Qiqi: Hold Hands, Hold Hands, or the Wind Will Blow Me Away / The Most Important Thing Is That You're Happy

Qiqi was immortal, so she didn't have to worry about falling down the mountain.

And Fang Xun had Kaedehara Kazuha's skill, Chizuru, so he'd be in no danger either.

But Ningguang was another matter.

The little girl had no experience gathering herbs.

If she went along, she might run into danger. She'd be better off staying here and getting some rest.

Having made up his mind, Fang Xun looked up at Ningguang.

The little girl had been eating at her own leisurely pace, but the moment she seemed to notice someone watching her, she looked up.

When she saw it was Fang Xun, Little Ningguang hurriedly finished her meal.

Then she ran over and clung tightly to Fang Xun's arm.

She raised her head to look at him and said seriously, "Brother Fang Xun, where are you going? Ningguang wants to go too!"

Without even realizing it, Little Ningguang had already grown inseparable from Fang Xun.

Wherever he went, she wanted to follow, like a clingy little shadow.

Fang Xun had expected Little Ningguang to say this.

He crouched down and gently rubbed the top of her head, then said warmly, "Little girl, Qiqi, Miss Ganyu, and I are going out to gather herbs to treat the injured villagers."

"You're not coming, Ningguang. Gathering herbs on the mountain is dangerous."

"I'm worried something might happen to you, so stay in the village and get some rest, okay?"

When Ningguang heard that Fang Xun wouldn't let her come along, sadness immediately showed on her face.

"But Ningguang wants to go too."

"Ningguang isn't afraid of danger."

"Ningguang just wants to stay with Brother Fang Xun."

The little girl clung to Fang Xun's arm and refused to let go.

Her beautiful eyes, as brilliant as rubies, glimmered with tears.

Qiqi: "Hold hands, hold hands, or the wind will blow me away!"

Seeing Little Ningguang's pitiful expression, Fang Xun found it both amusing and heartbreaking.

He reached out and tapped the tip of her nose, then said softly, "Little Ningguang, you've got plenty of things to do here in the village. Finish your tasks first, then we'll talk."

"Tasks?"

Ningguang blinked her big, watery eyes, looking confused.

Fang Xun nodded and continued, "That's right. You need to get the village's construction plans for the next few days ready, don't you?"

"Once construction starts, it can't just stop. There are plenty of things you'll need to think through. It's a tough task, and you'll need time to plan."

The construction plans...

Little Ningguang had already figured out what the villagers should do over the next week.

But after hearing Fang Xun say that, it seemed there were still plenty of things she hadn't considered.

Seeing that Little Ningguang had been convinced, Fang Xun continued, "And I asked Master Mao to prepare some fruit for you, didn't I?"

"Your task is to finish all of it before I get back."

"If I come back and find you haven't finished the fruit, I'll have to punish you. Understand?"

Little Ningguang had been feeling rather sad, but when she heard the rest of what Fang Xun said, she couldn't help smiling through her tears.

"How is eating fruit a task...?"

Little Ningguang knew perfectly well that Fang Xun was just using the word "task" to get her to eat more and stay healthy.

At first, Little Ningguang had been quite worried.

She was afraid that as Fang Xun made more and more friends in Liyue, he would gradually stop liking her.

Ningguang was afraid of losing Fang Xun, so she'd always wanted to stay by his side.

Only now did Ningguang realize that her worries had been completely unnecessary.

Because she could feel it.

Brother Fang Xun was still the same Brother Fang Xun.

The Brother Fang Xun who took such attentive care of her.

"Ningguang understands. Ningguang will finish the task Brother Fang Xun left for her, then sit here and wait for him to come back."

Little Ningguang could be a little willful, but most of the time she was considerate and sensible—a well-behaved child.

"Good girl." Fang Xun rubbed the top of Ningguang's head, his face full of affection.

After giving Ningguang a few instructions, Fang Xun left the crowd and headed for the quiet entrance to the village.

Qiqi and Ganyu were waiting there.

While he'd been away, Fang Xun had worried that Qiqi might blurt out something childish and put Ganyu in an awkward spot.

He hadn't expected Qiqi and Ganyu to get along so well.

Now Qiqi was holding Ganyu's hand, and the two girls were chatting and laughing.

Ganyu seemed to like Qiqi quite a bit.

So much so that Ganyu, who usually wasn't good at talking to people, had said a lot today.

Fang Xun walked over with a smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's get going."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qiqi held out her hand to him.

At the same time, she said in her soft, childish voice, "Hold hands... hold hands..."

"The wind is strong... Fang Xun, don't get blown away."

The little girl's eyes were innocent and guileless. She was worried Fang Xun might get blown away just like she had.

She was just too cute.

Fang Xun smiled faintly and took Qiqi's hand.

"Okay. I'll hold Qiqi's hand."

From a distance, the three of them looked like a young couple taking their child for a walk.

Not far from the village, a squad of Millelith were on patrol.

Because of the Ancient Rock Dragon Lizard incident, the Liyue Qixing had deployed extra troops to prevent another tragedy like the one before.

Night patrols were always a little dull and uncomfortable, so one of the Millelith tried to break the mood.

"Have you heard the latest? They're saying Ganyu-sama is married now. And that she even has a child?"

He brought up the hot gossip that had been making the rounds in Liyue Harbor.

Another Millelith immediately denied it. "A rumor! It's absolutely a rumor!"

"Ganyu-sama has so much work to do that she can barely keep up. There's no way she's married! And she definitely doesn't have a child!"

"Besides, Ganyu-sama is so outstanding. Who could possibly be worthy of her?"

"True. It's all just baseless gossip. I wonder where it even started."

"Enough. We have no business discussing the affairs of the adepti. Let's focus on our patrol... Wait, look over there. Isn't that Ganyu-sama?"

The patrolling Millelith spotted what looked like Ganyu's silhouette in the dim light.

"That's definitely Ganyu-sama. And there's a man beside her, and a child??"

The Millelith exchanged glances, too surprised to speak.

Could it be that Ganyu-sama really had married and had a child?

There they were, a family of three, walking hand in hand. It was all the proof they needed.

"You'd better not—"

"Don't worry, Captain. Our lips are sealed!"

Yesterday, I shamelessly asked for some free gifts. I didn't expect anyone to pay attention to me.

But everyone's support really surprised me.

I'm just a nobody of an author, and seeing my readers send me so many gifts made my nose sting. I was a little overwhelmed.

Thank you, everyone. I'm truly grateful.

I don't have anything to give in return. All I can do is update more often to thank you for the free gifts.

There'll be two more updates later.

Finally, thank you again for all the gifts, dear readers.

The most important thing is that you're happy

Back to Fang Xun and the others.

The three of them had been walking toward Jueyun for a little while.

Before they knew it, the strong wind had died down.

Summer evening breezes were always like that: they came and went in the blink of an eye.