Shenhe side story: If it really were you, that would be wonderful

At an inn in Mondstadt.

"Once, I secretly went down the mountain without telling my master and returned to my village, only to discover that it had been abandoned. My father had long since passed away."

"I suddenly realized that my ties with my blood relatives had been severed completely. The past I cared about would never have a continuation..."

"From that day on, I forsook everything human for a time, until I met you..."

Shenhe's words made Xiu Yuan pause.

His heart aching for her, he gently stroked her cheek.

"It's hard to imagine how you managed to get through that."

"I don't know whether I was abandoned because my fate was marked by Lone Calamity, or whether my harsh fate gave rise to this baleful energy within me."

"Well, I don't believe anyone is born destined for Lone Calamity. In my opinion, it must be the latter."

"Thank you, Xiu Yuan. Meeting you is the greatest happiness of my life."

Shenhe rested her head happily on Xiu Yuan's shoulder, gazing at the lights of countless homes she had always hated.

Looking at them now, she realized that she had hated those lights simply because there had been no place for her among them.

With Xiu Yuan by her side, even those countless lights seemed so warm.

"Meeting you is the greatest blessing of my life, too," Xiu Yuan said gently with a soft smile.

Just then, something resembling a string of tiny lanterns came into Shenhe's view.

"What is this?" Shenhe asked, looking in surprise at the little thing in Xiu Yuan's hand.

"These are candied hawthorns. Give them a try." Xiu Yuan held the skewer out to her.

Shenhe took it, examined it carefully, and sniffed it before slowly extending her delicate little tongue to give it a lick.

"So sweet~" Shenhe looked delighted.

"If the Red Ropes can suppress the baleful energy in your heart, then perhaps eating candied hawthorns can dispel it."

Watching her reaction, Xiu Yuan teased her with amusement.

"Why is that?"

"Because they're both red."

At his words, the look in Shenhe's eyes as she gazed at the candied hawthorns changed, just like a child's.

Then she eagerly took a bite.

"Mmm~... They're so good. Sweet and tart..."

Shenhe instantly fell in love with these things called candied hawthorns.

Her innocent nature truly made her both delightful and endearing.

"You should have one, too. Here, say ah~"

With a gentle smile, Shenhe held the skewer up to Xiu Yuan's lips.

"Ah~"

"Mmm... So sweet."

Xiu Yuan opened his mouth and took a bite, too.

Seeing how happily he ate, Shenhe's face filled with happiness as well.

She had always longed for a day like this.

It was a scene she had never dared imagine, even in her dreams.

"Xiu Yuan."

"Hmm?"

As she ate the candied hawthorns, Shenhe suddenly called his name.

"If..." Shenhe looked at the skewer in her hand, a blush rising to her cheeks.

Xiu Yuan did not hurry her, merely waiting patiently.

"If we become husband and wife someday, would you want a boy or a girl?"

By the time Shenhe finished speaking, her entire face was scarlet.

Her question made Xiu Yuan pause.

"If that day really comes, all I'll want is you."

Shenhe's eyes immediately widened.

She turned to look at Xiu Yuan in disbelief, and his gentle smile left her utterly captivated.

"W-why...?" she asked shyly, stumbling over her words.

"Because having a child is painful," Xiu Yuan explained.

"When my mother was pregnant with me, she suffered from extremely severe morning sickness. Never mind rich meals or all sorts of other foods-even walking past a fruit stall and catching a faint whiff of fruit would make her vomit."

"All she could eat was plain, tasteless rice porridge. Anything with even a little flavor would make her throw up. It was so severe and took such a toll on her that I nearly died in the womb."

"Of course, that's only the first reason. Second, the pain of childbirth is excruciating, like having flesh scraped from your bones, and there are all kinds of risks, too."

"Third, newborn babies are very noisy. They often wake you in the middle of the night and leave you frazzled. As the mother, you'd have to look after the baby constantly."

"All of that is too painful. I don't want you to go through it. Having you is enough for me."

After hearing Xiu Yuan's words, Shenhe was completely stunned.

She had never imagined that anyone in the world could care so much about her.

Her eyes reddened, but she smiled and said, "It's all right. For you, I'm willing to go through all of it."

"A child is the fruit of love. No matter how great the hardship, I'm willing."

"I'd want him to come into this world, to see the serenity of its mountains and rivers and experience the warmth of human life."

"And he'd have the best father in the world."

"If he's a boy, he'll be gentle and handsome, just like you. He'll surely grow into a man everyone admires."

"Lots of girls will definitely like him!"

Her eyes sparkled, as though she were looking forward to that beautiful future.

But...

The more she yearned for it, the more Xiu Yuan's heart ached.

He knew he would leave sooner or later.

He would leave...

"Yes, that would be wonderful."

"It's getting late. Let's go inside and get some sleep."

Xiu Yuan did not want to continue this conversation.

Though he, too, wanted very much to tell Shenhe.

That she would surely be the best mother in the world.

That if they had a girl, she would surely be kind, gentle, and strong.

But he could not say those things.

If he did, the conversation would continue, and leaving when the time came would be even harder...

"All right."

Shenhe answered, linked her arm through Xiu Yuan's, and went inside with him.

Only after she was sound asleep did Xiu Yuan get up alone and sit by the window. Looking out at Mondstadt beneath the night sky, he could not calm his heart for a long time.

"A wife..."

"If it really were you... that would be wonderful..."

A teardrop fell onto the windowsill.

The morning sickness described in this story really happened to the author's mother while she was pregnant with the author. A mother's love truly is remarkable.

Tomorrow, we'll begin the fourth life in the main story. Many readers have said that Shenhe's arc felt a little rushed, and it did. Previously, I deliberately limited each life to ten chapters, so some parts ended up feeling hurried. To a large extent, these side stories are also meant to make up for the things I didn't get to write back then.

I hope you won't let too many chapters pile up before reading! I'm a full-time author, and writing is how I earn my living. If too many people wait to read and I end up unable to afford food, I might have to drop the novel. So I also hope those of you with a little money to spare can send me some gifts. Your support will be my greatest motivation.