Night had long fallen over Teyvat. It rained in torrents, but it didn't thunder. Visibility was appalling: the silhouettes of the relief and the vegetation were barely discernible. Nevertheless, Sucrose ran as fast as she could. Even though her whole body begged for fresh air each step she took, trying to grasp as much as possible through each profound gasp, audibles even amidst the downpour's sound, she ran with all her strength.

She had almost fallen over on several occasions, yet she didn't slow her pace. She was drenched. Rainwater fell from her green hair and from her animal ears. Some of it was also running from her amber eyes, which made it look like she was crying. She was carrying her glasses on one hand because it was impossible for her to see through them due to the excess of water and humidity.

Though her sight was affected, and despite the poor visibility conditions, she knew where to go and the path was easy to follow: she needed to stay all the way on the main road, go through the gorge, then pass in front of the Dawn Winery, and finally reach the ravine that would take her to the Stone Gate in Liyue, leaving Mondstadt behind.

She never looked back; she needed to keep her whole focus in running with everything she got and leave Mondstadt without further delay: they could be looking for her. She hadn't seen a single soul since she got out, neither in the city nor at any point along the way, which wasn't surprising at all. Still, it was better to stay on the safe side.

Once she reached the Dawn Winery area, she felt her heart in her mouth. She had heard that the winery's owner usually went out at night. Fortunately, thanks to the heavy rain no one was outside. She couldn't even see the manor from the main road.

She didn't slow her pace. The great walls of rocks that defined the ravine soon appeared before her. She was almost there. She crossed a stone bridge over a river at the ravine's entrance and kept running without paying any attention to the mud or the puddles that were everywhere on the road until she crossed a second, wooden bridge. There, she knew she should be safe for a while and slowed down. She stopped near a tree and leaned her forehead against it. She needed a rest; she needed to breathe and let her body recover fresh air. She was gasping. From her eyes tears fell down this time.

"Why? Why did this have to happen?" she sobbed.

She hit the tree trunk repeatedly with her free hand, and then she squeezed herself against it. She was bawling, her weeps could be heard through the heavy rain sounds. She still couldn't believe that she would never be able to see her companions or even her family ever again. She wished to go back, to turn around and go home. However, she was well aware that if she did that, everything would be over for her. She bit her lower lip whilst breathing heavily through her nose, trying to suppress more weeps. She looked back to Mondstadt, but she resumed her run towards Liyue.

At last she reached the Stone Gate in Liyue. There she should finally be safe from any possible pursuer. She approached the deck in front of her and leaned over the railing. The rain had reduced its intensity and now she could make out some of the landscape around the area. Some lights from what seemed like a building on a humongous tree cup caught her attention. Though they were still a bit far away from where she was, she thought that maybe she could find some help there. However, that would mean that she would need to knock on some stranger's door and ask for their help, and she was afraid of talking to strangers. Still, it was either that or spend the rainy night out in the open.

She had decided: she was going to try it at least. She had enough time to think about what to say before she got there. With her gaze she followed the path, noticing all the water that flooded the area like a sea, until the stone ramp which connected the ground below to the wooden platforms that made the Stone Gate accessible. She nodded and started to move once again.

She descended the wooden steps watching out not to slip. Then, she noticed that she wasn't alone. An elderly couple was sitting at one of the many tables sheltered under canopies in the lower level, in the light of a small lamp and next to a warm, small portable furnace. The elder man noticed her as well and gave her signs to come closer. Sucrose wavered. She wasn't ready to strike a conversation at that moment, but it was too late: their eyes had made contact. Feigning ignorance now would be utterly rude. She had no other choice; no one who could speak on her behalf. She was alone; she had to accept it. She approached them.

"What are you doing in this heavy rain, young lady?" cried the elderly man out. "You're going to catch a cold!"

"Come here, sit down with us and have some fresh tea," offered the elderly woman. "It will warm you up."

"Thank you, but I wouldn't want to bother…" Sucrose stammered, her voice trailing off.

"Nonsense! We'd be more bothered if we let you stay under the elements and you got sick!" the man insisted.

Sucrose found herself with no choice but to accept. She sat down where she was pointed, next to the elderly woman. She took off her hat, her boots and her thighhighs, all soaked, and put them to dry next to the furnace.

"Are you not taking your gloves off, dear?" the woman asked.

"I'm fine, thank you," Sucrose answered with a forced smile. "I prefer to keep them on."

The elderly woman offered Sucrose a handkerchief. Sucrose used it to wipe her glasses. Once she finished drying them up, she put them on and returned the handkerchief.

In the meantime, the elderly man put a liyuean-style cup of tea on the table and filled it up with the content from the teapot that he had in the center of the table. He gave it to her.

"Not to boast or anything, but my tea is scrumptious!"

A white smoke emanating from the green tea made clear that the tea had been recently brewed. Indeed, when Sucrose took the teacup with both hands, she felt a gentle, pleasant warmth. She took a small sip and felt that warmth filling her body. It went down so well that she let out a big sigh of relief.

"My, I'm glad to hear you like it," the woman said with a smile.

Sucrose turned red. She shrank out of shame and took another sip with more modesty. The elderly couple laughed and drank some tea from their own teacups. Then came a small moment of silence until the man asked Sucrose:

"Where are you going despite this foul weather?"

Sucrose wasn't surprised by that question, but still she froze up. She looked down and her ears drooped.

"Let her drink her tea in peace. Don't you see you're bothering her?" the woman scolded him. "It's okay, sweetheart, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

The elderly man scratched his head in an apologetic manner. Sucrose didn't say anything. She was still feeling down.

"We practically live here," the woman told Sucrose, trying to cheer her up. "We both have a stand here and we stay open almost the whole day. We weren't in a rush to go home when it started to rain, so we decided to stay here. And here we will stay until it stops."

"As for you, do you see those high lights over there?" the man pointed to the lights Sucrose had seen before. "That's the Wangshu Inn. It's a little weird, being on a treetop and such, but I can assure you that the food is delicious and the lodgings are comfortable there. You should go there and take a proper rest before you carry on with your journey."

Sucrose appreciated the elderly man for his advice. The three of them continued drinking tea in silence. After Sucrose had finished her cup, she put back on the clothes she had taken off earlier. They were still a little wet, but it should be good enough at least until she reached the inn.

The rain wasn't showing any sign of letting down, and nobody had shown up the whole time Sucrose had been there. Therefore, she decided to take a chance and wait for a little longer: maybe the rain would stop in a few minutes.

While the elderly couple chatted, Sucrose felt a sudden strong feeling of exhaustion. She didn't know the exact reason. Maybe it was the overexertion she had done to get there, that she was having a moment of rest at last after being stressed for so long, or that she hadn't slept for days. Or maybe the reason was all of them together. The point was that somnolence was getting the better of her and she didn't have neither the strength nor the will to fight against it. She rested her head over her arms on the table and gave in, losing herself in a deep sleep.