Persistence (Genshin Impact- Ningguang x fem reader)

Chapter 23- Lantern Rite II

You stood beside her in a balcony-like area, only the two of you, and gazed at the lantern-lit sky. It felt like you were embraced by thousands of lanterns, it looked magnificent. You gazed at the woman standing beside you, her eyes reflecting the lanterns and sparkling amidst the darkened balcony.

"Did you plan all this?" you questioned.

She looked at you and chuckled then crossed her arms.

"Well, not all of it. I did plan to give you the honor of releasing the first lantern but all these gifts were given by the people of their own will, I planned to give you a gift from my side, privately."

Her lips curled up a little and she continued.

"One day, Madame Ping came with a bunch of citizens and said that they all wanted to show their gratitude to you. At first, I told them that they can do so as per their own convenience but they said that they wanted to do something grander. Hence, I came up with this entire procedure making sure everyone was satisfied with the outcome and looks like they all were."

She held your hand and caressed your face while gazing into your eyes.

"All of Liyue is grateful to you from the bottom of their hearts. Don't think too much about who planned what, just know that everyone contributed."

You looked back at her, tears formed in your eyes again then you looked away trying to hide them.

"I.....I never thought Liyue thought of me so much. I thought I didn't have a place here, I am not even from this world. You may have given me a place to stay but at the back of my mind, I always felt that I don't belong here. I tried to fit in with everyone as much as possible but I wasn't sure whether it was working. But now....."

You looked at her and smiled, "Now I know I belong with you."

She came closer and held your face then kissed you gently. A firework burst in the sky as you both kissed, illuminating the area for a short while before disappearing. She parted her lips then hugged you, holding you tightly for a while.

"But you know what? The people overdid it with the gifts, they gave so many. I don't even know where to keep all of them..." you said in an embarrassed tone.

She chuckled then came closer to your ear and whispered.

"There is still one more gift remaining: my gift~"

"W-What? But you have already given me plenty...I-I can't take it..."

"Now now, don't make me sad by saying that, my dear."

She took out a small silk cloth and came behind you and blindfolded you with it.

"W-Wait, what?" you slightly panicked as she did that.

"Sshh~ calm down." she whispered in your ear from behind, sending chills down your body.

"Just follow my lead." she took your hand and lead you somewhere.

You had no idea where she was taking you, the surroundings would go from being loud to awfully quiet in an instant. After a while she stopped somewhere and let go of your hand, you stood still waiting for her to say something. She asked you to remove the blindfold now, you did and you saw the Jade Chamber in front of your eyes.

"This is my gift for you." she said while pointing to the Jade Chamber.

"W-What? I-I don't understand..." you said wide-eyed.

She chuckled then came closer to you and paced around you with her arms folded over her chest

"As I just said, this is my gift for you. To be precise, I'm making you the second owner of the Jade Chamber alongside me. Earlier you were registered as a guest and required the code to come in, but now it belongs to you as much as to me. The paperwork is already done, you simply need to sign on them."