"Welcome… Oh, Hu Tao, this is truly a rare guest." Ying'er looked at Hu Tao with some surprise, then his attention was quickly drawn to Lumine behind Hu Tao.
"This Damselette, she must have just arrived in Liyue recently, right?"
"Oh? How do you know?" Hu Tao asked curiously.
"If there was such a beautiful girl in Liyue Harbor, how could I only be seeing him now?" Ying'er walked over to Lumine with a smile, leaning in to observe carefully.
"Truly a rare beauty, I can't help myself."
"Uh, th-thank you." Lumine couldn't help but step back, feeling that the shop assistant's attitude towards him was strange.
"Hehe, you're right, my dear friend is a beauty that would make the moon hide and flowers blush, but he's currently lacking some embellishment," Hu Tao chuckled, looking at Ying'er as he spoke.
"Oh~ I understand what Hu Tao means." Ying'er nodded. "Coincidentally, I still have some stock here."
"What exactly is this place…" Lumine surveyed the various items displayed in the shop, but for a moment, he couldn't figure out what kind of shop it was.
Speaking of the name, Chunxiang Kiln, could it be a porcelain shop?
"What do you think, Damselette?" Ying'er smiled softly, covering his mouth.
"N-no, isn't it a porcelain shop?"
"Of course it is, but I also do some side businesses." Ying'er nodded, then gently shook his head.
"Side businesses?"
"Mmm-hmm, I do things that involve squeezing juice from flowers. Although this side business isn't very prosperous, there are quite a few women who come to me, and it's quite well-known among the private kilns in all of Liyue Harbor."
"??" Lumine's eyes were full of question marks. He stiffly turned to look at Hu Tao.
He thought that perhaps he had misunderstood; Liyue Harbor shouldn't have such a place, and besides, Hu Tao shouldn't go to such a place to buy him a gift…
"That's right, it's exactly what you're thinking." Hu Tao saw Lumine look over and nodded very seriously.
"Huh?!"
"Miss Ying'er's fragrant creams are indeed very popular in Liyue Harbor," Hu Tao added afterward, a mischievous smile on his face.
He rarely planned to give his friend a proper, feminine gift, which was why he chose to come to Chunxiang Kiln.
Additionally, there was a slight mischievous thought, as Ying'er's cart was famous throughout Liyue, and almost every guest who came would be made to blush.
Although Lumine only seemed a bit embarrassed and not overly shy, it didn't achieve the effect he had imagined.
It was still a bit of a pity…
"Oh, r-right, it's fragrant cream." Lumine breathed a sigh of relief, slowly nodding.
"Otherwise, Damselette, you wouldn't have misunderstood it as something else, would you?" Ying'er asked with a smile.
"No, how could I misunderstand? It's clear at a glance," Lumine quickly said.
Looking at Ying'er, he seemed to be a habitual offender, probably often using such misleading words to amuse others.
Fortunately, Lumine was battle-hardened, and verbal teasing wouldn't cause much of a reaction, at most just some awkwardness.
"Alright, Miss Ying'er, hurry and bring out the fragrant creams for us to see," Hu Tao immediately said to Ying'er again.
"Okay~ Come and see, these are some new ones I've recently refined," Ying'er turned around and then took out a few fragrant creams.
The gift Hu Tao intended to give Lumine was these fragrant creams.
"How about it, Lumine, is there anything you particularly like?" Hu Tao asked Lumine.
"This…" Lumine was completely clueless about these things; he had never used them before.
He casually picked one up, applied some to his hand, and sniffed it.
It was the scent of a certain flower, light and not particularly strong, but very pleasant.
This one looks good, as for the others…
Lumine tried each one, but by the end, he felt his nose had gone numb.
Why did every scent seem so similar?
"Never mind, Hu Tao, you pick for me," Lumine shook his head, giving the choice to Hu Tao.
"Me to pick? Then…" Hu Tao also rubbed his chin, pondering seriously. He had smelled them when Lumine was trying them, so he didn't need to try each one again.
"Miss Lumine already has a charming scent on him. I think it would be better to choose one that complements it," Ying'er said with a smile, seeing that both of them seemed a bit conflicted, and reminded them.
"Eh? Is that so?" Hu Tao paused slightly, then leaned close to Lumine, wiggling his small nose.
"Hu, Hu Tao…" Seeing this, Lumine immediately felt something was amiss and quickly took a step back.
He knew he had a scent; this might be due to his physique.
Because of this, women who smelled his scent would often have some kind of reaction. Hu Tao acting without thinking like that genuinely startled him.
However, Hu Tao didn't stop her actions because of Aether's retreat; instead, she continued to lean into Aether's chest and sniffed carefully.
After a long while, she seemed to wake up from a dream and straightened her body.
"Hmm, indeed, Miss Ying'er's nose is really sharp," Hu Tao's cheeks were also slightly red, and then, as if changing the subject, she said to Ying'er without changing her expression.
"After all, in our line of work, a good nose is essential," Ying'er said with a smile, watching their actions.
"Well, I think this one will do," Hu Tao pointed to the first perfumed balm Aether had tried earlier.
"Okay, I think this one is good too," Ying'er nodded, her smile deepening.
Ying'er could hardly imagine what would happen to such an attractive Damselette like Aether after using the perfumed balm.
"Alright, both of you remember to come again next time!"
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On the way back, perhaps because of Hu Tao's actions just now, the atmosphere between them became a bit strange.
Fortunately, Spring Fragrance Kiln was not far from the inn where Aether was staying, so they would be back soon, and then today would end…
"Oh, guest, you're back," The inn's waiter was busy in the shop, and upon seeing Aether, he immediately came out.
Aether was just about to bid farewell to Hu Tao when she was interrupted by the waiter's words.
"What's wrong?"
"The other guest who was with you already paid for the room today."
"She left a message asking you to make do in the rented house for one night; she said she has an important commission and might not be back until the day after tomorrow. What do you think…?"
"Huh?" Aether frowned, wondering what Lumine was up to. "Alright, I understand."
Although the furniture Hu Tao bought hadn't been set up yet, staying in that house for one night wasn't a big problem, as it had already been tidied up and was very clean.
She wondered what Lumine was doing, why she suddenly…
"Aether, how about you stay at my place for one night first?" Hu Tao slowly said.
"!"
Aether felt a Khvarena flash.
She seemed to know what Lumine was doing.
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