#babychokogenshin

[babychoko]

🌺𝔸 𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥🌺

Part 7

That night I listened to Venti. His voice was calm and soothing. And that despite what he told me.

"You know... I used to be homeless, so to speak."

As he told me this, I turned my head up to face him. I lay next to him as he looked sideways at me and pushed a strand of my hair back.

"All I had with me was the music. I hated working. Well, I still do though..."

I nodded.

"But still I was happy! I wandered from town to town..performing in bars..in return I got to rent a room, eat and shower. But after that, I moved on."

"Did you often have to sleep outdoors?"

"Often. But I like it better that way! Sleeping next to a tree the stars on cloudless nights is the most beautiful thing."

"So you were like a commuter?" He nodded and covered me once properly with the blanket. "But that was many years ago. Today it's almost impossible to do something like that. Especially in a city. And in today's bars..men are funny about wanting something in return," he sighed.

It took me a moment to realise what he meant. "Oh."

He gave a short laugh. "So I had to work my way up..with a real job of course! But that was easier said than done. Zhongli eventually found me and I roomed with him for a while. Thanks to him and Xiao, some of my problems have improved." So they are that close?

I didn't even know if I was allowed to ask about his parents. But if he didn't mention them, it had to mean something.

There were so many things I was still learning about that he just briefly listed with his fingers, looking thoughtfully at the wall as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"I was looking for someone. That's why the commute..."

"I had a special friend, but he's no longer here..which is a shame."

"..and those problems are water under the bridge. I still love alcohol!" That...was not a new fact.

I didn't realise he'd been through so much. I assumed he was travelling the cities because he was looking for a friend. But when he found out about his death, his drinking problems surfaced, which is probably why Zhongli took care of him.

So I pieced together the facts about him, which he only spoke in short sentences. I was sure that was probably how it happened.

When I asked him why he didn't attend a music school and studied music instead, he responded with what I took to be a typical flirtation of him as an poet.

"Because I've always been looking for you." He rested his forehead on mine at that, sounding very relieved. "And now I've finally found you..."

Somewhat unused to flirts, I hid my face in his shirt. "I get it already...!" This was the first time someone had declared their love for me in this way.

That was definitely what he told me that night.

I sat in a meadow and continued embroidering. I enjoyed the fresh wind and looked once at Venti, who was repairing his lyre. He looked very concentrated. At one point he spoke.

"Why can't autumn come faster...?"

I was able to answer him. "Because your apple tree still needs time. You like sweet apples better, don't you?"

"In that case, I have no choice but to wait." He then turned to me. "Let's go here for a weekend in the autumn. We really need to go apple picking!" I didn't think that was a bad idea.

"Why not?" He continued to fix the lyre with glee. Again it was quiet and only the warm wind blew its notes. I must confess that I had not felt relaxed for a very long time. Being here alone with him it was as if there were no more worries.

I now understood better why he didn't like work. With these thoughts, I watched the flowers in the vase.

"Do you like them?"

"Yes, they are truly beautiful. Did you plant them?" I asked, turning my head towards him. Venti stood up and adjusted his sun hat properly. "That's right. Come along then!" He extended his hand to me, which I now held. As he was walking a bit fast, I tried to match his gait.

And indeed, at some point we found ourselves at a very beautiful flower meadow. I was speechless how he managed everything. Years of work must have gone into it.

"How beautiful they are."

I quietly walked a little further forward. "This meadow gives a peaceful feeling." I said and walked on with him.

"Then I have a question for you. If you had only one choice... which flower would you choose for me?"

"Eh? But Venti, there are so many flowers!"

"That makes it more exciting." He looked to me expectantly. I put a finger in front of my lips thoughtfully. "Let's see..well..." I wonder which flower would suit him...? After a moment's thought, an image entered my mind.

It just came suddenly.

"Windwheel Asters." Venti looked at me once, silent but surprised. But that expression quickly disappeared.

"Oho? That was quick..why?" Now he looked curious. I couldn't really think of an explanation at first. But then my lips moved.

"Because..well, it reminds me of windmills. No matter how bad the weather is..they just keep going." I then looked at him. "I just thought of that..."

He looked flattered for a moment. "Now, your turn!"

I pointed my index finger at myself in confusion.

"To you I would assign the Cecilia."

"Why is that?" I wanted to know. He started to smile. "For me, the Cecilia are the most beautiful flowers there can be. They give me joy and strength. Of course, they don't resemble your beauty..."

I was touched by his words. But that he put me in such a positive light made me feel strange. I don't know if this is really the truth. All I did in life was to be importantly productive without a real goal. I felt more like a machine. That he was always pulling me away at all from this little dark cave of worry while I did little brought guilt to me.

"Thank you very much, Venti. That makes me happy to hear, really. But..I didn't do so much for you after all. I don't think I'll top your favourite flowers either..or be the same at all..." I couldn't look him in the eyes.

"But (name)! You bring me joy! And you are beautiful." Immediately he took my hands in his and turned me to face him.

"I know it's not easy to escape sadness and it takes a lot of time..but I want you to know that you are doing enough."

He held my hands tighter, yet it was still a gentle grip.

"And if one day life becomes too much for you, escape to me, will you?" His words hit me so hard I didn't know how to respond. I am truly blessed to have met him in life.

"Thank you..."

"I mean that, of course." He smiled and continued to wander with his hands behind his back.

He stopped for a moment and looked at me. "You're welcome anytime. I have plenty of room~"

"A-ah..uh" It wasn't like I didn't want to live with him. However, even confirming that to me now, it felt weird. After all, we spent so much time together and knew each other for a very long time. I should still think about it.

"Good to know." I gave as the final reply. "Ehe, gladly!"

We went back to tinkering with our pursuits. I caught a glimpse of his lyre and was amazed. It looked like it had just been bought from the shop.

"Well, it looks like new. You are really gifted with your hands." I envied him.

"Oh, that? When you've spent your whole life with instruments, you learn a thing or two. Waiting on long repairs is kind of annoying..."

I could understand that. But someone with so many talents is incredible. Then he must have started very early?

"Well, when you're not really working, you have a lot of time on your hands." He said with a grin, as if he had read my mind. "But since I have a roof over my head, I have to work..." He sighed and shrugged.

He really hates work now. Still, he seemed to stay busy when he had to. Otherwise he couldn't afford all this. Now that's what I call self-control with that hatred.

"Ah, speaking of work..have you decided what you want to do after you graduate?" He asked.

Ahh..that question. "See where I get hired. Then I will take the job." That was my attitude from before, anyway....

Venti immediately put his hand over his mouth. "Ahh, sorry! Now I've brought up a forbidden subject during our holidays!"

I shook my head. "It's all right, I'm not upset. In fact, I'm relaxed." He looked relieved and dropped down on the grass from behind with his eyes closed. His sun hat fell off as he did so. I joined him, which he probably didn't notice at first, and then bent over him.

Honestly, where can you find such a kind-hearted person like him

I took his sun hat and put it on his face so that his eyes were covered.

And before he can react, I gently placed my lips on his rosy cheek. I felt my heart grow warm.

After a few seconds he took the hat aside and looked at me, smiling softly. He then put his arms around me and I bent down to him again.

The sun must have already set, because when I woke up the sky was purple and slightly bluish. I was still a little half asleep and rubbed my eyes. When I tried to sit up, I realised it was almost impossible because he still had his arms around me so I was nestled against his chest. I looked up at him. He still seemed to be sleeping peacefully. I didn't want to wake him up at all, which is why I had to be careful.

Deftly, I tried to pull his arms away from me.

"Ah, you're awake?" I jerked up immediately.

"Venti, don't scare me like that!" Chuckling, he took his arms off me. "Sorry!"

I rolled my eyes with a smile and sat up. As I did so, I fixed the top of my dress. "It's evening already, isn't it?" How strange. I looked up at the sky and watched the purple colours turn bluish. Either we've been napping for a long time or..time passes quickly here? I haven't really paid attention to the clock since we got here. Two nights, right?

Or was it three nights since we arrived? I bawled quietly and put a hand to my forehead. All this thinking was already giving me a headache. I'd better stop.

"It didn't rain at all today." Venti whispered in my ear, which surprised me. I immediately turned my head towards him and grumbled. "Don't scare me! Wait-where are you disappearing to?"

"That means it's going to rain now. Come inside if you don't want to get wet." Laughed he and ran into the cottage. When he's right, he's right.

I guess we'll both be going to bed late tonight. After all, we were wide awake as I ran after him around the table so he wouldn't drink wine. If you were to look at this view from outside, you'd see a girl in an orange-lit cottage chasing after someone with a wine bottle, jumping over a couch. A mess it was.

"Just a sip, just a sip, my love!"

"You can forget it! Ah, liar..you meant alcohol is forbidden to remember many things clearly and act with intention...!" I grumbled, pointing at him.

"If you trust one too much, you're no good" He sang with amusement, earning himself a pillow to the face.

"Agh! What..." I jumped up slightly at this perfect opportunity, landing softly on the couch. Laughing nonetheless, he stretched his arm far away from me with the wine bottle not to be forgotten. "And promises must be kept! Now give it to me already. You'll get it later!" I laughed and climbed over him. Unfortunately, Venti was far too clever and held me back by the dress with his other hand. Not wanting to admit defeat, I decided to be daring.

I stopped reaching towards the wine bottle and withdrew. This made the room quiet. Most definitely because he was now irritated that I was pulling back and now looked up at me.

"(Name)?" He asked quietly, keeping his smile. "Say, Venti. Are we..really together?"

"Of course..?" he now looked at me awkwardly, something I rarely witness.

I slowly bent down to him and put a finger on his collarbone "Does this also mean..that someday.."

"Someday..what..?!"

I now bent down to the bottle and took it away, after which I stood up from him. "We won't bicker like this anymore." Venti lay stupidly on the couch for a few seconds, looking at me with a grin.

I fetched a stool and with a heave I placed one foot on the counter so that the bottle was well out of reach far above. I then went down and took the stool with me. He definitely won't reach the top with his height..ha!

When I came back, and not even 5 seconds passed, I was greeted by the sight of Venti sitting relaxed on the counter, innocently taking a sip from the wine bottle. He looked towards me.

My jaw dropped and I didn't know how to confront him. How the hell did he get up there without any help? "But how-"

"With the power of the wind-"

"Oh, give it a rest. I admit defeat." I dropped onto the couch with a sigh. Venti cheered up. "Time for dinner! But only after I get my hands on a few sips of this wonderfuuull wine!" I frowned, already figuring he was going to get tipsy in this state..or more likely, totally hammered. "We slept on the floor in the open. You still need to shower." He grinned at me and took a sip of wine. Apparently he didn't seem to care if he got in trouble for showering. I pointed to a bucket and asked permission.

"Go ahead. What are you going to do?"

"I'm just going to remove a few stains. Give me your clothes after dinner, okay?" He leaned his arms on the sofa. "Diligent as ever. So? Are you going to clean them while I bathe?~'' I shrugged. "If I can take care of you that way, then yes." His laughter stopped immediately. "Oh, really?" I filled the bucket with water and left it in the bathroom. "Uh-huh. What about when you're doing shenanigans in the bathroom, Venti?"

"Like what?" I looked at him. Immediately a scenario came to mind. "Like what? Well, you could hold an hour-long conversation with a rubber duck!" Venti looked amused and let out a laugh. "If that's your biggest concern, why not? I love spending time with you!"

After dinner, we cleaned up. Venti picked out some new clothes to wear. It's only now that I realised what I said before. So he has no problem with me seeing him...? It's not like I'd want to fixate on seeing him naked either.

"Venti, I'm coming in now."

"Go ahead."

I opened the wooden door a little reluctantly, holding a detergent with my other hand, which I found in the kitchen drawer. Venti sat in the filled bathtub and waved at me. Only his upper body could be seen. His hair was pinned up, which was a rare sight. Better said, the whole sight was unusual. I didn't look for long and immediately set to work. But what I couldn't get out of my mind is that he had a tattoo on his chest. Or whatever it was.

There was a slightly calming atmosphere in the room despite the situation. You could hear that it was raining again. I loved it when you can listen to the rain in peace.

He also laid out his clothes for me, which I was scrubbing clean. I felt bad after all the things he always does for me. Now he should relax! It's the least I can do.

"Ah, (name). While you're over there, could you move the wooden wall aside?"

"Is it all right? In this weather..." I stood up and approached the wall. The room wasn't really spacious, so it was a job of not even 3 seconds. "Just don't worry. You'll see." I pushed the wooden wall aside. Now we had a view of trees from far away and bushes instead of a wall. In front of me the ground was littered with pebbles and small branches. So it serves like an open window! The sight looked simply beautiful.

I squatted down again and now scrubbed his top. Hopefully I'd get the stain out of the white colour. In the middle of the process, I felt Venti's gentle hand on my head. I was, after all, right in front of him. Only I had my back turned to him.

"Your dress needs to be cleaned too." True, I slept on the ground too. It wasn't just his clothes that had earth stains.

"You know, if you like..you can come in." My heart raced slightly and I scrubbed the stain slower and slower. Somehow I suddenly felt shy. "I told you...a boy like you shouldn't say things like that." I got out quietly now. "And I said I wasn't who you thought I was, didn't I?" He patted my head now. It's not that I don't want to bathe with him.

"Yes, I'm sure you are." I turned a little to look at him. Venti looked down at me. He wore a gentle smile, as always. It wasn't that playful smile you usually saw from him or that dirty grin. My lips opened slightly, but no words came out. I let out a sigh and looked at him again.

"Fine, I'll get in the tub with you. Don't say anything like that again though, okay?"

"If that's your condition, fine. I won't say it again." Somehow I wanted to question what was behind it. But it was definitely a thing so I wouldn't think he wasn't dominant or something like that. I looked around. Okay, how was I supposed to do that..take my clothes off here? Or outside..ah never mind. I still need some things "I'll be right there."

I went out for a moment to get some new clothes ready and grabbed another towel. When I came back I had a towel in front of my body and was now standing in front of him. "I will go in now." He presented me the free space. "Here you go." No sooner said than done, I now sat next to Venti. It was strange at first to sit naked in the bathtub with someone. I had never done this before. But slowly I got used to it. He didn't seem to stare at me at all.

It was also kind of pleasant to be in the warm water and watch the rain outside.

You just look out into the open since the wooden wall was no longer there. Therefore, there is not a soul here except the two of us, so it made me feel safer. We were both delighted when a rabbit approached. "Oh, hello, is someone longing for shelter from the rain?"

"Apparently..." I whispered, watching the rabbit as well, now cleaning itself with its paws. It was a wonder it was acting familiar. What occurs to me now, Venti seems to attract many animals in general. I'm sure it was due to his kind nature.

"Better than squatting on the ground, isn't it?" Venti whispered to me. I understood now. He just wanted me to relax and have the same experience-if anything, share it with him.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and nodded. "It's nice with you."

I hoped I would have moments like this with him more often.

Part 8

Masterlist

[babychoko]

🎀𝔽𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤🎀

Part 9

Silently, I sat on the bed, dangling my legs.

"And this photo is real?" Astonished, he glanced at the photo again. I flopped back on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. "Yes, it is. I just discovered it a few days ago when my mother was browsing through the album."

"That kind of thing is amazing! Then it means you've met him before!" Bennett then looked at Razor. "That must be fate then!"

"That's what I think, too. But how did you recognize him?" They both looked to me now. I hadn't explained that yet. I was at Xingqiu‘s place. And in his photo, they were wearing the exact same thing. So I'm absolutely sure."

Bennett pressed the photo to himself. "How exciting! You're meant for each other! Ah, does he know that yet? Well, about this photo..."

"No."

"Huh?"

I sat back up and looked at him. "I've resolved not to tell him about it for now. I'll save it for later..." He handed me the photo again. I kept it in my small purse.

"For later today? Or much, much later?" I don't think our bowling night tonight would be the right time for that either. I have to admit that something tells me not to show Xingqiu the photo for now.

"Maybe much, much later." I gave with a smile.

"We won't say a word! You can count on that."

"Thanks for keeping it to yourselves for now." I then looked over at Razor, who was sitting at his computer. He seemed to be busy typing. Curious, I walked up next to him and looked at the screen. "Are you chatting?" Razor spent most of his time chatting with others about his passion for writing about animals. Especially about wolves as well as costumes.

"Today it's interesting again. I met new people."

"Razor is more talkative online. Even though it's hard to believe." Bennett tried to stifle a laugh. In response, he got a friendly pat on the shoulder from Razor.

"But it's unbearable at night. The screen is way too bright..I can't sleep like this!" Sighed Bennett, putting his hands on his hips.

Must be hard when you share a room.

"And you type loudly..." Murmured Razor.

"You guys have it great...having your own computer. I only get to use my dad's computer when I need something for school." I have to admit that I was a tiny bit envious. Almost everyone has a cell phone or a PC!

Razor turned his swivel chair away from the desk a bit. "Do you want to try writing something?"

"I can?!" Gladly! I've always wanted to chat on a device like that. At the time, I did it with my cell phone (which actually used to belong to my father). But because the bill was once too high and he found me suspicious he confiscated the cell phone. Since then I got change for phone booths, should I be in an emergency. I guess that's what I got for smiling while writing. I guess he thought I was writing with a boy or something.

He wasn't wrong about that...I shamelessly confess. Guilty!

He got up from the swivel chair and I took a seat. Now they both showed me where I could click.

"On this symbol..exactly! This person seems to be available. Click on the bottom bar and you can text him." Bennett explained to me.

I didn't know what to write. So I wanted to start with a smalltalk. A hello and how the person is doing should be a start, right?

I looked at the keyboard and searched for the letters.

Okay and where is letter W..aha, here! Wait, where was Y again? Now I mistyped.

"(Name)..how often does your dad let you use his computer?" Bennett asked me confused.

"Rarely..why?"

"Just wondering."

I finally sent the message. Razor showed me that I could still send effects, or smileys. I was a bit taken aback by the effects. However, he immediately took over the keyboard and typed quickly as I clicked several times on the hearts effects or the ones with kisses.

Bennett almost fell over laughing. Razor had to explain to his chat partner that it was definitely NOT him who sent those embarrassing love messages. I thought it was brilliant, by the way. Maybe in the future I'll get to use the Pc for something other than homework!

"It's almost time for us to meet! Shall we ride our bikes?" Suggested Bennett. We're almost too late for bowling! Xingqiu and Chongyun shouldn't wait too long for us.

"I didn't bring my bike today..." I said with a grin. However, the two of them suggested that I can sit on the luggage rack. As long as no one catches us, that won't be a problem.

As we sped out, we greeted the other roommates at the home. However, we didn't have time to talk.

Immediately the two of them grabbed their bikes and Bennett offered me his seat as Razor steadied his bike chain once again. I hopped on and immediately clung to him as he rode off.

The cool wind blew my my clothes and I made sure my bag didn't slip off my shoulder. Then I had to think about the photo again. I haven't really let it go since and asked my mom if I could have it. On one condition: Don't lose it! Otherwise, yes, I would be allowed.

You see, I first met Xingqiu in the 5th grade. He transferred from a private school to ours at that time. But we were not very close. Rather, quite the opposite.

We really became friends a little later. It's a long story. Yes, yes. I'll tell it later.

I didn't really like him until the eighth grade. And I was totally in love with him in the 10th grade. Almost at the end of 10th grade. That's when it started, that I really wanted to stay close to him. And at the same time, not because it was driving me crazy. Suddenly, I loved just about everything about him..okay, not everything. But maybe you know what I mean. And when he did things just for me like recommend books, leave quotes in books as notes or that we study together. That made me happy as punch!

Especially when sometimes he would put his hand on my shoulder and smile at me. Sometimes he even gave me a quick squeeze.

At first I thought he was just doing it as a friend.

Until it was pointed out to me that I was the only one with whom Xingqiu held such physical contact. I didn't want to believe that at the time.

Then he even pressed me against him a few times laughing, putting an arm around my waist. However, I put an arm around his neck like a buddy in response. (Xingqiu told me back when we became a couple that he often had to suppress a hopeless sigh at such moments. After all, he was trying to give me clear signs.)

And there were moments when he would listen to me smiling and resting his chin on his hand. I thought that he was really quite interested in my stories. Even the recommended books were romance novels, I just remembered. Oh man, I really was a dense one.

I sighed softly and looked at the roads. We passed a couple of fast food restaurants with blinding display boards. Soon we should be there. I was interrupted from my daydreaming, however, when Bennett went over a ramp too fast, causing us to jump up briefly in our seats.

"Geez, Bennett! You can't treat a lady like me like that. I was dreaming..." I looked to the side, playfully offended. „Sorry! That's right, I should have been paying more attention!" I shook my head laughing and put a hand on his shoulder for reassurance. "I was just kidding."

"Ahaha, well if that's the case! After all, that's no way to treat you!" He looked to the side for a moment. "I wouldn't do that on purpose, since..." The last part of the sentence was unintelligible because a truck was passing us.

He didn't repeat the part. I assumed I just imagined it and looked toward a restaurant we were passing. Razor was in sight in front of it.

I could have sworn he glanced briefly at Bennett with an unspeakable look. Maybe a hint of surprised. In response, Bennett seemed a little tense. But I didn't peck and surveyed the sky as I continued to cling to him.

We arrived in a few minutes. Good thing the other two arrived at the same moment. Chongyun briefly threw the stem of his popsicle into the trash can. Actually, he had hesitated to come along. But afterwards he agreed because he had trained a lot against his yang problem and he didn't want it to be forgotten. He prepared well for today.

"It's nice that we all meet again! Did the three of you come here together?" Asked Xingqiu as we all gathered together.

"Yup! With the bicycles. No policeman caught me by the rack of the bike!" Said I with pride.

"I didn't crash, thankfully..." Bennett scratched the back of his head with a smile.

"So he was driving you...?" Xingqiu looked at me. For a second, I was confused about his question. Was that a bad thing...?

"Then I hope you had fun in the childrens seat~" W-what?!

Everyone laughed as I looked at Xingqiu in offense. He just grinned like that. "Hey, I don't need one of those!"

I crossed my arms as we walked into the bowling center, ignoring his apologies as a joke. I wasn't really mad at him.

Luckily, there was a lane open for us and we signed in. It was quite noisy in the center. Some families were playing together, and some lanes had young people like us. At the request of the guests, the employee turned on the disco lights.

This will definitely lift the mood with the music in the background. I usually went bowling during the day and didn't get to see this view. This was something completely different!

"All right. Wanna bet on something?" Suggested Xingqiu.

I looked to him and grinned. Interesting.

"As usual? Ehm..I'll be out of there quickly!" Oh dear, Chongyun still seemed traumatized from before. He had the fewest points in the last bowling night and the winner got to determine what the loser had to do.

Xingqiu was the winner.

And what you should know is..he gets the weirdest ideas.

"Come on, Yunyun. Who says I'm going to win this night?"

"You seem pretty shear and that's a warning sign..."

I shook my head. Maybe I should take a crack at this before it degenerated into a discussion.

"Okay guys. New rule: no trips to the women's underwear section for the boys." Everyone except Xingqiu breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's no fun like that!"

"No way, Xingqiu. Come up with something else!" He gave up and so the matter ate itself. Now the future losers have one less thing to worry about.

"Thanks (Name). At least he listens to you." Bennett whispered to me. We laughed quietly together. "I'd rather spare you this. Even though I think it's funny."

I wonder if Xingqiu isn't afraid of losing a bet. He would have dug his own grave....

I looked at the bullets. All right. This time I will be able to carry a difficult one! I specially trained my arms for this by carrying our 5kg rice bags at home each time. My family may have thought I was stupid, but it made sense to me. Let's see if my training paid off!

Chongyun looked at me and smiled nervously. "Are you sure you can carry this bowling ball? Maybe you could go three sizes lighter..."

I watched as he and Bennett easily carried one of the most difficult bowling balls with one hand.

"Woah...what's wrong with you guys? Have you guys been working out too? So strong!"

"Ahah... for my Yang Energy, I've been physically training, too." Chongyun said, scratching the back of his head. They both looked down at me laughing.

And they seemed to have grown another inch too.... not only in muscles.

Razor put a hand on my head. "Eat a lot of meat. Then you'll grow." He was probably just trying to comfort me. After all, he knows very well that genes play a big role. "It's okay, I'll leave my plate empty..." Without arguing, I took a lighter ball. I might end up trying a slightly more difficult one- right! I'll warm up my arms first.

Everyone picked a ball and the first player was Razor, our wolf boy.

And it wasn't a hit. Quite the opposite.

"Razor, you're babying the ball!" Sighed Bennett. However, we got no response from Razor.

He stared into the air and then closed his eyes. "My friends are calling me."

..?

Next came Xingqiu. He was surprisingly quiet for the last few minutes. He muttered something to himself and then tried his luck.

A strike!

We cheered him on until we remembered we had a bet coming up. Xingqiu looked over his shoulder at us. At first he looked innocent.

Then grinned at us once, slightly sadistically.

"I told you we should form a Xingqiu victim alliance..." Whispered Chongyun to me and I swallowed hard once.

I don't know why, but somehow I got a feeling that Xingqiu looked irritated. But of course, it's hard to tell with him.

He was way too quiet.

Chongyun was next and stood there for a while, petrified. Should we get him some ice cubes?

When it was Bennett's turn, he almost threw the ball in our direction. Fortunately, we all dodged it.

He didn't hit a single cone.

When it was my turn, I picked up the pink ball. This time I have to win...

"You can do it, (Name)!"

"Don't be shy!"

"Yes. We believe in you." We all looked confused at Xingqiu, who smiled calmly at me. Uh..

He's definitely irritated.

H-Have I done something wrong!?

Just don't lose focus, (Name)....

I caught up for a moment and packed all my faith into that ball. Then I swung the ball into the track.

It sped straight ahead and... just before the last second, it slammed into the side as if by magic. It was a gutter. But how?!

Nobody could explain it. Even on the second try, the same thing happened.

"Ahh, it's my fault! My bad luck is acting up like crazy again..."

"Nonsense Bennett. I just need a few tries!" That's right, I haven't bowled in a while.

We all played a couple of times and it was clear who was in the lead

Xingqiu was in lead. But then it was me. Everyone seemed to be pinning their hopes on me. I didn't think they would be so afraid of Xingqiu today. He told us that he hadn't thought of anything yet, but I know that's a lie!

I just remembered that I haven't thought of anything should I win. Probably a trip to the flea market on their dime or a whole week's supply of cotton candy just for me. We'll see what I decide on.

But first we all got something to drink because we were getting thirsty after a couple rounds. We took our soda and sat down to the table. The game is paused until then.

I took a sip and watched a group of college students hanging out at the billiard table for a while. Two of them were chilling on the terrace next door while smoking, only three of them seemed to be concentrating at the pool table and one was drinking a can of Fanta in the corner. I think it was Fanta?

It was pretty quiet among them and I wondered if we would hang out the same way in the future.

We were mostly hyper as a group. Maybe because we were still in school? However, these students don't really seem much older than us.

I put my glass on the table and felt my bag once. Then I took a quick look inside. Good thing I didn't lose the photo. Misplaced in nowhere was definitely not something I wanted!

"Are you hiding something?" Xingqiu moved closer to me. It was probably too noticeable that I kept looking in the bag. "I..uh..I just don't want to lose my new lipstick!" Okay, now that sounded stupid.

"Lipstick, huh?" He tried not to laugh. But at least he won't find out about the photo. For the first one, anyway. Then he turned back to the others and they chatted about the latest spy movie.

I took advantage of the moment briefly to go to the bathroom. The music could still be heard, but only very lightly

As I flushed the toilet, I heard a pair of girls enter the room and turn on the faucet.

"I thought you were going to spend the night at my place."

"Now don't be like that! He's off early tonight. I'll come visit you tomorrow, okay?"

"Tell me everything then, will you?" I heard a slight thump and then laughter.

"Yeaah, the next day you'll hear about a corpse."

They then left the room. Confused, I pulled up my panties and straightened my dress neatly.

I opened the door slightly and peeked out a bit to make sure the coast was clear. I then raised an eyebrow.

I washed my hands. Corpse? Weird girls...

The guys still seemed to be talking about the Spy movie. But I was eager to spill the beans about what I'd just heard.

"You guys have no idea what happened in the ladies' room!" I started and looked at them.

They all looked to me.

"Ehm, (Name)..I think yes?" Gave Chongyun blushing.

"Not that! Two girls were talking about a dead body..That was a scene like the horror movie we watched back then."

"You don't have to be scared. I'm sure it was just a joke." Said Xingqiu, shrugging his shoulders with a smile. T-That's not what I believed after all....

"Now that you mention it...isn't Mr. Tartaglia suspicious?" Bennett asked. He had mentioned then hearing the word "corpse" come out of his mouth. Since then, he seemed a little afraid of Mr. Tartaglia.

"Come to think of it..." Chongyun muttered thoughtfully. "He's pretty athletic too isn't he? And always that grin..it gives me the creeps.

Now Razor spoke up. "I heard he likes pain." Everyone below was silent. Razor would never fib.

"Of course he does. He eats steel without milk for breakfast and trains nine days a week..." Xingqiu stifled a laugh. Seriously. Did this boy ever feel fear?

But then he started a new topic . "You should be more afraid for our principal Zhongli . I've seen the photos from a couple of years ago and this gentleman doesn't seem to age."

"Huh? My aunt said that he also taught in her time when she was very young."

No one could say anything about Chongyun's statement. Finally, we were speechless. How old is she again...?

"Maybe he and Mr. Tartaglia are spies.."

We all decided to watch these two men now. They were clearly very suspicious.

"Maybe we should keep playing...?" Bennett suggested. Yes, we really should. Enough with scary stories.

We almost finished the last round.

Bennett had almost hit us with the bowling ball again and Chongyun we had to get extra ice cubes. The music was definitely too loud for him. But kudos to him for sticking it out for so long today.

And you might not have thought it, but the winner today was me!

I ended up with two strikes in a row, knocking Xingqiu off his throne.

"What a shame! I would have loved to see you in dresses..." Sighed Xingqiu. That's right..there was no ban on clothes after all.

The other guys looked distraught at him. They must have felt really relieved that I won.

I still had to decide whether I wanted a visit to the flea market or a week's supply of cotton candy.

We ended up cleaning up and paying before heading out. And no, I didn't carry a heavy ball that night. Maybe next time I'll lift more rice packs.

Everyone seemed to have biked here. Except me. Xingqiu offered to give me a ride home. It was almost dark and I wouldn't say no to that.

We were all still talking in circles because it was a great evening. It was a shame that it was over now. We all missed it. But also not too late we should arrive home. At some point we had to say goodbye.

I sat on Xingqiu's baggage rack and he began to ride. Now the two of us were alone. I didn't know how to start a conversation with him. I still felt like he was irritable. I looked at him. Only his hair was blowing slightly and his earring was dangling in front of him.

"You didn't need a child's helper or barrier when you were bowling, did you?"

"Are you going to start that again..." I pouted. "I beat you, so you can get ready for my wishes!" Let him be afraid!

Xingqiu continued calmly. "Let me guess..a supply of cotton candy?"

"W..what..well- no!" How does he know that? Now there's no way it's going to be cotton candy.

"Sounds like you, though. I'll be surprised then. Oh yeah..."

"Yeah?"

"I..I'll work out harder too..get muscles.." He muttered, keeping eye contact with the road. "Besides..I would have driven you too."

I became stunned.

"Xingqiu..have you been jealous all this time?" I asked cautiously. Was that why he was irritated?

"Not me..." He couldn't hide it. He stopped at a traffic light, even though the streets were empty. "Maybe."

I smiled and put my arms around him.I leaned my head against his back. "I like you the way you are." I felt on his body that he seemed less tense. When the light turned green, he drove off again and I continued to snuggle up to him. Memories rose in my mind.

My heart grew warmer. I stroked slow and small circular movements on his back.

They were very beautiful memories of us.

Masterlist

Part 10

[babychoko]

🎀𝔽𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤🎀

Part 7

Note: Uh, it’s been a long time..hehe. I‘m sorry for this weird chapter.

The day I heard the news about Xingqiu's career, I shed a few tears. The following day, too. At some point they stopped again. They were very warm, very small and started flowing very fast. One tear pushed the other until they dripped. And when I wiped my cheeks, taking a deep breath, they flowed very slowly until there were no more.

Just keep calm, I thought to myself. We won't break up. I was sure there was a solution so that long-distance wouldn't become a burden. I sniffled a few times until I washed my face. It was a big shock, that's for sure. I dabbed my face dry with a towel and retreated back to my room to air it out with the fresh evening air. Somehow it smelled refreshing, yet light with smoke. But it wasn't disgusting. It was a pleasant smell, as if a window from the classroom had been accidentally left open overnight.

Just as I was about to get my book out of the drawer, our phone rang. Of course, I answered it. I knew exactly who was calling at that hour. It was like a code. Otherwise I would have to go to our computer. I didn't have my mobile phone anymore for...certain reasons. We'll get to that later.

When I picked up the phone, there was silence on the line at first. I didn't speak at all myself. I looked around me and grabbed the phone. Only as far as it would go, of course, so that the cable wouldn't be pulled out by the socket. I sat down in front of a door.

"(Name)..."

My heart suddenly started racing again. I'm sure it was from excitement. Or from relief? Anyway, I'm glad he at least spoke up. His voice, however, sounds aggrieved.

"Xingqiu." I finally got out in a whisper. "Is everything all right?"

"I should be asking you that. I left you standing there. That was wrong of me." He took a short pause.

"You don't have to forgive me."

I pressed my lips together. Then I exhaled. "That's water under the bridge. I was worried about you. You couldn't be reached. Chongyun contacted me."

A surprised sigh came over Xingqiu's lips. "Yunyun contacted you?" I nodded, until it struck me that yes, he couldn't see my nod. For a moment, I felt stupid. "Uhu. He did. Already forgotten that you two are really thick?"

He denied it. "Of course not. I'll call him right now too... if he answers." I wanted to ask if anything had happened to the two of them, but that was none of my business for now. "Back to you. What happened?" I heard rustling in the background and a few voices.

"It's okay. Give me five more minutes!"

"That's the biggest lie you'll ever hear." His big brother? Wait a minute... is he monitoring our conversation?!

"Sorry... to make a long story short, I've had everything taken out of me and only allowed to use it for the bare minimum under supervision. Like using the computer for homework..." He explained. My jaw dropped a little. I couldn't imagine that with Xingqiu. Whatever he did, he could always talk his way out of it cleverly, couldn't he?

"What have you done?"

..

"Xingqiu?"

No answer.

"Xingqiu!"

"I made my father angry. That very same evening, we happened to have business..."

Okay. That didn't sound good.

"I guess I wasn't so indirect with them after all. I have to tell you, those businessmen were underwhelming. It infuriated my father, but he didn't say anything. And the Feiyun traders don't want to have anything to do with people like that. So I just did the talking. Maybe I went way too far." I could quite imagine that Xingqiu would definitely not keep his mouth shut when people gleefully cracked jokes about his favourite things or about others. I've witnessed that a few times and let me tell you: he can talk.

"So the deal is off?" I blurted. A sigh I heard from him in reply. I scratched my head.

"And..how much profit was lost?" I then wanted to know. Xingqiu gasped slightly. "I think quite a lot? But they have an impact on other traders. That's the problem..." I could somehow hear exactly that he was smirking slightly. My eyes widened and I put the phone down on the floor for a moment, taking a few steps back and forth with my hands on my hips until I sat down again.

"Oh my God." Obviously you'd be angry then if you'd been bickering with your son before that anyway! I think this is the first argument with his family so far. "My father has been very quiet since then and leaves the punishments to my brother. Of course, the wise guy thinks I'm hanging out with some gangsters. Bad influence and all that."

"And then what about your father before that..." I heard footsteps in the background and an annoyed groan from him.

"You have one minute left."

"We'll talk when we meet again, okay?" He whispered. I agreed and held my forehead. "All right. Take the rest of the time to contact Chongyun and say that you really like him a lot. Also that you don't know what you would do without him. You better hurry, Qiuqiu."

"What...ugh..Alright, alright! I will!" Our call was interrupted by a beep. The news I just heard from him shocked me so much that I didn't know what to worry about now. What on earth was happening lately? I was aware that Xingqiu was already very frustrated. But for him to pull a stunt like this right away? Normally, he would keep his calm demeanour. Now he not only has to stress with moving out, but also family as well as company drama. Probably a lot of gossip on top of that.

Just as I was about to put the house phone away, it rang. I answered it in confusion. It was quick though.

"(Name and surname) speaking?"

I took the receiver from my ear as I heard a loud crash. Ouch.

"Thank goodness, it's you! (Name)! Emergency!" Screeched a voice.

"Chongyun?! Calm down first. What happened?" Please..please not another incident!

"It's Xingqiu! He wants to take his own life! I think he already has!" WHAT??

"What do you mean?" My heart was racing. I didn't expect such a turn of events and was ready to call for my family and run to them. I couldn't believe it. None of this could be true.

"He called me and confessed his love first..." I stopped immediately.

One moment.

What the hell.

"Then he said he couldn't live without me and that he had 5 seconds left with me! I didn't know what to do! He just hung up on me when I didn't answer! He's with you after all and we're just best friends!" He babbled and gasped.

"Ehm, Chongyun?"

"And I think it's too late! He didn't answer the phone at all! I heard something fall! It must have been a chair- Oh my god.... It was all my fault!!!"

"Chongyun..."

"I'm not worth anything! I'm a murderer!! We should call the police! Just don't call Hu Tao because she..." I left the phone on the bedside table and banged my forehead against the wall.

Xingqiu you idiot. I certainly didn't mean that. Watch your choice of words!

I just gasped deeply. "Chongyun. And who hung up on you, please?"

"Well, it was him!" He cried out.

"Good, then please explain to me how he could have done that if he wasn't alive before?"

There was silence between us.

"So it was his ghost-" My eyebrow twitched.

"No. It was his brother! Xingqiu is only allowed to touch equipment with limited time under supervision! There's a misunderstanding there. He's still alive, my goodness!"

..

"See..you, (name)."

A beep ended the conversation and I was in desperate need of water. That gave me a good scare. Just as I was about to take a drink at that moment, the phone rang again. It was Bennett, who also thought something was going on with Xingqiu. I wondered how fast Chongyun had been and who else he had contacted before the misunderstanding. It turned out that he dialled the wrong number and cut the call off in the middle with Bennett because it wasn't me who answered. The poor man nearly died of worry.

"So everything's okay?" He asked, out of breath.

"Yep. Have a good evening, Bennett..."

And I kid you not, AGAIN the phone rang and rang again until I picked up the receiver with all my might and bellowed about how Chongyun should be called and how our bill was adding up. I was so at my wits end that I didn't even ask who was calling.

"SO. UNDERSTAND?!" It was the biggest mistake of my life. It wasn't one of my friends.

It was a very deep and soft voice.

"(Last name, name)? This is headmaster Zhongli speaking. I'm sorry about the bill. I'll ask again about the parents' meeting..."

My mother came up running to me because of my shouting and because of the phone terror and took the phone away from me in a panic when she realised that our headmaster was now on the line. I got into a huge hassle.

I also had a hard time sleeping that night. I still don't know how things are going to go on with my steady boyfriend and whether he is really okay. What I knew in any case is that our group of friends did not forget each other. It gave me a little idea of wanting to show them that I was still thinking about them too. But I saved my plan for another time. I read my book until I fell asleep. It helped to distract me.

The next day at school, I tried to stay focused in my tutoring. But my thoughts kept circling around. If I'm lucky, I still see the others. Unfortunately, our timetables are totally different, so sometimes we don't see each other. When I copied the formulas from the blackboard, I turned to my plan. In the notebook I went through again what I needed.

Suddenly a plane made out of paper landed on my table. I looked around in confusion and found out immediately that it came from Hu Tao. She made a gesture for me to please open the paper plane. I unfolded the white paper aeroplane. There were percentages scribbled all over it.

"Double coffin for lovers! Cosy as a double bed, only a few metres deep in the ground! Discount by 30% Grab it now, you never know when it's time!"

I slowly lowered the white paper in front of my face and stared at her.

She stared back at me.

After school, I packed up my things and walked out of class, followed by Hu Tao.

"Wait a minute, you didn't give me your opinion on that...!"

"Look, I don't think we're doing this... uh, a marriage coffin isn't the right thing..." I smiled. Immediately her face lit up and she rummaged in her bag. She handed me another flyer.

"I'm sorry! I should have paid better attention to your future. I'm sure you're already working on that, hehe!"

"Huh, what should we two be working on already.... EH?! A family tomb?!" Embarrassed, I handed the flyer back to her. "Definitely not! There's nothing in the works yet!"

"Wait a minute, (name)! The more descendants, the cheaper! You only get that with us!" I just kept walking. But she followed me anyway, so I had no choice but to take her with me. I led her to a shop.

"Oho, are you making biscuits?"

"Can be." I carried the ingredients to the till. My pocket money should still be enough. I just hoped I would be successful. She suddenly hugged me from behind.

"You poor thing, you look all stressed out..you can tell Aunty Hu Tao everything." She murmured, pursing her lips to kiss my cheek. "It'll be fine, really!" I giggled. I don't want to stress anyone out with my worries. And if I said what I was going to do now, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore.

"But thanks." She'll be the first to get it.

At home, I set to work paying attention to the recipe. Because she was right, I'm going to make biscuits with the ingredients. When they are ready, then I will decorate them and wrap them nicely.

During the process I felt guilty about how bad-tempered I was yesterday. But it all just got too much for me.

After the biscuits cooled, I decorated some. I could remember exactly who liked what. With Bennett and Razor it was easy. They just liked everything and were never picky. But Chongyun's biscuits had to be extra chilled and undecorated. I don't know how long it took me to wrap them. It was already evening and I started my homework late. Although I didn't sleep much, I have to say that the presents didn't look bad. I left some for my family, who were already curious because of the scent. Apparently, things were a bit forgotten about yesterday. But only a little.

In the morning, I got to school as early as possible and kept an eye out for the others. Luckily I met Hu Tao, who was already holding out her hands. Apparently she had already guessed what I was up to. Her embrace almost suffocated me. She pulled me behind her and pointed at Bennett. Suddenly I pulled back when he caught sight of me. Somehow I didn't know what to say when asked what occasion the biscuits were for. "I think I need to go to the bathroom. And for quite a long time." Hu Tao shoved me in his class. "Nope." I was now standing in front of Bennett, who looked at me in surprise. I didn't notice how much he'd grown until now. "I hope we can stay friends for a long time." I held out the biscuits to him. Just at that moment Razor came in with Amy..sorry. I meant the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, who happened to be walking past us with a few other students. Of course I took that moment to give them the gift as well.

Bennett laughed and pulled us all into a hug. "Of course we're all going to stay friends! We should meet again." I didn't realise how relieved I felt. It's been a while since we've done more than just say hello at school and hold a few phone calls. We were finally having a proper conversation. Maybe we weren't used to being apart for very long.

"We shouldn't let the new class divisions and timetables separate us." Hu Tao pats my head. "(Name) was worried that our friendship would break." I covered her mouth for shame. Razor shook his head. "Don't worry, (Name)."

Before our lesson started and we had to run to the other building to class, Bennett squeezed me once.

I managed to throw Yun Jin and Xinyan off with the little bags containing the biscuits. Very quickly, before our teacher started the lesson. The two of them were totally delighted throughout the lesson. It wasn't until the break that I explained that it was simply meant to be a friendly gift. I see them every day, but it doesn't mean they won't get anything. Maybe I should start counting how many hugs I got today?

"And doesn't your lover get anything?" Yun Jin whispered to me. "Yes he will. He should have a break now too, while the others will surely have to go to the sports field or over to the other building." I thought again. If I'm wrong, it's so true. I need to get used to our new schedules. Our school is just stupid. Some classes start a lesson later and finish later. That was exactly our problem when we weren't in class together.

"I'll see you in class, okay?" I walked through the whole schoolyard, over to the library. I didn't see Xingqiu over the whole weekend. So we share this break, we always meet in the library. He has a lot to explain to me. I greeted Lisa, who must have been taking a nap earlier. She waved tiredly at me and yawned. I wandered to the far corner of the library and looked at the clock. Strange. He was usually there first?

The sitting area was empty. I walked once around the shelf and looked at the books until then. I remember when I found the covers of the books boring. Nevertheless, I took one of these books in my hand and leafed through it a bit. I didn't notice a certain someone coming up to me from behind and putting his arms around me.

For a few seconds I stood still and stared at the book. An arm detached itself from me and gently took the book away from me with its hand. The book was put back on the shelf. I felt a weight on my shoulder and clearly saw strands of indigo. But I knew even before that who was hugging me from behind.

"(Name)..can we stay like this for a moment?" I nodded and held still. I didn't turn at all. Neither did I say anything. I just let the sun's rays from the window to the right beam down on us, enjoying Xingqiu's warmth to boot. His grip tightened. "(Name)..." After the morning's excitement, my heart sank. What was happening? I hoped nothing worse. After a while, Xingqiu loosened his arms around me, but only slightly. I then turned to face him.

He had a calm expression on his face.

"Is everything alright now? So, with your family..." I asked, playing with his tie a little.

"It's just very quiet with us. But nothing else has happened." He watched me fiddle with his tie. "I just missed you a lot, can't you tell?"

"I miss you too. And no, I don't see that." I lied. It totally showed on his face. "Do I have to show you?" He whispered in my ear. This gave me goosebumps, jerking my shoulder up slightly. I felt totally soft and didn't realise at that moment that our lips were getting close. Suddenly, it popped into my head that he wanted to explain everything to me after all. I stayed strong and pushed his shoulders away.

"Nice try. But no fooling around here this time." He smiled at me. "It was worth a try. Maybe another time? Ah, all right fine. I will tell you everything." I sat down on the windowsill and Xingqiu leaned against the wall. "So... why was your father angry with you before?"

"He found out I was skipping my classes in Commerce. He was very embarrassed about that. I must confess that I didn't behave fairly." He looked slightly embarrassed.

"Do you really want to study business?" I knew he was really talented. But what about his passion? Surely he doesn't have to stand in for his father. It has to be his elder brother who is already studying!

"That's not where my heart lies. But I can't trust my brother with that. And if something happens..who will take over the company? My father really worked for it for years."

"You're really nice, Xingqiu..But then why are you skipping classes?"

He smiled at me. "The classes are no good. You don't learn anything. The students and teachers there are kind of..well, you shouldn't talk bad about others. So I preferred to spend the time with you. There are many other courses. I've already looked at others, and I'm waiting to be dropped from the current ones."

"As flattered as I am..you still shouldn't shock your father like that."

"I didn't know the old geezer was going to call my father." He muttered, looking thoughtfully into the air. "Maybe..because my ideas were better?" I raised an eyebrow and nudged him with my elbow. "Now don't brag..." He laughed. "It'll all work out..I hope." He looked to me. "For a while we can just talk at school. My brother seems to be taking everything far too seriously since Father left the punishments to him. I must say they are not undeserved. But he is really overdoing it now. It's best I don't do anything about it."

That all seems settled..but what about his move? Maybe I could wait for a miracle. Or maybe..I should just enjoy the rest of the time with him and keep my mouth shut. I don't want to add to the pressure. He has enough to do with the family now.

"(Name), about college..I'll be back." I stood up from the windowsill and turned to him. It was as if he had read my mind. "I'll find a way."

"Yeah..I'll wait for you then." Come on, change the subject!

"Say, what was that monkey business last time?" Xingqiu looked at me confused. Apparently because I changed the subject or...because he really has no idea what he's been up to. I told him the whole thing about the phone calls. He tried not to laugh out loud.

"Honestly..that Chongyun! I assure you, that was not my intention. I said exactly what you told me to say!"

"Listen, he thought you jumped off your chair! Watch your choice of words." Xingqiu covered his mouth and signalled with one hand that I should stop now. He's really trying to hold back.

I sighed and pulled him out of the library and waited for him to get back into it. That took quite a while. "Hey, I yelled at the headmaster. That's not funny!"

"Sorry..." His grin didn't disappear, though. "Alright then, you won't be needing this." I took a biscuit bag from my pocket and turned away. "What's this?"

"Because we all see each other less and less, I wanted to give a gift. As a token of friendship..."

Xingqiu cleared his throat and smiled sweetly at me. "My love, would you forgive me?"

I accepted the apology and handed him the biscuits. "How sweet..." He looked closely at the decorations. Embarrassed, I looked to the side. "I'm sure they won't taste good though..."

"Nonsense. I'm sure they will. Did everyone get one?" He asked me. I counted off with my fingers for a moment.

"Chongyun didn‘t ..but he hardly shows himself lately." I looked at Xingqiu.

"(Name), just don't worry. Nothing happened between us. He just seems really busy. Besides..his schedule is the dullest." He patted me on the shoulder. "Maybe you'll see him today? In between classes. Or maybe me?"

I wondered if Xingqiu was up to something. He almost always does, actually.

Sitting in the classroom, I did feel more relieved after sorting some things out today. But still, some things just didn't feel right. I tried to concentrate on the lesson anyway. There were more and more numbers. After all, there were many tests coming up soon. But I really didn't need this ordeal. At times like this, you just wish you were a super genius. Take a quick look and bang, everything has been grasped immediately. Or at least a photographic memory. But now I should stop with the short pause for thought..crap. You don't pay attention for a moment and the board is half full. But fortunately the writing is still very easy to understand. At some point it won't be like that after you really get into the subject. I can swear that to many.

We needed poetry books to prepare for the next lesson. I used the rest of the break to go to the storeroom. I can take a book from there since my self-bought book disappeared today. This is very annoying. I don't want to say that we have a thief. But it's unacceptable that a book disappears as if by magic!

Hu Tao said that she would keep an eye out for a thief, which comforted me a little. But it would be great not to have to spend my break running back and forth. The rooms are really far apart now!

When I went into the storage room, I was surprised for a moment. Xingqiu was also here, looking at the bookcase. Now it occurred to me.

As class representative, he voluntarily took the responsibility of looking after class materials. Apparently, many students needed something.

Probably counting the materials? Or whatever. As I entered the slightly darkened room, he turned to me. "Here too?" I looked around for a moment. "My poetry book disappeared today. Just like that!"

"Oh, really? How stupid." Somehow I had a funny feeling. He didn't seem surprised to see me at that moment.

Xingqiu now bent down and continued counting. My gaze turned to his buttocks.

It was a reflex.

I think.

I decided to be playful for a moment and approached. I just couldn't help but give him a cute pat on the butt. Xingqiu jerked up and stared at me. His cheeks turned slightly pink.

"(N-name)...! Just you wait." Giggling, I tried to escape him, but he was faster and caught me from behind. "You won't escape me!" I squealed laughing as he tickled me.

"Okay, okay!!! I'm sorry!" I almost couldn't get a word out with laughter. The next moment, however, I was truly speechless when I caught sight of MY poetry book on the front table. It had my name on it.

"Already discovered it, huh? Wasn't hard to reach into your bag for a second..you need to pay better attention~"

Oh my god. So that was him!

"Xingqiu..don't tell me you planned all this?" That boy! He laughed softly once. "I told you that I will spend as much time as I can with you now. Didn't I?" He pulled me to him once so that my back pressed his front body closer.

"X-Xingqiu?"

He placed a finger over my lips. "If you are loud, then you will be heard." That gesture alone made me feel weak somehow. I didn't even know what he was up to. Most of all, it would be embarrassing if we were discovered like this. Someone could just barge in!

"So tell me...where are you ticklish, (Name)?" He spoke softly, but..differently than usual. No.. Xingqiu is just very different from usual. He made me feel totally weird.

Feeling his warm breathing close to my ear didn't make it better. Fingertips brushed from my shoulders to my elbows. "Here?"

I shook my head. "I'm just not that ticklish..." He laughed once, amused. "Oh, really? And what's here with?"

His hands moved to my sides and slightly higher, then to the front-

Out of embarrassment and excitement, I giggled. "Stop it already! Not there!~"

"Nope there! Where else are you ticklish? Like, here...?" Laughing, I tried to free myself from his grip. And also not trying to let out awkward sounds. "Class is about to start- oh. UHM. Xingqiu." Judging by my reaction, Xingqiu stopped and followed my gaze towards the door.

We had a bystander.

It was Chongyun. HIM, of all people.

He kept a poker face (but was all red in the face) and quietly took a book from the shelf. Our heads turned in accordance with his movement to the shelf and then back to the door.

"I- uh...won't bother you guys..eh, have fun.." He squeaked.

At first we heard slow footsteps. Then they got faster and louder. Xingqiu let go of me completely and wagged his hand in front of my face. "(Name)..."

I remained rigidly glued to the floor, having to process everything. Xingqiu waved it in front of my face again, grinning. Then he held my poetry book out to me. "Here."

"Thank you. Please hit me with it."

Masterlist

Part 8

[babychoko]

🎀𝔽𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤🎀

Part 3

Xingqiu x reader

romance, little angsty, slightly suggestive?

Early 2000‘s Au

Disclaimer: Hey there! Thanks for checking in. I wrote this chapter in the 3rd person. I just wanted to write a little about Xingqiu‘s homelife, hehe. Hopefully it’ll be not as boring as in the 2. chapter!

Early in the morning, Xingqiu is woken up by his house servant Xu. Actually, Xingqiu can wake up by himself. After all, there is an alarm clock for a reason. He could already guess from Xu's look that his room was messy again. The blue-haired man doesn't think his room is that bad. As long as he can still walk around freely and doesn't trip, he doesn't see any problems. But he will certainly get a telling off from his older brother. He's betting on it.

"I picked up the suit from the cleaners for this week. Please make sure it stays clean in the closet...", Xu informed him.

Xingqiu would never think of making the suit dirty on purpose. That information about keeping it clean would not have been necessary.

"Your father wanted you to wear this to breakfast today. If you need anything else, call me.", Xu walked out of the room to give Xingqiu some privacy.

He took a closer look at the clothes.

A pair of shorts, huh?

Before going to the bathroom, he stretched once. He started the day with a shower, he would have more time for a bath in the evening. That would be much more relaxing, too.

Unfortunately, a small mishap happened to him while showering.

He took care of his skin after the shower, brushed and dried his hair and put on his clothes made of the most expensive silk that Xu provided for him. After finishing his routine, he opened his small jewelry box.

Finally, he put on his earring. This one is not to be missed.

Arriving at the breakfast table, Xingqiu saw his mother looking at the vase of flowers. Then she noticed her son.

"Good morning. How are you doing so far?"

I'm tired

"I'm fine, mother." he lied with a smile. Then he noticed the carrots on the table, which were finely chopped. Excuse me? These orange, disgusting stalks.. is he supposed to be eating them already? In the morning.

"Look, honey. I cut you the carrots this time," she smiled.

He is already wondering how to keep his smile. Most of all, he wants to grimace in disgust. He doesn't want to smell the carrots!

"Thanks I will -not- like to eat them!", with a forced smile he took one. Slowly.

He waited for the perfect moment for his mother to look away. When the time came, he could hide the carrots somewhere. In the pocket of his shorts, maybe?

But as he was about to throw the carrot away, his mother looked at him.

"It's a sunny day. It's nice to have breakfast in the garden, don't you think my dear?"

He was so panicked that he didn't notice that he was putting the orange disgusting stick in his mouth, so she wouldn't see that he was planning to throw it away into the bushes.

"Mhm..tastes good, mother..." he could only get out in disgust.

Now his mother looked up at the sky again. He opened his mouth to drop the carrot. It tasted so disgusting and landed on his thighs shortly after. He gagged very quietly as he did so.

Unfortunately, Xingqiu felt an intense glare from the right side.

It was his brother, sitting to his right, looking at him indignantly in confusion with his mouth slightly open, as if he couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

How long had he been sitting there?

Fortunately, his father arrived before his brother could say anything. Now everyone could have breakfast together in the beautiful, large and flowery garden. Since most of them are very busy, they all agreed to get up at least very early in the morning, so that they could all spend the time of the day together a little more. His father always said that being together was the most important thing in the family. Also that they could discuss anything in the morning if anyone had something on their mind.

Very reluctantly, Xingqiu would say what was in his heart. It would only degenerate into a discussion. After all, he can only badly admit that he would like to spend time more on fictional books or less on celebrations for his family's company. So he decided to keep quiet and enjoy the quiet morning with his family.

However, the ordeal with the carrots continued. For the rest of the morning, he felt sick about it. Yet his day started so peacefully....

After everyone had finished eating breakfast, he got up from the table. The servants took over the dishes. Out of respect, Xingqiu wanted to help, but as usual, they didn't want to.

"Young master, we appreciate it. But don't worry about it. After all, that's our job.", he didn't want to disturb their work any longer. His brother glanced at the clothes Xingqiu was wearing today.

"It truly suits you very well. But tell me what is with the band-aid on your knee?",he asked his little brother a little worried.

"Oh, this? I just cut myself while shaving...", Xingqiu admitted a little embarrassed. That was the little mishap in the bathroom. Normally, he was always skillful when he shaved his legs in the morning. Otherwise, he would resort to warm wax.

"Oh, I see," his brother gave with relief, clearing his throat. "Then you'd better watch out, right?"

Xingqiu spent the rest of the morning studying. That usually, and fortunately, doesn't take him long when he's learning new material in class. But it would be better if he learns new topics in advance so that he can stay up to date. And in this way his father will be carefree about him and have nothing to complain about.

At noon, his house servant brought him some tea with light pastries. Xingqiu had finished studying in the meantime and was about to continue reading his book. From the outside, it looked like a normal non-fiction book. But the cover was fake.

In reality, it was a fiction book and not a non-fiction book.

He decided to take a break and leaned back more as he sat. Then took a bite of the pastry and stared into the empty air.

He wondered what his friends were doing at the moment.

Certainly not faking personalities or spitting out carrots while eating breakfast.

Sometimes he wondered if he could keep up this act much longer.

But he knew it couldn't end well at some point. True, his older brother will take over the company, but what is expected of him himself?

To be honest, he doesn't really care about his reputation. He just doesn't want to disappoint his family and the most important thing:

To lose his carefree life.

Xingqiu knows that his brother will make some mistakes and is not a very good strategist. That would have to mean that he himself will have to sort out his brother's mistakes.

And thus he will have to take over most of the company's things. So he will have much less free time.

So he should make the most of the time he has left.

And he has wonderful friends for that.

When he looked at the clock, he realized that it was time to go.

He spends most of his time doing volunteer work. He had it in his heart to help people. Whether it's reading to seniors and children in a library, doing grocery shopping for others who are having a hard time physically in life, or participating in a fundraiser.

Most of all, he would like to help people in the future.

Later at the library, he sorted some books on the shelves. Just recently, the reading for children ended. Normally he prefers to read alone, because from the long speech his throat hurts.

But it was good to put a smile on the face of others. He had planned to read only once. But the visitors loved his book recommendation and the facial expressions and gestures so much that he decided to come more often.

When he left the library, Chongyun was waiting for him. Xingqiu was about to ask him why he was waiting for him until he remembered that he is meeting up with his friends today.

Good thing he didn't jump the gun by talking! For a brief moment, he forgot.

Today they were going to go into the woods and tell stories to each other, since their movie night is going to be cancelled this week. And today is not convenient at Chongyun's.

The guest room is occupied and his TV in his own room was not working. Chongyun accidentally smashed it when he couldn't handle a certain scene on a show.

It would be too noisy at Bennett and Razor's house. The two live at a workshop with other men who are all like family. Plus, their TV is always occupied or it's way too loud there. It's a whole bunch of men living together.

It didn't work at Y/n and Xingqiu today either.

And besides, it doesn't always have to be a movie night! Scary stories in the forest sound the funniest! There is a beautiful river to go with it. What's more, there is a full moon today.

Everyone was in favor of this idea.

Xingqiu thought of some pranks he could do.

But will he? Maybe he'd rather show mercy after all.

On the way, Razor and Bennett joined him. Now he wondered where Y/n was.

Y/n must not be missing at all!

Somehow he would feel lonely.

"I brought everything we could use," Chongyun said, showing his backpack. He was really looking forward to the evening in the forest. Especially because it's a full moon. A special time for a ritual.

Of course, he would not try to perform anything malicious. After all, he wants to drive away evil spirits.

However, everyone just hopes that he took enough cool food with him. Because of his condition, no one wants to end up next in a newspaper, in which it says how they were driven out of the forest by a crazy young man, as well as other passers-by and animals that were nearby.

Everybody guessed what the title could be in capital letters:

"Shrine Boy Probably on Drugs- Forest Fire and Explosion!"

Unfortunately, few people have sympathy for Chongyun's problem even in the smallest accidents.

In the end, Y/n joined in. She didn't notice the time while studying, but she still arrived in time.

Everyone made their way to the forest. There didn't seem to be a soul around today.

In a beautiful place, near a river there was a small campsite. Everyone sat down at sunset and prepared blankets as well as snacks. Since no one wanted to play with fire, Bennett brought a lamp, which glowed like a flame. It flickered and had a nice orange color. It was also safe, so nothing could be set on fire.

Still at the beginning, everyone cackled as they sat across from each other under a blanket.

Somehow it was not yet the right mood for scary stories. So everyone exchanged how the day was today.

Bennett proudly told that he and Razor helped in the workshop today, Chongyun swept the shrine today and went shopping, Y/n mumbled disappointedly about housework and studying. Everyone could tell she wasn't feeling quite well. Her face was also a little pale. But she just shrugged it off.

She said that something warm to drink will help her already. So she got soup from a thermos bottle.

Now all heads turned to Xingqiu. He should be able to tell a lot, therefore his family is well known.

But he decided to answer with a charming smile: "Hm...it's a secret~".

At that, the blanket slipped off his legs a bit. They literally shone and looked supple. For a moment, this sight silenced everyone.

"You have beautiful legs. Like a young girl," it came out in a normal tone from the Razor. He was always direct and seemed to want to speak everyone's mind.

Everyone nodded a few times in agreement.

Xingqiu choked on his apple juice.

"He's right about that..but my legs as a girl don't look nearly as great...", Y/n muttered a little too loudly to herself.

Now everyone looked somewhat curiously at her legs which were covered by the blanket.

"Hey. I'm definitely not going to show my legs...! L-let's stay with Xingqiu!" she stuttered awkwardly. "Why me? And I'm a boy!", now Xingqiu finally got a word in. "Well, my legs aren't that feminine either...", he mumbled.

"Well, my legs are full of scars!", with a laugh, Bennett showed his muscular and slightly tanned legs, covered with a lot of band-aids. He didn't seem to mind them.

"Mine are wolf," Razor replied.

..

Everyone tried to decipher what he could mean by that. Bennett seemed to know.

Chongyun felt compelled to say something too.

"Uh..I think..mine are normal?" he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

Finally, everyone crowned Xingqiu's legs in place number 1.

He didn't really seem amused by this. He wondered how everyone suddenly came up with this conversation! After all, this was supposed to be a place for storytelling, not contests about the most beautiful legs.

But it's not unusual, there were weirder conversations. For example, Bennett once started a midnight conversation at a sleepover when he couldn't fall asleep. "This or that?" was the game called and it was about which was more likely to be eaten by them.

Eating paper or drinking coffee with mustard?

That’s how the game started out innocently.

Then at some point whether eating a dead worm or snail alive.

In the end it got weirder and weirder and so gross that Y/n and Chongyun were almost throwing up and that Razor and Bennett's roommates were literally begging them all to stop talking because they were hearing everything from the other room and almost started crying.

Xingqiu shook his head. Thinking about it now was unappetizing. He put away the gummyworms that were glazed with sugar. He could eat those later.

Or sometime. It was already starting to get dark. "Do you think there's a legend here?" began Bennett, looking around. Everbody shrugged their shoulders.

Xingqiu smiled.

Perfect.

"You don't know it? The rustling of leaves?" caught Xingqiu. "What kind of legend is that?" asked Bennett, confused. "Well, the truth of why the leaves rustle," replied Xingqiu.

"Wind?"

"No, Razor, not because of that. When the leaves rustle, even when there's no wind."

A few confused glances were being exchanged.

"And what else would it be?" asked Y/n with a raised eyebrow, pulling the blanket towards her stomach.

"The shadow people of the forest. They see you. But you don't see them. You can tell they're there by the rustling leaves, which are not moving because of the breeze. And no matter how many times you look around, you'll never catch them. They are too fast.", Xingqiu told calmly, but also slightly serious.

Now everyone became silent.

"And what are they doing...?" asked Razor.

"Watching you. But you'll never know what's coming. No one knows what they look like."

"T..that sounds peaceful, doesn't it?", Chongyun became a little anxious in parts, which was rare. But still, he found it exciting.

"Who knows.", silence fell for a while.

"Kind of creepy...", Bennett muttered.

"Razor knows one too.", everyone's ears perked up. He usually held back on such talk. But if he's ever been scared, no one can remember.

"A lonely person lived in a cave. He liked to paint on walls and throw pebbles..." he began.

"And then?"

"One day he heard someone playing with pebbles. The echo got louder and louder as it got closer," he began to continue.

"And...?"

"He thought it was odd. He was the only existing person in the small world."

No one expected this ending. "Woah, Razor"

"Okay that's enough for today...", Y/N laughed slightly nervously. She really needed to go to the bathroom. But the stories stopped her from going to the public toilets. The others agreed with her. No one else had any more stories in storage. In fact, most of them already knew all of them. "How about a little break? I drank too much Coke," Bennett asked. "And I spilled some." Razor pointed to a huge stain on his sweater. Xingqiu and Chongyun were watching the stuff, so they didn't need to come.

Y/N quietly walked behind Razor and Bennett. Fortunately, Xingqiu didn't come with them. He would just play pranks. The other day he tampered with Bennett's glass so everyone thought it was haunted.

Razor looked over his shoulders at Y/n. "You're scared, aren't you?" he asked worried.

"Don't worry, we are here with you!", Bennett smiled. "But are you really all right?", "Just don't worry. I'm fine, thanks...", murmured Y/n.

Now all three of them arrived at the public restrooms.

"Y/n, if you're done, you can go ahead. Getting the stain out of Razor's top might take time. So you don't have to wait here alone for long. But let us know beforehand so we know!", Oh, Bennett, how nice he is.

The public restroom was near the campground. The streetlight flickered a few times. It was a small building surrounded by a few leaves and grass. It didn't look so creepy and abandoned in broad daylight. Y/N was rather unlucky. The light didn't come on for her. She held her cosmetic bag tighter to her and took one deep breath. Shadow people of the forest don't exist... Xingqiu must have just made that up. She used her flashlight and tried to finish as quickly as possible.

After washing her hands, she tried not to look in the mirror and quickly went out. The sky was getting from pink/orange to a darker purple and then almost dark blue. Only the moon was shining. Razor and Bennett still didn't come out. Certainly they're trying to get the stain out now so it'll come out of the washing machine easily. It was his favorite sweater, after all. Y/n put her arms around herself. It was already getting chilly. She should have put on something warmer instead. "I think I'm going to go now. I'm cold!", she called outside the door from the washroom.

"All right! See you later!"

Y/n walked with long strides to the campsite. Her heart was beating faster and faster.

Shadow people don't exist. She thought to herself.

Shadow people don't exist-

"Y/n-"

"AH! GO AWA- oh, yunyun. It's just you. I'm sorry.", "No, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to check on you guys.", now he felt bad.

"It's all good... Razor and Bennett are still trying to get the stain out of the sweater“, she replied. When Y/n went back to the campsite, she and Xingqiu were now alone. He just smiled at her. Was he up to something? Never mind. She didn't have the nerve for pranks for now.

Y/n sat down and sighed. She pulled the blanket towards her a little.

Xingqiu looked a little worried.

Then he pulled out another blanket from a bag.

"Why don't you sit with me?" he said quietly. Y/n hesitated a little, but afterwards she joined him without any further words.

He put his warm blanket around her shoulders so that they both shared the blanket.

"Here, take this.“, in his hand was a small pocket warmer. Y/n looked at the pocket warmer, then up at him a little.

"Are you sure?"

"I don't need it. It's also good against pain." he said softly.

Y/n accepted it gratefully and placed it on her stomach.

For a while, neither of them said anything.

..

"Do these shadow people really exist, Xingqiu?"

He laughed softly. Somehow, he found this sudden question cute. So did Y/n really get scared?

"Who knows. I think rather not?" he replied, amused. "And besides, I'm here, with you after all...", he closed his eyes and put an arm around her. As he did so, he leaned against her a bit.

Y/n found Xingqiu very warm. She did likewise and snuggled up to him. He always smelled so great, too. She wondered what kind of shampoo he was always using.

Otherwise, they both didn't talk to each other. They didn't know what to say. What anyway?

Sometimes it would be better to just enjoy a moment together and say nothing.

They still had time before the other boys came so they all could go home before it‘s getting too late.

Part

1

2

3 you are here

4

[babychoko]

🎀 𝔽𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤 🎀

Part 1

Xingqiu x reader

romance, little angsty, slightly suggestive?

Early 2000‘s Au

Disclaimer:

I‘m actually surprised that some of you were excited about this story before it came out. It really means a lot to me. I hope I don‘t disappoint you all. Also, English isn‘t my native language. I apologize for mistakes. By the way I‘m pretty new here- I‘m still trying to figure out how to use it, haha.

Enjoy!

How odd.

Xingqiu usually stays here, doesn't he?

Confused, I strolled through the library, holding my hands behind my back. As I walked, I inspected some non-fiction books that most students here definitely won't understand.

My eyes wandered to the right and left shelves.

I decided to judge some books by their cover.

Boring...

Boring...

Hey this book looks interesting-

Oh this is the math section now. Boring.

I contorted my face until I felt a heaviness on my shoulders. Someone grabbed me by my shoulders and pulled me back slightly.

I immediately shuddered.

"Hey, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover..." said a voice softly at my ear.

With goosebumps, I turned around.

"Xingqiu-! Don't sneak around me like that!", I shrieked.

With an amused smile, he held an index finger in front of his rosy lips and put his head a little askew in which his earring dangled a little.

"You have to be quiet in a library, don't you?", he whispered.

I- this..he! Ugh!

I turned to the side and lifted my nose in offense because I can't really disagree with him. Partly, he's right. But it is not like the whole building would blow up as soon as you raise your voice!

"Speaking of not judging by appearances...", I muttered, glancing at the boy across from me.

With an innocent smile, he stood in front of me after taking his index finger from his lips.

Keeping his mouth shut near me, you wouldn't be able to tell how he normally acted.

He seemed to have realized what I was indicating.

"Now don't be like that. This is a secret between you and me, isn't it?".

He emphasized the you extra, making me feel a little funny in my heart.

I'm pretty sure he does that on purpose.

I just shook off the situation and gave him a bag of sour gummy worms.

His eyes lit up.

"You brought them to me!", delighted, he took the little bag from me.

The thing is, his father doesn't really like eating sweets that weren't made by his cook. He eats them very rarely.

In his house, it's more common to eat the homemade traditional pastries.

And not those little plastic bags with gummies in it from the gas station. You can't get those sour worms anywhere else.

This may sound strange, but I could list about a hundred more things that Xingqiu does rather secretly.

His father is not a complete meanie, as he still gives him a lot of freedom.

-As long as Xingqiu doesn't dishonor anyone.

Alright, his father can be a partypooper but every once in a while, his father turns a blind eye, thankfully.

"If I have to watch you push down mooncakes filled with carrots down your throat while suffering eating them all the time, I actually feel sorry for you.", I said, amused.

He hates carrots more than anything.

But so far he hasn't even told his mother how much he really curses carrots, after she raved about how she used to mash his carrots to a pulp and how he ate them up nicely as a toddler. It brought back memories in her and she felt young again.

He couldn't tell her.

Somehow I thought that was quite sweet of him.

"What am I going to do without a good friend like you?", he laughed lightly and walked out of the library with me.

Nibbling on your carrots when others are watching, I said. Mentally.

We waved to Lisa, our librarian, before closing the door behind us.

I noticed a book peeking out of Xingqiu's school bag.

"Didn't you have a different book this morning?", puzzled, I looked to him.

"Oh, that one was for Chongyun. It was a book with paranormal content. You know him.", satisfied, he took a gummy worm and offered me some.

"Oh.", that's nice of him! Lately, though, he's been helping Chongyun more than usual, I thought to myself.

Chongyun wants to be an international exorcist in the future, and if he can't, he'll be one at his family's shrine. He is totally into paranormal things and horror movies. However, he has never seen a ghost.

But once, something happened during our movie night.

A few nights before, in a quiet moment, he swore that he saw Bennett's glass of orange juice move to the right by itself- right before Bennett wanted to take a sip out of it.

This happened during the middle of a horror movie which didn't help to make the situation better.

The poor green-eyed boy shrieked, let the glass full of orange juice land on me and woke up his best buddy Razor, who had been tired all day. Right at that moment, a jumpscare in the movie surprised us. Razor jumped up from the sofa and bumped into Bennett's back.

This only made Bennett panic even more, because he thought that he was being attacked by a ghost, it was dark he didn't know that it was actually just our peaceful friend Razor

Along the way, Chongyun grabbed the fallen glass that landed on my lap and tried to exorcise it. Xingqiu was laughing himself silly on the floor while hugging a pillow against his chest.

To describe it briefly: It was pure chaos as everything happened at the same time and because of that, we woke up Chongyun's parents.

We got a good telling off for being too loud and also because his parents weren‘t amused by the sight of their son yelling while sealing a glass half-full of orange juice with charms while his friends were screaming.

Well guess what?

Around Bennett's glass.. there was actually a thin thread wrapped around, which was controlled secretly by Xingqiu.

Xingqiu only confessed this to me in the early morning when I didn't dare to go to the bathroom alone and Chongyun had to accompany me to protect me from ghosts.

I thought it was funny that Xingqiu was a little too relaxed. He must have realized that I suspected him and that's why he confessed only to me.

Honestly..we all but Xingqiu accompanied each other to the bathroom and kept an good eye of the bathroom door because no one wanted to be alone since the 'ghostglass'

What made Xingqiu’s plan successful?

1. Chongyun saw Bennett's glass move.

2. Next door is his family shrine and there is a cemetery one street further.

3. Chongyun never lies to us.

Yup. That made Xingqiu’s little ghost prank very believable.

Since then, the light blue-haired boy has been handing out charms of protection to us, which we will never throw them away.

And how much I want to tell off Xingqiu to everyone..I still can't. After all, he was only doing it for his best friend, he said, because his dear friend was starting to lose motivation for exorcism.

I also didn‘t want to ruin his motivation as well, whereas he has been burning for it since that night, right?

I've been in a quandary ever since.

"Speaking of it, our movie night is cancelled this week, right?", it occurred to me now.

"Yeah, there's a party going on, after all. I really want to go there!", Xingqiu's eyes beamed. He's tired of being at any celebration of family affairs all the time. He wants to celebrate with his peers.

"How pleased you are", I grinned, which made him look embarrassed. He cleared his throat.

"Well, it would be rude to refuse, wouldn't it?", he smiled.

"On top of that-" he held my hand, "I’ve never been to a party with you. Let's go together, shall we?"

Huh...

I felt my cheeks heat up. My heart was pounding.

Embarrassed, I nodded. He didn't seem to think anything of it, which is what gets triggered in me as soon as he acts exactly like this.

Just holding my hand..that smile..that calm voice.

Is that what friends do?

Maybe I just don't have enough contact to people.

We said goodbye at an intersection and headed home. I don't live near him. He lives in a somewhat..how shall I say.

High society area? Rich-folk-neighrbourhood?..ehh..

What do you actually call something like that?

Oh, never mind!

I don't speak rich.

Until the evening I sat down to do my homework and at some point I was dreaming when I looked out of the window.

At that moment I got a phone call. It's clear from whom.

"Am I interrupting?", I heard the familiar voice.

I got up from my chair and flopped down on my bed.

"Not really.", I giggled and looked up at the ceiling.

"What are you up to?", I added.

"Talking to you on the phone.", Xingqiu laughed.

I guess someone doesn't want to tell me what they‘re doing right now. Reading, for sure.

"Ahaa... did you miss me?", I joked.

"Maybe I just wanted to hear your voice", he whispered.

I widened my eyes. My heart was beating faster.

Hey, heart. Stop that pounding.

Ehh... ahhg- I mean please slow down your beating, for God's sake! Don't stop.

After all, I still want to live. And listen to his voice.

I tried to act cool. Ok, be cool. Don't let him tease you, (y/n)!

"Aw... is someone stressed out? Do you miss me?", I giggled.

"You could say that. After all, best friends cheer each other up."

We talked on the phone for about half an hour until we had to hang up. We got into some mighty trouble once over a large bill.

Well, actually I was the only one who got in trouble.

Part:

1 you are here

2

3

[babychoko]

🌺 𝔸 𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥 🌺

Part 3

"Are you sure, you don't need anything?"

"No, Mom. I'm fine. I've got everything I need so far," I gave as a reply as she was wrapping up some homemade apple pie "Then please take some with you," she handed me a lunch box with the apple pie pieces.

"I'm sure you made some friends at your university, right? Share the pie with them!".

Friends? Well, more like one good friend. But that was quite enough for me. I nodded.

"You could say that," I said, scratching my head. My mother looked at me in confusion at first. "You can say that? What do you mean by that? Are you still in touch with your friends from high school?", all those questions again....

"Not really. We write less and less. But I met someone at university. We get along really well and that's enough for me."

Now she looked like she realized something. "Someone? A boy?"

"Eh, yeah-" don't tell me she thinks I have a-

"Like...a boyfriend?", my mom looked at me like she couldn't believe something. "I mean yeah, I didn't allow you to have a relationship until college, but for YOU to actually do this-"

"Look, I mean a normal buddy!" this time I interrupted her. My cheeks were heating up because I was a little embarrassed. The reason she reacted like that is because I've always had very little contact with boys.

"Oh, I see! Why didn't you say so?", somehow she looked disappointed. That surprised me. Normally, I was always told not to believe a boy when he thinks I'm pretty. But I knew she used to tell me that because she was worried. However, at that time I was what? 15? 16? Fortunately for her, I was not interested in relationships. And now I still don't have a complete idea if I could ever have one.

"Is he nice?"

"Yes, very nice."

"Did he ever stay at your place?"

Well, he's bathed at my place a lot, eats with me, does grocery shopping with me, throws snacks in the cart when I'm not paying attention, falls asleep on me while watching TV, helps me with homework sometimes, tells lots of stories....

I counted up in my head. Sometimes it was like he was living with me. And as if he had been living with me forever. But she would surely find that questionable if I said that. I was getting used to his behavior by now.

"Yes, often."

..Is this going to be an interview now?

"That's great! Glad you have someone.", that's all she seemed to have to say, which again makes me wonder. I suppose she's loosened up a bit compared to before.

Finally, I took over washing dishes before I took the train home again. My mother looked at me with a calm smile the whole time. I was glad to be able to see her again.

When I got back to the university, I learned that we were going to have a special guest. He is supposed to be very omniscient and will accompany us for the next classes. My professor said that we can learn a lot from this person. I heard from some people that they have already seen him once.

He even visited other universities and that often. Many even found him mysterious.

That made me curious about the next hours. Finally something new. We were allowed to prepare some questions for his visit.

"Venti, we are supposed to have a guest soon. I haven't remembered his name..but he's supposed to be omniscient. Have you ever seen him?", I asked him. His next class starts a little earlier than mine.

"Hmm...maybe I know him?" he gave with a smile. "You do?", I was surprised.

"You'll see!"

He got up from the bench and grabbed his backpack. I could see something hopeful on his face. Then he looked at me. "I think you'll like his class..."

"If you say that, then I'll believe you," I replied, packing up my laptop. I don't know if I'm imagining it, but today he looked very pale and a little tired. Maybe he has a lot to do?

In the evening after work, I reviewed today's class material. I didn't understand some of it, so I had to sit on it. It was my fault because I was a little distracted in my mind. If this keeps up, my grades will go down the drain because I won't keep up. I just can't stress myself out.

Sighing, I stroked a few strands back. As I did so, I noticed that my hair had grown significantly. I took a look in my small round mirror, which stood on my desk. Slowly I stroked the strand of hair down between my fingers.

Do I need a new haircut? Ah- I need to keep studying! No distractions! Then it struck me that I still had to think about some questions.

A few days later, the time had come. I really couldn't think of any questions. Those days flew by. So I decided that I could get some inspiration from other questions. Today's guest came in our hall. He was tall, has a long brown ponytail, an earring, and an intense golden eye color. His suit even looked expensive. I heard some whispering about how handsome he looked or that he had a certain aura around him.

The young man introduced himself to us.

"I greet you all. It is my pleasure to be here. Some may know me. My name is Zhongli. I teach people philosophy, history as well as business. I hope we can learn a lot from each other," he began. Then he walked a little to the right side, his arms were slightly behind his back. Somehow his posture seemed elegant and his voice sounded soft, with a hint of something serious. In summary, there was a complete silence in the hall as a result. Zhongli told us about his other visits not only to universities, but also to middle and high schools.

It was more like getting to know each other in the beginning. I liked that. He didn't just jump into the topic. He actually wanted to get to know us. When some came forward, he wanted to know what we hoped to get out of this program, what our other goals were, and so on.

Unfortunately, I got discouraged. I didn't know what to say when he asked me what I hoped to get out of it. I can only badly say in front of everyone that I have no real dreams, but just go through and wait that I end up in a well-paid company, because my hobbies in which I am not gifted are as a major breadless.

So I kept quiet and listened.

"...So I want to let you know that I also have an ear open if you need advice. In life, it's important to maintain your mentality..." he began to continue. At that moment our eyes met. He was silent for a brief moment. A few glances landed on me. I had almost worried that Zhongli had read my mind. Or could it be that I was holding my pen funny?

Zhongli cleared his throat briefly. "Excuse me. So what I wanted to say..."

He continued the lesson, answering many questions accurately. He left none unanswered. Especially in the topic of business as well as contracts, we noted important points he mentioned. For him, it seemed important to follow contracts to the letter. Literally as it is written. No interpretation.

In the end, some talked to him even when the lesson was over. I quietly packed up my things. Only my laptop wouldn't shut down. It was getting emptier and emptier in the hall. Only I sat there stupidly and waited for my laptop to shut down. Do I need a new one? Please don't! Please, go out now!!!

In the end, Zhongli looked at me. But he didn't say anything. He just looked at me calmly. Before, he looked slightly surprised in the middle of the lesson. Then he spoke:

"I suppose you have questions you couldn't ask before?"

When my laptop finally went off, I was reassured and put it away. Then I turned to him. "Oh, no..it's just..my laptop wouldn't go out...", I stammered nervously. His voice sounded calm, but it triggered something in me. Not fear, though? Or was I a little scared because I didn't want to say anything stupid?

"I understand..but if there is anything, you can always come to me."

"T-Thank you very much."

"Y/n!~ I've come to pick you up. Oh- Hey Zho!"

Immediately, I turned up to the stairs. So Venti knows him personally! Otherwise he wouldn't give him such a nickname....

Zhongli sighed once, as if he had to put up with Venti for a long time. So yeah, they know each other apparently.

"So you're really here..and I think I know why." he said, looking at Venti, who sidled up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders with glee. Then he looked to me.

"To complete a degree in music, of course!" replied Venti indignantly, as if that were totally obvious. What else was he supposed to be doing here?

Zhongli looked like he was about to say something else, but he calmly packed his bag. I excused myself briefly when my phone rang and walked out of the hall. But it turned out that my mother just made a mistake. She was calling me by mistake. My goodness... so I went back to the hall to pick up Venti.

Unbeknownst to them, I saw them both looking calmly at each other. But Venti's smile somehow didn't look friendly. More like sad. "Don't get the wrong idea. It won't do you any good," I heard Zhongli say. It didn't sound threatening, but the relaxed mood from What does he mean by that? I decided to show myself attentively. So I entered the hall.

After all, to interfere and eavesdrop is not proper, as much as I would like to know what happened between them. Venti looked normal again, as if nothing had just happened, and delightedly took my hand. "Well, see you sometime, Zho!~" then Venti led me outside. I wanted to ask if I missed anything, but I decided not to say anything for now.

When I arrived at my apartment, Venti accompanied me. Today he was quieter than usual. I wanted to lighten the mood. "I still have apple pie from my mom...a little old, but it's still edible," I began.

His eyes sparkled. Well who said it? It wasn't hard to please him. "Sit down, okay?"

I put a piece of each on a plate and added a fork. I was going to serve us hot chocolate with it. I noticed how chilly it was and closed the kitchen window. "It's getting colder and colder, isn't it?"

"I don't mind it. I like the wind!", Venti smiled and took a bite of the cake. I agreed with him. It already felt refreshing.

I got out two cups from the cupboard. Not wanting to tease him, I took the cup with a cat printed on it and gave him a plain one. While cooking, I felt his gaze. So I asked what he was thinking about. "Is there something..?", I asked.

"It's just that..when I look at you...", he mumbled intently. Embarrassed, I accidentally poured the chocolate powder on the table instead of in the cup. I wiped the mess away. "Uh, y-yes...?"

"Then I notice how much I like you!" he finished. Grumbling, I packed away the rag, which was smeared with chocolate powder. "Don't say that...", I mumbled.

"But it's true...!" he protested, pouting. "Y/n, you're so nice to me.", I heard him say softly.

Not knowing how to respond, I remained silent. All I know is that you could hear my heart pounding so hard. "Gee..don't say that...", I got out quietly for the second time

He sighed, but then had to laugh slightly. "You really haven't changed at all.", "Oh, really?", I asked. Again I felt his gaze glued to me. I must look tired. The night I could not sleep well. Besides, I was wearing only a very long skirt and a sweater. Not very creative. So what else was there to see on me?

I handed him the chocolate and stroked his cheek once with concern. He had slight circles under his eyes and he was still pale. But he only denied everything.

The next few days, I listened to Zhongli's lectures. His theories were really interesting. He really seemed to have a lot of experience with people. I could learn a lot from him when it came to things like business. His teaching methods were refreshing. On top of that, he never directly denied what we were saying. He rather changed the wording and gave us suggestions.

Satisfied, I looked at my notes. I should be well prepared for the test. At the end of the lecture, he wanted to talk to me.

"What are your goals, if I may ask?" he wanted to know. Unprepared, I looked nervous.

This was unexpected.

"I..."

Then I answered after a short pause. "I don't know.", "You don't know?".

I nodded. "All I know is that I'm just trying my best."

By the look on his face, he seemed to have understood immediately what I meant. "Sometimes you don't find your way right away, but after a certain amount of time," he said quietly. "It comes on its own one day," I looked at him dumbly, but then nodded with a smile.

"That's what a friend keeps telling me, too."

"Venti, isn't it?" he asked. That was right. "Yes..if you don't mind me asking, are you and Venti good friends?"

"Let's put it this way, we've known each other personally...for a very long time," he corrected me. I speculated if there was a love-hate relationship between the two. You could never tell if the two got along or not according to my observations. I saw the two of them talking to each other in the courtyard sometimes. But it didn't look friendly between them.

"Mister Zhongli, I found your folder," I heard a slightly raspy voice. A young man, slightly below average height with dark green hair and a few strands of turquoise entered the hall. "Thank you very much. I couldn't find that one. Sorry for the wait, I just wanted to talk to one of the students."

Then the young man with the turquoise streaks looked at me. He eyed me briefly, then looked silently at Zhongli again, as if I wasn't standing next to him.

Is that his assistant?

I looked at my phone. The only message I got from Venti was 2 days ago, he was missing before that. Otherwise, there were no new replies.

"I'm fine. Don't worry.", was the message. Nothing more.

He must be very ill. But the fact that he can't answer me anymore must mean something. I am very worried about him. Is he having stress with his family? Or problems again? I don't usually know him like this. He was always full of energy and joy..

That‘s when I‘ve decided something.

I have to see him again.

Part

1

2

3 you are here

4

[babychoko]

🌺𝔸 𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥🌺

Disclaimer: Thanks for checking in. I‘m not pretty sure about this story since I haven‘t written fanfictions a long time ago. I hope I get back into writing. Also english isn‘t my first language. If there are any mistakes, my apologies dear reader.

The reader is a female.

Please do not repost my story.

When I graduated from high school, I never felt like I really knew what I wanted to become one day.

I thought that as soon as I graduated from high school, a big burden would fall off my shoulders.

I will pick something and study it.

Then it should all be over.

That's how it should have been.

But for now, I've decided to grit my teeth and just keep going.

As if that wasn't enough, I even lost contact with my friends. I didn't think it was true that you have less contact with them after graduation. After all, there is the internet for keeping contact.

However, most were rather busy with their partners or lived too far away. We chat less and less.

I should not worry about it. Because I should have expected it.

I had no choice but to just keep going. I will study, find a job and then work.

I wonder if I'll get married and have children...? That would be funny. I used to strongly dislike that.

My family laughed and said the people who reject it very strongly will get married and have children first than the people who plan it in advance. The unexpected will happen.

Well, I'm still not really convinced of that.

During the time before university, I spent my time working part-time jobs or reading.

And now I'm sitting in a lecture.

My attitude of just accepting everything hasn't changed yet.

I‘ll just keep going.

Homework that takes a lot of time?

I will do them.

Essays?

I'll get right on it.

Work while studying?

How else will I be able to pay for some things?

Whether my grades are excellent?

Not really. But as long as they remain decent....

Less free time?

Well, life is not a luxury.

After the lecture, I still had some time until the next class.

I chose a quiet place and started working on my homework.

I was really tired.

After some time I heard it again.

A soft voice.

Oh, didn't I mention that?

Lately I've been hearing a soft voice.

This voice sings, hums and rhymes beautifully.

Every time I hear it, I feel like I am charged with energy.

Every time I’m working on my essays while being sad: this voice cheers me up.

This is the reason why I work in the garden of my University most of the time.

To hear that voice.

And maybe the person doesn't know it, but I admire them.

Wonder if I've seen that person one day?

Sure I did.

He was anonymous to me until one day it started raining. The place where I study has fortunately a roof. So I did not get wet.

I only heard the splashing of the rain and then some footsteps, no longer his singing.

I felt a presence and then I lifted my head forward.

It was a boy with braids, a little shorter than average. He had beautiful long eyelashes, clear skin and was slim.

He was half wet from the rain, yet he looked at me with a calm smile.

"May I join you?" he asked gently.

Somehow I couldn't get a word out then.

My pupils dilated slightly as well as my lips.

The pounding of my heart intensified.

So that's what he looked like...?

I just managed to nod and pushed my notebooks towards me a bit so they didn't take up all the space off the table.

"Thank you."

He sat down-

Not across from me.

He sat down next to me and leaned back, sighing. Then he brushed his slighty wet hair back.

I blinked several times.

He's so close to me.

"I'd prefer wind alone..my instrument is getting wet from the rain..." he mumbled.

Then his lips formed into a smile, he looked at me.

"What did you think of my little singing so far? You've been eavesdropping on me until now, haven't you?~".

"Huh? Well..." was all I could get out.

He knew I was listening to him? The whole time so far?

"Everytime..I see you, there is a monotone look on your face..so I figured I'd play some songs of mine for you. Right behind that tree up ahead!"

"You did that..just for me?", I asked quietly.

He nodded, as if it was pretty normal. Then he looked at my notebook. For a while, it was quiet between us.

I don't know why, but he didn't seem like a stranger to me.

"My, you sure are busy. I see you working on your homework all the time. Do you like your classes that much?", he asked quietly.

I just looked at my notebook. No words came out.

If I like my classes?

It was like everything was broken.

The bubble I built for myself of not worrying about whether it was my passion.

The thoughts and fatigue I always pushed aside until now.

"Oh?" his eyes widened a little as my eyes got a little wet.

I'm not really going to start crying in front of someone I've only just met, am I?

"It's okay. You've always done your best until now, right? I've admired you for that for a very long time," he said with a smile.

For a very long time?

I couldn't get any sentences out and was still looking at my notebook with teary eyes. Then I nodded.

"Please, get some rest“, he said calmly, but a little worried.

Tears rolled down my face as I closed my eyes. I was somehow getting more and more tired as I felt a cool breeze from the wind. It was pleasant as the gentle breeze swept across my cheeks and eyelashes.

He slowly lifted one arm and put it around me. Carefully, he let my head rest against his shoulder.

It was somehow..soothing. Like this wind was blowing away all my worries that I had been trying to banish until now.

After that, I don‘t remember what happened.

I only remember that we said our goodbyes just before my next lecture and that I was relaxed going to class.

His name was Venti.

It was a strange way to get to know someone. But what I knew was, that it didn‘t feel wrong. Since then he became a very close friend.

Venti stopped playing on his Lyre and yawned. „I‘m beat.“

„From sitting in front of this tree?“, I said as I raised an eyebrow. „And what about your class? You‘ll miss it.“

„Ehe“.

Nice answer.

Oh, that big change of attitude? I seriously..don‘t know.

The first time I met him he seemed very different from now. He was somewhat more mature. As if he was a totally different person.

I just don‘t get this boy sometimes.

„Hey (Name)! How about a nap? It‘s pretty sunny! The perfect weather for a-“

„Venti go to your class.“

Part

1 you are here.

2

[babychoko]

🌺𝔸 𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥🌺

Part 4

"Are you okay?"

My throat was so hoarse that I almost couldn't talk. I must have looked very stressed at that moment, or I wouldn't be asked that question.

"Mister Zhongli... I haven't been able to reach Venti for days..w-what if something happened to him?", I asked worriedly.

"He hasn't shown up in days?" he asked, exchanging a quick glance with the short man next to him.

"I don't want to exaggerate, but I have a funny gut feeling. I want to go see him...but I still don't know where he lives."

"I understand. Then I'll drive you to him," Zhongli suggested. I didn't expect that answer. But since I didn't know how else to go to Venti at the moment, I accepted the offer. After all, they both know each other.

It was strange to sit in the car next to a man you've only known for a short while. Especially when that certain man was teaching you. Not knowing what I could say during the car ride, I preferred to remain silent.

And most importantly, the other young man made me nervous. I learned on the way to the car that his name was Xiao. Instead of sitting in front, the passenger seat, he sat behind us. And I think I know why, too.

Whenever I looked at the rearview mirror, I saw him with a slightly scowl, which makes me nervous.

Did I do something wrong? Because I have a feeling that this facial expression was directed at ME.

Help.

Zhongli must have noticed that I was nervous. I bobbed my legs slightly and tightened up a lot, which must be why he started small talk.

"You and Venti...do you get along very well?" he started.

I'm sure he meant to ask something else.

"Yes, very well actually."

"How come you never visited him?"

Good question, Mister Zhongli..even though we've known each other for many months.

"Somehow, it never occurred to me. It looked like he would rather spend time at my place. So I never asked him directly.", I answered the question. It was starting to get dark in the car, which had to mean we were in a tunnel. I wonder how far Venti lives? Then how does he even get to the university? Does he also drive a car? That's kind of hard for me to imagine then.

I looked at the rearview mirror again. Xiao is still scowling at me. Could it be that he has trust issues...?

It was getting light again in the car by now because we drove out of the tunnel. Today was cloudy anyway.

"How did you two meet?", I asked this time. Zhongli didn't think twice. He seemed older than Venti. So they had to know each other somewhere else.

"I often saw him at the library. Before that, he attended other universities where I taught and he doesn't make himself very inattentive at times..let's put it this way, we share some interests when it comes to history."

I looked at the window in mild surprise. So this isn't the first university Venti has been in? I assumed he used to change universities a lot. I couldn't imagine that he must have studied for so many years and had many titles. He can't be much older than me, as young as he looks. After all, he is still in his young twenties.

I noticed more and more how very little I know about him. Well, he does tell me a lot about himself, just nothing about his family or past. His answers were always brief when I asked personal questions about him. Eventually, I let it go. He doesn't have to tell me everything.

"How come you trust him blindly?" came a voice from behind. This time, Xiao spoke up. "You take everything way too lightly.", his answer was very direct. I agreed with him.

"It may be strange, but I have a feeling that I can trust him. He's always there for me when I've felt lost. His company alone is enough for me for now. And when he feels ready, he'll want to open up one day...", I said quietly. "He must have been through a lot, so I respect that for now. It's not easy, after all."

There was silence in the car for a moment. Xiao wasn't scowling at me by now. But he looked rather slightly surprised. Then he leaned back again. "Oh, I see..." he mumbled.

"Y/n, you're nice as always," Zhongli said quietly. Before I could even ask what he meant by 'always', he stopped the car.

"We are here. See the little apartment with the 2 floors? That's where he lives."

Not knowing what to say, I looked to the said direction. Silently, I picked up my bag and then quietly thanked him as I freed myself from my seatbelt.

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Zhongli.

"I'm fine..thanks for everything," I mumbled and slowly got out of the car.

Before that, he gave me his and Xiao's phone number. I should call at any time in case of trouble. The wind was blowing stronger and stronger and I saw the clouds gathering more and more. I still waved after the two as they drove away.

Slowly, but also nervously, I entered the door closer and closer. Not knowing what might be coming, I took a deep breath and dared to press the bell marked "Himmel". That was his last name.

For a few seconds, nothing was heard, as one normally knows with footsteps. Concerned, I pressed a second time.

After that I heard deep and slow footsteps followed by a few things that seemed to have fallen over. Fortunately, it didn't sound like glass. And finally, I heard the lock open and the door handle lowering down. Our eyes met. Venti, who looked very pale and weak, looked at me in surprise. I finally came out of worry and panic without warning. I still couldn't breathe calmly and was slightly out of breath with feeling nervous. It all passed quickly.

Before he could say a word, he fell weakly to his knees. I bent down to him and held him by the shoulders. He felt very hot. "What's the matter? Can you still stand?"

"Y/n, you came...?" he asked softly, breathing heavily. I nodded and suppressed my tears. "Do you want me to accompany you to the doctor? Or should we go to the emergency room?"

He just shook his head. "That's not necessary..come on in." I looked around for a moment. Then I put one of his arms over my shoulder and accompanied him to the living room. That was the room where the door was open and I didn't think any further. Before that, I closed the door from outside. Slowly I put him down on the sofa so that he could lie down.

"I'm sorry I came without warning...you didn't reply to my messages. So Mister Zhongli drove me here. We thought something had happened to you."

"Really...?" he asked quietly. "I thought I-I had replied to you..." I shook my head. "Let's talk about that later. I'll take care of you first, all right?" That would be the most important thing first.

He nodded weakly. His cheeks were glowing, his hair tied in a loose little ponytail, and he had slight circles under his eyes. "You may help yourself here.", he closed his eyes as he said this. "Thank you.", I took one look around and spotted medicine on a small drawer which was on the other side of the room.

"Have you taken the pills yet and eaten anything?"

He shook his head. "Not yet today." I then took them and put them on the table. "First, you should eat something. I'll make you some soup then, okay?", I sat with my knees in front of him and took off my jacket, which landed on the floor. His permission for me to help myself, I will also take advantage of. After all, I want him to feel better as soon as possible. He just nodded mutely. Reoriented because I don't know my way around here, I wandered to the next door. With luck, it was the kitchen. I took one deep breath.

Good. First he should cool down. I took an ice pack from the freezer and tied a clean cloth around it. I put it on his forehead.

I had to open some cupboards and drawers in the kitchen first, so that I would know where to find something. I boiled the water and poured in some instant soup. I can make a real soup later or something else. The important thing is that he takes his medicine as soon as possible and eats something. I noticed the apples in the fruit basket. So I cut them into small pieces and placed them on a plate.

"Venti, it will be a while before the soup is ready. Eat some of the apple pieces until then, okay?"

I knelt down to him. "Please, eat." He opened his eyes and looked at me. Then he slowly sat up. "Thank you" I put the ice pack aside because it cooled him down enough.

In the kitchen I looked at the soup and turned off the stove when it was hot enough. I let the soup simmer some more and poured a small portion in a bowl. I cooled the soup a bit before taking that to Venti.

For the rest of the time, I took care of him. I helped him with the food, with the medicine and kept checking his body temperature. I didn't notice how fast the time passed as I watched the sun go down. Venti was sleeping and he seemed to be much better than he was at noon today. He apparently had no one to take care of him.

I stroked his pony once with pity. I then noticed how nicely decorated his apartment was. I didn't even notice it until now because I was very busy for him.

It looked a bit old, but still well kept. I was surrounded by plants, old books and old decorations like an inkwell, old scrolls and more. In part, it looked modern. The floor was marble and was covered with a small dark carpet. It was a room you could find on Pinterest. Maybe even nicer than the ones from Pinterest. His room must be on the second floor. Maybe he'll show me that one later?

Venti was still sleeping peacefully. So I went to the kitchen and prepared mashed potatoes. I already knew my way around the kitchen better and didn't have much trouble finding things like before. When it got dark I turned on the kitchen lamp. I left the living room dark for now so he could sleep in peace and not be awakened by the light. The kitchen only shone a little into the living room, which was enough.

I then looked out the kitchen window. It was empty of people. Although there were a few houses nearby, the streets still looked empty. Nonetheless, the surroundings looked peaceful and were surrounded by plants.

"Y/n...?" immediately I turned around. I smiled in reassurance. Venti is apparently awake again and was able to stand by now. Slowly, he entered the kitchen and rubbed at one eye.

"Are you feeling a little better?", I asked, smiling gently.

"Yes, much better than this morning..." I took his hand and sat him down on a chair. In the living room I saw a large cardigan, which I brought to him. "You should wear that. The kitchen window is open."

I was relieved that at least he could eat now. At first he didn't have much appetite and ate very little. But it was enough for the medicine. When we finished eating, we went into the living room. He sat down on the sofa and made a sign next to him for me to sit down. "Thank you so much for taking care of me..I hope I'm not a burden to you".

Immediately I shook my head. "No you're not! Next time you better answer me, alright...? "

For a moment he looked at me confused. Then he looked around for his phone and looked at our chat.

His face clearly said "Oh", then he turned to me smiling slightly. "Eheh..I didn't press send...", he scratched the back of his head nervously.

So that was the reason, huh? Oh man, Venti...

I leaned my forehead on his shoulder with a sigh, but was very relieved. "Am I glad nothing very bad happened to you..I was really worried, you know?" Venti then put his hand on my head and smiled. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to. I've always been very weak. Me being sick happens a lot, unfortunately."

I wiped my eyes once. "Frequently? Is it that bad? D-don't tell me it's...", I couldn't finish the sentence.

"No, it's not that dangerous again. I just happen to have a weak body. As long as I take care of my health, nothing bad will happen.", he tried to reassure me.

"Then let me take care of you," I said softly, taking my forehead from his shoulders. "From now on, I won't leave your side..so please do it to me as well.", I requested quietly. There was a silence between us. I didn't look Venti directly in the eyes. It was still a little dark in the living room. There was only one small lamp burning.

Venti, who looked at me speechless for a moment, took my hands in his and smiled. I dared to look at him. Then he bent down slightly to me so that he could look into my eyes.

"My dearest y/n, I don't want to leave your side either. I know I don't tell much about myself. I don't know how to start..but one day, I promise you. I will explain everything to you...", he said.

I shook my head. "No, don't force yourself. It's okay as it is."

I could still see sadness in his eyes.

It was quiet between us again. Embarrassed, I looked to the window as I realized how close we were.

"It's already dark...", I changed the subject. Blinking, he looked behind my back at the balcony.

"Oh, indeed.", now he smiled at me again. "Stay the night with me. It's not safe for a girl like you to wander around by yourself. Besides, buses very rarely come at this time of night."

"All right. I just didn't bring any clothes. All I have is my bag and what I'm wearing," I confessed. Venti didn't seem to mind. He told me he did have sleeping clothes in different sizes.

He escorted me up to his room. I couldn't help but marvel at how he decorated everything. The style reminded me of the Ghibli movies I've watched. As I looked toward the bed, there was one step that went up. There stood his bed. His bed was surrounded by windows. But because no one can easily see in, he seems to have his privacy. From a closet he gave me an oversized shirt that he owned. I guess we have something in common.

In the bathroom I was allowed to change. I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. My hair was tied in a ponytail (if possible), I had a blazer on which was open, underneath an undershirt and a plaid long skirt. Tired, I changed my clothes and brushed my teeth with a new toothbrush.

That he was prepared for sleepovers surprised me.

When we were both ready for bed, I insisted on taking his temperature. It dropped significantly. I just hope he will be better tomorrow. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind continuing to take care of him. Fortunately, tomorrow I have a day off.

"What, you want to sleep next to me then to make sure I'm okay at night too?" he asked with a laugh.

That comment made my cheeks heat up, but it's true what he said. After all, I trust him. He can't have weird intentions, can he?

"In that case..okay.", I said and looked at him. The boy stopped laughing and looked at me in surprise. When he slept over at my place, it was always on my sofa. But we never slept together in the bed.

He turned around and put his hands on his hips.

"Well...I guess there's nothing you can do about it! Go ahead! Off to bed~"

I twitched an eyebrow. Haha. He seems really happy about that....

"From the looks of it, you seem to be doing much better. I'll go to the living room then..."

He stopped me. "Uh, actually I'm feeling a bit feverish already..sleep next to me please?" he mumbled, looking at me with a desperate puppy look.

"Alright...", I sighed.

We both lay down. Why did I suddenly get tense? I used to let him snuggle up to me, didn't I? Is a sofa and bed that different? In my flow of thoughts, I didn't notice Venti tucking me in.

I then looked him in the eye. "You should keep warm.", he says with a cute smile.

"Oh, thanks...", I replied softly. We both then looked up at the ceiling. All we heard was the wind and a few grasshoppers. At some point Venti spoke up. "Soon we'll have vacation..how do you want to spend it?"

I didn't think twice. "I don't have any plans yet. Visiting my mother and, of course, I have to study."

"I was thinking that the two of us could do something together. So far, that hasn't been possible. Would you like to go to my cottage? It's really beautiful there. There's a flower meadow, a river, and the most beautiful view."

I turned to him. "You really mean that?"

He nodded with a smile. "It's really beautiful there. I've been going there for years. Only you know about that, though." I couldn't help but giggle for a second. "I'd love to. I'm looking forward to it.", he nodded in agreement. "Me too. But you've put in a lot of effort today. Get some rest now, yes?"

Before I could say anything, Venti put a hand over my eyes to make me close them. A touch of tiredness swept over me and I slowly fell into sleep. The last thing I saw of him was a quiet smile. But I did not hear what he said. Better said, I could not remember it.

Everything I saw now must have been in my dream. I found myself in front of a huge tree. As I walked back, I lightly bumped into something. I turned around and saw a statue. Unfortunately, I couldn't make out everything. But what I could hear was the gentle plucking of a harp.

Part

1

2

3

4 you are here

5

[babychoko]

🌺 𝔸 𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥 🌺

Part 2

One day in the evening, I sat on my sofa and skipped some TV shows. I was tired and knackered from today. The fact that I had worked today put one on top.

How could a relaxing evening go better?

Just me, my sofa, my snack and my TV-.

"Wait, switch back once, (y/n)",

And Venti.

Every Friday he joins me at home because I might be bored (he thinks) and mooches.

I honestly don't mind. It may have been a long time since we met, but thanks to him, I've been able to take it down a notch.

"It's okay, I'll do it," and so I operated the remote.

Venti is currently lying comfortably with his head on my chest while eating (my) snacks.

I learned during that time that physical contact was the most normal thing for him. In the beginning I was totally uncomfortable because I wasn't used to having someone lying between my chest.

But that's how Venti is and he didn't seem to have any ambiguous thoughts.

I looked down at him. He had an oversized shirt on and long sleep pants. His braids were still braided.

He seemed interested in this show because he is lying quietly on top of me. I was just sitting normally, leaning a bit on the sofa.

I could not help but lightly pinch his cheek once.

He took my hand without turning his gaze from the TV and placed it on his head.

I understood what he wanted to imply and began to stroke his hair. In the process, his braids opened up.

Somehow he's like a pet.

"We should go back to the bar," he muttered.

"Fine by me. Tomorrow we can. But not until the evening! You don't start the day with alcohol...", I sighed.

"That was in the past when...", Venti didn't dare to finish the sentence. His smile disappeared after he realized what he said.

Huh, what?

"What do you mean?", I asked, looking at him.

Slowly, Venti turned to look at me with a neutral expression on his face.

"Uh.Nothing?" he acted like he hadn't said anything just then.

I didn't know if I should say anything. Preferably nothing at all, right?

"Alright then.", sighing, I didn't pick at it any further.

It just occurred to me that I didn't know much about him

But he about me?

Apparently quite a lot. Like he knew me better than I knew myself. I didn't know his family. Since he didn't talk about them, he doesn't seem to have had a good relationship with them. Even more, he is very careful not to show his stomach or his legs.

I could only draw from the conclusion that he is very modest when it comes to clothes.

So at least I didn't have to worry about him wanting to bathe with me, as open as he is comfortable with body contact. After all, we're just good friends.

"You could feed me now-"

"Nope."

The next day I went to my part-time job after working on my essay. I'm almost done with it. Whether it's any good is another question.

I served customers and brought out a smile despite my fatigue.

In the past, I had to constantly got told that I should smile more while I was working. I myself didn't notice anything about my facial expression at the time. I seem to have improved. Unfortunately, I still couldn't get the words out of my head that Venti said to me.

It seemed to me that he must have had a problem with alcohol. And he never spoke of his family. Does it have something to do with that?

I couldn't get these thoughts out of my head.

Venti, who always stood by my side and spoke wise words, must have gone through a lot.

On the other hand, he seemed carefree. I frowned.

I would like to know more about him.

But no one from the university can really read him.

A few hours later, I went shopping because I was still missing some ingredients for dinner. I cooked pasta with sauce, something simple, because I was too tired.

Also, I just remembered that I promised him I would go to the bar with him. When I finished eating, I got ready. Before I went out, I looked in the mirror. Only now did I notice that my appearance had been slipping lately.

Should I buy new clothes?

Later, when I arrived at the bar, I saw the boy with braided pigtails sitting on a bar stool. Immediately he waved to me when he caught sight of me. I waved back slightly and joined him. He ordered a light drink.

"How did your day go?" he asked, sipping his cocktail.

"I almost finished my essay..and worked. You?", I replied.

"Practiced a few pieces for class. They weren't hard, though~" he contented, grinning at me.

I understood what he wanted.

"You're really talented!" it came out of me with a forced smile.

He is a real genius when it comes to music and poetry. You could say that he can easily compose and write down hundreds of pieces by heart and perfectly. It's like he's been doing this since before he was born. The only thing he does is homework and he does it very quickly. I admired that about him and have to admit that it made me a tiny bit envious.

He has a passion that he has even mastered.

"Riiight?~ But you, on the other hand, are very hardworking and ambitious.", with a smile he lifted his head. "You've almost finished your essay? See, you don't have to do everything at once! Otherwise you'll just spend the rest of your time thinking. A balance is good," he spoke.

I nodded because he was right.

I used to do everything at once, had little sleep, and got a lot of things wrong as a result. My grades improved a little by taking breaks.

Whether I liked my course of study was another matter. It's doable.

"But you're doing very well with your major. You could graduate right now and be a music teacher. Or maybe a poet?", I laughed lightly.

He scratched his head in embarrassment. "You could say I used to lead classes...", his eyes glanced to the other side.

"What, really?", I was surprised. He used to teach others?“

"That was even earlier in my old hometown. It was quite a while ago. Every year there was a festival. Poems, prayers, and fostering friendships were very important to us. I participated voluntarily, teaching others how to write poetry. Love poems were not uncommon.", for a moment he looked lost in nostalgia.

"I collected the homework afterward and reviewed them. They were all very special."

"Was there a poem you particularly liked?", I asked with interest.

He laughed. "All of them were special. But I could quote you some!" something shone in his eyes. Some hope, perhaps?

He cleared his throat once, briefly.

"You and the Mare Jivari.

So close and yet so far.

One at the edge of the world.

The other in the center of my heart.

Wolfhook and dandelion.

My windflower offering to you."

I blinked in disbelief. He actually seemed to be able to recite his students' poems by heart. For a moment it was quiet between us.

I was sure there was something sad in his eyes.

"That's incredible, Venti," was all I could get out. "They must have been very important to you."

"Yes, they were- they are.", he quickly corrected himself.

I decided not to ask any more questions. He seemed to look happy on one side, nostalgic with a touch of melancholy on the other.

Then he grinned after looking at me.

"There was another poem However, that one girl was too shy to let me read it~'' he sighed and turned slightly pink on his cheeks. Then he looked slightly hopelessly to the side.

''In the end, it was the most beautiful poem."

„Oh, really?", somehow I was burning for it. That he of all people considered it the most beautiful poem must mean something.

"But there was another poem! From a young man. Really romantic, you have to listen to it," he laughed.

"Then tell me, please“, I was curious.

He quirked an eyebrow as he looked at me intently.

I blinked and waited curiously.

"Mi muhe ye."

..

"Venti. What is this?"

Very funny.

We ended up talking mostly about meaningless stuff. I just ordered a juice and went home later.

I spent the rest of the evening thinking about the poems.

And as for the last poem-

Did it have any meaning at all?

It sounded like it was addressed to me when he recited the weird and short poem. Was it even an existing language?

Anyway, I was happy getting to know more about him.

Part

1

2 (you are here)

3

[babychoko]

🎀𝔽𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤🎀

Part 5

Note: Haha, yes the new chapter is out. It took me a long time, but I hope you like it? Anyway, remember there is a sliight suggestive warning..Ehe. It wasn‘t easy for me. Likes are much appreciated. It motivates me!

Times goes by pretty quickly when you're under stress. I had almost no opportunity to do much with my friends, because the school gave us a lot to do. Projects, tests, exams... and so on.

Fortunately that has improved a bit and the pile of work has gone down quite a bit. The last few weeks have been pure hell. And not to mention, I've missed Xingqiu already. Even though the party was a while ago, I always got a funny feeling in my stomach when I thought about it. It was all unexpected. So unexpected, in fact, that it didn't feel real. Actually, my request was that we keep everything a secret for a while. That we are together should come across naturally. I mean, how do others even announce that?

Hey, we're girlfriend and boyfriend now?

Or...

Guess who's a couple? No, no... that's mega embarrassing. Who does that? On top of that, I was afraid that our friend group would somehow be destroyed by this. Xingqiu tried to calm me down and said that it wouldn't come to something like that. People would rather be happy for us. After all, you can't hide it forever, and I agree with him.

However, all my worries and scenarios were in vain.

But I should have known that Xingqiu is Xingqiu. It did not remain a secret for long.

It happened on a sunny day after school when we were planning our projects. In a courtyard, our group of friends were sitting and we were each handing out each other's assignments. I was holding a notebook and quoting each assignment. It was very hot, so Xingqiu had the idea to get us all something to drink. Since he was with me, he didn't forget the opportunity to hug me briefly from behind to give me a kiss on the cheek. With a "see you in a bit" he disappeared to the vending machine with a grin as if nothing had happened.

And I am so TIGHTLY sure that he was aware that we had spectators. There was a dead silence between me and the other guys.

Bennett was staring at me with his mouth slightly open, Chongyun was blinking bright red and didn't realize his ice cream was melting that he stopped licking at earlier, and Razor... well, he was immediately distracted by a butterfly that flew by him.

I cleared my throat and just continued with the tasks.

Yeah, that's how it came out. It should have been completely obvious to me that Xingqiu would take every opportunity to try to embarrass everyone. However, this time I am sure that I was not a victim in his eyes. I was aware that he just wanted to take away my worries and meant no harm, which already made me happy.

Besides, he took advantage of embarrassing his friends. I'm sure he thought that was funny...after all, he wanted me to describe their reaction to him. That gave him something to laugh about.

When I think back on it, I also have to stifle a laugh. It was all too typical. Relieved, I closed my notebook when I finished my homework and looked at the clock with a smile.

Why? I‘ll see him after a long time. I wonder what Xingqiu is up to right now?

..

"You have to believe me, nothing has been heard for days. It's like evil spirits have moved away!", Chongyun admitted, stunned.

"Mhm...", Xingqiu mumbled in agreement and continued reading his book. Whether he actually listened was another matter. Chongyun leaned off Xingqiu's bed rail in exasperation. He took one look around. Xingqiu's room is messy as usual. There are books lying around everywhere or clothes.

"As messy as your room is..I wouldn't be surprised if evil ghosts take up residence here." admitted the boy with light blue hair.

"Hmm...interesting!", no question. Xingqiu has not been listening for a long time. He's always like that when he reads. Nothing could shake him awake. Or maybe he's doing it on purpose. Chongyun thought for a moment and looked around.

"(Name) is coming soon, isn't she? I can't stay long, I have to help out at the shrine. What are you guys up to?"

Xingqiu immediately perked up his ears. Wrong question, Chongyun. Wrong question... now it's time for Xingqiu to shine.

"Well the usual, what else?" muttered Xingqiu.

"The usual?"

Sighing, Xingqiu folded his book shut, making even Chongyun wonder. He's not done reading, is he?

"Really, Yun! What do you think (Name) and I would do?" Chongyun quickly tried to think of something couples could do. "Uh.. Play cards? Take pictures?.."

Xingqiu grinned teasingly. "Nah.. we're alone, think about it?" Xingqiu shifted gears and crawled on the bed closer to Chongyun, but he awkwardly backs up. "Uh..well..O-OH!“

Chongyun seemed to get what his friend meant. Surely, Xingqiu didn't mean.. THAT?!

"Y-you..don't mean..no way?! You two already had..." he babbled bright red and continued to crawl back. He didn't expect his buddy and (Name) to be this far into the relationship already! Unbelievable!

"Honestly, Chongyun! What were you thinking? After all, (Name) and I are in a relationship. Then things like this happen a lot."

"A LOT?!" he squeaked out, falling off the back of the bed. Xingqiu shrugged his shoulders as if it was totally obvious. Immediately, many unwanted scenarios came into Chongyun‘s head. He will have to cleanse his head at the shrine.

"I uh..well, I have to go!", Chongyun grabbed his bag with his head flushed and Xingqiu tried not to burst out laughing. "Do you want me to walk you to the door?"

"It's okay..!“

..

When I arrived at Xingqiu's mansion, I was greeted by his servant Xu. By the hallway, I met Chongyun, but he was quite red in the cheeks. I wondered what Xingqiu had done this time. He wasn’t in the state to be able to talk. Poor Yunyun..

I arrived at Xingqiu's room and was not at all surprised by the sight. He was calmly reading a book and his room looked like his items had been fighting each other and got hit by a nuclear missile shortly after. "Hey, what was going on with Chongyun just now?"

"Huh..nothing?"

I'm pretty much sure he put ideas in Chongyun's head. But I didn't question further. The situation wasn't new. Best not to ask what exactly happened.

I was glad to be able to spend time with Xingqiu. It had been quite a while. But first, I want to clean up this mess... I can't keep doing that to myself. I would die of boredom just sitting around all the time while Xingqiu reads. As far as I know, he would never put a book aside unless he finished reading it or finished a chapter. He also seems to take advantage of the situation that he is reading fantasy instead of studying.

First, I gathered his clothes and folded them neatly. I even found some designer pieces. I shook my head mentally. My family would kill me if I handled such expensive things badly. But to him, I'm sure it's just an ordinary item from a clothing store. I was always careful with his stuff anyway. How many times do I clean up here? On his table, I put his jewelry together and placed them in his jewelry box. I don't want to know how much the whole thing cost. I'm pretty much sure this ring here could cover a small apartment for several months.

"Hey Xingqiu, can I have a quick look at this box?"

"Umm, yeah..."

I'm sure he'd even give me a yes if I asked him right now if I could set his room on fire. Yep, that's how engrossed he is.

At some point, his room looked neat enough for me, so I pulled out a notebook. He still didn't seem to be done reading. So now I busied myself in other ways. I decided to write down things that might wake him from this trance.

Clean his room? Nope, not working. I tried more things. I asked him if I could look under his bed. He gave me permission and nothing happened. He didn't stop me at all. What would a boy like him want to hide? I can cross that off the list. I continued my research.

Throw paper balls at him? Nope, didn't work. He doesn't react.

Take a sock off him? Nope.

Tickle him? Nope.

Turning the alarm clock up loud? Nope.

Close the curtains? That's when I made an interesting discovery! Without taking his face off the book, he relaxed and reached a hand for his night light that was next to him and turned on the lamp.

Still, he didn't wake up from this trance of reading.

Hug him? What would happen there? Would he ignore me...? I lay down next to him and leaned my head on his chest. Shortly after, he sweetly placed one hand on my head and held his book with the other hand. He continued to read. Honestly, I was satisfied by this reaction and gave up with my research. Shortly after, I saw him close his book with a smile and put it aside. Impossible-

He laughed once in amusement and turned to me. "All right, now I'll give you as much attention as you want. Just don't take my socks off again."

Finally! Xingqiu has been awakened from his reading mode. A miracle has happened!!! That rarely happens. I could take the book away from him, of course, but that's a very bad idea. He would just take a new one.

"Well?" He bent over me. It took me a moment to realize he was very close. "You must have felt lonely, didn't you? Forgive me. Well, I'll just give you all my attention now..."

"Huh...? You don't have to. I was just playing!" I said, but Xingqiu didn't seem satisfied with my answer and honestly, I wouldn't mind.

He clasped his hands in mine and looked at me with a charming smile. Embarrassed, I looked away. He came closer to me.

"(Name), look at me..." I listened to him and was greeted with a short and gentle kiss. We looked at each other once more with heated cheeks. "You have something there.", he said calmly, pointing at my neck.

"Huh? What is it?", I whispered. He smiled quietly and brought his lips closer to my neck. I squeezed my eyes shut because I am particularly sensitive near my ears and especially on my neck. I felt his soft lips on me and sank deeper and deeper into the bed. A wave of goose bumps flowed over me. I breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously and grabbed his slender shoulder.

He continued to stroke his lips without breaking away from my skin and was now giving me more little kisses on my neck. His soothing scent of vanilla also made me feel pleasant. I was completely lost in his passion that I carefully grabbed his cheeks and looked at him briefly before pulling him down for a kiss. But when I broke away, he pulled me into another kiss, which he even deepened. Surprised by this gesture, I left my lips open and felt him gently bite mine with his lips. I was getting warmer and warmer, because it was the first time that he deepened and prolonged a kiss like that. Normally he would sometimes give me one on the cheek or neck, but what we mainly did was to hold hands together or lean against each other to read. We released each other once sighing for air, which didn't last long because he put his lips to mine again. Our lips moved slowly and sweetly. I could not describe the incredible feeling that came over me.

The long blue strand of his hair tickled my cheek, but I didn't mind. His hair was as beautiful as ever. He detached himself and looked at me with a smile.

It took me a moment to come back to myself. He leaned his forehead on mine and laughed out, then rolled onto the bed next to me and put his arms behind his head. "Guess you weren't expecting that, huh?" came confidently from him.

I sat up and poked him in the side.

"You haven't told me how you're doing."

"Ah, so you want a typical conversation? Well, then: I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm fine, too. But I'm unsure if everything is really fine with you..we rarely hear from you, you know?" Xingqiu shrugged this off.

"Oh, you know how it is here..." he was interrupted by a knock.

"Master Xingqiu? May I enter?" We both exchanged glances.

..

"Master...? Are you there?"

..

"Uh..Mas-"

"Come in."

When Xu entered, I was sitting on a swivel chair and Xingqiu was standing next to me with a book in his hand. The curtain was open long after I finished my research.

"Oh, sorry! I see you are busy studying! What a great sight to see. I just want to let you know that dinner will be ready shortly. (Name), you may stay, of course." Xingqiu looked very pleased. I, however, was nervous. We'll get to that in a minute.

"Thank you, but I have to let my family know for that." I would get in trouble if I didn't.

"Understandable, you may do that."

Xingqiu walked me to the phone and left me alone for a moment because he was called. He would be right back, he said.

I picked up the phone and dialed in the correct numbers. After my mother answered, I asked permission to stay. She agreed, but reminded me that especially with this family I should show my best manners and so on. I said goodbye, put the phone back and sighed. That was exactly what I was worried about. I had no problem eating at my other friends' houses. But this is the first time I'm having dinner at Xingqiu's place, and of course his family is a big deal. They are very famous and respectable. That just made me feel..less. I don't know how to describe it. What about if I act stupid? And where is he?

"Xingqiu?“

I immediately jerked up as I was grabbed by the shoulders. I rolled my eyes as he made fun of it.

"I get to stay. Is everyone going to be there?"

"You don't have to be nervous. No one's going to maul you here," he said, trying to reassure me.

I was escorted to a very large dining table and his brother and mother were already seated, greeting me warmly. That was a good start. But I was worried about his father. You never really know what he is thinking about at the moment. He came shortly after and was pleased that Xingqiu finally brought one of his best friends here.

Yes, best friends.

The two of us kept our relationship a secret from our parents. For now.

They don't really need to know. Besides, I'm sure he's not allowed to have a relationship either. School and other things come first for our parents.

I looked at the dining table. It all looked clean and high quality. I wonder what it would be like to have your own cook. That would be a dream.

"(Name), is there anything you don't like? Do you want us to prepare something for you?"

Immediately, I declined. Xingqiu laughed. "There's no need for that! I'm very satisfied, thank you!"

Perhaps I exaggerated my nervousness. But then, it's no wonder when I'm constantly being rubbed in the face that I should be on my best behavior. Deep down, I knew they were a normal family.

"Don't worry about it. (Name) will settle for anything. Be it the smallest little thing offered to her." Xingqiu sneaked a grin at me and twitched his eyebrows once. This... how shameless! In front of my salad? Seriously?

"That's a great thing" Said his brother nodding. "Not many value gratitude."

"Not at all..." I muttered.

Just you wait, Xingqiu.

I pushed a small plate of carrots in dumplings to him. "Oh, you want more carrots? Why don't you say it now, Xingqiu? The plate was right in front of me." He looked at me with horror.

"He loves carrots. I even cut some for him myself sometimes in the morning." his mother said proudly. "Thank you, that's very kind of you, (name)..very tasty..." he said, trying not to sound contrite.

I felt sorry for him already, but that's what he gets for reminding me of improper things in the middle of the dinner table.

"So do you know what you want to be in the future?" his father asked me. He said little until now. Now everyone was looking at me expectantly.

"I..no, not quite yet..."

"And what about college?" he asked with interest.

"Maybe I'll do an apprenticeship," I said with a smile. He looked surprised, but nodded.

"That's great, too." I don't know if he sounded convinced....

"(Name) is smart! I'm sure she'll be able to do anything if she has a goal," Xingqiu intervened. Embarrassed, I smiled a little and squeezed his hand once under the table affectionately.

We all talked for some time about career opportunities, parties we like and family.

After dinner, I thanked him and the family insisted that I be driven home if I wanted to go. After all, it would be dangerous for me to be alone on the street at that hour.

But first I have to get my bag from his room. Xingqiu let me answer the phone in the living room and wanted to get my bag for me. I wondered how many phones they had.

When I went into the living room, his mother was sitting on the sofa with a book in her hand. Behind her was a wall of glass, with a view into the garden. She had a nice long dress on and the way she was sitting relaxed against the back of the chair just looked elegant.

She looked very beautiful.

She looked at me and smiled sweetly. "Hello, dear. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Um, I'd like to let my parents know I'm coming." She nodded at me and pointed to the phone. "Sure! Go ahead."

I made a quick call to my family to let them know. But what I didn't notice is that his mother slowly walked up to me and gently placed her hands on my shoulders after my call.

"You are a sweet girl. You letting your parents know isn't something everyone your age likes to do."

"Huh...?", I looked over my shoulders at her. She laughed once. "I've heard a few things about you. I'm glad I finally got to see you again today."

"Oh, really?" The way she spoke calmly made me feel secure. "Please come visit us again."

"I'd love to, thank you."

She then looked towards the garden. "I'm sure you mean a lot to Xingqiu. Don't be angry with him if he sometimes disappears mysteriously. A moment of solitude, he calls it..." she sighed.

She didn't notice anything..did she? But it seems that she doesn't know anything about us yet.

She then went back to the sofa, but stopped short in the process. Then she turned to me briefly and put a hand in front of her mouth to hide her slight cheeky grin, which I can still clearly see.

"That's mean of us to serve him carrots, isn't it? But his efforts to hide them or suppress them like that is just very entertaining. I can't help it.", she giggled once. My eyes widened.

"Let's keep that between us though, shall we? He needs vitamins."

Oh my god.

I walked to the hallway where Xingqiu was waiting for me. "Why are you grinning at me like that?" he asked, confused. I tried not to laugh. How he loves books, the cheeky grin and that he can suddenly put on an innocent expression... he must get it all from her.

And when I was sure no one saw us, I gave him a peck on the lips. He looked at me in surprise and then looked around to see if no one really saw us.

"Well, I know things you don't know...", I replied teasingly, leaving him speechless.

..

Bonus:

A few days later, Xingqiu was hanging out with the guys. (Name) was out with her friends and might come later.

They all played a game and sat in a circle with snacks. When Bennett is too focused, he forgets to eat. So Razor would sometimes shove snacks in his mouth while he played with the cards himself. But eventually the boys got bored after a few rounds.

Xingqiu looked at his cell phone. "(Name) won't be coming after all," he announced.

"What?" everyone shouted. Xingqiu turned down the music. "I said: that (Name) won't come. She's with Hu Tao."

"Too bad..." sighed Chongyun.

"Guys' night?" asked Bennett.

"Guys' night.", everyone answered shrugging their shoulders.

But in particular, they didn't do anything special. What could they do anyway? Actually, the meeting today was purely coincidental. Everyone had nothing to do on a rainy day and were bored except (Name). So they met as usual at victim number 1: Chongyun.

It was quiet while playing cards. Bennett decided to engage in some conversation. "So you and (Name)..how are things going?"

"Hm..pretty good~", Xingqiu smiled and secretly winked once at Chongyun, who looked at him speechlessly with red cheeks. He remembered exactly what Xingqiu told him about his 'love life' with (Name).

Now they all looked at him somewhat curiously. But they were too shy to ask anything. Except Razor. Probably.

"I see..you want details?", Xingqiu leaned back like a scholar.

Everyone perked up their ears once.

"I think I can tell you a few things there. Having her in my arms and reading to her is something I like."

"That's great!" came from Bennett, happy for him. The others agreed with him.

"Hmm...what else is there...ah, we sneak phone calls at night!"

"How exciting." came quietly from Razor. Chongyun tried to distract himself with the cards.

He wondered if Xingqiu would come out with the biggest detail. Hopefully he wouldn't.

"And yes, we do kiss. You guys saw that the other day. But that's all there is to it.~", Xingqiu laughed.

"WHAT?! so you haven't done it yet?!" asked Chongyun without thinking. Now everyone was looking at him in confusion.

Xingqiu cleared his throat. "Well, Yunyun! You little rascal. It's impossible for us to be that far. (Name) must be protected..." he said with a sigh.

"Yun... not all couples do that..", Bennett muttered in shock, blushing.

"Mhm.", Razor agreed.

"Huh? N-no... you guys are getting it wrong..that's not what I meant..he did tell me-", now Chongyun was embarrassed and looked at Xingqiu who just grinned cheekily at him.

"I told you.. what? My dear Chongyun, you must have misunderstood?" Chongyun looked at him in disbelief.

Xingqiu's mean pranks will never end. Never.

Part 6

Masterlist

[babychoko]

🎀𝔽𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤🎀

Part 4

At the table, I waited patiently for my toast. I thought it was great that my family and I could have breakfast together. But I wondered what my mother's smile was all about. You don't usually see people in a good mood early in the morning. But then a shiver ran down my spine. She must have something to hide. I know this from horror movies. That grin is not normal.

"I have something to tell you all!" Well who says. Skeptically, I picked up my finished toast and slathered jam on it. "Go ahead...", I muttered with concentration.

"We're expecting company in the next few days. Isn't that great?" So that was it?

"And who's coming to visit us?", I asked, a little curious. My mother was washing the dishes from last night.

"Oh, just some acquaintances." Now I calmed down. Partially. I thought I was going to have to babysit Klee again. Don't get me wrong, I love Klee. She is the friendliest kid. But don't be fooled by her facade. I still won't forget the sight of her blowing up fish from the children's park. After that she offered me to grill and eat them properly. At the children's park. I shook my head at the thought.

I got halfway through the school day later. Lately we've been getting way too much homework from teachers. After school, I went to the library with my clique to get the homework over with today. Actually, we wanted to go to the antique store today, but because of the homework, we can forget it. We helped each other with our weaknesses. It took me at least 2-3 hours to finish. I looked at the others. Bennett was still helping Razor with sentence construction, Chongyun was writing down some vocabulary, and Xingqiu was quietly reading a book. He seems to have finished long ago.

When Chongyun didn't understand a vocabulary word from the foreign language novella, looked it up incorrectly in the dictionary and out came a very, very inappropriate word, we all tried not to laugh out loud.

Yes, it was childish of us, but we were so bored with homework that we found almost everything funny by now. Besides, his blushing and distraught look was priceless.

Since we were in a library, we were supposed to be as quiet as possible. But that's exactly what made it harder. It's almost like you're not allowed to laugh in class after a warning from the teacher because you're disrupting the lesson.

"Glad you're feeling better today, Y/n," Bennett whispered in relief after I came back down. The other boys agreed with him. Only Xingqiu continued reading his book undisturbed.

"Huh? What do you mean?", I asked confused but also touched.

"Well, the other day at the forest, your face was a little pale and you seemed to be in pain..did you eat something wrong?" whispered Chongyun.

Oh.

"Eh, no.but thanks for asking. I'm feeling much better now. Just don't worry!" Can you ask for better friends? I didn't realize they were so concerned about me.

"What was it then?" asked Razor finally.

I glanced unobtrusively at Xingqiu, whereupon a small grin formed on his lips while he was still reading. Aha, so he is listening after all? That rascal.

Before I could get off the subject, Xingqiu spoke up for the first time and sighed.

"Now don't pick on her like that. But if you want to know- Ah!"

He couldn't finish his sentence any further because I was annoyed and closed his book a little too loudly.

Without a bookmark.

He looked at me as if I had wiped out his entire existence or set his book collection on fire.

Well, serves him right. If you know too much, you shouldn't blurt it all out.

"May I know why you sweethearts are acting so conspicuous?", a woman's voice rang out. We all turned to our school librarian, Lisa. She looked slightly irritated despite smiling and had her arms crossed. Then her eyes fell on the dictionary. Chongyun still had the inappropriate word open. She raised an eyebrow. "Huh...?"

Oops. No, how embarrassing.

We all went home as soon as we finished our homework.

However, before I started on my way, Xingqiu grabbed my arm. I was startled for a moment, but was quickly reassured when I saw him. I just hoped he wasn't mad at me for closing his book. After all, he never remembers the page count because he's always so engrossed in books. However, not a word came out of him yet. The others have already gone on their way, just the two of us standing in front of the library.

I looked around for a moment, not knowing what to do or say at that moment. I wondered if everything was okay with him. So I decided to start with a simple, "Yes?".

Xingqiu seemed to have been awakened from his trance and looked to me. "Sorry." He slowly let go of my arm. "Tomorrow is the party, right?" he asked rhetorically.

"Are you still going?" the bookworm wanted to know. Some students from our grade want to celebrate the launch of their successful school blog. They always have the best event. Not going there would be a shame. It's always great decorated with quite a lot of effort and they have the best music in store.

"Well, we promised to bring cookies..." I felt kind of bad going there without him. That all of his friends will be there while he's at a family event kind of sucks. He always has to be there as the Feiyun's second son. However, Xingqiu didn't look at all like he resented us. I still tried to read his eyes to see if there was sadness there.

"You guys don't have to cancel everything again because of me! I want you guys to go there. Please. Otherwise I'll feel bad."

Before I could say anything, he smiled at me. I decided not to protest anymore. "Alright..if that's what you want."

In the evening, I thought about our conversation from today. I have to confess that I was all nervous inside, which is why I couldn't get many words out. Before that, we didn't really talk much. So I was surprised that he wanted to talk to me alone after the library. The last few days I had a feeling that he was keeping a little distance from me. At the same time, I couldn't get over how loving he was to me days ago.

I finished my journal entry before going to take a shower.

The next noon, I baked cookies with the other guys. We decided to pack some for Xingqiu, since he won't be attending the party. He's never been to one where there are only people his own age. He always told us about any snobs from the events his family has been invited to. I also don't think he would dare sneak out of family events. Because he has never done that. Or didn‘t tell us.

I filled a few molds with the dough. I was all nervous. No, not because I could spill anything with the dough.

We were all nervous because Bennett was taking care of the oven. I saw a bead of sweat slowly flowing down Razor and Chongyun's foreheads. Bennett, on the other hand, seemed very clueless and looked pleased. No one wanted to hurt his feelings, so no one said anything. Fortunately, nothing happened. No power out, no explosion. The boys seemed to be reassured. The cookies could bake in peace in the oven. Could it be that our jinx is slowly becoming a lucky clover? What a surprise.

"We just have to wait now and see." I looked around. "In the meantime, we'll clean everything up. There's dough stuck all over the place."

"No problem, I'll do it!", Bennett grabbed a rag and turned the faucet. The next second, the faucet popped open and attacked him with a strong stream of water, whereupon he got wet.

Razor still managed to fix the faucet. He has a knack for that. We all got pretty wet. I'm just relieved that Royce didn't notice anything at all. I can't really stand him because he's totally got it in for Bennett. Every time something bad happens, he blames Bennett. But the boy didn't seem to let that bother him.

In the end, the cookies stayed intact and were well wrapped. My mother looked at me at home with a puzzled look because my clothes still weren‘t dry. I briefly explained what was happened and got ready for tonight. I had a hard time deciding what to wear. It was definitely going to be warm there. So I ended up putting on something comfortable and airy. A necklace to go with it, a few hair pins adorned in my hair, some perfume and I was ready.

Even before I entered the huge building, I could hear the music humming. A few teenagers were chatting and laughing outside. I looked around, but there was no sign of my friends. Maybe they are already inside? I entered the building and sure enough, they were waiting for me in the hallway. In another one I saw colorful lights. It became louder and louder. Smiling, I showed the tin of cookies and made my way to the table to turn them on there. I looked to the drinks. There was plenty of lemonade, fruit and Coke. I could have a drink later.

A while later, it got a little more crowded and I laughed at the stories Xiangling was telling me. I saw her after a few minutes when I entered the building with the others. She pulled me in with the other girls and I was relieved to be there among friends. If there were only strangers here, I wouldn't have come. There was a good atmosphere and I was glad that everyone here was friendly. Only dancing was embarrassing to me, even if no one cared. After all, there were a lot of people here. After many attempts, Hu Tao and Xiangling pulled me by the hands to the dance floor and forced me to move properly.

"That's the way to do it! That's right!", I heard the two of them. Laughing, I gave up and imitated their movements without them having to guide me. A few minutes later, however, I couldn't do it anymore and excused myself. I needed a short break and a drink sounded appropriate now.

Sighing, I stroked over my hair once and straightened my clothes neatly. I poured cherry lemonade into my cup and took a few sips. The music thundered in my ears. Somewhat in a trance, I looked at the wall and, despite the colored lights, tried to make out what might be depicted in a picture hanging on the wall in front of me. As I did so, I put down my empty cup.

Suddenly I felt fingertips on my head accompanied by two circles covering my ears. After that I heard nothing but slow music. It took me a moment before I could react again. Confused, I blinked. The next moment, I slowly turned around to see who put the headphones with the soft music on me.

It was Xingqiu.

He was looking at me with a smile. His top was white and loose, which he tucked into his wide jeans followed with a belt. He had the portable cd-player in his deep pants pocket. I wanted to ask him since when he was there and how.

But all I did was fall into his arms sighing and listening to the lyrics. I put my arms around his neck, leaned my head against him and closed my eyes. I felt him putting his arms around me and him resting his chin on my shoulders. It was as if we existed alone in the room.

No crowd and no wild music.

I continued to snuggle up to him as we slow danced undisturbed. I really missed being in his arms. Halfway I opened my eyes and could see over his shoulders the others dancing happily to the loud music. Silently I watched them dreamily and closed my eyes again. He played with my hair briefly and buried his face from my shoulders to my neck. Just being near him made me feel goosebumps all over my body. I missed the feeling of being in his arms since the forest.

I continued to stay in his arms until he removed a headphone from my ear and instead moved his lips closer to my ear. Now I could partially hear the loud music from the stereo.

"Should we go outside?"

I just nodded once silently and handed him the headphones, which he accepted. Then he held my hand and pulled me along while apologizing to others so we could get through.

I followed him until we got outside, a little farther from the building. He let go of my hand and smiled.

"Well?"

"Xingqiu..how did you a-and what about your family...", I babbled.

He shook his head. "No worries about that."

"But, then why...?", I wanted to know.

I already knew I had feelings for him.

"Because I wanted to see you again. Isn't it clear?" he whispered.

Not knowing how to react, I turned around and put a hand on my chest. I was nervous again. The cool breeze in the night calmed me down a bit.

"(Name)..."

I heard footsteps. Then I felt him hugging me from behind. I placed my hands on his arms.

"Look at the sky. It's clear, isn't it? Yesterday, unfortunately, it wasn‘t possible to see the stars," he began.

I then looked up and nodded. I noticed myself slowly calming down.

"And how the moon shines on the left side," he whispered.

"Moon?", I asked quietly confused, turning my head to the left side. "But there is no moon on the lef..mhm-"

After a few seconds, Xingqiu pulled his lips away from mine.

"I know. I just wanted you to look to the left side."

He let go of my chin, which he used to pull me into a kiss earlier.

Part

1

2

3

4 you are here

5

[babychoko]

🎀𝔽𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕜𝕖𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤🎀

Part 2

Xingqiu x reader

romance, little angsty, slightly suggestive?

Early 2000‘s Au

„Do you think this one would look good on me?“, I lifted up one shirt.

Xinyan looked at the shirt which I chose.

"Hmm... pick up a another color and try on both in the changing room.", she smiled and picked out a pair of shorts with rips.

"Hey, what about this? Would that look cool on me?"

I looked at the shorts. They would really look good on her.

"Yeah, add the sunglasses we saw on the mannequin. But what about your parents?"

Her parents and her as neighbors are very strict and traditional.

"It'll be fine," she giggled.

In the changing room, we tried on our clothes. I didn't decide on any of the shirts. Somehow they were way too uncomfortable for me.

"I don't think I'll take them...", I muttered.

"Can't be! Let me see.", she looked down in the changing room at me. It was easy to do, since she's in the stall next to me and most likely climbed up on the stool. I posed once.

"Why not? Why don't you buy it? Besides, it's on sale," she shook her head in disbelief.

I thought about it again.

"Oh well, I can bring it back later. It doesn't look that bad either..."

"That's the spirit!" she gave me a thumbs up with a grin.

My eyes fell on her bra that she just had on. It was black with straps.

"Did you just get that one?", I asked.

"Oh, that one? Yup. I'm still going to try on the red one. I don't know what to choose," she sighed again.

"Why not both colors?", I asked confused.

Xinyan looked at me as if I had said something enlightening of the century.

"Damn. You're a genius.", she pointed at me and poof she went down again.

I giggled and changed back into my clothes. After paying for our clothing items, we walked out of the clothing store with our shopping bags. We dawdled in a few thrift stores, however, we didn't find anything interesting.

So the music store was our final stop. There we spent a long time.

"(Y/N)! The newest CD is here!" she squealed.

"Really?!"

Immediately, I looked at the CD of our favorite band. Then it struck me that I only get pocket money. I should use it responsibly or I won't have anything left for the rest of the month.

"I'll get the CD some other time. The clothes are enough for me for today...", I said scratching my head.

After she paid, we walked around the mall a bit.

We decided not to buy anything else. As we walked past a bookstore, she stopped me.

"Look! This will definitely help you.", Xinyan held said book in front of my eyes.

"How to conquer him - A guidebook for singles...", I read out quietly confused.

"Wait a minute! T-that's not funny...!", I grumbled and immediately went in search of a book that might suit her. She laughed in amusement.

Just you wait.

..

Aha!

Now I held a book in front of her eyes as well. Her grin disappeared immediately.

..

"Short skirt, highlights in her hair- our daughter is out of control!", I quickly packed the book away laughing and escaped Xinyan in time.

In the evening, I went to take a shower and got a sms from Xingqiu. Right when I looked at my cellphone.

"I may not be able to go to the party. Family party."

I felt a little weird. We were supposed to go together..

I typed my message. Frustrated, I grumbled at my cellphone. I hated typing on the small keys multiple times. Isn't there a way to type faster?

"That's too bad. Another time, maybe," I sent off.

A few seconds later, my cellphone beeped.

"adwm," I lowered my cellphone in front of my face in confusion.

What is this message supposed to mean?

Then my button cellphone beeped again.

"Ignore it please.mistyped."

I see. I thought he was reading a mystery novel and trying to play detective with me by having me decode his messages.

The next day at recess, I found him in the library again. He seemed to be diligently writing something this time.

I decided to get back at him, and I did so by sneaking up on him this time. I wonder if he'll cry out in shock.

Wrong. Unfortunately, my plan didn't work. Before I could even tap on his shoulders, he held my hand without taking his eyes off the notebook.

Then he pulled me forward so that we were looking into each other's eyes.

"Hello.", he greeted me with a charming smile.

Good reflexes, though.

"Hey...", I sighed, disappointed with my failed revenge. I sat down next to him.

"Are you writing stories again?"

"I am. I need a second opinion later, though. Would you take the time after that?" he then asked kindly.

I nodded, agreeing of course.

"But somehow I'm not getting anywhere," Xingqiu took a sip from his water bottle.

I leaned against him sideways a little. "Hmm, why don't you write again later and take a break? It'll help," I advised him.

He nodded and showed me his notebook.

"Please take as much time as you can. And don't be shy! I need your honest opinion."

I laughed and accepted his notebook.

"Thank you. But I really should because of your handwriting- wait a second..hey, it's improved.", it struck me in wonder.

He looked kind of proud. I think he's trying to hide his joy.

"Well, the other day you couldn't seem to read anything. So I decided to write a little slower. Give me the notebook once you're done, okay? And if you like it..I'll even give you a copy! After all, it's just a short story," he took out another pen out of his pencil case.

I leafed through it a bit.

"Then I'll always have it with me.“

I handed his notebook back to him so he could continue writing.

He jerked up briefly and looked at the table for a moment. Then he laughed lightly.

"Okay, okay..we've known each other a long time, but no need to get sappy now!" he laughed.

Sappy? Says the right guy!

I picked out a book and spent the time reading after he was done with his break.

Every now and then I caught a glimpse of him.

He looked focused and very calm while writing. It was as if the plot was just flowing out of his head into the notebook like a river, which was not covered with stones.

He stroked a long strand of hair out of his face once.

Then our eyes met.

Oops. Busted.

With an embarrassed smile, I turned back to my book. He must have realized he was being watched.

He has really good reflexes.

I hoped by now that he had averted his eyes from me.

But I could clearly feel his gaze on me.

Now I'm getting embarrassed.

I pressed my lips together slightly and felt myself starting to get warm.

He's doing this on purpose, no question about it. Good grief ahhh, yes I have learned my lesson.

..look away... look away...!

Wait a minute...he's coming closer to me...what's he up to?

But I didn't dare to look away. My eyes were only glued to the pages of the book.

Now he was very close to me. I pressed my legs together and held my book tighter. My heart was racing more and more. I didn't know what he was up to.

He breathed in slightly, his lips slightly parted.

Then he blew once suddenly into my ear.

An overwhelming shiver ran through my entire body in seconds. I immediately jerked away from the chair and put one hand to my ear. My cheeks heated up.

He looked at me neutrally for a few seconds, propping his elbow on the table, and his chin was supported on his hand.

Then he smiled satisfied and continued to work on his short story. It took me a few seconds to get myself together.

Even in the evening, as I lay in bed, this odd feeling did not leave my body.

I learned that I was particularly sensitive about my ears. I stroked my ear once.

He was so close to me.

And somehow I want to experience it again.

I sat up and turned on my night light. I almost forgot to write an entry in the diary. So I did

I succinctly described how my day was. When I got to the part about what happened in the library, my head stopped.

I couldn't put it into words.

So I threw myself into my bed. Sleep would be appropriate now.

Part

1

2 You are here

3

[babychoko]

🌺𝔸 𝕤𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕣𝕖𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥🌺

Part 5

I diligently continued typing on the laptop. A few days have already passed since my visit. I am glad that he is feeling a little better. Seeing Venti in such a low state is unusual for me. What matters in the end is that he was available again and that nothing bad happened. That's the most important thing, isn't it?

Sighing, I let my hands off the keyboard and went to the kitchen so I could drink some water. I should remember to drink enough water. Unfortunately, I forget to do that most of the time. How did I come up with that now? This answer can be answered by reading my last received message:

Drinking yet? And I mean H2O

-Venti

But no matter how much water I take. Something has been making me feel empty for a while. I don't know what. It's like I can't remember it. Deep down, I know something was.

Only what?

Or maybe I'm just too tired. Sleep? Dreams I can't remember clearly? Who knows. After a short break, I got back to my work before I have to go to a lecture.

"It's an interesting view. However, will things really disappear forever? It's like a wound that heals eventually. However, most wounds leave traces. Be it halfway healed or or completely healed with a lingering memory. Now you can ask yourself...", his voice was clear and audible. But never too loud.

I sat in the hall and noted the approaches Zhongli told us. I am surprised how well you can learn from him. He is an asset to all of us. Only it still feels a little weird to have his private contact information. No, I have nothing against him. On the contrary, I admire him a lot.

And that's what scares me a bit. There are never any stupid questions for him, yet I usually don't get many sentences out with him, worried I'll sound stupid or act stupid.

Or it may just be because Xiao makes me nervous. Sometimes he is with Zhongli and has his layouts as well as papers ready. Although he doesn't look quite so angry anymore, now he's just been looking at me with an unreadable look since the car ride.

When I told Venti this, he did nothing but laugh. To this day, I didn't understand what was so funny about it. He said that I would get used to it.

Skeptically I looked inconspicuously in the hall to the right side. Whether he.. yes.

He's staring at me.

I looked back to my notepad.

Oh, Venti. How am I supposed to get used to this, please? I wonder if I did something wrong.

Anyway, it's a few more minutes. Then I have a meeting with Venti at recess. I will still manage that.

But during the break, I seem to have been showered with bad luck. Just as I was talking to Venti, he called Xiao over. He wanted to thank me for accompanying him and that like Zhongli, he was also a good friend and so on. I thought that this small talk with Xiao was finished. But Venti had the brilliant idea to leave me alone with Xiao for now. He wants to get something to drink for all three of us, so he should please stay with me and wait until he comes back.

I swear, the little guy does that on purpose.

There was total radio silence between me and Xiao. Alright, how can I break the ice between us? Here we go.

With a smile, I looked at him. "So you and Venti are good friends?", I started.

"Yeah."

"That's great. He's friendly, you can't help it...", I said scratching my head. Now I couldn't think of anything else to say. Small talk isn't quite my forte when it's just me talking....

Maybe I could take advantage of this moment?

"H-Have I got something on my face...?", I asked, pointing an index finger at my face.

"It's all good. There's nothing there."

"Oh, really? How can I say...you always stare at me like that..." I said.

"Ah. I am?"

Yes, you do. You know you do. "Yeah", I muttered.

"Didn't realize." What? Liar.

"Oh... well then. I just noticed...", I said with a small smile. The green-haired man just nodded before looking up at the sky. Now it was silent between us again. Maybe I should give up trying to break the ice between us as much as his look always makes me nervous. After a moment, I almost slapped my forehead with the flat of my hand. I almost forgot about that. I rummaged in my bag and pulled out a can, then opened it.

This seemed to draw Xiao's attention. "Is that almond tofu?"

"Yes. I made this yesterday when I had time. Only I forgot to give it to you two. As a thank you for driving me to Venti," I said.

"Why almond tofu of all things...?" he wanted to know, turning in my direction. Scratching my head, I looked at him. I was at a loss myself.

"I don't know. Somehow I had a feeling that I really needed to make almond tofu as a little thank you to you two..ehm- what is it? Oh, no, please don't tell me you guys don't like almond tofu?!" Xiao shook his head. "On the contrary, I tolerate it the best."

Relieved, I handed him the can. "It's fortunate. I can't thank you guys enough. Venti...he means a lot to me. How can I put it? His music saved me...", I said quietly embarrassed. Xiao looked at me for a moment.I could have sworn I saw his eyes light up briefly.

"Thank you so much. I'll tell him about it."

"Heey, you two! Sorry it took so long! The vending machine was- uh, a little broken! Did you guys become friends?", Venti greeted us happily and handed us drinks. I don't believe his excuse.

Xiao looked already however again monotonously, as if nothing had happened. "(Name) said that you mean a lot to her." HEY! What are you doing?!

Venti proudly put his hands on his hips. "Ehe~, you could say that we live like lovers. We spend mostly morning hours and cozy nights together uninterruptedly, we are physically-"

Xiao didn't seem to have expected this answer and looked almost distraught, as if he regretted his statement. My cheeks warmed and I interrupted the cheeky musician before he could finish his sentence. "Stop making it sound wrong!" then I turned to Xiao. "Venti is like a pet to me. He secretly eats my snacks.“

"EEEHH? A pet? How mean, (Name)! Wait a second..you noticed?“

After showering, I did my hair according to my hair type fairly and put on a comfy pair of pajamas. I didn't have the nerve for a bra right now. Besides, my top was loose and dark enough.

In the living room, Venti looked at some sheet music for the next piece of music. I stretched briefly and sat down next to him. I was already tired, but going to sleep now would be too soon.

"It's rare that I see you studying," I turned to him and glanced at the sheet music.

"Oh, I'm just looking at some stuff. These are all pieces for my next gig this week."

Venti plays the harp for some restaurants as a perk besides university and told me quite a bit. And from what I've heard, they're very expensive restaurants. I can well imagine that he earns a lot.

Venti must have noticed my interested look. He put his note aside and dropped onto my torso, sighing. "How about coming to my next performance? I'd love to have you as a guest!" Is he serious right now? Wow!

"Really? Can I?", I asked incredulously, looking down at him.

"But of course. I'm allowed to invite guests. How about that?" he asked with a smile.

"I'd love to. I look forward to it, I really do." I was already eager to see him play again. For one thing, because I'd never been to places like this before. But then something occurred to me.

"Oh, sorry..I'll have to see if I can come because of my work."

"Really? Well, there's a next time too. But it would be great if you could make it!“ I nodded in agreement.

"I wonder what you'll wear for my performance if you're there~", he sighed dreamily and leaned his head more on my chest. "Huh...?", he looked up at the ceiling questioningly. "Somehow it feels different..."

I raised an eyebrow and pinched his cheek with one hand.

"Ow- ah, don't pull! It's okay! I won't question anything!!!"

Now that I think about it, what should I wear to the restaurant? Do I still have clothes for special occasions? I should go shopping just to be on the safe side.

"(Name), my cheek!" Maybe I should go shopping. I can't show up in baggy clothes.

No sooner said than done. At the nearest mall, I picked out an elegant outfit a few days later. It took a while, but finally I own something nice and brand new.

Although his performance is tonight, but I finally found time to buy the clothes. The days before I had a lot on my mind. Since I had not yet had the opportunity to go shopping. Well, first I should go to work. And if I get off early, just go take a shower..then I should fix my hair.

With luck, I was actually allowed to leave work early because we were getting virtually no guests.

A while later, I was standing in front of a restaurant in the evening. It looked very pompous. Also, there was a fountain with lights nearby. How I would love to go for a walk.

Only unfortunately I have no time for it now. I now looked at the invitation that Venti gave me. He told me that I should just show it at the reception. So I did so. The older man at the reception looked at the invitation briefly. He seemed surprised for a moment, but then he nodded and let me in. I wonder if I'll get there in time. But as I entered the restaurant, I heard nothing but the soft playing of a harp.

I stroked my hair once and stopped by the stairs. From the top, I had a nice view of the young man with the light blue hair tips. Only this time he tied his hair back and wore a suit. I didn't realize how fixated I was on his face. He didn't look happy. Neither, nor focused. More distracted, completely caught up in his thoughts. I put a hand on my left breast. Somehow I felt quite different. When I looked around for a moment, the audience seemed to look normal or amused.

Am I the only one who seems melancholic because of the harp? I don't know why. On the other hand, it seemed familiar, as if I had heard it once. A déjà vu, perhaps?

I didn't notice how tears gathered in my eyes when his performance was over.

Oh.

With a handkerchief, I wiped them away. My head ached. I'd better get out into the fresh air. Before that, I wrote Venti a message. I didn't want to get on his nerves. He must be very busy.

"It was beautiful."

Outside, I breathed in the cold night air. The sound of the fountain running could be heard in the background. My head felt a little better. But the pain was not completely gone. I looked around. It was pretty much empty of people outside. They must all still be in the restaurant.

"(N-name)...! You're..s-still there..."

I turned around immediately. Venti was slightly out of breath and holding his cell phone in his left hand. He must have read my message.

"Venti...don't you have to go back?", I asked, approaching him. He just shook his head. "I'm off duty now. Besides, it's boring to talk to the others. They're a little..peculiar."

"I see."

"Did you really like it?" Now he didn't sound out of breath, but instead he looked slightly worried.

"Yes, very much. But, how can I say...it made me sad. It sounds different from what you usually play," I answered his question honestly.

"Sad... huh? Do you know that piece?" the young man wanted to know.

"It's like I heard it once. But I don't think so.", Venti gave me a smile and held his hand in front of me. I hesitated for a moment. But then I interpreted that he wanted me to hold his hand.

My interpretation was correct as he walked me to the fountain. Then he let go of my hand.

"You know, this song...I played it especially for you."

Not knowing what to say, I breathed a slight sigh of relief. For me? "I'm glad you were able to come in time. Thank you, (Name)." I shook my head. "No, I have to say thank you..no one has ever done anything like this for me before- I..." Touched by this gesture, I wiped across my eyelids. Hahh, I'm almost starting to cry.

He smiled and took my hand again. "I don't have to perform anymore today. Come on, I'll drive you home."

At first I thought he was joking. Venti...and driving a car? But that thought quickly disappeared when I found myself in the passenger seat. Slightly, I turned my head to Venti, who was looking intently at the road. His black jacket was neatly folded on my lap. His collar from the white shirt was slightly open because he had freed his neck from the bow and opened 2 buttons. I definitely know he's not a fan of suits. But the way he looked so focused and with his hair tied back made him look a little more grown up. His eyes kept lighting up from the streetlights we kept passing as we drove by. It was funny how he seemed playful at times and then suddenly grown up again.

"I...didn't know you knew how to drive."

"Surprise~ I very rarely do, though, and to be honest I don't really like it."

"I see. Do you always perform there?"

"Hmm..occasionally. I like performing in bars. It's more fun for me there and I can wear whatever I want."

"Oh.." I leaned my head back and looked at the ceiling. Again, I felt dizzy. But I wanted to keep that to myself. But when we arrived at our place, he insisted on walking me to my apartment. For I flew up quickly as I swayed for a moment.

"Hey, I'm fine," I assured him. "No, and now off to bed with you!" Sighing, I gave in, took off my shoes and let him escort me to bed. It was strange to be still in bed in these clothes. I was much too tired to change. Venti knelt down next to me and rested a hand on my forehead. I turned my head to him and snuggled against his hand. "Your hand is pleasantly cool." I whispered and looked at him.

He remained quiet and stroked my forehead once. I know I felt safe with him.

A shiver goes down my body as a cool breeze floated over me. Venti now placed his hand on my cheek.

"You know, lately I've been forgetting what I dreamed," I began.

"Mhm."

"I can usually remember some things, though. Funny, isn't it?"

"Dreams have always been weird, but also meaningful," he smiled, releasing his hand from my cheek.

Meaningful..huh? I'm too tired to think about it any further right now. Maybe I can just close my eyes for a moment? But I want to keep looking at him..somehow.

"Your eye colors remind me of young grass in spring and the blue reminds me of the sky on a cloudless day. Venti..you have a very beautiful face.", I whispered, not taking my eyes off him.

I couldn't remember his reaction at all. That was because I had long since fallen asleep. All I saw after that was the night sky and a big tree. The view became clearer and clearer. Could I move? Yes, I could. There were little glowing butterflies flying around me. I wonder if they are actually butterflies. Where am I, anyway?

I heard grasshoppers, ducks swimming peacefully in the water around me, and the gentle wind. How peaceful.

While I don't know this place, I have a feeling I was here once. I ran into something again. I wanted to apologize, but it turned out that there was no one here but me. It was not a person. This statue.

Did I see it once? I couldn't move any further than I wanted to look at the face. I couldn't. The vision kept getting blurry. Why? After a few tries, I didn't make it again. Then I felt a slight pressure on my back. I now felt a presence, but I couldn't talk, couldn't see it, nor understand what it was telling me. Then I toppled over.

I jumped up from the bed and grabbed my chest. My heart was beating fast.

A dream? It was only a dream.

I rubbed my eyes and looked at my slightly wet fingers. Was I crying? But because of what? Wait, I was dreaming, wasn't I? What was it about? What was it? No, no, no! I held my head in frustration.

Dejectedly, I got up from the bed and washed my face with cool water. Bending over my sink, I let the water drip from my face, I felt so heavy. Then I looked at the mirror. It took me a few seconds to realize that Venti brought me here last night. In the apartment, I looked around, but he seemed to have left long ago.

In fact, my kitchen was a bit of a mess and there was a small notepad on my table. I read it.

"Here, eat something great! Because food is important." He was cooking for me. So he was here overnight? After I finished eating, I thanked him for the food, of course. But not for the mess in the kitchen he made while cooking. I cleaned everything up and visited the university in the afternoon. I was still preoccupied with what I might have dreamed last night. All I know is that it felt very real and familiar. A few scenarios were very faded in my mind. It was definitely night..wasn't it?

Maybe a couple of pictures will help me awaken my dreams? In my free time, I went to the library hoping to find something. Anything.

I brushed my hand from books to books in the history section, fantasy, lifestyle as well as psychology.

Diligently I flipped from page to page, stroking my index finger from paragraph to paragraph. And at some point I realized that I was just wasting my time after all. I put the book back on the shelf. Right, why does it engage me? What was I expecting to find, anyway? Surely it was just lucid dreaming or something, I don't know. Sometimes I didn't understand myself.

Laughing softly, I shook my head at myself. "How stupid of me..."

And in the end, I left the library empty-handed and of course, wasted time.

That night I tossed and turned a bit in bed, flipping my pillow over to the cool side and tried to fall asleep. I jerked awake as my phone vibrated. A message.

"Who needs sleep when you have wine?"

I sighed and wrote back. "You need sleep. Put down the wine."

"Change of subject! Are you looking forward to our trip?"

I actually wanted to roll my eyes when he tried to change the subject, but when he mentioned our trip, I almost slapped my forehead. That's right, it's coming up soon. Our trip to his cottage!

"Of course I do. But first comes work and all the stress..then let's see how much free time from the semester we both have."

"You're spoiling my wine! You're doing it on purpose!"

"Yep."

Really..this guy. I layed back down and looked up at the ceiling. The corner of my mouth formed into a smile.

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