Genshin Impact: My confession was rejected, so I traveled to seven countries

At dawn, before the sun had risen, nothing could be seen below; all was shrouded in white, with only the dark silhouettes of a few nearby trees visible. A thick fog obscured the mountain path.

Several blurry figures moved slowly forward, and several voices occasionally came from among them.

"Ha~, Guest, do we really need to get up this early? I already said there's a lot of fog on the mountain in the dead of winter, which is really not good for watching the sunrise," Hu Tao yawned, still half asleep.

A soft laugh came from the thin mist. "Master, that's not how it is. Just like waiting for the clouds to part and the moon to shine, watching the sunrise is a refined activity. It is precisely because there is a lot of mist in the morning that the moment of sunrise is even more magnificent. We are still halfway up the mountain. When we reach the top, the mist will be less. Besides, when we came here, some children had already started their morning reading, didn't they?"

“They’re going to school, which is different from us. I don’t need to worry about those things. I’d rather spend that time thinking about how to expand our business,” Hu Tao said with a hint of resentment.

Zhongli shook her head helplessly. For Hu Tao, who inherited the Hall of Rebirth at such a young age, perhaps her only joy and sense of superiority compared to her peers was that she didn't have to worry about going to school like some of her peers.

As for the school, it's fine if she doesn't go. Putting aside the fact that this lineage requires early familiarity with the business, can anyone's academic knowledge be as profound as that of Emperor Yan Wang?

If all else fails, you can always offer some extra help. You can even take the opportunity to slack off, so why not?

Seeing that Zhongli ignored her, Hu Tao, feeling a little bored, turned her gaze to the back and called out, "Su Mo, Yun Jin, hurry up! There's fog in the morning, and Zhongli is almost gone."

A response came from behind: "Understood."

Indeed, this mountain climbing trip included not only Hu Tao and Zhong Li, but also Su Mo and others.

Su Mo looked at Yun Jin beside her and asked with some concern, "Jin Bao'er, are you alright?" As she spoke, Su Mo was about to help Yun Jin up the mountain.

Yun Jin gently brushed Su Mo's hand away and shook her head. "No need, I'm fine. I need to keep up with everyone else, otherwise I might slip."

Seeing Yun Jin struggling, Su Mo said reproachfully, "I told you not to come, but you wouldn't listen."

Yun Jin smiled and said, "Everyone has invited you. If you refuse them like this, wouldn't that just hurt everyone's feelings? Besides, as their girlfriend, of course I need my boyfriend to have a good image in everyone's minds. Silly boy."

Su Mo said seriously, "Is there any possibility that even if you don't want to, I won't care? Compared to that, I care about you more."

“But I do care!” Yun Jin smiled and said, “It’s okay. I’m just happy to be out with everyone. Why say such discouraging things? Since we’re here, we should make the best of it. Of course, we should see the sunrise.”

Su Mo nodded, "Let's listen to Jin Bao'er and go!" The two slowly continued climbing the mountain.

Paimon clicked his tongue at the sight, glanced at the two people in front of him, then at Ying beside him, his eyes darting around before he let out a sigh.

"Ah~"

Ying glanced at her but ignored her.

Paimon sighed again, but still did not respond.

Another sound came, and Ying couldn't help but get a little impatient. "What is it?"

When Paimon saw Ying looking over, he immediately looked sickly.

"I'm so tired. I wish someone could carry me up here. I don't care about that, but I care about you, Ying!"

Ying knew what the other party wanted to do as soon as she heard this. After all, it had been so long, how could she not know something about him?

Yingming knowingly asked, "So what?"

Paimon said somewhat shyly and hesitantly, "I know this is a rare opportunity for us, and we should go up on our own, but I still care more about you, Ying, and I hope you can get more experience."

"Or... or you could carry me up there..."

Ying couldn't help but laugh, "Tch, you can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth." With that, she went off to climb the mountain on her own.

"No, I really care about you, otherwise I wouldn't have come," Paimon hurriedly chased after him.

"You care, but I don't!"

A green figure slowly emerged from the thin mist. He was bent over, lifting his thighs with both hands as he struggled to walk uphill step by step.

It was Wendy, panting heavily as he plopped down on a nearby rock, leaning back with his face upturned, breathing heavily.

"No, I care too! Someone come here, Su Mo, she doesn't need support, I will. Su Mo, Ying, someone come here."

Wendy lay back listlessly, filled with regret.

When he first heard about the group activity, he thought he would join in the fun and signed up enthusiastically, but no one told him that he would have to hike up the mountain.

"Damn, why did I come here to suffer like this?"

-------

"Hey, look, those two are all lovey-dovey again?" Hu Tao sighed, looking at Su Mo, whose mind was completely on Yun Jin.

"I thought Su Mo was pretty normal before, how come he became like this after getting a girlfriend? He's so indecisive and has been taking care of Yun Jin the whole time."

To be honest, Hu Tao always felt that Su Mo, how should she put it, although he seemed very gentle, didn't need to care so much about the other person.

After all, they're all adults. Does that mean adults need to take care of each other all the time?

If that's the case, then she'd better not grow up. It's really uncomfortable to be constantly noticed, and seeing people openly showing affection like that is really upsetting.

Upon hearing this, Zhongli teased, "Is the Hall Master perhaps envious?"

"I envy them? I envy them? Heh, my guest, you certainly have a vivid imagination."

Zhongli disagreed, "Perhaps, but I must say, Master, you're still a bit young. It's not time to talk about marriage yet. If you really want someone, I'll keep an eye out for you another day. I don't need someone with exceptional talent and virtue, but someone reliable and dependable is certainly desirable."

Although Hu Tao is still young, she has reached the age where a young girl's heart begins to stir, so it's normal for her to have some thoughts in this regard.

But time really flies. When he first met her, she was just a tiny little thing, and now she's almost a grown woman. Once he finds her a suitable home in a few more years, he can finally relax a bit.

"Talking about marriage?" Hu Tao shook her head like a rattle drum.

"I don't think I'll ever get married in my life, let alone have a boyfriend. As for blind dates, forget it, just thinking about it is too much trouble."

Zhongli chuckled, "Does the Hall Master really intend to remain unmarried for life? The old Hall Master still had the Hall Master by her side back then. If the Hall Master truly has no offspring decades later, let alone the fate of the Hall of Rebirth, you won't even have anyone to accompany you then."

Hu Tao hummed twice, "What's the big deal, guest elder? In the future, if I treat you better, you and I will respect each other. When we get old, we can take care of each other and make do."

"Master, you can't say things like that. What do you mean by 'just getting by'? When you get older, you'll naturally need to get married and have children. I also have my own life. If you meet a suitable family, I can act as a matchmaker. As for growing old together, let's forget about that. It wouldn't be good for you either."

Zhongli's expression was somewhat serious. It wasn't good for a young girl to have such thoughts at such a young age. She was still young and could be changed, but it would be troublesome if she continued like this later.

“Yes, Hu Tao, you can’t just say things like that. Besides, having a boyfriend isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It means you have another person who cares about you. Look at Su Mo, he’s really good to me.” Yun Jin also advised.

Hu Tao glanced at Su Mo with some disdain, "Tch, not everyone can meet an honest person like Su Mo like you."

"What's wrong with me?" Su Mo asked, puzzled.

"You'd better be honest! If you keep acting like this, you wouldn't even know if Yun Jin sold you out one day."

"This master is naturally extremely intelligent. I am the one who sells to others, not the other way around."

"Then you can just find someone to sell out the other person later."

Hu Tao thought for a moment, "Let's forget about it. Rather than going to all that trouble to sell him to someone else, I might as well stay with Zhong Li. At least I can sell him for a good price anytime and he'll praise me for being successful."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh.

"Mr. Zhongli of Emotions can be sold anytime at Walnut House."

"Master, saying this will also hurt Zhongli's feelings," Zhongli said helplessly.

Hu Tao waved her hand dismissively, "Oh dear, guest elder, what's the big deal? With our relationship, why make such a fuss? Even if you were sold, so what? You'd just come back on your own. Besides, you're several years older than me. Won't you pass away before me? Then I can easily collect your body. It's even more convenient. A black-haired person sending off an white-haired person is also a kind of life experience."

Everyone was speechless for a while.

Su Mo raised her hand and gently tapped her little head, "It's not good for someone so young to curse people in such an old-fashioned way."

Hu Tao, wincing in pain, retorted, "What? You learned it from my Zhong Li."

Seeing that she was at a disadvantage, Hu Tao looked at Ying and Paimon, who were watching the show from the side.

"Ying, will you get married and have a baby when the time comes?"

"Probably not," Ying said uncertainly.

After all, there's no hope now. Who should she marry? Who should she have children with? And with whom?

Hu Tao immediately found an ally, put his arm around Ying's shoulder, and pulled Paimon to show off his prowess to the crowd.

"Did you hear that? My best friend said she wouldn't get married, and she said she wouldn't have children, and she said she wouldn't have children!"

"Hahaha..." Everyone laughed at this childlike innocence.

Just then, a gentle breeze swept through the mountains, causing the thin mist to tremble. In an instant, the thick fog dissipated, and a bright red sun suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes.

The ever-changing weather gave rise to a sense of hope and a sense of unexpected breakthrough.

"Wow! What a beautiful sunrise."

Looking at this scene, Su Mo couldn't help but sigh, "What a beautiful sight of the sun rising and the clouds clearing!"

Zhongli nodded in approval: "Such a scene is indeed beautiful. The sunrise and the clearing clouds have a touch of poetry to them, enhancing the overall atmosphere!"

"Old Shan is good!" came an untimely voice from the side.

Everyone turned around and saw Wendy, who was far behind.

"When did you arrive?" Su Mo asked, puzzled. Wendy wasn't there when they were talking just now.

Wendy snorted, "I've been here for a while, ever since Mr. Zhongli wanted to be the matchmaker."

Wendy suddenly exclaimed, "No way, you guys are only noticing me now?"

"Um...look how beautiful this sunrise is!"

"Yeah, yeah, it feels much better than seeing it on the ground."

Everyone was speechless for a moment. They then began to talk to themselves.

Only Zhongli smiled and pointed at Wendy, who chuckled and revealed his signature smile.

The sea of ​​clouds churns, and the sun rises in the east.

.........

A day passed quietly.

On the way down the mountain, the farmers still began their day's work.

An old man walked slowly, met a group of people and discussed the scenery of the mountains at dusk. When they parted, he especially told them to walk slowly, as the beautiful scenery and people should not be wasted.

"Hmph hmph hmph... The clouds change, and the plants grow as expected."

"What's wrong? Why are you so happy?" Yun Jin asked with a gentle smile as she looked at Su Mo, who was humming softly.

"That's right, I'm in a good mood, being with everyone."

"What are you humming? Sing it out and let me hear it," Yun Jin said.

Paimon chimed in, "Yeah, Su Mo, you're just humming by yourself, and it sounds like there's a melody to it. It's making us all itch to join in."

"Even if I sing it, you might not like to listen."

"How will you know if you don't sing? Sing, sing."

"Yes, we are delighted that our young friend Su Mo has such qualities. In this world, nothing is more precious than beautiful scenery, delicious food, and lovely women. Our spirits are the same."

"Okay!" Su Mo cleared his throat with a light cough.

A song began to play softly and melodiously.

"The mountains are more beautiful when the clouds come, and they are like a painting when the clouds go. The mountains are bright or dark because of the clouds, and the clouds rise and fall with the mountains."

"I look back on the road I came from, and see a child chasing butterflies. He smiles, and somehow the butterflies fall onto my face."

The shadows of the trees are deep, laughter is hidden, and the little figure cannot be found.

A young man in white walked along the mountain path.

I gazed into the distance along the road I had come from, and saw an old man returning home in the setting sun. He nodded to me, telling me to slow down and not rush through the flowers.

Clouds gather and disperse, changing and shifting, while plants grow as expected. May we not waste this beautiful scenery and precious time…

……

"The song 'Cloud Mountain' connects children, teenagers, and the elderly. Life is like climbing a mountain."

Childhood is like the rising sun, full of vitality and retaining a childlike heart.

In my youth, I studied diligently, climbed mountains to compose poems, and loved to go up to the upper floors.

As the old man's life began to decline, he had already experienced a lot and understood the meaning of life more deeply. The fame and wealth he once pursued were, in the end, nothing more than a handful of dust.

The only things that remain unchanged throughout history are self-salvation, staying true to oneself, and this unchanging scenery.

Just as the music describes, "Like clouds dancing freely in the wind, like mountains steadfastly guarding this verdant place." This line perfectly captures that sentiment.

I have a lot to say about Zhongli.

Why did he choose to retire?

One reason is to allow Liyue to develop on its own.

Secondly, he also wanted to rest like that old man, to look back on his life, which had its ups and downs and its warmth, and in the end, it was the warmth of everyday life that made him feel most at ease.

"I am the child, I am the young man in white, I am the old man. Encountering myself at different stages on the road of life is truly meaningful."

After hearing Zhongli's words, Hu Tao looked at everyone and said, "Hey? I suddenly realized that this song seems to include all of us. I'm the kid, Su Mo and Yun Jin are the young people..."

Seeing that Hu Tao didn't continue, Paimon asked.

"And what about the old man?"

"That's exactly what Zhongli, that wooden puppet, is like."

Hu Tao chuckled, looking at Zhong Li with an air of nonchalance, and said sarcastically, "Forced to feign sorrow for the sake of writing new verses~"

This remark drew a burst of laughter from everyone.