"You didn't see him?"
Bai Qing was slightly stunned.
Xingqiu had clearly just finished chatting with her and left the office. Coming and going, it would have only taken a short while. How could they not have run into each other? Hmm... wait. Could it be that because the handwriting was too messy, she had actually spent a long time reading it?
It's possible...
Forget it, that's not important.
Bai Qing pondered for a moment, then said, "By the way, I remember you mentioned asking me to arrange a meeting with Xingqiu last time, right?"
"Mm, that is indeed the case." Fang Qiu nodded.
The main reason was to confirm whether Xingqiu was a transmigrator. After all, interstellar battleships and star wars were simply too far beyond the curriculum for Liyue. She had already thought of how to test Xingqiu when the time came.
When they met, after exchanging a few pleasantries, she would say she had seen a phrase in an ancient book and didn't know if it was a spell. A part was missing, and she wanted to ask if he had heard of it. The first half of that phrase was: "Odd changes, even remains."
See if he could answer it. She remembered reading a novel in her past life where the protagonist and his roommate met with disaster together. The protagonist transmigrated to ancient times and became a prince. To find his roommate, he offered a heavy reward for the next line of "Odd changes, even remains."
However, the reward went unclaimed. Thus, he could only live out his life as a prince. On the night of his grand wedding, while enjoying the bridal chamber with his beautiful and delicate wife, she whispered softly in his ear: "Signs depend on the quadrant."
Or, she could simply sing a line in front of him: "The vast horizon is my love, the flowers are blooming at the foot of the green hills..."
See if he would sing along.
"I've been so busy lately that my head is spinning, and adding to that, he has been in seclusion writing his book, so I forgot about it. Once I finish reviewing the manuscripts, I'll mention it to him when I meet him next time," Bai Qing said.
"Mm, thank you, Sister Bai." Fang Qiu smiled shallowly and nodded.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Fang Qiu bid farewell to Bai Qing. Under the gaze of quite a few people present, she walked all the way out of the editorial office.
As soon as Fang Qiu left, several female editors gathered around.
"Ah Qing, show us. What kind of story has Fang Qiu written this time?"
"Tsk tsk, is this guy a donkey hauling goods for a farmer? How many days has it been, and she's already written a new book..."
"She just finished a medium-to-long serial, right? Does she not rest? Even a farmer's donkey doesn't grind like this."
"This workload is comparable to Lady Ganyu and Lady Keqing, isn't it?"
"I have an author under me who finished a long serial half a year ago, but hasn't shown me a new book in these six months. Seeing that the popularity accumulated from the last book is almost gone, there's still no movement. I thought he was stuck on the new book, but when I went to ask about the situation a few days ago, he had actually been eating, drinking, and playing for half a year! He hadn't touched a single word of the new book, not even a concept!"
"Me too. At an author gathering once, an author I'm responsible for was boasting, saying something like, 'As long as I don't write myself to death, I'll write until I die.' Result? I asked him how much he wrote yesterday. Guess how much?"
"Hmm... two thousand?"
"Three hundred."
"Ah, this..."
Listening to the complaints of her seniors, Bai Qing smiled shallowly and chatted with them for a bit. Then, looking at Fang Qiu's manuscript, a touch of worry appeared on her pretty face.
The task was heavy. Aside from Fang Qiu, Xingqiu, and a few other authors' books, she still had several books from Inazuma that needed proofreading.
Thinking of this, she glanced at the pile of books stacked by the desk. Placed right on top was the hit book from Inazuma, Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts.
Seeing this book, Bai Qing couldn't help but furrow her brows slightly. This title was quite strange. She didn't know what the content was about. Was it about a senior sister shouting in pain after being beaten by a junior sister?
Forget it, no use thinking so much about it. If she delayed too much time, she wouldn't finish her tasks. She would take the Inazuma books home to proofread tonight.
Thinking of this, Bai Qing couldn't help but glance at one of her seniors sitting not far away. The books piled on her desk were all horror novels; just the covers didn't look like something one could read while working overtime at night...
Thinking about it that way, it wasn't so bad. At least what she was proofreading were normal stories. Bai Qing withdrew her gaze and picked up Xingqiu's manuscript to read. The more she read, the tighter her brows locked. It gave one a headache.
Meanwhile, Fang Qiu was walking on the street with a relaxed and free expression.
"The sky is clear, the air is fresh; looking up, I observe the vastness of the universe; looking down, I examine the abundance of species."
Looking at the clear blue sky, such a scene naturally called for a poem. If it were in the past, upon returning from the editorial department, she would definitely have chosen to go home, lie down, and sleep immediately. But today, she had plenty of sleep, so she wanted to go to Wanwen Bookhouse to hunt for some books.
Walking all the way to Wanwen Bookhouse, she happened to see that bold and heroic beautiful girl again. That beautiful girl was currently sitting at the tea table in Wanwen Bookhouse with a face full of interest, reading a novel with great seriousness.
As Fang Qiu passed by, she conveniently took a few extra glances at the book in her hands. Hmm... It was Sword and Fairy.
The plot the beautiful girl was reading at this moment was exactly when Jing Tian woke up from his dream of being the richest man and happened to bump into Tang Xuejian, who had sneaked into the Yong'an Pawnshop. Seeing this scene, Fang Qiu was first stunned, then smiled shallowly.
She wouldn't disturb this beautiful girl's reading.
Fang Qiu walked all the way to the bookshelf, searched carefully, and finally selected a book called Teyvat Travel Guide - Mondstadt Edition. The cover stated that this was a travel magazine hosted by the Adventurers' Guild, introducing scenery worth visiting across the Teyvat continent in every issue. It was sold in all major bookstores.
This issue published a brief travelogue by the traveler Alice in Mondstadt. She bought this book to properly understand the local customs and practices of Mondstadt.
When she walked to the counter, the proprietress Jifang recognized her at a glance and was looking at her with a resentful expression.
"Hello, I would like this book."
Although she didn't know what had happened, Fang Qiu still smiled with embarrassment yet without losing politeness, and spoke.
"Total is thirty Mora."
Jifang looked at Fang Qiu's glamorous face and couldn't help but sigh faintly. After finishing Sword and Fairy, she hadn't slept well these past few days. As soon as she closed her eyes, there was the vast, sky-filling snow, the world a patch of whiteness.
But looking at Fang Qiu's sweet smile, she couldn't bring herself to blame her.
"Mm." Fang Qiu nodded, took out thirty Mora, and handed it to Jifang. Then she smiled at her, exchanged a couple of polite remarks, and left holding the Teyvat Travel Guide - Mondstadt Edition.
Before leaving, that beautiful girl with ear-length short hair was still reading, entranced. Fang Qiu didn't disturb her and walked out of Wanwen Bookhouse, heading toward her home.
Only, when passing by the tavern downstairs, she happened to run into that matronly proprietress again. The matronly proprietress's eyes lit up, as if she had seen walking Mora.
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