Fang Qiu's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly as she continued to listen.
"Speaking of which, I heard Fang Qiu is a great beauty."
"Is that so? That's the first I've heard of it. I thought it was a man."
"I heard it from others too. Supposedly a great beauty, really beautiful. If we're talking about the degree, she's probably as beautiful as the young lady sitting over there."
Hearing this, Fang Qiu's body instantly stiffened, and the delicate corners of her mouth twitched involuntarily.
Fear.jpg.
Silence.
Quiet.
The entire noodle shop was completely silent, with only the noise from outside the shop drifting in continuously.
Only after a long silence did a voice sound out.
"Don't talk nonsense. A girl that good-looking clearly has a kind heart just by looking at her; how could she be that Old Thief Fang Qiu?"
"Cough, cough, I was just giving an example. I haven't actually seen the author either. The only ones who have seen Fang Qiu are those who bought the books at the very beginning; I just heard it from them."
"Speaking of which, we were so focused on chatting about that Old Thief Fang Qiu just now that we didn't even notice such a stunning beauty sitting in the shop."
"To be fair, it's true that Old Thief Fang Qiu harms people deeply. After finishing reading, my brain is full of anticipation for the content of the next volume."
"Yeah, I wonder if the next book release day will have the next volume of Sword and Fairy. I really can't wait a single day longer for this installment!"
"I don't know which bastard invented releasing by volumes. Wouldn't it be better to finish it all at once?"
"Exactly. It was like that when following Legend of the Lone Sword before; every time, it would cut off at the most exciting part. It's really annoying to read."
"True, but on this point, Fang Qiu at least acted like a human being; at least it didn't cut off at the most exciting part."
Seeing that their topic had returned to the books, Fang Qiu couldn't help but breathe a light sigh of relief.
Scared me to death.
I should finish eating and go home quickly.
After finishing her food quickly, Fang Qiu went straight out of the noodle shop.
Fang Qiu had intended to go directly home, but thinking that she hadn't been out for a long time, she decided she might as well go to that Mondstadt dessert shop to buy some desserts and drinks as reserve rations for her late-night writing.
She could buy a little more.
After all, with her current strength, freezing drinks for a day or two wasn't a problem.
The same applied to cakes.
Leaving them for a day or two wouldn't be an issue.
...
At this moment, night was falling, and the evening lights were just coming on.
The bright and beautiful lights of Liyue Harbor were reflected in the water, looking exceptionally bustling.
Walking on the bluestone paved road, with the gentle sea breeze brushing past, Fang Qiu let out a soft sigh of relief.
A cozy feeling.
Just as she walked onto the terrace of that dessert shop with a relaxed expression, accompanied by the crisp sound of ocean waves, the figure of a young girl in purple caught her eye.
This purple-clad girl was born very pretty, wearing her hair in cat-ear twin-tails.
She was sitting at a seat by the sea, a heavy folder placed on the table. She was looking at the open folder on the table, her brows locked in deep thought, her heroic eyes carrying a hint of fatigue.
Clearly, she had been working for a long time.
Seemingly becoming a bit irritable from thinking, she sighed deeply, put down the folder, and took a sip from a glass of orange juice at her hand. Just as she intended to pick up the folder to continue reading, she seemed to sense Fang Qiu's gaze and subconsciously glanced in her direction.
Then, their eyes met.
"Miss Fang Qiu, what a coincidence."
The purple-clad girl was slightly stunned, but she immediately put down the folder in her hands, stood up, and spoke.
"Miss Keqing, long time no see."
Fang Qiu smiled faintly and said, "I didn't expect to meet you here."
Although she didn't have much interaction with Keqing.
In her memory, there were quite a few rumors about this Yuheng. Legend had it that she was always diligent and hardworking; if tomorrow's matters could be finished today, she would not drag them out until tomorrow.
How should one put it?
A type completely opposite to herself.
If not pushed to the limit, she wouldn't even finish the day's tasks, let alone tomorrow's tasks.
Grinding away at writing books so much recently was also something she had no choice about.
Although she knew Keqing was extremely hardworking, she hadn't expected her to be hardworking to this extent—even when coming out to eat dessert, she actually brought a folder with her.
Reviewing documents while drinking beverages.
This was too hardworking...
"I've been a bit tired recently. I heard from the secretaries at Yuehai Pavilion that a new Mondstadt dessert shop opened in Liyue Harbor and is very suitable for relaxing, so I came to try it out," Keqing said.
"Is that so? Miss Keqing really is hardworking," Fang Qiu said.
"To bring well-being to the people of Liyue Harbor, as one of the Liyue Qixing, this bit of effort is naturally required."
Keqing gently exhaled a breath, then smiled and said, "Since fate has us meeting, would you like to sit down and chat?"
"Mm, then please wait a moment, Miss Keqing. I'll go place an order first," Fang Qiu smiled and said.
Although she had originally only planned to buy cakes and drinks to pack up and take home, since Keqing had invited her, it would naturally be rude to refuse.
"Mm." Keqing nodded.
Soon, Fang Qiu finished ordering her desserts and drinks.
A Coconut Milk Cake and a glass of Iced Lemon Juice.
When she finished ordering and returned to Keqing's table, she found Keqing looking at the folder with a face full of worry. Inside the folder, there was not only a map but also several photos pasted on it.
In the photos was a towering mountain.
"Miss Keqing, why are you looking at these photos?"
Fang Qiu asked subconsciously, only realizing it was inappropriate after asking, and hurriedly said, "Miss Keqing, I didn't mean to peek intentionally."
"No matter, this isn't anything classified either."
Keqing shook her head, then explained, "This mountain is here, and this road is the official road between Liyue and Mondstadt."
Looking at the map following Keqing's finger, a mountain range lay across the map. The official road wound around the entire mountain range, and then, because there were several important towns on that side of the mountain range, the official road wound back to the other end of the mountain range.
In other words, it practically made a huge detour for nothing.
"I see. In other words, this mountain is blocking the path of the official road?" Fang Qiu said thoughtfully.
"Correct. This high mountain not only causes an extremely long detour, but there are also numerous monsters along the way. Therefore, I originally planned to build a winding mountain road to go up, but after my field investigation, I discovered that the topography of this mountain range is extremely steep and perilous, stretching endlessly."
"So that's how it is."
"Sigh, it seems this plan can only be abandoned," Keqing sighed and said.
However, she was just saying it to vent the frustration in her heart; she didn't hold any hope in Fang Qiu.
After all, Fang Qiu was not Rex Lapis who knew everything and could do everything.
Sigh. Ever since Rex Lapis passed away and the Liyue Qixing took charge, she had encountered difficulties like this many times already.
Although they were all solved in the end, every time, she would be worried to the point of being battered and exhausted.
There were times of overcoming difficulties, and there were times of settling for the next best thing.
Fang Qiu looked carefully at the high mountain in the photo, thought carefully for a moment, and said:
"I actually have a solution."
________________________________________
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