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Pʜɪʟᴏᴄᴀʟɪsᴛ (ɴ.) A ʟᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴏғ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ; sᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ғɪɴᴅs ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴘᴘʀᴇᴄɪᴀᴛᴇs ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛʏ ɪɴ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜɪɴɢs
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In which Zhongli meets a girl who sells precious stones, and consequently forms a relationship with her that she never expected.
Today was a perfect day to set up shop. The sun shone, the birds sang. The sky was as blue as a pale sapphire, and a gentle zephyr whispered through the wakening streets of Liyue Harbor. Good weather meant lots of customers. You took a deep breath as you settled behind your wooden table of wares.
You hoped the sun didn't burn too hot today, given that you had no shelter built around your small space. Before you in every color lay objects of your craft, lapidary, the art of cutting, polishing, and refining gemstones. You reached forward on the tablecloth and adjusted a jade hairpin, one that you'd spent hours polishing to perfection. You straightened an already perfect onyx talisman, one to ward off evil.
The sunlight caught the perfectly etched facets of each gem, each piece of jewelry and ornament you'd made: bracelets, rings, pendants. Your favorite happened to be the pendant made of cor lapis on which you'd etched the dragon figure of Rex Lapis, the Geo Archon. It was a truly eye-catching piece, but what made you proudest was the amount of time spent on it. Time was a precious currency to you.
Hours had been spent on that pendant, chiseling and polishing, drilling the hole in the center so whoever bought it could tie a cord through it and wear it. The minute details of the dragon scales and whiskers couldn't be missed, even by the most untrained eye. You'd set the pendant front and center amongst your work, proudly displaying it for all.
But your good mood was shattered when Shitou, your supposed "rival rock salesman" as every townsperson called him, brushed past your table and stopped in front of you. His shop was adjacent to yours, a fact that never ceased to irk you.
Someone's had one too many rice bowls, you noted distastefully, taking in Shitou's ample stomach and chubby face. He reminded you of a pufferfish. You glared up at him.
"What do you want Shitou? You're casting a shadow over my table."
"I just wanted to see how our finest up-and-coming Gemstone was doing," he said, his whiny voice as sticky as ever.
"Don't call me that," you snapped. "Now go away."
"This is pretty. How much mora is it?" Shitou said, ignoring you and reaching forward to pick up the dragon pendant.
You flinched as his pudgy, unskilled hand closed around your work and picked it up.
"No doubt more than you could afford," you muttered beneath your breath.
"Huh? What was that?" Shitou didn't spare the pendant another glance before he carelessly tossed it back on the table with a clatter that made your heart lurch. It didn't break, thankfully. "You're awfully stuck up for one so young."
"I am not," you said stoutly. "I just take pride in my work. And I don't swindle people like you."
"Swindle?? Y/N, how dare you. My living is as honest as yours, better even. And unlike snot-nosed brats such as yourself, I don't sell overpriced junk."
YOU ARE READING
Wanderlust: Genshin Impact One-Shots
Fanfiction｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡ A series of Genshin Impact One-Shots, in which you see the world of Teyvat through the eyes of its characters, as well as exploring the world yourself, making new friends, and maybe even falling in love. Because what isn't to lo...
