Varesa originally intended to stay by her side.
She adjusted to a comfortable position, letting Bai You rest her head on her arm and lean against her chest.
He covered himself up completely with the blanket, then leaned against the wall, intending to rest for a while, but not planning to sleep.
But she had been busy all morning, dusting, wallpapering, moving things, and soaking in water for so long; she was actually exhausted.
The person in her arms was breathing lightly and steadily, patting her chest rhythmically.
At first, she kept her eyelids open and stroked Bai You's hair gently, but later her hand moved slower and slower, and her head drooped little by little.
Before long, she couldn't hold on any longer, and with her chin resting on Bai You's head, she fell asleep.
The two of them squeezed onto the small bed, snuggling together, both fast asleep.
This only made the small pink room seem even quieter, and no one bothered them.
At the same time, Snezhnaya Palace.
The afternoon light slanted into the workshop. Sandrone placed the last plate of pastries on the table, leaned back in his chair, and waited with his arms crossed.
Two pots of black tea were brewed, and the pastries were freshly baked.
At this time, the door should have been slowly pushed open long ago— Columbina always appeared silently, her eyes closed.
But he always managed to find his way to her table with perfect accuracy, silently eat most of a plate of pastries, and even sneak two more pieces before leaving.
Sandrone complained that she was freeloading, but he always prepared an extra portion for her.
He even remembers clearly which foods she prefers and which she dislikes.
But today, even after the tea was refilled twice, there was still no sound from outside.
"Strange..." She glanced at the time, her brows slowly furrowing.
She knew Columbina perfectly well after all these years; she could figure him out with her eyes closed—he was incredibly lazy.
She avoids going out whenever possible, yet she's incredibly enthusiastic about the snacks from her shop.
Not only did she not come today. She thought back and realized she hadn't seen her yesterday either, and the day before yesterday, Columbina hadn't shown up at her place.
At first, she thought the other person was just too lazy to go out, but after so many days without a trace, something seemed off.
"It wasn't made especially for her."
Sandrone turned his face away and muttered something stiffly to the empty room.
"I just made too much; take it or leave it."
That's what she said, but after sitting for another fifteen minutes, she finally couldn't resist.
He clicked his tongue, stood up, casually picked out two pastries, put them on a small plate, and walked out.
They soon arrived at Columbina's room. Sandrone went over and knocked three times on the door.
No one answered.
" Columbina?" She knocked twice more, "Then answer! I brought you--"
The room was quiet.
Sandrone hesitated for a moment, then reached out and pushed the door open. The door wasn't locked; he opened it...
The room was neat and tidy, the bed was made perfectly flat, and it was clear that no one had slept there for several days.
She went inside and looked around, but couldn't find a single person.
"Where is everyone?" Sandrone stood in the center of the empty room, his brow furrowed even more deeply.
She initially thought they were on a mission.
He mentally reviewed the orders the Empress had issued over the past few days—none. There hadn't been any missions assigned to Columbina recently.
Rosalyne went to Mondstadt, while Tartaglia was busy preparing for Liyue, with everyone on their own. Only she had no missions and wasn't at the palace.
There were no tasks, and she wasn't in her room, so where could she have gone?
Sandrone stood there for a while, holding the plate of pastries, a vague sense of unease slowly rising within him.
She caught up with a servant passing by in the corridor and asked him. The servant lowered his head and thought for a long time before finally saying that he hadn't seen the " The Damselette " return to the palace in the past few days.
It seems like it was quite a few days ago that we last met.
Oh, right.
tea party.
A thought suddenly struck Sandrone, and something vaguely came to mind.
That tea party was a farewell to Rosalyne and also a welcome to the newcomer, a young twelfth seat attendee, whose code name was something like " Water Nymph ".
She remembered that Columbina that day... she seemed to be walking alongside that new Harbinger, and then, unusually, she said she was going out for a while.
She didn't pay attention at the time.
"Could it be..." Sandrone stood in the corridor, holding the plate of uneaten pastries, his expression gradually becoming strange.
Could it be that she ran off to live with that little guy who only arrived a few days ago?
"Am I less important to her than a newborn child??"
"Columbia!"
Inside the cave.
I overslept.
When Varesa regained consciousness and groggily opened her eyes, she felt that the arm she was resting on, which was covered by Bai You, was numb and heavy.
She paused for two seconds before remembering where she was, then turned her head to look at the light filtering in from outside—the light was dim and yellowish.
"Oh no..." she muttered in a hoarse voice. She had slept enough, but she had slept for almost two hours. If she didn't get up soon, she would miss her train back.
She didn't move immediately, but looked down at the person in her arms. Bai You was still asleep, her cheeks slightly flushed, her mouth slightly open, and one hand still clutching the hem of her clothes.
Seeing her like this, Varesa swallowed back the urging that was on the tip of her tongue, her heart softening completely.
In the end, she couldn't bear to call out immediately, and only used her non-numb hand to gently pat Bai You's back.
" Little Bai You, wake up." She leaned close to her ear, her voice soft and hoarse.
"You've slept too long, it's time to get up, otherwise we'll have to sleep in the cave tonight."
Bai You's eyelashes trembled, but she didn't wake up. Instead, she snuggled closer to her and let out a muffled hum.
"Still being lazy." Varesa chuckled, pinching her cheek lightly.
"Get up, I let you sleep on the way."
After coaxing her for a while, Bai You reluctantly opened one eye, her gaze unfocused, and it took her a long time to focus.
His voice was thick with a nasal tone. "... You're asleep too?"
"Yeah, you influenced me." Varesa didn't deny it, smiling as she wiped away a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth.
He then brought the wooden cup to her lips, "Take a sip of water first, to wake yourself up."
"Let's pack up, go out and check if we need anything, then we should head back."
Bai You took two sips from her hand, and only then did she wake up a bit.
Varesa wiped the water from the corner of her mouth with her finger before helping her sit up straight. "Let's go."
The two lifted the curtain and stepped out of the small cubicle.
Then the two of them slowly walked around the outer room, seeing the large seashell from the echo pillar, and then the doorway.
Everything that needed wiping was wiped, the seashells that needed to be arranged were arranged, and the wind chimes that needed to be hung were hung. After looking around, I really couldn't find anything missing.
"So, Little Bai You, did you pass the test?" Varesa asked her deliberately.
Bai You paced back and forth a couple more steps, suppressing a laugh, and deliberately drawled out: "Hmm--"
She paused, but couldn't hold back any longer. Her eyes crinkled into a smile, and she put her hands on her hips, looking smug.
"Perfect! Perfect on the first try, nothing to fix!"
"That's right, don't you even know who you did it with?"
Varesa chuckled, reached out and ruffled her hair, then half-wrapped her from behind, her chin almost resting on her shoulder.
Varesa shut up first, then touched the top of her head before letting go. "It's time to go."
They left the cave via the more secluded path and emerged from the woods outside.
The setting sun dyed the snow a warm orange hue, casting two long shadows that overlapped.
Bai You kept saying that he wanted to sit in the very center of the first row during the performance that night and present her with a huge bouquet of flowers.
Varesa listened and suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"Why did you stop?" Bai You looked up.
Varesa didn't answer. Instead, she bent down and rewrapped the scarf around her neck, her fingertips lingering for a moment on Voyanisa's frostbitten cheek.
"Flowers won't do much good." She looked into Bai You's eyes, her voice very low.
"You just need to sit there."
Bai You opened her mouth, but the words she wanted to say got stuck in her throat. The tips of her ears started to burn, and she turned her face away, muttering softly:
"Why did you suddenly bring this up?"
"To be honest," Varesa straightened up, casually putting her cold hand into her pocket to warm it along with her other hand.
"Let's go."
As she was led forward, Bai You lowered her head, staring at the two hands clasped together in her pocket. She had intended to comfort the other woman and tell her not to be nervous, but instead, she found herself getting flustered and her heart was pounding.
She secretly glanced at Varesa's profile. The woman's expression was normal, but there was a slight smile on her lips, as if she had expected her to react this way.
Soon after, we arrived at the train station.
By the time the bus entered the city and returned to the theater, it was already completely dark.
As soon as I opened the door, the steaming heat from the food, along with the lamplight, rushed towards me.
Odette was setting the table, while Columbina sat by the fireplace, her long red and black hair flowing behind her. She looked up when she heard the noise.
"Finally back! The soup would have gotten cold if we'd been any later."
Odette, still sharp-tongued, had already added two more bowls to her hands. "Is everything alright in the cave?"
"It's okay, I'm fine." Bai You took off her coat and rushed to the table.
"Wash your hands first." Odette pressed her head down.
Varesa followed Bai You into the room, hung up her coat, pulled out a chair for her first, and sat down before taking her own seat.
The author has become a useless person since the start of the semester, getting worse every day, and has to assemble at 7:50 tomorrow morning for the opening ceremony. This isn't the university I dreamed of... Waaaaaah ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅
I'm gradually recovering... I should be fine in a few days.
Thank you everyone for your support during this difficult time つ♡⊂
Principal soprano Varesa
Fengxian Vesna at your service
Requiem for the Underworld
The redemption code expires tomorrow at noon, so don't forget to redeem it! ヾ(๑╹ヮ╹๑)ﾉ"