The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

A few simple words came out of Mei's mouth, and then nothing more.

Mei isn't the type to chatter to everyone she meets, so she tries to keep as much information about her family or relatives as possible.

"A very beautiful name."

"Eh? Hehe... Thanks for the compliment? This way of praising the name is a bit..."

At this moment, Mei couldn't help but sigh that this world was indeed still in an ancient period with a relatively chaotic level of development.

Even the words used to praise are so retro...

Oh well. This is her way of showing her support, and to avoid putting Kiana in a difficult position, let's give her some face, okay?

Thinking of this, Mei slowly nodded.

"Thank you for the compliment. Miss Ying's name is also very beautiful."

"Um..."

After this slightly awkward exchange of compliments, Shadow turned his attention to Kiana.

Feeling the gaze of his close friend, the person involved had no choice but to bite the bullet and turn around with a smile, saying, "What's wrong, Ying?"

Kiana, what are your thoughts on her? Have you had any special experiences with her?

"Huh? You..."

To be honest, Ying's question was a bit too direct.

Ask the person's best friend for their opinion and past experiences in front of them...

This really has a rather arrogant and disdainful feel to it...

Fortunately, Mei was only slightly surprised when she heard this. She then coughed twice to signal Kiana to ignore the other person.

Unfortunately, her selfish action was ultimately seen by Ying as a symbol of weakness.

"What's wrong?" Ying looked at Mei, her words carrying a hint of concern.

"Oh! No...it's nothing. Don't worry about me, Miss Ying."

Upon hearing this, Mei could only awkwardly avert her gaze, inwardly blaming herself for not being able to say anything more impactful.

I feel like I've done something wrong.

It feels so strange...

To avoid being in this awkward and passive position again, Mei coughed and took the initiative, saying:

“Miss, I know you’re curious about my relationship with Kiana and what happened before we met. These aren’t things that need to be hidden, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to talk about them now.”

"...Is that so?"

Hearing Mei's reply, Kage's expression gradually calmed. While Mei's tone wasn't particularly polite or humble, it was at least sincere and didn't seem like she was lying...

And that's enough.

"If I have the opportunity, I would like to get to know you more."

A moment later, Ying slowly uttered these words that shocked everyone present.

"Huh?"

Mei was stunned by the other person's sudden change in attitude, taking a long time to recover before staring at Kage in disbelief. She wondered if the other person had said something wrong.

To her utter surprise, Ying not only did not admit to saying the wrong thing, but instead slowly reached out and grabbed her hand.

The sudden contact was really hard to accept.

Mei really wanted to pull her hand away, but Kiana, standing to the side, was already giving her a smile and an encouraging look.

What kind of nonsense is this?!

"Please don't do this, Miss Shadow. We...should keep some distance, like this—!"

Mei blushed, never expecting to be so embarrassed in front of someone who looked so much like her.

Fortunately, the entanglement with the other party isn't too deep yet; all that's needed is to distance ourselves when the time is right...

Unfortunately, her efforts to distance herself from the situation don't mean others will agree.

Kiana, anyway, thought that Shadow's behavior was reasonable and deserved encouragement.

"Hey! What's with the distance? You're all my good friends!"

As she spoke, Kiana reached out and put her hands around the back of her two friends' necks, and then they were pressed together.

The sight of the three of them appearing together was so rare that Mei and Kage were both taken aback.

Immediately afterwards...

Bronya, who had been playing the game for a while, looked up and happened to witness such a rare and precious scene.

After a moment's hesitation, she raised the multi-functional game console in her hand without saying a word, and then spoke to Kiana and the others:

"Look over here."

"Hmm? Do you want to take a picture? Thank you, Bronya." Kiana smiled, showing no embarrassment whatsoever.

On the other hand, Mei was practically driven crazy at this moment.

"Huh? Huh!!!"

She tried her best to cover her face, but unfortunately Bronya's hand speed and the speed at which the camera captured and took the photo were too fast.

In almost a split second, a flustered girl, a radiant Kiana, and a calm Shadow—these three stunningly beautiful faces appeared together in one frame, forever preserved in Bronya's device...

It became one of her most prized collectibles...

Out with the old, in with the new, an unforgettable Lantern Festival (Liyue New Year): Chapter 46: Three People Who Will Love Each Other From Now On

At this very moment, Mei is facing the most embarrassing situation of her life.

"Bronya!!!"

Just as everyone was enjoying their meal and all their troubles seemed to have vanished, Mei angrily got up and went to Bronya's side to grab something.

She will never allow such photos to exist; if they do, she will delete them immediately!

Unfortunately...

"Hmm," Bronya frowned, then dodged Mei's grasp. "Mei, what's wrong?"

"What's wrong...why?"

Mei frowned slightly, heartbroken by her best friend's 'betrayal'. What happened? Why did things turn out this way, with the whole world at odds with me?

hateful!

Faced with this heartbreaking situation of being abandoned by everyone, Mei was filled with indignation but felt helpless.

After all, from a generally rational perspective... their actions seem to be full of good intentions.

It's just that this whole thing is inexplicably asking me to acknowledge an older sister...

Why does this feel so bizarre?

"Ugh, what should I do? I feel like I can't refuse no matter what... I just hope the person involved will object to this absurd suggestion?"

After repeatedly reaching out and trying to snatch it without success, Mei had no choice but to return to her seat and begin enjoying the local delicacies of Liyue.

Strangely enough, even though the wine and food smelled delicious, it never really whetted my appetite.

For Mei, if simply having no appetite is unbearable, then the fact that the person you're longing for is actually enjoying their meal is rather absurd.

"Amm, ugh... Ah, it tastes really good."

After successfully quelling a potential conflict through everyone's efforts, Kiana felt exceptionally happy. And this happiness was truly literal.

Just a short time ago, Mei was practically ready to fight Kage!

And now, hehe. She's actually sitting obediently to the side eating her food, and Ying's eyes look especially kind.

So, it seems they've reconciled and become good friends?

Kiana nibbled on the delicious Mapo Tofu, wondering what would happen next.

Of course, calling it speculation is less accurate than describing a beautiful expectation in one's mind. After all, it would be a good thing if the two of them never argued, wouldn't it?

Unfortunately, this was ultimately just wishful thinking.

"I'm full. Okay, I'm going back to rest. Kiana, be careful."

Perhaps because she was too tired, or perhaps because what had happened to her was hard to understand, Mei only ate a few bites before slowly getting up and making a move to leave.

She thought to herself, "If I can't afford to mess with him, can't I at least avoid him? Sigh, let's regroup first, and then figure out a way to deal with this guy who's even more troublesome than Sirin."

"Hey? Mei, are you going back to rest? Is something wrong? Let me take a look."

Seeing that Mei was leaving without saying goodbye to go back to rest, Kiana naturally couldn't just ignore her.

She figured that given Mei's mental state, she was unlikely to get sick from exhaustion halfway through the journey. Something must be wrong, and she needed immediate medical attention!

However, Mei didn't appreciate Kiana's 'good intentions gone wrong,' and simply stood up slowly with a helpless smile:

"No, I just feel a little emotionally exhausted. People don't care enough about me, but I'm fine—"

"You can't leave now."

Just as Mei was about to take a step, Kage, who had never been very talkative, finally spoke.

She said softly:

"You must stay here now; you cannot go anywhere."

"what?"

Mei was taken aback upon hearing Ying's words.

"Why? I just want to go back to my room and rest. Is there really no way I can even grant that request?"

Mei asked, puzzled.

Although Kiana really wanted to advise Mei, she had to admit that Mei was right to argue her point.

Go and take a rest. No matter how you look at it, it's not a big mistake, right?