𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 ➤ 𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐨

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕.

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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐂𝐃𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐃𝐒 𝐖𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 in was reasonably empty, other than one or two other people.  we had ordered our food and were waiting for it to arrive. i took the time to consider what xiao was wearing. he wore a dark blue suit, and had his teal hair tied up in a ponytail. his amber eyes looked as if they were glowing in the small amount of light. i must admit, he looked good. very good.

"you okay?" i snapped out of my little trance at the sound of xiao's voice. i nodded, and tilted my head, slightly confused at why he was asking me. he laughed slightly. "you were staring. is there something on my face?"

i felt the heat rush back to my cheeks, but i calmed myself down quickly. "ahem.." i cleared my throat. "i was not staring, i was simply observing."

"observing your fiancés assistant? isn't that technically cheating?" he smirked. i furrowed my brows at him, annoyed. "actually, you're the one who's flirting with me." i looked down at my lap, avoiding all eye contact with xiao. he laughed quietly, before saying "sorry, sorry.." i looked back up at him to see a look of sincerity in his eyes.

i spoke up. "you know, the first time i met you, i would have never guessed you to be such a flirt. in fact i thought you were super rude at first, but, i guess not. thank you, xiao." i glanced at him, noticing a slightly pink hue on his cheeks. i laughed slightly, which made him even more flustered.

we were interrupted when our food arrived and we ate in a comfortable silence, glancing at each other now and again.

-

after we finished, we stepped outside together. i held my hand out gently. a light drop of water dripped onto my skin, causing a slight shiver down my back.

"it's beginning to rain" xiao said from behind me, his breath on my neck. i heard a slight rustle from behind me and then before i knew it i was enveloped by a warm jacket. i shot my gaze over to xiao, now standing in a shirt, his jacket spread over my shoulders. he gave me a small smile and looked up at the sky. "it's only going to get heavier, we should probably get you back."

i directed my gaze down to the floor. i didn't want to go back yet. i didn't want to go back there. xiao seemed to notice my reluctance and suggested another idea. "or..wangshu library is still open. i'm sure verr would let us stay there for a while." he looked back down at me, a few raindrops resting on his hair. his expression softened as his eyes met mine.

"y/n? should we go to the library?" he asked, stepping closer to me so i could feel his body heat.  i struggled to make any words so i just nodded my head. he gently took my hand in his and smiled at me again. that smile is going to be the death of me.
"let's go then."

we walked briskly towards wangshu library, making small talk the entire way. by the time we had ran through the library door we were both drenched and laughing. we were interrupted when a familiar figure ran towards us. "y/n? xiao? what happened to you both?! you're both soaking." verr pulled me into a tight hug then pulled back, holding both of my arms. "oh dear you must be freezing, both of you."

she hurriedly lead us to a small room behind the front desk, which contained a sofa, a coffee table and a small counter. me and xiao sat down on the sofa next to eachother as verr rushed around grabbing towels. after a few minutes of rushing around she came back holding two piping hot cups of tea and placed them on the coffee table in front of us.

"i'm sorry, i'm afraid i don't have time to speak to either of you, i have to keep running the library." she apologised before running out the door leaving me and xiao alone. i looked at him and realised i still had the jacket he had given me.

"oh uh.." i took the jacket of my shoulders and handed it to him. "sorry, it's a bit..damp." xiao looked at me and chuckled slightly.

"keep it, it looks better on you than it does on me." i rolled my eyes playfully and laughed. "you make this seem like a cringy romance movie." i picked up the cup of tea verr had given me and took a sip. the warm liquid flowed down my throat, spreading warmth through my entire body.

i glanced up again to see xiao already staring at me. he had us elbow on the table with his head resting in his hand. i chuckled slightly. "what are you looking at?" i asked, a hint of tease in my voice. he just laughed and tilted his back to look at the ceiling.

"what i'm going to tell you is going to sound stupid." i raised my eyebrow at him. "i'm kind of jealous of zhongli." xiao said.

"why?" i questioned. a small smirk crept across xiao's face as he raised his eyebrows at me. "well, aren't you going to tell me?" without answering my question he placed his cup of tea down on the table and stood up. "let's go. your parents will notice you've been gone." xiao stretched a hand out to me, which i grabbed with my own and hoisted myself up.

we exited the small room verr let us stay in and walked towards the front desk. i let my body fall onto the counter and looked over to verr. she gave me a small smile before coming over to me and nudging my side with her elbow. "you and xiao, huh?" she whispered. i playfully rolled my eyes and chuckled.

"do i have to remind you that i'm engaged to someone else." i turned my gaze to the floor. a pair of shoes appeared beneath me, causing me to look up and see the familiar pair of amber eyes that i had grown used to. "let's go already, your dad is going to kill me and i'm too young to die." xiao said.

-

after a short walk with xiao i looked up to see my bedroom window which i had climbed in and out of multiple times before.

i let my hand slip out of xiao's and grabbed onto the vine that connected the window to the ground. i looked around one more time to give xiao a small smile. "thanks for tonight." with that i hoisted myself through my window, quietly landing on the bedroom floor.  i glanced out of the window one last time, hoping to see one last glimpse of the teal haired boy, who at this point was walking in the opposite direction to me so all i saw was the back of his head.

i nearly jumped when i heard a gentle knock on my door. "..w-who is it?" i said, my voice shaking. i relaxed when i heard- the soothing voice of my mother come from the other side of the door. she opened it slowly and came in. sitting down on my bed, she patted the space beside her, gesturing me to sit down.

"we need to talk, dear."