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The library of Aaru Village, as well as the subsequent construction of an entire commercial chain, finally had a clear direction.
Dori made a solid investment, the promise Victor Wang had made when inviting Candace and Rahman into the North Wing was fulfilled, Kaveh's library blueprints were snapped up by Dori at a high price, and Qi Xiuming could now focus wholeheartedly on hosting the bubble gum competition.
The Second Teyvat Bubble-Blowing Competition was also progressing in an orderly manner.
However, after not seeing each other for several days, something had changed when they met again on Lumine's side.
"Victor, you…"
"You felt that kind of aura too?" Sensing the Abyssal presence clinging to Lumine after she had approached that Khaenri'ahn "Sinner," Victor Wang asked in return.
"So, you really… you already had it before?" Lumine questioned again.
Not having personally gone through Aether's memories together with Lumine to face the "Sinner," and only hearing a rough account afterward, Paimon was completely confused.
Charlotte, who had just finished interviewing Victor Wang and was preparing to ask Lumine about her successful advancement through the qualifiers, was equally baffled when the conversation suddenly took this turn.
With a solemn expression, Victor Wang first asked Charlotte to step aside, then explained seriously to Lumine:
"Do you remember the time I fainted on Mt. Aocang? I, Ye Caizhen, and several others fought a major battle against the Abyss Order. Many Abyss Mages and Abyss Heralds appeared during the fight. I don't know what the Abyss Order did at the time, but I lost my memory. When I woke up again… I was already on Mt. Aocang, and I had gained a special perception of Abyssal power. My ability to sense the Withering before was also because of this."
"So that's how it was? Curse that Abyss Order!" Paimon waved her fists angrily. "But being able to sense the Withering… that sounds like a good thing?"
"There are also many downsides. Because of this, when I first met Dainsleif at the Goth Grand Hotel in Mondstadt, he mistook me for someone from the Abyss Order and attacked without a word. Thankfully, Kaeya stopped him."
"What?!" Paimon yelped in shock, startling Victor Wang as well—he thought he had let something slip. Then Paimon continued, "So back then you weren't talking about 'men's secrets'? Kaeya, that guy, is such a liar!"
"Kaeya does have some secrets he wants to keep…" Victor Wang rubbed his nose.
"Khaenri'ah?" Lumine tested him with a keyword.
"He already told you his identity?"
Lumine nodded slightly.
"I see… He really did want to hide it back then. Maybe after knowing you for long enough, and realizing you were trustworthy, he decided to tell you."
At last, Lumine's doubts were completely dispelled.
Seeing that things had gone far enough, Victor Wang ended the topic and gestured toward Charlotte. "That reporter over there wants to interview you."
Paimon asked first, "Will it be in the newspaper?"
"It should be."
"Yay! Lumine, let's go accept the interview!"
...
"The Steambird, The Steambird—yesterday's article is already out, let me see—"
Early the next morning, on the way to the competition venue, Paimon eagerly bought a newspaper and read it while flying.
"Recently, the five consecutive days of qualifiers for the Second Teyvat Bubble-Blowing Competition have concluded. Five hundred contestants are now fully prepared to advance into the elimination rounds. Our paper has taken special note that Mr. Kaeya, who placed second in the previous competition, and Miss Lumine, who placed third, are both among them…"
"Why is there even an interview with Kaeya? I'm skipping straight to the highlights… found it!"
"Q: Compared to the first competition, the rules of the Second Bubble-Blowing Competition have undergone significant changes. Have these affected you, Miss Lumine?"
"A: Not much. I'm in great form."
"Q: Do you feel confident about winning the championship?"
"A: I'll do my best to fight for it."
At this point, Paimon stopped and pointed at the concise answers. "Lumine, you're in the newspaper!"
Lumine nodded. "I already saw it."
"Then I'll keep reading?"
"Q: How did Mr. Victor come up with the idea of using slimes to make candy?"
"A: As the saying goes, what you think about during the day shows up in your dreams at night. Maybe I was craving jelly too much. Once, I had a very strange dream—the details are fuzzy now, but I remember that at the end of the dream, I tasted refined slime. The flavor wasn't great, but the texture was excellent."
Reading this, Paimon stopped again and looked at Victor Wang, who was staying at the same inn and heading to the venue with them. "Victor, you're in the newspaper!"
Already well aware of this, Victor Wang still played along enthusiastically. "Yay, I'm in the newspaper… but why don't I hear Paimon's name anywhere?"
"Ahem! I'll keep reading!"
"Q: A dream?"
"A: In fact, this wasn't an isolated case. Before me, another collaborator of mine—the creator of bubble gum and the head chef of Liyue's Wanmin Restaurant, Xiangling—had already tried using slimes as ingredients multiple times, though the results weren't ideal.
"By chance, we hit it off immediately. I provided the idea of turning slimes into candy, and she made it a reality. That's how chewing gum and bubble gum were born.
"Another friend of mine, Paimon, has also dreamed many times of edible slimes. It's just that in her dreams, the slimes were bouncing around energetically, and she could never catch them. Otherwise, the inventor of bubble gum might have been her.
"By the way, since I'm in Sumeru, I'd also like to thank another friend who prefers to remain unnamed. It was she who taught me an alchemy formula that changed the taste of refined slime, allowing us to make truly delicious bubble gum."
"Did you see that!" Paimon folded up the newspaper and flew to the front, turning around with her hands on her hips. "Paimon—my name! I'm in the newspaper too!"
"So amazing!" Victor Wang and Lumine said in unison, as if humoring a child.
Then the sword scabbard trembled slightly, and Little Wen became unhappy. "I want to be in the newspaper too!"
Uh… Victor Wang sucked in a sharp breath. "I really can't think of how to write it so that a sword ends up in a report about bubble gum."
"There's really no way?"
"There isn't."
"Woo…"
Not even adding an exclamation mark—this was genuine sadness. After thinking for a moment, Victor Wang promised, "When there's another chance in the future."
Fortunately, Paimon was in a great mood and didn't argue with Little Wen at a time like this. She clasped her hands behind her back and asked with a grin, "By the way, who's that 'friend who didn't want to be named'? Someone actually doesn't want to be in the newspaper?"
"It's Lisa," Victor Wang explained. "She once studied in the Spantamad Darshan at the Akademiya and had titles like 'a once-in-two-hundred-years prodigy' and 'genius graduate of the Akademiya.' She's also Cyno's senior."
"Eh?!"
Even Lumine looked like she was hearing this for the first time, her mouth slightly open, surprise impossible to hide in her eyes.
Victor Wang sighed. "If Lisa had been around when we opposed the Akademiya, our plans probably would have gone much more smoothly."
"Wait," Paimon spotted a blind spot. "How did you know in such a short time that Lisa didn't want to reveal her name?"
"Could it be—"
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