Chapter Text
There was a strange softness underneath him, one that he doesn’t remember feeling. He remembered he was at his desk, clicking away at his laptop. Hu Tao had shoved a game for him to play, stating “You need to have some love experience, old man!” and while he wasn’t that much older than her, it was very clear she wasn’t going to back down on the fact that Zhongli was very much in fact, single for someone of his age and she so graciously gave him the best advice: a dating sim.
Now, Zhongli wasn’t the most familiar with these types of things, in fact, the only thing he did know about it was that most of the ones he encountered were catered more for those who liked the idea of romancing a selection of hot guys, trying to raise their affection level and get a happy ending. Hu Tao rapidly spoke about it once before (or many times, he just chose not to listen as attentively), when she was over wanting to hang out with Xiao and Ganyu, trying to pull Zhongli into the conversation when she had pulled out the artbook for the game she had been talking about.
He hadn’t been paying too much attention at the time, though while he knew the information, it had been deemed useless to him at the time. Tucked away at the moment when she made Zhongli listen to her ramble about the routes of all the characters, the choices, and the making him look at the artbook that even showed how to successfully one-hundred percent clear a route without making any mistakes.
So when he awoke, he was expecting to have a bit of a crick in his back from falling asleep at his desk, having put in the game disc onto his computer to test it out. He had gotten as far as going through almost halfway through the prologue he assumes before he had seemingly passed out.
So why was he on a bed? In a very strange and unfamiliar room?
Ever so slowly, he sits up and lets his eyes wander around. The softness of the bed itself was lulling him back to curl up and sleep it off, as if it was a dream but a quick harsh pinch to his cheek indicates he was not dreaming at all. And the dull stinging pain that lingers tells him that he was very much alive and awake.
“This is strange… Why does this room feel familiar…”
Had he seen this room before? He doesn’t really recall anything like that at all. Was this some sort of prank Hu Tao was playing on him? That would be impossible though, she couldn’t have carried Zhongli to wherever this was without waking him up in the process. And he certainly didn’t drink anything strange that could have put him to sleep.
“Young master? Are you awake?”
An unfamiliar voice calls out to him from the otherside of the door before the knob turns, pushing the door open, someone with long gold hair and golden eyes steps in, gazing curiously at Zhongli with a curious expression and a slight head tilt.
“You’ve been asleep for some time today, young master. We were getting worried you weren’t going to wake up. Come on, you’re going to be late for school!”
School? Zhongli doesn’t remember ever having to attend school for a couple years now but here this boy was, ushering him up and out of bed while another enters the room, looking exactly like the boy except with shorter blond hair, the front a little longer to frame her face, a hand on her hips as a fairy? Pixie? Floats behind her.
“Aether, you don’t need to keep addressing him as ‘young master’. Zhongli even said that we should address him as his name or ‘older brother’.” The girl states, looking a little exasperated at her brother who only pouts at her, the pixie floating around to peer into Zhongli’s face.
“Paimon doesn’t see how someone who was so sick with a cold just yesterday looks completely fine today!” And with that, the now named fairy called Paimon, floats over to Aether’s side, trying to tug the blond boy away from Zhongli’s closet in an attempt to pick out some clothes.
“But Lumine! Young mast- er- Zhongli helped us out, so it’s only fair we treat him with better respect.” He argues back after managing to shoo Paimon away, the fairy puffing her cheeks out in a puff and a “Don’t shoo Paimon like that!” and blond girl, Lumine he now knows, rolls her eyes slightly but doesn’t seem to be any sort of annoyed or angry at her twin.
They were twins, right?
Zhongli pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to wrap his head around what was happening. If he remembers correctly, the prologue of the game indicated that the main character took in a pair of golden haired twins and a fairy. Hu Tao had even excitedly explained how the twins are treated as the younger siblings of the main character and would do anything to protect the one who saved their life from living on the streets and nearly starving to death or perhaps a worse fate.
And right now, looking around the room and the slightly playful bickering of the twins in front of him, it clicks together.
He was inside the very game he was going to play.
“Aether, Lumine….” Zhongli speaks up finally, slowly and hesitantly, eyebrows knitted together to the point that his nose was almost scrunching up, a frown playing on his lips. The twins stop and peer over, a look of worry crossing over their features.
“Is everything alright?” Lumine is the first to speak up after a beat of silence, stepping forward to reach up to check the taller man’s temperature. “Are you still not feeling well, Zhongli?”
Now here was the hard part, how could he explain that he wasn’t actually of this world and this was a video game? No, he’d just sound crazy, no matter how logically he could explain it. And as far as he knew, Aether and Lumine were technically NPCs, right? Or would they be considered real people now that he was inside this game?
He tries to wrack his brain for the information Hu Tao babbled about the game when Paimon steals his attention away.
“We don’t have time for this! You guys are going to be late for school! It’s a new year which means a new semester and new faces!”
“Oh crap- Right! Zhongli, change into these and we’ll meet you outside in the carriage!”
“Wait, a carriage-” And before he could even say anything else, the three leave him to his own devices, clothes shoved into his arms as he stares down at it. A school uniform. With a resigned sigh, he strips of his current clothes, noting that his attire had also been different then from when he had been sitting at his desk before somehow coming to this world.
The uniform itself didn’t seem all that special. A white form fitting suit-like school uniform with a red contrasting tie and light gold trimmings to accent the outfit. There was a crest on the left side of the jacket itself, with seven little symbols embroidered within the crest itself. He could vaguely make out that it looked to imitate the elements of nature.
Snapping out of his thoughts, he glances to the clock on the wall, noting the time. He shouldn’t keep the others waiting and standing around like this wouldn’t certainly give him any clues as to how he should be getting back home, now would it?
The outside of the room was of similar grandeur and unfamiliarity. Whatever era this game was set in, this felt like a mansion. And so he finds his way to the front door—after getting turned around a couple times—exiting what he assumes is his home and descending down the front steps to the awaiting carriage, with Paimon waving her arms furiously.
“Hurry up~! You take forever! Paimon was ready to fall asleep!”
The fairy was hushed by Aether, watching his hands come up to pull her towards him. And so, reaching the last of the steps, Zhongli is quick to climb into the carriage after thanking the servant and it’s closed behind him, taking a seat beside Lumine.
And they’re off, the motion of the carriage rocking slightly as the horses, Zhongli immediately getting lost in his thoughts.
He was somehow transported to this game and he was now the main character. From what he remembers, there were five romanceable characters. One, however, was a secret character you had to unlock once you finished all the other routes. And if Hu Tao talked enough about a genre called ‘isekai’, then it was safe to assume he had to get all the happy ends if he wanted to return back to his world.
But what would happen if he got a bad ending? Would he be killed or stuck here forever? Would he have to find another way back to his world after that?
All this thinking was giving him a headache, he’d have to get a blank notebook at some point and write down everything he remembered from what he was shown and told by Hu Tao about this game, the plots, the characters and the choices.
So far, there hadn’t been any pop-up dialogue options, which he can only guess whether or not he’ll encounter it later on when it actually matters or it was a free-roam type of thing and he was left to make the choices and thinking to the point that even what he could say could affect the outcomes significantly.
This wasn’t how he wanted to be spending his time at all.
He heaves a heavy sigh, catching the twins and Paimon’s attention as they stared at him worriedly.
“Are you alright, Zhongli?” Aether speaks up, hesitantly almost as those golden orbs try and peer into the older man’s face, a frown adorning his features and eyebrows furrowed.
“Are you nervous about having to stay in the dorms at the school? Don’t worry! We’ll come keep you company in your room so you don’t feel lonely!” Paimon is next to pipe up, hands on her hips with a proud expression. “As long as you keep snacks in your room, Paimon will always keep you company!”
Lumine only rolls her eyes at the fairy’s goal in just wanting to eat, turning to Zhongli and resting a hand against his shoulder as she flashes him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Aether and I will do everything we can to help you feel more comfortable if you’re feeling out of place. You’re not alone, after all, it was our idea to have you join us at this school!”
That’s right, that was part of the plot, wasn’t it? The twins convince the main character to attend this academy with them, as the main character had been a sort of a shut-in genius who didn’t know how the world worked around them to an extent but not the most basic common sense of things.
Hu Tao had teased him that the main character reminded her of Zhongli when she was explaining the game.
At the time, he had dismissed her for that jab, not wanting to play into her hands in reacting. But, if that was the case, he could see the resemblance. Perhaps he could use this to his advantage though, with learning more about this world he was in. If he could apply his knowledge from his world, then perhaps he could easily achieve the happy ending’s for all the routes and go back home without having to spend so much time here.
After all, he wasn’t sure if time was still passing by in his world and if he would be deemed missing or he’d go back as if none of this happened at all and would think of it as nothing but just a very vivid, very realistic dream he had.
Another sigh leaves him, though he flashes a small smile at his three smaller companions.
“Thank you for your patience. I hope I don’t trouble or burden you too much while we’re attending the academy.” And he hopes he doesn’t make a fool of himself for not knowing too much about this world.
Perhaps he should go about in observing everything first and foremost, to get a feel for what this world is like. To understand it better. To know what he would be dealing with. After all, it was strange and unfamiliar territory.
One, he was in a new world he has no idea how he got to in the first place. Two, he was the main character which meant he would have to romance people, something that he’s never really actually done before. Three, aside from being not all that well-versed in romancing, he had to do this to get back home which meant he had to keep himself from really getting attached to anyone he would be with. Four, how good was his acting skills again? Five, he had to keep track of all the romanceable characters and stay in their good graces lest he be stuck here forever in getting just one bad ending with them, is what he’s guessing. Six, he needs to remember the events that take place for each romanceable character.
And for once, he wished he paid closer attention to what Hu Tao was saying about the game, even if it was spoilers the entire time. It would’ve helped to remember everything that she was saying, but for now, he’d have to do with what he does know and will have to remember later on when he had more quiet time to think of it on his own.
Amber eyes turn to gaze out the window, listening in as Aether, Lumine and Paimon fall into conversation about what they were excited to see at the academy. Both Lumine and Aether hoped there was a training ground’s, where they could still spar with each other or the people they would end up meeting. Paimon said how she wanted to see what the cafeteria looked like and what kind of foods they would be serving the entire time.
That got a laugh out of Aether and a slight sigh from Lumine, who chimed in with a, “When are you never not thinking of eating, Paimon? We’re here to learn, not be on a culinary trip.”
“Paimon thinks we should go traveling one day then! A culinary cuisine paradise trip!”
“I think that name is a bit too much, Paimon. And that would cost a lot of money,” Aether replies almost warily, looking a little exasperated at their fairy companion who just pouted more at the idea being rejected.
Listening to the idle chatter of the three eases Zhongli’s nerves. It reminded him of how Xiao, Ganyu and Hu Tao would chat with Qiqi joining in when she was interested in the topic, or even Keqing coming over to chat with Zhongli only to be pulled into the conversation with Hu Tao bringing something up that piqued her interest.
Hu Tao and Keqing had a bit in common in that aspect of dating games, he realizes, remembering how the two got into deep discussion once over about one of the character’s of the game. The secret route one, if he remembers correctly. However, the name is lost on him at the moment—so much thinking about this was actually giving him a bit of a headache.
So he leans back, letting himself relax and trying to melt away the stress as much as he possibly could before he starts his new ‘life’.
There wasn’t much more he could do, he had to let things play out and do his best to not mess things up. That couldn’t be too hard, he hoped at least. There was an inkling in his gut telling him that things were bound to get messy one way or another.
He’d just have to worry about that later.
After an hour of the ride—he’s surprised he was lost in his thoughts for that long—they pull into the gates of the academy, the vast expanse of the land indicating just how large the academy was. Lots of areas to walk, relax and have time to yourself. In a distance, Zhongli could see other smaller buildings, to which he guesses are the dormitories that the school offers for students.
When the carriage stops, Paimon is the first to leave the carriage, stretching herself out and looking around excitedly. Lumine is next and then was Aether, Zhongli following after them after a moment.
After sitting in a carriage for an hour with the slight bumpy movements, it felt quite strange for his legs to be walking on ground that didn’t feel like it was moving. He hoped he’d get used to the sensation later on if he was going to be here for awhile.
They bid their goodbyes to the coachmen, Lumine leading the way to where their rooms were, talking about how the letter they received gave them a map of where their rooms were. All located within each other which was a relief in Zhongli’s ears.
He may have only technically met the twins and Paimon only about an hour ago, but he wasn’t willing to want to part with them just yet as it would mean he’d be stumbling in this new unfamiliar place on his own—definitely not the most ideal situation in any case.
After checking that their bags had arrived safely and everything was there—Zhongli had looked curiously at his items of things brought as he didn’t even know what was packed before he had been transported to this world—Paimon suggested they go head to the cafeteria.
“Paimon’s hungry from that carriage ride. And I’m sure everyone else is too! We didn’t really get time to eat breakfast yanno!”
“Ah, you’re right. We had been waiting for Zhongli to wake up that Lumine and I completely forgot to eat.” Aether speaks up with a sag of his shoulders, stomach finally speaking up in a grumble which brings a faint blush to the boy’s cheeks.
“Are you hungry, Zhongli?” Lumine turns to him, while Aether and Paimon end up playfully bickering about what the cafeteria would be serving at this time of day, especially with it being the first day for students all around.
“Ah, yes.” He replies, a little surprised when she asks him, amber eyes a little owl-ish before he looks away and clears his throat. He shouldn’t get too caught up in his thoughts or keep to himself too much while here, he would only rouse suspicion if he was too quiet and observant, right?
Lumine offers a soft smile towards the taller man, pushing herself between Aether and Paimon and pointing towards the academy building with a hand on her hips and a proud half smirk adorning her lips.
“Alright everyone, we’re here to conquer the cafeteria to quell the hunger in our stomachs!”
The pose she strikes makes Zhongli chuckle, amused by her action but following after the three as they practically bound away in excitement. It was a start of a new life in some sense, he had to keep a level head and observe his surroundings. Observe who would be his romance options. But, it wouldn’t hurt to enjoy himself while he was here too.
It didn’t seem all that bad after all.
After a bit of wandering around, as well as observing the other students, both new students such as them or older students who were continuing their education, they finally made their way into the cafeteria.
Zhongli had taken note that everyone here was of all ages, even the new students. It didn’t seem as though the academy discriminated against anyone’s age when it came to enrollment and mainly put them based on their exam scores. Except for those who seemed to be younger than fourteen of age, at the very least. It made him feel more at ease, not feeling like an odd one out. Though, it was a fictional game world, so logic wasn’t all that needed and necessary, was it?
The cafeteria was buzzing to life with students, most sitting at the tables already with friends or even probably family members, many waiting in line to grab their trays of what they ordered to either find a seat or join their friends at the table.
“I’ll go get us a seat, you may choose what you think I would like. As long as it’s not seafood.” Zhongli states, watching Aether and Lumine hesitate for a moment before Paimon is already urging them on to get in line before it gets longer and they’d have to wait longer.
With that done, he then turns in place, swiveling his head around to find an empty table. There seemed to be one by a group in the corner, closer to the windows outlooking what Zhongli could tell was a grand garden.
With slow, long strides, he’s making his way towards the empty table. It didn’t look like anyone had claimed it yet, which was a good thing. Though, he can definitely feel stares directed at him as he’s passing by tables, hushed whispers about his appearance.
“Hey, did you see that guy? He was tall and hot~”
“I know right. He must be new this year, haven’t seen him around before.”
“We’re so lucky to have so many hot guys at this academy~”
Those were many of the hushed whispers he could make out as he made his way to the table, trying to ignore his curiosity of wanting to know more. If they mentioned other hot guys, it could only mean that they were referring to the love interests Zhongli would have to ‘court’. Or would they be courting him instead and all he had to do was make choices that raised their affection?
A shake of his head as he dispels those thoughts—he told himself he wouldn’t think so hard on that right now till he was alone and wouldn’t have to be jolted out of his thoughts if someone were to talk to him.
And so, he finally manages to get to the empty table, sliding into the seat closest to the window and relishes in the soft warmth that radiates from the sun outside, taking a glance to the table next to his and notices there’s a few faces staring at him.
A tanned man with dark blue hair and an eyepatch over his right eye who smirks at him. A shorter boy with two braids framing his face and highlighted teal at the ends. A fiery colored hair redhead with equally fiery eyes giving him a side glance before looking away and focusing back on his food. A blond with a braid crown who momentarily had looked up before going back to whatever it was that he was sketching. And last but not least, a ginger with blue eyes seemed to be staring intently at him.
Zhongli tears his gaze away, wishing that he had something to occupy himself with now. Or that Aether or Lumine had joined him in getting a table. And as far as he could tell, this world didn’t have cellphones so it wasn’t like he could take his now non-existent one out and busy himself with it.
And so, with nothing better to do other than somehow ignore the stares aimed his way from the next table over, Zhongli lets his eyes scan the cafeteria. It was quite large, large enough to seemingly hold all the students the academy was housing and teaching. Quite impressive.
Not even his college back in his world was that big, and they had different little cafeteria areas to break it up in case students wanted something different to eat or places to buy just snacks to munch on. So this was a definite different change of pace from things.
Amber eyes are now trying to see if they could locate Aether and Lumine in the line, barely seeing Paimon floating above the heads of everyone when someone steps in front of his vision, settling themself into the seat at his table and he raises an eyebrow at the stranger, taking note it was the eyepatch man from the table next to his.
“Hey gorgeous, haven’t seen you before, are you new this year?” The man’s voice is almost like honey, a flirtatious lilt to it as his chin rests against the palm of his hand, flashing a half smirk in Zhongli’s direction and he takes a moment to compute that he was being flirted with.
With a bewildered blink, he clears his throat, flitting his gaze everywhere else for a moment before settling back to the man in front of him.
“It would be good to introduce yourself first, would it not?” He replies, slow and steady as he takes a better look at the other. He seemed familiar… Wait, this was one of the love interests, wasn’t it?
“I’m Kaeya Alberich. But maybe you can call me your Prince Charming~”
“Don’t be such a stickler! Kaeya is obviously a good first choice! You can’t deny he has a suave charm that makes you want to go along with him. But deep down, he hides some sort of secret and that is appealing too~”
Hu Tao’s words suddenly echo in his mind, feeling his fingers twitch and he has to stop himself from sighing. So this is what Kaeya looked like. Which meant that most of those guys in the table next to him had to be the other love interests.
Why do I feel as though this was a staged part of the game….
The thought rings in his head, trying to keep his lips from twitching down into a frown as he stares at Kaeya in quiet, contemplating thought. As much as he didn’t really see the appeal of Kaeya as Hu Tao and Keqing had gushed over about at one point, he couldn’t deny the other was good looking at all.
“I’m…” A pause, hesitant before he takes a short breath, “I’m Zhongli. It is a pleasure to meet you, Kaeya.”
“Oooh, so polite~ You don’t need to be so polite around me. I’m sure you and I will be great friends- Ow! Luc !” Kaeya immediately hisses out the name, turning to narrow his eyes at the long haired redhead who had gotten up to hit the back of Kaeya’s head.
The person named ‘Luc’ ignores the tanned man, turning to Zhongli with a slight bow of his head. “I apologize for my brother’s behavior. Ignore him if you want to. Nothing but nonsense comes out of his mouth.”
“Hey! That’s not true, stop giving me a bad first impression!” Kaeya interjects quickly, the two turning to narrow their eyes and glare at each other in a silent staredown.
Unsure how to break the staredown, his saving grace was Paimon flying between the two men, who lean away in surprise.
“Who do you think you are bothering, Zhongli?! Paimon will not stand for strange men to be crowding him!”
There’s an almost sigh of relief as he sees the twins not far behind Paimon, both of them carrying two trays of food that seemed to be filled with quite the amount of plates it could even fit. He was guessing Paimon must’ve ordered quite a bit and they’d all be sharing, unless the fairy planned to eat all of that.
He definitely remembered that Hu Tao mentioned that Paimon, the mascot-like character in the game, was a big eater.
Aether sets the trays down on Zhongli’s left side, Lumine taking his left before they turn their attention to Kaeya and ‘Luc’, staring them down with a raised eyebrow.
The redhead raises his hands, looking a little exasperated before he tugs Kaeya up from the seat by the back of his collar like a cat. The tanned man stumbled before grumbling at the treatment.
“I apologize for disturbing you. I’m Diluc Ragnvindr, by the way, I forgot to introduce myself. And I apologize for interrupting.” With another slight bow of his head, Diluc practically drags Kaeya back to their own actual table, the blue haired man flailing a little before he’s released unceremoniously in his seat. The ginger and the braided boys laughing at the distress that the other had to go through with the redhead.
“Are you alright, Zhongli?” Lumine is the first to ask, a frown adorning her lips as she gazes at Zhongli worriedly before casting a wary glance to the table next to theirs.
“Yeah! Paimon wants to know what they wanted with you!”
“I was… Being flirted with Diluc’s brother, apparently.” Zhongli states, as if unsure if what transpired even happened in the first place. He hadn’t expected that kind of introduction of the two brother’s—wait, they had two different last names. Maybe that was a lore he had to unlock within both of their routes to know more, it seemed like it might be a touchy subject too early on if he asked about it now, though he was sure it actually wasn’t.
He had to be safe and certain after all in how raising affection would be like and if he’d be given prompts or a ‘status screen’ to look at.
“Wait, what ?!” Aether is the first to speak up, eyes wide and mouth gaped open. “You were flirted with? We barely been here for fifteen minutes and you’re already getting hit on?!”
He could understand the blond’s bewilderment, even he wasn’t expecting that so early on. Is this how all dating sim games were? Maybe he should’ve paid more attention and it’s starting to weigh on him now because the potential love interests were going to introduce themselves soon enough.
And that also meant Zhongli would have to ‘lock-on’ to a route, if he remembers the term correctly, and he had to play his cards right. Would he ‘reset’ after completing one happy end for a route? It looks like he’d have to find out.
Trial and error it was going to be, wasn’t it? Unguided and going through this completely blind.
With a sigh, he waves his hand absent mindedly, “For now, let’s focus on eating, shall we? We can explore the school grounds after we fill our stomachs.”
“Paimon agrees!”
And before anyone else could get a word in, the fairy was already taking what she wanted and stuffing her face. Lumine sighs, seemingly exasperated but with definite adoration for their fairy friend. Aether looks a little hesitant but soon starts to eat, pushing Zhongli’s tray towards the taller man and he gratefully takes it, staring down at the food.
At least it was similar to that of his world.
And with that, he takes the chopsticks that had been offered to him, digging into what seemed to be lookalikes of the Jade Parcels, Squirrel Fish and the Come and Get It. It tasted the same as well, which was a relief. He wasn’t sure if he could handle any more surprise changes in a day, not especially when it came to delicious food.
Though, he wonders how he’ll survive even the first day as he can still feel the stares of some of the others who hadn’t introduced themselves yet to Zhongli.
If it’s playing out like the game, he takes a moment to think as he chews a Jade Parcel he pops into his mouth slowly, then I should be having formal introductions to the other three during class time, right?
That is, if he remembered the sequences that Hu Tao and Keqing were talking about. The two girls talked so much and jumped around when talking or explaining things, he had gotten lost on what happened at which point—it certainly wasn’t going to help him in his endeavor in trying to put together a proper timeline for all of this at all.
He can feel a sigh wanting to escape him, internally sighing as his shoulders slump down ever so slightly and feeling his eyebrow twitch.
Oh Archons above, please let me get through this without messing up.