𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐁! genshin impact

18 i am the observer, i'm the witness of life

i am not my body, not my mind or my brain (ha).
not my thoughts or feelings, i am not my DNA.
i am the observer, i'm a witness of life.
— MARINA

CHAPTER 18 NINGGUANG

everyone was in the process of altering their attire,  while you remained there thinking about what is happening after you entered the host club.

"what's going on-" you couldn't complete your question as venti grabbed your arm and dragged you to the changing room, where he tossed you a set of clothing. "just change already!"

while albedo was jotting something in his notepad behind the curtains, he decided to chat to you, "where were you?" he inquired, his ears picking up the sounds of you undressing behind him.

"i was simply walking around the academy with gorou," you said, unaware that a scowl appeared on albedo's lips as you uttered that name, while you grimaced at a previous encounter.

when the childhood pair walked inside the gym, they saw the familiar oni playing basketball. his attention was drawn to the two persons who had come, and he felt a grin appear on his lips when he finally got sight of the cross-dressing boy from the festival.

"hey boy!" itto yelled out, successfully attracting your attention. "this one's for you!" he cried as he flung the basketball towards the loop, utterly missing the shot.

the only sounds in the vicinity were the basketball bouncing on the floor and gorou repressing his chuckle for a brief moment. instead, you were humiliated by him, so you grabbed gorou by the back of his collar and dragged him out of the gymnasium.

you donned the tuxedo successfully, adjusting the tie to save yourself from getting suffocated by it. you then drew the drapes to the side, revealing albedo, who was concentrating on his notepad, facing you by his back.

"what do you think?" you tapped him by the shoulder, showing him your appearance. albedo turned his head and his teal eyes met yours, he gave you a delicate smile and gestured his head, "you look attractive."

"however, it would be better if you wore a dress instead," he said quietly; thankfully, y/n didn't hear him. "what was that?" she questioned, raising one of her brows as she hadn't heard his last phrase.

"i was just thinking today is going to be a huge day," albedo lied calmly as he closed his notepad and turned his attention to you. with that look, you reacted just how albedo had anticipated you to question him.

"we have to show them what our club is genuinely like," he said briefly, offering you a little rose to put in the pocket of your tuxedo, "because the host club won first place in the festival last time," he explained hastily.

"black suits you," he commented abruptly.

you remained there for a few minutes, staring at the rose in his palm, before exclaiming, "if you keep acting like this, you're going to make me act up." you then reached out and snatched the rose from his grip.

"i don't see any issues with that." (SIR ISTG-)

adults and their batchmates flooded in as soon as the host club opened its doors. while you sat on one of the couches, chewing on some biscuits, you stayed at your own station.

you saw how nicely albedo and aether interacted with the grownups, particularly the university's headmaster. then you noticed scaramouche chatting with the twins who had previously sold dango-milk.

'they seemed so close,' you thought to yourself, but then a figure appeared in front of you, blocking your vision. a familiar white-haired lady with crimson eyes looking at yours, usually dressed in luxurious attire that stood out from the crowd.

you gasped and looked surprised when you saw your cousin, but there was beidou behind her, who seemed bored when she saw the grownups enter the room. ningguang handed you a tiny paper bag after crossing her arms.

before ningguang speak out, your gaze moved to the paper bag and opened it, revealing a box of macaroons within.

"may i ask why you're at this sort of club?" ningguang asked, her voice sounding calm but loaded with malice. your gaze then moved across to beidou, as if pleading for her help, which beidou noticed.

"hey, at least she has a club! the club looks astonishing and you look attractive with that suit of yours." beidou finger-gunned towards you and tumbled down to the sofa to sit alongside you. ningguang sighed at this and sat down on the couch before them.

"a lot has happened... but i can handle it!" you said, relaxing back in your chair and watching ningguang sipping tea while listening to your answers. "don't tell me you have no option but to join this host club; it's all of a sudden for you to join this type of club."

you knew that if you told her how you got into this situation, she'd end up paying instead like a sugar mommy, just like beidou. but if she did, you'd be ashamed of yourself. as a result, it would be preferable if you handled this situation.

"change of mind," y/n smiled at ningguang, attempting to disguise the fact that she was clearly lying, and thankfully, ningguang seemed to believe her. beidou, meanwhile, was happily snacking on cupcakes and humming.

then, at that point, the eye-patched lady noticed her cousin, "hey, kazuha! did you get it?" grabbing the attention of kazuha, who was perplexed to discover two familiar seniors seated in your station, "what's it?" he inquired.

"the pussy," beidou told plainly, and kazuha sighed. "don't say improper things here, we're trying to maintain a decent image of our club," he scolded, but beidou didn't seem to bother and changed the subject.

"the cupcakes are delicious!"

"hey, y/n," ningguang called, her finger touching the teacup in her palm and her gaze fixed on the tea. "yeah?" you replied, finally meeting her gaze, "i can pay for your tuito-"

"absolutely not."

↷ ⁞ END OF CHAPTER 18 !

⟶ chapter written; march 15 2022