At Yujing Terrace, Yelan walked into Ningguang's office.
Ningguang looked up at her.
"Lady Ningguang, my investigation into that Editor Euphrasie is complete."
"Oh?"
"She has already left Liyue, seemingly returning directly to Fontaine."
"She left so quickly?"
"Yes, she only stayed in Liyue for less than a week. During that time, all her activities were normal."
"It's just that the timing feels too coincidental. I can't help but feel like she came specifically to attend the school's inauguration ceremony."
Ningguang frowned slightly.
"Where did she get her invitation?"
"A merchant friend gave it to her."
"What did she do while at the school?"
"She toured around, took some photos, and her kamera accidentally broke. She borrowed Charlotte's camera to take a few more photos, returned it after about half an hour, and then left the school directly."
"Wait, you said she borrowed Charlotte's kamera?"
"Yes."
Ningguang frowned again, feeling that this action might be problematic.
On the surface, it seemed normal. After all, Euphrasie and Charlotte were colleagues from the same newspaper, and borrowing a kamera in a pinch was reasonable.
But that day, she had specifically instructed Charlotte to take as many photos of Mr. Xia as possible.
After all, it was rare to see Mr. Xia in formal attire, and it was a moment worth commemorating.
In other words, at that time, Charlotte's kamera should have been filled with photos of Mr. Xia.
Could Euphrasie's goal have been those photos?
But as a seasoned journalist, Charlotte would definitely know how many photos she had taken. If some were missing, she would notice afterward.
Yelan asked, "What's wrong?"
Ningguang shook her head. "Nothing, maybe I'm overthinking it. Oh, by the way, do you want some photos?"
"What photos?"
"Photos of Mr. Xia in formal attire a few days ago. I had Charlotte take a lot, and she sent them over today."
Ningguang took out a stack of photos from her desk drawer.
Yelan glanced at them.
"Pick a few?"
"No thanks."
"You don't want them?"
"You keep them."
"Tsk."
Yelan left Yuehai Pavilion, but instead of heading straight back to Yanshang Teahouse, she went toward the Liyue Newspaper Agency.
Pick a few? Of course, I'll take them all.
---
The next morning, everyone had instant noodles for breakfast, each with a different flavor, all experimental recipes by Xiangling.
After eating, everyone gave their honest feedback on the breakfast.
Xiangling collected the feedback and, full of energy, began making improvements.
As expected, lunch was also instant noodles.
The new dish Xiangling was developing wasn't one of her usual bizarre Slime-based creations. As her friends, everyone was willing to help her taste-test.
But after eating, as they watched Xiangling energetically run back into the kitchen, listening to the clanging of pots and pans, they couldn't help but fall silent.
Zhu Zi spoke up weakly, "Are we going to have instant noodles for dinner too?"
"Most likely."
"This can't go on."
"Even though the instant noodles are delicious, eating them for every meal is too much."
"…"
Everyone turned to Xia Zhi. "Boss! Say something!"
"Tomorrow, we're hosting guests, so I'll make a big feast for you."
"What about the day after?"
"Don't worry, I have faith in Xiangling's abilities. It should only take her two days at most to finalize the recipe."
"What if she doesn't finish it?"
"It's fine. I'll step in."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
That evening, as expected, dinner was still instant noodles.
Miss Ganyu, who had finally made it to the shop on Friday, also joined in eating the vegetarian noodles.
Though she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
After all, Xiangling was now a Culinary Master. While she couldn't compare to Xia Zhi, her cooking was still better than the meals at Yuehai Pavilion.
It was just that everyone at the shop was used to eating dishes made by a Culinary Grandmaster, so even a Culinary Master's cooking didn't seem as impressive anymore.
At one point, Xia Zhi got up and headed to the kitchen.
Xia Ci, who was slowly twirling a noodle with her chopsticks, saw this and her eyes lit up. She immediately called out, "Cousin, where are you going?"
"To make Sunsettia soup for Director Hu."
"I want some too!"
"What do you want?"
"That white, thick stuff…"
"Fine."
"Cousin, I want some too!"
Xia Zhen also called out.
Cousin, you're already well-endowed. You don't need this kind of medicinal soup.
But since she was in a ghostly state, drinking it wouldn't have any effect anyway. She'd just be able to taste it, so it didn't matter.
"Alright, alright."
Xia Zhi was a bit helpless. He glanced at the other girls through his God's Eye and noticed they also seemed interested.
"I'll make more Sunsettia soup later. Anyone who wants to try it can help themselves."
"Great! Thank you, Boss!"
Xia Zhi went into the kitchen to prepare.
The Sunsettias had been bought by Diona from the market that morning, but there was only enough for the three of them. Now that everyone wanted to try the soup, the ingredients were clearly insufficient.
And it was already late, so going out to buy more would be troublesome.
Might as well just spend some points.
He remembered seeing a special ingredient in the [Shop] before, one that had some miraculous effects in that area.
Let me see… Found it.
A string of product information appeared on the system panel.
[Cotton Candy Sunsettias]
Quality: Gold
Type: Consumable
Trait: Abundance
Effect: A Sunsettia as sweet as cotton candy. Consuming it can make one's figure more perfect.
Hidden Effect: When paired with other desserts, the effect is slightly enhanced.
Price: 150 points.
This was it.
Xia Zhi bought it and took it out from his inventory.
A snow-white, cloud-like ball appeared in his hand.
It had a sweet, fresh scent.
It really felt like a soft, fluffy cotton candy.
Guoba, who was wearing gloves and helping chop vegetables in the kitchen, immediately looked up and made excited noises.
"Wooo! Woo!"
Xiangling, who was kneading dough, heard the noise and also looked over, noticing what Xia Zhi was holding.
"Master, what's that in your hand?"
"Sunsettia."
"Sunsettias look like this?"
"It's a new variety."
"Oh!"
"Woo! Woo!"
Guoba's noises became more urgent.
"Master, Guoba says it wants to eat it."
"This isn't something to eat casually… But Guoba should be fine. Don't worry, I'll let you try some later."
"Woo!"
"Master, it says thank you."
"Such a glutton."
"I want some too!"
"Two gluttons."
"Hehe."