Hydrophobic ¦ Xingqiu x Reader [Genshin Impact]

Unplanned Plans [37]

"I'm sorry, but where is this coming from?" He tilts his head with a faint look of confusion written on his face—but if he had to guess, you bumped into your supposed rival downstairs before you made your way back here. "Have you had the chance to interact with Mei again?"

"Unfortunately." You spat out and proceeded to—more or less—rant out the conversation you had with her earlier outside the kitchen.

Once you were finished, Xingqiu had already planned out his verdict before you even reached one-fourth of your rambles.

He tried to stop himself from chuckling at your reaction, amused with how you were so pent up by such a small exchange of words, but ultimately failed—so you glare at him.

"I don't think this is the right time to be so enamored of my 'hilarious' reaction." You frown.

"Apologies," He smiled as he started to settle down. "It's just that... I never gave Mei a ring. She probably knew that you were unaware of this fact and tried to provoke you with a lie."

"And it worked." You cross your arms and let out a sigh of frustration. "If what you said is true, then I take back what I said. If I suddenly get a ring, she'll just taunt me more... I wouldn't want that to happen. I really hate her, you know."

"More than me?" He raises a brow and you roll your eyes.

"No," You smile sarcastically as you open the door to your room and gently push him outside. "I hate you more than I hate Meiyin."

"That's too bad." He chuckles, which made you shake your head in disapproval with your brows already knitted together. "But if I were to get you a ring—"

"Go to bed, Xingqiu." You groan and shut the door before he could start teasing you again.

Fortunately, nothing else bad happened for the rest of the evening as you decided to head to bed the minute you were finished reading the stacked-up letters on your desk that were sent to you a few days ago. There was no interesting content on the papers so it wasn't worth mentioning anyway.

But when the early sun rose, that's when you got the interesting content—though, it wasn't written nor was it placed on paper. It wasn't the knock on the door or Yan, who appeared before you to hand a sealed letter. No, it was Meiyin, who approached you first with a little hesitation in her eyes to invite you to eat breakfast with her once you stepped out of your room.

"No thanks." You smile, trying to be polite but also passive-aggressive. You didn't want to easily lose your cool unlike last night. "I don't see why I should eat with a person who wants to claim my fiancé. It's a bit taboo, don't you think?"

"Oh, but I'm here as a friend!" She clings to your arm just when you were about to turn around, completely catching you off-guard. "Come on, Xingqiu's already at the table!"

"Xingqiu?" You scrunch your brows.

"Yes, Xingqiu." She repeats and playfully rolls her eyes, still locking her arm with yours as she started to drag you along to the dining room.

You wanted to ask questions and refuse but her thoughts made it seem impossible as she constantly rambled about her previous stay at Qingce Village and how she liked admiring the sunrise from outside her window before starting her day—completely unnecessary information, to say the least.

Meiyin was being a lot like Jiayin—and you don't like it. She was being chatty, and her eyes glowed with passion every time a word came out of her mouth. You still didn't want to admit that they were the same person.

Once you arrived at the dining room, practically by force, you immediately spot your fiancé with his nose already stuck in a book. He didn't seem like he had any issues with the arrangement based on his relaxed demeanor.