Yuehai Pavilion, Office.
Ningguang had just finished working overtime, handling a batch of official documents. She looked visibly tired.
Standing up from her seat, she stretched her body, then turned to gaze out at the night sky through the window and let out a soft sigh.
The sixth day without Mr. Xia. She missed him.
She missed his voice.
She missed his hands.
She missed the delicious meals he made.
...
The longing hit her with unexpected force.
Especially when she was alone.
She had no idea where Mr. Xia had gone...
As she stared blankly into space, there was a soft knock on the door.
"Lady Ningguang…"
It was Baiwen's voice.
Ningguang turned her gaze toward the door.
"Come in."
"Yes."
Baiwen responded and pushed the door open, stepping inside.
"Lady Ningguang, I've just returned from Yanshang Teahouse."
"It was just a message delivery. Why did it take so long?"
"I ran into something unexpectedly delightful on the way!"
"Oh?"
"Some items were just delivered from Wangshu Inn—Charlotte had someone bring them over."
"!"
Ningguang paused, her eyes lighting up with a hint of surprise and joy.
"Where are they?"
"Right here."
"Let me see."
Baiwen walked over and handed her a small box.
Ningguang carefully opened it. Inside was a small recorder and a stack of photos.
The photos showed none other than the person she had been thinking about day and night—Mr. Xia.
Wonderful.
Ningguang looked through the new photos one by one.
Then she turned on the recorder.
First came a bit of static and muffled background noise.
Then a sudden strum of a guitar cut through the noise, silencing everything else.
The guitar melody flowed gently. After the intro, a warm male voice began to sing.
Ningguang closed her eyes involuntarily.
Beautiful.
She had never expected that Mr. Xia could sing and play the guitar.
When the song ended, the music faded, and the recorder fell silent.
Ningguang was still lost in the lingering notes.
After a while, she opened her eyes, not quite satisfied, and looked down at the recorder in her hands, gently running her fingers over it in thought.
"Baiwen."
"Yes, Lady Ningguang?"
"Make two copies of this recording and these photos. Send one set to Keqing and one to Yun Jin."
"Understood!"
Baiwen left.
Ningguang turned back to the night outside the window. She suddenly chuckled softly and murmured to herself,
"The taste of longing… I doubt the others are faring much better."
--
Yujing Terrace.
Keqing had just finished inspecting a construction site.
Due to the Qixing's development plans, this year would see a major push in real estate development. As the Yuheng Star, she was swamped with overseeing the progress daily.
Leaving the site, Keqing returned home exhausted.
This was one of the few benefits of her current assignment—unlike past projects where she had to stay in temporary housing, this site was close to her actual residence. She could go home and sleep in her own bed, which was far more comfortable.
After a long day, she was covered in sweat. Keqing stepped into the bathroom and took a shower.
Wrapped in a towel, she emerged and glanced at herself in the bedroom mirror.
Her sun-darkened skin had returned to its fair tone.
Some minor scrapes had completely healed.
Her figure had become noticeably curvier and fuller—thanks to the soup she'd been drinking.
There was no denying it. Compared to before, she looked even more beautiful now.
Keqing reached out and touched the mirror, her eyes shimmering slightly.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door.
"Lady Yuheng, are you home?"
It was Baiwen's voice.
"I'm here!"
Keqing called out.
"One moment!"
She quickly changed into clean clothes and casually gathered her damp hair before heading to open the door.
Baiwen was standing outside.
"It's quite late. What brings you here?"
"Lady Yuheng, Lady Ningguang asked me to deliver something to you."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Some photos and a recording from Mr. Xia."
"…"
Keqing fell silent for a moment, then reached out to take the small box.
"Got it."
"Then I'll take my leave."
"Mm, take care."
As Baiwen walked away, Keqing hesitated for a moment, then called out,
"Thank Ningguang for me."
Baiwen paused, turned back, and smiled with a nod. "Of course, Lady Yuheng."
Once Baiwen was gone, Keqing frowned slightly.
She noticed the direction Baiwen went off in wasn't toward Yuehai Pavilion.
It was toward Feiyun Slope.
"Ningguang, that sneaky woman… Is she spending the night at Mr. Xia's little shop again?"
Keqing muttered under her breath as she closed the door and returned to her bedroom.
"And she says I don't understand…"
--
Mt. Aocang.
Cloud Retainer returned to the depths of her abode and retrieved a box.
Xia Zhi took it, his expression turning slightly odd.
The box was made of a very special material—a type of rare jade.
Its color shimmered like a rosy sunset, extraordinarily beautiful.
"This box… is it made entirely of Jade?"
"That's right! This jade has excellent elemental compatibility. It's the best choice."
"True enough."
"This jade is great in every way—except it's far too rare and hard to find."
Cloud Retainer looked at the box.
"It took me a long time to collect enough. In the end, I could only make three usable boxes."
"It is indeed rare. I only stumbled upon a bit of it by chance."
"Oh? Where did you find it, Mr. Xia?"
"Jade Mystery."
"Jade Mystery?"
"It's a jade shop at Chihu Rock. Customers pick their own raw stones. Whatever's inside belongs to them, good or bad."
"Huh?…"
Cloud Retainer was stunned.
A mundane shop like that could yield such a treasure?
"Ganyu picked the stone."
Ah, that explains it. If Ganyu picked it, then it makes sense.
Cloud Retainer glanced over at Ganyu, who was happily munching on grilled eggplant, a flicker of interest in her crane-like eyes.
Next time… maybe I should ask Ganyu to help me pick stones too...
Xia Zhi looked down at the box in his hands with a god's-eye view.
This wasn't just any ordinary container.
Its internal structure was incredibly intricate, divided into multiple compartments.
Each chamber was separated by another type of jade with elemental-isolation properties...
After a moment, Xia Zhi looked up.
He had figured out how it worked.
Gotta hand it to Little Crane—she really is a genius. What a clever design.
"What do you think?"
"It's impressive."
"If we want to modify it and infuse two more elemental forces…"
"Not a problem. But since you haven't taken human form yet, it'll be tricky for you. Leave it to me."
"Great! I'd love to see your skill with mechanisms!"
Xia Zhi smiled and put the box away.
"Alright, enough about that for now. Let's go get some barbecue."
"Mm."