She squeezed the ice crystal in her hand and looked at her small cloth bag containing a few pathetic conch shells, feeling the scene was truly bizarre. A suspected 'yuri author' and one of the protagonists from her work were having a conversation on the beach comparable to an NPC dialogue in a starting village.
"Do you... come here often?" Lovia tried to find a safe topic, but as soon as she asked, she wanted to slap herself.
Isn't this just the standard making small talk!
But Shenhe didn't think it was just small talk. She looked out at the sea, her gaze seeming to drift a bit as she answered seriously: "Not often, but... Master said I need to experience the various aspects of the mortal world, so I came out for a walk."
Her gaze returned to Lovia. "Why are you here looking for conch shells?"
"Just... I think they're pretty," Lovia answered honestly. "Listening to the sound of the waves and looking for beautiful little things can make one feel calm."
Shenhe looked thoughtful: "Calm... indeed, outside of slaughter and conflict, the mortal world also has such tranquil matters."
Her tone was steady, but it made Lovia's heart skip a beat. As expected of an Adeptus disciple, she mentions'slaughter and conflict' as soon as she opens her mouth.
"Um... yeah." Lovia echoed dryly.
She felt that if they chatted any longer, her shallow experience and courage wouldn't be able to hold up. Furthermore, Shenhe's aura was simply too powerful; even if she meant no harm, it was still high-pressure.
And the two of them were really both bad at chatting!!
Continuing to chat so dryly was just too terrifying!
Lovia quietly took half a step back, just about to find an excuse to slip away like 'it's getting late, I should go back and cook' or 'I just remembered I forgot to close my door,' when Shenhe spoke again.
"I must leave," Shenhe said, her tone as flat as ever. "There are other matters within Liyue Harbor."
Lovia instantly breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly: "Oh oh, okay! Then, then have a safe trip!"
Shenhe gave a slight nod as a farewell. She turned, her robes fluttering, her steps light and steady. With a few leaps, she was far from the shore, her figure quickly receding between the reefs and the beach, soon becoming a small dot merging into the direction of Liyue Harbor.
Lovia watched the receding figure, thinking the other party was so cool and strong. Then, she felt the ice crystal in her hand that wouldn't Melt, her heart full of complex emotions.
She kind of wanted to eat it.
"But it really looks delicious..." she murmured to herself, but in the end, she resisted the urge to take a lick and just carefully placed it together with the conch shells.
After all, it was a gift from someone else; it wouldn't be good to just eat it. Lovia gave a long sigh.
Come to think of it, although today's relaxation by the sea was stimulating, it didn't seem bad.
Lovia patted the sand off her body, stood up, and decided to go home and curl up in bed immediately... No, better go to Wanmin Restaurant first to eat something to calm her nerves.
The events of today required Chef Xiangling's delicious food to soothe!
The sea breeze blew against her Hood, carrying her relieved sigh: "Next time I go out, I really should check the almanac."
But little did Lovia know that at Wanmin Restaurant, she would encounter a certain figure once again.
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Carrying the small cloth bag containing the cool ice crystal and a few pathetic conch shells, Lovia first slipped back to her little nest (since it was on the way). After putting the things away, she set out again for Wanmin Restaurant.
But to her surprise, even after all this time, she could still hear passersby discussing the love story of Mora and Kexi... What a sin!!
Lovia shrunk her neck, trying to tune out the fragmented discussions about the characters she had written. With every sentence she heard, the temperature of her face rose a degree, and her toes couldn't help but curl inside her shoes.
Where did she get the courage back then to arrange the Liyue street-wanderer like that? And to write it so... Looking back now, Lovia only felt a wave of lingering fear and a sense of shame that made her want to vanish on the spot.
That was truly too wild. Even in her original world, it would be the kind of writing that would make Master Hanabi exclaim about how much fun it was!!
Forget it, things have come to this, let's just eat first!
"Wanmin Restaurant, Wanmin Restaurant, the lovely Chef Xiangling..." Lovia muttered softly, "Gourmet food, here I come..."
She navigated the bustling streets with ease, heading straight for Wanmin Restaurant by Chihu Rock. Before she even got close, the tempting aroma of the wok (though she didn't eat, it smelled great) wafted over, making her empty stomach let out an expectant whimper.
However, when she poked her head into the lively door of Wanmin Restaurant and her gaze swept over the busy stove and the scurrying servers, her entire being instantly froze on the spot.
In front of the stove, Xiangling was brandishing a spatula, directing Guoba to breathe fire, busy as could be. And beside her, a tall figure, familiar beyond belief, was carrying a plate of freshly cooked food. Her movements were slightly stiff, but her steps were steady as she walked toward a table of guests.
Long white hair, a cold and ethereal temperament that formed a strange contrast with the surrounding bustling atmosphere, yet was unexpectedly harmonious.
Shenhe?!
Why was she here?! And... carrying plates?!
Lovia felt her brain crash once again.
The social anxiety experience from the chance encounter on the beach hadn't even been fully digested, and now she'd run into her at Wanmin Restaurant? When did Liyue become so small?!
Just as she was dumbfounded, Xiangling's sharp eyes spotted her, and she greeted her warmly: "Yo! Lovia! You've come at the right time, come try the new dish!"
This shout also caused Shenhe, who was setting down a plate, to look up. Those calm, ripple-less eyes accurately captured the hooded figure at the door trying to shrink into the shadows.
Lovia subconsciously looked up, crashing directly into those silver-gray pupils as their eyes met.
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