Closed Doors
yan secretary! zhongli x ceo! reader
Lantern Rite was fast approaching. From the glass windows that extended from the ledge at the bottom to the expanse of the ceiling, you could see that every corner and alley was alight with crimson silk and flowers, couplets and ribbons, lights flashing incessantly even in the mind’s eye. Your own office building had some, sporting of the festivities despite the heavy workload the staff have been burdened with recently.
A hand on your shoulder, a whisper of your name, by your ear.
“You have worked hard. Would you care to chat over dinner?”
“...I’m busy, tonight.”
Zhongli pulled back, gently, as if he had taken the rejection well. When has he ever, in this one-sided… situationship… thing?
“Then let me drive you home.”
“No, I’m fine.” You feel like throwing up, even though you had not eaten in many hours. The last time that occured…
No words. He is displeased, and it strikes a hot bolt of guilt through your veins. He did only mean the best for you, your trusted secretary.
“I mean, I wouldn’t want to trouble you.”
“I can assure you, my dear, it is no hassle at all. Do you not trust me to keep you safe, after all these years?”
You sigh. He speaks much like a doting grandfather. Your eyes trail to the two long red strips on the office door.
“ ‘Longevity like the highest West mountains, blossoming relationships akin to the depth of the Eastern sea.’ Isn’t the second part a bit out of place, Zhongli?”
The man in question leaned in, lowering his glasses and scrutinising the words on the couplet. “So it is.”
“Nothing more to say?” That was uncharacteristic of your secretary.
Zhongli coughed, as if to distract that. “I find the emphasis on interpersonal relations between persons agreeable. Is that not something you wish to have in your life, [Name]?”
“I… suppose?”
You knew he wrote it, and dare not remove it from the front doors of the company. You had to settle with unmatching couplets for the next month.
“Speaking of which, [Name]...” he said, tailing behind you at such a leisurely pace that you always had to stop several times for him to catch up. “The, ah, schedule for the company celebration on the second day of Lantern Rite has been updated. I have assigned your seating arrangement near-”
“Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. I won’t be around next month. I’m going back with my family to celebrate.”
…
“Zhongli?”
Why is he…disappointed? It is perfectly fine and common, for the overworked CEO to take time off to visit their loved ones for the holidays. Zhongli still feels an ache in his rustic heart as you said that.
You wouldn’t be spending Lantern Rite with him.
Last year, and the year before that, and the year before as well, you had; too busy slaving for the survival and growth of the company to take the journey home. He doesn’t know what to do with the chip at his feelings knowing you will not be around this year, even if it only consists of the two of you working late nights at the office, and him replacing your lukewarm cup of tea from time to time. By the time he replies you have arrived at your private office.
“... I see.”
After all he’s done for you, as well. Do you view him as nothing but a subordinate?
Zhongli chided himself, shelving these thoughts for later. His younger self would succumb to petty, childish musings like these, and he would imagine he has matured.
He sees you falter, perhaps noticing the shift in mood. “Are you going anywhere for Lantern Rite?” you asked.
He smiles, not too broadly, making sure to keep his eyes still.
“Where has an old man like me to go, except for work?”
To the untrained eye, you seem unphased, but your secretary knows better. With a little observance, he can detect your uncomfortable twitches, fidgeting, wandering eyes. And, contrary to public belief, Zhongli can be very observant. How do you think he picks out the gem amongst stones? To him, you are that very diamond he so desires.
“Please, you are hardly half the age you act. You could… take a trip somewhere south, escape the cold…”
How intriguing. Before you can blink he towered over you, arm brushing against your shoulder. Zhongli looked you directly in the eyes, without a hint of warmth or the usual wise whimsy he conducts himself with.
“A most interesting suggestion. However I do not intend to go holidaying off by myself.”
You had no response to that, still recovering from the apparent change in attitude of your secretary.
“Not to mention, I would… how do I phrase this… find myself missing you terribly.”
For a moment, you think you see the amber in his eyes morph into a disgusting, bloody red. It could easily be passed off as reflection from the hanging lanterns.
He continues, when you don’t speak. “So, when you return to your, ah, loved ones, partake in the wonders of tradition and communal gathering… please think of me as well.”
A sweet statement turned sinister. Was this how he had gotten you to stay for the past year, and all the Lantern Rite’s before that?
Come to think of it, you don’t know why you were so busy back then either.
“After all, [Name]...”
He would do anything to keep you here, under his watchful eye and within his clutches.
“What is a poor old man to do, without you?”
He tried to play it off as a joke, a light-hearted statement made meant for mild amusement. You seemed to take it well, offering a hesitant chuckle. If you find this off-putting, he would hate for you to discover what he did to earn his position as your secretary. When he was young it would have been much more… how to put it? Physically forceful.
The bloodlust from them has since faded. How would you feel seeing him slathered in crimson? Cringe in fear and revulsion, or praise him for his devotion?
He finds violence by his own hands unnecessary, now. He can do just as much and more with the influence he currently wields.
The manager who tried to seduce you, the owner of a rival company’s snark comments, all the scathing words of Internet users who think it so clever to be cruel to you behind a screen… one way or another, he has taken care of them as a good secretary would.
All that has paid off. Now he is your most trusted staff, the one who understood every quirk and minute action. No one had been through every high and low, seen you inside and out like he has.
He caresses you so gently, as if you were the most delicate petal or the most fragile diamond. As if all this was right and normal, for a secretary to do.
Who would suspect Zhongli the gentleman, collected, distinguished and composed of such depravity?
“Good morning, dear. Happy Lantern Rite.”
You trusted him, wholeheartedly.
But when you eventually wake up in his arms, in his bed, to the sound of firecrackers and joyful festive cheers, even after he promised the last time that it was a one-time mistake and would not happen again, you’re not quite sure you do, anymore.
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