fortuity | zhongchi

07

"W — WHAT DO YOU MEAN LAST NIGHT..?"

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the two hopped into zhongli's car, childe trying to prevent himself from dozing off. the silence was loud, both of them unable to find a topic to talk about until zhongli opened his mouth.

"there's only a few days of college left huh?" he brought up. childe lifted his head, "ah... yeah! i'm extremely nervous for some reason." he scratched the back of his head. zhongli's chest felt heavy, in thoughts of their time spent together coming to an end, "you shouldn't be, trust me. you're doing a splendid job."

childe felt reassured by the older one's words of affirmation, though a hint of doubt was still left deep inside him. "so, about your plan after you graduate." zhongli said in a skeptical manner. the ginger turned his head towards the window, reminiscing his decisions, "what about it?"

zhongli slightly frowned, exhaling heavily, "are you sure you want to join the military? you have so much potential in other fields like —"

"i'm sure."

the brunette's eyes shone with concern, glancing at childe. the ginger had a somewhat determined expression, "i... i've always gotten the feeling that it's my duty to protect something. i never did know what exactly, so i figured the military was a choice."

zhongli grew worried every second, though he has no right to interfere with his student's plans.

"when will you start?" the man asked. childe watched as the scenery out the window changed, "probably in a few months or possibly even a year from now. before i get too occupied with all that, i want to do a lot of things while i can."

the car fell quiet again, zhongli focused on the road and childe gazing out the window. the driver switched on the radio, so the environment wasn't so awkward. in just a few minutes, childe's eyelids grew heavy until they closed completely.

zhongli was about to start a conversation however stopping at the sight of the younger one in slumber. he stared a short while and a quick smile appeared on his face.

bright lights woke childe up, slowly opening his eyes. his vision gradually cleared, revealing an elegant brunette lady with a gentle smile, "sir? zhongli told me to wake you." childe sat up, rubbing his eyes and observing the woman, "where... huh?!" he panicked, realizing he was in an unfamiliar environment.

the lady waved her hands slowly, speaking with a soothing voice, "sir, you're at zhongli's home. he informed me that you were one of his students, correct?" childe caught himself mesmerized by the incredibly beautiful woman, "yes that's right! may i ask what happened?"

before the lady was able to speak, a deeper voice spoke from the opening door, "thanks guizhong, i'll take it from here." childe turned his attention to the origin of the sound and guizhong headed towards it. "mr. zhongli? ah thank you ms. guizhong!" childe exclaimed.

the woman waved and smiled before leaving the room and making short eye contact with the teacher. zhongli approached the side of the bed, "what happened you may ask? don't you remember anything from last night?" childe's mind panicked, jumping to conclusions, "w — what do you mean last night?"

zhongli teased, "ah such a shame that you forgot so easily. so all that meant absolutely nothing to you, yeah?" he shook his head slowly as childe's face heated up intensely, "wait wait! i'm so so sorry if i did anything stupid! please forgive me! i wasn't in the right mind!"

childe couldn't bare to look his teacher straight in the eye, lecturing himself for being so stupid. zhongli sat on the side of the bed, laying down near childe's leg. they shared an uncomfortable silence, hearing guizhong handle dishes from outside.