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𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞
𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫!
𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐈'𝐦𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞!
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❥ 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳: 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦
❥ 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴: 𝘕𝘰𝘯𝘦
❥ 𝘊𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘺: 𝘍𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧
❥ 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦: 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘈𝘜
❥ 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘦: 𝘙𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥. 𝘗𝘭𝘴 𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪 𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮- 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 2 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵.
❥ 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵: 1732
╰──➤ 𝙉𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏 𝙎𝙆𝙔
you were never big on drinking, but there were times when everything became... too much. only on special occasions would you give in to your urges to dislocate your soul from your body, but even then, you tried not to overdo it. you hated feeling like you weren't in control of yourself; it made you feel vulnerable.
"you're not even going to have one drink?" ganyu asked.
"i don't plan on it. i'll be fine here, you can go dance with keqing or whatever," you replied.
her face heated up, "o-okay... come get us if you need anything!"
"yep."
the reason you were out in the first place was because you'd just found out your (now) ex boyfriend was cheating on you and your friends insisted on treating you. of course, though, they went to have fun by themselves. you couldn't blame them; you were a bit of a downer with your situation, but it still hurt. part of you wanted to meet someone who you could stay with for a night and never see again, but you knew that would barely make you feel better.
"one glass of osmanthus wine, please."
you flinched at the sound of someone's voice and glanced over to see that someone had taken the seat next to you. you tried not to stare, but he was attractive. his voice was deep, and his eyes seemed to glow gold. his skin was practically perfect, and his hair was pulled back into a neat ponytail.
"you're no fun, why do you get the same thing every time?" his ginger friend groaned beside him.
"i've tried all of the other drinks and i can't say i'm particularly fond of them."
you kept your head facing the counter in front of you as you tapped your fingers on the wood quietly. you kept glancing at them from the corner of your eye. you couldn't tell if you were uncomfortable or flustered with such attractive men sitting so close to you. it was likely a mix of both.
unfortunately, one of them just had to notice.
"seems like someone's interested in you, zhongli~."
this is why i hate gingers.
"hm?" zhongli hummed before looking over to see you as you now fiddled with the end of your sleeve.
"she kept looking at you," childe whispered in his ear and he nodded in understanding.
he was about to say something when venti raced up from behind and slammed an empty bottle of wine on the counter as he stood between childe's and zhongli's stools.
"another bottle of dandelion wine, please! the ginger over here is paying!" he cackled, clearly already very wasted from the previous bottles he'd consumed.
"all of your organs are going to fail you someday," zhongli sighed as he was brought his glass. he took a short sip of it and turned his head to look at the shorter boy.
"oh yeah? well your back is gonna fail you one day, grandpa!" he huffed.
you stifled a laugh and turned your head the other way so none of them would see. you caught a glimpse of keqing and ganyu in the crowd of people and smiled slightly. they were definitely having fun together. your mind was brought back to your partner's infidelity and you sighed, resting your head on your arms while you closed your eyes. meanwhile, venti was finally given his dandelion wine. zhongli noticed how upset you seemed and planned on saying something, but...
"excuse me-" he started, tapping you on the shoulder to catch your attention.
your head perked up, but he was promptly cut off by venti dragging him over to where the other people were dancing. he shot you an apologetic glance, which you responded to with a half-hearted smile. childe followed after them after slamming a stack of cash on the counter to pay for the alcohol.
music blared as you set your head back down again. at this point, you were waiting for your friends to come over and tell you they were ready to leave. you were supposed to be their sober driver, so you couldn't exactly leave by yourself. besides, you'd feel guilty for abandoning them despite the fact that they did the same to you.
zhongli was beginning to get a headache from all the noise, but he dealt with it instead of saying anything. he continuously looked over to you to see if you had brightened up at all, but every time he looked, you were in the same position. after a few minutes, he finally decided to approach you again. he sat in the seat he occupied before and let out a heavy exhale before turning his head to you.
"excuse me, miss?"
"hm...?" you hummed tiredly, lifting your head and looking to your left. "oh. hi."
"hello," he smiled, though it gradually faded into a frown. "are you alright?"
"ah, i suppose my gloomy aura was too obvious, huh?" you chuckled bitterly. "i'll be fine."
"would you like to talk about it? i realize confiding in a stranger could be... difficult, but if it helps, my name is zhongli," he introduced. you liked the way he said it.
"y/n," you said.
"you have a lovely name, y/n," he nodded.
"thanks," you said, feeling your face heat up the slightest bit when he complimented you. "i appreciate the offer, too, but it's nothing you probably haven't heard before."
"oh?"
seeing that he was curious and you weren't particularly secretive about it, you shrugged as you answered.
"i got cheated on."
he furrowed his eyebrows and wondered what he could've said to improve your mood, "...would you like to get out of here?"
you looked at him and blinked in surprise. he didn't seem like the type of person who would suggest a hookup with someone who just got themselves out of a relationship; you were baffled that he'd even think of such a thing. however, he realized how you interpreted his words and quickly rephrased it.
"i don't mean anything like that. i was just thinking, perhaps going on a stroll would help you clear your mind? i doubt the music is helping."
you recovered from your shock and your face flushed red from embarrassment at your misunderstanding. you silently nodded and hopped off the stool as he did the same. you both walked out of the building and the music became muffled as the doors closed behind you. you stuffed your hands in your jacket pockets and sauntered beside him on the sidewalk, feeling a bit awkward with the quiet.
"we were together for three years," you said suddenly, drawing his attention to you. "i don't know the person he cheated on me with, but i don't think she knew i was in a relationship with him. she looked really upset at him when i caught them. i feel bad for her... i hope she beat him to death after i left."
zhongli hummed, understanding of how you felt, "well, my belief is that it's better to find out sooner rather than later. now you have more time to move on or find someone else who won't betray you the way he did."
"yeah, you're right," you sighed, a small smile adorning your features. seeing it, he almost froze in place. luckily, you spoke again and saved him from getting too distracted. still, his cheeks were tinted pink.
"so what about you? are you with anyone?" you asked.
"ah... i haven't been in a romantic relationship for quite some time now," he shook his head. "it's difficult, figuring out who the right person is."
"true," you sighed. "i've been in... five relationships, i think. i thought this one was going to last since we made it to three years, but nope."
he was a bit shocked by your relationship count, but he didn't say anything, "well, if everything always worked out as we wished it would, life would be quite boring, don't you think?"
"wow, you're a wise guy, aren't you?" you chuckled, nudging his arm with your elbow. "the way you talk makes it sound like you're a prince from a faraway land or something."
he tilted his head and furrowed his eyebrows, "is that a bad thing?"
"no... not at all. i like it."
warmth rose to his skin but he smiled subconsciously, "thank you. should we sit down?"
you glanced to the side and saw a bench. you shrugged and sat down, causing him to follow your actions shortly after. you looked up to see the stars shining up above your head, though there were only a few visible because of the city.
"i've always wanted to see the sky without all the light pollution," you stated. "all those stars... it would look really cool. that's one of my life goals."
"i know a few places you could go," zhongli said. "they're hours away from here, though, unfortunately."
"wait, really?" you responded, turning your head to look into his eyes. "where?"
"in the middle of nowhere. i have those spots marked on a map, but i don't have it with me."
"maybe i should get your number then, so you can show me when you get back," you played it off like a joke, but you weren't actually kidding.
"oh? we can exchange numbers if you want."
you hummed in surprise and raised your eyebrows, "seriously?"
"of course," he chuckled, pulling his phone out of his pocket while you did the same.
you both opened your phones and switched them so you could put your number in his and he could do the same for you. you returned the devices to their owners and after checking the time, you realized it was probably a good idea to bring ganyu and keqing home.
"i should go get my friends," you sighed, shoving your phone in your pocket.
"ah- one more thing, before you leave."
"hm?"
zhongli suddenly leaned closer to you and lifted your head, planting a gentle kiss on your cheek. your heart burst and your face practically went up in flames. he smiled at your reaction and you swiftly stood up.
"thanks! uh, i'll get going now, but um... maybe we could go see the stars together, then?"
"that sounds like a lovely idea."
"okay, cool. see ya!"