Ding-ding.
The brief sound of a welcome bell is accompanied by an even briefer sound of light rain hitting the pavement outside. If this noise was unexpected, the person behind the counter might have turned around and checked through their golden eyes what just happened.
But of course, it's a weekly ritual. So they don't.
"Shrimp Balls? We just got some fresh ones in."
More light sounds as a pair of shoes echo against the floor. Definitely only one person, if the lack of a conversation in progress didn't communicate that. Not to mention the identity of this customer is clear based on their reaction to that invitation.
"Ooh, that sounds terrific! I'd love to~"
A warm smile creeps up as their hand gestures to an open booth. Well, all of them are open. Before the bell rang out, the only audio inside was the wall TV showing a live soccer game. But with a guest, especially this guest, the 'Volume' button on the remote is mashed a few times.
"Coming right up. Sit down and decide what drink you want."
A near-worthless command, she has already started to move. The booth seat as far away from the lone entrance as possible is chosen, of course.
The menu, a simple double-sided sheet of laminated paper, is glanced at for about three seconds before her signature high-pitched voice is heard.
"I'll have your finest wine!"
A frown is her only response. Judging by the playful tongue sticking out now, this very reaction was the only goal she had in her mind when shouting that.
"Aww cmon, why not? You know I'm old enough."
"And I also know that if you really wanted to get drunk, Dawn Winery is jam-packed. I'm sure you could swipe a bottle and not have them notice."
"Oh please." Her small nose crinkles. "If the quality in drinks is like the food, they couldn't hold a candle to what you have!"
"…First of all, ouch, poor Diluc. Second of all Xiangling, while I appreciate the compliment, you can flatter me all you want, I'm not giving you alcohol."
"It's true though!" She smirks then frowns. "And hey, haven't you heard of the phrase 'The customer is always right'?"
"Not when they want to make a scene they aren't. I give you a drink, someone else walks in, how that's going to look? Doesn't matter if you're old enough when you've got a face like yours."
"Why you…! You look even younger than me! And what do you mean, someone else?! No one has ever come in!"
Despite the rising volume, Xiangling isn't actually mad…partly because she knows everything spoken is the painful truth. Puberty wasn't especially kind to her in the "gaining a mature look" department, she still has the face of a teenager, bright-eyed and innocent, plastered on.
Although she's right about the lack of other customers.
"Fine, fine." She relents, smile returning. "I wouldn't want my favorite bartender to get in trouble because of me."
"It's okay. I know a really really good lawyer."
"What a coincidence. So do I."
Minus the sounds that come from the televised sporting event, that's the last word spoken for a bit as Xiangling's meal is prepared. While cooking the shrimp balls into a fine golden color, the young adult approaches the counter and silently points at the word 'Lemonade' written on the menu, receiving a nod in return. Leaving it behind, Xiangling takes her seat again and tries her best to kill time. Waiting around for a surely-excellent dish would be enough to make her younger self "start salivating" as she would put it (others would just say drooling), but now that just seems…gross. So instead she closes her eyes and tries to imagine everything about how her dinner is being cooked.
The texture…all sides heated perfectly equally…the 'crunch' sound that's produced when teeth sink into a golden edge…you can tell a lot about how well something is cooked based on that sound…
She imagines herself doing that…her favorite part of this…seeing the smiles of everyone she knows…her dad, the old people in town, children….
And of course.
"Wow, Xiangling, this is perfect…how do you do this?" A certain blue-haired bookworm declares.
"Silly Xingqiu~" A girl with long brown twin tails and a hat happily speaks with her mouth half-full. "Do you really think she'll tell you the secrets of her cooking?"
Meanwhile, another boy with crystal blue eyes has just took a bite, only to recoil immediately. "H-H-Hot! Oh no….where's my popsicle?"
"Whoopsie!" The same girl comments. "I may have accidentally had one of them yesterday!"
"What!?"
"Pfft, Chongyun." A dark-skinned girl with a very unique fashion sense, chokers worn on her neck and hair, is already eagerly helping herself. "I don't know what ya talking about, this ain't hot! Here Yunjin- try one for yourself!" She breaks off half of one and passes it to a friend, a dignified girl wearing a long colorful dress.
"…S-So scrumptious!" A brief pause as the "rocker girl" smiles widely, followed by an embarrassed throat-clearing. "A-hem…I mean, these are delectable. Would it be too much trouble to ask for Chongyun's as well? His speed of eating is rather…lacking."
"H-Hey! C'mon guys, you know I can't handle hot stuff!"
The four teenagers all stifle their respective giggles from their friend's light embarrassment. Xiangling then feels herself spin around, without even trying, right into a crowd of older people this time.
"Mmm-mmm-mmm! This is terrific!" A strong one-eyed woman pops a whole ball into her mouth. "Hey, think you could make some more for my crew?"
"My my, so uncouth." Another proper lady, dressed in white, appears from behind. "You aren't the only one eager to try her cooking."
"T-That's right…!" This person's purple 'cat ears' twitch. "Xiangling is the best cook here as far as I'm concerned, save some for the rest of us please."
That declaration earns an unknown blush from the cook in question, but both the white-haired woman and a new, blue haired woman look amusingly at her. "But Keqing, didn't you vote for the other contestant in last year's cooking contest? Smiley Yanxiao I believe."
"G-Ganyu?! H-How did you know about that?"
"My bad, was that supposed to be a secret? Heheh…" The referee (and aforementioned lawyer in the real world) from that very competition comes into focus, attracting the attention from the same hat-wearing friend.
"Oh hey Fei!"
"Evening Tao!" The woman known as Yanfei winks back before continuing her directive. "Sorry Keqing, I didn't know." Despite her vocal apology, the tone coming out absolutely does not convey any sincerity, likely because it really doesn't matter.
"Hmph…it's not a big deal." Keqing mutters to more giggles in the area.
Xiangling notices someone else appear now, a taller brown-haired man, one who carries a natural air of authority. Eagerly, she takes four specific Shrimp Balls and darts over to him.
"Mr. Zhongli!"
"Xiangling." He nods when she approaches. "I see you still struggle with unwanted formalities."
"S-Sorry! I can't help it with you and Madame Ping, you both helped so much!"
Sensing there's nothing more that could be said on this topic, the ex-instructor and consultant looks around at the crowd. "Regardless of our assistance, It's clear that your cooking is a big hit with your friends, how wonderful."
"Yup! And on that note…here's yours!"
He bites into the food without pausing. "…Exquisite..the taste is truly sublime…but I should limit myself to only one, not four." As she attempts to force the other three foods into his hands, he declines courteously. .
"I know that!" Xiangling huffs and relaxes. "This one is for your friend…the guy with the orange hair….oh, what was his name again…?"
"Ah. You mean Childe, yes?"
"Yeah, that's it! And these two are for Xiao and his blonde friend!"
"'Blonde friend'?" Zhongli chuckles. "Xiangling, if you truly aim to manage a restaurant one day, you must remember your customer's names at least. Familiarity will lead to repeat business."
"I know, I know~ But I've got a long way to go until that happens, so in the meantime, I'll need you for distribution!"
The man sighs amidst other noises of laughter from the others, and reluctantly takes the other three. For a moment, there appears to be an urge for wanting to say more, but his voice is unnaturally drowned out by everyone catching up to and encircling Xiangling.
"We finally got Chongyun to swallow it." Xingqiu quips.
Sure enough, his partner's face has a red tinge sprayed on, but despite this, he is still able to choke out a few words about how tasty it was to the cook…right before violently coughing. Again she blushes, though this isn't caught her friends due to them all rushing for a certain ice-cold desert…
"Xiangling."
Sadly for that new voice, the young adult is already thinking to herself wildly. 'I hope Xiao, Childe and…..ah, I forgot to ask Zhongli the name of Xiao's friend! Well I hope they all like it too…including a bit of Almond Tofu in the shrimp was surprisingly tough…!' But for whatever reason, she's feeling extra confident today, a probable byproduct of all the compliments received.
"Xiangling, a moment." To her surprise upon turning around, it's actually Ninggaung who called her name.
With an easygoing smile and just a tinge of seriousness, "If this is about that trip abroad, I told you I'm flattered-" But it's clear almost instantly that she's way off the mark, as the older woman sports a very uncharacteristic look of confusion.
"What are you saying? Beidou stole my shrimp, so I was requesting another helping." All at once, she becomes aware of the captain loud laughs in the background with continuous applauding hand-in-hand.
"O-oh, c-coming right up…" Xiangling doesn't know how, but her hand suddenly gains another perfectly cooked ball seconds later.
"Xiangling."
"My gratitude." Ninggaung accepts the offer. "Now, we should rejoin everyone. It's bad form to be isolated in a party."
Hmm? What was that word?
They proceed to do just that, walking side by side (and probably looking like quite a weird pair to any onlookers, Xiangling figures) to the rest of them. As Ninggaung properly sits between Ganyu and Beidou on some seats that she could swear weren't there before, Hu Tao and Xinyan scoot over themselves and make room to allow for the chef.
Xiangling's smile is blinding. And just when she touches the seat-
"Xiangling…!"
"Wuh?!" She feels her eyes open with a jolt, right in time to get hit with a chilled glass that presses directly into her left palm.
A certain yellow liquid immediately fills her refocused vision, one surrounded by ice cubes and a paper straw, still in container. Lemonade.
No more time passes for her to get her bearings before a familiar voice rings out. "Sorry for the startle, but it's not a great thing to nod off before you eat." There's a dry laugh afterwards attempting to fill the air, to only slight success. Xiangling looks up at her awakener…and specifically, their hair. Blonde…the exact same shade as Xiao's friend…but she knows it's not the same person. Vastly different hairstyles.
She opens her mouth to ask about any family, then thinks better of it. No, that'd just be awkward Xiangling.
"S-Sorry!" She fake-but-not-fake yawns. "Long day you know."
"No worries…but for the record, this is yet another reason why I refuse to serve you alcohol. Already falling asleep without it." There's another grin as she puffs out her cheek and pouts.
More warmth from cooking fills the bar, threatening to put the young adult back to sleep. To stave off future embarrassment, she focuses on the soccer game being televised despite not really being into sports in general. But fate smiles upon her for once, as ten minutes into watching the event, a white-haired boy that Xiangling has never seen before executes a beautiful diving kick, crushing the ball past the opposing goalie into the net.
Clearly it's the home team that scored as the crowd erupts. As this teenager celebrates in the classic way they seemingly all do (running before sliding down on your knees, arms outstretched), an apparent bit of bad luck hits. Clearly the chosen area to do this was a wet patch, which is on full display as the player slides right into a metal sideline bench.
Xiangling winces, but the audience seems mostly unaffected from their jovial mood. The camera shot shifts to a certain blonde girl in purple, a fairly rough-looking boy with silver hair and red eyes, and another blonde twin tail girl with her sister nearby. They all look briefly concerned before regaining happy smiles as the soccer player shows a thumbs-up.
The bartender chuckles, and doesn't even need to look up to know Xiangling has shifted her gaze away from the TV to answer her unsaid question.
"My alma mater." Explaining this similarly takes no extra effort, attention still laser-focused on the preparation of shrimp. "It's funny where life takes you."
"How old are you?" The words escape before she remembers that there's no way a straight forward answer will be given. And sure enough-
"Older than I look, that's for sure." Sensing a change in topic coming, Xiangling's grip involuntarily tightens on the tablecloth.
"Speaking of that college, I remember you saying your friends were planning to go for a visit with you. Any updates?"
A pair of golden eyes sparkle as she relaxes some. "Yeah, get this! Xingqiu finally convinced Chongyun's aunt to allow him to go! I have no idea how…Shenhe usually doesn't change her mind like that. But if everything goes well, they should be able to apply with Yunjin and Xinyan."
"I see, wonderful news. And the rest of them?'
Xiangling happily sighs. "I don't know how they make it work, they're total opposites. Yanfei is always super busy with her studies, yet Hu Tao is always free despite having a similar schedule. She always bugs Yanfei to hang out."
"What's her success rate?"
"Around… 50-50, heheheh…" Realizing that might not give off the best impression of her friends, she quickly moves on. "Keqing and Ganyu on the other hand, they go together like peanut butter and honey. Both of them are so smart, capable, and very passionate! I actually worry that sometimes they push themselves too hard-"
And off she goes, explaining everything she deems appropriate to reveal about her friend's lives, smile and shine never fading. But it doesn't take a genius to pick up on the pattern.
The bookworm and the…exorcist. (As weird as that sounds)
The opera singer and musician.
The females in government.
A lawyer and funeral parlor director.
And on and on, even going beyond the original question.
Consultant and a troublemaker…delinquent and their traveling friend…
"Xiangling." A plate full of shrimp meets table as a way to silence her. "I don't think I got an answer to what I asked."
"Huh?" Without waiting for the final push, she has grabbed a ball of shrimp and shoved it into her ready mouth. Soooo goo-
"I said I thought your friends were planning to go with you. How did that-"
….An open palm, the universal sign to stop.
"I already answered that."
-0-
"Seriously, what kind of bar serves their ONLY customer shrimp, lemonade, and cheesecake but no alcohol?!"
"The kind that doesn't need to worry about hitting a profit." Again, no argument about the 'only customer' bit. "Look on the bright side; this way you don't have to wait for me take twenty minutes of your life while I process payment."
Xiangling pulls out her wallet, brushes past the handmade pin of a certain plush bear, and looks for some coins. After checking the receipt provided to make sure the amounts make sense, she successfully grabs her payment…and then a thought hits.
"Hey, if you don't need to make a profit, can I just…not pay?" Resisting the urge to wink or smirk takes a lot of effort, but she wants to see how this will go.
The answer is not far. "Are you really not going to pay Xiangling?" The question is asked plain, no insinuations or threats being made, but that's exactly what makes it more than enough.
"K-kidding…" Gold coins are gently put on the receipt, coupled with some nervous laughter.
A smile. "Thanks for coming." And in a direct, but still hidden, acknowledgment of how little business this bar gets, the line 'Stay as long as you like.' is tacked on as the plates that once housed shrimp and cake are taken away.
"Mmm…thanks." Despite feeling the onset of a food coma coming on, Xiangling whips out a notebook and flips to an empty page. Partly because she doesn't want to go back to her earlier daydream (afternoon dream?), but mostly because this has become a habit after trying out any dish. Draw it, explain how it looked, explain how it tasted…and most importantly, write how much she enjoyed it. No matter how delicious something may be, a person only remembers all these features for a limited time.
But putting it down in writing makes it permanent. And there's another reason she does this.
If I'm going to fulfill my dream…I need to know as much as I can about any kind of food! No matter what it is!
Her notes aren't the best, and the artwork is certainly not the best, especially not compared to someone like Yunjin, but everything jotted down makes sense to her. And that's all that matters at this time.
…
After a few minutes of this, Xiangling stretches her writing arm and heavily yawns before putting her notebook away. The televised soccer game ended, so there are no further sounds coming from the black box. In fact, the only sound going on at all in the bar is her gentle breathing and the bartender wiping glasses. This silence is really not helping her to stay awake…
A little rest should be fine…
"Xiangling." Just before she can fully slip though, the other person present speaks up, earning a slowly raised eyebrow in surprise.
To add more rarity to this, the bartender, normally one so careful with words, hesitates. As if they're thinking that what's about to be spoken may not be appropriate for the profession.
Which means it's probably about what was touched on earlier. Being too tired to try and evade the topic anymore prompts a conflicted face of acceptance. Xiangling tries her best to communicate this resolve through a nod.
It's weak, but it evidently gets the job done as the bartender's mouth opens back up.
"You know… your friends love you right?"
…
"…I know they do. But I think…that just makes it hurt more."
After hearing that, the bartender looks away in shame, regret for the asked question written plain as day. But there's just one last thing to know.
"Will you be back next week?" A intake of breath can be heard, but Xiangling is too tired to notice. If she was more awake, there would be a joke here about how the bar apparently needs its' only customer to show up every seven days, but not right now.
"You know it…!" She responds through closed eyes, with all of the energy she has left, clear as she turns away and nods off for the next 15 minutes.
Unbeknownst to the young cook, a fist closes immediately after that answer. Not in jubilation though, but rather frustration.
One time she'll say no, that she won't be coming back.
And that's the day they're waiting for.
Author's Note: I've been thinking about this idea since 2.1 and especially the final Lantern Rite cutscene in 2.4. So I'm glad I finally got around to writing it.
