ZhongChi | 鍾タル From the Abyss

From Snezhnaya to Liyue

Childe POV:
I arrived at Liyue for my mission after a few hours on a boat. Apparently I'm supposed to search for this 'Wangsheng Funeral Parlor Consultant'. I wonder what sort of person he is...

Childe arrived at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor. He told the Fatui Diplomat to bring his stuff to his room at the assigned hotel while he go meets the consultant.

The sun is shining brightly in Liyue. By the time Childe arrived, it was noon. The hot  Liyue sun tests the Harbinger.

Childe: It's so hot here...

The Harbinger unbuttons the 3 last buttons on his shirt revealing his abs.

"Umm, excuse me? Why are you stripping here in broad daylight?"

Childe POV:
"Ouh uh, I'm not- this isn't what u think it is!" I said hurriedly to not make the man get the wrong idea.
"Oh, I see... Then what ARE you doing here at The Wangsheng Funeral Parlor of all places?" Said the gentleman with pretty eyes- wait what am I saying?? Lol.

"Oh, um you see, I'm supposed to meet a certain Consultant here."

"Oh, you're the Fatui Harbinger? I'm the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor Consultant, Zhongli."

" Oh nice to meet you then. I'm The 11th Fatui Harbinger, Tartaglia. You can call me Childe tho." I told him to call me Childe because Tartaglia kinda feels distant. We ARE going to get closer if I want any information on the Geo Archon.

"As a welcome to Liyue, why don't I treat you to some Liyue cuisine?"Asked Zhongli.
"I'd gladly accept the offer." Answered Childe.

"I'll tell you the details once I've arranged everything."

"What arrangements? Where are we eating?" I asked, confused.
"If I'm going to welcome a guess from afar, then I have to present you the best Liyue cuisine." Said Zhongli with a soft smile on his face.

"I'll look forward to it then. I'm off to my hotel room now."

Childe went to his room

I sat on my hotel room bed. I was hungry from the trip so I ate some food I brought. I smiled, remembering it's Tonia's cooking. She had become a wonderful girl. Back then, she only knew dishes I thought her. Now she knows a lot more other dishes it sometimes surprises me. I'm so proud of her 😊.

I finished eating, washed my dish. I unpacked all my stuff.  I don't have anything to do so now I'm kinda bored. Maybe I'll walk around outside. Suddenly I heard a knock on my door. I opened the door to see Zhongli-sensei. "Childe-dono, are you free at the time?" "Yeah." "Good, we will have dinner at the restaurant I've prepared. In the meantime, you should get a tour of Liyue Harbor."

We walked out of the hotel. He then showed me a lot of places. From the tour, I noticed how Liyue is always busy and lively. With shops, restaurants. It's also very pretty. He talked a lot about Liyue history. He talked about everything and every shop in details like a very knowledgeable person. He knew A LOT of stuff. It kinda impresses me. His voice is very soothing that I don't mind listening to his long stories. This might be the first time I've ever think of anyone's voice like that. "It's 7 o'clock. Let's go have dinner. Follow me." Said Zhongli-sensei.

We entered this fancy place. The decorations were very fancy. This must be a very pricey restaurant. Not that it minds me, I have a lot money. Didn't know Zhongli-sensei is a rich man but I wouldn't be surprised by his looks.
He ordered some food for me (his recommendations) and the food came. I noticed there weren't any spoons or forks on the table. "Umm... How are we supposed to eat?" "Using the chopsticks of course" said Zhongli-sensei as he picked up the food with two wooden sticks. "Do I have to use chopsticks? I don't really know how to use them." "You have to use them to fully experience the Liyue cuisine. You should get used to them. Not everything in Liyue necessarily needs chopsticks but the food I ordered are best experienced with them." Said Zhongli-sensei as he gracefully used the pair of chopsticks. "Okay then..." I replied hesitantly as I awkwardly hold the chopsticks and try to copy Zhongli-sensei. It's really hard. I couldn't even balance them on my hands and kept letting go of it. It didn't fall on the ground thankfully. I could finally hold them on my hands, I think. I tried to pick up some food but they kept falling back inside the dish. My hand was shaking the whole time! Zhongli-sensei noticed how I was struggling for the pass 10 minutes. "Childe-dono, look over here. Open your mouth, I'll help you." He said with a soft smile. I'm sure he's not thinking of anything bad but... It feels like he's treating me like a kid! I'm kinda embarrassed but he doesn't look like he is joking.  "Aa~umm" I started chewing. It's REALLY good! "How does it tastes?" "It's REALLY good 😃!" Zhongli-sensei offered me some more and I immediately opened my mouth again. I noticed this and quickly felt my face redding up. What am I doing?? He's not my mom! I'm not even in the age where being fed by my mom is normal. I'm 20 for god's sake! But it's such a waste I can't eat such good food... I continued being fed by Zhongli-sensei like this. I could feel some stares but I ignored it and continued eating some good food. We finished and it's time to pay. A waiter came to our table and places a bill. I was right! It is expensive. Suddenly Zhongli-sensei looked over to me. "It appears I had forgotten to bring mora..." Said Zhongli-sensei with a troubled face. "It's fine, I can pay for both of us." I said calmly with a smile.

The food was SO expansive. It's fine because I'm loaded tho 😎. After we finished eating, we had some tea and chatted. In this one day we get to talk a lot and know each other. He's a really nice guy apart from making me pay each and every time (which doesn't bother me).  It was getting late. We went back to our homes.