Oct 1

4:02pm

As of the moment, you were sitting down on the couch as Zhongli poured the both of you a cup of Jasmine tea.

Hu Tao told Zhongli about the conversation you both had yesterday and Zhongli agreed to telling you more about Xiao.

Though, you still felt weird since you couldn't see Xiao anywhere in sight. Perhaps he had to go do something?

You sat still, tensed up by the deafening silence. Zhongli took a seat beside you as he handed you a cup of tea. You nodded while taking it from him.

"Where's Xiao?"

"He had something to do so he wasn't able to make it. I apologize if that's rather disappointing for you," Zhongli spoke calmly as he took a small sip.

You instantly shook your head. "No, it's fine haha. I was just wondering, that's all," you said, laughing it off.

Zhongli smiled, placing his tea cup down. "So you want to know more about Xiao and the accident, yes?"

You nodded and Zhongli placed a finger on his chin, thinking deeply before responding.

"Alright then. Allow me to tell you what happened."

○●○

June 8

8:45am

Xiao had just began walking to school before he was interrupted by some unwanted company.

The teal haired man sighed to himself the moment he recognized the group that was approaching him.

"Hahaha, hey emo boy," one of them spoke.

There were three of them to be exact. One had brown hair, dark brown eyes. The other had black hair, also dark brown eyes. And the last one had blonde hair, light blue eyes.

Xiao didn't respond to their call and started walking past them. But they were not about to let him go so smoothly.

The same brunette that spoke earlier stopped him by grabbing his shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"

Xiao simply gave the taller male a death glare, trying to keep his cool.

"Don't try running," the blonde spoke this time.

"Leave me alone," Xiao warned the group but they refused to do so.

"Don't be like that, we're just joking."

"I said to leave me alone," he raised his voice before pushing away the male whose hand was on his shoulder.

"C'mon shorty, no need to be so hostile. Let us walk with you," the brunette spoke again.

Xiao hated them. And he was completely aware that they hated him too. Yet they refused to leave him alone.

He'd often get into many fights with this same group of students. And they'd always continue to pick on him no matter how many times he beat their ass.

And this time was no different than the others. However, the outcome was.

Xiao was irritated by the group already. One more word from them and he was ready to retaliate.

The brunette grinned mockingly before speaking again. "Say, Xiao. You wouldn't mind if we walked with you, would you?"

Xiao's amber eyes continued glaring the taller male down. He was currently not in the mood to deal with them. It was too early in the morning and his only focus was getting to school on time.

Suddenly, the tall brunette tried grabbing Xiao's shoulder once more causing the teal headed male to finally retaliate.

Xiao pushed the man's arm away once again, causing the taller male to click his tongue.

And as often, the brunette relied upon violence to get his way. He threw a punch at Xiao in which he effortlessly dodged as he already saw it coming.

"Still the same as always," the brunette laughed.

Xiao narrowed his eyes at him, controlling his anger and choosing not to fight back.

But the brunette refused to give up and tried punching him again, which was enough to cross Xiao's limit.

Xiao dodged once more before throwing a harsh punch at the same male. And as usual, it landed directly on his face. "You guys never learn, do you?" Xiao sighed.

Seeing his friend get hit, the blonde decided to join the fight. Xiao began fighting them both.

But the odd black haired male stood behind the three, watching silently without doing anything.

As time went by, the fight continued while people nearby just shared strange looks before continuing to walk away.

That was until, a little girl was walking down the same path that the fight was occurring in.

She had light purple hair and a blank expression, as if she was confused or perhaps lost.

She seemed to be deep in her thoughts and didn't notice the group of boys fighting, so she continued walking past them calmly.

And Xiao didn't notice her until he was pushed backwards, crashing against the little girl.

He quickly turned around to see who he had just hit and his eyes instantly widened.

The little girl was pushed onto the road, sitting still with a confused expression.

Not noticing what happened, the brunette grabbed Xiao by the arm, wanting to fight him again while Xiao's attention was solely fixated on the little girl.

"Let me go," he scowled in fury. But the other boy refused and laughed instead.

Xiao could feel his heart beat drop the moment he heard a car driving towards their direction. He glanced at the girl then back at the brunette who was grabbing onto him.

"I said to fucking let me go," he repeated, slightly shouting this time.

And when the car didn't seem to slow down despite the little girl remaining on the road, panic began to rise within the teal headed boy.

He tried releasing himself from the brunette's grip but struggled to do so. The male kept laughing, enjoying him failing to escape. And the difference in height made it difficult for Xiao to quickly push him away.

"You dumbass, can't you see that car!?" Xiao yelled, desperate to escape.

The taller male raised a brow in confusion. "Huh, what car?"

Xiao clicked his tongue before using all of his remaining strength to push him backwards, finally being released from his grip.

He quickly turned around towards the little girl and ran at full speed before having to stop in his tracks.

Loud screeches could be heard from the car trying to stop and the sudden loud sound of collision caused Xiao to jump backwards by instinct.

His amber eyes widened even more as he realized that he was too late.

The driver didn't manage to stop the car in time and the little girl had been hit before Xiao was able to save her.

His eyes remained wide open, his heart was pumping at a rapid speed, sweat was streaming down his face and his entire body was trembling. The man was left in complete shock by the sight in front of him.

He wasn't able to save her.

○●○

You were left speechless by the time Zhongli finished speaking.

Something about that story didn't sit well with you. But you didn't know what part of it made you feel so uneasy.

Perhaps it was the entire story itself that left you so shook.

You didn't know what to say nor how to respond. You just remained sitting quietly.

"After that, Xiao has been keeping to himself far more than before," Zhongli said before going silent.

The both of you remained quiet after that.

"I... should go now," you mumbled, not being able to take the tense awkwardness anymore.

"I understand. Then farewell, until we meet again. Take care Y/n," Zhongli nodded. You also nodded your head before taking your leave.

A few moments later, Zhongli turned his head towards the stairway. "They're gone. You may come out now."

He could hear Xiao sighing before showing himself. "You didn't have to go into such detail," Xiao said while crossing his arms.

"I apologize if I did."

"Tsk. It's fine, I guess," he clicked his tongue and looked the other way.

Then when he turned his head to take a glance at his guardian again, he noticed something was off.

"What's wrong?" Xiao asked him.

"I wonder why Y/n wasn't aware of this story," Zhongli said while placing a finger on his chin.

"What do you mean by that?" Xiao asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Y/n was there when it happened, after all."