Later in the evening, the girls returned from their shopping trip.
"Boss, we're back!"
"Something smells so good—what are you making?"
"Chili black bean sauce. It's a little spicy. Want to try?"
"Yes, please!"
Xiangling enthusiastically brought out a dish of Jueyun Chili Black Bean Sauce for everyone.
What followed was a chorus of gasping, wheezing, and frantic water-chugging.
"Xiangling!!!"
"I told you it was a bit spicy. You all insisted on trying it."
"This is what you call 'a bit'?!"
"Hehehe~"
After the laughter died down, Zhu Zi—eyes teary from the spice—sniffled and said, "Boss, I got my novels payment. Hhhhaa…"
Xia Zhi nodded. "Congrats. How much?"
"Over 60,000 Mora!"
"For a new author in her first month? That's great."
"Mhm! I ran into my editor on the way—they told me."
"Keep it up."
"I will!"
Chi Yu was panting nearby, eyeing her with envy.
Later that night, Lady Ningguang dropped by for dinner, bringing more good news.
Ying'er's revenue share from last month had come in.
It was the lipstick collaboration they'd negotiated.
"As per the contract, the total came to 1.56 million Mora. It's already been deposited into your Liyue Bank Card."
"How much?!"
"One million, five hundred sixty-three thousand, seven hundred and twenty Mora."
"How did it get that high?"
"Lipstick's extremely popular right now. Low cost, high markup—huge profit margins. The only limitation is production. But once we scale up next month, we could easily double the sales."
Everyone turned to look at Ying'er.
"Rich lady, please take care of us!"
"Oh hush…"
Ying'er glanced at Xia Zhi.
"Actually, the lipstick formula was something the boss helped me refine. So, about the money…"
Xia Zhi smiled. "Don't say that. I only helped a little."
"No, Boss—I mean… I'd like to donate this money to the school."
"The school?"
"I don't need it right now, and it's just sitting there. I thought I could do what Lady Ganyu did—set up a scholarship or something…"
"I see."
"Is that okay?"
"If that's what you want to do, of course. But no need to donate all of it—keep some for yourself."
"Got it!"
Ying'er beamed.
Ningguang turned to her friend. "The hand cream you and Qiqi developed will go into production this month. You'll start seeing returns next month—though probably not as much as the lipstick."
Ying'er waved it off. "That was just a homework assignment from Boss anyway."
Chi Yu watched all of this unfold, jealousy swelling again.
Zhu Zi had manuscript pay, Shenhe had rental income, Qiqi had the hand cream, Diona had her mixology, Ying'er had lipstick, Xiangling had the newspaper… and Xia Ci and Xia Zhen were family, so money was never an issue for them…
Whimper… She was the only one in the shop without a side hustle…
Total failure!
Even while soaking in the bath, Chi Yu was still stewing over it.
Xia Ci noticed and came over. "What's wrong?"
Chi Yu looked up at her. "I'm thinking about how to make money."
"Make money?"
"Mhm."
"That's easy."
"Do you have an idea?"
"Didn't you use to be the head of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor?"
"Yes."
"Then you probably know where the big tombs are, right? Just dig one up. Easy profit…"
Chi Yu's expression immediately dropped.
"Grave-robbing is totally out of the question. That goes against everything the Funeral Parlor stands for. If Hu Tao found out, she'd have my head."
"But the dead don't need their treasure…"
"Nope. Definitely something else. I don't need a fortune—just a little side income like the others."
"Well, all of them are doing things they enjoy. What do you enjoy?"
"Me? Reading novels—does that count?"
"Of course it does! You could write one, like Zhu Zi."
"I don't know how to write light novels."
"Then write a traditional one."
"I tried… but it came out awful. It's nothing like the boss's writing."
"Well, that's understandable. My cousin's in another league. So… what about starting a whole new genre?"
"Huh?"
"Grave-robbing novels."
"W-What?"
"Like a team that breaks into tombs, fights off ghosts and zombies… it's basically your area of expertise!"
"Would people even want to read that kind of thing?"
"Absolutely! It'll be a hit!"
Chi Yu mulled it over—then shook her head.
"Nope."
"Trust me. It'll explode."
"Which is exactly why I can't write it. What if people start copying my stories and raiding real tombs? Hu Tao would kill me."
"…You're really scared of Hu Tao, huh?"
"She's the current head of the parlor!"
"Then just write ghost stories. You've been a ghost—that counts. Ask Charlotte if The Steambird is looking for new columnists. Maybe you can submit something."
"You're right!"
Chi Yu lit up with motivation.
"Thanks for the idea!"
"No problem."
Xia Ci returned to soak beside Xia Zhen.
One by one, everyone left the bath to get in line for a massage from Xia Zhi in the back hall.
At some point, Xia Zhen nudged her shoulder and casually asked,
"You want to go first?"
"Nope."
"Huh?"
"Not going today."
Xia Zhen looked surprised.
"You're usually the most enthusiastic—what changed?"
"I noticed something."
"What?"
"Someone's about to cut the line."
"Who?"
Xia Ci glanced at her.
"Not telling."
Xia Zhen furrowed her brow and thought hard. Everyone seemed like a suspect…
"You really not going?"
"Nope. You go."
"Okay then."
Xia Zhen climbed out of the bath, wrapped herself in a towel, and left.
Xia Ci closed her eyes, sinking into the warm water, gaze drifting through the steam.
"...Nahida."
---
Sumeru – Sanctuary of Surasthana
Deep inside one of the rooms, Nahida sat reading alone.
Every so often, she glanced up at the clock.
Until the hands finally reached midnight.
She set her book aside, staring at the time, brows furrowed in confusion.
So quiet again tonight?
Same as yesterday.
That strange sensation that used to visit her every night—leaving her body weak, as if touched by invisible hands, filled with inexplicable pleasure—had completely vanished.
Nahida let out a sigh of relief.
By all accounts, this should have been a good thing.
And yet… deep in her heart, she felt an odd twinge of disappointment.
"…Sister."