Several empty test tubes lay scattered across the alchemy table.
Ying'er picked one up, brought it to her lips, and gently blew into it.
Nothing happened.
She plugged the mouth of the tube with her finger and asked, "Miss Sucrose, is this how you do it?"
Sucrose furrowed her brows in thought. "Hmm… that's strange. It's supposed to change color…"
Ying'er tilted her head, confused. "Change color? But breath is invisible and colorless, isn't it?"
Blushing a little, Sucrose explained, "Well, these aren't ordinary test tubes. After I became the Windblume Festival's Special Ambassador, Master Albedo knew I wanted to do something nice for everyone. So he gave me these tubes. He said they were crafted long ago by Klee's mom. They're special alchemical items that can collect 'Breaths of Joy.' If you really manage to collect it, the tube is supposed to glow with a lovely pink-purple color."
"Lovely pink-purple?" Ying'er echoed, intrigued.
Cloud Retainer, too, picked up a tube and gently blew into it.
Still nothing happened.
She looked at the test tube in her hand and said, "Apologies, Miss Sucrose. Seems my breath doesn't qualify as 'Breath of Joy,' either."
Sucrose quickly waved her hands. "No, no, Xianyun, you don't need to apologize! I'm already super grateful you're willing to help me test this out."
Cloud Retainer thought for a moment. "Honestly, I find your experiment quite interesting. Would you mind if I borrowed a tube to continue studying it myself? I'll share any findings with you."
Sucrose blinked, then beamed with delight. "Of course! I'd love to collaborate on this kind of research! Uh—one tube is enough? I've got plenty. You can take two or three if you want."
Cloud Retainer shook her head. "One will do. Thank you."
Ying'er also hesitated for a moment, then said, "Miss Sucrose, I'm kind of interested too… Would it be okay if I joined you?"
Sucrose nodded immediately. "Of course! Welcome aboard."
So Ying'er received a special test tube of her own.
"Miss Sucrose, it's getting late. We'll head back for today."
"Okay! I'm usually in the alchemy workshop. Stop by anytime."
"Alright, see you."
"Goodbye, both of you!"
Cloud Retainer and Ying'er bid farewell and returned to the Favonius Library.
After that, everyone put back the books they hadn't finished reading and headed out to eat.
This time, Amber recommended the dinner spot.
Once they ordered, everyone sat together chatting about the books they'd read in the library that day.
Cloud Retainer rested her chin on one hand, holding the empty test tube up to her eyes, occasionally blowing into it again.
Sitting beside her, Madame Ping asked, "Cloud Retainer, what are you doing?"
"Call me Xianyun."
"…"
Madame Ping paused for two seconds, then asked again, "Xianyun, what are you doing?"
"I'm conducting research."
"Research? On blowing into a tube?"
"Yes."
"…What's there to research about that?"
"You don't understand. Do you know what Breath of Joy is?"
"Breaths of Joy?'"
"If the air you blow into this tube counts as Breaths of Joy, it'll change into a pink-purple color."
Madame Ping felt like Cloud Retainer was feeding her nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
On Cloud Retainer's other side sat Shenhe, who tilted her head curiously and asked softly, "Really, Master?"
"If what that Miss Sucrose said is true…"
"I want to see."
"Here." Cloud Retainer handed the test tube over.
Shenhe took it, looked it over carefully, then gently blew into it.
Something incredible happened.
The once-empty test tube suddenly bloomed with a mesmerizing pink-purple hue. Then, a small tuft of dazzling cloud-like fluff burst forth, floating up like cotton candy before flitting away into the air.
The whole table fell silent. Everyone looked up in surprise, their eyes following the little cloud as it drifted out the window.
"Eh…? What… what was that?"
"A happy cloud? It flew away?"
Cloud Retainer stared blankly at the window.
She lowered her gaze to her disciple.
The test tube had returned to normal, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Master?"
"Shenhe, try blowing into it again."
"Okay."
Shenhe obediently lowered her head and blew gently into the tube once more.
Once again, that pink-purple light appeared, and another little cloud floated up.
This time, Cloud Retainer reached out to catch it.
The cloud dispersed between her fingers.
She withdrew her hand, empty. "So this is the so-called 'Breaths of Joy'?"
Which meant—the test tube really worked.
Cloud Retainer took the tube back from Shenhe and, under everyone's curious gaze, tried blowing into it herself.
Nothing happened.
Shenhe looked at her master and suddenly asked, "Master, do you… not feel happy right now?"
Cloud Retainer lowered her eyes, murmuring, "Me? …Not happy? …Perhaps because there's something missing in my heart."
Old memories surfaced—the faces of departed friends: Guizhong, the Yaksha, so many Adepti…
Madame Ping glanced at Cloud Retainer and sighed, "For folks like us, who've lived too long and seen too much, happiness doesn't come easy anymore. Kids like Yaoyao, though, innocent and carefree, it's much easier for them."
Cloud Retainer handed the tube to Yaoyao. "Yaoyao, you try."
Yaoyao held the tube and blew into it.
Sure enough, the same pink-purple color appeared.
Everyone found it amusing.
Ying'er took out her own tube, and everyone passed it around to test.
In the end, aside from Shenhe and Yaoyao, only Ganyu managed to produce 'Breaths of Joy.'
The group exchanged looks, and their eyes inevitably landed on Xia Zhi.
Zhu Zi quietly asked, "Boss, are you… not happy either?"
Xia Zhi twirled the tube in his hand and smiled. "How about I show you all a magic trick?"
"Eh?"
"Watch—poof! The tube's gone."
"You just stored it in your inventory, didn't you!"
"Caught me." Xia Zhi chuckled, pulling the tube back out from his inventory. At the same time, he glanced at the system panel's item description.
[Happy Test Tube]
Quality: Black Iron
Type: Alchemy Tool
Trait: None
Effect: Can collect breath with Joy Level over 90 points.
Hidden Effect: None
Recyclable: 1 point
The empty tube reappeared in Xia Zhi's hand.
He held it up and said, "You're all overthinking this."
"Eh?"
"Ying'er already mentioned it—these are alchemy items. And since I know a thing or two about alchemy, I examined the tube carefully just now and figured out how it works."
"How does it work?"
"Well, happiness is just an emotional state, right? If you quantify emotions, you can set 50 as neutral, 10 as sorrow, and 90 as happiness."
"So you're saying…"
"Exactly. This test tube simply displays a color change when someone's emotion value exceeds 90 points. It's basically a detector. It doesn't mean anything deeper. I'm not unhappy or anything—just hungry right now, so my emotion level hasn't hit 90. That's why the tube didn't change color."
"Oh, that makes sense!"
"Most of you are probably in the same boat. After we eat, we can try again—the tubes should change then. If not, wait until later when we're relaxing in the bath after my massage session. You'll all feel plenty happy by then."
"Mm-hmm!"
Even though Xia Zhi had explained everything clearly, some of the girls, sharp as ever, still noticed something odd.
Shenhe and Ganyu had both triggered the 'Breaths of Joy.' They'd spent the whole day reading too, just as tired and hungry as everyone else. So why were their emotion levels still so high?
Charlotte glanced at the two calm-faced sisters, her eyes gleaming with gossip.
Mona sneaked a glance at Xia Zhi, recalling her previous divination. Something clicked.
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