"Lately, Liyue's been getting more unstable," Xiangling said, propping her chin on her hand, as if mentioning it casually.
"Hm?" Keqing's attention shifted from the Archon figure to Xiangling's words.
"What's wrong?"
"When I've been out gathering ingredients, I keep running into Treasure Hoarders.
And that's not all — there's another group causing trouble," Xiangling said, frowning.
"Another group?" Keqing's brows furrowed slightly.
As the newly appointed Yuheng of Liyue, she was still learning the ropes of the Seven Stars' work.
She'd also come out to survey the city, and Xiangling's words made her sit up straighter.
"Yeah, they look vicious. Just the other day, I saw them corner someone on the road — chasing debts or something,"
Xiangling added. Then, as if remembering, she asked seriously, "This kind of violent debt collection… that's illegal, right?"
"Mm, yes," Keqing confirmed.
"Oh, and John, you shouldn't leave the city lately. Those people are probably looking for you!
Your old place isn't safe either…" Xiangling blurted out, speaking directly in front of Keqing.
John understood what Xiangling meant, but the way she did it was so blatant…
He shifted his gaze to the client who had bought his figure. Was there something special about this person?
Keqing wasn't a fool. With Xiangling acting so obviously, she understood immediately.
Xiangling wanted her to take care of this man for a while — though why she went to such lengths for him, Keqing couldn't quite tell. She examined John more closely.
Alright, he was good-looking. Among the men Keqing had seen, he was easily the most attractive.
But looks alone don't put food on the table. What about his personality? His abilities?
Thinking over his recent hardships and how he'd faced adversity, Keqing couldn't find any faults.
The only flaw seemed to be his obsession with Mora — but honestly, who in Liyue didn't like Mora?
"I happen to have a property sitting empty. A house left unused will decay no matter how nice it is.
If you don't mind, John, you can stay there," Keqing said after a moment's thought.
"This… I can't accept that!" John blurted, instinctively wanting to refuse.
"Why not? That property's in a special location. I can't trust just anyone with it, but since you're Xiangling's friend, there's no problem."
"This solves the troubles you might face, and it saves me a worry — a win-win, right?" Keqing explained clearly.
…Well, when put that way, John felt like he was being persuaded.
While Keqing examined him, John studied her in return.
A girl this beautiful probably wouldn't be interested in him for his looks.
After all, she was rich, gorgeous, and could have any man she wanted.
Meanwhile, he had nothing but a little charm, and that was it.
As long as he didn't reveal his "cheats," no one would suspect a thing.
After a moment of thought, John nodded, smiling with gratitude. "Thank you, Keqing."
"You're welcome," Keqing said naturally. In truth, John did deserve her thanks.
After all, claiming the house would fall apart if left empty was just a convenient excuse.
She could easily hire someone to maintain it. The story simply made it easier for John to accept.
"Heh, perfect! I'll whip up some delicious dishes for lunch — I'm treating today!" Xiangling said, smiling brightly.
"I'll treat you instead. Xiangling's done so much for me, and Keqing as well," John offered.
He wasn't the type to think others were obligated to help him just because his life was miserable.
"Is that so…" Xiangling thought it over. Refusing him might hurt his pride, so she accepted graciously.
Keqing reached into her small wallet, preparing to hand over the Mora for the figure.
"I haven't paid for the figure yet."
"By the way, how much did that figure sell for?" Xiangling asked, curious — a figure this exquisite couldn't have been cheap.
"Fifty thousand Mora… (five hundred thousand Mora)," they said simultaneously.
"Eh?"
John and Keqing exchanged a glance, both shocked at what the other had said.
A hidden edition figure couldn't possibly be just fifty thousand Mora!
Even the basic editions went for more, especially one crafted by Mr. Zhong.
Could it be that the other party was giving them a huge discount?
After all, he was providing a place to stay.
John hadn't planned to just accept her kindness, so he returned the favor by selling the figure for nearly nothing.
When they had negotiated the price earlier, all they had done was hold up fingers — no actual units were specified. So no one could complain later.
Keqing thought even more highly of John — who wouldn't like a grateful and handsome person?
Maybe he had already heard about her situation and wanted to help, which explained the absurdly generous price.
John thought the same — there was no way a figure could really cost this much.
Even before his family's bankruptcy, such a thing would have been unimaginable.
Although John's family had been wealthy, their yearly income was limited.
Saving up a million Mora was already impressive, let alone spending that much on a single figure.
Clearly, the other party was just trying to help him.
Thinking this, John's impression of Keqing improved even more. Who wouldn't like a kind-hearted and gorgeous person?
As for whether the Archon figure from the mall could really be worth this much, John had already tried everything.
From offerings and soaking it in water to covering it in Slime condensate. Nothing reacted. It was, beyond doubt, just a figure.
Wait!
Suddenly, John remembered the card's name — "Fateful Encounter." His expression twisted slightly. Could it be…
that "Fateful Encounter" referred to his meeting with Keqing?