As soon as the idea came, Ken decisively executed and posted it.
At 10:00 a.m. on May 19th, a topic called #KleeAndDiona hit the trending list.
Ever since Genshin Impact officially launched, its hot topics have been endless, suppressing top celebrities so much they gritted their teeth in jealousy, because all the trending slots they bought kept getting pushed away by Genshin.
Even many who don't like games have heard about Genshin from the internet or friends.
Seeing this trending tag now, netizens clicked out of curiosity.
The trending post was a video from Star Dome's official account.
In the video, cute little Klee stood hands-on-hips, her pink cheeks all pouty as she imitated the catgirl Diona beside her.
That impish scene triggered a tidal wave of maternal instincts among viewers.
Meanwhile, the catgirl looked shy, her sharp cat ears and tail twitching and perking with her expressions—like a tsundere kitten.
And Klee, while imitating the catgirl, stuck out her little butt and patted the plushie "Dodoco" hanging from her backpack.
That instantly melted the audience.
One little cutie is hard enough to handle; now there's a catgirl too. This face-to-face cuteness crit felt like cheating.
Many viewers couldn't help but smile like doting aunties and felt an urge to go play Genshin.
Players laughed so hard their faces hurt, rolling on their beds and mauling their blankets to vent their excitement.
Some even watched under the covers, cackling "kekeke" like goblins.
Klee and Diona were just too adorable.
They made people want to have daughters!
But as they watched... their smiles froze and then cracked.
Because toward the end of the video, a man's profile suddenly appeared.
Klee called him "Daddy," and the catgirl called him "Uncle." The man kissed Klee on the cheek, then reached out and patted the catgirl's ears.
That sudden scene made the smiling viewers stiffen as if splashed with cold water. Their joy evaporated, and their dad/mom smiles turned into keyboard-warrior rage.
That guy deserves to die!
["Arf arf—if I'm not mistaken, that bastard is Star Dome's boss, Mr. Ken! Genshin was his idea."]
["Ken, you dog! It's him! What are you doing to my baby Klee! That's a kiddie ride, you criminal!"]
["Show your HP bar—time to go berserk!"]
["That catgirl is so cute—her shy look is killing me. I need to know within three minutes how to pull her!"]
["Mr. Ken, show your HP bar! Where did he find so many god-tier cosplayers? The resemblance is insane, and they orbit around him every day."]
["Ahhh my baby Klee! How can she call Mr. Ken 'Daddy'! I'm losing it! Where does that dog Mr. Ken live? I'm going to smash his windows!"]
"..."
Across Facebook and Twitter, most comments read like that.
Even other game companies saw the trend and wished they could shank Ken.
It's bad enough your game is good—your marketing is this cracked too?
Where did you find these top cosplayers? People might think your characters came to life. You're this cracked—how are we supposed to survive?
And it's not just hiring them—you even made them call you "Daddy" and "Uncle."
Mr. Ken, you deserve death!
Many devs gnashed their teeth, wishing him harm.
Star Dome's staff could only laugh and cry at the comments.
Ever since their boss started appearing with those cosplayers, they knew he'd become the target of player jealousy—just didn't expect him to dive in personally to draw aggro.
Looking at the resentful comments, a few staff shared glances.
"You guys think..."
"What if we make the boss into a BOSS?"
"Heh heh... get killed by players eight hundred times a day?"
"Sounds fun. Let's try it—surprise for the boss!"
The employees, seeing the trending topic, were all happily fanning the flames. Making Ken into a boss would be a kind of interaction with players.
It definitely wasn't jealousy—purely for the players.
And for the game's heat, the diligent staff even posted the video to overseas platforms, soon drawing curses in many languages.
From Sakura Land to Kimchi Land, the scolding was endless.
Heh—boss, you really had it coming!
...
In fact, even without checking the internet, Ken could imagine players' envy and hate.
Ever since Genshin was greenlit and he began filming promo videos with Klee and others, he was bound to be an object of universal jealousy.
He didn't mind. Heh—just having fun.
Right now, he was lounging in a rocking chair, eating watermelon in the breeze, watching Klee make Jumpy Dumpties while Diona played Genshin on her phone—utterly relaxed.
Trying Genshin was one of Diona's wishes.
It was said that Ken used Great Prophecy to peer into Teyvat's past and future and made a game from it.
So Diona wanted to see whether Mondstadt's wine industry would ultimately be destroyed by her.
As a result, she played with exceptional zeal. Ken figured that even if he didn't spend or use dev privileges, just letting the characters grind would net him a ton of Primogems.
[Ding—]
Just then, the system trembled lightly in his mind, drawing Ken's gaze back.
This was the signal that a contract partner had arrived on Blue Star.
Sure enough, before long, a vortex gate silently appeared in the room.
A skirted girl with a floating companion hurriedly leapt out, looking a bit anxious.
"Lumine? Did your brother find you?" Ken paused his spoon, slightly surprised.
Mondstadt had been peaceful lately. With the stormterror past, the only thing he could think of that would make Lumine so anxious was Dragonbro.
"No... Is Klee here?" Lumine rested her hands on her knees, catching her breath.
Ken tipped his chin upward. "Upstairs, working on bombs. Do you need her?"
"Then this is strange." Lumine frowned. "There was an avalanche at Dragonspine today. Acting Grand Master Jean suspected Klee was blasting fish in the ice lake and asked me to check. I came to Blue Star first to see if Klee's here. Since she is, we need to investigate why the avalanche happened."
Dragonspine lies south of Mondstadt, covered in snow and ice year-round.
Even those with Visions get gradually eroded by the cold there, so few go unless necessary.
The area's stability is very high; major avalanches are rare unless something changes deep within the mountain.
"Eula's still up there!" Paimon floated, worried.
Ken checked the time remaining on the double-travel. "I'll tell Klee and Diona, then go with you to check the mountain."
Over this time, Ken had become close with Eula.
The cold, steadfast Spindrift Knight was just a girl who was outwardly frosty but warm inside.
Though in the game Eula never had major incidents, Teyvat's many fates had already shifted like a butterfly's wings due to his presence.
Whether as a friend or otherwise, Ken didn't want anything to happen to Eula.
"Okay!"
With Ken joining, Lumine instantly felt relieved.
In her eyes, Ken's Great Prophecy made him a rare powerhouse. Having him along would make the search far easier.
After saying goodbye to the two little cuties, Ken opened the vortex gate again, this time anchoring to the Adventurers' Camp at the foot of Dragonspine.
...
The sky around the mountain was overcast, bright daylight smothered by thick clouds, as if cutting off the outside world's vitality—silent and looming.
Staring at the towering, oppressive, snowbound peak, Ken felt a faint heaviness in his chest.
"Wow... it's so cold..." Paimon hugged her arms, shivering as she spoke in the biting wind.
Ken glanced around. The Adventurers' Camp was blanketed in drifted snow; no one was there. They must have evacuated due to the avalanche.
He abandoned the idea of asking adventurers for intel.
"Anchor to Snowboar King's Fairy Pool."
Ken opened the vortex again, anchoring deep within Dragonspine at the Snowboar King's Fairy Pool.
He chose it because Eula has a winter-swimming habit.
Tempering the body with icy water to strengthen will—that was one reason Eula grew stronger.
Back when Ken played, to protect Eula during her bath, he painstakingly studied the mountain's pools and concluded:
The best spot for Eula's winter baths was the Fairy Pool.
Other lakes were either too close to Fatui outposts, hilichurl camps, or the adventurer camp.
Only the Fairy Pool fit the bathing criteria.
Though it looks like a still pond, it hosts various fish species—even the legendary, extremely rare Snowboar King—proving the pool's uniqueness.
"Let's hope we find Eula first, then investigate the avalanche," Lumine said worriedly.
Compared to investigating the cause, confirming Eula's safety was just as important.
As they pondered, Ken brought Lumine and Paimon silently to the Fairy Pool.
...
Lumine and Paimon stepped out first; Ken followed last.
As he retracted the gate and looked up, he saw Lumine suddenly turn, pouncing on him and knocking him into the snow.
"...???"
With Lumine straddling him, Ken was at a loss.
Though he and Lumine had grown very close—tinged with a youthful, ambiguous romance—he didn't mind if something happened. But this was a snowy mountain—freezing cold.
He might withstand the elements with his strength, but could Lumine?
And Paimon was watching!
"Shh. I see Abyss Order members."
Lumine covered his mouth and whispered rapidly into his ear.
Though she no longer skulked about, that didn't mean she wanted to face her brother yet. She was here for the Knights, and when she saw the Abyss Order, she reacted instantly.
"Couldn't you—get off me first—before we talk?"
Ken was exasperated.
Couldn't she feel that icy gaze behind her—cold enough to kill?
Ken gripped Lumine's slender waist, moved her aside, then climbed up and looked past her with a kindly smile. "What a coincidence, brother-in-law—Aether."
Lumine clutched her waist, heart still racing, when Ken's words shocked her into turning around.
And there he was, floating behind her.
A gorgeously dressed young man hovered, braided ponytail whipping in the cold wind, his delicate face filled with complex emotion.
It was Ken's would-be brother-in-law, Aether.
Both Ken and Lumine were surprised—before they could even start, they'd bumped into Aether on the mountain.
Given the Abyss presence here, Ken suspected the avalanche wasn't unrelated.
"Brother?!"
Lumine was stunned for a long beat before calling out, her lingering annoyance giving way to relief.
Seeing him safe dispelled her worry.
But Aether's expression grew more complex, his body faintly trembling.
Anger, rage, disbelief, joy—countless emotions tangled together until his aura flared, making nearby Abyss mages shiver.
The Abyss Order operating on Dragonspine wasn't rare.
Though frustrated at losing contact with Lumine, Aether hadn't abandoned his duty, busy as ever.
He didn't expect to run into his sister mid-operation.
A pleasant surprise—except... what had he just seen?
His pure, adorable little sister—straddling a man.
How brazen and licentious—and his sister, no less?
For a moment, he wished he'd gone blind.
"Lumine, aren't you going to explain?"
Aether forced down his fury, looking at his sister, heart aching.
My adorable sister—how did she become like this?
If she had a man, fine—that's the law of heaven and earth, and Aether could accept that her heart had opened and she wanted a beautiful romance.
But—she chose the outdoors? On a freezing mountain? With a flying emergency food watching?!
Aether ground his teeth, swallowing his rage.
...
Advanced chapter here: p-atreon.com/Sajaboyzzz
<><><><><>><>>><><><><>
Keep the Chapters coming - Support with Power Stones!
Every 200 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter!