Back to the surface

Suddenly

Zhongli was astonished when he suddenly heard the doorbell. Slowly he moved to the door and looked through the peephole. There stood the guy from the hallway. After a moment, he pointed at the wallet. Was he going to beg at the door now or what? In the middle of the night? Zhongli was so confused until it suddenly occurred to him that the one in the stranger's hand was possibly his wallet. Why else would he point to it like that? Intuitively, he opened the door.

"Good evening," he said to his surprised visitor.

"Hey... uhm... it's me. Childe. I wanted to give you something back," the latter replied, pulling his hood up minimally so Zhongli could see his face a bit. Why he didn't pull it off, however, he didn't understand. Still, he had to laugh slightly. It was kind of ironic, he had wanted to visit him at the variete and instead he was now at his door.

"I can't believe you found it again. I'm so grateful," Zhongli said with a smile.

"Oh, sure no problem... I just waited outside your door for what felt like hours and it's a little cold...but never mind. It's fine. Here," Childe said with a slight smile, then handed him the leather wallet. Zhongli accepted it gratefully.

"Are you that cold?" he finally asked, smiling slightly. "If so, why don't you come inside for a moment and warm up..."

#

Childe couldn't believe he was standing in front of him, asking him to come in. Of course he had intended it, but still never dared to hope it. Delighted, he walked past him into the apartment. Once they were inside, he finally took off his hood and opened his jacket a bit.

"Thanks. Much better in a moment," he said with a warm smile. He looked around curiously. It was so beautifully decorated in Asian style. But the most beautiful thing about the apartment was Zhongli. And today, he still looked especially attractive....

"You look so fancy... were you out?" asked Childe curiously, tilting his head. As he did so, he watched every inch of Zhongli's face.

"You'll laugh... I was at Snezhnaya Variete and quite disappointed that you weren't there...", Zhongli countered and laughed. Childe laughed, too. How could that be?

"Well, welcome to the personal after show party with the best host in the underground," Childe replied boastfully.

"Who I thought was a bum," Zhongli said with a slight smile.

"Hey. Well, I can't be all glamorous on the open road, and I just dozed off," Childe defended himself.

"Why did you wait? You could have just put the wallet in the mailbox," Zhongli said. Childe blushed slightly and ran his hand through his hair, but decided to stick to the truth.

"I wanted to see you again."

#

"Oh well... that's nice," Zhongli mumbled, looking sheepishly at the purse. Suddenly, he noticed that it was a little thicker than usual. He opened it and caught sight of the bills.

"Um... what?" he asked in irritation, only to hear Childe laughing next to him.

"Why?" asked Zhongli, completely confused, looking at him with wide eyes. He was sure that he had only had a little bit with him. Where did he get all that money and most importantly...? Why? Childe just smiled, then lightly touched his hand.

"Take it if you want...I thought you could use it, that's why," he replied with a slight smile. Zhongli blinked at him. Why was he...being so nice? The day he had saved him, it had been so strange. He had never met such a person before.