Days at Teyvat University || Modern AU Xiao x Reader

Ch 3. After Class

While you were internally freaking out about the fact that you were basically given a stranger for a partner, Xiao had returned with the ingredients and laid them out on the station's work space.

"What's the first step?" He asked, pushing the sleeves of his sweatshirt up to his elbows.

"H-huh? U-um..." You snapped back into reality, scrambling to pick up the sheet, flushed red with embarrassment. At the rate things were going, you could already tell this was gonna be a LONG couple of hours.

Despite your initial dread, the rest of the class went fairly smooth. Xiao may have been a bit aloof, but he wasn't too bad of a cook. You had been left to do the majority of the food preparation, while he was on the actual cooking side of things. Probably for the better, as your past cooking experiences often ended in a smoke alarm going off and feats of the near impossible. Just last week you managed to burn water in the microwave.

By the end of class, you and Xiao had produced a steaming plate of Jade Parcels, the mere smell leaving your mouth watering. Walking by your station, Chef Mao leaned down to inspect the presented dish, before looking up at the two of you and nodding with approval. "Well done, both of you." You felt a small smile make its way onto your face as a light feeling filled your chest. To be complimented by a chef as revered as him left your spirits a bit higher than at the start of class. You turned excitedly to Xiao to see his reaction, only to be met with a nearly unchanged expression. You turned your head back to face the front, feeling uneasy as the tension between the two of you returned. You wouldn't mind if Xiao continued to be partners for the class. From the minimal words exchanged between you two, he didn't seem like a bad person, and he certainly knew his way around the kitchen far better than you. You guys seemed to work well together, but any interaction beyond that seemed out of reach. You fiddled with your hands as you felt some anxiety begin to build up in you. What if he didn't want to be partners again, and this was only a one time thing because he was late? Maybe he preferred to partner up with someone more skilled?

Lost in your thoughts, you almost missed the light tap on your shoulder from the very subject of your thoughts. Turning to Xiao, you saw he had a pair of chopsticks in his hand, an opened pair in the other he had outstretched to you.

"Thank you." You took them from him, using them to grab a Jade parcel from the plate between the two of you. You took a bite, delicious flavors bursting in your mouth. You let out a small squeal of satisfaction. They had turned out so much better than you thought they would. You looked over at Xiao, who also had an expression of approval. "It's good right?!" You exclaimed excitedly.

"Not bad for our first try." He replied in a low voice. That was another thing about Xiao. He was often soft spoken, voice rarely inflicting in tone or volume, sentences void of any accessory words. Just plain and simple; not that you minded too much. It did rub you off as kind of rude, but you could tell it wasn't his intention. As the two of you tuckered into the other parcels, Chef Mao clapped his hands to get the class's attention.

"Don't forget to clean up your station! Class will be over soon." He called out. A couple students groaned, others turning to each other to play rock-paper-scissors to decide who would take over washing duty. You stood up first, quickly chewing and swallowing the remaining bits in your mouth.

"I can wash." As you reached over to pick up the pan from the stove, Xiao intersected, using his arm to block your access to the piece of kitchenware.

"It's fine, I got it." He said, now also standing up with the pan in hand, reaching behind you to grab the cooking utensils and chopsticks and placing them into the pan for easy transport as he made his way over to the sinks.