Rosalyne: Queen Mode? Little Wife Mode! Switching!**
In the silent private room.
Luo Li waved his hand and shut the door, showing no trace of hesitation despite facing old acquaintances. Instead, he took the initiative and stepped toward the two of them.
Before coming over, he had already arranged things with Ganyu, asking her to stay behind so that Zhongli's deliberately concealed identity would not be exposed.
As Luo Li approached, Signora kept retreating.
The blazing fire within her heart burned fiercely. Instinct urged her to rush forward, to feel the warmth and reality of Luo Li's body once more.
Yet reason left her at a loss.
At this moment, there was no trace of the dignity or dominance of a Fatui Harbinger from Snezhnaya—she was nothing more than a pitiful girl trapped by unfulfilled love.
She could sneer at the Anemo Archon, mock the Geo Archon, and arrogantly scorn the Electro Archon—yet she could not utter a single word to the man before her.
"What's wrong? After all this time, you don't recognize me anymore?"
Luo Li seemed utterly oblivious, steadily cornering the cold, elegant woman against the wall.
Her usually supple waist and long legs stiffened. Signora lowered her head, as if the woman who had dared to ridicule the Geo Archon moments ago was not her.
Luo Li gently reached out and lifted her chin, forcing her gaze to meet his.
Rosalyne was deeply uneasy—especially when she saw his eyes linger on the part of her face hidden by the mask. The urge to flee surged within her.
He must already know everything she had done.
For the first time, Rosalyne felt lost about her own fallen self.
Yet to her surprise, there was no disappointment in Luo Li's eyes. Instead, with a faint smile of reunion, he opened his arms.
"Want a hug like before you went off to study? Oh right—reunions should last longer than farewells."
No matter what Rosalyne had become, to Luo Li she was no different from the Windblume Festival princess she once was.
If blame were to be placed, he himself was the reason she had turned out this way.
Her fingers twitched. Just as Rosalyne was about to act on her longing, Luo Li pulled her straight into his embrace.
No longer able to suppress her emotions, the once high-and-mighty Harbinger yielded to instinct, sinking into the warm, reassuring arms she had yearned for.
Watching the two of them cling together, Zhongli let out a quiet sigh.
His old friend truly carried an uncountable number of romantic debts.
Where did he even get the energy to entangle himself with so many women?
Holding Rosalyne, Luo Li couldn't help but reflect on how much had changed over five hundred years.
For instance, the way she pressed against him now was nothing like Ganyu's—perhaps even Raiden Makoto fell short in comparison. Things definitely hadn't been this… prominent back then.
And when a cold, restrained mature woman finally lost control of her emotions, it was far more intense than Ganyu's reactions.
Thankfully, he had left that girl next door—otherwise, jealousy would have been inevitable.
Time passed unnoticed. Only after Yun Jin finished an entire opera below did Zhongli finally cough lightly, unable to keep watching.
If this was how they behaved while he was present, he didn't dare imagine what would happen if he weren't.
Luo Li released Rosalyne and guided her back to her seat.
Unlike Ganyu, the cold beauty beside him had not shed a single tear.
Perhaps her tears had already dried up five hundred years ago—when she became the Crimson Witch of Flames.
"You already knew I was alive back in Mondstadt, didn't you? Why didn't you come find me? After that guy Venti got his heart ripped out by you, he even ran over to extort a bottle of good wine from me."
Using a light, teasing tone to ease the atmosphere, Luo Li's words caused Rosalyne's gaze to suddenly turn cold.
That rat who stole from the granary—he dared to do that?
Her aloof queenly demeanor vanished in an instant. She lowered her head slightly toward Luo Li.
"I'm sorry… I caused you trouble."
Zhongli: "???"
You weren't this meek just now—women really do change faster than flipping a page.
"That hardly counts as trouble. It was just a jar of wine."
Seeing the atmosphere lighten slightly, Luo Li—ever the master of emotional fishing—looked at the crown-like mask that Rosalyne was deliberately turning away, leaving her unmasked side facing him.
After a brief pause, he reached out and touched the mask.
Rosalyne panicked and turned her head away.
"Is this the scar you got from becoming the Witch?"
"How did you know?" she blurted out instinctively.
"Take it off. Let me see."
Rosalyne hesitated.
She had fled to Liyue precisely because she didn't want the man she loved to see her broken side—yet now she had walked straight into a trap.
Though Luo Li's tone was gentle, even tender, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
In the end, she didn't remove it herself—only turned her head back slightly.
Seeing this, Luo Li paused, then removed the mask for her.
The next moment, a butterfly-shaped pattern of crimson flames etched across her face entered his vision.
He froze for a moment—then met Rosalyne's anxious, self-deprecating gaze.
After a short silence, just as the light in her eyes was about to fade—
"It's beautiful."
The sincere words made Rosalyne's eyes widen. The love she could no longer restrain overflowed uncontrollably.
"Really?"
"Yes. It's beautiful. I almost got lost staring at it."
He repeated it—without deception, straight from the heart.
He had expected something disfigured or grotesque.
Who would have thought it was a fiery red pattern—far from frightening, instead adding a bold, passionate allure to the cold, elegant woman.
At a glance, it was almost like a tattoo.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Rosalyne never imagined that even what she considered her flaw would be accepted so easily.
Love dormant for five hundred years reignited, burning fiercely—consuming her entirely.
Even if these were honeyed words laced with poison, she would swallow them gladly.
Especially when Luo Li's eyes were so sincere and clear.
A sting rose in her nose—but the tears she once had were long gone.
Unable to control herself, Rosalyne lifted her head and gently pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth.
Watching Luo Li effortlessly turn a proud, arrogant, cold beauty into this state, even Zhongli had to sigh in admiration.
As expected of Luo Li—a true expert.
This was one of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers.
A figure whose influence swept across the Seven Nations, wielding power bestowed by the Cryo Archon herself.
Moments ago, she hadn't even spared the Geo Archon a glance—yet now she tilted her head like a shy wife, letting his old friend whisper softly to her.
This kind of ability was something Zhongli suspected he would never attain in his lifetime.