Qin Yu brought Ganyu back to her room, brewed a pot of tea, and returned to find Ganyu gazing around the room with evident interest.
Noticing Qin Yu, Ganyu said sheepishly, "I'm sorry, should I not have been looking around so much...?"
"No problem at all, since it's Sister Ganyu. But there's really nothing to see here, is there?"
Ganyu shook her head, smiling gently. "Not at all. It's very clean and tidy, and the atmosphere is quite comfortable... though it does seem a bit bare, like there aren't many decorations."
Because there's no need.
This isn't my home.
Even though Keqing had told her she could stay as long as she liked, Qin Yu never truly considered this place her own. Her personal belongings were limited to daily necessities, books, and the like.
What exactly makes a place a home? Who knows?
As long as I have a place to stay, that's all that matters!
Qin Yu chuckled. "I don't really feel the need for decorations. Oh, and please have some tea."
"Ah, thank you..." Ganyu accepted the teacup and blew on the steaming liquid repeatedly. After taking a sip, she quickly pulled the cup away, frowning as if it were still too hot.
Despite her long lifespan, Ganyu still retained a youthful air.
But if she were to hold the teacup like an old grandma, sipping delicately and then letting out a dramatic "Ah—!" that would feel... awkward, Qin Yu thought.
After settling onto the sofa, Qin Yu retrieved her tools, materials, and "design blueprint."
How do I even start this? Maybe I should just unlock level 1 "Woodworking Proficiency" after all?
"Shall we start now?" Ganyu asked, setting down her teacup.
Qin Yu nodded. "Yes, I want to remember as soon as possible."
Keqing hadn't kept her promise, and neither had she. Six of one, half a dozen of the other. But she couldn't just let it go; Qin Yu still wanted to remember.
Because those memories were a part of herself.
"Then I'll help you. I actually have some similar experience, though not much, but I think... it should work," Ganyu said earnestly, as if encouraging herself.
Really? No wonder she's a half-adeptus who's lived so long.
Qin Yu smiled faintly. "Then I'll leave it to you!"
"Mm. First, let's measure the ring's dimensions, then redraw the design, and finally mark the lines on the wooden plank..."
"O-okay..."
Qin Yu thought that if she worked at her original skill level, it might actually help her remember more. So she didn't use any Skill points and instead followed Ganyu's instructions step by step.
A wave of nostalgia washed over her.
As each step of the process was completed, the hazy memories in Qin Yu's mind seemed to have their dust wiped away, gradually becoming clearer.
In a daze, her hands transformed into chubby, child-like hands.
"Why are you staring at your hands?"
Young Qin Yu, hearing the familiar voice, looked up at Keqing sitting beside her.
"My teacher praised me! She said I'm nimble-fingered and naturally gifted with hands perfect for playing the piano!" Little Qin Yu grinned, proudly displaying her hands.
Little Keqing swung her legs, asking, "Do you want to play the piano, then?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Too much trouble. Too tiring."
Little Keqing wore an "I knew it" expression. "You really hate studying, don't you?" she sighed in exasperation.
"Because if I study, I won't be able to play with you, Keqing!"
Embarrassed, Keqing averted her gaze. "I... I think that's not a good attitude. Besides, to teach you forever, I need to keep learning too! I can't just play with you all the time."
"But your family is so rich!" Little Qin Yu protested, puzzled.
"That's... my family's wealth has nothing to do with my personal studies! As the saying goes, 'There's a golden house in books.' Knowledge is precious—the more you learn, the better. Otherwise, you'll get stupid."
Little Qin Yu put her hands on her hips. "'Fortune favors fools'! So getting stupid isn't such a bad thing after all!"
"Why does your brain work so fast when you're spouting nonsense...?" Little Keqing lowered her head, hesitant.
"I... I'll be going on a long trip in two days. I told you about it before, right? I'm going with my family. So I might not be back for several days."
Little Qin Yu replied sullenly, "I know! I didn't forget!"
"Qin Yu, is there anything you want? I can bring back some local specialties."
"I don't want anything."
"N-not even... snacks?" Little Keqing asked nervously.
"No!"
Seeing Qin Yu's clearly unhappy expression, the anxiety on Little Keqing's face deepened. She really didn't like seeing Qin Yu upset.
"Then what do you want?"
"I don't want you to abandon me!" Little Qin Yu blurted out.
Little Keqing was startled. "Abandon you? How could I ever do that?! We promised when we were at the beach, remember? I'd never leave you behind!"
"But you're leaving soon... What if you can't come back?" Little Qin Yu grumbled.
"Why are you thinking like that? Of course I'll come back!"
"Because... it's like glass."
"Glass?" Little Keqing tilted her head, confused.
Little Qin Yu nodded.
"Yeah, glass. Just like Papa and Mama. Crack! Gone forever."
Keqing knew Qin Yu's family situation well. It wasn't surprising that she felt pessimistic about relationships. Her parents had passed away suddenly, leaving her all alone.
It was indeed as if it had shattered suddenly.
"No, my relationship with Qin Yu isn't like glass," Little Keqing insisted.
"Then what is it?" Little Qin Yu asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"It's like the sea and the sky! They're always there, always watching each other, and they never break apart."
Remembering the dreamlike sea she had seen earlier, Little Qin Yu smiled brightly and nodded. "Mm!"
"But... now that you mention it, I don't really want to leave anymore." This time, it was Little Keqing's turn to feel downcast.
Little Qin Yu naturally leaned against Little Keqing's lap and blinked. "But isn't it good for you, Keqing?"
"Uhm, well, yeah..."
"Then I think it's great! Even though I really don't want to be apart from you for so many days, if it's a good thing, we should do it—that's what my teacher says."
Little Keqing muttered, "I guess so."
She lowered her head to look at Little Qin Yu lying on her lap.
"I wonder... how many days it will take to come back," she said, her voice tinged with disappointment.
"Can't you just not go?"
"Mm. My family says I have to go with them..."
Little Qin Yu sat up straight. "Can't you just say 'no'?"
"I can't. I'm still just a kid..."
"Will you be able to say 'no' when you grow up?" Little Qin Yu asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Hmm, I don't know," Little Keqing replied.
"Can I come with you?"
"I don't think so," Little Keqing replied with a sigh.
Little Qin Yu puffed out her cheeks in a pout, but her anger suddenly deflated. "Even Mom and Dad are gone now," she said anxiously. "You won't abandon me too, will you?"
"I already said I wouldn't! Because... I want to be with you too." Little Keqing's voice sharpened with embarrassment.
She stole a glance at Little Qin Yu and couldn't help but blurt out, "I was just about to say, you've been spending time with the other kids lately. What if you go to them when I'm not around...?"
"Hmm? I wouldn't do that."
"Really?"
Little Qin Yu nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Keqing is all I need. They're not my real friends."
A blush spread across Little Keqing's cheeks.
Then, as if struck by a sudden idea, her eyes lit up.
"Qin Yu, I've got a great idea! Let's exchange gifts! That way, we'll always have a piece of each other with us!"
"How will that make us see each other?"
"Because it's a treasure!"
Little Qin Yu nodded thoughtfully, understanding the idea. Exchanging treasures—this way, whenever they saw the gift, it would be like the other person was right beside them. That sounded wonderful.
"Mm-hmm!"
Little Keqing exclaimed excitedly, "What do you think would be a good gift? Preferably... something that comes in pairs. That might make it even more effective."
"Pairs? Ah, I've got it!"
"What is it?"
Little Qin Yu grinned brightly. "Shackles!"
"Eh?! Shackles? No way! You can't give something like that as a gift!" Little Keqing was astonished. Qin Yu sometimes blurted out such shocking things.
"But I've seen people put shackles on each other's fingers before!"
"Really? Wait a minute, that doesn't make sense. On their fingers? Are you talking about... rings? Those aren't shackles!" Little Keqing explained.
Rings?
Little Qin Yu pondered for a moment, then laughed. "Ah! I get it now! Mini shackles!"
"No, no, no! Why would you even think of that?"
"But once we put them on, we'd be inseparable, right? Our teacher even said, 'Marriage is a funeral, rings are shackles, and love is poison.'"
Little Keqing was shocked. "Did she really say that?"
"Yeah, she slurred it out after drinking," Little Qin Yu replied earnestly.
"Oh, she was drunk! Then we can't take it seriously. Still... rings, huh? They might actually be perfect—small enough to wear on a finger, so we can see them with just a glance at our hands. And..." Her face suddenly flushed crimson.
Little Qin Yu protested, "It's not a ring, it's a shackle!"
"Why are you so fixated on that word?"
"Because shackles can lock us together!"
Little Qin Yu grasped the other girl's hand.
"I want to shackle Keqing. Does Keqing want to shackle me? If we shackle each other, we'll never easily leave."
"...Mm."
"Hehe, then let's get tiny shackles! But... they're probably expensive, right? I wonder if my allowance will cover it..." Little Qin Yu began counting her allowance on her fingers.
Little Keqing smiled. "No need to buy them. We can make our own!"
"How?"
"I don't know yet, but let's figure it out together!"
"Okay, let's go look for ideas together!"
Before they had to part ways.
Afterward, the two wandered the streets, searching until they finally spotted a sign in front of a general store: "Toy Making."
"Oh—rings, huh? They're simple. I'll teach you how to make them, even if they're just toys. First, what kind of rings do you want? Draw them on paper."
What kind of rings should they make?
"One that won't break!"
"A cute one."
And...
"One that can always lock us together!"
They carefully sketched matching rings on the paper, writing their names beneath each design: "Qing" and "Yu."
"We'll each give half of our names to the other," Qin Yu suggested, offering her half to Keqing.
"This design might come back to you someday. Want to write anything else?" the shopkeeper chuckled.
"Well..."
"Not rings, but shackles!" Little Qin Yu picked up the pen and wrote the words carefully.
She couldn't let her future self think these were just rings. They were shackles—precious treasures that bound their hearts together. The "shackles" they possessed were, in truth, the other half of each other.
"Wow, they're done!"
"They feel perfect!"
"Keqing, help me put mine on!"
"I know! You have to help me too, okay?"
Though made of wood and not particularly refined, the moment Qin Yu put the ring on, she felt as if Keqing were right beside her. The sensation was remarkably strong.
"This feels so magical..." Little Keqing murmured, stroking the ring on her finger.
And there was more.
"It's like our hearts are connected!" they said in unison.
The shopkeeper smiled. "Because you treated it with such care, it must have gained a soul."
A soul.
"So, does that mean I gave my soul to Keqing?"
"Absolutely," the shopkeeper replied with a gentle smile.
"Me too? Did I give my soul to Qin Yu?"
"Of course."
Hearing this, the two girls exchanged glances, reached out, and gazed at the "shackles" on each other's fingers.
"Now we're shackled to each other!" Little Qin Yu exclaimed with a contented laugh.
"Mm-hmm!"
Sitting on a bench outside, Little Qin Yu couldn't get enough of their "shackles." She held up her hand, her small palm facing the sun, the toy ring on her finger clearly visible.
"Do you think it'll grow bigger like us?"
"Probably not. It's not human, after all."
"Then... what if we grow up and it doesn't fit anymore?"
Little Keqing looked equally puzzled. "I don't know either."
"But let's worry about that when the time comes! Until then, I'll always be by your side, Qin Yu," Little Keqing said with a radiant smile.
"Even if you have a cold?"
"Mm-hmm!"
"Even if you get hurt?"
"Of course!"
"Together?"
"Together."
Little Qin Yu smiled sweetly, then added wistfully, "Then... promise to come back soon."
"Mm... I'll tell my family."
"You have to come back to me, okay?"
"Okay."
"And when you return, remember to say, 'I'm back!'"
"I know, it's a promise."
The memory began to fade. Gradually, Ganyu's voice entered her ears.
"Qin Yu?"
Qin Yu blinked, her vision blurry. Another blink left a few water stains on the paper on the tea table. Her cheeks felt damp.
Snapping back to reality, she hurriedly wiped her eyes.
"N-nothing..." Qin Yu heard her own hoarse voice, but even she didn't believe the words.
Ganyu clearly didn't believe her either. She sat down beside Qin Yu, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"Could it be... you remembered?"
"Mm..." Qin Yu replied, her voice muffled.
"I see."
What was the right thing to do in this situation? Ganyu felt a little lost, but doing nothing wasn't an option either.
She gently patted Qin Yu's head and whispered, "This is a good thing."
Is it a good thing? It should be, right? She finally remembered, but...
"Why would I forget something so important?" Qin Yu inhaled sharply, her throat tightening and her voice trembling slightly.
Because it was the price for survival—Ganyu could never bring herself to say such words. But if she couldn't say that, what else was there to say?
She could only silently stroke Qin Yu's hair.
Meanwhile, Qin Yu was sinking into self-loathing.
I even forgot such an important memory... I'm barely human.
Qin Yu unconsciously pulled out the toy ring she wore around her neck.
It doesn't fit anymore.