“Oh, Mr.
Zhongli, you arrived so early today!” After entering, Xiangling spotted Zhongli sitting at the table by the window, his tone inevitably filled with surprise.
After all, based on his understanding of Zhongli, the most likely place he would be at this time was the Third-Round Knockout.
“I came to appraise an item at someone’s request, so I arrived a bit early.
But now, I am merely a diner accompanying a friend.” Zhongli nodded upon hearing this, explaining in a calm tone, and did not forget to cast a meaningful look at Ayin in front of him.
Following Zhongli’s gaze, Xiangling also noticed this man who looked somewhat unfamiliar.
“Hello, Chef Xiangling.
I am Aether, the brother of the Traveler, Lumine.” Before Xiangling could ask, Ayin, sitting on the stool, took the initiative to introduce himself in that serious voice of his.
The tone sounded as if he were trying to prove he was a gentleman.
“The Traveler’s brother?
Wow, I’m seeing the real person!
I’ve heard Lumine talk about you all the time!” Hearing his self-introduction, Xiangling was also somewhat surprised.
But considering the Traveler and he were close friends, Xiangling was still quite happy to see his friend reunite with a blood relative.
“But you came at just the right time.
I found quite a few fresh ingredients outside, so I’ll cook a good meal for you both myself today!” After the surprise, Xiangling patted the basket beside him, and without waiting for a reply, he skipped into the kitchen, seemingly to prepare dinner.
“It seems we are in for a treat today.
Xiangling’s culinary skills are top-tier in all of Liyue Harbor.
Plus, with his almost obsessive dedication to ingredients, every time he takes charge of the stove, Wanmin Restaurant is bound to be packed with diners.” Seeing Xiangling leave, Zhongli, sitting opposite, explained to himself.
“Then this time I’m benefiting from Mr.
Zhongli’s status, getting to taste dinner made by the god of cooking in Liyue Harbor…
and the key is, it’s free~” Ayin, upon hearing this, leaned back on his stool with a lazy expression and replied to Zhongli with a cheeky tone.
“Heh, this gentleman’s focus is always so unique.”
Zhongli was clearly long immune to his erratic personality; he didn’t even bother pretending anymore and directly addressed Ayin as ‘this gentleman’.
After all, in his view, a man with a mysterious identity who dared to impersonate the Traveler’s brother was clearly extremely knowledgeable about the Traveler, so he certainly wouldn’t be unfamiliar with his own identity either; naturally, there was no need to continue pretending.
“This gentleman?
Hey, you were calling me Aether just a moment ago, and now you won’t even say my name?
Has Rex Lapis had a change of heart so quickly~” Ayin naturally understood what Zhongli meant, but that didn’t stop him from teasing this several-thousand-year-old comrade.
Sure enough, upon hearing his reply, Zhongli’s expression finally couldn’t hold, and it darkened.
He previously thought his own Director Hu was already hard to deal with, but now, seeing Ayin, he realized there is always someone better, and he had been too young and hadn’t seen the dangers of the world…
“You should still call me Zhongli…
If I’m not mistaken, you are not from this world, are you?” Zhongli took a deep breath to adjust his state before continuing to ask.
“Yes and no.
You can just consider me a Traveler.
After coming to Teyvat for a trip, I found the scenery here excessively beautiful, so I decided to settle down here for a while.” Ayin waved his hand, explaining dismissively.
“A Traveler, you say…
I can vaguely feel an extremely powerful and highly uncertain energy within you.
Unlike the Traveler who came to Liyue a few months ago, your background is clearly more significant.” Zhongli no longer used those vague words to probe, but instead threw a direct ball.
Ayin naturally understood the underlying meaning of Zhongli’s direct approach—it was nothing more than probing whether he would pose a threat to Liyue Harbor.
But as everyone knows, having fun is harmless (probably); looking for things is also harmless; so, looking for fun is naturally harmless as well!
“AUV~ What energy?
Over there, I’m just a powerless fun-seeker.
I’m usually idle, just occasionally drawing a bit to maintain my livelihood.
I’m nowhere near as powerful as Mr.
Zhongli describes.”
Speaking of this, Ayin patted his chest and used the most sincere tone of his life to assure Zhongli, “So, being this weak, I naturally won’t cause any physical damage to Liyue Harbor…
At least compared to that bomb maniac Alice, my safety coefficient is already much higher!”
Listening to the explanation from this unreliable fellow in front of him, for some reason, Zhongli had a bad premonition that one day in the future, he would regret letting this guy come to Liyue…
“Food’s here!
Come and taste the fresh Wanmin Restaurant boiled fish!” Just as Zhongli was frowning in thought, Xiangling’s iconic voice rang in everyone’s ears.
Then, they saw our little chef carrying a bowl of boiled fish with a very solid portion, walking quickly towards the table where Zhongli was sitting.
This scene couldn’t help but remind Ayin, who was on the side, of something fun, and a mischievous idea slowly emerged in his mind.
“What are you thinking about?
Don’t get distracted when enjoying food!” Xiangling came to the table, first set down the boiled fish in his hand, and then reminded the frowning, thoughtful Zhongli with a mischievous tone.
“Hmm, thank you for the reminder, Xiangling.” Coming back to his senses, Zhongli first gave a meaningful look at the fun-seeker in front of him, then nodded at Xiangling.
“Heehee, then you guys eat first.
I still have a few dishes in the pot, and I’ll have Guoba bring them out in a moment.” Seeing this, Xiangling didn’t think much of it and, after greeting them, wanted to leave, but was stopped by Ayin behind him.
“Is there something wrong, Brother Aether?” Seeing someone call him, Xiangling turned his head and asked with slight confusion.
“Of course there is.
Xiangling, do you desire power?” Seeing this, Ayin deliberately lowered his voice and asked Xiangling with a furtive appearance.
“Power?
What is that?” Xiangling was clearly a bit slow to react and subconsciously scratched his head.
“Of course, it’s the power to improve your cooking!
Have you heard of magic that can make food delicious?
I happened to learn a few tricks while traveling outside before.
Do you want to learn?” Seeing Xiangling take the bait, although secretly happy, Ayin continued to entice him with a tone of “I’m doing this for your own good.”
And after hearing Ayin’s explanation, Xiangling was clearly hooked and curious, nodding subconsciously.
“Wait, Xiangling, you…” Seeing the strange, wicked smile on the corner of Ayin’s mouth, Zhongli hurriedly stood up, wanting to speak to stop him, but Ayin was one step ahead.
A strange red and blue power suddenly emerged from Ayin’s hand, instantly enveloping the entire Wanmin Restaurant.
Affected by this power, the other diners continued to eat as if they hadn’t seen them at all.
At the same time, a ‘card’ emitting a faint golden light slowly appeared before Zhongli’s eyes…