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

"It's time to end this late-night chat with Ryou-chan. If we keep being intimate, Xin Hai will get jealous. You'd better cherish your little maid." The high priestess patted her skirt, emerged barefoot from the hot spring, and walked confidently into the courtyard without changing her shoes.

Shen Liang wanted to say something, but he held back.

At that moment, fireworks were set off in the distant night sky, one after another, and soon they reached the Coral Palace.

A deep, resonant drumbeat rang out. Shen Liang knew it was a warning drum, but before he could react, a shrine maiden rushed into his courtyard and loudly reported, "Lord Coral Palace, the shogunate army is challenging us at Fujitobuki Fortress, and they are expected to launch another attack within three days! Lord Goro is organizing the defense!"

Coral Palace Ryuka's expression didn't immediately turn serious. She simply waved her hand, signaling the shrine maiden to leave, then looked at Shen Liang and smiled slightly, saying, "Actually, if Ryu-chan is interested, she can go to the front lines and take a look."

The front lines?

"I will consider."

"Then Auntie will be leaving now."

After seeing off Coral Palace Liuge, Shen Liang looked at the sky turning a pale white before returning to his room.

Coral Palace Heart Sea couldn't wait for his late-night talk with the Great Witch, so he went to the bathhouse early to take a bath and then went back to sleep.

She was indeed very honest; she moved the shop to Shen Liang's room and laid it out right next to him. At this moment, she was sleeping peacefully, completely unconcerned that Shen Liang might have any ill intentions.

However, there's really no need to worry. The shrine maidens wear long-sleeved and long-legged undergarments to sleep, which don't even look as nice as Shen Liang's everyday shrine maiden attire. She'll have to find a chance to bring Coral Palace Heartsea two pretty little slip dresses, but given how conservative these shrine maidens are, Shen Liang isn't sure if Coral Palace Heartsea will think these are embarrassing clothes and refuse to comply even at the cost of her life.

However, it seems that the level of shamefulness in clothing on the continent of Teyvat is entirely determined by the "level of exposure"—if you don't show any skin, you're not ashamed. Coral Palace Heartsea is clearly a pure and gentle girl, yet she wears thin white stockings and a midriff-baring gauze shrine maiden outfit without any apparent problem, and neither do other shrine maidens or even the general public.

Shen Liang sat down next to her, watching the little witch's delicate nostrils rise and fall with her breath, and reached out to touch her hair.

"No... Ryoko, I don't want to eat... I don't want to eat yours..." Coral Palace Kokoro seemed to have encountered something painful, and mumbled in her sleep, "Auntie, don't be like this... I'm angry... Even if it's Ryoko's, it's not okay... I won't eat it... Ugh..."

Shen Liang's hand trembled slightly as she stroked her hair.

"I really don't want to eat fish!" Coral Palace Heart Sea suddenly shouted, then fell silent.

Shen Liang let out a long sigh of relief.

--------

It was already eight o'clock in the morning when I got back to the apartment.

Since there was no need to avoid anyone, Shen Liang took a shower at the mansion before opening the portal, and when he returned, he appeared directly in the living room.

As soon as he came in, he bumped into the Lego bricks that Rosalia and Lilia were building in the living room, and the bricks fell all over the floor with a clatter.

"You've knocked over my train station again!" Rosalia, who was playing with building blocks with her butt sticking out in front of him, heard the noise and flew into a rage, grabbing Lilia by the neck and shoving her to the ground. "Why is your butt so big!"

"I didn't bump into anything! My butt is smaller than yours, and I'm a kilogram lighter than you!" Lilia retorted, pinching Rosalia's ear in return.

"The scale is broken! My brother said I feel lighter when he carries me than when he carries you!"

"That's because you like to wrap your arms around your brother's waist in a shameful way to make it easier for him! I never do that!"

"That's Lilia, you idiot!"

"Rosalia is the idiot! I never use that method because I always have my brother carry me in a princess carry!"

Rosalia was shocked.

The two girls then fought even more wildly.

Shen Liang stood behind them, reflecting on whether his approach to moral education at the orphanage had been a complete failure. The two little girls wouldn't even turn around to look at him; clearly, their desire to fight far outweighed their desire to play with building blocks.

"I was the one who hit it," Shen Liang coughed.

As expected, the two little girls turned around almost the instant they heard the sound. The pink-haired girl, who was more athletic, jumped up and hugged his shoulders, clinging to his waist like a koala and happily hanging on him.

But Rosalia clearly forgot that Shen Liang was no longer the adult who could support her, and the impact caused Shen Liang, who was only ten centimeters taller than her, to fall backward.

Fortunately, Rosalia reacted quickly, using her thighs to exert force and control the swaying Shen Liang, making him spin around in the living room several times before finally landing steadily on the soft fabric sofa.

"Brother!" Rosalia buried her messy little head in his chest, snuggling against him like a little squirrel, and cheered, "Rosalia missed you!"

Lilia squeezed in too, nestled in his arms like Rosalia, and took a deep sniff of Shen Liang's scent before raising her head and saying in a calm tone, "Lilia too, I can't sleep without my brother."

Chapter 41 Chinese fortune telling generally uses black magic

Every time I come home, my adorable little sister always rushes up to greet me with boundless energy. For an older brother, there's nothing happier than that.

Shen Liang held the soft Rosalia and Lilia in his arms, smelling the familiar scent of shampoo, and rubbed the two little ones' heads. He felt most of the fatigue from the intrigue on Haiqi Island dissipate.

Although the two little ones are usually quite annoying and difficult to deal with, they are practically little angels at times like this. It's no wonder they're the younger sister; even Shen Liang can't resist a cute little sister who's always clinging to her brother. So, it's not a big deal that the kids are occasionally a little naughty, a little annoying, or a little infuriating.

Where in the world is there a perfect, ultimate being?

Rosalia straddled Shen Liang's lap, sniffing his scent intently. Then, she scrunched up her cute little face, raised her head, and stared at him with sharp eyes: "Brother has an unfamiliar scent... Ah, it's a new girl!"

"I took a shower when I came back, don't try to fool me." Shen Liang pulled at the corner of her mouth, pinching it into the shape of a little fox or pig.

"You even took a special bath, brother, aren't you just trying to cover it up?" Lilia tried hard to show a heartbroken expression, but her usual expressionless face wouldn't show it. "Brother, you betrayed Lilia."

Shen Liang decided not to engage. The Arlin sisters' personalities meant that if you tried to keep up with them, you would be defeated.

"Lilia, you're talking nonsense again! You've clearly betrayed Bronya!"

"It's all the same anyway, he betrayed his dearest, cutest, and most lovable sister."

“That’s true.” Rosalia nodded in agreement, but then seemed to remember something and said, “But it doesn’t matter. As long as brother can find a girlfriend, that’s a good thing. Don’t you want to become an aunt soon?”

"Yes."

"Hmm... no, only biological sisters can be aunts, so sisters like us should be... um, cousins?" Rosalia looked suspicious, racking her brains with her little hands. "No, that's a cousin, we're god-sisters, so we can only be god-aunts... Oh my god, Lilia, what's that? It sounds like a mushroom, I don't want to be a dried mushroom!"

The more she talked, the more outrageous it became. Shen Liang grabbed her hair and said helplessly, "Don't talk nonsense. I'm here in Teyvat to earn money and support you. I don't talk about feelings while I'm working, so don't worry."

Although Shen Liang didn't know why he needed to explain.

"Really?" The two little girls stared at him.

"From childhood to adulthood, when have I ever lied to you?"

Rosalia and Lilia stared at Shen Liang's calm gaze for a while before nodding and looking towards the stairs: "Sister Kiana, you heard that, brother really hasn't had a girlfriend, we can vouch for that!"

Shen Liang then noticed that Kiana was already standing on the stairs from the second floor to the first floor. Since she was skilled in martial arts, she descended the stairs lightly without making a sound.

"Hi." Shen Liang raised his hand in greeting.

"What's with all the 'hey'..." Kiana muttered, then glared fiercely at the Arlene sisters. "What nonsense are you spouting? It's like I have some kind of shady relationship with the landlord!"

"Don't worry, I won't misunderstand. Rosalia and the others are spoiled by me and like to say nonsensical things. Don't take it to heart." Shen Liang apologized. "Have you eaten?"

But for some reason, Kiana looked even more dejected after he said that.

—That definitely looks like they didn't eat.

Shen Liang knew that Rosalia and Lilia hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so he opened the refrigerator to see what was left. Then he went into the kitchen, told Rosalia to wash the vegetables and Lilia to cut the vegetables, and started preparing the meal.

Kiana was quite surprised to see Shen Liang cook for the first time.

She was out and about every day and rarely ate in the apartment. The Arlene sisters usually ordered takeout, so she was puzzled at one point about why there were three refrigerators in the house, one of which was full of vegetables.

"Do you need my help?" Kiana asked, peeking out as she saw the two little girls helping out.

"Do you want to eat too?"

Kiana's face flushed red. She had only asked politely, but it was immediately misunderstood as her being greedy for the landlord's breakfast.

I'm not greedy at all!

Just as he was about to politely decline, Shen Liang nodded, "There's nothing I need your help with. You're from Scandinavia, so you probably can't cook Chinese food. You can wash the dishes later."

Actually, washing dishes is the least appreciated chore in China, so Shen Liang casually assigned the chores that originally belonged to the A-Lin sisters to the newcomers, which is a very unkind act.

But those who do not work do not eat, and the family rules passed down in the orphanage must be followed. Moreover, Kiana is the oldest among them and must eat the most, so it is only right that way.

It took Shen Liang about half an hour to make breakfast, and he was already very happy. He cooked four pots at the same time, but by the time he brought the dishes to the dining table in the small restaurant, all three girls were hungry.

Lilia lifted the insulated lids on the plates, which contained blanched garlic vermicelli lobster, braised duck with matsutake mushrooms, and abalone shumai. The main dish was sea urchin and tomato spaghetti, and each person was also served a bowl of double-skin milk pudding.

It was a simple breakfast, but the portion was quite good. Rosalia only ate the outer glutinous rice skin of the shumai, not the filling, so Shen Liang ate all the abalone on her plate.

"It's rare to have all four of us at home. This is practically our first meal together, so consider it a postponed welcome party for you." Shen Liang looked at Kiana, who was slurping up mouthfuls of noodles. "How's the cooking?"

Kiana was only focused on slurping her noodles.

"Your brother is asking you a question!" Rosalia, in a dramatic moment, slammed her hand on the table!

"Waaaaah, my milk spilled!" Kiana quickly covered her double-skin milk pudding, then raised her face, which was covered in tomato juice, and showed a disdainful look. "It's alright, not much better than what my cook makes."

Shen Liang wasn't sure if she was praising or criticizing her. To be compared to the chefs of the Shaniat family was already quite remarkable, wasn't it?

"Okay, I admit it, I've never eaten anything better than this." Seeing the look of doubt on Shen Liang's pretty face, Kiana lacked confidence and confessed anyway.

“But it’s strange, there are Chinese restaurants in Scandinavia, I’ve eaten in a huge Chinatown in Sweden,” Kiana complained, as she scooped up Shen Liang’s double-skin milk pudding. “The Chinese food there tastes sweet and sour, completely different from what you make!”

"Sweet and sour? There are many different styles of Chinese cuisine, each with its own flavor emphasis. What did you order?"

"Tianjin Rice".

Shen Liang raised her head.

"Sweet and sour pork".

Rosalia and Lilia both looked up.

"General Tso's Chicken." Kiana thought for a moment, "Oh right, and fortune cookies! As soon as you walk in, someone will tell your fortune and write your destiny on a slip of paper and put it inside a cookie! I can't speak for the others, but this is definitely authentic Chinese food, because we all know how to tell horoscopes, none of us know black magic!"

"No one in China knows black magic!"