The next day, early morning.
Fang Qiu stirred faintly, opening her eyes in a daze. After staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, she gradually came back to her senses.
She had her back to Hu Tao. Whether it was because the weather itself was cold, compounded by the chill unique to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor—cold upon cold—Hu Tao had wrapped her arms around her from behind while they slept.
Only, she wasn't an honest sleeper, and neither was Hu Tao.
And so she gently moved aside Hu Tao's hand, which rested on her body with its five fingers digging in.
She propped herself up lightly and turned to glance at Hu Tao, who was sleeping soundly—perhaps dreaming of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor's orders selling like hotcakes, for a blissful smile was curling at the corners of her mouth.
Thankfully, she hadn't woken Hu Tao.
She then sat up, climbed down from the bed, dressed herself, and made her way over to the window.
The moment she opened it.
The cold post-rain air of the winter morning came pouring in at once, assailing Fang Qiu's whole body and making her shiver involuntarily.
"So cold."
Fang Qiu hunched her shoulders and looked out at the scenery.
Outside, the rain had already stopped, and a faint mist hung in the air.
On the platform before the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, a large pool of rainwater had collected.
Yesterday, the rain had fallen the whole night through.
And so she had stayed over at Hu Tao's place.
Though there were other rooms, she hadn't dared to use them, and Hu Tao hadn't brought it up either.
And so, by tacit understanding, they had slept in the same bed.
It had been a very comfortable sleep.
Today, they planned to head out after breakfast to scout around for a house.
After all, the rental she lived in now belonged to someone else; living in a home of her own would feel more secure.
Heaven knew how badly she'd longed to buy a place of her own in her past life.
Unfortunately, on the very eve of her masterpiece's release, she'd dropped dead from overwork while cranking out bonus chapters...
She wondered whether her editor had posted her obituary on her behalf.
At the very least, after seeing her obituary, those authors twisted up like fried dough sticks from all their cutthroat grinding ought to be scared off staying up late for a few days, managing only two chapters, right?
But speaking of books, this time The Forest of Fireflies' Light was being released across all three nations—Mondstadt, Inazuma, and Liyue—together, wasn't it?
She wondered whether that fellow Thoma had seen her ghost novels.
Whether The Forest of Fireflies' Light had scared him into tears.
Once she bought a house, she'd call on Hu Tao and Shenhe and, in broad daylight, write a real horror novel out in the courtyard.
By then Thoma would surely assume it was a romance novel, just like The Forest of Fireflies' Light.
And then be caught off guard and left trembling with fright.
At the thought, a trace of a smile rose unbidden to the corners of her mouth.
Just then, a rustling sound of someone getting up came from behind her.
Fang Qiu turned her head; Hu Tao was already awake.
She sat on the bed, gazing at her with a beaming smile.
"Awake so early?"
Hu Tao greeted.
"Good morning."
Fang Qiu nodded and said.
After washing up together, they set off toward the Wanmin Restaurant, bringing Tingyu and Sanmi along.
Eat first.
Then call on Xiangling to go look at houses together.
Tingyu greatly disliked coming into contact with water, and lay nestled in Fang Qiu's arms the whole way; Fang Qiu rather regretted bringing the lazy cat out.
Sanmi, meanwhile, perched on Hu Tao's shoulder.
Given Hu Tao's physical sturdiness, she was completely unaffected.
They made their way to the Wanmin Restaurant, and no sooner had they stepped through the door than they heard Xiangling's voice.
"Traveler, Paimon, here are the shrimp paste buns and beef soup buns you ordered."
Beaming, Xiangling carried two steaming baskets of soup dumplings over to a table of customers.
It was none other than the Traveler and Paimon.
At the same moment Fang Qiu and Hu Tao spotted them, they too caught sight of Fang Qiu.
"Fang Qiu, Hu Tao, good morning."
Paimon waved and called out in greeting.
They greeted one another.
Then they pulled their tables together to sit as one.
During the meal, Paimon brought up the rumor about Thoma circulating in Inazuma.
They said the sorrowful ending of The Forest of Fireflies' Light had all been custom-ordered by Thoma through a letter; when they'd set out from Inazuma, they'd seen several shops Thoma frequented had hiked their prices on him.
Even the Yae Publishing House, under Yae Miko's overnight orders, had first thing in the morning put up a sign charging Thoma double the Mora to buy books.
The Yae Publishing House's move only cemented the rumor about Thoma. For a while, novel enthusiasts applauded in approval, and many readers, upon learning the news, lined up in long queues at the Yae Publishing House, wanting to buy a couple extra copies to show their support.
Only, they'd left in a hurry and hadn't seen Thoma's reaction to it all.
Hearing this, Fang Qiu couldn't help laughing out loud.
That's what that fellow got for scaring her twice.
Served him right.
Had her nerves not been so strong, she'd probably have been so frightened she'd have wet her pants on the spot.
The first time hadn't been so bad.
After all, she'd opened the book alone at the time.
But the second time, Shenhe had come rushing over—the scene was far too embarrassing; she didn't even dare to think about it.
After chatting a while, when they heard Fang Qiu intended to buy a house, Paimon and Lumine instantly perked up and offered to help.
With the renowned Traveler and Paimon offering to help, Fang Qiu naturally wouldn't refuse.
And she decided to treat them to lunch.
Still, since it was a major matter, it couldn't be handled carelessly.
It would be best to find someone to ask.
After much deliberation, they decided to go to Yujing Terrace and ask Ningguang whether she had any relevant advice.
Hearing this decision, Fang Qiu tried to mask her dread with composure, but still couldn't quite keep it together.
Truly worthy of the renowned Traveler and Paimon—they really were that terrifying.
To go troubling the Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing over such a trivial matter...
It was like meeting the President of America in her past life and then asking him what house to buy...
But when she heard that they had been planning to see Ningguang about the Lantern Rite anyway, Fang Qiu felt considerably more at ease.
Since it was just along the way, there was nothing to fear.
Maybe she could even wrangle a discount out of it.
And so their group made their way to Yujing Terrace.
By the time they arrived at Yujing Terrace, Ningguang was instructing two secretaries, making preparations for the Lantern Rite.
"Miss Ningguang, we've come to visit again."
Paimon hovered in the air and waved.
"We're not disturbing you, are we?"
Lumine said.
"Honored guests have come to call—how could that be a disturbance?"
Ningguang said with a faint smile. Then she turned her gaze toward Fang Qiu, Hu Tao, and Xiangling following behind, smiled, and said, "Fang Qiu, what a coincidence—I happened to have business to find you for. I never expected you'd come to me of your own accord. But what brings all of you here together? Is something the matter?"
"Miss Ning—"
Fang Qiu was a little nervous.
The thought of troubling Tianquan Ningguang over buying a house—she simply couldn't bring herself to say it...
Seeing her hemming and hawing, Paimon stepped in to save the day right on cue, telling Ningguang their whole purpose.
"So, aside from coming to ask about matters related to the Lantern Rite, you'd also like to ask me to help pick out a house for Fang Qiu?"
Ningguang arched an eyebrow and asked.
"That's simple enough. I dabble in the real estate business as well—I'll have Baishi accompany you on a trip."
Ningguang said with a faint smile.
"Then thank you, Miss Ningguang."
Paimon said with a smile.
Fang Qiu thanked her as well.
"No need for thanks—it's a trifling matter to begin with. What's more, the property I'm recommending is one of my own holdings, so this counts as a transaction too."
Ningguang said with a faint smile.
So she summoned Baishi, gave him some instructions, and then waited to one side.
"By the way, Miss Ningguang, what was it you wanted to send someone to find me for just now?"
Fang Qiu asked, somewhat puzzled.
"For this Lantern Rite, besides the traditional festival programs, I also plan to add a new one."
Ningguang said.
"Add a new program?"
The group was a little puzzled.
"That's right."
Ningguang nodded, looked at Fang Qiu, and said, "It's the animation you mentioned to me before. At the same time as Sword and Fairy 1 went into production, I sent people to contact artists from all three nations—Mondstadt, Inazuma, and Liyue—to begin preparing the animation of Your Name together. I had Teacher Chalk of Mondstadt serve as lead artist, with the other artists assisting, drawing it in the art style of your cover. It should be finished into a film today. The Lantern Rite is almost here—I hope you can help supervise its production over the coming days, so the animation can premiere at the Lantern Rite with consistent quality."
"I see. Leave it to me with peace of mind."
Fang Qiu nodded.
Besides Sword and Fairy 1, the rights to Your Name had also been sold to Ningguang.
The revenue split was the same as before.
So the better the animation turned out, the higher her earnings.
She was duty-bound to see it through!
Moreover, today was the second day of The Forest of Fireflies' Light's release; since yesterday's heavy rain had cut things short, the major bookstores were still mobbed with crowds today.
So there was no rush with the new book.
It could wait until she'd settled in.
For now she really could lend a hand supervising production, and while she was at it, trot out some godly music from her past life.
Ningguang's plan, though, bore a striking resemblance to the New Year blockbuster films at the cinemas of her past life.
The whole family, young and old, going to the cinema together to watch a movie.
In this life, she'd watch it together with Hu Tao, Shenhe, the Traveler, and the others.
But who in the world was Teacher Chalk?
Why would Miss Ningguang choose him as lead artist?
Though puzzled, Miss Ningguang was swamped with countless affairs, and she didn't want to waste Ningguang's time over it.
She could only hope that this Teacher Chalk was a master of his craft.
After chatting a few more words, they set off following Baishi toward the property under Ningguang's name.
As it happened, the address was conveniently not far from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor.
They made their way to the first villa.
Though this villa's grounds couldn't compare in size to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, it was by no means small.
All the basic facilities were fully in place.
What's more, though these properties stood empty, from how spotless they were it was clear someone had been regularly sent to clean them.
The flowers, plants, and trees in the courtyard were exceedingly tidy, too, without the slightest hint of disarray.
They toured several places in a row, all of the same scale.
In the end, Fang Qiu took a liking to a villa with an open-air soaking bath. The bath's privacy measures were very well done, and with no tall buildings around, no one could see in.
Besides the open-air bath, there was an indoor one as well.
Most importantly, this place actually had a hot water supply.
Only upon asking did she learn that Ningguang had set up a site nearby, situated on high ground, dedicated to heating water.
Using the difference between high and low pressure, the water was delivered to each household.
The pipes connected all the various properties under her name.
If you wanted a soak, you just had to turn on the tap.
Fang Qiu was utterly stunned by such a modern invention.
Beyond that, whether the courtyard or the rooms, Fang Qiu loved the décor of it all.
Everything was complete and in place.
Even Xiangling's eyes lit up at the sight of the kitchen.
On top of that, this villa was the closest to the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, making it convenient for Hu Tao to come over to visit.
In every respect, Fang Qiu was very pleased.
Only, the moment she asked Baishi the price, Fang Qiu's pleasure abruptly soured.
Thirty million Mora.
And that was the price after a discount.
Hsss...
That was just too expensive...
Still, though the location was near the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, it was indeed in Feiyun Slope, the most prosperous district of Liyue Harbor.
Every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.
Add to that the size of the grounds, as well as the quality of the service.
Back in her past life, it would probably be counted in the hundreds of millions.
Though she'd never seen such a place in person in her past life, she'd seen plenty of them in videos.
To this day she still remembered a video she'd watched of a 1.3-billion luxury flat; at the time, that video had been an enormous shock to the impoverished her.
For several days afterward, she'd dreamed of moving into that luxury flat.
Put that way, thirty million Mora didn't seem so expensive after all.
After all, once she got rich and could afford a place on the level of the Jade Chamber, she could always resell this one.
The problem, though, was that she didn't have that much Mora on her...
Even counting the follow-up income from Sword and Fairy 1, it all added up to only seventeen million.
This...
"Miss Ningguang has given instructions: if Miss Fang Qiu wishes to buy, it can be sold to you in interest-free installments. I'm confident that with the follow-up income from Sword and Fairy 1 and the earnings from the Your Name animation, purchasing this villa will be more than within your means."
Baishi said, "Of course, if Miss Fang Qiu would like to buy a more expensive house, I can take you to see those as well."
"N-no, that won't be necessary."
Fang Qiu swallowed, her pretty face going somewhat pale.
Good heavens...
Thirty million Mo...
She'd originally only planned to buy a house worth ten million Mora; never had she imagined her spending would, in an instant, get upgraded to a thirty-million-Mora house.
After some hesitation, Fang Qiu gritted her teeth and decided to buy it anyway.
She'd been poor for so long in her past life, then poor for so long again after coming to Teyvat, having lived so long in cramped rentals—so what if she treated herself a little now!
There were plenty of ways to make money.
Once the deal was settled, Baishi went off to prepare the paperwork.
They, meanwhile, stayed behind in the villa to tour the rooms.
"Wow, this is so luxurious—it feels even nicer than the Serenitea Pot at the Traveler's place."
Paimon said.
"Serenitea Pot?"
Hearing the unfamiliar term, Fang Qiu couldn't help being momentarily stunned.
"That's right—it was a gift from Madame Ping."
Paimon said.
"Master gave it to you?"
Hearing Paimon mention Madame Ping, Xiangling couldn't help asking.
"Mm, that's right."
Paimon nodded and said, "Madame Ping figured that with us roughing it out in the open, braving sun and rain, she'd use Adeptal arts to make a Serenitea Pot so we could sleep a bit more comfortably out in the wilds. Inside is a realm all its own—you just give the materials to the Adeptus Tubby within, and he can make houses and furniture. But we've only just gotten started, so it isn't all that luxurious yet."
"Isn't that just incredible?"
Fang Qiu was astonished.
Opening up a realm within?
In the novels of her past life, that would count as immortal-rank magic, wouldn't it?
"Fang Qiu, if you're all interested, you could come check out the Serenitea Pot with me and the Traveler."
Paimon said with a smile.
Fang Qiu immediately expressed her interest.
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