Chapter 21

"You… you scoundrel — you're already tormenting someone else before you've even succeeded with her?" Ganyu shot him a languid, half-lidded glare.

"She's just a bit stubborn. Let her experience a little pleasure first — maybe she won't be so stubborn after that." Lu Lin's nimble hands worked even harder, and Ganyu bit down on her silver teeth, unable to say another word.

The wave that crashed over her this time came even faster than the last. Ganyu's body went rigid all at once; she clutched Lu Lin's waist in a death grip and sank her teeth into his shoulder.

Whoosh~

A long while passed before Ganyu slowly relaxed, leaning against Lu Lin's chest with no desire to move.

"Well? My newly learned massage technique isn't bad, is it? You're my very first customer." Lu Lin withdrew his hand, drawing out a long, slender thread of silk.

"It really is… incredible~" Ganyu's sweet, breathless praise was music to Lu Lin's ears.

"By the way, if you're so curious about who she is, you should help me win her over faster."

"Huh? You won't even tell me who she is — how am I supposed to help?"

"Simple. Just keep sending her wave after wave of that extreme feedback. That's the best help you can give…"

One of the key criteria for judging whether a pair of stockings is truly top quality — beyond comfort and texture — is how well they hold up to being torn.

Stockings that tear easily are the finest stockings of all!

The black silk Ganyu was wearing was, without question, top-quality — and they split open with a single pull. Lu Lin was very satisfied.

After tearing them open, there was still a thoroughly soaked scrap of fabric in the way, but that was no obstacle at all — a quick sweep to the side took care of it.

"Mmh~ Lu Lin~" Accompanied by Ganyu's uniquely plaintive cry, Lu Lin straightened his back, tilted his head toward the ceiling, and exhaled a long breath.

Outside the window, the pure light of the moon spilled in, casting a constantly swaying shadow on the wall. As time passed, the shadow swayed wider and wider, its rhythm growing faster and faster…

During his conversation with Keqing in the daytime, Lu Lin had learned indirectly that Ningguang kept a very regimented life. Unless something important came up, she would spend her evenings working overtime at the Jade Chamber or reading — she rarely went out.

Tomorrow was the Rite of the Descension, and nothing could be more important than that. So tonight she would certainly stay in, retire early after finishing her business with Keqing, and conserve her energy for tomorrow's ceremony.

That was precisely why Lu Lin had chosen this moment. Ningguang was in all likelihood already resting and would not be caught in an unusual state by anyone else.

He wanted to conquer her, but he had no desire to embarrass her in front of others — ideally not even the maidservants in her household should know.

To guard against accidents, Lu Lin had deliberately started by giving Ganyu a massage, gradually and methodically increasing the intensity. That way, even if Ningguang had not yet retired and was still talking with someone, she would have enough time to compose herself when she noticed something was off.

But an accident happened anyway.

What Lu Lin had not anticipated was that Keqing and Ningguang's relationship was far closer than he had imagined.

This exceeded his understanding. In his mind, before the crisis involving the Hydro Archon Osial, Keqing and Ningguang had been on perfectly ordinary terms.

But the reality was quite different — their apparent distance was a façade they had deliberately cultivated.

After returning to Liyue Harbor, Keqing had gone straight to the Jade Chamber. Her secondary purpose was to report on the monster-clearing operation; her primary purpose was to chat.

Chat about what?

Naturally, about all the unique insights she had heard from Lu Lin that day — his views on the gods, on how to govern Liyue, on the relationship between adepti and mortals, and more.

Keqing's attitude toward Rex Lapis could be called heretical by most people's standards, and very few understood her convictions and foresight.

Ningguang happened to be one of those rare few — though Ningguang was far more guarded, and her approach to these matters was quite different from Keqing's.

She did not make her views as obvious as Keqing did; on this subject she kept an extremely low profile, which was why the closeness between the two of them was unknown to others.

After Keqing had gathered such a wealth of thought-provoking sparks from her conversation with Lu Lin, she was eager to share them with Ningguang.

Ningguang was astonished by what Keqing shared. She had never imagined that the man she considered a shameless scoundrel could possess such remarkable foresight and insight.

Though she had no respect for Lu Lin's character, she was not about to ignore information of such significance to commerce and the governance of Liyue.

The two of them talked with great enthusiasm, growing more and more animated — they simply could not stop.

That was easily solved: Ningguang simply invited Keqing to stay the night at the Jade Chamber, so they could talk by candlelight until dawn and sleep side by side.

The two were close Besties in private, and sharing a bed for a night of whispered conversation was hardly the first time. Keqing accepted with delight.

Lu Lin had originally left Ningguang ample time to manage the situation — but by a twist of fate, she had invited Keqing to sleep beside her. How was she supposed to manage it now?

There was simply no managing it.

The two of them were lying in bed, happily chatting away, when Ningguang suddenly felt something strange.

It was hard to describe — just an inexplicable tremor, and it felt… rather pleasant.

But it made no sense!

These past few days, with all the preparations for the Rite of the Descension, things had been complicated and her workload had increased considerably. She was exhausted through and through, and she hadn't done any self-care tonight — so why would she suddenly feel so comfortable?

Just as that thought crossed her mind, a warm current swept through her aching lower back, and her fatigue vanished in an instant.

The sensation was exactly like someone giving her a massage — yet beside her there was no one but Keqing, who was still talking away with an animated expression.

What was going on?

Ningguang turned her head and looked around, a puzzled expression on her face.

"What's wrong? Are you looking for something?" Noticing her distraction, Keqing found it a little odd — she had been listening so attentively just a moment ago.

"It's nothing. Where were you just now? Let's continue." Ningguang shook her head.

Ten minutes passed. Keqing paused and looked at Ningguang with a puzzled expression. "What's the matter with you? Your face is very flushed — are you feeling unwell?"

Ningguang bit her lip, not knowing how to answer.

I'm not unwell. I feel far too well.

By now she had already realized something was wrong — this feeling was deeply off.

She might be an untouched maiden, but she was widely read, and her knowledge was anything but lacking. This sensation — how was it identical to what certain books described?

A tingling, numbing feeling, like being shocked by a Thunder element.

Could Keqing be playing a trick on me?

She dismissed the thought immediately. Setting aside the fact that Keqing's concerned gaze seemed entirely genuine, there had been no elemental fluctuations in this room whatsoever.

What on earth was happening?

Ningguang felt she was going mad. The maddening, itching sensation grew stronger and stronger. Her full, slender legs tangled together as she instinctively rubbed them against each other.

This can't go on.

"Keqing, I've been thinking — what you mentioned is very important, and we really should discuss it in a proper setting. I still have to preside over the Rite of the Descension tomorrow, so I need to rest early. Why don't we call it here for tonight and find a time to talk in detail later?"

"That works. Let's sleep then!" Keqing also felt they shouldn't stay up too late and ruin Ningguang's plans for tomorrow, so she immediately moved to turn off the light.

"Actually, Keqing… I've been sleeping very lightly lately, and I wake up easily. I think I'd really prefer to sleep alone tonight. I'm truly sorry…"

Keqing was no fool — couldn't she tell something was wrong?

"Ningguang, be honest with me — what's going on? Are you feeling unwell? I'll go find Bai Wen and get a doctor!"

"Don't! Don't get Bai Wen!" Ningguang quickly stopped her.

"But the way you look…"

"I… I'm not sick, it's just… Ah… it feels so good…"

Keqing: ???

She instantly wondered if she had misheard, or if Ningguang had lost her mind.

I'm this worried about you, and you say it feels good?

At this moment, Ningguang's expression was flushed with a spring-like warmth, her clothes disheveled from her own unconscious movements, and beneath the covers her legs twisted and rubbed together ceaselessly…

Keqing came to her senses. Ningguang's reaction was almost identical to what books described as being under the influence of that kind of drug. Had someone poisoned her?

But we had dinner together, and we drank from the same pot of water — so why am I perfectly fine?

Ningguang was already being battered by wave after wave of extreme pleasure — this was Lu Lin's enhanced technique stacked on top of the effects of [Double Happiness] and [Telepathy].

She simply could not withstand it.

"Mmh~ Lu Lin!!" When the pleasure accumulated to its absolute peak and finally erupted, her whole body shuddered, and her voice came out impossibly soft and sweet.

Keqing's eyes went wide. She had witnessed this before!

More precisely — not witnessed, but heard.

The sounds that had echoed through the valley at Cuijue Slope last night were identical to the sounds Ningguang was making right now.

Even the name she called out was the same.

But wait — why was Ningguang also calling Lu Lin's name? What did he have to do with this?

With Lu Lin's name coming up in a scene like this, Keqing couldn't help but think back to that awkward moment this morning, and a charming flush crept across her pretty face.

After the impact of that moment, Ningguang had completely lost her strength. She slumped sideways against the bed, gasping for breath.

"Ningguang, you…" Keqing wasn't quite sure how to begin.

"Don't… don't call anyone. And you… don't go either…" Ningguang had completely shed her usual cool and aloof composure; her brows were filled with an irresistibly alluring charm.

"All right, I'll stay with you. I won't go." Keqing was embarrassed, but this was her close Bestie — she couldn't possibly just walk out on her at a moment like this.

"But you have to tell me what's going on. How did you suddenly… and just now you called Lu Lin's name — what does he have to do with this?" Keqing's cat-like mind was full of questions; she was simply too curious.

Especially why, at the moment Ningguang reached her peak, she had called out Lu Lin's name. Had she fallen for him just from hearing Keqing talk about him?

Ningguang didn't seem like the type to be so lovesick!

In truth, the two of them were each hiding something from the other.

Keqing had only told Ningguang about Lu Lin's novel ideas and perspectives, omitting the part where she had eavesdropped at the valley entrance and then explored the valley herself.

And when Ningguang heard Lu Lin's name from Keqing's lips, she had also chosen to keep a straight face, saying nothing about the fact that the two of them were already acquainted.

So when Ningguang cried out Lu Lin's name at her peak, Keqing was thoroughly baffled.

Why had she called out his name? It certainly wasn't because she had genuinely fallen for Lu Lin. Rather, at the moment the pleasure reached its zenith, a flash of clarity had struck her mind, and she had grasped the key to the whole situation.

It had to be Lu Lin using some unconventional method again!

This method must be connected to how he had threatened her with photographs into residing in the Serenitea Pot.

The day after she moved in, he had gone to Cuijue Slope with Xiangling. By the time he returned to Liyue Harbor, she had encountered this — who else could it be but him pulling strings?

That shameless bastard! She had been so incredibly careful, and yet she had still underestimated him!

She had known from the start that his forcing her into the Serenitea Pot with those photographs was no good deed.

But faced with Keqing's questions, Ningguang didn't know where to begin. Having been sent to her peak right in front of Keqing was already mortifying enough — if she let her know about the photographs and the coercion…

Ningguang shook her head. Absolutely not. Keqing could never know.

Lu Lin's methods were too outrageously powerful — there was simply no guarding against them. Keqing had a strong sense of justice; if she found out Ningguang had been wronged by him, she would certainly charge over to stand up for her, and that would only end up getting Keqing hurt.

Ningguang did not believe Keqing could handle Lu Lin. His abilities were too strange and unpredictable, and his character was vile — if Keqing provoked him, she would find it just as hard to escape his clutches.

"I… I was just a little worked up, so I…" Ningguang found it genuinely difficult to say, but to brush past the moment, she steeled herself and continued:

"My standards are high — I have no interest in ordinary men. But I do have certain… needs, so occasionally I take care of them myself. You… you can understand that, right? I got a little excited listening to you just now, and so…

In the end I just called out Lu Lin's name on impulse. It has nothing to do with him! Nothing at all!"

Ningguang was truly putting in the effort. To keep Keqing from getting dragged into this, she admitted it was her own needs that had driven her to act, and firmly refused to connect it to Lu Lin.

Could Keqing understand?

Of course she could — she had done the same thing just last night.

But she was no fool. Who gets so worked up chatting with their Bestie that they start pleasuring themselves on the spot? That was absolutely not something Ningguang would do.

And besides…

Ningguang, I can already see those two strawberry marks.