The mornings in Liyue Harbour are lively.

With the merchants opening their shops, they're bound to draw in the usual market-goers who make their daily purchases. Many of the locals are already bustling so early in the day, it's kind of obvious to point out those who clearly dislike working in the morning hours.

Well, it wasn't like you hated working the moment the sun rose. It's just that you hated having someone jump on your bed to wake you up - only to dump a load of chores onto your shoulders.

"Since when did I turn into some errand girl?!" You weren't even given the chance to argue.

Hu Tao had just given you a list of things to do while she was gone outside the city. You on the other hand were left with the responsibility to get decorations for an upcoming funeral (unfortunately, not the Geo Archon's). It was of a Millelith guard who died in the line of duty. Though, you saw this coming. The Director was kind enough to let you seek refuge in the Parlour, it was only fair if you did something in return, right?

Well, you were used to getting ordered around by Scaramouche to get his materials and such, but this was just way too much.

As you were getting changed to your casual Liyue clothing, you happened to glance down at the paper and finally read what she had planned for your day. Clearly horrified by the tasks, you knew you needed help.

So, you called the trio of best friends for some assistance. Once all three of them heard your cry for help, they met up in front of the Funeral Parlour doors. (Lumine had gone on another quest for Captain Beidou and one of her right-hand men: an Inazuman young man if you could recall properly).

Anyway, back to the task at hand... you were waving the parchment paper angrily and explaining your situation to the group.

"I can't do any of these! Look: ask the Millelith for the fallen soldier's armour and weapon, the moment they see me I'll be arrested! Go to the Northland Bank and ask for a small loan of five thousand Mora under the Millelith's name, I'm going to be recognized again! Check if Ivanovich the merchant finally restocked his ores - if not, go find another merchant for Cor Lapis, Ivanovich knows who I am! I collected a debt from him once, I'm sure he remembers the fact that I tried to shoot him!"

In the middle of your fiery rant, the three adventurers leaned back a little to stare at you with caution.

"Oh," You suddenly became calm. "I can do this one: buy rice."

There was an awkward gust of wind over the party.

"Okay," Xingqiu began, a plan was already put together in his brain. "How about we all split the work equally? Not only will we get everything done at the same time, but dear [Y/N]'s safety will be guaranteed!"

Xiangling raised Guoba's paw, "I'll talk to the Millelith!"

Xingqiu crossed his arms happily, "I will visit the Northland Bank."

"I guess I'll speak with Ivanovich." Chongyun shrugged.

"Rice." You shook your head quickly. "I mean nice... Thank you, everyone, I'm grateful to have you guys as such wonderful comrades."

All three of them stared at you for a couple of seconds before smiling at your kind words. Xiangling and Guoba had sparkles of excitement around them as they happily saw you as a true friend. Xingqiu shined brightly with his signature boyish grin plastered on his face, hearing that you were comfortable with the friend group was great news to him. Chongyun on the other hand, had tears in his eyes as he tried his absolute best to hold his laughter at your verbal mix-up.

You had a determined look on your face as you pumped your fist meekly, "As the Traveller would say it: let's go, team...!"

"Let's go!" Xiangling and Xingqiu punched up in the air simultaneously while Chongyun flimsily raised his hand and turned away to let out his explosive laughter, as he could not contain it anymore. Seeing you act this way was certainly entertaining for the exorcist.

They all went and did their own thing. The chef had already begun skipping her way towards the Ministry of Civil Affairs with Guoba waddling right behind her. Going the same direction, the bookworm was gracefully making his way up the stairs to the Northland Bank, flashing a kind smile and a small wave before proceeding further.

If you remembered clearly, Hu Tao told you to find a food merchant near the southwest entrance to the city. Unless she was talking about the ore merchant...? Now you were getting mixed up because she was explaining the details while causing a ruckus in your bed. You could still feel how intensely your body shook from how hard she jumped on the mattress.

"Fatui girl, before you go buy the rice, can we walk together to the Harbour? I want to talk to you for a bit."

You had no other choice than to follow Chongyun down the street, maybe it would be helpful to ask if he had a map of the city. As much as you wanted to navigate on your own, he insisted that you should stick with him.

At least the only good thing about accompanying him was that you blended in with the local crowd. No one looked at you weirdly or saw you as some kind of threat, which surprisingly felt very nice. The guards stationed on top of the long flight of stairs to the Harbour didn't bother to even look at you. It seems like this adventurer's disguise was the real deal.

The journey was silent until the exorcist decided to start talking.

"I spoke with Ivanovich during the Lantern Rite, he's basically the poster boy for businessmen...!" Chongyun cracked an unassuming joke and saw your unchanging facial expressions. He continued attempting to spark a conversation. "I heard that you put him at gunpoint in the past? Let me guess, he was a few Mora short of paying off a debt?"

You were actually taken back, a little surprised to hear his assumption, "That's right, how did you know?"

Chongyun's face was caught between an annoyed, uneasy smile. His eyebrows furrowed a little at seeing your carefree reply, "Anyway, I remember seeing him during the Lantern Rite releasing some Xiao Lanterns. I don't think you've heard of it: it's a grand festival that honours the fallen Adeptus Skybracer. I guess it's only a thing here..."

Both of you continued walking down the long flight of stairs, you were surprised to see even the elderly effortlessly make their way up and down without any signs of exhaustion. Still, in this moment of awkward silence, the young man was still being talkative.

"So, do you have any festivals back in Snezhnaya?" Chongyun suddenly prompted.

There was a slight up-quirk of your eyebrow, "Why are you asking?"

He shrugged, "I just want to know more about you...r nation."

With that answer, you thought about it for a moment. No one really asked you about your homeland before so you didn't really know what to say at the moment. Then again, you wondered why he was suddenly interested in Snezhnayan traditions all of a sudden. You still remember the time he told you to go back to where you came from...

"I-It's not like I'm planning on going there or anything... I'm very comfortable here in Liyue...!" Chongyun spoke so quickly that he was almost tripping over his words. But then, he simply sighed and returned back to his cooler attitude. "It's just that... Snezhnaya is such a strange place and I've heard nothing about it, so being friends with someone from there is bound to help satisfy my curiosity..."

It doesn't seem like he has ill intentions, unlike previous days. Still, he did make Xingqiu go to you and apologize on his behalf. You would have liked to hear it straight from the exorcist. Just a simple 'I'm sorry for antagonizing you because you're Snezhnayan and a part of the Fatui' would have been just fine... Actually, now you kind of understand why he felt that way before.

"Well?" Chongyun was still waiting for an answer.

"Krsnik Noc..." You replied faintly, almost grinning at hearing yourself say the name. "It's a festival that we have in Snezhnaya... I remember participating in the fair with my big brother... but I think I'm a little too old for games like that now..."

"K-Krsnik Noc...?" Chongyun completely butchered the pronunciation but you decided to ignore it. "That sounds fun..."

"It is."

"What do you do during that time?" He asked once more.

"Why do you want to know?" You felt like he was intruding a little too much.

"Just tell me."

"Why should I?"

Chongyun scoffed in bewilderment, "That's how a conversation works...?"

You didn't have time to groan out of frustration, you just wanted to get these tasks over and done with. It didn't help that Chongyun was wasting your breath with this useless chitchat. You couldn't help but walk ahead of him, much to the exorcist's annoyance.

"Wow, you're really terrible at making small talk, Fatui girl."

It's like you never have heard that one before. You knew that you were bad with talking about things other than work and mission plans, but there's just nothing interesting in your boring life to converse about. Scaramouche would have understood.

You felt like things such as friendly discussions were just a big waste of time. Like now, for example, the simplest chore of buying a couple of bags of rice was being dragged out because of this pointless exchange. It was time to get the job done. And quickly. Home was so close.

Halfway down the staircase, you saw in the corner of your eye that Chongyun had stopped dead in his tracks. Still, you thought nothing of it and continued on your way.

"Hey," He called out.

Now, you had no other choice but to pause as well. Wistfully, you turned around to glance up at the young man, waiting for him to finish whatever he was trying to tell you. Though, it was off-putting to see Chongyun stare down at you so blankly.

"I don't regret choosing you as my secretary."

Why? Why would he say that? Why doesn't he regret? What is there to regret? I know. I know now. After everything I've done, you should hate me. You should regret choosing me. I'm not good. I'm not worth your time. You should regret. I'm nothing.

The whole world was spinning like a toy top, at any second, you were going to topple over. All you could do was slowly drag your hands over your face and resist the urge to rip out your bottom eyelids. Something horrible was making your eyes tear up. The air was becoming staticky. Your surroundings were electrified. Untouchable. It would be extremely painful if you moved the wrong way.

A scream of anguish was building up in your throat and you tried so hard to hold it back. You want to take a deep breath. You want to feel the ground beneath your feet. You wanted to feel safe again. You want to stop hearing the blast of rushing waves inside your ears. Doing the simplest things was so difficult.

But you couldn't do anything about it. You couldn't even let out a squeak. You had no more energy to keep standing. You were going to die. Right now. In front of all these people. On the stairs. On the last step. They wouldn't even be concerned. They won't check up on you even if you collapsed right then and there.

"Hm. I guess the medication helped your sickness... Unless that phrase only works whenever your darling says it. What do you think, Fatui girl? Are you shocked to hear those words come out of my mouth?"

Scaramouche was right. There's no one else like him. He's the only one who truly loves you and cares about you. Even big brother was happy to leave you all alone in the Fatui basecamp. There was no one else who wanted to stay with you. Not even your closest comrades. They must have hated you for being promoted, right? So, Scaramouche was everything. He was everything that built your life, your career, and soon death. He's the only one...

Chongyun was almost knocked off his feet when you trudged up the stairs to hit him right across the face. Giving him that well-deserved slap almost helped you return back to reality. Sure, your hand stung quite badly and you tried your best to blink the upcoming tears away, but the relief you felt was just unfathomable.

The guards, whose attention was grabbed after hearing that loud smack, thought nothing of that interaction. They must have seen it as just a young couple getting into an argument and having an explosive end result. They continued to monitor elsewhere.

Chongyun held his cheek protectively and stared back at you with widened eyes, clearly stunned by your sudden outburst. Finally, he was quiet. Speechless. It was obvious from the way his shaky lips parted that he had no clue what else to say. Surely, it wasn't an apology.

"I don't need you to come with me. I'll be fine by myself. As always." You left Chongyun standing starstruck on the stairs, he even watched you walk back the same way both of you came from. This time, you were now out of his sight.

•••

It took you a while to calm down and return to your regular attitude. But during that time, you remembered that Chongyun told you to stay away from any strangers. What were you, some kind of little girl? Which was very weird of him since he wasn't usually so obsessed about your safety, he mostly wished for your demise anyway.

And after that stunt he just pulled, you were just beyond enraged. Why should you listen to him?

But since you went ahead to buy the rice without Chongyun, you got a little lost running around the Harbour. At one point, you walked up another flight of stairs only to realize that you were at a pharmacy. The doctor and his very small assistant seemed to be a little delusional in your opinion. Aside from all the mystical sayings and a little girl's request for Cocogoat milk, you figured that this was the wrong place.

Finally, you made a full circle back to Chihu Rock, the southmost part of the city. While walking down the main plaza, you recognized the constant shouts of food advertisements and the bustling of street vendors, much to your luck. You tried not to look lost as you eyed the shop stands.

After a few more minutes of trial and error, you found a merchant named Dongsheng who had one hundred bags of rice just sitting in his storage. During your time explaining that you only needed a few bags, he practically begged you to buy all of it. In the end, you just bought two sacks with the little Mora you were given by Hu Tao.

Still, with a few extra Mora left, it wouldn't hurt to buy a little snack, right? Maybe you could ask Xiangling to cook you your favourite Snezhnayan meal? It would be nice to buy the ingredients beforehand so she wouldn't have to stress about them. Surely, eating a Snezhnayan specialty was bound to ease your nerves a little and make you think about your homeland.

"Heyyy, what's a pretty girl like you doing in this dump of a city?" An unfamiliar voice sang out from behind you, much to your inconvenience.

From that condescending tone, you could tell that the man trying to get your attention was indeed a filthy cat-caller. Well, you're not in Liyue Harbour to go on any romantic trips or side quests whenever you pleased, you're here to get on a ship and head back home - all you had to do was wait for the day to finally come.

"Hellooo?"

You weren't getting paid enough for this - you weren't even getting paid at all. All you could do was just hope that this guy would leave you alone. As much as he tried so hard to lean coolly against the food stand, you tried not to make eye contact with the man.

"My name's Li Dang, what's yours?"

You needed a well-deserved break. Being in Liyue Harbour seemed to have granted the universe the OK to throw you into these dumb situations and meet these horrible people. As long as you keep reminding yourself that your dear family was waiting for you back home, you're set to face any challenge. You just needed to hold out a little longer.

"Now, you're probably wondering why I'm talking to you, it's not that long of an explanation... I'm hitting on you for my scaredy-cat brother, Li Ding." The man pointed to the right and in turn, another person ducked out of view behind a wooden pole. "As you can see, he's not that confident around girls but the moment he laid his eyes on you, even an idiot could tell that he was love-struck. You're pretty cute. So, what do you say? Why don't you give him a chance."

"I'm not interested."

"He's had his eye on you for a while, aren't you play a little too hard to get?" Li Dang tried his very best to persuade you with an enticing pat on your shoulder and a wiggle of his eyebrows. "Plus, we're super loaded with treasure. We'll spoil you for the next month or two if you're willing to give us your time!"

"Don't touch me." With a harsh shrug, your arm was released. All the more, you didn't even bother glaring back at him, you were clearly not in the mood for his foolishness.

"The young lady already said to leave her alone." Dongsheng scolded the other man and leaned towards you to whisper. "Would you like me to call over the Millelith to remove him?"

"No," You replied flatly. Bringing in the Millelith was going to cause you more problems than a solution. All you wanted to do was get the extra ingredients and leave.

Li Dang laughed loudly, "See? She likes the attention."

Forget the meal, I'll just take the rice and get out of here.

Once again, Li Dang cornered you against the food stand.

"My brother and I really like sharing, so don't worry, we get along pretty well. Plus, we both know how Snezhnayan chicks have nice assets." His hand landed harshly on your butt and that was all it took.

You didn't even give him time to react as you stepped to the side and landed a swift punch on his nose. His head whipped back so hard that it was almost surprising to see that it was still intact with his neck.

From the force of that hit, that strike was bound to knock some of his teeth crooked or at least make his nose bend the other way. It was satisfying to see the man shut his eyes out of agony and wither in torment.

"I'm bleeding...! Brother, help...!" Li Dang faintly pressed the palm of his hand against his red nostrils and panicked when the crimson snot came running down his chin.

"Don't touch me." You repeated for the hundredth time, slowly and with genuine warning. It wasn't even necessary to shake your hand after that punch, that wasn't even your strongest. But still, you felt like it was already a lesson learnt. It was time to leave.

"You little... Ugh!" With one last glare, Li Dang huffed bitterly as he slowly turned away, walking off elsewhere. "Forget the plan... You asked for this..."

Dongsheng had enough too and threw his hands down onto the table out of exasperation, "That's it, violence will not be tolerated on my shop property. I'm calling the Millelith."

I simple errand run and now the authorities are involved... You silently cursed under your breath when you saw the shopkeeper leave his station to run to the nearest guard. Enough of this nonsense, these people were just slowing you down.