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“How about this?”
“Hmm, no!”
“Then this? It looks good. The craftsmanship is-”
“Nope, too dainty!”
“Okay…. What about this one-”
“ Aiya-h , we don’t bathe with money! Too expensive!”
You sigh, placing the intricately carved jade ring back on its accompanying velvet cushion, much to the store owner’s dismay.
“Director, this is the seventh store we’ve been to. Surely you’re not planning on visiting all the jewelry stores in the entirety of Liyue?”
When you agreed to help Hu Tao pick out a new ring, you did not expect it to take - your eyes flicker down to your pocket watch - more than four hours. The sun was high in the sky when you were dragged out of Wangsheng Funeral Parlor by Hu Tao, but now it is sinking in the horizon, its dimming light peeking over Liyue Harbor.
Hu Tao ignores the disgruntled look you give her, snapping her fingers as she nods to herself, rather than you. “Hee-hee, you know what they say about the number eight! I have a feeling that the next store will be the one!”
“It’s going to be dark soon…”
“The darker the night, the brighter the stars! Come, before that stingy owner closes their doors early!” As if she did not hear you, which is likely the case as Hu Tao often selects what she wishes to hear, your current boss pushes you forward insistently towards your next destination.
“Mister Jiang Li is always pulling the shutters down before his advertised closing hours. It’s bad for business to deceive your customers like that. Maybe there’s a business opportunity for Wangsheng here…”
You want to tell her that there is no ‘business opportunity’ for a funeral parlor with a jewelry store but knowing Hu Tao, she will undoubtedly find a small loophole that she can stick her fingers into. Best if you let her air her thoughts and energy than trying to fight them, as doing so will only drain you more than her, if anything.
True to Hu Tao’s words, the store owner Jiang Li is already pulling down the wooden blinds to his storefront when your eyes alight on his humble wares. It is only with Hu Tao’s tenacity that you were allowed to enter the shop, despite Jiang Li’s grumblings.
“If it was anyone else but you girl, I would have told them to come back tomorrow!” He gestures towards the back corner of the shop. “The latest arrivals are all there! I’ve picked out several that might suit your questionable tastes.”
Ah, so she isn’t a first time customer here.
“Hee~ thank you Mister! I’ll give you a special discount when your time comes-”
“I don’t need it!!!”
You bow in apology in place of Hu Tao, guiding her to the mentioned displays tactfully before she can add oil to Jiang Li’s ire.
“We’re going to lose potential customers if you keep doing that,” you tell her, leaning against the counter as Hu Tao goes through the selection of rings.
Hu Tao snickers, shaking her head as an impishly confident smile graces her lips. “If there’s one thing that’s certain in life, it is that death will always have a business~”
Unable to argue, you only roll your eyes in exasperation and amusement.
When you took up the part-time job at Wangsheng Funeral Parlor, you had all intentions of leaving both the work and Liyue as soon as you saved enough money for the next leg of your journey.
It’s been several months since your original planned departure, and you honestly should be preparing to leave but…
Absent-mindedly, you wonder if Hu Tao even remembers that your contract with her expired about two months ago. In the land of contracts, surely this is in violation of - at a minimum - twelve written laws and at least five unwritten. It wouldn’t be her fault alone though, for you did not remind her either.
Neither did Zhongli.
Which is quite concerning.
You clear your throat, fingers scratching at the base of your neck in your unfortunately obvious sign of nerves, as your eyes latch onto anything that isn’t the brunette next to you.
“So uhhmm, Hu Tao, about my contract- h-hey!”
You were cut off when Hu Tao abruptly grabs your hand, lifting it up in front of her face as she scrutinizes your fingers closely, with the same level of focus she has when selecting wood for an upcoming client’s coffin.
“What are you doing?!” Face hot enough to put Xiangling’s spicy dishes to shame, you tug on your hand but Hu Tao holds fast, bringing it closer to her.
Archons-! You can feel her breath on your palms-! Please, please, don’t let your palms be sweaty-
Self-consciously, you wipe your freehand on your clothes.
Hu Tao whistles when she drops your hand with no warning and turns back to the jewelry display. “You have nice hands.”
“I- thank you? I guess. But what was that for?”
“Hmm? What was what?”
“Did you have a reason for grabbing my hand like that?”
Hu Tao glances at you with a glint in her eyes, the flowers adorning them seeming to bloom in that moment, and she grins mischievously at you. “Did you want me to~?”
You falter, words stalling as your heart and mind raced. Did you want her to- no, wait, you’re letting her get the best of you again! This isn’t about you! She’s the one in question here, not you!
You were about to retort when she lifts a ring up before you. During this entire ring-hunting excursion, this is the first time Hu Tao brought one up for your assessment.
“What do you think of this one?” she asks.
You take the ring, raising it to inspect against the light. It’s a nicely crafted ring, nothing too fancy and made of the same material as the others currently adorning her fingers. A curious piece rests on the top of it, one which you recognize to be half of a butterfly wing when you stop to ponder about it.
“It’s nice,” you answer honestly, simply. “The wing is a curious touch, although a bit sad. It’s only half a wing.”
“Huhu~ that’s because it’s actually one half of a set!” She announces with more flair than is necessary as she swings her other hand out flamboyantly, brandishing the pairing ring out.
Grabbing your hand that still held the ring, she brings the two rings together with a soft click .
“Look! They fit together! Cute, isn’t it?!”
“It’s perfect! Now you can have a new ring for both your hands! Two birds, one stone!” You’re uncertain as to why, but seeing her excitement over the pair of rings makes you happy too. You sigh dramatically as Hu Tao takes the ring back from you.
“Is this it? Is this finally it?? Have we finally found what we set out to find since five hours ago???”
“Haiyah- I don’t pay you for your lip!”
“You haven’t paid me in three weeks-”
“Mister Jiang Li! I’ll take these!”
Hu Tao bounces over to the store owner, leaving you gaping after her in disbelief. It’s on purpose, right? It’s definitely on purpose, the way she barrels over your words when it doesn’t suit her. First your contract and now your pay??
You definitely need to speak to Zhongli when you next see him.
When you arrive back at the funeral parlor, all the other staff have already left for the day - to dinner at one of the many street stalls of Liyue, to return to their homes and families…just as Hu Tao will return to her own family home after this.
Whilst you... you will go back to your small, temporary room at the inn, where all your life is packed into one bag, waiting for you to close it up once more.
Maybe you truly do need to speak to Zhongli, and Hu Tao, soon, about the last three week’s worth of pay...and not renewing your contract.
Soft hands slip into yours, and you start at the warm and cold feeling of skin and metal.
Hu Tao looks at you quietly, her usual delinquent grin absent; in its place is a solemn smile - one you only see her wear during funeral rites, and that rare night when she took you to visit the border between life and death. It is the smile she wears when she pays her respect to the dead...
And when she is being unequivocally sincere.
Your brows furrow in confusion when she brings your hand up gently, then lifts in surprise when she slips a ring onto your fourth finger.
On your hand, half of a butterfly’s wing shines under the candlelight. Its other half glints, like star to star, from Hu Tao’s hand that is joined to yours.
“Did you know that in Liyue, a butterfly is a symbol of eternal union?” she tells you cheekily.
“I-” you cough, hoping she didn’t catch the flush creeping onto your cheeks. “N-No, I didn’t.”
It didn’t escape your attention that she placed the ring on your fourth finger nor the fact that she hasn’t let go of your hand.
“Well, you do now!” A wide grin, free as a butterfly, lights her face as she squeezes your hand. It flickers and blooms onto the corners of her lips and the apples of her cheeks for only an ephemeral moment, transient as the life of a butterfly, before it is gone.
“It’s been exactly two months, one week, four days and eight hours since your contract with me expired,” she murmurs, uncharacteristically quiet.
You couldn’t stop the low derisive snort that escapes you. “You’ve been keeping count?”
“Timekeeping is very important in the work of an undertaker, you know!” she tuts, hand squeezing harder, enough to make you wince.
“Ow, ow, ow- okay, I get it! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Her cheeks puff, a mixture of mirth, annoyance, embarrassment, and joy, bundling into two balloons of air that stretches her fair skin.
You shake your head and Hu Tao watches as you unlink your hand from hers, only to turn it against hers so that the two butterfly wings connect into one.
“If you decide to go, I won’t stop you,” she says softly. “A butterfly flits from flower to flower, yet, represents eternal union.”
You wonder if she can hear your heart beating loud in your chest, in your throat, and in your ears. In your heart, since two months, one week, four days and eight hours ago, you’ve long known the reason why you haven’t left yet.
“Hu Tao, I-”
“So this means you’re connected to me for all eternity! If you die, I’ll make sure your spirit has a place to return to~!”
The moment is broken when Hu Tao guffaws, quite loudly, and pokes your chest with a painful jab.
You sigh; you seem to sigh a lot around her.
“Anyways, stop dawdling, aiyoh! I’m hungry so let’s go before Wanmin Restaurant closes on us!”
Trailing after Hu Tao who calls for you incessantly from the funeral parlor doorway, you think it might not be so bad to extend your stay a little longer.
After all, you can’t journey without money and you still need to get your three week’s worth of pay from her.