A Stardew Valley farmer came to Gensokyo.

Xia Xun gritted her teeth and craned her neck to look at the bustling main street not far away.

There was a throng of people, and laughter and shouts mingled as they drifted over. Several children carrying windmills chased and ran past him.

He really wanted to go and have some fun.

However, Xia Xun is now a forced laborer dragged in by Reimu Hakurei.

Knowing full well about Natsumi's abilities, Reimu Hakurei wouldn't let go of this useful tool when faced with the important task of buying a month's worth of food in one go during a holiday sale.

"Xia Xun, hurry up and come in to pack your things."

The curtain of the food store was suddenly flung open, and Reimu Hakurei poked half her body out, shouting at Natsumi.

"Yes, yes, they're here."

Xia Xun sighed deeply, resignedly picked up the wooden box, and shuffled into the shop.

The store was dimly lit, and the air was filled with the aroma of dried grains. Bags of rice, soybeans, and other grains were neatly piled up in the corner.

"This one, and this one, are all mine."

With a light tap of her finger, Reimu Hakurei pointed out to Natsumi the several bags of rice, beans, and other food she had bought.

Following Hakurei Reimu's guidance, Xia Xun packed them one by one into the wooden box.

"Hehe, you two have such a good relationship."

A kind, smiling voice suddenly came from behind the counter.

Xia Xun was stunned for a moment, then looked around. Besides him and Lingmeng, the only other person in the shop was the old lady who had a full head of silver hair and wore a dark blue apron.

The old woman was adjusting her reading glasses, smiling at the two of them. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, and she had a contented expression, like an aunt's smile.

what?

A question mark popped into Xia Xun's mind, but she didn't pay it any mind, assuming that her mother-in-law was just marveling at the harmonious relationship between the young people.

Carrying the wooden box lightly, Xia Xun came to Reimu Hakurei's side: "Let's go, Reimu, we should have bought everything we need."

"Hmm... I've bought everything I needed."

After carefully checking the note in her hand, Reimu Hakurei nodded and released Natsumi.

"Okay~!" Xia Xun came to life instantly after hearing this.

“Then Lingmeng, let’s go play together later.” Xia Xun excitedly invited, “I just saw Alice performing a puppet show in the square, let’s go see it together.”

"Ugh~, no way." Reimu Hakurei immediately pouted, her face full of disgust: "So many people are crammed in there, it's noisy and chaotic, it's totally boring."

Besides, she didn't want to be with that blond magician.

"Don't be so lazy, Reimu! This is a festival!" Xia Xun said helplessly, "You were angry before because I didn't call you, and now that you have a chance, you want to slack off?"

With that, Xia Xun grabbed Hakurei Reimu and ran towards the lively festival.

Walking through the bustling streets, Xia Xun watched the various activities with a look of curiosity. Villagers, dressed in special costumes, paraded through the streets to celebrate the arrival of spring.

Reimu followed behind Natsumi, glancing at her wrist that he was holding, then looked up at Natsumi's excited expression, which had changed because of the scenery around her that she had been somewhat annoyed with.

Walking side by side with Xia Xun, Reimu listened to Xia Xun's incessant chatter and questions, and answered each of Xia Xun's questions with a slightly lazy expression.

The same stalls, the same shouts, the same smiling faces—yet, amidst Xia Xun's excited exclamations and persistent questions, they seemed to have been painted with a fresh layer of vibrant colors.

It doesn't seem so boring after all.

"Here you go, Reimu."

At one of the stalls, Xia Xun smiled and handed two red hair ties to Hakurei Reimu.

"Thank you for inviting me to the festival; this is a token of my gratitude."

“I didn’t invite anyone to the current festival.” Reimu Hakurei muttered under her breath, but still reached out and took the hair tie. “Thank you, but why did you give me this?”

"Because, Reimu, your hair tie is getting a bit old, so I bought this for you." Xia Xun replied casually, continuing to carefully select items from the stall.

Upon hearing this, Reimu Hakurei reached out and touched the red ribbon at her temple, only to find that it was indeed somewhat worn, with tiny loose threads emerging from the edges.

She looked down at the new hair tie lying in her palm, remained silent for a moment, and carefully put it into the small pocket inside her sleeve.

"Reimu, Reimu, look at this!"

Xia Xun's excited call pulled her back to reality.

Reimu Hakurei looked up and saw that Natsumi had picked up a white fox mask with red patterns and was wearing it diagonally on her face.

"Come touch me!" Xia Xun's voice was full of eager anticipation. "Let's see if I disappear all of a sudden!"

disappear!

Reimu Hakurei was startled and instinctively grabbed Natsumi's hand.

"Hehe, as expected, no way." Xia Xun laughed happily, and then put the fox mask on Hakurei Reimu's head again, amusing himself.

"But that makes sense. After all, I am human, and the youkai in Gensokyo don't have the strange rule that they will disappear if touched by humans."

"Hmm, Reimu looks quite good wearing this." As she spoke, Xia Xun carefully examined Reimu Hakurei's appearance again and gave her a thumbs up in praise.

After saying that, he deftly took out 800 coins to pay the stall owner, put the pile of things he had bought into his backpack, and happily strode towards the next interesting stall.

Then, he found that he could no longer walk.

Xia Xun turned around and realized that Reimu Hakurei was still holding his hand, her eyes unfocused, as if she were lost in thought.

“Hey…” Xia Xun sighed helplessly, “I’m really worried you’ll get lost if you keep doing this.”

Although he understood that these things, which were novel and interesting to him, might have been commonplace to Reimu.

But to be distracted while strolling through the festival together is really discouraging!

Reaching out to grab Reimu Hakurei again, Natsumi led her onward: "There's a candy stand up ahead, I'll buy you one, cheer up."

Bo Li Lingmeng let him lead her through the noisy crowd, her mind blank, feeling the warmth of his palm flowing from her, and feeling the steady beating of his pulse at her fingertips.

The unease that had just arisen from the word "disappeared" quietly subsided with this tangible sensation.

A bright red, juicy apple candy was suddenly handed to her, interrupting her thoughts.

Xia Xun's face peeked out from beside the candy, grinning, "Here's something delicious for you, cheer up!"

"If you keep getting distracted while you're at the festival, I'll feel like I'm failing as a friend."

As Xia Xun spoke, she twisted her wrist and pressed the round apple candy covered in glistening syrup directly onto Hakurei Reimu's lips.

"Well!"

The cool candy shell pressed against her soft lips, the sticky sensation instantly bringing Reimu Hakurei back to her senses.

She hurriedly leaned back, reached out and took the bamboo skewer with the apple stuck in it, her fingertips brushing against the sticky syrup.

Reimu Hakurei glared at Xia Xun, unconsciously licking the sweet residue off her lips, and rolled her eyes at him: "It's all because you said weird things just now."

"And are you an idiot? Who would just shove an apple candy into someone's face like that?! I feel all sticky and uncomfortable right now."

"Haha, sorry, sorry, this is my first time buying this, I have no experience." Xia Xun scratched the back of his head, laughing without any apology.

Reimu Hakurei rolled her eyes at him again, her gaze returning to the apple candy in her hand.

The bright red candy shell shimmered enticingly in the sunlight. She lowered her head and carefully took a small bite.

So sweet.

"Ew~, so bitter!"

A look of disdain came from the side.

Reimu looked up and saw the other person carefully taking the apple candy away from their hand, looking like they had stepped on a landmine.

Hmph, what a tasteless fellow!

Reimu Hakurei couldn't help but feel a little angry. This was a rare sweet memory from her childhood, a gift that her mother had given her with a smile as she walked hand in hand with her on the equally bustling festival street.

But Xia Xun, an outsider from the modern world, completely misunderstood Reimu Hakurei's feelings; he only felt that he had been deceived by anime.

Or rather, how could the owner of this stall, who's making a dirty profit, use such sour and astringent apples as ingredients?

“Reimu, just eat the syrup on the outside.” Xia Xun turned around and frowned at Reimu Hakurei, saying, “This apple is not tasty at all. I’ll make it again next time when I grow apples on my farm.”

Upon hearing this, Reimu Hakurei, who was gently biting into an apple candy, couldn't help but smile slightly and nodded: "Okay."

Although the apple candy in her hand was still the flavor she liked when she was a child, she still wanted to try the new apple candy that Xia Xun mentioned.

Chapter 82 This revelation is terrible!

Dragon God Statue.

Located in the central square of the Human Village, it is a magical statue that can predict the weather.

This place is always the liveliest spot during every festival, with all sorts of novel and interesting performances taking place on the stage.

"Look, Reimu! Alice's performance is about to begin!"

Outside the crowd on the stage, Xia Xun excitedly waved his arms vigorously towards Alice, who was preparing to perform above.

On the stage, Alice, who was surrounded by several dolls, took to the stage as usual and immediately spotted Xia Xun's conspicuous figure below.

Looking at that figure, which was clearly much taller than the surrounding crowd, a slight smile involuntarily appeared on Alice's lips.

The puppet show, which was already prepared to be done to the best of my ability, will require even more effort this time to bring out my most perfect performance.

Xia Xun also saw Alice's smile at him, and couldn't help but wave even more happily, cheering the girl on with all his might.

This was his first time attending a performance by his friend, so he had to be on his best.

"Reimu, come and cheer for Alice too!"

Xia Xun turned his head and said to Hakurei Reimu beside him.

"How am I supposed to cheer? I can't even see what's happening on stage."

Hearing this, Reimu Hakurei, who was already slightly annoyed by Natsumi's happy expression for Alice, became even more frustrated and pouted slightly in a huff.

Upon hearing this, Xia Xun realized that the petite Reimu Hakurei was standing on the outer edge of the crowd, unable to even see the stage.

Having grown accustomed to seeing the other fly, I had momentarily forgotten about this.

"Just leave it to me."

As she spoke, Xia Xun quickly scanned her surroundings a few times, then hurried towards a corner where miscellaneous items were temporarily piled up.

Two minutes later, he returned carrying a sturdy wooden stool and placed it steadily in front of Reimu Hakurei.

"Reimu, stand on this."

Hakurei dreamt of Natsumi working so hard for Alice's performance and couldn't help but sigh quietly.

What an idiot...

She stepped onto the wooden stool, and the slightly unbalanced stool legs caused her to sway slightly.

But then, Xia Xun reached out and took her arm, and then stood close to her side.

“Reimu, hold onto my shoulders so you won’t sway.”

Upon hearing this, Reimu Hakurei reached out and put her hand on Natsumi's shoulder.

The sudden increase in her field of vision and the close proximity of their bodies made the pent-up frustration in her heart dissipate rapidly.

Looking up at Alice on the stage, who was manipulating several puppets to perform a wonderful drama, Reimu Hakurei felt a sense of relief and joy.

Then, she gave Alice on the stage a faint smile that carried a hint of looking down on her.

Alice, who was focused on performing on stage, was initially happy to see her friend Reimu Hakurei, which further fueled her motivation to perform the puppet show.

But when she noticed the smile on Reimu Hakurei's face, Alice suddenly felt very unhappy.

Although Alice couldn't understand the meaning behind Reimu Hakurei's condescending and mocking smile, she still felt very unhappy.

In particular, it was noticed that Reimu Hakurei was standing next to Natsumi, with her hand on Natsumi's shoulder.

It's showing off! This must be showing off!

Alice was furious. How could this revelation be so wicked?

Xia Xun was clearly her friend and her magic disciple, so why was he suddenly so close to her and giving her such an awful smile?

Could it be that this heartless guy, after suddenly leaving me, is also going to steal away Xia Xun, a rare friend of mine?