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The announcement of Library closing time brought Xingqiu back from his reading trance. Checking the time again to confirm that it is indeed 10 minutes to midnight Xingqiu decided to grab the remaining volume of the novel including the one he’s currently reading and check them all out at the reception before putting them all in his blue backpack along with his laptop and works. He thanks the librarian before starting his treks through a cold and windy way home. He stopped by a convenient store to grab a few cans of energy drinks and a few light snacks to nibble on while reading and head back.
He closes the door behind him and hangs the drenched coat on the coat rack before putting his shoes near the heater. He was making himself a cup of hot chocolate when a Skype notification went off. Chongyun messages him that he is free now. Xingqiu smiles and replies that he’ll be there soon and pours himself a cup of hot chocolate and set them down in his study before turning on his laptop and boot up Skype and sending a quick message to Chongyun that he’s ready and accepts the invitation to video call from him. Chongyun's face pops up on the screen with a popsicle half-eaten in his hand. Xingqiu chuckles softly at his best friend's typical behaviour. "I see you are still the same, even in this draughty weather" Chongyun hums in response before taking a bite off "and you still use some hard word Xingqiu'' they both smiles "how's your master going?" "Just defending my dissertation and I'm getting that degree~ how're you with your business?" "Which one? My streaming career is booming but this exorcist business I inherited still makes me walk outside. You know I don't want to go outside when the sun's up" Xingqiu chuckles before taking sips from his cup of hot cocoa before a loud scream came from Chongyun's side of the screen and Xiangling and Aether jump the surprised boy off-screen before the screen is filled with both their face "Xingqiu! We missed you back here too! Come back soon okay!" Followed by Aether nodding repeatedly. Xingqiu laughs at their antics "alright, alright. I should get my degree in 3 months time and I'm heading back there immediately, also what did you guys do to my boyfriend? Did you put Paimon on him again?" Aether looks away at that and Xiangling grabs the camera and turns it to see Chongyun slightly terrified expression while staring at a white cat with light brown fur around its head that Aether insists that it's a crown. Xingqiu smiles fondly at Chongyun before reprimanding the two lightly to which Aether gives a sheepish laugh before grabbing Paimon away from a thankful Chongyun before leaving with Xiangling who then leaves a few boxes of food on the table and told Chongyun to tell her how it tastes afterwards. "Sorry about that'' Chongyun seats himself back and resets the camera back to its previous angle and sighs softly “Xingqiu, I really miss you” “I missed you too, my dear Chongyun” Xingqiu smiles softly while Chongyun coughs away a small blush creeping upon his cheeks. They both bid farewell since Chongyun needs to get ready for his work and Xingqiu really needs to stop sleeping by passing out while reading books. Xingqiu presses a kiss to his finger and puts it at the camera before turning Skype off and shutting down his laptop.
He cleans the hot cocoa mug, takes a bath, and gets ready for bed, all the while smiling serenely. “I’ll be back there soon Chongyun” he speaks softly to himself and turns off the light to sleep.