"Fang Qiu, Shenhe, you're here."
Seeing Fang Qiu and Shenhe approach, Hu Tao greeted them with a beaming smile, then asked, "Is there something you need?"
Fang Qiu handed her the three-nation-flavor pastries she'd bought for her and Xiangling, then explained why she'd come.
To invite her to go to Sister Ying'er's place together.
Hu Tao naturally agreed happily. She called out to the little undertaker girl, telling her to have Zhongli make a trip to the Northland Bank once he got back later—the Fatui were looking for him.
"What do the Fatui want with Mister Zhongli?"
Fang Qiu was a little puzzled.
As for the Fatui, whether in her memories, or in the rumors going around town, or in the news from the Qixing's side, everything pointed to them being connected to that earlier incident with the Overlord of the Vortex.
You could say their reputation in Liyue was utterly rotten.
It was said that Miss Ningguang had taken this matter and used it to launch a furious assault in Liyue's diplomacy with Snezhnaya, cutting down the enemy diplomats until not a shred of armor remained, and in the end securing tremendous benefits for Liyue Harbor.
Snezhnaya, too, had only barely managed to hold on to the Northland Bank, and it was said that a short while ago a whole big batch of Snezhnayan merchants had been dragged into the affair as well.
So Fang Qiu didn't have any goodwill toward the Fatui either.
What business would an organization like that have with the learned Mister Zhongli of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?
"I'm not too sure either."
Hu Tao waved a hand and said with a beaming smile, "The other party offered more money, a price so high I couldn't refuse, so I took the job on Zhongli's behalf."
Fang Qiu couldn't help feeling that Mister Zhongli was about to get swindled by his own parlor director.....
Besides, just how high was a price too high to refuse?
Fang Qiu didn't dare ask.
She had a feeling that if she did, then even she—a little nouveau-riche lady worth ten million—would suffer a blow to her confidence.
And so, they all went together to the Wanmin Restaurant, and as it happened Xiangling was free too.
Just as they were about to set off, Fang Qiu suddenly remembered she'd forgotten to buy pastries for Sister Ying'er, so she bought a serving of sweets here at Chef Mao's place.
They made their way all the way to the Spring Fragrance Kiln, and from far off they saw Sister Ying'er standing at the entrance of the Spring Fragrance Kiln.
She was dressed in a moon-white top and a deep-purple long skirt, her lovely hair bound into a braid that curved around her left shoulder and rested lightly against her chest, revealing her slender, fair neck.
"Sister Ying'er."
Xiangling waved her hand.
"Ah my, it's you all—how come you... eh? Why are there two Fang Qius?"
Hearing Xiangling's voice, Sister Ying'er turned around, waved her hand, and greeted them.
Only, halfway through her words, she caught sight of Shenhe following at Fang Qiu's side, and the delighted, teasing look on her pretty face instantly turned to bewilderment.
Seeing the puzzled look on Sister Ying'er's face, Fang Qiu smilingly introduced Shenhe to her.
"So that's how it is—they really do look so alike, even I couldn't tell them apart for a moment."
Sister Ying'er said in surprise. After saying this, she glanced at Shenhe, then glanced at Fang Qiu, the corners of her mouth tilting up slightly into a meaningful smile. She leaned close to Fang Qiu's ear and whispered, "You said Shenhe is staying at your place for now—doesn't that mean you two sleep in the same bed? Has anything happened that shouldn't have happened?"
Feeling the warm, damp breath against her ear, along with Sister Ying'er's teasing words, Fang Qiu couldn't help but recall the consequences of her own restless sleeping these past few days, and her pretty face flushed crimson in an instant.
Many times when she woke up, she'd discovered that her and Shenhe's bodies were tangled together—and what's more, that was while they were both wearing nightdresses.....
The skin-to-skin kind of contact.
Several times she'd even had strange sensations.....
"Of course nothing did."
Fang Qiu said, her pretty face red.
"Nothing did what?"
Xiangling asked.
Hu Tao and Shenhe wore puzzled looks too.
"I was asking whether she's been restless in her sleep lately, like kicking off the blankets and such."
Sister Ying'er said with a soft laugh.
"Is that so?"
Shenhe, meanwhile, looked at Ying'er suspiciously.
"If you don't believe me, you can just ask little Fang Qiu."
Sister Ying'er said with a faint smile.
"That's... that's right, I was just feeling a bit hot."
Fang Qiu, her pretty face red, stammered out.
She knew her cheeks were burning fiercely—she must surely have blushed.
Seeing Fang Qiu say so, Shenhe didn't ask any more about it.
On the way over, she had heard Fang Qiu describe Sister Ying'er—she was a very good person.
"All right, all right, I'll stop teasing you. This time the four of you came to find me together—could it be for that matter? This time there are two beauties with identical looks, so big sis here is honestly rather looking forward to it."
Sister Ying'er covered her mouth and laughed softly.
Hearing these words from Sister Ying'er, Fang Qiu couldn't help but press a hand to her forehead.
Wasn't she supposed to have stopped teasing them?
Her very next sentence was a dirty joke.
Five people together....
The mental image was too racy—she didn't dare let her mind wander.
In the web novels of her past life, that was the kind of thing that would get a book banned.
She hurriedly gave her head a little shake, shaking those strange images out of her mind.
Come to think of it..... ever since she'd read Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts and What Should I Do, Now That I'm Being Kept by a Yandere Young Lady, she'd been feeling a little off as a person.
"That's right, that's exactly the matter we came for."
Xiangling nodded and said with a beaming smile.
"Eh?"
This time it was Sister Ying'er's turn to be stunned.
Seeing that the misunderstanding was about to escalate—if by any chance Sister Ying'er thought they really had come to find her to do that sort of thing, and then said something earth-shatteringly outrageous, it would be a real problem.
So, while Sister Ying'er was frozen for that moment, Fang Qiu decisively spoke up.
"Sister Ying'er, we came together to ask about the progress of the pajamas we asked you to make last time."
"So it was this matter—how truly disappointing."
Sister Ying'er sighed, her pretty face full of disappointment, and said.
"These are pastries I brought for you, Sister Ying'er, they're really delicious—we bought them especially for you."
Fang Qiu immediately presented the pastries and said.
"I didn't expect you, you little troublemaker, would actually remember to bring me pastries."
Ying'er shot Fang Qiu a chiding glance, a smile at the corners of her mouth, and said, "Come on, follow me inside. The thing you wanted has already been made."
They made their way into the inner room of the Spring Fragrance Kiln.
The room was still suffused with the elegant fragrance of balm.
Ying'er took out a brocade box and handed it to Fang Qiu.
"Open it and have a look."
Ying'er smiled and said.
"Mm."
Fang Qiu nodded, set the brocade box on the table, and slowly opened it.
Only, when she picked up the garment inside, she couldn't help but freeze.
This was completely different from the panda pajamas she'd imagined!
Never mind that it wasn't trousers—it was actually a skintight, butt-hugging little miniskirt!
So short it was hard for her to even describe.
As for the upper part of the garment, it was nothing but a bandeau, connected to the neck by two thin little shoulder straps.
The back was almost completely bare, extending in a V-shape all the way down to the position of the tailbone.
If she put on this outfit, probably more than half her body would be exposed to the air.
This was even more revealing than the cheongsam made by Sister Ying'er that Xiangling had given her for her birthday before.
The whole garment, aside from the color scheme and the fact that it had fuzzy trim, had absolutely nothing to do with the design proposal she'd given.
This was basically a piece of lingerie, wasn't it?
Aside from the black-and-white color scheme, it looked exactly like those Santa Claus lingerie outfits from her past life.
For a moment, Fang Qiu stood frozen in place holding this garment, the smile on her pretty face gradually fading away.
Looking at Fang Qiu, Hu Tao's pretty face flushed red, like clouds dyed with rosy dawn light when the sun first rises in the morning.
From her angle, with Fang Qiu holding up that garment, it looked almost as if she were wearing it on her body.
It couldn't help but bring to her mind the alluring sight of Fang Qiu wearing that cheongsam of Sister Ying'er's on her birthday, as well as the soft, jade-like way she'd gone limp in her arms after getting drunk.
Come to think of it, was the design Fang Qiu submitted really like this?
Just imagining Fang Qiu wearing this outfit, her whole body couldn't help growing a little hot.
Shenhe, on the other hand, had no particular reaction.
Even Xiangling was a little red in the face.
Fang Qiu was far too bold when it came to clothing.
After a long silence, Fang Qiu awkwardly spoke up, saying, "Sister Ying'er, isn't the difference with this garment a bit too big...."
"Sorry, I grabbed the wrong box. This is the one I designed myself after reading your design proposal."
Sister Ying'er smiled and said.
Hearing their exchange, Hu Tao and Xiangling finally had a look of dawning realization.
They'd actually thought...
Fang Qiu glanced at Sister Ying'er, then glanced at the garment in her hands, the corners of her tender mouth couldn't help twitching slightly.
The bust-waist-hip measurements of this garment basically fit her perfectly.....
It was simply tailor-made for her.....
But since Sister Ying'er had said she'd grabbed the wrong one, it wasn't really proper for her to say anything more.
She silently waited for Sister Ying'er to bring back another brocade box.
The garment this time was indeed normal—two sets in all.
Just as she'd imagined, loose and comfortable, with a very nice fuzzy feel.
It even came with a fuzzy panda hat.
Wonderful.
Most importantly, there wasn't a single revealing spot.
This way, she'd never have to fear catching a chill in her sleep again.
"Thank you, Sister Ying'er."
Fang Qiu smiled and put the panda pajamas back into the brocade box.
"No need to thank me, no need at all. If it weren't for this proposal of yours, I wouldn't have thought up this outfit design either."
Sister Ying'er glanced at that lingerie nightwear, then turned her head to look at Fang Qiu and said with a smile, "When the time comes, there should be quite a few wealthy madams who'll buy it. How about we split the profits then?"
Fang Qiu naturally declined.
That set of lingerie nightwear had absolutely nothing to do with her design, aside from the color scheme and a bit of fuzzy trim.
She'd be too embarrassed to take a share.
Besides this set, Sister Ying'er had also made one each for Xiangling and Hu Tao, tailored to their figures.
They chatted for a while, and seeing that it was about time, they made to take their leave.
Only, right before leaving, Sister Ying'er insisted she take that set of lingerie nightwear along too, and Fang Qiu really couldn't push it away, so she could only accept it.
After bidding Sister Ying'er farewell, they wandered around Liyue Harbor for a good long while.
After having dinner together, they each headed back to their own homes.
They made their way all the way back to the room.
Shenhe, meanwhile, walked over to the bookshelf and began looking for a book to read.
After Fang Qiu prepared cat food for Tingyu, she stretched lazily, walked over to the bronze mirror, and began taking off her clothes.
At first, she'd felt very shy undressing in front of Shenhe, but gradually, it stopped being so embarrassing.
She stripped off her clothes in a few quick motions, and just as she was about to turn around to fetch the brocade box, she suddenly saw Shenhe pull a book down from the shelf.
Fang Qiu hadn't paid it any mind at first; she opened one of the brocade boxes.
Only, when Fang Qiu saw clearly the title of that book, her body couldn't help going stiff.
The book she'd taken was Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts!
Hadn't she thrown that book away?
How could it be!
Wait—had she actually thrown it away or not?
She didn't remember!
Shenhe picked up the book and casually flipped through a few pages. After looking for a few seconds, she set the book in her hand down, looked toward Fang Qiu, and said, "Are you going to wear that one?"
"Huh?"
Fang Qiu looked down, and only then discovered that what she was holding in her hands was precisely that piece of lingerie nightwear Sister Ying'er had given her.
Just now she'd been too focused on the book in Shenhe's hands, and hadn't paid the slightest attention to the fact that she'd opened the wrong brocade box.
Fang Qiu's face went red, and she hurriedly stuffed the garment back in. She looked at Shenhe and said, "I grabbed the wrong one."
She opened the other brocade box, but while she was opening it, Shenhe had already taken that book and sat down on a chair.
"Uh, Shenhe, are you going to read that book?"
Fang Qiu asked hesitantly.
"Mm."
Shenhe nodded.
"This..."
Fang Qiu was momentarily at a loss for words, not knowing what to say.
She'd never expected that Shenhe, being a disciple of the Adepti, would actually enjoy reading this kind of book...
Still, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
After all, Shenhe was a human, not an immortal.
It was perfectly normal for a human to have the seven emotions and six desires, and on top of that, having grown up on a mountain since childhood and never having seen this kind of book...
it was normal too.
Only—that book was yuri!
A gust of wind blew in from outside the window, and Fang Qiu, her body bare and unclothed, couldn't help but give a slight shiver.
"I just flipped through it casually a moment ago. There's a part inside where the heroine Zi Ling fights an opponent she simply can't beat in order to protect Li Qiuyao. I really like this kind of story about fighting to protect another person."
Shenhe said.
"This..."
Fang Qiu felt a bit awkward.
So that was it.....
She'd never expected that Shenhe would, on a single flip, land right on that kind of plot.
And it just so happened to be the kind of plot that held a special appeal for Shenhe.....
Had it been any other book, it would have been fine.
But that was Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts!
When she'd flipped through that book back then, it had been full of that kind of strange plot.
Especially the part the title came from, the description of the senior sister knitting her brows and crying out in pain—she still remembered it vividly to this day. She had to admit, that author was extremely skilled at this type of description.....
Seeing that Shenhe had started reading in earnest, it wasn't really proper for her to say much more....
She could only change into her undergarments and the panda pajamas, pick up a book, then scoop up Tingyu, who had finished eating its cat food, sit down on the Jumpy Dumpty, and pick up a book to read.
The book's title was The Inazuma Hostess.
Mm.
Not bad, really not bad.
It was about a beautiful young girl with no younger sister, no house, and both parents dead, who, in order to pay off her debts, took up the job of a hostess entertaining girls.
It was written quite interestingly.
For a while Fang Qiu got completely absorbed in reading, utterly forgetting that Shenhe was still reading that copy of Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts.
It wasn't until her shoulder was tapped that she came back to her senses from the world inside the book.
"What is it, Shenhe?"
Fang Qiu asked.
"Is it normal for friends to do the kind of things in this book to each other? I don't quite understand."
As Shenhe spoke, she placed the book in front of Fang Qiu, her iridescent eyes full of puzzlement.
Fang Qiu froze for a moment, and once she saw the content of the book, she finally realized what was going on.
[Beneath the gorgeous fireworks, two graceful figures stood facing each other.
Li Qiuyao's beautiful eyes were misty as she rose onto her tiptoes and slowly drew closer.
As Li Qiuyao drew near, a faint fragrance came wafting along with her, lingering at the tip of the nose, refusing to dissipate for a long while.
Watching Li Qiuyao slowly approach, Zi Ling wrapped an arm around Li Qiuyao's slender waist in one motion.
Then kissed her fiercely.]
Seeing the content of the book, and combining it with Shenhe's question, Fang Qiu's body couldn't help going slightly stiff.
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