"When will the rain stop? I wanted to go to Qingce Village to gather some ingredients, but it seems I'll have to try my luck next week." Xiangling complained to the sleeping Guoba as she tended the store.
The number of customers coming to the restaurant also decreased sharply because of the rain, so she had nothing to do.
As she slowly started to doze off, someone called out to her with a melodic voice, "Hello, can I have your signature dish?"
"Ah!" Xiangling was startled by the sudden call. She quickly woke up and looked at the customer.
A girl of about sixteen was standing in front of the counter. Silver-white hair, red eyes, and pale snow-white skin. Her attire was very unique. A very revealing white top and a short black skirt with stockings.
But her clothes were exquisitely decorated with pieces of armor, emitting a breath of regality.
Looking at this mysterious customer, Xiangling was bewildered for a moment. But she quickly recovered, "I'm sorry. Because of the heavy rain, our shipment of fish hasn't arrived yet. So our signature boiled fish dish cannot be cooked. May I recommend another dish?"
The girl smiled, "Of course, go ahead."
"In that case, I'd like to recommend Jueyn Chili Chicken. It's one of our bestsellers. You'll definitely like it." Xiangling enthusiastically introduced the dish.
"Very well, I'll order this one." The girl nodded.
"Great! Please, sit down. I'll prepare the dish in just fifteen minutes." Xiangling started preparing the dish with renewed energy, "What's your name? I haven't seen these kinds of clothes before. Are you from Fontaine?"
"I'm Ruby. And no, I'm not from Fontaine." She answered after sitting on a chair.
"I'm Xiangling. I'm the head chef of this restaurant. And this is Guoba, my pet." Xiangling pointed at the little bear-like creature sleeping behind the counter. She tactfully didn't ask about her origin again since the girl didn't give a clear answer.
"You're running the store alone?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. But I wasn't supposed to do so. I wanted to go somewhere, but I had to cancel my plans because of the rain. Anyways, is this your first time in Liyue?" Xiangling asked while she prepared the chicken.
Ruby looked out down the roads of Liyue, "Hmm. You could say this is my first time here."
"Oh, are you here for business purposes?"
"It depends. I'm mainly here for a tour." Ruby gave out a meaningful smile.
.
.
After ten minutes, the dish was ready.
"Here you go, Miss Ruby. Our Wanmin's Jueyn Chili Chicken. I hope you enjoy it." Xiangling served the dish on the table.
"Thank you for your hard work, Xiangling." Ruby started eating.
Xiangling was quite surprised that Ruby could use chopsticks. But she decided not to chat anymore, lest she disturbs her while she eats.
Xiangling went back to the counter, and sat on the stool, preparing to doze off again. But another customer entered the restaurant.
Black hair, Golden eyes, and wearing a brown coat. He looked around the restaurant and saw a foreigner eating inside. He was quite surprised to see such a person appearing here, but he liked to mind his own business, so he curbed his curiosity.
Xiangling looked at the man who appeared, and then enthusiastically ran to him, "Mr. Zhongli, you're here even in this weather?"
"Of course. Since I knew you'd be stuck here in the restaurant due to the rain, how could I miss the chance to enjoy your cooking?" Zhongli smiled.
"Hehe. Thank you, Mr. Zhongli." Hearing his compliment, Xiangling was overjoyed. After all, his knowledge of gourmet cuisine was indisputable. She improved leaps and bounds due to his occasional cooking advice.
At that moment, Ruby called out to them, "Mr. Zhongli, if you don't mind, would you like to join me for a meal? As a courtesy, I'll foot today's bill."
Zhongli was surprised that this girl would know him, "Of course, thank you for your generosity."
Zhongli sat down on the chair in front of Ruby, "How may I address you?"
"I'm Ruby Liv, the Acting Head Sustainer of Celestia. Nice to meet you."
Hearing this, Zhongli's body stiffened. Then he realized everything turned gray except for the two of them. The entire world was frozen.
'This power! She can freely manipulate time?!' In front of time control, he had no way to resist. His thoughts quickly moved, 'Is she here to punish me for my future actions?'
"Mr. Zhongli, no need to feel nervous. I'm not here to punish you. Rather, I'm here to remind you of the Heavenly Principles you promised to adhere to when you became an archon. While your future actions do not violate them, it destabilizes the entire Teyvat. Which is against the Heavenly Principles." Ruby smiled.
'She can read minds?' Zhongli was startled. He did not know any sustainers that could read an archon's mind this easily.
"Yes, I can read minds. I can sit here and access the minds of every single creature in this world. Maybe even the entire universe, or maybe the cosmos and reality itself. Who knows?" Ruby smiled mischievously.
Zhongli took a deep breath, and stabilized his emotions, "How can I be of service?"
"No no, I'm not going to order you to do something. The reason I'm telling you all this is to let you see the bigger picture. Those clowns running around trying to overthrow Celestia will achieve nothing but the complete destruction of Teyvat. You see, I have a friend up there. I'm just helping her out. I've been long dissatisfied with this constant failure of a project. So I'm here to fix it once and for all. I want to spend my holiday here, so wiping out half of this world or taking away everyone's free will reduce my fun quite a lot. Do you understand?" Ruby said with a blank face.
"I… I see." Zhongli was lost for words.
"Great! I look forward to your actions." Ruby finished her meal and manifested some mora, "Also, please inform the Qixing, especially the Yuheng to prepare a residency for me. Preferably on a cliff side, with a sea view. And… as a side note, if your performance is satisfactory in my eyes, I will revive Guizhong as a bonus."
Hearing this, Zhongli trembled, and a trace of sadness and self-blame flashed past his eyes.
"See you soon, Mr. Zhongli." She let the time flow of the world resume again, and stood up, "Xiangling, thank you for the meal. It was delicious. Here's the payment, the additional mora is for Mr. Zhongli's meal. If anything remains after that, keep the change."
After handing out the mora, Ruby left.
Looking at the bag of five hundred thousand mora stuffed into her hands, Xiangling was flustered, "This… this is too much!" She ran out of the store and tried to catch up with Ruby. But Xiangling couldn't find her, as if she vanished into thin air.
Xiangling came back to the restaurant to see Zhongli dazed, looking at the rain with blank look.
"Mr. Zhongli… are you alright?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. But she got no reply. Only the rhythmic sound of raindrops was left in the silent restaurant…