Wanmin Restaurant was overflowing that night—so crowded it felt like the entire harbor was trying to squeeze through the front door.
The kitchen clanged with nonstop chopping, frying, and sizzling oil.
"Chef Mao, where's Xiangling today?"
Bai Hao leaned toward the serving window, scanning the busy kitchen.
Chef Mao let out a long sigh as he flipped his wok single-handedly.
"That cursed Teyvat Fan-Creation Livestream System again…"
Ever since the livestream went viral, Xiangling's name had spread across Liyue like wildfire.
Customers now lined up not just for food—but for autographs, pictures, and to gossip about her memes.
Business boomed.
Xiangling's sanity did not.
Eventually pushed past her limit, the poor girl snapped and vanished upstairs.
"If you're looking for her," Mao said, "she's in Private Room 201. Heard she's having a talk with Lady Keqing."
Bai Hao nodded knowingly. He'd been around Wanmin often these days.
Just yesterday, Chongyun had eaten a plate of Jueyun Chilies and gone full berserk mode—
Bai Hao and Xingqiu barely dragged him down.
That alone was enough for Chef Mao to treat him as half a regular, half a fire extinguisher.
"Got it. And put in a full table of Wanmin specials. Don't hold back on the Golden Shrimp Balls."
After ordering, he headed up the stairs.
Knock, knock—
He pushed open Room 201.
A round table full of steaming dishes met his eyes.
Keqing and Xiangling both turned toward the door.
"Bai Hao?"
Xiangling blinked—how did he even find her?
"Yo. Someone's not in the best mood, huh?"
"You can tell just from looking?" Keqing said between bites of shrimp ball.
She nudged the plate toward him. "Want some?"
"If it's free, absolutely."
Keqing rolled her eyes as if saying: Am I, the Yuheng, too broke to treat you?
Bai Hao sat down without the slightest shame.
Xiangling, however, looked like a wilted cabbage.
"'Weapon Queen,' 'Raiden Shogun's Cooking Instructor'…"
All these new titles swirling around the internet had crushed her tiny heart.
Bai Hao coughed lightly, slipping into "responsible adult" mode.
"Don't worry about it. Memes pass fast. Give it a few days and everyone will be roasting someone else."
Since he was the reason she got roasted, guilt motivated him to comfort her… at least a little.
Xiangling puffed out her cheeks.
"They keep saying even Hilichurls are spicier than me! It's so annoying!"
"You can always improve," Bai Hao reassured her.
"Worst case, take inspiration from Master Keqing—throw on a pair of black stockings."
Objectively speaking, there was nothing wrong with Xiangling's looks.
It was her clothing—too wholesome, too chef-like.
Stick her in a schoolgirl outfit with sleek black tights, and half the LSPs in Teyvat would kneel.
"B-black stockings…?" Xiangling tilted her head, then shook rapidly.
"No way! I'm a chef! I can't wear that!"
Keqing paused mid-chew.
"Speaking of stockings… something weird happened the other day.
I took mine off after work—and when I turned around, they were gone."
Bai Hao raised a brow. "Maybe your house is haunted."
Keqing slammed the table.
"Haunted?! What kind of ghost steals freshly worn stockings?!"
"A perverted one."
Keqing gaped, then snapped:
"Eat your shrimp balls!"
Their playful banter eventually coaxed a real laugh out of Xiangling.
"See? No need to brood." Bai Hao smiled.
"And hey—you got a reward. Didn't you win the Flame-Flame Fruit?"
Xiangling nodded.
"It lets me use Pyro freely and turn into fire… but I already have a Vision, so I don't want to eat it."
"Then give it to your dad," Bai Hao said.
"For a normal person, becoming the 'Emperor of Flames' has a nice ring to it."
Xiangling laughed. "I'll ask him later."
Keqing dabbed her lips with a napkin.
"By the way, you answered a quiz too, didn't you? What reward did you get?"
As a member of the Qixing, she'd been monitoring the livestream closely.
Information was everything.
"Oh, around… two billion Mora."
Keqing choked.
"Cough—cough—WHAT?! How much?!"
"Two billion." Bai Hao was serene. "Any issues?"
"Yes! That's a huge issue!"
Keqing slammed the desk again.
"Why is your reward so absurdly high?!"
Bai Hao shrugged.
"What can I say? Some people are just blessed."
"You—!" Keqing pointed her chopsticks at him.
Then finally gave up. "…Eat my spear."
Soon after, the dishes Bai Hao ordered arrived—plate after plate until the entire table was buried under a mountain of food.
Keqing stared.
"Can you even finish all this?"
"You can stay and watch."
He flexed his fingers.
Back on Earth, he'd had a bottomless stomach.
Now, with Feast? Five minutes—tops.
Keqing stood and dusted her hands.
"I have work. The Rite of Descension is the day after tomorrow and everything's a mess. I'm heading back."
She strode to the door and closed it with a sharp bang.
Bai Hao leaned back, rubbing his chin.
"The Rite of Descension, huh? In two days…"
A slow smile crept across his face.
"Perfect. Time to give old man Zhongli a show he'll never forget."
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