Qin Yu hadn't expected to see Shenhe at this hour and froze for a moment in surprise.
It's late at night. What's she doing here?
Does she have some urgent matter to attend to? Qin Yu speculated wildly before blurting out, "Good evening, Shenhe. What brings you here?"
Shenhe replied expressionlessly, "Good evening. I came because I wanted to see you."
Evaluation: D
Ha!?
Qin Yu startled so badly her heart nearly stopped.
Not again... This woman is really... Qin Yu twisted a strand of her hair, a blush rising on her cheeks. She murmured, "O-oh... I'm so glad."
Wait, she came all this way to see me at this hour? What if I hadn't come out of the Jade Chamber?
A sudden wave of concern washed over Qin Yu.
"But it's so late now. What if I hadn't run into you, Shenhe?" Qin Yu asked anxiously.
"It's fine. I would have gone back and tried again tomorrow."
No, no, that's not the point.
"Still, there's no need to come at night," Qin Yu insisted. "I know you're strong, Shenhe, but I still don't want you to be in danger."
Shenhe felt a warmth spread through her chest at Qin Yu's concern.
"I came this morning," she said.
"Ha? Uh... Eh? This morning?"
Shenhe had said she wanted to see Qin Yu and had come for that reason. If she arrived in the morning, did that mean she'd been waiting all day? Qin Yu pieced together the truth, blinking rapidly, utterly flustered.
"You've been waiting all day, Shenhe?"
Shenhe nodded slightly, hesitated, then shook her head.
What is it then?
"It wasn't that long," she said.
Is she lying to me? Qin Yu felt a flicker of annoyance.
"Really?" Qin Yu pressed.
"I'm sorry, that's not true. I didn't want you to worry," Shenhe immediately confessed.
Such a quick confession! So she really had been waiting all day.
Why wait? Qin Yu wondered. I told Shenhe last week that my day off had been adjusted. Or maybe she doesn't have a calendar and lost track of the date?
Qin Yu wanted to press further, but a second thought stopped her. This might make Shenhe feel like she did something wrong.
It's not ideal, but there's no need to get to the bottom of it right now.
Anyway, we still have time. I should spend some time with Shenhe. After all, she came all the way here early this morning to wait for me... Why would she wait for a woman like me? Isn't that a waste of time?
Qin Yu's emotions were tangled, but she kept her expression neutral.
"Since that's the case, I still have time. How about we go for a walk together?" Qin Yu asked with a smile.
Shenhe nodded. "Okay."
"Then it's settled! The night market street is still open at this hour. Let's grab some snacks."
Qin Yu stood up, brushing off her pants.
She was dressed casually, not in her usual qipao.
Though she had grown somewhat accustomed to wearing qipaos in public after more than ten days of "desensitization training," she preferred to dress casually and comfortably when she wasn't working with Lady Ningguang.
Qin Yu held out her hand, and Shenhe naturally took it, falling into step beside her.
Evaluation: C-
It was just a casual hand-hold, so why was her Evaluation suddenly skyrocketing? Qin Yu found it puzzling but, seeing no harm in it, didn't dwell on it further.
"If you came so early in the morning... wouldn't you feel uncomfortable?" Qin Yu was more concerned about this.
"You mean?"
Why are you asking me? This is your own matter.
Qin Yu sighed inwardly and said, "Doesn't Shenhe have trouble adjusting to crowded places?"
"Yes. Only when you're with me do I feel calm."
Evaluation: C+
Qin Yu fiddled with a strand of hair. "I-I know, that's why I asked. Coming so early, when I wasn't even here... and then waiting all day."
"Mm, it's fine now."
Shenhe gripped Qin Yu's hand tightly, her body heat seeping into Qin Yu's palm.
It's fine now... That implied something had been wrong before.
If I had been here, she wouldn't have gone through this, Qin Yu thought. But how could she have known Shenhe would suddenly show up and wait an entire day?
"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were here..." Qin Yu said.
"There's no need to apologize. On the contrary, perhaps I'm the one troubling you."
Exactly! Why wait all day? If she didn't see me, she could have just left!
Qin Yu grumbled inwardly, realizing this was the perfect moment to ask.
"I didn't mind!" Qin Yu said. "But why wait so long?"
"Because I wanted to see you."
Enough already! Stop answering every question with that!
Evaluation: B
"Even so, there was no need to wait so long," Qin Yu said. "Besides, you're not comfortable in crowded places."
"I didn't know when I'd see you again, so I had no choice but to wait," Shenhe said calmly. "But I didn't just stand there. I used the time to observe humans."
Observe humans...? Aren't you human too? But she was right—not knowing when they could meet made things difficult.
Shenhe lived outside Liyue Port, while Qin Yu lived inside.
To talk to each other, one of them had to travel to the other's location.
If they both lived in the city, things would be much easier.
Normally, Qin Yu could always run into Hu Tao, who was often idling around during the day, or Yanfei, who was always busy with legal cases, and sometimes even Ganyu and Keqing.
But Shenhe... seeing her required much more luck.
Unless Qin Yu took a day off to visit her directly, or waited for Shenhe to come visit.
Given this, it wasn't surprising that today's situation had occurred.
If Shenhe moved into Liyue Port, they could probably see each other every day, since she didn't have any work to do.
However, Shenhe had lived apart from human society for so long that she lacked common sense. If she moved into the city, she'd likely face even more problems.
Even though I'll definitely help her, I can't be there for her all the time... Qin Yu thought to herself as she said, "Because communication is so inconvenient."
"Mm, if..."
If? Could it be that the Adeptus Clan has some secret technique for long-distance communication? Qin Yu's curiosity flared, and she glanced at Shenhe's profile.
At that moment, Shenhe turned to look at Qin Yu.
"Shenhe?" Qin Yu asked, puzzled by Shenhe's silence.
After a moment's hesitation, Shenhe finally spoke.
"If you and I lived together, would... would this problem be solved?"
Evaluation: A-
"Eh?"
Live together?
Qin Yu's heart skipped a beat. Cohabiting with Shenhe? Wouldn't that mean...? No, no, no, absolutely not!
Even though Shenhe had already seen her sleeping face clearly, living together would inevitably expose her true nature. What if Shenhe saw through her?
Besides, Qin Yu lived at the Jade Chamber most of the time, except on her days off.
If we lived together, what would we do on weekdays?
She'd have to wake up even earlier to make breakfast, then rush to work at the Jade Chamber. She wouldn't be back for lunch, and she'd only return late at night...
Ugh, what a corporate slave's life!
But facing this question, she couldn't just flat-out say it was bad.
Ignoring all the complications above, doing this would indeed solve the communication issues and help Shenhe navigate the many challenges of living in human society.
But this felt... Qin Yu lowered her gaze.
Being "good friends" with Shenhe is enough. "Family" is going too far.
Right, maybe this was just a casual question, a spur-of-the-moment idea.
"Shenhe, do you... actually want to do this?" Qin Yu asked, her voice slightly tense.
Shenhe looked inward, searching her heart for the answer. It came quickly.
"Yes."
Qin Yu shuddered slightly at this resolute answer.
Wait, don't say any more.
"I want to live with you."
Qin Yu's eyes wavered uncontrollably.
Evaluation: S-