Chapter Seven: Naming

Liu Ruyi did not sleep a wink that night.

At Ye Ye Academy, not returning to the dormitory at night was hardly out of the ordinary; in fact, the dorm supervisors of each tower barely bothered with such matters. Spending a night in the library, or conducting experiments and research until dawn, was as trivial to these practitioners as a mere drizzle.

Yet Liu Ru was truly exhausted.

The workload that night had far surpassed what she had anticipated.

Of course, Su Ziye was even more worn out.

Liu Ru was merely assisting, while Su Ziye was the true driving force behind the operation. Not to mention, the Third Princess also did her part: if you asked her to fetch something, it would appear before you in the blink of an eye, making things incredibly convenient.

As for the night's work, it was mainly the production of that sticky, concentrated syrup.

White sugar, water, and flavorings were stirred and simmered together. The ratio of ingredients, the control of temperature, even the sequence in which the flavorings were added—all of this was managed solely by Su Ziye. Liu Ru and the Third Princess could only assist. Liu Ru tried to memorize Su Ziye’s methods—not that the young man ever tried to hide anything—but even so, she found it difficult to recall every detail. She reckoned it would take at least three or four days of helping Su Ziye before she could grasp the basics, or alternatively, she could practice on her own with these ingredients.

Judging by the many small bottles at Su Ziye’s side, he had clearly practiced countless times himself.

The one advantage was that, since they were making concentrated syrup and the process was relatively standardized, and since Su Ziye had prepared all the ingredients and equipment in advance, the three of them together managed to use up almost all of the ingredients Su Ziye had set aside in just one night.

Watching the final product being poured into the pre-prepared metal cans by Su Ziye, Liu Ru couldn’t deny a strong sense of satisfaction. Yet another thought soon occurred to her.

All these ingredients had been bought with just a single Goldleaf, yet the finished syrup amounted to nearly two hundred kilograms.

And this two hundred kilograms of syrup was the result of three people working seamlessly together, with Su Ziye’s expertise ensuring almost no mistakes, over the course of an entire night.

But Su Ziye had ordered ingredients worth a thousand Goldleaves. At this pace, making just the syrup would take them a thousand nights.

And syrup alone couldn’t be drunk directly; it would need to be mixed with water and, of course, undergo Su Ziye’s unique carbonation process—all of which required much time and further steps.

Even setting aside all those difficulties, even if Su Ziye managed to turn all those ingredients into syrup and then into beverages, would a thousand Goldleaves’ worth of drink turn into a final asset of one million Goldleaves?

All of this remained a huge question mark.

Su Ziye looked back at Liu Ru, who had fallen deep into thought, and couldn’t help but smile. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking that if the first day is already this hard, the future will likely be even tougher,” Liu Ru replied earnestly.

“Life has never been easy,” Su Ziye said with a smile. “Besides, this is only the first step. I know you have many concerns, but trust me, there’s no need to worry.”

With that, Su Ziye handed Liu Ru a glass bottle filled with dark brown liquid. “Now, we only have one problem left.”

Throughout the night, Su Ziye had provided plenty of the beverage, and Liu Ru found it indeed refreshing, energizing, and pleasantly cooling. Nothing could be more convincing than personal experience.

“What problem?” Liu Ru took the bottle with practiced ease, pulled out the stopper, took a sip, and looked at Su Ziye.

“It’s simple,” the young man smiled. “What should we call it?”

“I imagine you already have an answer in mind,” Liu Ru said calmly.

This young man always had a plan before making a move; she was becoming accustomed to it.

“How about you eliminate one wrong answer for me?” Su Ziye said with a mischievous grin.

“I don’t enjoy playing along in areas where I lack talent,” Liu Ru replied seriously.

She truly couldn’t think of a suitable name for the beverage.

Or perhaps, she simply wasn’t good at such things.

“What about the Third Princess?” Su Ziye turned to the red-haired girl beside them.

Of the three, she seemed the most composed. She had gone the whole night without sleep, performed the heaviest tasks as their porter, yet she showed not a trace of fatigue. Su Ziye had supplied her with plenty of this novel drink, so she remained highly efficient and quite cheerful.

“Hmm?” The Third Princess tilted her head slightly, a small straw between her cherry lips, sipping steadily away—a privilege all her own.

Liu Ru, by contrast, was still drinking straight from the bottle.

Originally, the Third Princess had drunk from the bottle too, but Su Ziye, displeased by the sight, had given her a straw instead.

The girl seemed to enjoy it.

“What do you think this drink should be called?” Su Ziye prompted.

Although she had surely heard his and Liu Ru’s conversation, Su Ziye knew he needed to restate the question for the Third Princess.

She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Sorry.”

Expecting inspiration from the Third Princess was, indeed, an exercise in futility.

Just then, a gentle knocking sounded at the door.

Liu Ru looked surprised.

She glanced out the window at the sky. It was midsummer, the nights short, and the first pale light of dawn was already visible—around five in the morning.

Who could be visiting at this hour?

Even as she wondered, she stepped forward and opened the door.

Standing outside were the red-haired Carlotus and, behind her, Qing Yi.

“You two?” Liu Ru was even more surprised.

“Can’t I come offer my regards?” Carlotus raised her right hand, holding a paper-wrapped bundle tied with string. “I brought breakfast buns for you. After a night’s labor, don’t I deserve to inspect the results?”

“This hardly concerns the president,” Su Ziye called from a distance, raising an eyebrow at the uninvited student council president.

“How does it not? You’re all my cash cows,” Carlotus set down the steaming package and walked toward Su Ziye. “Let me have a taste of that drink you made.”

Su Ziye sighed, rummaged in his coat, and pulled out a bottle to hand to Carlotus. “This is the last one—believe it or not.”

“I believe you, why wouldn’t I?” Carlotus accepted it unceremoniously, pulled out the stopper, and took a big gulp.

“Delicious!” the president declared, setting down the bottle with a smile. “I think it’ll fetch a great price. Does it have a name?”

“How about I name it?” she asked, looking at Su Ziye.

“Sorry, it already does,” Su Ziye replied, meeting her gaze.

“Let’s hear it, then?” Carlotus inquired.

“Academy Sparkling Joy!” Su Ziye said, crisp and resolute.