A new day dawned, and the sun rose over Liyue Harbor as usual.
The debut of both the gum and bubblegum—and the story written for Hu Tao—was set for today. Coincidentally, there was also the trial of Childe happening today… but that was a matter for the Qixing to worry about.
After completing his mental training, Victor Wang headed downstairs and practiced sword techniques in an open area. From across the bridge, he spotted Hu Tao leaving her house and joined her on the way to Wanmin Restaurant.
"I finished carving the bubblegum molds! I'll show you all once we get to Wanmin~"
"And I've finished writing the story that surpasses The Book of Five Springs. I'll reveal it at Wanmin too."
When the two arrived, Chongyun was already there, and Xiangling was boiling slime on the stove—just waiting for the molds to begin.
Noticing Chongyun was alone, Hu Tao asked, "Where's Xingqiu? Doesn't he love books and stories? Why's he so late?"
"Oh, he can't make it this morning. He might show up around noon.
"I went to look for him earlier and heard his family also had several shipments lost at Guyun Stone Forest. So today, the Liyue Qixing have gathered all the victims to sue Childe for damages.
"His father and older brother told him he had to go, saying, 'Opportunities like this only come once in decades—it's great for broadening your horizons.'"
"Heehee, looks like Childe is going to bleed money this time! But too bad—it means Xingqiu won't be able to witness this Hall Master's masterpiece firsthand~"
Hu Tao placed the wooden box she'd been carrying onto the table. Inside were five long, pillar-shaped boxes, finely crafted from bright, polished red date wood.
Each small box, when opened, contained just enough space to hold a single piece of gum. The box's top cover was a long rectangular strip—less like a lid and more like a stamp, because that's exactly what Hu Tao had made: stamps. Each was engraved with a lifelike image representing a flavor—Sweet Flower, Mint, Onion, Jueyun Chili, and Apple.
The Apple stamp was particularly impressive. Originally, an apple's shape was just a simple circle with a stem. Without color, you could mistake it for a rounder pear or even a slightly elongated bubble orange, and no one could argue otherwise.
But Hu Tao had carved it in a way that showed the stem still attached to a branch, which connected to three delicate leaves—making it look like an apple still hanging on a tree.
That alone deserved praise.
"Wow! It's beautifully carved!"
Victor Wang froze—Chongyun had beaten him to the line he was going to say.
"Yeah! It looks just like the real thing. I didn't expect your carving skills to be this good!"
Victor froze again—this time Xiangling stole his words.
Sometimes, complimenting someone can be really difficult—especially when others have already said all the good lines before you.
Now, Hu Tao was staring at him with those pretty plum blossom eyes. If he didn't come up with something else soon, he might not live to see another day.
"Uh… this… this carving technique is incised carving, right?" Having no better options, he dug deep and pulled out a technical term.
"Ohhh—so you know about that? Don't tell me you really want to join the profession?"
Xiangling, now holding the molds and eager to start printing the designs on the gum, still paused to ask, "What's incised carving?"
"Incised carving means carving the design into the surface as a recess, as opposed to relief carving, where the design is raised.
"It's harder than relief carving because with relief, you can visually gauge the depth and shape as you carve. With incised carving, that's much harder.
"You have to avoid breaking the blade, avoid visible connection lines, and avoid inconsistencies in depth caused by multiple corrections. If you carve too deep—it's over. The whole piece is ruined."
After his quick explanation, Hu Tao turned to Victor Wang with a knowing look and said, "That's right, isn't it?"
At that moment, Victor Wang's brain spun rapidly.
Hu Tao wanted praise—he knew that. But he'd run out of compliments, so he resorted to recalling technical details. Now she was digging deeper, asking whether what she did was harder. And considering her mischievous nature, it definitely wasn't just a simple question.
The key was…!
He finished his analysis and shook his head. "You can't just evaluate it like that. Relief carving has its advantages too. It really depends on the carver… and the subject matter and use case—like in mold-making, for instance."
"Hehe! You do know your stuff!"
Hu Tao nodded in satisfaction.
"Technically, incised carving is harder, but this is a mold. A relief-carved mold becomes an incised pattern when pressed—and vice versa.
"My original idea was to use the mold to print relief patterns onto the bubblegum, because relief carvings are more vivid and more in line with popular aesthetics. And you even thought that far ahead!"
"Ah… mm." Victor Wang didn't actually know the specific pros and cons between the two styles—but what he said sounded right, and it worked.
Xiangling, meanwhile, caught on to the part she cared most about. "So, the printed designs will look even better than now?"
"Exactly! And if you don't want to use the mold case, you can just use the stamp directly."
"Alright, I'm trying it right now!" Xiangling grabbed the five mold boxes and dashed happily into the kitchen.
"So now… time to see your story, right? I suddenly feel like you know a lot. Maybe you can write something better than The Book of Five Springs."
Under the expectant eyes of Hu Tao and Chongyun, Victor Wang placed a notebook—still practically brand new—onto the table. After all, he'd only bought it two days ago.
"You read first."
Thanks to Chongyun's modesty, Hu Tao took it and opened the cover.
"The Butterfly Lovers?"
That's right. The story Victor Wang plagiarized in the end was The Butterfly Lovers, one of the four great Chinese folktale love stories.
She flipped past the title page and began reading. After a few pages, she started commenting: "A girl disguising herself as a boy? This Zhu Yingtai is pretty interesting. Her dad though—not so much. He looks like bad news from the start."
But the two people around her—one being the author who already knew the ending, the other not having read a single line—offered no one to talk to.
She didn't mind. Whenever she found something amusing, she still voiced her thoughts.
"Hahaha! He's insisting on taking her to bathe—if she actually goes, he'll totally take advantage of her."
Based on her remarks, Victor Wang deduced she'd reached the part where Zhu Yingtai and Liang Shanbo's feelings were heating up during their time at the academy.
Zhu Yingtai, disguised as a man, had to maintain her secret while constantly being put in awkward situations by Liang Shanbo—who was always on the verge of discovering the truth. That delicate tension was often readers' favorite part of the story—the sweetest chapter of the entire tale.
"Agh! This is so frustrating. Liang Shanbo is such a blockhead! Zhu Yingtai was so obvious with her hints, and he still didn't get it!"
This must've been when Zhu Yingtai was returning home and Liang Shanbo escorted her eighteen miles. She dropped not less than ten hints along the way—more subtle and clever than even that "good omen" quest from Zhi Hua. Yet Liang Shanbo just couldn't read between the lines.
And after that…
Sure enough, Hu Tao's expression darkened. "I knew her dad was no good. Forcing her into a marriage she doesn't want…"
That's when Zhu Yingtai was promised to Ma Wencai, a man she didn't love.
When Liang Shanbo came to visit and finally discovered Zhu Yingtai's true identity, Hu Tao's expression softened slightly, but the tension only rose as the pair tried to resist their fates.
Soon, her face fell again—and stayed that way, silent this time.
Victor Wang knew what part she'd reached: Liang Shanbo's death—the darkest point in the entire story. The more joy the beginning held, the more painful this moment became.
"'Rainbows bloom, flowers open wide; butterflies come, side by side. Love eternal, undivided… Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai…' Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai… turned into butterflies."
Hu Tao closed the book and sighed. "The only thing that can surpass a tale of undying love… is another tale of undying love."
The final transformation into butterflies made it clear: this was a story Victor had tailored for her. But how had he known she liked butterflies? After all, Hu and Hu Tao weren't the same character. Maybe it was because of the fiery butterflies she summoned in battle against the Fatui yesterday?
Chongyun, having been spoiled the entire time, now quietly took the book to read.
Even knowing the ending, seeing Zhu Yingtai so clever and endearing, and her sweet three years with Liang Shanbo, still made him smile.
Then came their separation at the academy—and his face began to twist.
"Unbelievable! What kind of father does this?"
"There's plenty like him… Remember Lord De'an at Chihu Rock?" Hu Tao had seen too much of human cruelty to be surprised.
That reminded Chongyun of the same story—Lord De'an, who forced his daughter to suicide by drowning because he refused to let her marry a poor boy. Now he was trying to sell his house to bury her. An old man burying his child… the tale had spread across all of Liyue. If given another chance, would he have chosen differently?
There really were people like that.
Chongyun clenched his fists and continued reading. Then Liang Shanbo died, and Zhu Yingtai too. Only the ending—where they became butterflies—offered the slightest comfort.
"This book… really makes me sad."
"What? What? Let me read it too!"
Just then, Xiangling returned, carrying a plate of bubblegum imprinted with the new designs…
"Waaah… why'd you write something so tragic…" After reading, even Xiangling was crushed.
"What else could I do? I was going up against The Book of Five Springs."
To avoid getting stabbed by his friends, Victor Wang defended himself:
"Even though I dislike tragedies too, they're undeniably better at evoking emotion and creating resonance. They leave a stronger impression than comedies.
"A comedy might be forgotten in ten years. But a tragedy? Even after ten years, people can still remember every scene, every character clearly.
"To quote a certain senior: 'A tragedy shows the destruction of life's most precious things; a comedy exposes the trivial and ridiculous.' If I wanted to surpass The Book of Five Springs, I had to write a tragedy.
"And besides, compared to The Book of Five Springs, Liang Zhu ends much better!
"They didn't die—they became butterflies. Together forever, side by side."
Xiangling, Chongyun, and Hu Tao all stared wide-eyed at him.
"That really counts as not dying?"
"Not at all."
"Well, whatever… you're the author, so you get the final say…"