his wine glass.
"Rest assured."
Topaz smiled faintly.
"The compensation we promised you—the moment this grand tournament wraps up, it'll be deposited into your account, down to the last cent!"
"Speaking of which."
Topaz lightly rolled the slender stem of the goblet between her fingers.
"You're not exactly short on money now, are you?"
=（￣︶￣)つロ Cheers ロつ(￣︶￣）=
The crisp, pleasant sound of clinking glass rang out once more, and the two took another sip.
"So then."
Caelus set down his glass, exhaled a puff of air, and wore a harmless-looking smile as he watched Topaz with narrowed, grinning eyes:
"As for the compensation—could we do some other special item instead?"
"Something else?"
Topaz keenly caught the meaningful, appraising look in Caelus's gaze, her willowy brows drawing together slightly, though the smile on her face remained perfectly proper:
"What kind of special compensation do you want? As long as it's not too outrageous, I can try applying to my superiors."
Although certain top executives at the IPC had an unspoken rule of using the promotion device on pretty female subordinates, having grown close with Caelus, Topaz didn't think he was that sort of person.
But then again, a faint alarm bell rang in Topaz's heart.
The social-death power that came from his absurd antics… sometimes it wasn't necessarily any easier to endure than being taken advantage of a little!
Who knew what new stunt this guy would cook up?
"Relax, it's nothing troublesome."
Caelus seemed to see right through her misgivings.
"I just want to ask you to help cosplay a character—your voice is practically identical to that character's."
Fun fact: Topaz and Fu Hua share the same voice actor.
"Cosplay?"
Topaz blinked, then understood. She was of course aware of the dress-up culture young people were so keen on—she just hadn't expected Caelus to make this kind of request.
"This… actually can be considered."
She breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't too outlandish a character, it would be fine.
"Is it a work you like? Which character?"
Topaz asked curiously.
"Mm-hmm!"
Caelus nodded vigorously, his golden eyes gleaming, hands miming an accordion as he began his introduction:
"It's an incredibly powerful Immortal—transcendent in bearing, the kind who guards the peace of a whole region!"
As he spoke, Caelus fished a Xianzhou custom-made red-and-white qipao out of his spatial ring.
The fabric was of superb quality, the cut smooth and flowing. Though it couldn't be called ornate or elaborate, the interwoven red and white tones and the distinctive cloud-pattern motif carried an otherworldly, ethereal air that rushed straight at you.
The overall design was simple yet grand, like a scarlet kite perched among the clouds, or a blazing plume reflecting the vast azure sky.
"Here."
Caelus held the garment out to Topaz as if presenting a treasure, his smile utterly sincere.
"A custom piece by a Xianzhou master, perfectly fitting an Immortal's bearing! You'll look absolutely stunning in it—want to try?"
This was something Caelus had designed, originally intending to use with Stelle in bed.
He'd custom-made Shenzhou-style qipaos for all the Honkai characters, with a few little modifications to accentuate feminine charm even more—Finality and Qibao had both experienced them several times already.
"Please, Topaz~~ put this on!"
Caelus pressed his palms together, his eyes shimmering with anticipation.
Hurry, hurry, hurry—I'm little impatient, I wanna nail the King!
"Uh…"
Topaz looked at Caelus's eager posture, then lowered her head to look at the red-and-white qipao in her hands.
Though it looked a bit like a lingerie-style qipao, very lewd, the crucial parts weren't exposed—so it just barely fell within Topaz's acceptable range.
"Fine."
Topaz relented, taking the garment and walking into the empty room next door.
However, when—after expending a herculean effort to stuff herself into this Blazing Plume qipao—she walked back out, her face was written all over with regret.
"Th-this dress is way too tight!"
Topaz gently supported the enormous, ample, trembling, towering snowy peaks with her arm.
"I feel like my chest is being squeezed so hard I can barely breathe."
The chest fabric of the qipao, which should have lain flat as a plain, was now stretched taut to the point of splitting, tracing out a heart-stopping, brimming curve. The very grain of the cloth seemed to be crying out silently, as if it might burst open at any moment.
Topaz carefully braced herself against the door frame, taking each step with extreme caution, terrified that a slightly larger movement would rip her chest wide open.
To cram that pair of white rabbits in, she had truly given it her all!
Topaz awkwardly tried to smooth down the hem to prevent any wardrobe malfunction. Having just drunk a fair bit of wine, she'd entered the most perfectly-pitched state of tipsiness, her lovely face dyed with an alluring pink blush amid the buzz.
Caelus's gaze, however, wasn't on those thighs plump enough to ripple like waves of flesh—it was fixed, unblinking, on the girl's sorely-oppressed upper region.
"Not bad, not bad~"
Caelus stroked a nonexistent beard, his face beaming with the satisfied smile of an art connoisseur, nodding repeatedly:
"Very close indeed!"
Of course, if the real Brother Fu were to witness this scene, he would likely fall into a prolonged silence.
Even Little Shi would weep streams of tears at the sight!
"By rights… a normal woman's qipao shouldn't feel this tight and uncomfortable to wear… is there something wrong with my body management?"
Topaz pondered.
Should she go on a diet?
"Th-this should be good enough now, right?"
Topaz just wanted to end this 'torture' as quickly as possible. She forced out a smile and carefully spun in place, her movements as small as if she were defusing a bomb.
Stiffly, she struck a few poses, letting Caelus snap several photos with his phone.
"Could you do a simple motion?"
Caelus instantly transformed into a director, gesturing and enthusiastically coaching as he spoke:
"Cup both hands loosely in front of you like this, then…"
He demonstratively wriggled his body and hands.
"Just sway your body rhythmically like this!"
The reluctant, forced-to-perform smile on Topaz's face right now was honestly the perfect fit for filming that Bilibili video series.
"…"
Topaz looked into Caelus's eyes, and the corresponding BGM seemed to already be playing in his mind.
Topaz fell silent, her eyes filled with reluctance.
"Please, I'm begging you! Topaz——!"
Caelus's way of pleading was forever so unexpected—keeping his palms pressed together, he suddenly plunged straight downward, arms steadily bracing against the floor, legs shooting bolt upright—executing a textbook handstand!
On his upside-down face, those brilliant golden eyes still gazed up at Topaz brimming with anticipation:
"Just once! Once is all!"
"…Fine."
Topaz heaved a helpless sigh.
The dress was already on, the photos already taken—might as well see the thanks through to the end… might as well let the social death run its course!
As if resigning herself to fate, she raised both hands, mimicking Caelus's earlier motion, and began, extremely awkwardly, to try swaying her waist bound tight within the qipao.
One minute later, Caelus pressed the stop-recording button in utter satisfaction.
This video could, at the very least, get Stelle to willingly call him 'Daddy' three times and run three errands for him!
A bloody good bargain!
"Alright, thank you for your hard work, Topaz!"
Caelus put away his phone with a beaming face, as if he'd just completed a work of art.
"Whew——!"
Topaz felt as though she'd received amnesty, her taut nerves and body instantly relaxing as she let out a long breath—it was finally over!
However, she had completely forgotten what a precarious critical state the Blazing Plume qipao on her was in.
While swaying just now, every muscle in her body had been in a high state of combat-ready tension, carefully maintaining the fragile balance between fabric and flesh. Now, suddenly relaxing, her vigilance dropped to zero…
Riiip——!
A crisp, heart-shaking sound of tearing cloth abruptly rang out. That exquisite frog-button, which had been bitterly holding on under the extreme pressure of Topaz's impressive bust, finally could bear no more. Like a blue projectile fired from a heavy crossbow, it shot out with a sound of splitting air!
"Waah!"
Caelus let out a short, startled cry as that "deadly weapon" streaked past right beside his ear, trailing a fierce gust of wind, and then——
Bang!
A muffled thud! That tiny blue frog-button, like a steel nail, embedded itself viciously into the solid wall beside Caelus.
One can well imagine the elasticity of the fabric—a top-grade Xianzhou specialty product, of terrifyingly good quality!
Having lost this final seal, the chest fabric of the Blazing Plume qipao—already stretched to the bursting point—snapped violently apart to both sides like a torrent breaking free of its bonds.
In an instant, the tender, blemish-free skin and delicate collarbone were exposed to the air.
Beneath them, that pair of long-suppressed, proudly upright, snow-smooth mounds of soft flesh finally broke free of their restraints, breathing the air wantonly.
Topaz froze on the spot, her mind a total blank.
What had sprung away wasn't just the frog-button—it seemed her capacity for thought had gone flying too.
Time seemed to congeal in that very moment.
Being an already-modified qipao, this one tear made it even lewder!
Combined with Topaz's current state, it was enough to make any male's reason evaporate. But because his "second sisters" were gradually multiplying, his "second brother" now had a hard time taking over Caelus's brain to do the thinking.
Calmly watching the bouncing slimes, Caelus gave the thumbs-up to Topaz, who'd gone from a fire-C to a fire-E, nodding in approving acknowledgment:
"Nice figure~ pretty firm, huh!"
"…"
"…Stop staring!"
Being no green, wet-behind-the-ears young maiden, Topaz did not shriek out loud.
But even a temperament forged through so many years of grinding it out in the workplace couldn't help producing an obvious emotional swing right now—a slight, guilty sense of transgression, as if she were stealing her good friend Asta's boyfriend.
Even though Asta and Caelus hadn't defined their relationship…
Topaz had meant to glare at Caelus, but the instant their eyes met—
She noticed something off about Caelus's gaze.
It included the ardor she was familiar with, but within a controllable range. The absurd part was that mixed into it was a naturalness that didn't seem faked.
As though he cared nothing about seeing a same-sex body.
It inexplicably steadied Topaz, who had originally been abnormally bashful and on the verge of a mental collapse.
She even developed the illusion of 'It's just being looked at once, no big deal.'
It wasn't until over twenty seconds had passed that Caelus pointed at that pair of cream cakes.
"Aren't you going to go change first?"
The atmosphere caused the ardor in Caelus's eyes to gradually intensify, and only then did Topaz snap out of her daze, immediately wrapping both arms around herself as she dashed to the room next door.
Only a few minutes later did she come out, having changed back into her original uniform.
"You… never mind."
Topaz had wanted to ask what that natural, same-sex-viewing look in Caelus's eyes just now was all about, but after thinking it over, she still didn't voice it.
"This dress—do you need me to repair it before returning it to you?"
She placed the already-ruined Blazing Plume qipao in front of Caelus, her tone slightly awkward.
"No need. Wouldn't fixing it mean it's no longer the original flavor?"
Caelus tucked it straight into his spatial ring.
He'd have Stelle wear it tonight.
"???"
A few question marks popped up above Topaz's forehead.
"Let's go, it's about time. We should head over to get ready for the finals gala."
Before Topaz could ask, Caelus beckoned her toward the villa's exit.
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