Chapter 28. Keqing is Just Too Cute
Walking calmly through the air towards our home, I honestly marveled at just how adorable Keqing could be. Despite everything we'd already done together in the bedroom, she still blushed endearingly, cradled in my arms as we floated above Liyue. It seemed that, like me, she could hear some particularly sharp-eyed people down below who had spotted us.
"You're so cute I just want to kiss you," I said, pausing for a moment and leaning in toward her.
"Not in public!" she immediately protested, cheeks burning as she gave me a playful smack on the chest with her cat-like hand.
"A lady's wish is my command," I replied teasingly, resuming our route and speeding up just a bit. What can I say? My wife is just too cute for words.
"Yun Che?!" Keqing exclaimed as I suddenly broke into large jumps, covering the distance home in just under a minute. The moment we were shielded from the onlookers by our fence, I pressed her against the wall and drew her instantly into a kiss, one she eagerly returned. I could feel how much she enjoyed attracting me, as well as the spark of arousal awakening inside her, but alas. We had other plans for tonight, so, after a long, breath-stealing kiss, I reluctantly pulled away.
"What is it?" Keqing asked, a little dazed, her eyes misty with emotion.
"We still have things to take care of," I said, trying to suppress the fire ignited within me.
"...You're right," she sighed reluctantly, also reigning in her own emotions, and together we entered the house.
"Morax approved our initiative?"
"Yes, there won't be any trouble with that. The only thing is, he imposed a ban on three topics that are strictly off-limits, though no sane person would touch them anyway."
"What topics?" Keqing asked as we walked.
"The remains of gods, Celestia, and the Abyss."
"That's logical," she nodded. "Although, regarding the Abyss, I do wish there were more ways to study methods to fight it."
"I think that will be possible to revisit in the future. For now, our plans are grand, but still a little more modest than waging war on the Abyss," I said as I settled into a chair, where a sheet of my sketches was conveniently lying on the little table nearby.
"What's that?" Keqing asked, spotting the unfamiliar papers.
"Oh, this? Just a sketch of ideas—something that might help set a direction for geniuses like Cloud Retainer. I'm planning to check a few things, but I'll need your help with forming an Electro core."
"Well, now really is the perfect moment to try forming a core, but I'm curious—what exactly do you want from Electro?"
"Hmm, maybe it's best to start with Fontaine. You know about their automatons, right?"
"Yes, they're powered by local energy, Pneuma and Ousia, which is why no one else has been able to reproduce them," Keqing nodded, scanning my notes attentively.
"I think that if my suspicions are correct, Electro could serve as a universal energy source, which would enable many future discoveries—first of all, mass long-distance communication."
"That would really be helpful, but... The world is made of numbers, seriously?" Keqing gave me a strange look.
"It's not a literal phrase. More like—anything can be assigned numbers, and if you write the right formula for those numbers, you might be able to predict phenomena... Although, considering that the tree upon which our world is just a tiny leaf is called the Imaginary Number Tree, maybe that phrase is actually literal."
"???" I could almost see question marks popping up above her cat ears. I realized I'd said too much.
"Um, never mind. It's not that important."
"No no no. I may not be a scholar, but I'm not stupid. What's the Imaginary Number Tree, and how do you know about it?"
"Uh, well, it's a bit hard to explain," I hesitated, but finally gave in under her demanding gaze.
"In short, there's a theory that there exists an unimaginably vast tree. Its branches are kind of like archetypes of worlds, and leaves constantly grow and fall from them, representing parallel worlds, all slightly different. And in between, there is an imaginary space, a sort of barrier that is very hard to cross. I think even the Archons can't manage it, at least normally. Honestly, it's hard to hide my enthusiasm talking about this. Ever since I arrived in Teyvat, other universes related to the Imaginary Number Tree come to mind—and I loved those too. Teyvat itself has a few examples of world-hopping travelers. The twins, for example. Even if the Genshin Impact story I half-remember from my previous life didn't make their travels' Mechanism clear, it's probably connected to the Light Element, which I'll acquire sooner or later."
"You seem pretty enthusiastic about other worlds," said Keqing, who could sense my emotions so well.
"That's true. It fascinates me. And now that we're long-lived, maybe someday in the future, we could try world-hopping ourselves."
"Maybe, when we have nothing more to offer Liyue," Keqing agreed, settling onto my lap and leaning back against me.
"It's so cozy with you," I whispered, hugging her and resting my chin on her shoulder.
"It's cozy for me too," she replied softly, enjoying being in my arms.
I don't know how long we sat there, just quietly enjoying each other's company, allowing ourselves a brief reprieve from the organizational headaches awaiting us. Eventually, without realizing it, we both fell asleep right there in the chair.
"...Master Yun, Master Yun Che," a woman's voice woke me—it was one of the maids. At the same time, I felt the comfortable warmth of Keqing, curled on my lap like a cat, and a blanket draped over us.
"What is it?" I yawned, inadvertently stroking my sleeping wife's head like a dear pet.
"Your order from the smithy has arrived."
"Oh? Good. Please take it to my room and leave it on my work desk."
"Yes, sir." Bowing one last time, the maid left, once again giving Keqing and me some privacy. Honestly, I hadn't expected us to fall asleep so suddenly but, looking at my wife's sleeping face nestled against my shoulder, I was spellbound.
"No matter how much I look at you, my urge to kiss your tender lips never goes away," I murmured with a gentle smile, softly stroking her cheek. Then, carefully lifting her chin with my fingers, I brushed my lips against hers in a light kiss. Her eyelashes fluttered and she slowly opened her eyes, looking at me drowsily.
"Morning, beautiful," I grinned.
"I fell asleep...?" she blinked in confusion.
"Looks like even Adepti have trouble staying up all night," I smirked, recalling the reason we hadn't slept the night before.
"Pervert," Keqing murmured, lightly swatting my chest, probably sensing a hint of lust in my emotions.
"Sorry, can't help it—my wife is just too gorgeous," I grinned even wider, running my hand along her perfect thigh, still covered in stockings.
"Don't tease me; we have things to take care of," Keqing complained, pinching my cheek.
"Alright, hands to myself," I raised my hands in surrender, playing along.
"Clown," Keqing rolled her eyes and got up.
"Let's go—this will take a while, and we should really get some proper sleep after we're done. Tomorrow's packed with things to do."
"Alright," I nodded and, leaving the blanket on the chair, followed her to our bedroom.