After a brief greeting, Columbina began observing Tang Wang in her own way.
In her "vision," Tang Wang stood on the boundary between blurred and clear. Kuuvahki seemed unable to determine what kind of being he was, and she found that very novel.
"Strange," she said, reaching out with her right thumb and forefinger to gently pinch his cheek. "Your face is soft too."
"Why are you different from all of them?"
"Maybe it's because of the special technique I cultivate." Tang Wang neither struggled nor tried to dodge. "Columbina, how about we head into Mondstadt City first? I've prepared lots of other things for you too."
"Mm." She nodded. "A surprise... right?"
"That's right, a surprise prepared just for you." Tang Wang looked around in every direction. At that moment, everyone who had witnessed the scene wore a rather complicated expression.
"Lady Damselette..." Of course, the other Fatui in the distance were undoubtedly the most shocked. "Is she here for a secret meeting... with her lover?"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't talk nonsense!" Another Fatui hurriedly smacked him. "If we're just making things up, that's one thing."
"But if it's true... given Lady Damselette's unpredictable temper, you can expect to lose your head!"
"Columbina, have the Fatui arranged somewhere for you to stay?" Tang Wang suddenly asked as they walked side by side down the street.
"Probably... not?" She tilted her head slightly and thought for a moment. "Pantalone really doesn't want to see me. He didn't even support my coming to Mondstadt."
"So I don't think he would have arranged anything like that for me."
"All right, then." Tang Wang nodded. "In that case, leave all of that to me."
"Mm." She nodded.
And so, taking Columbina with him, he hurried back to the Goth Grand Hotel as quickly as he could.
"By the way, did you eat anything on the way here?" Just then, Tang Wang remembered a very important question.
"No." She shook her head gently.
"All right!" Tang Wang smiled. "Columbina, could I ask you to change into something... less conspicuous first?"
"That way, we won't be disturbed by unrelated people when we eat later."
"Sure, sure! Where are the clothes?" At the thought of having a full meal, Columbina's movements became a little livelier.
"Hmm..."
About half an hour later, Columbina appeared before Tang Wang in a classic Mondstadt-style long dress. After some consideration, she had chosen to wear high heels.
After all, the shape of those shoes best suited the way she usually walked.
"You look beautiful." After complimenting her with a smile, Tang Wang waved for her to follow him.
To his surprise, however, Columbina, who lacked common social sense, took hold of his arm of her own accord.
The moment their bodies touched, she suddenly froze in place.
"Why..." At that moment, she felt a sense of ease and comfort unlike anything she had ever known. It was as though all of Teyvat's rejection of her had vanished at once, and at the center of the world, the principle above all principles had opened its arms to her.
"Columbina, are you feeling unwell?" Tang Wang asked, turning back with some concern.
"No... I've never felt so comfortable before." As she spoke, her hand tightened around Tang Wang's arm.
The gesture took Tang Wang completely by surprise, but he nevertheless took Columbina to the Angel's Share as planned.
"Is this where we're eating?" As soon as she entered, she looked around curiously. "It seems a little plain."
"That's right. Mondstadt's scenery is much more natural than Snezhnaya's." Tang Wang nodded. "Of course, that may also be because Snezhnaya's natural environment... really isn't suited to human survival."
As he spoke, Diluc, who was wiping a glass behind the counter, was silently studying Columbina.
But what surprised him most was the hand holding Tang Wang's arm.
"...Are they that close?" Diluc was somewhat surprised.
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the Angel's Share, two heads, one pink-haired and one white-haired, were also watching what was happening.
"Lili, why are we doing this?" Ronava asked in confusion. "Even if we just went over and said we wanted to eat with them, Tang Wang wouldn't object, would he?"
"Oh, Nana, you don't understand." Linaya shook her head. "I've overheard some of their conversations before."
"To put it simply, Miss Columbina's personality... is unusually strange. So if we want to take this opportunity to learn more about her, it's best not to interrupt her meal with Tang Wang."
"But," Ronava said timidly, "couldn't we just ask him what Columbina likes?"
"As adventurers, we have to have the spirit to seek answers for ourselves!"
At a table on the other side of the room, for some reason, even though it seated four, Columbina had chosen to sit pressed against him rather than across from him.
After much hesitation, Tang Wang finally spoke:
"Columbina, why... are you sitting so close to me?"
"Can't I?" Her voice suddenly grew sad.
"No, no, no, I'm just curious why you're doing it." Tang Wang hurriedly waved his hand.
"Why...?" She considered her wording for a moment. "Because being close to you feels very comfortable."
"Ever since I was born, I've always felt as though this world was rejecting me. But when I touch you, that feeling disappears."
"I see." Tang Wang appeared calm on the surface, but his mind was already racing.
The reason Teyvat rejected Columbina was that Frostmoon had been cast beyond the False Sky.
Frostmoon had yet to be brought back, but her feeling of being rejected had faded because she touched him. There were only two possibilities:
First, the Gang Qi (Human Realm Power) produced by the Traditional Martial Arts Secret Method he cultivated had a unique power.
Second, the Shadow Domain remaining on him could block out some of Teyvat's own laws.
Logically speaking, the second possibility was more likely. However, Shadow Domains were rampant throughout Snezhnaya. If it really was just the effect of a Shadow Domain, how could Columbina only be finding out now?
"Unless..." He recalled what Albedo had said to him before, seemingly in passing-was the Shadow Domain on him really nothing more than an ordinary Shadow Domain?
"Your juice drinks, you two." Diluc came to their table carrying a tray.
"Tang Wang, where's the food?" After taking a sip of juice, Columbina gently tapped Tang Wang, who was still lost in thought, with her other hand.
"Oh... oh!" Tang Wang snapped back to his senses. "Right here."
With a wave of his hand, he took a long row of steaming food out of the Shadow Domain.
After Tang Wang first discovered that the concepts of space and time did not exist within the Shadow Domain, he often used the Shadow Domain he carried with him as a kind of efficient storage space. As it turned out, it worked very well.