Genshin Impact: Back From Teyvat - The Archon Follows Me Home!

After regaining his demi-god strength, Lu Chen's basic attributes—like strength and speed—were on a completely different level.

Since this was a competition over food, speed was naturally his first weapon of choice!

In that instant, everything in his vision slowed to a crawl, like a frozen frame in time.

He saw it all clearly: Ei still frozen in place, too stunned to react; Miko standing with her arms crossed, wearing a smug, disdainful smile; and of course, the sweet pastry with its crispy, sesame-speckled crust.

He thought he had caught Ei off guard. But before he could celebrate, he saw a few pale fingers beat him to it, already brushing the surface of the pastry.

If Lu Chen's speed was like lightning, then Ei was lightning itself!

From his slow-motion perspective, Lu Chen even caught the slight curl of Ei's lips—a rare, cunning smile as if to say, "See? I'm faster than you."

But Lu Chen wasn't about to back down. Strength and speed weren't just bragging rights—they decided his standing in the household.

If speed wouldn't cut it, then it was time for a different tactic.

A plan formed instantly in his mind. Instead of fighting for the pastry, he took advantage of their close distance—

And grabbed Ei's slender hand.

Her fingers now firmly in his grasp, Ei looked up and met a dazzling smile that momentarily left her dazed.

"This move again? Hmph!"

She had changed too. After countless rounds of underhanded tricks during their skirmishes, she knew Lu Chen's methods all too well.

"I may not be immune to your smile, but you're not immune to mine either! Take this!"

No one expected the duel on top of the table to shift beneath it.

"Ei, you!!" Lu Chen's eyes flew wide open.

He felt a ticklish, tingling sensation on his thigh...

He glanced down quickly, then immediately looked away, face flushing bright red.

A long, shapely leg clad in black stockings had draped itself across his own, and was slowly, teasingly inching upward—almost reaching the top of his thigh...

It was late summer, and Lu Chen wasn't wearing much—just a pair of loose shorts. He could feel every subtle rub of the silky stocking against his skin.

Smooth. Soft. Cool to the touch.

With a faint trace of body warmth... charged with unspoken tension.

As that leg kept moving, Lu Chen's mind briefly clouded with wicked thoughts. He wanted to seize that shameless leg and then...

Their eyes locked in that fleeting clash of will, exchanging silent words.

"Ei, you're shameless!"

But Ei met his gaze without backing down.

"Learned from the best. We're even."

Lu Chen's momentary distraction gave Ei the opening she needed. She yanked her hand free and reached for the pastry once more.

To onlookers, though, the scene looked entirely different.

The two were locked in a stare-off—then, for some reason, Lu Chen froze, and the pastry mysteriously ended up in Ei's hand.

"Wow! So now you're using dirty tricks too!"

Lu Chen's face turned crimson as he glared at her.

Ei widened her eyes, the picture of innocence.

"What's wrong?"

"Just you wait!"

"..."

Their covert exchange tipped Miko off. Her fox ears twitched, then her gaze shifted downward suspiciously, as if trying to see what was happening under the table.

But the two quickly broke eye contact, and Miko, growing increasingly curious, leaned in.

Only to find... absolutely nothing under the table.

Weird...

By now, the battle on the table had reached a new level.

Since charm had failed him, and he lagged just a little in speed and strength, Lu Chen decided to use his greatest advantage—elemental control.

His Constellation may have claimed his elemental mastery was below that of a archon's, but—

He had five Visions!

When all five elements were wielded at a semi-divine level and combined... surely that was enough to match Ei!

Right then, Ei had just picked up the dessert.

But suddenly, the air around her fingers plummeted in temperature, and the nearby car window fogged over with white frost.

[Freeze]

Lu Chen demonstrated surgical precision in elemental control, rapidly extracting Hydro to condense the air, while Cryo slowed Ei's hand with numbing cold.

At the same time, a sharp gust of Wind lifted the pastry out of her hand.

It soared high, sesame seeds and pastry flakes flying.

Lu Chen swept his hand again, manipulating the pure water on the table to form a barrier in front of Ei like a wall.

Then, the falling dessert hovered just above a narrow crack in space-time.

[Spatial Power]

With a zipping motion, Lu Chen tore open a gap in mid-air. If it entered that rift, Ei would never find it again.

Lu Chen smiled triumphantly, already picturing his victory.

But he might've jinxed it.

Ei quickly came up with a counter.

Suddenly, Lu Chen felt a chill run down his spine.

All the frozen crystals in the air were now crackling with electricity.

[Superconduct]

He sat bolt upright. Naturally, the zipper motion stopped abruptly...

The space-time rift vanished.

Several subtle but precisely-aimed elemental forces collided, and Lu Chen watched helplessly as the dessert arced through the air—straight toward Qiqi and Xiao's table.

He immediately called out, "Qiqi! Listen! Catch it for me!"

Hearing his voice, Qiqi looked up with her big eyes at the flying object.

"Oh..." she replied softly, reaching out with both hands to catch it.

"Hey! Lu Chen, that's cheating!" Miko cried, watching the scene unfold with a look of contempt.

"There's no rule against calling for backup!" Lu Chen shot back. "All's fair in war! I just asked Ei to—"

But before Qiqi could hand the pastry to the grinning Lu Chen...

Venti's aggrieved voice echoed throughout the motorhome, carried on the Anemo wind.

"You're playing games without me?"

"How could you?!"

"That's so unfair!"

With a whoosh, the dessert in Qiqi's hand shot toward the driver's seat.

Lu Chen watched in disbelief as it flew further and further away—heading straight for Venti.

Then...

A flash of purple light.

Yae Miko, who had been standing quietly in the hallway, intercepted the dessert midair.

Everyone turned to look at her. The prize they'd all been scrambling for had landed effortlessly in her hand.

"Heh, it's mine now."

"Bet you didn't see that coming." Miko looked less interested in the dessert itself than in the looks on their faces.

Lu Chen and Ei both gave her helpless smiles.

They never thought the little fox they used to run circles around would one day snatch a victory from right under their noses.

Miko took a bite of the pastry.

It was cold, and the flavor was a little odd—but—

It still tasted amazing. Especially so.

Because she'd stolen it. And from those two, no less.

The way Lu Chen and Ei had schemed against each other moments earlier brought back memories—of a rowdy afternoon beneath a cherry tree, a thousand years ago.

"Mmm~ It's really delicious!" Miko smiled with her eyes, showing off as she took another bite in front of them.

"Some people go through all kinds of trouble, rack their brains trying to win... and still end up empty-handed. Must be so frustrating. How pitiful..."

Her fox eyes gleamed with mischief, her expression full of smug glee.

Lu Chen looked at her.

"Pfft! I just got careless this time. You caught me off guard."

"Come on, Ei! Let's go grab a new plate!"

"We're not letting that fox have the last laugh!"

Unexpectedly, Miko burst into carefree laughter, tears welling in her eyes from how hard she laughed.

She walked up to the two of them, broke the remaining half of the pastry in two, and handed them each a piece.

"Back then, you two went easy on me, pretended to lose, and let me have all those tasty treats. This time, as your Guuji, I'll show a little mercy too... pity you both."

Lu Chen looked at her smug, superior expression, then exchanged a glance with Ei.

The two of them burst out laughing.

Though they still muttered stubbornly under their breath, they each took a piece of the pastry.

"So weird..." Lu Chen thought as he took a bite.

"Hard and dry... what's so good about this thing anyway?"