Chapter 8

"But I want something sweeter." He wrapped his arm around Ganyu's waist, pulled her gently but firmly into his embrace, and lowered his head to capture her soft, sweet lips.

"Lu Lin~" In the midst of their kiss, Ganyu let out soft, breathless murmurs from time to time, her helplessly tender voice only fueling Lu Lin's boldness further.

It is a well-known fact that when boys kiss, their hands tend to have a mind of their own — and Lu Lin was no exception.

His right hand cradled Ganyu's waist, gently caressing it, then slowly climbed up along the straight line of her back until his fingers found a ribbon tie.

His left hand was even more daring, tracing along her waistline and claiming a vast expanse of territory in one smooth motion.

There was one thing Lu Lin felt he needed to clarify: people always said Ganyu was Liyue's ice queen, but after his own personal research, he felt that assessment was at least one full grade too low.

Even through the nightgown, the exquisitely soft sensation made his heart race, and he kissed her harder, wishing he could fold her entirely into himself.

Caught off guard by the sudden occupation of her heights, Ganyu's legs went rigid, her shoes slipping off, and her flawlessly pale little feet instinctively gave light, helpless kicks against Lu Lin's shins.

"Lu Lin~ the tangyuan aren't finished yet~" Gasping for breath during a brief pause in the kiss, Ganyu pleaded softly.

"Mm, then sit on my lap and I'll keep feeding you." Lu Lin genuinely felt bad that she hadn't eaten much, so he wrapped his arm around her waist, picked up the bowl from the table, and continued to feed her.

Ganyu leaned against Lu Lin, limp and soft, completely drained of strength.

She had been under the influence of [Double Happiness] the entire time — every wonderful sensation Lu Lin had brought her was amplified twofold. She felt like a tiny boat adrift on a vast ocean, being swallowed by the waves was only a matter of time.

"Are you full?" When Ganyu swallowed the last tangyuan, Lu Lin asked warmly.

"Mm~" Ganyu gave a small nod. Perhaps because of the soft, glutinous tangyuan, her voice came out equally soft and glutinous.

"You're full, but I'm not — so I'll just continue then~" Lu Lin flashed a mischievous grin.

What he didn't expect was that Ganyu suddenly became even more proactive than him. Her jade-like hands wrapped around his neck, and she leaned close to his ear, her warm breath carrying a faint floral fragrance: "Then where would you like to continue~"

She had undone her braids during her afternoon nap, and now her blue hair cascaded like a waterfall, her eyes brimming with tender feeling, radiating breathtaking allure.

Lu Lin gently stroked her soft, silky hair, his hand slowly moving upward until it reached the black-and-red qilin horns atop her head.

"Ah!" Ganyu's qilin horns were already sensitive by nature, and with [Double Happiness] amplifying everything, even the lightest touch from Lu Lin was enough to flush her face a deep shade of pink.

The qilin horns felt wonderful to the touch — not cold at all, but warm and smooth, like a piece of warm jade.

As Lu Lin's fingers traced back and forth, Ganyu's breathing grew heavier, and a faint, orchid-like fragrance drifted from her, enticing Lu Lin to lower his head once more and reclaim her lips.

His hand slid downward with practiced ease — he had already located the ribbon tie earlier — and with a gentle tug, the slightly loose nightgown slipped silkily free, falling half-open without resistance.

Her skin, like white jade and mutton-fat nephrite, seemed to have been soaked in milk — white with a rosy blush beneath.

Lu Lin leaned down once more.

In that moment, he wholeheartedly agreed with Qiqi's opinion: coconut milk really does taste amazing.

When Ganyu was on the verge of losing all her strength entirely, Lu Lin scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed in three swift strides, setting her down gently.

Even though Ganyu had long since resolved to hold on to the warmth Lu Lin brought her, she was still flushed crimson from head to toe, like a perfectly ripened apple.

But she fought through her shyness and propped herself up, and like a dutiful little wife, helped Lu Lin undo…

"Lu Lin~!!!"

The heart-shaped tail feathers of the Rosy Fantail Dove embroidered on the bedding were already red, but now they were stained with a deeper, richer crimson, making them all the more vivid…

By the time the storm had passed and calm was restored, three hours had gone by.

Lu Lin reclined against the headboard while Ganyu curled up in his arms, sleeping soundly and sweetly.

She was utterly exhausted. Even with a body that was half-divine, she had her limits.

Lu Lin's physical constitution was extraordinarily robust — he showed no signs of fatigue even after three hours — and with [Double Happiness] stacking on top of everything, it was all too easy to push past the limits of Ganyu's semi-divine body.

By Lu Lin's count, she had surpassed her limits at least six or seven times.

To be fair, that was already incredibly impressive — after all, this was her first time going to such lengths with the great demon king Lu Lin.

Lu Lin shifted on the bed, then got up and carried Ganyu downstairs to the bed on the first floor to rest. There was no choice — the bedding on the second floor was completely soaked through, far too uncomfortable, and he hadn't thought to prepare a spare set.

That [Double Happiness] entry had truly earned its keep in achieving this result! He wondered what kind of extraordinary effect it would have when combined with [Telepathy].

With that thought, Lu Lin operated the System and assigned the [Telepathy] entry to Ganyu.

[Telepathy]: Can be granted to multiple holders. When one holder experiences intense emotional fluctuation, other holders within a certain range will share the feeling. (1/5)

Ganyu slept on peacefully, unaware that she had just gained another entry. The good days were still ahead of her.

Lu Lin then opened her Residence Panel — a new feature unlocked after she moved in.

[Resident Member: Ganyu]

[Age: 3000+]

[Greatness Grade: D]

[Elemental Attribute: Cryo]

[Signature Weapon: Amos' Bow]

[Entries Held: Double Happiness, Telepathy]

[Conquest Progress: 100%]

Wait — what on earth was "Greatness Grade"?

Did it refer to how great her… figure was?

That had to be it. Cross-referencing with the data from his personal research today, it matched perfectly with what the System had given.

And what was "Conquest Progress"? Already at one hundred percent — could it be because of today…?

Lu Lin was now certain that this Character Residence System was anything but proper. What kind of respectable panel would track a resident character's Greatness Grade and Conquest Progress?

But it suited him just fine, because he wasn't exactly a proper person himself!

Lu Lin continued browsing the System's backend information and discovered he had earned a substantial amount of bonus Points today.

[Daily interaction with Ganyu and providing her with positive emotional value: 100 Points earned]

[Ganyu's Conquest Progress reaching 100%: 1,000 Points and 500 EXP earned]

In his panel, his EXP had reached 800, and his Points had accumulated to 1,400 — an undeniably handsome sum.

So daily interaction with a resident character would yield Points? And reaching 100% Conquest Progress with a resident character would trigger a one-time bonus reward!

This was undoubtedly good news for Lu Lin. The Points from doing missions alone were never quite enough, and grinding Conquest Progress to the max could also earn EXP.

After successfully inviting Ganyu to move in, the System had refreshed with a new invitation mission.

[Mission: Reach four Resident Members (1/4)]

[Reward: 2,000,000 Mora, 1,000 Points, 1,000 EXP, one random Host Entry]

It seemed he needed to hurry up and invite more characters to move in.

The current candidates he could invite were Hu Tao and Xiangling, along with others like Ningguang, Keqing, and so on — he hadn't made contact with them yet, but as long as they were in Liyue, there would always be an opportunity.

Before inviting them to move in, however, Lu Lin first needed to properly plan and organize the Serenitea Pot.

Truth be told, given his relationship with Hu Tao, he could have invited her to move into the Serenitea Pot long ago. The reason Lu Lin had held off was simply that the pot wasn't properly set up yet.

If he invited Hu Tao in, where would she stay?

This building had been given to Ganyu — it wouldn't be right to just have Hu Tao move in here. So Lu Lin figured he needed to build another house first, and only invite her once it was ready.

After browsing through the options, Lu Lin settled on a house with an extravagant, supernatural-themed décor.

The house had an overall dark and brooding aesthetic, and was called the Ghost Haunted House — though it wasn't entirely gloomy, just had that kind of atmosphere.

Hu Tao would definitely love this style!

Lu Lin operated the System panel to place the house beside a pine forest, which made the atmosphere even more fitting.

Buying a house didn't cost many Points, and the interior furnishings would be arranged by Hu Tao herself later. Lu Lin set the remaining Points aside and didn't spend any more.

He had originally thought about buying a main residence for himself — the kind with an enormous bed inside.

But the main residences he had his eye on were all very expensive, and with so few residents at the moment, there was no urgent need for a big bed just yet. It could wait.

Besides, there was no shortage of places to sleep!

There were still plenty of uses for saved-up Points — they could be spent on all kinds of items and weapons, and five thousand Points could draw one Residence Entry…

When Lu Lin woke up again, it was already the following morning.

He didn't even know when he had fallen asleep.

It seemed he really had been quite exhausted yesterday!

Ganyu had long since left the Serenitea Pot. She had taken the previous day off to rest, and combined with the two days spent resolving the Guili Plains incident, she had been away from Yuehai Pavilion for several days now.

Bai Wen and the other personal secretaries of Ningguang were run ragged and nearly at their wits' end. Ganyu needed to hurry back and take charge, so she had left Lu Lin a letter before departing.

"Mm~ Ganyu wants me to come find her at Yuehai Pavilion after I wake up, and to dress formally? What's she being so mysterious about?"

Lu Lin read the letter and felt a little puzzled — it sounded as though he was expected to attend some kind of event.

Though confused, he quickly washed up and changed into the black formal attire Ganyu had gifted him previously.

Yuehai Pavilion, as one of the core hubs of Liyue's administrative affairs, was a place where everyone moved with purpose and urgency, bustling back and forth.

Inside Ganyu's office, documents were piled mountain-high on her desk, completely obscuring her — even her qilin horns were hidden from view.

Yet she remained composed and unhurried, processing the various documents on her desk with remarkable efficiency, even managing to multitask — a sight that left Bai Wen and the other assistants learning at her side utterly in awe.

"Miss Ganyu, there's someone named Lu Lin outside saying he'd like to see you."

"Mm, please show him to the reception room to wait!" Ganyu was especially focused when working, and her demeanor was entirely different from usual.

Even as she gave the instruction, she processed a few more urgent documents before finally picking up a separate file that had been set aside on its own, then rose and made her way to the reception room.

In the reception room, Lu Lin was drinking tea — the tea leaves were Jade Immortal Tea from Dihua Marsh, its rich, lingering fragrance refreshing to the senses. It was truly exceptional tea.

"I was just handling a few urgent documents — sorry to keep you waiting!"

The moment Ganyu stepped into the reception room, she instantly transformed from a sharp, capable professional into a gentle, graceful young woman, her tone carrying a faint, barely perceptible note of affection.

"It's fine. You're busy with work, so I won't take up your time — let's keep it brief. You called me here for something?"

"It's like this — Miss Ningguang, the Tianquan Star of the Liyue Qixing, would like to meet you. She asked me to pass the message along."

"Ningguang wants to meet me? Did she say why?"

"She didn't give a reason, but I suspect it's because she read this report and became curious about you." Ganyu handed Lu Lin the document she was holding — it was the "Report on the Handling of the Monster Rampage Incident at the Guili Plains."

"The Guili Plains incident was resolved smoothly thanks to you, but some of the specific details weren't easy to record in writing. Miss Ningguang is probably curious about those. Under Liyue law, your contribution qualifies for an official reward, which must be reviewed and approved by the Qixing. She may want to hear the details of the incident from you directly before deciding whether to issue the reward."

Lu Lin flipped through the document and roughly understood what Ganyu meant.

The file was vague about his specific role and contributions — issuing a reward based on that alone would seem far too arbitrary. Hence Ningguang's desire to learn more.

"So if she asks about the details, do you want me to tell her?" Lu Lin asked, giving Ganyu's cheek a gentle pinch.

After all, this involved Ganyu's and Hu Tao's personal reputations — it was only right to ask for their opinions.

"Mm~ Miss Ningguang is very discreet. It's fine to tell her, really~" Ganyu was a little shy, but she didn't mind Ningguang knowing.

After all, she had already made up her mind to be with Lu Lin, and had no intention of hiding their relationship.

"Alright then, I'll go meet her. Is it at the Jade Chamber?"

"Yes, that's right! Do you want me to come with you?"

"No need — you're so busy with work, don't let me hold you up. I'll be fine on my own."

"Alright then. I'll have Bai Wen show you the way. Tonight, after I get off work, shall we meet at Wanmin Restaurant?"

"Wanmin Restaurant it is!" Taking advantage of the fact that no one was watching, Lu Lin gently pressed a kiss to Ganyu's cheek.

Bidding farewell to Ganyu, Lu Lin followed Bai Wen and arrived smoothly at the Jade Chamber.

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Proofreader & Editor: Fat Goose 🪶