those we leave behind

prologue

Lumine was stuffing her face with a jade parcel when she heard a voice call out her name. Out of curiosity, Paimon looked up to see the owner of the voice and once she noticed, she continued to eat her crystal shrimp. Hoping the approaching figure wouldn't take up too much of their mealtime.

" Ah, Lumine! There you are," Childe hollered. She muttered a soft apology to her meal companion, Zhongli, as she wiped her mouth with a napkin and watched as the ginger approached their table. "Hey girlie, Mr. Zhongli, how goes it?" His smile only seemed half genuine looking at the two. Zhongli gave the guest a curt nod and continued to sip on his tea.

Lumine huffed as she glared at him. Honestly, why was he constantly trying to seek her out? "What do you want, Childe?" Venom dripping from her lips.

"Woah! No need to bite girlie. I just came to say hi before the business I have to head over to Northland Bank," Childe held up his hands defensively and moved one of the open stools over to sit closer to Lumine. He placed his elbows on the table, hands cupping his cheeks, and looked at her with a sly grin. "I was also wondering if you wanted to spend some time together sometime this week."

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "No way! Last time you wanted to spend time with me it was only to spar. Find another punching bag for the week." She wasn't going to fall victim to another one of his silly battles. Lumine picked her chopsticks back up to continue eating until Childe clasped his hands together in prayer to plead to her.

"That's because you're the only one who stands a chance against me! Tell you what, how about this time I treat you to a meal?"

This caught Paimon's full attention. "And you'd pay for all of it?"

Childe smirked at her, knowing she'd taken the bait. "Down to the last mora."

"..Would that meal include dessert?"

"What kind of man would I be if I didn't treat you two to something sweet afterwards?"

Paimon then floated over to her companion to rattle her arm, causing her to drop her food back into her plate once again.

"Oh pleasee Lumine! You know the size of Childe's wallet! We could eat like kings! Kings!" Lumine looked over to Zhongli for aid but was only met with an amused grin. Looking to Childe, she knew he was getting exactly what he wanted. She sighed in defeat and shook Paimon off of her. Maybe it was time to use her as emergency food one of these days.

"Alright fine. You've pulled my leg. Meet us at Yujing Terrace tomorrow at lunchtime. I'm expecting the best meal of my life after I beat it out of you." Childe's eyes sparkled as he rose from his seat. A glint that was oozing anticipation.

"Then it's a date! If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way. Lots of important business to do. Catch you later, girlie!" With that, the ginger winked in farewell and turned towards the direction of the bank. Lumine's eyes narrowed as she looked over to Paimon, betrayal evident. Though Paimon could only scratch her head nervously and return to her food. Zhongli watched Lumine dig into her parcel angrily and couldn't help but chuckle.

"What? Is something the matter?" She picked up her cup to take a sip of tea.

"No, no. Not at all. I just couldn't help but find it odd I never noticed Childe's little crush on you till now." Tea began leaking out of Lumine's mouth and onto the table. Her eyes wide in disbelief, hoping she had heard him wrong. "Forgive me, had you not noticed as well?"

Lumine couldn't believe what she was hearing. Childe, one of the fatui harbingers, liked her? A thought like that was absolute lunacy. She knew he had better things to do than to chase around a girl. Thinking back, she recalled all the times he sought her out, given her a token of appreciation out of nowhere, or 'accidentally' bumped into her. She briefly considered all the memories to be coincidences, but the volume of these occurrences was too great to be just that. A dust of pink colored her cheeks.

"What?! There- There's no way that idiot has a crush on me!" Lumine crossed her arms and avoided Zhongli's gaze. She could barely trust her voice, let alone a staring contest with the man. Paimon hovered in her seat giggling at the thought of the potential mass murderer having a kid crush on the traveler. Lumine growled at her to cease, but that only seemed to ignite her laughter further. Lumine grabbed Paimon into a headlock and rubbed a noogie into her head. As Paimon wailed for help, Zhongli began.

"Watching your encounter just now had made it painfully clear, I'm afraid. When you live as long I have, you pick up on a thing or two. Experience becomes knowledge." Despite her loud cries, Paimon listened. By doing so, she deciphered there was a secret meaning between the lines. Pushing Lumine off her and earning another growl, she floated over Zhongli curiously.

"Wait, wait wait. So if what Paimon is hearing is correct, did Mr. Zhongli have a lover? She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and Zhongli chuckled in return.

"A very keen observation my friend. And to think I thought I was being discreet enough," He took a final mouthful of tea and set his cup down. There was a visible shift in the air as his expression mellowed and his eyes softened, reminiscent of the past. Paimon slowly drifted back to her seat and gave Zhongli her full attention. Lumine rested her forearms on the table, gripping her teacup in anticipation for him to speak. "If we were to be together today, we might have thought of ourselves to be lovers. But looking back, I will always think of us as the best of friends, first and foremost." Zhongli's eyes reflected an abundance of love and affection.

"If it's not too much trouble, would you tell us about them? Paimon and I love when you tell us stories." Lumine was itching in her seat, long forgotten was the lanky ginger.

A warm breeze flew from the left and Zhongli set his gaze over to the right. There he noticed a certain blue flower that was shut tightly from the sun's rays. He smiled fondly.

"Traveler, are you familiar with glaze lilies? I'm sure Madame Ping has brought up the blossom at least once." He looked into the reflection of his teacup and faintly recalled a lullaby he would hear often.

"Yes, she has. I've also seen a few of them across Liyue. Why?"

"My dear friend was especially fond of these lilies. During our time, they could be found all over Liyue. Often you could find us in Dihua Marsh admiring the blossoms. My friend had one the sweetest voices I have ever had the pleasure of hearing, and use this voice to sing to the glaze lilies."

Lumine snickered to herself. "Sounds like Venti has competition."

"That bard is a disgrace to the arts, the two are incomparable." A laugh was shared around the table.

"Do I know this person? I read quite a lot of books upon arriving here."

"I would be quite shocked if you did. This story takes place during a time history books scarcely touched upon. But it's a story that will never leave me, because it is what shaped the human 'Zhongli' you know me as today," He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Envisioning the past that he could never forget, no matter how much he eroded away. "It's a tale of my most cherished companion.

Guizhong, the Goddess of Dust."