Meanwhile, in the seaside cottage far from the hustle and bustle of Liyue Harbor, the culprit Lovia was immersed in the excitement of her first victory.
Lovia had indeed gone to "inspect" the situation.
A few days after that book, secret tales of feiyun, hit the shelves, she couldn't suppress her curiosity. She wrapped herself up tightly and sneakily slipped near the Sanyu Bookstore.
She didn't dare get too close, only watching from afar while hiding behind a large tree at a street corner, craning her neck to observe.
What she saw made her overjoyed.
As expected, quite a few people were gathered at the Bookshop entrance, seemingly discussing the newly released "secret tales." She even saw someone covering their mouth and laughing while reading, and another pointing at the pages, exchanging exaggerated expressions with a companion.
"Success!" The little person in Lovia's heart was practically jumping for joy. "Hmph, that's what you get for scaring me! Now you know what I'm capable of, Second Miss Xingqiu!"
This is the Melusine's revenge!
The thrill of a successful prank welled up, dispelling her slight sense of guilt.
She could almost imagine the awkward, wry expression on Xingqiu's face when he saw the book. Just imagining it made her feel that most of the frustration she'd been bottling up these past few days had been vented.
"This is the price of prying into a Melusine's secrets!" She proudly adjusted her hood, prepared to retire after her success and head home.
Just as she turned to leave, she caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.
It was a blue-haired boy, dressed neatly with a clean aura, hurrying toward the Bookshop with a look of confusion and urgency on his face.
"Hmm? Isn't that Chongyun?" Lovia paused, recognizing Chongyun.
Actually, it was hard not to notice him because his Pure Yang Constitution was as conspicuous as a small sun to a Melusine's keen senses.
She watched as Chongyun reached the Bookshop entrance, his attention seemingly drawn by the discussions of those few readers. He stopped to listen, and as he did, his expression changed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
From initial confusion to shock, and then to a sense of unbelievable absurdity.
Lovia was too far away to hear the specific conversation, but she could see the changes in Chongyun's expression. She saw him urgently questioning those people, and then someone handed him the book.
The next scene caused the triumphant smile on Lovia's face to stiffen slightly.
She saw Chongyun take the book and flip through it rapidly, his profile tight and his brow deeply furrowed. Although she couldn't see the details, she could feel his focus and the faint sense of shock even from across half the street.
He read very quickly, seemingly only flipping through the first part, before suddenly looking up and saying something excitedly to the others. Lovia heard him clearly; he was obviously trying his best to refute and clarify.
However, those people showed dismissive or even slightly teasing smiles, as if saying "you're too naive" or "we all understand."
Chongyun seemed choked up by their reaction, his face showing frustration and anxiety, along with the grievance of being unable to explain himself.
He hurriedly shoved the book back, turned, and left, his footsteps somewhat frantic.
But after only a few steps, he stopped abruptly. After struggling for a moment, he actually... actually ran back to the Bookshop with a red face, bought a copy himself, and then quickly stuffed it into his shirt like he was carrying stolen goods, running away almost as if he were fleeing.
Having witnessed the whole thing, Lovia stood still.
The summer wind blew, fluttering her hood's veil, but it couldn't blow away the slight, strange emotion that suddenly welled up in her heart.
The simple and earnest Chongyun was clearly genuinely anxious and confused, seemingly troubled by those absurd descriptions.
He had tried so hard to defend his friend, only to be teased instead. When he finally bought the book, his embarrassed and struggling appearance made his awkwardness and helplessness felt even from afar.
"Ugh..." Lovia blinked, her little bit of pride feeling as if it had been shaken by the wind.
She hadn't thought this would affect the people around Xingqiu.
That kid Chongyun seemed like a real honest soul; he might actually be troubled by this.
Moreover, the lines where those readers teased the relationship between Chongyun and Xingqiu... although she had written them to "add interest"... cough cough... and incidentally satisfy her fujoshi shipping soul, seeing Chongyun being toyed with because of it made her suddenly feel like she might have taken things a bit too far.
She was only angry at Xingqiu for prying into her secrets and scaring her. But what she was doing now—wasn't it also fabricating someone else's "secrets" and even involving others?
A trace of bitterness, like eating an unripe Sunset Fruit, quietly brushed across her heart.
Lovia just stood there, the summer wind seemingly becoming somewhat thick and sticky.
Lovia looked in the direction where Chongyun had disappeared, her antennae under the hood drooping listlessly.
"Ugh..." she muttered softly, her fingertips unconsciously twirling the drawstring of her cloak, "Did I really go too far?"
That trace of bitterness still lingered in her heart.
She remembered that although Xingqiu had scared her, he truly meant no malice and had even kept her secret later. Yet she... had fabricated such a ridiculous story and even had it printed as a book!
If this were done in the fandom circles of her original world, it would also be considered somewhat explosive.
Lovia thought again about how she had arranged the relationship between those two in the text and felt a bit embarrassed, even though they were indeed very shippable... Lovia could almost imagine Chongyun hiding away alone, flipping through that book with a flushed face, feeling it was absurd while unable to resist his curiosity.
And Xingqiu... he'd probably have a headache?
Wait, that's not right!
Lovia suddenly stood up straight, that bit of guilt from just now instantly dispelled by an even more powerful thought.
No, no, I was confused by Chongyun! Didn't I write this book exactly for other people's reactions to it?
"No!" Lovia shook her head vigorously, her antennae under the hood shaking along with her. "What am I thinking! I'm carrying out a revenge!"
How could she forget her original intention!
Didn't she write this book to let Xingqiu experience the embarrassment of social death? Wasn't it to see everyone talking about it with relish and watch Xingqiu's reaction to being put in a delicate situation?
Chongyun's reaction... wasn't Chongyun's reaction exactly a part of the plan, or even a pleasant surprise?
Even the simple and upright Chongyun was forced to personally come out and defend him only to fail, and finally buy the book to study it in embarrassment... Just thinking about that image was very impactful; it showed her book had a real influence!
"That's right!" Lovia clenched her small fists, the light in her eyes brightening again. "This shows I wrote it well, that it's captivating, and even the people involved can't help but want to investigate!"
Besides, with Xingqiu's personality, he might actually find it interesting and might even use it to tease Chongyun in return.
Wouldn't that scene... be even more fun?
For example... Regarding the Matter of My Best Friend Suffering social death Because I Was Persecuted and I Seem to Be shipping Our CP.
Or perhaps, while Xingqiu doesn't care at all, others take it seriously and come to propose marriage??
Heehee! Just thinking about it is interesting!
Thinking this way, the Sunset Fruit-like bitterness in Lovia's heart was instantly licked clean, replaced by an even more surging pleasure.
Affecting Chongyun? Oh, that's probably just incidental pleasure DMG; after all, best friends are meant to share (misfortune) together!
The corners of her mouth once again couldn't help but turn upward, even more triumphantly than before.
"Plan success!" Lovia gave herself a little thumbs up in her heart and patted her chest, completely throwing that fleeting guilt to the back of her mind.
"Besides, Xingqiu scared me first, secretly investigating a Melusine and even peeking at a Melusine swimming... it's just wrong!"
"If this were in Fontaine, Xingqiu would be judged at the Opéra Épiclèse!"
"Anyway, the goal has been achieved, I don't care about anyone else! I also wrote a disclaimer, so nothing big will happen!" (Actually, Lovia was still feeling very guilty, since she really was spreading rumors.)
Taking one last look toward the Bookshop, Lovia turned around, pulled her hood, and hummed a light but slightly out-of-tune tune as she walked back the way she came.
However, what happened afterward completely exceeded Lovia's expectations.
This "rumor-mongering" storm caused by the book was not a problem for Xingqiu, but an interesting opportunity.
As for the Feiyun Commerce Guild's attitude toward this? It can only be said that the Feiyun Commerce Guild really knows how to do business; they seemed more curious about "Mr. Li Xin" than angry enough to pursue him.
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