"This is for you."
Fang Qiu smiled, set the two coconuts and the birdcage down on the side table, and spoke.
Behind the counter, Qiqi tilted her head ever so slightly. Her cherry-red eyes held a faint trace of puzzlement as she looked toward the coconuts and the birdcage on the table.
"Coconut milk and a small finch — how about it? Do you like them?"
Fang Qiu smiled as she asked.
What surprised her was that Qiqi paid absolutely no attention to the coconuts. Every last bit of her focus went straight to the small finch.
"Small finch."
Qiqi produced a small handful of grain and extended her hand toward the cage. The little bird inside didn't flinch or retreat — instead, it hopped twice and began pecking at the grain in Qiqi's palm.
"So cute. Qiqi is very happy. Thank you."
"Glad you like it."
Fang Qiu reached out and gently patted the top of Qiqi's head as the little girl played with the finch.
After a while, Qiqi finally noticed the coconuts sitting beside the cage.
"Coconut milk."
She shifted her gaze toward them at last.
Seeing Qiqi finally turn her attention to the coconuts, Fang Qiu couldn't help but smile. She handed over both coconuts — already cracked open by the fruit stall vendor earlier.
Qiqi took them. She was quiet for a moment. Then she held one back out.
"For you."
"For me?"
Fang Qiu blinked, momentarily caught off guard. She hadn't expected Qiqi to be willing to share.
"Mm." Qiqi gave a small nod. "Drink together."
"Mm."
Fang Qiu smiled and accepted the coconut Qiqi offered her.
Qiqi hugged her own coconut, settled into a chair, and sat with her little legs dangling in the air — sipping coconut milk and watching the small finch hop and flutter around its cage.
Fang Qiu smiled softly, opened her coconut, and took a sip. A light, clean, refreshing flavor spread through her mouth at once.
Not bad at all.
It would probably taste even better with a bit of ice from her Vision.
Just as she was about to use her Vision to conjure some ice to drop into the coconut, she noticed Qiqi staring at her. When their eyes met, Qiqi stuck out her little tongue and licked a small drop of white liquid from the corner of her mouth.
"Something wrong?"
Fang Qiu blinked.
Had Qiqi already finished hers? Was she eyeing Fang Qiu's?
...Her coconut milk.
"Qiqi wants to set the small finch free."
Qiqi watched the little bird turning circles inside its cage. A rare flicker of hesitation crossed her cherry-red eyes. "But this small finch is a gift from you to Qiqi. Qiqi doesn't want to let it go."
"Ah."
Fang Qiu paused — and then smiled gently. "If you want to set it free, then set it free. I'll bring you a different gift next time."
Cats and dogs really were different from birds.
Birds yearned for the open sky. Cats and dogs, on the other hand, didn't seem to share that particular longing.
Tingyu, for instance — she spent every day nestled in her little cat bed, not a shred of desire for freedom to be found anywhere in her.
A homebody cat through and through.
Though, thinking about it more carefully, it made perfect sense. A devoted and beautiful servant to wait on her every need. A warm, comfortable cat bed. Delicious, lavish meals. A whole collection of interesting toys.
Every day, reaping all the rewards without lifting a single paw. Living like an empress.
Somehow, the more she thought about it, the more she found herself wanting to be a cat.
"Is it really alright?"
Qiqi tilted her head and asked.
"Of course. Come on — let's go outside and release it."
Fang Qiu smiled, set her coconut aside, and stood up.
"Mm."
Qiqi gave a small nod, hopped down from her chair, then gathered up the birdcage in her arms. Together, the two of them made their way out of Bubu Pharmacy.
Outside, the sky was still heavy and overcast.
"Right here should do," Fang Qiu said as she and Qiqi reached the stone railing.
"Mm."
Qiqi nodded, then reached in to give the finch one last gentle nudge and fed it a little more grain. After that, she opened the cage door.
The small finch tilted its little head — as if looking at Qiqi and Fang Qiu with mild puzzlement — and then, with a single beat of its wings, it was gone.
Fang Qiu watched it grow smaller in the distance, and let out a quiet sigh.
Three hundred Mora, flying away into the sky.
Off you go then...
Don't let yourself get caught again.
"Come on, let's go back in and finish our coconut milk."
Qiqi had gone still, staring off in the direction the finch had disappeared. Fang Qiu smiled softly and spoke.
"Mm."
Qiqi gave a small nod.
Fang Qiu took Qiqi's hand, and the two of them made their way back inside Bubu Pharmacy. They sat together, sipping coconut milk and chatting about this and that.
Mostly small things. Nothing of consequence.
Qiqi's answers were sparse and scattered — the kind of exchange you might get between a toddler and a grandpa. All single syllables and short phrases.
But Fang Qiu didn't mind at all. She was perfectly content to just sit quietly.
She had been on the verge of asking Qiqi whether she wanted more coconut milk — and whether she might like to head over to that Mondstadt dessert shop for another round — when a small finch came flying in through the entrance of Bubu Pharmacy.
With a tiny tap, it landed right on top of Qiqi's hat.
"Ha..."
Qiqi let out a soft, puzzled murmur. She tilted her head, instinctively lifting her hand toward her hat — but afraid of startling the little creature perched there, she stopped halfway and pulled it back.
Instead, she reached into the small cloth pouch on the table, pinched out a small handful of grain, and said quietly: "Little finch — are you hungry?"
The small finch fluttered its tiny wings and hopped down from Qiqi's hat, landing right beside her hand. It began to peck at the grain.
"It actually came back."
Fang Qiu couldn't help but stare in genuine astonishment.
Were birds in Teyvat really this comfortable around people?
No wonder it had gotten caught in the first place...
Hmm...
Wait — could it be that this particular small finch actually had its residency registered in Jueyun Karst?
Spent its whole life steeped in the spiritual energy of the Adepti — had only gone out on a sightseeing trip and gotten mistakenly caught as an ordinary out-of-town finch?
Maybe it had already awakened some degree of intelligence. Maybe it had seen at a glance that Qiqi was a kind-hearted little girl — and so it had flown back to her.
Now that she thought about it, that wasn't impossible.
After that, Qiqi gave the small finch a name: Tuantuan.
Seeing Qiqi and Tuantuan happily playing together, Fang Qiu smiled. It was getting late, and she still wanted to stop by that Mondstadt-run dessert shop before heading home.
On her way here, she had overheard a group of girls talking about it — apparently the shop had introduced several new drinks developed in Mondstadt City.
The names alone were intriguing, though she couldn't quite tell what they were from the names alone.
Things like Caramel Pinecone, Dusk, Birch Tree, and Moonlit Alley.
Birch Tree...
Who names a drink after a tree?
On top of those, there were apparently some sparkling water drinks as well. She wondered if they had an orange-flavored one — she was rather curious to try it.
Apparently, all of these drinks had been developed by a Mondstadt tavern called "The Angel's Share."
That part left Fang Qiu a little puzzled. A tavern not selling wine, but selling soft drinks?
Either way, she wanted to go taste them for herself — see what Mondstadt's new drinks were actually like.
And so she rose, and said her goodbyes to Qiqi.
"You stay and play with Tuantuan. I have to head off — I'll come visit again next time."
Fang Qiu smiled as she spoke.
"Mm. Qiqi will wait for you."
Qiqi stood up, watched Fang Qiu go, and gave a small nod.
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