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“One of our diplomats perished in a car accident in Liyue. But we believe it to be an assassination by the East’s far-right political party. They are plotting a war against our nation of Mondstadt,” the man informed the people in the room sternly, “We must do everything we can to figure out their plan.”
“Let’s let him take care of it,” someone else suggested whilst turning towards him, “The best agent we have. Vago Mundo.”
Code name: Vago Mundo. A spy. In an era in which the nations of the world were waging a fierce war of information just out of sight, this man survived that battlefield by being a master of disguise, a man with a hundred faces.
“Daddy’s been in such a bad mood lately because someone stole his toupee pictures, or something. What even? Ugh, I’m so mad,” the brown-haired woman annoyedly shared her father’s mood with the handsome looking man in front of her yet at the same time his inattentiveness didn’t go unnoticed, “Hello? Are you even listening, Junjun?”
Without even looking up at her he uttered a quick reply, the food on the porcelain plate seeming to interest him much more, “Hm? Yes, that’s rather unfortunate.”
Just when she was about to say something else, the sound of hands clapping excitedly caught her attention, her gaze dreamily fixed on the proposal that had been made in the middle of the restaurant not a few seconds ago. “So, Junjun… Do you think one day we’ll also—”
“Chan’er, let’s break up.”
“What!?”
“I’m afraid I can’t sense any intelligence in your conversations,” Junjun stated in all honesty, “Farewell. May you find happiness.”
Right after he spoke those words the man left the restaurant, leaving a shocked and heartbroken woman behind him in the process.
“Hey, Junjun! Wait! You can’t just do that to me,” Chan’er hastily jumped out of her seat, yet it was already too late. The man was nowhere to be found as if he had just vanished in thin air.
“Sorry, Chan’er, but I have no further use for your family. As of tonight, I’m also done with the mask known as Junjun. Marriage? Conventional happiness? I got rid of those aspirations, as well as my identity, the day I became a spy.”
The following day Vago Mundo arrived on the station right on time before the departure of the train headed to Liyue Harbor, being aware that his next mission would take place there. Prior to entering he made sure that he could discover the details of the said mission which were hidden between the newspaper he exchanged with an informant.
‘Meow’ was the only word that deserted his lips, yet it was enough for the spy to know what he meant. “Must be Cipher C,” he quietly whispered to himself.
Good day, or perhaps, good evening, Vago Mundo. Well done on your last mission. Thanks to you, the minister lived another day, to the greater benefit of our country. Now, then, the details of your next mission: Your target is the leader of the National Unity Party, Feiyun Zhanzheng. He is a great threat to the truce between the North and the South. Your mission is to get close to him and probe any seditious activities. In order to achieve this, you will get married and have a child.
And that last sentence alone was enough to make the man spit his coffee out unexpectedly on the newspaper.
“I beg your pardon, what!?”
Zhanzheng is an extremely cautious man who rarely appears in public. He only appears at social gatherings held at the elite private school his son attends. These events are informal get-togethers for the upper echelon of industrial and political leaders. You will have your child enroll in this school and infiltrate one of the social gatherings. The enrollment deadline is drawing near, meaning you have one week to pull this off.
“You expect me to produce a child within seven days!?” the man yelled harshly in the train right when he ripped the paper apart in his hands with brute force. But the act itself earned the man a few concerned and confused stares from the passengers. He coughed before regaining his composure, “Please excuse me.”
Operation Strix. This operation is the key to maintaining peace between North and South and perhaps the world. Hero who casts no shadow, the great deeds you and your fellow agents do shall never see the light of day. You will never earn any medals nor make it into the papers. Even so, never forget that everyone else’s day-to-day lives are possible because of your blood, sweat and tears.
“Very well. I abandoned my identity when I became Vago Mundo. I will play the part of a father with a child if I must, for the sake of a better world,” the man thought to himself whilst his amber-colored eyes silently gazed outside.
“This is one of our single-family apartments. The unit comes furnished, includes central air conditioning and heating, and- Um…Sir?”
During the whole explanation, the poor spy could only focus on two things: wiretaps and securable escape routes. Luckily, one wasn’t present and the other one was which put his mind at ease.
“I’ll take it
“Excellent, Mr. Wu.”
“Zhongli Wu. Occupation: Funeral Parlor Consultant. That’s my new life. With a family I love and a happy home life…”
“How nice that you and your family are moving into a new home. Do you have a boy or a girl,” the landlord asked Zhongli with slight curiosity.
“Ah, well…” he hesitated, not fully knowing what to reply to the man in front of him, “I’ll be deciding that soon.”
“Huh?”
“What an absolute burden for a spy,” he thought in all silence.
Ding dong.
Not too shortly after Zhongli rang the bell of the orphanage, a short man – or better said, the owner – opened the door with a reddish face, the hue on his cheeks giving away that he had consumed more alcohol than one should.
“Huh? You wanna adopt?”
“Indeed,” he answered politely, “I heard that your orphanage was looking for candidates. You see, my wife and I—”
Abruptly the drunken man chimed in, “Yeah, sure. Take whichever one you want. Come on in”
The secret spy couldn’t help but be shocked upon the man’s rudeness, yet he decided to ignore it anyway and follow his demand. The sight of the environment he was met with was simply terrible, the whole building was covered in nothing, but dirt and the children looked uncared of. But the shadier the establishment, the more likely these children have complicated pasts, so it’ll be easier to alter their stories. That’s what Zhongli believed at least.
Inquisitive amber eyes continued to shoot blistering glances whilst stepping through the corridor, the resting silence making him uncomfortable. “Pardon me. If possible, I’d like a child who can read and write.”
Upon hearing that requirement the owner already knew whom he had to introduce, “Well in that case…”
Not a few seconds later both of them arrived at one of the many rooms, the sound of the door cracking open caught the little girl’s attention which she signified that by looking up.
“Her name’s Hu Tao. She’s the smartest one we’ve got,” he informed, “she doesn’t talk much, but she’s a good kid.”
Little did Zhongli know that he was actually lying, thinking of her as a creepy, disgusting little brat which he’d be thrilled to get out of his hair.
“Go on. Say hello,” the man with the burned cheeks requested but before the little girl could say anything the agent interrupted.
“Er… Pardon me… If I recall, the earliest age students can enter Eden College is six. She definitely looks no older than four or five.”
“Six,” the child cut in, “I’m six!”
“But she’s so small…”
As if she could read his mind Hu Tao started to push herself up on her tip toes to appear taller, quickly running over to the small table to grab the newspaper on top.
Zhongli followed her movements with great interest, not understanding the reason behind it until she showed him the crossword puzzle. “That’s probably too difficult for a child. Of course, for myself, it’s mere child’s play. One down is ‘homeostasis.’ One across is ‘casual closure,” and he persisted to answer all of the puzzle in his head.
The speed in which the little girl completed the puzzle was simply astonishing, leaving the long-haired man in awe whilst he scanned the answers with his eyes. “Such unbelievable intellect. She should have no problem passing the entrance exam.”
And with that thought in mind he chose her to be his daughter.
“As for the paperwork…”
But the man interrupted him once again that hour, “don’t worry about that. Just take her already.”
“My mission to end up with a child is a success. Everything’s going so well that it’s making me nervous,” he admitted mentally as he gazed at the child with no particular emotion, “are you okay with this?”
The poor girl couldn’t simply do much but stare at the man in admiration, “a spy… mission… So exciting!”
This little girl happened to be a telepath. Test Subject 007. She possessed the ability to read people’s minds. She was unintentionally created in an experiment by a certain organization, and she later fled their facility. She has been wandering around looking for someone to take care of her.
“Now, listen, little girl—”
“Hu Tao.”
“Now, listen Hu Tao. Starting today, you will be my daughter, but if anyone asks, you’ve always been my daughter. Got it?”
“Yep!”
“Make sure you address me as ‘Father.’”
“Papa!”
“Very well.”
After entering the building together they ran into a gentle looking old lady, the presence of the new people seeming to interest her. A smile quicky found place on her lips as she took a long glance at the young girl next to the older man.
“Well, aren't you a cute little girl? Hello there,” she greeted.
Upon hearing her words Zhongli quickly replied, “We’re the Wu’s. We just moved in today.”
And Hu Tao took no longer to chime in, “I am Hu Tao. I have been Papa’s child for a very long time.”
A soft ‘oh’ was the sole thing she could mutter after hearing the rather abnormal wording before they both continued to walk towards their rooms.
Before long, they entered their new place, but the unique and proper interior quickly piqued the little girl’s interest.
“This is Hu Tao’s house?”
“Yes.”
“A TV!” she shouted excitedly.
“Go ahead and turn it on,” her father replied as he slid his leather gloves off, adoring her excitement.
Spy Wars, an adventure cartoon! could be clearly heard from the TV while the girl was pointing at the bright screen, “I like this show!”
“Of all things…?” the man thought.
A gun with a silencer? You’re a professional!
The little girl gazed at the show with wide and enthusiastic eyes, her lips parting in sheer excitement, “So exciting.”
“First, I’ll have to gather everything we’ll need. And I’ll have to forge an ID for her,” Zhongli recounted in silence, “I’m going out for a bit. Just sit here and watch your show.”
Only did the spy know that she’d be dying to go outside with him, clearly expressing her opinion by running over to him and clutching tightly onto his leg.
“An adventure!”
“I’m not going on an adventure. I’m just going shopping,” the male hollered whilst shaking his leg hysterically to get her off but to no avail. In the end he was forced to bring his daughter along.
After a while of strolling through the city and its various shops together the sun tardily began to drop out of sight under the horizon, indicating that it was almost evening.
“I want a pistol with a silencer,” Hu Tao squealed in joy as she ran in front of her new father, glancing at him with her bright red eyes to see his answer.
Zhongli could only chuckle upon her words, “Sure. Maybe if we can find one on sale.”
“To be a master spy,” he reminisced, “one must act normal and never draw attention to themselves. We must do everything we can to look like an ordinary family.”
But his thoughts came to a halt rather rapidly after the little girl’s cry for help entered his ears. Her little figure being pushed aside by the many hasty adults that wanted to enter the streetcar.
“Now, now,” an older lady chimed in, “you need to make sure you hold the little one’s hand.” With great care she lifted her up, softly putting her down on the ground, “Here.”
And after that occurrence Zhongli realized that it’d be safer to hold her small hand despite the fact that it’d be harder to prepare for an enemy ambush.
When Hu Tao heard the words ‘enemy ambush’ run through her dad’s mind she couldn’t but let go of his hand quite hastily, dashing in front of him while looking frantically left and right. But her worries only increased as she couldn’t see anyone suspicious, causing her to stoop under a restaurant’s board.
This sudden yet unusual behavior didn’t go unnoticed, making the spy look at her in bafflement.
“What are you doing?”
“Hiding!”
“Did I do anything to make her want to hide from me? Perhaps I held her hand too early. Does she hate me? This isn’t good. I need to maintain a good relationship with her until the end of this mission. I must know more about this girl. It’s basic diplomacy. Understanding the other party is the first step towards peace,” he analyzed.
Now the poor girl truly was befogged. “Understanding me will lead to world peace!?”
She walked away from the board right off, commencing to tell some information about herself, “I like sunsettias! And I don’t like carrots. But I really like crispy bacon from bakenries!” With great excitement little Hu Tao pointed at a nearby sign, revealing to the spy what a ‘bakenry’ is.
“That’s a ‘bakery.’ They do net sell bacon,” he corrected her, his words making the girl blush in embarrassment.
“I’d like this, please,” Hu Tao politely handed the vendor five hundred mora to purchase a poster of her favorite show, standing on her tip toes to make sure that he could reach easily.
After glancing at the coin, Zhongli intervened rapidly, “That costs five thousand mora. You can’t buy it with the coins.”
And once again that day the girl blushed in embarrassment before reading her father’s mind.
“Is this girl actually stupid? Was the crossword puzzle a fluke? Maybe I can still go back and get another child—”
His last words practically terrified her after being brought back by many families multiple times, the bad atmosphere and caretaker of the orphanage resting fresh in her mind. Glistening tears started to form in her bright eyes right away, not being able to articulate properly because of the sadness, “Pwease don’t get rid of me!”
“What’s gotten into you,” the man cried out in confusedness whilst earning some troubled looks and gazes from the bystanders. What a terrible parent, they conceived.
Sadly enough the girl’s tears didn’t come to a stop that quickly, “Pwease,” she sobbed, “I’m a good bargain!”
Out of all the things Zhongli has done in his life, taking care of a six-year-old child wasn’t lamentably one of them. “What do I even do,” he questioned but then it hit him, “I’ll buy you some sunsettias! Just stop crying!”
Combined with a bright smile she cheered joyously, “Sunsettias!”
Since walking inside the big shop and carefully choosing which sunsettias to buy made poor Hu Tao exhausted, she sweetly asked her father to carry her in his arms. He looked at her in disbelief at first but with no other options available he was a bit forced to.
“This isn’t working… I just don’t understand this irrational behavior. I need some manuals to help me understand it,” and as if the universe noticed his struggle, he just happened to pass by a library.
The walk home certainly wasn’t an easy one with all that weight resting on only two arms but luckily Zhongli was able to arrive safely, immediately tucking Hu Tao in her warm bed the first minute they arrived. Following that he tiredly settled down on the big couch, grabbing the first book on the sloppily stacked pile.
“The key to raising a child is trust,” Zhongli read to himself, “Rather than scolding them, try to understand things from their perspective. Children are not very good at putting how they’re feeling into words so try to understand them more… So no interrogating them, then?”
Deliberately, he put the book back next the side of the said pile, taking another book that’s on top.
“Do the parents of the world normally carry out such difficult missions all the time? As soon as I’m done with this mission, I’m sending her back to the orphanage. That’s the extent of our relationship.”
The following day Zhongli suggested that she’d study.
“Don’t wanna,” Hu Tao protested loudly as Zhongli approached her with a big blue book, “I don’t wanna study!”
“I need to know how smart you are for this exam.”
“I don’t need to study to do any tests. If I just read other people’s… people’s minds.”
The man could only sigh deeply, “Are you planning on cheating? Listen. If you don’t get into this school… my mission fails.”
Yet the child didn’t really care, her eyebrows frowned sternly as she looked madly at her dad. He couldn’t do much but mirror her expression, looking back at her with the exact same furious gaze.
The staring contest didn’t take that long since Zhongli turned away to go out of the house, putting his dark brown blazer on that matched with the color of his pants before leaving.
“I’m heading out,” he announced, out of the corner of his amber eye he could see how his daughter stood up to follow him, “you’re not coming with me today. No matter what. You’re staying home.”
That mad expression plastered across her face turned into a bamboozled one right away, but little did he know that his strict words wouldn’t affect her at all. Laggardly she pulled the door open, peeking through the little space before Zhongli turned around and ran up to the entrance to warn her.
“Hey! I told you, you’re not coming!”
Like previously mentioned, his words didn’t influence her in any possible way at all.
“You there! Do you really think I don’t see you,” the spy pointed rapidly at the big bin which his daughter was hiding behind after walking out of the house.
“There,” this time his finger pointed at the small space under the stairs.
And once again he found her, “There!”
“Papa is so good at finding me,” she thought whilst gazing at her dad in awe from her hiding place, “It’s so much fun!”
But after a while of hide-and-seek he had no choice but to pick her up and trap her in the house by putting up a barricade in front of the door, being certain that the doorknob was also blocked by a thick rope.
“Try and get out of that,” the spy exclaimed with laughter and outmost confidence.
“So that’s why you’re late,” Childe asked in utter disbelief after listening to Zhongli’s reason, “I’m praying that you don’t get reported for child abuse.”
The man could only take his hat off in annoyance, not understanding his daughter’s complexity, “Who knows what children are thinking? Their method of always crying to get their way is truly annoying.”
“Hate to tell you this, Vago Mundo,” the ginger added, “but crying is their job.” Whilst speaking he grabbed an important envelope out of his pocket, placing it on the countertop, “More importantly, here’s what you asked for.”
The envelope happened to contain an application, ticket for the exam and exam questions, meaning his daughter only had to memorize the answers.
“I went through hell getting these for you,” he informed his colleague with a gloomy voice.
Zhongli politely thanked him, “I think we can make things work if we have her memorize everything.”
Something significant then popped up in Childe’s mind as the man mentioned his daughter, “About your daughter… I dug up some records on her past that the orphanage didn’t have.” Pokily he handed him another paper, “I couldn’t find anything about her birth. No info on her age or parents, either. I could only find information from the last year, but she’s been adopted four times and returned each time. She’s also been to two other orphanages,” he annexed.
So long as Childe spoke, Zhongli carefully scanned the paper, seeing all the past surnames his daughter had.
“She changes names as much as you do. You guys are perfect for each other,” the man behind him joked yet quickly stopped as their gazes met. “Hey, I’m kidding. This is for your mission, right? She may be a kid, but no good’s gonna come out of getting too attached.”
The long-haired man took his hat back from the countertop, putting it on before walking away from the place, “Thanks for the concern.”
“Hello? Where’s my money!?”
Yet it was too late since the spy had left and couldn’t prick his ears up to his screaming anymore.
As more hours passed by, little Hu Tao couldn’t bear with the lack of people in the room. Staring up the ceiling, her arms and legs were widely open as her figure rested on the big couch. “I’m so bored. Spies aren’t like what I thought. I just want to get the cool bomb back.”
6110
And at that specific moment she remembered how she knew the code to her dad’s special room with all the amazing spy equipment.
“Bomby-bombs! Bomby-bombs,” she sang in joy as her little hands began to mess around with the various equipment, opening a black suitcase she never saw before, “Bomby-bombs! Bomby-bo-Ooh!” Hu Tao bolted in awe after laying her eyes on the headphones and little buttons in the said suitcase, “Secret messages!”
Her curious little fingers commenced to push the buttons, not even thinking about the possible consequences of her silly little actions, “Secrets, secrets…”
Only if she knew that she accidentally consigned her dad’s enemies a not-so-very-good message.
Vago Mundo here. Catch me if you can.
Cautiously Hu Tao closed the grip, wiping the imaginary sweat off of her forehead meanwhile sighing in relief. However, that sense of relief didn’t continue for that long as she noticed what kind of mess she had made, without any delay the girl leaped up to clean it all.
“If he finds out I’m a telepath… I’ll have to leave.”
“Hu Tao, you mustn’t tell anyone about your power,” the man in the white coat explained harshly, “It’s time to study now.”
But she protested, “I wanna draw…”
“Don’t bother with childish games. We must use your power for the sake of world peace.”
Like any other child would, tears had started to escape out of her bright red eyes meanwhile her thin lips jutted out.
“There’s no time for tears, either. Now, enough playing. Back to studying.”
And even now, the same tears she let out that day began to roll down her cheeks once more, yet she wiped them all away.
“She’d better not have messed up the apartment,” Zhongli thought to himself when walking up the stairs of his new home, spotting the barricade he put up, “Oh, right. I need to move this.”
Amber eyes then saw something rather abnormal, eyeing and frowning upon how the barricade has been moved once. He then moved it himself, purposefully opening the door. Slowly, he entered the living room, sensing the presence of unfamiliar people in the space.
Suddenly, a man hiding behind the unclosed door swung his metal pole at the spy right away, howbeit the only thing he could hit was his hat as he had dodged his attack with great speed. With much force he punched his chin, causing the enemy to black out in pain.
Another man appeared abaft the couch and embarked on shooting, begetting the man to drop his newly bought bag of groceries. But prior to doing so Zhongli took hold of a tin, kicking that with strength towards his face which made him back down and cover it in anguish.
Promptly, the spy took a nearby chair and slammed it against the shooter’s head, which caused him to black out as well. “Who the hell are these guys,” he questioned but then recalled someone important, “Hu Tao!”
He checked every room he could but there was absolutely no sight of the little girl, only her small spirit plush – which she had brought with her – was present in Zhongli’s room. “She’s been kidnapped? By whoever sent these thugs? But why? I need to find her immediately. Calm down.” Then it crossed his mind after noting the disarray, “From the looks of it, I’ve been compromised. I need to get to safety right off. As for Hu Tao… There are plenty of other children out there. I’ll start things over from square one and—”
Bam!
“So who the hell is this kid,” the leader of the group asked whilst he laid his eyes on the little girl, her scared bright red eyes looking back at him, “Could she be Vago Mundo’s?”
“No idea,” a man next to Hu Tao replied, “She was in the room where the message came from, so we snatched her just in case. She was holed up inside the apartment with a barricade out front.”
The stern gaze of the leader turned into a curious one, “Why out front?”
“Beats me.”
“Well, no matter. We might be able to use her as a hostage in order to force Vago Mundo to steal the toupee off of the foreign minister’s head personally.”
Someone else chimed in, “Boss, I think we should just give up on the toupee.” But that only acquired him a bullet right through the head, “Transparency is essential in government. Toupees are a no-go.”
“A pistol with a silencer,” Hu Tao noticed in fear, “A real bad guy…”
“Also, the minister’s a traitor who’s been secretly backing the North,” he added while lighting a cigarette up, “Anyone who advocates for a traitor is also a traitor.”
Just then a familiar car arrived at their facility, “Boss! Nianzu and his guys are back from the apartment!”
After a short while, Nianzu set foot in the building with a tied-up spy around his shoulder, his face remaining hidden by a paper bag. Without paying any attention to his state, he set the man down with a loud thud, “We captured him.”
“Well done,” his boss said.
“Those weren’t the moves of an amateur. He’s the real deal,” he expressed as he took big steps backwards whilst holding his neck in pain.
One of them commanded him to rest, which he then happily did.
“Now then, Vago Mundo…” he squatted down, “Let’s have you return the photographs you stole from me.” In one swift movement the boss removed the bag away, the sight leaving him and his helpers in absolute bamboozlement. Nianzu was laying right there, all tied up on the ground with Zhongli’s clothes.
“What’s going on!? He was just—”
“The kid’s gone!”
A furious scream deserted the man’s mouth upon being fooled once again. Zhongli – who was actually disguising himself as Nianzu – rapidly ran away from the enemy’s group with a frightened Hu Tao in his arms.
“This was a mistake. I risked everything by waltzing right into enemy territory. I’m a failure as a spy.”
With her little fingers, the small girl clenched his shirt tightly for a sense of relief, being certain that the unfamiliar man was her dad after reading his thoughts. Tears even began to roll down from her cheeks upon being reunited, “Pabwaaaaaaah!”
“Look, you’re okay. I won’t do anything,” Zhongli assured her, “You don’t have to be scared.” Except she didn’t even attend to his words, carrying on with wailing as her tear-stained face was buried in the crook of his neck. “This is exactly why kids suck… I see…,” something from his past popped up in his mind, “I think I figured out why I hate the sound of kids crying so much.”
Every time a child lets their tears flow, he ends up remembering his own childhood. How no one had reached a hand out to save him. He felt alone, in despair, and was so powerless that all he could do was cry his heart out. He thought that he had abandoned that past, however on a subconscious level, she reminded him of himself.
Once they were out of the building, he set the girl down on her two feet, beginning to write something rapidly on the piece of paper he pulled out from his pocket, “Listen up, little girl.”
“Hu Tao,” she corrected him.
“Listen up, Hu Tao. Me and my friends are pro tag players. Whenever we spot someone with potential, we immediately challenge them to a game.”
“Oh. Papa is a liar.”
“Now listen,” he explained while pointing towards the street with a pen, “If you go straight down this street and turn right, you’ll find a police station. If you can get this paper to a police officer, you win the game. Got it?”
“If you show them this, they’ll put you in a better orphanage. I’m not going to involve a kid in this mission. I’ll figure something out and rework the plan.”
The thought and his intention alone broke her heart, but she couldn’t do much and obeyed him nonetheless. It was all for her good after all.
“My mistake was putting that little girl in danger to begin with,” he got wind of, “How could I forget? To create a world where children won’t have to cry… That’s why I became a spy.” With some force, Zhongli took his mask off whilst entering the abandoned facility, leaving a very amazed yet heartbroken Hu Tao behind.”
How could she not be awestruck after knowing her father’s real mind set?
“Don’t let that bastard get away!”
The boss and his men ferociously busted through the door in an attempt to catch the agent however their carelessness led them right into his well-found trap. As soon as one tripped over a thin rope, many bags that were hung on the ceiling unfastened which caused a white powder-like substance to fly out. But it was so dense that no one could possibly see each other, and communication was done by voice and no sight.
“What is this? Flou- AGH,” Abruptly, he got knocked in the face which launched him towards the back of the room. Another man got ready to shoot at the intruder, but that only earned him a punch against his cheek. Zhongli took them all out, one by one, until the boss and himself remained.
“You’ve gotta be shitting me,” the gun was now resting against the back of his head, as someone who loved life more than anything he raised his hands up.
“Turn around, and I’ll kill you,” the agent threatened him.
The man whispered his name in annoyance, not daring to do any move.
“Good day, or perhaps, good evening, Enlai. How’s Chan’er doing?”
“How do you know my daughter’s name?”
“Of course I know. That’s what spies do. I know her height, weight, shoe size, her favorite foods, even how many moles there are on her body,” he summed up, “Though it’s nothing compared to your record, I know of her criminal activity, too.”
Albeit he tried to prove him otherwise.
“Enlai. I also know how much you care about your daughter. So listen carefully,” the agent pressed the gun even harder, “If you wish for her to have any semblance of a normal life, you’ll leave me the hell alone!”
Zhongli lowered his own gun and shot Enlai’s one away, speaking his last words to him, “If you understand, go home right now.”
As soon as Hu Tao heard her dad’s approaching footsteps she arose from behind the phone cell, running towards him with nothing but great joy. “Papa,” she screeched with a bright smile before clutching tightly onto his pants.
Surprise was written all over his face whilst speaking, “What are you— I mean, what are you doing outside the house? I, uh, just happened to come here to shop, but I guess they went out of business.”
“Papa is a huge liar,” tardily she tilted her head upwards, “I was playing tag with some old guys.”
“Oh, I see. Did you have fun?”
Tears had started to appear in her eyes again right before she wept them away, “It was a little scary. I wanna go home. To our home, papa.”
Zhongli’s heart got torn in pieces because of the sight in front of him, his voice soft yet heartbroken, “Are you sure?”
“If you leave me behind, I’m going to cry even more.”
Childe’s words crossed his mind, recalling how she was adopted and returned a total of four times. “I see. Well, let’s go home then. But that apartment is far too dangerous, so let’s move,” he added, “I spotted a poisonous snake there yesterday.”
“I don’t like snakes,” she informed whilst walking hand-in-hand with her dear papa, being well aware that he was lying, “Papa is a huge liar… But he’s such a cool liar!”
“I wanna live in a castle.”
“We’ll see if one’s listed,” he laughed heartily, “Once we get to our new home, you’ve got to study though.”
“Gwak!”
“This time, you just have to memorize all the answers. It’ll be easy.”
It’ll be easy he said but everything on that exam paper was anything and everything aside from easy, for Hu Tao at least. If there was something that could aid her, it was envisioning her dad’s finger that was pointing at the paper whilst explaining. It gave her a bit of courage at least.
“K-157… K-157… K-157! It’s there! You passed!”
“Did I do a good job?”
“You bet you did,” Zhongli exclaimed as he picked his daughter up, spinning her high up in the air, “You—”
And with a loud thud he collided with the ground due to his pent-up exhaustion hitting him all at once, “I … relaxed? What’s going on with me?”
The secret agent continued to lay there with a blank stare in his eyes whilst his daughter shook him with all her might.