[Genshin Impact] Zhongli Is Here to Shield Me

Content warning: Old-school melodrama, no research or logic, and plenty of potentially upsetting elements. Readers bothered by such things may want to skip this.

The character model was abstract, its combat power was absurd, and whenever the screen went black, the Ruin Guard's fate was anyone's guess. That was Jiang Wu's assessment of Jiang Xue, the NPC.

Now she stood by the river, holding a fishing rod and watching the Ruin Guard charge toward her through a cloud of dust in the distance. Her mouth twitched.

Why had she become the one who had to fight the Ruin Guard one-on-one?

After an accident, Jiang Wu transmigrated into a parallel world with the same name as the game, Teyvat. There was no Traveler here, but Jiang Xue was around to trigger daily events.

Jiang Xue called her little sister, tossed her their ancestral fishing rod, then happily ran off, as if she'd finally escaped her scripted role.

Left all alone, Jiang Wu stared in bewilderment. "W-why?"

From then on, her unreliable big brother went out early and came home late, having the time of his life. He told Jiang Wu that whether or not she caught any fish didn't matter. As long as she fought ten Ruin Guards or giant Mitachurls one-on-one every day, she would be free to move around.

Jiang Wu gave a couple of dry laughs. So the fishing rod was the real deal. She wanted to give it back to Jiang Xue, but her whole body was fixed in place by the water, as if she were just waiting to get beaten up.

She asked her brother how she was supposed to fight them one-on-one. Standing outside the activity area, her unreliable brother gave her a four-word answer: "Black out and see."

"..."

Jiang Wu: Get back here!

On the first day of being forced to take on the task, Jiang Wu met Zhongli, who had come nearby to fish and drink tea.

When thick smoke billowed in the distance, Jiang Wu had an idea and tugged on Zhongli's sleeve. "I know your secret."

Zhongli leisurely sipped his tea, as if nothing could faze him. "Oh?"

Jiang Wu: "You're the Geo Archon, Morax. The Rite of Parting was just your fake death to get out of your duties. You saved Xiao in The Chasm, and you've spent a lot of money behind Director Hu Tao's back."

Zhongli nearly choked on his tea. "You..."

Jiang Wu beckoned him closer. "You don't want to go back to work, do you?"

Zhongli felt he had been cornered. "Young friend, be careful what you say."

Jiang Wu: "Help me clear out the Ruin Guards every day, and I swear I'll never reveal your secret."

Zhongli: ...

One day, after Zhongli had cleared out the monsters for Jiang Wu and put an invisible shield around her, Jiang Wu tugged at his sleeve again, fidgeting as she said, "Actually, I like you."

Zhongli sighed helplessly. "I know."

"Then..."

"No." Zhongli coldly turned her down.

Later, one day, Zhongli got drunk and asked Jiang Wu, "Do you like me, or do you like my shield?"

Jiang Wu seemed to realize why she'd been rejected.

Theme: Set out toward a brighter future