Chapter 25 Lantern Rite Part 2
Lumine's POV

After traveling on a ship for a few days, we arrived in Liyue Harbor.

"We're here! Liyue Harbor is looking as festive as ever", Paimon said, before looking at me "Traveler, why don't we go and say hi to Xiangling first?"

"You just want to go to Wanmin Restaurant, don't you", I asked in amusement.

"We haven't been to Liyue in a while", Paimon pointed out. "Paimon missed the food here!"

Hearing this made me giggle. "Okay Paimon. We'll go to Wanmin restaurant first."

"Hooray", Paimon exclaimed. "Then we'd better hurry up to Wanmin restaurant! It tends to get pretty busy there during Lantern Rite, and Paimon wants to get to all the best stuff before they run out of stock!"

"You two go on with out me", Childe suddenly said.

"Huh? How come", Paimon asked in confusion.

"I want you two to enjoy your time catching up with your friends from Liyue", Childe replied. "But I might make things awkward if I'm there."

"Good point", Paimon said. "Well, okay then! We'll see you later, Childe!"

"See you later, Paimon", Childe greeted. "See you later, comrade."

"See you later, Childe", I greeted. Then, I left with Paimon.

Paimon and I spent the day catching up with our friends. It was now nighttime, and we were walking through the streets.

"It was so fun getting to catch up with everyone", Paimon said. "Plus, the food here is still as great as ever!"

"It's always nice getting to see the friends we make on our journey", I said.

"It sure is", Paimon agreed. "So, what do you wanna do now, Traveler?"

"I was thinking about checking up on Childe at the Northland Bank", I replied. "We haven't seen him since we arrived this morning."

"Good point", Paimon said. "Okay! Let's go find Mr Moneybags!"

With this, Paimon and I headed to the Northland Bank. When we got there, we found Childe standing near the entrance.

"Ah, there you are Comrade", he said as we walked up to him. "Did you two enjoy your day in Liyue?"

"We did", Paimon replied. "We caught up with a bunch of our friends, and got to have lots of yummy food!"

"I'm glad that you two enjoyed yourselves", Childe said.

"What have you been doing all day", I asked him.

"I spent most of the day doing errands for the Northland Bank", he replied. "But once I got some time off, I headed to the markets to buy some gifts for everyone back home."

"That's good", Paimon said. "I hope your siblings like their gifts."

"I hope that they will", Childe said, before changing the subject. "Anyway, now that I'm off of work for the day, would you two like to take in the sights with me?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt", Paimon replied. "What about you, traveler?"

"Sure", I replied.

"Great", Childe replied. "Then let's go!"

We were now standing on a bridge that overlooked the harbour.

"Wow", Paimon said in awe. "Liyue Harbour always looks so pretty at night during Lantern Rite!"

"I wish my siblings were here", Childe said. "They would love this sight."

"Hey, look over there", Paimon said suddenly. "Isn't that Vlad and Nadia?"

With this, we looked at what Paimon was pointing to, and spotted Vlad and Nadia.

The two were walking together…when Vlad suddenly stopped. Then, he took a deep breath, took off his mask, and turned to face Nadia.

"Would you look at that", Childe said. "I think that we're maybe about to witness a love confession?"

"Really", Paimon asked excitedly. Then, we all looked down and Vlad and Nadia.

He was holding onto her hands as he spoke to her. Whatever he said, it made her smile. Then, she also took off her mask, and said something to Vlad, which in turn made him smile.

The two of them embraced. Then…they looked at each other…and kissed.

"Awe", Paimon said. "That was so romantic!"

"It was", I agreed. Then, I looked at Childe, and saw that he was looking at Vlad and Nadia with a…longing look on his face. "Are you okay, Childe?"

"Finding that special someone…is truly a wonderful thing, isn't it?"

When Childe said this, I looked at him in surprise. Then…I smirked.

"Wow Childe. I didn't know you were such a romantic?"

After I said this, Childe smirked at me. Then…he did something that took me by surprise. He placed his fingers under my chin, and tilted my head up towards his.

"If you want, I'd be happy to show you my romantic side, Girlie?"

When Childe said, I could feel my cheeks turning pink. And…I felt a warm feeling in my chest I had never felt before.

Before this moment could go on for too long, Paimon grabbed Childe's hand and pulled it away from me.

"Okay, that's enough", she said, which made Childe chuckle.

"Relax. I was just teasing", Childe said. Then, he seemed to remember something. "Oh, I totally forgot! I brought these while I was shopping for my siblings gifts earlier."

With this, Childe pulled out three Xiao Lanterns. Two big ones and one small ones.

"You got us Xiao Lanterns", Paimon asked. "And you even got a small one for Paimon!"

"I'm not sure if we'll ever be in Liyue for Lantern Rite together again", Childe said. "So, while we are here together, I wanted to partake in a Lantern Rite tradition with you."

"Childe", I said, touched by his words.

"That's actually kind of sweet of you, Childe", Paimon said. "You're just showing us your softer side tonight, aren't you?"

"The festivities must be getting to me", Childe stated. Then, both Paimon and I took a Xiao Lantern from him.

"Let's release them together on the count of three", she said. "One, two, three!"

With this, we all released our lanterns into the air.

"Comrade", Chide started, before turning to face me. "I'm happy that I got to spend Lantern Rite with you."

When I heard this, the warm feeling I had felt in my chest before came back to me.

"Well, another year has gone by", Childe said. "Let's hope that this year is another good one!"

"This year, Paimon wants to get to try lots of yummy new foods", Paimon revealed.

"This year, I want to continue to improve my skills and grow into an even stronger warrior", Childe revealed.

I then looked down at the harbour bellow, and thought about what I wanted to happen in the following year.

"This year…I hope that I'll find my brother", I thought to myself. Then…I looked at Childe, and sighed sadly. "Which is why…I can't let myself be distracted by any feelings I may have for another person."