That being said, human food hadn't completely vanished from her menu, but its status had plummeted.
Her once-favorite grilled tiger fish now tasted only of excessive seasoning, masking the flavor of the fish itself.
The boiled black-back bass she used to cook for herself, which she once found spicy and satisfying, gradually started making her thirsty. She would need to gulp down several glasses of water afterward, as if her body were protesting this'stimulation'.
By now, she even felt the taste of these former delicacies had become somewhat 'frightening'; they were too intense, sometimes even making her feel nauseous.
As for pastries and desserts... they were so cloyingly sweet that the tips of her wings couldn't help but curl up; just one bite was enough to make her want to vomit. (Melusines can actually eat desserts, but... before transmigrating, the protagonist didn't really like sweets and found them sickly sweet, so after becoming a Melusine, she was even less adapted to them.)
However, she had briefly tried certain human foods (like fruit juice and steamed fish) and found they didn't taste 'weird' but were actually delicious. She couldn't figure out why, yet she didn't have the courage to try them one by one, fearing she might encounter an 'assassin' dish.
"I'm in Liyue! Liyue, the capital of gastronomy!" Lovia wailed at her home full of fresh seafood and the bag of high-quality ore in the corner.
"Potstickers, Soup Dumplings, Spicy Meat Buns... wait for me, I still love you!"
However, the body is always honest.
When the pressure of writing was high, what comforted her most was no longer normal snacks, but a bowl of bouncy, smooth live shrimp, or a small plate of crispy... er, crushed ore.
She even began to understand why a Melusine would feel that human gifts, like cake, weren't as thoughtful as a basket of live fish or stones.
"Sigh, it's hard to go from luxury to frugality..." Lovia sighed and resignedly picked up a still-twitching fresh shrimp. Without even peeling the shell, she popped the live shrimp directly into her mouth, feeling that ultimate fresh sweetness Melt in her mouth as the shell crunched crisply.
Lovia narrowed her eyes in satisfaction, her small wings behind her swaying gently and comfortably.
To hell with gourmet food; raw and high-element is the best!
Her soul? Her soul had long since given up the struggle and happily joined the feast.
Of course, the prerequisite for all this was that she absolutely could not let anyone discover she was eating raw meat and stones!
The small stove she had specifically bought before? What was that? It had long since been relegated to a dedicated water-boiling device. (Drinking boiled water is an instinct etched into the DNA of her soul!)
Beside the sky-high priced stationery sponsored by the big boss Xingqiu, there was often a bowl of raspberry mixed with ore, which could be called the 'High-end Afternoon Tea of an Isekai Writer'.
Besides these, the most amazing thing was her perception skill, which she had somehow maxed out.
Now she could predict rain more accurately than a weather forecast and could hear people's conversations from far away (for some reason, this ability could even be adjusted for selective deafness).
"Is this a racial talent that came with transmigrating?" Lovia muttered while eating sashimi. "Though it's not very useful, it's more than enough for running away and eavesdropping."
So now her daily routine had become: huddling in her little nest during the day to write frantically (using the god-tier stationery sponsored by the boss), and slipping to the seabed at night to play to her heart's content.
Her daily mandatory action was to crouch down and touch the seawater, calling it 'absorbing energy from my hometown,' while her inner OS thought: 'This seawater really does feel a bit familiar'.
In short, the current Lovia perfectly embodied the phrase 'the body is honest, but the soul is shocked'.
In the tug-of-war between'soul shock' and 'physical comfort,' she gradually found a subtle balance and even began to pay extra attention to the different features brought by this body.
The most obvious was her growing treasure for her pair of exquisite small wings, her flexible little tail, and those sensitive long antennae.
At first, she just treated them as standard Melusine decorations, but she soon discovered that they were not only sensory-rich but also required meticulous care.
Especially the pair of wings; though small, they contained a wonderful network of nerves and had extremely high requirements for humidity and cleanliness. While the humid air of Liyue Harbor was comfortable, the occasional dust always made the base of her wings itch slightly.
The antennae also became exceptionally sensitive; being touched suddenly (even by herself) would make her whole body shudder in discomfort.
She now treated them with great care—unless necessary, she wouldn't touch her antennae, and even if she had to, it had to be very, very gentle!
So when she wore a hood to go out, the antennae would constantly rub against the fabric, making her feel extremely uncomfortable! She could only try to minimize her time outdoors.
Soon, Lovia self-taught herself a 'maintenance routine.' She spent a lot of money to have a merchant bring maintenance essential oils from Fontaine, supposedly the same kind used by Melusines, with a faint scent of seaweed that she liked very much.
Every night during writing breaks, Lovia would carefully take a small drop, warm it with her fingertips, and then gently apply it to her wings and antennae. (Although the posture for applying it to her wings was a bit difficult, she had no one else to help, so she had to toughen up and do it herself.)
This process always made her exceptionally relaxed; the cool touch of the oil and the unique fragrance could instantly soothe her anxiety, as if she were having a deep-sea SPA.
The tail was no exception; that fluffy, soft fur had to be groomed regularly, otherwise it would easily tangle.
She bought the finest bristle brush and would often listen to light music while slowly brushing it through. Once the care was finished, seeing the fur return to being smooth and shiny gave her an unspeakable sense of satisfaction.
As for the use of the wings and antennae?
Lovia found they were extensions of her emotions and completely beyond her rational control. Whenever her mood changed, they would 'act out'.
When she was immersed in writing and inspiration was flowing, her wings would unconsciously flap gently, and her antennae would sway slightly.
When she ate something particularly delicious, her wings would vibrate at a high frequency with joy, and her antennae would perk up high, making her look like a satisfied honeybee(?).
When she felt embarrassed or wanted to hide, her wings would instinctively tuck in tightly against her back, becoming almost invisible.
Occasionally, when she encountered a surprise or was suddenly happy, her wings would give a little 'flutter' and unfold slightly.
Even when she swam in the sea late at night, her wings and antennae could keenly perceive the direction and strength of the currents, helping her adjust her posture more flexibly.
Wings are a Melusine's natural diving fins!
She also discovered that these wings were abnormally sensitive to elemental flow. When the Hydro element in the air was abundant, the edges of her wings would glow with a faint, barely visible crystalline blue luster, making her feel very comfortable. But if she got close to a fire source, they would become slightly hot and emit a warning-like low hum, urging her to move away.
This became her excellent environmental early warning system.
Nowadays, caring for her wings, grooming her tail, and cleaning the soft fluff on her antennae had become daily routines as important as eating and writing.
She would even look at herself in the mirror and exclaim: "As expected, Melusines are just different. So cute! This maintenance cost... it's worth it!"
Thus, as the days passed, this Melusine writer living in seclusion in Liyue Harbor continued in her 'Peach Blossom Spring,' accepting and adapting to her new identity while happily writing and stirring up trouble!