Author Notes: Holy crap, this chapter took a while. Currently close to exam season and have a crap ton of assignments, so chapters are going to be slower for a while. Uni just decked me in the face out of nowhere, just straight up kicked me in the nuts... Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
/ --- /
Shenhe
"Here is your package, ma'am."
Shenhe set the large box down with one hand. The wood floor groaned slightly under the weight.
This was her last delivery of the day.
'I finished hours early too. This has to put me above Meifen now.' Her mouth unknowingly twitched upward slightly at the thought.
The woman at the door was staring at her with a slack jaw. Her young son stood beside her with wide, sparkling eyes, clearly trying to figure out how a person who looked like that had just put down something that weighed several hundred kilograms with one hand and no visible effort.
Shenhe was unsure how to react to the sparkling eyes.
"The payment, ma'am," she decided to say instead.
"A-Ah, yes. My apologies." The lady fumbled and produced a medium pouch of Mora.
Shenhe took it and left. As she walked, she was already opening the pouch and counting before she reached the end of the path.
'I must count this correctly, else Meifen might scold me again.'
She made her way to the Adventurers Guild, greeted Katheryne briefly at the entrance, and pushed through into the building.
'How—?!'
Meifen, Xiaosi, and Daquan were already there. Seated at a table with drinks and food, looking entirely too comfortable for people who had supposedly been working the same routes she had.
It didn't take long for them to notice her.
"Too slow once again, huh?" Meifen said.
Shenhe took her seat without responding, but the slight twitch of her eyes told them everything.
Shenhe had thought Meifen's first victory was a fluke. She was the student of Cloud Retainer. Meifen was—as pleasant as she was—an ordinary mortal.
The idea that she had been consistently outpacing Shenhe for weeks was not something Shenhe had a satisfying explanation for.
"You are somehow cheating," she said. "I don't know how. But I will figure it out."
"You wound me." Meifen pushed a cup of water toward her end of the table. "I can't believe you would accuse me of cheating. You just can't admit I'm better."
"Because you are not."
"Hahaha—!"
Xiaosi and Daquan watched the exchange with amusement. They had seen this play out plenty of times now and just lay back to enjoy the banter.
"I never thought the two of you would get along so well," Xiaosi said. "No offence, Shenhe."
She tilted her head at him.
"I have to agree with Xiaosi," Daquan said, after swallowing a piece of fried fish. "I initially thought you were the cold kind—"
"She literally is cold, though—"
"—Shut up, Xiaosi."
"As I was saying." Daquan sighed, though not without amusement. "You turned out to be easier to get along with than expected."
Nobody added anything to that, and they settled into a comfortable silence, eating to their heart's content after a long day of work.
But Shenhe kept staring at the food in front of her.
Daquan's words had struck something within her.
She had joined the Shadow Courier to observe Ren Roman. The main reason was to observe him more closely and gain a better understanding of him.
She had expected the actual courier role to be something she'd brush past easily and focus only on observing.
Who could have thought that she'd always be too occupied to even do that?
The other employees had been cautious of her at first. That was not anything new. Most people were cautious of her, that's why she preferred to stay far from the harbor.
But gradually, and without her even noticing, that cautiousness had given way to something new. And now she was sitting at a table in the Adventurers Guild, eating food that Meifen had apparently ordered for her.
For so long, she had never thought seriously about staying in the harbor. This earned her some irritation from her master on more than one occasion.
She had simply never believed she would fit here.
'So why—'
"Oh yeah, did Mr. Ren tell you guys anything about his trip?" Xiaosi said.
"Huh? Did he come back already?" Meifen looked around as if expecting him to appear. "How come I didn't see him at the warehouse this morning?"
"Maybe because you and Shenhe were racing to get out first. Weirdos."
Meifen huffed and looked away. Shenhe stared blankly at him.
"I had to go back to the warehouse for a bigger package, and I was able to see him briefly," Shenhe said, but then her expression turned into something more complicated. "He was… occupied, so I was unable to speak with him."
The others leaned in, waiting for Shenhe to continue the story.
"I saw him prostrating himself in front of Hengyi." She put a hand under her chin, recalling the scene. "Bowing repeatedly. Thanking him at length… If I understood correctly, it was because Hengyi had completed the Shadow Courier's paperwork during his absence."
…
…
"Boss is…" Daquan said eventually. "An interesting individual."
Nobody disagreed.
"Anyway." Meifen smoothly changed the topic. "Are you down to hang out with us for a while? We were going to check out a new dessert place."
"Huh?"
"The one near the upper market. Xiaosi heard it's good."
"I heard it might be good," Xiaosi corrected. "Those are different things."
"Do you want to come or not?" Meifen asked Shenhe.
Shenhe was caught off guard, and the refined warrior found herself hesitating. Her eyes moved across the expectant gazes of her fellow couriers as she struggled to come up with a reply.
"I-I suppose there is no harm in going."
"Yes!"
/ — /
SWOOSH.
The wind parted as Shenhe swung a one-sided blade.
She was in a clearing on the outskirts of Liyue. Across from her, watching the beautiful display of skill was Hengyi.
"How is it, Ms. Shenhe?"
Shenhe didn't respond and continued to swing the blade faster than Hengyi's eye could see. Infusing the weapon with her curse energy, she was surprised to see the weapon remain strong.
'This is quite nice,' She couldn't help but praise Hengyi's creation.
Turning her sights towards a boulder, she released one last devastating slash that cut the stone clean in half. The blade was not even chipped, it was hard to tell if it had been used at all.
The blacksmith had asked her to test his latest batch of weapons. Not having anything else to do, she went along with his request.
Holding the blade in her hand, she could feel how light it was, yet it felt sturdy enough to last for decades.
"Your work is truly a piece of art." She finally turned to Hengyi, who was eagerly awaiting her input. "The balance is perfect, and the grip holds well. If I had to give any criticism, it would be the blade's length. For a sword of this style, it should be longer."
Hengyi nodded enthusiastically, jotting down notes in a small notebook he had brought.
"I see, I will certainly keep that in mind," He said, finishing up the last of his notes. "That's all the weapons for today. Thank you again, Ms. Shenhe. Your input means a lot to me."
Shenhe accepted the praise without much thought, handing the blade back to Hengyi, who immediately began to package his weapons with care.
'This man has exceptional skill. How did Ren even find him?'
While she had seen and used better weapons—courtesy of her Master—Hengyi's work was no laughing matter. She could imagine many paying their entire livelihoods for such a quality blade.
And yet the man was still unsatisfied.
'Perhaps I could introduce him to Master.' The thought popped into her head, and after thinking about it more thoroughly, it wouldn't be the worst idea.
It had been some time since she visited her Master, and she was sure Hengyi would appreciate insight from a renowned Adeptus such as her Master.
"I have a question, if you do not mind."
Hengyi looked up from his weapons, "Of course, ask away."
"Why do you place this level of dedication in the service of Ren Roman?" Despite her lack of knowledge of the mortal world, she knew enough to know that Hengyi could be getting paid much more than as a personal blacksmith for a courier business.
"With your expertise, you could direct this talent elsewhere. So why stay?"
Hengyi considered her question seriously, something she always appreciated from the man. He was eccentric in some ways, but always reliable and trustworthy.
"He was willing to give me a chance when no one else, not even my family, would bat an eye." He put a hand on his chest, "My clan had thrown me away, and put my reputation in the mud. I thought no one would ever want my services, until Master Ren approached me."
A grateful smile found itself on his face, "So even if it isn't the 'best' option. I will forever put my loyalty to Master, until I can repay him with a weapon not even the gods could create."
"I see."
'What ambition, and a strong will as well.' Shenhe hummed, 'A Geo Vision suits him.'
Waiting a little for Shenhe to ask another question, once she didn't, Hengyi went back to packaging his weapons.
They stayed in silence for a while, with Shenhe offering to help package his weapons with him. Once they were done, they took a moment to just lie in the grass and enjoy the cool breeze.
"You know, my family has started hearing about my work." Hengyi started, his voice small, "About what I've been doing here and my other commissions. But they still don't expect anything… Must be the work of that bastard brother of mine."
His expression turned sour, "But no matter, the gap between what they expect and what I will become is mine to choose. My honour is mine to reclaim."
He said a few more things while Shenhe just nodded absent-mindedly.
She had no idea what was going on in his life. But she wished him the best.
The sound of approaching footsteps stopped Hengyi's ramblings as they saw familiar faces walk through the tree line.
Meifen appeared first, then Xiaosi and Daquan right behind her.
"You're still going?" Meifen said, eyeing the weapons still laid out in the grass. "We thought you'd be done by now."
"We just finished," Shenhe said.
"Did she break any of them?" Xiaosi asked Hengyi.
"She did not."
"Shame."
Shenhe felt her eye twitch. Somehow, Xiaosi had picked up a bad habit of teasing her. No doubt the influence of Meifen.
"Sheeh, when did you get so snarky?" Meifen chuckled, smacking him on the back.
"I hope you are prepared if the day comes that Shenhe takes offence to your words and decides to throw you off a mountain." Daquan joked.
"Haha, she wouldn't do that," But Xiaosi's voice wavered slightly. He turned towards Shenhe, letting out a nervous laugh. "Y-You wouldn't, right?"
Shenhe just smiled at the man.
"What is that supposed to mean?!"
The rest just laughed at his expense.
"But damn, you could use all of these weapons," Meifen walked closer to the covered weapons on the ground, "You are seriously skilled. But that's to be expected of an Adeptus's student."
Shenhe didn't know if Meifen meant it in a teasing way or not, but she felt her cheeks going slightly pink at the mention of her background.
It wasn't the first time she had been referred to as such. It was just a descriptor. People either said it with reverence or with fear, and she had grown used to such reactions.
But this one was different.
"Think what you want." She huffed.
The group settled onto the grass and casually conversed with one another—apart from Shenhe, who merely relaxed while gazing at the clouds above.
But then she sensed something familiar at the edge of her awareness.
She stood up and moved to the edge of the clearing where the ground dropped away.
Below, on one of the harbor's walking paths, two figures were walking together.
Her eyes narrowed as she recognised them both immediately.
Ganyu.
And Ren Roman.
They were walking close to each other, laughing about something that she couldn't hear.
Something tightened in Shenhe's chest. It wasn't quite hostility. It was something more instinctive than that.
'Now that I think of it, how did he become close with Ganyu to begin with?' Her eyes narrowed further, 'What do you want with Ganyu, Roman?'
The others noticed her odd behaviour and wandered over.
"Oh," Meifen said.
"Is that Madam Secretary?" Daquan asked.
"With the boss. Seriously, how does he know the Madam Secretary?" Xiaosi said. He squinted. "She really is beautiful."
Meifen's hand connected with the back of his head.
"Ow!"
"There have been rumours around the harbor about the two of them," Daquan added.
Shenhe kept her eyes on the path below. "What kind of rumours?"
"That they might be in a secret relationship." He sounded amused when he said that, "Though I am unsure if that is quite the truth."
Shenhe said nothing.
She stared for another moment, then turned and started walking.
"Where are you going?" Meifen asked.
"To spy on them."
"...What?"
She didn't say anything else and was quickly walking further.
The group exchanged glances, the same thought coursing through their minds at once before nodding to one another.
Then, they faced Hengyi.
Hengyi, who had been quietly hoping the afternoon wasn't heading here, closed his eyes for a second. "Forgive me, Master."
/ — /
Tailing two people through Liyue Harbor was harder than Shenhe had anticipated.
Not because of skill. She could move silently through difficult terrain with her eyes closed and had done so on more than one occasion.
The problem was the five other people behind her who could not.
"Xiaosi," Shenhe whispered firmly, "Please stop stepping on my heels."
"I'm not doing it on purpose—"
"Both of you, shut up," Meifen hissed.
Hengyi moved with surprising quietness for someone of his build. Daquan was managing, and Xiaosi was an outright liability. The man had nearly wandered off multiple times.
Ren and Ganyu had no idea they were being followed. Shenhe was certain of this. Ren's senses were sharp enough that she had made sure to keep a significant distance.
From what she knew of his sensing ability, it was hard for him to make out distinct energies in a crowd, so that worked in their favor.
They stopped at the edge of a market stall.
"Here," Shenhe said quietly, and the group compressed behind a covered produce display without needing to be told twice.
"What are they doing?" Xiaosi whispered.
"Patience," Daquan said and put a hand over Xiaosi's mouth.
Ahead of them, Ren and Ganyu were walking through the food section of the market. It seemed like Ganyu was looking for something specific while Ren just followed along.
She stopped in a fruit stall and eyed some of the fruit before moving on, but Shenhe noticed that Ren also took a moment to look at the fruits Ganyu had looked at before following her.
'How odd,' Shenhe's eyes narrowed, 'He is paying attention to what Ganyu showed interest in… That isn't the kind of attention you show to everyone.'
Meifen, crouched beside her, glanced between Shenhe and the stall. The beginnings of a theory were forming on her face.
They moved on before Ganyu and Ren did, repositioning ahead.
/ — /
They followed at a wider distance now as Ren and Ganyu moved away from the harbor and onto one of the mountain paths above Liyue. The group kept to the rockier side of the trail, using the terrain.
As they approached a downward part of the path, there were some slippery, mossy stairs that led down it.
Ganyu was ready to walk down it carefully, but Ren stopped her.
He crouched down and extended one hand. Geo spread from under his palm and across the entire staircase, coating it with a grippier surface.
"Wait, this isn't illegal right?" Ren asked, which made Ganyu laugh.
Just as he was about to walk down, Ganyu said something.
Shenhe caught the tail end of it, something about decorum. But from her tone, it sounded more like a joke.
Ren seemed to play along.
Then he stepped back and gestured forward with one hand. "After you."
His action surprised Ganyu, whose cheeks turned slightly red, and she walked down first.
"Wow, boss is smooth," Xiaosi muttered.
"You'd think that, but I have a feeling he's oblivious," Meifen added, her face scrunched up at the sappy display.
/ — /
In the end, Ren and Ganyu went back to the food stalls in the harbor.
The group watched the two talk, something about the upcoming Rite of Descension, but then Ren said something that made Ganyu laugh out loud.
It wasn't her usual polite or composed laugh, it sounded more free. Like she stopped holding herself back.
She immediately covered her mouth in embarrassment.
Ren looked quite pleased.
'This… This cannot be…'
The pieces clicked together in Shenhe's mind, and her eyes opened wider as the realization set in.
"How long are we going to keep doing this?" Xiaosi complained from the back.
"Oh shush, you have no—"
"—Ganyu wants him as a mate."
Instantly, everyone's head turned towards Shenhe, who looked to still be coming to terms with her own conclusion.
…
…
"I knew it," Hengyi was the first to break the silence.
And with that came flooding in the voices of the rest.
"I know, right?! It's so obvious!" Xiaosi cheered quietly.
"Why are you using the word 'mate'? It's kind of weird."
"Hmm."
The group started discussing the topic with each other, but Shenhe was still preoccupied with her revelation.
'While nothing is confirmed, I have never seen Ganyu act like this with anyone… The possibility cannot be denied that she may want him.'
Shenhe's view on the courier had increased slightly since she was hired, but she still thought he was not worthy of someone like Ganyu.
"Hey. Shenhe." Meifen tapped her shoulder repeatedly, but Shenhe was still staring in the direction of Ren and Ganyu.
"Shenhe."
"..."
"SHEN—"
"SPIDER!"
Everyone's head whipped toward Hengyi, who had leapt two feet sideways from his crouching position.
A fairly average-sized spider sat on his shoulder, completely unbothered by the chaos it had caused.
"Hengyi, your voice—!" Meifen hissed.
Too late.
Ren and Ganyu had both turned at the shout.
The group froze.
Six people in various states of crouching completely stopped breathing. Xiaosi had his eyes shut. Daquan had lowered himself behind a vegetable crate. Hengyi had forgotten about the spider entirely and had become a statue.
'He's going to spot us.' Shenhe immediately scoured the area to find the best escape route.
"Don't worry guys, I have a plan," Xiaosi whispered. "I've got this,"
"What—"
He picked up a rock from the ground beside him and threw it as hard as he could in the opposite direction.
Meifen stared at him in exasperation. "What was that supposed to—"
The rock hit a hanging wind chime above a nearby stall, which swung and hit the sign above it, which fell and startled a pack of birds below.
Said birds scrambled to fly away, and flew into the face of a merchant carrying a tower of stacked boxes, who went down with a loud crash that turned every head in the vicinity.
Including Ren's.
…
…
Meifen slowly turned to look at Xiaosi.
Xiaosi shrugged. "I told you I had it."
"That was the dumbest thing I have ever seen work," Meifen said.
"A result is a result," Daquan said.
"Sorry, everyone… But the spider is still on me," Hengyi said quietly, frozen from fear, "Help."
Daquan leaned over and flicked it off.
/ — /
The next day, it was the end of another workday for Shadow Courier.
Meifen was counting her delivery receipts, muttering numbers under her breath. Xiaosi was complaining about a client in the upper district who had made him carry a package up four flights of stairs only to tell him he had the wrong address. And Daquan was nowhere to be seen.
Shenhe was by the shelves, returning her equipment, but her mind was elsewhere.
'If Ganyu were to pursue him… he would become my relation.'
The thought had been sitting with her since yesterday. She turned it over for the hundredth time and arrived at the same conclusion: the idea of Ren Roman becoming an indirect member of her family, through the bond she and Ganyu shared as Cloud Retainer's students, made something in her chest feel deeply unsettled.
'Unacceptable.'
"Shenhe, you heading out soon?" Meifen called over.
"Shortly."
"Don't forget you've got the Harbor South route tomorrow."
"I am aware."
Meifen gave her a look that suggested she didn't entirely believe her, then went back to her receipts.
As Shenhe was about to move on, a new possibility appeared in her mind.
'Is that really… a bad thing?'
The thought arrived uninvited, and she immediately tried to set the absurd notion aside. But a part of her actually considered the possibility.
Her eyes moved across the warehouse, seeing her coworkers now turned to friends, how she went out with them outside of work. How she had Hengyi call her to help him on boring days.
It was hard to remember what her life looked like before.
Every time she tried to integrate herself with normal mortals, they were always weirded out by her mannerisms. As a result, she decided to stay away from the harbor for years.
Never in her life would she expect that to change.
But it did.
She wasn't entirely sure when that had happened.
CREAK.
"Hey guys!" The door opened, and Ren walked in.
He exchanged a few words with Meifen about something administrative, then checked something on the supply roster. The usual end-of-day things.
Shenhe watched him as the pieces clicked in her brain.
This new life that she had now… is because of him. The person that she had nearly killed on the spot. And yet somehow, through a chain of events she was sure not even the archons could have predicted, she had ended up here.
With new friends and a livelier life.
It was deeply irritating how much of her joy now traced back to him.
'...Perhaps Ganyu's taste is not entirely without merit.' She put the satchel on its hook. 'That said, he is still not worthy of her.'
She had just resolved this when Ren finished his rounds and moved toward the door when Shenhe approached.
Ren noticed her walking closer and stopped. "Shenhe? Is there anything you need?"
"I will be watching you," she said.
"...Okay?"
She held his gaze for a moment longer, then stepped back and picked up her bag. Ren looked at the rest of his employees, who looked back at him with expressions that said they also had no idea what had just happened.
He left quickly after that.
"What was that?" Xiaosi said.
Shenhe slung her bag over her shoulder and walked out. "See you tomorrow, everyone."
Meifen looked at the door, then at the others. "...Should we be concerned?"
"Let's stay positive?" Xiaosi said, equally unsure.