Sept

9:11am

are we having the meeting today?

uhh sure

but idk if xiao will be able to make it

he hasn't answered dms

It's fine if he doesn't, ig he can come to the next meeting

but this will be the first meeting

with y/n 😕

yeah... we should all be there to meet them

it's fine lol

i can meet him some other time

yes, it's not that much of a big deal

alright then

What will we do in the meeting without xiao

just welcome y/n ig

i mean, we don't need to hold a meeting just for that

it's fine if we do it some other day

no no it's fine don't worry :D

it won't bother us if we hold it today or some other day

yep

then let's just welcome y/n today and tell them abt the club

sounds good

alrighty

see yall at lunch

Liked by Y/n, Chongyun, Venti, Xiangling, Xingqiu

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You headed towards the designated club room for the meeting. Although Xiao most likely wasn't going to attend, you were still looking forward to meeting the others.

On your way there, you began thinking about what happened yesterday. If that man really was the same Xiao, what happened for him to be in such a state? Perhaps he was ill.

While you were deep in thought, you didn't notice someone running towards your direction. They seemed to be in a hurry.

And soon, the unfamiliar student bumped into you, causing you to fall backwards.

"Ow." You blinked in confusion, not knowing what just happened. While glancing up, you saw a man who looked equally as confused as you.

"Oops, I am so so sorry. That was completely my bad, I should've paid attention to where I was going, I truly am sorry, did I mention how sorry I am?" the student started rambling which began to annoy you.

"It's! Ok! Just please stop apologizing," you rubbed your forehead.

Then he started laughing. "Haha yes of course. Oh! Allow me to help you up," he said, reaching his hand out to you.

You grabbed his hand as he helped you up and uttered a small "thank you."

The student had sunny ginger hair and aqua blue eyes. He also had a very cheerful presence. A bit too cheerful.

"Anyway, you probably have somewhere to go so I'll leave you be now. See ya later, y/n!" he waved goodbye as he turned to leave.

You simply waved back, still confused on what just happened. 'Wait... how does he know my name?'

Being lost in thought again, you suddenly realized you had a club meeting to attend. You quickly shook your head and began rushing there.

Luckily, the club room wasn't too far so you made it there pretty fast.

And the first person you were greeted with was Hu Tao.

"Hey Y/n. You got here surprisingly fast," the brunette said as you walked inside the room.

"This room is not that far from my last class," you replied blankly.

She began to laugh at your answer. "No, I mean I was expecting you to get lost or something."

"Wow. Are you calling me dumb?" You muttered while crossing your arms.

And before Hu Tao was able to respond again, she was met with an aggressive pat on the shoulder by another female.

"Hu Tao, don't insult our new member!!" The female scolded.

"Oops, my bad Xiangling haha..." Hu Tao said, scratching her head.

Xiangling shook her head before looking at you.

"Hi Y/n, it's nice to finally meet you," she greeted with a bright smile.

You smiled back, pleased by her politeness. Which was something you weren't used to with Hu Tao.

"Nice to meet you too, Xiangling."

Soon, the others arrived as well. They all introduced themselves and greeted you.

Most of them seemed kind, except one individual with a bowl cut. He went by the name "Xingqiu" and reminded you of Hu Tao.

But nonetheless, you still viewed them all as friends.

"Alright everyone, let's take a seat," the one named "Venti" said as he pointed towards the table. You all went to sit down before you heard the door open again. A figure of a small man appeared.

And unlike the others, he did not have such a lively presence. You also noticed that it was the same person you took to the nurse's office not that long ago.

'So that was the same Xiao after all,' you thought to yourself.

"Oh wow Xiao, you came after all!!" Hu Tao exclaimed, which caused the others to turn their heads.

"Quiet down, why are you so loud?" Xiao mumbled while walking in. He was unexpectedly quieter than you had expected.

He didn't see you until he fully walked inside the room. But when he did, he was immediately able to recognize who you were. His golden eyes met with yours as the room went dead silent.

Seconds later, Xiao spoke, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

"You're Y/n?" He asked, bluntly.

"Haha yeah," you responded dryly, not knowing what else to say.

"Oh you guys already met before?" Venti asked.

Xiao didn't answer so you decided to respond for him.

"Yeah, we met a bit earlier. He looked sick so I took him to the nurse's office."

"Wait. So you're the one who carried Xiao to the nurse's office??" Hu Tao asked, but she burst into laughter before you could even answer. "HAHAHA YOU GOT BRIDAL CARRIED BY Y/N."

You just stared at her blankly, "huh?"

As she continued laughing, you glanced back at Xiao who looked as if he was about to snap at any point and time. You could've sworn he was twitching an eye.

"I wasn't carried," he glared at the brunette who was still laughing.

"Sureee," Hu Tao continued her teasing and you could only watch it go down.

Xiao looked embarrassed, which you found rather amusing. The others quietly laughed as well, equally as amused.

In an attempt to change the topic, the irritated male turned your way. "Y/n. Did you bring the almond tofu?"

And you mentally facepalmed yourself the moment you heard those words.

You had completely forgotten about the almond tofu, especially since you weren't even expecting Xiao to attend today's meeting.

"Ohh... haha funny story," you nervously rubbed the back of your neck with an awkward smile. "Yeahh, I haven't made the almond tofu yet."

And that seemed to worsen Xiao's mood even further. He started to frown even more than before.

Hu Tao shook her head. "It's fine y/n, you can bring it to our next meeting. That's fine with Xiao, right?" She said, glancing back at the teal haired male who currently looked extremely disappointed.

"I guess that's acceptable," he mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Hey, we should start the meeting now!" Xiangling suggested, trying to lighten the atmosphere.

Everyone else nodded and took a seat. And soon, the others began chatting with each other, telling you of the different kinds of stories about the club.

You simply smiled and nodded as they continued talking. However, your attention was fixated elsewhere.

Although everything about Xiao appeared to be fine now, you couldn't help but think about only one question.

What exactly happened for him to have been in such a horrible state that day?