The Boy Who Cried Fox

Weekends (1)

It was the weekend. Childe, Aether and Lumine promised to meet up with some of their friends. When they walked down to the cafe nearby, Lisa, Jean, Diluc, Kaeya and one other blonde girl.

"Barbara." Childe waved at her before they all claimed a table at the cafe. While talking about random stuff, they heard the door open and Childe recognized who came in all too well. But what was he wearing? And who was that next to him?

"Thanks for getting me the job, Li. I needed it." The female of the 2 had shoulder length grayish white hair and olive green eyes. In a black corset bralette with a rose pink jacket tied around her waist and baggy ripped jeans, her appearance seemed to defy her height, being a head shorter than the other.

"No problem. Thanks for giving me the free week." Zhongli, the very same new student Zhongli from Friday morning, was no longer wearing clothes that covered almost every inch of skin but revealed most of it. His hair was no longer in a low ponytail but a messy bun that was situated on the top of his head. Wearing a beige crop top with a black turtleneck underneath, black short shorts and thigh high black and white striped socks with high heeled knee length boots, Childe swore that his nose was bleeding. And the angle he got showed off even more of the dump he was carrying.

"Why do I get the feeling someone's staring?" The girl turned around and made eye contact with the group. Zhongli also turned around and immediately blushed profusely.

Z: Why did they have to see me like this???? Ah, this is so embarrassing...

Instinctively, the girl undid her jacket and handed it to Zhongli, who covered himself.

"Uh...so this is Noelle." Zhongli diverted their attention to the girl next to him. She waved and pulled up a chair next to Barbara. Zhongli sat next to Childe, which was a bad idea. Ed Sheeran was already half hard and this wasn't going to help him at all. The jacket did a good job of shielding most of the skin but his thighs...if it weren't for the socks, Childe could have died right then and there. Making sure that he was respectfully looking away while stealing quiet glances, no one could escape the watchful eye of Lisa.

"My, my. What a bold move, Childe..." Lisa mumbled to herself. But Lisa wasn't the only one who noticed. Noelle seemed on the verge of crushing the empty coffee cup she was holding. But everyone else was too oblivious to notice the silent battle going on between the 3.

"So, I heard that Ganyu finally asked Keqing out! I feel so single now." Lumine threw her head back.

"Ganyu? You mean that same Ganyu that stayed with Aunt Ping when we were in middle school, that Ganyu?" Noelle tossed the cup to Zhongli who caught it while looking at his phone.

"Yep. Ganyu from elementary school with Xiao and Hu Tao." Zhongli tossed the cup back to her as he held up his phone.

"I remember them. When they left, Qiqi was just a little baby. Awh, I miss them so much." Noelle zoomed in on the photo of three smiling kids.

"That's Xiao?! He usually sits in the back or on the roof sulking." Aether dropped the straw he was twirling in his fingers just to stare at the photo.

"Yea, those three were especially close to us." Noelle glanced at the photo one more time before she threw the cup away.

"Wait, Venti said you were moving. You done?" Childe recalled what the braided boy told him.

"Yep. Single dorm and no, I'm not accepting any dorm requests." Zhongli pulled the jacket closer, trying to hide as much skin as possible as it was embarrassing when you were with your acquaintances in a crop top and short shorts. The random conversations continued until Noelle alerted Zhongli that they had to leave because of some important unavoidable business. So Childe reluctantly said goodbye to the male as he watched the 2 walk out. But he noticed something that would continue to haunt him for a while. Both of their hands intertwined. Trying but failing to ignore the small detail, Childe got up and went back to his house. Tonia greeted her older brother before giving him a letter.

"Dorms are compulsory, please arrive by this weekend. Thanks Tonia, but will you be fine on your own? I mean, with mom just having left the day before to meet dad in Sumeru." Childe was worried about leaving his little sister with his 2 younger brothers for weeks on end.

"We made it through last year, we can make it through this one! Also, I met someone who is willing to help us as long as he gets a small allowance. Something about his siblings needing help with finances." Tonia gave Childe the details before giving him a bowl filled with some seafood soup. Tonia also informed him that they already packed his things for him. Childe put the girl to bed and in the process said goodnight to his 2 younger brothers, Anthon and Teucer, before heading to bed and double checking everything. Sighing, Childe plopped onto the couch and decided to check on this supposed babysitter.

"Profile...Albedo...helper at Teyvat Kindergarten...21. Seems legit." Childe recalled that Tonia told him that she met him while picking up Teucer. With nothing else to do, Childe fell asleep on the sofa, phone pressed against his chest.

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