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Saffron light danced across the walls of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor as rays of afternoon sun filtered through its windows. Business was extremely slow that day, which you supposed was probably a good thing given your line of work. But, your eyelids seemed to become heavier and heavier as the day dragged on. Hu Tao, your boss, was humming a familiar tune as she scurried around the parlor doing this and that. You had recently been hired as a bookkeeper for the funeral parlor and while the job paid well, you had your work cut out for you. Keeping up with all of Hu Tao’s elaborate marketing schemes, and the parlor’s frivolous spending habits, was no easy task.
The majority of spending was done by the parlor’s consultant, Mr. Zhongli, who was, at that moment, out working with a client. His absence in the building was significant to all of the employees, but maybe none more so than you. You and Zhongli had grown rather close during your time at the funeral parlor. He was exceedingly kindhearted and possessed an almost encyclopedia-like knowledge of the world, all while being entirely clueless and naïve, which made him unintentionally hilarious. Not to mention he was gorgeous. His features were like chiseled stone and he had the most mesmerizing pair of amber eyes you had ever seen. However, despite his charms, lately, the time you were spending with Zhongli was leaving you with a strange taste in your mouth.
About a week prior, Zhongli had invited you out to dinner. He insisted that he had mora this time and dinner would be his treat. The two of you thoroughly enjoyed the best of Liuli Pavilion’s Li-style cuisine, but upon receiving the bill, you noticed something was wrong. Despite the fact that you both had decided to indulge yourselves a bit, the amount on the bill was way more than you had anticipated. Zhongli said it was fine and that he could just pay it, but you waved a server over and found out that the restaurant had given you someone else’s bill by mistake. After the ordeal was sorted out Zhongli commented that:
“You always were such a brilliant person.” What was undoubtedly supposed to be a compliment from your dinner partner puzzled you. You and Zhongli had not known each other for very long, a few months at most. For him to phrase his sentence like that, like he had known you a long time ago, was strange, especially for someone as well spoken as him.
“Well, I am a bookkeeper, it’s my job to keep track of costs.” You replied, trying your best to dismiss the strange feeling that had washed over you. He must have just gotten his words confused, it wasn’t a big deal.
A few days later the temperature was uncharacteristically chilly for Liyue, so you had fished out a blouse from the back of your closet. You couldn’t remember the last time you wore it but you thought it would be perfect for the weather. It had billowing sleeves made from a fine silk, light enough that you wouldn’t be too hot at work, but conservative enough so you wouldn’t get cold. When you arrived at the Funeral parlor, you were immediately dragged into a conversation with Hu Tao who began talking your ear off about her new advertising plans. As you two were conversing, a voice could be heard from behind you.
“Ah, sporting your signature look today, I see.” Zhongli’s eyes were trained on you, but you couldn’t make sense of his statement. Thankfully, you didn’t have to question him, as your boss had already begun to do so in your stead,
“What are you talking about?” Hu Tao asked, she shifted her weight from the heels to the balls of her feet repeatedly as she spoke. She seldom had the ability to sit still.
“Your, um-,” Zhongli sputtered, gesturing broadly towards you, “Your...hair?”
“You seem pretty unsure of yourself.” Hu Tao chided.
“Are you feeling alright, Mr. Zhongli?” You asked nervously. The man nodded, raising a hand to his temple.
“Yes. My apologies. I don’t know what came over me.” You glanced in the direction of your boss, and you both shared a concerned look.
“Why don’t you take the rest of the day off, Zhongli? You’ve been working awfully hard recently.” Hu Tao offered. But, Zhongli shook his head.
“That won’t be necessary. Thank you, director.” Zhongli said before excusing himself, to return to his office.
The following days had gone by without incident, though Mr. Zhongli’s condition did not seem to be improving. If anything he was becoming more absent minded by the second. When he wasn’t working he would be found looking wistfully out the funeral parlor windows or wandering the streets of Liyue Harbor alone.
The bell on the door of the funeral parlor rang, prying you away from your thoughts.
“Zhongli! You’re back!” Hu Tao exclaimed, running across the room towards the door to greet the man. He nodded along to what she was saying, Humming intermittently so as to show his interest. You admired him as he brushed a stray piece of hair behind his ear before taking on a pensive stance, with one hand across his chest, and the other resting on his chin. When Hu Tao was finished lecturing Zhongli, he turned in your direction, and began walking towards you. Quickly, you tried to busy yourself with something, anything to make it seem like you hadn’t just been staring at him longingly.
“I got you something.” Zhongli said, a small smile was visible on his lips, and there seemed to be a sparkle deep in his eyes.
“Oh?” you directed your attention away from the paperwork you had been pretending to read, “What is it?”
“I brought you glaze lilies, your favorite.” You smiled back at Zhongli, only because his smile was so contagious. However, inside you were torn. You couldn’t remember expressing preference for any flower in particular. If you had to pick a favorite you supposed it would be silk flowers. Hu Tao often went to pick the flowers and recently had begun to bring you along with her, so you had grown rather fond of them. The kindness of Zhongli’s gesture was not entirely lost on you. He got you flowers which, the more you thought about it, made your heart melt. But the man was clearly confused, or at the very least confusing you with someone else.
You graciously accepted the flowers from Zhongli, and hugged him goodbye as he left for the day. Once he was gone, you laid the flowers down on your desk and approached your boss. You were hesitant to interrupt her as it appeared she was actually working for possibly the first time that day. However, that all went out the window when she noticed your presence.
“What’s up?” She questioned, pushing her work to the side. You sighed, and pulled up a chair to sit in front of her.
“Has Zhongli ever been in a relationship before?” Hu Tao snorted, but quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
“No, not in the time that I’ve known him, at least.” She leaned towards you, resting her chin on her hands. “Buuuuuut I do know he keeps lots of things in that office of his. If you snooped around there a bit, I wouldn’t tell.” Your boss winked at you, while she simultaneously stuck her tongue out, making you laugh.
“Are you sure that’s alright?” You asked, rising from your chair. Hu Tao shrugged,
“Beats me. But it’s worth a shot.” She paused for a moment, “I’m worried about him too.” You nodded, before setting course for Zhongli’s office.
A musky scent confronted you as soon as you opened the door. It reminded you of how Zhongli’s coat smelled when he had lent it to you once in the rain. Since consulting was often done in the field, more often than not, Zhongli’s office sat empty meaning that the smells of dust and old documents were preserved in the air. You turned over documents that lay strewn about the desk, before moving to the book shelves. Your fingers skimmed across their spines as you read the title of each book with care. The shelves, unlike the rest of the room, were orderly, each volume of every encyclopedia in alphanumeric order.
At first glance all of the books looked to be the same. But as your fingertips danced across one in particular, it stood out to you. The book’s spine appeared to be significantly more worn than the rest on the shelf, it was cracked from repeated opening, and it’s title was dull and difficult to make out in the dim light of the office. You carefully removed it from it’s spot on the shelf to view the cover. It read Stone Tablet Compilations: Vol. I. Using your fingers as a guide, you found the most worn section and began to read.
The more you read, the more things began to fall into place. One name came up over and over in the tear stained pages of the encyclopedia. A name you have never heard before. A name of an ancient god, long before the time of the seven. Guizhong. Her story was told on the pages in your hands. Her vast intellect and humility. Her love of flowers, billowing sleeves, and Rex Lapis.
“If Guizhong was really his lover, then…” You muttered aloud to yourself, a wave of realization swept over you. It seemed impossible yet, there were too many similarities to ignore. You staggered to the shelf and replaced the encyclopedia before leaving the parlor in search of Zhongli, not even bothering to explain to Hu Tao where you were going.
You remembered vaguely where Zhongli lived, you had gone there once with your boss on an errand. When you finally found the familiar town house, you knocked three times on the door, and only had to wait a moment before it opened.
“What a pleasant surprise.” A bright smile lit up Zhongli’s face, as he stepped to the side. “Please come in.” You entered Zhongli’s home and it took a minute for your eyes to adjust to how dark it was. As you stood unmoving in the center of the room, you felt a hand on the small of your back guiding you to a couch. You sat down and Zhongli took a seat across from you. “So what brings you here this afternoon?” he asked appraisingly. You didn’t answer for a moment. Maybe coming here was a mistake. But you couldn’t back out now, you wanted more than anything to help him. And to do that you needed to know the truth.
“Zhongli, I-” you started finally, “I am very fond of you. I hope you know that. Although we haven’t known each other for very long, I feel very connected to you.” Zhongli nodded along as you spoke.
“I feel the same way.” He admitted, not lifting his gaze from your face.
“But, I can’t help but think that when you look at me. You aren’t seeing me.”
“What are you talking about? Of course I see you, I-” You cut him off,
“Glaze lilies were her favorite flower weren’t they.” You paused, your eyes searched his face, “Guizhong.” You watched Zhongli’s breath hitch and he stood up abruptly. You stood up too, and took a tentative step towards the man in front of you. “Zhongli, I really care about you and lately you’ve been worrying me.” You took another step towards Zhongli. His eyes were wide with panic, as if he were one of those thieving weasels in the countryside that had just been spotted by an adventurer.
You took another step, you were close enough to touch him now. Slowly, you moved your hands up his forearms until they were at his elbows, and his were at yours. You stood like that for a moment, holding one another gingerly. “I’m not her, Zhongli.” All at once, Zhongli closed the gap between you, enveloping you in a tight embrace. You could feel his shoulders shake lightly as he began to cry in your arms.
He tells you everything. That he once loved the God of Dust, Guizhong, how he was forced to kill her during the archon war, and that he was actually the Geo Archon, Morax. When he finally finished, so had his tears. He pulled away slightly, and looked at you as if he were seeing you for the first time.
“The way that I feel about you, I had only ever felt like that towards Guizhong. So, I thought that you were her, or that you had her spirit somewhere inside of you.” Zhongli raised a hand to your cheek, brushing it gently with his thumb. “But I realize that you are not her. And that you are your own beautiful, intelligent, and magnificent person. I do not long to mourn Guizhong through you. I want to cherish you and only you. Please, Forgive me.”
You felt hot tears begin to roll down your cheeks and Zhongli wiped them away tenderly with his fingers. “Would it be alright if I kissed you?” He asked quietly, his eyes glued to yours. You nodded slowly, and Zhongli wasted no time before pressing his lips to yours. The kiss was short and, quite literally, sweet. His lips tasted of honey and tea leaves causing you to smile into your kiss before it was over. Being with Zhongli, you felt grounded, like it was exactly where you were supposed to be. Zhongli connected your foreheads and gazed into your eyes lovingly. “You know,” Zhongli murmured, his voice low, “I am rather fond of courtship as a mortal tradition.” You hummed in response,
“Is that your way of asking me on a date?” You clarified, causing Zhongli to let out a laugh.
“Yes, I suppose it is.”
“Then I accept.”