Helping Out at the Bar

The next morning, Lu Chen showed up at his own bar to help Diluc hold down the fort.

Although Diluc had said he could handle things on his own, Lu Chen was far too bored, itching for action—he couldn't wait to find someone to fight.

For the past few days, Ei had been obsessed with that "Baking Guide: Learn with Ease" book, fully absorbed in her research on that cursed oven and too busy to pay him any attention during the day.

Not that being ignored was the worst of it—every time she finished baking, she insisted he be the one to taste-test...

Whenever he saw Ei looking at him with those hopeful, pitiful eyes, Lu Chen just couldn't say no. He was too soft-hearted. So after suffering enough, he decided to tackle the root of the problem—

He ran.

Using "helping Diluc hold the line" as his excuse, Lu Chen escaped for the whole morning. Before he left, he handed Miko a bestselling light novel. If nothing unexpected happened, everyone else would be out having fun, which meant the only one left at home would be a certain fox curled up with her book.

In other words, Miko would become Ei's sole test subject.

Just thinking about it filled Lu Chen with the glee of a successful scheme.

Venti gave him a suspicious look.

"What are you grinning at? Why do you look so sneaky?"

"Ah? Nothing." Lu Chen coughed awkwardly, wiping away his villainous expression.

"You look like you're scheming again." Venti narrowed his eyes.

"No way... I'm a completely upright and honest young man..."

"Yeah, right!" Venti rolled her eyes. "There are exactly four words in that sentence that are true."

Lu Chen laughed dryly. Venti winked and asked mischievously, "Scheming against Lady Guuji again?"

"How'd you know?" Lu Chen looked genuinely surprised.

Venti sighed. "Come on. In this house, you two are the only ones constantly plotting against each other. Actually, you've toned it down a lot lately..."

"True enough..." Lu Chen nodded, thinking it over. Because of... certain things, the two of them weren't as reckless with their pranks as before.

They used to constantly mess with each other. Now, they barely even made borderline jokes. That thought brought a complicated look to Lu Chen's eyes.

Seeing his expression, Venti let out a faint sigh and dropped the teasing.

They pushed open the bar door, greeted by the crisp jingle of the bell.

Diluc was already inside, quietly speaking to a newly hired bartender. Nearby, the fireplace crackled, casting flickering warm light throughout Morning Light Craft Beer. The whole place had a mellow, inviting atmosphere.

"Good morning, bosses!"

The bartender greeted them eagerly. Lu Chen nodded in return.

Venti walked straight to the liquor shelf, pulled out a bottle, and opened it with practiced ease—like he'd done it a hundred times before.

Lu Chen sat at the bar and looked around. Besides staff and the owners, there wasn't a single customer.

Wearing a white shirt, Diluc walked over and poured Lu Chen a glass of Mondstadt special.

Lu Chen gave him a quick once-over. Diluc's tall, lean frame made the white shirt look especially sharp. His figure wasn't thin, though—he had broad shoulders and faint abs visible through the fabric. Definitely the type to look slim in clothes, but strong when shirtless.

"What is it?" Diluc frowned slightly. Lu Chen's stare was kind of weird.

"Ah, nothing." Lu Chen took a small sip, realizing his gaze had indeed been a bit too much.

He glanced again at Diluc and casually said, "You know, you could totally debut. With your looks, you'd conquer the world—rule the streets and every billboard..."

Diluc silently took back the drink and replaced it with fruit juice.

"You've had enough."

"Heh..." Lu Chen just laughed.

The three owners and one employee chatted idly. Before long, afternoon rolled around.

Daytime customers were rare. Just as Lu Chen was about to resign himself to sitting there till evening, the bar door suddenly slammed open.

All eyes turned to the entrance.

A group of burly, intimidating strangers barged in. Even though they were expecting trouble, the new bartender was clearly rattled by their presence.

Lu Chen frowned, sizing them up—bald heads, tattoos, scars... the classic thug look, like something out of a cliché.

He couldn't help but mutter, "Seriously? In this day and age? Could you be any more stereotypical...?"

"What'd you say?" the lead thug growled. He was huge and glared at Lu Chen before shifting his attention past him to Diluc behind the bar.

Diluc was calmly polishing glasses. Seeing how unfazed he was, the thug strutted over.

"You the owner?"

Diluc barely looked up and pointed at Lu Chen.

"He is."

"Him?" The thug turned to Lu Chen and frowned. He didn't look old enough to be the boss. Clearly, the redhead was messing with him.

"Don't screw with me. Two of our guys went missing here yesterday. Where are they?"

"So you admit those rowdy drunks were your buddies?" Venti asked from the side.

"So what if they were? What if they weren't?" the thug sneered, completely unfazed. He clearly didn't take any of the bar's people seriously.

"Hand them over! Otherwise, I'll make trouble for you every day this place is open!"

"People?" Lu Chen looked at Diluc in confusion. Wait—he didn't let those troublemakers go?

Diluc shrugged. Lu Chen couldn't read him, so he turned back to the thug.

Seeing no one was scared of him, the thug grew increasingly irritated.

"I asked you—where are my guys?!"

Lu Chen met his eyes and shook his head earnestly. "No idea."

The thug lost it and lunged forward, aiming to grab Lu Chen by the collar.

But before he could even get halfway, he slammed face-first into an invisible wall.

He'd moved so fast that he split his head open on impact, collapsing with a groan, clutching his face in pain.

He never saw the brief golden shimmer that flickered in the air.

His underlings rushed forward to help him.

"Boss?"

"What happened?!"

"Did you trip? Are you drunk or something?"

Lu Chen waved his hand gently, manipulating the faint traces of Geo in the air. This time, his Jade Shield wasn't flashy—no glowing golden light. These guys weren't worth the theatrics; a weak pulse of elemental energy was enough.

Of course, he still made sure to mutter as he cast, "All things are included—"

Venti gave him a strange look. "Why do you always say that? You need a chant to control Geo or something?"

Lu Chen shook his head.

"No."

"It's just for the vibe."