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After Yelan's figure completely disappeared from view, the usually silent Lumine could no longer suppress her curiosity. She stepped closer to Shao Yun and asked, "You're not seriously planning to make a special trip to Liyue, are you?"
Shao Yun spread his hands helplessly and explained with a wry smile, "I don't really have a choice. Since I already promised her, it wouldn't be right to go back on my word, would it?"
Lumine looked at Shao Yun with concern and asked, "Then wouldn't the round trip take you four or five days?"
Shao Yun smiled slightly, signaling her not to worry, and patiently explained, "Not necessarily. I might be able to get it done in just one morning."
Hearing that Shao Yun claimed he could travel from Fontaine to Liyue and back within a single morning, Lumine widened her eyes in shock and pressed, "One morning? Are you really sure you can do that?"
Shao Yun nodded confidently. "Of course. Didn't you once make it from Wolvendom to Liyue and run into Dainsleif all in one morning? If you can do that, what's so hard about me making a round trip between Fontaine and Liyue in the same amount of time?"
As soon as Shao Yun finished speaking, Lumine's expression grew tense, as if she didn't want to dwell on that particular memory.
"T-That's… not the same…" she replied hesitantly.
Seeing this, Shao Yun quickly waved his hand with a laugh, giving her an out and changing the subject. "Alright, alright, let's not talk about that. Didn't we come back to grab something?"
Reminded by Shao Yun, Lumine snapped back to her senses and slapped her forehead. "Ah! I almost completely forgot about the important stuff."
…
While Lumine and Paimon went inside the Spina di Rosula base to look for what they needed, Shao Yun stood patiently outside, waiting.
At that moment, Eula—who had been hiding in the shadows and observing everything from afar—noticed that Yelan had left at some point.
After confirming it was safe, she slowly stepped out from the corner, clutching a bulging bag tightly in her arms.
Out of the corner of his eye, Shao Yun noticed Eula walking toward him, but he quickly turned his head away, pretending not to see her at all, and fixed his gaze on the distance.
Eula wasn't surprised by Shao Yun's behavior in the slightest, since this was his way of honoring the promise between them.
However, this time, Eula didn't pretend not to know him as she had before. Instead, she walked up to him and sincerely thanked him. "Thank you so much for letting Yanfei stay…"
Faced with Eula's gratitude, Shao Yun remained silent, showing no intention of responding.
After a brief pause, however, he suddenly asked about her studies. "How's your studying been lately?"
Eula answered calmly, "It's been fairly good."
Looking at Eula, who could now speak to him so calmly, Shao Yun couldn't help feeling a bit emotional. "I have to say, your emotions seem a lot more stable than before."
Hearing this, Eula shrugged slightly and gave a helpless smile. "Maybe it's because of the new environment. And with Yanfei taking care of me lately, I can clearly feel that my mental state has improved quite a bit."
Shao Yun nodded. "That's good."
After that, the two of them simply stood there in silence as time passed, neither of them breaking the quiet first.
After a short while, Eula was the one who broke the stalemate.
She knew that continuing to pretend not to know each other wasn't a real solution, so she took a deep breath and resolved to put an end to the conflict between them.
"When I officially become a member of the Fontaine patrol, I'd like to sit down and talk with you calmly, properly. Would that be okay?"
"At that time, I want to settle all our past grudges once and for all—so we can truly let go of the past and move on."
Summoning her courage, Eula spoke firmly, looking straight at Shao Yun and hoping for an affirmative answer.
However, Shao Yun did not respond the way she had hoped.
He frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and corrected her. "That wouldn't be reconciliation. That would just be calling it quits."
In truth, Eula understood what Shao Yun meant all too well.
But when faced with such a complicated and tangled relationship, she couldn't think of a better way to deal with it.
Keeping those memories buried in her heart would only cause her more pain. Even if it meant deceiving herself, she felt it was still better than clinging endlessly to resentment.
Thinking of this, Eula let out a bitter smile and asked, "Then if I don't deceive myself, what other choice do I have? Am I supposed to live my entire life trapped in resentment over a revenge I can never take?"
After hearing Eula's words, Shao Yun fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded in understanding.
"Indeed. Sometimes, a bit of self-deception can be a way of protecting yourself."
Hearing these unexpectedly philosophical words from Shao Yun, Eula felt a mix of emotions.
She sighed softly and nodded, tacitly accepting his viewpoint.
Not wanting to continue the topic any further, she hastily brought the conversation to an end.
"Alright then… let's leave it at that. I'll take it as you agreeing to my request." With that, she turned and prepared to leave.
At that moment, Shao Yun opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more, but in the end, he said nothing.
And just as he had said before, in a few months everyone would go their separate ways. Perhaps they would never meet again—so why add more worries now?
Eula carried the items she had just bought and returned to the Spina di Rosula base, continuing her studies and exam preparation.
"…"
…
After quite some time, Lumine emerged from the hidden base of the Spina di Rosula, gripping a brown wooden fishing rod in both hands, with Paimon floating beside her.
Paimon rushed ahead and flew up to Shao Yun, calling out, "Shao Yun! Lumine and I have everything we need ready!"
Hearing her, Shao Yun looked over and his gaze landed on the plain wooden fishing rod in Lumine's hand. He asked in confusion, "Why are you carrying a fishing rod?"
Hearing this question, Lumine felt a bit surprised, thinking the answer was obvious.
Still, she patiently smiled and explained, "Isn't it obvious? It's for fishing."
However, Shao Yun was genuinely taken aback by the idea. "What? You're going fishing?"
Seeing his exaggerated reaction, Lumine tilted her head in confusion and asked, "Yeah, we're going fishing. Is there a problem?"
Shao Yun frowned slightly and continued, "I know you can fish—after all, Paimon was fished up by you—but why the sudden urge to go fishing?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Lumine calmly reached behind her with her right hand. Somehow, in the blink of an eye, she pulled out a commission slip and handed it to Shao Yun.
"Here, take a look first."
Shao Yun took the slip and glanced over it, then began reading it aloud line by line.
"Commission from Delaroche. Urgently requires Fontaine mechanical fish, any type accepted. Purchase price: 1,000 Mora per fish…"
Lumine nodded enthusiastically. "Hehe, 1,000 Mora per fish! That's way easier than grinding through other commissions to earn Mora!"
"And I heard Klee mention before that you're really good at fishing. So, this commission is practically perfect for us—and we can even work together on it!"
Thinking that he could earn a decent reward and also spend more time with Lumine, Shao Yun agreed without hesitation.
Still, he scratched his head a little awkwardly and added, "Um… honestly, my fishing skills aren't that great, so don't set your expectations too high."
At that moment, Paimon flew over to Shao Yun, waving her tiny fists to cheer him on.
"Hey, Shao Yun, you shouldn't underestimate yourself like that! Paimon believes in you! I'll cheer you both on with everything I've got!"
Amused by Paimon's enthusiasm, Shao Yun laughed and teased her, "Haha, then maybe you should save all that cheering for Lumine. Calling her 'The Fish-Catching Extraordinaire' might help her do even better."
The moment Paimon heard that title, her eyes widened in shock. "Huh?! How do you know that title?! I don't remember ever telling you!"
Shao Yun grinned mischievously. "You said it in your sleep one night. Something about 'Fish-Catching Extraordinaire,' and 'It's the final stretch,' and 'Victory is almost ours.'"
Hearing this, Paimon's face instantly turned bright red, like a ripe apple.
She lowered her head shyly, covering her cheeks with both hands and muttering softly, "Ugh, this is so embarrassing… Talking in my sleep… I'm never going to live this down…"
As she spoke, she sneaked glances at Shao Yun from the corner of her eye, checking his reaction.
Seeing Paimon's adorable and flustered face, Shao Yun couldn't help but laugh. He quickly reassured her, "Alright, alright, don't be shy, Paimon. Let's hurry up and go fishing!"
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