Keqing and the others were chatting happily, talking about the sea, drinking, and performances, which drew laughter from everyone, filling the room with a joyful atmosphere.
In a corner of the room, Shenhe and Ganyu sat together, not saying a word.
The two silent ones watched the chatting crowd, just watching.
Keqing and Furina were chatting and laughing, seemingly getting along quite well.
Hu Tao, Beidou, and Navia seemed to be talking about a young man named Wan Ye on Beidou's ship.
The reason was that Hu Tao also wanted to drink with them, but Beidou refused her because she was underage.
She said that next time she went on the ship, she could sit at the same table as Wan Ye.
Shenhe turned her head to look at her senior sister, Ganyu, who was sitting quietly, her small head nodding slightly, like a child secretly dozing off in class but not daring to fully sleep.
Shenhe blinked, recalling what Lin Qiu had told her when he first arrived in Liyue Harbor.
'If you want to build a good relationship with someone, you can try giving them a gift.'
She extended her small hand and poked Ganyu's arm with her index finger.
Ganyu startled awake, "Ah? Did I... did I fall asleep?"
Because of the Archon's matter, she hadn't slept for several days.
Shenhe was still gently poking Ganyu.
Ganyu turned her head, her small face filled with confusion, "What's wrong, Junior Sister?"
Shenhe took out a Qingxin from her Vision and handed it to Ganyu.
"Senior Sister, eat this."
"Eh?" Ganyu didn't understand why Shenhe would suddenly give her Qingxin to eat.
But because it was her Junior Sister's kindness, Ganyu still took the Qingxin and chewed it in small bites.
"Thank you... mm-hmm... Junior Sister."
Shenhe remained expressionless, blinking. How should she respond in this situation?
How did Lin Qiu teach me? Think about what Lin Qiu told me yesterday.
'When you receive kindness, you should thank the other person.'
No, not that sentence. It should be after that. Think about what Lin Qiu said next.
'When the other person expresses gratitude, just reply 'You're welcome.'
"You're welcome," Shenhe said.
Ganyu chewed the Qingxin while tilting her small head to look at Shenhe.
Why does it feel like Shenhe's words have a subtle pause? It didn't seem like that before.
Although we rarely communicated before, alas, I'm truly an unqualified Senior Sister. I must communicate well with her.
"Junior Sister, are you used to living in Liyue Harbor?" Ganyu asked.
Used to it? Shenhe pondered for a moment. How should she answer this question?
Think about what Lin Qiu said just today.
'Minors are not allowed to drink alcohol.'
...This doesn't seem to work. Oh no, Lin Qiu didn't teach me this.
Shenhe tilted her head and thought for a moment. Then she decided to answer according to her own thoughts.
"It's alright," Shenhe nodded.
"The mortal world is noisy, but also very interesting. I like it very much." Shenhe looked out the window.
This Jade Chamber is like a place of immortals, giving her a feeling of being detached from the mundane world.
For her, this place is not as good as Lin Qiu's home.
"Is that so? It's good that Junior Sister likes it." Ganyu smiled, her expression full of gentleness.
Shenhe looked at Ganyu's smile, feeling a warm current in her heart, though it quickly dissipated.
She remembered that feeling when Lin Qiu stroked her head.
"What about you, Senior Sister?" Shenhe asked back.
"Me?" Ganyu was startled, not expecting Shenhe to ask her this question.
She had thought Shenhe wouldn't care about her at all. It seems Junior Sister has truly changed.
"Me, well, I think Liyue Harbor is very good."
Ganyu also looked out the window, at the floating clouds outside.
"I really like it here."
Hearing this answer, Shenhe stared at Ganyu, silent for a moment, then spoke.
"Is that so? I always feel a sense of loneliness from you, Senior Sister."
"I thought you were like me, finding it difficult to enter the mortal world."
Ganyu was slightly surprised. She hadn't expected her Junior Sister, who seemed naive and ignorant of human relations, to be so accurate in her perception of people.
Perhaps it's because of this sense of loneliness that Shenhe can also empathize?
"Junior Sister, next time, let's go drink the glaze lily dew together."
Shenhe nodded.
The two beautiful women thus agreed to go drink dew together next time.
If uninformed people saw this, they might think Lin Qiu wasn't feeding Shenhe, forcing Shenhe to drink dew.
Speaking of treating someone, Charlotte has a lot to say.
After taking photos, she had found Lin Qiu and the others, intending to treat Lin Qiu to the meal she owed him in Liyue.
However, Lin Qiu was intercepted and taken away by the Qixing.
"Ying, do you think I'll ever be able to treat him to that meal?" Charlotte sighed.
It turned out she was with Ying at the moment. Ying hadn't gone with the Qixing to find Lin Qiu; she was staying at Lin Qiu's home now, so she didn't need to go look for him.
So after talking with the Qixing, she decided to act alone.
"You can treat me, oh~!" Paimon said with a smile, rubbing her hands.
"Next time, I'll treat Paimon," Charlotte said with a smile.
"Ying, did you get any information about your brother?" Charlotte asked.
Ying nodded, "I did. My silly older brother isn't dead, so my travel plans can slow down a bit."
"Good, it's great that your family is safe. So, Ying, what are you going to do next?"
"I'm going to find my Mondstadt friend." Ying's gaze turned towards where the music was coming from.
"Alright, although I'd really like to go with you, I still need to organize the photos I just took, so I'll head back to the inn first. Bye-bye." Charlotte left.
After bidding farewell to Charlotte, Paimon said, "Let's go find the bard."
"Hehe, this music, and this feeling of wind, it must be the bard!"
The two arrived at the source of the music, but there was nothing there.
"That's strange, it felt like it was right here?" Paimon tilted her head, deep in thought.
Lumine looked intently and saw a whirlwind formed by the Anemo element blocking her view.
She reached out to touch it, and her hand passed through without any obstruction.
Entering the barrier, Lumine saw Venti playing his flute, and he blinked when he saw them enter.
The short green figure looked back at Lumine, giving a slight nod as a greeting.
Beside him, an old woman had a benevolent smile on her face, seemingly happy as she watched the scene, humming a tune.
Next to the old woman was a massive bird, taller than a person.
"Wow, what a big bird!" Paimon exclaimed.
The bird glanced at Paimon and was the first to speak.
"Impudent! What big bird!? This Adeptus is Cloud Retainer."
"This Adeptus thought some intruder had come in, but it turns out to be the Traveler."
Cloud Retainer hadn't met Lumine before, but the combination of a small blonde girl and a white floating companion was quite rare.
Cloud Retainer transformed back into her human form. If it was the Traveler, there seemed to be no need to hide.
The last one remaining was Zhongli. The Traveler hadn't met Zhongli, but based on the descriptions in Lin Qiu's book, she still recognized who Zhongli was.
Among this group, only Granny Ping, Xiao, and Zhongli looked reliable, but Granny Ping was too old, Xiao was too short, and only Zhongli matched the description in the book.
"Traveler, welcome to Liyue," Zhongli said with a smile.
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Character Voice-Over · Traveler: About Brother · Part One
Paimon: "It's so great that your brother is safe!"
Lumine: "Yes."
Paimon: "Once you find your brother, will you leave?"
Lumine: "I think so, but I'll walk all the paths he walked. That day won't come very soon."
Paimon: "But, I'll miss you very much..."
Lumine: "...Me too."