He quickly let go and sheepishly set Hu Tao back down.
Her face was flushed bright red, her entire body stiff. The moment her feet touched the ground, she reached out a hand, eyes glaring.
“Give me my bonus back!”
Would Jiang Bai hand over the money just like that? Of course not!
Money once given is like water spilled—no way it’s coming back.
To him, Hu Tao’s flustered anger was actually kind of cute. Her face all red like a Pyro Slime made him want to pinch it.
That thought flashed through his mind for only a second before he clasped his hands together and bowed his head in apology.
“I’m sorry, Director! I really am! I got too excited—I totally lost my head!”
His apology came swiftly and sincerely. As he spoke, he gently lowered Hu Tao’s hand and circled behind her to knead her shoulders, hoping to soothe her temper.
“How about this—I’ll wash your hair for free ten times to make up for it?”
Hu Tao crossed her arms and gave a snort, clearly not ready to forgive him just yet.
“Twenty times?” Jiang Bai asked tentatively.
“Fifty!”
She didn’t hesitate.
“Deal! No problem! I guarantee full service, satisfaction guaranteed!”
“Hey, isn’t that Hu Tao? What are they doing?”
Not far off, a blue-haired boy eating a popsicle glanced over curiously.
Next to him stood a youth with short, chin-length hair and a face so delicate it blurred the line between boy and girl.
The second boy’s eyes sparkled. “Let’s go say hi.”
He’d caught the whole scene just now. When had Hu Tao gotten so friendly with someone unfamiliar? From the looks of it, their relationship seemed pretty close.
“Hu Tao!”
Hearing the voice, Hu Tao turned around—and the moment she saw who it was, her eyes lit up with excitement. She waved enthusiastically.
Her expression had already returned to normal. She was quick to react, but just as quick to bounce back.
“Xingqiu! Chongyun! Long time no see!”
“It really has been a while,” Chongyun nodded.
He’d recently heard about some malevolent energy disturbing Qingce Village and had spent quite a while camping out there to investigate. He’d only just returned to Liyue Harbor.
Looking at the two boys—both around the same age as Hu Tao, with refined appearances and composed demeanors—Jiang Bai instinctively straightened his posture and put on the shy, harmless smile he usually wore in front of strangers.
That same bashful smile had everyone at the funeral parlor convinced he was a mild-mannered, slightly shy young man.
“And who’s this?” Xingqiu asked, glancing at Jiang Bai, prompting Hu Tao to introduce them.
Before she could say anything, Jiang Bai stepped forward and introduced himself.
“Nice to meet you both! I’m the Director’s most compatible confidant, her most capable partner, her most loyal little brother, and her most well-behaved subordinate—the Soul Ferryman of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Jiang Bai!”
Xingqiu’s mouth twitched.
The first few titles sounded somewhat plausible, but what was all that nonsense at the end?
Since when had Hu Tao started running a gang? And recruited a “little brother”?
When he heard the last part, he finally understood—ah, he’s from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Hu Tao’s expression visibly dropped as she listened to Jiang Bai’s spiel. Her eyelids lowered, and the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Since when do I have such a long list of ties with this guy?
Maybe the last one or two could be considered true… but those first few?
Confidant? Partner? Who’s he talking about?
Chongyun blinked and, in genuine admiration, said, “Wow, impressive!”
So many titles—it clearly meant they had a close relationship.
“Nice to meet you,” Jiang Bai said, extending his hand to shake.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Xingqiu.”
“I’m Chongyun.”
“The Director often talks about you two,” Jiang Bai added, laying it on thick. “Seeing you in person—you’re just as brilliant and refined as she described!”
Chongyun scratched his head, a bit flustered. Xingqiu, clearly used to this kind of flattery, remained entirely unbothered.
“You flatter me.”
Before Jiang Bai could continue laying it on, Hu Tao cut in.
“You two came at the perfect time—I was just about to look for you.”
“Oh? Looking for us?” Xingqiu and Chongyun exchanged a glance, neither having heard anything beforehand.
“I just got back from Mondstadt and brought you both souvenirs.”
Hu Tao handed them their gifts. “A feather quill for you, Xingqiu—and for you, Chongyun, a recipe for Mondstadt’s famous iced drinks.”
“Then I’ll gladly accept!”
“No need for formality,” Hu Tao waved it off. “We’re all old friends—don’t get all stiff just because someone new’s here.”
“Xingqiu, I actually came to see you for something serious.”
“Oh? Another poetry duel?”
“Nope. I’ve been working on a book lately, but my writing skills are kind of limited… so I wanted to ask for your help!”
“Y-You want my help?” Xingqiu leaned back as if struck by lightning, eyes wide, pupils shrinking, his toes curling in his shoes.
No way. No way. No way she found out I write novels?!
Oh no. He hadn’t told anyone about that. How did she even—
He was half a second away from bolting on the spot, but a sliver of hope held him back.
Maybe I’m just overthinking it. Maybe she doesn’t actually know…
But as fate would have it, the very thing he dreaded came true.
Hu Tao, speaking as if it were the most normal thing in the world, continued:
“Yeah! You wrote a novel, didn’t you? I’ve never written one, so I figured you could coach me a bit. We can write it together!”
“I—I—I…”
Xingqiu’s brain froze. A wave of pure embarrassment crashed over him—his deepest secret, exposed.
“You wrote a novel?” Chongyun asked, genuinely surprised.
He’d known Xingqiu liked reading martial arts and supernatural tales, but he never imagined Xingqiu had written one himself.
Xingqiu’s ears turned bright red, though he did his best to act unaffected.
Honestly, there wasn’t anything shameful about writing a novel—once you could get past the internal cringe.
Right now, all Xingqiu hoped was that Hu Tao only knew that he’d written a novel, and not what kind of novel it was.
But life had other plans.
Hu Tao added cheerfully, “Yeah! It’s called Chronicles of Autumn’s Sword. Sounds like a wuxia story, but I haven’t gotten around to buying a copy yet.”
At that, Xingqiu finally exhaled in relief. His clenched toes relaxed.
Right. First thing after this—I’m buying every copy in Liyue Harbor. Burn them if I have to. No one’s reading that book.
Absolutely not.
Chongyun looked at him curiously. Xingqiu gave an awkward laugh and said, “It was just something I wrote casually—not really worth mentioning.”
Hu Tao patted him on the shoulder. “Come on, that’s not the right attitude! How could you not tell us? If we’d known, we could’ve hyped it up for you!”
Xingqiu’s smile grew increasingly stiff, the gift he’d just received now burning hot in his hands.
—
T/N: ehhehe
This is a fan translation of 胡桃拿我冲业绩 by 余溯. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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