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On a bright and sunny day in Central Starskiff Haven, you slouch against the railing, waiting for someone to arrive. You hear the pitter-patter of footsteps, and turn your head to hear a sweet voice calling out.
“Oh, finally! Ugh, it took me so long to come here, and that old hag seemed pretty suspicious of my request to follow you.” Qingque, your adorable girlfriend, ran up towards you from the harbour in Central Starskiff.
Laughing, you ruffled through her hair, remarking, “Well, it’s not in your nature to be hardworking. No wonder she was suspicious. I would be too.”
Sighing, Qingque replied, “I suppose this is one drawback from having a reputation of “slacking off”. When I claim to want to do more work, no one actually believes me.”
“Well, this is a real request, I did ask for you to follow me while I clear sidequests.” You say.
“Sidequests? What… do you mean by that?” Qingque asked with a puzzled expression.
Gosh, she was so cute when she did that! It made your heart flutter and shake.
“Never mind about it. Let’s go for a drink at the Sleepless Earl.” Smiling, you took her hand into yours, and proceeded to walk there.
Arriving at the Sleepless Earl, you both decided to get one of the deeply unhealthy “bubble teas”. Not that they would call it so, but despite what their fancy name was, it was obviously bubble tea. While waiting for your drink to arrive, you decide to ask Qingque how her work (or lack of work) was getting along.
“How’s life?”
“Good! I’ve found a new way to slack off work. First, I get myself placed onto a mega project that spans across all the various commissions. Next, I arrange for a team-bonding retreat, during which I get people to play celestial jade to bond along better. It’s great fun and perfectly acceptable! I don’t have to fear higher-ups accidentally spotting me playing it anymore. After the retreat, I settle down for a week or two and do nothing except attend meetings virtually where I fall asleep. And then, I arrange for another team-bonding exercise involving other members of the project. It’s great fun!” Qingque says, with a devious gleam in her eyes.
“You little slacking off goblin…” You reply to her, feigning disapproval, but neither of you is convinced by it. Truth be told, that’s why she appeals to you so much - despite what she says, she’s living a dream life. You would never leave the astral express and trailblazing, but slacking off on company time is a popular dream across the universe.
Qingque only laughed in response, before asking, “Once we finish our drink here, do you want to play celestial jade with my buddies? We’re short of one person today.”
“Sure,” You reply, smiling while taking the drink that just arrived.
“So, how’s your trailblazing going?” Qingque asked.
“Pretty good so far, not going to lie. We’re going to station here for a bit more to restock on supplies and chat with the locals. Oh yeah, I also have to remember to buy back souvenirs for Pom-pom! They were a bit upset that we didn’t give them anything last time.” You think, casting your thoughts back to the adorable bunny animal thingy.
“You are on a train, right?” Qingque asks, “ Not to be rude or anything, but what kind of person has a name like Pom-Pom?”
“Pom-pom’s the conductor of our train. They’re not a human, and no one knows where or when they came about. They’re like a small rabbit with big rabbit ears, about your height,” You say, before continuing with a smirk, “They’re really adorable… Not as adorable as you, though.”
Qingque blushes, clearly taken aback at you suddenly hitting on her.
You noticed some of the whipped cream getting stuck onto her cheek. “Here, let me help you with that,” you say, before moving your face closer to her cheek.
“Hey, wait,” Qingque replies, blushing, “What are you doing?” In your lack of a response, she blushes harder, and closes her eyes, and puts forth her lips… Only to feel your tongue on her cheek.
“Buddy, that’s not nice! I was waiting for a kiss,” she says, mildly displeased.
“Let me make it up for you,” you say, moving in to close her lips with a kiss. Not a french kiss, but a mild kiss that you give to someone you love, kinda like a family kiss. Speaking of which, that seems to be what she’s thinking too.
“You kiss like how my mom kisses! Sheesh.”
“I guess I’ll be a good dad,” You say with a wink, leading Qingque to blush heavily.
Leaving the Sleepless Earl, you two decide to take a walk around Central Starskiff. You notice that the sky has changed into an evening sky, with multiple tones of yellow, purple and dark blue lighting up the sky. You grasp Qingque’s hand, and point at the evening sky.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” You ask her, turning to face her.
“It’s very nice indeed!” She says, smiling happily. You feel that her smile could change people’s lives, could solve problems, and could make the master diviner let her off… Okay, maybe not the last one.
Standing on a bridge to watch the evening colours, you soon note that more people had arrived, presumably with the same intention. You realise that Qingque, due to her admittedly rather short height, probably couldn’t see anymore. Confirming what you’re thinking, you look to see Qingque tiptoeing, trying to catch a view of the sunset.
“Here,” You say, reaching down to pick her up.
“Mnn, what are you-” Qingque cuts off herself mid-sentence, now understanding what you’re doing.
“See it clearer now?” You ask, carrying Qingque onto your head, like one would carry a small child, with her legs on your shoulders. Thank goodness she didn’t weigh much and you were pretty strong.
“Thanks, but you know, you don’t have to do this,” You hear.
“It’s fine,” You say, earning you a pat on the head from her. You two both giggle.
Not knowing where you’re going, you accidentally bump into someone.
“Hey, watch where you’re going!” The small person with weirdly pink hair says. Wait… Pink hair? Looking closer, you realise it’s the master diviner herself, Fu Xuan.
“Let me down, quickly!” You hear Qingque whisper into your ear, also realising the danger of your current situation. You comply, moving to one side before letting Qingque down. Thankfully, Fu Xuan seems to not have realised what’s going on yet,merely moving to get a better view.
“What do we do?” You quietly ask Qingque.
“Either run away or pretend you asked to be led here for sightseeing,” She responds.
Looking back at Fu Xuan, you realise with a feeling of horror that she’s also looking towards you. Oh no, this can’t be happening. You get ready to run off, gesturing to Qingque to run to one side while you run to the other.
“Hey, what are you two doing here?” Fu Xuan, seemingly suddenly aware, walks over, just as you two run off.
“Stop!” You hear Fu Xuan say. But it seems that you two had mistakes with your plan, as the other side was jam-packed with people. Thinking quickly, you rush to scoop Qingque into your arms, before running off. In the distance, you hear a familiar voice, “Wait!”
After running for a safe distance away, you pant and heave, still princess carrying Qingque. You lean back against a wall, saying, “I think she lost us… Thankfully.”
To your surprise, you hear a different voice coming from the person in your hands. You gulp, hoping that it wasn’t who you thought it’ll be… But unfortunately, as you look down, you find a very adorable and blushing master diviner in your hands - not that you would ever tell Qingque that. Blushing, you hesitate whether or not to let her down onto the ground.
Catching you looking at her, Fu Xuan barks out, even though she’s blushing,
“Could you put me down now?”