Hydrophobic ¦ Xingqiu x Reader [Genshin Impact]

Delicate Affairs [44]

"Oh, wow! [Name]'s fiancé actually exists!"

You shoot your friend, Errol, a glare the minute you hear him open his mouth. Since you were used to his banter, this was exactly the type of treatment you were expecting from him.

After the rather accidental encounter with Idette earlier in the morning, you found out that she left your place in a hurry and passed on the message that she would be meeting you later in the gathering by the time you got ready to face her.

At this time, you had just entered the Gunnhildr garden where Idette was hosting the assembly. And of course, everyone including you and your fiancé were dressed as if you were all in some outdoor garden party—the outfits were mandatory as your best friend liked excuses to dress up.

"It's been a while since I last saw you with braids. So pretty." He continued to tease you, but you smirked in return.

"Thank you. My fiancé did it." Your lips form a smile as you lean your head a little closer to one of the shoulders where your braid is resting.

This was in fact, true.

You had a small conversation with Xingqiu earlier in your room to decide which hairstyle to go with for the day and you let him handle it as you sat on your chair, facing the mirror—since he was filling in Cara's "role".

"Everyone, this is Xingqiu of the Feiyun Commerce Guild from Liyue. My fiancé." You hover a hand towards Xingqiu to properly introduce him to your friends.

Xingqiu approached your friends with a friendly atmosphere and continued his introduction. "Xingqiu at your service, my liege. I'm delighted to have this opportunity to meet all of you."

Idette, who was already sitting at the end of the table, glances at Xingqiu and gives him a knowing look before greeting him with a warm smile. "Idette Gunnhildr, the pleasure is all mine. It's nice to finally meet you outside a party. Please make yourself comfortable and excuse our brazenness in advance as it's how we usually converse with each other."

"Yes, [Name] has already mentioned beforehand. I hope my presence doesn't affect your ways of communicating."

Errol laughs. "That's no problem. We're actually worried that you might be the one uncomfortable in this situation. And don't worry about being too formal. Come, sit with us!"

As you and your fiancé settled on your seats, you noticed that the atmosphere was livelier than usual, but you guessed that it was probably because of Idette's attendance.

The last time you appeared at their gathering, things got a bit too heated due to Noemi's provocative statements.

In regards to Noemi, you take a quick look at her and observe that she looks a lot calmer than most of the times you've seen her. She noticed your stare and instead of raising a single brow at you, both of them rose as if she was curious about your reason for staring—like this was completely normal for her to act so... relaxed, not a single ounce of contempt being present on her face.

"This is Noemi and Errol." Idette continues as she introduces the rest of your friends with her palm. "Now that introductions are over, shall we start with the first order of business?"

"Gladly," Noemi speaks up, resting her arms on the table to lean forward. "I'm beyond ecstatic that Lady Delia was exposed as a fraud." The way she started the conversation surprised Idette—she was the only one ever invested in relationships anyway be it platonic or romantic.

"What? Aren't you guys the closest in the group?" Idette exclaims.

"You overestimate us." Noemi rolls her eyes. "We haven't had a private conversation in ages."