"I'm really sorry for the trouble Klee has caused you."
Shen Qin, holding Klee's hand, apologized to the startled Diona.
"It's... it's fine. It's just that when someone touches my tail, I can't help but react defensively. I was worried I might hurt someone," Diona said, protectively holding her tail and eyeing Klee warily.
"Sister Diona, can you control yourself a bit and let Klee touch your tail again? I really want to touch your ears too!" Klee blinked her big eyes innocently.
"No!" Diona refused firmly, taking a few steps back.
Thud—
Shen Qin gently patted Klee's head. "Do you think you haven't caused enough trouble already?"
Then he turned to Diona. "This was Klee's fault. If you don't mind, I'll send you a small gift later as an apology."
"No, no need!" Diona waved her hands repeatedly, glancing at Klee, who looked utterly innocent. "She didn't mean any harm. If there's nothing else, Mr. Shen, I'll head home to rest now."
"Alright, then I hope you have a good night's sleep."
Klee also waved her hand. "Goodbye, Sister Diona!"
"Goodbye, Mr. Shen, Little Klee," Diona said earnestly before leaving.
On the way home, Klee started to feel sleepy, so Shen Qin carried her on his back, telling her to close her eyes and rest. But as soon as she climbed onto his back, she didn't want to sleep anymore and began chattering.
"Sister Diona's tail is so soft, just like a Dodoco."
"But a Dodoco doesn't move on its own. Sister Diona can wag her tail by herself."
"Sigh! If only Klee had a little cat like Sister Diona."
"But Klee doesn't want to raise a real cat because cats poop..."
As she rambled on, the little one eventually fell asleep.
Shen Qin and Sucrose exchanged a glance, both feeling helpless.
Sucrose spoke up, "Actually, I've made some moving toys for Klee before, but they could only perform simple actions based on preset programs. She lost interest in them pretty quickly."
"How about we make an interesting little toy for Klee together?" Shen Qin suggested with a smile. "Sometimes we get too busy to spend time with her. If she had a little companion, maybe she wouldn't feel so bored."
"That sounds good. I'll dig out the toys I made for her before, and we can brainstorm how to design a new one."
"Then it's settled. Once we finish the energy shield project we're working on, we'll start right away." Shen Qin quickened his pace. "Let's hurry home. I drank a bit too much today, and I really want to sleep now."
Sucrose watched their backs as they walked, her mind suddenly wandering.
The three of them really felt like a family now—living and working in the same place, with a father and mother taking care of their adorable daughter, making fun toys for her...
No, no! She shook her head vigorously, her cheeks turning red as she felt ashamed of her thoughts.
I'm only interested in his alchemical research. I don't... I don't like him!
"Sucrose, hurry up. I'm really tired," his voice called from ahead.
"Coming!" she replied, her face still flushed as she followed behind him.
…
The next morning, Shen Qin woke up with a slight headache. The aftereffects of the liquor were indeed strong.
When he arrived at the alchemy workshop, he found only Klee playing by herself. Sucrose was nowhere to be seen.
"Klee, where's Sucrose?"
"Sucrose left early this morning. She said she had something to do and wouldn't be coming to the workshop for a few days."
"Alright, I guess I'll be working on the energy shield project alone today," Shen Qin said, stretching and sitting down at the workbench to begin his work.
But as expected, progress was slow. Even with Sucrose's help, they hadn't made much headway. Working alone, it was even harder to achieve anything.
After two days of intense work, his dark circles had noticeably deepened.
On this particular day, as Shen Qin was mechanically repeating material experiments, he suddenly heard Klee cheer happily:
"Big Brother Albedo!"
He looked up to see Klee rushing into the arms of a blond-haired young man.
"Brother Shen, let me introduce you. This is the Knights of Favonius' Chief Alchemist, Mr. Albedo," Sucrose said, bringing Albedo over to Shen Qin.
"Hello, Mr. Qin. I was away on a trip for a while, and when I returned, I just found that Mondstadt had gained a new genius alchemist. It's a pleasure to meet you," Albedo said politely, his tone gentle and refined.
"Hello, hello!" Shen Qin enthusiastically shook his hand with both of his own. He was currently stuck on the energy shield project and desperately needed help. "Mr. Albedo, are you free recently? I've hit a bottleneck with a research project. If you don't mind, could you take a look?"
"Shen!" Sucrose suddenly got angry, puffing up her cheeks. "Have you forgotten something important?"
Shen Qin looked puzzled. "What important thing?"
Sucrose ignored him and turned to Albedo. "Please take care of his physical examination!"
Albedo glanced at Sucrose, then turned his gaze to Shen Qin, as if he had figured something out.
He smiled. "As soon as I returned to Mondstadt, I found Sucrose waiting for me at my laboratory in Dragonspine. She wanted me to examine you to see if you've been affected by the Abyss's power. Research can wait. Let's get the examination done first, so Sucrose can stop worrying."
"Oh, that's what this is about. I almost forgot. I haven't felt any discomfort recently," Shen Qin said, scratching his head. "In that case, I'll trouble you, Mr. Albedo."
"No need to call me 'Mr.' Just Albedo is fine."
Albedo had Shen Qin lie down on a bed. His hands emitted a faint white light, which transformed into tiny tendrils that floated above Shen Qin's body, as if probing for something.
Half an hour later, the light dissipated, and Albedo looked visibly tired.
"How is he? How is he?" Sucrose asked nervously.
Klee also looked at him seriously. Although she didn't understand what the Abyss was, she knew to follow Sucrose's lead.
"There's no trace of the Abyss's energy in his body, and his memories and self-awareness remain unchanged. But—"
"But what?!" Sucrose's heart tightened.
Albedo smiled. "His physical fitness is below the average for an ordinary person. It's probably because he's been cooped up in the alchemy workshop doing research and not exercising regularly. I suggest he get out and exercise more often. You can't conduct alchemical research without a healthy body!"
Sucrose breathed a sigh of relief.
Klee, on the other hand, walked up to Shen Qin, hands on her hips. "Klee always tells Brother Shen to come out and play, but he never listens! Now you know you were wrong, right?"
"You can't just bury yourself in research all the time. You need to get out and move around occasionally," Sucrose said, siding with Klee.
Shen Qin looked at her helplessly. "Who's the one who loves staying in the alchemy workshop all day without leaving?"