Hu Tao x Reader - A Morbid Curiosity

Chapter 48: Adeptal Affiance pt.II

<A/N: For the sake of gender-exclusivity, the reader's attire for the wedding ceremony is never mentioned. So you can feel free to picture it as a suit, a dress, or whatever else you want! There's going to be another note at the end of this chapter too, might I please ask that you read it before moving on to the decision of your day? Thank you very much! >

It had been several months since Xianyun had visited, offering her services as a caterer for Hu Tao's and my upcoming wedding, working alongside Xiangling. Since then, I had arranged for additional dishes to be prepared, representing the various regions our guests hailed from. Some were coming from neighbouring nations like Mondstadt and Sumeru, while others were traveling from Inazuma and Fontaine. I wasn't acquainted with Hu Tao's friends from Fontaine, but I anticipated they would soon be friends of mine as well.

With the wedding ceremony only a few days away, my anxiety was mounting over every detail. We decided to host the event in my Serenitea Pot to allow guests from all over Teyvat to attend effortlessly, negating the need for travel. Nevertheless, some were journeying to Liyue, seizing the opportunity to visit, including one individual who was...

Collei: "Y/N! I'm here!"

Y/N: "Aww, drats. I knew I shouldn't have answered the door! Oh, I mean... hey Collei! How've you been?"

Collei: "Hehe! Silly... You said that I could come a couple days early, remember!?"

Y/N: "...Oh? Well, this is more than a 'couple more days,' though, no? Wouldn't you agree?!"

Collei: "Ah! Am I... Am I here... did I come too soon? I didn't mean to be presompcheese..."

That last word... it was certainly a slip-up, maybe from trying out a new word she learned recently. Should I correct her? She might become flustered upon realizing her mistake... What word was she even attempting to use?

Y/N: "...presumptuous?"

Collei: "Oh...? I... I've learned some new words recently and wanted to practice them. I thought I'd try using them a bit, but perhaps I was getting ahead of myself..."

Y/N: "Is that so? Well, that's a pretty complex word, and you used it in the right way too. I can see you're definitely improving!"

Collei: "o–Oh? You really think so...? I still said it wrong though..."

Y/N: "Heh, well... If I were a more profound person then I'd probably recite some inspirational quote about how making mistakes only leads to growth. But I imagine you get more than enough of that from Tighnari, huh!"

Collei: "Hehe, yeah... Oh! And he asked for me to give you this, a gift to make up for his not being able to attend—"

Collei began to extract something from the backpack she was carrying; it appeared to be a wrapped gift, at least from the glimpse I caught of it. But if that were true, then—

Y/N: "Ah, not yet! Not here, at least. If we left it here in this house then I'd be way too tempted to open it up ahead of time!"

Collei: "Oh, sorry! I guess I just assumed you had more control than that! Hehe! But... by 'this house,' do you mean that...? Do you have more than one home?!"

Y/N: "I mean... technically? This house atop the cliffs is my Adeptal Residence, it's got quite the nice view of Liyue Harbour, don't you think? Although the climb is quite something, huh!"