"Oh my, how embarrassing."
To everyone's surprise, Yelan showed no signs of nervousness. Instead, she raised her arm, lowered her head, and extended her slender tongue, gently licking off the remaining plum sauce. She then smiled and said, "It's just some jam."
Honestly, the last time Lucas had seen such a flexible tongue was in an episode of Animal World featuring a lizard.
With that, Yelan waved her hand and turned to leave. "Looking forward to our future collaboration. See you later."
"I didn't expect someone as meticulous as Miss Yelan to have such a careless moment," Ganyu mused, seemingly unaware of anything unusual. "But being able to lick that spot is quite impressive... A-Shan, pass me that jar of plum sauce on the table."
Hearing the words "plum sauce," Lucas's heart raced again, but he pretended to be clueless and handed the jar to Ganyu. "Here you go."
"Strange, why is it only half full?" Ganyu tilted her head, puzzled. "I remember it being full."
Lucas quickly deflected. "Maybe... Cloud Retainer took a bite without us noticing."
"I didn't eat it!"
Suddenly, Xianyun's voice came from outside. "Don't go blaming me!"
Damn, that old crane's hearing is way too sharp!
Wait, do cranes even have ears?
"Maybe I just remembered wrong," Ganyu said, not seeming to care. She took a bit of the plum sauce and spread it under her arm, muttering to herself, "I want to see if I can lick it too."
Why is your curiosity focused on such a weird thing?!
Ganyu imitated Yelan, lowering her head and sticking out her tongue. However, human physiology couldn't compare. No matter how hard she tried, her tongue just couldn't reach the plum sauce.
Her adorable efforts, though, made Lucas chuckle.
Finally, after multiple failed attempts, Ganyu gave up. Lucas gently lifted her arm and asked, "Need some help?"
Seeing Lucas open his mouth, Ganyu's face turned red. She murmured, "Wait! That spot... isn't clean. I haven't showered yet!"
At her core, Ganyu was still a traditional girl, not as open as Yelan. But Lucas didn't care. He eagerly licked off the plum sauce.
Unlike Yelan's wild flavor, Ganyu had a refreshing, almost milky scent.
Twenty minutes later.
The remaining half jar of plum sauce was also devoured under Lucas's relentless assault.
Ganyu, aside from feeling a bit weak, didn't have any adverse reactions.
Lucas, however, having consumed an entire jar of plum sauce in such a short time, found his mouth feeling overly sour.
---
"Excuse me, are you two done?"
Just then, a calm voice came from nearby. Lucas and Ganyu were startled and turned to see a black-haired woman sitting on a chair, holding an exquisite teapot.
It was Zhongli!
"M-Miss Zhongli?" Lucas was shocked. "When did you get here?"
Both Lucas and Ganyu were quite skilled, with sharp senses, yet neither had noticed someone entering the room. This showed just how formidable Zhongli's abilities were.
Of course, it could also be that they were too absorbed in their activities to notice.
"I arrived shortly after Yelan left," Zhongli said, her expression calm, as if the scene she had just witnessed hadn't affected her at all. "I saw you two were... occupied, so I thought it best not to disturb you. I've been sitting here enjoying some tea... It's quite good."
If you thought it was inappropriate to disturb us, you could've left!
It seems like you were just sitting there sipping tea and watching the show!
"This is... so embarrassing!" Ganyu, whose face wasn't as thick as Lucas's, felt utterly ashamed that such a scene had been witnessed by a woman she deeply respected. She covered her face and ran out.
"That child, still the same as ever," Zhongli shook her head, then turned to Lucas. "Tomorrow is the second round of the competition. Are you... prepared?"
"If you're talking about Genius Invokation TCG, I've at least fully grasped the rules. Dealing with second- or third-rate players shouldn't be a problem," Lucas answered honestly. "But this competition is full of hidden talents. It's hard to predict the outcome."
"As a teacher, I've taught you all I can about Genius Invokation TCG," Zhongli nodded. "So today... would you like to learn something else?"
If anyone else had said this, Lucas might have laughed it off.
But coming from Zhongli, it carried weight. Without hesitation, Lucas replied, "Of course."
"Follow me to the open area outside." Zhongli turned and walked out, with Lucas quickly following.
Once outside, Zhongli extended her delicate hand, instantly forming a massive geo spear. "Today, I'll teach you a spear technique."
"Spear technique?" Lucas was puzzled. "Why suddenly teach me this?"
He had thought Zhongli would teach him something useful for the upcoming competition. He couldn't see the connection between card games and combat.
"You'll understand once you learn it," Zhongli said indifferently, not planning to explain further. "However, how much of my Rain of Stone Spear Technique you can grasp... remains to be seen."
"Don't underestimate me!"
This sparked Lucas's competitive spirit. He clenched his fist and grinned. "How about a bet?"
"Oh?" Zhongli raised an eyebrow. "What's the bet?"
"I bet I can master your Rain of Stone Spear Technique before sunset," Lucas said confidently. "If you win, you can order me to do anything."
"I have no interest in gambling," Zhongli said calmly. "But I'll accept your challenge. If you win, what do you want?"
"If I win..." Lucas stroked his chin, smiling mischievously. "I want you to wear... a certain outfit."
---
Author's Note: Weird ahh fetishes for sure....