The streets of Liyue Harbor were alive and bustling, packed with a steady stream of pedestrians.
Vendors along the roadside were doing brisk business, their calls ringing out one after another.
"Step right up, come take a look — freshly made Golden Shrimp Balls! You don't need a restaurant to enjoy delicious Golden Shrimp Balls!"
"Stone carvings of Rex Lapis — one thousand Mora each, only ten available, first come first served!"
"Yuheng Keqing's signature hairpin — come get yours now!"
Meanwhile, a girl in a black hat with twin braids was pulling a graceful woman in white by the hand, the two of them sprinting down the street at full tilt.
Both were strikingly beautiful, and their passage drew no small amount of attention from the people around them.
"I suddenly feel my soul ascending."
"Don't even think about it. You haven't got a chance."
"Your mind's in the gutter — can't you be a little more wholesome? I just think it's really nice, seeing two girls like that together."
Fang Qiu couldn't hear any of the onlookers' chatter. She was being hauled along at a breakneck pace by Hu Tao. To her credit, Hu Tao had been considerate enough to keep the speed somewhat reasonable — but even so, Fang Qiu was already gasping for breath.
"Hu Tao, slow down — I can't keep up," Fang Qiu called out between labored breaths.
"Sorry!"
Hu Tao quickly pulled back her pace.
The two of them made their way back to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. Sanmi — who had been left in the care of the female undertaker and had been happily playing with Tingyu — spotted Fang Qiu and Hu Tao the moment they appeared and immediately bounded over to greet them.
Tingyu, for her part, instantly resumed her air of cool detachment, composing herself and strolling over with unhurried elegance.
"Director, you're back!" the female undertaker said.
"Mm." Hu Tao gave a single nod.
"Let me go brew you some tea," the female undertaker said.
She had been about to ask why they had returned so early, or how the poetry competition had gone — but then, almost unconsciously, her gaze drifted sideways. And there it was: the Director's hand, still clasped around Miss Fang Qiu's.
Their hands hadn't let go.
"Go on, go on — you've worked hard," Hu Tao said cheerfully, giving a little wave.
"It's all part of the job."
The female undertaker's lips curved ever so slightly upward. She turned and headed back inside Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Once she was gone, Hu Tao led Fang Qiu over to a long bench and sat her down.
Fang Qiu settled onto the bench, her beautiful eyes gently closed, breathing in quick, shallow pulls. The sprint back had dusted her fair cheeks with an enticing rosy flush. Her chest rose and fell with each hurried breath. Her whole being carried a faint, alluring fragrance.
"So pretty," Hu Tao murmured without thinking, watching her.
"What's pretty?" Fang Qiu asked, cracking one eye open between breaths.
But when she opened her eyes, Hu Tao was gazing off into the distance. Fang Qiu followed her line of sight — and there, hanging at the edge of the sky, was the full moon, luminous and round.
"Yeah... it really is beautiful," Fang Qiu murmured.
The moon tonight was especially round.
Come to think of it, she had been on the Teyvat continent for so long now, and she had never once stopped to properly look at the moon.
Perhaps it was because the Lantern Rite was drawing near, but tonight the moon looked bigger than usual, too.
What a shame. It would be wonderful if, on the night of the Lantern Rite, the sky could show one of those spectacular moons you see in anime.
"Mm. Truly beautiful," Hu Tao said softly — and she pulled her gaze away from the horizon, back to Fang Qiu, who was gazing up at the moon with just a hint of dreamy enchantment in her expression.
A flicker of something unreadable passed through Hu Tao's eyes.
Quite some time passed — long enough that Fang Qiu was beginning to wonder if the female undertaker had lost the tea leaves — before she finally reappeared, carrying a tray with two cups.
She placed them before Hu Tao and Fang Qiu with a smile. "Miss Fang Qiu, yours was poured first, so it should be cool enough to drink."
"Thank you." Fang Qiu smiled and took a sip.
The clean, delicate taste of the tea slid down her throat, and she let out a long, slow breath.
"Finally feeling human again."
"By the way, Director — why did you both come back so early?" the female undertaker asked.
"Oh, you have no idea," Hu Tao said, her face practically glowing with pride. "Fang Qiu was absolutely incredible — the poem she wrote actually made the judge cry on the spot."
She grinned brightly. "Not just the competition, either — even the poems in those famous poetry collections couldn't hold a candle to it. So we just left without waiting for the results. If Fang Qiu's poem doesn't take first place, I'll march straight to Yujing Terrace tomorrow and file a complaint about competition fraud. Actually, from now on, we should have proper poetry discussions together sometime."
"That's Miss Fang Qiu for you," the female undertaker said, genuinely impressed even though she hadn't witnessed it herself.
"You're exaggerating," Fang Qiu said, shaking her head. Then she smiled and added, "Oh, speaking of which — we were so caught up with the poetry competition that we haven't eaten dinner yet. Let's go to Wanmin Restaurant. We can try whatever Xiangling's been working on."
"Sure, let's do it," Hu Tao said simply, smiling and nodding.
Fang Qiu moved to stand — and before she could manage it on her own, Hu Tao reached around from behind and looped an arm firmly around her shoulders, helping her up from the bench.
"Hu Tao, I'm not that fragile," Fang Qiu said with an amused shake of her head.
It felt uncannily like a husband helping a pregnant wife to her feet.
"Just a precaution," Hu Tao said, steadying her. "The other day when I went to Bubu Pharmacy on some business, I overheard Baizhu going on about how people with weaker constitutions can get dizzy spells when they stand up after sitting still for a while after physical exertion. If no one's there to catch them, they can fall quite easily."
"Hm. That does sound right," Fang Qiu said, thinking it over.
Back in her past life, whenever she'd been sitting at her desk writing for hours, standing up would often make her vision go black. Once, after pulling an all-nighter to finish an update, she'd stood up and stretched — and the next thing she knew, everything went dark and she lost control of her body entirely. Fortunately, her bed was right next to her desk, and she'd just toppled straight onto it without getting hurt. It had taken a few seconds for her vision to come back.
"You two go ahead — I already ate," the female undertaker said.
"Alright then."
Hu Tao nodded, then bent down and scooped up Sanmi, who had been rubbing against her shins. "Okay, Fang Qiu — let's go."
Fang Qiu nodded, gathered up Tingyu — who had hopped onto the stone bench and curled up at her side — and followed Hu Tao down the road toward Wanmin Restaurant.
When they arrived, Xiangling was standing before a spread of ingredients, studying them in deep concentration. Guoba, spotting the new arrivals, immediately bounced up and down and waved his little arms in greeting.
"Hu Tao, Fang Qiu — you're here!" Xiangling said, looking up with a smile.
"How's the prep for the competition going?" Fang Qiu asked after they'd exchanged hellos.
"I've got some ideas coming together," Xiangling said cheerfully. "The preliminary round's coming up soon, and I'm still deciding what dish to enter."
"Perfect timing, then — why don't you make us a few dishes to warm up?" Hu Tao said with a grin.
"Sure! What are you in the mood for?" Xiangling asked.
"I want Boiled Black-Back Perch and shrimp dumplings," Hu Tao said.
"For me..." Fang Qiu considered for a moment. "Noodles... with meat in them."
"Make that two," Hu Tao added.
"Got it — sit tight!"
Xiangling nodded and was just about to head to the kitchen when Fang Qiu called after her: "Oh, and — where are the Traveler and Paimon? Didn't they come back with you?"
"They heard you'd released a few new books, so they went to Wanwen Bookhouse to pick them up," Xiangling said.
"Ah, I see."
Fang Qiu nodded.
And as if on cue, Guoba started bouncing excitedly — and a moment later, a voice rang out from the entrance.
"Xiangling, we're back! We already had Boiled Black-Back Perch last time, so tonight I want Butter Crab and Flash-Fried Filet and Mora Meat and — Fang Qiu? Hu Tao? You're here too?"
Fang Qiu instinctively turned around. There were Lumine and Paimon, strolling through the door of Wanmin Restaurant, each carrying paper bags that were clearly stuffed with books.
"Perfect, join us," Fang Qiu said.
"Dinner's on the Traveler," Paimon announced.
"Is Paimon paying?" Lumine asked.
"Paimon has no money," Paimon declared, entirely unashamed.
"Then leave Paimon here to wash the dishes."
Lumine said it with a smile.
"Hey! You can't do that!" Paimon stamped her foot. "Paimon is your best companion!"
"You're emergency rations," Lumine said.
"Hey!" Paimon puffed up indignantly.
"Oh good, Paimon and the Traveler are back too — come find a seat," Xiangling called from the kitchen, poking her head out.
"Xiangling, put in everything I just ordered — one of each! I'm absolutely exhausted today, and I'm going to eat until I can't move," Paimon said brightly.
"On it — just give me a bit!"
Xiangling nodded, then disappeared back into the kitchen. Lumine and Paimon settled in beside the others.
"Oh, Fang Qiu — I just picked up your new book at Wanwen Bookhouse," Paimon said, pulling a volume out of one of the paper bags.
It was Your Name. The hardcover edition — the one Fang Qiu had brought the rough draft to the publisher to have illustrated. The cover showed Tachibana Taki and Miyamizu Mitsuha at twilight, hands outstretched toward each other, sunlight spilling through the space between their fingers.
"The cover is gorgeous. As soon as we have a free moment, this is the first thing I'm reading," Paimon said.
Then she continued: "Oh, and speaking of the bookhouse — after we bought our books and were heading out, we ran into this huge crowd of people who all looked very literary and educated, except they were all wandering around in a daze, like they'd lost their souls. They went off to a tavern and were saying things like 'Having witnessed such a divine poem, I shall never be able to pick up a brush again for the rest of my life.' The tavern owner was absolutely thrilled — she said she never imagined Fang Qiu not even writing a book could still be this good for business. Anyway, we asked around a bit, and apparently they're all famous literary figures from Liyue Harbor, and they all attended some kind of poetry competition tonight. Do you two know anything about what happened?"
"No idea," Hu Tao said — though the corner of her mouth curved upward even as she shook her head.
"Really? Because it really feels like you know something, Hu Tao," Paimon said, eyeing her with suspicion.
"Relax, relax — you're imagining things," Hu Tao said, waving a hand dismissively.
Before long, Xiangling brought dish after dish out to the table, the intermingling aromas of the food wafting up and making everyone's mouths water.
The meat noodles Xiangling had made were particularly outstanding — no spice at all, yet somehow the flavor was extraordinary. Even Fang Qiu, who didn't have much of an appetite on a good day, finished her entire bowl and drank a couple spoonfuls of broth.
They ate and chatted, while Guoba romped around with Sanmi and Tingyu. Tingyu didn't pay much attention to Guoba, which left the little flame spirit a bit dejected.
When dinner was over, everyone went their separate ways. Lumine and Paimon headed to their inn; Fang Qiu and Hu Tao walked together in the same direction before parting ways.
"See you tomorrow," Hu Tao said with a cheerful wave.
"See you tomorrow," Fang Qiu said, returning the wave. She gathered Tingyu into her arms and made her way back toward her rented room.
Once Fang Qiu's figure had faded into the distance, Hu Tao turned and walked back toward Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
And there, standing before the gates of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, was Zhongli — holding a neatly bound scroll, head tilted back to gaze at the bright moon hanging over the horizon.
The moonlight was radiant.
As though it had never changed across a thousand years.
"Joy and sorrow, reunion and parting — for people. Waxing and waning, full and new — for the moon. Nothing under heaven has ever been perfect..."
Zhongli murmured the words, his expression complex.
The wind breathed through a sweet-scented osmanthus tree, drawing a soft rustling sound from its branches. The night was hazy and still.
"Perhaps in a few days, I will go and call on an old friend."
The female undertaker had just stepped out from inside the funeral parlor and noticed Master Zhongli standing there, admiring the moon. She was about to say something — but something stopped her.
Looking at the line of Zhongli's back, she suddenly recalled something Hu Tao had said not long ago.
There was a loneliness to the way he stood.
Had something sad come to mind? Or was it that, with the Lantern Rite approaching, he found himself thinking of old companions?
She was still lost in thought when Zhongli turned around — and whatever quiet melancholy had clung to him seemed to vanish completely in that same moment.
"Please log it in the ledger for me," Zhongli said, his tone even and calm.
"Hm? Log what? Log what in the ledger?" the female undertaker asked, blinking.
Zhongli was just drawing breath to explain when Hu Tao's voice rang out.
"Zhongli, what are you logging now? Don't tell me you bought something else and put it on Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's tab again?"
Hu Tao came strolling over, all cheerful smiles.
She was in a fantastic mood.
For many reasons — but the biggest one was this: Fang Qiu's poem was sure to fetch a magnificent price at the auction.
If she had to guess, it was worth at least five million Mora, right?
Well... even if the wealthy merchants at the auction had no taste whatsoever, surely they'd still bid up to three million Mora.
Three million Mora was no small sum.
Once Fang Qiu had that money — combined with everything she'd already earned from her books — she'd easily be able to buy a very nice place of her own.
No more renting.
And when the time came to pick a new home, Hu Tao was absolutely going to make sure Fang Qiu chose somewhere close to Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
Then they could hang out all the time.
No more worrying, every time they parted ways at night, whether Fang Qiu had made it home safely.
And Sanmi could run over to play with Tingyu whenever she liked.
At the sound of Hu Tao's voice, Zhongli turned and said, in his unhurried way, "I spent ten million Mora to acquire the winning poem from the poetry competition this evening. In terms of general scholarly consensus, the original manuscript's true value far exceeds even that — however, the other merchants extended me the courtesy of not bidding too aggressively against me. I have retrieved the poem. I will need to bring it to Wanwen Bookhouse tomorrow. Would you like to have a look at it, Director?"
The smile on Hu Tao's face froze solid.
A long silence.
Then her eyes went wide.
"You just said... what?"
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