Bai You silently called out to the system in her mind.
"Fuck your whole family, what kind of system are you? Get the hell out here! Why won't my ears change back?"
[Ding. What do you mean, what kind of system? Why are you yelling so loud? You woke me up.]
[And I still remember very clearly when you said "get lost" back then, host. Need my help already?]
"All right, all right, quit it. Let me ask you something first. Why won't my ears change back?"
[Aren't you a water spirit? Those ears look perfectly normal to me. I thought it was something serious.]
Bai You: ...
[Fine, I'll stop teasing you. The talent you got is a little unusual. That's what happens when you use it. All I can say is, they can't change back.]
"Then what use are you if they can't change back? You're freaking useless." Bai You was speechless as she fired back at the system.
[Don't you think those ears are lively and cute? They don't do you any harm, and they look even better.]
[And this system isn't useless. To tell you the truth, there's nothing I can't do.]
[If I wanted to, I could summon all of The Seven here in an instant, or blow up Teyvat outright. I could even send you to another world right now...]
"Stop, stop, enough, enough. Quit bragging, quit bragging. Yeah, real impressive." Stuck with a system like this, Bai You was even more speechless.
[I can help you change back, though. I just need to reclaim the talent. Out of the goodness of my heart, I'll reclaim it for 1,000 Mora. How about it? Then everything about you will be back to normal, and you'll be a normal human.]
"What? You fucking system, want me to reclaim you instead? You think you can fob me off with 1,000 Mora like I'm a beggar?"
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don't think I can't tell how happy you are to have this talent. You can even blow bubbles and play with that little water spirit beside you.]
[How about I reclaim the talent and give you one of the same rank, plus a special item and 1,000 Mora? Would you be willing to trade, dear host~~~?]
"Fine, system, you're something else... Really something else. You win. Go back to sleep and keep on dreaming. I never want to talk to you again."
Just as Bai You was about to turn her attention back to Varesa and close the shitty system interface, the system seemed to get a little anxious.
[Wait, wait! I was wrong, host. Did you forget I'm a check-in system? You haven't checked in today.]
"What good stuff could a shitty system's check-in give me? A few hundred or a few thousand Mora to fob me off? I'm not checking in."
"I'm going to spend time with sweet-smelling, soft Varesa. She's cute and adorably innocent, she can sing, and she's a lot richer than a trash system like you."
Bai You scoffed inwardly. She had no desire to keep bickering with the system and was ready to cut off communication with it altogether.
Her thoughts were on Varesa, who was waiting for her. She had forgotten to tell her again, and Varesa might be getting a little anxious by now.
Compared with the system's meager Mora, spending time with Varesa was clearly more important.
Just as she was about to withdraw her attention, the system seemed to grit its teeth and dangled some bait.
[Additional hint: This check-in reward can generate a pair of exclusive items representing the bond between you and Varesa.]
Those words immediately caught Bai You's attention. She paused, abandoning the thought of leaving.
On the shell, Varesa saw Bai You suddenly sitting there in a daze, her expression shifting and darkening.
She tilted her head slightly and waved her soft little hand back and forth in front of Bai You, apparently finding it a little amusing.
Varesa waved her little hand in front of Bai You several more times. When she saw that Bai You's gaze was still vacant and she hadn't come to her senses at all, Varesa couldn't help tilting her head slightly.
Without withdrawing her hand, she gently poked Bai You's cheek with her soft fingertip, again and again.
She lightened her touch, gently rubbing the soft skin of Bai You's cheek.
Then she quietly hooked a strand of hair that had fallen over Bai You's shoulder and slowly wound it around her fingertip, thoroughly absorbed in playing with it.
After playing for a while, she leaned forward slightly, her warm breath brushing over Bai You's finlike ear.
She carefully raised her other hand and gently touched the tip of Bai You's ear, which was trembling slightly.
Seeing this, Varesa couldn't help smiling faintly, a hint of mischief appearing in her eyes.
Varesa blinked her blue eyes and looked at Bai You, who remained lost in her own thoughts. She pondered for a moment.
She stopped touching her with her hands and gently rested her cheek against Bai You's shoulder instead. Leaning quietly against her, she simply waited for Bai You to emerge from her thoughts.
Bai You resumed her conversation with the system in her mind. Something connected to my bond with Varesa? Tell me what it is first, or you'll trick me again. Varesa's still waiting for me.
[Sorry, host. The reward can only be revealed after you check in. It cannot be disclosed in advance. Would you like to check in?]
Bai You frowned, torn. Given how stingy the system was, it was probably making empty promises to coax her.
Forget it, I'll check in. I'll trust this system one more time.
Bai You took a deep breath and said silently, Fine, check in.
[Ding! Host has confirmed check-in. Check-in successful!]
[Congratulations, host. Reward obtained: Bond Necklace ×2.]