On a bright, sunny afternoon, Lu Chen sat tucked away in a corner booth of the bar with two gods. Sunlight poured in through the window, casting a warm glow across their faces.
Raiden Ei sipped quietly on a glass of juice, while Venti yawned lazily. Light jazz played in the background, cheerful and easygoing.
The trio looked like something straight out of a youth film—good-looking, relaxed, drawing curious glances from the other patrons.
Lu Chen noticed a group of men diagonally across from them whispering and glancing at Raiden Ei, clearly joking among themselves. But when he looked over, they quickly averted their eyes in embarrassment.
Surprisingly, even more people were looking at Venti—both men and women alike.
Venti's appearance was androgynous. Too pretty and delicate for a boy, too striking and sharp for a girl. And with his current outfit—white thigh-highs and a breezy look—he exuded a kind of "traps-with-attitude" energy that likely appealed to some... niche tastes.
(Astolfo, is that you?)
If only he could be a little more serious, Lu Chen thought. His carefree attitude made it hard to take him seriously.
Lu Chen barely resisted the urge to punch him and managed to sit him down long enough to explain how important it was not to stir up trouble.
Of course, he didn't hide the existence of the "Teyvat Reality System" either.
"So this really is another world!" Venti's eyes lit up. "Everything here is different—not just from Mondstadt, but from anywhere in Teyvat. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but dreams aren't this vivid..."
"I felt the same when I arrived," Raiden Ei said, setting down her glass with a tinge of emotion. "This place is unlike any other. The elemental energy is thin, but people here live efficiently, and their technology is far ahead."
"Agreed." Venti raised his glass with a smile. "And the alcohol's pretty great, too."
Just hearing that made Lu Chen's blood pressure spike.
"How could you steal Old Zhang's medicinal wine? Even in Mondstadt you're not this blatant!"
Lu Chen had known Venti from two past encounters. The first was at the banquet of the Seven Archons. The second was after losing his memory, when he traveled to Mondstadt with Lumine and Paimon.
Even though Venti recognized him, he acted all mysterious and riddled in half-truths—completely useless when it came to helping him recover his memories.
"Oh? You mean that wine with the weird flavor?" Venti blinked. "I paid for that!"
"Really?" Lu Chen gave him a skeptical look.
Neither of the gods sitting before him ever carried any money.
"Not in Mora." Venti raised one finger, smiling. "Something more precious—a blessing from the Anemo Archon!"
"A blessing?" Lu Chen was confused.
"That old man's got some leg problems," Venti explained. "I channeled Anemo into his body. He might feel a lot better these next few days—maybe even jog a few laps without a hitch."
Ah, so that's why Old Zhang was so full of energy when arguing with the other retirees.
...
Venti was a quick study. After Lu Chen's explanation, he quickly understood the situation.
"So..." Venti glanced at his empty glass, then flagged down a server and ordered another.
"Three of the same, please."
Once the server walked off, he turned back to Lu Chen.
"So I need to help you complete these missions if I want to return to Teyvat?"
"In theory, yes." Lu Chen nodded. After completing Raiden Ei's challenge quest and some key milestones, the progress on the [Archon Quest: Reopen the Gate to Teyvat] had inched up to 0.8%.
Still a long way to go—but at least it wasn't zero anymore.
"Sounds good." Venti grinned, then thanked the server and pushed two of the drinks over to Lu Chen and Raiden Ei. "This world's not bad at all. Before I leave, I want to taste every kind of alcohol it has to offer!"
"Hope your wish comes true." Raiden Ei, strangely enough, seemed caught up in the moment too. She picked up her glass with genuine interest.
"What about you?" Venti asked, curious. "Now that you're in this unfamiliar world—do you have any wishes?"
"I want to learn some local techniques and mechanical arts," Raiden Ei said seriously. "This world's development isn't bound by the laws of Celestia. I'm very curious—perhaps I could bring something useful back to Inazuma."
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward Lu Chen.
Venti caught the look and smirked.
"Any other wishes? Like... reuniting after years apart? Meeting someone important again...?"
The teasing in his voice made Raiden Ei quickly look away with a small cough.
"Of course I do..."
Lu Chen noticed her trying to cover her shyness by taking a sip of her drink.
Getting to see him again—this might've been the happiest time she'd had in five hundred years.
Lu Chen could feel it too. The way she smiled every day—it was genuine. She truly loved being with him.
The mood at the table grew subtly strange—intimate but slightly awkward. Lu Chen raised his glass silently and took a sip...
"Pfft!"
Then immediately spat it out—all over Venti's face.
"What the hell is this?!"
Lu Chen's tongue went numb, his throat burned like it was on fire. He felt like he hadn't just drunk alcohol—it was straight-up sulfuric acid.
Venti twitched. Even as the Anemo Archon, he hadn't seen that one coming.
He quietly wiped his face with his sleeve.
The air was filled with an acrid, stinging smell. Lu Chen sniffed his drink again in disbelief.
How was this any different from rubbing alcohol?
"You don't like it?" Venti gave a nostalgic smile. "This one tastes a lot like Snezhnaya's signature firewater—fiery to the extreme, like your whole life is burning!"
(Side note: Minors, don't drink. Adults, don't order rubbing alcohol. It's not meant to be drunk straight.)
Lu Chen definitely felt the life-burning part—he was sure he almost died.
Then he suddenly remembered something and looked to his side.
Raiden Ei had quietly set her glass down. Less than half the liquor remained.
"Ei...?" Lu Chen looked at her, nervous.
Her cheeks were flushed a soft, alluring red.
In the dim bar lights, her amethyst eyes shimmered like a whirlpool—dreamy, innocent, and impossible to resist...
"Chen..."
"I'm here."
"Really?"
"I'm here..."
"Don't leave me..."
She leaned on one hand, lips pouting slightly in a sulky, almost childlike way. Right now, Ei looked as sweet and naive as a little girl.
She clutched Lu Chen's sleeve tightly, clearly drunk.
Lu Chen could only laugh helplessly. "Okay, okay, of course I won't leave you."
"Really?"
"Really."
"If you're lying... what should I do..."
"I wouldn't lie!"
Raiden Ei tilted her head, eyes still innocent, and said softly,
"If you leave me... I'll kill you, and we can be buried together."