"Things only lovers can do?"
Hearing Fang Qiu's answer, Shenhe couldn't help feeling a little puzzled.
"That's right."
Fang Qiu nodded gently.
"Aren't Li Qiuyao and Zi Ling both women? Can they become lovers too?"
Shenhe asked, confused.
"This kind of thing has nothing to do with gender—as long as there's love, that's enough."
Fang Qiu's pretty face flushed, and she said it with a touch of embarrassment.
This feeling really was just too strange.
It made her think, unbidden, of a time in her past life when she'd been chatting in a group chat full of authors.
There was a female author she'd gotten to know there, who had once brought up something that had happened to her back in her school days.
She said she'd had a very pretty, very gentle roommate who had never once dated a guy. The roommate would often hug her and do all sorts of intimate little things, and she'd thought it was just friends roughhousing, so she hadn't paid it any mind at all.
But later, the roommate asked her for help with some homework that required a computer. While she was using the browser to search for reference material, she accidentally caught a glimpse of the search history.
How to turn your straight roommate gay?
How to make a move on your roommate without exposing the fact that you're into girls?
How to trick your roommate into wearing a maid outfit?
How to tactfully propose to keep your roommate as your kept woman?
Which countries allow two girls to get married?
Seeing those records, the female author was dumbstruck on the spot.
After the roommate realized she'd been found out, she first apologized to the female author, saying she'd liked her this whole time and just couldn't hold back, which was why she'd made her moves.
Then she confessed to the female author, saying she wanted to keep her.
And at that moment, the female author asked the very question Shenhe had just asked.
"Can two girls fall in love too?"
And that beautiful roommate's answer was: "This kind of thing has nothing to do with gender—as long as there's love, that's enough."
Back then she'd asked the female author what happened next, asked how the two of them were doing now—and the female author said they were still together, and were currently traveling around Northern Europe.
She'd attached a caption to it.
[Later on, I got kept by her. We went to a country that allows same-sex marriage and got married. The novel I write is the story of me and her.]
A mouthful of relationship-dog-food, force-fed.
And on top of that, the female author had flaunted her achievements right in her face.
It had inflicted tons of psychological scars on her young self—so it turned out things like that really existed.
Just as Fang Qiu was reminiscing about the past, she discovered that Shenhe was gazing at her with a thoughtful expression.
For a moment, being stared at like that left Fang Qiu feeling thoroughly uncomfortable. Though she tried her hardest to endure it, she couldn't keep her pretty face from flushing red.
Just as Fang Qiu was about to crack and say something, Shenhe shifted her gaze away.
And just as Fang Qiu was breathing a sigh of relief, Shenhe flipped forward a few pages, then handed the book to Fang Qiu. Fang Qiu instinctively looked.
This page was the part where Li Qiuyao and Zi Ling, while bathing in a cold spirit-fluid pool, were seized by a sudden impulse.
And so, right there in the cold pool, they began their steamy, sweet "crunching rock sugar and grinding mirrors."
The squeak-squeak kind.
Although it wasn't written out in detail—instead handled with a brush-the-edges, suggestive approach—it still left Fang Qiu red in the face and hot all over, right up until Shenhe spoke and asked her something, at which point Fang Qiu finally snapped back to her senses.
"So this kind of thing is also something only lovers do?"
Shenhe asked, puzzled.
"Uh... this is... it's... y-yes."
Fang Qiu mumbled, her face red.
"I see."
Shenhe nodded, took the book, sat back down in the chair, and went on reading.
Fang Qiu, for her part, let out a long breath.
She'd finally made it through this ordeal.
The roommate she shared a bed with had discovered she'd been secretly stashing a yuri H-novel, read it from cover to cover with great relish, and then asked her what the H content inside actually meant.
What kind of shameful roleplay was this even!?
She wanted nothing more than to bury her head under the covers.
Thank goodness Shenhe hadn't pressed any deeper.
Only, there was no way for her to talk Shenhe out of reading the book now either.
And who even knew who'd written this book....
A book like this, back in her past life, would have been banned within minutes—yet over at the Yae Publishing House it had somehow passed review.
It would absolutely make her past-life self die of envy.
Her past life....
Never mind—let bygones be bygones; life has already seen plenty of storms.
No, that wasn't a secret stash, she'd just forgotten to throw it out...
Though she seemed to remember she had thrown it out...
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but recall a story she'd overheard a few days ago when she'd gone out for a meal—about a sailor who'd pranked his roommate.
His roommate had recently bought an Inazuman horror novel, and after finishing it found it too terrifying, so he threw the book into the sea.
Then, after the sailor saw this, he ran off to the Wanwen Bookhouse and bought an identical copy, soaked it in seawater, and set it on his roommate's desk.
Then he made a point of arranging a Kamera in the room.
According to that sailor, his roommate was so frightened on the spot that his hands were shaking, and he plopped right down onto the floor.
Could it be that this Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts had also come back on its own?
The curse of yuri H-books?
Was Shenhe reading this book, in fact, in order to break the curse?
Fang Qiu shook her head, shaking all those nonsensical thoughts clean out of her mind.
What a load of rubbish.
Fang Qiu picked up the book and started reading.
But before she'd been reading long—even though it was still early—Fang Qiu felt a powerful wave of drowsiness wash over her.
Her body really was still too frail, after all.
An afternoon of wandering around and she was dead tired.
Time to sleep....
The greatest perk of coming to Teyvat was that, once she finished writing her book, she could rest whenever she pleased.
She stretched lazily, rose up off the Jumpy Dumpty, and said with a face full of drowsiness: "Shenhe, I'm going to sleep first. You should turn in early too—don't stay up late."
"Mm."
Shenhe nodded.
Fang Qiu had assumed Shenhe would read for a while longer, but unexpectedly Shenhe set the book in her hands straight down and followed after her.
"I won't read anymore. Let's sleep together."
Shenhe said.
Although Fang Qiu knew that when Shenhe said "sleep together" she was merely stating a fact, having just read about the senior sister and junior sister "crunching rock sugar" together in the Frostbearing Lake in Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister Hurts, it was hard for her not to let her mind wander somewhere dirty....
"Mm."
Fang Qiu answered, her face red.
The two of them burrowed into the covers together.
After lying down, a powerful drowsiness came surging over her. But just as she was about to fall asleep, the fragrance on Shenhe's body drifted up into her nose.
Fang Qiu instinctively turned her head to look at Shenhe beside her on the pillow, only to find that Shenhe was looking at her.
Searching for something to talk about, even though Fang Qiu was so sleepy she was on the verge of dropping off, she asked without thinking: "How was that book?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Fang Qiu regretted it.
Too sleepy.
She'd gone and brought up the very thing she shouldn't have...
Completely without thinking it through.
"It's not written as well as yours."
Shenhe said.
"Is that so..."
Fang Qiu responded softly, her eyelids drooping and fighting to stay open, the Shenhe before her gradually blurring.
"But it untied one of the knots in my heart."
Shenhe said softly.
"What... knot... in your... heart?"
Fang Qiu murmured in fits and starts, half-dreaming.
Having said that, her head tilted gently to one side, and she sank into a deep sleep.
Gazing at Fang Qiu's serene, delicate, pretty face, a rare trace of a smile curved across Shenhe's frost-cold features, and she whispered softly into Fang Qiu's ear: "As long as there's love, that's enough."
Outside the window, a fresh breeze swept by, carrying the cold chill of an early-winter night as it drifted off into the distance.
At this moment.
Mondstadt.
The office of the Grand Master of the Knights was brightly lit.
Having finished a full day's work, Acting Grand Master Jean set down the pen in her hand, stretched lazily, propped a hand against her somewhat aching waist, and gave her body a vigorous stretch.
Her stiff body let out faint sounds of joints grinding.
"I heard from Kaeya that the reason Liyue is buying those Jumpy Dumpty plush dolls Klee makes is to use them as chairs—supposedly they can prevent back pain. I wonder if that's actually true. Maybe I should swap mine out for one too? Though... wouldn't it look a bit odd?"
Jean said as she worked her body loose.
Only, after she finished speaking, she received no answer from Lisa.
"Lisa, you..."
Jean couldn't help but be startled. She turned her head to look at Lisa, and found Lisa gazing at the book in her hands, her eyes downcast, with a faint glimmer of tears shimmering in them.
She quietly drew closer, only to discover that Lisa was staring fixedly at a single line of text, utterly absorbed.
It was a verse of lyrics printed alongside the main text.
"The bone-deep changes are not far off; even ten thousand years from now, this deep love will not change. Love spreads like a raging fire...."
Jean was quite puzzled.
What was Lisa doing staring at this line of lyrics?
The main text was clearly more moving—and she'd already read this passage yesterday.
It was the bone-deep, three-lifetimes-spanning love between Zixuan and Xu Changqing.
In Mondstadt she'd heard many poems extolling love, but it was only through Fang Qiu's book that she'd finally, thoroughly understood just how... to borrow a phrase from Sword and Fairy 1, the love spoken of in those poems was "etched into one's very bones, unwavering even unto death."
But why was Lisa staring blankly at that one line?
Just as Jean was wondering, Lisa came back to her senses.
"Jean, you've finished your work?"
Lisa asked.
"Mm."
Jean nodded, then asked: "I noticed you've been staring at that one line. Does it have some special meaning?"
"It doesn't have any special meaning. It's just that this line reminded me of a story."
Lisa said.
"A story? What story?"
Jean was a little puzzled.
"Do you know of the Witch of Flames?"
Lisa asked.
"I've heard of her."
Jean said.
She'd heard this legend, but with her official duties keeping her so busy, she'd never looked into it carefully.
"Then would you like to hear her story? Once you've heard it, you should understand why I was looking at this line."
Lisa asked.
"Mm."
Jean nodded.
"The Witch of Flames' true name was Rosalyne. She had a lover named Rostam, a great hero of Mondstadt. He was drawn to Rosalyne's singing and fell in love with her, and Rosalyne too lost her heart to Rostam. The two of them fell in love. In order to be worthy of Rostam, and carrying beautiful dreams of the future, she traveled far away to Sumeru to study—and discovered that she was born with the ability to wield fire magic."
Lisa recounted it unhurriedly.
"At last, an enormous catastrophe broke out. The Venomous Dragon descended upon Mondstadt. The Anemo Archon led his followers into battle against the demon dragon, while the Knights of Favonius waged a great war against the monsters that had come along with it. When the Venomous Dragon perished on the icy mountain, Rostam too fell into an eternal sleep at the bottom of the valley. When the far-traveling Rosalyne returned to Mondstadt and learned that the one she loved had already passed away, she wept until her voice went hoarse and her tears ran dry."
"The dandelions travel far on the morning wind, and the autumn wind carries back the fragrance of the harvest—but no matter what kind of wind it is, none can carry back your gaze."
"And so Rosalyne burned away her very life, transformed herself into the Witch of Flames, and swept clean every last monster in the world. In the end, the flames dissipated..."
Lisa finished speaking.
Silence fell over the office.
"So that's how it was. Love spreads like a raging fire... it really does suit that girl who burned away her own life for the sake of love...."
Jean's expression turned downcast, and she let out a long sigh.
Yet her heart still felt stiflingly heavy.
In Fang Qiu's original text, Lin Yeping too, for Zixuan's sake, had been swept up into a great war and died in that war.
Until his very death, Lin Yeping never knew that the "Liufang" Zixuan called out for was him.
This was what it meant to be unwavering even unto death.
Just like how the Witch of Flames, upon learning her lover had passed away, burned herself to ashes to avenge him....
"Shall we go for a drink?"
Lisa asked.
"Mm."
Jean nodded.
"Where shall we drink?"
Lisa asked, "The Angel's Share?"
"Let's not. Let's go to the Cat's Tail instead."
Jean paused for a moment, then shook her head.
"I heard that bard has started up a storytelling event at the Angel's Share—interpreting the meaning behind Fang Qiu's books for the readers. I'm rather curious about it."
Lisa said.
"Then... let's go take a look."
Looking at Lisa's gentle smile, Jean sighed and said.
"Let's go."
Lisa smiled and said.
They made their way out of the office together, and then saw Kaeya returning to the Knights from outside, bringing Klee along with him.
"Kaeya, Klee, good evening."
Jean greeted them.
After they'd greeted one another, Jean told Kaeya to keep a close eye on Klee and not let her run off.
Just as they were about to set off, Kaeya said: "Oh, right—earlier I ran into the Traveler and Paimon outside. She said they'd gotten word over at the Adventurers' Guild that Fang Qiu's new book has already been released, and they plan to set out for Liyue at first light tomorrow to pick up a sample copy."
"Is that so."
Although she hadn't yet finished Fang Qiu's current book, hearing about a new Fang Qiu book still left Jean faintly anticipating it.
"There's another new book to read, then."
Lisa said with a light laugh.
After chatting for a bit, they made their way out of the Knights, and then saw Ellin sitting on a chair, cradling a book and reading it quietly. A wooden sword lay beside her hand, and there was still a residue of sweat on her body as she read the book with an utterly earnest expression.
The title of the book: Your Lie in April.
"When we come back, if she's still here reading, we should be able to catch the sight of her crying."
Lisa glanced at Ellin's progress, smiled, and said.
"Let's get going."
Jean gave Lisa a helpless look and said.
With that, they made their way toward the Angel's Share.
And at this moment.
Looking at the Cat's Tail packed to bursting, Diona was extremely miserable.
Who would have thought that, with so many days having passed, the impact caused by Fang Qiu's books had not only failed to weaken—it had grown even stronger....
The tavern was packed around the clock.
Fang Qiu's books were spreading madly through Mondstadt like a plague, and the number of people drinking was climbing higher and higher....
It had her run off her feet lately.
Especially, a couple of days ago she'd found a spare moment to go back to Springvale, only to discover that someone had actually brought Fang Qiu's books back to Springvale.
So much so that loads of people there had started drowning their sorrows in drink too..
And who knew when these days would ever come to an end...
She let out a sigh, and taking advantage of a break, walked out of the Cat's Tail.
Looking at the kitten curled up on the railing, Diona sighed. Just then, she saw the Traveler and Paimon passing by in front of the Cat's Tail. Just as she was about to open her mouth to greet them, Paimon said:
"I can't wait! Tomorrow we get to go to Liyue to pick up Fang Qiu's new book!"
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