"My dear Tonya,
My time here in Liyue has been the best summer of my life. I already know how you'll look when you read these words, along with Taucer and Anton. You'll pout and say, "Why is our brother so ungrateful? What about our holidays at the country estate? And what about our trips to the capital? What is it? Morepesok is not as beautiful as Liyue? Why doesn't he stay there, then?" I already know. But I won't lie to you. I don't think I'll ever forget how good I've felt here, in my room with its windows open to the sea, surrounded by markets, mountains and new friends. Taucer, if you are reading this (Don't try to hide the letter from him, Tonya!), then tell Tonya how good the fried chop suey is, how comfortable the tearoom is, or how deep the blue waves off the dock are. Someday I'll take all three of you here. That's a promise. You know how much I miss you. I won't keep you waiting for long. I've decided to leave next week. I can't wait to see you again! I also bought you some blue seashells that are sold here on the beaches of Yoaguang Shoal. Just put some sugar on their shell and they will be incredibly good to eat, after you get used to their crunchiness! Do you think I'm fooling you? Well, you might be right. Wait for me and cook me a nice cake, please. I promise you I will arrive on a sunny day. See you soon!
Ajax "

Sitting on the ship that would take him back to Snezhnaya, Childe crumpled up the letter he had written only three days before and threw it overboard without remorse. It no longer made sense to send it to his brothers: too many things had happened in the span of a few hours. The summer he had described as magnificent had been totally ruined. The city he had loved so much now seemed colder than ever with no one standing on the dock to see him off. Liyue Harbor, with its scarlet colors and the stalls illuminated by the first rays of the day, were practically deserted, perhaps still upset by the attack of the previous day. Xiangling was not there, ready to open her restaurant at nine o'clock, and nor was Xingqiu, usually sitting on a rock with his nose immersed in books.

There was only absolute emptiness. His departure was as cold and gray as the rocks on the beach he was about to leave. Childe shouldn't have been surprised to leave Liyue completely alone. He hadn't warned anyone of his imminent departure, nor did he intend to do so.
If the people of Liyue had known that he was the one who had summoned Osial, a sea monster, just the night before, they would have been the first to make him leave. He did not expect them to understand the reason for his choice or why he had followed that specific order given by his superiors, but he was not ready to give them any explanations, not that soon.

There was only one person who knew what he had done, and he was the same person who Childe was basically running away from. Zhongli found out the truth about him, and yet, he hadn't laid a hand on him. Still, that thought did not console him, not after he discovered who Zhongli really was: Rex Lapis, the God of that place. It was disheartening to think that he had spent months beside an archon without realizing it. But most of all, it was disappointing to realize that Zhongli had been lying to him all that time so easily.

Why hadn't he ever told him about who he really was? Maybe Zhongli had only kept Childe close so not to arouse suspicion. It was really astonishing for Childe to realize that in the end, inexplicably, Zhongli had even made a secret pact with Tsaritsa, the goddess Childe was loyal to. Was he an enemy or a future ally? What could he want from Tsaritsa, and where was he now? What would he think about his departure? Too many questions tormented him, and none of them could be answered. Shaking his head, Childe tried to think about something else. Now that he has done what he had to do, it was time for him to go home.

He could no longer hold back. Liyue was no longer his place. It probably never had been. After all, he was nothing but a soldier from Sneznaya, and had gone there simply to perform his duties. He had to leave as soon as possible while trying hard not to mull over his decision. Deep down in his heart, he knew that he shouldn't have grown fond of that place, a place that he had been ordered to fight from the beginning, but which he had unexpectedly become attached.

"Are you all ready? Come on, the boat is full and the journey is long!" Captain Beidou exclaimed cheerfully as she boarded the ship, interrupting the incessant flow of his thoughts. Childe turned to look at her as she walked confidently through the passengers, dragging a couple of heavy bags with ease. The woman who would lead her ship had a reputation that preceded her throughout Liyue.
Childe strongly believed that every rumor about her strength and courage were true. He could see it every time he caught her looking at the ocean with a proud gaze. Beidou had long brown hair loosened over her shoulders like a cloak and one eye covered with a blindfold, as befitted her pirate fame. Just when Childe was about to back away, making room for the new passengers, he heard a voice that caught his attention, an all too familiar voice:
"So, are you going back home, human?"

Childe winced when he recognized the Adeptus Xiao, one of the people he had managed to befriend during his stay, striding forward near the ships rail. His golden eyes gleamed furiously and they were aimed straight at Childe's as he threw two heavy bags to the ground with a thud. Surprised, Childe gasped, standing petrified in the middle of the crowd. It no longer mattered that there were dozens of people around him ready to leave. The fact that Xiao was in their midst upset him. What was he doing there? Had he come for revenge?
Perhaps he had discovered that Childe had summoned the sea monster and was eager to beat him. After all, it was Xiao's duty to protect Liyue more than anyone else. A ship, however, certainly didn't seem like the best place to challenge someone to a duel.
"Xiao? What are you doing here? We are about to leave the dock. I must say that your clothes do look suitable for the cold of Snezhnaya," Childe replied, trying to mask his perplexity before indulging in a short laugh, shaking his head. "What, Zhongli ran out of money and has sent you to collect it?" He said the name of their mutual friend with an ironic tone, feeling defensive.

Childe was afraid of what might happen if he kept talking to someone he couldn't handle yet when he couldn't even deal with himself. The wall of sarcasm he was building up was quite like the one he placed in front of most people whenever he felt out of place. During that summer, people like Xiao and Zhongli had managed to lower those defenses of his, but now they were back up more resilient than ever. He felt a kind of guilt toward Xiao and a sense of distrust toward Zhongli, whom he still tried desperately to rid his thoughts of. For a moment, looking at Xiao with his troubled gaze, frowning eyebrows and tangled green locks, he couldn't help but remember their afternoons spent drinking tea in Zhongli's living room on rainy days, or Sundays spent in the mountains and among the meadows of Liyue, when the sun shone high in the sky. A month earlier, Childe, Xiao and Zhongli had spent some time in Mondstadt together. Now, Childe felt like a lifetime had passed and it was strange to be so close to his friend, not yet ready to explain.

"Don't talk about Zhongli like that," Xiao admonished him harshly. Childe, despite the tension, could not help but reply with an amused snort. He had learned long ago not to fear Xiao, even though he was an immortal warrior. He knew him too well for that. Furthermore, the context in which they found themselves would certainly have stopped Xiao from taking any reckless actions.
"You didn't answer my question: what are you doing here?" Chide insisted, leaning lazily against the ships rail, an eyebrow raised to show his curiosity.
"I'm not the one who is about to leave," Xiao pointed out dryly. "I just want you to know that I do not approve of his decision, but he wouldn't listen to me. He tried to explain how you are only part of the whole plan and you have no faults and you deserve an explanation..." Xiao cautiously lowered his voice, frowning. "...but I didn't understand much of it, I'll admit."
Childe was thankful he was being supported by the sturdy edge of the ship. Hearing Xiao's words, he felt his legs give out. He understood who Xiao was talking about even before he heard his name: there was only one person who had made a pact that he didn't understand and, without a shadow of a doubt, that someone was Zhongli.

"Do you expect me to feel moved now?" Childe replied, annoyed. "I saw he has already organized his plans. He'll be busy for a while, too busy to give me any explanation."
Xiao replied after a few moments of silence, slightly shaking his head. "I know you're mad at him, but I swear he couldn't tell you who he really was. Few of us knew." He explained in a slower and more patient tone which he seldom used. Childe wrinkled his nose slightly, further irritated.

Now that he knew Zhongli was Rex Lapis, the God whom the Adept Xiao was bound to by oath, he understood why those two had such a close friendship, probably lasting centuries. Yet, despite knowing this, knowing that he could never aspire to the same trust that Zhongli had for his followers, Childe could not help but feel drastically excluded from Zhongli's life.

"Thanks for taking my bags, Xiao, but you shouldn't have bothered. You are already exhausted. I hope you were careful."
A calm, caring voice made Childe turn abruptly, bringing him brutally back to the ground like a fall into cold water in the dead of winter. Xiao also looked up at the person who had just joined them, looking halfway between worried and annoyed.

Without even seeing his face, Childe knew who he was: with his usual dark robe and the composed bearing of one who did not let himself be touched by anything, Zhongli had revealed himself and was searching for his gaze. Childe forced himself to confront him, trying to ignore the gripping in his chest simply by meeting his amber irises. Before last night, he was convinced he could easily read the expressions in his golden eyes, when they were veiled with melancholy or joy, despite his usual austere expression. Childe had often been able to see kindness in the way they looked at something or someone he cared about. But now he seemed to be staring at a statue: shining and bright, but cold and hard. He had returned to him a stranger, or perhaps he had always been one. So what was he doing on the ship?

"Here he is." Xiao snorted lightly then pursed his lips into a worried crease. "As I was telling you, Childe, Zhongli would not listen to reason."
"Reason to do what?" Childe asked, fearing he already knew the answer. Three and a half months had passed before that moment, three months he remembered in every detail. He had almost believed he could leave them behind, but now he knew he would never be able to let them go if Zhongli wanted to stay.

"To leave for Snezhnaya with you," Zhongli replied simply. He bent down to pick up one of his bags, returning his gaze to Childe a moment later. "Am I wrong, or do we have something to discuss?"

***

Hello everybody! ❤️❤️ Thank you for giving my fanfiction a chance, I really appreciate that
My name is Skyar and I'm an Italian guy. This is my first fanfiction ever, and I did my best to translate it from Italian to English, even if I already know it will be full of mistakes haha 😂 Luckily, a native speaker is helping me!

Since I've started playing genshin impact, I got really attached to its amazing characters and plot, and I am always craving to have more information. I started reading every characters' backstory and thought they all deserve a lot of love and attention, so I chose to put them in my story as well. 🙏

Zhongli is my favorite character and his complex and caring personality made me want to write more about him.

My fanfiction will follow some updates up to 1.6 version, just for you to know, but I even invented some details based on my imaginations and few facts on the wikia or characters' voicelines (like Tsaritsa's backstory, Zhongli's past or Snezhnaya in general)

I will try to update this fanfiction every week, if you'd like to read more! ❤️❤️ Please, let me know if everything was clear and if I did not portray Zhongli, Childe or Xiao in a wrong way.
Every comment or kudos is VERY VERY appreciated, you have no idea how much it makes me happy to know that somebody is actually reading my story. Your comments will never be a bother to me, even if they are just something like "YEAHH COOL" ❤️❤️

Next week, we'll meet Hu Tao and Ningguang!
Thank you very much for your attention <3 See you soon