"Hey Xingqiu!" called out a girl with light blonde hair.
Xingqiu turned to find Lumine running towards him on the concrete road. He was going to get a small coffee today. Chongyun was having lunch at the school and had homework to catch up on.
"Hi Lumine. How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I was just wondering," Lumine nervously tucked a loose strand of her gleaming hair behind her ear, "If I could borrow your book? It's called Reminiscence of the Light, you know? The fantasy adventure book? I really want to read it, and they're sold out at the Yae Publishing House so—"
Xingqiu's face lit up. "You haven't read it yet? You must read it. Here, I have it in my backpack," He said, digging in his blue backpack for a book. At last, he pulled out a small soft covered book. "Would you like to read it together?"
"Sure! I already ate my lunch." Lumine said with a bright smile.
Xingqiu pulled Lumine to a bench. He held the book so the two of them could read in the sunny light. The warmth from the sun warmed his bones up, and a light breeze ruffled his hair.
Lumine flipped the paper pages whenever. Xingqiu was a faster reader than her, apparently, as she always flipped the page when he was already rereading the page.
After a while of relaxed reading, Xingqiu broke the silence. "I think we need to go back to the school," He said.
"Yeah, probably," Said Lumine, memorizing the page number. "Can I, uh, borrow this book for a bit? I swear I'll give it back."
Xingqiu smiled. "Of course, just find me when you're done." Xingqiu then grabbed his bag and hurried back to the school.
Good thing it wasn't far away. When he had came back to the school, it was already time for his science class.
Today, Mr. Timaeus was teaching the students how to create a small crystal core with some bizarre formula like heating up a Mist Corolla and an Electro Crystal before putting them together.
Albedo raised his hand. Mr. Timaeus looked around and tried to ignore the hand until the last second. The Electro Crystal was already sparking dangerously as it heated up on the stove, while the Mist Corolla seemed unaffected.
"Yes, Albedo?" Asked Mr. Timaeus.
"With no disrespect, Mr. Timaeus, but this experiment will not work and can lead to damages to the school and—"
"No, I don't think so. Now, let's see..." Mr. Timaeus used tongs to move the Mist Corolla—which now seemed to be smoking—toward the Electro Crystal...
Xingqiu watched, with interest. He was concerned for Mr. Timaeus' safety.
The Electro Crystal touched the Mist Corolla, just for a second. There was an explosion. A silent, smoky, explosion.
Almost everyone in the classroom jumped in their seats.
The classroom was not affected at all by the explosion—except for the odd smell now wafting through the classroom—but Mr. Timaeus had a thin layer of soot on his face. His hair now had black highlights.
Back on the stove, the Electro Crystal was positively about to explode, while the Mist Corolla could not be seen anywhere.
Albedo seemed to be taking notes in what Xingqiu assumed to be a notebook.
Mr. Timaeus used the tongs to hold up the sparking Electro Crystal. "Ah...well, the Mist Corolla didn't seem to be hot enough. This would've turned into a Crystal Core..."
***
Xingqiu and Chongyun were walking to Xingqiu's house when they heard something.
"Oh, didn't you hear? Xingqiu and Lumine are dating now!" A random brunette said to a group of girls giggling.
What? Xingqiu thought. Seriously, what?
Xingqiu turned around and walked towards the group of girls, dragging Chongyun with him.
Chongyun was staring at Xingqiu, with a look of disbelief, shock, and confusion on his face.
"Excuse me? I'm...not dating Lumine." Xingqiu said to the girl.
The girl stared at him. "Wha—? Oh, yeah, okay. Um, I just heard it from my friend..."
Who started this rumor?
"Who's your friend?" He asked, as politely as he could.
"W-well, she's not really my friend...I just talked to her. Her name is Yae Miko."
Yae Miko!? From the Yae publishing house? No way...she's so strict and professional. At work anyways. The other part of his brain argued. But she's so playful and tricky outside of work.
"...That...can't be right," Said Xingqiu.
Tomo came over. "Who was it that just got a new girlfriend?" He looked at Xingqiu.
"Tomo, I'm not dating Lumine."
Chongyun did not know what to do. But Xingqiu did. He met Chongyun's eyes, silently asking him if he could them that they were dating.
Chongyun hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"I'm dating Chongyun." Said Xingqiu.
Tomo grinned. "And...I still haven't asked Kazuha, nor has he asked me...Should I be worried?"
"Fate has its own way..." Said Chongyun. He noticed that the brunette had slowly crawled away from the situation.
Xingqiu smiled and sighed, the rumor just a nagging voice in the back of his head. "Well, Chongyun, I think we'd best be on our way."
Chongyun agreed. He pulled out a frost blue popsicle to eat. He gave it a tiny lick.
The thing was...Chongyun checked all his foods for spice...but he instinctually trusted his popsicles, as they were...cold and refreshing. They had never failed him.
Chongyun choked. His tongue burned as the popsicle melted. He tried to not swallow but ended up choking so much that the spiciness burned down his throat.
Xiangling rigged my popsicles! Oh no—
Chongyun grinned as he jumped in front of Xingqiu to talk to Tomo. "Tomo!! What's up!? Have you tried Wangshu Inn's new Almond Tofu? They're delicious, calming, and smooth, like silk on your tongue. I suggest you try it! And say I recommended it, as you might get a coupon. I am the world's best martial art's company's manager's son after all!"
Tomo's eyes widened as he tried not to laugh. "Uh...yeah, sure. Um, Xingqiu...what...?"
Xingqiu's eyes sparkled and he attempted not to laugh. "This is the real Chongyun I've been trying to get out of his shell all this time!"
Chongyun turned to Xingqiu. "Ha! That's great, let's go visit my best auntie Shenhe! Or my best friend, XIANGLING!" He yelled the name loudly.
Xingqiu fake pouted. "Am I not your best friend?"
"Of course you are, my dearest Qiu! Now let's go and find my aunt Xiangling! Huh? I mean my best friend Xiangling!" Chongyun put his arm around Xingqiu's shoulders and marched him towards the general direction of nowhere.
Tomo stared as the two silhouettes left him.
Xingqiu turned Chongyun in the direction of Chongyun's house.
Chongyun rattled on about different things, books, foods, games, everything. When the arrived at his house, Chongyun puffed out his chest. "This is the largest mansion in all of Mondstadt! It's worth eighty million mora!" He said, pointing to his tiny house.
Chongyun opened the door and spread his arms wide. "All mine! Aren't you impressed with this, Xingqiu my friend?"
Xingqiu laughed. "Of course I am." He wondered if Chongyun's mom would be okay with a 'drunk' Chongyun in the house. Probably not. He had no idea how to make the popsicle's Wanmin Restaurant (owned by Xiangling's dad) made.
I could always stay here and wait for his mom to come back. But Chongyun's mom didn't...like Xingqiu. Maybe I could talk to her again, make a better impression? But I wasn't invited to her house...
Chongyun walked around the house. He pointed to a vase. "This! This is worth ten million mora alone!" He bragged.
Xingqiu suddenly got an idea. "Hey Chongyun...to demonstrate your awesome persuasion skills, can you let me record you saying why I'm the best?"
Chongyun grinned. "You bet you can! C'mon, get your phone out!" He pumped his fist in the air.
Xingqiu took out his phone and started recording.
Chongyun excitedly jumped around, telling the camera why Xingqiu was the best human on earth. He used wild hand gestures to emphasize. After around an amusing fifteen minutes, Chongyun had ended the video with a special bow.
Xingqiu stopped the video. He put his phone away. "You can see the video later...Now uh, I have to go. But let me write a note..." He grabbed a scrap piece of paper (making sure it was a scrap, not a receipt first) and then wrote:
Greetings to Chongyun's family. How are you? I'm afraid Chongyun ate something spicy today. He will be fine after he sleeps it off. He will feel extremely happy and ecstatic during this time, as the spicy food triggered his yang energy. Xiangling may be able to help.
Sincerely, Xingqiu of the Guhua Clan.
Xingqiu looked at his note appraisingly. That should do it. He placed the note on a table. "Alright Chongyun, I've got to go now."
"Aww! But I'll be alone! It's alright though, I can practice my martial art skills! Ha!" He said, throwing a kick.
Xingqiu slid out of the house, waving. This was the real Chongyun, the Chongyun without any personal shields up, the inner Chongyun. But he liked Chongyun no matter what.
Will Xiangling make him new popsicles? She must've rigged them in the first place, actually. He definitely owed Xiangling one.
***
Klee and Diona skipped around, trying to catch Crystalflies. The Crystalflies glowed and glittered, fluttering around.
Klee pulled Diona towards a huge, mossy and vacant building. It looked very old and had mold running along the edges. "Let's blow up this building!" She grinned and leaped happily.
Diona stared at it. "Hmm, is it a wine building?? We should only destroy buildings that sell or make wine!"
"Klee thinks it's a wine thingy! Let's go explode it now!!" Klee rummaged through her bag and found a few firecrackers and a lighter. She carefully pulled out one firecracker and lit it up. She ran towards the building, with Diona following.
Klee jumped, her blonde pig tails bouncing. She waved around her sparking firecracker. Diona just watched and stayed away, smiling.
"Hi-yah!" Shouted Klee as she did a fancy move, spinning around. Her firecracker caught a bush, and the look on her face was utter delight as it lit up in flames. The grey smoke rose out of the bush that was quickly smoldering and Klee ran to another bush, ready to light it up. Soon, all the bushes were on fire.
Diona was cheering, her sky-blue eyes sparkling. "That's what you get, stupid wine-industry!"
***
Albedo frowned as he picked up his phone. No one would be calling him at this time. Perhaps it was a scam?
But it wasn't.
He listened to every word before saying, "Yes, thank you. Her mom is away...so essentially, I am her guardian now."
After listening, he hung up. Silence.
Sucrose asked timidly. "Um, Professor Albedo, w-what is it?"
"Klee almost killed herself."