The golden light of dusk streamed in through the balcony, casting a warm glow over the four-bedroom apartment—and making the wreckage in the living room all the more glaring.
Lu Chen casually swept up the debris using Anemo. As for the broken furniture, he planned to toss it and buy replacements. After all, he wasn't exactly strapped for cash anymore.
If it hadn't been for the furious Old Man Zhang knocking on the door, he and Yae Miko might've gotten into another round.
He and Ei were currently in the kitchen preparing dinner. Thanks to his persistent teaching and effort, Ei—who had once been utterly incompatible with the kitchen—was now able to help out. Besides chopping vegetables, she could even handle tasks like simmering soup.
A miracle, really.
Meanwhile, the main culprit of the earlier disaster was watching them with interest, occasionally flashing a look of genuine surprise.
"Ei can cook now?"
"Lu Chen, you've trained her well! How'd you manage that?"
Lu Chen chopped a chicken leg cleanly in two. "Miss, your choice of words is a bit vulgar. Please replace 'trained' with 'taught.'"
"There's no difference for you two~"
Yae Miko giggled behind her hand, her fox ears twitching in amusement.
Lu Chen looked over at Raiden Ei, who was busy with an apron on. "Miko's turned into a complete degenerate—it's on both of us!"
Raiden Ei glanced back helplessly. "Don't lump me into this. It's all your fault, Chen..."
"That's right! The way I am now is all because of you, A~ Chen~" Yae Miko mimicked Ei's tone, smiling playfully.
Raiden Ei's cheeks flushed, and she turned away.
Lu Chen snapped, "How do you think you should be addressing your elders? Since when were you allowed to call me 'A-Chen'?"
The word "elder" hit a nerve. Yae Miko's face instantly changed. "Elder? You? What kind of shameless elder are you supposed to be? And don't forget—I'm way stronger than you now! Want to go another round?!"
For the sake of his furniture, Lu Chen dropped it. But a sly look appeared on his face.
He'd found her weakness. Miko absolutely didn't want the memory of being a "rua-ed" little fox resurfacing. Just seeing him probably reminded her of all those traumatic belly-rubs from the past.
His presence shattered the elegant, noble image she had carefully crafted as Guuji Yae, dragging her back to her embarrassing foxling days—scrounging for food in snowy ditches.
"Dear Miss Shrine Maiden," Lu Chen said seriously, "you wouldn't want people knowing you used to beg me for snacks, would you...?"
"..."
Lu Chen had claimed a small victory.
Yae Miko fell silent. She made a note to work on thickening her skin—she'd fight him again another day.
In the meantime, she decided to keep enjoying the amusing things around her.
She liked interesting people, and Lu Chen was definitely top three on her list.
Still... the way he and Ei got along? That topped her list of interesting things.
So very interesting.
...
Dinner, as always, was plentiful. Yae Miko grumbled about the lack of fried tofu, but when she saw Lu Chen's secret-recipe fried chicken legs, she shut up quickly.
Fried food was fried food. Not bad.
Especially when Lu Chen was the one cooking—it was always delicious.
As the head of the household, Lu Chen called the "Fourth Challenge Task Strategy Meeting" to order.
Compared to sending Venti off with a bunch of students to play music by the beach, this new task seemed way tougher. After all, they had to create a best-selling light novel with over 500,000 reads.
And yet, the system ranked this mission after Venti's in terms of reward—which made Lu Chen pause.
Clearly, the system's idea of difficulty didn't match his.
Based on how the "Reality Teyvat System" worked, the more real-world involvement and impact from Teyvat characters, the faster the progress bar moved.
And now, without him realizing, the bar had reached 9.1%.
Could it be that Venti had had a greater influence on the world?
Lu Chen glanced at the Anemo Archon munching on a chicken leg. Venti had been putting the finishing touches on the last song for his first album. Lu Chen had heard the other tracks—excellent, every one. It made him genuinely look forward to the day when the wind of Mondstadt swept across the globe.
By comparison, maybe a light novel just didn't have the same impact.
"Rebuilding Yae Publishing House..." Raiden Ei sounded concerned. "Where do we even find an author capable of writing a bestseller—and convince them to join us?"
"Money!" Venti said, chicken grease on his lips. "Just throw enough money at them. Aren't all bestselling authors basically commercial writers? Do it for the paycheck, right?"
He looked over at Lu Chen. "As long as your wallet's stuffed, we're good. Time for a big bleed, my friend."
Lu Chen currently had a little over seven million left—that was after splurging on musical instruments for Venti.
Sounded like a lot, but one look at the wealth rankings for writers told a different story.
Money couldn't solve everything. Lu Chen was just about to say that when—
"Why don't we just write it?" Yae Miko cut him off.
Everyone turned to look at her. Raiden Ei asked, "You mean we become the writers?"
"Exactly!" Yae Miko looked around the room. "We've got the best bard in Mondstadt—his songs are legendary. A traveler from another world who's lived through Teyvat's thousand-year history. And a ruler of Inazuma who handles state affairs and paperwork daily. Don't tell me we can't write a single novel between us."
Venti grinned at the praise, but Lu Chen shook his head.
"Experience alone isn't enough. And Venti writes poetry—it's way too lyrical for most readers."
"Writing a novel isn't easy, especially one that sells. You need style, compelling characters, exciting plot twists. You need to know trends, structure, even how to title it to catch attention..."
Yae Miko listened intently, her eyes gradually lighting up.
"Then why don't you write it?"
"Huh?"
Lu Chen stopped mid-rant and stared at her.
Yae Miko, still holding her chicken leg, propped her chin on her other hand. So much for elegance.
"No one's better suited than you. You've lived through love and loss, grand histories, and thousands of years in Teyvat. You're also from this world—so you know it inside and out. It has to be you."
She was clearly fired up, like she'd found something truly exciting.
"I'll be your editor, you'll be the author, and just like that—Yae Publishing House is back! Everything's in place. All that's left is for you to write a blockbuster!"
"Enmmm..." Lu Chen fell silent, deep in thought.
Using Teyvat as a backdrop, bringing its people and stories to this world—that was a good idea.
For him, everything in Teyvat was real. Thousands of years of history, countless tragic heroes who fought fate... If he could put it all into words, the potential was thrilling.
But there was one problem...
He glanced sideways at Miko, her eyes sparkling with schemes.
Becoming an author under Yae Miko... didn't sound like a particularly peaceful job.