Chapter Text
[Fang]
"... Is that so? I never heard of a "good" pirate though, are you sure you're not pulling my leg, Ye-Ling?"
[Ye-Ling]
"I'm serious Fang, people seem to be really fond of her in the Liyue Harbour."
[Fang]
"Hmmm, well whatever..."
I throw my legs over the table and turn my head to look at the clear blue sky. It's beautiful today as well... still, a pirate uh...
My name is Fang, I am a resident of Qingce Village since birth and my childhood friend is called Ye-Ling, he's also from here. He's what you'd normally call a bookworm, he's been into books of all kinds ever since I first talked with him when we were 6. Well, all that reading must have worked wonders for him, since he's now a writer and his first work is already selling pretty well. Meanwhile I am just a simple carpenter... Well, still an apprentice rather, but that's a small detail. My father pushed me into getting some sort of job already...
[Fang]
"*sigh*"
[Ye-Ling]
"What's the matter Fang, something on your mind?"
[Fang]
"No... it's a nice day today, right?"
[Ye-Ling]
"*chuckle* Indeed..."
Relaxing like this under the roofed deck of my house makes me feel nostalgic. The gentle breeze, the birds singing in the distance. All we are missing really is...
[???]
"Hey Fang!"
... speaking of the devil.
[Fang]
"Yo, Hong-Lan..."
[Hong-Lan]
"Don't give me that chill greeting, aren't you supposed to be working today?"
[Fang]
"Don't worry Hong-Lan, today's my free day, I'm not supposed to be working"
[Ye-Ling]
"He's saying the truth Hong-Lan, I checked with his master before too... You didn't?"
[Hong-Lan]
"No, I did but..."
This tomboy gal is also my childhood friend, Hong-Lan. We first met when I was 7 and was searching for squirrels with Ye-Ling, one of the few times he was actually willing to adventure outside of the realm of books. She and her father were hunting for squirrels back then, I still remember the shock in our faces when we finally found a squirrel outside the village... only for it to perish quickly a second later because of an arrow shot by her. She and her father looked so happy when she finally got her first kill, while we were horrified by the suddenness of it. After that she apologised for giving us a scare like that, and we've been hanging out ever since.
[Hong-Lan]
"... Your master just told me "He's probably relaxing in his house", so I came here to make sure you're not skipping on your work or anything"
[Fang]
"That was... a pretty good voice imitation..."
[Ye-Ling]
"Yeah, you're amazing Hong-Lan"
[Hong-Lan]
"Sh-shut your mouth..."
A moment passes and Hong-Lan joins us in the end. The wind blows gently on our favour, it's almost unreal to think we're almost 20 now...
[Hong-Lan]
"So, how's your work doing Ye-Ling? I heard you're already making another book"
[Ye-Ling]
"You already heard of it? Word spreads too fast..."
[Hong-Lan]
"What is it about?"
... It almost feels like just yesterday we were playing around and enjoying Ye-Ling's mom's cooking. Hong-Lan didn't change almost anything since then, her short and wavy brownish hair and her preference for the colour red in her clothes, even now she's wearing her usual deep red shorts and a red top, though she's wearing black shoes. The only thing that changed is that she's a bit more beautiful now, but her quick temper kind of bashes that away when you try to talk with her... Still, Ye-Ling did change a lot. He used to be bit of a crybaby, now he could hardly be classified as that. His glasses used to be really big and round before, but now he has a pair that really compliments his good looks, alongside the lavender shirt with black trousers, shoes and his straight black hair that's neck long. It really make him look like a poet or something. Compared to him, my black short hair is pretty messy constantly, and my clothes are pretty common looking and a on the brown side. A brown sleeveless shirt I tried to mix with a deep red t-shirt below, and then khaki pants and brown boots that I use for work. The only thing that I feel makes me stand out is my red bandana that Hong-Lan gave me all those years ago... But man, time really flies by when you think about it...
[Hong-Lan]
"... Fang!"
[Fang]
"Woah! that surprised me..."
[Hong-Lan]
"Spacing out?"
[Fang]
"A bit... What's up?"
[Ye-Ling]
"*sigh* I was just talking about my next story..."
[Fang]
"S-sorry, sorry. What was it about again?"
[Ye-Ling]
"It's alright, I'd rather let you read it when I finish it really"
[Fang]
"That so... I look forward to it then"
[Hong-Lan]
"Yeah, me too"
[Ye-Ling]
"I-I see, *chuckles*... It's a bit embarrassing, but I'll do my best. But that aside, Fang, this is the second time you space out today... What's the matter?"
[Fang]
"Ah, no, it's a silly reason really..."
[Hong-Lan]
"Come on, say it, I bet it's less silly than you think"
[Fang]
"*sigh* Just thinking how we've changed compared to when we were kids. It's almost like time went by really fast and only yesterday we were playing around... I somehow miss that time"
[Ye-Ling]
"Fang..."
[Fang]
"You're moving to the Harbour soon, right?"
[Ye-Ling]
"... In a couple weeks..."
[Hong-Lan]
"Already? I thought it was next month..."
[Ye-Ling]
"It was but… Things moved faster than expected, and they want me to go back to writing my book as soon as possible"
[Hong-Lan]
"I see... it's going to be a bit lonely without one of us around"
[Ye-Ling]
"Don't say that, it's not like I'm going all the way to Inazuma, we can still meet up every so often"
[Fang]
"You say that, but the harbour is pretty far away..."
[Ye-Ling]
"Well... that's true..."
... Silence reigned for a moment, as the nostalgic wind blew gently once again.
[Hong-Lan]
"I know!"
[Ye-Ling]
"Wha-what?"
Hong-Lan suddenly exclaimed as she stood up and pushed her chair back a bit.
[Hong-Lan]
"How about we all move to Liyue Harbour?"
[Ye-Ling]
"Eh?"
[Fang]
"With what money, Hong-Lan?"
[Hong-Lan]
"Well, mora will come eventually. But if we work hard, we can all move to the harbour, I'm sure"
[Fang]
"Eeehh... I mean, it's possible but, it's gonna be a lot of mora..."
[Hong-Lan]
"What, afraid to work you butt off for a couple months, Fang?"
[Fang]
"Huh?"
[Ye-Ling]
"*sigh* Here they go again..."
[Hong-Lan]
"I bet you're just too lazy to get enough Mora anyways~"
[Fang]
"You little, I'm not that lazy, I'll show you!"
[Hong-Lan]
"Oh, you do that Fang... and when we get enough Mora, let's move to Liyue Harbour"
[Fang]
"Ah..."
[Hong-Lan]
"That way, we can keep seeing each other every day, deal?"
[Fang]
"... Fine, let's do it"
[Hong-Lan]
"Then it's decided, we'll see you in there some time later, Ye-Ling~"
[Ye-Ling]
"... Yeah, I'll wait for you two"
We couldn't help but smile when we made that promise. It wasn't just any silly promise either, we were seriously thinking about moving there so we can keep living near each other. Yeah, a real promise between friends...
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