Taro pushed open the door.
"Yeah, I'm back."
"Looks like you were all getting along quite well."
His gaze moved as he pleased.
Five pairs of eyes, ten pupils in total,
all landed on him at the exact same moment as he stepped into the hall.
"Sensei (Boss), Mr. Taro~" the five of them chimed together.
In the front hall,
it was all birdsong and blossoms, a nest of beauties.
It made Taro feel as if he'd fallen straight into a den of gorgeous women.
Lively Yingda, gentle Fanan, alluring Huoliya, warm and soft-spoken Ganyu, cool and aloof Shenhe—
five distinct voices, five different styles, all sounded at once.
It was, admittedly, quite the impact.
Good thing Taro was no longer some clueless rookie.
Otherwise, he really might have dazed out on the spot.
"Mm."
He gave a slight nod, and his gaze immediately shifted to Shenhe, who was standing at Ganyu's side.
This was their first time meeting.
In the game she was already one of the "wives" he'd pulled,
but in reality, this was the first time they'd had any intersection at all.
After one look, Taro spoke in a low voice:
"I already know about Cloud-Retainer's proposal."
"So then, Ganyu, Shenhe—have the two of you made any plans?"
Plans?
What plans?
Ganyu herself was stunned by the question.
Wait, there are still "plans" to be made in this?
Hadn't Master already explained everything?
If so, why didn't she say any of this when Ganyu went to pick Shenhe up?
No wonder, when she'd been talking with Fanan on the phone planning this whole matter,
Fanan's tone had sounded a little strange.
So Master had already brought it up once on her side?
Master, oh Master, you're usually good at talking things through—
how'd you forget this time?
"This..."
Ganyu hesitated for a second, then decisively looked over at Shenhe.
"Junior sister, do you have any thoughts?"
"Thoughts?"
Shenhe's willow brows knit slightly. After a moment she shook her head.
"I don't have many thoughts on it. If Master gives an order, Shenhe will simply do as I am told."
"Senior sister, did Master give you any instructions before you came?"
"None at all~"
Ganyu shook her head helplessly.
"When I left, Master was in a hurry.
Probably... just forgot?"
"Junior sister, wait a moment. Let me ask Master, is that alright?"
Fortunately, she'd already been pulled into the party by Fanan yesterday
and had learned this strange method of communication.
Otherwise, wouldn't Mr. Taro be kept waiting here forever?
Unforgivable, unforgivable.
Ganyu lifted her hand and lightly tapped the earring by her ear, sending adeptus power into it.
Information magic: activate.
'Ahem, is that Ganyu? Master's busy right now. Little things like this, you should decide on your own.'
'If you really don't know what to do, then just listen to that girl Fanan.'
'Alright, that's it. Busy here, I'm hanging up.'
Beep—
'Master, wai—'
Before Ganyu could finish a single sentence,
Cloud-Retainer had already cut the connection.
She hadn't left her any time to ask questions at all.
"Is Master... really that busy?"
Ganyu was confused.
Ganyu did not understand.
Ganyu was utterly lost.
"..."
Behind her, the corners of Fanan's mouth curled ever so slightly.
Of course Cloud-Retainer wasn't busy.
It was just... all of this had already been discussed from the very beginning.
Naturally, she couldn't let Ganyu ask too many questions.
Otherwise they might slip up and have to pile lie on top of lie to patch things over.
Cloud-Retainer was, more or less... feeling a little guilty.
Having failed to obtain any answers from Master,
Ganyu and Shenhe looked at each other, four eyes meeting.
In each other's gaze, they both saw the same trace of confusion.
So after she brought Shenhe over here,
Master was just... washing her hands of the whole thing?
"Decide on your own," she'd said.
But how exactly were they supposed to decide?
Ganyu's eyes flicked toward Fanan,
looking to her little sister for help.
Fanan, little sis, please save us here.
"Ahem~"
Fanan cleared her throat, sounding a bit awkward.
"How about... you two stay here for now,
and the rest, we can talk about later?"
"Stay here for now?"
Shenhe thought for a second, then nodded.
"Then we'll do as Sister Fanan says."
That worked out perfectly.
She'd just arrived in Liyue Harbor and didn't have a place to stay yet.
Crashing at Sister Fanan's house for a day was completely fine.
"Wait a second..."
Ganyu blinked.
"Fanan, you just said... 'we'?"
Wasn't she just dropping Junior Sister Shenhe off?
How did she get roped into this too?
"Didn't Cloud-Retainer tell you, Sister Ganyu?"
Fanan looked at her with a deliberately surprised expression.
"Ah?"
Ganyu froze.
There was still something Master hadn't told her?
"Ahem~"
Fanan's tone shifted, becoming exactly like Cloud-Retainer's:
"Ganyu that child is truly exhausted. I've discussed it with the other adepti—
we're giving that girl a proper vacation."
"And since Shenhe is here in Liyue Harbor as well, we'll have her keep Ganyu company."
"The two sisters will be able to look out for each other that way."
"Mm, that's what Cloud-Retainer told me."
"..."
Ganyu lifted a hand to her forehead, the tips of her ears gradually turning red.
With her gentle, insightful nature,
even if she'd been completely lost at first,
once she calmed down, how could she not figure out what Master was thinking?
Taking care of Shenhe was part of it, yes—
but this "vacation" clearly had other intentions behind it as well.
"Does Senior Sister not wish to live with me?"
Shenhe didn't follow all those winding implications.
She only felt a little disappointed.
"No, no, that's not it~"
Ganyu shook her head quickly.
"It's just that suddenly 'being put on vacation' feels a little... unfamiliar."
"I'll stay here with Junior Sister Shenhe."
"..."
The corner of Fanan's mouth hooked upward.
"Come on then, I'll help you two set up your room and get some toiletries ready."
Before either of them could respond,
she stepped forward decisively,
taking one girl by each hand,
half-dragging, half-pulling them up the stairs.
Watching the three of them disappear at the top of the stairway,
Taro turned to the two women beside him,
whose smiles hovered somewhere between serious and amused.
"What was all that about...?"
"It's a good thing, of course."
Huoliya smiled.
"Two more little sisters at home will make the place livelier."
"Does Boss not like that?"
She was sure of it—Boss liked it.
Love at first sight, moved by beauty;
that was how she'd fallen for him, and she was certain Boss was the same.
Right now, most likely, history was repeating itself.
The only difference was that this time, two of them had arrived at once.
She wondered which type Boss preferred.
"Exactly, exactly~"
Yingda chimed in, words at odds with the complicated feeling in her chest.
"Whether it's Sister Ganyu or Junior Sister Shenhe, they're both absolute top-tier beauties."
"Now that the two of them are moving in, Sensei must be thrilled."
Honestly, Yingda herself was a bit dazed.
Wasn't Shenhe supposed to be the only one?
How had Ganyu been thrown into the mix too?
Good grief, so her sister's matchmaking lines didn't stop at just one?
Did that mean there'd be more in the future?
She sucked in a sharp breath.
"Tch, quit with the yin-yang snark."
Taro flicked her on the forehead with a sharp knuckle.
"Shenhe... I can understand. But what's going on with Ganyu?"
"Was this your sister's idea, or Cloud-Retainer's?"
"Or both?"
He fully agreed that changing a person's fate required subtle, gradual influence.
He could accept that much.
But Ganyu... that was where things started to get strange.
You couldn't just say, "Well, since I'm already taking one in, I might as well take two,"
and stuff them both into his lap, right?
Buy one, get one free?
Shenhe had issues with her destiny.
Ganyu had issues with her heart?
How were those even the same thing?
"Of course it was my sister who set this up."
Yingda cheerfully sold her elder sister out without a second thought.
"Sis said that Sensei was already in on it."
"And that you agreed without hesitating at all."
I agreed? Since when?
"Aiya~"
Huoliya covered her mouth, laughing softly.
"At this rate, I'm not sure I can compete with Fanan anymore."
"..."
(End of Chapter)
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