Eyes of Perception

Chapter 14

As they'd decided, Childe came to the funeral parlor the two days after their dinner, a pack with a spare change of clothing hanging over his back. It had, apparently, become a habit for him to pick Zhongli up from the funeral parlor in the early mornings before any sane person was awake, as was the case here. The funeral parlor was known to open up early because of Zhongli's constant  diligence and dedication to his job, and partially because Hu Tao seemed to be awake at any hour of the day. Still, just to appear polite, he knocked on the front door of the parlor before entering.

As expected, Hu Tao was the one to greet him, her smile all-too-energetic as she stared up at him. "So. Pumpkin Head," she declared, strangely intimidating for someone who was half Childe's height. "This trip has to be strictly business, ya hear me? Zhongli mentioned there'd be a lot of opportunities to expand our business if he went with you, so I expect that to be it. No funny business!"

"Need I remind you, Miss Hu Tao, that we are both adult men who are not in need of getting lectured?" Zhongli's voice came from his office, and quickly after, the man himself stepped from the room, a similar pack to Childe's in hand. He nodded to Hu Tao in greeting before stepping to Childe's side and placing a feather-light kiss to Childe's cheek.

Hu Tao hurriedly pointed at the two of them as if proving a point. "See? This! I don't want any of this when you guys are off! Only business! None of that touchy-feely stuff!"

Childe, being the mature adult he was, bent at the waist in a mock bow. "Of course, Miss Hu Tao, Your Excellency. I promise to have Mister Zhongli back seven in the evening, and if it brings you comfort, I shall not get closer than an arm's length to Mister Zhongli. Do such circumstances suit you?"

Hu Tau, in turn, rolled her eyes before retorting with a smile. "Yeah, yeah, out you go," she said as she ushered the both of them out the door, shoving them down the street in the direction of one of the many roads out of Liyue.  "You better bring my consultant back in one piece," she called after them as they walked away hand in hand. "If there's so much as a scratch on him, I'll have your head and shove you in the smallest coffin I've got, and that's a promise!"

Childe only spared one glance back at her before waving goodbye. "What is she, your mother?" He asked under his breath once he was absolutely certain they were out of sight.

"My sincerest apologies for that," Zhongli replied with a tight smile. "She tends to be a little protective of me at times. She has mentioned that I remind her of her deceased grandfather, so that may be part of the reason."

Oh. That was... surprisingly sweet, actually. Hadn't she jokingly called Zhongli a grandpa a couple of times? At least that made more sense now. Still, to think that Zhongli reminded her of a grandpa was more funny than it should be. Childe was in love with someone who acted like a grandpa. Well, could've been worse.

They walked through the city in silence for fear that their voices might wake someone up, though Childe had ended up carrying Zhongli's pack along with his. He'd only ben able to convince Zhongli to let him do so when he hissed under his breath to think of this as him paying Zhongli back for all the times Zhongli offered his coat to him, but at least that had earned him yet another one of those fond smiles that Childe was starting to love more and more.

The bridge that led away from the city was deserted, save for a few stray dogs playing around the area. It felt a little strange to be living the city - sure, it wasn't Childe's first trip outside of Liyue Harbor, but his never lasted more than a handful of ours. This was different. An entire week to roam the landscape of Liyue, with Zhongli in tow to provide anything he needed to know. And- ah, right, Zhongli was going too.

"Are you sure you want to come with?" Childe asked, pausing at the end of the bridge. "It's gonna be a week of just walking around  and collecting a couple of debts. It, uh, might be a little hard on you. Unless there's a ton of hotels around here, we'd have to camp outside for the nights."