Chapter 20

Lu Lin thought it over and decided not to grant the [Telepathy] entry to Xiangling for the time being.

The last time he had granted an entry to Ningguang, he realized that this particular entry had a remarkable effect on people who were harder to win over. With uses being limited, he wanted to save it.

There was another reason as well — he was planning to give Ningguang a little surprise very soon. Since the entry had a distance restriction, and Ningguang couldn't possibly visit the Serenitea Pot right now, it would have to take place somewhere in Liyue Harbor.

If he gave the entry to Xiangling at this moment, it would tie his hands and make him hesitant to act freely, since he'd always have to consider the state of the other holders and whether their surroundings were appropriate.

It would be so much better if the entry's function could be toggled on and off at will.

After completing the residency process, Lu Lin also built a house with an oversized kitchen right next to Hu Tao's Ghost Haunted House for Xiangling. She loved it immediately and said she wanted to spend the next few days decorating it properly.

"Brother Lu Lin, it's getting late — let's head back to Wanmin Restaurant for dinner~" With everything settled, Xiangling looped her arm through his and said cheerfully.

Lu Lin had originally planned to test out the newly acquired [Nimble Hands] entry on Xiangling first, but it really was getting late, and she still needed to go back to help at Wanmin Restaurant.

No matter. He could always try it on someone else. He'd give Xiangling a proper experience when she wasn't so busy.

The two left the Serenitea Pot and returned to Wanmin Restaurant for dinner. Xiangling stayed behind to help Master Mao, while Lu Lin strolled over to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.

Hu Tao still hadn't returned from Qingce Village — word was she'd be tied up there for another couple of days.

Perfect. That meant he could carry out his plan tonight without a care in the world.

Leaving the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, he made his way to Yuehai Pavilion to pick Ganyu up after work.

Ganyu had been working overtime the past two evenings and had finally cleared all her backlogged affairs, which meant she could spend some proper time with Lu Lin.

"Shall we go back to the Pot?" Outside Yuehai Pavilion, Ganyu held Lu Lin's hand, her voice soft and gentle. Two days apart had made her miss him dearly, and she was the one who took the initiative to suggest going to the Serenitea Pot.

What going to the Pot implied, both of them understood perfectly well — it was essentially an open invitation. For someone as reserved as Ganyu, taking that step on her own was no small thing.

"Missing me, are you?" Lu Lin looked at her shy, bashful expression and couldn't help ruffling her hair playfully. "Is that it?"

"Mm~ I've missed you a lot." Despite the faint blush on her cheeks, her answer was completely sincere, without a moment's hesitation.

Struck by such a direct confession, a sudden warmth welled up in Lu Lin's chest and spread through his entire body. Without caring that they were standing right at the entrance of Yuehai Pavilion, he pulled Ganyu into his arms.

"I've missed you too. So, so much."

"Don't… not here, there are so many people!" It was right at the end of the workday, and staff were coming and going through the entrance in a steady stream.

Ganyu wasn't used to being watched by so many eyes, but she didn't want Lu Lin to misunderstand her, so she buried her face deep into his chest.

Fortunately, the staff of Yuehai Pavilion were all quite perceptive — each one pretended not to notice and quickly made themselves scarce.

"Not here, then. Let's go to your place."

"Alright — wait, aren't we going to the Pot?"

"I want to see where you live. Is that okay?"

"Of course it is."

Ganyu's residence in Liyue Harbor wasn't far from Yuehai Pavilion — a quiet, secluded little courtyard that had been chosen especially for her.

The courtyard was filled with all manner of flowers. Ganyu loved nature and had a deep knowledge of plants and flora. She had even written a book called "Yujing Terrace Flora," which covered the characteristics, habits, and cultivation and care tips for a wide variety of plants — including methods for growing vegetables. Those sections, however, had all been crossed out.

Because she was afraid that if she learned how to grow vegetables, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from eating them all.

Even vegetables, eaten in excess, could cause weight gain — and that was something she absolutely could not allow.

Ganyu's room was furnished with elegant simplicity: a single bed, a bookshelf packed with books, a large wardrobe, and a wide writing desk. There were no lavish decorations to speak of.

The cool, ethereal young woman truly had no interest in material comforts. What she cared about was doing her work well and protecting Liyue. And now, there was one more thing she cared about — being with Lu Lin and keeping him safe.

The moment they stepped into Ganyu's room, Lu Lin barely had time to take in his surroundings before Ganyu wrapped her arms around him.

Their eyes met, their hearts in perfect understanding. No words were needed. Lu Lin captured her rosy lips and savored them slowly.

The exquisite softness and sweetness made him lose himself by degrees — and before he could even take the lead, a nimble little tongue slipped in first.

Perhaps the two days apart had made her miss him more than she let on, because today she was even more forward than before.

It made sense. They had only just gotten together, and they were deep in that intoxicating early stage of falling in love. A couple separated for two days, with no phones in this world to exchange their feelings — of course the longing would be especially intense.

And now, that longing was expressed through the most fervent kiss they had shared yet.

After a long while, their lips parted, a glistening thread drawn between them.

"Were you exhausted from work these past two days?" Lu Lin held her as they sat on the bed, asking in a gentle voice.

"Work is always tiring, of course — but now that I have you, whenever I think of you, the tiredness fades." Ganyu tilted her head, her pretty face flushed with warmth.

She was wearing a form-fitting blue-and-white outfit today, with a tailored jacket over it that traced her breathtaking curves. Around her neck hung a delicate little bell.

As she tilted her head, the bell swayed along with her — utterly adorable.

"Physical exhaustion can't be cured just by thinking of me. I've acquired a new entry that lets me relieve fatigue and improve circulation through massage. Want to try it?" Lu Lin murmured softly in her ear.

"Mm~" Ganyu knew Lu Lin far too well — none of his entries were ever entirely innocent, and this "massage" would certainly be no exception. But she agreed without a moment's hesitation, and even felt a small flutter of anticipation.

Lu Lin helped her out of her outer garments, leaving only her underclothes, then had her lie face-down on the bed and relax completely.

"Relax a little more — don't tense your muscles," he said, his hands gliding over her fair, smooth back as he began to knead gently.

He didn't actually know much in the way of massage technique — at best, he could rub shoulders and pat backs. But with [Nimble Hands] augmenting him, even that modest skill could produce remarkable results.

"Mm~ Lu Lin~" A wave of blissful relief washed over her aching, tired shoulders, and Ganyu couldn't help letting out a soft hum.

"How's the pressure? Is this amount alright?" Lu Lin increased the force slightly and asked with the air of a professional masseur.

"It… it's just right. It feels so good~" Ganyu exhaled a long, contented breath, feeling as though Lu Lin's hands were somehow magical.

Wherever his fingertips pressed, a current of warmth would bloom and spread through her limbs and body, chasing away the day's weariness.

"Then I'll keep this pressure for a while."

Lu Lin massaged her earnestly and single-mindedly for ten minutes. By the end, Ganyu had completely unwound, lying languidly on the bed and nearly drifting off to sleep.

But Lu Lin had no intention of letting her fall asleep.

Feeling that the massage had done its work, his hand slid down along her smooth, jade-like back and hooked around a white strap.

The strap came undone without a sound. In her drowsy haze, Ganyu didn't even notice that her upper half was now entirely unencumbered. His hand continued downward, closing around a firm, rounded swell of flesh.

She was wearing a one-piece black sheer bodysuit today. The quality was exceptional — silky smooth to the touch — and combined with the fullness and elasticity of Ganyu's figure, it made it impossible to get a proper grip.

This was the ultimate sensation.

Not the least bit discouraged, Lu Lin traced the curves of Ganyu's figure repeatedly, savoring the exquisite smoothness and firmness.

"Lu Lin~" Ganyu's beautiful eyes were half-open, half-closed, and a murmur like a sleepy whisper escaped her lips.

Wherever his fingers pressed and kneaded, faint currents of warmth trailed in their wake, converging toward Ganyu's lower abdomen…

After indulging for a while, Lu Lin's hands moved further down — along the inner thighs all the way to her slender calves, not leaving a single inch of skin untouched.

Traveling all the way down, he finally cradled her small, delicate feet in his hands.

Ganyu possessed a semi-divine lineage, and with her Vision beside her, both forces helped keep her body immaculate. Her beautiful feet carried not the slightest trace of any unpleasant scent — instead, they bore the faint, lingering fragrance of flowers.

Lu Lin now knew that this was the scent of clearheart blossoms.

Ganyu was an exceptionally sensitive girl, and her feet in particular were among her most sensitive spots — second only to a few more private areas. Caught off guard by his sudden grip, she snapped awake from her drowsy stupor in an instant.

"Ah! That tickles~" Startled by the sensation, her entire foot went rigid, a row of pearl-like toes spreading apart and then pressing back together.

Lu Lin held her foot firmly with one hand while the other delivered a rough approximation of a foot massage.

"Rough approximation" because he had no idea where the pressure points on the sole of a foot actually were, or which spots would be most effective.

But with the entry augmenting him, it didn't matter — every touch felt wonderful regardless.

What Ganyu felt this time was not a gentle warmth but wave after wave of something like electric current, shooting from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head. The sensation made her tremble lightly, and eventually she couldn't help squirming.

She probably had no idea what kind of visual impact that perfect curve of waist and hips could create with a single twist. Lu Lin felt as though every drop of blood in his body had been ignited by that one movement.

He abandoned his focus on the foot massage and moved back up, taking her slender hand and giving it a gentle tug.

Ganyu obediently rose from the bed and returned to his arms. The clasp of her top, already undone, slipped away naturally, revealing a dazzling expanse of white.

The movement had been somewhat abrupt, and the resulting sway — full and undulating — was a breathtaking sight.

He once again captured the girl's soft lips, his hand settling over the gently swaying fullness, caressing with slow, deliberate care…

Augmented by the entry, his hands carried an incomparable magic. When he attended to these key areas, the sensations he brought Ganyu were multiplied many times over.

And that already overwhelming feeling was amplified yet again by [Double Happiness].

And on top of that… there was feedback coming through [Telepathy] as well…?

"Lu Lin~ Ah!" The thought had barely flickered through Ganyu's mind before she let out a soft cry and clung tightly to Lu Lin.

Under the combined assault of multiple sensations, she felt the warmth that had been building in her lower abdomen reach a breaking point — and then it poured forth like a dam giving way to a flood…

Even Lu Lin hadn't anticipated that his enhanced manual technique would be this effective. They had barely even begun — still only at the first stage — and he had already brought her to the peak.

Ganyu's mind went completely blank. After quite a while, she came back to herself and noticed Lu Lin's hand preparing to venture further down. She quickly pressed it still.

"Lu Lin, I keep feeling feedback through [Telepathy] — isn't Hu Tao still in Qingce Village?"

The feedback had actually been there from the very beginning, only it hadn't been strong enough at first for her to notice, especially since she'd been half-asleep and drowsy. But as things had intensified at the critical moment, the feedback had become impossible to ignore — and having experienced this more than a few times herself, she knew exactly what it meant.

"Hu Tao isn't back yet, so it's not her."

"Then… then let's go to the Pot. Xiangling should be helping out at Wanmin Restaurant right now — she definitely can't be in that kind of state, it would affect her work…" Ganyu was quite considerate.

Ganyu had long suspected that Lu Lin had kissed Xiangling back at Guizhong's ruins, and after the two of them had gone out together for two days, it was only a matter of time before she became one of their own. She wasn't surprised in the least.

Well, to be fair, Xiangling was already her Junior Sister in a sense.

But what Ganyu hadn't expected was for Lu Lin to shake his head again. "Don't worry — it's not Xiangling either. She did move in, but I haven't given her [Telepathy]."

"Huh? Not Ganyu — wait, not me — then who is it? Who else have you gotten your hands on?" Ganyu blinked in mild surprise, then couldn't help giving his chest a light thump.

"What do you mean 'gotten my hands on'? My feelings for all of you are genuine!" Lu Lin protested, then added, "As for who it is — I'll keep that a mystery for now. You'll find out eventually."

Ganyu felt a tiny prick of jealousy and was about to press him further — but then she let out a startled gasp, and the question slipped entirely from her mind.

The earlier torrent had left things slick and yielding, and while she was distracted, Lu Lin's fingers had slipped in unnoticed, drawing a sharp cry from her.

"Jealous, are we?" Lu Lin gently rolled something small and round between his fingers, asking in a warm, unhurried tone.

"Don't… I'm… I'm not." Ganyu panted in small, quick breaths, barely able to string words together, her legs instinctively clamping shut.

"Alright, alright. The reason I'm not telling you is because things haven't worked out with her yet. I'll tell you once they do — I don't want you laughing at me. And besides, you hold a unique place in my heart that no one can ever replace~"