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

At 4:50, a torrential downpour struck Jigong. Lightning illuminated the living room window, and also the exquisite yet unbearable scene on the sofa. The delicate and tyrannical, and the holy and indulgent, were together. The young beast and the saintess tumbled and kissed amidst the roaring thunder. Their equally white hair rose and fell, and their equally golden eyes revealed only the exhilarating conquest and being conquered.

At 5:20, Rustan stood at the foot of the Jueyun Mountains, looking up at the notice of the Jigong Palace: "Those who enter this pass shall have the bell tolled three times, and their ignorance, greed, and treachery shall be thwarted; those who leave this realm shall have their thoughts wander to all corners of the world, and find the one true path in the heavens." He bowed his head and paid his respects to the notice, then followed the Jigong Palace staff up the mountain path.

He felt a slight sense of感慨 (gan3kai3, a complex feeling of mixed emotions, including regret and apprehension). He realized that Jueyun was indeed a sacred place, and Jigong was hidden deep in the mountains, inaccessible to mortals. If it weren't for Rosalin's connection, he would never have been the one introduced to the immortal realm of Liyue.

Half past five.

The sound of rain hitting the window was so loud and disruptive that it finally kept me awake.

Rosalyn opened her eyes and looked out the window at the gloomy sky and the rain.

Actually, according to her usual habits, she was a sound sleeper and unlikely to be awakened by the sound of rain, but she knew why. Just like those children who couldn't sleep because they were excited about the whole class going on a spring outing the next day, she was going to accept Rustan's marriage proposal tomorrow and embark on the path of becoming a "wife." She was too excited for this moment to sleep soundly.

As she was thinking, Rosalyn scratched her smooth back and felt that the cotton and linen material of her nightgown was a bit rough. She grabbed the hem of her dress and tugged at it, and then she froze.

She was wearing newly bought, conservative pajamas, which is why she felt uncomfortable, as the skirt was past her knees and the upper body wasn't made of smooth silk. Originally, she wore these pajamas because she knew Shen Liang was a boy; she found them in the room thinking it would be convenient to sleep with that little wildcat at night.

But upon closer reflection, she realized that if Shen Liang were a boy, she shouldn't sleep with him. So she smiled silently and took off her conservative pajamas. She had always felt that the pajamas were too restrictive and uncomfortable.

But afterwards, she didn't dig out the old low-cut silk nightgown. The slippery dress always reminded her of the feeling of her skin touching Shen Liang's. So she couldn't help but look at the wedding dress lying flat on the windowsill.

The wedding dress Rustin sent fit her perfectly; the man remembered everything about her, down to the smallest detail. She had laid the dress flat on the windowsill last night, waiting for this moment. Dawn was approaching; perhaps Rustin would already be at the Ji Palace by now. Maybe… it was time to change into it?

The tall, blonde girl bit her lip, looking somewhat shy. Having been in Liyue for a while, she had picked up some of the conservative traits of the Liyue girls.

Rosalyn, however, still felt a slight joy as she took her strapless, backless, pure white sexy dress from the windowsill. This form-fitting dress was worn under her wedding gown, revealing even more skin than a nightgown, but it was less restrictive and made her feel very relaxed.

She took off her nightgown and bra. Rosalyn used to wear bra with this nightgown, but she wanted to try it out to look good. She didn't need a bra to look good, and since she was sleeping alone now, why should she care?

And so, her stunning figure slipped into the wedding dress, followed by white stockings and layers of lace skirt. Rosalyn looked in the mirror, biting the back strap of the dress and tying a knot at the back, so that the dress was completely secured to her body.

Actually, it's not suitable to sleep in a wedding dress, but the girl was no longer sleepy. She looked at herself in the mirror with a smile, turned around, and then lifted the veil, which is the most important thing for a girl on her wedding day, and gently put it on her head.

Then she sighed softly.

It wasn't a sigh, but a feeling of amazement.

Rosalyn never imagined she could be so beautiful. The shy, demure girl peeked out from under the veil was none other than herself. A pure and beautiful bride, with a tall, slender figure, every gesture embodied the dreams of every girl.

The twenty-year-old bride, Rosalyn, even felt that, at least for today, she could be considered the most beautiful girl in the world, even if...

She subconsciously thought of midnight.

Mistelin's holy face under the moonlight.

—I'm even more beautiful than her.

A small competitive spirit stirred within Rosalyn; she didn't know why she felt this way. Perhaps it was resentment, or perhaps a desire to prove something. She quietly lifted her skirt, gazing at her slender, white-stockinged legs in the mirror. What a radiant girl! Who would be fortunate enough to possess such a beautiful woman?

—His sister Yu Tu is nothing special, right?

Rosalind was originally the jewel of Mondstadt. She did not want to become an object of appreciation for nobles, so she came out to study. But her body is still something she is proud of. Now she is about to give herself to her lover far away. I wonder... will that white wildcat be jealous?

Rosalyn was taken aback, realizing that her thoughts kept wandering to people she shouldn't be thinking about. Liang'er was a boy, and she shouldn't have made such connections.

but……

At least for now, she and Rustam aren't even lovers, so if you think about it... it's not exactly immoral, is it?

"Liang'er, don't you think our pair of international students is weird?" Rosalin recalled the scene of her holding Shen Liang as he fell asleep a few days after school started. Because the little wildcat always tried to slip away from her arms in the middle of the night, she held him extra tightly, crossing her legs behind him to wrap around his waist, and resting her chin on his shoulder, making sure that Shen Liang absolutely couldn't break free.

"What's strange?" The 1.5-meter-tall wildcat was tied to the bed by the 1.7-meter-tall older sister and couldn't move. He couldn't do anything about this kind of disrespectful girl. He could only close his eyes and ponder.

"You are an incomparably noble little demon god. Theoretically, you are the one who bullies others, not the other way around. You don't even have a problem with me taking advantage of you like this? Your two sisters, especially that pink-haired loli, bar their teeth at me when they see me. They are very unhappy that I have taken over their older sister."

Rosalyn, being of commoner origin, still held some reverence for demon gods, but Shen Liang... Shen Liang was truly beyond her reverence. She felt that this adorable and beautiful kitten was born to be tormented by her. Sometimes she even wished she were a boy, so that she could not only enjoy the pleasure of possessing him, but also become the consort of the Inazuma Shogunate. Damn, isn't that more interesting than being a Mondstadt citizen?

“It’s my older brother,” Shen Liang emphasized.

"Hey, brother, is your family's preference for sons over daughters really that serious? Why would you give up being a princess and insist on being the crown prince?" Rosalin pretended to pull his face, then suddenly reached down to attack! Shen Liang grabbed her just before she was about to be exposed!

"Don't do that, or you'll regret it someday, Sister Rosalin," Shen Liang said with a smile.

"Hmph, you won't even let me check you out, and you're pretending to be a boy?!"

However, Rosalyn has now figured it out. Shen Liang has indeed been tolerant of her all along. Otherwise, how could a teenager in his adolescence possibly control his temper when faced with such a blonde, blue-eyed foreign girl throwing herself at him?

Of course, it's also possible that Shen Liang has too high standards and has never been interested in her.

She glanced at the clock on the table; it was 5:35 AM. She wondered when Rustan would arrive at Jigong. Perhaps after dawn? Perhaps in the afternoon? Rustan couldn't use telegrams while traveling, and she didn't know where he was now. Liyue was currently in its peak summer rainy season; perhaps Rustan would arrive tomorrow?

But who is she waiting for in her wedding dress? The tender, beautiful curves of the young girl in the mirror are waiting to be plucked, but how long must she wait? Rustan, Rustan…

Rosalyn admired her dream wedding dress, but couldn't help thinking about more things. She felt a bit confused. Her thoughts weren't on Rustan, and even when she forced herself to think about a future with Rustan, she still had reservations.

She knew very well how much Rustin had sacrificed to marry her. This was his first marriage, and even if she didn't become his principal wife, her status wouldn't be low. Rustin would inevitably marry even more outstanding women to climb to a higher position in Mondstadt. She came from humble beginnings; to be favored to this extent was already remarkable… but…

She couldn't help but sniff, as if she could smell the little wildcat's scent on herself—a faint, cherry blossom fragrance. Because of his obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness, he bathed multiple times a day, and the cherry blossom essential oil scent on his body was said to be a blend made by his mother, Thor. And she, having spent so much time with Shen Liang, had picked up quite a bit of it.

Even that little demon god never "favored" me; I treated that little demon god as an equal.

Thinking this way, Rosalyn felt a surge of fierce resentment. She really wanted to rush into Shen Liang's bedroom right now and let him see her at her most beautiful moment!

Although... we're just friends, there seems to be no reason to do this.

But Rosalyn was unwilling to accept it. She hadn't been able to let that little wildcat witness her most beautiful moments. In his heart, she would always just be a passerby, a foreign friend... How unwilling she was!

It seemed like there hadn't been any thunder for a long time, and the rain had lessened. Rosalind suddenly heard a sound outside the wall that she hadn't noticed before.

The sounds were plaintive and suppressed, like a cat's mournful cry, a cries of a young animal, or even sobs. Every now and then, there were the rhythmic sounds of heavy objects falling to the ground and crawling laboredly...

Rosalind listened intently, even feeling a chill run down her spine. The living room was right outside… why was there such a sound?

She subconsciously pulled out a Sumerian-style curved sword from under the table; it was a gift she had received when she studied at the Order Academy.

Chapter 115 A Young Girl's Fleeting Moments

She carefully took off her high heels, stepping onto the ground in only white stockings to minimize the sound. Then, gripping the curved knife in reverse, she listened for any sounds from behind the door.

There's no such thing as supernatural forces in this world. Rosalind, after a brief moment of fear, immediately became interested. There was no need to think too much; any strange noises must mean someone had come in, and it wasn't Shen Liang and his group. Because for Shen Liang, this was his own home, and he would at least turn on the lights. But looking through the crack in the door, it was still dark outside, probably only illuminated by moonlight.

A petty thief, probably because most of the students at Jigong haven't started school yet, and this is the only dormitory worth stealing during the holiday, did he scout it out? But if you scouted it out, you should know that this dormitory is inhabited by demons, immortals, or at the very least, fox spirits—none of them are easy to deal with! Trying to steal from me?

She gradually relaxed and even felt a little happy. So she turned the lock as silently as possible, and the various tactical knowledge she had learned in Mondstadt and Liyue returned to her mind.

The enemies she encountered on the battlefield before were not many that she could handle at her level. Even though she was born with the talent to control fire, she was only a mortal Genshin Impact. But dealing with a small thief was a piece of cake for a student of Jigong! It just so happens that I'm getting engaged and I'm under so much pressure that I can't sleep. I'll grab you and relieve some of that pressure!

The blonde girl in the wedding dress grinned maliciously, silently opened the door halfway, and peeked out to see where the thief was.

Her gaze stopped.

Unconsciously, the scimitar fell to the ground.

An overturned sofa, a strong smell of alcohol, and a saintess with no strength to even cry out as a wolf cub bites her neck from behind.

Rosalyn subconsciously took a step back, watching Misterin cling to the floor, struggling to look up at her with a pale, guilty smile on her face.

"Why did you come out...child..."

In that instant, Rosalyn realized something. She looked at Shen Liang, only to find with horror that his gaze was no longer on the barely breathing saintess who had been ravaged. She suddenly realized she was wrong. The docile and adorable little wildcat she remembered was now giving her an aggressive smile, a smile full of interest, a smile that sent chills down her spine.

She realized she shouldn't have come out. That wasn't a cat anymore; it was a wolf that had just tasted meat.

Shen Liang tilted his head, looking at her with an innocent yet malicious gaze. He hadn't even made a move yet, but the moment his gaze locked onto her, Rosalyn already knew what was happening. Her legs went weak, as if gripped by fear. She knew she should close the door or run away, or at the very least, call for help.

But she couldn't move, like a little demon facing its lord. She only had to wait for him to finish his turn before it was her turn.

She knew perfectly well at that moment that she couldn't escape.

-------------

At 6:30, it was already light. Although the moon had not yet set, a few people had already come out to do their morning exercises in the Ji Palace.

Although it was a holiday, just like Gan Yufanan and others were still there, some teachers and school staff also stayed on campus. It had just rained heavily, and the ground was wet. Two months without anyone cleaning it had left many places muddy. The air smelled fresh with the scent of the earth, and the white mist made clothes feel damp.

Rustan folded his umbrella and strolled alone through the main campus. He already knew which mountain the Elemental Academy was on, and he enjoyed the scenery of the school as he walked.

The Church of Mondstadt also runs schools, and he had visited the Order of the Nether in Sumeru, but coming to Liyue felt completely new. He remembered that Liyue's Jigong Palace was a kind of higher education institution, without teachers in the traditional sense; everyone could interact and learn from each other, as the saying goes, "Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me." He had originally thought this was a very old educational system, but upon entering, he noticed that the occasional students staying at the school were all quite young.

Men and women, dressed in the ancient uniforms of the Jigong Palace, carried documents and materials as they swiftly passed between the various mountain peaks; many even possessed divine eyes. Between each mountain peak stood ornately decorated buildings and layered suspension bridges. Some people ran lightly across the mountains, their figures disappearing into the mountain mist.

Rustan stepped off the suspension bridge and into the school. He felt that the rain had stopped, so he put away his umbrella and passed through the main gate of the Elemental Academy.

It was still too early, and Rustan was not surprised that no one would greet him. He hadn't actually told Rosalind his exact arrival time, probably to surprise her. Following the road indicated by the school janitor, the dormitory area was on the back hill. After passing a bamboo forest, there was a very distinctive little building. Water pipes and a water tower were connected to the outside of the building, making it easy to spot.

That was Rosalyn's cottage. I heard she lived with Crown Prince Raiden Ryo. Rustan had seen Shen Liang and knew he was an extremely handsome young man; for a time, he even thought he was a girl. It was said that the prince was spoiled and pampered for a long time and had a severe case of mysophobia. He had his own set of procedures for fetching water, and Rosalyn could also benefit from it.

Sometimes Rustan would worry. The young prince's pampered lifestyle—wouldn't it cause trouble if he lived with Rosalind, a commoner? Rosalind, while not exactly uncouth, didn't know much about aristocratic etiquette; she was a free-spirited singer. In Mondstadt, her air was quite admired, but in the rigidly hierarchical Inazuma, with that germaphobic prince constantly seeing her, things might get complicated.

If Rosalind and that prince truly didn't get along well, he thought he might be able to use his position as vice-commander of the Knights of Favonius to mediate and have a proper conversation, ideally getting Rosalind to move out. That prince was, after all, still a child, and wouldn't intentionally cause trouble. As long as he was polite and well-mannered, that would be enough. Having served in the Knights for so many years, he was no longer like Rosalind; he was a knight with a distinctly noble air.

He even prepared a gift for Rosalind's roommate. Knowing that Rosalind's roommate was Shen Liang, he specially brought a premium fruit wine from Mondstadt, the non-alcoholic kind. After all, even though he was a little demon, he was still under twenty years old, and such alcoholic beverages would always hold some appeal. If that didn't work, there were always Mondstadt windmill toys; surely his two younger sisters would like them?

But these are minutiae.

Rustan opened the wooden box, bundled the flowers inside together, and tied them into a beautiful bouquet with white paper. The rose at the top was still fresh and bright. He then placed the carefully prepared ring into the center of the rose, so that Rosalind would find the ring in the center of the rose when he gave it to her.

Rustan knew that such behavior was even considered old-fashioned in Mondstadt, a city renowned for its romance, but for a commoner like Rosalind, such a bold proposal was extremely rare. Besides, this was Liyue, a place with conservative customs. He would knock on the door with flower petals, kneel down, and present the ring… perhaps Rosalind's roommates would be utterly astonished, then they would tease and make a ruckus, deliberately embarrassing Rosalind to the point of blushing, leaving her both annoyed and happy as she carefully slipped the ring onto her finger.

He wasn't always a clumsy and honest man; when he made up his mind, he was capable of pulling off many flamboyant and romantic gestures. After all, he had spent so much time with Erendlin, and through his observation and experience, he had a pretty good idea of ​​how to win a girl's heart.

As Rustan walked, students and campus staff passing by gave him friendly smiles. Even strangers could tell what he was up to. What else could such a handsome foreigner be doing, rushing towards the dormitories with flowers in the morning but proposing? His adorable, almost silly happiness was practically overflowing... Everyone would feel goodwill towards such a young man, so Rustan felt incredibly light-hearted, his steps even a little unsteady.

He had even made a reservation in advance at a restaurant in Liyue Harbor, not Crescent Moon Pavilion or Crystal Pavilion, but a small villa owned by a Mondstadt resident in the harbor. The restaurant was built with marble, and the interior had the most birch flooring in Mondstadt. The four walls had been smashed and replaced with floor-to-ceiling windows, opening up the room and even removing the floorboards to hang chandeliers—a typical Mondstadt style.

He booked the entire restaurant; it would be just him and Rosalyn dining there, preferably in the evening with candles lit. On the table would be wine from the Gunnhild winery, and the meat from a six-month-old Natasha pork cub. They wouldn't eat rice, and would use knives and forks instead of chopsticks. The two would gaze at each other through the warm candlelight; he looked at the girl's flushed face, and outside the window, the calm harbor and the sea stretched out before them.