"Aether." He called my name and it was music to my ears as it felt like a cloud nine for me.
He pinned me to the nearest wall and glanced at my lips before his gaze went back to my eyes. He leaned closer to my ear and made me gasp as soon as he brus...
And third, I tried so hard to remember what happened in the infirmary room, but nothing. My mind is going insane trying to remember what I stole from Aether. What was it?
"Xiao!" Just by calling my name, why did it immediately make my heart skip a beat and made my stomach feels funny?
"What?" It's hard to look at him straight in the eyes because it reminds me of how he was in my dreams every night, which is bullshit.
"Xiao, are you even listening to me?" My senses came back to reality when Aether tapped my shoulders.
"N-no." I stuttered because his face was moving too close to mine, and that made me scoop back a small step.
He let out a sigh and said, "Chongyun invited us to have a slumber party at his house along with our friends. I just want to ask if you plan on coming along."
A slumber party? He didn't mention this while we were on the phone. Right, I hanged up on him.
"I don't know. How about you?"
"I asked my sister if she's fine with it, and she agreed, so I'll probably be going since we don't have class tomorrow and having a slumber party with our friends sounds fun," he answered and genuinely smiled at me.
I'm too tired. I just want to sleep. It would also be a bad idea to go since Aether would be there. It's not that I'm avoiding him. It's more like running away from the problem.
"Alright. I'll go." What the fuck? I want to punch myself for agreeing. My inner and outer selves seem to have different wants.
"Great! See you later," he said, leaving my sight.
I bit my bottom lip and covered my face with my hand. Is this a sign that I should see a doctor? Because I don't know what to do anymore.
I closed my eyes and shook my head to shrug off these unusual thoughts and emotions. I decided to head home to get some clothes for the sleepover.
"Young master Alatus, welcome home." Noelle greeted me as usual and bowed her head as she spoke.
"Noelle, are my parents home?" I asked.
She nodded her head and responded, "Yes, they are both in Master Zhongli's bedroom."
I sighed because that question was stupid to ask when the answer was extremely obvious.
"Okay, thank you," I said, and I went inside my room to pack some clothes like a hoodie, a shirt, some pajamas, and sweatpants. I also include underwear, toiletries, and other necessities.
My attention was quickly diverted when my phone rang. It was a call from Chongyun. What does this asshole want now? I groaned, and it left me no choice but to pick it up.
Xiao What do you want?
Chongyun I just want to say that you're a jerk for hanging up on me earlier.
Xiao I will also hang up if this is not important.
Chongyun Sometimes it makes me wonder whether you're on your period or menopausal stage because of your anger issues.
I ended the call, but this asshole called me again.
Xiao I'm busy.
Chongyun Is this how you treat your friend who is worried about you? I'm hurt.
Xiao Shut up.
Chongyun Damn. I bet even a monk couldn't fix your anger issues. Anyway, I heard that you're coming to the slumber party.
Xiao What of it?
Chongyun I was supposed to tell you earlier, but some jerk hung up on me. It also surprised me to know that you wanted to come; even Kazuha couldn't believe it. So what's the reason you want to go?
I also want to ask the same question for myself. What's the reason I want to go?
Xiao Just bored.
Chongyun Your excuse is so lame that it makes me want to puke. Let me change the question. Does your reason have to do with Aether?
I didn't respond because words wouldn't come out from my mouth. Was it because of Aether?
Chongyun Bingo!
Xiao No. I told you that I was bored.
Chongyun Keep telling yourself that. By the way, the location is not at my condo, but at the villa.
Xiao Wouldn't your parents mind?
Chongyun Don't worry. I asked permission from them, and they're okay with it. Besides, they're on a business trip together, so the villa is all ours.
Xiao Whatever.
Chongyun Can you bring the controllers? Because we're going to play Gens—
I dropped the call because I already knew what he was going to say and it's not going to happen. I went down to the kitchen to eat some almond tofu because my stomach grumbled out of hunger.
My ears can hear voices from the kitchen, and another nightmare flashed before my eyes because I just saw my two fathers kissing each other.
"God! Get a room!" I yelled and immediately turned my head around.
"Oops. Sorry! We didn't notice you were there," Dad said as he let out a chuckle and my head began to ache.
"Can't you two get some privacy?"
"It's just that your father is just too handsome, and it makes me want to kiss him." Call the medic because my stomach suddenly feels sick.
Pops, on the other hand, sipped his tea while covering his face with a book. I sighed and got some almond tofu on the table.
"Can I stay at Chongyun's house for tonight?" I asked.
"What seems to be the occasion?" Pops asked.
"A slumber party along with our friends." Both of them dropped their spoons and looked at me with shock.
Dad moved closer to me and touched my forehead to check my temperature. "Are you running a fever today?"
"No," I said, removing his hand.
"It's just that it took us by surprise that you wanted to go."
"So, does that mean you won't allow me to go?" I asked.
"You can go to that slumber party, son," Pops answered.
"By friends, does that mean Aether would also be there?" Here we go again. Why does everyone always mention Aether when it comes to me?
"Yes."
Dad smirked and wriggled his eyebrow. "I see. Good luck, sweetie."
Huh? What does luck have to do with it? It made me curious, but I would rather not ask and prefer to escape this situation.
"Wait! I want to show you something," he said, and he fished out his phone from his pocket.
"So, the Tartaglia company will have a new and unique women's lingerie collection to be released soon." Another reason for me to leave is because I am not interested in hearing about this.
"What collection?" Pops asked. It surprised me that he didn't know about dad's plan for the company, but still, I get a bad feeling about it.
"A collection that would create a steamy situation for the ladies. Behold my greatest masterpiece! What do you think?" He asked and showed us a photo of a model wearing a bunny lingerie costume.
Fuck. I immediately diverted my eyes away and tried not to blush. I want to get out of here and cool my head. I just want to get that image out of my mind.
As for Pops, he froze in his seat and probably had a heart attack.
•••••
Author's Note:
A bunny lingerie costume sounds promising.
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