The arrival of two new friends instantly turned a quiet weekend into a lively one.
Since both of them were new to this world and unfamiliar with much around them, Lu Chen wasn't in a rush to complete any tasks. Instead, he took the remote control from Qiqi and used the TV to explain things to Diluc and Barbara.
Thinking about it, Diluc's challenge task seemed a lot easier to handle.
Lu Chen had already been planning to open a bar—and had even gone scouting locations at the pier with Venti. But now, things had escalated from a simple bar to a full-fledged winery.
Venti was over the moon.
Dawn Winery was famous across the lands and practically the symbol of Mondstadt itself.
Back when he was a bard, he'd loved the wine from Dawn Winery—but unfortunately, Diluc's top-tier brews were way out of his price range.
"Opening a winery isn't that hard," Diluc said with his arms crossed, deep in thought. "First, you need money. Then, a location. But those aren't the real issues..."
"Money's not a problem!" Venti cut in, glancing at Lu Chen. "This guy has plenty."
Lu Chen thought it over. "As for the location—don't we need to consider climate and sunlight? And land in the city is expensive. We'd probably need to buy property in the countryside."
Diluc nodded slightly. Meanwhile, Venti was already off in his own world, brainstorming what kind of wine the winery should focus on.
"Should we go with Mondstadt's iconic dandelion wine, or would the sweet-and-sour apple brew be more popular here...?"
Diluc looked at the carefree Anemo Archon and sighed. "Like I said, opening the winery isn't the hard part. The real challenge is the second half of the task."
The second half: blend a widely acclaimed wine from another world.
"What do you mean?" Venti asked.
"We don't have the ingredients," Diluc replied with a slight frown. "Dawn Winery's wines are renowned because of their high-quality materials—water from Cider Lake, dandelions from Windrise, grapes grown with Springvale water…"
Lu Chen suddenly realized the problem—where was he supposed to get ingredients from another world?
So far, the only thing the world of Teyvat had sent over were monsters—nothing else.
The Gate of Teyvat hadn't opened yet. How was he supposed to get water from Cider Lake?
Unless a "domain" appeared, and the other side happened to be near Cider Lake in Mondstadt, there was no way to source those materials—and even that kind of opportunity was incredibly rare.
"Can't you just tweak the recipe a bit?" Venti wasn't ready to give up. He stared at Diluc. "You're the best bartender in Mondstadt!"
Then Lu Chen remembered something—he had stockpiled some "high-quality ingredients" from Teyvat. Quite a bit, in fact.
He reached out and handed Diluc a lump of fresh, white, sticky Slime Condensate. "This... can you make wine with it?"
He'd collected it after fighting Slimes and hadn't used any since he didn't know what it was for.
But this was a genuine otherworldly material—and it was already in liquid form!
Seeing Diluc pause at the sight of it, Lu Chen quickly added, "And I've got as much as you need."
Diluc looked at the Slime Condensate in Lu Chen's hand with a conflicted expression. Even Barbara stepped back a little.
From their faces, Lu Chen could clearly see the disgust.
"First of all, the best bartender in Mondstadt is at the Cat's Tail Tavern, not me. Second, I've never heard of anyone using this stuff in a cocktail. Maybe you should ask the bartender over there instead…"
Diona, obviously. But Lu Chen shook his head right away. Who knew when he'd even see her again? He needed Diluc to start mixing now.
"Leave the winery and bar logistics to me. You just focus on crafting the recipe. I believe in you!"
He poured the Slime Condensate into a glass and handed it to a very reluctant Diluc.
Then, he turned to Barbara. Honestly, her task was even more absurd…
[To Save the World—Become an Idol!]
The system had a great sense of humor.
"V.T., ready to train a newcomer?" Lu Chen looked at Venti.
The upcoming "Starlight Carnival" was a massive music event hosted by Starlight Company and several other entertainment agencies—packed with A-list performers.
It was scheduled for the end of August. Time was short. Whether Barbara debuted as a full-fledged idol or just a school idol, they needed Starlight's help.
And right in front of him, the disheveled man mumbling to his wine bottle—was actually one of Starlight's top stars. A household name worth over 100 million. The mysterious musician: V.T.
Barbara's debut was just one word away from reality—his word.
"Relax, leave it to me!" the now-famous Venti said as he casually called Tony.
Tony had been laser-focused on producing Venti's new album and wasn't remotely interested in a random newcomer. But unable to say no to Venti, he rushed over anyway.
And when he saw Barbara, he froze on the spot.
"Not bad… Not bad at all. None of our current rookies at Starlight can match Miss Barbara…"
His flashy green sports car sat outside the villa. Clutching a briefcase, Tony Wang studied Barbara from head to toe.
Sunlight spilled through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making her light-gold curls seem to shimmer. Her sapphire eyes blinked nervously, and her porcelain face turned to Lu Chen with hesitation.
"I... can I really help?"
"Of course you can!" Lu Chen gave her a reassuring smile. Forget Starlight's rookies—even lumping all current female celebs together, none of them came close to Barbara's beauty.
She had an unmistakable elegance. Standing there, she was like a radiant flower blooming in a greenhouse—just seeing her could lift anyone's mood.
"No doubt about her image and charisma," Tony said, finally looking away. Though he was curious why she was dressed like a priestess, it wasn't his place to ask.
What he really wanted to know was whether her singing voice was as incredible as Venti claimed.
Lu Chen gave Barbara a wink—it was time to show them what she could do.
Barbara nodded lightly. Facing the crowd, the nervousness from before was gone.
As Mondstadt's prayer priestess and the idol who healed hearts through song, being in the spotlight didn't faze her. This was her calling.
She closed her eyes and softly hummed a hymn commonly sung in the Church.
Just an unaccompanied tune—but the moment she began, everyone's expression changed.
Her voice flowed like a clear stream through the forest, carrying a healing power that seemed almost magical. Lu Chen could almost see the sunlit Church of Favonius.
The midday sun wrapped Barbara in golden light, casting a sacred glow around her. Her pure voice drifted through the living room, weaving between the golden rays, echoing softly in everyone's ears.
When she opened her eyes again and saw everyone mesmerized, she shifted uncomfortably and fiddled with her skirt.
Even though the song had ended, no one had snapped out of it yet.
So she cleared her throat, cheeks lightly flushed. "I'm done singing."
Tony Wang, still lost in the performance, suddenly blinked back to reality—and his intense gaze nearly startled Barbara.
Lu Chen saw the sparkle in his eyes and knew—this genius producer had just been utterly blown away again.
"Where... where are you all from?" Tony asked, stunned. He glanced at Venti, then Barbara. How were they all so talented?
"Did you like it?" Lu Chen asked.
Tony clasped his hands together, nodding furiously.
"It was beautiful! Like the sound of angels!"
...