Jade Chamber.
It was late, but Ningguang was still working through documents.
Then a message from Keqing popped up.
[Keqing: Mr. Xia said the instant noodles have already arrived. They should be in your place.]
[Ningguang: I don't think so?]
[Keqing: Aren't you living at Mr. Xia's shop right now? He said he left them there.]
[Ningguang: Oh. I'll check once I go back tonight.]
[Keqing: Great. I'll come pick them up tomorrow!]
Ningguang put her phone down, thoughtful.
So fast? Already delivered? I thought Komaniya Express would be the one bringing them…
She glanced at the documents on her desk.
None of them were urgent. She could finish them tomorrow.
"Baishi."
"Yes, Lady Ningguang?"
"Clean up the office. We're heading back."
"Yes!"
Soon after, Ningguang and her three secretaries returned to Feiyun Slope.
The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor next door glowed faintly, its lanterns leaking an eerie aura.
Ningguang looked once, then headed straight into the Summer Shop.
She went upstairs, opened the door—
And found a mountain of instant noodles stacked inside.
"So they really did arrive?"
She blinked, surprised.
And she happened to be a little hungry.
Might as well have a late-night snack.
She sent the word downstairs.
Then she sat on her bed and messaged Xia Zhi.
[Ningguang: Mr. Xia, why didn't you tell me the noodles arrived?]
[Xia Zhi: Wanted to surprise you.]
[Ningguang: Surprise? More like a shock.]
[Why's that?]
[Well, this is my room. Someone entering without my permission like that… makes me uncomfortable.]
[Xia Zhi: My apologies, Miss Ningguang. That was rude of me. I'll be more careful next time…]
Ningguang's lips curved.
[So… you delivered them personally?]
[Yes.]
[Then it's fine. After all, this room used to be yours.]
[…]
Ningguang tilted her head toward the bed.
Her underwear lay right there.
[Do my clothes look good?]
[Xia Zhi: What clothes? Miss Ningguang, I'm blind.]
She laughed quietly.
Blind, yet you can text me perfectly?
She knew Xia Zhi's eyes really couldn't see. But he definitely had some other way of perceiving the world.
She picked up the underwear, amusement flickering in her gaze.
Next time he wanted to bring something over…
Maybe she should wait inside the room for him to show up.
----
Inazuma, inside the shrine.
Xia Zhi put down his phone, and the scene he'd witnessed in Miss Ningguang's room earlier drifted uninvited into his thoughts.
Were her clothes nice?
Of course they were.
With her refined rich-lady taste, those scraps of fabric—thin as a cicada's wing—were definitely expensive. And expensive things always had their reasons.
But none of that had anything to do with him, a respectable man.
Xia Zhi cleared his head and took out Mona's crystal ball from his inventory.
Earlier today, while giving Mona a Massage in the Serenitea Pot, she'd asked excitedly whether he'd finished making her Transformation item yet.
He'd had to shake his head. He'd planned to work on it last night, but his cousin had shown up a bit early… and things had gotten a bit intense… so he'd pushed the whole upgrade project aside.
But it wasn't too late to fix that now.
He studied the crystal ball in his hand.
Mona had obtained it after winning the championship in Mondstadt, a prize she'd had Ganyu help her open.
The crystal ball might've been a supernatural item, but its Quality was still only Black Iron.
It had been fine before. But now that Mona was officially his Magical Girl, giving her a Black Iron divination tool felt downright embarrassing.
His own Magical Girl deserved better.
More importantly, if their benefits were good, they'd naturally attract more Magical Girls in the future.
Xia Zhi opened the Evolution menu and placed the crystal ball inside.
Its Quality shifted from Black Iron to Silver, then from Silver to Gold.
[Star-Blessed Crystal Ball]
Quality: Gold
Type: Auxiliary Item
Trait: Revelation
Effect: When divining under starlight, grants additional Revelation.
Hidden Effect: Divination speed +30%, divination success rate +20%.
Recyclable: 100 points.
A nice new effect had appeared.
Good enough.
Xia Zhi picked it up again. Through the clear outer shell, tiny specks of starlight shimmered inside.
Beautiful.
He moved to the window, looking out at the night sky. Time to test the new Effect.
But what should he divine?
He thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered the White Heron Princess, who'd visited a few days ago to discuss Summer Festival planning with Yae Miko.
Back then, Xia Ci had teased him, saying the princess was Cryo and therefore destined for him.
Absolute slander.
What did she mean by "every Cryo Vision holder around you eventually gets special with you"?
He'd met the Kamisato heiress for the first time that very day.
Xia Zhi sighed internally and used the divination skill he'd learned from Mona. His palm slid gently across the surface of the crystal ball.
Starlight poured onto the sphere and resonated with the stars inside, making it glow.
Strange celestial images surfaced from within.
Xia Zhi interpreted them carefully.
Then he went silent.
Without a word, he pressed his hand to the crystal ball again and reverted it back to its previous appearance.
There was nothing to say.
That [additional Revelation] really was… extra.
Much more interesting than Moon Carver's coin-flip divination.
Mona was definitely going to love this.
Xia Zhi extended a finger and carved divine runes into the vertical channel of the crystal ball, granting it another new Trait, [Transformation].
Per Mona's request, he assigned it a dark-element attribute.
And with that, the Transformation device was complete.
Time to deliver it, before she went crazy waiting.
He left his room and headed straight to Mona's door, knocking twice.
"Who is it?"
"It's me."
"Mr. Xia!"
She rushed over, barefoot, practically vibrating with excitement.
Charlotte was inside too, sorting through the photos she'd taken in the rain today. When she saw Xia Zhi enter, she looked up and smiled.
Xia Zhi nodded back and handed Mona the crystal ball. "Your Transformation device is ready."
Mona accepted it with a bright, delighted grin. "Thank you, Mr. Xia!"
Xia Zhi stepped inside. "Try transforming once. I need to adjust your entrance settings."
"Okay!"
With a Magical Girl roommate in her group chat, Mona had already learned all the necessary steps. She didn't even need guidance.
She hugged the crystal ball against her chest, closed her eyes, whispered Mr. Xia's name in her heart, then whispered "Transform," and instantly entered the Transformation state as a sphere of black light enveloped her.
Click.
Charlotte lifted her Kamera in time to capture the moment.
Meanwhile, Xia Zhi casually opened Mona's character interface and changed her outfit to something more fitting.
After finalizing her entrance settings, he closed the interface. The black sphere faded, and Mona slowly opened her eyes.
"All done."
"That's it?"
"Mm. Get used to the form first. If anything confuses you, ask Charlotte."
"Got it!"
"I'll head out."
"Goodnight, Mr. Xia!"
Mona walked him to the door, then eagerly started testing her newly unlocked dark-element spells.
Only low-level ones, of course. Anything higher risked blowing up the room.
After a while, her attention drifted back to the crystal ball.
She'd already noticed the subtle change in its aura.
In the language of astrologists, it had become… more mysterious.
But this kind of mystery couldn't be revealed by touch alone. Only through use.
And unraveling mysteries through practice was the entire charm of astrology.
Mona licked her lips, staring hungrily at the star-lit sphere in her hands.
Click.
Charlotte snapped another photo.
"What?" Mona frowned.
"You looked like a total perv just now."
"…"
Mona sighed.
"Forget it. A reporter like you could never understand the romance of an astrologist."
Charlotte blinked and smiled. "You mean the romance of having no money and being forced to perform tricks on the street?"
"You're awful!"
"Haha!"
"When you come to me for a reading, I'm charging you!"
"No! Great astrologist Mona! I'm sorry!"
They laughed together for a bit.
"Mona, do a reading for me."
"What kind?"
"I want a big headline."
"A big headline… let me see… huh?"
"What is it?"
"The reading says the Arataki Gang in Inazuma City will have something interesting happen tomorrow."
"The Arataki Gang? Got it. I'll go interview them tomorrow."
----
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