Rewind | Genshin Impact

Chapter 38

The food.

The next, and most pressing, matter on Venti's hands was disposing the food before it got too late. Hence, he wasted no time in separating from the group and quickly making his way towards the kitchen, then repeated what he did in the previous timeloops, except this time he was alone.

He placed all the food and wine in a plastic bag and instead of trying to leave the apartment without seeming suspicious, opened a nearby window and checked if there was anyone down there. When the coast was clear, he threw the bag of trash down six stories to the ground then quickly slipped out of the room and made sure no tracks were left behind.

He took a breath of relief once he was out of the room, and mentally ticked off another box, when he noticed Xiao staring right at him. He felt a shiver go up his spine and noticed how this time, the other man didn't look away like he normally would. He was just staring right at Venti with a knowing look in his eye. 

The bard wasn't sure what to do or what it meant, but felt extremely uneasy nonetheless. Although, before the awkward staring contest could go on any longer Venti suddenly felt someone tap his shoulder.

"Venti! Hi! How are you? I've been meaning to catch you!" Venti quickly turned, as if being caught doing something wrong, and let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding when he saw Amber.

"Uh yeah, ehe, I'm doing great. How are you?" Venti asked the other with a unsure smile.

"You sure? You look like you've just seen a ghost." Amber giggled happily, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

"Yeah, uh, no, just uh tired is all, ehe."

"Oh? Tired? I see." She smirked, as if she knew something he didn't before changing the subject. "So, you've talked to Kaeya this evening?"

"Uh, oh, yeah! He seems to be doing.... Great.." 

"I mean as great as he can be." Amber added with a shrug of her shoulders, a sad look coming over her face.

"What do you mean by that?" Venti then questioned, trying not to seem too invasive but there were alarm bells going off in his head.

"Well I mean, ah never mind. I probably shouldn't share this with you." She shrugged her shoulders with a small, sad, smile.

"If it's about Albedo then I already know!" He quickly interjected as he took a leap of faith. Sure, maybe saying that wasn't the best idea but the results were glorious.

"Oh! So you know about that too, then, it's just awful isn't it?" Amber said, lowering her voice and looking left and right.

"Yeah, so awful." Venti agreed, leaning forward a bit and doing his best to examine Amber's body language.

"I just, I don't know. If they are having so many problems then why are they even staying together? I feel Kaeya deserves so much better."

"Yeah they, wait, Kaeya?" He asked, taken aback and expecting her to say Albedo instead. Besides, wasn't her and Albedo really close afterall?

"Yeah, Albedo is just tossing him around. Although..-"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL THE FOOD?!?" Xingqiu's annoying voice cut through their conversation, making both of them jolt back and Venti realise how unusually close they were standing.

"The food? What happened to the food?" Amber hurriedly said as she walked away from Venti and towards the kitchen, leaving the bard to stand there with his thoughts.