[Preparing to place the lottery shop. Host, please evacuate all personnel from the store to avoid accidental injury!]
[Preparing to place the lottery shop. Host, please evacuate all personnel from the store to avoid accidental injury!]
[Preparing to place the lottery shop. Host, please evacuate all personnel from the store to avoid accidental injury!]
Upon hearing this, Ye Yun quickly called everyone in the shop to head to the observation carriage.
"Everyone, let's step out of the shop for a while. It's about to undergo an upgrade."
Hearing this, everyone got up and headed to the observation carriage.
The three little ones ran the fastest, their footsteps pattering as they dashed toward the observation carriage.
Soon, everyone arrived there.
Silver Wolf, who had been napping in her "private room," sat on the sofa with a displeased expression, crossing her legs.
She'd been sleeping so well, only to be woken up by Ye Yun saying the place was about to be renovated.
So annoying!!! Totally disrupted Lord Silver Wolf's precious rest!
Welt looked at Ye Yun, puzzled.
"Ye Yun, did you just say your shop is getting an upgrade?"
Ye Yun, who was communicating with the system, smiled and nodded.
"That's right. Something fun will be added. I won't spoil it now—let me handle the upgrade first. You'll see soon enough."
Hearing this, Welt and the others were intrigued.
But they didn't interrupt Ye Yun, who focused on his conversation with the system.
[Notification: Store renovation in progress. Host may use 5,000 Star Coins to expand the shop's area. Proceed?]
Ye Yun thought for a moment and asked in his mind:
"How much expansion?"
[Notification: Space will increase fivefold. Additions include 3 booth seats, 1 sofa lounge area, 1 guest reception room, 1 host-only restroom, and 1 library.]
Ye Yun wasn't particularly excited at first—there were enough booth seats already.
But that private restroom hit him right in the feels.
There were no rooms in the shop, so lately he'd been sleeping on the floor in the data room with Dan Heng.
"Upgrade! Do it now!"
[Notification: 5,000 Star Coins successfully deducted. Store expansion in progress. Completion in one hour.]
With the store handled, Ye Yun went to chat with everyone.
Time flew by. Before they knew it, an hour had passed.
[Notification: Store upgrade complete. Host may return. Wishing the host prosperous business.]
Ye Yun heard the system chime.
"Let's go, everyone. The store upgrade is done. Let's check it out together."
Curious, Welt and the others followed.
Everyone entered the shop.
What they saw stunned them.
What... how did the place get this huge?!
Near the entrance, the kitchen, mini bar, three booth seats, and long central dining table were still there.
But now, on the right side, there was a whole new area.
In the center of this space was a massive sofa lounge area that could seat dozens.
Inside were sofas in all kinds of shapes—rabbits, whales, lions, tigers, noodle bowls, gold ingots, thrones, and even a beanbag shaped like a trash can.
Klee, Hook, and Diona lit up at the sight of the animal-shaped sofas.
"Wow! This place is so pretty!"
The three little ones rushed over and started playing, taking off their shoes and hopping around on the sofas, giggling with joy.
Ye Yun reminded them:
"Be careful!"
The three of them answered in unison, "Okay~!"
Ye Yun and the others continued their tour.
Next to the lounge was a newly added lottery shop, with 3 booth seats and one huge room. The walls were decorated with various art pieces.
Entering the lottery shop—
It was simple: five rows of benches with 25 seats total, a lottery machine, and a massive screen.
The screen displayed the current grand prize:
[This issue's prize: Spatial Jump Ability. Description: Consumes stamina to briefly teleport. Max jump distance: 1,000 meters. Value: 100,000 Star Coins]
Everyone's interest was piqued—the prize was a power that directly enhanced strength.
Spatial Jump.
Any ability related to space was bound to be powerful.
Ye Yun saw that one ticket cost 1,000 Star Coins.
He bought one on the spot. Welt, Zhongli, and others followed suit.
Buying a lottery ticket for fun—who knows, maybe they'd hit the jackpot?
Afterward, the group arrived at a large room.
Ye Yun pushed open the door.
A massive reception room appeared before them.
The design was elegant and refined.
A huge floor-to-ceiling window stood on one side, beside which was a tea table holding a beautifully crafted tea set.
Nearby were lush bamboo plants and flowers.
To the left upon entering was a small private theater with just five seats.
Zhongli and Welt instantly fell in love with the place—it felt tailor-made for them.
The two exchanged a glance and decided to stay there, leaving Ye Yun to do as he pleased.
Ye Yun looked at the two, a bit speechless. Seriously? They're already settling in to hang out?
He turned to Dan Heng.
"What about you?"
Dan Heng thought for a moment and said,
"I'll go check out the library. I think it's next door."
With that, he left for the library.
Ye Yun then headed to his own private room.
It was located behind the mini-bar.
Pushing the door open, he found a large suite—about 60 square meters.
Inside: a sofa, a dining table, a wardrobe, and a massive two-meter bed.
As for furniture and decorations, Ye Yun would have to purchase those himself.
He spent the rest of the time arranging his new room.
Meanwhile, Silver Wolf returned to her "private room," dove into the sofa, pulled a blanket over herself, and went back to sleep.
***
Time flew by.
Evening came.
Stelle groggily opened her eyes and checked the time—she'd slept the entire day. It was almost 7 p.m.
She jumped out of bed, got dressed, and headed toward Ye Yun's shop.
Yawning heavily, she pushed open the door—
And froze.
"…Did I walk into the wrong place?"
She shut the door and double-checked.
No, this was definitely the right place!
Opening the door again, she walked inside.
"What the—?! I just took a nap, and this place changed so much?!"
Just then, Silver Wolf, who had just woken up and was eating, spoke up:
"You didn't go to the wrong place. That jerk Ye Yun remodeled the shop while you were sleeping."
Stelle blinked. Ohhh, so that's what happened.
***
Stelle walked over to the sofa and tea break area and was completely stunned.
Whoa! This place had gotten so much bigger!
Suddenly, Stelle's eyes lit up! Like she had seen something she loved.
"Hss!!! What is this! What is this! There's actually such a perfect sofa in the world!"
Without a second thought, Stelle launched herself onto the beanbag shaped like a trash can.
"Ah~ so comfortable."
Stelle sank into the beanbag, her face full of bliss.
She shifted a bit and noticed a lottery shop not far away.
"A lottery shop? What's that?"
Stelle walked into the shop and looked around.
"Lottery tickets? Let me see what this is all about!"
After browsing a bit and figuring it out, Stelle suddenly got excited.
She waved her hand and bought 10 lottery tickets.
"Hehe! I'm definitely going to win this time!"
She checked the draw time—two days from now.
Stelle stuffed the tickets into her pocket and returned to the lounge area to rest.
Before long, March 7th, Lumine, Amber, Eula, and others gradually arrived.
Kaeya sat alone at the small bar, drinking.
Everyone seemed to have already turned the shop into their own leisure hangout.
In Liyue Harbor.
Hu Tao rode her flying motorcycle, leaping down from Mt. Tianheng.
"Wahoo~ The Head of the Hall is finally back!"
She had flown all the way from Qingyun Peak, which had taken her over half an hour.
And that was flying through the air—if she'd gone by land, it would've taken half a day. That terrain is all mountains, geez.
Hu Tao landed the motorcycle right on Yujing Terrace, startling the surrounding Millelith guards.
"Who goes there!"
A squad of Millelith approached, and Hu Tao quickly raised her hands in surrender.
"I surrender~ don't hit me~"
Once they realized it was Hu Tao, the Millelith put their weapons away.
After all, Hu Tao was well-known in Liyue Harbor. She used to advertise her Wangsheng Funeral Parlor package every day on the streets.
Even so, the people of Liyue still really liked the quirky girl.
Hu Tao, despite being mischievous, had a kind heart. People often got rescued by her when attacked by monsters outside the city.
"Director Hu, it's you. Please don't do such dangerous things again. What if something happened?"
Hu Tao clasped her hands in apology.
"Sorry, I'll be more careful next time. You guys go about your business—I'm off."
With that, she bid the Millelith farewell and rode off toward Chihu Rock.
She didn't dare go too fast in the city—she didn't want to hit anyone.
As she cruised through the streets of Liyue Harbor, passersby couldn't help but marvel.
"Hey, look at that!"
"Isn't that Director Hu? What's that thing she's riding? It moves by itself!"
"Could it be a new mount released in Liyue? Does anyone know where to get it?"
"No idea."
"But I have to say, that thing looks pretty cool."
"Totally! Let's go see if we can find out where it's from."
Hu Tao quickly crossed the bridge and arrived at Wanmin Restaurant in Chihu Rock.
She stood up on the flying motorcycle and peeked through the kitchen window.
Inside, Xiangling was busy cooking, while Guoba was fanning the flames with all his might.
Seeing Xiangling, a mischievous idea popped into Hu Tao's head.
"Hehe~"
She suddenly shouted:
"Xiangling!"
Then she ducked below the window so Xiangling couldn't see her.
Xiangling turned her head.
"Huh? Who's calling me?"
She looked around, even lifting the curtain to peek outside.
No one was there. It couldn't be from the window, right? The kitchen window was built high up on the cliff side—it shouldn't be possible.
"Guoba, did you hear someone calling me just now?"
Guoba, still busy with the fire, shook his head and shrugged.
Xiangling said, "Maybe I imagined it?"
She went back to cooking.
Hu Tao peeked out from the edge of the window again, showing half her head.
Hehe~ Xiangling didn't catch me—I can do it again.
"Xiangling!"
Xiangling turned again but still saw no one.
What's going on? That's the second time!
"Who is it!"
This time, even Guoba heard it and looked around.
Xiangling lifted the curtain—outside diners were all just eating as usual.
She turned around—and suddenly, a spooky face popped right in front of her.
"Wah!!!" Hu Tao waved her hands like claws, scaring Xiangling.
Xiangling nearly jumped out of her skin.
After a while, she calmed down and saw it was Hu Tao. She stomped her foot in anger.
"Hu Tao! You scared me again! I'm not playing with you anymore!"
Hu Tao scratched her head and pulled out a bear-shaped handheld fan.
"Okay okay~ Forgive me, here's a gift for you."
Xiangling looked at the fan Hu Tao handed over.
"What is this?"
Hu Tao pressed the button. The fan started spinning, blowing a constant stream of air toward Xiangling.
Xiangling suddenly felt a refreshing breeze.
"Wow! Hu Tao, where did you get this thing?"
Hu Tao handed her the fan.
"Well? Can you forgive me now? This is called a handheld fan—it blows air on its own when turned on."
Xiangling pressed it right up to her face—this was so her thing.
It was summer, and working in the kitchen was always hot.
With this gadget, cooking would be so much more comfortable.
"Thanks, Hu Tao. But you still haven't told me where it came from."
Hu Tao smiled mysteriously and waved Xiangling over.
Xiangling leaned in.
Hu Tao glanced around.
"Let me tell you…"
The two whispered for a while before separating.
Xiangling was incredulous.
"Hu Tao, you're saying you went to another world? That sounds too far-fetched!"
Hu Tao replied, "I thought the same, but it's true. That fan you're holding—I bought it from over there.
Oh right, I still owe someone money. Do you have time later to go gather some Primogems with me?"
Xiangling said, "Sure! I was just planning to go to Dihua Marsh with Xingqiu and Chongyun this afternoon. Let's go together."
Hu Tao was delighted to hear that.
"Perfect! It's settled then. I'll come find you in the afternoon."
Then—
Hu Tao jumped out the window back onto her flying motorcycle.
Xiangling was baffled. Why was she going through the window instead of the door? Looked like she was sneaking off to a secret date or something.
She walked over to get a closer look—and was totally stunned.
"What is that!"
Hu Tao grinned and twisted the throttle. The flying motorcycle roared.
"This is a flying motorcycle. It can fly! I'll come pick you up later. Bye~"
With that, Hu Tao released the brake and zoomed off into the sky.
Xiangling watched the bike shoot into the clouds like a rocket, utterly speechless.