While I was in Mondstadt, I never imagined becoming a god.

A pair of soft arms wrapped around his waist from behind.

The girl's body heat wafted through her clothes, carrying a faint fragrance.

Her face was buried in his back, her breathing was a little rapid, and her heart was beating so fast it felt like it was drumming in her chest.

Yura didn't speak, and neither did he.

The room was so quiet that the only sounds were the faint crackling of the fire in the stove and the intertwined heartbeats of the two people.

Yura's body moved much faster than she thought.

At this moment, she simply didn't want the person who bossed her around in the kitchen and mimicked her catchphrases to disappear into the night.

I don't want this room to become deserted again.

The loneliness that was finally dispelled will be even harder to bear after leaving the warmth.

At this moment, she was greedily absorbing this hard-won warmth.

It's like someone who has been walking in the snow and ice for too long finally finding a spark of light.

Chapter Fifty-Seven: Falling into the Net

The night was still, and the fire in the stove was almost extinguished.

The orange embers flickered in the fireplace, like a slowly beating heart.

Yura's arms were wrapped around Xu Chuan's waist, and she could feel his body temperature through his clothes.

Her pretty face was buried in his back, and the breath she felt when her nose touched him was inexplicably comforting.

She didn't know how long she had been holding him.

This unfamiliar and complex emotion, which she had never experienced before, surged and churned within Yura's heart.

But once Yura calmed down and reason regained its hold, she realized what she had just done.

She wrapped her arms around Xu Chuan's waist, practically pressing herself against him, just like a couple deeply in love in Mondstadt.

"!!!"

Yura's face flushed instantly.

From her cheeks to her ears, a blush spread like a lit fuse.

Her breathing quickened, her heart pounded as if it would burst out of her chest, and even her fingertips trembled slightly.

She wanted to let go.

But his fingers felt frozen, and he couldn't muster any strength. His feet were rooted to the spot, and he couldn't move an inch.

In the end, she could only bury her head even deeper.

Motionless, like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, thinking that it can pretend that nothing has happened.

"Yura, what are you doing?!"

The girl was screaming inside, but it couldn't change anything.

The act of abandoning one's reserve just now was exhilarating.

It's like holding your breath underwater for a very long time, finally surfacing to breathe your first breath of air.

But after the initial pleasure came an even more difficult situation.

She had cornered herself, finding herself in a dilemma.

Yura's mind was in complete turmoil; she held every single thread in her hand, yet couldn't untangle any of them.

She didn't know how to face Xu Chuan, or even how to face herself.

This unfamiliar and unsettling emotion left Yura panicked.

Faced with this sudden move, the arms around her waist tightened slightly, and the beautiful, soft touch pressed against her.

This made Xu Chuan's heart start pounding uncontrollably.

It would be strange if you didn't feel anything while being held by Yura like this.

But he had one more thing than Yura.

wide awake.

Or rather, he understood better than Yura what she was going through at that moment.

The girl's affection, tinged with dependence, might not be true liking, let alone love.

It's more like someone who has been walking alone in the dark for too long suddenly seeing a ray of light and instinctively wanting to get closer.

That's a stress response after being lonely for a long time.

Xu Chuan understood this feeling all too well.

Before he traveled to Teyvat, he was also alone.

Living alone in an unfamiliar city, whether day or night, loneliness is ever-present, and there is no one to confide in.

In that kind of environment, people become exceptionally sensitive; if someone is even slightly kind to you, you'll give them your whole heart.

To be honest, Xu Chuan's vanity was greatly satisfied by winning the favor of a beautiful girl like Yura.

But if this "liking" stems only from loneliness and dependence, then it's like a castle on the beach—no matter how beautiful it looks, it'll be gone with a single wave.

Xu Chuan's desires never stopped there; he was far more greedy than Yura.

After learning the nature of her feelings for him, he didn't want to be just a close friend.

If that were the case, I would have wasted my time traveling to this Teyvat world.

He wanted to rewrite those regrets in his heart.

Go pursue those beautiful things that were once illusory and untouchable.

Xu Chuan's gaze fell on his waist, noticing the knuckles of his tightly clenched hands turning slightly white, and a few thin blue veins faintly visible on the back of his hand.

He began in a perfectly light and cheerful tone.

"What a surprise! Is this a thank-you gift for me?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Yura behind her stiffened slightly.

Xu Chuan could feel that her breathing stopped for a moment, and then became more rapid.

Yura was stunned.

She lifted her face slightly from Xu Chuan's back, revealing a pair of wide eyes.

My initially dazed brain started working at lightning speed, and I finally found an excuse for myself.

Following the steps Xu Chuan offered, Yura took a deep breath and forced herself to loosen her fingers one by one.

Her arm slowly lowered, her fingertips gliding across Xu Chuan's clothes, creating a faint rustling sound.

She took half a step back, and then spoke.

"This is just a custom of Mondstadt nobles; it's perfectly normal for someone willing to help their friend."

"You've only just arrived in Mondstadt, so it's normal that you don't know."

Yura's voice was somewhat unsteady, as if she were walking on cotton, and she was telling lies that she herself did not believe.

She tried to keep her voice calm, but the slight tremor at the end betrayed her.

Two blushes appeared on her pretty face, and even the roots of her ears turned red, making her words completely unconvincing.

She tilted her head to the side, her gaze fixed on a non-existent spot on the wall, refusing to meet Xu Chuan's eyes.

Even a fool could tell that she made this up on the spot.

The etiquette of Mondstadt nobles?

If Mondstadt nobles are expected to follow such etiquette, then all the children in Mondstadt are probably born from this kind of "etiquette."

Xu Chuan nodded seriously, his expression as earnest as if he were listening to a lecture: "I see, I've learned something."

Yura's ears turned even redder.

My clumsy lie has been seen through.

Yura was about to say something more, trying to salvage the situation.

For example, this kind of etiquette is only used on specific occasions, or you should never talk about it indiscriminately.

Yura wanted to gradually turn the atmosphere back to how it was before.

But the next moment, Xu Chuan's actions ended her struggle.

He turned around, the hem of his clothes drawing a slight arc in the air, stirring up a gentle breeze.

To Yura's astonishment, he opened his arms and pulled her into his embrace.

The moment her shapely body touched his chest, it seemed as if a pause button had been pressed.

All his muscles were tense, his shoulders were slightly hunched, his fingers were curled up in front of his chest, and his whole body was as stiff as a stone.

He held it very lightly, without using too much force.

He simply wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gently closed them behind her back.

"Let me clarify, this is not the etiquette of Mondstadt nobles."

His voice, tinged with amusement, came from beside my ear.

"It's so good to have met you, Yura."

Xu Chuan's words were not frivolous, but rather very serious.

But at this moment, Yura couldn't hear anything anymore.

The warm breath on her ear sent a jolt through her, making her feel tingly and numb, and all her strength vanished at that moment.

The scent that belonged to Xu Chuan was like an invisible net, enveloping her entirely.

The girl was so captivated by it that she never wanted to leave that warmth again.

Chapter Fifty-Eight: Another Kind of Empathy

After seeing Xu Chuan off, the room fell silent again.

The door lock clicked softly as it closed, bringing to a temporary pause in tonight's story.

But after the sound faded away, the room did not return to its former state.

The warmth and coziness from just now seem to have been deliberately left here.

Although the embers in the fireplace had been extinguished, a faint, smoky aroma of burning pine wood still lingered in the air.

The pots and pans on the stove hadn't been cleaned up yet. The bowls and chopsticks used by the two people were placed side by side by the sink, one big and one small, very close together, like a pair of tacit partners.

Even the simple wooden table still retained the warmth of the two people eating face to face.

Yura leaned against the door, her hands hanging at her sides, the touch of their embrace still lingering on her fingertips.

Her head was pressed against the door panel, and a few strands of hair fell over her shoulders, gleaming with a faint blue luster in the moonlight.

Her eyes were closed, and her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

Once, twice, three times.

It happened so fast that even she herself found it unbelievable.

We haven't known each other for very long.

It hasn't been long since that incident at Longji Snow Mountain.

One month? Two months?

She hadn't calculated it, but now, looking back, every single thing that happened in that short period of time, every single scene, was as if someone had carved it into her memory with a knife, incredibly clear.

The snowstorm on the mountain, the chance encounter at the Cat's Tail Tavern, and tonight.

She slowly opened her eyes, her gaze falling on the ceiling.

This feeling of emotions constantly filling my heart feels both unfamiliar and comforting.