With his brain giving him Darkened support, Ryou's confidence shot up. He looked at Keqing. "Keqing-chan, let me handle one file first. You check it, then tell me whether I can do it or not. If I can, I'll finish everything for you in thirty minutes, and then you eat properly with me. Deal?"
"..."
Keqing hesitated.
These files weren't something you could casually pass down. Even if she handed them to her subordinates, it still took time, and if anything went wrong it became a headache. Just the back-and-forth would burn time, and she always triple-checked her own work for that reason.
But seeing how worried Ryou was about her, she paused for a moment before speaking. "I'll give you one chance. It's not that I don't trust you—I know you're talented. It's just that this kind of work needs someone trained for it. If a mistake slips through, it'll be a mess. And these have to be sent out. If I have to revise them later, we won't make the deadline."
Ryou laughed, leaned in, and kissed her lips. "Just wait. I'm about to surprise you."
"Then I'll be watching," Keqing said, rolling her eyes, though she didn't have much confidence.
In her mind, Ryou shined more in business. His father had wanted him to go into commerce too, and he'd only joined the Ministry of Civil Affairs because of her. Keqing believed he had talent—just not in engineering and construction.
Still, she couldn't help wondering why he sounded so sure of himself. Did he actually understand this stuff?
Engineering and construction planning needed real on-site consideration before you could be certain, and a lot of proposals took careful thought. Even after doing this for so long, she couldn't claim she could handle every single file perfectly.
And he was saying thirty minutes.
Then she watched Ryou get serious and start working.
A few minutes later, he was done.
Keqing's shoulders sank. What kind of result could you get in a few minutes?
With a quiet sigh, she took the file and started reading, focusing on the notes and revisions.
After a few lines, she froze.
She read it again, slower this time, then kept going—thinking through the logic behind it. When the key points clicked into place, her eyes lit up. "Okay—this idea is amazing. It solves both sides at once, and some of these changes are even more practical. You even save space here… I… how did I not think of this?"
"See? You believe me now?" Ryou winked at her.
He couldn't waste time, though. Thirty minutes wasn't long.
And that 500% brainpower boost only lasted thirty minutes.
"Mm." Keqing nodded.
Ryou's ideas were sharp because a lot of them borrowed from modern housing and construction concepts. For Keqing, it was like being hit with a completely different way of thinking.
[Ding! Hands entering Darkened Mode!]
[Ding! Enhanced Mode active. Hand speed increases by 70% for 30 minutes!]
Brain: Hands, if you and I work together, nothing can stop us!
Hands: Big bro!
Brain: Little bro!
Kidneys: Enough already. Getting all emotional, huh? You two only last thirty minutes—what's the point? My state lasts until Master dies!
Hands: …
Brain: …
Ryou ignored them.
With his hands and brain both going all-out, his speed exploded. In under thirty minutes, he had every last piece of work handled and organized.
He finally set the paperwork down and let out a long breath.
Good thing he finished within the time limit. If his brain went back to normal, wrapping everything up would get messy fast.
Keqing stood there, completely stunned.
She flipped through the files and found every single one processed—plus extra notes marking key priorities and focus points. With something like this, they could save an enormous amount of time. For everyone involved, the workload would get lighter by a huge margin.
"You're incredible!" Keqing blurted out, excited enough to kiss him.
Ryou held her and kissed her back. With one arm around her, he said, "That's right. Your man's good at everything. Come on—let's eat. I'll feed you later."
Just thinking about getting all-attribute boosts by eating made him visibly more energized. Chances like this were rare, and wasting one would be criminal.
Keqing's face went red at his words.
Her mind flashed to last night, and a nervous chill ran through her.
Maybe last night was just him overperforming.
Probably.
Tonight should be easier on her.
Right…?
[End of chapter]
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