"Old Gong?"
A hoarse voice called out. Gong Qu instinctively replied.
"Uh, wifey?"
"A certain retired deck cleaner, quitting the game if I don't get Hu Tao's staff, blue modder—look it up. I'm Kamisato Ayaka's dog. I'll always love Miss Nilou. I'm so cute. Honkai: Star Rail is really fun..."
One by one, the girl listed these phrases in a flat, emotionless voice.
"Stop! Please don't say those embarrassing gamer tags out loud! I know who you are now!"
Gong Qu would rather go ten rounds with ten Geo Chieftains than have his humiliating past usernames dragged into the light like this.
Through the lingering smoke, a girl with dull golden hair stepped into view.
"Should I say it's been a while… or that this is our first meeting?"
"But I didn't come here to see you. I'm just looking for Paimon. Let's never meet again."
With that, Lumine turned her back.
But she didn't leave.
She waited several seconds, still standing there.
Nobody came running up to stop her. Nobody clung to her, pleading for her to stay.
So she raised her sword, Primordial Jade Cutter, and pointed it directly at Gong Qu.
"You didn't even try to stop me!"
"What? I—give me at least ten seconds to react before saying that!"
The demure, composed image Gong Qu had of Lumine shattered completely.
This girl—so sly! ×2
Both thought it at the same time.
Lumine sheathed her sword and began walking toward him—one step at a time.
As she approached, a nearly imperceptible smile flickered at the corners of her mouth.
Standing barely a palm's width from him, her considerable chest now mere inches away, she looked up at Gong Qu.
He looked down at her. Up close, he could see the trembling of her lashes, the faint scent of wine on her breath.
"What… what are you doing?"
"I want to."
"???"
Lumine rose up on tiptoe, gripped Gong Qu's shoulders, leaned close to the side of his face, and gently rubbed her cheek against his. Her teeth grazed his earlobe in a teasing bite.
Gong Qu jolted and quickly pushed her away, holding her arms.
"What the hell are you doing? Were we ever like that?"
"Hehe… no."
"Then why act like this? Don't tell me you're… that kind of woman?"
"I'm not."
She took his hand and pressed it against her face.
"I just… missed you so much. Only after you were gone did I realize how important you were to me. How intense these feelings really are… I kept telling myself that if I ever saw you again, I'd say it—say everything I've held inside."
As she spoke, she slowly guided his hand toward her chest.
As if wanting him to feel how fiercely her heart beat for him.
Whoosh!
Gong Qu yanked his hand back in panic.
This was way too yandere.
He'd only stopped playing for a few months—how did things get this bad?
Wait…
Something clicked.
He took her hand again.
"It's burning!"
He pressed the back of his hand to her forehead.
"Damn, are you sick? How could someone as strong as you be running a fever?"
A goofy grin spread across Lumine's flushed face.
"Hehe, I was looking for Paimon for so long and couldn't find her… think I burned through my elemental energy."
That explained the sudden Geo Chieftains in Mondstadt, and the leylines going haywire in Whispering Forest.
So it was a god-tier elemental user causing all the chaos.
"Listen, Lumine. Paimon's safe. I ran into her at Starfell Lake. She's already back at the Adventurers' Guild."
"Starfell Lake… hehe, such a nostalgic place. Remember when I got so excited that I swam too far and ran out of stamina? You saved me—that was the first time you ever saved me."
"Are you sure this is just elemental burnout and not some sort of demonic possession? Should we go back to Mondstadt and see a doctor?"
Lumine's eyes suddenly turned cold.
"Demonic possession… you mean Honkai: Star Rail? Is that where you went when you left Teyvat? Met a bunch of pretty girls there, didn't you?"
"That's nonsense! I didn't—let's just go back to Mondstadt, alright?"
Gong Qu took her hand and tried to lead her away.
Lumine dug her heels in and refused to move. Her lips curled into a pout.
"I want you to carry me!"
"You can't walk on your own? Where'd all that sword-swinging energy go just a second ago?"
"I don't care! I want you to carry me!"
Lumine's act was completely unfair.
Overwhelmed by guilt from abandoning Teyvat for Star Rail, Gong Qu caved.
"Fine—but only to the gates of Mondstadt. Once we're inside, you're walking. I'm not getting roasted socially because of this."
"Mmkay~"
She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled sweetly.
For a brief moment, she looked like a normal girl—like a lovestruck teenager.
Gong Qu remembered her backstory.
A girl who lost her family, journeying across the world alone. Everywhere she went, disaster followed. Paimon offered little help. The world of the game—though seemingly peaceful—was rife with hidden danger. She'd faced death more than once. All the pressure of the journey fell on her shoulders.
Maybe, in the past, Gong Qu the "player" was her only support behind the scenes.
And when he left, it was the last straw. It broke her completely.
Damn you, HoYoverse.
The more he sympathized with Lumine, the more he loathed the devs who did this to her.
They liked breaking hearts, huh? Someday they'd get what's coming to them.
"Hubby… can I call you that from now on?"
"I did once use the pun 'Old Gong' as a username, but people might misunderstand. Better pick something else."
"I wasn't talking about that Gong~"
Lumine's sweet reply made Gong Qu's breath catch.
Mom, she's too smooth!
He shook his head, clearing the strange thoughts.
"You can just call me A'Qu like Keqing does."
"Keqing?"
Lumine tilted her head, the sparkle vanishing from her eyes.
Oh crap. I slipped up!
Her emotional state was fragile—if she learned that he and Keqing had already done everything under the sun together, it'd be game over.
"Hubby… mind telling me about Keqing? So during the months you disappeared, were you in Liyue with her? What were you two doing that was so important you couldn't even answer my messages?"
"Well… it's complicated. But I really wasn't in Teyvat these past months. I only met Keqing recently."
Lumine fell silent.
On one side was a dear sister and friend.
On the other, the boy she liked.
Now she learned they'd been together for a whole month behind her back.
The sudden betrayal stung deep—so much that she wanted to throw herself into the abyss and burn the world with her.
"You okay, Lumine?"
The young man's warm, concerned gaze reached her.
That gentleness—she wanted to cling to it forever.
In that case… don't blame me for what I do next!
She calmed down briefly, glancing past Gong Qu's shoulder toward a figure hidden behind a tree. Her arms snaked tightly around his neck—and then she leaned in.
Smack.
A bold, unreserved kiss—one that poured out everything she had inside.
A kiss that sealed her into the cage called love with no turning back.
Their breaths mingled.
Gong Qu went from resistance, to hesitance, to acceptance, to surrender.
Even the wind turned shy at the sight.
...
Behind the tree—
Keqing clasped her hand over her mouth, trying not to make a sound.
But the breathing behind her ears was unbearable.
Soft sobs escaped.
She regretted it. She should never have followed him here, thinking herself clever.
Yet pride refused to let her leave in disgrace.
So she crouched, hugged her knees, and buried her head—wishing the world's noise would disappear.