🦋 WANGSHENG.

                   —     VERSEMONGER OF THE DARKEST ALLEYS , HU TAO !

❝YOU’RE as strange as the rumours say. ❞ He begins bluntly, none of his usual charm apparent. Clearly she had already struck a nerve.  ❝ I was sent here by the Acting Grand Master of Mondstadt to…strike a business deal of sorts. ❞

                    she can’t help the smirk on her face . she was only teasing , but she must have struck it on the nose , she thinks , for his reaction is far too telling . as tempting as further frustration is     (     if only to see the look on his face !     )     she relents . the wellbeing of wangsheng is far more important to her than a moment of humor , however worth it it would seem .

                    ❛          o - ho - ho ? & what could such an important person want with a funeral parlor in the neighboring country ? or , rather , want from     —     this is more like a favor , right ?          ❜          she’s only guessing , with little to go on more than common sense , but thinks that there is likely not much that wangsheng can offer mondstadt in terms of formal business dealings .     (     she could always be wrong , of course     —     but then , funeral rites in liyue are largely centered in tradition     —     cultural traditions which do not extend to their nearby nations .     )

          ❛     aww   ,   c’mon   .   i   know   i   have   a   crush   on   somebody   new   every   day   but   this   one   is   real   :   𝐢   𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫   .     ❜   &   he   truthfully   believes   it   too   ——   it   feels   real   ,   but   does   he   not   say   that   about   every   single   romantic   interest   ?   (   𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲   𝐚𝐥𝐥   𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭   𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥   𝐚𝐭   𝐨𝐧𝐞   𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭  .   )   ❛      i   don’t   know   when   she’ll   be   back   so   …   it’s   go   big   or   go   home   ,   right   ?     ❜

                    ❛          well , i have to commend your DEDICATION , at least .          ❜          she knows better than to believe it     —     than to trust his claims , for he declares the same each & every time .     (     when it is truly real , she believes she will know , perhaps even better than he does himself .     )

          ❛     a   girl   i   like   ,   ❜   it’s   spoken   quickly   ,   with   an   urgency  that   makes   it   evident   that   he   wishes   not   to  elaborate   :   𝐚𝐭   𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭   𝐧𝐨𝐭   𝐟𝐨𝐫   𝐭𝐡𝐞   𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞   𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠   .   ❛     she   goes   back   home   soon   ,   she   was   here   studying   something   and   i   thought   you’d   be   able   to   help   ,   i   have   no   clue   where   to   even   start   .     ❜

          ❛     not   just   any   party   :   a   surprise   party   ——   keep   your   voice   down   ,   i   don’t   want   anybody   to   hear   my   plan   .     ❜