CHAPTER 187: GOD OF HYDRO? FURINA!

Chapter 187: God of Hydro? Furina! Xianzhou Tingyun!

Ren was certainly not such a lustful person. Compared to obtaining a body, he still preferred the intimacy of connecting hearts; the fusion of body and mind was wonderful. He put Alina down. He lightly touched her shoulder. A flash of gold, and a light green long dress covered her body. That color, like a green grassland, gave the bewildered Talulah a deep blow.

"Alina, you haven’t seen Talulah for a long time, you two talk." Ren smiled brilliantly.

"Mm, thank you, Master." Alina nodded, her small face flushed. She heard the hidden meaning in Ren’s words. I must properly guide Talulah. Alina thought.

Ren left the Chaos Realm. He gave them time to talk to each other. Nothing could change Talulah faster than opening her heart. He believed Alina could pull Talulah out of her self-blame. He also believed she could change Talulah’s thoughts and erase any potential lingering feelings.

Afterward, Ren went to the Student Council. Kaguya informed him of a piece of news. The building Ren had requested had been found. It had about ten to twenty units. Ren decided to go see it on the weekend.

After school, he returned home. Ren routinely played with the cats. There were currently three cats at home: a cat, Haru, and a Yukino-nyan. Yukino sat in Ren’s arms, while Haru and Cat lay in her lap. On one side was the embrace of the person she loved. On the other side was the softness of the cats she adored. As Ren’s girlfriend and a top cat lover, Yukino-nyan was blissfully lost.

Kanae and the others were already accustomed to this scene. They each went about their business, not disturbing them. Only Eriri lay on the sofa drawing doujinshi, occasionally kicking him with her smooth little feet.

"Ren, I’m going to sell doujinshi tomorrow, will you come with me!" Eriri leaned in, whining. Tomorrow was Saturday. If he put off seeing the house until Sunday, he would indeed have time. But selling doujinshi...

Ren looked up at Sayuri, who was massaging his shoulders behind him. "Aren’t you going with her?"

Sayuri smiled faintly. "Of course I’m going with her, but with just the two of us, we might not have enough hands."

Eriri pouted. "Dad used to go with me..." As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized she had said the wrong thing and quickly covered her mouth, looking worriedly at Sayuri.

Sayuri didn’t mind at all; she simply leaned down and kissed Ren on the lips, her entire being already clinging to Ren. Her meaning seemed to be directed at Eriri. What’s with all this ’dad’ talk? Isn’t your dad right here?

"..." Yukino awkwardly turned her head away. If you’re going to kiss, why do you have to do it on my shoulder!

After Sayuri lifted her head, she giggled. "Then let Daddy and Mommy go with you this time too." "Mm, Daddy has plenty of time, oh."

"Ha!!!" Eriri exploded on the spot, entering invincible whirlwind mode. The commotion even made Haru and Cat’s fur stand on end.

Ren didn’t mind, embracing Yukino, resting his chin on her rosy shoulder after her bath, and lightly sniffing her fresh scent. Occasionally, he would even touch Yukino’s fair neck with his lips and tongue, causing Yukino’s body to tremble slightly and her cheeks to flush crimson. Teasing Yukino like this truly excited him, and he never tired of it.

Just as Ren was wondering if he should be bolder, he received a message on his phone. He had so few contacts on his phone; usually, messages sent to him were important to read. It was a message from Haruno.

Haruno: "Ren, I’m free this weekend, want to go out together?"

Ren: "A date?"

Haruno: "Of course, I’m really looking forward to it, oh."

Ren: "Alright, but I might have to go see a house with me first."

Haruno: "Oh? Is preparing to move?"

Ren: "That’s right, the house is getting too small."

Haruno: "Tsk tsk, got a new girlfriend already?"

Ren: "Well, not a girlfriend, more like a subordinate I’ve taken in."

Haruno: "Understood, so you haven’t ’conquered’ her yet."

Ren: "..." Ren clicked his tongue, completely seen through by Haruno.

Haruno: "Hehe, if you’re moving, I want to move too. I want to share a room with Yukino."

Ren: "That’s not for me to decide, it depends on Yukino’s own thoughts."

Haruno: "Oh, I originally wanted to help you fulfill your wish for a ’sister flower,’ but it seems there’s no chance now."

Ren: "Alright! Absolutely! I’ll convince Yukino!"

Haruno: "Tsk, be gentler with Yukino. If you get any photos of her rolling her eyes, you can take a few and send them to me."

Ren: "..." Haruno... are you a devil? Yukino would definitely cry if she knew.

"Staring..." Ren turned his head... alright, Yukino already knew.

Yukino looked up with a gloomy expression, her voice like ice. "Ren, will you do what my sister said?"

Ren decisively shook his head. "Of course not. I love Yukino so much, how could I bear to make my cute Yukino roll her eyes?"

Yukino glared at him, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Don’t say ’roll her eyes’!"

"I won’t!" Ren cooperatively made a zipping motion over his mouth. Only then did Yukino relax.

Her body had been tense just now. She was truly scared. That day, Yukino had personally seen Eriri rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue. If she imagined herself in Eriri’s place, she felt she might truly not have the face to live on. Most importantly, sending such photos to her sister was something she couldn’t even bear to think about.

However, when it came to photos... Yukino cupped Ren’s face and awkwardly said, "You can send me Sister’s photos!"

Ren was stunned. Yukino? Where did my kind and cute Yukino go? Haruno! You’ve corrupted your cute sister!

But the next second, Ren thought of a good idea. He bit Yukino’s ear and said, "Photos are ultimately not safe. I can directly transmit what I see into your brain."

Yukino froze. This... why does this sound so strange?

Seeing Yukino show a hesitant expression, Ren’s eyes lit up—there was a chance! Immediately, Ren began his persistent persuasion. Eriri and the others watched as Yukino went from initial hesitation to confusion, and then to shyly nodding. They couldn’t help but sigh in their hearts. Yukino has been completely bamboozled.

"Kanae, you’ve gotten better." Ren leaned on the bed, enjoying Kanae’s simple massage.

Cat was sound asleep, a cat that couldn’t be woken by thunder or earthquake. Since Kanae couldn’t speak, Ren was just casually praising her anyway.

However, his attention was quickly drawn to the Chat Group. For no other reason than that new members had joined.

[Ding! God of Hydro has joined the Chat Group!]

[Ding! Tingyun has joined the Chat Group!]

"Hmm... so boring, isn’t there anything more interesting?" The girl in the blue dress twirled her hair with her fingers, feeling unsatisfied. This was the Teyvat Continent, Fontaine’s Opera Epiclese, which was also the Court of Fontaine. This was her exclusive seat above the Oratrice Mecanique d’Analyse Cardinale, which resembled a scale. She was Furina, the God of Hydro of Fontaine.

Furina was Fontaine’s superstar. If one didn’t step into the magnificent Opera Epiclese, perhaps travelers from other lands wouldn’t understand why the deity of this place was given the title of "superstar." There was a reason for this. Whether it was a performance or a trial, she always appeared on time in her exclusive seat above the audience. She would laugh and scold, or rage and curse. She was often more impressive than what was happening on stage.

People bought tickets to enter, seeking a full and novel emotional experience. In this regard, Furina was clearly more likable than the absolutely impartial Neuvillette. Admiration does not only take the form of looking up. The residents of Fontaine showed their respect for Furina in a unique way. Or, perhaps, ’affection’ would be a more accurate word to describe it.

She was not perfect, and perhaps not powerful, but on the stage, she was the most trustworthy presence because she had never disappointed anyone. There was a popular metaphor in Fontaine’s literary circles. Furina was like the never-fading memory of youth in countless people’s hearts. Who wouldn’t wish for eternal youth?

After watching a trial, Furina had just returned. She sat alone in the empty courtroom, feeling a little bored and a little tired. To others, "Hydro Archon" was an enviable title. To herself, "Hydro Archon" was a depressing title.

Furina gently stroked the armrest of the chair. Her mind couldn’t help but recall the past. How long had she been sitting here? Probably hundreds of years had passed. She was the Hydro Archon; this was necessary, and it had to be. In the empty opera house, no one could see the Furina who was usually cheerful, confident, passionate, lofty, and elegant, now with a faint trace of loneliness and desolation on her face. Her emotions were only allowed to be shown when she was alone; this was what Furina, as the Hydro Archon, had to do.

"This is..." Suddenly, Furina put away the expression she would never show in front of others. She sat up straight, her gaze fixed straight ahead. "Doomsday Chat Group?" Something she had never heard of appeared before her eyes.

On the Star Skiff, Tingyun, a luxuriously dressed fox-eared woman, stood on the deck, gazing at the starry sky. Around her Star Skiff, many Star Skiffs from the Whistling Flame Mercantile Guild followed.

Tingyun was the Sky-Faring Commission’s Emissary for the Xianzhou Loufu. She had traveled with merchant groups to many planets, establishing trade and alliances. She was now on her way back to the Celestial Ark of Luofu with the merchant group.

[Note: Regarding when Tingyun was swapped, and whether she died, there are various speculations, and I haven’t found any clues in the plot. The setting used here is that Tingyun was swapped by Huanlong not long after entering the Xianzhou.]

She gazed at the sea of stars, narrowing her beautiful fox-like eyes, and gently fanned herself with the fan in her hand. "Oh dear, this humble one seems to have discovered something extraordinary."