Night, Shenhe's Room
Shenhe returned to her room and sat on the bed.
She did not lie down to sleep. Instead, she began to meditate.
What happened today made her instinctively feel that her state of mind had become very unstable.
Perhaps she needed to calm herself properly.
However, after clearing away the distracting thoughts, the image of that child still kept appearing in her mind.
Before Nantianmen, beneath the dragon-quelling tree, by the flowerbeds, in front of Yuehai Pavilion, inside the kitchen.
All those scenes, after the distractions were removed, became even clearer instead.
"..."
Shenhe frowned slightly and opened her eyes.
The aloof girl raised her left hand. This was the hand that had been held by that child.
"I… am the first… customer."
In the end, Shenhe quietly spoke those words.
Ganyu's Bedroom
Ganyu held Junze in her arms.
At this moment, Junze was already fast asleep, his breathing steady and calm.
But Ganyu was completely awake.
She hugged him tightly, burying her face against him, feeling the presence of her disciple.
"What is wrong with me today?"
Ganyu's expression was complicated.
"Why did I get so angry seeing Aze with Shenhe? Clearly, something like this is bound to happen in the future."
In the future, Aze would meet someone he liked.
Then he would leave her and live together with that person.
That was inevitable.
Thinking of this, Ganyu's delicate hand tightened slightly.
She… hated that kind of future.
"Then why did I get angry? I should have been mentally prepared for this."
Ganyu looked at Junze with a troubled expression, feeling a bit guilty.
"It feels like I scared Aze during the day."
"I'm sorry…"
Ganyu rubbed her cheek against his.
"Could it be because of that dream?"
In her mind, she recalled that "dream" from that night.
Junze said that the person he liked the most was her, that they would become husband and wife, that they would stay together forever…
As she thought about it, Ganyu's face turned red. She quickly shook her head, trying to throw away those unrealistic thoughts.
"Ganyu, what are you even thinking about!"
Looking at the sleeping Junze, she felt a little annoyed.
"What a bad disciple. It's not enough that you bully your master in reality, you even do it in dreams. So annoying."
Ganyu, slightly annoyed, gently bit one of the small horns on Junze's head.
Even while upset, she could not bear to hurt him.
Junze stirred slightly and murmured in his sleep.
After that small bite, Ganyu suddenly realized something.
"Aze… will pass through this world."
"If he finds an ordinary person as a wife, then in the future…"
Junze was a demonic god, a gluttonous being, with an extremely long lifespan.
If a mortal stayed with him, they would inevitably be separated by life and death after a hundred years.
And she…
Ganyu blinked, and a hint of joy appeared in her eyes.
"In that case, in the end, Aze will still return to his master's side."
For a moment, her mood actually became a little brighter.
"At that time, I can properly comfort Aze as well."
"Ganyu, Ganyu, calm down. How can you feel happy about something like this?"
Even as she said that, the corners of her lips kept lifting upward.
Of course, this was not the only possibility she had thought of.
There was another possibility, similar to what happened in the dream.
But she did not dare to say it out loud, nor did she dare to think too deeply about it right now.
Ganyu pressed herself against Junze and softly murmured,
"Aze belongs to Master. I can't let anyone else have you."
Whether she said it in her sleep or only pretended to be talking in her sleep, even she herself might not have been clear.
Just like that, this master and disciple pair under Cloud Retainer had completely latched onto this little gluttonous beast.
If Cloud Retainer ever found out, it was hard to say whether she would feel proud that her divination was accurate, or annoyed that Junze had stirred up the relationship between her two disciples.
The Next Day
Junze sat on a stone bench, drinking his daily portion of coconut milk.
Looking at his continuously expanding growth cap, his mood was exceptionally good.
"The effect of combining three cards into one item is seriously overpowered."
At this moment, Junze's [Status] kept updating as he drank, his upper limit increasing rapidly with every sip.
Gradually, his actual growth progress dropped to only one third of the total cap.
"Sure, this means I'll be stronger in the future, but the more I eat, the smaller the progress percentage becomes. Who can handle that?"
Junze held his head.
"Looks like I still have to go eat those demonic remnants."
He looked at the glass bottle in his hand.
This thing did increase his growth progress, but the upper limit also rose at the same time.
Right now, he could no longer rely on coconut milk to help him grow.
Even so, if you told him to give it up, he absolutely would not.
Throw this away?
Would that even count as being human?
With that thought, Junze ran over to Shenhe.
At this moment, Shenhe had just finished delivering documents and returned to meditate.
Sensing Junze's approach, she opened her eyes and asked,
"What is it?"
"Martial Aunt, can you go somewhere a bit farther away with me today?"
Junze glanced at Ganyu, who was busy working in the distance, and spoke in a low voice.
Shenhe nodded.
"Wherever you want to go is fine. My purpose in coming here is simply to keep a closer watch on you."
Well…
Even if that purpose had now become a little different, she had not forgotten it.
"Mm. Martial Aunt is the best."
Junze grinned.
Shenhe suddenly asked with a hint of confusion,
"But why do you not want your master to know?"
"With her personality, as long as you ask, she would definitely agree."
It was unclear what kind of answer Shenhe was expecting.
Junze thought for a moment, then said,
"One reason is that Master is too busy."
"If I keep going out like this, it will affect her work, and she'll end up having to work even more overtime."
Junze was certain that if that happened, Ganyu would definitely get up in the middle of the night to continue working.
A workaholic was truly terrifying.
He would feel bad for her.
"And also, I don't want Master to worry."
"After what happened yesterday with those remnants, she was worried for a long time. If she saw me eating that kind of thing, she might get scared by my condition."
As he said this, Junze's eyes were filled with gentleness.
After he finished speaking, Shenhe did not respond.
It was as if she was waiting for something.
"???"
Junze looked at her in confusion.
"Martial Aunt, is something wrong?"
Shenhe asked,
"That's all?"
She seemed to be expecting another answer.
Junze scratched his head.
"Isn't there supposed to be another reason?"
"Oh. I understand."
Shenhe nodded and said nothing more.
She closed her eyes and resumed meditation.
"Uh…"
Junze felt like this usually expressionless Martial Aunt was somehow a little… upset.
Did he say something wrong?
Wait.
Junze suddenly realized something.
"That can't be it… right?"
He hesitated as he looked at Shenhe.
But thinking about it, there really was no other reason.
He carefully reached out and poked her slender waist, then leaned closer and whispered near her ear,
"And also… Martial Aunt is very reliable. You'll help Aze keep secrets."
"Martial Aunt and Aze have a contract."
"That's why I chose you."
At those words, Shenhe's body trembled slightly.
She opened her beautiful eyes again, nodded, and said,
"Mm."
That faint trace of displeasure seemed to disappear.
Meanwhile, Ganyu was still hard at work.
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