Travel through Teyvat and spend your life with Linghua

Xin Yang hugged Ling Hua, looking a little hesitant. After a moment, he said, "Actually, I have another question. I don't know if I should ask it."

Linghua looked up at Xinyang and smiled, "If you want to ask, just ask. Like you said, there's no need to be polite between us."

"Then I'll be frank. Actually, there's one thing that bothered me last night: you mentioned more than once that I'm a big liar. And you sounded particularly aggrieved. It didn't seem like it was some joke."

Xinyang frowned slightly, his eyes full of confusion and concern. "I really want to know if my previous unintentional behavior made you think this way and made you feel wronged? If so, please tell me. I don't want you to feel this way."

When Linghua heard this, a flicker of awkwardness crossed her face. She hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking, "Oh, how come you blurted out everything? Actually... it's not a big deal. Rather than calling you a liar, it's better to say that you like to show off. You're clearly unsure, but you always act confident and promise me something."

Linghua sighed softly, her fingers unconsciously rubbing circles on Xinyang's chest as she continued, "Those are all old memories, especially when we were still in Inazuma. Back then, there was no peace in the entire Inazuma community. The officials were scheming against each other, and the various forces were intricately intertwined. And you, on the other hand, always took the initiative to take on those difficult problems. You clearly had no idea what to do, but you always acted confident in front of me. There were two times that left the deepest impression on me."

"The first time was with Mother. That was the only time you truly broke a promise. At that time, I was only ten years old. I was framed by the Kanjo Bugyo and Tenryo Bugyo, allied with the Fatui. Mother, already in poor health, fell seriously ill after learning of my murder. You were also about ten years old at the time. You promised me that you would protect me and heal Mother... but in the end, Mother still left me."

Linghua took a deep breath: "You knew at that time that even you were powerless to change the situation, so why did you still try to be stubborn! Why did you still make promises to me! I don't blame you for not being able to change the outcome, I blame you for giving me hope and then crushing it with your own hands." Having said that, Linghua paused for a moment, as if she needed some time to calm down her excited emotions.

"Another time was when Thomas went to Bayun Island to gather intelligence. Thomas was injured there and couldn't come back. You said there were Fatui officers stationed there, and the demons were vengeful. It was such a dangerous place, and yet you planned to go alone. I was so anxious when I heard that. How could you let him go to such a dangerous place alone? But you smiled and comforted me, saying that you would be absolutely fine and would definitely bring Thomas back safely."

"I repeatedly asked you to go with me, but you firmly refused, saying it was too dangerous and I couldn't be put in danger there. I understand that you care about me, but you and Thomas are my family. How could I bear to watch you face danger alone? But in the end, I still couldn't persuade you."

"At that time, my birthday was less than a week away. You promised me that you would come back before my birthday, and you even made a promise... But what happened next? My brother and Thomas both returned. I waited for your return with great joy, but what I finally received was news of your 'death'..."

Linghua's voice couldn't help but tremble, tears welling up in her eyes. "I felt like my whole world was falling apart. First, my mother, and then you, were both going to leave me, you know? I was devastated for a few days, I couldn't believe it was real. Every minute and every second was torture for me, and my hopes vanished in an instant. I still can't forget that feeling of despair and helplessness."

"Later, I suppressed my grief and managed various affairs as the eldest daughter of the Kamisato family. I appeared calm and composed on the surface, but my heart was already broken. I kept recalling every moment with you and thinking about the things you said. I felt like a fool who had been deceived by you all this time."

"Just when I was almost swallowed by pain, you suddenly appeared in front of me. At that moment, I was surprised and happy, but more of me was angry and aggrieved. How could you do this to me, how could you easily make a promise and then almost break it, making me experience the torture from heaven to hell." Linghua said, tears welling up in her eyes, raised her hand and beat Xinyang's chest, venting the emotions that had been pent up in her heart for a long time.

Xinyang's eyes also turned red as he let Linghua beat him, his heart full of self-blame and heartache.

"I'm sorry, Linghua. What happened to Mom is a pain I'll never let go of. I naively thought that as long as I didn't give up, a miracle would happen. I ignored your feelings that time on Bayun Island. I'm sorry."

Linghua reached out and covered Xinyang's mouth with her hand. "That's enough. I understand. Everything you did was to protect me. It's just that we're all constantly figuring things out as we grow, which is why there are these misunderstandings and hurts. Let the past be the past. I don't want to dwell on that pain anymore."

Xinyang felt a mixture of emotions. He wanted to say something, but felt that any words would be too weak. After hesitating for a moment, he extended his pinky finger.

"When did we stop being friends?"

Linghua looked at Xinyang's extended little finger and was slightly stunned. Then a complex emotion flashed in her eyes, including being touched and being reminded of the past.

"It was about the incident on Bayun Island. I made a pinky promise with you, and you said we weren't kids anymore. That was the time you almost didn't make it back. We haven't made a pinky promise since then."

Xinyang felt a pang of pain when he heard Linghua's answer. "I used to think a pinky promise was the most solemn of promises, but so much has happened since then... I thought I was mature back then, but I forgot the meaning behind it. It wasn't just a child's game; it was our most sincere promise to each other. Linghua, do you still believe in me?"

Linghua put her arm around Xinyang without hesitation: "Believe me. No matter what happened, I believe in you."

"Hang yourself on a hook and you won't be able to change it for a hundred years."