𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 ➤ 𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐨

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓.

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𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝐈 𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 conversation that zhongli and mr l/n were having, everything about it was boring. flowers this, bridesmaids that. i glanced up at y/n, who had an unrecognisable look on her face. a smile was plastered on her face but her eyes were filled with sadness.

"y/n..y/n." her mother whispered from beside her, not being heard by zhongli or y/n's father. the girl jumped slightly, her gaze directed to her mother. "are you alright? you've been zoning out for a few minutes now." the concern in her mother's voice caused me to look at y/n yet again. this time, her eyes were filled with a hidden sadness which was not visible to her mother.

she spoke in a hushed voice, meaning i couldn't hear what she responded to her mother with. the next thing i knew she rushed out the dining room leaving all of us, other than her mother, in complete shock.

"should i go get her?" piped up zhongli, the question directed at mr l/n. he sat there, rage beginning to boil through his body. he was obviously extremely pissed off at his daughter for leaving so suddenly.

he took a deep breath before glancing directly at me. i shifted uncomfortably in my seat, as his deadly eyes pierced through me. "you. go get her. i need to discuss the wedding plans with zhongli. be quick about it." with this, he simply stared back at zhongli, completely ignoring me.

it pissed me off. it seemed to me like her only showed respect to those with wealth.

my blood began to boil, although, i managed to keep my professionalism and stood up, briskly walking out of the door. i stared around the hall, my gaze landing on the (h/c) girl infront of a closed off staircase. i shifted my body behind a corner so i wasn't visible to her. when i looked around again, she was gone.

ah shit. i have to follow her now. i dragged myself after her, being careful so she didn't notice my presence. i slipped through an open door and quietly leaned on the wall, standing directly behind y/n.

"i wonder if i could bring this place back to life.." she said it quietly, but just loud enough for me to hear it.

"you'll need experience with plants if you want to fix this place."

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𝐲/𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐯

i resisted the urge to let out a scream, jumping around to face whoever followed me. there stood xiao,leaning against the wall, looking at me with the same stoic expression.

"what are you doing here?" i asked, quietly, making eye contact with him. he furrowed his brows at me.

"i should be asking you that question miss l/n. this place is closed off." i ignored his statement and continued to look straight at him.

we stood staring at each other for a short while, before i broke the silence. "well then, do you have experience?" i fully turned my body to him, crossing my arms. he seemed slightly surprised at my gesture, but he composed himself quickly. "no, but verr does, you could always ask her to help." i saw his gaze break away from my own and travel around the room.

"once you're done fixing this place up.." his gaze shifted back to me. "invite me over, i want to see what you've done with the place." his amber eyes pierced through my skin - the gaze was intimidating yet gentle. i shot my eyes down to the ground, feeling slightly awkward as he looked at me.

"sorry if i'm intruding on your business, but why were you crying in the library earlier?" a wave of shock shuddered through my body. i glanced back up at him, being met with a look of seriousness. "you were crying, correct?" he asked.

"i..uh." i struggled to find the words, so simply dropped my gaze down to the floor again. xiao slowly stepped closer to me, grabbing my chin with his hand gently, lifting up my face to his. as soon as i realised how close we were my cheeks flushed heavily, causing me to take a small step backwards. "when i bumped into you, your eyes were slightly red and glossy."

he released his hand from my chin and took a small step back, but he was still close enough for me to feel the heat radiating off his body. "i'm sorry about that by the way." he turned his body, beginning to walk out of the room. once he reached the door, he stopped, looking back over his shoulder. "let's go. you have marriage plans to make."

my feet stood planted where they were. i don't want to go back there. i don't want to get married. why doesn't anyone understand? why does life have to be so unfair?

the back of my eyes started stinging, as the warm liquid welled up inside them. my vision turned hazy as the tears filled my eyes, threatening to spill down my cheeks.

"you don't want to get married do you?" xiao spoke, still looking at me. "that's why you were crying." i couldn't find the effort to respond with words, so i gently nodded my head.

"well then, how about we get out of here?"