Careless— Qin Yu arrived at Shenhe's residence, frustratedly tugging at her hair.
She's not home!
Shenhe had mentioned before that she wouldn't always be here—most of her time was spent in the mountain forests outside. The fact that they'd met so often before had been pure luck. Now fortune had abandoned her.
"What should I do?"
Should she wait? Or call out to her? If Shenhe was nearby, she'd definitely hear. She had no choice but to try shouting.
"Shenhe—!" Qin Yu shouted at the top of her lungs.
Then she waited... waited... waited.
No one's coming! Qin Yu pressed a hand to her forehead, her face burning. She'd thrown all her shame aside to shout like this, yet no one appeared. This was utterly humiliating.
At least this confirmed Shenhe had gone on a long journey.
A wave of exhaustion washed over her.
What am I even doing? she couldn't help thinking. They hadn't made any plans, yet she'd gotten so excited, insisting on being the best... Failing to earn points immediately was truly regrettable, hmm.
Time to adjust her mood.
"Haah... What now?"
Shenhe wasn't here—she'd clearly gone far away. But there were only two options: leave the item and note behind, at least avoiding waste; or wait for Shenhe's return.
The first option probably wouldn't earn any points. With the subject absent, how could she possibly satisfy the "stick close" requirement?
Long distance? Only ship fans with twisted minds could imagine such things. Pure delusions were pointless anyway.
Most importantly, Qin Yu refused to accept this outcome.
She had gone to such great lengths to prepare this meal, yet the person she wanted to share it with wasn't here...
It was utterly pointless.
The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became.
Fine, I've made up my mind. I'll wait - until Shenhe comes back!
My meticulously prepared dishes will be devoured by you, woman. Don't even think about refusing! Otherwise, I'd be no better than a clown... Though truth be told, this shameless attitude of mine is rather disgusting.
While Qin Yu's mind raced with these wild thoughts, she tried opening the room door.
Whether by surprise or not, the door wasn't bolted. It swung open with a gentle push.
The room remained as before - devoid of any signs of recent occupation. This proved just how solitary Shenhe's life truly was.
"Well then, I'll wait..."
Fortunately, her bag contained an unfinished book. In this place with even fewer diversions than the city, books remained one of the few sources of entertainment.
Naturally, she hadn't brought a novel, but rather a collection of short stories akin to a story hour.
Short story collections are truly fantastic—they satisfy the craving for amusement while perfectly filling the hours!
Especially those of the supernatural genre. The stories are simple yet not obscure, with just the right amount of eerie atmosphere. Reading tales about snow maidens and demonic foxes even sparks the imagination to create more intriguing "side plots"...
Yes, this alone would help her endure this time.
What's this? It's just like returning from the city to the countryside in her previous life.
And if Shenhe comes back to find me waiting here, she'll surely be overwhelmed with emotion... probably! Even if it's guilt or something similar, there's still room to exploit...
Such a simple act of waiting could yield such a great opportunity—it's absolutely perfect.
With these thoughts, Qin Yu propped her face on her hand and flipped through the book, a smile playing on her lips as if everything were under her control.
Then, an hour passed, and the person still hadn't returned.
"Endure!"
Two hours passed.
"Still enduring."
Three hours...
"Endure, endure, endure..."
Four hours...
"..."
Finally, dusk arrived.
The room darkened. Qin Yu, her head pillowed on her hand, let out a deep sigh.
She suddenly sprang up, pounding the table with a series of thuds.
Damn it, my butt's gone numb waiting here. Where could she have gone? Shouldn't she be bored out of her mind? Do Adepts even have this many mundane affairs? Especially Shenhe, who's more Adeptus than an Adeptus!
Could she have lost track of time meditating?
The book was finished, the carefully preserved meal now cold, and Qin Yu remained sitting like an idiot. How utterly ridiculous... She sighed, suddenly feeling her actions had no purpose.
Like trying to carry water in a bamboo basket—empty effort.
Waiting this late? If Shenhe does return, she might think I'm crazy. Or worse, a nuisance. There was no agreement, yet I just showed up unannounced, acting like I owned the place.
Of course, I have my own reasons—to earn some points.
But she doesn't know that.
Imagine coming home to find a woman waiting there, with no prior arrangement, having taken up residence in your home for hours...
Ugh, how disgusting! Especially when she said, "I just want you to taste my cooking." Absolutely revolting.
Qin Yu stood up.
"Enough. Let's go."
Might as well consider it a day wasted in pointless boredom.
A note... too much effort.
"No, I should leave one."
If Shenhe thinks I didn't leave a note because I was embarrassed or careless, that's fine. But if she assumes I'm angry and it causes a rift...
Don't worry about me.
Qin Yu pursed her lips and reluctantly wrote the note:
[To Shenhe: This is my carefully prepared meal. Even if it's cold by the time you return, I still hope you'll try it. If you like it, I can make it again next time we play!]
What a load of insincere nonsense.
To be honest, I'm furious. Even if she claims it's delicious, I'll never make it again. But this is just the result of my own stubbornness leading to a bad ending. Venting anger on others is immature and doesn't fit my character.
So no matter how angry she was, she still had to respond with a vibrant smile, "Okay!"
Hmph... Qin Yu placed the note beneath her lunch box and walked out of the room.
She had intended to return directly, but nightfall arrived much sooner than expected. The moment she stepped outside, the last traces of sunlight had already vanished beyond the horizon, darkness enveloping everything within her vision.
Qin Yu shrank back.
In truth, she was deeply uncomfortable with dark environments. No, it was more accurate to say she feared them. Slightly dim places didn't bother her, but this kind of pitch-black darkness filled her with terror.
She couldn't remember why.
Must be innate, right? No, that didn't feel right. She recalled that when she was very young, just after being adopted by the tutor at the private school, she hadn't feared the dark. But now she did.
Whatever the reason for fearing the darkness, it didn't matter.
What mattered was the present moment.
To ask her to return alone in this pitch-black darkness? This narrow path had no lighting, and while the main road had streetlights, reaching it meant traversing through this forest.
I should have brought an oil lamp or a torch.
Qin Yu gripped her arm, taking a deep breath.
"There's nothing to fear. I have a gun now, and I'd rather go back than stay here... Alright!" She patted her cheek, forcing herself to stay brave.
No demon or monster can defeat my .44 technique!
Qin Yu made up her mind and took a step forward.
Rustle... rustle... The sound came from the forest, making her heart stop. More noises followed, scaring her until her face turned cyan.
No, no, no! I can't do this. Better retreat for now! Qin Yu thought. Following her instincts, she quickly went back to Shenhe's room.
But then...
It's even darker inside!
Still, this was Shenhe's house, and she was a descendant of Adeptus. Even though Shenhe wasn't an Adeptus herself, she carried an aura of an immortal. A house like this would never be invaded by demons or monsters.
So dark as it was, it was still safe... probably.
A strong wind blew through, making the house creak softly.
"Huh..."
Maybe this place isn't safe either!