modernity - xiaoven

2.

father!zhongli and son!xiao my beloved.

am i just now doing the chasm quest w/ yelan and the gang rn? yes, yes i am. 

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after paying, xiao did return to the car. unsurprisingly, zhongli wasn't there yet, so he waited beside it. from where he stood, staring at the ground, he heard a familiar voice, and his head shot up.

hu tao, one of his oldest 'friends', and someone he knew spoke with zhongli often. they hadn't spoken in years, not since the incident, so he was quite shocked when he spotted her.

luckily, she hadn't seemed to notice him, as she and zhongli walked closer.

who was he kidding? she'd definitely saw him, after all, besides xiao, in the group she was the most aware of their surroundings.

as the two got closer, zhongli turned his attention to the dark-haired man. "xiao, i've invited hu tao here, to our home for the rest of the afternoon, if that's alright?"

"it's..." xiao sighed, turning towards the two of them. "it's quite alright."

zhongli simply nodded in response as he unlocked the car.

as the trio got into the car, xiao couldn't help but think about how not alright it was.

she was a part of the group, the group that made him do that... luckily, she hadn't been in town that month... she was training to take over a business in this exact shopping centre, so xiao felt he was lucky.

well, lucky that she didn't know. and if she did, she didn't want to talk about it.

"-ey, heyyyyyyyyyy."

"what."

"we haven't spoken in so long!"

"i wasn't under the pretence you two had known each other," zhongli said softly, keeping xiao from speaking.

"i know we haven't, and i had been hoping to keep it that way."

"really?!"

"yes, really. we fell out of contact for a reason. i move for a reason, did they not tell you?"

"no, at-"

"xiao. you're mistaking me for someone else."

"bu-"

"i'll tell you later."

hu tao only shook her head before hopping back into her conversation with zhongli, the one they had been having before they got close to xiao.

----

as soon as they had gotten to the house, xiao left the car and rushed to his room. just seeing hu tao brought back memories, specifically those of the group.

but, he knew hu tao, and she'd come and knocked on his door.

"xiao?"

"yes?"

"you said you'd tell me later, and it's later now."

he sighed, exasperated. "fine, i guess i can tell you some of it, and why i left the group."

"alright?"

"i can only tell you some of it though, ask the rest."

"they wont tell me."

"tell them i told you some of it, then."

"okay!"

"i, well, i'm placed under the w.p.p, figure out the abbreviation yourself, and luckily i was cleared."