Facing two such adorable Little Cuties, Makoto naturally couldn't refuse her request.
"Alright, then you two sit properly, I'm going to start telling a story."
"Mm-hmm, we're sitting properly ~" Ningguang nodded obediently, then sat on Makoto's left side.
As for Qiqi, he leaned closely against Makoto's right side.
At this moment, both Little Cuties were looking up, eagerly anticipating Makoto's story.
Soon, Makoto began telling the story.
"Once upon a time there was a mountain, and in the mountain there was a temple,"
"In the temple, there was an old monk and a young monk. The old monk said to the young monk, 'Once upon a time there was a mountain, and in the mountain there was a temple...'"
Seeing the two little girls listening intently, Makoto suddenly had a mischievous idea and wanted to tease the two girls.
He used a recursive nesting trick.
Ningguang immediately realized that Makoto wasn't telling a story, but simply teasing them.
At this, the little girl pouted and said angrily, "Brother Makoto is bad!"
"He's actually deceiving children!"
Originally, Ningguang was listening to the story with rapt attention, but then he discovered that Makoto hadn't told a story at all.
He was really too bad!
He was a bad brother!
T_T
At this moment, Qiqi gently tugged on Makoto's sleeve, then weakly asked, "Makoto... and then what... what did the old monk say?"
Xiao Qiqi was very innocent and didn't realize that Makoto was tricking him.
Ningguang couldn't bear to see the innocent Qiqi being deceived, so he immediately said,
"Qiqi, Brother Makoto isn't telling a story, he's teasing us!"
"Teasing us..." Qiqi blinked his big, watery eyes, tilting his head in confusion.
"But... Qiqi thinks this story... is interesting..."
Perhaps Xiao Qiqi had never heard a story before, which is why he found Makoto's telling so wonderful.
Seeing Ningguang's slightly displeased expression and the charmingly naive Qiqi,
Makoto couldn't bear to continue joking and became serious: "No more jokes, now I'll tell you a story related to Mondstadt."
"Mondstadt? Hooray!" Ningguang's eyes brightened upon hearing this.
She had never been to Mondstadt, but she had heard that it was a land full of wind and freedom.
To be honest, the little girl was quite interested in Mondstadt and wanted to learn about its customs and traditions.
Qiqi also nodded, then softly said, "Mondstadt... such a familiar name..."
"But Qiqi... has no memory of it..."
Looking at Qiqi's frustrated expression, Makoto reached out and rubbed his head, then softly said, "Perhaps after listening to this story, Qiqi will have some impression of Mondstadt."
Makoto paused, then continued, "A long, long time ago, there was a bard in Mondstadt. He didn't do anything serious every day, he just knew how to slack off."
"Every time he caused trouble, he would feign ignorance, responding with a simple 'Ehe' to get by..."
Makoto slightly modified some of Venti's stories and then told them to the two Little One.
He didn't know how long he had been telling stories when Makoto felt a steady breathing beside him.
He looked down and saw that Ningguang was leaning on his arm, already asleep.
Her long eyelashes fluttered gently, and a faint smile lingered on her delicate and lovely little face.
She seemed to be having a wonderful dream.
Makoto couldn't help but smile, gently picked up Ningguang, and carried him to Ningguang's own bedroom.
Then he carefully tucked Ningguang in.
Perhaps it was because he was too tired during the day, or perhaps it was because he felt completely safe beside Makoto,
In short, the little girl was not startled awake throughout the entire process.
After all this was done, Makoto gently closed Ningguang's door.
The little girl was really too tired; let him rest well.
Makoto returned to his room.
Xiao Qiqi was not sleepy; instead, he was still very earnestly asking Makoto questions:
"Makoto... the Diluc you mentioned... can he really breathe fire... so amazing!"
"And that slacking poet... is he really very strong in combat?"
At this moment, Xiao Qiqi seemed to have a hundred thousand whys,
One question after another, emerging endlessly.
Because this was a land he had never encountered before,
It was so unfamiliar, so novel.
Makoto was also very patient, answering Qiqi's questions one by one.
"Mondstadt actually has so many interesting things... but Qiqi has no impression of Mondstadt..."
"Qiqi doesn't remember... he doesn't remember anything from before..."
Xiao Qiqi was both emotional and a little frustrated.
He tried hard to remember the past, but in the end, it was all in vain.
Makoto also recalled Qiqi's pitiful experience.
Sometimes forgetting the past is a kind of happiness, a kind of liberation.
He softly said to Qiqi, "Actually, Qiqi doesn't need to remember what happened before,"
"Let the past be the past; we can't change anything, and remembering it will only add to our troubles."
"We should look forward, right?"
"It's actually okay that Qiqi has no impression of Mondstadt,"
"After some time, I'll take Qiqi and Ningguang to Mondstadt to play, okay?"
"That way, Qiqi will have an impression of Mondstadt."
Makoto also didn't want Qiqi to fall into pain again, so he used this method to help Qiqi move on.
Upon hearing this, Qiqi's clear big eyes sparkled.
"Let the past be the past... Oh, right."
"Qiqi... wants to go see Mondstadt..."
"With Makoto... and Ningguang!"