Glaze Lilies (Chili Flower Shop AU)

Chapter 13

Zhongli took a deep breath, focusing on himself. On the other side of the curtain, chatter filled the open stadium and it was overwhelming. The weight of what was happening was crashing down on Zhongli and he wanted to walk away. His boys were with Ayato for the day who had taken them to the park nearby to play. Ayaka and Guizhong were out in the crowd to support him and Barbados was lingering in the back with Zhongli. Barbados had been in contact with Ningguang who had taken rule of Liyue City temporarily after his faked death. Like everyone else, she had been left out of the loop about it and even still had no idea what the announcement was about, simply that Barbados intended to address the issues of the fires happening in their city.

"We are ready to go." Barbados said, his voice low to address his friend.

"Of course." Zhongli nodded, glancing back at Barbados.

"You're certain about this?" Barbados asked hesitantly.

"There is no other choice. I have to protect my boys and I can't do that if I'm dead." Zhongli stated, his tone was empty. He didn't want to return to this life, he didn't want to be away from his boys, but there was no other choice now.

"Okay." Barbados nodded before slipping through the curtains. It was quiet for a moment as Barbados approached the microphone. He tapped on it, testing it, before adjusting it to his height. "Hey Liyue City!" Barbados grinned. "I know you're very confused by this sudden announcement and concerned about now two fires back to back. I've got someone here today who will be able to address both of those issues. He is a good friend of mine." Barbados explained.

Zhongli took a breath, stepping out onto the stage, approaching his friend. There was an uproar when the crowd realized who it was. Zhongli was dressed in his formal robes, his hair done up nice, and he was recognizable to everyone there. He was Morax.

"Thank you Barbados." Zhongli said with a nod before turning back to the stunned crowd. "I'm sure you all have a lot of questions and I will answer every one of them truthfully. Instead of explaining everything I'll explain each question as in depth as I can."

All the hands shot up almost immediately, desperate to ask their questions. Zhongli pointed to one of the people in front and the hands went back down.

"Why did you fake your death?" He asked and Zhongli wasn't surprised it was the first question asked.

"I have worked very hard to keep my work life private from my home life." Zhongli said with a sad smile. "Very few people know this but I am in fact married with three beautiful boys. My oldest is three, my middle is a year and a half, and my youngest is a few months. They are everything to me. Just after my youngest was born, my wife fell very ill and we quickly learned it was terminal. Barbados helped me fake my death so that I could be with my wife and children and when the inevitable did happen, I would be able to step up and take care of them, and I did." Zhongli explained.

There was an uneasy silence as everyone processed his words. A hesitant hand went into the air and Zhongli pointed to her.

"If that's the case, why are you coming back?" She asked him.

"I didn't want to. I fought it for a long time, but it was inevitable. The fire in the apartment and the fire in the shop were both targeted at me. It started in my apartment and had I not been staying with Barbados at the time, I would have died. The fire in the shop, in my shop, caught me in it. I was able to get out with the help of a friend, but not unscathed. I spent a few days in the hospital and a few days bedside recovering. In order to protect myself and my children, I chose to come back. We are still trying to figure out who made the attempts on my life, but the full force of Liyue will be brought down on them when we do." Zhongli explained and the chatter came back. The shock that their Archon had been targeted and almost killed for real. "And I have one more thing." Zhongli said, looking directly at the camera. "Ex-Fatui Harbinger, Childe, is under my protection. As the one who saved my life from the fire, I owe him a debt and any harm that comes to him will be the same as harm coming to me." Zhongli stated.