"What's wrong with that?"
Xianyun looked at Lora, unable to understand why she seemed so surprised.
Lora frowned and fell silent for a moment. "Well... for a scene about enjoying the warmth of family life, wouldn't Ganyu be a better choice? As for Shenhe..."
Shenhe was the kind of fierce yet adorable young woman who had grown strong enough to uproot mountains.
No matter how Lora looked at it, she did not exactly fit the image of a warm, happy family reunion.
"I believe the relationship between Shenhe and me perfectly matches what the people of Liyue Harbor call family happiness," Xianyun said with complete seriousness.
"Are you sure?" Lora leaned back slightly.
Jiehu and Houzhang nodded as well. "We agree."
Lora looked at the three rare illuminated-beast specimens from the Liyue zoo and clicked her tongue, shaking her head. "I don't understand. I really don't understand how you adepti think."
"Is it truly that difficult to understand?"
Xianyun, Jiehu, and Houzhang exchanged glances. They were the ones who could not understand Lora's reasoning.
Just then, Furina emerged from the house, rubbing her eyes. She blinked sleepily at everyone.
"You're all awake so early..."
Lora stepped back to Furina's side and ruffled her hair.
"This is what family happiness looks like."
"Oh, please. You're not nearly as good at raising children as I am," Xianyun said, shaking her head.
"What family happiness? What children? What are you talking about?" Furina stared at them blankly, clearly not fully awake yet.
Lora reached out and helped wake her up. "It's nothing. You don't need to understand any of this. Come on, I'll take you to watch a show!"
"A show? Yes, let's go!" The moment Furina heard there was something entertaining to watch, she immediately perked up.
"But first, we're getting breakfast!" Lora added.
She turned to Xianyun. "You go ahead and prepare. Furina and I will come watch after we've eaten."
"You... honestly..." Xianyun sighed helplessly, then left with Jiehu and Houzhang.
Lora took Furina to eat breakfast in Liyue Harbor.
Compared to Fontaine, the harbor offered a far wider variety of breakfast dishes, with all sorts of different flavors. Furina, being the little foodie she was, could not have been happier.
The entire way, she kept saying things like, "I'm taking this back to Fontaine," and, "We absolutely need to open a branch of this in Fontaine."
Lora followed behind her with a smile, agreeing with everything she said.
They would open one as soon as they got back!
After breakfast, Lora and Furina headed toward the agreed meeting place.
Outside Wangshu Inn, Lora spotted Jiehu and Houzhang hiding in the bushes. Both wore masks, so they did look somewhat like bandits. However, their stiff, upright postures made the entire disguise feel strangely out of place.
"They're not here yet?" Lora asked.
Xianyun shook her head. "Not yet."
"Where's Shenhe?" Lora looked around but saw no sign of her.
"Chef Mao told Shenhe she could come directly with me, but the child insisted on finishing everything at the restaurant first..." Xianyun glanced into the distance. "Oh, look. There she is now."
Lora turned and saw Shenhe approaching from the direction of Liyue Harbor.
When Shenhe noticed Lora, she became slightly reserved and nodded politely.
"Greetings, Miss Lora."
"There's no need to be so formal, Shenhe." Lora patted her shoulder. "You're going to be acting soon, so try to be natural. Don't be too stiff. We'll all be cheering for you from the audience!"
"So you really did come here just to watch the show?" Xianyun asked, utterly speechless.
"Ehe?" Lora turned toward her with a grin.
What kind of Barbatos behavior was this?
Xianyun sighed helplessly.
At that moment, Jiehu, who was hiding in the bushes ahead, suddenly called back to them.
"Hey! Stop talking and look over there. Is that our target?"
Everyone followed his gaze.
Houzhang immediately said, "Yes. The Traveler is with them, so it must be!"
Lora, however, paid no attention to Lumine, Paimon, or even Gaming.
Her eyes fell on Focalors, who was walking with the group, and confusion spread across her face.
"Uh... why is she here too?"
Furina shook her head. "I don't know! Didn't Focalors go to buy tea leaves?"
"Gaming's father also works in the tea trade," Xianyun explained calmly. "Perhaps Focalors bought tea from him, and they simply happened to return together."
As the group drew closer, everyone except Jiehu and Houzhang hid themselves.
Those who had come to watch prepared to enjoy the show, while those with roles prepared to perform.
Led by Lumine and Paimon, the group reached the designated place and stopped to rest.
However, Gaming quickly noticed Jiehu and Houzhang hiding in the bushes. He drew his weapon at once.
"Who's there? Come out!"
Jiehu and Houzhang exchanged a glance.
Once they were ready, both men charged out of the bushes.
Jiehu stopped in front of the group and addressed Gaming.
"Do you possess any gold, silver, or other valuables?"
Houzhang added, "Place them here at once!"
Hidden nearby, Lora nearly burst out laughing at their excessively refined attempt at robbery.
She covered her mouth and looked back at Xianyun.
"Did you teach them to say that?"
Xianyun pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head. "Of course not..."
"The two of them have a remarkable natural talent for robbery..." Lora whispered, barely suppressing her laughter.
Lumine and Paimon exchanged helpless looks.
Focalors, however, stared at Jiehu and Houzhang in complete bewilderment.
She had met them before. In fact, she had stayed quiet precisely because she had recognized the two figures hiding nearby.
But now they had jumped out of the bushes and were trying to rob them.
What was going on?
Had the Liyue adepti fallen on hard times?
Come to think of it, did the adepti even receive salaries?
She remembered Lora saying they did not.
Countless possibilities raced through Focalors's mind, but she still could not make sense of the situation.
"Um, you two, why are you..."
Before Focalors could finish, Lumine hurriedly grabbed her hand, while Paimon flew forward in a panic and covered her mouth.
The two of them looked exactly like kidnappers trying to silence their victim.
Yip Tak merely glanced in their direction. His attention remained fixed on his son, Gaming, and the two supposed robbers, so he did not pay much attention to what was happening with Focalors and the others.