The quaint little teashop they decided to drop by, fortunately, had only a few customers. The two Liyueans settled on a table outside so they could enjoy the Fontainian air. However, even after ordering and eating their food, they remained silent— Zhongli waited for Keqing to speak first as she clearly wanted to talk about something but couldn't come up with the right words. He was patient, however, and continued waiting until he was sure he needed to be the one to spark the conversation. After finishing half of his (third) drink, he complimented it. "The Fontainians do know how to make a fine cup of tea. I still prefer the shops in Liyue but I can see myself coming here again should I be in the area. How about you, Miss Keqing?"

"I… am of the same mind," she answered after a second. She then let out a long dejected sigh and leaned back into her chair; her silent gaze remained on the amber liquid in her mostly untouched cup. Finally, after what seemed forever— "Mister Zhongli, how do I deal with this…"

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."

"…Have you ever been in love, Mister Zhongli? No… the better question is have you ever felt as if your heart was ripped out?" Keqing quietly asked with a hand resting on her chest, not daring to look at him in the eye as she did. "I've… I've been trying to ignore it and focus on my mission but the longer I do, the more this pain grows. It's unbecoming of me, isn't it? To be so easily hurt by something as stupid as my crush being with someone else." She always maintained the image of a competent and respectable leader to be a good example to her people; if only they could see her now— nothing more than a heartbroken girl…

Zhongli, however, thought nothing of it. "In my opinion, that just proves you're as human as the rest of your peers," he tried consoling her with a grandfatherly smile on his face. "You're strong, Miss Keqing, but you are still human and vulnerable. And when it comes to something as volatile and exploitable as emotions, there is no greater weakness— especially when it comes to the heart. He may have not meant to, but Aether has given you a valuable reminder of that."

"It's that obvious, isn't it?" Keqing laughed sadly. She hadn't mentioned him at all yet she was sure most of their circle in Liyue knew of her feelings towards Aether. "I always thought I had time… that I could wait forever and he'll still be waiting for me but I suppose that was always a fantasy. I never thought to ask him what he thought of me and I…" She trailed off into silence.

The older man remained silent too but eventually— "…I do know the feeling."

"Huh?" Keqing finally raised her head only to see it was Zhongli now looking downcast at his cup.

"Not in the same manner as you but I am intimately familiar with the feeling you speak of," he continued. He didn't need to say any more for Keqing to understand what he meant.

"Oh… I'm sorry for your loss…" She now regretted going to Zhongli for this. He had a mysterious past for sure but Keqing never thought that past would also involve the death of a loved one.

Zhongli let out a long distant sigh but oddly enough, there was the smallest hint of a smile on his face. "I appreciate your condolences. To be truthful, it had happened long ago— before I came to stay in Liyue Harbour — but there has not been a day where I do not think of her even for a moment. My grief usually vanishes as quickly as it appeared, but some days…"

The more he spoke, the more Keqing realised she didn't truly know who Zhongli was. The mention of his coming to Liyue Harbour was completely new to her; she thought for sure with how experienced and knowledgable of all things to do with their city, he had lived there all his life. Then again, she rarely talked to him outside of some business encounters and passed him by in the street. Zhongli always carried an air of being much older than he appeared to the point Hu Tao shared with her once that she believed he was an Adeptus. "I never knew you had such a secret, Mister Zhongli."

"I wouldn't call it a secret; I dislike going into details but I won't hide what happened in my past. As you can expect from how it ended, my previous relationship has always been a sensitive topic for me. Those who know about her don't talk to me about it for my sake. I've never really had the opportunity to talk about her in a long time." Too long, judging from his face. He may not have said anything specific about her but Keqing could tell whoever she was, she had a massive impact on Zhongli's life. For him to speak this way was proof of that.

It started with her trying to speak to him about her recent troubles but now the tables have turned. "I don't mean to sound rude but I'm sure there's someone you know who's willing to talk to you about her. Am I really the best person to talk to about this?" They were both in similar positions to be sure but still very far apart. Keqing just learned that she knew nothing about Zhongli; she had to be the last person suited to hear about his sorrows.

His reaction however was to let out a short amused laugh. "Perhaps not, but I do think you have something to learn from my story," Zhongli said before taking another sip of his tea. He lowered his cup and slowed his breathing— more than likely a way to calm himself. Soon enough, he resumed talking. "For the longest time after her death, I also spent most of my time distracting myself from confronting what happened. Either I told myself I was too busy or that it wasn't the right time to work through it. It was only recently that I finally did what I needed to do to accept that she was gone. For that, I must commend you for seeking someone. I take it Aether's newfound relationship is something you learned recently?"

"Yes, I only found out last night…"

"Then I must give further praise for wanting to talk so soon. It takes time for many including myself to process their grief though as I've said, my situation is not the exact same as yours," he said before smiling sadly. "Still, I have dreams of a life where she was still here with me. They're rare but those pleasant dreams are the only way I can have more memories of her. It is the worst way to do so, and in truth only serves to twist the knife further but there is little I can do about it. However, those dreams have also made me realise something."

"And that is…"

"However painful those memories are, both the false ones or the old ones, I can still find joy in them— and that is the most important thing to remember. Tell me, is the time you spent with Aether before no longer bringing you the happiness it did?"

At his question, Keqing thought back to the last time she spent time with Aether. He had made a stop in Liyue months ago before finally going to Fontaine where Aether invited her to lunch. She had been stressed out with work at the time so he basically forced her to take a break.


"When was the last time you took a day off, Keqing?"

"I don't go to the office on weekends," she answered maybe a bit too quickly. She knew she didn't need to be so defensive about her work life with Aether but she had gotten used to doing so.

"Okay… but when was the last time you had a day off?"

Keqing didn't answer her and tried to hide her embarrassed face behind the menu. She heard him laugh in amusement, further making her blush. "I don't really have many people to spend time with. You're really the only one I let drag me out from work."

"I'm… honoured?" The confused face he had was rather cute. It made her smile…

"…Thank you for taking me out, Aether. It's great seeing you again."

"Same here. I don't remember the last time we got the chance to spend time like this," Aether smiled with joy, and Keqing couldn't help but smile with him.


She remembered it like it was yesterday. While he did briefly come back to Liyue a few weeks ago, that was the last time they shared a moment together alone. Reminiscing about that memory, as well as all the others, never failed to put a smile on her face. However, those same memories hurt her now. All that time, she thought she and Aether might have something together only for that hope to shatter completely and now there were many questions running through her mind.

Did he ever see her in the same light?

Did she have a chance in the first place?

If she confessed her feelings before, would things have changed?

It hurt to think about those memories and what could have been but…

"No, I'm still happy," Keqing finally answered. "It hurts, that much is true but… I'm still happy with the time I spent with him and I'll forever hold them close to my heart."

"Mmm, that's good to hear," Zhongli nodded with a satisfied smile. "Time is something that, once spent, could never be returned. Aether knows that, yet still chose to spend some with you because you are his friend. While to you, it may have changed— to him, those precious moments will never lose their meaning. Above all, you are a friend to him and nothing will stop him from treating you the same way he always has."

It was easy to take what Zhongli said the wrong way and it did sting for Keqing to hear it, she understood what he was trying to say. Even though that avenue was now closed, Aether would forever consider her someone he could spend time with. Just because he was now in a relationship, that didn't mean they could never see each other again. This whole debacle with Aether getting arrested meant little in the grand scheme of things (at least she hoped so). In truth, their relationship had not changed at all and she was already happy with what they had before.

"Unlike me, you can still see him again— and I believe with complete certainty Aether will be happy to see you too," continued Zhongli. "You two can still create many more happy memories. It may not be the sort of happiness you wanted but…"

"…Thank you, Mister Zhongli. You've told me right what I needed to hear," Keqing gave him the sincerest smile she could muster. "I'm glad I ran into you when I did."

"It's no bother. I'm always willing to help those in need. You are, after all, also paying for my lunch."

The humble but blunt response made Keqing giggle. "Speaking of which, I better go pay and meet up with the others. They must be wondering where I've been the last hour." As she stood up from her seat, she asked if Zhongli wanted to join them.

"I appreciate the offer but I must unfortunately decline," the wise man shook his head. "And if it's not a bother, could you order two more cups of tea?"

"It's not, but two…" Keqing stared inquisitively at him in confusion. After a few seconds though, she understood and nodded. She thought she'd be upset but was surprise to realise she wasn't. "I see, enjoy the rest of your day, Mister Zhongli. I hope we'll see each other soon." She bid farewell and left the older man to his devices.


After Keqing left, Zhongli finished the last of his current drink before the waiter returned— "Here you go, monsieur. The lady earlier already paid for this," He told him as he put the two teacups and took away the last one.

"Thank you," Zhongli nodded in gratitude before the waiter left. He didn't touch his drink at first though and instead waited. He fortunately didn't need to do so for long as the person who had been following them showed himself. "It's about time you showed yourself, Xiao. Take a seat, the tea is delicious."

The Yaksha hesitated for a few seconds but eventually took him up on the offer and sat down where Keqing did. He quickly asked for forgiveness for spying on them. "I was surprised to see you here and with Lady Keqing earlier."

Zhongli scoffed in amusement. "There is no reason to apologise. I do not mind you listening in. After all, you may also need to hear what I had to say."

"…I'm sorry."

Xiao's second quieter apology surprised and confused him. "What for?"

"I didn't know you were still grieving her and should've realised that sooner. The others say they were still hurting from that day, even me, but you've never talked about it to anyone. That should've been my first clue."

The former Archon stayed silent for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh. "Everyone is still grieving, not just me. Bringing up such a distant memory will only pain all of us. I only talked about it because it happened to be something Miss Keqing could relate to," he said solemnly.

"…Did you say everything you wanted to?"

"…No," Zhongli honestly answered. "It's been two thousand years since the end of the Archon Wars and I have had so much time to think since. There are many thoughts that I've had stuck in my mind for so long… I doubt I will ever get everything off my chest."

His answer stunned Xiao in silence again. Maybe the Adeptus simply had no idea what to say in response, but Zhongli had only a few more words to say. "I've already accepted it and even carried out her Rite of Parting at long last. But… I still couldn't open the Memory of Dust."

Guizhong's first gift and last challenge to him— her final request for him may have been to forget about solving it but… letting go was hard. He was never able to unlock the dumbbell after all these millennia, let alone understand what she wanted to say that fateful day. It was frustrating— the last bit of closure was in the palm of his hand yet still out of his grasp. "I sometimes ask myself, can I not solve the puzzle because I simply couldn't, or because I don't want to?" He pondered on that question several times over the years but still didn't know the answer. "Xiao, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Re— Zhongli."

"If you are given the chance to change your past, would you?"

It may be cruel of him to ask that sort of question, but Zhongli wanted to hear another's opinion. Xiao thought long and hard about it before answering, "I am not sure either. There have been so many things that went wrong but right now, I'm satisfied with where I am."

Zhongli's lips tip into a smile upon hearing that. "A good answer." One he needed to hear. The ancient god then cleared his throat. "Our tea is getting cold. We better finish it before we go." There were places he wanted to see in Fontaine too; it has been a long time since he's had the opportunity to visit the Nation of Justice purely as a tourist.


A/N: And done. One last chapter for the year~ Unfortunately, no Aerina so instead, have some one-sided Aeqing and Guili angst! …Yeah, I really need to write fics for them too… I should probably update the tags too.

In any case, there's really not much to say for this chapter. I did notice though that nobody brought up the major hint I gave in the last chapter. I don't know if it's cause you just understood what I was trying to get across and just didn't mention it but just in case, I'll give another hint: tears.

As always, thank you for reading, please leave a comment, and see you all next time! Here's to a good 2024!