When it came to Yunqin, a faint Geo element condensed at her fingertips, like holding a tiny carving knife, as she carefully sculpted the green stone.
Her gaze was exceptionally focused, even her breathing grew lighter, and the sunlight fell on her side profile, outlining her soft features.
Before long, a lifelike statue of Rex Lapis appeared in her hands.
The lines of Rex Lapis's robes were smooth, and even the details of the hair were clearly visible, and even the unique patterns on the statue of Rex Lapis were carved exactly the same, as if it had been traced from the Statue of The Seven.
Tartaglia leaned in to look, his eyes full of surprise: "I didn't expect you to have this skill, it's carved so realistically."
Yunqin rubbed the tip of her nose, a hint of proud blush on her face: "It's okay, I had nothing to do on Mt. Aocang before, so I figured out a bit of stone carving myself."
"Amazing, I really envy you for still having time to slack off." Tartaglia reached out to brush away the stone chips stuck in the young girl's hair and smiled.
Yunqin laughed sheepishly with a "hehe".
At this time, the corner of her eye glanced at the other side.
Ying'er's eyes lit up when she saw Yunqin come in with a handsome man, her tone teasing: "Miss Yunqin, is this your sweetheart? You both look like a perfect match. How did you find the time to bring him to my Scent of Spring?"
Yunqin's cheeks flushed completely red again, like clouds dyed by the sunset.
She waved her hands hastily, her voice even stuttering a bit: "No! He's just my friend! Sister Ying'er, don't say such things!"
Saying this, she hurriedly changed the subject, her gaze falling on the perfume oil shelf behind the counter. Small wooden tags were attached to the celadon bottles, with the names of each brand written on them, and the bottles themselves were carved with delicate auspicious cloud patterns, as exquisite as a piece of art.
What she was most interested in was the bottle in the center of the shelf, its milky white paste emitting a faint Qingxin fragrance.
With a gentle lean, the elegant floral scent swirled around the tip of her nose.
Yunqin picked up the porcelain bottle, held it up to the light to examine the texture of the paste, and then gently twisted open the lid to smell it, a clear flash of fondness crossing her eyes.
But when she saw the price tag on the bottle, she quickly looked away, quietly put the porcelain bottle back in its original place, and instead picked up a cheaper perfume oil next to it, pretending to study it seriously.
Tartaglia had seen her every little move.
He stepped forward, picked up that bottle of perfume oil, and pointed to several other bottles labeled "New Arrival" in the display case, saying to Ying'er with breezy confidence: "I'll take all of these."
"Huh?" Ying'er and Yunqin froze at the same time, their eyes widening.
The ledger in Ying'er's hand nearly slipped to the floor as she asked with a smile to confirm: "Sir... you're not joking, are you?"
After Yunqin finally processed the situation, she hurriedly grabbed Tartaglia's arm, her fingertips tightening as she said urgently: "No, no! The perfume oils at Scent of Spring are all very expensive! I was just looking, there's no need to buy so many! Just one bottle will last me a long time!"
"If you like it, you should have the best." Tartaglia smiled and ruffled her hair, his fingers gently brushing the stray strands blown by the wind across her forehead. "Besides, having a few extra bottles to rotate through will keep things fresh."
But Yunqin still shook her head, her eyes filled with regret, yet she remained firm as she pulled his hand and led him toward the door: "No need! Perfume oil is something you only need enough of. If you buy too much and store it for too long, it'll lose its scent. What a waste that would be!"
As she spoke, she didn't forget to give Ying'er an apologetic smile: "Sister Ying'er, I'm sorry, we won't be buying anything today. We'll come back next time!"
Before Ying'er could say anything else, Yunqin pulled Tartaglia and quickly walked out of Scent of Spring, leaving Ying'er shaking her head helplessly and amusedly on the spot: "This girl, she's so honest it's heartbreaking."
Time passed minute by minute. Liyue Harbor was big if you said it was big, and small if you said it was small.
The two of them quickly visited all the interesting places in Liyue Harbor.
They sat on the stone steps of the pier, Yunqin still clutching the coconut date sugar cake she had just bought from a small snack stall. The oil paper wrapped the warm sweet fragrance, which faintly drifted into the air through the fabric.
She carefully broke off a small piece, pinched it with her fingertips, and offered it to Tartaglia's lips: "It's super delicious, you have to try it!"
Tartaglia subconsciously opened his mouth, and the coconut fragrance mixed with the dense frosting melted on the tip of his tongue.
It didn't have the heavy sweetness of Snezhnayan desserts, but was instead like the sunset falling on them at this moment, like the smile in the eyes of the person beside him, just the right amount of warmth.
His Adam's apple bobbed slightly. Before he had time to praise it, he saw Yunqin take a big bite herself, completely unaware of the bit of milky white frosting on the corner of her mouth.
The young girl could only point at a fishing boat returning to port in the distance, her voice full of longing: "Look at that boat with the auspicious cloud pattern sail! It must have just returned from the sea. I'm telling you, freshly caught fish like that are the most delicious when grilled! Next time, I'll grill some for you to try."
She spoke earnestly, gesturing in the air to describe grilling fish. Her ink-black hair swayed gently with her movements, the golden light falling upon it like a handful of sprinkled gold leaf.
Tartaglia looked at her undisguised anticipation, and his heart felt like it had been lightly poked by a soft candy. His Adam's apple bobbed again, and as if possessed, he replied, "Alright."
When his words fell, even he was stunned.
Clearly, their positions were opposing: he was a Harbinger of Snezhnaya, and she was a descendant of a god in Liyue who needed to be "managed."
Clearly, he was still hesitating over the mission to awaken Osial, yet facing her invitation for the "future," he simply couldn't refuse.
"This one's for you!" Yunqin didn't notice his distraction. She took out a round candy from her crossbody cloth bag and handed it over. "Take this out to eat when you're tired on your next mission. I always do this when I get sleepy."
The sweet fragrance of the candy wafted around his nose. Tartaglia reached out to take it, his fingertips accidentally brushing hers. Both froze at the same time.
Yunqin's cheeks flushed instantly, like sunset-stained clouds. She quickly turned her face away to stare at the distant horizon, her voice drifting. "I, I just think this candy is delicious, I didn't specifically save it for you... don't overthink it!"
Tartaglia looked at her reddened ear tips and couldn't help but smile.
The sunset overflowed the eaves of Liyue Harbor as night gradually descended.
Yunqin hugged her knees, watching the fishing boats returning to port in the distance, still holding a sweet candy in her mouth. Her gaze followed the sun as it slowly sank below the horizon. The golden afterglow washed over her face, making her profile look exceptionally soft.
The date-palm cake in her arms had long since turned cold, and the sweet scent from its oil-paper wrapping had also faded slightly.
"Today was really fun, way more interesting than when I'm alone on Mt. Aocang."
Tartaglia turned his head, watching the sunset's golden light fall on her hair. Listening to her soft voice, he couldn't help but show a hint of a smile.
This kind of time was also quite interesting.
Before, his world consisted only of endless training and battles with the strong.
After becoming a Harbinger, he saw even more of nations' entangled interests and scheming, rarely having such a pure moment where he didn't have to think about "allegiance," "missions," or "Gnosis."
But today was different.
From the stone carving stall where she laughed at his whale carving looking like a loach, to the Scent of Spring where she blushed and refused to let him buy perfume oils; from the light touch of their fingertips when she handed him the candy, to this moment as she muttered "fun" with a sweet in her mouth...
Every single moment was vivid and warm, as if Teyvat's softest light had been woven into this very day.