Genshin Impact: A Guide to the Unofficial History of Teyvat — Chapter 60

Chapter 60: A Little Renovation

Now that she possessed a sanctuary entirely her own, Lovia’s enthusiasm for home renovation reached a fever pitch. She was no longer a cautious tenant tiptoeing around a landlord’s property, terrified of scratching the floorboards; she was the undisputed mistress of her own little nest, free to mold it exactly as she pleased.

Indoor renovations took priority. Digging through a stack of discarded manuscript drafts, she flipped them over, quickly covering the blank backs with architectural sketches, furniture layouts, and extensive shopping lists. Beneath the excitement, she kept her cardinal rule at the forefront of her mind: the specific location of this safe house must remain an absolute secret. While a select few, like her former landlord, already knew of the cabin, she refused to take any chances. Any construction requiring outside labor would have to be handled off-site.

The most pressing issue was storage. Between her ever-growing mountain of reference books purchased from Wanwen Bookhouse, her thick stacks of handwritten manuscripts, and a chaotic assortment of writing supplies, her desk had become a disaster zone. The clutter was severely impacting her writing efficiency.

Lovia carefully measured the dimensions of her walls, drafting a set of precise blueprints. She then made a discreet trip into Liyue Harbor to track down an experienced carpenter. Putting on her best professional face, she claimed she was ordering custom shelving for an eccentric, reclusive old scholar who lived by the sea and despised visitors. She detailed the measurements, paid the deposit, and arranged a pickup date.

A few days later, after exhausting herself dragging the heavy, solid wood components back to the cabin in grueling batches, she sat on the floor and assembled them piece by piece.

The natural timber boasted a warm, honeyed hue, filling the cramped space with a rich, earthy fragrance. Lovia carefully categorized her accumulated novels, heavy reference tomes, and neat stacks of manuscripts, slotting them onto the sturdy shelves. Stepping back to admire the fully stocked bookcase, a deep sense of satisfaction washed over her.

Next came the soft furnishings.

She scoured the bustling markets of Liyue Harbor until she found the perfect piece: a thick, luxuriously soft carpet. The color was exactly what she had envisioned—a vibrant, deep ocean blue that perfectly matched the fluffy tips of her antennae.

Spreading the rug out by the window felt like bringing a small, contained piece of the sea indoors. She could flop down onto the plush surface whenever she pleased, rolling around in the sunlight while listening to the rhythmic ebb and flow of the tide outside.

Initially, Lovia had wanted to paint the walls, but her past-life common sense made her hesitate, fearing toxic fumes that would force her to sleep outside for a week. To her immense surprise, a quick inquiry with a local shopkeeper revealed that Teyvat’s paints were crafted from entirely natural, safe ingredients. She bought a large bucket of sky-blue paint and all the necessary brushes without a second thought.

Back at the cabin, she wrapped herself tightly in a set of ragged clothes and spent two grueling but rewarding days carefully coating the four walls. The light sky-blue transformed the room, making the entire cabin look bright, airy, and incredibly cozy. It also happened to perfectly complement the color of the fluff on her tail.

To finish the exterior, she carved a simple, elegant wooden plaque and hung it beside the front door. It read Quiet Residence in neat, flowing calligraphy—a polite warning that the owner preferred peace, without giving away her identity.

As for her ultimate dream of a subterranean snack cellar, the engineering required was a bit too complex for her current abilities. She shelved it as a long-term project, planning to excavate it once she acquired the proper technical skills. She also harbored secret designs to dig a hidden escape tunnel beneath her bedroom, ideally leading straight out to the sea, just in case she ever needed to make a rapid, tactical retreat from angry readers.

With the primary renovations complete, Lovia made one final, crucial purchase: a full-length mirror.

The frame was polished, unvarnished wood, simple and clean. She carefully hauled it home and leaned it against her freshly painted blue wall. It was a practical necessity, mostly to ensure her hooded cloak was securely fastened before she went out, completely hiding her non-human features.

From that day on, whenever the first golden rays of the morning sun spilled through her window, Lovia would stand before the glass. She would stare seriously at her reflection, taking in her unique antennae and her tail, before clenching her small fists and declaring to the empty room, “Go for it, Lovia! Another plain and ordinary day in another world is about to begin!”

It was a silly little ritual, but speaking the words aloud dispelled her lingering anxieties. It forced this socially anxious shut-in to muster the courage required to face the terrifying prospect of external interaction—like buying groceries or submitting her latest chapters.

She also put the empty patch of dirt behind the cabin to good use. Gathering smooth stones from the beach, she bordered a small flowerbed and sowed a handful of Glaze Lily and Silk Flower seeds, which the merchant had promised were incredibly resilient. Despite her abysmal track record with keeping plants alive in her past life, she watered the soil diligently. Looking at that tiny, carefully tended patch of earth, she could already envision a blooming garden.

The entire renovation project spanned over half a month. By the end of it, the cabin was unrecognizable.

From the outside, it remained a weathered, unassuming shack on a remote stretch of coastline. But inside, it was a warm, vibrant sanctuary. Blue walls, a plush carpet, shelves overflowing with stories, dried fish and snacks sunning on the windowsill, and a tiny garden of hope out back.

Sitting at her clean, organized desk, the scratching of her pen against paper sounded more cheerful than ever. She would occasionally look up from her manuscript, listen to the crashing waves, and gaze around the little world she had built with her own two hands. This plain and ordinary life was simply wonderful.

Today, Lovia needed a shovel. It was time to begin preliminary research for her snack cellar.

As usual, she wrapped herself tightly in her heavy hooded cloak, secured her Mora pouch, and stepped onto the dirt path leading toward the main streets of Liyue Harbor. Her steps were light and bouncy.

The weather was perfect, and the port city was a chaotic display of shouting merchants, haggling customers, and clattering carts. Lovia kept her head down, handling the crowds with practiced ease, heading straight for the district that sold farming tools and general hardware.

She stopped at a stall, crouching down to inspect a row of iron shovels. She was just trying to determine which handle felt the most sturdy when a loud, animated conversation drifted over from a group of middle-aged women browsing the adjacent vegetable stand.

“Hey, have you heard? About that Second Young Master of the Feiyun Commerce Guild?” a loud-voiced auntie asked, a basket of cabbages resting on her hip.

“How could I not have heard! Who in all of Liyue Harbor isn’t talking about it right now?” another woman responded, her eyes gleaming with the intense thrill of fresh gossip. “It’s about that new book, Secret Tales of Feiyun! I haven’t read it myself, but the way people describe it… they say Young Master Xingqiu is actually a girl in disguise!”

Lovia’s hand froze on the wooden handle of a shovel. She subconsciously yanked her hood down another inch, her antennae twitching beneath the fabric as she strained to listen.

“Exactly! I didn’t believe it at first, but they say the book describes it in such vivid detail!” The third auntie leaned in, lowering her voice, though it still carried easily over the street noise. “Things about his tragic fate, being forced to live as a boy to inherit the business, even the chest binding… ahem. And it gets better! It says that Little Daoist Priest Chongyun, the one who’s always following him around, actually has deep feelings for the ‘Second Miss’ but is too dense to realize it himself!”

“Oh my, really? Little Daoist Priest Chongyun? Is that the pale boy whose face turns bright red the second he touches Jueyun Chili?” the first auntie exclaimed, bursting into a fit of laughter. “This book sounds completely ridiculous, but… I admit, it sounds like a fun read.”

“It’s far-fetched, but you can’t deny it’s gripping!” the second auntie chimed in. “My husband usually never touches leisure books, but he stayed up half the night scrambling to finish it. He said the Feiyun Commerce Guild has really made a name for itself this time.”

“Famous indeed, but this kind of reputation… it’s a bit scandalous.” The third auntie clicked her tongue sympathetically. “I have a distant niece who works as a maid at the Guild. She said it was absolute chaos inside for the first few days. The servants kept trying to peek at the Second Young Master to see if he had a chest, and matchmakers actually came knocking on the front door to propose marriage to the ‘Second Miss’! The master and madam were pulling their hair out.”

“And now? What does Young Master Xingqiu have to say about all this?”

“Heh, that’s the strangest part!” the second auntie’s voice rose in pitch. “I heard Young Master Xingqiu is acting like absolutely nothing happened! He’s going about his business, reading his books, not angry in the slightest. When people try to test him, he just laughs and jokes about it. He even told one of the merchants, ‘It’s a pity my mother didn’t get the daughter she wished for.’ He’s taking it entirely in stride!”

“Tsk tsk, such poise. Truly the young master of a great house.”

“That’s not all!” the third auntie added, waving a hand. “The Feiyun Commerce Guild is actually using the momentum! They just launched a new line of tea snacks called ‘Sword Shadow and Book Scent,’and they’re marketing their new silk fabrics as’suitable for both martial arts and quiet reading.’ Their business has exploded! Who would have thought?”

“Oh, looking at it that way, the Guild is incredibly savvy. They’ve turned a total farce into a massive blessing.”

“That ‘Mr. Lixin’ who wrote the book is a real talent, too. I wonder which deity he is to be able to spin such a cohesive, scandalous story… and I heard the Guild hasn’t even sent anyone to cause trouble for him!”

The aunties’ enthusiasm eventually peaked, and the topic naturally drifted away from the Feiyun Commerce Guild toward local neighborhood disputes.

Lovia silently picked up the heaviest, sturdiest iron shovel she could find, slapped her Mora onto the merchant’s counter, and practically fled the stall area. She kept her head down, clutching the shovel to her chest.

Her heart was hammering against her ribs, thumping wildly like a trapped Finch.

She had anticipated that Secret Tales of Feiyun would cause a stir among her usual readership, but hearing the everyday residents of Liyue Harbor discussing her plot points so heatedly in broad daylight was a deeply surreal experience.

Thank the Archons no one had taken the crossdressing plot entirely seriously, or Xingqiu really would have been in trouble.

But hearing that the Feiyun Commerce Guild wasn’t furious—and had actually capitalized on the viral rumors to boost their sales—left Lovia utterly stunned. A subtle, bubbling sense of pride began to warm her chest. ‘Did I… indirectly help out their business?”It seems Young Master Xingqiu is even more open-minded and clever than I imagined,’ Lovia thought, marveling at the sheer audacity of it.’To actually ride the wave of a scandalous fanfiction to increase profit margins… truly impressive.’More, she had captured a vital piece of intelligence: the Guild was merely curious about the identity of “Mr. Lixin,” rather than actively hunting him down with armed guards. She let out a long, shaky breath of relief.’Still, it’s best if the topic of Mr. Lixin’s true identity stays buried forever.’

Holding her new shovel, Lovia didn’t rush straight back to the coast. Instead, she allowed herself to wander through the bustling commercial district, intentionally slowing her pace. As she drifted through the crowds, she caught fragments of her own story echoing off the stone walls.

She passed young people aggressively debating the logistics of Xingqiu’s gender, scholars critically evaluating Mr. Lixin’s prose and pacing, and a large crowd gathered around a storyteller’s stall. The old man was animatedly slamming his fan against the table, dramatically recounting the scene where the “Second Miss practiced her swordplay under the pale moonlight.”

Every time she heard a passing mention, the corners of Lovia’s mouth twitched upward. She fought desperately to suppress her smile, forcing her face into the calm, detached mask of an ordinary passerby.

But deep down, the feeling of a story she had written in her tiny, quiet bedroom causing such massive ripples across reality was intoxicating. For a creator, there was no greater encouragement in the world.