Why Does This Plot Seem So Familiar?

[Waaah, why are the numbers getting worse and worse? Waaah]

[I don't want to write anymore, waaah]

[Dear readers, please follow me, send gifts, add this to your bookshelves, and leave comments]

[Only with follows, readers keeping up, and gifts will I have the motivation to update]

[Otherwise I'm not updating anymore oxo]

Ningguang pressed a fingertip beneath Baichen's chin, gently lifting his exquisite face.

The young man was forced to look up at the most powerful woman in Liyue, her approaching face reflected in his amber eyes.

"What are you afraid of?" Ningguang's red lips brushed his earlobe, her voice like melted honey. "It's not as if I'll eat you... at least, not yet... maybe."

Baichen's back was pressed against the bed.

The expensive scent of agarwood on Ningguang surrounded him, mingling with a faint trace of face powder and making him dizzy.

[System alert!]

[High-risk intimate contact detected]

[Host vital signs: heart rate ↑↑↑, body temperature ↑↑↑]

[Shit! This woman is serious!]

H-help...

Why is this happening again? Fuck.

Her fingernails were painted vermilion, like blood-dripping blades in the moonlight.

"Did Yelan touch you here?" Her fingertip stopped on a faint red mark and suddenly pressed down hard.

"Ah!" Pain shot through Baichen, and his eyes instantly filled with tears.

Ningguang chuckled. "So cute... even more enticing than my most precious jade..."

"Mm... Lady Ningguang... please control yourself..."

His feeble protest was smothered by a sudden kiss.

Ningguang's lips were softer than Yelan's, but her kiss was forceful and impossible to resist.

She easily pried his teeth apart, her tongue plunging in to plunder every inch of the young man's mouth.

Only when he was about to suffocate did Ningguang reluctantly release his lips.

"Breathe, cutie." She chuckled and wiped away the strand of saliva at the corner of his mouth. "The show's only just begun..."

(It got banned, waaah)

Just as Ningguang was about to take the final step, a frantic knock suddenly came from outside the door.

"Lady Ningguang!" Ganyu's voice came through the door. "Something's happened in the Chasm!"

Ningguang paused, a flash of annoyance in her eyes. She slowly straightened up, her fingertip lingering on the young man's lips:

"Wait here." She adjusted her collar. "I'll be back soon... to continue."

The moment the door closed, Baichen curled up as though he had been granted a pardon.

His lips burned with pain.

System! Hurry up and think of something!

[Aren't you a fucking idiot?]

[Run, dumbass!]

[Where's the firework Yoimiya gave you?!]

[Speechless]

Aren't you the fucking idiot?

Baichen scrambled through his luggage and pulled out the "long-lasting rainbow firework."

Following Yoimiya's instructions, he aimed the firework out the window and pulled the fuse-

"Whoosh!"

A streak of rainbow light shot silently into the night sky, spreading into a soft net beneath the Jade Chamber.

Baichen closed his eyes and jumped, landing in the cushioning net made of cold light and sliding down its slope toward the rooftops of Feiyun Slope.

The night wind whistled past, blowing away the heat in his body.

Barefoot, Baichen ran across Liyue's maze of rooftops, stopping to catch his breath only after making sure he was far from the Jade Chamber.

"Young master, enjoying the moon from the rooftops in the middle of the night?"

A voice as clear as a spring came from behind him.

Baichen spun around and saw Yun Jin sitting on an upturned eave, her opera costume's flowing sleeves shimmering faintly in the moonlight.

Tonight she was dressed as Shenhe from Divine Damsel of Devastation. Her silver-white wig and blue-and-white opera costume made her look like an immortal beneath the moon.

"M-Miss Yun?!"

Yun Jin leaped lightly to his side, her opera boots landing soundlessly on the tiles. "Did Lady Ningguang frighten you?"

She gave the young man's lips a pointed look. "Or... was it Miss Yelan?"

Baichen pulled his collar tight, the tips of his ears burning red with embarrassment.

Yun Jin chuckled and lightly raised a flowing sleeve:

"If you don't mind, you may stay at my humble home for the night." She pointed to an elegant little building nearby. "The Yun-Han Opera Troupe's back courtyard is fairly quiet."

[Yun Jin's favorability +3%, current: 21%]

[Note: unexpected rescue]

The Yun-Han Opera Troupe's back courtyard was simpler than he had imagined.

Yun Jin's bedroom was simply furnished. The most conspicuous items were a makeup mirror that took up an entire wall and several trunks stuffed with opera costumes.

She took out a set of plain white underclothes and handed them to Baichen:

"Change into these first." She turned around and pulled the screen closed. "Don't worry, I'm not interested in children."

For some reason, those words left Baichen a little disappointed.

He changed into the clean underclothes. The fabric carried a faint scent of sandalwood, and the hem fell just to the middle of his thighs.

"Pfft..." Yun Jin couldn't help laughing when she saw him. "It looks like a little skirt."

She beckoned Baichen over to sit at the dressing table and took out a box of ointment. "Your lips are broken."

She dabbed her fingertip in the cool ointment and gently applied it to the wounds. "Lady Ningguang really... doesn't know her own strength."

The ointment carried the delicate fragrance of lotus flowers, and it quickly eased the burning pain.

Yun Jin's movements were gentle and practiced, as though she were applying her own makeup before going onstage.

[Item obtained: Yun Jin's lip balm]

[Effect: repairs wounds, charm +3%]

"There." Yun Jin clapped her hands. "Sleep on the little couch over there." She pointed to a couch by the window. "I have lines to memorize tonight, so I might disturb you."

Baichen obediently lay down, and Yun Jin covered him with a thin quilt embroidered with cloud patterns.

Just as he was drifting off to sleep, a melodious operatic voice floated into his ears:

"Snow weighs the branches low, but though they bend, they touch no mud..."

Morning sunlight streamed through the window lattice. Baichen blearily opened his eyes and found an opera costume jacket draped over him.

Yun Jin was no longer in the room. She had left a note on the dressing table:

"Gone to morning practice. Breakfast is in the kitchen; help yourself. -Yun Jin"

Several lotus-shaped buns were being kept warm in a bamboo steamer in the kitchen, with a pot of light tea beside it.

Baichen was eating when the courtyard gate suddenly swung open and Ganyu rushed in, out of breath:

"So this is where you are!" Morning dew clung to her qilin horns. "All of Liyue is looking for you!"

Today, Ganyu wore practical short garments that were easy to move in, her long blue hair tied high. She looked much more efficient than usual.

She looked Baichen's outfit up and down, her gaze lingering for a moment on the obviously oversized underclothes.

"Yun Jin... didn't do anything to you, did she?"

Baichen shook his head, and Ganyu visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "It's the last day of the festival, and Lady Ningguang has arranged many activities." She took out a brand-new outfit. "Please change first."

The outfit was clearly tailored to his measurements: a pale purple long robe paired with a white sash, retaining Inazuman elements while incorporating Liyue style.

As Ganyu helped Baichen tie the sash, her fingers accidentally brushed his waist, and both of them blushed.

[Ganyu's favorability +2%, current: 29%]

[Note: innocent interaction]

The final day's festival activities were held at Yujing Terrace.

By the time Baichen and Ganyu arrived, the square was already packed with people.

Keqing was directing the Millelith to maintain order. When she saw the two of them, she immediately came over:

"We finally found you." She breathed a sigh of relief, then suddenly leaned close to Baichen's ear. "Nicely done last night."

Today, Keqing wore a practical purple combat outfit, her cat-tail hairstyle swaying gently as she moved. She slipped a small mechanical bird into Baichen's hand:

"Press here if you're in danger." She demonstrated with the button on the bird's back. "It'll sound a piercing alarm."

[Keqing's favorability +3%, current: 24%]

[Item obtained: Keqing's mechanical bird]

[Effect: emergency distress signal]

A huge stage had been set up in the center of the square, where Hu Tao was performing the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's "special act"-a coffin dance.

She leaped nimbly between several coffins, her plum-blossom pupils sparkling.

"Baichen!" On seeing a familiar face, Hu Tao jumped straight down from the stage. "Was last night's rooftop parkour exciting?"

Somehow, she had heard about it. She circled Baichen excitedly. "Take me with you next time! The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor has professional coffins!"

[Hu Tao's favorability +2%, current: 26%]

[Note: eager to stir up trouble]

At noon, Ningguang finally appeared on the main stage.

Her gaze swept across the crowd and paused slightly when she saw Baichen, a complicated light flashing in her amber eyes.

"Thank you all for participating in this year's festival." Her voice carried across the venue through magic. "The final highlight-'Liyue Qixing's Blessing'-is about to begin."

For "Liyue Qixing's Blessing," seven of Liyue's leaders had each prepared a gift for lucky audience members to draw.

When Ganyu pushed Baichen onto the stage, a meaningful smile curled Ningguang's lips:

"It seems our honored guest is interested." She took out an exquisite brocade box. "Would you like to try your luck?"

Inside the box was a gold-set jade ring, gleaming in the sunlight.

The audience below gasped. This was clearly beyond the scope of a "small gift."

"Try it on?" Ningguang took Baichen's hand and whispered in his ear, "About last night... we'll continue tonight."

The ring was forcibly slipped onto his ring finger, and it fit perfectly. Baichen tried to take it off, but found it wouldn't budge.

[Item obtained: Ningguang's gold and jade ring]

[Effect: location tracking (forced binding)]

[Ningguang's favorability +5%, current: 50%]

After the event ended, Baichen used the excuse of going to the restroom to sneak out of the venue.

He hid in an alley and examined the ring, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't take it off.

"Need a hand?"

At some point, Beidou had leaned against the wall at the entrance to the alley, her arms folded across her chest.

Today she wore her signature captain's outfit, her exposed waist and abdomen well-defined.

"A trick from that woman Ningguang?" She walked over and gripped the ring with her rough fingers, twisting it. "Tsk, there's a restriction on it."

Beidou suddenly grinned. "Want to come out to sea with me?" She pointed toward the distant harbor. "The Crux Fleet sets sail tonight. I guarantee Ningguang won't be able to find you."

[Beidou's favorability +3%, current: 28%]

[Note: poaching in progress]

Just as Baichen hesitated, a fragrant breeze swept over him. Yelan appeared like a ghost at the other end of the alley, her long dark-blue hair fluttering in the wind.

"It's not nice to steal people away, Captain Beidou," she said lazily, playing with a piece of jade in her hand. "Especially... a cutie who already belongs to someone."

Yelan and Beidou's gazes clashed in midair. Baichen took the chance to back away a few steps, then turned and ran.

Behind him came their laughter, followed by Yelan's meaningful call:

"Run, run... I'll come catch you tonight~"