Kiss Me More || Childe x Reader

Chapter 17

You wiped your tears from your cheeks harshly. Somehow, you felt like you were enduring the pain of loss much better than before. "Xiao, can you give me the flower?"

Corresponding to your request, Xiao handed the endemic flora without second thoughts.

For some reason, you perceived a sense of familiarity as you brought the flower closer into your air circulation. "It smells familiar."

"The only person who owns this flower in Liyue is Baizhu."

The aftermath of crying made you sniffed your nose uncomfortably. "Yes, but, when I was a kid, I remembered that someone — or a somewhat divine being from celestia searching for me."

Xiao put all of his attention at you with his furrowed eyebrows, arms crossing over chest.

"Divine being?"

"Yeah, though I'm not sure how they look like. I just recalled the conversation they made, they said that they wanted me to go to the celestia, explaining some bullshits like I don't belong here."

"Zhongli on the other hand didn't approve, of course. So he killed them, since they were so persistent." A pause. "Well, I wasn't supposed to see nor hear them at the first place. And when Zhongli knows that I've been eavesdropping them, he gave me a weird tea at my bedtime."

"If I remembered it correctly, the tea does have the same fragrant with this flower. Later on, he also act like nothing such ever happened. He had no idea that I poured out the tea from the window."

He didn't look surprised at all, and even commented, "Definitely something you would do."

"Still, why did he give me that tea?"

"It's reasonable as for why he wanted to make you forget, you were just kid," Xiao exclaimed.

"What's wrong with being a kid?" You sounded so clueless.

"If you're normal enough, you would have feel scared. But you didn't emit the slightest bit of fear when you mentioned Zhongli killed them."

"Rude, I'm normal." You defended yourself. "I just don't see what's wrong with the idea of Zhongli killing them? I didn't want to go to the celestia, he knew that, and he tried to protect me."

"The killing was necessary because they were stupidly obstinate. Zhongli simply had no option."

"And what if I tell you that he had another option instead of killing?"

The silence kicked in without any consent. He let the quietude dwelled between you and him for a while, before resuming to establish a one-sided conversation.

This time, his solemn gaze became wary. His head seems to be engaged in conflict, contend for trusting what you've become. Xiao is the second person on teyvat who understand you the most besides your old man. Persevere to that one fact, it was almost impossible for him to be wrong about you.

"You knew." Although it sounded like an accusation, his statement was completely true.

Percase you knew, but in the end you specified yourself to not be bothered by it. Zhongli was simply the only person you would place all of your conviction to, even if your beliefs were wrong, leading you fell to an aberration.

Sure, the bloodshed was wrong. Either way, the necessity was to protect you from atrocious event that might happened in future. In order to do so, it demands the need to annihilate threats, no matter in what form.

"Y/N--"

Xiao's words was cut off by steady knocks on the door. Thank archons, you thought. If it weren't for the knocks, you didn't know how to react.