At the center of the island, a treacherous peak loomed.
Under the starry night, a biting wind howled.
"Pata."
Suddenly, a soft sound.
Then, a hand shot out from below the cliff.
"Plop."
Qin Yu leaped up and onto the cliff face, clinging to its edge.
"..."
He glanced down, taking a deep breath.
Below lay a bottomless abyss.
The edge of the cliff was just enough for a person to rest and stand.
This was the final stretch to the summit.
A fall here would surely result in a shattered body.
"My companion, be careful."
The doll-like maiden grasped Qin Yu's collar and whispered.
She looked up towards the summit, her eyes glinting.
That ominous feeling grew stronger.
"..."
Qin Yu shook his head silently, his gaze calm.
He crouched down and grabbed the small hand that had reached out from below the cliff.
"Kaka."
Below them, an uneasy cracking sound suddenly echoed.
Scree tumbled down the mountain.
Qin Yu's expression shifted slightly, his grip unwavering.
"Hurry up, Keqing."
He didn't have time for pleasantries, pulling the maiden up.
"Wait, wait a moment."
Along with a suppressed gasp.
Under the hazy moonlight, the maiden threw herself into Qin Yu's embrace.
After a soft thud, both froze.
"Keqing, are you alright?"
Qin Yu felt the softness before him, surprised.
This feeling of fullness and satisfaction...
Keqing usually ate too well.
"Qin Yu... you, you slow down."
From within his embrace, Keqing subtly lifted her face, her voice unnatural.
"I'll try my best."
Qin Yu opened his mouth, replying.
The atmosphere suddenly became strange.
"I told you to be careful."
Keqing glared at Qin Yu.
The reckless scoundrel, fumbling even while climbing.
Thinking this, Keqing instinctively sniffed her reddened nose.
The mountain air was quite cold late at night.
She inhaled the unfamiliar yet safe scent, turning her face away.
"No, it's not that I care about you..."
Keqing pouted, softly correcting him with a hmph.
"Thank you, Keqing."
Qin Yu gazed at the tsundere Keqing and smiled.
His hand, raised in mid-air, slowly lowered.
And he honestly wrapped his arm around Keqing's slender waist.
"Ah!"
Keqing, sensing the change, trembled.
In her panic, she instinctively reached out to grab something.
And the result was...
Keqing also hugged Qin Yu tightly, refusing to let go.
For a moment, they were intimately close.
"Keqing, don't fall."
Qin Yu steadied himself and said seriously.
The space at the cliff's edge was already small.
He certainly wasn't a bad person trying to take advantage.
Although, perhaps there was a little impulse involved...
After all, who could refuse a cat falling into their arms?
Warm, soft.
And the feel was top-notch.
He certainly couldn't refuse.
Someone hugged Keqing tightly, thinking to himself.
"Qin Yu, let me go first!"
"Then you let go first."
Qin Yu blinked, unwilling to move.
"I didn't...!"
The maiden bit her cherry lips, unable to defend herself.
She had instinctively hugged Qin Yu...
It was this scoundrel who had acted inappropriately first.
But for some reason, she couldn't get angry.
She wanted to release her arms, but hesitated.
"Wait, wait until you've rested a bit..."
Keqing softly whispered, guiltily, rubbing her cold, reddened nose against Qin Yu's chest.
The warmth in his embrace, she wanted to linger a little longer.
The maiden murmured to herself.
"Almost there."
Qin Yu noticed Keqing's slightly reddened nose and said softly.
Letting a girl suffer in the cold mountain air was a grave offense.
Although Keqing wasn't exactly frail.
"Mhm."
Keqing turned her face, leaning into Qin Yu's embrace, and mumbled.
A small, girlish joy flickered in her eyes.
"Tsk, how touching."
A half-mocking voice broke the atmosphere.
Keqing, in his embrace, her ear tips turned red.
She realized they weren't the only two present.
There was also a certain doll-like maiden!
"Stop it."
Qin Yu glanced helplessly at Sandrone.
Intentionally ruining the mood.
For some reason, he wasn't surprised at all.
"Hmph, my companion, don't forget your identity."
Sandrone snorted.
From atop Qin Yu's shoulder, she extended a small hand.
And yanked Keqing's cat ears.
"Woman, leave my companion."
And that useless thing rubbing around on your chest, isn't it suffocating?
"Are you jealous of me?"
Keqing looked up, her eyes chilling.
She had tolerated Sandrone for a long time.
After all, you're just a flat doll now!
"?"
Sandrone's smile gradually vanished, her small face turning cold.
She had had enough of those mocking glances at her chest.
An inexplicable desire for comparison was igniting.
"Stop arguing, let's think about how to get over there."
Qin Yu looked towards the isolated cliff in the distance and said softly.
"Why all of a sudden..."
Keqing followed Qin Yu's gaze and was slightly stunned.
"That is..."
Sandrone murmured.
She was very familiar with this aura.
"A little seelie that came from who knows where."
Qin Yu frowned, his gaze thoughtful.
"It seems... it wants to tell me something."
Before he finished speaking.
The howling mountain wind suddenly fell silent.
A wisp of a song drifted down from the mountaintop.