Behind the career || Stripper Au

16: zhongli, i fucking love you.

Zhongli's perspective:
I was walking to the funeral parlour after catching up with the "love of my life" or so I though, this bitch has a boyfriend. I hope they break up. Or that it's fake! Or that his boyfriend hates him secretly! No, I should be happy right? Happy that he found someone better then me. Tho I'm not I'm fucking jealous. Jealous of everyone, everyone's life seems to be going ducking amazing.

I walked inside the parlour only to be met with Hu Tao, and a man standing next to her?

"Hu tao!" I said happily.
"We need to talk." She said looking disgusted. I didn't understand. The man simply gave me a smirk and that's when I realised who it was.
Dottore.. what does he want. Ew..
Hu Tao grabbed my wrist and led me to an empty room before slamming the door shut.
"How could you?" She asked.
"What?.." I replied. What does she mean how could I? I didn't do shit mate.

"You fucking spent our money on buying a house to yourself.. what is wrong with you? Isn't being a disgusting stripper with a terrible past enough?" She said. I looked at her, my eyes widened. What is she talking about?
"What?.." I asked.
"Oh you know what I'm talking about, you're fucking fired and Dottore is taking over for you so get your nasty stuff out." She said pointing at my office.

"Nasty stuff? Hu Tao.. half the stuff that's there was you who bought for m-."
"Exactly I should've never trusted you. All you poor men want is money and money. You can't even work for it..." she said walking out of the room. She turned to look at me one last time. Disappointment filled her pupils. And she was tearing up.

And so was I

I didn't understand.

And life is going downhill as always

Eventually I went to my office and started aggressively putting everything into different plastic bags and stuff. I was mad or sad? I don't even know. I don't want to think about it, I keep messing up. Every time, every day, every second. I don't even want to know what my mom is going to say about this. I don't want to go back home. I just want to go back in time. Go back in time to fix everything to fix my love life specially.

That's when I came across something. It seemed like my last glimpse of hope. So I grabbed it. It was my old stripping heels. I never thought I'd ever think of even going back. But here I am. Left with no choice but to try. It has only been a few months. Hu Taos changed after she got the business in her name. Or maybe she hasn't. Maybe I have changed? And not for the best.
I aggressively held onto my old stripper heels. I was confused I didn't know whether I should or not.
But soon I decided what I though was best.

I grabbed the heels and threw them inside together with my costume and everything. I was determined, i don't know why. Why would anyone want to work a stripper? I don't know, but my life was better back then wasn't it? So since I can't go back in time. I might as well re-live my past?

I walked out the office with the grey plastic bag. I rushed to the door only to be stopped by Dottore.
"Ey what about the rest of the stuff?" He asked.
"Keep it, you might need it to settle in." I said winking with a smirk while opening the door and slamming it as hard as I could behind me. I ran down the streets of Liyue. Trying to get to its "dark street" I could sense myself get closer with each tiny step I took. It was almost as if i felt alive for the first time in years.
Maybe stripping isn't as bad of a career as people make it off to be.. maybe it's just over sexualised

Even tho I know people are only there to watch and get drunk and all that. I feel like certain people like Childe those who seem to be one in a million. Those people actually seem to appreciate my talent. I decided I was tired of hiding my career. Stripping is my future. I don't care what anyone says, it's as if I was born for it.
I don't feel ashamed as I did in college. I feel proud. Proud that I finally managed to accept myself, proud that I know that I don't need to depend on other people to live my life to its fullest. Proud knowing that I'm going back to where I should've been all this time.

Eventually it started raining and I decided that a taxi may be a better option. I called a taxi and soon a car pulled up beside me. I paid the woman and she drove me to the bar. The ride was calm she asked me a lot of questions about how stripping works and all. And she seemed to acknowledge my passion for it somehow. She smiled everytime I told her a fun fact about certain dancing steps. And how I as a kid always looked up to strippers even tho most people around me seemed to be disgusted of them and all that.

She also seemed surprised when I told her about how I was a stripper before.
"You know my son actually rushed to that bar just like you are doing now. He said he must explain something to 'lex rapis' or something. Maybe you would get along well."  She said that and suddenly my brain ticked.
"Is his name Ajax?" I asked.
"Hah! Indeed, how'd you know? I mean he is famous and all but really he never seemed to stop talking about that stripper." She said. I was in full shock and suddenly we were there. I didn't say anything else before opening the door and running out the car.

I ran inside the bar, it was empty. Or not completely empty.

The lights got turned on and there Childe stood.

"I'm not stupid either I knew it was you all along." He said

"God! I should've took acting classes."
I said

"Zhongli, I fucking love you." He said

The end

A/n: this is indeed the end tho not my last book! Hehe! And the epilogue is on the way bitches!