Chapter Text
Xiangling had never felt more exhausted in her life.
Lantern Rite was always a busy time- it was Liyue's annual celebration after all- but it also very much seemed to get more and more hectic as the years went by. Of course this was great for business, because as more and more visitors from Inazuma and Sumeru stopped by for the festivities, they inevitably would go to the Wanmin Restaurant for a bite. And that led to more notoriety about the food and "the spectacular chef Xiangling", which of course led to even more customers.
So many customers….so many mouths to feed….as happy as Xiangling and her dad, Chef Mao, were about all the satisfied patrons that led to this success, the side effects were severe. Being a nearly exclusive operation between father and daughter (and Gouba of course), the business had to operate as close to perfection as possible during such a holiday rush. And because the teenager was a great cook, but not a great business owner (to put it kindly), everything on that side had to be done by her dad. Taking Mora and orders, checking in with customers, managing Wanmin's stock, handling collaborations with other business during Lantern Rite, etc…all his responsibility. Honestly, if something catastrophic happened now, Chef Mao might just collapse from exhaustion. Of course it wasn't easy for Xiangling either, skilled in the field as she was notwithstanding. Cooking everything from memory, delivering the respective meal to each customer, and maintaining her sunny disposition throughout were but a few of the tasks she had to handle in greater quantities now. It left no time for friends unfortunately, as even if her dad encouraged her to "take a day off, it's Lantern Rite after all!", she could never abandon her duties for aforementioned fear of fatherly collapse.
It wasn't a bad thing by any means, Xiangling loved cooking and helping out after all, but prolonged exhaustion has a nasty way of cracking even the most enthusiastic of individuals.
So with about a week left in this year's Lantern Rite, the Pyro-wielder, her father, and yes, even Guoba, were routinely coming back home with practically no strength at all. Chef Mao had gone straight to sleep, meaning Xiangling was left to herself. However her first order of business- taking a bath for tomorrow- nearly ended in disaster. The relaxing hot water and inviting steam sent the exhausted teenager to dreamland almost straight away, peacefully sliding over the ledge and promptly underwater without a bit of resistance. It was only gag reflex upon water inviting itself in her nose and mouth that saved her, violently coughing and sputtering excess liquid upon resurface. After that, a disappointingly short bath was taken, as Xiangling fearfully stayed standing for its' entirety, eroding at any reserves of willpower left.
But at least she would get a full night's rest.
She thought this with great effort, the mere hope of sleep already dragging her eyelashes down. Having her sluggish frame barely cooperate with getting dressed in sleepwear, she cracked a faint smile upon reaching her room. Guoba, the dang God of the Stove himself, had zoinked right out in the middle of the place, snoozing away without a care. He looked so peaceful that even with him not being on the bed, Xiangling instantly abandoned any idea of doing something different. She almost literally dragged herself to his side, sank down to his level and yawned heavily.
How…does Keqing…do this…? That wonder occurred in time with another ghost of a smile creeping up Xiangling's lips. She could feel sleep finally taking her, meaning that she was probably about to have another dream- one where she cooked and served her Qixing friend delicious Shrimp Balls. She often had dreams like this, where she made her companions their favorite food…sometimes it was one-on-one, sometimes it was in a large group, but they were all happy dreams that left her content and eager to start the next day. Her last conscious action was to put a heavy arm around Guoba and snuggle him as she drifted off-
"Oi, Xiangling…!"
…Her last conscious action was to put-
"Xiangliiiing~"
That hum of her name briefly stirred the young chef awake in a haze, but as she was about to collapse again-
*KNOCK KNOCK* "Xiangling?! You awake?"
"H-huh?! Ah….C…commminzzzzgg…!" Unfortunately, the young adult's kind nature won out over needs, preventing her from just tuning out the sudden noise and falling back asleep. Instead, she drunkenly whispered those words low enough that no one was able to hear, even the sleeping Gouba. Case in point, the person outside kept sharply knocking at the door, oblivious. Naturally this also killed any hope of a full night's sleep, but Xiangling was too tired to think about how she should be irked.
But by the grace of the Geo Archon himself, she miraculously stood up, legs not providing much assistance at all. But this impressive feat was only met with a series of sharp raps against the house walls. The chef groaned wearily, every part of her body felt like it was made of sludge, but the knocking wouldn't let up. Yet with everything looking hazy, it actually was just the thing that allowed her to trudge over without tripping or falling back asleep standing up. It was Xiangling's one tether to reality tonight, however unwelcome. Luckily, the monotonous thuds finally let up when as she lazily put a hand upon the house entrance, evidence the uninvited guest had now sensed her presence.
Creeeeak.
"Ah good! You were still awake after all~" ….The murky shadow said happily, no longer separated by thick wood.
….But, who was this? Xiangling attempted a dull blink, very curious as to the stranger's identity. However she could barely summon the strength to crack one eye open, only making her more confused. Naturally this was noted by her visitor. "Wow, you are ti-red. I'm really sorry~ This is kind of an emergency, and I couldn't get you during the day."
"Em…rrr….gency…" She mindlessly repeated, shaking her head. Hang on…weren't emergencies bad? Why was she being told this? Everything went fine today…right? It did go well right? She was too exhausted to remember…
"Yes! Yes!" The eager voice continued. "We only have a week left, and I'm at the end of my rope here! Any longer and it'll be lights out for me! Like this!" Some kind of weird noise was made here from the guest's throat, followed up by some extremely-fake coughing and gasping for air. "See what I mean? I really need a hand here!"
"Uh…..huuuuh…"
"So I need to ask:" Another sound was made here, but even Xiangling's dull ears picked up the familiar crack as hands suddenly pressing together. "Can you help me cook something…celebratory?"
The words "help" and "cook" got the chef's attention, however slow she was at present. A smile worked its' way up…It didn't matter how sleepy she was or who the apparition asking her for assistance really was, Xiangling would never be able to deny a request like that. She could cook anything well…anythiiiing….
Her vision lowered back down, which rather unfortunately for the girl, looked just like a nod of affirmation.
"…Seriously?! Thank you, thank you, thank you Xiangling! You're the absolute best!" A very warm hug was given here, as poor Xiangling was ripped away from her door and strongly embraced. All she could make out in specific besides the absolute warmth, was a very distinct piece of fabric rubbing against her shoulder and neck. Unfortunately for the guest, this little maneuver cost Xiangling the precious ounce of consciousness that was keeping her awake, as it promptly got buried in the flow of warm gratitude, allowing her to drift off.
In the middle of the conversation.
"R-right!" Separation from the hug occurred, luckily sending Xiangling leaning back against her door. "We can start whenever you're ready, I already picked out the recipe, equipment, and ingredients we'll need! Hm, this will be amazing~ Thanks again Xiangling, toodaloo!"
Some kind of humming was heard shortly after, quickly vanishing into the Liyue night…
But Xiangling wasn't aware of any of that, body slowly sliding down her front door. What had she just agreed to? How would she fit this into her schedule? Who even was that? …She didn't know, already being fast asleep.
The Millelith guard patrolling the area was in for quite a shock.