In the blink of an eye, four days had passed.
It was now morning.
The streets of Liyue were decked with lanterns and festive decorations; the crisp, cold weather had done nothing to dampen the atmosphere of the Lantern Rite.
The streets teemed with crowds, bustling and lively, while vendors on both sides hawked their wares with gusto.
The Lantern Rite spirit was in full swing.
Outside the door, a knock rang out.
Buried beneath snow-white velvet sheets, Fang Qiu forced her eyes open, and the first thing she saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.
Propping up her soft, feeble body with her hands, she gazed somewhat dazedly at the luxurious surroundings of the room.
A desk and bookcase exquisitely carved from top-grade Sand-Repelling Wood—impervious to wind and rain, undecaying for a century; a bed made of Dreamwood imported from Inazuma, said to grant dreams as sweet as a warm spring; and the lingering fragrance of Glaze Lily incense wafting through the room, with soft velvet carpets spread across the floor.
Every detail proclaimed the room's understated, refined luxury.
Beyond the window, birds sang and flowers bloomed.
Fang Qiu sat on the bed, dazed and bleary for a good while, until the warmth lingering from the covers finally dissipated and a shiver of cold brought her back to her senses.
Oh, right....
I've already moved.
Having only just moved in, she still wasn't quite used to it.
This, at least, was the better version.
On the second day after moving in, when she'd woken up in bed, her first reaction had been: had she been kidnapped?
She'd hurriedly checked whether her clothes were still properly on.
Thankfully Shenhe hadn't seen, or it would have been mortifying.
Fang Qiu stretched lazily, rubbed her bleary, sleepy eyes, crawled out of bed, and shuffled over in her slippers to open the door.
"Shenhe, is something the matter?"
When Fang Qiu opened the door, she saw that besides Shenhe, two other people were standing outside.
One was the Traveler, the other Paimon.
"Traveler, Paimon, what brings you here?"
Fang Qiu was taken aback.
"Fang Qiu, you look so cute in that outfit—don't you think so, Traveler?"
Paimon praised.
"That's right, very cute."
Lumine nodded.
Fang Qiu brushed it off awkwardly; since changing clothes would take too long, and she was wearing panda pajamas anyway, she came together with the Traveler, Paimon, and Shenhe to the main hall and sat down, then brewed them a pot of tea.
"Coming to see us so early in the morning—is there something you need?"
Fang Qiu took a sip of the hot tea to warm herself, and asked.
"It's not anything major, really."
Paimon said, "Today Miss Ningguang asked us to do something..."
And so, as Paimon recounted it, Fang Qiu came to roughly understand the purpose of their visit.
Miss Ningguang, seeing that Miss Keqing was extremely strict with both others and herself—to the point of overcommitting and working herself far too hard—wanted the Traveler to talk some sense into Keqing.
So they had gone to find Zhongli of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, a man of broad experience and knowledge.
Zhongli told them it would be best to find a story that would move Keqing, and then weave the message into it.
So, while passing by, they'd dropped in to ask her for material.
"So, does Miss Fang Qiu have any experiences of this sort? —Oh, this is way too delicious."
Paimon took a bite of a Sugar-Heart Crisp, her eyes lighting up at the sweetness, and asked.
"A story about overworking, huh...."
Fang Qiu fell silent for a moment, then said with a slightly odd expression, "Then let me tell one... um... a story I once heard."
"Go ahead, Fang Qiu."
Paimon nodded.
"There was a debut novelist who became a bestseller on the strength of their first volume alone. But to make money, they began writing day and night, doing nothing each day but writing, eating, and sleeping. Soon they put out a second volume, which still sold well. So they pushed themselves even harder, and the third volume came out quickly—but its sales were much worse. To keep sales steady, they started cutting into their sleep, writing even more frantically. Yet the fourth and fifth volumes sold worse one after another, until at last no one paid them any mind, and none of their later books ever became a hit again."
Fang Qiu said after a moment's thought.
"Why? Shouldn't the sequels be more popular the faster they come out?"
Having heard Fang Qiu's story, Paimon was a little puzzled.
"If the quality were maintained, then yes, indeed."
Fang Qiu said.
"I understand now."
Lumine said.
"Traveler, what is it you understand?"
Paimon asked, puzzled.
"That author wrote day and night, which left their body exhausted; on top of that, writing too fast meant they didn't put much thought into the plot, so they couldn't guarantee the book's quality—which made each volume worse than the last, until in the end they completely lost their ability to write."
Lumine said.
"Exactly. So you see—haste makes waste, too much is as bad as too little, and only by balancing work with rest can one work better."
Fang Qiu nodded.
She'd originally meant to cite the example of how, in her past life, she'd died suddenly from staying up late typing away—but on second thought, it didn't seem appropriate.
Setting aside whether it was a good idea to drag her past-life self out and flog the corpse, talking about death and the like during the Lantern Rite wasn't exactly auspicious either.
At the very least, it wasn't a good story to tell to others.
"I see, I understand now."
Paimon nodded thoughtfully and said, "We'll make note of this story."
Having finished the story, they sat together and chatted a while longer.
"We still need to go to the Jade Chamber to find Keqing, so we won't stay long. See you later."
After chatting for a while, Paimon and Lumine said.
"Mm, take care."
Fang Qiu and Shenhe rose to see them off.
After they left, Shenhe looked at her and said, "It's about time. Let's head to Jueyun Karst."
"Mm."
Fang Qiu nodded.
She hadn't really wanted to go....
Although she very much wanted to see what an Adeptus's abode was like.
That feeling of standing before a cliff, watching the clouds roll and unfurl....
And besides, Cloud Retainer had been friendly enough toward her.
But Cloud Retainer had previously taken her books back to the Adeptus's abode to read....
She was a little afraid.
But if, when Shenhe went back to visit Cloud Retainer, Cloud Retainer asked why Fang Qiu hadn't come along to visit as well, that would be rather awkward....
There was nothing for it.
She could only go along with Shenhe to Jueyun Karst.
Cradling Tingyu, she made her way toward the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, intending to ask Hu Tao to look after Tingyu.
But when they reached the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, they were told Hu Tao wasn't in—she'd gone out together with that learned and erudite Mister Zhongli.
If they wanted to find her, they could look for her at the Third-Round Knockout. So Fang Qiu asked the young female undertaker to look after Tingyu instead.
The young undertaker happily agreed.
Having entrusted Tingyu to her care, they set off toward the courier station.
Along the way there were many couples out strolling, and quite a few families reunited—old and young alike out shopping together.
The streets were extraordinarily lively.
When they reached the courier station, Fang Qiu's gaze fell upon a little girl.
Was that her?
It was the little girl she and Ganyu had run into while shopping before.
It was precisely because of that scene—of the girl bidding farewell to the boy she liked—that she had decided to write 5 Centimeters Per Second.
She remembered that at the time, she'd even asked Ganyu whether she knew the speed at which cherry blossoms fell.
She hadn't expected to run into the girl again after all this time.
Dressed in new clothes, the girl was waiting in front of the courier station, glancing into the distance from time to time, her hands and feet fidgety as she pinched at the hem of her clothes.
By the looks of it, she seemed to be waiting for someone.
She and Shenhe boarded a carriage, and just as it slowly began to move, another carriage rolled slowly past. Though it was only a glimpse, she saw that seated inside that carriage was none other than the boy—Dashu, she thought his name was—who had parted from the girl that day.
The boy, too, wore a nervous expression.
Seeing this, Fang Qiu couldn't help but smile knowingly.
"What are you smiling at?"
Shenhe asked, puzzled.
"Nothing—just that I saw Shinohara Akari and Tono Takaki about to meet."
Gazing at the sky outside the carriage, Fang Qiu smiled faintly and said, "It would be nice if reality turned out differently from the ending in the book."
Shenhe just looked puzzled.
The carriage made its way out of Liyue Harbor and headed in the direction of Jueyun Karst.
Following the main road, it gradually left Liyue Harbor behind, and the carriage slowly picked up speed.
Arriving near Jueyun Karst, she and Shenhe got off the carriage and set out on foot toward Mt. Aozang.
Cloud Retainer dwelt atop a tall mountain.
Fang Qiu had been wondering whether she had the stamina to climb to the summit.
But after following Shenhe through the mountains for the better part of an hour, she realized she'd been wrong.
Outrageously wrong.
With her stamina, the question of whether she could reach the summit didn't even arise.
It hadn't even gotten as far as whether she could reach the mountainside.
Right now, she was already wondering whether she could even make it to the foot of the mountain...
Just as her legs went weak with exhaustion and she wanted to rest a while, Shenhe came to a stop.
"Shenhe, what is it? Could there be an enemy attack?"
Fang Qiu asked, puzzled.
At the same time, she pulled herself together and grew wary of her surroundings.
All around was quiet, with only the ceaseless cries of birds, beasts, and insects echoing through the mountains.
"There's no enemy attack."
Shenhe shook her head and said.
"Then?"
Fang Qiu was a little puzzled.
"Going on like this is too slow."
Shenhe said.
"Uh... then what do we do?"
Fang Qiu asked.
No sooner had she finished asking than Shenhe, instead of answering, stepped right up to her.
Before Fang Qiu could even figure out what Shenhe intended to do, Shenhe scooped her up in one motion, turned, and dashed swiftly off in the direction of Mt. Aozang.
The fierce gale rushing at them sent her hair flying wildly. Feeling herself held in a princess carry against Shenhe—the sensation of Shenhe's body pressing against hers at every point of contact—Fang Qiu's face flushed red, gripped by an inexplicable embarrassment.
Shenhe's body was so warm.
Fang Qiu had meant to ask Shenhe to put her down, but in just a few bounding leaps with her in her arms, Shenhe had already covered dozens of meters.
Seeing such speed, Fang Qiu found it hard to say anything more, and let Shenhe carry her all the way as she raced toward Mt. Aozang.
The rugged, uneven mountain path was like flat ground beneath Shenhe's feet, and soon they had climbed all the way up Mt. Aozang.
Atop the mountain was a platform.
On the platform lay a small lake, its waters crystal clear, dotted here and there with lotus leaves and blossoms, with fish swimming in its depths.
At the center of the lake was a small island of a dozen or so square meters.
A series of oddly shaped stone steps led to the little island.
On the island, Fang Qiu saw several familiar figures.
The Traveler and Paimon, Keqing and Ganyu, and Cloud Retainer—at that moment they were standing beside a stone table beneath a tree on the island, chatting.
But the distance was too great, and Fang Qiu couldn't make out what they were saying.
Even so—
Ganyu being there was one thing.
But why were the Traveler, Paimon, and Keqing here too?
Weren't the Traveler and Paimon collecting stories to persuade Keqing not to overwork herself?
How had they all come to Mt. Aozang together?
What's more, set in their midst was a finely crafted object.
The thing looked somewhat like a barrel for launching fireworks.
"Hm? It's this lively here?"
After setting Fang Qiu down, Shenhe walked with her toward the little island at the lake's center.
"Hm? That voice... Shenhe? Is that Shenhe?"
As she spoke, Cloud Retainer turned around, and everyone cast their gazes over as well.
"Oh? This girl came too?"
Cloud Retainer looked at Fang Qiu behind Shenhe with some surprise.
"Huh, Shenhe came too? And Fang Qiu—did you two also come to visit Cloud Retainer?"
Paimon said.
"Master."
Shenhe said.
"Greetings, Cloud Retainer."
Fang Qiu hurriedly followed suit, greeting Cloud Retainer and then greeting everyone else.
"Fang Qiu and I brought some food. I heard from Fang Qiu that during the Lantern Rite, the people of Liyue bring food to those they're close with. So I thought we ought to make a trip here."
Shenhe set the items in her hands on the table and said, "By the way, Master, have you read Fang Qiu's books? What did you think?"
"I have."
Cloud Retainer said, "They're quite well written—only every one of them is a tragedy, which makes for rather unpleasant reading."
As she spoke, Fang Qiu distinctly felt Cloud Retainer's unfriendly gaze.
The look in the eyes of someone who wants to twist the knife into you can't be hidden....
Especially when you're the one being knifed.
Yet amid her awkwardness, Fang Qiu was also a little puzzled—Your Name wasn't a tragedy....
Hmm.....
All right, in truth it did pack a few little stabs of its own..
"As long as you like it, Master. I'd originally planned to give you a copy of Fang Qiu's new book, The Forest of Fireflies' Light, but Fang Qiu said it'd be better to give food instead."
Shenhe said.
Hearing this, Fang Qiu instinctively swallowed; it had taken no end of pleading to get Shenhe to give up on the idea.
Just as she was congratulating herself on her decision, Cloud Retainer said flatly, "No matter—Ganyu already brought me the book, and said that after finishing it she wanted to ask me a few questions."
At Cloud Retainer's words, the smile that had just begun to curl at the corner of Fang Qiu's mouth instantly froze.
She turned to look at Ganyu, only to find Ganyu staring at Cloud Retainer with a face full of panic.
"Hm? Ask some questions?"
Paimon was a little puzzled.
Not just her—everyone present was a little puzzled. But seeing Ganyu's flustered state, they didn't press the matter.
Keqing hurriedly smoothed things over for Ganyu.
"Still, I didn't expect that just a few days back in the city would open her mind a little. Thank you for the snacks, Shenhe, Fang Qiu."
Cloud Retainer said.
With that, she looked again at Fang Qiu and said, "Thank you for looking after Shenhe. And also—the books are well written."
"Many thanks for your praise, Cloud Retainer."
Fang Qiu said with an awkward smile.
"Everyone, since you'll all be staying in Liyue Harbor from now on, you must look after one another—understood?"
Cloud Retainer said.
"Understood."
Ganyu nodded and said.
They chatted a while, and then the Traveler and Keqing's group were about to set off for the next Adeptus's place, since Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver had gone off wandering together.
So next they were going to set off for the next Adeptus—Conqueror of Demons.
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