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It was a cold evening in Liyue. Despite the rays of sun that peek shyly over the horizon, the wind was blowing enough to bring the temperature down. Then again, being this close to winter, the jarring weather fluctuations weren't too unexpected – one of the few things that hasn't changed over the centuries in Liyue.
But no matter how much time passes, for Zhongli, Liyue would still be the same at its core. A gorgeous city, plentiful, guided by contracts and law. Sure, his people might have forgotten about him – he expected that after he stepped down from his position as an archon, now being only remembered in legends – but they never forgot the values he bestowed upon them.
Although, it isn't time to think of his land and his people. He has yet to finish his work for the day: classifying and arranging the new exhibition about the legend of the hero from another world. The traveller was still a handful even centuries later, but seeing the face of his dear friend on an ancient painting under the last rays of sun made him feel jealous for the legacy the traveller had.
Not for himself of course. After all, he was an archon and even if people thought of him as just a legend, his legacy was unforgettable. Contracts and mora were still being used. There were also several statues of him, as well as statues of the other archons, all over the country of Liyue and far across the continent of Tyevat. There are hundreds of books filled with stories of him, the rite of ascension and descension, his step down from godhood, the first imprisonment of Azdaha as well as his second imprisonment. Stories where he lived happily with Guizhong. Legends where he fell in love again and married the mortal Ningguang, head of the Liyue of old.
Be as it may, he had a presence in history. So no, Zhongli wasn’t jealous for his sake. Instead, he carried the sentiment in honor of a certain maiden long forgotten by Liyue and history. There were no stories of her achievements – even when she could be accredited to the best enforcement of the legal system that carries the pride of the city of Liyue. No legends of her ever mentioned gorgeous green doe eyes, her indescribable beauty. The girl who he had truly fallen in love with centuries after Guizhong. A girl with a lively spirit and passion for the law of the land she was born into.
Yanfei.
After all, she was the reason why he decided to take the role of a historian as his job. He could always go back to being part of the Wangsheng Funeral parlor in the next decade if he wanted to, or maybe try his hands in something new and exciting in his painfully long existence. But as the years went by, no other job gave him the satisfaction of being able to make it right to the girl he had hurt all those centuries ago. Yanfei might have disappeared from history, but Zhongli would be damned if he couldn’t keep her legacy alive.
When Zhongli was tasked with organizing this particularly interesting exhibition, he dared to hope to find information about the legal advisor. She did accompany the traveller in their journey, being an integral part of the team and everything. Even him and Xiao were mentioned in several of the passages he had read so far.
“Take it easy, Morax,” a raspy voice suddenly said. Looking up from his desk, Zhongli was greeted by one of the few faces that would never leave him behind: Xiao. “You only got this job assigned two days ago, you have time to find information about her.”
“Centuries have mellowed you down, my friend,” Zhongli said in between chuckles. “I never thought I would see the day where you would say I – or anyone for that matter – should take it easy.”
The shorter male just huffed and kept quiet, keeping guard at the door by the entrance of Zhongli’s office. Silence enveloped the two of them; only the shuffle of papers could be heard as the historian was picking all up to leave for the day.
“You… Did you…?” Began the adeptus, not sure of how to breach the topic. “Have you actually found anything yet?”
The office went completely silent for a drawn-out second. Xiao was unsure if he had said something wrong – being at the service of Zhongli for centuries gave him an understanding of his friend, but lending a hand to comfort an aching heart is definitely not his strong suit. He was about to apologize and say it wasn’t necessary for him to know when Zhongli answered.
“Not yet.”
It was short and dry. For people who didn’t know him on a personal level – or for as long as they have been companions – it would have sounded as a strong final answer. For the adeptus, though, it was clear that his friend would open up in time. Just not right now.
Taking his bag and coat, Zhongli was ready to get out of the office for the day. Sure enough, as soon as he had stepped out of the building, he saw the pitch black darkness of the night – something that still managed to baffle him as he could’ve sworn only minutes ago there was still a bit of sunlight painting the clear blue sky. Although, describing the night as pitch dark would be an exaggeration, especially when leaving a place such as the Yiyan temple. As one of the main sights of Liyue, it’s inevitable for the place to have night lights so the building could bask in golden glory at the very top of Liyue Harbor for a short eternity. Excessive and tacky in Xiao’s opinion. Sure, it may still have the title of ‘temple’, but it wasn’t used for worship anymore. Zhongli would say otherwise, for he saw it as one of the first signs that Liyue was ready to live in a godless era – a building worthy enough to still be revered.
Besides, there was one thing he would always love about this place, a very simple yet meaningful date. Zhongli could still remember that day, clear as crystal and with the exact same fondness.
Zhongli was calmly letting himself be guided by the tugs of the shorter woman, she had definitely woken up with the energy of all of the Milileth that day. With each pull her pink hair bounced up and down and all the coins across her outfit chimed in harmony.
“Come on Zhongli!” Yanfei’s voice exclaimed. Melodious and happy as she should always stay. “You have no idea how many strings I had to pull to have this place totally empty for a couple of hours just for us!” Zhongli did have some idea, the traveller and Paimon had been the ones to tell him Yanfei was looking for him. Of course the little flying fairy said something about having to do more commissions than usual to book the terrace of Yiyan Temple for an evening date. Give it to paimon to spoil a surprise. Nevertheless, he was glad to have a heads up to plan something small himself.
As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the terrace the Milileth guards greeted them with a bow and soon after left the place to make sure no one passed to the place and disturbed the couple – a perk Lady Ningguang was gracious enough to give in exchange for some favours from the traveller.
Zhongli took his time looking around the place. It just took a glance to see that Yanfei had not only gotten the place booked, but she had also taken the time to decorate it and set up a nice dinner date. A small table for two sat on the far side of the terrace, the perfect spot for a great view of Liyue Harbor at night.
“Bamboo Shoot Soup?!” He asked in a calm surprise, getting closer to examine the table and its contents.
“It’s not exactly how you do it, but I tried my best to get it right,” Yanfei said proudly, putting her hands on her hips and raising her head high. “Besides, having a quiet meal with this view is sure to cheer you up!” She stated as a matter of fact.
So that was all this was about then? Zhongli had definitely had a couple of rough days at the funeral parlor with Hu Tao running around trying to bring in business and creating a couple of misunderstandings here and there. Nothing out of the ordinary but definitely more frequent than normal.
“Why thank you my dearest, this is very thoughtful.” He then made his way to Yanfei’s chair to help her seat.
Once they were both seated they began to eat in peaceful silence. At least for a while, after all, Yanfei was everything but a quiet person. She started talking about some of her latest cases she’d had to deal with. Some were just a simple matter of reading over contract stipulations and the small print. Simple misunderstandings.
Others were a tad more challenging, since one or both parties were trying to find loopholes to take more than promised. Yanfei was definitely heated and mad about those, as she should. It was in these cases where Zhongli agreed the most with her. He didn’t create contracts to be abused by the people after all. Not that Yanfei needed to know about that.
It was also at this moment the man decided that recounting the tale of one of the first but smaller contracts would be a nice break.
That was one of the many reasons Yanfei was a one-of-a-kind woman for him. Most people believed his knowledge was just thoughtless trivia. Details you could find in any encyclopedia or the codices, but Yanfei didn’t think like most. Whenever he started speaking she listened, actually listened, to what he had to say. Every once in a while, when they had downtime from adventuring with the traveller or their day jobs, the first thing Yanfei would do was ask a random question just to listen to the answer her boyfriend would give. Oftentimes these conversations would give them answers they needed to overcome their daily tasks.
“I can’t believe it was that easy!” Yanfei said in surprise to his latest story. “Then again most of the time the simplest solutions are always the best.”
“They truly are.”
“But it’s also not always like that.” Continued the pink haired lawyer, going from her surprise to a more solemn tone. “Is it?” She asked, looking up, making eye contact with Zhongli. Who noticed her eyes getting wet, as if she wanted to cry.
“Did something happen today? Are you ok?” Worry was obvious in his tone of voice.
“I’m fine, nothing actually happened to me.” Yanfei reassured him. “It’s just that the last case I had to attend today was…” she stumbled to find the right words. Not wanting to dampen the happy mood they had made so far. For zhongli it was obvious what was troubling his doe.
“It was a divorce.” It wasn’t a question this time. Rather than avoid the topic she decided to be honest and confirm his assumption. A small tear fell from her eye, this was just not a small divorce then. Getting up from his seat, Zhongli approached her, kneeling at her side, caressing her cheeks and catching the tears before they could fall.
For as much as Yanfei didn’t like the idea of couples separating, in most cases, she tried to understand both sides. It was hard, as she had stated multiple times both sides usually became irrational.
This case was messier than most. The couple had a strong relationship for a number of years. However, one of them had been keeping small secrets here and there, nothing too big or life changing. At least that’s what they thought. It all came crashing down when their partner was hanging out with a couple of mutual acquaintances, when they started spilling all the secrets out. In the end their partner felt they didn’t know who they had married in the first place.
To Yanfei, this was just a run of the mill case, until she started seeing her own relationship in that situation. She couldn’t get the thought away of that happening to her, that in the end she had to hand down the case to another coworker.
After hearing the whole thing Zhongli couldn’t help but think that her fears were already true, in a way. After all, he was keeping a huge part of himself a secret. And for what? Earlier he had stated that the simple solutions are the best solutions. So why didn’t he just go out and say he was Morax? Even if Yanfei were to question him he had ways to prove he was speaking the truth.
But then he remembered what was the main problem here. It wasn’t a question of whether Yanfei believed him or not, rather what he is and she isn’t.
He’s an immortal being. Sure, that doesn’t make him invincible. Guizhong and the rest of the original seven were proof of that. But compared to Yanfei, he would have an eternity before him. He knew that in the end he would deal with the pain of losing her – it wouldn’t be the first time he lost someone dear, but he could not bear the thought of Yanfei withering away before him. At the same time he couldn’t bear the pain of trying to strip her away from her mortality just to be selfish and be with her for as long as life itself would let them.
So he decided there and then that one day, he will have to break her heart. He will have to walk away from her life so she can live a happy mortal existence. Today wasn't going to be that day. For a while longer he would be selfish and indulge in the love he had for her. So with his mind set on the goal of loving Yanfei for as long as he could he decided to enact his own surprise.
Standing up, he extended his hand for her to take, guiding her through the terrace in a small dance. Ending it at the very center.
“Yanfei, my dearest. I can’t promise you to know what the future will bring. I can’t control what the constellations will write for us. But I can promise you that I will love you for as long as this body lets me love you. For as long as you let me be yours.”
“That sounds like a proposal Zhongli” Yanfei’s face turned red as a tomato, matching the shade of her hat.
“What if it is?”
The wind blew at that moment, and with the sun shining on the horizon behind Yanfei, she looked stunning. One day they will go their separate ways, but today he will let himself have the fantasy of a wedding day. Just for the two of them.
“I do.” The smile on her face as she said those two words outshone the sun, and at that moment nothing could compare to the beauty of the woman in front of him.
“Then I promise right here and now. That my heart will belong to you until the end of time.”
Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, Zhongli returned to the present. The memory of one happy day long past vanished as soon as he remembered it. Looking around it was obvious the terrace would definitely not be able to look like that ever again as it was the public entrance to the museum now. Although it did have some picnic tables, a date there would not be impossible for couples. Not that he would take anyone out any time soon.
The walk to the parking lot was a quiet one, and the first minutes inside the car were just as silent. The adeptus began to feel hungry a couple of minutes into their ride and thought about suggesting going to a restaurant. A look at his watch quickly shot down that idea, most nearby places would be closed by now and the few that would have been open would be out of their way.
Although, there was another option.
Through the years he and Zhongli got into the habit of cooking. Xiao might have had it before his friend, living in the Inn and what not. Being with the traveller, however, made them expand their range of dishes. Before he could suggest anything his stomach grumbled rather loudly.
At the unexpected sound, Zhongli couldn’t keep his serious facade and let out a short but loud laugh.
“Allow me to make you dinner, my friend. Celestia knows you are hungry tonight.”
“If you have to know, I haven't eaten since breakfast today.” Xiao replied, embarrassed. “Aside from my regular job I still take the responsibility of exorcising and hunting demons.”
“And I thank you for that, Xiao. You have done what I asked of you and even more.” The fondness in Zhongli’s voice was noticeable. Even after their contract was lifted, Xiao remained loyal as ever. Not only to him but to Liyue too.
Despite having offered to make dinner for Xiao, the archon wasn’t sure if he actually had the ingredients back at his place, so a pit stop at the closest supermarket was due.
The ride would be about fifteen minutes long – a short ride for sure, but it was enough time to engage in conversation. Zhongli opened his mouth and taking a deep breath he asked:
“I never told you what happened between me and Yanfei. Did I?”
With a shake of the head, Xiao answered. For years he was curious as to the reason they had parted ways. They always looked happy when they visited the Wang shu inn and in their adventures with the traveller. If you had asked anyone at that point in time if Zhongli and Yanfei would be together forever, the answer would have been yes, absolutely. Or at least for as long as Yanfei lived. Xiao knew there would be a point in which she would no longer be a part of their lives and just like Zhongli, he had accepted it. At least partially because unlike Zhongli, Xiao could keep his distance from the girl, only ever interacting with her when they coincide in location and adventures.
He could see she was a strong warrior, not only in the legal matters but also when they were out fighting. Her control over pyro was exceptional for someone who had used her gift in battle just a handful of times and over time, while adventuring, she just became more powerful. Somehow even then she never seemed to lose the spark of life in her eyes, she kept being her usual cheerful self despite everything.
Then one day she just stopped hanging around much.
A lot changed, back then. First, Zhongli was not called for missions as much, and when he was, Yanfei was nowhere in sight. The situation was even more tense than when the traveler had first saved Liyue, after the whole test for humanity Zhongli had made.
Paimon was also mad at Zhongli, going as far as saying that since Zhongli wasn’t an archon any more, he deserved an ugly nickname. Those she only gave to people who really rubbed her the wrong way.
Aside from those four, no one else actually knew what was going on. Even Tartaglia, who was stuck to the traveller and seemed to know all of their secrets, was out of the loop and could not even get a smidge of information. Since most of the party was from Mondstad and Liyue, and over time the other nations, the whole ordeal was just left as it was. With the futile belief that things would solve themselves.
“No, we just went our separate ways.” Xiao finally answered, “Besides, after the traveller left, peace was dominant so we had no need to form teams again.”
“Right.” Zhongli continued with a somber tone. “It was my fault anyway, I pushed her away.”
The dark haired male looked up in surprise, despite having his suspicions of what the problem might have been he didn’t want confirmation of it.
“You didn’t…!”
“I did – not because I felt out of love or anything, mind you.” Zhongli’s gaze was hard on the road. He didn’t want to look at Xiao’s face and be confronted with the disappointment the adeptus would have for him. Out of all the possible reasons, fear was probably the one that would disappoint Xiao the most. “But I couldn’t tie Yanfei down to me, not when she could have a life with someone who would die alongside her. Someone she wouldn't feel guilty of leaving behind.”
“This is why we never saw her again.”
“It is.”
“You know you could have told her the truth, that breaking her heart would probably have made her miserable for a long while after because she was really in love with you.” For as good at planning as the geo archon was, he had to admit that the thought crossed his mind too late – centuries too late. When he wondered what her life was after he left many questions popped into his mind. Had she married someone else? Did she have a family? Did she live a long, prosperous life? It was when he started looking for her that he realized he pushed her away from history. That all that was left of his maiden, his precious coin of mora, was nothing but his memories.
Passing through the streets with direction towards Guili Plains he saw one of his statues of the seven, the place where both of them just fell apart. He remembered how they were about to go to Snezhnaya, how close they were to the beginning of the end of their adventure and how his borrowed time with Yanfei was reaching its end.
The day had begun normally, and if anything could have been said of how the day was, it would be gorgeous. Unfortunately for the couple, they couldn't spend the day alone even when it was perfect for a date.
Because of their journey ahead a good chunk of the day had been spent inside the serenitea pot with preparations to go to Snezhnaya. Food, clothes, who would go first to scout and all of that. In the end they managed to get away for a while to spend time together, for what Zhongli had dubbed the last time.
“That was a lot of planning, I’m beat!” Yanfei said, collapsing to the ground with a dramatic flare. “This Snezhnaya place sounds fascinating, after Fontain I’m really curious on what the laws of this place are! Can you imagine?” Zhongli could hear the grass shuffling as she turned her head around, so she could take a look at her husband, awaiting his response.
"Sure, the laws." Answered dismissively Zhongli.
"You don't sound excited at all." In her voice you could hear her pout.
"Why should I?" Yanfei didn't give an answer, sitting straight and just looking to the other side, staying silent for a long while.
The archon was not stupid and had gather that his wife had caught up to his behabiour changing this past couple of months. From being soft and close to her into being cold and more distant. Zhongli knew that what he was doing was beyond cruel. A year or so after the proposal in Yiyan Terrace he and Yanfei consummated their relationship in a wedding. He had let the fantasy become a reality, stretching their time together for more than what it should have been. Playing into her fears of being in one of those relationships that fell apart. Using the information he stored of that conversation of their first, unofficial, wedding. The conversation that had them setting the first foundations of what could only describe as a strong marriage and using them to break the relationship apart.
It certainly made him feel like he was breaking inside. He supposed that him ending a relationship that he didn't want to end was in fact crueler than losing someone in battle. For the fall of a soldier wasn't in his hands but the enemies. Here the stone that would break Yanfei's heart was in his hand and he was about to bring it down by his own free will.
Standing up Yanfei walked towards the man and grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at her and with that action demanding to know if he was alright. He heart and mind yearned for a response to calm the nervousness that had built up. As soon as the man made eye contact with her a thunder resounded in the background announcing a storm coming soon.
Zhongli knew the petite woman was not one to be afraid of people bigger than her, all the battles until now being proof of her bravery, but he could see in her eyes that she was afraid of him at this moment. Afraid of what he was about to do.
The look in her eyes was enough to make the archon second guess his actions, he still hadn’t said anything so he could keep going on with this charade of a mortal life without any care. Live with her until… until… he couldn’t live with her. Eventually she’d find out what he was, would insist to stay with him as she grew old and he stayed the same. She’d live with the guilt of leaving him alone.
The life she could have without him if he severed their ties now flashed through his eyes, breaking her heart now would bring her a more fulfilling life. A partner that would grow old with her. Children that she’d be able to love without fearing she’d miss their milestones.
So looking straight into her eyes he chose the next words carefully.
“This marriage will go nowhere, Yanfei.”The first drops of rain began to fall, a blessing he supposed, a mask to hide his own tears and a perfect veil so he couldn't see the inevitable tears on Yanfei’s face.
“What are you talking abou…” She was abruptly interrupted by Zhongly.
“It has been years and we're still the same Yanfei.” The lack of her nickname had to be the first sign that he had no more feeling for her, if he was going to do this he couldn’t leave any opportunities for a reconciliation in the future. “The same routine day in and day out.” Lies, their daily life was anything but the same. “We are just using the traveller and their crusade for our own selfish entertainment.” That wasn’t true. They had joined in the prospect to learn about their world, about themselves and to help their friend.
“You know that's not true.” It was clear from the woman's tone of voice that she was trying to stand firm. “If that were the case we would have stopped this relationship and you know it.”
“Do we? Do we really?” He wanted to stop, he did not want to say the next words. He didn’t want to hurt her. But in order for them to truly let go of eachother he had to.
He has to.
Didn’t he?
“You always shoved me your fears whenever you let your civil cases affect you. I never knew how to break us up without you getting caught up in making something inexistent work?” Shut up
“You call all these years a lie?” Yanfei retaliated
“You always shoved this ideal of a perfect couple onto me.” Shut up
“We’re not perfect Zhongli! But we are the best we can together! We always work together!”
“It's all fantasy” Shut the hell up
Closing his eyes to feign annoyance, Zhongli said his last words.
“It's not real and it's not us. With you I’m trapped and I need to move on with my own life!”
The words were left hanging, only the rain that had picked up strength around them was making any sound at all. Opening his eyes he was met with emerald green green ones, the same ones that through any battle were always bright, always hopeful. That vitality was gone. It was done, after this she surely did not want to be near him again. Not after him spilling the “truth” out, not after him saying their relationship was a farce. Practically making their marriage a big bad joke.
“Just answer one question then.” Her voice was dellected, she knew what answer she was going to be given. “Did you ever love me?”
Out of all the possible questions Yanfei could have made she made the one question he had never prepared an answer for. For a moment his resolve was about to crumble and going back on everything, for a moment he had the chance to make everything right. Centuries later he would come to regret the words that came out of his mouths at that moment.
“I used to love you.” It wasn’t supposed to be possible to see her tears, the rain was supposed to make sure her tears were invisible. “But I don't love you any more.” and with that lie Yanfei took her leave and ran back home.
The desire and the need to rab after her was strong, but he couldn't let himself do that not anymore. In a way her just leaving hurt more, he was prepared for anger and disappointment. He wasn’t prepared for the feeling of loneliness.
When Yanfei was far enough that Zhongli couldn’t see her any more the traveller made his presence known, showing that he was as omnipresent as an archon, watching the events of their separation unfold. Unlike the sadness Yanfei had shown. The traveller’s face was stone cold but it made clear that they were more than angry with Zhongli. Paimon’s face was no different, the ever loyal flying companion was mimicking her best friend's emotion.
“I always had my suspicions Morax” The traveller began with their voice cold as ice “But today you really have proven to me that you are an idiot.”
“It had to be done.”
“It didn’t have to be” The traveller walked past him in the direction Yanfei had run off to. “Do you really think she’ll find someone better because you decided that you weren’t enough for her?” Zhongli didn't have the chance to even think of an answer before the traveller continued. “Because you sure aren’t giving Yanfei the option to decide.”
“Paimon thinks you should have told Yanfei you’re the lord of Geo she always asks for the rain to stop” The traveller’s flying companion chimed in. “If she left you because of that you weren’t meant to be. But if she stayed with you, you could have learn so much more of her.”
“And for as much as you think making the decision for her” the traveller continued “in reality you are not. I’m saying this from experience forcing people out by hurting them will just leave wounds that not even time will fully heal.” Without another word the traveller went to find Yanfei, she was sure in dire need of a friend at this moment.
Zhongli stayed as still as his statue for hours. He didn’t wasn’t sure how much time passed after the traveller left, he only had a small idea after he saw the sun peaking through the horizon at the dawn of a new day.
The parking lot of the supermarket was rather empty, just a couple of cars here and there. After retelling the events of that fateful day he was ready to just grab the food and go back home to cook. He felt like making some almond tofu for Xiao and some crab roe tofu for himself.
“You can stay in the car if you want.” Suggested the archon, ‘’it looks like you need the rest.”
“And let you choose the ingredients wrong again?” Xiao retorted “No thanks, I’ll go with you and give you a hand.” With that both of them went out of the car and into the store.
To cover more ground they both decided to split up, although Zhongli pointed out the contradiction of Xiao coming along if in the end Zhongli could still mess up gathering the ingredients. To which the adeptus promptly answered that they were gathering, not buying, they would pay after Xiao double checked everything himself. With that Zhongli grabbed a basket and went to get his ingredients: sugar, milk and crab roe. It shouldn't be that hard.
He really shouldn’t have jinxed it. Gathering the milk and sugar was easy enough, getting the crab roe was a different story. To be fair he was distracted with a message he got on his mail, the subject said it was urgent so with the store almost empty he saw no problem on reading and walking at the same time. Turns out the message, despite what it stated, didn't seem like big trouble, just some lady that wanted to make sure one of the contents of the boxes that arrived at the museum were not displayed and according to the email she was even finding legal loopholes to have her request granted. If his experience told him anything it was that this would be solved two ways, either the museum threatened back with legal action or the lady was going to be paid a generous amount to not disturb the museum any more. Whatever happened in the end he was still going to have to talk down to whomever this person was to at least hear their side to be able to get to an agreement. He wasn't the god of contract for nothing after all.
Unfortunately reading that mail was the reason as to why he was now on the floor with a couple of broken crab roe jars, spilled milk on the floor, a ham on his head, packaged meat in front of him and several bamboo shoots all over the place. The geo archon will admit that whomever he crashed into they had good taste, those were the ingredients for bamboo shoot soup. Sure he was the best at making it but he will commend anyone who tries his favorite dish.
“Apologies,” Zhongli began to apologize to the stranger “I wasn't watching where I was going.” He proceeded to pick up all the food that could be salvaged, pity he'll have to go for another carton of milk. The other person had their back to him,they were busy picking up all the bamboo shoots, so when he looked up to give them back the meat he could only see a red beret with some golden coins attached to the top, a long fuchsia coat and what looked like red boots. What really captured the archon's attention was the pink hair, if he didn’t know better he would have said this was Yanfei or at the very least what Yanfei would have looked like if she had enough life to live to this point.
Maybe this was the link he had been searching for, history had no records of Yanfei, but a descendant might have had information on her… he dared to have some smidge of hope.
“Here you groceries,” Zhongli said clearing his throat and handing the meat and a couple of bamboo shoots that were near him.
“Oh for the lord of…” the Girl in front of him began “I’m so sorry! It was also my fault for running in here. The store was empty and I received some news that I might get to have an appeal with the head of the exhibit that's going to be displayed in the museum in two months.”The girl’s voice was going a mile a minute, way too fast for him to completely get what she was saying.” Like you have no idea how hard it is!” Despite the speed the voice was familiar, way too familiar. “So I just had to rush to get home and get all my documents ready and I'm sorry for dumping all this information on you. Here! Your sugar and my personal recommendation of Crab roe, the one you were taking is good but way too overpriced.” She said turning around to give him his things and then time seemed to freeze right there and then.
This had to be an illusion, the work of some sort of alchemist or mage, he must have hit his head way too hard because there was no way the woman in front of him was the love he thought he had lost.
The woman in front of him seemed to have the same thoughts on him, the smile shed at the beginning was still there, although now forced from the shock of seeing someone who shouldn't have been there according to all the laws of life.
“My coin of mora” It was a whisper, barely audible to himself. But Yanfei seemed to hear his words because as soon as they were spoken her eyes teared up. That emerald green color that he loved so much was shining with tears. Out of happiness or out of sadness or anger he wasn't sure. At that moment he didn’t care.
He was going to have to pay a bigger bill and he would have to make some emergency mora, but he just let the items on his hands fall to the floor. Only extending them in an embrace for his beautiful coin of mora. The maiden with the green doe eyes he had missed so much.
“Zhongli…” With a whisper she said, slowly raising her hands to his back, trying to have the man as close as possible as she could. They would have to talk eventually about everything, but right now this moment was theirs.
In the grand scheme of things Zhongli shouldn’t be scared, he had defeated gods, dragons and many more perils. Somehow the prospect of speaking with Yanfei after so long was even more daunting than any task he had had even done before. That night Xiao had said it was because of how things ended and wasn’t he right? After all they ended on a bad note and he had used her fears against her.
He wished they had spoken everything in that supermarket aisle when they were more in the moment. It wasn’t the best idea and Yanfei was eager to point it out.
“If we talk now I’ll just forgive you, let's talk another time when were more calm” Zhongli’s heart had the idea that he shouldn't tell Yanfei he is the Museum curator and the head of the next exhibit, he recalled she had said he wanted to speak with that person. In a way he wanted to use that chance to talk with her. But he knew the correct thing was to tell her he was the one person in charge, so he did. That meant that their appointment had to be moved for a couple of days since, despite the fact that Yanfei wanted to keep the meeting just for business, it was the best place to have a lengthy private conversation. Although the woman wanted to protest the more she thought about it it was definitely a sound idea. There would be no interruptions, it would be the two of them and in the end they could still discuss business but it could be left at the end. All in all the idea was appealing so she had no objections to the arrangement.
The day before the meeting Zhongli was busy with some of the staff bringing out the last of the artifacts and documents that were part of the exhibition. They were almost done when Zhongli found some interesting contents in the last box. Some legal codices that had been written after the traveller had left, and the biggest contribution Yanfei had to the legal system. Sure enough the documents had the legal signature that Yanfei used and was actually still used today to seal official documents pertaining to court cases and some minor civil disputes. The Deer seal as it was called amongst the common folk or the Bestia Iustitia among historians and law practitioners. It was almost comical how he had missed the seal for so long until recently.
He was curious about why this had never been in exhibition or more known, after all, the information they had was nothing short of accurate. Even part of the text could be found in law textbooks and the modern codices of Liyue law. He supposed he would have his answers tomorrow, when his fateful meeting was set to happen.
It was just a week after their meeting at the supermarket and somehow the weather was even colder, it just didn't make sense but all things considered they were lucky enough that there would not be snow even with the lower temperature. Fortunately the office area of the museum also had a good heating system so despite the weather outside the inside was toasty. Zhongli’s office was also bound to be more cozy; he had prepared some tea beforehand to have during their talk and had even brought an extra blanket from home to give Yanfei in case she got gold as she always did at this time of year. Somehow he was expecting her to arrive with a winter outfit that had a skirt and leggings that, despite being advertised as winter leggings, were still not enough to help keep warmth.
His thoughts were halted when the clock of his office marked three pm, with a last check of everything in the office to make sure everything was perfect he approached the door, just in time to hear the knocks that announced Yanfei was there.
“Yanfei...” Zhongli was again struggling to speak more than her name, fortunately that didn't make him forget that he still had to let her in so he moved aside to let her know she was welcome.
Once they sat, taking their place for the conversation, an awkward silence enveloped them. Neither of the two knew where or how to begin and they were looking around not making eye contact because of their nerves.
“I’m sorry” Zhongli didn’t realize he had spoken but once he did the words didn’t seem to stop flowing from his mouth. He just had to tell her the truth, from being Morax to his role in the travellers adventure, to the present and how he was trying to make amends by honoring her legacy thinking history had forgotten her. Most importantly he was honest for the first time with her about his fears and how he let fear control his actions to the point in which he forgot Yanfei had her own will and the power to choose to stay or leave after knowing the truth, if he had said it at all. By the end of it Zhongli felt more like a mortal than he ever had, vulnerable and open for anyone to take advantage and hit him where it truly mattered. He couldn’t even face Yanfei and out of shame he was just looking down to his desk with a couple of tears rolling down his cheeks.
“I’m also to blame here Zhongli” Yanfei began after a couple of minutes of letting herself process all that had been said. “I ran away from you, from us. After that conversation and our adventure I just was afraid of coming back to you and fix things, that before I knew it, several centuries had passed and I just didn’t have the chance to make things right.” Yanfei wasn't sure what else there was to say regarding their relationship. It was just a mess at this point and although to her it looked like her beloved wanted to be back and take the chance to be happy she couldnt be too sure until they both spoke about it clearly.
Before Zhongli could say a thing Yanfei continued answering the old age question of how was she still alive, for she was a mortal right? She shouldn't be alive and well today. Fortunately for Zhongli the answer wasn't seals like the ones Qiqi once had in reality the answer was quite simple. She was an adeptus or rather a half a deptus just like Ganyu. Yanfei didn’t waste anymore time and to prove she was telling the truth she let go of the glamour her father had taught her so long ago. In a wisp of light from her head a pair of deer horns appeared and although they look just like hair accessories at first they radiated energy that only an adeptus should possess. The woman proceeded to explain how she didn’t intend to keep her nature a secret and actually had planned to tell him. She did plan to tell him the day they were beginning to prepare to go Snezhnaya, so Zhongli wouldn't worry about her and the perils they encountered. How unfortunate Zhongli spoke first that day.
“I still have a question,” Zhongli began quietly, “Why could I never find anything about you?” Before answering the adeptus girl giggled about the naivete of her beloved.
“Zhongli, there is one difference between you and me” Yanfei pointed to herself and to Zhongli. “The legal codices I wrote and what I did was thought to be done by a mortal and no matter how long it passed people would know I existed.” The man just stared at her still not comprehending completely where she was going. Huffing Yanfei continued. “Look after the Rite of parting and centuries after the traveller left people began to think those were mere legends. People were leaving behind their god worship and their fear of the divine. Having a real person convoluted in all of this would have incited people to try and do what the fatui did with several fallen gods like with Osial. I just couldn’t let that happen again.”
“So you just erased yourself from history and legends.”
“Partially yes, in reality I just changed my name for the “factual” historical records. The person who history knows as the staple of Liyue’s legal system and I are the same person. Erasing Yanfei was just a contingency plan to avoid people suspecting readers to try and dig more.”
“And here I was undoing all your work.”
“Don’t worry about it. I would have done the same, actually I almost did the same before I realized you were Morax. I have to apologize for that too. When I discovered that you were immortal I should have gone and found you. But it’s not easy trying to find a long gone archon when you have no idea where he could be hiding, so I gave up before even trying.” Zhongli stood up from his chair and went to her side, kneeling so he could look up to her.
“Never apologize for not looking for me, I don't deserve that after how I treated you. I’m just grateful I have another, real, chance at making it up to you. If you let me.”
“Yes,” Said the pink haired adeptus while nodding lightly. The archon, with new found confidence, wasted no time and gently grabbed her cheeks. A small tear was rolling down the pink cheeks of his Doe, he caught it with a tender kiss, testing the waters to see if she would allow her what he really wanted.
“What are you waiting for Morax?” She laughed, “If you don’t kiss me now I'll do it myself” and wasting no time both of them leaned into each other. They both had missed this feeling of warmth and love for so long but being right there and at that moment it felt as if no time had passed between them. For the first time in centuries they both felt right at home and although silently, they made a contract in that moment that they would never let go of eachother again.