Five days had passed since Ryu's severely injured body was brought to Granny Ruoxin's house. The morning air in Qingce Village was fresh and dewy, but inside that room, time seemed frozen along with the lifeless young man in his bed.
Granny Ruoxin wiped the cold sweat from Ryu's forehead with a damp cloth. His breathing was regular but shallow, like someone trapped deep within their own dream. No rapid eye movement, no murmurs—just an extremely deep sleep, almost resembling a coma.
"Still hasn't woken up," the old woman murmured worriedly. His body was beginning to heal thanks to her ointments and herbs, but his spirit seemed reluctant to return.
The wooden door creaked softly. Yelan entered with silent steps, her face a bit weary after the long journey from Liyue Harbor.
"Granny Ruoxin."
"Yelan. Are your matters with Luo finished?"
Yelan nodded, placing a small bag on the table. "Done. I escorted him back to Qiaoying Village. The mission is complete. I also reported to the Adventurers' Guild in the Harbor this morning."
Her eyes shifted to the figure on the bed. "Him?"
"Still the same. Five days with no change."
Yelan approached the bed, observing Ryu's pale face. The furrow in his brow, the occasional irregular pulse in his wrist—all signs of an internal struggle. She pulled over a simple wooden chair and sat beside him, something she didn't usually do.
Granny Ruoxin watched her wisely. "A young man, alone, severely injured… usually, the unwritten rule states he should not be left without strict guardianship after recovery."
Yelan did not deny it. Her sharp eyes remained fixed on Ryu. "You know my nature, Granny Ruoxin. Sure you want to entrust someone to me? I'm not a caretaker."
Granny Ruoxin smiled faintly, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes becoming more pronounced. "But I'm confident you will protect him, not harm him."
The statement hung in the air. Yelan, who was usually always controlled, felt her heartbeat race for a moment.
In Teyvat, where the dynamics between women and men are often complicated by social expectations and scarcity, Granny Ruoxin's statement was not merely trust. It was almost like… an appointment. A bond.
She did not answer, only shifting her gaze to the window, where the morning sunlight was beginning to illuminate the terraced fields of Qingce Village.
---
In the dreamless darkness, Ryu drifted. Not in his apartment, not in the car wreckage, nor on the game map he memorized. Just boundless emptiness.
Suddenly, there was a pull. Like a hook catching his consciousness and yanking him upward forcefully.
Pain.
That was the first thing to greet him. Pain that was alive, breathing, and piercing every inch of his body. From his throbbing head, ribs that felt hammered, to his swollen ankle. He groaned softly, his voice hoarse and foreign to his own ears.
"Ughh…"
His eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the dim light filtering through the paper window. The ceiling was made of bamboo and wood, simple. A strong herbal scent filled his nose. In the distance, the steady sound of a waterwheel turning provided a backdrop that was both calming and foreign.
'Teyvat… Really here.'
He tried to lift his right arm. His muscles screamed, rebelling. As if his arm were weighted down with stones. Despairingly, he let it fall back, closing his eyes. His mind spun.
'Twice. Twice I've felt the brink of death. And now… in the world I supposedly longed for, I'm lying helpless like this. Cruel irony.'
He heard footsteps from outside, approaching. Instinct told him to squeeze his eyes shut tighter, to pretend he was still asleep. He wasn't ready. Not ready to face this new reality, especially not the mysterious woman who had saved him.
The door opened. Granny Ruoxin entered, followed by Yelan.
"Still no change," whispered Granny Ruoxin.
Yelan did not answer immediately. Her eyes, sharp like a hawk's, swept the room and landed on Ryu's face. She saw a slight tension in Ryu's eyelids, his breathing pattern changing almost imperceptibly.
'Putting on an act?' thought Yelan, and the corners of her lips twitched almost invisibly.
She stepped closer to the bed, her shadow falling over Ryu. Her voice came out, casual yet full of conviction, cutting through the room's tranquility.
"If you're awake, you should open your eyes. I know you're pretending to sleep."
Ryu took a deep breath, feeling the pain in his chest, and finally opened his eyes without turning his head. "I was trying to sleep again. This pain… is easier to bear when half-conscious."
Granny Ruoxin approached, touching his forehead. "That's natural. Lost a lot of blood, muscles and skin torn. It takes time."
Ryu finally turned his head, his blue eyes—a rare color in Liyue—meeting Yelan's greenish gaze, then Granny Ruoxin's wise face. "How much longer until I fully recover? At least… can walk slowly, do light things here?"
"You've been asleep for five days," answered Granny Ruoxin.
"With your current condition, maybe another two days to stand and walk slowly. But no running, no overexertion, and also…" She paused, choosing her words.
"And also… what?" asked Ryu, confused.
Yelan continued, her eyebrow slightly raised, studying Ryu's reaction. "Are you truly from another world? You don't know how dangerous it is for a man alone in the city or traveling in Teyvat?"
"Huh?!" Ryu choked out a surprised chuckle, his brain spinning fast.
The game Genshin Impact wasn't like this. There was no dialogue about 'danger for men alone'. Then, the pieces of information from Granny Ruoxin earlier, Yelan's attitude, everything began to form a picture. A terrifying yet absurd conclusion emerged in his mind.
'Gender… role reversal? Women dominant? Men protected, even restricted?'
His mind immediately jumped to the implications. A harem? That might be easy in theory, but there would be consequences, conflicts, and possessiveness. Every act of kindness could be misinterpreted as interest. Every interaction with female characters he knew from the 'game' could become fraught.
Then, there was a bigger problem. Nahida. The Dendro Archon who could read minds.
If she knew this world was a 'game' to Ryu, that all the stories were 'scripted'… chaos could ensue. It was a taboo. Especially Irminsul, the tree of knowledge that records everything. Add his status as a 'reincarnate' from another world… too risky.
The strategy was clear: claim to be a person lost from another world. Like Aether or Lumine. That was safer, though still full of uncertainty.
Ryu fell silent for a long time, processing all this. Behind the pain and confusion, there was a flicker of enthusiasm. He was lucky to be in Teyvat.
But its social reality turned out to be far more complex and dangerous than he had imagined. He wasn't stupid. He knew meeting his dream 'waifus' without understanding these new social rules was social, even physical, suicide.
His goal now was simple: recover, try to touch a Statue of The Seven (maybe get an element like the Traveler), and if possible… adventure. But with these new rules, would that even be possible?
Yelan observed the changing glint in Ryu's eyes—from pain, confusion, analytical, to finally accepting with cold determination. That wasn't the gaze of most men in Liyue, who were often naive or full of uncalculated passion.
"Well then," Yelan spoke, breaking the silence, "let's introduce ourselves properly. My name is Yelan."
Ryu snapped out of his reverie, looking at Yelan. In his heart, he saw the character he often used, built for Energy Recharge. But the one before him now was a real woman, with a gaze that could pierce souls. He nodded slowly, trying a small smile that felt stiff on his painful face. "Ryu. Just Ryu."
Granny Ruoxin smiled warmly. "You can call me Granny Ruoxin."
"Granny Ruoxin, Yelan," Ryu said, his voice still weak. "Could you help me sit up? I'm stiff in this position. And… I'm thirsty. Just plain water."
"Of course, dear," replied Granny Ruoxin. She turned. "Wait a moment, I'll get some water and prepare something light for your stomach." She left the room, leaving Ryu and Yelan alone.
Yelan stepped forward. With a seemingly effortless strength, she slipped one hand behind Ryu's back and the other supporting him, smoothly lifting him to a sitting position propped up by pillows. Her touch was professional, but Ryu could feel the warmth and strength from her hands.
After Ryu was stable, Yelan did not move away. She stood by the bedside, crossing her arms. "You know, I'm the one who found you on the cliff. And to save your nearly departed life, I used one of my precious Elixirs."
Ryu turned to her, sensing something else behind her words. "Thank you… for saving me. Really. About that Elixir… I will try to repay it later, after I'm well and can work."
"Hoo?" Yelan smirked, an expression of curiosity and slight amusement appearing on her face.
"A man… 'working' to pay off a debt. Do you know the price of the Elixir I used?"
Ryu shook his head, feeling a bad premonition.
"Thirty million Mora."
The number hung in the air like a blow. Ryu coughed, his heart immediately pounding. Thirty million?! In the game, he could farm Mora, but in this real world? Without an inventory, without clear quest rewards? It was an astronomically huge, nearly impossible amount for a newcomer.
Yelan observed the faint panic on Ryu's face with satisfaction. Then, with a theatrical and smooth movement, she produced a piece of paper from within her robe. The paper was thick, of good quality, with a broken wax seal.
"Because of that," Yelan continued, her voice suddenly becoming low and nuanced, "I'm giving you two choices, Ryu."
Ryu looked at her, breathing slowly.
"Option one: Pay the debt of 30 million Mora. With no definite deadline, but with interest that will continue to accumulate. You will live with a debt you may never be able to repay."
Yelan extended the paper towards Ryu. At the top, it was clearly written: "Marriage Contract".
"Or, option two…" Yelan's voice sounded very clear in the silent room.
"…sign this marriage contract with me. As my partner—legally—I will erase your debt. In return, you will be under my protection and… supervision."
Ryu could only stare at her, mouth slightly agape, his brain as if struck by a hammer.
"Huh?! Can… can you repeat that?"
His face must have looked very foolish and shocked, because Yelan finally truly smiled—a smile not just at the corners of her lips, but a genuine one, making her usually sharp eyes squint a little warmer, though still full of mystery.
"You heard correctly, Ryu. Marry me, or live with a lifelong debt. Choose wisely." She brought the contract closer, so Ryu could see the complex formal Liyue language script.
"This is not a joke. In this world, for an unknown man like you, having a legal bond with someone influential like me… could be a veiled blessing. Or," her eyes blinked, "the most luxurious trap."
Ryu stared at the paper, then at Yelan's beautiful yet inscrutable face, then towards the door where Granny Ruoxin had not yet returned. His heart pounded erratically, not just from illness, but from total bewilderment, shock, and a bitter realization: His adventure in Teyvat would never be like what he had imagined in front of his computer screen before.
Here, the rules were different. And the stakes, far more personal.