She went to Wanmin Restaurant together with Ganyu.
The last time they had visited that dessert shop in Mondstadt together, Ganyu had mentioned that she was a strict vegetarian — completely and without exception. So all the dishes they ordered tonight were plant-based.
Fang Qiu didn't particularly mind. The occasional all-vegetarian meal was fine.
She could think of it as dieting.
Only — while Ganyu was ordering, Fang Qiu happened to glance at Ganyu's chest, and a very strange and very rude thought rose unbidden in her mind.
If milk counts as something that comes from an animal... then what exactly did Ganyu drink when she was little?
That thought naturally led her to Qiqi — Qiqi, who was always seen hugging a coconut and drinking from it.
Don't tell me Ganyu was raised on coconut milk?
Of course, rude thoughts like that were best kept to oneself. Fang Qiu didn't say a word.
Tonight, Xiangling was helping out in the kitchen at Wanmin Restaurant. For some reason — some reason that Fang Qiu couldn't quite work out — the moment Xiangling spotted the two of them arriving together, she made a special point of piling extra food onto their order.
What surprised Fang Qiu was this: despite how slender and delicate Ganyu looked, her appetite was enormous. Far beyond what anyone would have expected. The portion Fang Qiu had fully planned to take home as a late-night snack was polished off entirely by Ganyu without so much as a pause.
What puzzled Fang Qiu even more, though, was the look on Ganyu's face afterward. Most people, after a satisfying meal, would feel happy — content, at ease, a smile on their face. Ganyu was different. After finishing, she showed not the slightest trace of joy. If anything, she seemed a little melancholy.
For no apparent reason at all.
Strange.
After the meal, Fang Qiu said her goodbyes to a visibly worried Ganyu and watched her go. Then she turned back into Wanmin Restaurant and asked Xiangling to put together a special cat meal for Tingyu.
After all — she had just clinched a collaboration with Tianquan Ningguang herself. Surely that called for a proper celebration, even if her only companion was a cat.
Celebrating together with her cat.
As it turned out, Xiangling didn't just prepare a lavish and luxurious spread for Tingyu — she also, out of the goodness of her heart, packed up an all-meat late-night snack for Fang Qiu herself. She said she was worried Fang Qiu hadn't gotten enough to eat at dinner.
Fang Qiu naturally wasn't going to refuse Xiangling's kindness. She accepted gracefully — and quietly settled the bill while she was at it.
During their chat, Xiangling also brought up something she had been thinking about recently.
Her idea: pack rice and side dishes together into a container. Once it cooled, pour boiling water over it. The hot water would dissolve all the seasonings mixed into the rice — and after soaking for a while, it would become a warm, savory broth-soaked rice.
Hearing this, Fang Qiu couldn't help but feel a pang of something like awe.
At this rate, Xiangling is going to invent instant noodles one day.
She could only hope that when that day came, the braised beef instant noodles Xiangling made would come with a little extra beef.
And a spicy beef noodle variety would be nice too...
After saying goodbye to Xiangling, Fang Qiu headed home, cat food and late-night snack in hand.
The moment she opened the door, Tingyu caught the scent of food and shot out of her little nest like a bolt of lightning — trotting over with elegant, unhurried steps to Fang Qiu's feet, eyes locked with unwavering intensity on the cat meal in Fang Qiu's hands.
"You lazy cat. Any other time I come home, you can't be bothered to get up and greet me."
Fang Qiu shot Tingyu a reproachful look, then tipped the cat food into Tingyu's bowl. Tingyu, upon hearing Fang Qiu's complaint, merely tilted her head slightly, flicked a single glance upward — and then, without so much as a meow in response, turned her full attention to eating.
Fang Qiu put Xiangling's late-night snack in the kitchen and closed the door firmly behind her, making sure Tingyu wouldn't be sneaking in to steal anything while she was writing.
With that sorted, Fang Qiu settled herself at the writing desk.
She picked up her quill, dipped it into the ink, and let a single dark drop fall onto the clean white page. Then, in one smooth motion, the tip of the pen swept across the paper — and five characters appeared.
5 Centimeters Per Second.
Seeing those words, Fang Qiu felt the corner of her mouth curl into a quiet smile.
She had seen the book the girl gave to the boy. Once he finished Your Name, he would likely be drawn toward other works set in the same world, by the same author.
And once he had finished 5 Centimeters Per Second — she was fairly certain that boy would start writing to the girl quite often after that.
That counts as doing something good, doesn't it?
Telling them to cherish the present. To cherish the people right in front of them.
Once this book was out, the letter-carriers were going to have their hands full.
The thought made the curve of Fang Qiu's smile grow a little wider.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason she had chosen to write 5 Centimeters Per Second.
For one thing, writing Sword and Fairy 4 now would undermine the promotional momentum for the upcoming Sword and Fairy film adaptation once it finally released. Better not to muddy those waters.
For another, 5 Centimeters Per Second shared the same narrative universe as Your Lie in April and Your Name — they were all part of the same interconnected world.
Your Lie in April had been her very first book. Many readers had a deep emotional attachment to it.
And Your Name had only just come out. A lot of people would likely assume that 5 Centimeters Per Second, coming from the same author and the same world, would also end on a happy note — just like Your Name had.
They would follow along and buy it.
As for the modern trains and railways in the original — she would simply swap them out for horse-drawn carriages, overland convoys, or sailing fleets. Easy enough.
The only thing she wasn't sure about was whether replacing the train that blocks the view when Akari and Takaki finally see each other at the end with The Crux Fleet's ships would earn her a visit to the Captain's quarters and a thorough beating from Sister Beidou.
The kind that left you swollen.
As for that rocket launch — she would just cut it entirely, or swap it for something else at random. It didn't need to be there.
All in all, the changes needed were not that many.
"Hah."
Fang Qiu sat back in the Jumpy Dumpty and let out a long, soft breath.
She let the ideas settle for a good while — sitting in stillness as the last traces of the sunset's crimson glow faded from the sea beyond the windowsill, the light dying away color by color until it was gone completely.
Only then did she raise her quill and bring it down beneath the title of 5 Centimeters Per Second.
And so the story began — in a season when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.
____
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 20 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉