"Did you hear? Wangsheng has launched a new drink, and apparently it's incredibly popular."
"You heard about it too? My kid heard about it too and cried until I agreed to buy some."
"Hey, I heard even Rex Lapis said it was good. I wonder if that's true."
"That's definitely fake. Just false advertising. Think about it—Rex Lapis has been gone for ages, and this drink only came out a few days ago. There's no way he could have tried it."
Staring at the long line outside Wangsheng and the chattering crowd, Xiangling, who had brought Qiqi to find Su Bai, was bewildered. Was milk tea really that good? People used to avoid even mentioning Wangsheng, and now they were crowding the entrance.
Inside, Azhdaha was directing Zhongli on how to brew milk tea. A few Whopperflowers transformed into human shapes were collecting nectar and rolling small balls made from Illusion Mushrooms—which Lumine had named "pearls"—into perfect spheres.
"Zhongli, hurry up! We promised to surprise Hu Tao today. After keeping it from her this long, imagine how happy she'll be when she sees all the Mora we've made these past few days when she gets home tonight."
"Brewing milk tea is like brewing tea—you need to—"
"Just shut up, Zhongli! I just want to see the results. Can't you feel the crowd surrounding Wangsheng right now?"
Azhdaha cut him off impatiently. If she had known Zhongli would be this slow, she would have done it herself. Unfortunately, he refused to step aside, insisting she try his perfectly timed brew. She just hoped Morax wouldn't take forever.
"I wonder if Xiangling noticed my special mushroom pearls. Those took quite a bit of adeptal energy to make."
Su Bai placed a pile of non-hallucinogenic Illusion Mushrooms in front of Azhdaha. If Xiangling hadn't noticed anything special about the pearls, that meant he had succeeded. When he boarded Beidou's ship, he wouldn't have to worry about good food.
"Su Bai, where's Shenhe? She's been gone all morning, and the breakfast I bought for her is still uneaten."
Mona placed a pancake stuffed with Qingxin on the ice Azhdaha had made. She had wanted to surprise Shenhe, but she hadn't seen her all morning.
"She went to find Ganyu early this morning. I think they were going to visit Cloud Retainer. Speaking of which, Cloud Retainer hasn't sent any messages in the group chat for days. I wonder what she's up to."
Su Bai had planned to go with Shenhe, but Azhdaha had roped him into work as soon as he woke up. With her Geo-infused fists as motivation, he had been forced to act as a human Illusion Mushroom grower all morning. That was all he had done—just growing mushrooms.
"Su Bai, Su Bai! Come quick! Qiqi can actually taste things now!"
Xiangling squeezed through the crowd, dragging Qiqi behind her. Old Meng, who was guarding the door, recognized her and let them through. She pulled Qiqi into Wangsheng.
Su Bai's face lit up at her words. His creation had worked. He handed Xiangling a cup of milk tea.
"Slow down, slow down. Qiqi can taste the milk tea, right?"
"Yes, yes! Su Bai, how did you do it? Qiqi can only taste the little pearls in the milk tea—nothing else."
"Qiqi... Qiqi wants to know too. Why?"
Even Qiqi's usually expressionless face showed a hint of eagerness. Being able to taste things clearly mattered to her. Su Bai didn't keep them waiting. He handed a few special pearls to Qiqi and Xiangling, gesturing for them to try. The moment they popped them into their mouths, their eyes went wide.
"This... this tastes like Mora Meat! How is that possible? There's no way you could fit Mora Meat inside such a tiny ball."
"Salty. Good. Qiqi likes it."
"Su Bai, what is this? Is it some new kind of spice?"
Xiangling asked excitedly. To a chef, a newly discovered spice was a big deal. Su Bai shook his head.
"It's not a spice, nor is it some miracle cure for Qiqi's loss of taste. It's just a little trinket made from Illusion Mushrooms that can trick the brain. I call it a Flavor Pearl. As long as I want, it can mimic the taste of any dish. If it really works for Qiqi, you can have these."
"Thank you. Qiqi likes these delicious little balls."
Qiqi carefully packed the pearls Su Bai had given her into a small bag. She decided to grind one into powder and sprinkle it over rice, so she could finally enjoy a bowl of rice with flavor.
"Don't worry, Qiqi. Come find me whenever you run out. They're not hard to make."
"If you're free today, you can stay and play with Klee at Wangsheng. There's plenty of ice here—much cooler than outside."
Su Bai patted Qiqi's head. Since Zhongtuo had gotten busy with the milk tea business, the task of entertaining Klee had fallen to him. That meant he had no time alone with Shenhe. If Qiqi could keep Klee company, he could finally take a break and go for a walk with Shenhe.
"Qiqi doesn't mind the heat. But playing with Klee... makes Qiqi happy."
No sooner had she spoken than Klee burst out of her room. She hadn't gone on an adventure outside Liyue Harbor with Qiqi in a long time. Today, she was going to have a blast.
"Sister Qiqi, you're here! Let's go play! Sister Toto gave Klee so much Mora this week. Let's go buy stuff!"
Watching the two little ones slip out the back door, Su Bai let out a long sigh of relief. It looked like he could finally go shopping with Shenhe when she got back. Maybe they'd head to Chihu Rock—there was a good variety of things to buy there.
Outside Wangsheng, Azhdaha had set up a large bucket of milk tea. The sweet aroma made many of the waiting young women swallow their saliva. Even though they had bought milk tea every day for the past few days, the smell still enchanted them.
"Boss, give me one—no, two cups."
"No. One cup per person. I don't care which family you're from. If you don't want our Director Hu, who can scare the dead, to visit you in the middle of the night, just line up and follow the rules."
Despite her small size, Azhdaha's presence was anything but ordinary. Though, if Hu Tao ever found out Azhdaha was using her reputation like this, she might have something to say about it.
"Old Meng, stop standing around. Help the customers. Remember, one cup per person. If anyone causes trouble, get Zhongli."
With that, Azhdaha dashed off in the direction she sensed Klee and Qiqi had gone. She had been neglecting her two little followers while earning extra Mora to keep Wangsheng from going broke. Time to check on them and have some fun.