HU TAO IS SMACKED ON the back of the head by three separate hands.
"Owww..." She whines, rubbing her skull. After groveling back to the rooftop with her tail between her legs, the girl finally decided to half-jokingly confess to her friends about the previous night's events.
"I can't believe you sometimes," Chongyun says with a hand to his head, "What possessed you to think that breaking into someone's house for some dumb hat was a good idea?"
"Hey! It isn't just a 'dumb hat', diptwit," she snaps him. "It's my Harmony Hexagram Hat. Grandpa gave it to me!"
"What did you just call me-" Chongyun is grabbed by Xingqiu before he can lunge at her.
"He has a point, though," Xiangling begins with a worry-stricken face, "You can get in a lot of trouble for doing something like that, especially if one of the more wealthy people who caught you. Whose house was it, anyways?"
"That one emo kid... his name is Xiao or something,"
"HUH?!"
The rooftop explodes into a chorus of confused shouts and yelps. Chongyun is nearly doubled-over hyperventilating while Xiangling screams unillegible nonsense. Even the usually calm Xingqiu is protesting, though what the group is protesting about still remains unclear to the girl, as their voices overlap so much that not a single comprehensible string of words can be made out. After a few seconds of being frozen in confusion, she is barely able to hear the words "intimidating loner" and "gets into a ton of scuffles."
"Okay, okay!" Hu Tao waves her hands to shut them up, "Would you quiet down already?! I can't make out a thing any of you are saying!"
Per her request, the three calm themselves with reluctance (though they probably only do so to catch their breaths).
"Apologies," Xingqiu begins, "but if the Xiao you're talking about is the one we're thinking of, then you might be a little-"
"Doomed," Chongyun deadpans.
Xiangling looks between the boys desperately, "Hey, well, now you're kind of exaggerating it-"
"Oh, just tell me about it already! You're making it sound like he burns down orphanages in his spare time or something," Hu Tao laughs, "I mean, if that's the case, then I wouldn't mind getting acquainted with this guy..."
Chongyun stares at her unamused. "Xiao is just plain suspicious. He doesn't show up to half of his classes, yet is still passing all of them somehow, and whenever he is seen, he's either playing guitar in the corner or getting into a fight."
"...Does he win at least?"
"Why is that the first thing that you think of?"
"You didn't answer my question!"
"Listen here, you little-"
"Supposedly," Xingqiu interrupts, "he hasn't lost a single fight."
Chongyun shoots her a glare, but decides against finishing his sentence. Xiangling shivers. "Yeah, he's scary."
"Aiya, don't be so skittish, Xiangling," The brunette rolls her eyes. "If anything, he sounds like a fun guy to me... hehe. I might just ask him for advice on fighting, that way no evil spirit will ever mess with us again if we explore another abandoned building!"
"Well, I don't care what you decide to do," Chongyun begins again, folding his arms, "Just be careful. I don't think he would appreciate your boisterous personality that much."
"Oh? Boisterous? And what do you mean by that, Chongyun? Do you have something to say...?" Hu Tao teases.
"All I'm saying is," he replies with a sigh, "Xiao probably has less patience to spare than most people, and given his track record of getting into fights, I doubt he'd hesitate to pummel you into the ground."
Xingqiu chuckles softly. "Are you sure you're not projecting?"
"Don't assume something like that! I'm just making an observation in the best interest of our dear friend, Hu Tao."
"Well," Xiangling puts a finger to her chin thoughtfully, "I'd hate to walk into class one day and be greeted with Hu Tao floor pizza, if you know what I mean."
"Jeez, he's not that bad!" Hu Tao argues, "As long as he never pieces what I did together, I should be safe. Besides, I think he likes me. I bothered him earlier in the art room and he didn't seem to hate me that much," the hopefulness in her tone doesn't fade.
"That much..." Chongyun echoes doubtfully, "I don't even want to know what you said to him. In all likelihood, he probably thinks you have issues."
"I do!"
"Anyways," Xiangling hops off the bench and stretches, "it's whatever you say, Hu Tao. Just don't go around starting trouble with the wrong people, 'kay? Someone like Xiao probably wouldn't put up with half of the stuff you pull..."
Hu Tao frowns. "You guys seriously seem to believe he's a walking time bomb ready to go off at any moment!"
"Hey, you know what," Xingqiu closes his book, "who knows? Maybe he isn't bothered by you at all. Give it some time, and it could even become one of those 'opposites attract' scenarios."
Hu Tao giggles at his joke.
"Whatever," She stands, dusting off her clothes. "It's not like I go out of my way to get into fights! People just can't appreciate good humor when they see it. Maybe they're just jealous..."
Chongyun sighs. "You're delusional. Let's just go, lunch is almost over."
The group makes their way downstairs, all while continuing to chide the brunette for her foolish behavior.
