Playing With Fire [17]

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"Lady [Name], you mentioned earlier that you wish for your own regulations during the engagement, correct?" His father says in the middle of the conversation, making you nod once.

Luckily for you, the introduction was short and there was little to no small talk. They immediately asked you to sit and start dining with them.

They have been talking about you and your well-being during your stay here in Liyue for the first few minutes of the conversation to get to know you a little and you may have mentioned earlier that you wanted to set some rules before you officially get engaged to Xingqiu.

"I'm glad you recall, Master Shui. Please allow me to elaborate." You answer, smiling.

"I don't know why I was worried but [Name] looks like she got this!" Paimon whispers to Lumine who only nodded as a reply, too immersed in the conversation.

"I would like to keep this engagement private. That means no public announcements and no engagement parties. I would also like to extend our engagement for at least up to two years—which does sound ludicrous but I need more time to sort everything out."

You've heard that the maximum time of being engaged to someone should be around twelve to eighteen months so you tried your luck in extending it more.

You also didn't want a lot of people to know that you were now engaged to someone because that would just lessen your chance of getting out of this engagement.

"I find it very admiring that you have thought this through, Lady [Name]. I have heard from your parents that you would doubtlessly be unwilling to participate despite them already agreeing to this so it was a relief to hear that you would come of your own accord." Master Shui smiles, which only left you a bit confused with what he just said.

They knew that I'd say no to this but still agreed? This isn't an arranged marriage, this is a forced marriage!

If you were in your bedroom, you'd be punching your pillows right now.

Maybe if you got yourself a persistent suitor whom you actually liked, you wouldn't have gotten in this situation in the first place.

But then again, the past suitors you've gotten weren't exactly your cup of tea.

"My parents have always been trying to find me a suitor and as you may know, I am obliged to be meet them but fortuunfortunately, after my encounter with them, it usually doesn't come to fruitionor so I thought. But I didn't really expect this to be an engagement proposal." You started, not wanting your tongue to slip.

It was pitiful of you to end up in such a mess but even though your thoughts are usually cruel, you mustn't allow yourself to be swayed and accidentally offend people like them.

"The time that I have spent inside the manor did not come to waste since I spent some days reading history books that I've required from your family's personal library. Truthfully, I agreed to meet Master Xingqiu blindly—not knowing anything about him or the guild. But as soon as I settled, I gathered information and read the guild's history and connections to enlighten myself. It's a shame I didn't get to meet all of you so soon." You continue with a smile.

Learning their guild's history and influence around the others were the same as any other business history—boring, to put it simply. You just wanted to impress Xingqiu's parents with the knowledge you've gained about them.

The reason why you didn't even know they existed was that you haven't met them at the rare gatherings you were allowed to go to and because your parents weren't fond of discussing business partners with you.

"Oh, she's good," Paimon whispers to herself, nodding proudly as she glances at Lumine and Xingqiu who were smiling, also satisfied with her reply.

"I'm elated to hear your perspective over this, Lady [Name]. Worry not, your requests will be acknowledged." Master Shui replies with a contented grin.

Hydrophobic ¦ Xingqiu x Reader [Genshin Impact] Where stories live. Discover now