The Vigilant Yaksha

Chapter 30

"I figured I'd find you here still!" Aether's voice called across the street, effectively grabbing Vena and Zhongli's attention away from their conversation as they glanced over.

The boy rushed over quickly, a worried look plastered across his face.

"What's wrong?" Vena stood to her feet, not used to seeing Aether with such a look on his face.

"You're about to be late to your own party!" He huffed out, watching as Vena's eyebrow twitched, her mouth now set in a hard line.

"You actually had me worried." She spoke out flatly, gazing at him with half-lidded eyes.

"Sorry," he laughed off as Zhongli stood to his feet as well.

"That means I actually am late. I'm sorry to leave in such a rush, it seems I lost track of time." He nodded his head toward the two in goodbye.

"Until next time."

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Vena could feel the anxiety rising up into her throat the closer they neared the Liyue pavilion, keeping quiet as they silently walked across the city together.

"I'm glad you enjoyed your time catching up with Zhongli." The boy finally broke the silence with a laugh, turning to face her as they stopped right out front of the door.

Music could be heard on the other side, but Vena couldn't make out the lyrics or recognize the song.

"I did, his wisdom is comforting." She exhaled shakily, her nerves going haywire as her social anxiety flared.

He took her hand in both of his own, locking eyes with her as he smiled widely, almost like a kid in a candy store, trying his best to ease her nerves.

Aether practically had stars in his eyes as he gazed up at her.

"C'mon!" He urged, flinging open the door and pulling her inside behind him as the music reached their ears.

She recognized the song almost instantly now, curiosity consuming her as she tried to figure out how he managed to get them to play music from her world over the speakers here.

The lights were dimmed, setting the mood and instantly making the poor shy girl feel at least a little bit better, happy to not have glaring white lights shining down on her all night.

They were headed towards a few people who were seated at the bar, all talking and laughing, mingling amongst themselves while they waited.

"I found herrrrrrrr~" Aether called out in a sing-song voice, everyone turning around to face him as multiple pairs of eyes lit up once they'd laid gaze on Vena's petite figure being yanked behind the boy.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY VENAAAAA~" Multiple voices all sang loudly, a few getting up to come greet her while her mind reeled, trying to make sense of the sensory overload she'd gotten smacked with as soon as she'd entered while the familiar faces finally came into focus.

"GANYU!" The girl instantly squeaked as the blue haired girl came over to greet her warmly.

Vena quickly closed the gap between the two of them, instinctively wrapping her arms around Ganyu's neck in a light hug, her friend hugging tightly back with a giggle.

They hadn't seen each other in months, and Vena hadn't exactly expected to see her here either, especially with how busy the secretary always was.

"Happy birthday, gorgeous! You look amazing!" Ganyu stepped back to get a good luck at her friend quickly, absolutely adoring her outfit as she gushed.