"No? I thought you were thinking about Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's new promotional activities."
The night was thick, and Fang Qiu couldn't see Hu Tao's expression clearly. She smiled gently and didn't press the issue.
Hu Tao's pretty face was flushed crimson. Just as she was preparing to answer, a gust of wind wrapped in the chill of Liyue's night blew past.
The cold wind made the leaves rustle loudly.
Her body was already soaking wet, so when the wind blew, Fang Qiu couldn't help but shiver.
It was so cold.
Perhaps she had been too flustered just a moment ago to feel how cold it was.
Now that the wind was blowing, she finally felt the biting chill, as if she were in an ice cave.
"Let's not just sit here. Let's find a place to change clothes first."
Hu Tao hurriedly walked to Fang Qiu's side to block the wind for her, then gently supported Fang Qiu's shoulders as she spoke.
"Mm."
Fang Qiu nodded and gave a soft response.
Although there was no one around, not even a shadow.
Hmm...
It seemed that having only shadows around would be quite terrifying in itself.
Ahem, that wasn't the point.
The point was, just sitting here while soaked to the bone—given her constitution—would likely result in a cold, let alone sitting in the freezing wind.
If she sat here any longer, she would probably have to report to Bubu Pharmacy tomorrow.
Speaking of Qiqi, she had forgotten about the matter of buying a small finch to give to her last time.
Fang Qiu smiled and stood up. However, she had only just risen when her legs went soft, and she looked as if she were about to tumble to the ground.
"Careful."
Seeing this, Hu Tao hurriedly reached out to support her. She had intended to grab Fang Qiu's arm, but Fang Qiu had gone limp too suddenly. Hu Tao couldn't react in time and reached out rather hastily.
Her right hand managed to support Fang Qiu's arm, but her left hand grabbed the wrong position, her fingers instantly sinking deep.
"Ah."
Fang Qiu let out a soft cry, her body going even softer as she collapsed directly into Hu Tao's embrace.
Silence.
Quiet.
Hu Tao's fair and exquisite pretty face instantly turned beet red.
A bosom full of soft fragrance.
So soft.
Hu Tao subconsciously recalled the plot in Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts, and her pretty face turned as red as a fully ripe peach.
She hurriedly let go, allowing Fang Qiu to lean against her body, before shifting her hand to Fang Qiu's arm to help her stand up again.
"Fang Qiu, are you alright?"
Hu Tao suppressed her shyness and asked.
"Mm, I'm fine. Thank you."
Fang Qiu's pretty face was also slightly red. After all, Hu Tao had used quite a bit of strength to help stabilize her.
Being grabbed so forcefully like that...
"I'll help you walk," Hu Tao said.
"Mm."
Fang Qiu nodded gently and responded.
Just now, she had actually been quite frightened. Falling into the river wasn't much, as it was only three meters high—about the height of one story.
Although it was a bit cold and easy to catch a cold.
But at least it wasn't that painful.
Falling down when one's body is cold is extremely painful. In terms of physical sensation, it hurts at least twice as much as usual.
There was a scientific basis for this.
She had forgotten the specific scientific basis, but there definitely was one.
The catalyst for deriving this theory was a winter in her past life. That winter had been exceptionally cold.
Although it hadn't snowed yet, the temperature had reached one or two degrees. After finishing her typing, her hands were frozen stiff. Wanting to exercise her hands, she shook them, but carelessly hit her fingers against the edge of the desk.
That was truly painful.
If she had carelessly fallen just now, her knees would probably be bleeding.
Needless to say, it would hurt like hell.
Hu Tao supported Fang Qiu as they walked all the way up the bridge, blocking the direction of the wind with her body.
As the wind blew, the heat on her burning cheeks dissipated quite a bit.
"By the way, Fang Qiu, why did you come out so late?"
Hu Tao was somewhat puzzled and asked.
"I took Tingyu out to buy some daily necessities today and wandered around for a bit too long, so I wanted to come out tonight for a soak to relieve my fatigue."
Fang Qiu bent down to pick up the paper bag she had casually tossed aside earlier and said, "Hu Tao, do you want to go to the bathhouse for a soak together? To avoid catching a chill."
As she spoke, a faint blush rose on Fang Qiu's pretty face, which had originally been somewhat pale from the cold.
"?"
Hu Tao froze. After staring blankly for a while, she finally reacted, and the shy flush that had dissipated on her pretty face rose once again.
In the end, she naturally did not refuse.
However, although Fang Qiu had a change of clothes, Hu Tao did not. Therefore, they decided to return to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor first.
along the way, in order to warm Fang Qiu, Hu Tao used her Vision to condense two fire butterflies directly, letting them float beside Fang Qiu to provide heat.
As for trying to use the Pyro element to dry their clothes, the difficulty was still too great.
It was simpler to just change into a new set.
Anyway, it wasn't too far from Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
They made their way back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Fortunately, only the female undertaker was guarding the door; otherwise, Fang Qiu had no doubt that Hu Tao would have taken her over the courtyard wall.
Seeing her own Director go out alone and come back soaking wet was one thing, but seeing her bring back Miss Fang Qiu, who was also drenched with her clothes clinging tightly to her body, left the female undertaker somewhat bewildered.
What were they doing?
Come to think of it, when Miss Fang Qiu visited last time and the Director applied medicine for her, her face had been completely red...
Mm...
She shouldn't think too much.
After greeting the female undertaker, Hu Tao led Fang Qiu into Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
As soon as they entered Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, Fang Qiu immediately felt the temperature drop significantly. Even with two fire butterflies following her, Fang Qiu couldn't help but shiver.
Hu Tao leaned gently closer to Fang Qiu's side and, at the same time, condensed another fire butterfly to float beside her.
They walked all the way to Fang Qiu's room.
As soon as the door opened, a dark shadow darted over in a flash.
It was precisely Sanmi.
Sanmi had intended to climb onto Hu Tao's shoulder, but upon reaching her feet, it seemed to sense that Hu Tao was covered in water. It braked urgently and stopped.
"Meow."
Sanmi let out a cry and wagged its tail at Hu Tao and Fang Qiu like a dog.
"Sanmi is so energetic," Fang Qiu smiled and said.
"That's right."
Hu Tao smiled and said, "It can't stop moving all day long. Two days ago, we met Xiangling and Guoba on the road, and Sanmi played very happily with Guoba."
"Tingyu is very lazy; she curls up in the cat nest all day," Fang Qiu said with a smile.
As she spoke, Fang Qiu couldn't help but shrink her body slightly from the cold.
"Let's change clothes first. You take off your clothes first. I'll go to the wardrobe to get towels and a change of clothes. Dry your body, change clothes, and then we'll set off for the bathhouse."
As Hu Tao spoke, she walked to the wardrobe and began rummaging.
"Mm."
Fang Qiu nodded slightly and gave a soft response. Holding the paper bag containing her clothes, she walked all the way behind the folding screen.
Hu Tao's room decoration hadn't changed; behind the folding screen was still a large, floor-length bronze mirror.
Under the bright lights, her appearance was revealed in its entirety.
Her wet white hair plastered against her fair and exquisite cheeks, making her look exceptionally delicate, yet carrying a trace of aloofness within that fragility.
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