Lovia looked up cautiously, meeting those calm, rippleless eyes.
The air instantly froze.
Instantly, Lovia's inner theater performed countless scenarios, from kneeling and begging for mercy to making a break for it, simulating every possible ending. She clutched the cloth pouch tightly, the conches she had just collected digging painfully into her palm.
Just as Lovia was about to buckle under the silent pressure (a unique energy field perceptible to those with social anxiety) and was ready to turn and run regardless of the consequences, Shenhe slowly withdrew her gaze and looked back at the vast, boundless sea, as if Lovia were merely an insignificant background element that had accidentally entered her field of vision.
Lovia froze for a second, then suddenly turned around, forgetting about picking up conches, and prepared to flee with her small cloth pouch in her arms.
To her surprise, before her short legs could take more than two steps, she heard footsteps coming from behind.
Lovia kept walking blindly, but was called to a halt by a familiar (indeed familiar) voice.
"You."
The cold voice was exceptionally clear in the sea breeze, making Lovia shudder.
There was no running away now. After all, the person behind her had a method of solving problems that involved grabbing someone's head and slamming it into the ground three times... So, Lovia had no choice but to stop her fleeing feet. She turned her head and saw that Shenhe had actually leaped lightly down from the reef and was walking slowly toward her.
Lovia: "?!"
Shenhe came to a stop in front of her, her eyes calmly observing her: "I noticed you were watching me just now. Is something the matter?"
Being stared at like this, Lovia's heart almost jumped out of her chest.
"N-no!" Her voice involuntarily rose an octave, "I was just picking up conches..."
Shenhe's gaze fell on the cloth pouch she was clutching: "Your hands are shaking."
"The s-sea breeze is too cold!" Lovia hurriedly hid her hands behind her back.
The white-haired woman tilted her head slightly, her tassel earrings swaying in the wind: "You have a peculiar aura about you."
Lovia: "?!"
Does Shenhe even have that kind of ability?
While her brain was racing to think of an explanation, Shenhe changed the subject: "You seem very afraid of me?"
"No!" Lovia denied it immediately, but she backed down under the other's clear gaze, "It's just that... your presence is too strong..."
Shenhe leaned forward slightly, and Lovia could even smell the cool, celestial scent on her.
A trace of very faint confusion flickered in Shenhe's eyes.
"There is no need to be afraid," her voice remained cold, "I do not harm people without cause."
Lovia nodded her head, indicating she understood.
Shenhe looked at her movements thoughtfully: "Master told me to enter the mortal world to cultivate and learn how to interact with people. If I have made you uncomfortable, I apologize."
This unexpectedly humble attitude left Lovia momentarily unsure of how to respond. She stole a glance and found Shenhe quietly looking at her, her eyes as clear as the sky over Liyue.
"This is for you." Shenhe produced a translucent Ice crystal from somewhere and held it out to Lovia, "Consider it a thank-you gift."
Lovia hadn't expected Shenhe to give her anything at all. Before her brain could react, she blankly took the Ice crystal. It felt cool to the touch and refracted rainbow light under the sun.
Does it look... delicious?
That being said, Lovia didn't stuff the delicious-looking Ice crystal into her mouth like she had with the Soapberries when she first arrived in Liyue, mistaking them for a drink.
Her strong survival instinct (and her deep impression of Shenhe's problem-solving methods) pulled back her itching hand at the last moment.
Wait, why would she suddenly give me something? And... why did I take it?!
Lovia was dazed: "A thank-you gift? But I... I haven't done anything to help you?"
"For your fright," Shenhe said as if it were a matter of course, "I frightened you, did I not? Therefore, I give you a thank-you gift."
After hearing Shenhe's explanation, it dawned on Lovia: had Shenhe confused a "thank-you gift" with an "apology gift"? Perhaps it was because an Adeptus disciple who had been away from the mortal world for so long was still unfamiliar with the terminology of worldly social graces.
"Um," after a moment's hesitation, Lovia mustered the courage to correct her, "If it's being given because you frightened me, it should be called an 'apology gift,' not a 'thank-you gift.'"
A hint of very faint confusion flashed in Shenhe's eyes: "What is the difference?"
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