Hydrophobic ¦ Xingqiu x Reader [Genshin Impact]

Trouble In Paradise [26]

CW: Violence
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I think I love him.

With a rested elbow on the wooden table, you place your cheek on the palm of your hand, clearly enjoying the company of a new potential suitor.

Kraus Roth, the second child of a book publishing company from Mondstadt, and an obvious bookworm such as yourself, was your third date.

Nice, polite, and well-kept. Just the way you like them.

Your second date wasn't to your liking. The guy was nice... only to you. He was actually quite rude to others and was too proud of himself but you couldn't blame Lea for this since his facade was a tough wall to break.

You went to Starsnatch cliff with him and overall, it was an okay date if you excluded his rudeness. Nonetheless, you were now with Kraus who seemed to fit in every category that you like.

He was quite the tricky one since he first wanted you to choose the place of the agreed meet-up but luckily, Lea, the maid you entrusted your plans with, was quick to dismiss such an idea and persuaded him to follow the primary objective.

You knew his intentions in letting you pick the place was because he wanted you to think that he was thoughtful enough to hear about your decisions. But of course, that wouldn't work for you.

In the end, he chose to meet you at Luhua Pool for lunch—which was surprising because he's from Mondstadt so his preferred place caught you off-guard. At first, you thought it was an odd choice for a date spot but when you saw him admiring the beautiful landscape, you had almost mistaken your reality as a scene from a romance novel.

He later explains to you that he used to travel a lot with his older sister and this place was his favorite out of everywhere in Liyue.

At first, you only walked with him along the rims of the pools, trying to balance yourself as he held your hand, and talked about trivial matters between the two of you. If you were being honest with yourself, it wasn't the best idea since your outfit below your knees were now drenched but the fun experience you had was worth the trouble.

Besides the right statue located in Luhua Pool, rests an elevated landform. Kraus suggested that you go there with him and when the two of you successfully reached the top, the place greeted you with a neatly decorated table with food for lunch.

You were expecting a lot but certainly not a surprise meal.

"And that's how you preserve flowers." He finishes his discussion with a smile, earning himself a nod from you.

"How interesting. I'll be sure to take note of that. I like how you seem to be filled with engrossing knowledge."

"You flatter me too much, my lady."

"[Name] is fine." You wipe your mouth with a tissue after sipping on your drink. "Now, how do you like your bookmarks?" you smile back, lightening the mood with a silly question.

"Handmade. My older sister likes arts and crafts so she makes some for me. What about you?"

"Honestly, anything that's small and near me counts as a bookmark." You chuckle to yourself and he joins along. "Favorite book?"

"Heart's Desire."

"That's a good book!"

His presence was comforting and even somewhat familiar but there was also something missing about him—you just couldn't put your finger on it.

You take your glass of juice again while staring below and as you were in the middle of drinking, three treasure hoarders were marching their way towards an entrance between the two statues then another pair in the same organization followed with a familiar face getting dragged with them, making you spit out your drink—luckily away from your date.