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“Please, Mister Zhongli...” Lumine pleads for the fifth time. Even if Zhongli wasn’t looking at her, he was sure she’s doing that puppy look again to convince him. Zhongli sighs and flips the page of his book. “Just once, just this once, I promise.”
Zhongli looks up at Lumine and stares at the pink ticket in her hand. He leans to the couch. “Miss Lumine. I am aware I am your tutor, but... are you sure that I’ll be the one to fetch Kaeya’s autograph?”
“I can’t ask anyone...” Lumine bows her head. “I can’t even ask Aether because he and I have supplementary classes on that day. And you’re the only one here, so... please?”
“While I am grateful you trust me so much... I’m more afraid of the consequence if I do something wrong in this event.” Zhongli closes his book. “I’m not particular with these ‘fan signing’ events you speak of.”
“Ah, you just have to wait in line, talk, and have my album signed by them,” Lumine says, brightly. She runs off to a nearby shelf, next to the television where she takes one of the many albums neatly organized. She hands it to Zhongli. “This is his new album. It looks pretty, doesn’t it? He collaborated with another artist named TARTAGLIA!” Lumine smiles. “But I only got Kaeya’s version of the album.”
Zhongli nods. It is indeed pretty. The album has the picture of this ‘Kaeya’ person, Zhongli’s assuming, surrounded by pink flower petals and the glittery display of the words: “Glimmer. Glitter.” It’s a complete contrast to the blue, darker-themed albums more on the shelf.
Zhongli inspects it delicately. Lumine has been collecting these albums since last year, according to her, and it’s clear that she treasures each and every one of them. There was one time when Lumine didn’t get to buy one of Kaeya’s albums and she sulked all morning, eating only ice cream, staying inside her room all day, and skipping proper meals...
Reflecting back on it, Zhongli wouldn’t want to see her sulking again.
“I see.” He returns it to Lumine. “Alright. Give me time to consider it.”
Lumine’s face lights up.
“However...”
And her smile is gone.
“Are you sure that I’m the one going and not you? I will be the one who’s going to see him.” Zhongli crosses his arms.
Lumine chuckles, punching Zhongli on his arm playfully. “I know that, silly. My album with his autograph is better than nothing, you know? And I trust you.”
Zhongli cracks a smile. “How sweet of you, Miss Lumine.”
“Tell me if you’re really gonna go, okay?” Lumine grins back.
“We’ll see.”
❒❒❒
If Zhongli were to go to a battle, he needs to come prepared, so he takes his laptop, puts it on the table, and began his quest for information.
These fan sign events are really hard to decipher, along with the concept of ‘idols.’ He heard of them, sure, and he had absorbed some surface knowledge from the professional Kaeya fangirl, Lumine, but it is not enough.
He surfs the web with a click on his laptop keyboard and waits for the results to pop up. While he scrolls down, he takes a sip of his newly-brewed coffee. “Let’s see...” he mumbles. There are multiple articles for ‘Everything to know about Fansign Events’ and videos about it. Zhongli bookmarked the site. He can read and watch those later since the first thing he needs to be aware of are the idols themselves.
Zhongli searched for Kaeya, and not a millisecond after, tons of articles flooded his screen. Kaeya has quite the following, and now that he is holding a fan sign event, of course, there would be news about him.
This is what Zhongli knows about Kaeya so far:
He is one of the most notable idols residing in Mondstadt. He has grown to popularity two years after his debut.
Kaeya used his real name as his stage name and he is famous for being charming on stage. It is his specialty, Lumine would emphasize. Apart from that, his music that is mostly upbeat and runs along with themes of empowerment which is what separates him from most idols.
He is particularly fond of wine. To which, Lumine asked Zhongli if he were to go to the fan sign, she would make him carry an expensive bottle of white wine, secured in a box and is wrapped perfectly. (Zhongli sighs. Lumine and her shopping tendencies. Though... Zhongli can’t say he isn’t the same.)
Kaeya had been a single performer but this year he did collaborate with another single performer, known as TARTAGLIA.
That’s about it. Though, it is interesting, how performers can gather so much influence. And for Kaeya, that’s a huge feat if he’s a single performer.
Then, what about TARTAGLIA? He’s most likely to share the same amount of popularity as Kaeya, especially now because of their collaboration.
Zhongli typed the word TARTAGLIA, and the icon of the idol immediately comes up top: an orange fox. There’s an article: “What to know about TARTAGLIA and his fan sign with Kaeya on August 1!”
Zhongli has never seen TARTAGLIA before nor has he heard anything from Lumine except the collaborating part. So, Zhongli really didn’t know what to expect.
He clicks on the article and the title stands out bold on the screen. Zhongli takes another sip of his coffee as he drags his two fingers on his touchpad and when the picture of the idol appears instead of his icon, he...
Stops.
“Oh...” says Zhongli. He slowly removes the cup from his lips and is hyper-focused on the idol’s glowing face, his fox-like grin, and hair.
Zhongli has never seen such a man this pretty and handsome. Not to say that Kaeya isn't pretty but... TARTAGLIA. Oh, it’s hard to describe it. It’s like he’s being drawn to him.
Zhongli takes his laptop and rests it on his lap. He opens a new tab and begins to scour for more photos by typing ‘TARTAGLIA photos’ quickly. And he did find many of them, laid down, all for him. His selfies with the adorable filter and crinkled smiles, his candid photos where he wears a small smile, some photos of snowy landscapes, and...
And, archons, the modeling photos. Shirtless and stunning and sinful.
Zhongli covers his mouth. That’s to be expected... He thinks. TARTAGLIA is handsome.
As if Zhongli had been cast a spell over, he immediately hopped to YouTube, hoping if he could find more of TARTAGLIA’s content. He clicks on the first video.
The electric tune buzzed from Zhongli’s laptop and not even a second were he spared from TARTAGLIA posing on the couch, looking directly at the camera with that gaze. Zhongli’s heart skips a beat. What is happening?
TARTAGLIA starts to sing, his voice honeyed but solid all the same, and it matches the buzzing beat perfectly. He dances swiftly, moving his hands and twirling his body.
I can’t look away... Zhongli thinks and he barely tries not to, since he glues his eyes on the screen.
Ten seconds in and TARTAGLIA does a little hip shake which presses Zhongli to pause the video.
Silence.
Zhongli doesn’t say a word, as he looks over at TARTAGLIA’s hips frozen on the screen. He does a double-take, and finally, he cradles his head on both hands.
Is this the “Falling-into-the-rabbit-hole" Lumine was referring to?
Zhongli peers at his laptop and, with a hesitant hand, un-paused the video. The moment he does, TARTAGLIA kept on moving his hands but ten seconds more and he slides his body to the floor, arching his back seductively before he goes back up.
Zhongli grips the cloth of his pants. Oh no.
Zhongli fights the urge to pause the video again because it was bordering on risky, but he stays in place and watched more. There are black and white scenes cutting to the dance and TARTAGLIA is there all the while he was staring at Zhongli’s soul. And he smirks.
TARTAGLIA smirks at him, azure eyes narrowing slyly.
… What?
Zhongli had to pause again.
What is this?
Zhongli sits for a whole minute while his mind tries to gather the courage to work again, or at least, have some idea to make itself work again because... he is malfunctioning. No kidding, Zhongli’s brain is conducting a system error check and a brief reset.
What is this? His mind asks again, woefully, and when he goes back to his current predicament, he lets go of his laptop. He shuts it off, promptly, after exiting all tabs.
I don’t dare watch any more of this... Zhongli thinks, as he stands up from the couch and retreated to the kitchen to have a glass of water.
❒
Spoiler Alert: He did watch more of it. And it’s almost midnight when he’s at his seventy-ninth video and fourteenth replay of TARTAGLIA singing a song titled ‘Tartagalicious’. It was a parody of an already existing song and even though he’s singing it as a joke, Zhongli can’t help but love his voice.
In just one day, Zhongli has collected a bunch of information about TARTAGLIA. More than he possibly could with any other topic. Even Zhongli was surprised himself. This amount of research has never been poured into any other subjects he handled, even Lumine’s topics in her class. Because of this... he didn’t even get to properly research about other idols but there’s something about TARTAGLIA that’s drawing Zhongli in.
Now, Zhongli understands why Lumine is so die-hard for this idol thing and now he can sympathize with her fully.
By 1:00 in the morning, Zhongli’s delirious state arrives at the conclusion: He is now a fan of the fox-like idol, TARTAGLIA.
❒❒❒
Zhongli does not intend for Lumine to find out about his fixation nor plans to tell her about it, but ever-the-observer, Lumine finds him out in less than two days.
“Oh... That’s TARTAGLIA, right?” Lumine’s voice made Zhongli jump out of his seat and he closed his laptop, and the music from TARTAGLIA’s or Ajax’s (Zhongli learned what his real name was) concert gets cut off along with his dancing.
“Lumine...? I thought you were out spending time with Keqing?” Zhongli asks, sweating and with a rapidly beating heart. He didn’t expect anyone to be inside the house since Lumine and Aether were supposed to be outside.
“I was,” Lumine says, calmly. “But I returned early.” She tilts her head. “Why are you closing your laptop?”
“Well...” Zhongli starts, but Lumine’s starting to smile wide.
“Oh...”
“It’s not what you think, Lumine.”
Lumine’s smile doesn’t get wiped off her face. “Mister Zhongli, I didn’t know you were a fan of him.”
“I only discovered him yesterday.” Zhongli sighs. “I am only... a frequent watcher of his performances.”
“That is what you call a fan, Mister Zhongli.” She waves an idle finger while she sits on the sofa next to Zhongli. “I don’t know much about him, though... except his collaboration with Kaeya. Care to tell me what he’s like?”
“Hm...” Zhongli opens his laptop again. “I suppose we can start with his details. TARTAGLIA or Ajax—Ajax is his real name—is dubbed as the fox-like idol because of his orange hair and signature smile.”
“Oh... That explains the icon!” Lumine nods. “Where did he come from?”
“He originated from Snezhnaya. He posted a lot of its snowy landscapes on Instagram where he has millions of followers. He also discloses in an interview that he had two brothers and a sister, but for the sake of his family’s privacy, he didn’t say their names.”
“So, he’s a family guy.”
“You could say that.” Zhongli smiles.
“Did he debut the same with Kaeya?” Lumine looks at the ceiling. “I think Kaeya’s older than Ajax but he debuted late...”
Zhongli hums. “Around the same year, I suppose. Ajax had been a single performer ever since his debut two years ago, he had been acquainted with many more idols his age and Kaeya was among those people.”
“How old is he, anyway?”
“Nineteen. His birthday is on the twentieth of July when he turns twenty.” And by that date which is two days from now, he will hold a live stream. Zhongli has bookmarked the link to check it out on the date.
“So, he is younger than Kaeya...” Lumine nods. “What’s his music like? I never listened to any of his songs, but I do know his voice.”
“Give me a moment.” Zhongli searched for one of the videos he watched recently, where the audio of Ajax’s year-old song plays titled, “Ecstasy”. The opening tune resonates as soon as it loads, the sultry jazz following. “His music is characterized with a different kind of upbeat. Like this, his songs revolve around the themes of battling and the euphoric feelings he feels while doing it.”
Lumine leans to the couch, listening to the music. She sways her head to match the tempo. “Oh, it’s good!”
“I agree.” Zhongli grins. “His new songs are good too. I recommend you listen to them. Those are going to be featured in his own fan sign event with the same date as Kaeya’s.”
Lumine smirks at him. “I reckon you listened to all of them in one day?”
“I—” Zhongli pauses. “I did.”
Lumine pats his back. “So, you are a fan of him! See, you even know everything about him. Congratulations, Mister Zhongli, you’re now one of us!”
Zhongli is not sure whether he should be happy about that. “Is... that so?”
“Yeah!” Lumine stands up. “So, now you have a reason to go to the fan sign, am I right?”
“... Possibly.”
“Mister Zhongli... Just admit it.” Lumine frowns.
Zhongli sighs. “Fine. I am going to the fan sign.”
Lumine claps. “Thank you, thank you, Mister Zhongli!” She does a salute gesture. “Well, I’m off to my room now. I’m counting on you on the fan sign!”
With that, Lumine storms up the stairs to her room, and Zhongli is left with his thoughts:
What should I give him...?
❒❒❒
Two weeks pass. Current date: August 1st.
Zhongli can hardly hold his excitement while he holds the bottle of wine in one hand and Lumine’s album, and Ajax’s poster, and the small bag of chocolates on the other. Ajax, on a video that was a live stream for his Q+A, said doesn’t have any preference for food since he said that everything is delicious for him. So, Lumine said that chocolates would be the best gift.
Unfortunately, any of Ajax’s albums or even his version of Lumine’s album had already sold out so Zhongli couldn’t avail it at the moment but Lumine suggested that a poster is alright. The posters, too, are supposedly gone but Lumine managed to secure one. How she got it? Zhongli would never know. She just told Zhongli that she got it from her ‘source’. That kid... She isn’t running some illegal business while Zhongli isn’t around her, is she?
The train ride passes slowly as it goes all the way from Liyue Harbor to an area near Wangshu Inn, where Ajax and Kaeya are said to hold the fan sign. It’s convenient that both of them chose the same area, but Zhongli guesses that it was a strategy of both idols so the fans wouldn’t have to worry about transferring one location to another.
Zhongli grips his gift on his lap. I can’t wait to meet him.
❒❒❒
Zhongli arrives early and he was given a number by the entrance: 13.
He sits on one of the pink seats where the number thirteen had been plastered. Next to him was a woman which, he assumes, would be number 14. The place itself is huge and it smelled of roses, and by the front, there’s a table clad in pink that matches the surrounding glittery curtains. Bright lights and lovely decorations, fitting for their collaborated song.
Women and men alike were already seated with their albums and individual gifts on hand, but they aren’t that many. (It is explained in an article that Zhongli read about fan sign events that there are two types: An open one and a closed one. For Kaeya and Ajax’s fan sign, they are both closed fan sign events, meaning there will be only a limited number of people who could get in.)
Looking at their gifts, they were more extravagant. Some women had bouquets of flowers and Zhongli wished that he bought one for Ajax too, but... he’s already here.
There’s no going back now.
❒❒❒
The time when Ajax and Kaeya appear was approximately thirty minutes after.
Kaeya wears a turtleneck and ripped jeans. His dark blue hair is styled differently from his picture in the album, the usual low ponytail is up high in a tight bun. His tanned skin goes so well with his outfit and lights too.
Ajax’s attire is a bit different from Kaeya’s. He wears a button-up blouse that has one of its buttons open and fitted pants. Simple enough, but with Ajax’s face... it’s easy to make even the simplest of attires beautiful. His orange hair didn’t change, but some of his bangs were tucked from his ear.
Ajax, from the stage, is talking to Kaeya before he sat down on one of the seats. They were laughing about something and men in black—presumably their managers or bodyguards—were behind them. Ajax took a drink from his water bottle and crinkled his eyes when Kaeya says something not audible from where Zhongli sat.
That’s really him... Zhongli gulps, a bit nervous. He looks good.
“The event will start shortly.” A woman’s voice from the speakers on the corners of the ceiling startles Zhongli from his thoughts. “Here are the guidelines to remember: Please talk respectfully while sitting in a kneeling position. Present the albums or posters to be signed. The picking of turns will be based on a lottery system.”
Lottery...? Zhongli furrowed his brows.
“ The lottery system is simple. The seat numbers will be chosen via random picking, so please be mindful of your seat number. If your number is called, please go to the artists in the exact order: Kaeya and TARTAGLIA.”
Oh... so I’ll need to go to Kaeya first. Zhongli looks down at his hands, getting the wine and album ready.
“The event will now start.” Five seconds pass before the voice speaks up again. “Number 13, please.”
13... Me?
Zhongli stands up, his heart skyrocketing. I didn’t expect to be the first one.
“Right here, sir.” A woman, most likely an assistant, goes to him, thankfully leading the way.
As Zhongli reluctantly goes forward to where Ajax and Kaeya were, he accidentally meets eyes with Ajax, and Ajax... smiles at him. Zhongli looks away immediately.
“Please sit here, sir.” The assistant gestures to the seat where Zhongli was supposed to kneel. So, he does and he is now greeted with Kaeya’s smile.
“Good morning!” Kaeya chirps. Looking at him and hearing his voice this close, it’s almost surreal. Zhongli only sees him in screens, but now that there is no transparent glass to separate them, it felt a bit too unreal. This must be what Lumine experiences every time she goes to her favorite artists. It was a shame she didn’t get to attend this time. “What should I call you?”
“Zhongli will do.” Zhongli returns the smile.
“Alright, Mr. Zhongli! So, what do you have for me today?” This is strange. Zhongli has only seen Kaeya in the albums from Lumine and he never thought of him as an easy-going fellow. Zhongli thought of Kaeya as more laid-back, but he guesses it’s part of his charm. Perhaps, this is why Lumine is crazy about him.
“Ah.” Zhongli takes Lumine’s album. “Please sign this.”
Kaeya grins and takes a marker. He takes the cap off with his lips and signs the album. He gives it back, shortly after. “I’m glad you got one of my albums.”
“That’s actually my student’s.”
“Student?”
“My student wanted to come visit you but she had class. So, she sent me on her behalf. Her name is Lumine,” Zhongli explains. “But I, too, am a fan of your music. I’m grateful I got to meet you, Mr. Kaeya.” He presents the wine. “This is a gift from her to you.”
Kaeya’s eyes glimmered. “That’s really sweet of her!” he gushes while he takes a good look of his wine. “My favorite too. Please tell her that her gift is really appreciated. Let me write a letter for her.” He turns to one of his managers and asked, “Excuse me, can I have some paper, please?” One of the men goes backstage before Kaeya returns to Zhongli. “Is it alright if you wait for the letter?”
“It’s alright. I’m sure she’ll love it.” Zhongli nods. Kaeya is appreciative of his fans. It seems like Lumine will have a heart attack once I give it to her.
“While you’re waiting, you can talk to TARTAGLIA now.”
“Oh. Is it alright?”
“Yeah.”
Zhongli rises from his seat, carrying the bag of chocolates and his poster. “Okay.” He nods to Kaeya before he finally moves to Ajax. From the corner of his eye, Kaeya had gotten the paper he requested and was starting to write.
Zhongli re-focused on Ajax, who was already grinning. His signature fox-smile. It spiked Zhongli’s nervousness further. “Good morning!” he says, energy equaling Kaeya’s. “I believe you go by Zhongli.”
Zhongli locks eyes with Ajax and that feeling of surrealness haunts him again. He can’t believe he’s face-to-face with the man he listened to for hours. He can’t believe he’s talking to him right now. He can’t believe that he’s looking straight at the blue eyes he fell for in just a single day.
Zhongli tries to repress the smile forming on his face but it turns out useless. Oh, dear. He doesn’t look like a crazy man while he’s smiling this much, right? “Uh, yes.” Zhongli nods. “Yes, I am.”
“I wasn’t expecting a handsome man like you to come to a fan sign! I might’ve mistaken you for an idol myself!”
The sudden compliment made Zhongli’s heart skip a beat. “... Thank you.”
“Quite the gentleman, I see,” Ajax sneers and he rests his chin on his palm. “I heard you said 'student' from Kaeya earlier. Are you a teacher?”
“Yes.” Zhongli nods. “I am. A tutor, to be precise.”
“Then, I should call you xiansheng! Is that alright?”
More than alright. Zhongli thinks. It takes Zhongli aback, Ajax’s tone because it was too friendly for an artist to treat his fan, but this is what Ajax is known for, along with Kaeya. He, too, is thankful for his fans and he loves them just as much as his fans love him.
“Sure. That would be no problem.”
“Okay, Zhongli -xiansheng!” Zhongli’s heart almost bursts when he hears it from Ajax. Archons... he is dangerous. “Then, what do you have for me today?”
“Oh, right.” Zhongli almost forgot to give his initial objective. He clears his throat. “I have your poster and I bought some chocolates for you.” Zhongli puts the bag of chocolates on the table and briefly unrolled the poster.
“Wah, really?! Thank you, I was craving some on my way here but I didn’t get to buy any!” Ajax’s mouth grows to a toothy grin when he giggles, taking the bag of chocolates. His laugh is really like no other. “And it’s a good thing you got my poster!”
“I’m sorry.” Zhongli bows his head. “I was supposed to buy the version of the album but it sold out faster than I expected. To tell you the truth, I only discovered you two weeks ago.”
“Oh! And you became a fan of me?”
“Yes... I like your performances and your songs.”
Ajax chuckles while he takes the marker from his side. He begins to sign Zhongli’s poster, on the very bottom. “What’s your favorite?”
“I adore ‘Ecstasy’ but the song I favor the most is ‘Cor Lapis’,” Zhongli says. “It’s a masterpiece, in my opinion.”
“You’re quite sweet, Zhongli-xiansheng. You’re going to inflate this already big ego of mine.” Ajax jokes. “And don’t worry about my album, silly. You being my fan is enough.”
The words go through Zhongli’s head another time.
You being my fan is enough.
A flush is steadily creeping on his face, so Zhongli covers his mouth. “I... see.”
“And done.” Ajax rolls the poster back up and reaches it to Zhongli.
“Thank you.”
“Do you have your phone with you, Zhongli-xiansheng?”
“Phone?” Zhongli tilts his head and pats the pocket of his pants. Ah, that’s right, he didn’t get to bring it because he was too excited to go here. “I didn’t get to bring one. My apologies.”
“Aw.” Ajax pouts. “Ah, but it’s alright. We can use my phone!”
“What are we going to do...?”
Ajax takes his phone and waves it. “Take a picture, of course! Is it alright?”
Zhongli blinks. A picture with Ajax.
A picture with Ajax.
“O-Of course.”
“Perfect.” Ajax swipes his phone and prepared the camera. “Let’s take one with Kaeya and the other, only us two.”
Us two... “Sure.”
“Hey, Kaeya, you done?” Ajax looks at Kaeya, who was still writing his letter.
“Just a minute.” He’s writing quite a long letter. Lumine will have a field day once Zhongli gets home. “Alright, alright.” Kaeya closes his pen. “I’m done.” And he strolls next to Ajax, crouching.
“Let’s take a picture.” Ajax raises his phone and he positions himself close to Zhongli. “Zhongli-xiansheng, face the camera.”
Zhongli jumped when Ajax’s voice is close to his ear and he looks at the camera. Ajax holds a peace sign while Kaeya points one finger to his cheek. Zhongli opts for a simple smile. He just hopes he doesn’t look too nervous.
“There, one, two...”
Click.
“There.” Ajax takes a look at the photo, satisfied. Kaeya, meanwhile, goes back to his seat and takes the letter.
“Ah, Mister Zhongli, this is the letter,” he says. “It was nice meeting you.”
“You too.” Zhongli takes it from Kaeya’s hand. “And thank you. Lumine will treasure this.”
“Anything for my fan!” Kaeya smiles and he goes back to his seat.
“Zhongli-xiansheng, let’s take another photo!” Ajax says and he goes into position again. His face is so close to Zhongli’s that it would’ve been easier to pat Ajax’s head right now. His hair looks fluffy. Zhongli could only imagine how it feels like.
“Oh, right.” Zhongli moves to his right and faces the camera.
“Put your hand on my chin, Zhongli-xiansheng.”
“Hand?” Zhongli does as he was told and immediately, the warmth from Ajax’s face floods Zhongli’s hand.
Zhongli’s heart stops that he forgets to look at the camera. How could he when Ajax was near him like this? His blue eyes that rival noctilucous jade, his carefree smile, his everything. It was entrancing. Ajax was entrancing.
“One, two...” Only Ajax’s voice pulled him back to reality and Zhongli puts on a smile in haste, looking straight back at the camera.
Click.
“There,” Ajax says, retracting his back to stand up straight again. “May I have your number, Zhongli-xiansheng?”
“... My number?” Zhongli asks, dumbly. Everything was happening too fast, the thought that he took a picture with his idol wasn’t sinking in.
“So, I can send the photo to you.” Ajax shows him the photo. At least Zhongli didn’t look too awkward. “It turned out good, it would be a shame if I didn’t give it to you.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Mind if you punch it in here?” Ajax gives his phone to Zhongli.
Zhongli nods and takes it. “Of course.” He types in his number swiftly, afraid to keep Ajax waiting. “Here.” He returns it once he’s done.
“Thanks a bunch.” Ajax smiles. “It was nice meeting you, Zhongli-xiansheng. I hope you’ll still be my fan.” He presents his open palm.
Zhongli smiles back and he returns the handshake. “Thank you too.”
❒❒❒
Ajax’s warmth remains in Zhongli’s hand, even after he exits the event.
Zhongli arrives at home quickly, only thirty minutes and he toes off his shoes, putting it on the shoe rack by the entrance door of Lumine’s house. “I’m home,” he announces, and almost instantly, Lumine comes downstairs from her room and embraces Zhongli to a hug.
“Welcome home!” Lumine greets. “How did it go?”
Zhongli gives her signed album along with the letter Kaeya had written. He made sure it had no wrinkles or folds. “Believe it or not, Kaeya wrote you a letter as thanks for the wine.”
Lumine combusts and she lets out a high-pitched squeal when she jumps in joy. “Really?! Oh my god! Oh my god! Mister Zhongli, you’re the best!” Lumine hugs Zhongli again.
Zhongli pats her head. “It was no problem.”
“How about you?” Lumine looks at him. “How’s your first fan sign? Was TARTAGLIA nice?”
Zhongli takes a minute to process the question, and all of the events from this day flashed before him. The way Ajax said his name, his smiles, his jokes, the photo. “It was great and he was really nice.” Zhongli chuckles. “Both of them were really nice.”
Lumine grins. “I’m glad.” She detaches herself from Zhongli and ran to the kitchen, giggling. “I’ll cook some noodles to celebrate! I’m gonna read Kaeya’s letter now!”
“No seafood for me, Lumine.”
“Got it!” she yells before she completely disappears to the kitchen.
Before Zhongli goes to the stairs, he checks if he closed the door. His room is next to Lumine’s and he takes his rolled, signed poster on top of his table where his books, laptop, and phone sit. He figures it would be best if he puts the signed poster next to his window.
Ping.
Zhongli turns to his phone on the table and he blinks when he sees an unfamiliar number as his notification. He opens it and it’s...
The photo that Ajax took of just the two of them. The other one is sent shortly, the one with Kaeya. One lone message pop after the two images. It reads: hi zhongli-xiansheng!! here is the photo of us and with kaeya, we’re glad to meet you today!! <33
Zhongli smiles and he sits on his bed. Even the way he texts is cute. He clicks on the photo and he sighs in relief when he sees his smile. At least, it doesn’t look crooked or nervous... Then, Zhongli’s eyes flicker from his face to Ajax. His smile goes through the screen, Zhongli can feel just how genuine it is. His blue eyes glimmered from the light and his youthful glow exudes from the very picture. He’s perfect.
It’s still hard to believe that everything happened in just one day...
Without wasting any more time, Zhongli types out a reply:
Thank you, Ajax. I’ll always be your fan.