"Win, Eighteen Arhats."
"..."
"Win, Little Four Happiness."
"..."
Not only did the three other players at the table fall silent, but even the audience in the venue was left speechless.
This was nothing short of a massacre.
The host coughed lightly and announced, "Since the other three players have been completely wiped out of chips, I hereby declare the winner of this year's Liyue Mahjong King Tournant to be—Miss Ganyu from the Yujing Terrace district! Let us all congratulate her on winning the prize of ten million Mora!"
At the ntion of the enormous prize, the audience erupted into deafening cheers.
Ganyu stood up, politely thanked everyone, and then accepted the bank card handed to her by the host.
It was an anonymous card from the Northland Bank, usable by anyone, and it contained the tournant's prize money.
Ten million Mora.
Ganyu thought to herself silently.
That should cover my massage expenses for the next thirty years.
As the tournant concluded, the audience gradually dispersed.
The four players, however, all made their way over to Xia Zhi and the others.
"Congratulations, Senior Sister, on winning the championship."
"Thank you."
"I knew Miss Ganyu would win!"
"I was just lucky."
"Luck is also a form of skill!"
"It's a pity, though. If Miss Xia Ci had won, she could have ordered dishes for a whole month."
Xia Zhi smiled. "Miss Ganyu is no exception. The reward I offered still stands. For the next month, Miss Ganyu can also co to the shop and order dishes."
"Really? But I'm so busy with work, I can't co to the shop every day to eat. How about I pass this reward to my junior sister instead?"
"Senior Sister..."
Ying'er clicked her tongue. "Wow, such a deep bond between master and disciple!"
Xia Zhi was montarily taken aback, then nodded with a smile. "Alright, then. For the next month, Shenhe will be the one ordering dishes. If you all want to eat sothing, you'll have to butter her up."
"That's right!"
The girls quickly realized that Shenhe had a great personality. Whatever they wanted to eat, she would surely agree—it was practically the sa as ordering for themselves!
"Miss Yanfei, Miss Yelan, are you both alright?"
Yanfei smiled. "I'm fine."
Yelan sighed softly. "I'm completely convinced... When I first heard about the tournant format, I thought it would be a long, drawn-out battle. I didn't expect it to end so quickly."
"Miss Yelan, you sound a bit tired. Have you not been resting well these past few days?"
Xia Zhi asked. Now that they were closer, through his god's eye , he could see that Yelan's ntal state wasn't great.
Especially the dark circles under her eyes—they looked heavy, as if she hadn't slept in days.
Yelan fell silent for a mont, then glanced at Xia Zhi. Her eyes carried a hint of subtle resentnt.
"Yes, I haven't been resting well."
"Is it because of work? Ningguang is the sa..."
"No, it's because of you, Mr. Xia."
"Huh?"
"Mr. Xia, didn't you give a box of tea last ti?"
"Are you saying it's because of that..."
"Yes, I accidentally drank too much."
"...How much is 'too much'?"
"I just grabbed a small handful."
"A small handful?"
"The amount I usually use when I brew tea."
"How many leaves?"
"About twenty or thirty."
"!... Most people wouldn't use twenty or thirty leaves for a normal cup of tea, would they?"
"I usually have a lot to do, especially at night, so I like to drink strong tea to stay alert."
"Alright... I understand."
Xia Zhi raised his hand to his forehead, looking sowhat helpless.
"So, you really haven't slept in days, have you?"
"I haven't slept since that day."
"It's a miracle you've lasted this long. You should have co to earlier."
"Do you have a solution, Mr. Xia?"
"Yes, it's not as serious as you think. You're just ntally exhausted. All you need is so proper relaxation."
"Oh."
"Let's head back to the shop, and I'll give you a massage."
"Alright, thank you, Mr. Xia."
Yelan felt a wave of relief wash over her. Finally, this problem could be resolved.
The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata turned to Yanfei. "Miss Yanfei, you're on leave today, right?"
Yanfei nodded. "Yes, I postponed all my commissions so I could focus on the tournant. It's still early, and I don't feel like going back to work."
"So, you didn't get to play to your heart's content, did you?"
"Not really!"
"How about we all head back to the shop? Zhu Zi and the others didn't get to have their fill of fun this morning either. We can continue playing, and have dinner together later."
"Sounds good!"
"Miss Ganyu, you're not allowed to join!"
"Agreed!"
Ganyu smiled helplessly and turned to see Shenhe looking at her with an inexplicable expression.
"Junior Sister, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
Shenhe shook her head.
The group returned to the Sumr Shop, where the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, Yanfei, Zhu Zi, and the others eagerly began another round of mahjong.
Shenhe and Ganyu sat at a nearby table, chatting over tea.
Xia Zhi took Yelan to the back room for a massage.
He lit so calming incense, and as the strange fragrance filled the air, Yelan felt her overactive mind begin to slow down.
Xia Zhi gently massaged Yelan's head.
"So comfortable..."
"Next ti, don't overdo it. I already warned you not to drink too much tea, or you wouldn't be able to sleep."
"Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't expect the effect to be so strong."
"Actually, it's partly my fault. I didn't explain it clearly enough."
"No, it's... mmm~"
"After not sleeping for days, you must have dark circles under your eyes, right? Those don't fade away naturally."
"It's fine. I can just use so eyeshadow to cover them up."
"Let use so dicine to remove them for you."
"Thank you."
"You should have co to earlier. Not being able to sleep the first night might be normal, but if you still couldn't sleep the second night, you should have realized how serious the problem was."
"I... actually..."
"Hmm?"
"It wasn't all bad. Thanks to the tea, my mind beca incredibly sharp. I managed to solve a lot of pending cases during that ti."
"So, you were really working overti these past few days?"
"Yes, the Millelith arrested a lot of people."
"Work is important, but you need to take care of your health too. You, Ganyu, and Ningguang... Is Liyue really that short on talent?"
"Yes."
"..."
"I heard that Lady Ningguang once invited you to join the Yuehai Pavilion?"
"That's true."
"Why did you refuse?"
"I'm not really suited for that kind of work."
"Or you just didn't want to do it?"
"That's part of it too."
"Fair enough."
"Mmm."
As they chatted, Yelan's voice gradually faded.
The sudden relaxation of her tense mind, combined with the exhaustion accumulated over days and nights, overwheld her, and she drifted off to sleep.
Xia Zhi stopped talking and quietly finished the massage. Then, he carried her to the bathroom and placed her in a tub of warm water.
After a mont's thought, he added a small drop of [Essence of Sun and Moon] into the water.
Rest well.
----
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