After listening to Venti's explanation, Lu Chen finally understood the situation.
This music producer named "Tony Wang" had been constantly pestering Venti ever since witnessing his musical talent, calling every other day, eager to get him to debut.
He was especially attentive—upon hearing that Venti needed a jazz drum set, he even had one delivered straight to his home.
Of course, his main goal was still to convince Venti to debut.
Venti wore a smug grin. "Gold shines no matter where it is!"
"As expected of Teyvat's number one bard…" Lu Chen forced a dry chuckle.
"Right?"
Oblivious to the sarcasm, Venti began praising himself. "It's your blessing to hear my beautiful music every day. Don't take it for granted! Once I become a superstar, you won't even get the chance to see me! Should I sign something for you in advance~?"
"Sign your own damn forehead!" Lu Chen snatched the whiskey-on-the-rocks from his hand.
Then he marched into the kitchen and poured out all the alcohol.
Seeing Venti's pitiful expression, Lu Chen said mercilessly, "No drinking when Ei's around!"
"Huh?"
Lu Chen knew just how bad Raiden Ei's alcohol tolerance was—and how awful her drunken behavior could get. Worst of all, the worse she got, the more she wanted to drink. Ever since Venti showed up, she'd been curious about all the drinks he had lying around.
For the sake of his own safety, Lu Chen had to nip the problem in the bud!
Venti saw Lu Chen's unwavering expression and pouted.
"Whatever you say. I'm just mooching off you anyway…"
But his hands didn't stop—he picked up an apple and took a loud bite.
Lu Chen returned to his seat. With Raiden Ei still eating, he turned to Venti. "You're seriously thinking about debuting?"
Wasn't that supposed to be Barbara's job? She was Mondstadt's true idol...
"I didn't agree to anything," Venti replied between bites. "I've done my homework. Lately, the news has been all about some big star bullying a junior girl artist—it's a mess. I'm not going anywhere near that."
"Then why'd you freeload his instrument?" Lu Chen grumbled.
"Well, he was so eager. And as a fellow music lover… how could I say no?"
Lu Chen frowned. The more he thought about it, the more something felt off.
He stared at Venti, who was still munching on his apple.
Delicate face, pretty eyes, that ambiguous, genderless vibe…
Something was definitely weird…
"…He's not trying to hit on you, is he?!"
"Huh?!"
The apple in Venti's hand slipped and hit the table. Raiden Ei also paused, setting down her half-eaten dessert, stunned by Lu Chen's outburst.
The three of them stared at each other. The room fell into a bizarre silence...
Lu Chen kept staring at Venti, scanning him head to toe, making him squirm.
Whenever they went out, some clueless guys always mistook Venti for a pretty girl and even tried to get his WeChat. Honestly, if Venti didn't clarify his gender, who could really tell?
Even Lu Chen had been fooled back during the original Genshin test—he'd thought Venti was his "new waifu." Then the official gender got announced and countless male players cried their eyes out.
Of course, plenty of others got "even more excited"...
"You're joking… right, Lu Chen?" Venti laughed awkwardly.
Lu Chen looked embarrassed too. He wasn't sure if his guess was correct, but that music producer's behavior had definitely crossed a few lines.
The guy had even started stalking them from downstairs. Who could believe he had no ulterior motives?
"You need a jazz drum set, right? What else do you need?" Lu Chen made up his mind—he'd buy everything Venti needed himself.
He hoped it was just a misunderstanding. But anything related to the "Real Teyvat System" was his responsibility—he didn't want to owe anyone favors.
"Can you even afford it?" Venti blinked.
"Are you kidding me?" Lu Chen slapped his thigh. He was the city's up-and-coming young tycoon! What instrument couldn't he afford?
With a dramatic wave of his hand—he'd buy it all!
...
And reality slapped him in the face the next day.
After asking Zhang Zikai to take the day off for him and Raiden Ei, Lu Chen brought both her and Venti out early to buy instruments.
Maybe he had overestimated his own wealth… or underestimated how expensive good instruments were. Either way, the moment he asked for prices at the city's best music store, his face immediately darkened.
A Yamaha solid silver flute? 18,000 yuan. A random oboe? Over 50,000. Even the cheapest violins were over 100,000 yuan.
And the harp Venti had his eye on? Over a million...
The most outrageous was the Steinway piano—two million.
Good grief.
Lu Chen had earned a total of 2.1 million yuan from the system so far. His heart was breaking.
Thank the Archons Venti didn't fall for that two-million-yuan piano...
Looking back now, that Tony guy wasn't so bad after all.
The three of them wandered the store like country bumpkins visiting a palace, asking about everything. Eventually, the owner got annoyed.
The shopkeeper gave them a once-over. Seeing they looked like young students with no real purchasing power, he figured they were just here to gawk.
"If you don't know how to play, don't touch anything. You'll damage the strings. That one's a collector's item—you won't be able to afford it if it breaks!"
"Oh..." Venti reluctantly put down the seven-string lyre.
Lu Chen took a look. It resembled Venti's wooden lyre, Phyllyn. He was probably curious how a lyre from this world would sound.
"Boss, clearly you don't know," Lu Chen suddenly grinned at the man. "If you think he can't play, then no one in this world can."
"Oh?" The owner glanced at Venti's youthful appearance and chuckled. "Very few people can handle an antique like that. How old are you? Don't joke around."
"I'm serious!" Lu Chen had full confidence in Venti's skills and gave him a quick wink.
His eyes said: Come on, show him what you've got—make me proud!
Venti replied with a helpless smile, but the curiosity had already gotten to him.
Feeling a sudden itch to play, he gently picked up the antique lyre.
The shop owner's expression shifted slightly. He wanted to stop him—but when he saw Venti's careful, practiced hands touching the strings, the words caught in his throat.
This kid… might actually be the real deal.
Forget it. Let's hear him out.
"Then I won't hold back~"
In the previously quiet store, Venti gently plucked the strings.
A stream of graceful notes flowed like a spring through a forest, weaving through the air, dancing across the dappled light, and settling in everyone's ears.
A gentle smile played on Venti's face. And in that peaceful expression, Lu Chen saw a vision of Mondstadt brushed by the western wind—spinning windmills, a majestic cathedral, and birds taking flight to the sound of bells, wings heavy with harvest and the scent of fruit.
A beautiful poem come to life.
When the song ended, Venti set down the lyre with a soft smile and turned to the others.
"So? How was it?"
Lu Chen and Raiden Ei exchanged glances, smiled, and gave him a warm round of applause.
Of course it was amazing—no one could touch the soul with music the way Venti did.
The music store owner stood frozen, his mouth slightly agape, still dazed from the beauty of the melody.
"I underestimated you..." The middle-aged man scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Would you play another?"
"Weren't you afraid I'd damage it?" Venti asked with a sly grin.
The owner burst out laughing. "Not at all! You're a true musician. A great instrument brings out its best sound in the hands of someone who understands it. Play all you want!"
Lu Chen shook his head and laughed. This guy really was a man of character—after hearing Venti play, all his earlier reservations were gone.
The mood in the store lightened. As the group chatted, a sudden burst of hurried footsteps echoed from outside.
Everyone turned. A long-haired man in a button-up shirt stumbled into the shop.
He wore an oddly ecstatic expression. After scanning the room, his eyes locked onto Venti.
"That was beautiful, truly beautiful! Like the voice of heaven! Venti-sensei, you must join our music company!!"