On the other side, in the Court of Fontaine, within the Vasari Passage area, rows of exquisite buildings were neatly arranged in perfect order.
Not far from the apartment where Eula lived, a small book-and-newspaper stall stood quietly at a street corner.
Yanfei was standing there, carefully examining the shelves and stall displays packed full of books of all kinds.
From time to time, she would pick one up to flip through a few pages, then gently set it back down, while softly muttering to herself, "Let me take a good look… legal knowledge… legal examinations…"
After a while, Yanfei raised her finger and pointed at several Fontaine law books that looked particularly promising, then turned to the stall owner and said, "Boss, this one, this one, and these as well. Please wrap them up for me."
The stall owner smiled and nodded, deftly removing the selected books and carefully wrapping them in paper.
Before long, the owner handed them to Yanfei and said, "All set. Here you go."
Just as Yanfei took the books and was about to leave, Shao Yun's voice rang out behind her.
"Yanfei, I finally found you!"
Hearing Shao Yun's call, Yanfei held the freshly purchased books and slowly turned around.
"Hm? Shao Yun, you're in such a hurry—what's going on?"
Shao Yun walked up to Yanfei, took a small breath to steady himself, and then began explaining the purpose of his visit.
"Oh, it's like this…"
Shao Yun gave Yanfei a detailed account of everything that had happened at the Opera Epiclese.
He explained the entire incident at the Opera Epiclese and, in the end, formally asked Yanfei, as a legal consultant, to serve as the representative for Lyney and Lynette and help clear their names.
After hearing the whole story, Yanfei showed a troubled expression.
"I see… so it's a lawsuit, right? I understand. But Shao Yun, you know as well as I do—I was supposed to tutor Eula tonight…"
Seeing that Yanfei seemed hesitant and worried about tutoring Eula, Shao Yun quickly explained.
"Oh, that? Eula already mentioned it to me. She said she probably won't be able to go home tonight."
"Because the Opera Epiclese needs extra manpower, she has to stay behind to work overtime."
Listening to Shao Yun, Yanfei shook her head helplessly and sighed, "Sigh… this half-work, half-study lifestyle really makes studying inefficient."
Shao Yun simply shrugged, feeling equally helpless.
After all, reality was like this—many times, people couldn't freely choose the kind of life they wanted.
Then, Shao Yun lifted his hand and gestured behind him, asking whether she would be willing to take on this case together with him.
Yanfei thought it over carefully and felt it might be worth trying. After all, only talking theory from books wouldn't help much when tutoring Eula. Getting some real practice could be beneficial for teaching Eula and helping her pass her exams.
With that thought, she looked up at him and smiled, nodding.
"Alright, let's go."
Next, Yanfei freed one hand and lightly flicked her fingers, as if casting an adepti art from Liyue, a subtle glow flowing around her fingertips.
With that motion, the several thick books in her arms seemed to be guided by an invisible force, gradually shrinking, folding, and finally vanishing from her embrace.
Watching this happen, Shao Yun couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "Whoa! Is that Liyue's adepti art? That's way more amazing than magic!"
Hearing his exclamation, Yanfei froze for a moment, then realized he was referring to what she had just done.
She smiled shyly and quickly explained, "Ah? It's not some profound adepti art. It's just a little trick Granny Ping taught me."
"If I had to carry such heavy stuff in my hands every time I went out, it'd be exhausting! Learning this makes things much more convenient."
Hearing her explanation, Shao Yun nodded out of habit.
"Oh, I see. Haha, I was just asking casually, nothing more."
"Alright, let's not waste time. Let's get moving."
…
As Shao Yun led Yanfei past Chioriya Boutique, a sudden burst of noise shattered the calm of the street.
A furious shout from inside the shop rang out.
"Get out of my shop!"
Before the words even finished, a figure burst through the door like a cannonball and was sent flying straight out, slamming into the ground with a loud "bang!"
Moments later, Chiori slowly stepped out of the shop, vigorously brushing her hands together as if trying to shake off something filthy.
Stopping at the doorway, she coldly stared at the Fontaine man she had just thrown out and warned him in a flat, emotionless tone.
"I'll say it one last time. If you people dare come cause trouble in my shop again, we'll settle it in court—at the Opera Epiclese!"
The Fontainian man, tossed out without mercy, was clearly unwilling to accept it, but knowing he was in the wrong, he could only climb to his feet resentfully.
He shot Chiori a vicious glare and muttered under his breath, "Damn it…"
Yet, likely fearing real legal trouble, he ultimately tucked his tail between his legs and fled in disgrace.
Witnessing this scene, Yanfei stared in astonishment and quietly muttered, "Whoa… what on earth just happened?"
At the same time, Chiori watched the fleeing figure with an expression of utter disgust, muttering disdainfully, "Hmph, those people are such a nuisance—buzzing around me like annoying flies all day long."
Just then, Chiori noticed two gazes directed at her from not far away.
Looking closely, she saw Shao Yun and a young woman she didn't recognize. That woman was Yanfei, though Chiori didn't know her.
Chiori silently guessed that Shao Yun might be here to ask about the clothes he had entrusted to her for repairs yesterday.
With that thought, she hurried over with an apologetic expression and explained, "I'm really sorry, customer. Because a troublemaker showed up today, the clothes you left with us aren't quite—"
However, Shao Yun wasn't there to rush her at all—he was simply passing by.
Professional matters should be left to professionals; he had no intention of interfering.
Since he had entrusted the clothes to Chiori, he should give her full trust.
Although their first meeting hadn't been particularly pleasant, Shao Yun hadn't taken it to heart.
With great magnanimity, Shao Yun replied, "It's fine! As long as the clothes are properly repaired, that's all that matters. I have other important matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."
With that, Shao Yun led Yanfei away.
Watching his retreating figure, Chiori couldn't help but cover her forehead and shake her head helplessly.
Then she glanced back inside the shop.
"Oh dear… what a headache. I'd better hurry up and finish repairing the clothes he left here yesterday."
"Can those troublemakers just give me a break for once?"
With that, Chiori hurried back into the shop and resumed working on the unfinished garment.
…
After some time, Shao Yun brought Yanfei back to the main hall of the Opera Epiclese.
Along the way, Shao Yun had already given Yanfei a brief overview of what had happened and summarized the current situation.
"That's basically how things stand. As for the finer details, Lumine and Paimon, along with a kind-hearted Fontaine girl, have probably already gathered most of the evidence. What they know should be far more detailed than my explanation."
After saying this, Shao Yun turned toward Lumine, Paimon, and Navia, who were sitting on the sofa, and spoke.
"Look, I brought Yanfei."
Hearing this, Yanfei stepped forward and greeted everyone.
"Lumine, Paimon, I'm here. On the way, Shao Yun already told me the general situation. Where are the clients?"
Lumine stood up, picked up a notebook from the table, and replied, "Lyney and Lynette are in the lounge."
She then handed the densely written notebook—filled with compiled clues and findings from the scene—to Yanfei.
"Here. This has all the clues we found, along with photos."
At the same time, Navia took out two beautifully wrapped boxes and handed them separately to Shao Yun and Yanfei.
"These are for you. I made some macarons just now and saved some especially for you."
Yanfei accepted the box of macarons and thanked her repeatedly.
"Whoa, thank you so much…"
Shao Yun opened his box, and his eyes were immediately drawn to the three colorful macarons inside.
He picked one up, took a gentle bite, and carefully savored the sweet, crisp texture and rich flavor.
Then, he handed the remaining two along with the box to Paimon beside him and said with a smile, "Here, Paimon. The rest are yours."
Before Paimon could gleefully reach out to take it, Lumine swiftly intervened, stopping Shao Yun.
With a serious expression, Lumine said, "Don't give her any more. She's already eaten five macarons and drank a whole pot of black tea!"
"If you keep feeding Paimon like this, do you want her to end up unable to fly?"
Hearing this, Paimon quickly rubbed her round little belly with both hands and protested, "That's not true! I only ate three… and I'm not fat at all!"
In the end, thanks to Lumine's insistence, the two macarons stayed in Shao Yun's hands.
===BREAK===
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