Zhongchi「 Coffee shop AU 」

A Guoba for rainy days

The chime of the bell announced the man's return to the coffee shop, and with it, the sound of the rain outside could also be heard louder in the shop. By that time, the sun was long gone and the moon stood high in the sky. Zhongli took the bags to the kitchen and carefully placed them on the counter, taking the groceries out and putting them in their respective drawers.

"Mr. Zhongli, I wasn't expecting to see you here so late." - a friendly voice could be heard from behind - "Good evening, Miss Xiangling." - the man greeted her - "It took a while to find the pumpkin sauce, that's all."

"Pumpkin sauce... Don't most stores sell that?" - the girl muttered to herself - "Well, either way, it's really late for you to be here. Let me help you with that, so you can go home and rest."

"I'd appreciate that." - he smiled.

The two stowed everything quickly and just as Zhongli was heading out, Xiangling called him, making him stop right by the entrance door.

"Mr. Zhongli, wait a minute." - she called, hurrying to his side - "I noticed your coat was all wet when you walked inside before, so I'm assuming you didn't bring an umbrella with you."

"That would be correct." - the man chuckled a little embarrassed - "Well, I always leave one extra in my locker for when I forget mine, so why don't you take this one?" - the girl suggested, grabbing her umbrella from the bucket nearby - "Just please, bring it back tomorrow."

"Oh, thank you. That's...very considerate of you." - Zhongli was surprised when he saw the umbrella, but he couldn't say no to the girl's act of kindness - "Then I'll take it."

"You're welcome!" - she smiled brightly and then headed to the locker room, coming back just a minute later with another umbrella in hand. She hurried outside the coffee shop and opened it, waving goodbye to the man still inside before going home.

When the girl was out of sight, Zhongli gazed at the umbrella she had given him once more and a long sigh escaped his lips. Then, he turned all the shop's lights off and locked the door, walking outside. When he opened the umbrella, the image of what looked like a happy bear jumping on a puddle was revealed on top.

Zhongli recognized the image instantly. Just a few days before, the girl had barged in the coffee shop, still during morning hours, talking excitedly about her new umbrella. Hu Tao, the director and owner, had also just walked in minutes before and was still in the staff's room when she heard the commotion outside and came rushing to see what had happened. When Zhongli came from the kitchen to check on the situation himself, he was met with a very excited girl ranting about her new umbrella, and the director, almost just as excited as the her, complimenting the cute drawing on it, while still on her underwear.

Recalling the situation with a small laugh, Zhongli raised the umbrella above his head and walked outside the shop, heading home.

The man went to sleep early that night, and woke up exactly thirty minutes earlier than his usual, so he could be the first to arrive at the coffee shop.

Unlocking the door, he walked inside and placed the umbrella he had borrowed from his co-worker the night before inside the bucket at the entrance. Zhongli made his way towards the staff's room and put on his green apron, walking back to the kitchen.

It was now seven in the morning and the coffee shop would be opening in half hour. The director is usually the one who opens the shop, so she was surprised when she opened the already unlocked door. She looked around for intruders, but the only unusual thing she found inside was a sign that read 'reserved' on a table close to the window.

"My, do my eyes deceive me or is this really Mr. Zhongli being the first to get here today~" - she spoke, noticing the man upon entering the kitchen.

"Good morning to you too, Director." - the man greeted, rather sarcastically, but Hu Tao just chuckled and walked closer to him, tilting her head in front of his - "So, what's the occasion today? Don't think I didn't notice the table you reserved. Is ginger guy coming today? I didn't know you two were close."

She practically filled him with questions and guesses, and Zhongli had to push her out of the kitchen, so he could be at peace. He handed her a handkerchief and a cleaning spray and pushed her out - "Now, would you be so kind as to clean the tables for when your dear costumers arrive? Thank you ever so much." - he said before closing the door to the kitchen, leaving her alone.

However, that didn't stop her from talking over the door. Yes, her voice would be muffled, but still audible - "Ooh~ So it is the ginger guy. Zhongli, I didn't know you two were dating. I'm telling Venti about this!" - she said, before placing the cloth and the spray on a nearby table and pulling her phone out. Just a couple moments later, the door opened behind her and a rather annoyed Zhongli came out - "Please refrain from talking about such topics at work." - he uttered - "I'm not dating anyone and my personal life has nothing to do with you or Venti."

And before Hu Tao could say anything to that, Zhongli closed the door again and went back to his business. The director had never seen her employee so annoyed at her comments before. It wasn't the first time a situation like this had came up and when she commented about his previous crushes, Zhongli had always played along with it. This time, however, it seemed like he really didn't want her getting in his personal life.

Perhaps this realization helped her understand the situation better. Now more quietly, she knocked on the door to the kitchen before opening it.

"Is this one for real?" - she asked, but Zhongli didn't answer. She thought that maybe he was mad at her, but that wasn't the case. Zhongli put the cloth he was using to clean the kitchen down and turned back to face the girl - "What if I say yes?" - he said, raising an eyebrow - "Then I'd like to apologize for what I said."

Silence, again, and then a small nod. Zhongli faced the stove once more and continued cleaning - "That's alright. I just don't want you to go around spreading weird rumors. He doesn't need to know it just yet."

"I understand." - Hu Tao nodded and then turned back to her usual self - "Well, my most amazing and secretly favorite employee, I hope you know you have my full support!" - she said with the biggest smile.

"I knew he was your favorite!" - a very offended sounding voice echoed behind her - "Venti, haha... What are you doing here?"

"You texted me saying you had something urgent to tell me, so I came running to the shop." - he explained - "But now, I very much regret it. There was a street performer on the road and I missed the end of the performance because of you."

"Ehe~" - the girl laughed nervously - "What do you mean 'Ehe'?!"

"Good morning, Venti."

"Oh, Zhongli, hi. Good morning!" - the younger looking man greeted him with a smile and then turned back to the director - "Anyway, I won't forget your act of betrayal. So, what did you want to tell me?"

Venti's question left Hu Tao speechless, with now two men waiting for her answer. Venti, impatiently waiting with a look of 'this better be good' and Zhongli, leaning on the counter behind her, with a half frown.

"I... I'm getting married! Yep, that's it."

That was a lie. A very blunt one. Yet somehow, it worked - "What?!" - Venti's shout echoed all over the coffee shop and maybe even the poor souls outside were able to hear it - "With who?!"

"That's...confidential information! You'll know once you receive my invite to the wedding." - she said, placing her hands on her hips.

Zhongli just took his hand to his forehead, seeing more trouble yet to come.