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

Amid the lively chaos, the motorhome finally arrived in the Magic City the following night.

Barbara, looking more and more like a rising star, had already been waiting there. Lu Chen led everyone to check in at the hotel closest to the venue.

When he first received the assignment, he had looked into this "Starlight Carnival"—a major music festival organized by Starlight and several entertainment companies. It was a true star-studded event, with nearly every singer you could see on TV set to perform.

Though Barbara was gradually becoming a true idol, she had never experienced such a grand stage before. To help her avoid stage fright, the group planned to sit in the front row to cheer her on.

There were still two days until the carnival began, and with nothing to do in the meantime, Venti suggested they go out for some shopping.

...

The next morning, Lu Chen was jolted awake by the sound of a flute.

In fact, everyone had probably been woken up by it. He could even hear Miko complaining from the next room.

Yawning, Lu Chen muttered to himself that Venti sure woke up early.

For someone like Venti, travel fatigue simply didn't exist. As long as there was something fun ahead, he'd be as energized as if he'd been plugged into a charger.

That precisely timed flute, sounding exactly like an alarm clock, had to be intentional.

"Ei, time to wake up~"

He pulled open the curtains. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the luxury penthouse suite, the morning sun wasn't too harsh.

"Mm..." Ei's eyebrows twitched slightly, but she didn't open her eyes.

The gentle 8 a.m. sunlight spilled across her face. Lu Chen watched as she reluctantly reached a hand out from the covers and, like a kitten, rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"So early... Chen..."

"No helping it." Lu Chen propped his chin up and leaned in toward her cheek.

"You haven't noticed the background music? I don't think Venti's going to stop until everyone's awake."

"Venti is so annoying..."

Ei was clearly not a morning person. She cracked an eye at him, then shut it tightly again and rolled over.

"Yep, Venti's the worst."

Lu Chen moved to the other side of the bed, continuing to admire Ei's sleepy expression.

Ei was just too fun to watch when waking up—he never got tired of it.

Her eyes stayed shut, but she must have sensed his intense gaze. Her lashes fluttered, and her breathing grew a little quicker.

For someone of her level, sensing someone staring was too easy.

Lu Chen was practically breathing in her face, and his gaze was shamelessly direct...

Impossible to ignore.

So annoying!

She couldn't fall back asleep at all. Huffing, she turned over with frustration, looking every bit like an angry kitten.

"Hehe, come on, don't sleep anymore, Ei."

Lu Chen was having too much fun and quickly circled back around.

But as soon as he got close to her face—

Ei suddenly opened her eyes, glowing with a sharp violet light full of murderous intent.

"Ah—!"

Lu Chen didn't have time to react. Like a rag doll, he was yanked back under the covers by a burst of force.

In the blink of an eye, Ei's soft body was on top of him.

"Just sleep!"

She glared down at him as their eyes met. Lu Chen blinked, stunned.

Pressed so closely together, their body heat gradually merged.

The atmosphere was... ambiguous, but Lu Chen could tell—Ei really just wanted to sleep.

That forced icy glare of hers only lasted a few seconds. She gave him one last fierce look, then shut her eyes again.

Slowly, her cheek sank lower... and lower...

Until it rested against his chest, where she promptly drifted off to sleep.

Light, peaceful breathing filled the air.

Even several minutes later, Lu Chen still hadn't been able to move. Staring down at her so close, his eyes widened in disbelief.

How was Ei this strong?

Was this the power of grumpy wake-ups?

Sure, he'd let his guard down—but still, being pinned this easily? That was embarrassing. After thinking it over, Lu Chen summoned his semi-divine strength, twisted his body, and flipped Ei underneath him instead.

Her brows furrowed a bit, but even with all that movement, she didn't open her eyes.

Looks like she was fully committed to this morning nap.

"Well then..." Lu Chen glanced toward the door. "Maybe I'll just sleep a little longer too."

Seeing Ei completely unresponsive no matter how much he called her, he sighed, adjusted her sleeping position, and tucked her in.

Just as he was about to leave the bed—

Knock, knock.

Then came Venti's excited voice.

"Rise and shine, you lazybones! We've decided—we're going to the amusement park!"

"Hurry, hurry, get up!"

The knocking continued for a while until Venti started muttering to himself.

"Eh? Why's there no response?"

"What's going on?"

Miko's yawns echoed from outside too.

"Perfect timing—you wake them up, I'll go get Xiao and Qiqi!"

Venti's footsteps gradually faded into the distance, leaving Miko behind to grumble on her own.

More knocking.

"Hey..."

"What did you two do last night? Still not up?"

Lu Chen glanced at Ei again and reached out to brush her long lashes.

"We really can't sleep now—everyone's up!"

"Ei!"

"Ei?"

Still no response from inside the room. Miko began sensing something was off.

"What are those two doing? Why won't they get up?"

"Wait—" Lu Chen was just about to answer through the door—

But Ei, still lying beneath him, groaned in defeat.

"Chen, you're so annoying. Stop messing with me already!!"

With that, she flipped over onto her stomach, effectively blocking any further pestering.

The knocking stopped abruptly.

As the footsteps slowly retreated, Lu Chen could practically picture Miko's expression—full of scorn, as if looking at some kind of deviant...

...

Breakfast was painfully awkward.

Sure enough, Miko gave Lu Chen a look that was three parts disdain, two parts mockery, and one part like she was staring at a pervert.

She stabbed a hard-boiled egg with her chopsticks and offered it to him with a smile.

"You must've worked so hard during the day. Better take care of yourself! Here, try this!"

"Miko, you've got it all wrong..." Lu Chen said helplessly.

He was a decent guy—there was no way he'd do anything like that in broad daylight. He wasn't that desperate!

Miko's gaze grew even colder.

"Doing it is one thing. Lying about it is worse."

"..."

Lu Chen gave Ei a look full of silent complaint. There was no way he could explain this now.

"What's wrong?"

Ei looked at him, puzzled. Apparently, she'd already forgotten what happened that morning.

"Ei~" Miko returned to her usual teasing tone.

"Mm?"

"I know Lu Chen's gotten stronger, but there are some things you really have to control. You need to say no when necessary! Otherwise, this guy will just get greedier and never stop..."

"I understand," Ei nodded solemnly.

"What do you understand? You just agreed?!" Lu Chen looked at her in disbelief.

These two weren't even talking about the same thing—how were they still managing to follow the conversation?

Before he knew it, the two sisters were deep in a discussion about restraint versus indulgence. Ei earnestly said that only through constant practice—day and night—could one truly improve, which made Miko blush.

"What are you three talking about? Why does it sound so weird?" Venti looked over curiously.

"This is all your fault!" Lu Chen shot him a fierce glare.

"Huh?"

Venti scratched his head, confused.

"What does this have to do with me?"