𝙂𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙀𝙮𝙚𝙨 [ 𝘼𝙐 𝙕𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙘𝙝𝙞 ]

5: Over ten thousand years ago

The week went smoothly, Childe got to work without failing and was able to make the purchases he had been putting off for so long. That week the workers were also able to collect, receiving one thousand five hundred of Mora. Childe sent the thousand to his family, and he kept the rest. He wished he could have a better job, with a bigger salary, but this was the most he had achieved and what he could aspire to. He could not leave his family abandoned, and he knew perfectly well that his three older brothers also collaborated, anyway, Childe knew perfectly why he should help so much more than the others.

Finally Zhongli's birthday came, falling on a Sunday. Childe had spent the entire week not daring to speak to Zhongli about the matter, even though the man had been eating almost every day at the restaurant. The redhead gasped in frustration, burying his face into the pillow of his bed. How could he have wasted so many opportunities? Now he would have to call him on the phone and risk the sharp voice answering him with his cold, threatening tone.

"Nevermind, this is my fault and I have to fix it."

He jumped out of bed, and looked at his phone, determined. He had to call Zhongli, he didn't care who answered him, the other had already declared him as his friend, he had the right to call him, right? He took the device with a shaking hand, cursing his body for not acting the way he wanted. Where was the Childe, that shameless boy who was capable of anything? He tapped the phone icon on the screen, finding Zhongli's number easily, luckily he didn't make or receive many calls, and he didn't empty the history either. He tapped the screen again several times, confirming that he wanted to call this number. He was amused that he hadn't added him to contacts yet, but he doubted that Zhongli would have done that with him.

As he waited for him to respond, Childe hummed around his bedroom, glancing at the box where the chopsticks were. It really was a beautiful gift, Zhongli was a very thoughtful man. A jab of regret shook him as he remembered that he hadn't yet started practicing his chopsticks technique, but it's not like he'd had enough time. He promised himself to get to it as soon as his call with Zhongli was over. They finally answered him, and a great relief ran through his body to hear an extremely familiar voice bounce off his ear.

"Good morning, Childe," Zhongli said, the one with the blue orbs could almost feel the other's mouth curl into a soft smile, as he always did when greeting him.

"Good morning Zhongli," he noted as his voice trembled, damn it, was it so difficult for him to speak like a normal person? "Sorry to bother you so early on a Sunday... I hope I didn't interrupt a meeting or something."

"Don't worry, I have the day off today. What is your call due to?" He asked curiously. Childe thought about what he should say, it would be better to act normal, after all Zhongli knew perfectly well that his birthday was on the internet, so it would not be strange for Childe to know.

"Well, I wanted to congratulate you on your birthday first," he began, thinking of his next move. "And I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere, if you don't have plans, of course," they were silent for a moment, Childe felt it as if it had been hours until Zhongli spoke.

"Thank you for your congratulations, answering your proposal, I am not much of birthday's celebrations but I will be delighted to spend time with you," Childe sighed in relief, feeling his muscles relax. "What do you propose?"

"I had thought about going to an art gallery, I guess you already know about it, it's of Liyue's story and that type of stuff..."

"Sounds perfect to me, do you know where it is right?"

"Uh... not really..." He felt his face burn. Albedo had mentioned the gallery but never its location, and he hadn't bothered to look at it, either.