The new moon was reflected on the lake, and a gentle breeze brushed across their faces, creating ripples.
Jingchen sat across from Keqing. (There was a stone table and several stone chairs on the lake outside Cloud Retainer's abode.)
Ganyu, Ningguang, and Shenhe were watching them from afar, giving them a chance to talk in private.
At this moment, Keqing and Jingchen were still silent.
"Keqing."
"Jingchen."
Keqing and Jingchen almost simultaneously wanted to speak, but at the same time, they deferred to each other.
"Keqing, why don't you speak first?"
"No, no, Jingchen, you go first."
"Alright then… Keqing, you… you're a good girl, and a good colleague."
Keqing smiled awkwardly, thinking to herself.
Good girl?! Good colleague?! If I were really that good…
Couldn't you have waited a few more years after I refused, and let me change my mind?!
Sigh, it seems I'm not really that good of a girl. Trying again with someone who rejected you is destined to get you nothing.
"Jingchen, you're a perfect husband, and you will definitely be a gentle father in the future."
"Mm. Thank you."
The two of them fell silent again, the invisible barrier between them palpable.
Jingchen knew that everything he did had to be for Columbia's sake.
His words and actions couldn't betray her.
Keqing understood that this distance likely appeared years ago, when she rejected him.
"Jingchen, do you remember when we surveyed Liyue's terrain together?"
"When we were roughing it, right? Your incredible survival skills, and that unwavering resolve...
They truly impressed me."
Keqing forced a smile, removing a hairpin of great significance to her, and offering it to Jingchen.
"This hairpin has been with me for a long time. Today, I want to give it to Columbia. Can you help me give it to her?!"
"Ah?! Something so important, are you sure?"
"In my past thoughts, this hairpin should have belonged to your wife.
Now that Columbia is your wife, this hairpin should be given to her."
"This..."
Jingchen still wanted to decline. After all, although this hairpin wasn't expensive or ornate, for Keqing, it was truly too important, too precious.
Keqing smiled, walked forward, and forcefully handed the hairpin to Jingchen.
"Jingchen!!"
Do you remember when we went to The Chasm together to pull carts?
We dressed up as ordinary miners and their wives, all to gather evidence against that criminal!"
Jingchen closed his eyes, taking a moment to reminisce.
Back then, Keqing and he had both changed into coarse linen clothes.
Honestly, even without any makeup and in those rough clothes…
Her inherent aura was still there. Even in that desperate situation, she was still the Yuheng Star, still Keqing.
Together with Keqing, they had pulled ore carts in the dark, endless depths of The Chasm. They ate the same coarse food and drank from the same spring water.
At that moment, he desperately wanted to maintain this "married" relationship with Keqing forever.
After capturing the culprit, he confessed his feelings to Keqing.
"Keqing, we... We, we keep this relationship forever, okay?!"
Keqing, who was revising the documents, was slightly stunned. She stammered in response.
"Keep... Keep the relationship of the Seven Star colleagues, right?! Jingchen."
"I... It's the kind of relationship we had in The Chasm."
Keqing lowered her head and was silent for a moment, then shook her head slightly.
This confession was probably a failure.
Years later, Keqing's answer to herself was that she'd been blinded by infatuation back then.
Keqing gritted her teeth and asked softly.
"Jingchen, did you really want to maintain that kind of relationship with me, like The Chasm?!"
"I... Sigh, Keqing, that's in the past. I have Columbia now."
"I, I... Sigh, never mind, Jingchen, if I could do it all over again...
I definitely, I would definitely maintain a relationship with you, like The Chasm, forever. Let the fleeting illusion become eternal truth."
Keqing then stood up, even though there were already many glistening tears at the corners of her eyes.
But she still forced a smile.
"Jingchen, this might be the last time we see each other. Thank you for talking with me so much.
I wish you and Columbia eternal happiness. Goodbye, and take care of yourself."
Keqing turned and walked slowly for five steps, then ran, disappearing from Jingchen's sight.
Ningguang, Shenhe, and Ganyu saw Keqing's resolve, and now they were weeping like a rain of tears.
They also guessed that their own endings might be like Keqing's.
However, being able to talk to Jingchen alone about everything at the end was also a relief.
"I'll go next."
Shenhe walked towards Jingchen.
Jingchen's first sight of Shenhe brought a hint of helplessness.
His master had clearly said that all of Senior Sister Shenhe's emotions were sealed by red ropes.
Yet, somehow, inexplicably, she was the same as Ningguang and Keqing, towards him...
Sigh.
"Senior Sister Shenhe, please, sit down."
Shenhe remained standing where she was.
"Senior Sister Shenhe, feel free to speak your mind."
"Junior Brother Jingchen. I've been following Master in Mount Aocang, cultivating and not concerning myself with worldly affairs.
But spending these past few months with Senior Ganyu, experiencing the mortal world…
I finally understood that I really like you.
I want to be with you forever."
Jingchen closed his eyes, not answering. Sigh, Klee had just gained sentience, and was also… with me.
And Senior Shenhe, she was somewhat similar to Klee.
"Senior Shenhe, I'm sorry. I will never do anything to betray Columbia, and I will be mindful of her in my words and actions."
Shenhe clenched her fists, and with one punch, froze the calm lake water into ice.
Then, with another punch, she shattered all the ice. She took a deep breath.
"I should have had Master keep you here on Mount Aocang, always by my side.
Drinking morning dew, eating pure hearts at dusk, practicing talismans, and eliminating demons."
Jingchen smiled awkwardly. Senior Sister Shenhe was still so direct.
But it was good that she hadn't attacked him. It seemed that these past few months, following Senior Sister Ganyu in the mortal realm,
she had also learned a little bit of restraint.
"Junior Brother Jingchen, if some day～, you can come back to me anytime. I'll always be waiting for you."
Shenhe didn't finish her sentence after the words "some day."
"Huh?! Senior Sister Shenhe, what did you say after 'some day'?!"
Shenhe departed directly, without a trace.
..................
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(End of Chapter)