farewell • xiao

chap. 6

"Boo! Did I scare you? No?", a familiar voice surprised (y/n) from behind, as soon she entered the small cafe in Liyue Harbor.

Zhongli couldn't help but let out a small sigh at the sight of his boss acting like a little child. A grin made its way to Hu Taos face, while she happily took (y/n)'s hands in hers.

"I was so excited to meet you!", her scarlett red eyes sparkled as she spoke, her attention only on the other girl.

(y/n)'s lips tugged into a light smile, meanwhile Xiao stared at Hu Tao with a bored expression. "My name is (y/n). It's nice to see you again"

A giggle escaped Hu Taos lips, before she lightly squeezed (y/n)'s hands in joy. "I'm surprised you remember me", her pigtails slightly bounced, as she clapped her hands. "I'm Hu Tao, the Director of the Funeral Parlor!"

Noticing her cheerful smile, (y/n) couldn't help but to think of Mondstadts Gliding Champion, whose smile was just as happy as hers.

A small hum escaped her, as she silently wondered how her friends and brothers were doing in her hometown. Mondstadt was so different from Liyue; it was a lot greener, had more forests and it was really quiet at night- only if Kaeya and Venti hadn't decided to break into Dilucs tavern to celebrate, of course. Sometimes even Rosaria would tag along.

Someone cleared their throat, interrupting her thoughts. Xiao opened his mouth to say something, while everyone was staring at him. "We wanted to drink tee, didn't we?"

—

"And boom! He was dead!", Hu Taos giggle filled the whole room, her hands swinging around in excitement as she told another story.

Even though she was quite young, she had done so much as the Wangsheng Funeral Parlors Director already.

Zhonglis smile was content, while he drank his all so favorite tea and listened to his boss. (y/n) grinned lighthearted, feeling welcome with her companions.

Xiao just quietly sat on his chair, occasionally throwing in a small comment to the topic. His golden eyes were filled with relish as he relaxed a little.

"Just like that?"

"Yes, Yes, I'm telling you (y/n)! I still wonder how he died..", Hu Tao hummed, while continuing to talk about a dead cat she found on the streets as a kid.

"Maybe it's because he was old?", (y/n) stated and smiled, as Xiao agreed with her theory.

The Funeral Parlors Director shook her head, sounding very convinced as she answered. "No, I am very sure that he was young! I inspected his body, and he didn't have any sign of an illness or old age"

"You did what?"

Hu Tao let out a small "hehe..", before stretching her back after sitting on a wooden chair for hours.

Just a few seconds later, (y/n)'s eyes slightly widened before turning to Zhongli.

"Oh, Zhongli, Ive been meaning to ask you something". At the mention of his name, the Archon looked up from his teacup and looked at the female, silently asking her to continue.

"Do you know where to get some good blades? In Mondstadt we have them ready in the forge, but i didn't find any here in Liyue Harbor. I need them for the polearm, but forgot to take some with me"

The older male paused for a moment, closing his eyes as he thought of an answer.

With a hum, he opened his eyes again. "I'm not certain whether he has time or not, but I'm sure that this person can help. I can send him a letter and ask him to come to Liyue, if you wish"

A happy smile spread across (y/n)'s face, her eyes closing in satisfaction before she thanked the Geo Archon.

And about twenty minutes later, Hu Tao decided to leave since she still had to work tomorrow.

"Visit me, (y/n)! It's so lonely in there", she cried, while talking about her workplace where she did her paperwork.

Her scarlett red eyes were filled with the genuine urge to stay with her new friend. A small laugh erupted from the other girls throat, before she gave Hu Tao a gentle smile.

"See you soon, Hu Tao", with a small wave the Director disappeared behind the wooden door that was the exit of the cafe.

—

"I will take my leave as well. If you ever need my help, let me know", Zhonglis deep voice tuned, before he slowly stood up. Xiao immediately imitated him, his lips tugging into an almost unnoticeable smile as he quickly waved (y/n) a goodbye.

And as soon as the two of them left, a sigh escaped the females lips. She stared at the empty teacups and the fancy tablecloth, before taking a short look at the bill. The other three, that already left, probably forgot that they had to pay.

She grimaced, as she noticed how much Zhongli had ordered. And it's all on me..

She silently pitied herself, before pulling out her wallet to pay for the drinks.

(y/n) watched as the waitress left the table, after getting the mora, while a smile broke her face. It reminded her of the times in Mondstadt, when she was always the one who had to pay for the drinks of Kaeya and Venti when they didn't have enough mora.

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i wasn't really active on wattpad for the last few weeks, so sorry about that T_T i got like 5k notifications?? never felt this famous before. thank you so much!!

take this picture of a cat, i found the other day, as an apology for not updating