Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

She tilted her head, stretched out her slender and adorable right foot in front of Shen Liang, glanced at Rita hazily, then turned back, kicked Shen Liang's hand, and casually stepped directly into his palm. How to describe it? Xilin's foot was an inch smaller than Shen Liang's palm.

"Hey...you...hey?" The little queen squinted her eyes, drunk, and babbled incoherently.

Shen Liang's logical thinking ability has collapsed.

Just moments ago, Mei and Rita seemed to be engaged in a subtle power struggle, and he hadn't even figured out what the two girls were fighting over. Now, there was no need to figure it out anymore. Sirin's powerful entrance completely left him no time to think about the other two girls' current movements. As expected of the queen, she immediately captured the attention of the entire bar.

Mei and Rita's squabbles were at least private and didn't affect ordinary people, but Sirin's drunken outburst caused a huge scandal. Shen Liang could already guess the plot's direction; some busybodies were already recording it. The next headline on the Saintess Lake Forum would be: "Are the two Shaniat sisters both having ambiguous relationships with the young master?" Or would it be "The young lady, drunk, confesses her true feelings to the Schicksal headquarters and asserts her sovereignty over Pandora?"

Rita reacted quickly, knowing her clash with Raiden Mei was merely entertaining, but Sirin couldn't get involved. As Kiana's sister and the acting head of the Schariac family, Sirin's actions would invite endless gossip. And it wouldn't just be Sirin whose image would be severely damaged; it would be the entire Schariac family!

However, she also had her doubts. What if this Xilin... really was just showing her true feelings after drinking and got jealous when she saw her and Mei being so close to Shen Liang?

"Miss Sirin, you're drunk. Let Rita help you back to your room to rest." Rita immediately reached out to carry Sirin away.

"Let go! Let go! I'm not drunk!" Sirin struggled as soon as she was touched, glaring at her fiercely. "You dare touch me! I am the acting head of the Shaniat family. If a Valkyrie from headquarters comes within five meters of me, I have the right to deem you a threat! Back off!"

Xilin waved her hand with an air of superiority.

"Sister Sirin is really drunk. This is damaging to the image of the Shaniat family. I should have known better than to let you drink so much." Shen Liang also came to his senses. How could he possibly respond to Sirin's question at this moment? He quickly stood up, first apologizing to the other interested Valkyries, and then whispered, "Sister Sirin, you should go back and get some sleep. You'll know how embarrassing you were today tomorrow."

"I'm not embarrassed! You're the one who's embarrassed!" Xilin kicked Shen Liang, who had just stood up, back onto the sofa, and Shen Liang sat down in a daze.

Good heavens, no wonder she was a ten-year-old woman who went to Siberia to hunt bears. Although she looks like she hasn't had any muscle left due to lack of exercise over the years, this kick still had enough power to knock down Shen Liang, who has the bloodline of the Sea God.

The little queen tilted her head back and took another big gulp from the bottle, then casually tossed it aside. By this time, she had landed, one foot on the sofa and the other on Shen Liang's chest, staring down at him with red eyes. Shen Liang coughed as he was stepped on, while Xilin's calves, encased in beige knitted socks, were pressed against his nose, and he could even smell her faint fragrance.

The Shaniat family all have this flavor, like milk and lilies.

"Sister Xilin, from that position, I can easily see under your skirt," Shen Liang whispered, trying his best to look away from where he shouldn't be staring. For someone with his unrestrained personality, doing this required a great deal of self-control, after all, Xilin was a beauty on par with Kiana.

"I! Don't! Care!" Sirin glared at him fiercely, stomping her right foot even harder, her knee almost touching his face. "Tell me! Between me and Rita, which one do you prefer!"

Rita's forehead twitched as well. After Sirin's outburst, her thoughts were now crystal clear to the Valkyries! But damn it, she hadn't intended to expose her relationship with Shen Liang! They could just be secret friends who didn't contact each other often, meeting occasionally for a meal or a hotel room—why bring it up in public!

Damn it, what a mess this is.

However, a tiny, almost imperceptible competitive thought suddenly arose in her heart.

She suddenly wondered if she could truly compare to...

—It wasn't Sirin. Rita knew very well that Shen Liang only respected Sirin and didn't have those kinds of thoughts towards her. But even if he didn't have those kinds of thoughts, she was still Sirin, just like Kiana... Sirin who looked exactly like her.

"Speak up!" Xilin pressed down on her younger brother, grabbed his ponytail, and continued to interrogate him fiercely.

"So many people are watching, Sister Xilin, please let me go..." Shen Liang was desperate. Xilin was so drunk that she couldn't explain herself at all.

"Tell me and I'll let you go!"

"Sister Xilin," Shen Liang said in a low voice.

"Huh? I can't hear you!"

"It's Sister Xilin."

"Speak louder! I want everyone in the bar to hear what I'm saying!" Sirin pinched his cheeks with both hands and shook his head violently.

"Sister Xilin is more comfortable! Okay! That's enough! You have no dignity at all, how could I have a sister like you!" Shen Liang, having given up all pretense, simply gave in to her and loudly announced.

At this moment, all the Valkyries' eyes lit up, practically exploding with excitement. It was totally worth it! The inside scoop they got from this bar visit was absolutely worth it! The story of Miss Shaniat and her young master could definitely become front-page news—what a delightful family scandal!

Rita gently bit her lip and gave a slight, bitter smile.

“But!” Shen Liang immediately added.

"But!" Sirin shouted, drowning him out!

The little queen straightened up from Shen Liang, changing her fierce, stepping-on-his-man posture to kneeling on his stomach, then gave Rita a triumphant smile, "The one who won wasn't me! Rita, you understand!"

Rita remained silent.

The little queen began to ramble on: "Although I don't really like that stupid little sister, at least that idiot has one thing to be proud of: she looks exactly like me. Hmph... Human, you honestly chose me because I feel the same as Kiana, right? In your heart, Kiana is the most important, incomparable to anyone else, right? So you chose me, even though... even though that maid is more alluring, more seductive, and has a better figure, you still chose me... because you love Kiana the most, right?"

Shen Liang had actually been thinking of using this excuse, but Xi Lin brought it up, leaving him momentarily stunned.

Looking at Sirin's red and swollen eyes, to be honest, he was suddenly unsure whether Sirin was truly drunk or had deliberately gotten involved in Rita and Mei's chaotic situation to warn those two little brats that the Shaniat family was still watching.

“Yes.” Shen Liang nodded.

Celine laughed. "That's more like it."

Then, finally, she couldn't hold on any longer, her head spinning. Talking so much had exhausted the little queen's strength. She sat on Shen Liang's stomach, swaying left and right for a few moments before falling forward and nestling on Shen Liang's shoulder, closing her eyes wearily.

"Sister Xilin?" Shen Liang hugged her arm and shook it, but before he could hear Xilin's quiet and soft breath in his ear.

"She's asleep." Rita finally sighed softly.

Raiden Mei breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the Valkyries who had been enthusiastic but had suddenly lost interest, and said somewhat irritably, "Alright! Stop making that face, you really just love making things worse!"

"They'd love to see more drama! If they could see Miss Sirin and Pandora carrying Miss Kiana on their backs, wow, that could keep them glued to the Saintess Lake for a whole month!"

"I've already prepared the recording!"

"Mei, don't you want to see a story about sisters vying for favor?"

"I don't want to!" Raiden Mei's eyebrows shot up, and she said fiercely, "I'm on Kiana's side too, so stop speculating!"

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Rita without making a sound.

Hmph, in this little incident, Rita's ulterior motives towards Shen Liang were exposed by Xilin, but she didn't. So, tonight, the one who really suffers is Rita, not her.

While Rita seemed indifferent to whether she was exposed or not, Raiden Mei couldn't understand why this maid didn't seem to have any "possessive desire" for boys. Rather, she hadn't even considered Raiden Mei as her rival... She seemed to quite enjoy dragging others into this chaotic situation.

Incomprehensible.

It was already four in the morning when the bar closed. All the Valkyries either went home or went upstairs to find a room. Shen Liang carried the little queen, who was sleeping like a log, into her bedroom, inserted the key card into the socket, and then the dim light in the bedroom turned on.

Shen Liang casually tossed Xilin onto the bed and stretched. Hosting the Valkyries from the Destiny Headquarters at the bar had left him with a sore back; he wasn't really comfortable with the bright lights and rhythmic beats of bars, and he didn't like drinking. Or rather, he usually only enjoyed a little Shenzhou liquor with his meals; heavy drinking was something he rarely attempted.

After using the Transformation Moon to neutralize the alcohol in his body, Shen Liang sat down on the sofa at the foot of the bed. It was a long-awaited moment of relaxation, and he spaced out for a while before realizing he'd been staring at Xilin the entire time.

Xilin's sleeping posture wasn't very good; she was lying face down towards him, and Shen Liang could clearly see her pretty little face flattened by the bed, her mouth slightly open. Anyone would drool in that sleeping position, and she was no exception; drool soaked a small patch of the sheet along the corner of her mouth.

Shen Liang recalled how he used to think that Kiana was incredibly cute when she was asleep, because it was only when she was asleep that Kiana shed her silly, clumsy nature and fully displayed the stunning beauty she inherited from the saintess. Now it seemed that there was actually someone else who was just as incredibly cute: Sirin.

Chapter 43 The Little Queen Never Wears Shoes

Shen Liang sat for a while, and was just about to get up and go back to his room when he noticed that Xilin was looking him up and down with her bright yellow eyes.

"Holy crap, you're not asleep?!" Shen Liang exclaimed as he leaned against the wall.

Xilin, lying on the bed, let out a disdainful laugh.

"It's not that I wasn't asleep, I just woke up. Human, judging from your panicked look, you weren't fantasizing about me while I was asleep, were you?"

"If I were to fantasize, it would be for Kiana's sake, right? No, I don't need to fantasize at all. Senior Sister is me..." He paused, realizing it was inappropriate, "But Sister Sirin, you don't seem to have any signs of being drunk. Are you faking it?"

"Nonsense, I'm an A-rank Valkyrie, so using Honkai energy to sober up isn't an easy thing."

"Isn't that an ability exclusive to biology majors? How can you, a supernatural ability major, know this?"

“It’s just a simple use of spatial abilities, let’s not talk about that.” Sirin said, lying down on her side and staring at him for a while with her eyes blinked. “Your performance today was a bit disappointing, human. It seems like you’re just a walking furnace, with people watching you everywhere. I originally thought that Destiny wouldn’t be against you, but now it seems that Destiny is only responsible for your personal safety, but they don’t care about your chastity at all.”

Shen Liang shrugged.

But since it's a use of spatial abilities, it's just transferring the wine, right? So to put it bluntly... isn't it still pretending to be drunk?

"That girl named Mei, she's a mutual friend of yours and Kiana's, right? And that girl named Rita, she's your lover?"

“Mei is right, but Rita…” Shen Liang thought for a moment, “not quite.”

"Stop doing."

"Give it up?" Shen Liang was taken aback.

"Get rid of all those women who are flirting with you. I know Maria can't control you, my mother can't control you, and Kiana can't control you either." Sirin lay casually on the bed and said lazily, "But I won't allow it. You are a man of the Shaniat family, and moreover, you are the son-in-law of the Shaniat family. To be honest, isn't Kiana enough? She has the most beautiful face in the world."

"Sister Xilin, some things don't just disappear like that," Shen Liang said helplessly.

“What’s the problem? I don’t think so. It’s just that you’re lustful and attracted to young women. Rita is indeed very beautiful, but she’s cunning and you can’t handle her.” Sirin’s gaze swept intensely over him. “Besides, I’ll repeat myself, isn’t the Shaniat family enough?”

Shen Liang finally realized something.

He understood. Sirin wasn't just doubtful; she had already confirmed his relationship with Anna. That's why she said that. She knew Shen Liang admired more than just Kiana, the daughter of the Shaniat.

As a proud young lady, Celine couldn't tolerate any nonsense. But even after she knew, she could still forgive him and her younger siblings' absurd stories.

She might tolerate the absurdity within her family, but she remained arrogant and disdainful of those outside the family, not even Rita could catch her eye.

Shen Liang felt that she was meddling in other people's business, but then she suddenly realized that she did have the right to criticize him. As Kiana's older sister, she certainly had the right to discipline her younger brother and brother-in-law. Moreover, as the acting head of the family, she had even more right to set a good example.

That night, Shen Liang felt the authority of the "head of the family" for the first time from the little queen.

To Sirin, Pandora wasn't an obedient younger brother. Although he was well-behaved, sensible, and cute, he was essentially a womanizer and a huge variable. In comparison, Sirin would probably rather tolerate girls like Anna taking a share of Kiana's affections and using them to "lock" him in, than have him continue his promiscuous behavior.

“You don’t need to get involved in so many complicated relationships outside. The Shaniat family can protect you and meet your needs,” Sirin said calmly. “Isn’t having a family enough?”

Shen Liang fully understood her meaning, and after a moment of silence, he whispered:

“Sister Sirin, I am not an item taken in by the Shaniat family.”

“We didn’t treat you as an object, much less as a vessel.” Sirin frowned. “Human, you should know that.”

“I know you don’t think that way. I’m doing very well at the Shaniat family’s house. I feel guilty for being taken care of.” Shen Liang replied as she walked towards the door. “I’m very grateful to the family, and I’m gradually finding my place in their lives. But who can be locked up at home forever?”

"Foolish, wanting to see the world? You were just an ordinary person a little over a year ago, why didn't you have this thought then?"