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

One New Year's Day, the third snowfall of the season fell over the seaside city.

Lu Chen stepped onto the pristine white street, leaving a trail of footprints behind him. Ei stood still, gazing up at the scattered snowflakes drifting down from the sky.

The glow from a billboard bathed her flawless profile in light. Every strand of her hair seemed to sparkle in the snow.

Lu Chen had intended to quietly enjoy this poetic moment—until Ei furrowed her brow and shattered the atmosphere with a single line.

"What should we have for dinner tonight...?"

"New Year's Day is a special holiday in this world. Should we prepare something more elaborate?"

"What should we do, Chen..." Ei looked at Lu Chen with an uncharacteristically uncertain expression.

Lu Chen helplessly took her hand. "Don't worry. When in doubt—hot pot!"

Hot pot has nothing to do with cooking skills. As long as you've got the ingredients, anyone can do it...

Probably...

"Oh..." Ei still looked uneasy.

At that moment, Venti cautiously approached.

"Um... so, who's cooking tonight?"

Lu Chen pointed to Ei, whose thoughts were clearly elsewhere. "She is!"

"..."

Venti fell silent for a while, his face slowly turning to despair.

Then Diluc asked curiously, "Why that reaction? Is there something wrong with Lady Raiden's cooking?"

"You haven't been around long—you don't get it!" Venti's face immediately darkened at the memory. "She's lethal in the kitchen!"

Diluc blinked. Was it really that bad?

Lu Chen sighed. "It's hot pot. Who needs a chef for hot pot? Relax, unless something goes horribly wrong, no one's dying tonight."

"Sounds like a flag if I've ever heard one," Yae Miko chuckled. "With his jinx of a mouth, something's bound to go wrong."

Seeing Lu Chen's protesting look, Miko narrowed her fox-like eyes. "The two things in this world you can never trust—Lu Chen's mouth, and my Ei's cooking. You all better brace yourselves~"

Just then, a gust of icy wind blew through, and everyone shivered—whether from the cold or foreboding, no one could say...

...

On New Year's Day, the whole Lu Chen household set out for the supermarket at the foot of the mountain.

Qiqi had accidentally frozen the entire freezer while sleepwalking, turning all their food into freeze-dried relics worse than instant noodle veggie packs...

So they were heading down to restock—especially for the New Year's dinner that night.

After walking a while, they reached the city and finally spotted the supermarket. Lu Chen noticed that a lot of people were staring at them.

He knew his group was easy on the eyes, but wasn't this attention a little much?

Just as he was wondering, a crowd swarmed over—cameras and microphones in hand.

Lu Chen froze for a couple of seconds before realizing he wasn't the target.

They were here for the red-hot idol Barbara!

Yae Miko looked at Barbara, who offered an apologetic look. She was bundled up in a cute cotton hat, a cartoon mask, and a puffed-up winter coat that wrapped her head to toe.

"They still recognized you like this?"

"No helping it." Venti shrugged. "Fame comes with a price!"

"Sorry, everyone..." Barbara sighed, her big eyes the only part of her face showing.

"Miss Barbara! Aren't you supposed to be on vacation? Is this a last-minute shoot? A new album?"

"Miss Barbara! There are rumors about friction between you and Starlight exec V.T. Any comment?"

"Miss Barbara, about your dating rumors..."

The reporters quickly closed in, shoving branded microphones in her face. But to everyone's surprise, the usually shy Barbara handled each question with calm and clarity.

Yae Miko, her chief stylist, nodded approvingly.

Venti leaned over to Lu Chen and muttered, "She's a real star now. National idol. Totally outshines me..."

Lu Chen teased, "Jealous, you washed-up singer?"

Venti pouted, "Please. I'm the Anemo Archon—why would I be jealous of my own follower..."

"Oh..."

The reporters kept the questions coming. Before long, Lu Chen realized they weren't getting anywhere at this rate.

At this pace, it'd be dark before they even reached the entrance...

And the questions were getting sharper too—one misstep and it'd be tomorrow's headline scandal.

Barbara was clearly starting to struggle.

"These people are seriously annoying," Ei said, frowning.

"What now?" Venti pulled out his phone. "Should we call Tony for backup?"

Master Hu suddenly popped up, her small face full of energy. "Want me to handle it?"

Lu Chen quickly waved her off. "No, no..."

He still wanted them to end up in the entertainment section, not the crime pages...

He didn't want tomorrow's paper to read: "Shock! Thirty entertainment reporters perish—no bodies left after blaze..."

So Lu Chen whispered something in Venti's ear.

Venti nodded along, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.

Moments later, a frigid northern wind blasted through at 40 m/s.

"Whoa! Is that a typhoon?!"

"My mic flew off!!"

"Where's my camera?!"

"Where's my reporter?!"

By the time Lu Chen's group finally made it to the supermarket doors, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

...

The supermarket was packed that day.

As soon as they entered, the whole group scattered.

Zhongli paused in the discount section, staring pensively—probably about to bring home a pile of random junk again.

Qiqi stood frozen in front of the freezer section, mesmerized.

Hu Tao was critiquing the Spring Festival couplets in the seasonal aisle. As the "dark poet of Liyue's alleyways," she felt her own rhymes were way better.

Venti and Diluc had holed up in the liquor section, discussing the endless rows of alcohol.

Only Lu Chen and Ei were pushing a cart—apparently the only two actually shopping.

"Meat, meat, and more meat."

"Hot pot base, dipping sauces..."

"So this is how it's done. This dish really is simple..."

Watching the cart fill up, Ei felt a deep sense of satisfaction, as if she could already hear everyone praising her New Year's cooking.

"Lu Chen, I want tofu!"

Miko popped up out of nowhere.

"Sure."

Lu Chen waved his hand, and a whole row of tofu floated off the shelf and gently landed in the cart.

"I want that one too!" She pointed at another shelf.

"Alright, alright..." Another wave of the hand.

"Anemo's really handy, huh?" She blinked, her playful side kicking in.

"This, this!"

"That, that!"

Under her command, all kinds of ingredients floated through the air into the cart.

Before long, the shelves were nearly emptied.

"I want more..."

Lu Chen threw in the towel. "Are you messing with me?"

Yae Miko nodded without shame.

"You're unbelievable, you fox." Lu Chen had no patience for her antics.

Yae Miko grinned, looking very pleased with herself.

"Never mind then. I don't want any of it. Put everything back."

"Oh, except the stinky tofu—keep that."

Lu Chen shot her a fierce glare.

Then something hit him.

"Stinky tofu? In hot pot? Why?!"

Yae Miko blinked. "What? That's not allowed? I've never had it."

Lu Chen flicked her forehead. "I really want to know what goes on inside that fox brain of yours..."

"Ahh—Lu Chen!!" Miko rubbed her forehead, cheeks puffed out in protest, ready to retaliate.

"Will you two stop arguing! Come here and help," Ei suddenly called out.

They paused their bickering and walked over, only to find her standing in front of the dessert section.

Ei tilted her head thoughtfully, looking very serious.

"Can we put dessert into hot pot?"

Miko's eyes lit up. "Genius idea!"

"Really?"

Watching the two of them get all serious about this "creative cooking," Lu Chen suddenly lost all hope for tonight's New Year's dinner.