"Go ahead and ask whatever you want."
After Kamisato Ayaka left, Han Feng noticed Noelle looking like she wanted to say something but was holding back. He couldn't help finding it amusing.
"Boss, what exactly is the relationship between you and that young lady?"
Having received permission, Noelle immediately switched into gossip mode.
At first, she had assumed the girl was one of the Boss's romantic entanglements.
But after watching their interaction, it didn't seem that way at all.
Now she was completely confused.
"Well…"
Han Feng reached out and pinched Noelle's cheek with a smile.
"You can figure that out yourself."
Noelle: (⊙_⊙)
You told me to ask!
And now that I've asked, you're telling me to guess?
Is teasing me really that fun?
The Boss was getting worse and worse.
The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt.
Her cheeks puffed out slightly.
Which only made Han Feng want to pinch them again.
While he was busy teasing his little maid, three more customers entered the shop.
They were familiar faces.
Amber and her companions.
"Boss, I'm back to read manga again!"
Amber skipped up to the counter with a bright smile.
Recently her workload had been fairly light.
As a result, she could come here every day to read a manga.
It put her in an excellent mood.
"You didn't show up this morning. I thought you'd turned into Umaru and become a couch potato at home."
Han Feng chuckled.
"N-No way! That's slander!"
Amber immediately blushed and denied it.
Even though she had been doing exactly that.
There was absolutely no way she was admitting it.
"So it really happened."
Han Feng's expression turned a little strange.
Still, he didn't expose her.
Instead, he looked toward Eula.
"So, your family's situation has been resolved?"
"Yes."
Eula nodded.
"The reforms have been fully implemented. But restoring the reputation of the Lawrence Clan will still take a lot of time."
She wasn't surprised by that.
Her family had committed far too many wrongs in the past.
The public's prejudice toward the Lawrence Clan had become deeply rooted.
Even with drastic reforms, time was still required.
Time to prove that the Lawrence Clan had truly changed.
Neither she nor the remaining members of the family lacked motivation.
After all, none of them wanted to continue living under the contempt of the entire city.
The reason she had come today wasn't only to read manga.
She also wanted to thank Han Feng.
Because it was thanks to him that she had found the courage to do something she had never even considered before.
Unfortunately, there were too many people around right now.
After hesitating for a moment, Eula spoke.
"Boss Han… may I add you as a friend?"
She planned to contact him privately later.
"Add me as a friend?"
Han Feng raised an eyebrow.
Come to think of it, quite a few girls had added him recently.
Still, he didn't refuse.
He simply took out his phone.
"Boss, me too!"
Amber immediately joined in.
Han Feng accepted both requests.
Then, as usual, he updated their contact names.
Amber became:
Pyro Princess
And Eula became:
Mondstadt Dance Queen
After all, in his previous life, Eula's dance animation had been genuinely impressive.
Combined with her tall, elegant figure, it carried a unique charm.
"Thank you, Boss."
After successfully adding him, Eula smiled.
Once she had prepared a proper gift, she planned to contact Han Feng.
But for now, there were more important matters.
"Amber, let's go read manga."
"I've been waiting forever!"
Amber laughed.
The two each placed a pouch of Mora on the counter before heading toward the bookshelves.
"Oh? There are quite a few new manga now!"
Looking at the increasingly full shelves, Amber looked delighted.
That made choosing much easier.
After all, new releases always came first.
With that thought, she immediately picked up a manga titled Ultraman Tiga.
"I'll read this one."
Eula didn't hesitate either.
She grabbed Chinese Paladin.
It sounded interesting.
Having chosen their manga, the two skillfully headed toward the Quiet Zone.
"You're not going to read manga?"
After the two left, Han Feng looked at Barbara, who was still standing at the counter.
"U-Um… I actually came because of something else…"
Barbara leaned forward slightly with her hands behind her back.
Her face was red.
But this time, it wasn't because of the food incident from before.
Enough time had passed that she had mostly gotten over that.
The reason she was embarrassed now was because of what her sister had told her before she came.
According to Jean, the environment around the manga shop had become far too competitive.
Apparently, even though Barbara had arrived first, other people had already gotten ahead of her somehow.
And with the opening of the Inazuma branch, things might become even more competitive in the future.
Jean had said many things.
Most of it had gone completely over Barbara's head.
But she remembered one specific instruction.
Come to the manga shop.
And work as Han Feng's maid.
Things like massaging his shoulders.
Or helping him relax after work.
Naturally, Barbara found the idea quite embarrassing.
Being a maid was a perfectly respectable profession in Mondstadt.
But she had never done anything like that before.
Still, since the person in question was the respected Boss Han, it didn't seem entirely impossible.
So she agreed.
"What is it?"
Han Feng asked with a smile.
Barbara's shy expression really was adorable.
Among all the girls he knew, only Klee and Lumine rivaled her in that regard.
"M-My sister asked me to come and be your maid, Boss Han."
Barbara finally blurted it out.
"Eh?! Another maid candidate?!"
Before Han Feng could react,
Noelle was already stunned.
First it was Lumine.
Then Keqing.
And now Barbara too?!
Mondstadt and Liyue were both represented now.
Would Inazuma join in next?!
Was everyone really competing this hard?
"I only have one maid position, you know!"
Noelle couldn't help complaining.
"You're all trying to steal it?"
Of course, she understood that none of these people intended to stay permanently.
Still, she couldn't resist saying it.
The old Noelle never would have voiced such thoughts.
Clearly, spending so much time around Han Feng had changed her a little.
"No. I need to work even harder!"
To make sure nobody replaced her someday, Noelle immediately abandoned any thoughts of resting.
She sprang into action and started bustling around the shop once more.
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