Chapter Text
Sitting in an uncomfortable arm chair, with bright lights glaring down on him, Baizhu finds himself fiddling with his glasses.
Truly, it was a miracle that Baizhu found the time to come into this appointment at all. And yet, with the therapist in front of him, shifting through files, he thought about leaving. The gray sweater he wore was not thick enough to contain the shivers down his spine.
“Your name?” The therapist asks. She peers over her glasses like a strict elementary school teacher. Baizhu gives a sheepish smile.
“Dr. Baizhu. Or, just Baizhu. My apologies, force of habit.”
Years of working in the medical field has led Baizhu to perfecting a “fake it til you make it” voice, one to never let anyone know something bad happened.
“Might I ask what brought you in here today?”
Baizhu moves his hands away from his glasses. The light above him causes a glare, and no fiddling will fix it. He instead taps his fingers against the chair.
“Well…” Baizhu started, but the words would not form. With limited friends or any social contact, he had never really told ‘his story.’ No one had ever asked. It was hard to pick a starting point.
“Alright, let’s start with the basics. What was your childhood like?”
Baizhu took a breath and nodded.
“I had a slightly younger sister, Changsheng. She was only a year or two younger than me, and we were attached at the hip. Our parents were overbearing and held high expectations, toxic in nature. So when we both turned of age, we promptly cut all contact with them, and the rest of our family.”
“So you have no family outside of Changsheng?”
“No, not really. But regardless…” Baizhu continued, “I had graduated high school at the age of fourteen, I was named as some sort of prodigy. I began attending college shortly afterwards, and I was finishing up my medical course by the time I was about twenty. Changsheng was less goal driven, she didn’t know where she wanted to go or do, she simply just wanted to live. Changsheng was much more social than me, frequently out and about while I was buried in books.”
“You keep saying ‘was,’ is there a reason?”
“I’m getting there,” he reassures, “When I was twenty-one and Changsheng was twenty, she had announced to me that she was pregnant. I was ecstatic, and rushed to her side to aid her. We didn’t live together at the time, and the father was already out of Changsheng’s life. So I was her only support. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl a few months later, the girl’s name was Qiqi.”
Baizhu finds himself with a soft smile at the memory of his sister and his niece, when things were far more simple, and the three of them were a happy family. It couldn’t stay like that, otherwise Baizhu would never be in this office.
“Changsheng and Qiqi got into a car accident when Qiqi was about one,” Baizhu said with a sigh, “I don’t remember the details, but Changsheng died on impact, and Qiqi suffered from a massive head injury. It was a complete miracle Qiqi survived. I had just gotten my doctorate a few months prior, and began my work at the Bubu Clinic. I was called in immediately, as both Changsheng and Qiqi’s only surviving family. I had to take in Qiqi, or else she’d be put into foster care. The idea of abandoning Qiqi like that was… Too much to handle. I took her in.”
“Is that all?”
“Oh, no,” Baizhu gives a slight chuckle, “My life is a complete trainwreck. Qiqi’s head injury stunted her brain development, she developed short term memory loss and could barely form a full sentence until the age of eight. I had to take on another job to help support us both, and just recently… I’ve been struggling heavily with my health..”
The therapist’s face didn’t waiver, but Baizhu could feel the tenseness in the air.
“I can’t afford treatment, or to even find out what the illness could be. I’ve left it as is, and now I work two jobs. I only see Qiqi to put her to bed, I have no friends and no family. It seems I’ve hit rock bottom.”
The therapist falls silent, taking in all the information as she looks back up at Baizhu.
“You’ve… Certainly put a lot of pressure on yourself.”
“I know,” he says with a smile, “But it feels nice to finally say it all out loud.”
It did not feel nice about thirty minutes later, on the bus ride to Qiqi’s daycare. Baizhu’s stomach was restless, twisting and turning as Baizhu attempted to restrain his anxiety. Years of bottling it all up seems to have been for the worst.
By the time Baizhu arrives at the daycare, it’s already dark out. The bus stops in front of the daycare, and Baizhu rushes to the doors. He’s already late to pick up Qiqi, though he usually is. Work tends to keep him late, and he gets lectured by the daycare teachers everytime. There isn’t much he can do about it.
He enters the daycare to see Qiqi drawing something at the table, and a teacher he had never seen before accompanying her.
The man has long, deep brown hair, which fades into a beautiful amber color. He has a kind, yet calm expression, a soft smile on his face as he helps Qiqi.
Baizhu approaches as he taps Qiqi on the shoulder.
Qiqi turns around and gives him a smile.
“Baizhu is… Late,” she says.
“I know, I’m sorry,” he apologizes to the girl, as she stands up and discards her drawing. The man stands up as well.
“My apologies,” Baizhu says to the man, “My work kept me late, on top of the bus running la-”
“There is no need to apologize,” the man replies, “I enjoyed Qiqi’s company. My name is Zhongli, my schedule was recently readjusted to work with Qiqi specifically.”
Baizhu’s brows furrowed in confusion as Qiqi went to pack up her stuff.
“Is that so?”
“I usually work with disabled and traumatized children,” Zhongli explains, “Though this job is only a part time for me, I have disabled and traumatized children at home. Our boss thought me working with Qiqi would help her significantly, as well as you. Unlike the other daycare teachers, I’m able to stay late and make sure Qiqi gets home.”
Qiqi walks up to Baizhu with her backpack, now eagerly waiting to go home as Baizhu gives Zhongli a smile.
“I… Very much appreciate that. It seems I’ll be seeing more of you. Until then, Mister Zhongli.”
Zhongli gives a smile as Baizhu walks out the door with Qiqi, and Baizhu feels his face heat up.
What a kind, and handsome stranger.
Getting home late was normal for Zhongli. The man had no sense of time, and his children knew this well. So pulling into his residence at around 9PM was not strange. The house was quiet as Zhongli walked in, putting his coat on the coat rack as he picked up a newspaper off the table. No doubt was this Ganyu’s doing.
Ten Year Anniversary Since the Tragedy of Nemeseos Family!
It has been ten years science Alatus’s rescue from his father, and the dreadful truth of the family came out…
Zhongli frowned, crumpling up the paper and tossing it into the trash. Xiao did not need to see, nor remember such a thing after ten years. It’s already taken enough of a toll on him, the local news doesn’t need to get involved as well.
Zhongli moved on from the kitchen, and back into the bedrooms. He peered into Ganyu’s room, seeing the young woman fast asleep in her bed. Her bedroom was clean and organized, as always. Zhongli rarely saw Ganyu in person, ever since she took on a job at the Jade Chamber. It was an excellent job for her, one that accommodated her narcolepsy as well as treated her kindly, though also fit her skill set. Zhongli couldn’t be more proud of her.
Zhongli moved down the hall to look into Xiao’s room. The boy was still awake, doodling in a sketchbook at his desk with only a lamp to light the room. There was soft piano music plays from his laptop as Xiao worked. Zhongli knocked twice.
Xiao turns to face Zhongli, their amber eyes locked.
“What are you still doing awake?” Zhongli asked.
“I’m something of a night owl nowadays,” Xiao explained,
Both Xiao and Ganyu were on spring break before returning to the Windbloom University, a local one. After Zhongli lost his late fiancée, he opted to move into Mondstadt. He had promptly adopted both Ganyu and Xiao shortly afterwards.
Zhongli moved into the bedroom, sitting on Xiao’s bed as the other continued his doodling.
“It’s much less lonely with you two back in the house, perhaps you should stay,” Zhongli joked.
“Maybe you should finally go find a romantic partner,” Xiao had teased, though Zhongli only smiled.
“I’ve thought about it. I’m going on forty here in a few months, maybe it’s about time.”
“It’ll give you something to do, before you apply for another part time.”
“Perhaps… Perhaps…”
The two fall silent as Zhongli glances over the boy. Xiao has not changed much since he went into college, the tattoos her adorned on his arm were something he had gotten years ago. It was what inspired Xiao to become a tattoo artist, he had an apprenticeship underneath Beidou at the Crux Parlor currently. Xiao was taking art courses, as well. Xiao was much more of an artsy time, in comparison to Ganyu becoming a businesswoman.
“How is Venti, these days?” Zhongli asks. Venti is both Xiao and Ganyu’s childhood friend, though Venti seems closer to Xiao than the other. There were times when it felt like Venti was one of Zhongli’s own as well, the boy spent so much time at their house.
“He was adopted into another friend group, though I’m sure you’d expect that. He performs live at the Angel’s Share every weekend now, though I haven’t heard from him recently,” Xiao replied.
“He must be busy with all the new internet fame.”
Xiao gave a soft laugh, “I’d assume so. He’s quite talented, though. I’m not sure anyone could write lyrics as he does.”
“You only say that because you’re in love with him,” Zhongli teases, and Xiao blushes.
“Lies,” he refutes, “He’s my friend. Nothing more.”
Zhongli can only laugh, standing from the bed and pressing a kiss to Xiao’s forehead.
“Don’t stay up too late, goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” Xiao murmurs in reply as Zhongli leaves his room.
It has taken years of healing to even bring back a fraction of the softness Xiao had once possessed. Zhongli loves him more than anything, and couldn’t be more proud of how far he’d come.
So as he lies in bed, he finds himself thinking about Qiqi and her father.
He remembers when he first adopted Ganyu, feeling like a clueless father as he read thousands of parenting books, and books on narcolepsy. He wanted to be the best father he could be to Ganyu, to give her all the support she needed.
Zhongli wonders if that’s what Baizhu also wants for Qiqi.
Perhaps Zhongli could be a support for them. His children were grown, and Qiqi was a lovely girl.
Zhongli wouldn’t mind that.