At this moment, quite a few readers had also reached this point in the story. In an instant, the entire Wanwen Bookhouse became lively.
"What is Old Thief Fang Qiu trying to do?"
"This is too uncomfortable. They finally met with such difficulty, yet they have to forget each other."
"This is just too unbearable. They clearly like each other, yet they can't even retain their memories."
"Sigh, this reminds me of a pen pal I had back in the day. We read books together and exchanged our thoughts. Even if we only connected through letters, we were each other's emotional support. But then one day, the connection suddenly broke."
The reader continued, "During that time, I wrote to her like a madman, but I never received a single reply. I even went looking for her, but I never found her... Sigh, I hope she is living well."
"I have a childhood friend like that too. He went to Mondstadt for work. At first, we often sent letters to stay in touch, but later, the contact slowly became less frequent, until it broke off completely. When I heard news of him again, he was already married in Mondstadt... If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have cared about saving face and just confessed to him."
"Although our situations seem a bit different, we can be considered fellow sufferers. Do you want to go downstairs for a drink later?"
"Sure."
Among the crowd, some were cursing, while others were heartbroken.
There were also quite a few people present who, not wanting to be tormented, hadn't bought Fang Qiu's book. They all revealed expressions that said, 'Good thing I had the foresight.'
Others revealed smiles of unclear meaning.
Especially the tavern proprietress, who smiled beautifully.
The night grew increasingly blurred.
A slightly cool breeze brushed into the window, causing the candle flame on the table to sway gently.
However, Yanfei paid no mind to the flickering candlelight on the table at this moment.
She was looking intently at the book in her hands. The plot she was currently reading was precisely the moment when Tachibana Taki lifted his pen, wanting to write down Miyamizu Mitsuha's name. But halfway through, the name in his heart vanished.
The powerful writing style gave Yanfei the illusion that she was personally present in the scene depicted in the book.
She could see the intersection of day and night, the sky filled with stars. Only on the horizon did a touch of faint crimson clouds remain.
Tachibana Taki stood on the mountain, weeping while trying to recall Miyamizu Mitsuha, screaming at the starry sky.
"Why did I come here? I came to see her. I came to save her. I wanted her to live. I came to save her!"
"Important person. Someone I don't want to forget. Someone I absolutely cannot forget."
"Who is it? Who is it? Who is it? What is your name?"
Reading this made Yanfei's nose tingle, her heart involuntarily clenching for them.
She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and couldn't wait to continue reading.
Miyamizu Mitsuha took a fall, rolling several times on the ground.
Because the memories in her mind had already blurred, and because she wanted to look at Tachibana Taki's name to encourage herself to climb up and keep running, she looked at her hand. But what she saw was "I love you" written by Tachibana Taki.
When she saw this part, tears instantly blurred Yanfei's vision. She subconsciously blinked, and tears burst from her eyes.
"This is written just too well."
Yanfei wiped her tears and continued reading.
Miyamizu Mitsuha saved the town.
But they both forgot each other. Tachibana Taki returned to Inazuma, returning to ordinary daily life.
In a flash, several years passed.
The rhythm in the book was clearly very soothing, and the prose was extremely leisurely. Tachibana Taki even went to a tea house with his good friend to drink tea and eat desserts.
There were no descriptions of suppressed sorrow; even the weather was sunny and the breeze was gentle.
But with the preceding story, this sunny plot seemed so sorrowful.
So hard to reconcile...
Yanfei continued to read on. When she saw Tachibana Taki and Miyamizu Mitsuha finally meet, weeping as they asked, "What is your name?", Yanfei's tears slipped down once again.
"Although they no longer remember each other, they were able to recognize one another at a single glance upon meeting."
Yanfei wiped the tears from her cheeks and gently exhaled, casting her gaze out the window.
Outside the window, the night was lovely, and the breeze brushed gently.
After a long while, Yanfei finally let out a soft breath.
"This author named Fang Qiu writes truly magnificently. The plot rises and falls, tugging at one's heartstrings. Especially this final reunion that highlights the theme—it is simply a stroke of genius."
Yanfei murmured.
As she spoke, she looked at the several thick legal codes on the table again and said, "For the sake of such a fine work, if this author named Fang Qiu ever has legal issues, I'll give her a half-price discount."
Having said that, she looked again at the other books by Fang Qiu placed on the table.
"It seems the time is still early. How about I read Fang Qiu's other books?"
Yanfei hesitated for a moment, then chose Your Lie in April.
If it were purely based on the subject matter, she wanted to see Sword and Fairy, which was based on Liyue. But because she had just finished Your Name, she wanted to read a book with a similar worldview.
Thus, she opened the title page.
She saw a sentence written on the cherry-blossom-colored page of the deluxe edition.
"When you fall in love with someone, you will find the whole world becomes colorful."
"Another novel about romance. Just looking at the sentence on this title page, I know it's a very sweet story."
Yanfei gave a knowing smile.
Although the process of Your Name, which she just read, was extremely tortuous and heart-wrenching, the ending was truly too sweet.
It was like drinking honey.
Presumably, this Your Lie in April wouldn't be much different.
So, she turned to the next page.
The story began at dusk.
Meanwhile, at Wanwen Bookhouse.
The corners of the tavern proprietress's mouth couldn't stop rising.
As time passed, the remaining pages in the hands of the novel enthusiasts present reading Fang Qiu's books became fewer and fewer.
And their expressions became increasingly solemn.
Just as she smiled faintly, planning to turn around and go downstairs to prepare fine wine for them, she suddenly saw the youth who had previously thrown his book into the trash can—and then bought a new one because the book got dirty from the trash—suddenly smile amidst his solemn face. At the same time, tears burst from his eyes, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the ground.
"Hmm? What's the situation?"
Seeing the youth's expression of crying while smiling, the tavern proprietress couldn't help but freeze.
What was going on?
Why was this person laughing and crying at the same time?
Just as she was puzzled, quite a few people present finished reading. Like that youth, they all smiled while shedding tears.
"Old Thief Fang Qiu finally acted like a human!"
"I feel like this kind of ending is unknown times better than the ordinary ending where Tachibana Taki saves Miyamizu Mitsuha and they get together."
"I think so too. It's just still a bit of a pity. Although they met, they don't remember the memories regarding each other."
"But don't you think this is more moving? Even if they have forgotten each other, they can still recognize one another the moment they meet."
"Indeed."
Listening to everyone's discussion, in an instant, the tavern proprietress looked as though she were mourning her parents.
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