Work Text:
“Cloud Retainer! Care to explain this situation I’m in right now??”
While trying to calm her emotion down, Ganyu was typing furiously on her phone. All of this wouldn’t happen if her aunt, Cloud Retainer, didn't plead to her to agree to this. It wasn't exactly pleading, but that didn’t matter right now. Yesterday, her aunt suddenly said something that Ganyu herself never considered.
“So, how’s your love life going?”
Ganyu choked on her drink and spilled some water on the sofa. “E-excuse me?” She looked at her aunt with her eyes wide open.
“I asked, how’s your love life going, my dear Ganyu?” her aunt, Cloud Retainer, asked Ganyu out of nowhere. It was their movie night and the horror movie they watched right now didn’t really match with the question she just asked.
“Why are you asking me this?” Ganyu got up from the sofa and tried to find a tissue to clean up the mess she made.
“Because lately, you’ve been so quiet? You used to tell me everything, even about that little crush you had when you were still in highschool. What was her name again? Keqing?”
Ganyu choked for the second time. She patted her chest slowly while coughing.
“I-it’s fine! Thank you for asking.” Ganyu immediately answered and didn't really want to dwell on the topic any longer. After she found the tissue, she wiped the mess she made before. Now, she was back sitting beside Cloud Retainer with her face slightly flustered.
“Shall I lend you a hand?” still curious, Ganyu’s aunt looked at her niece and smirked.
“Thank you for your kind offer but no need? I don’t have time for that. Besides, I’m busy with work.” Ganyu huffed. There it was, her aunt's nosy side. Once she started, she would never let it go until she was satisfied.
“Come on, don’t be like that.” Cloud Retainer patted Ganyu’s back joyfully. “Besides, I’ve already arranged a blind date for you. The time is tomorrow and the place is the usual cafe we go to.”
“Wait, what??” Ganyu got up from her seat for the second time. The sudden information from her aunt was too much for Ganyu’s brain to process.
“I said, I’m setting you up on a blind date.”
“Cloud Retainer!” Ganyu raised her voice. She wasn’t the type who would yell at anyone but her aunt had probably crossed a line.
Cloud Retained sighed. She didn’t expect that Ganyu would react so strongly about this.
“Ganyu, please sit down.” Cloud Retainer pulled Ganyu back to sit on the sofa. “Now listen to me. You’ve been so busy with your work and almost never had a chance to roll yourself out except this Friday Night Movie with me. Don’t you think it’s about time for you to care about yourself? And meeting someone new might be one of the ways.”
Ganyu let out a long sigh. She knew that her aunt was nosy but not to this extent. While she understood that her aunt just wanted her to be happy, this was definitely not the right move. She was content with herself right now and wasn't particularly looking for a relationship. Ganyu looked at her aunt right in the eyes.
“Must I be doing this?” Ganyu almost sounded like she was pleading.
”Just try it first? If you feel like it’s not going to work, then let’s just leave it at that.”
Cloud Retainer reasoned. Ganyu knew that it was almost impossible to change Cloud Retainer’s mind. She loved her aunt. Since her parents died, her aunt was the one who raised her and cared for her. She owned so much to Cloud Retainer. And that’s why it was really hard to say no. Especially when her aunt was in her ‘zone’.
And so, Ganyu sighed again. She looked at her aunt and finally gave up.
“Okay then, I’ll try it.”
Cloud Retainer's face beamed with happiness.
“Great! I’ll assure you that you won't regret it!” Cloud Retainer clapped happily. “ So, there is this nice person at my workplace who joined two months ago. She was placed right under me and I trained her personally. She’s younger than you but I think the two of you are pretty similar and I’m sure you’ll both hit it off in no time!”
Cloud Retainer started to ramble. Ganyu, however, couldn’t really catch on to what her aunt was saying. She was too busy playing different scenarios for tomorrow. She needed to make up something so that she could excuse herself early.
“She has long white hair which always braided at the end. You should be able to recognize her right away. Oh, and her name is-”
“Shenhe.”
Now at the present, Ganyu was sitting at a table for two, inside the cafe Cloud Retainer mentioned the night before. In front of her, sat the person her aunt told her about. She was frozen in place when the woman in front of her introduced herself.
Shenhe…
Despite the low and cold tone that Shenhe used, Ganyu felt that the other woman's name had a nice ring on it. Like, it sounded very nostalgic for whatever reason. This was beyond her expectation, getting sentimental because of a name.
“Well, how is it? She’s cute, right?”
Ganyu’s phone vibrated.
Even when she wasn’t there, Ganyu could already imagine Cloud Retainer’s smug face. She really wanted to scold her aunt for setting this up. However, Ganyu had to admit that Shenhe was indeed cute. Or more like, beautiful. Ganyu was really captivated by her look. Beautiful white hair that looked so smooth to touch and although one of her eyes was covered by her hair, Shenhe’s transparent grey eye was really mesmerizing, almost like a gem.
“You never told me that she’s this-”
Breathtaking!!
Ganyu changed the last word to ‘intimidating’. Knowing Cloud Retainer, she would only teased Ganyu endlessly if she found out about Ganyu’s honest thoughts.
“Is she? She’s a good kid though. Anyway, I shouldn’t keep you any longer. Go talk with her!”
Ganyu knew that it was somehow rude to keep typing on her phone while Shenhe was actually there, sitting across from her. Even when she kept her phone under the table so that Shenhe wouldn’t feel that she was being ignored, Ganyu still felt sorry. However, that couldn’t be helped. Ganyu’s thoughts were in a mess right now with how much she kept thinking about how beautiful Shenhe was, how she was super conscious because Shenhe kept staring at her, and how she didn’t have any idea what she should talk about. Asking Cloud Retainer for help was her only way to escape her chaotic mind.
“I don’t know what to talk about!”
“Obviously not about the weather? See? You’ve been out of the game for too long! It’s a good thing I set you up on a blind date today. Anyway, talk about yourself? Or ask something about her. Come on, you can do it honey, I’m rooting for you!”
Ganyu was desperate. Cloud Retainer was right. She was so busy with her work that she forgot how to properly communicate with a person outside of work-related stuff. Not to mention this was the first time she went on a blind date and she honestly had no idea what to do. Staying like this won’t do Ganyu anything good so she decided to make a move to lighten the mood.
“I’m Ganyu, Cloud Retainer’s niece.” Ganyu finally put her phone back to her pouch and met Shenhe in the eye.
Okay, why did I say that? That last information is probably unnecessary.
Ganyu blushed when she realized she messed up her introduction.
“I know. Cloud Retainer talked about you a lot.”
It was probably only Ganyu’s imagination but she was positive that she could see Shenhe’s face softened. Ganyu swore that she could even see Shenhe’s made an expression briefly.
“Is that so?” Ganyu asked and Shenhe just nodded as her confirmation. Then realization hit her hard. “Pardon me, but did she tell you anything about me? Wh-when I was young?”
Didn’t really understanding what Ganyu was implying, Shenhe tilted her head a little. “No, not really.”
“I-is that so? That’s a relief.” Ganyu let out a sigh. Cloud Retainer tended to talk about anything to everyone. Including moments from her childhood that Ganyu desperately wanted to forget.
“Most of the time she just told me about how beautiful you are.” Shenhe was still looking at Ganyu right in the eyes. “And I agree with her. You’re beautiful.” she added aloofly.
“Wh-what??” Ganyu looked back at Shenhe and raised her eyebrows in surprise, face blushing. This was actually more embarrassing than the stories of her childhood. “Tha-thank you.”
How could she say something so embarrassing with a straight face like that?
Ganyu could feel that her cheeks were getting hot. She couldn’t understand why she was the one getting embarrassed and not Shenhe.
“A-anyway, we probably should order something.” Ganyu cleared her throat and tried her best to change the conversation topic. “Would you like something to drink or eat?”
Ganyu was about to hand Shenhe the menu when the other woman spoke.
“Just water and salad is fine. I don’t really eat meat.”
Ganyu’s eyes widened again. It was a rare occurance to meet someone with the same taste in food, so, Ganyu raised her eyebrows in disbelief, as if she was saying; really?
In answer, Shenhe also raised her eyebrow as if she understood Ganyu’s silent question and answered; really.
They looked at each other for a while and suddenly chuckled at the same time. The awkward silence between them was suddenly gone. Cloud Retainer was right, Ganyu found the woman sitting right across from her was kind of similar with herself. Although she just met Shenhe minutes ago, she could feel something click and that made her talk easier without feeling the need to keep an image.
By the time they finished their meals, the atmosphere around them started to get warmer. They started chatting about many things and were surprised because they had so many similarities. Like how both Ganyu and Shenhe prefered to spend their day off in house and while Ganyu restored her energy with sleep, Shenhe restored her energy with meditation. How both of them were workaholics, how winter was their favorite season, and how both of them liked the same flower.
Ganyu thought that this blind date wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it was surprisingly pleasant. Shenhe was so easy to talk to. She didn’t ask something that would make Ganyu uncomfortable nor did she say something unnecessary. Being around Shenhe was comfortable and Ganyu liked it.
Time flowed so fast when Ganyu was having fun. Since they met late in the afternoon, it was already nighttime when they came out from the cafe. When was the last time Ganyu felt like this? She couldn’t even remember.
Since it was already late, both of them decided to end the day. Now, they were walking together to the station side by side. Ganyu walked slowly, trying to buy time as much as possible. Truthfully, she still wanted to talk with Shenhe but she couldn’t possibly voice her selfish wish.
“Anyway, what made you agree to come today?” Ganyu asked Shenhe the thing she had been curious about.
“Cloud Retainer wouldn’t stop talking about it unless I said yes.” Shenhe kept walking besides Ganyu without looking at the smaller woman.
“Oh, is that so…”
Somehow Ganyu felt dejected. Although it was also the same situation for her, for a moment she hoped that Shenhe’s answer would be something else. She shook her head a little while convincing herself that the murky feeling she felt right now was probably a sign that she was tired. There was no reason for her to feel down at all when she herself came today because of Cloud Retainer.
“And also,” Shenhe turned her head to look at Ganyu. “Since Cloud Retainer kept saying that ‘my niece is so beautiful’, I got curious myself.” Shenhe gave Ganyu a smile.
Ganyu could feel that her face was heating up again. This time, accompanied by irregular beats coming from her chest. It was the first time Ganyu saw Shenhe’s smile. Up until now, Shenhe rarely showed any expression when they talked. Just occasionally raised her eyebrows or curled her lips up slightly.
You’re the one who’s beautiful
Ganyu wondered why she couldn’t voice her thoughts freely just like Shenhe. It was too embarrassing and the blue-haired woman genuinely wondered how the younger woman could keep doing that without feeling embarrassed. Was Ganyu too conscious of Shenhe’s presence? If she was, why? Probably because she had just met Shenhe today. But was that the only reason?
While contemplating whether she should compliment Shenhe back or not, they already arrived at the station. Again, Ganyu felt the murky feelings coming back to her. She still wanted to spend some time with Shenhe, to look at a beauty named Shenhe and listen to her calming voice. Ganyu wanted time to run slower. Even if it’s only for 0.01 second.
“Which line are you taking?”
Shenhe’s voice brought Ganyu back to reality. She didn’t realize that she was spacing out for a moment.
“I’m taking this line. What about you?” Ganyu asked Shenhe in return.
“Actually, I don’t take the train. My place isn’t that far from the cafe earlier, I’ll just walk back again.” Shenhe said casually, as if it wasn't a big deal at all.
Ganyu was completely taken aback by Shenhe’s words. It took her a minute to process Shenhe’s statement.
“What? Why didn’t you say anything?” Ganyu furrowed. She felt that she was troubling Shenhe by getting herself walked to the station. And she felt genuinely bad about it.
“Because I still want to talk with you. Being together with you is fun and I don’t want it to end yet.” Shenhe’s eyes were looking everywhere except Ganyu’s. Her voice was getting so quiet Ganyu had to strain her ears to hear it.
Rare occurrence just happened. Now, it was Shenhe who felt embarrassed and Ganyu could see a tiny hint of red on Shenhe’s cheek. For unknown reasons, Ganyu felt like crying when she heard that. The taller woman in front of her, whomst she had just met today, suddenly became someone precious to her at this moment.
The call for Ganyu’s train was announced, and their time together today almost ran out. Ganyu didn’t want to regret anything so she mustered up her courage and abandoned her shyness for once.
“Shenhe, if it’s okay with you, could we exchange contact?”
Shenhe’s eye finally met Ganyu’s. It was an expression of disbelief and Ganyu felt honored to see that.
“You sure?”
“Of course.” Ganyu smiled happily. “Today was so much fun and I want to talk to you again and see you again sometime. Perhaps, is that a burden?”
“No, of course not! I also feel the same.” Shenhe answered with another smile.
They looked at each other for a while and chuckled. Somehow, they did that a lot today. They really were on the same page.
Ganyu’s train arrived. She stepped into her train and turned back to look at Shenhe who was still looking out for her. She then mouthed;
Thank you for today. I will text you later.
Which Shenhe replied with;
Alright, I’ll wait for it.
And with that, Ganyu’s first blind date came to an end. Ganyu smiled to herself when she remembered everything that happened today. She was really glad that she chose to come. Because of that, she got to know Shenhe. Someone who unexpectedly caught her attention. Perhaps, that attention would turn into something someday. Ganyu herself wouldn’t know. What mattered now was the fact that she was happy. And it was all thanks to Shenhe. Ganyu couldn’t help but look forward to meeting Shenhe again.
Ganyu’s phone vibrated. It was Cloud Retainer.
“Hello? How about a word to your worried aunt at home? Are you coming home or not??”
Ganyu completely forgot about her aunt. Since she was having so much fun with Shenhe, she didn’t realize that her aunt was texting her non-stop, asking for progress and such. Ganyu replied to the text and smiled. Her aunt was the MVP this time. It was thanks to her that she met Shenhe.
I should buy something delicious on the way and thank Cloud Retainer later when I get home