Inside the room, Xia Le lay sprawled across her bed, reading a novel.
Beside her, Xia Lin sat at the edge of the mattress, fiddling with a small wooden box.
She gathered up the seeds that had already been processed, tossed a handful of leaves from a nearby basket into the box, closed the lid, and placed it gently on Xia Le's back. After a while, she lifted it again and repeated the process.
After doing this several times, Xia Lin sighed and set the box aside, looking bored. "This game of yours is no fun at all. I'm done."
"Hey, don't stop yet! You've barely started," Xia Le said quickly, raising her head.
"My hands are tired," Xia Lin grumbled, rubbing her wrists.
Unlike Xia Le, she might have been a dragon in essence, but with the [Golden Circlet] suppressing her power, her physical strength was no greater than that of a normal girl.
Seeing her like this, Xia Le knew she couldn't really push her.
In the end, if she wanted happiness, she'd have to work for it herself.
"Alright, fine. Thanks anyway," she sighed, setting her half-read book aside and beginning to make more seeds herself.
After a few rounds, boredom crept in again. She reached for her phone and started scrolling, operating the box with one hand while reading with the other.
Xia Lin watched her curiously. "You don't even want to do this, so why are you still doing it?"
"You wouldn't get it," Xia Le replied without looking up.
"Then tell me so I can get it!"
"Do you know what this is?"
"A box."
"This is a Seed-Converting Box."
"Oh."
"It was a gift from big brother."
"You mean Papa."
"Big brother said if I can make ten thousand seeds, he'll give me a reward."
"!"
"And he'll grant me one wish."
"!!"
"Hehe… like becoming a dragon knight or something."
"!!!"
Xia Lin's eyes widened, her delicate face flushing pink.
She'd read the novels Xia Le had sent her. She knew exactly what "dragon knight" implied.
"I–I suddenly feel like playing this game again," she stammered.
"Oh? Didn't you just say your hands were tired?" Xia Le teased.
"I've rested now!"
"I know what you're thinking," Xia Le said with a smirk. "But even if you help me, that wish is mine. I'm not giving it away."
"We could make twenty thousand seeds! Then we'd get two wishes—you one, me one!"
"…You know what, that actually makes sense."
"Then let me do it!"
"Alright, it's all yours."
Xia Le handed her the box and flopped back onto her bed.
This time, Xia Lin's expression was much more focused.
If she wanted happiness, she'd have to earn it herself.
---
Xia Zhi's first stop was Charlotte's room.
He knocked before entering, finding both Charlotte and Mona lying on their beds in pajamas, phones in hand.
Phones really were dangerous things.
He remembered how diligent Mona used to be—a model astrologer. On cloudy nights she'd study, on clear ones she'd stargaze. She filled notebook after notebook with charts and diagrams, and even made time to write columns for The Steambird.
Now? She spent her days chatting online or gaming. It was like she'd forgotten what ambition was.
This slump had lasted a while. Ever since their trip to Mondstadt, she'd seemed… different. Maybe something had happened. Or maybe she'd just lost her passion for astrology.
Charlotte perked up immediately when she saw him. "Mr. Xia! What brings you here?"
He smiled. "Brought you something. Here—your Kamera."
He greeted Mona as well.
Charlotte's eyes lit up as she took it. "You finished it already?"
"Yeah. Had some spare time earlier, so I gave it another upgrade. I was gonna drop it off tomorrow, but since I was heading out anyway and saw your lights were still on, figured I'd stop by."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Xia!"
"No problem."
"How do I use it?"
She lifted the Kamera and instinctively aimed it at her roommate, snapping a cute shot of Mona.
But when she lowered it—Mona's bed was empty.
"Huh? Where'd Mona go?"
Xia Zhi paused. "She's inside your Kamera."
Charlotte blinked. "What???"
Suppressing a chuckle, he gestured for her to take out the photo she'd just taken.
In it, Mona sat on her bed, looking around in confusion—as if wondering where they had gone.
Charlotte gasped. "How did Mona end up inside the photo?"
Xia Zhi sighed. "That's what I was about to explain—the [Prison Film]."
"The [Prison Film]?"
"Yeah. Let me break it down. This Kamera itself is now a transformation device—[Light Kamera]. The flash here is the [Purifying Flash], and the film you just used is one of several [Prison Films]. They can trap whatever—or whoever—you photograph inside an illusionary copy of the scene."
"That's incredible!"
"I figured it'd come in handy. You used to run into all sorts of dangerous situations during interviews, right? So I made these [Prison Films] for protection. Next time you're in trouble, just snap the threat into the picture."
"That's so cool!"
"You can also use it to protect someone instead—keep them safe inside temporarily."
"Makes sense!"
"As for the [Purifying Flash], that's just an extra feature I added. It wards off spirits, but you should keep it turned off normally. Wouldn't want to accidentally hurt a harmless ghost."
"Got it!"
"And finally, about the transformation function—it's easy. Just hold the Kamera and think the word transform."
"I wanna try!"
Charlotte followed the instruction.
A glowing sphere of white light enveloped her.
At the same time, Xia Zhi heard the familiar system voice in his mind:
"Prayer detected from a devoted believer. Respond?"
"Yes," he replied.
A character panel appeared—Charlotte's silhouette outlined against divine light.
He designed a stylish outfit for her, elegant yet practical, befitting her personality.
When he closed the interface, the light faded, revealing Charlotte in her new attire, beaming with excitement.
Knowledge began flooding her mind—spells, divine techniques—among them, the one she'd always wanted: [Detect Evil], a first-tier light spell.
But then her excitement dimmed as she realized Mona was still stuck inside the photo.
"Mr. Xia, how do I get her out?"
"Just fold the photo in half. That'll dissolve the prison and reset the film for reuse."
"Oh, okay!"
She hesitated, though, glancing down at herself. "Um, Mr. Xia, can I tell Mona about… the magical girl thing?"
"That's fine. You two live together anyway—she'll figure it out soon enough."
"Alright!"
Charlotte carefully folded the photo.
A ripple of spatial energy spread from it, and moments later, Mona reappeared on her bed.
She blinked between them. "Where did you two go? And what was that barrier around the room? I couldn't get out."
Charlotte froze, face twitching awkwardly.
Xia Zhi waved it off. "I've got something else to do. You can explain everything to her later."
"Okay, Mr. Xia. Have a good night!"
"Night."
"Goodnight!"
----
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