Chapter Text
Ridiculous.
Utterly ridiculous.
Of all people, why him?!
Aether gawked at his arm with disbelief and irritation, seeing the words Xiao Nemeseos written in green ink, his handwriting remaining the same despite all of those years. Aether glanced at the box of wipes beside him and did exactly that— wiping the ink off, that is— but it seemed permanently imprinted on his palm that no matter how rough and hard he wiped it, it was no avail.
Then there's another reply. You? Your name?
Aether squinted at his arm, and completely ignored it.
There's no way he'll let Xiao know who he is. No way! And besides, there's no possibility that Xiao will know, right? Well, they haven't seen each other for six years, so yeah. That's just impossible.
And… and… there's just no way that this will work, even if Xiao knew who he was! That's ridiculous and almost laughable. Aether still won't forgive him for being the valedictorian. He practically embarrassed himself in front of Xiao, since he boasted that he'll be the one to give a speech in front of the crowd.
No, no, no! Remembering Xiao's smug face when he got announced made Aether almost wish that the ground would swallow him whole and not return him back for decades. He's just too embarrassed to face Xiao, so— he did what he's trying to do now. Escape, and it's successful since yeah, he hasn't seen Xiao for a long time now.
And if he does, he'll just run away.
Xiao waited.
He stared hard on his arm, and patiently waited. The clock kept on ticking, about 20 ticks, but there's still no response.
Huh. If they don't want to, then fine. Xiao was just curious anyway. He doesn't have any intentions of letting this soulmate thing or whatsoever meddle with his business. Not when it's the time for him to succeed his father.
Plus, a ton managed to live their life without ever finding out who their soulmate is. Xiao figured that he might be one of those.
He sighed and wrote on his arm.
Nevermind that. Just forget about it.
"Xiao!"
Xiao perked up, lifting his eyes from his arm. He immediately rolled down his sleeve and cleared his throat. "What?"
"Mr. Zhongli calls for you," Ganyu said, jabbing a finger towards the sliding glass door.
"What for?"
"He didn't tell me. He just said, call Xiao, which I did."
His footsteps were light as he strode towards the door, sliding it and heading to the elevator which was, luckily, empty. He and Ganyu entered, and Xiao pressed a button.
"Come in," he heard his father's voice, and Xiao entered. Ganyu followed him and she stood beside him as he took a seat on the couch where Mr. Zhongli gestured to him.
"What's the matter? Is there something you needed me to do?" He asked, picking up the mug and sipping on the coffee.
"Have you…" Zhongli cleared his throat before he continued, "received a message from your soulmate?"
Xiao considered lying, but this was his father. An experienced man who lived through a lot, and he could probably see through Xiao's lies.
Xiao scoffed. "I did, and what of it?"
Zhongli massaged his temples. "What do you mean by what of it, Xiao? This is a serious matter. That woman, or man, rather, is the one who will be with you throughout your life. Didn't I explain it to you already? About me and your mother?"
"...I have no need for a soulmate."
"Xiao, they're your other half. If you disregard their existence, you might as well lose half of your soul. That's how important a soulmate bond is."
Xiao put down his mug and fixed his tie. "I didn't need you to tell me this."
"But this is for you—"
"Xiao—"
"I made my identity known, but they haven't responded. They clearly have the same mindset as mine." Xiao cut them off, and they visibly tensed. He froze when Ganyu shot him a look of pity, and because of that, Xiao snapped.
By snapped, he meant… storming out of that place as fast as possible.
Those two… ridiculous. Someday, he'll shove it on their faces that he doesn't need a soulmate.
They'll see.