"Wow, it's snowing!"
Hu Tao's eyes lit up.
"Liyue Harbor hasn't seen snow in quite a few years."
Paimon said with feeling.
"Paimon, you just wanted an excuse to quote a line from Sword and Fairy 1, didn't you?"
the Traveler said, shooting Paimon a sidelong glance.
"Heh, you saw right through me. You really do know me best."
Paimon blinked and said, "I've always thought that line had a real poetic mood to it."
Paimon and the Traveler bickered back and forth.
Guoba and Sanmi teamed up and went bounding around the open ground, and even Tingyu lifted its head to glance up at the night sky.
"Mm… snowflakes drifting, the north wind whistling—this scene, this moment, is just right for composing a poem."
Hu Tao said.
Hearing Hu Tao's words, Fang Qiu's hand—held out to catch the snowflakes—paused despite herself.
Her DNA stirred.
She nearly followed up on Hu Tao with a line of her own: "Heaven and earth a boundless gray, a sprig of cold plum standing proud in the snow, all for the fragrance of the one she loves."
Thankfully, she held it back.
"So this is the romance of the first snow?"
Shenhe asked, looking at Fang Qiu.
She had never understood why the first snow was considered romantic.
But now, it seemed, she was beginning to understand a little.
"That's right—this is the romance of watching the snow together with friends."
Hearing Shenhe's puzzlement, Fang Qiu chuckled softly and nodded, then raised her head toward the sky.
Beneath the curtain of night.
Snowflakes drifted and swayed as they fell, stretching on without end.
Just like her.
Many people in Liyue had their attention caught by this snow, and one after another they stopped to admire it.
"Heavy snow drifts as passersby gaze; Xuejian sees the snow, carefree and content."
"Whoa, brother, I've got no grudge against you—why are you stabbing me right in the heart?! I just finished watching the screening of Sword and Fairy 1, and hearing that almost made me cry."
"If today weren't the Lantern Rite, I'd also tell you that Miyazono Kaori, too, passed away while it was snowing."
"Are you even human?"
At the tea stall.
A snowflake drifted down into Zhongli's teacup and, almost instantly, was melted away by the hot tea.
"It's snowing."
Zhongli murmured to himself.
"Honored guest, it's snowing—why not come sit inside?"
The shop attendant's voice rang out.
"No need."
Zhongli shook his head and looked up at the sky, his gaze far and deep.
The bustling long street, brilliantly lit, snow falling all across the heavens.
Aboard The Alcor.
The sailors gathered drinking on the deck were thoroughly soused; now and then someone would mumble something or other—they'd all agreed to stay single bachelors together, yet here he was, the only lone dog of the lot—and as he said it he even let out a couple of wolf-howls in imitation.
"Is it snowing?"
Kaedehara Kazuha set down the bowl of wine in his hand and looked up toward the sky.
Flecks of snow drifted and swayed.
At this moment.
Jueyun Karst.
A vigorous gale, sweeping along bits of scattered snow, came drifting past over Qingyun Peak.
"Sneaking off to go gallivanting behind this immortal's back, and not even returning now that the Lantern Rite has come—this grudge, this immortal shall remember!"
Cloud Retainer stood alone—a single solitary immortal—atop Qingyun Peak, gazing at the distant abodes of Mountain Shaper and Moon Carver, her face grim.
She had assumed that, whatever else, the two of them would surely come back for the Lantern Rite—yet the Lantern Rite had come and gone, leaving her the only immortal here!
And she had even kindly meant to share Fang Qiu's new book with them!
Hmph!
Unbearable!
She spread her wings and took flight, sweeping the wind-borne snowflakes along with her, and made her way all the way back to Mt. Aozang.
Qingyun Peak returned to silence, with only the sound of the gray wind carrying the drifting snow.
The snow fell heavier and heavier.
The next day.
It was morning, and the snow that had fallen all night had already stopped.
Though it had snowed, the streets of Liyue were as lively as ever.
Especially in front of the newly built picture studio, where huge crowds had gathered—voices boiling over, the place extraordinarily bustling.
Today was the very day Your Name premiered.
It wasn't only people hoping to watch the film; quite a few food vendors had also moved their stalls to the studio's entrance.
"Mm."
In her sleep, Fang Qiu nuzzled against the pillow, trying to find a comfortable position, only to find the sensation didn't feel quite right.
She furrowed her brow and slowly came awake; the first thing to meet her eyes was the fireplace, still burning its wood and giving off warmth.
This was the Mondstadt-style inner hall in her room.
It had a sofa, a carpet, and a fireplace.
The fireplace was fitted with a clever ventilation mechanism, making it extremely safe.
Fang Qiu rubbed her eyes.
She remembered that yesterday Keqing and Ganyu had matters concerning the heavy snow to attend to, so they had headed back to Yujing Terrace first.
Everyone else had stayed over at her place.
Then they had gotten to chatting in front of the fireplace, and as they talked and talked, she had drifted off to sleep.
On the other two sofas were the Traveler and Paimon.
But as she rubbed her eyes, her hand caught up a strand of hair.
Hm?
Why wasn't the hair white?
She froze for a moment, then remembered that she'd woken up precisely because the pillow's feel had seemed off.
She turned her head, and saw Hu Tao sleeping right beside her.
On that pretty, tender cheek of hers there still lingered a flush of red—clearly left behind by Fang Qiu's own face having pressed against the side of Hu Tao's face…
It seemed she'd just… nuzzled a couple of times…
Against Hu Tao's cheek…?
No wonder the sensation had felt off…
Fang Qiu instinctively shifted back a little, and then her hand brushed against a soft spot, the touch exceedingly smooth and tender.
She instinctively looked back—and saw her own hand resting right at the navel of Shenhe's fair, flat belly.
Just as Fang Qiu was about to withdraw her hand, she saw Shenhe open her eyes.
"Morning."
Fang Qiu gave an awkward little laugh and, feigning the utmost nonchalance, withdrew her hand as she spoke.
"Morning."
Shenhe nodded.
After they had exchanged their good-mornings, Fang Qiu felt the awkwardness settle in.
The thing she dreaded most: the air suddenly going silent.
Just as the atmosphere turned awkward, a voice rang out.
"Rise and shine, breakfast's ready!"
As she spoke, Xiangling and Guoba came out of the kitchen carrying bowls upon bowls of piping, fragrant noodles.
"Smells amazing!"
Catching the aroma, Paimon was the first to wriggle out from under the covers.
Hu Tao and the Traveler slowly stirred awake as well.
"Fang Qiu, why are you staring at me?"
Xiangling asked, slightly taken aback.
"Thank you, Xiangling."
Fang Qiu said with a gentle smile.
"There's nothing to thank me for. If you all enjoy eating what I make, that makes me happy too."
Xiangling bashfully scratched the back of her head and said, "All right, hurry up and get up for breakfast. I turned yesterday's leftover grilled meat into noodles—come give it a taste."
"Mm~ not bad at all, really fragrant."
Hu Tao climbed up from the sofa too, swallowing her drool as she spoke.
Together they all happily ate the noodles Xiangling had made.
After breakfast was done.
The moment Fang Qiu opened the door, a rush of cold air came pouring in, and the warmth her body had soaked up from the noodles instantly scattered away to nothing.
Fang Qiu couldn't help but shiver.
So cold!
Outside the door lay a stretch of pure, glittering white—the aftermath of the snow.
The whole courtyard had been blanketed in a layer of snow, quite a lovely sight; the instant the door opened, Sanmi dashed out into the snow and started bounding about.
Guoba followed it out into the snow and began turning somersaults.
"Oh, right—yesterday when we were strolling through the lantern fair, didn't Sister Ying'er give you a pair of really warm stockings? Why not put them on and give them a try?"
When Fang Qiu suggested putting on extra clothes, Hu Tao suddenly spoke up.
"Yeah, yeah, Fang Qiu, put them on and see. The things Sister Ying'er recommends are really useful—last time she recommended me a glove, and after I put it on I wasn't afraid of getting burned anymore."
Xiangling said.
Hearing Hu Tao and Xiangling's words, Paimon and the Traveler both turned their gazes over, their eyes full of a peculiar look.
Shenhe turned her gaze over as well.
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