"Don't sell yourself short!"
Lora smiled at Zhongli and said, "I went to all the trouble of tricking... no, asking Neuvillette for help. He's the Hydro Dragon Sovereign, and we're practically family. But you? You dumped your work on poor Xiao. That's not right, is it?"
"If we are discussing the mistreatment of birds, I believe you should begin with yourself," Zhongli said, giving her a helpless look. "Xianyun and the others are about to begin. Watch."
At that, Lora stopped talking to him and turned her attention back to the scene.
"Good... the main character has entered. All units, stand by!" Lora watched the Kamera lens intently, her gaze fixed on Xianyun in the footage.
Lumine and Focalors exchanged a look. Focalors spread her hands helplessly, as if to say, That's just Lora.
"Come, Shenhe, sit over here! You must be tired after traveling all this way, yes? Auntie will pour you some hot tea. Or would you rather have something else?" Xianyun had already begun her performance, leading Shenhe over to sit beside Gaming and Yip Tak.
"I'm not tired. Please don't trouble yourself." Shenhe sat perfectly straight and shook her head. "I'll have whatever Auntie is having."
"Good!" Xianyun nodded with a smile.
Sitting there, Gaming glanced at Xianyun in surprise, wondering just how many people had been dragged into helping mend things between him and his father.
With a smile, Xianyun said to Shenhe, "Auntie happened to buy some Pine-Moss Immortal Buds. The name sounds lovely, and it tastes good too."
"Mm." Shenhe gave a slight nod, her expression still extremely serious.
Xianyun continued, "Work must be hard during the festival, yes? Have you run into anything that needed Auntie's help?"
Shenhe shook her head. "There were a few drunk troublemakers. I followed what Auntie taught me and pressed their heads into the table."
"Huh?" Yip Tak turned to look at Shenhe in shock.
Even Gaming started wondering what exactly they had come here to do.
Mend relations?
This did not look like that at all.
Everyone hiding nearby had to resist burying their faces in their hands. Lora said helplessly, "What on earth has Xianyun been teaching Shenhe?!"
"But that really does sound like something Shenhe would say," Paimon said, spreading her hands.
Lora went on grumbling, "And she still has the nerve to tell me she's better at raising children than I am? At the very least, I have plenty of children, and they all seem pretty normal."
Standing to the side, Zhongli said, "I am not sure that is the comparison you want to invite."
"Ahem..." Xianyun quickly cleared her throat, her expression turning much more solemn. She had obviously realized where the problem was, but it was too late to switch actors now. She had no choice but to press on.
"What I mean is... has Shenhe made any new friends? Since you and I live so far apart, I would feel more at ease if you had friends by your side."
Shenhe looked at Xianyun and said seriously, "I've already told Auntie about my situation before. Recently, when it gets late at night, I go to the kitchen and talk with Guoba. Guoba can't speak, but having his company makes me feel much calmer."
Lora clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Is this family joy, or a documentary about social isolation? Still, judging by Yip Tak's face, it feels like the process went wrong, but somehow the result turned out right."
"Everything is revealed through comparison. After Brother Yip has seen Shenhe's solitude, perhaps he will also start wondering whether Gaming is lonely," Zhongli commented solemnly from beside her.
"You're still calling him Brother Yip?" Lora gave him a helpless look. "Why don't we invite him to host the next meeting between us deities while we're at it?"
"That would not be unacceptable," Zhongli said with a nod.
Lora: "..."
Damn it. She had forgotten what kind of person this guy was.
Xianyun's expression was extremely serious as she searched for the next topic. "Um... does Shenhe have any plans lately? Would you like to go somewhere with Auntie?"
Shenhe looked at Xianyun and said the line that left everyone utterly stunned.
"Do you mean like before, when we carried stones up and down the mountain from morning to night, then picked flowers and herbs along the way for dinner? If that is your request, I will go."
Yip Tak, who had just taken half a sip of tea, nearly choked to death.
Watching from the shadows, Lora and the others froze in place. Apart from Zhongli, every single one of them looked openly shocked.
"Lady Egeria, whose idea was this?" Focalors asked Lora, staring at Xianyun and Shenhe. "Is this still supposed to be family bonding?"
Lora shook her head. "Don't ask me. I told her not to act with Shenhe. That child is honest by nature."
"I think Gaming's dad is about to report this to the Millelith," Furina said from the side.
Zhongli, however, asked, "Did the Kamera capture all of that?"
Lora turned back to look at him and gave a hum of confirmation. "It did. Why?"
"Give me a copy when we return to Liyue Harbor," Zhongli said calmly.
"What do you need that for..." Lora asked instinctively, then immediately realized. "Oh! I wouldn't have guessed. You collect embarrassing footage too. Interesting."
Seeing his dad choke, Gaming hurriedly stood up. "Dad, are you all right? Have some tea first... No, wait, don't drink tea right now..."
Yip Tak caught his breath and said, "I really couldn't keep listening anymore... Don't worry. I'm fine."
After that, Yip Tak went on to explain his thoughts to Gaming.
Somehow, despite Xianyun and Shenhe's approach being completely wrong, they had stumbled their way into getting father and son to open up to each other. The process had gone wildly off course, but the result was surprisingly close to what they wanted.
Lora fell silent as she watched the scene. After a long while, she turned to Zhongli and asked, "Zhongli, how am I supposed to look at this?"
"I looked at it while standing," Zhongli said.
"Lady Egeria, I looked at it while crouching," Focalors said to Lora.
"Same here," Furina said with a nod.
"Are you all trying to drive me insane?" Lora said darkly.
Focalors blinked, then quickly stood up. "Oh my! I think it's about time. If we stay away any longer, Gaming and Uncle Yip are definitely going to wonder where we went! We should hurry back, don't you think?"
Focalors looked toward Lumine and Paimon.
Lumine looked at her, then at Lora, and nodded while holding back a laugh. "Mm! We really should head back!"
"Lady Egeria, it's not that I don't want to stay here with you, but as you can see, I still have things to do. I'll be going now!" Focalors turned back and said this to Lora, then hurried toward Gaming with Lumine and Paimon.