Just as Cloud Retainer was pondering whether Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper had once again abandoned her to go gallivanting about Liyue Harbor, two streaks of dark-yellow light came tearing through the sky from afar and landed atop Mt. Aocang.
The snow filling the sky was thrown into disarray.
The streaming light scattered, and Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper revealed their forms.
They were no longer in the human shapes from before, but had reverted to their adeptus bodies.
"That little girl's book you mentioned was more popular than we'd imagined. There were a great many people queuing up, so it took some time."
Before Cloud Retainer could even open her mouth to ask, Mountain Shaper spoke up first.
As his voice fell, a book with an exquisite cover came drifting down before Cloud Retainer.
"I see. Thank you both for the trouble."
Cloud Retainer nodded and said.
As adepti, Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver had no reason to lie to her over such a trifling matter.
However, the moment the words left her mouth, she suddenly recalled these two old fellows back around the Lantern Rite.
One had gone off to wander and clear his head.
The other had claimed he was going to find some novel trinkets to help guard the mountain gate, and set off treasure-hunting.
And what came of it? These two had actually transformed into human forms and run off to Liyue Harbor to watch Fang Qiu's 'Your Name' film.
But since she'd already spoken, it would be awkward to say anything more.
"Come to think of it, Cloud, today Moon Carver and I ran into Rex Lapis at Liyue Harbor."
Mountain Shaper said.
"Rex Lapis?"
Cloud Retainer had just been about to inspect the cover of Fang Qiu's new book, but upon hearing this she immediately turned to Mountain Shaper and asked, "How has Rex Lapis been of late?"
"He's living as a mortal in Liyue Harbor. When we saw him, he happened to be coming out of a tavern."
Moon Carver said.
"A tavern?"
Cloud Retainer asked, puzzled, "Has Rex Lapis run into some worry that troubles his heart?"
"That tavern seems to have a scheme—so long as you spend a certain amount regularly, on each release day for Fang Qiu's books you can claim a copy of Fang Qiu's newest work."
Mountain Shaper said.
"And this has to do with Rex Lapis..."
Cloud Retainer asked, "Does Rex Lapis, too, enjoy reading Fang Qiu's books?"
"Mm."
Mountain Shaper nodded.
"I never would have imagined that the books written by that child Fang Qiu could actually win Rex Lapis's favor."
Cloud Retainer said.
"Aside from the matter of Rex Lapis, while we were at the tea— while we were buying books, we also overheard someone recommending one of Fang Qiu's operas to another person. It's meant to celebrate the Lantern Rite, and they said the ending is very heartwarming. It's currently showing at the picture studio. Rex Lapis has surely seen it already—shall we go watch it together?"
Moon Carver asked.
"An opera? Fang Qiu writes operas too?"
Cloud Retainer was somewhat taken aback. She hadn't expected that, besides writing books, producing animations, and shooting films, Fang Qiu could write operas as well.
And win widespread acclaim, and even earn Rex Lapis's favor, at that.
This child truly was fascinating.
She thought for a moment, then said, "Let's go once we've finished this book—and while we're at it, we can pay that child Fang Qiu a visit."
After saying this, she once again felt that something seemed a touch off...
When she had first come to know Fang Qiu, it had been around the time when Beisht, wife of the Overlord of the Vortex Osial, invaded Liyue Harbor.
Back then, at Liyue Harbor, she seemed to recall hearing someone recommend 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy 1' to others, saying it had a grand, all-reunion happy ending...
Fang Qiu's works seemed to possess a kind of magic: no matter how brutally a reader's heart had been tormented, when that person went on to recommend the book to someone else, they would most likely say that the book they'd read had a grand, all-reunion happy ending...
Still, since it was an opera to celebrate the Lantern Rite, Fang Qiu surely wouldn't be so tactless as to write a heartrending ending, would she?
Surely...
"That works," Mountain Shaper said with a nod.
"All right then, let's read the book first."
With that, Cloud Retainer turned her gaze to the book floating in the air.
The title: 'Weathering With You.'
After looking over the cover, a thought stirred in her mind, and the 'Weathering With You' floating in the air turned a page on its own.
After finishing the line on the title page, Cloud Retainer glanced up at Moon Carver and Mountain Shaper.
Probably because of Rex Lapis, they were reading very intently.
Cloud Retainer withdrew her gaze as well, turned to the next page, and began to read carefully.
Before the Wanwen Bookhouse, customers came and went, and the snow kept falling with a soft rustle.
The proprietress Jifang, her hands somewhat reddened from the cold, finished helping the clerk load up the five cartloads of books that the crew of The Alcor had requested.
Then she sank onto a lounge chair to rest.
She was utterly spent—she'd leave the rest to the clerks.
So what if it was slow? Slow was fine.
The several crew members of The Alcor hauled their books and headed downstairs.
Downstairs, the tavern proprietress was leaning against a pillar, quietly watching the open-air tea tables.
At the open-air tea tables before the entrance, a few large parasols had been propped up, so the seats were still full of people.
At the tables, novel enthusiasts, men and women alike, were savoring their reading.
Watching these people, she glanced again at the copy of 'Weathering With You' in her own hands, unable to keep the corners of her mouth from curling up.
All these people reading were her potential customers.
Just then, a young woman, seeing that it was getting late, rose and left after all, and a young man who had just finished buying a book saw this and immediately went over to claim the seat.
Then he took out a copy of 'Records of Wandering,' and just as he was about to start reading, he suddenly noticed that everyone around him seemed to be reading Fang Qiu's 'Weathering With You.'
And most of them were women.
Well... not all of them. There was one person seated right in the middle who seemed to be reading 'Junior Sister, Go Easy, Senior Sister's Hurting'...
He couldn't help but sigh.
The author of 'Weathering With You' was riding high in fame these days—a red-hot rising star newly emerged in Liyue's literary scene.
Quite a few authors regarded her as the new bellwether of the novel world, all vying to imitate her.
Though he'd never really looked into it himself, he didn't like to drift with the current and follow the crowd in reading whatever was wildly popular.
He'd only heard fellow book-lovers recommend it, saying that Fang Qiu's books sold themselves on being warm and healing.
No wonder they were so beloved by girls.
But just as he was about to open the book in his hands, he suddenly realized that seated beside him was a lovely-faced young woman, all alone, reading 'Weathering With You.'
Gentle and graceful.
Exactly his type.
He was suddenly seized with regret—why hadn't he bought a copy of 'Weathering With You'?
That way, he could have struck up a conversation with the young woman beside him, then become book-friends, thereby escaping bachelorhood, ascending to the pinnacle of life, and marrying the girl of his dreams.
Wait!
He still had a shot!
He could get this young woman to recommend a Fang Qiu book to him—that way he could still strike up a conversation!
Whenever he himself recommended a book to someone, he always grew excited, desperately hoping the other person would like the book he'd recommended.
That way, there'd be even more to talk about.
And so, he settled on using "The snow today really is quite the clamor, isn't it?" as his opening line. He coughed, cleared his throat, and looked at the young woman. Just as he was about to speak, he found that a single tear had rolled down her cheek.
The tear fell onto the page, soaking into the paper.
?
The young man suddenly froze, swallowing back the opening line that had already reached his throat.
Wh-what's going on...?
What was the matter with this girl?
How had she just burst into tears out of nowhere while reading?
For an instant, his thoughts scattered wildly.
In the end, he vaguely arrived at a guess.
This girl... she couldn't have been frightened to tears because he was about to hit on her, could she?
Hssss...
Was he really that frightening-looking?
Or had he just now been unconsciously staring at her, giving off some overwhelming predatory urge?
Like, the kind with a flushed face and drooling lips?
Just as he was racking his brains for a way to keep this girl from summoning the Millelith, she covered her mouth and said in a tearful voice, "Thank goodness—Mitsuha Miyamizu and Tachibana Taki ended up together."
"Right? So moving."
A cute girl of about eighteen seated across from her, hair tied in a ponytail, nodded as well and said, "I've read up to this part too. I never thought Fang Qiu would finally come to believe in love."
"Yeah. The lingering heartache from finishing 'Your Name' has finally been laid to rest."
The pretty young woman said, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Back when I saw Tachibana Taki calling out your name toward the setting sun, my heart nearly shattered."
The girl said.
When she'd finished, the cute girl suddenly remembered something. She drew out a handkerchief embroidered with Glaze Lilies and handed it to the pretty young woman, saying, "Here, big sister, use this to dry your tears. You're beautiful even when you cry, but for Tachibana Taki and Mitsuha Miyamizu's wedding, it's better to watch it with a smile."
"Mm, thank you... um... little sister."
The pretty young woman smiled, took the handkerchief and wiped her tears, then said, "By the way, little sister, what's your name?"
"My name is Yun Qingyao."
The ponytailed girl said with a smile.
"What a coincidence—my surname is Han, and my name is Han Shuang."
The pretty young woman said, her eyes lighting up faintly.
The young man beside them, hearing this, was left dumbfounded.
Han, Yun?
What was so coincidental about that?
These two surnames were neither the same nor could they form a word together, could they?
"Han, Yun."
The ponytailed girl murmured, her own eyes lighting up as well, and looking at the pretty big sister named Han Shuang, she said, "It really is a coincidence—Han Lingsha and Yun Tianhe."
"You've read 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy 2' too, little sister?"
The pretty young woman asked.
"Mm. I've read every one of Fang Qiu's books, and I've seen all the films and operas too—um... no, wait, I haven't gotten around to watching the second installment of 'Splitting the Mountain to Save Mother' yet."
The ponytailed girl said.
"Oh? As it happens, I haven't seen it either. How about, once we've finished this book, we go watch it together?"
The pretty young woman said.
"Yes, yes! Let's exchange contact information and read together next time, shall we?"
The ponytailed girl said.
"Mm, wonderful. I've always read on my own, and I could never find anyone to talk about books with. Now I'll finally have someone to read and chat with."
The pretty young woman said excitedly.
"Me too."
The ponytailed girl said with a smile, "Just thinking about getting to read with such a pretty big sister from now on makes me so happy."
"You're the pretty one, little sister."
The pretty young woman said, her lovely face flushing at the praise.
Seeing the two of them begin exchanging contact information, the young man finally snapped out of it.
This... this isn't right!
This plot isn't right!
How had these two girls started exchanging contact info and become book-friends?
Wasn't that role supposed to be his?
How had he been reduced to a superfluous passerby?
Watching the two girls happily discussing the plot, the young man suddenly felt a bit of a headache coming on.
Was there still time to go buy 'Weathering With You' now?
He instinctively glanced downstairs at the long line still snaking along, and felt a touch of despair.
Never mind...
Maybe next time.
Life truly was bitter.
As bitter as the medicine that girl named Qiqi had ground out for him yesterday.
Just as he was sighing, many of those seated also reached the scene where Mitsuha Miyamizu wore a ring on her finger, and one after another they broke into delighted smiles.
"Oh my, that had me so nervous. At first, when I saw Tachibana Taki but no Mitsuha Miyamizu, my heart nearly leapt out of my chest—I thought that old scoundrel Fang Qiu was about to twist the knife again."
"Right? I wouldn't put it past that old scoundrel Fang Qiu to have Tachibana Taki marry someone else."
"Do you think... maybe Tachibana Taki actually married someone else, and Mitsuha Miyamizu was wed off to another person?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? Fang Qiu described these two's rings exactly the same—how could either of them have married anyone else?"
"What if it's just a coincidence?"
"I'm in a good mood this time, so I'll let you off. Say something like that again next time, and I'll thrash you."
"Old Thief Fang Qiu may be a heartless one, but she's not quite that heartless. I'm happy today—let's head over to Wanmin Restaurant later and have a proper feast."
"No problem."
Watching those novel enthusiasts beaming with delight, the tavern proprietress Jiang Qin Ji curved her lips into a faint smile.
Laugh, laugh—there'll be plenty of crying from you all later.
She knew Fang Qiu all too well.
That lass looked so soft and delicate, gentle as water, yet when it came to writing, she showed not a shred of mercy.
When she drew the knife, it was swift and merciless.
Characters molded to be vivid and full of life would be gone in the blink of an eye.
Of course... simply killing people off wasn't really all that gutting in itself. These days, plenty of authors were imitating Fang Qiu, deliberately writing their characters to death.
But most of them only ended up sickening their readers to no end, drawing a flood of curses and refund demands.
The characters died without any meaning, dying merely for the sake of dying—there was even one author who wrote a heroine strolling down the road, eating a snack and singing a tune, only to be suddenly run over by a carriage.
But Fang Qiu's books were different.
Even now she still remembered how she'd sobbed until her voice gave out after finishing 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy 2.'
In 'The Legend of Sword and Fairy 2,' Yun Tianhe and Han Lingsha confessed their love to each other at Qingluan Peak—and in the very next scene...
Yun Tianhe and the others challenged Xuan Xiao, and then Han Lingsha's lifespan ran out, and Yun Tianhe went blind.
And then there was the one she read afterward, which likewise left her weeping and sleepless through the night—'The Legend of Sword and Fairy 1.' At the end, Jing Tian and Tang Xuejian were happily frolicking in the snow, only for the author to suddenly reveal to the reader that Jing Tian had in fact used his own power and lifespan to bring back all those who had died, and now had little time left to live.
Whenever she saw the snow filling the sky like this, she would recall that line: "Great snow drifts and flutters for passersby to see; Xuejian beholds the snow, joyous and carefree."
Recalling that line, she couldn't help but think that after Jing Tian died, whenever Tang Xuejian saw snow again in the days to come, she would never smile at it again.
At this thought, her nose stung involuntarily, and she hurriedly shook her head to shake those notions out of her mind.
She looked toward the people laughing so merrily, the corners of her mouth lifting.
As happily as these people were laughing now, that was exactly how heartbroken they'd be weeping later, when Fang Qiu tore all that beauty to shreds.
Today was going to be another big money-making day.
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