Me and Beidou had been tracking down a treasure hoarder for the past 30 minutes.
We noticed him attempting to steal treasure nearby Liyue - but he managed to flee and we'd been following him ever since.
"Ah, where's he gone now?" I folded my arms and glanced around the crowded Liyue Harbor.
Beidou looked upwards and caught him entering some kind of building.
"This way!" She whispered, grabbing my hand and running up the steps. I felt flustered that she'd taken hold of me like that, but I shrugged it off quickly.
We reached the building and peered inside. There seemed to be lots of people in suits and dresses drinking all sort of beverages and chatting.
I turned to Beidou.
"What are they doing in there? And more importantly, what's that treasure hoarder doing walking in like that?"
"Hmm..." She started, still gazing through the window. "To me, it looks like some kind of party or celebration. We should head inside and keep investigating."
"Really? Won't he recognize us?"
"Doubt it. He would have been in too much of a rush to get away than to see who we were."
"Oh, let's head in, then."
As we entered the party, the strong scent of alcohol hit us instantly. There were lots of chests around the room filled with jewellery. The reason the treasure hoarder had went there became much more clear.
Beidou grabbed a glass filled with some sort of alcohol and swirled it around, before leaning against the wall.
"It seems he has made himself at home." She chuckled. I looked over at him and noticed he was stuffing his bag with the jewellery.
"Shouldn't we stop him? That jewellery is probably worth a fortune of mora." I was about to summon my weapon, but was interrupted by Beidou resting her arm on my shoulder.
"Nah. We'll let him get overexcited and then crush his imagination." She laughed under her breath and took a sip of her drink.
I smiled.
"Oh, so you're just anonymously teasing him? Who would've known, Captain Beidou enjoys torturing people!" I whispered the end part so nobody else would hear it.
Beidou turned her head to make eye contact with me - a small smirk grew on her face, sending chills down my spine.
"Ahaha, you know me too well-" She stopped talking instantly as she turned back to look at the treasure hoarder.
"What? What's the matter?" I asked, confused as to why she went so silent.
"Don't make it obvious, but he's staring at you."
My heart dropped in both fear and curiousity. I quickly glanced at him - and realized Beidou was right - he was staring at me.
"Creepy... but it looks like you've peaked his interest. You could go talk to him." She placed down her glass and folded her arms.
"And do what? I'm not great with talking to strangers!" I tried my best to suggest something else, but there was no way to change the captain's mind.
"Oh come on, pleaseeee? I'll make sure you're safe, don't worry!"
I rolled my eyes jokingly.
"Fine. I'll pretend that I'm leaving."
Beidou waved at me to make the treasure hoarder think that I was leaving the building. I waved back at her and walked towards the door - before a hand grabbed my wrist.
"Hey, what's your name?"
Of course, it was him who was trying to talk to me.
I stared at him blankly in return.
"Haha, don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you. I was just wondering why such a beautiful person like you is leaving so early." He smiled at me.
I gave him a fake smile back.
"Oh, I was just leaving because I'm getting quite tired." I replied.
He laughed and nodded.
"Yeah, me too. Don't know how people can drink so much! How about you and I head to my home for the night?" He asked, leaning in closer to me.
I slowly started to walk backwards.
"Um..."
"Just for this evening, hmm?" He still tried to convince me.
I noticed the bag filled with jewellery was hung up behind him.
Though I dreaded the idea, I quickly wrapped my arms around him and grabbed the bag, before holding it behind my back.
"Oh, I'll be taking that as a yes, then."
I did not understand what was up with this treasure hoarder. Aren't they supposed to fight everyone they see?
He stretched over to put his arm on my shoulder - but instead, I felt a different arm wrap around my waist.
"Sorry pal, but this one is taken for tonight. Actually, every night." I turned my head to see Beidou, holding my waist, smirking at the treasure hoarder sarcastically.
The treasure hoarder laughed.
"That's fine. At least I still have-" He reached behind him, intending to grab the bag, but instead pressed his hand against the wall.
"Wha-?! Where's it gone?" He immediately ran to the chests and started to dig through the jewellery aggressively. This made a loud noise and people noticed.
"Hey! He's trying to steal from us!"
"Ugh, the audacity!"
"Get him!"
He stood in shock and quickly ran out of the building, around three people chasing after him while holding their weapons. I placed the bag back down beside the door.
"Oh, wow, I love good endings..." Beidou chuckled and pressed her lips against my cheek, making the blood rush to my face.
"Wh- I thought you were joking about the 'this one's taken for tonight' thing!" I snapped, making eye contact with her.
"I wasn't, how's that for a change?" She put her arm over my shoulder and we left the building, visibly glad that the chasing was over.
