<h4>Chapter 35: Viin Simtor, Ch 35</h4>


    No wonder Lucas hadn''t reacted at all to her subtle actions earlier. Of course, with apanion like that, how could any other woman catch his eye?


    For some reason, as Shenhe thought of this, a bitter feeling welled up deep inside her.


    Strange, why did she feel so upset?


    But soon, that bitterness was reced by surprise.


    She noticed that the blue-haired woman in the photograph had ck and red horns, and the style of her clothing was also quite simr to her own—likely crafted by Cloud Retainer herself.


    Horns like a qilin, wearing frost and dew, with unparalleled beauty...


    There couldn''t be anyone else in Liyue Harbor who fit these characteristics.


    "Lucas''spanion..." Shenhe muttered to herself, "is Senior Sister Ganyu?"


    Though Shenhe had never met Ganyu personally, Cloud Retainer had often mentioned her. Shenhe wasn''t worldly, but she wasn''t foolish either. Connecting the clues, it wasn''t difficult to deduce Ganyu''s identity.


    "Sorry for the wait."


    Just then, the bathroom door swung open.


    Oh no!


    Shenhe panicked, quickly cing the photo down and grabbing the M1911 she had tossed aside earlier, pretending to inspect it out of curiosity.


    Her posture resembled that of a student caught off guard by a question in ss, as if she were about to say, "Wow, this iron lump sure is... iron."


    But when Lucas saw her, his gentle demeanor vanished, and he shouted, "Don''t move!"


    Startled by his sudden outburst, Shenhe dropped the M1911, and it ttered to the floor.


    Lucas lunged forward, catching the gun mid-air, and only after ensuring the safety was still engaged did he let out a sigh of relief.


    The reason for his reaction wasn''t anger at Shenhe for messing with his belongings, but fear that she might identally harm herself.


    No matter how strong she was, a firearm at such close range was dangerous.


    "Why did you touch my stuff?" Lucas scolded instinctively.


    "I... I..." Shenhe, flustered by his anger, felt a pang of hurt. Her face flushed red as she struggled to respond, looking both aggrieved and confused. "I was just curious."


    Seeing her expression, Lucas realized his tone had been too harsh, and he softened it. "This thing is dangerous. You shouldn''t handle it carelessly."


    "If something broke, I''d pay for it," Shenhe muttered with a pout, her lips trembling. "My master gave me plenty of Mora anyway."


    "It''s not about the money," Lucas said, his tone serious. "Taking something without permission is theft. If you had done this with someone else''s belongings, they might have reported you as a thief."


    "A thief?" Shenhe''s face darkened. "Is it really that serious?"


    Shenhe had never considered these things before. Her mission upon descending from the mountains was to punish evildoers, but now she herself hadmitted a petty crime. If her master found out, the consequences would be unimaginable.


    Cloud Retainer had sternly warned that her disciples must nevermit crimes. The punishment ranged from ten years of solitary confinement to being stripped of their powers and expelled from the sect.


    "Yes," Lucas casually added, "You wouldn''t want your master finding out that you''ve be a thief, would you?"


    That sentence... it sounded so familiar.


    Of course, in the dream, this man had used the same threat to ckmail her, leveraging Chongyun to control her!


    It had to be him. They were the same person!


    Shenhe assumed Lucas was using the same trick to threaten her now, just like in the dream.


    So, that''s it.


    Leaving the coat out was bait to lure her into making a mistake.


    This man wasn''t just as wicked as in her dreams—he was just as cunning, too!


    Shenhe, how could you let yourself be fooled by the same trick twice?


    "So..." Shenhe asked cautiously, "Are you going to tell my master?"


    "Of course not," Lucas said, surprised by the question. "What would I gain from that?"


    Hmph, hypocrite!


    Clearly, he was hinting that he expected something in return.


    "I understand what you''re getting at." Shenhe took a deep breath. "Please don''t tell my master. I''ll agree to any condition. Here, I''ll even give you all the Mora I have left after buying the office, as long as you keep this secret."


    Even after buying the office, Shenhe still had millions of Mora remaining.


    "I told you," Lucas frowned, "I''m not going to tell your master."


    It seems the offer wasn''t enough.


    Indeed, while this man was evil, he didn''t seem to care much for money. But what could she offer to make him keep quiet?


    That''s right. This man''s favorite thing...


    Isn''t it... tormenting her?


    Does she have to, once again, throw away her dignity to please him, just like in the dream?


    Unaware of what was going on in Shenhe''s mind, Lucas simply assumed her guarded behavior was a result of her unfamiliarity with the world.


    "How about this," Lucas offered, sitting down in the office chair. "If you do me one favor, I''ll promise not to tell your master."


    Seeing him sit in that familiar chair made Shenhe instinctively gulp.


    It was a conditioned reflex at this point.


    "What... what kind of favor?" she asked, pretending not to know.


    "It''s simple," Lucas said, stretching his neck with a smile. "Just help me rx. You know how, right?"


    He thought she would just give him a shoulder massage, like the one he had just given her.


    But Shenhepletely misunderstood his request.


    Of course, I know what you want.


    "I understand," Shenhe replied bitterly. "But... could you cover your eyes?"


    "Cover my eyes?" Lucas was puzzled, but figured she was just shy. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and tied it over his eyes.


    "Alright," Shenhe said in a resigned tone, "I''ll begin."


    Lucas couldn''t help but feel a little awkward.


    Wow, you''re really making it seem like helping me rx is the worst thing ever.


    But soon, Lucas started to realize something was off.


    Before he knew it, a familiar sensation, like a jolt of electricity, ran through his body.


    It was just like the experiences from the "immersive mode."


    The only difference was... this office didn''t have a privacy screen.


    Why is Shenhe... doing this?


    Lucas wanted to stop, but his body stayed glued to the chair, unable to resist his base instincts.


    ...


    Half an hourter.


    The bathroom door creaked open as Shenhe stepped out, her face slightly flushed. She wiped the corners of her mouth and said, "That should do it, right?"


    "Shenhe, I think..." Lucas''s expression wasplicated. "We need to have a talk."


    "What''s wrong?" Shenhe frowned. "You didn''t like it?"


    In the dream, you clearly liked it.


    "It''s not that I didn''t like it... No! This isn''t about liking or not liking!" Lucas quickly shook his head. "Why did you do that?"


    If Lucas remembered correctly, the real Shenhe had trained under Cloud Retainer from a young age and wouldn''t have had the opportunity to experience anything like that.


    It was just... exactly like the Shenhe in the simtor.


    Impossible. Everything in the simtor was fake. And if this Shenhe had any connection to the one from the simtor, she should hate him, not... do something like that.


    Lucas''s question left Shenhe at a loss for words.


    She couldn''t exactly say she learned it in a dream, right?


    Ah, right... her master had once told her that if she encountered problems aftering down the mountain, she should try to solve them herself. But if the issue was too difficult, she could simply mention her master''s name!


    And right now, this was certainly an awkward predicament.


    "My... my master taught me!" Shenhe averted her eyes slightly, telling a lie.


    What?! Your master really teaches that kind of thing?


    "Really?" Lucas asked, still skeptical.


    "She said that if I ever met a man I liked, I could use this method to... please him." Shenhe lowered her head, staring at her toes (which, of course, she couldn''t see) as her face turned red. "Your behavior earlier... I thought you were hinting at me."


    So... it was my fault?


    Lucas wore an expression that was both amused and exasperated. Admittedly, given what had just happened, it was understandable that Shenhe might have misunderstood.


    But this misunderstanding was way too big.


    "And besides," Shenhe continued, lifting her gaze to meet his eyes, "you didn''t exactly stop me, did you?"


    I wanted to stop... but you were just too good!


    "Ahem... anyway, your master got one thing right: something like that should only be done with someone you care about," Lucas awkwardly shifted the topic. "So, in the future, you shouldn''t do that with anyone else, understand?"


    "I fully understand now..." Shenhe nodded thoughtfully, though still somewhat confused. "What you''re saying is... you want to have me all to yourself?"


    "You clearly don''t understand at all!" Lucas facepalmed. "What kind of strange education did Cloud Retainer give you?"


    This wasn''t going well. Given Shenhe''s beauty and innocent personality, if some bad person took advantage of her, she''d definitely suffer.


    I have to protect her!


    Maybe it was because Lucas wanted to prove to himself that he hadn''t been corrupted by evil thoughts, or perhaps he just felt guilty toward the Shenhe in the simtor. Either way, he found himself determined to protect this woman.


    Wait a minute!


    Lucas quickly opened the system interface and used his umted virtue points to exchange for two Transmission Stones.


    Yes, the very same ones from the simtor, which could be used like amunicator.


    Although their function was simple—essentially acting like a walkie-talkie—they could only supportmunication between two specific individuals.


    When Shenhe saw the familiar stones in Lucas''s hands, her eyes widened again.


    In the simtor, Lucas had used these very stones to summon her at his whim.


    Could it be... he''s going to do the same thing again?


    "This is called a Transmission Stone," Lucas exined. "Using it, you can contact me anytime. This may not be anything special for an adeptus, so you should know how to use it, right?"


    Know how to use it? Oh, I know very well!


    Shenhe nodded shyly.


    "Great," Lucas handed her one of the stones and said earnestly, "If you ever run into trouble, use this to let me know right away. While I may not be as powerful as Cloud Retainer, I can still get there quickly to help you."


    [You''ve earned 1,000 Virtue Points!]


    Help me with my problems?


    I bet you just want me to "solve your problems!"


    And quickly, huh? You really can''t wait, can you?


    ------


    Author''s Note: The misunderstandings LOL