As time slowly slipped by, the sky—scattered with fine snow—gave no clue as to the hour.
It was only that the light was gradually growing dim.
In Liyue Harbor the evening lanterns were being lit, their glow ranged row upon row, kindling one after another.
Cooking smoke curled up in slender wisps as well.
Liyue Harbor was about to fall into night.
The proprietress Jifang was cradling a copy of "Weathering With You," reading it.
"The power to turn the weather clear, huh… it'd be wonderful if such a thing existed in reality too."
Reading the vividly cinematic passage where Hina Amano brought Hodaka Morishima up to the rooftop, prayed toward the sky, and then—just like that—the heavens cleared, the proprietress Jifang glanced out the window at the fine snow filling the sky and the overcast heavens, and murmured to herself.
This snow had already lasted so long, with not the slightest sign of letting up.
At first there had been a bit of delight to it, but after watching it long enough, all that remained was a stifling gloom.
Weather could sway a person's mood.
She shot a glance at the tavern proprietress, who had once again come running upstairs to observe the readers, and couldn't help but press a hand to her forehead.
That one, on the other hand, hadn't been affected by the weather in the slightest.
She was watching those little novel enthusiasts poring over their books with keen anticipation.
Just as Jifang withdrew her gaze and intended to keep reading, a chorus of astonished exclamations broke out.
"By my Rex Lapis, am I seeing this right? It's actually a perfect ending! Hodaka Morishima didn't die, Hina Amano was saved too, Keisuke Suga not only made a success of his career but even gets to see his child often, and the book says no one lost their life because of it—so, the world where only Inazuma City was harmed came to pass!"
"Fang Qiu actually came to believe in love! When I saw Hina willingly sacrifice herself as a living offering to buy back the clear skies, I really thought the knife was coming out again—who'd have thought she'd actually be brought back!"
"So this is that 'For your sake, I'm willing to give up all of Inazuma,' huh?"
"If it were me, I wouldn't know how to choose either… If Liyue Harbor were flooded and it meant sacrificing myself, I'd surely be willing to trade myself for Liyue Harbor. But to sacrifice the person I love most—I truly don't know how I'd choose…"
"Same for me. Sacrificing myself would be fine, but there's no way I could bring myself to sacrifice my family or my beloved…"
"I think that if it were us here in Liyue, we wouldn't even consider offering up Hina at all—we'd find a way to deal with the rainclouds directly."
"Makes sense. Wasn't that Beisht taken down by our own Millelith?"
"Setting aside the book's deeper meaning, I think that besides Inazuma City, someone else was clearly harmed too—Mitsuha Miyamizu!"
"How so? Didn't she end up together with Tachibana Taki?"
"When Mitsuha Miyamizu was back in her town, the town got struck by a meteor, and now that she's gone to Inazuma City, Inazuma City ends up flooded…"
"You've got a point. Come to think of it, the weather observer got hurt too—it rains every single day, so he might well have lost his job over it, since there'd be no need for observation anymore."
For a while, laughter filled the air around the open-air tea tables.
Those two girls in particular were laughing like blossoming flowers, leaving the young man beside them stricken with regret.
And so he made up his mind that afterward he'd cram his way through Fang Qiu's books to catch up.
"How rare a sight, truly."
The proprietress Jifang gave a little smile and said so.
Come to think of it, it had been ages since she'd seen the novel enthusiasts on a release day laughing as they discussed the plot.
Still, where some rejoiced, others were naturally left to fret.
She raised her eyes toward the tavern proprietress downstairs and, seeing her frozen in place, couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth curl up ever so slightly.
So even you have a day like this.
It seemed the one drinking tonight would be her.
Well, she herself wouldn't mind keeping her company for a cup.
The night deepened.
Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
A thread of cold wind slipped in through a crack in the window, and the lamplight swayed with it.
Zhongli sat before the writing desk.
In the flickering of light and shadow, his expression couldn't be made out clearly.
On the desk before him, a copy of "Weathering With You" had already been turned to its final page.
"The world or you—I choose you."
On that last page, eight graceful characters stood out strikingly beneath the lamplight.
After a long silence, he quietly closed that exquisitely crafted copy of Weathering With You and put it away on the antique shelf.
Then he rose and headed downstairs.
The moment he reached the ground floor, he saw Hu Tao standing in the snow, head tilted up, gazing at the overcast sky as fine flakes drifted down around her.
The undertaker girl stood off to one side, a small handcart at her feet holding only the last two or three copies of "Weathering With You," while two more books lay on the pair of benches by the doorway.
"There now—from this moment on, it's going to clear up."
Hu Tao pressed her palms together, tilted her head slightly upward toward the sky, and prayed.
And yet, the snow filling the sky kept fluttering down all the same, rustling as it fell.
Not the slightest change—no hint whatsoever of stopping.
"Mr. Zhongli, good evening."
Seeing Mr. Zhongli step out into the hall with an umbrella in hand, the undertaker girl greeted him.
"Good evening."
Zhongli gave a nod.
"Good evening to you too."
Hearing them speak, Hu Tao opened her eyes and looked over, offering a greeting of her own.
"Good evening, Director."
Zhongli nodded.
"Off for a stroll, are we?"
Eyeing the umbrella in Zhongli's hand, printed with the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor emblem, Hu Tao raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Mm." Zhongli nodded.
"Go on, go on. I haven't finished the book yet—once I'm done I'll ask you for your thoughts."
Hu Tao waved a hand as she spoke.
Having said that, she suddenly remembered something and added, "Don't forget to bring your wallet."
"Rest assured, Director."
Zhongli nodded, opened up the umbrella, and set off toward Feiyun Slope, his figure vanishing into the wind and snow.
Watching Zhongli's back gradually recede into the distance, Hu Tao narrowed her eyes, turned to the undertaker girl beside her, and asked, "What do you make of it?"
"Make of what?"
The undertaker girl asked, puzzled.
"I get the feeling this fellow Zhongli has something weighing on his mind again today."
Hu Tao stroked her chin, wearing the expression of someone who had long since seen through it all, and remarked with an air of amusement.
"There does seem to be something."
The undertaker girl nodded in agreement.
"You don't suppose he… hehe—ah, never mind, let him be."
Hu Tao blinked with a playful, teasing look and said.
"Don't suppose he what?" the undertaker girl asked, puzzled.
"Mustn't say, mustn't say."
Hu Tao waved a hand with a beaming smile, walked back to the bench, picked up her book, and said, "Hurry up and read—once we're done, the two of us will go to Wanmin Restaurant for a nice meal, and we're not bringing that fellow Zhongli along."
"Then I'll be looking forward to the Director's treat."
The undertaker girl smiled and sat down across from Hu Tao. Just as she was about to pick up her book to read, Hu Tao—sitting opposite her—slapped her thigh and said:
"I've got a new idea!"
"What new idea?"
The undertaker girl looked thoroughly puzzled.
"On the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor umbrellas, we print an advertisement for the parlor's set meals, and then on snowy days we give them to people who came out without umbrellas."
Hu Tao said with a touch of excitement, "For one, it helps others; for two, an umbrella is the sort of thing most people won't just use once and toss—they'll take it out every time it snows or rains, and every single time they use it they'll see the ad. What's more, when someone's holding it up, others will see it too. So over time, the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's advertising sinks deep into people's hearts! What do you think?"
____
________________________________________
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 20 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉