This isn't real

Epilogue 1

Epilogue 1

It has been three years since the wedding and now Zhongli has monthly visits back to Liyue. Even though he stays in Snezhnaya, Zhongli is now the king of Liyue. So, because Childe likes to keep his wife in Snezhnaya, going back there for work was a must. But this time, it was different. Leaving the kingdom to Aether, a twenty four year old Childe and a five months pregnant Zhongli were making their way back to Liyue. The two stood on the balcony of the ship, Childe caressing the bloated stomach of his wife. Like actual wife. Because of the pregnancy, Zhongli jie jie was present for nine months. Inhaling her intoxicating scent of glaze lilies, Childe nuzzled into her neck.

"I can feel Jiangxue moving about." Childe mumbled into the shorter female.

"Me too." Zhongli's voice was higher than normal. Placing his delicate hands on top of Childe's calloused ones, Zhongli looked out onto the nearing sight of Liyue. There, an older Ganyu and Hu Tao were waiting for her, both waving until it seemed their arms would fall off. The second the boat docked, the two girls piled onto their father before noticing something was off.

"Why are you in your woman form? And what happened to your stomach?" Ganyu pointed at her dad (mom?).

"Uhh...well you see..." Zhongli once again didn't answer so bluntly as he usually did.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Hu Tao was looking at her dad (mom?) until she finally figured out what was going on when she looked at her dad's (mom?) stomach. "HOLD UP! YOU'RE PREGNANT!"

When she said this, the couple did nothing but confirm it with a series of nods.

"SINCE WHEN?" Ganyu was in pure shock.

"F-Five months ago?" Zhongli looked at Childe for help.

"FIVE MONTHS AND NONE OF US KNEW?! YOU'RE GOING TO XIANGLING RIGHT NOW!" Ganyu grabbed her dad's arm and pulled him towards Wanmin restaurant, Childe and Hu Tao sprinting to catch up to the goat.

"Heya Mister Zhongl-OH MY REX LAPIS? Ganyu! What happened?!" Xiangling waved at the four until she saw Zhongli.

"Your best slow cooked bamboo shoot soup. Now. And any other food that can help with pregnancies. I need to get Grandma Ningguang." Ganyu hurled her pregnant dad onto a chair before dashing off to the Jade Chamber.

"I think you guys are over reacting a little too much. It's not like you haven't seen a pregnant woman." Zhongli was nervous at the amount of reaction. She waited for Xiangling to come back from the kitchen to hear her answer.

"No big deal?! You are going to have kids in 4 months?! How is this no big deal?!" Xiangling sat across from the couple before actually calming down enough to ask proper questions. "How many?"

"Triplets." Childe lovingly stroked the belly of his wife. And then they heard a thud on the table. Xiangling had passed out. As Zhongli and Childe themselves were getting worried, the sound of familiar heels met their ears.

"Hey mom..." Zhongli raised a shaking hand to greet Ningguang. The first thing she did was hug Zhongli tight and then gave her an endless list of things to buy and do while in the last four months of his pregnancy. When she finally stopped to take a breath, Ningguang pulled Zhongli back into a hug but this one was gentler than the first one.

"Congratulations, my little dragon." Giving a breathy whisper into Zhongli's ear, Ningguang savored the moment she had with her son.

"...Triplets..." Xiangling had apparently woken up and was mumbling triplets.

"Triplets?" Ningguang looked at the awkward ginger just observing the situation. Her expression of worry soon turned into an extremely happy one. "I've asked A-Li since he was the first born and the first who got in a relationship whether he can give me five grandkids. But the more the merrier."

Childe couldn't tell what was happening but the tips of his ears were enough of a give away. Smiling at Ningguang as if he's saying 'don't worry, we'll make more', Childe picked up his wife and carried her to the Jade Chamber for rest.

"Did you tell anyone?" Childe was sure that Zhongli had told his family ever since she found out that she is pregnant.

"I, uh, forgot..." Zhongli didn't dare look up as if such a simple mistake was going to hurt their relationship.

"It's fine. I know you and your forgetfulness. Simple mistakes are normal so don't get so worried." Childe placed a kiss on her forehead. Even though it had been several years since Zhongli stopped taking his anxiety meds, she still had a bit of anxiety. This just made Childe value his wife even more. When they reached the Jade Chamber, everyone's reaction was practically the same. Except this time, Noelle and Xiao didn't try to kill him. So a success.

Words: 819