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After finishing the newspaper, Paimon, Lumine, and Victor Wang arrived at the venue just in time.
This was the final day of the Second Teyvat Bubble-Blowing Competition. Only five contestants were still standing on the stage. From a certain perspective, they were all victors—yet at this final moment, even among victors, concrete rankings still had to be decided.
Lumine stepped onto the stage, while Victor Wang and Paimon headed toward their usual meeting spot. The Arataki Gang and the Liyue Exploration Squad were already there—and there was one extra person as well.
"Weren't you planning to wander around?" Victor Wang asked as he approached. "Why did you come here instead?"
"Kaeya and I are colleagues, after all," Lisa said with a smile, glancing toward the stage. "And since we're both in a foreign land, I thought I'd drop by to have a look."
Lisa had shed her usual witch-style white-and-purple dress, changing into a green-and-white outfit adapted from the Akademiya uniform. The biggest difference between the two outfits was that the strip of white that once sat at her chest had shifted to her legs. The new outfit didn't include stockings, leaving her long, snow-white, almost crystalline legs fully exposed to the air—strikingly eye-catching.
Afraid his eyes might get stuck there; Victor Wang only swept a quick glance before daring not to look further. "How does this trip back to familiar places feel? Has it changed a lot compared to when you studied at the Akademiya?"
Lisa sighed softly. "There was a clothing shop I used to visit all the time, and it had already gone out of business. I originally wanted to buy more clothes and accessories to take back as gifts for the girls in the Knights of Favonius… such a shame."
"But you still changed into new clothes?"
"The shop is gone, but the person is still around. I found the owner and asked her to make this as a special order." Lisa turned sideways and slowly spun around. "So? Do you think it looks good?"
"It's beautiful, elegant, and fits your temperament perfectly."
"Hehe, hearing praise really does make one happy. Thank you."
During this gap, Victor Wang glanced toward the stage. The competition had already begun. With only the final five contestants left, today's schedule was very short, and the audience had already erupted into enthusiastic cheers.
Lumine had Paimon. Yoimiya had the Arataki Gang. Chongyun had the Liyue Exploration Squad. Even Kuiyuan had members of the Spicy-Eaters Faction shouting encouragement. As for Kaeya… presumably the Non-Spicy-Eaters Faction and the fans he'd accumulated as the runner-up of the first bubble-blowing competition would be cheering for him.
"When are you heading back to Mondstadt?" Victor Wang asked.
"Probably the day after tomorrow. Speaking of which, yesterday at the Grand Bazaar, there was a lovely red-haired girl who performed a dance. I was sitting in the front row—oh my, the dance was so beautiful it made me think… if only I could see something like that in Mondstadt too."
"You mean Nilou from the Zubayr Theater? It might be a bit difficult to get her to perform in Mondstadt."
"That's not quite what I had in mind. There are girls in the Knights who are good at dancing too, you know. Someone like Eula—she's unexpectedly straightforward in some ways. Convincing… no, inviting her to dance would be much easier than bringing performers to Mondstadt. The tricky part is how to spark her interest in Sumeru-style dances, and finding an outfit suitable for Sumeru dances that she'd also accept."
"Eula…"
Victor Wang couldn't help but imagine it. Eula was indeed skilled at dancing, but having her wear an outfit like Nilou's and perform the Sabzeruz dance—
There was no intention of mocking Nilou, but the difference in body type was rather significant. With that same outfit, the exposed waist and back, the full thighs, and the ample chest… just thinking about it was quite impactful. For Eula, it would undoubtedly be a bit too revealing.
Similar physique… and able to dance… Victor Wang suddenly had an idea. "Maybe Barbara would be more suitable?"
"That's actually a pretty good idea. If we can get Jean to say that Sumeru dances are beautiful, Barbara would definitely be willing to learn on her own initiative. Seems like I'll have to find an opportunity to send the two of them here on vacation. Even if it means I have to work some extra hours, it'll be worth it."
"Actually, there's no need to overthink it or make things so complicated. You could just learn the dance yourself while you're here, then teach whoever you want after you go back."
"Hm?" Lisa narrowed her eyes and smiled.
"W-Was that wrong?"
Victor Wang spoke a little too quickly and only then realized, somewhat guiltily, that with Lisa's figure, wearing an outfit like Nilou's would also be quite something… It seemed that only Nilou herself could make that attire look so graceful and fitting…
Lisa glanced toward the stage. "We got so caught up chatting that the competition already ended."
Victor Wang smoothly shifted the topic. "Kaeya was second place last time, and he's second place again this time."
The scores announced by the judges showed Chongyun in fifth place, Kuiyuan in fourth, Lumine once again in third, Kaeya once again in second, and Yoimiya claiming first place.
Amid the cheers of their respective supporters, Qi Xiuming confirmed the final rankings and held the award ceremony on the spot.
When it came time to designate bubble gum flavors, Kuiyuan, as expected, chose ginger without the slightest hesitation. Kaeya wasn't much better—he actually chose dandelion.
Anyone who eats dandelions regularly knows that they're on the bitter side. Even if they aren't spicy, they absolutely count as a strange flavor, rivaling the Qingxin flavor chosen by the champion of the previous competition.
Fortunately, Yoimiya, Lumine, and Chongyun didn't make choices that strayed too far from mainstream tastes.
And so, the Second Teyvat Bubble-Blowing Competition came to an end.
But for a certain someone, it still wasn't quite enough. Taking advantage of the fact that the central contestants couldn't conveniently leave while the audience was dispersing, Charlotte seized the opportunity to do her job.
"Ms. Yoimiya, how does it feel to win the championship of the Second Teyvat Bubble-Blowing Competition?"
"Before seeing the final score, my heart was going thump thump the whole time, and I still can't quite calm down now. Hehe, I'm the 'Bubble King' now!"
"Mr. Kaeya, is there anything you'd like to say?"
"I hope our bubble gum inventor can optimize the formula a bit. When will we see 'Cider' and 'Dandelion Wine' flavored bubble gum? Lovers of fine drink everywhere will thank you."
"Ms. Lumine, what are your thoughts on this result?"
"Third place meets my pre-competition goal, but there's still some regret. I'll do better next time."
"Mr. Kuiyuan, many people noticed that you were the only one who requested your prize money be paid in cash. Everyone is quite curious about this—would it be convenient to explain?"
"Tch, isn't it because those banks suddenly started saying something about abnormal fund flows? They froze all my accounts and caused us to lose a whole lot of Mora. Ever since then, we've only used cash."
"Mr. Chongyun, is there anything you'd like to say to everyone?"
"Thank you to my friends for their companionship, and thank you all for your support."
"And lastly, Mr. Arataki 'The First Under Heaven' Itto. You fell just one step short of the finals by a very small margin. Do you feel any regret?"
"What's there to regret? Just wait, all of you up there—I'll definitely be back!"
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