immortality • childe

chap. 14

"Mr. Zhongli! (y/n)!", a small figure appeared behind the wooden counter and ran towards the two of them, as they entered the Pharmacy.

Zhongli gently smiled at the little girl who looked up at him with a hint of excitement in her eyes. She embraced his leg with her short arms and sighed quietly.

"Qiqi missed you.. Baizhu is always busy..", the purple haired girl hesitated for a moment. "..with work".

The Geo Archon hummed and petted her head, after greeting her. She let go of his leg and stared at (y/n) with her pink eyes.

"Baizhu never let Qiqi go out to look for Cocogoat. Maybe Mr. Zhongli and (y/n) can help Qiqi find Cocogoat?", she asked a little hopeful and fiddled with her fingers, while staring at the floor.

"Now, now, Qiqi, you don't want to burden our customers, do you?", the owner of the Pharmacy suddenly entered the building with a basket in his arms.

Qiqi looked up and formed an "Oh" with her mouth. "Greetings (y/n), Zhongli. It's a pleasure to see you again", the green haired male said with a smile and placed the basket behind the counter.

"I hope you two are doing good", (y/n) replied and watched as Qiqi slowly sat down on a chair next to the entrance, her feet hovering above the ground due to her height.

Baizhu shook his head and looked at some papers that were covering the whole desk.

"I'm sincerely sorry, but I cannot talk much at the moment. The people in Liyue gave us quite a lot of work for today", he sighed and fixed his glasses.

Zhongli quietly stood next to (y/n) as she tilted her head and offered their help. "How about we help you out?".

Baizhu looked up in surprise and smiled, happy that someone was willing to help out. "Yes. Could you two go and get some Violet Grass? I guess that you already know where to find those", he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, before sorting out some papers.

Zhongli slightly nodded and turned to (y/n). "I'm relying on you", the Doctor passed them a thankful smile and focused on his paperwork again.

-

As soon as the two left the Pharmacy, the small girl stood up from her chair and looked at their figures in the distance, a glint of sadness in her eyes.

"But Qiqi wanted to search for Cocogoat with Mr. Zhongli and (y/n).."

—

The day went by quickly, without any exiting events. When they came back to deliver the plants Beizhu wanted them to get, no one was in the Pharmacy.

Zhongli left the Violet Grass on the counter, before stretching his back. (y/n) gave him a strange look from aside, remembering the strange noises he made while climbing up a cliff to get the flowers.

Unfortunately Qiqi was no where to be found, even after a few minutes of waiting.

—

The time (y/n) spent with Zhongli didn't even feel like two days. They mostly wandered around Liyue, shared stories and picked up Glaze Lillies and Silk Flowers to put them into a bouquet.

In the blink of an eye, the last day of the Lantern Rite Festival arrived.

As the two of them stood on a balcony, admiring the lanterns that lit up the night sky, Zhongli let out a deep hum.

"Are you going to leave tomorrow?"

(y/n) nodded thoughtfully. She enjoyed the Archons company, but she also wanted to return to her beloved home. After all, she didn't particularly like cities and big crowds.

"Barbatos will arrive soon", she reminded the taller male, causing him to sigh. His amber eyes darted around the city as he folded his hands behind his back.

(y/n) gazed at the night sky, clouds slightly covering the moon. Her hair unnaturally glowed in the moonlight and her flawless skin looked soft.

The Geo Archon decided to interrupt the peaceful silence with a question.

"What do you think of Tartaglia?", the female furrowed her brows at the sudden question about the sly Fatui.

Zhongli turned his attention towards her and gave her a short glance.

"He likes you", he stated the obvious, making the girl squint her eyes. "My looks. Not me", she giggled amused and let a small smile take over her face.

Zhongli tilted his head and hummed at the blunt response, not wanting to ask any further.

Suddenly a soft breeze striked their cheeks, announcing the arrival of a certain person.

After a few moments, (y/n) started to grin while staring at Zhongli's calm expression.

"We don't want to keep him waiting, do we?", she smiled as she turned away from the balcony, making Zhongli sigh.