Chapter 167: Fu Xuan (Overheated): "Why Did It Have No Effect After I Drank It!"
"You know, the first time I saw you, I thought you were just so handsome and charming!" Sparkle cooed, her voice a saccharine melody aimed directly at Rekka, who had just stepped back onto the Astral Express. "When you talk to me, I feel my heart pounding so fast; I think you're exceptionally manly!"
Rekka gave her a placid, once-over glance. "Extra small cup."
With just four words, he dealt a Super Break to Sparkle's entire performance.
"No, you're too much! You're just too much!" she shrieked, stomping her feet in a theatrical display of frustration. "Do you have any idea how devastating a single 'extra small cup' comment is to a lady?!"
"I'm just stating facts," Rekka replied, utterly unfazed.
"Extra small cup, is it?" Sparkle's eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint appearing within them. "Then I'll show you what a big cup looks like!"
With a dramatic twist of her waist, her chest instantly—and painlessly—inflated to a more generous size. She struck a pose, expecting a different reaction.
Rekka's eyes flickered down, then back up. "Small cup."
Sparkle's jaw dropped. "...Hey—! What is that supposed to mean?! What do you mean, 'still a small cup'?! Is there something wrong with your eyes? This is clearly a big cup!"
Not to be outdone, Sparkle transformed again, her entire frame shifting into that of a taller, impossibly curvaceous mature woman. She loomed over Rekka, confident in her victory.
He merely glanced up from his seat. "Still a small cup."
After receiving a bit more of Rekka's deadpan 'guidance,' Sparkle underwent one final, desperate transformation.
"Finally," Rekka nodded, a hint of approval in his voice. "A normal figure."
"Where is the normalcy in this, may I ask?!" Sparkle shrieked, her voice strained. "You call this normal?! My waist is about to snap!" She glanced down, only to find that she couldn't even see her own toes past the mountainous new additions to her chest.
Rekka shrugged. "I play Azur Lane."
"March," Stelle asked with wide-eyed curiosity, pointing from her seat nearby. "Do you think if she starts running, they'll slap her right in the face and knock her out?"
"Probably," came the thoughtful reply.
With a defeated sigh and a puff of pink smoke, Sparkle's exaggerated figure instantly deflated, returning her to her original, petite, and delicate form.
Just as Rekka was about to continue his playful torment, a notification chimed in his mind. Someone had added him as a friend. He opened the message, and as he read, his expression shifted into something rather peculiar.
"What's wrong?" Stelle noticed. "Why the weird look?"
"Uh... it's nothing."
The message was from Fu Xuan. "Did you bring the potion?"
"Of course," Rekka typed back. "But what does the Master Diviner need this for?"
"Naturally, it has a great use! I have a friend who..."
Rekka grinned. "Oh, so that friend of Master Diviner Fu Xuan's... is it actually you? But if you're worried about leaves growing on your head, you might want to reconsider."
"My... friend doesn't care about such trivial details."
The potion could be improved, of course, but Welt had made it explicitly clear that Rekka was not to tinker with any of his "miraculous inventions" today.
"Here is the potion," Rekka sent, attaching the digital transfer. "The effects will last for about three standard hours; after that, you'll return to normal."
After confirming that Rekka had logged off, Fu Xuan let out a long, shaky sigh of relief, her tense shoulders finally relaxing. She looked left and right, ensuring the hall of her private residence was empty, then cautiously pulled the small, pale green bottle from her sleeve.
When Fu Xuan had stopped by the Alchemy Commission earlier, she'd discovered that Bailu had actually grown taller. From the little Vidyadhara healer, Fu Xuan learned that Rekka possessed a potion that could make people grow.
Who could resist such a temptation? A chance to finally grow taller!
Back in the quiet of her chambers, Fu Xuan uncorked the vial. A fresh, herbal scent wafted up to her nose. She closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and drank the liquid inside in one decisive gulp.
The green potion was incredibly bitter, but almost immediately, Fu Xuan could feel that she was different. She could now look directly at the top of a bookshelf that she previously had to crane her neck to see.
A few seconds passed. Feeling that the potion had taken full effect, Fu Xuan walked over to her full-length mirror.
The person in the mirror was a tall, slender woman. Her previously petite face had matured, exuding the charm of an adult. Her long pink hair draped softly over her shoulders, but her chest...
Her chest was flat. Utterly and completely flat.
It was flat.
Fu Xuan stared at the reflection for a long, silent moment. She reached out a hand to touch her own unremarkable chest, then moved it to the top of her head. Sure enough, a few golden ginkgo leaves had sprouted, standing out starkly against her pink hair.
"Harmless," she muttered to herself, plucking the ginkgo leaves off and tossing them aside before puffing out her chest in a hopeful gesture.
Still flat.
"The effects must not have fully kicked in yet," Fu Xuan said, taking a deep breath to convince herself. "It's not like Bailu changed immediately after drinking it, either... it wasn't..."
She couldn't finish the sentence. The truth was, after Bailu drank it, not only did she grow taller, but she had also... developed in all the right places.
Fu Xuan sat before the mirror, propping her chin in her hands, lost in deep, frustrated contemplation. Finally, she picked up her phone.
[Fu Xuan: Can that potion of yours be improved?]
She regretted it the moment she hit send, desperately wishing she could recall the message. But her fingers had been faster than her brain, and the words were already out there.
The reply came almost instantly.
[Rekka: Didn't Master Diviner say you were asking for a friend?]
Fu Xuan's face flushed bright red.
[Fu Xuan: I am asking for a friend! Don't overthink it!]
[Rekka: Oh, then tell your friend that it can be improved, but I don't have time right now.]
Taking a deep, calming breath, Fu Xuan set her phone down. She walked over to the full-length bronze mirror and gazed at the tall, slender, and frustratingly proportioned figure within.
"What a shoddy job!"
No, she couldn't just let it go. She had finally worked up the resolve to try this potion; she couldn't possibly preside over the Divination Commission looking like this.
Fu Xuan pondered for a moment and finally decided...
To pad it.
She inspected herself in the mirror from various angles, but something felt off. If she stuffed too little, it was ineffective; if she stuffed too much, it looked unnatural.
After repeated attempts and adjustments, she finally achieved a result that, while requiring her to walk carefully for fear of a sudden shift, at least made the figure in the mirror look like a normal adult woman.
Fu Xuan took one last deep breath, straightened her robes, and forced a look of regal composure onto her face before pushing open the door.
When she stepped through the gates of the Divination Commission, the diviners who had been busy with their heads buried in scrolls all looked up. In the next instant, the entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
Who... is that?
Fu Xuan kept her face a mask of stone, struggling to maintain her usual dignity, though her slightly stiff, careful gait betrayed her nervousness.
The diviners quickly lowered their heads, but whispers inevitably began to spread through every corner of the commission.
"Did Master Diviner just... go through a second puberty?"
"This is so sudden! She looked the same yesterday, how is it that today..."
"Shh, keep it down! Can't you see the Master Diviner's expression?"
"Master Diviner seems especially... tall today?"
"It's not just 'seems,' she really is. Look at her height... she's taller than me now."
"And her presence is even more imposing than before..."
Fu Xuan's ears twitched slightly, catching every word of the hushed gossip. The corners of her mouth curled up imperceptibly before she quickly suppressed the smile.
She walked over to her desk and sat down, intending to lean over and review documents as she always did, only to find—
The desk was too short.
No, she was too tall.
The height that was once perfect now required her to hunch over uncomfortably just to read the words on the paper. Fu Xuan frowned and scooted her chair forward, but it was still awkward.
But then again... this potion isn't half bad.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me!
Want to read ahead on our official home, or unlock 50 advanced chapters (plus an Ad-Free experience) to feed your addiction? Help keep this shameless translator alive here:
(P.S. Replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
🌐 Official Website: elysianreads[.]com
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters & Ad-Free): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]