"But Lumine can't go in her current state..." Paimon said, scratching her head in distress.
"A promise with Zhongli? Where to?"
"It's like this..." Paimon recounted the previous day's events to Ying.
"I see... Then I'll go to the appointment with Zhongli in Lumine's stead later then (^_^)" (I didn't expect the plot to reach this point already...)
"Mhm, should I call Paimon too, to go with you?"
"No, if even Paimon leaves, there'll be no one capable of fighting beside Lumine. Let her be Lumine's bodyguard."
"That makes sense... Ah... Right! I have one more thing to tell you!" Paimon told Ying about how the Traveler had helped them.
"Oh? I didn't expect that Childe would actually help you... What's he planning..." Ying tapped her chin, sitting on the edge of the bed in thought.
"I don't know, but no matter what, Lumine owes him a favor."
"Tch... If you put it that way, I've also been saved by him, since Lumine was trying to save me... Hmm, I'll repay the favor for Lumine then~" (If I recall correctly, in the game, Childe does have plot points leaning towards morally gray... but his characterization was too poor... Sigh, since that's the case, I'll help him out. I'm not asking for him to reform, even if he doesn't personally release that Archon, that would be good...)
"Mhm, this is… er… funds he gave us~ Take it. Remember, absolutely do not let Zhongli buy things himself, or I'm afraid these funds won't last long..." Paimon earnestly cautioned.
"Hahaha~ Yep, I got it (^～^)" (Speaking of which, if Venti knew Zhongli was spending money so lavishly, he'd be speechless, right? After all, the remaining money would be enough for him to buy quite a bit of Dandelion Wine ๑乛v乛๑)
"Then I'm off~" Ying took the coin purse Paimon handed her and got up to leave the room.
"Okay, be safe on your way~"
"Got it~"
A while later...
"If Paimon remembers correctly, it should be here. Let me see where Zhongli is... Zhongli, Zhongli... Aha!" After searching around for a bit, Ying quickly spotted Zhongli standing not too far away and rushed over, calling out loudly.
"Long time no see, Zhongli~ Am I late?"
"Mmm, right on time. Speaking of which… why isn't your sister here with you?"
"Ah… she's injured and resting in the hospital right now, so I came in her stead~"
"Mmm… We should find time to visit her."
"Hehe~ Thank you for your kindness. Then let's head out quickly~ (^～^)"
"Please wait a moment, one more person has not arrived."
"Huh? Who is it?" Ying scratched her little head in confusion.
"It's me~" Childe suddenly popped out from behind Ying, saying with a grin, which startled Ying greatly.
"Waaah?! When did you get behind me?!"
"Ahaha~ Scared you, didn't I? I put a lot of effort into hiding my footsteps just now to successfully startle you~ (^_^)"
"You brat… Believe it or not, I'll bite you!" Ying said indignantly, baring her sharp little fangs as if intending to bite him… How adorable~
"Hahaha~ Alright, alright, I was wrong, okay?" Childe quickly apologized with a smile.
"Hmph~ Good that you know you were wrong. By the way, why are you with us?"
"Mmm… How should I put it? I'm kind of your sponsor, so naturally I'd want to be close to you~ (^_^)"
"Mhmhm… That does have a little bit of logic to it…"
"Right~ So… now that you've asked me, shouldn't I ask you a question too? (^_^)"
"Hmm… As long as you answer one more question for me." Ying pondered for a moment before saying.
"Oh? What question?"
"It's just, do you know where Scaramouche ran off to?"
"Scaramouche, you say? If I recall correctly, that fellow should be in Inazuma… Why are you asking about him? No… How do you know him?"
"So that guy really did betray us then…"
"Betray? Did you see Scaramouche?"
"Mmm… Sigh, I suppose I should tell you then…" Ying roughly recounted yesterday's events to Childe.
"This… I thought it was La Signora who captured you…"
"Hmph~ It was that guy who tricked La Signora into lying to you. Although I am your enemy… I still need to remind you to be wary of him." Ying said indignantly.
Childe nodded. "I understand, thank you for the reminder. And… who says we can only be enemies?"
"Mhm? What do you mean?"
"Hahaha~ Let's go, let's go. If we don't hurry, there'll be no one at the docks soon, right, Mr. Zhongli?"
"Mmm, let's depart."
"Eh? Huh? No, don't just stop talking halfway!" Seeing the two already walking towards the docks, Ying quickly chased after them.
A while later...
"Too little, too little! Sir, business isn't done like this." Ah San repeatedly shook his head, refusing.
"Ahaha~ Don't say that, just do me a favor, okay?" Childe said with a smile.
That's right, Childe had been haggling with this person for a very, very long time. As for why Childe was the one bargaining… it was all thanks to Ying's goading.
"No, no. Although I'd really like to agree, three thousand Mora? That's just too little, it's a complete loss-making deal!"
"Is it really, really, really not possible?"
"Really, really, really not possible!"
"I see… Sigh~ It seems I've failed…" Childe pondered for a moment, turned around, and whispered to Ying.
"Hehe~ What a fool. He's so strong and a Fatui Harbinger, why doesn't he just threaten him secretly? ๑乛v乛๑"
After this period of contact, Ying increasingly felt that she could bring Childe back to the right path, so she gradually let down her guard. After all, only by treating someone sincerely could one make them feel your sincerity. Not to mention Zhongli, who was like a bug beside her, so there was no need to worry about her own safety at all…
"Hahaha, what you said makes it sound like you're the bad guy. But… it's not entirely hopeless, though it will require your help~"
"Ah? Me? But I'm bad at bargaining..." Ying quickly shook her little head.
"Hmph hmph~ What you need to do isn't bargain, it's to act cute~ (^_^)"
"Eh? Act… cute?" Ying asked in surprise.
"That's right! Use your adorable appearance to charm him and make him compromise!"
"This, this, this… but… this is too embarrassing Σ(|||▽|||)"
"To save more funds, this sacrifice is necessary!"
"Even if you say so… but these are your funds, why should I help you save them? (￣へ￣)"
"Mhm hm… Then how about this, all the money saved will be yours?"
"Deal! It's a deal! (✪▽✪)"