Warm. Hot. Full of life. Cheerful.

The girl in red was honest, she was kind, and spending time with her made Qiqi feel something in her chest. It was a good feeling and Qiqi wanted more of it. However, the girl was also dangerous to be around. Qiqi could handle the excitement, she could handle being dragged from one place to another by the find, but what she couldn't handle were the explosions.

And the fire. So much fire.

That Qiqi remembered clearly most of all. So when the young girl in red ran up to her again the next day, Qiqi immediately declined and ran.

Maybe after a day or two of rest they could play. When her body had recovered from the decay caused by the flames.

Not now though. Not if she wanted to live.

It was easy for Hu Tao to spot the girl in red, mostly because it was a rare occurrence for Zhongli to bring guests. Mooch off of others and show up at gatherings, yes, but not actually bringing people back himself.

Needless to say, Hu Tao had been curious about the girl and had quickly found out that she and Klee were kindred souls. She too lived life to her fullest without fear of death, though that might be due to her lack of understanding of such matters.

Still though, she was an absolute delight and she actually had a sense of humor! Who else was Hu Tao going to find that actually giggled at her jokes?

So seeing Klee standing sullenly outside Baizhu's pharmacy- uh, that guy-, Hu Tao immediately made her way to the little girl.

"What's wrong little Klee?" Hu Tao asked.

"My new friend ran off," Klee said sadly. "I don't think she likes me."

"Maybe she does like you but you went about it the wrong way. What's your friend's name?"

"Qiqi," Klee replied.

Hu Tao clapped her hands. "Oh! Qiqi! She's a wonderful little girl. We should go and find her together."

"Will she be okay with that?"

"Of course she'll be okay, silly. Especially if we bring her treats to get her to come out. She plays hide and seek all the time."

"Hide and seek." Klee's face immediately lit up. "I'm good at hide and seek!"

"Wonderful! Now come with me. I know all the places that Qiqi likes to hide and it'll be much easier to grab and spoil her with two people covering more ground."

Zhongli did his utmost to remain composed as he read through the report Baizhu had given him. He was failing.

"So. In your attempt to befriend Qiqi," Zhongli had somehow avoided making quotation marks with his hands while saying that word, "the two of you had somehow leveled a mountain, destroyed a good chunk of a stone forest, and somehow brought a terrible drought to the land?"

"Just parts of the land that had Hilichurls in them," Hu Tao replied cheerfully.

Somehow Zhongli resisted the urge to grind his fist on his boss's forehead. "Do you two have anything to say for yourselves?" he asked as he looked at Hu Tao and Klee.

"Qiqi is very good at hide and seek," Klee replied cheerfully.

Zhongli smiled. A very pleasant and serene smile. One developed from the countless years he had once spent watching over the people of Li Yue. "The two of you are grounded."

"What!?" Hu Tao shouted in disbelief while Klee went silently pale. "You can't ground me. I'm your boss and a young adult!"

"Three days in the reflection room."

"But-"

"Five days."

"Fine," Hu Tao grumbled before making her way to the reflection room, which was originally used to allow their staff to meditate or relax in peace during their breaks. Not that it was possible to rest with Hu Tao on the premises.

Zhongli then turned to Klee. "No jumpty dumpties for two days."

Klee proceeded to cry.