"How is it?"
"The taste is very good." Shenhe nodded.
In these two days in Liyue Harbor, she had eaten many delicious foods, and the dishes at Wanmin Restaurant were definitely among the best.
However, for Shenhe, even if they were relatively light, she couldn't eat too much.
Thus, after tasting a few bites of each dish, Shenhe nonchalantly took out the Qingxin she carried with her and slowly ate it.
Before Lumine could even ask, this scene was immediately noticed by Xiangling, who had been watching Lumine's situation.
"Eh? Shen, Shenhe, did my cooking not suit your taste?" Xiangling immediately ran over, looking at Shenhe with some trepidation as she asked.
"No, all these dishes are very delicious." Shenhe shook her head.
"But if I return to the mountains and wilderness later, the lingering taste of delicious food will become an obstacle to my cultivation."
"Ah?" Xiangling was slightly stunned, completely unexpected that Shenhe ate Qingxin and Violetgrass for such a reason.
"But you said 'if'..." Lumine keenly noticed the premise in Shenhe's words.
"Mm, Master told me to integrate into human society, but I'm not sure if I can succeed." Shenhe nodded, directly telling Lumine her other purpose for coming to Liyue Harbor.
Shenhe, in this regard, actually held a certain pessimistic attitude.
When she first came to Liyue Harbor, she felt out of place here. Everything seemed fine, but it all made her feel somewhat unable to adapt.
If it weren't for Lumine and Paimon's help these past two days, Shenhe might have already caused quite a few problems.
"Hmm, I think you can definitely do it, Shenhe. You should still eat these delicious foods, you know." Lumine felt relieved upon hearing Shenhe say this.
How could something as simple as integrating into human society not succeed?
If Shenhe were alone, it might be a bit difficult, but wasn't she here to help?
"I'll help you." Lumine said to Shenhe very seriously.
"That's right, Shenhe. I also cultivate under a great master. How could delicious food become an obstacle to cultivation?" Xiangling put her hands on her hips and said to Shenhe very seriously.
Of course, what Shenhe meant by 'obstacle' was not the food itself, but the fact that she wouldn't be able to eat delicious food if she returned to the mountains.
However, Xiangling didn't care; she believed that even cultivation didn't require asceticism, and besides, even if one was in a remote mountain forest, getting delicious food shouldn't be difficult.
"Will your master eat delicious food?" Xiangling asked a very crucial question.
"Master is an adeptus; an adeptus will not have his cultivation hindered by worldly matters, so he can eat all kinds of dishes freely," Shenhe replied after a moment of silence.
"Uh… why does that sound like an excuse to me?" Aether rubbed his head. "It's okay, Shenhe, don't overthink it. Just eat."
"Mm, I'll listen to you," Shenhe didn't insist and picked up her chopsticks again.
For some reason, she didn't want to refuse any of Aether's requests.
Although what he just said probably wasn't even a request.
Xiangling saw this and nodded in satisfaction, then didn't leave, but sat down next to Aether.
Since that night, Xiangling hadn't been this close to Aether in a long time.
Anyway, there were no new customers for the time being, so it wasn't a problem for her to sit down and rest for a while.
"Aether, on Qunyu Pavilion…" Xiangling began talking to Aether about Qunyu Pavilion; she was very curious about Qunyu Pavilion.
Of course, besides the dishes on Qunyu Pavilion, what she was most curious about was the relationship between Aether and Ningguang.
So much time had passed, and she didn't think that Tianquan Star could endure it.
"Cough, let's talk about this later," Aether was a little embarrassed and almost choked on his food.
"When is later?" Xiangling tilted her head and asked.
"Hmm, this…" Aether leaned into Xiangling's ear and whispered something.
Xiangling's little face slowly flushed, and finally, she nodded shyly.
"Mm, I, I understand," Xiangling immediately got up and left her seat.
"Then it's a deal."
"Mm-hmm, don't worry."
Shenhe silently watched the two interact, with no other expression on her face.
However, seeing Aether lean into Xiangling's ear, looking very intimate, Shenhe felt a slight discomfort in her heart.
She couldn't quite understand this feeling of discomfort in her heart, not knowing why she suddenly couldn't maintain her composure.
This discomfort was not from her solitary fate and had no relation to her own being.
Why is this happening… I'll go ask my master later.
----------
After having lunch at Wanmin Restaurant, Aether bid farewell to Shenhe and Xiangling and walked outside.
Liyue Harbor had many places worth visiting, but Shenhe seemed to have no great interest in any of them.
Aether didn't know where to take Shenhe for a while.
"Oh, that's right, do you want to go listen to storytelling?" Aether recalled the places Hu Tao had taken him when he first came to Liyue.
And even earlier, the first time she experienced the difference between Liyue and Mondstadt was when she listened to a storytelling session that night.
The story of Rex Lapis was already well-known to Liyue people, but Shenhe, who had lived in the mountains for many years, probably hadn't heard it much.
"Okay," Shenhe would not object to any of Aether's suggestions.
Even if she wasn't very clear about what storytelling actually was.
Having made up their minds, Aether and Shenhe walked side by side towards the place they remembered.
Aether wondered if it was his imagination, but he always felt that Shenhe stuck even closer to him after eating.
"Um, Shenhe, we're getting a bit stuck like this…" Aether said to Shenhe, feeling a little embarrassed.
Shoulder to shoulder, Aether finally knew what that feeling was like.
The road was clearly wide, but Shenhe insisted on staying close to him.
Honestly, this was very dangerous, after all, his physique was what it was, and if she got too close to him…
"Sorry," Shenhe said indifferently, though Aether didn't hear any apology in her tone.
But it was good that Shenhe finally wasn't sticking so close to him, and Aether also breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Undeniably, he was very drawn to Shenhe, but being like this on the street was still a bit inappropriate.
After all, there were so many people on the street watching them, both openly and secretly.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/SolyuraMT
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"