Chapter One: The Four Hotties of Teyvat

With two large suitcases in tow, you stop at the school gate to adjust your loose backpack strap.

"I've decided," you said confidently. "I'm going to Teyvat University."

"Sounds like you won't take any other school into consideration," your brother, Aether, said with a smile.

You turned your laptop toward him. "I've already done weeks of research. Their Journalism program is one of the best in the world."

Aether glanced at the screen. "Teyvat is a prestigious university with internationally recognized programs, but why not go for the best of the best? Isn't that more your style?"

"Dad went here… you went here… it's like a family tradition to go here." Aether looks at you. "I just know that this school is for me."

"Whatever you choose, you know that we'll support you."

You smiled at him. "I know."

You roll your belongings past the school gate and approach the crowd at the freshman registration.

"Hey! Stop!" You feel something hit your ankle and look down to see a red, round wash bin. "Student, that's mine!"

You pick up the bin and see a girl with long, brown hair wearing a red tee and ripped black jeans.

"Where did you get this?" you ask, handing her the laundry necessity.

"Near the free souvenir section." With the bin in her hand, she points to a student-run booth. "It's not free, but they have a discount for freshmen right now." She looks back at you. "You're also a first-year, right?"

"Yeah."

She tucks the bin under her other arm and extends her hand. "Hi! I'm Amber, majoring in design."

You look at her hand for a second before taking it. "Hi, I'm Y/N. I'm studying Journalism."

"That's cool! I'm taking a few journalism courses as my electives. Maybe we'll see each other often! What's your schedule?"

I better get out of here before she takes up all of my time, you think.

"Yeah, maybe," you say, not meaning to sound so indifferent. "I think I should get going. I still have to register and pay my tuition."

"Oh, yeah, of course!" As you turn to leave, Amber grabs your arm. "Wait! Before you go, let's exchange numbers."

You watch Amber pull out her phone. "Maybe next time. I really have to go."

"O-oh, well, okay. I'll see you around!"

"Nice meeting you, Amber," you say.

Before Amber can reply, you quickly disappear into the crowd. After grabbing some freshman freebies, you enter the line for student registration. As you wait, you scroll through your phone, stopping when you see press about your mother's wedding, which is today. You grip your phone tighter.

"Um… excuse me?"

You quickly turn off your phone screen and turn around to see two students curiously looking at you.

"You look really familiar," one says.

"Yeah, you look a lot like Y/N L/N," her friend adds.

You stiffen. "Oh? Well, you have the wrong person."

When you turn back, you hear one of them whisper, "it can't be her! I've never seen her picture before."

"She was in the tabloids before, don't you remember?" the other whispers back.

"That was one time. We probably have the wrong person."

"You're getting remarried?" you asked angrily. "You're getting married to the scumbag who destroyed our family?"

Your mother glared at you. "I won't let you speak ill of him that way."

"Do you hear yourself right now?"

"There was never love between your father and me. You'll understand when you're older."

You scoffed loudly. "I knew that we were never really a family. But you've hurt him emotionally and financially. Why should he suffer when you are the one who abandoned us."

"I love you and Aether, Y/N. We're still family."

"Yeah, okay, says the person who legally wrote that she doesn't want her children anymore. I bet the media doesn't know about that. Should I go and tell them right now?"

"Y/N," your mother says sternly.

You opened the curtains slightly to see a throng of reporters standing in front of your mother's house. As soon as you noticed a camera, you quickly moved out of sight, or so you thought.

"...Student?"

You snap back to reality, and you see a confused teacher with his palms facing up.

"Do you have your documents with you?"

"Ah, yes, I do," you say. You unzip your bag and hand over your documents.

"Did you see anything in the media?" you hear one of them whisper behind you.

"No, other than the divorce article, I didn't see anything else," you hear the other reply quietly. "Maybe it really is just a clean divorce."

The teacher hands you your things, and you swiftly place them in your bag. "All you need to do is pay your tuition, and then you're all set."

"One of them probably paid the media–"

You spin around, glaring at the two gossiping students. "No one paid anyone to do anything."

As you walk away, you ignore the curious stares in your direction. Once you're in line, you put on a hat and a pair of sunglasses. It's too hot, anyway.

Bzzt. Bzzt.

You take out your phone and see your father's name on the screen.

"Hello?"

"How's your first day? Did everything go smoothly?"

You smile. "Everything's fine, dad. I'm just about to pay my tuition."

"I already transferred the money to you on our shared card."

"I know… but–"

"I know you worked hard so you can pay for it yourself. But it's only fair since I paid for Aether's tuition. Save your money. It'll make me happy."

"..."

"Y/N?"

"I have to go, dad. Love you!"

You reach the front of the line and hand the woman your credit card. Sorry, dad, but I want to spend my money how I want.

"You're all set to head to your dorm now," the woman tells you, handing back your credit card.

"Great, thanks." You slip the card back into your wallet and hurry towards your dorm room.

Once you arrive on the eighth floor, you roll your suitcases out of the elevator. You admire how colourful the hallways and rooms are, a great contrast to your room's white and black colour scheme back home. You glance at a few students decorating their rooms; others have just arrived and introduced themselves.

It'll be my first time having roommates. I wonder what they'll be like.

"Why don't you sign up for a single room?" Aether asked. "It's not like we can't afford it."

"I… kind of want to live with others for a change."

"For a change? Is that an insult?" Aether laughed. "You've been living with us, haven't you?"

"I meant living with people my age."

"Oh, so what you're really saying is that you want to make some friends." You threw a pillow at Aether, but he caught it with ease. "Don't get me wrong. It'll be good for you…."

"I sense a but."

"...but what are you going to do if they aren't as… well-mannered as you'd like?"

"You're asking what my action plan is if they know who I am and start pestering me with questions, right?"

Aether sat on the edge of your bed. "They probably won't know who you are since you've always kept a low profile. But, you never know."

"Then I'll tell them to go mind their own business."

"Why not avoid all of that and just get a room for yourself?"

You looked your concerned brother in the eyes. "I can't avoid people forever, and I can't change who I am either. So, I need to deal with it."

Aether ruffled your hair affectionately. "Let me know if things get too tough on you, okay?"

You stop at room 8678 and see a girl with long, light purple hair tied neatly into two high pigtails with dark blue ribbons cleaning a desk underneath one of the bunk beds. Then, as if she senses your presence, she looks at you.

"Hello. Are you also in room 8678?"

You nod.

"Come on in. I've just finished cleaning."

Suddenly, you hear a loud thunk behind you. You see one of your suitcases on the ground as a boy walks past you. Putting the two together, you glare at him.

"You could've asked me to move it," you say.

The boy glances at you, and his cold, gold eyes make you stiffen. Who is this kid? You notice that he's shorter than most boys, but his calm, reserved demeanour is a rarity for someone his age.

He stops in the room next to yours. As he takes out his dorm key and opens the door, he says, "you're being a nuisance by leaving your things like that."

"Wha–"

He closes the door behind him.

The girl steps into the hallway and looks at the closed door. "Don't mind him."

"You know him?"

"Sort of, I guess," she replies as she helps you lift your suitcase upwards. "His name is Xiao, and we're both from Liyue." Once both of you are inside, your roommate places your things in the middle of the room. "Our beds are already assigned to us. The names are on the desks," she points to the bunk bed to the left of the door. "I'm Keqing."

"Y/N," you say with a small smile.

You see a slight surprise on Keqing's face, but it's gone as soon as it came.

"Oh, then your bunk is the one near the balcony."

The bathroom door opens, and you hear someone turn the switch off. A girl with long, light blue hair delicately curled ends approaches you and Keqing.

"Oh, hello," the girl says softly.

"This is Ganyu," Keqing introduces. "She's our other roommate and also a Liyue native."

"Wow, am I really the last one to arrive?"

That voice…

Amber eagerly enters the room with her luggage in tow. "Hello, everyone! I'm Amber from Mondstadt!"

"I guess we're all here then," Keqing says.

Amber smiles at you. "Hey, it's you! What a small world."

"You've met before?" Ganyu asks, looking at you.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that," you say.

"I know it's a little early, but I thought I should bring it up in case we forget," Keqing says as she takes out her phone. "Let's exchange numbers. I'll create a group chat for us, so it'll be faster and more convenient for us to keep in touch."

"Good idea," Ganyu agrees.

"Hey, I like your profile picture, Ganyu," Amber laughs. "It's cute!"

"He's my dog back home," Ganyu replies.

"Room 8678? Can I change the group name? It's so boring," Amber says.

"What about Four Year Roomies?" Ganyu suggests.

"I know one that suits us perfectly," Amber grins. After a moment, the group name changes, and she slips her phone inside her pocket. "Hey, are you girls hungry? I know a great pizza place nearby that'll give us a discount."

"Sure," Keqing says. "It'll be nice to get more familiar with the area too."

"Only if we can get pepperoni," Ganyu says with a small smile.

"And Hawaiian," you chime in.

"Oh, so you're one of those pineapples on pizza people," Amber says, rolling her eyes.

"I've seen weirder things on pizza. But hey, I don't judge," you retort.

Keqing ushers the group into the hallway. "Less talking, more moving, please," she says and then closes the door behind you.

"Don't worry, Y/N, I also like pineapple on pizza," Ganyu says.

As Amber and Ganyu casually start talking about pineapples on pizza, you instinctively glance at your neighbour's door, and his face flashes in your mind. I hope we never meet again.

You hear birds chirping in the distance and muffled conversations everywhere as the campus is bustling with students and teachers. The four of you walk past a couple outdoor basketball courts until you hear your phone ring.

Mom?

"You girls go ahead," you say.

Your roommates stop a few steps in front of you.

"Is something wrong?" Keqing asks.

"I have to take this. Can I meet you there?"

"Yeah, sure," Amber says. "It's right around the corner. You can't miss it with the obvious pizza logo."

"Let us know if you can't find it," Keqing says, pointing to her phone.

You nod and quickly walk away from the group to answer the call.

"Hello?" you say.

"What are you trying to do?"

What… what's going on?

"What are you talking about?" you ask.

"The video," your mother says sternly.

"What video?"

"Are you really going to play dumb with me, Y/N?"

Video… video… You gasp.

"You're angry, aren't you, Y/N?" your friend asked with a nearly empty beer can in her hands. "Who do you hate more? Your mother or that guy?"

"Both," you slurred as you took another swig.

"Ooh, I know how you can get back at them. Don't you want revenge?"

"I don't want revenge," you mutter. "I want my family back."

Your friend draped her arm around your shoulder. "You should send them a video message for their wedding."

"What? Why would I do something stupid like that?" "Not like a congratulatory message or anything. You should purposely embarrass them," your friend said slyly. "You know, say the stuff that you told me. Like how he took advantage of a vulnerable woman… You shouldn't keep hiding your true feelings!"

"Yeah… yeah! I hate him! Why can't I say how I really feel?" you say loudly.

Your friend took out her phone and started recording. "Spill it all, Y/N."

You stared into the camera, cheeks flushed and a drowsy look in your eyes. "Mom… you had everything… but you decided to leave it all for a man who cares only about your status. I…I hate him… and I…I hate you," you drawled. "I hope you find happiness with him… but what are the chances of that, right?"

Your head hit the table, and everything went dark.

"Mom… that… that wasn't me. Well, that was, but–"

"Did you think it was funny to send it on my wedding day?"

"I…"

You recall the conversation with your friend the next day.

"Hey… about what happened yesterday," you said as you rubbed your head.

"Hm? Oh, yeah? We had a good time drinking, didn't we?"

"Did I say or do anything stupid? I vaguely remember we were talking something about a video."

Your friend placed her phone inside her bag. "Oh, don't worry. Nothing happened."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. You worry too much, Y/N!"

"You embarrassed no one but yourself, Y/N."

You clench your fist. "Look, I never sent that video. But, yeah, in case you were ever curious about how I felt, now you won't ever forget it," you spat.

"Apologize."

"Excuse me?"

"I want you to apologize," your mom says sternly.

"No," you hiss, "and I never will!"

You hang up the phone and sigh loudly. As you turn around, you see Xiao sitting elegantly on a nearby bench, his nose in a book. How long was he there? Did he hear everything? His gaze flickers towards you. Then, he closes his book and walks past you. You hear a soft hmph as he does. Should I ask? You are about to call his name, but your phone starts to buzz with messages. So you open the roommate group chat.

The Four Hotties of Teyvat

Ganyu: Y/N? Is everything okay?

Amber: Pizza's here!

Keqing: Did you get lost? I can pick you up.

You don't know what it is, but you sigh again with a slight smile on your face. Your phone buzzes again, but another group chat pops up. As you scan through the messages, your smile starts to fade, and your heart starts to race.

What in the world is going on?