The sea breeze blew gently, and the night was beautiful.
The three of them, along with Guoba, sat at a table eating cake and chatting happily.
During this time, two young girls, about eighteen or nineteen years old and dressed in the attire of Yuehai Pavilion secretaries, sat down near them.
Although they weren't speaking loudly, they didn't lower their voices either, so Fang Qiu and the others could hear them clearly.
Moreover, Fang Qiu could clearly see what one of the girls was holding in her arms.
"I'm so tired. I urgently need a glass of ice-cold Wolfhook juice to heal my soul."
A girl with a ponytail lay prone on the table, her face full of exhaustion, looking as if her body had been completely hollowed out.
"Isn't it because you messed up the files? Luckily, I was there to help you fix it and redo them. If you had taken those files directly to Lady Keqing, you would have been in huge trouble."
The girl sitting opposite the ponytail girl stopped reading her book, reached out to pinch the ponytail girl's cheek, and scolded her with a smile.
"Aiya, thank you, Senior Huixin! To repay you, how about I treat you today?"
The ponytail girl said with a grin.
"How much Mora do you even have left in your pocket? You treat? Let me get it this time. We can talk about it after you get your paycheck."
The girl named Huixin sighed and said, "Speak up. Besides Wolfhook juice, what else do you want?"
"Hehehe, Senior Huixin is the best. I also want apple-flavored cake."
The ponytail girl wasn't embarrassed at all and said with a giggle.
"Alright, sit tight here and don't wander off. I'll go order."
Soon, Huixin returned after ordering.
"By the way, Senior Huixin, that book you're reading looks exactly the same as the one Senior Ganyu has. What story is it?"
"Roughly speaking, it's a story about a poor boy and a noble girl from Mondstadt falling in love on a ship. I haven't finished reading it yet, but it's written very well. The writing has strong tension, and the story is great too. Also, the romance between Jack and Rose is very sweet. I plan to buy this author's Your Lie in April after finishing this one. I heard that the romance in that book is even more beautiful, and the writing style is gentler."
Huixin thought for a moment and said.
"Eh? That sounds really good. I want to go buy a copy later too."
"You're already out of Mora."
"Eh, that seems to be true. Why are the wages at Yuehai Pavilion so low?"
"It's already quite a lot; you just spend it too fast."
"Wuu, Senior Huixin, Sister Huixin, what should I do then?"
The ponytail girl whined coquettishly.
"Alright, alright, I got it. I'll gift you a copy."
Huixin smiled helplessly and said, "Let's go look around Wanwen Bookhouse later. I'll buy a copy of Your Lie in April while we're at it."
"Yay! Senior Huixin is so good! When my wages come in, I'll treat you to a big meal! We'll go to Xinyue Kiosk!"
The ponytail girl said with a grin.
"Fine, fine, stop with the flattery. No need for Xinyue Kiosk, just try not to make mistakes at work."
"I'll try my best."
...
"Hehe, Fang Qiu, congratulations. You've gained another reader."
Hu Tao leaned close to Fang Qiu's ear and whispered with a smile.
"Seems like it's actually two."
Fang Qiu smiled, cut a piece of cake, and put it in her mouth.
Mmm, not bad. So sweet.
So nice.
Together, the two of them were going to buy three books later.
One book is twenty Mora. Deducting taxes, costs, and the split, she can get about seven Mora.
Hmm...
She hadn't actually calculated it. She wasn't too clear on the exact amount.
After all, Liyue is the Nation of Contracts, and the Liyue Publishing House is an official institution; it's impossible for them to fake it.
So, three books would be twenty-one Mora.
That's enough to buy half a piece of cake.
Damn it. Thinking about it this way, this cake is really expensive!
Selling three books isn't even enough to buy one piece of cake...
To live a wealthy life, she still needed to work hard writing books to make money.
Speaking of which, besides a carriage and a house, she also needed a boat!
Thinking about it carefully... anchoring the boat at sea and then writing by candlelight.
Full of artistic atmosphere!
Not bad.
Add to cart!
After finishing the cake and drinking the juice, night had completely fallen over Liyue.
After leaving the Mondstadt pastry shop, they wandered around the night market for a long time.
Liyue's night market was extremely prosperous, with a wide variety of goods.
Whenever Xiangling encountered a kitchenware shop, she would stop to examine things carefully, occasionally picking them up to test the feel.
Sometimes she would even offer the shop owners some constructive advice.
It didn't look like she was shopping for fun at all; rather, it looked like she was selecting equipment to open a restaurant.
Hmm... no, to be more precise, she looked more like a kitchenware quality inspector.
Hu Tao was fine; she stuck by her side the whole time, chatting while they shopped.
Only, sometimes, Hu Tao couldn't hold back from asking the shopkeepers if they were interested in considering the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's services.
Buy two, get one free. Buy more, get more.
And the shop she asked... a family of three was there...
Looking at the shopkeeper's expression, if not for the fact that her companion—Fang Qiu—looked frail and delicate, the shopkeeper probably would have grabbed a broom to chase them out.
"Hehe, sorry~ Occupational habit, I just did it subconsciously."
Hu Tao chuckled, sticking out her small, tender red tongue.
"You..."
Fang Qiu smiled somewhat helplessly.
Just then, Fang Qiu's attention was suddenly attracted by a plushie in a shop.
The plushie had a very peculiar shape. Fiery red velvet fabric, like a shumai, wrapped around a yellow cloth ball in the center, revealing only the very top part.
On that yellow cloth ball, there was a pair of rabbit-like ears, two round eyes, and a mouth shaped like the character 'Ren'.
It looked as if a rabbit from a cartoon was hiding inside the red velvet.
And on that red velvet, there was an exquisite four-leaf clover.
Overall, it looked somewhat cute.
It was just that the size was way too big.
This plush toy was nearly spherical, with a diameter almost half the height of a person—it seemed even taller than her desk.
Buying this to take home would take up way too much room.
The merchant was foolish too; how could such a huge plush toy possibly sell?
Be reasonable.
If you used this plushie to hug while sleeping... with this volume, this size... once you put it on the bed, only half the sleeping space would remain.
Forget about hugging it to sleep; even turning over would be a hassle.
As for using it as a decoration...
This thing was so big. If a small household in Liyue bought it, it would hog space. Large households had decor in ancient, traditional styles; who would buy such a nondescript thing to use as an ornament?
Fang Qiu glanced at the shopkeeper—a brawny man from Mondstadt.
One look and you could tell he had no head for business.
What a poor guy.
"Let's go."
Fang Qiu smiled faintly.
"Mhm."
Hu Tao glanced at Fang Qiu's retreating back, then looked at that cute, giant plushie. She rubbed her chin, pondered briefly, and then, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise into a smile.
Then she trotted all the way to catch up with Fang Qiu.
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 10 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉