Chapter 62: Hu Tao: Xiangling!

Stelle walked over to the sofa and lounge area, and everyone was completely dumbfounded.

Good grief! This place actually became so huge!

Suddenly, Stelle's eyes lit up as if she were looking at a beloved treasure.

"Hsss! What is this! What is this! How can there be such a perfect sofa in this world!"

Without a second word, Stelle made a flying leap and landed squarely on the trash-can-shaped lazy boy sofa.

"Ah—my entire body feels so comfortable."

Stelle sank deep into the lazy boy sofa, her face beaming with sheer enjoyment.

Stelle shifted her body slightly and noticed the lottery shop not far away.

"A lottery shop? What on earth is this?"

Stelle walked into the lottery shop and looked around curiously.

"Lottery? Let me check out what this is all about!"

Stelle wandered around the lottery shop for a bit, and once she figured out how it worked, she instantly became interested.

Stelle waved her hand grandly and bought ten lottery tickets right on the spot.

"Hehe! This time I'm definitely going to win, alright!"

Stelle checked the drawing time, which was still two days away.

Stelle tucked the lottery tickets into her pocket and then returned to the lounge area to rest.

Before long, March 7th, Lumine, Amber, Eula, and the others arrived here one after another.

Kaia was sitting alone in the small bar, quietly sipping his drink.

Everyone seemed to have already treated the shop as their own personal entertainment venue.

.........

Inside Liyue Harbor.

Hu Tao rode her flying motorcycle and made a thrilling leap down from Tianheng Mountain.

"Whohoo! This Director has finally returned!"

Hu Tao had ridden her flying motorcycle all the way back from Jueyun Karst, taking roughly half an hour for the entire trip.

And that was while traveling straight through the air; if she had taken the ground route, it probably would have taken nearly half a day—the terrain around Jueyun Karst, tsk, was entirely made of mountains.

Hu Tao landed her flying motorcycle directly on Yujing Terrace, immediately startling all the nearby Millelith guards.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

A squad of Millelith guards surrounded her, and Hu Tao hurriedly raised her hands in surrender.

"I surrender—please don't hit me—"

Recognizing that it was Hu Tao, the Millelith guards put away their weapons.

Hu Tao was extremely famous in Liyue Harbor, especially since she used to promote her Wangsheng Funeral Parlor packages on the streets every single day.

Despite this, the ordinary citizens of Liyue Harbor still adored this young girl.

Though Hu Tao was eccentric and full of mischief, she had a heart of gold, and many people had been rescued by her when they encountered monsters in the wild.

"Director Hu, so it's you. Please don't pull such dangerous stunts next time. What would you have done if something went wrong?"

Hu Tao cupped her hands in a greeting.

"My apologies! I'll pay attention next time. You gentlemen carry on with your duties, and this Director will take her leave."

With that, Hu Tao bid farewell to the Millelith and rode her flying motorcycle straight toward Chihu Rock.

Along the way, Hu Tao dared not drive too fast for fear of running into people.

Hu Tao drove down the main street of Liyue Harbor, and all the surrounding citizens looked on in utter amazement.

"Will you look at that, what on earth is that?"

"Isn't that Director Hu? What is that thing she's sitting on? It actually moves by itself."

"Could this be a new mount introduced in Liyue Harbor? Does anyone know which shop sells it?"

"No idea."

"You have to admit, though, the thing Director Hu is riding looks pretty cool."

"Indeed, indeed. Come on, let's go find out where this thing came from."

Hu Tao quickly crossed the bridge and arrived at Wanmin Restaurant in Chihu Rock.

Hu Tao stood up on her flying motorcycle and peered through the window into the kitchen.

She saw Xiangling busily cooking dishes, while Gouba was working hard by her side to keep the fire burning.

As Hu Tao watched Xiangling, a flash of inspiration suddenly struck her mind.

"Hehe—"

Hu Tao suddenly shouted out loud.

"Xiangling!"

As soon as she finished yelling, Hu Tao sat back down, positioning herself right beneath the windowsill where Xiangling couldn't see her.

Xiangling turned her head around.

"Eh, who called me?"

Xiangling looked around the room, then lifted the door curtain to check outside.

Nobody called her? Surely it couldn't be from the window, right? The kitchen window was right next to the cliffside, and it was built very high off the ground, so it probably wasn't that.

"Gouba, did you hear someone calling my name just now?"

Gouba, who was busy tending the fire, shook its head and spread its hands helplessly.

Seeing this, Xiangling muttered to herself.

"Maybe I just misheard?"

With that, Xiangling went back to cooking her food.

Hu Tao sneaked a peek, sticking just half her head above the windowsill.

Hehe—Xiangling didn't notice. She could do it one more time.

"Xiangling!"

Xiangling turned her head back again, but still saw no one.

What is going on? This is already the second time!

"Who is it!"

This time, Gouba heard the voice as well and looked around in confusion.

Xiangling lifted the door curtain again, only to see the patrons outside quietly eating their meals.

Just as Xiangling turned her head back around, a spooky face suddenly thrust itself right in front of her.

"Wah!!!" Hu Tao bared her teeth and made claws with her hands to scare Xiangling.

Xiangling felt her soul practically leave her body, and she jumped straight up in fright.

After a long while, Xiangling finally calmed down. Recognizing that it was Hu Tao, she stamped her feet angrily.

"Hu Tao! You scared me again! I'm not playing with you anymore!"

Hu Tao scratched the back of her head and pulled out a bear-shaped handheld electric fan.

"Alright, alright—forgive me, look, this is a gift I brought for you."

Xiangling glanced at the fan Hu Tao was holding out.

"What is this?"

Hu Tao pressed the switch, and the very next second, the fan started spinning, producing a steady stream of cool air blowing right at Xiangling.

Xiangling suddenly felt a wave of refreshing coolness wash over her entire body.

"Woah! Hu Tao, where did you get this thing?"

Hu Tao handed the fan over to Xiangling.

"How is it? Can you forgive me now? This is called a handheld mini fan, and once you turn it on, it blows wind by itself."

Xiangling took the fan and shoved it right up against her face; this gadget matched her desires too perfectly.

It was currently summer, and being in the kitchen made things naturally scorching hot.

With this thing, she would be much more comfortable while cooking and wouldn't feel overly hot anymore.

"Thank you, Hu Tao, but you still haven't told me where you got this from."

Hearing this, Hu Tao flashed a mysterious smile and beckoned Xiangling over with her hand.

Seeing this, Xiangling leaned close to Hu Tao.

Hu Tao looked around cautiously.

"Let me tell you..."

The two of them whispered to each other for a good long while before finally pulling apart.

Xiangling looked somewhat incredulous.

"Hu Tao, are you saying you went to another world? Isn't that a bit too mystical?"

Hu Tao replied.

"I thought so too, but it's the absolute truth. The fan in your hand is something I bought from over there. Oh right, I still owe someone money. Do you have some time later? Accompany me to the wild to find some Starconches—uh, Primogems."

Xiangling said.

"I do! Actually, Xingqiu, Chongyun, and I already agreed to go to Dihua Marsh this afternoon, so let's all go together."

Hearing that Xingqiu and Chongyun were going as well, Hu Tao was pleasantly surprised.

"That's even better! It's settled then; I'll come find you this afternoon."

With that said, Hu Tao vaulted over the windowsill and landed back on her flying motorcycle.

Xiangling was utterly baffled. Why wouldn't Hu Tao use the proper front door instead of climbing through the window? It made her look like she was sneaking around for a secret rendezvous.

Xiangling walked closer and took a look, instantly freezing in her tracks.

"What on earth is this thing again?!"

Hu Tao chuckled and twisted the throttle, causing the flying motorcycle to let out a low roar.

"This is my flying motorcycle, and it can actually fly, you know! I'll come pick you up this afternoon, see ya—"

With that, Hu Tao released the brakes and drove her flying motorcycle straight up into the clouds.

Xiangling watched the flying motorcycle take off vertically like a rocket, too shocked to utter a single word.