She had no idea how long the reading tea party would last, so just to be safe, Fang Qiu had prepared a full day's worth of food for Tingyu.
Then, under Tingyu's deeply aggrieved stare, she casually grabbed a book, set off with Ganyu and Keqing, and the three of them made their way to the Mondstadt dessert shop.
Because today was both a new release day and the second day of Sword and Fairy screenings, the dessert shop wasn't exactly busy — only a handful of young people sat scattered here and there, having an early breakfast.
When they spotted Keqing, Ganyu, and Fang Qiu arriving together, quite a few heads turned.
The murmurs going around were all the same: who was this white-haired beauty, and how had she managed to walk in side by side with Lady Keqing and Lady Ganyu — laughing and chatting with them, no less?
And that Cryo Vision clipped at her waist made it plain she was no ordinary person.
Still, none of them got up to bother the three women. They stayed in their seats and kept whispering among themselves.
After placing their orders, the three of them chose a table by the sea.
Ganyu and Keqing sat on one side; Fang Qiu sat alone on the other.
"Shall we begin?" Ganyu smiled softly and said.
"Sure." Fang Qiu gave a small nod and opened her book.
As she did, a gentle sea breeze drifted through. It made her think of the way Keqing and Ganyu had acted outside her door just a little while ago, and her brow furrowed slightly. Something told her this wasn't as simple as it seemed.
Could it be… that there really was something out there in the sea?
Whether it was Beidou, Ganyu, or Keqing — they all wore that same look of guarded silence, like people keeping a secret they couldn't share.
But if they weren't willing to say anything, then she shouldn't pry. It wasn't her place.
Best to stay off the water for now.
A shame, though. She'd been planning to use the Sword and Fairy screening revenue to buy herself a proper ship.
Looked like that would have to wait.
Or maybe… buy a house first?
Hmm… that could work too.
A big estate with a private bath, that would be the dream.
Although, heating the water for a bath in a place like that would be a whole ordeal.
Forget it — she'd deal with that later. When the time came, she'd bring Hu Tao along. With that girl's silver tongue, she'd definitely haggle down a good price.
Though knowing Hu Tao, she'd almost certainly try to upsell a Wangsheng Funeral Parlor package somewhere in the middle of the negotiation.
Mmm… wait, before any of that, she still needed to sort out the sleepwear situation.
She'd been wandering through Liyue's markets for days now, but almost everything for sale was belly wraps…
Not a single nightdress in sight.
Looked like she'd have to track down Sister Ying'er again.
Though this time she'd just ask her to recommend a shop that sold something similar — she was not wearing another one of Ying'er's custom designs.
Meanwhile, Keqing opened her copy of the book. On the title page, a single short line was inscribed:
"My fate is mine to command — not heaven's."
"What a bold thing to say. I wouldn't have guessed that Miss Fang Qiu, looking as delicate as she does, could write something like this," Keqing murmured, instinctively glancing up at Fang Qiu.
Fang Qiu was gazing sideways out at the boundless sea, her eyes soft, a faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips without her even noticing — lost in her own thoughts.
Keqing had no idea what she was thinking about. But those words alone told her one thing clearly: Miss Fang Qiu harbored ambitions far grander than her quiet appearance suggested.
She would need to get to know her better.
At the very least, she needed to deepen their connection — starting with her work.
With that thought, she lowered her head and turned past the title page. The story opened with a wild boar on Qingluan Peak.
Time drifted by as the three of them read and chatted.
When they reached the part where Yun Tianhe and his companions released the small, gentle young demons at Nüluò Rock and spoke the line about how a cycle of vengeance never truly ends, Ganyu couldn't help looking up at Fang Qiu.
At that moment, Fang Qiu was brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face, tucking it neatly behind her ear.
"As expected of Miss Fang Qiu — truly kind-hearted," Ganyu said with a smile.
"Yes. I noticed it too, at that scene in Nüluò Rock — the demons killed people to survive, the people struck back in revenge, the demons retaliated again, and the seeds of hatred were buried deeper with each generation. By the end, no one could even say anymore who was right and who was wrong," Keqing said, nodding, her expression complex.
In Liyue too, there were monsters that roamed the land. She found herself wondering — were they also, as Fang Qiu had written, sometimes simply lashing back because they had no other choice?
Fang Qiu smiled and said a few polite words in reply.
At the same time, tiny beads of sweat had quietly begun to gather on her fair forehead.
Nüluò Rock is done… which means once we're past the tombs, it's Qin Ji and Jiang Shi's arc next…
Danger!
Fang Qiu swallowed, and the hand turning the pages of Night Tales of Prinzessin Fischl trembled ever so slightly. Even that book had lost its appeal.
Keqing and Ganyu had no idea what was running through Fang Qiu's mind. They were both bent over their books, reading intently.
After Yun Tianhe and his companions resolved the situation at Nüluò Rock, they escorted Liu Mengli through the tomb passage and arrived in Chenzhou.
When they reached the part where Qin Ji recounted her past —
"Qin Ji's story is really so heartbreaking," Ganyu sighed softly.
"It is," Keqing sighed too, then looked up at Fang Qiu. "Did you write this story to tell us we should cherish the people in front of us?"
"Yes, exactly — some people, once you've missed your chance with them, are simply gone. By the time you've lost them, it's too late for regret," Fang Qiu replied, a little flustered, turning her gaze out toward the sea and following Keqing's thread of thought in a quiet voice.
"I see…"
Ganyu looked at Fang Qiu — brow slightly furrowed, a trace of sadness in her eyes — and felt an unexpected pang of sympathy.
She had spent a thousand years in Liyue. In all that time, she had witnessed more partings and deaths than she could count, and more regrets than she cared to remember.
Perhaps Miss Fang Qiu carried something like that within her too — something from her own past. A family bond, a friendship, or perhaps a love. Whatever it was, it made Ganyu's heart ache for her.
"By the time you've lost them, it's too late for regret."
Keqing, meanwhile, wore a thoughtful, contemplative expression.
Seeing them exchange those few words and then return to reading, Fang Qiu swallowed unconsciously.
This is bad.
She still couldn't shake the memory of Bai Qing's resentful eyes as she drank at the tavern the other day — the look of someone who very much wanted to tie her up and give her a good spanking.
Bai Qing didn't have the power to do that. But the two people sitting in front of her certainly did.
She still had a crystal-clear image burned into her mind of Keqing transforming into a streak of lightning and wiping out a whole crowd of Hilichurls in an instant.
And that was before accounting for Ganyu sitting right beside her, whose true depth was impossible to measure.
No matter how she thought about it, she was hopelessly outmatched.
So the real question was: when the moment came, if she offered to treat them to Xinyue Kiosk, would they show the same mercy Paimon always did and let her off the hook?
Under Fang Qiu's watchful gaze, Keqing and Ganyu kept reading.
Before long, both of them froze — eyes shimmering with tears that were just barely holding back from spilling over.
Here it comes.
Fang Qiu swallowed quietly and snuck a glance at the page they were on.
It was the scene where Qin Ji played Xian Jian Wen Qing for Yun Tianhe and his companions.
They read on through blurry eyes. Then they reached the moment where Jiang Shi made her heartfelt confession to the memorial tablet — and leapt from the top of the tower to follow her husband into death.
That was too much. The tears that had been trembling at the edges of their eyes broke free, streaming down their fair, delicate cheeks and falling onto the pages of their books.
Looking at the two of them weeping like that, Fang Qiu didn't dare move a muscle.
Next time someone knocks on my door on release day, I'm just going to pretend I'm not home.
Fortunately, neither of them blamed Fang Qiu. After crying for a while, they both gradually composed themselves.
"I never expected Jiang Shi to love so deeply — following her husband even in death, even though he never truly loved her back…" Ganyu dabbed at her face with a handkerchief, let out a slow breath, and murmured softly.
"Qin Ji chose to keep living — to bear the pain of loss and atone for what she had done," Keqing said, her eyes still faintly red. She nodded. "This arc is incredible. Two people who both lost the one they loved most, and they each chose a completely different path. It really stays with you."
Fang Qiu had barely started to exhale in relief when Ganyu spoke.
"By the way, Miss Fang Qiu — is Xian Jian Wen Qing already a finished song, like Unchanging in This Life was before it?"
"Yes," Fang Qiu nodded on instinct — and immediately regretted it.
Oh no…
"Then… would you sing it for us?" Ganyu asked softly. "I really want to know what it sounded like when Qin Ji sang it."
Of course she does.
Last time too, it had been Ganyu asking that question — and it had ended with her singing.
Fang Qiu glanced at Ganyu, then over at Keqing, whose face was equally full of eager anticipation.
In the end, she let out a helpless sigh and agreed.
It was a small mercy that the other customers had all left by now. The shop held no one but the staff.
She drew a slow, quiet breath, closed her eyes, let the feeling settle — and then she began to sing.
"Fine rain falls, a light breeze sways, carrying this foolish heart's endless longing… Let it go — the sword in your hand — for you I am willing… Why must I wander alone, while you stand on the other side of the world? The depth of my feeling for you — how could any words ever hold it all… Why must this silence stretch on, while I wait on this side of the world? This longing I hold for you — how could a thousand words ever say it clearly… If I have you by my side, I would envy neither the mandarin ducks nor the immortals."
Her voice was soft and lilting, flowing out across the shop front like a gentle current. Fang Qiu sang with feeling, her white hair stirred into faint disarray by the light sea breeze.
Even the staff inside the shop set down what they were doing and turned to look.
The wonder in their eyes was impossible to hide.
"On the other side of the world… that must be about Qin Ji and her husband, mustn't it? When Qin Ji left in a moment of anger, her husband must have been heartbroken, full of regret, missing her desperately — that's why his illness worsened, and he passed away. I would envy neither the mandarin ducks nor the immortals…"
Ganyu murmured, and the tears spilled from her eyes all over again.
Keqing, too, was weeping quietly.
Then the last note faded.
"It's done," Fang Qiu said softly, smiling — but the moment the smile appeared, tears slid down her own cheeks.
"Miss Fang Qiu… are you all right?" Keqing wiped her eyes and asked.
"I'm fine. Something just blew into my eye." Fang Qiu shook her head and smiled again.
"By the way — Lady Ganyu mentioned earlier that Unchanging in This Life is also a song?" Keqing asked.
"Yes — it'll be played during the Sword and Fairy screening as well," Fang Qiu nodded.
"Then… could we ask you to sing that one too?" Keqing ventured.
"Uh… sure, I suppose…" Fang Qiu agreed, helpless.
"Oh, and while you're at it — could you also sing the other songs from Sword and Fairy 1? We've both been so busy lately that we probably won't be able to catch the screening for a while," Ganyu added.
"Well… I guess…" Fang Qiu nodded with a resigned sigh.
How did a reading tea party turn into a singing tea party…
Meanwhile, at Wanwen Bookhouse.
The tavern owner was leaning against the doorframe, a quiet look of worry knitting her brows.
She was troubled.
A few days ago, she had proposed a membership scheme to Jifang, only for Jifang to shut it down flat. So yesterday she had made another trip to Liyue Publishing House, hoping to negotiate a new stock arrangement.
But the publishing house had turned her down again — on the grounds that only stocking Fang Qiu's books was, in their words, unreasonable.
What a sad state of affairs.
Haah.
A bunch of old fossils… what on earth is wrong with opening a dedicated Fang Qiu bookshop…
These rigid, by-the-book old fossils — if Fang Qiu hadn't been lucky enough to catch Lady Ningguang's eye, she'd have spent her whole career under the thumb of people like them, and her books would probably never have been adapted into a screening in her lifetime.
Maybe next time she could ask Fang Qiu and those female editors to step in and have a word with the higher-ups at Liyue Publishing House?
But before that — she'd been meaning to read Fang Qiu's new book.
The queue is just so absurdly long, though… what is she supposed to do about that?
Just as she was stewing in mild frustration, a young woman passed by in front of her.
The girl herself wasn't the important part — what mattered was what she was carrying: two full sets of books.
One set was Sword and Fairy 2. The other set was also Sword and Fairy 2.
"Good morning, Lawyer Yanfei," the tavern owner said, a smile curving at the corner of her mouth as she waved and called out to stop her.
"Oh — Madam Jiang Qin Ji. Good morning. Is something the matter?" Yanfei stopped in her tracks and looked over.
"Yes, actually. There is something I'd like to discuss," the tavern owner said with a nod.
"Hmm… Fang Qiu's book is very tempting, but business comes first…" Yanfei weighed it up for a moment, then stepped over. "All right, tell me. Is it a commercial dispute or a criminal matter? Or should we head to my office to talk?"
"No need to make it that formal. Come into the tavern, have a drink, and we can talk it over." The tavern owner smiled.
"As a lawyer, I can't drink. Alcohol clouds the mind," Yanfei said, shaking her head.
"Don't worry — I've been working on a new brew lately. It's so mild even a child could drink it without getting drunk. And — just to be clear — I haven't been selling it to children. I gave it to a woman who wasn't in the best of health a little while back, and she was completely fine afterward," the tavern owner said with a cheerful smile. "You could almost call it tea."
"Well, in that case — all right." Yanfei nodded and followed the tavern owner inside.
The owner mixed her a glass of the same drink Fang Qiu had tasted that day, set it in front of Yanfei, and said: "I want to ask about the relevant laws and regulations around opening a dedicated bookshop."
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