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Hu Tao x Reader || Business meeting

You woke up in a coffin. Again.

You racked your semi-conscious brain and put your hands to the top wall. With all your strength, you pushed the heavy oak lid up, and it wasn't until the deaf knock convinced you that your efforts weren’t in vain.

You closed your eyes when the bright sun struck your eyes. You felt like a vampire taken straight out of romanticism, but after a quick blinking, you got used to the brightness in the room.

"Hey, hey!” you were greeted by a joyful voice as you sat down. "Did you sleep well?"

You looked at Hu Tao, who as usual was dressed in her dark, official outfit. She tied her hair in two ponytails, and put her hat on her head, even if you two were in a room that always was more likely to not have sunlight than it was.

She bowed over the coffin and let you lean against her arm as you stand up.

"Like a dead," you replied with a heavy sigh. You could only guess that you fell asleep while working and by this, you exposed yourself to tricks from Hu Tao. By these pranks, workers either quickly quitted their job, or gained resistance to all obstacles and every joke "funny-until-you-are-victim".

She sent you a snappy smile.

"Excellent. Because today we have a small corporate mission!”

‏‏‎ ‎

Hu Tao has not particularly given you time to prepare.

Less than ten minutes after she disappeared from the vestibule, you were able to dress up for work, wash your face and correct your hair before she showed up again.

You've put up several posters promoting the wangsheng funeral parlor (which will be taken off again by the guards within hours), and palm business cards off on several passersby until you reached a remote building where a young woman was waiting for you.

She quickly signed some of the papers Hu Tao brought with her and promised to come to her in person later, to complete the formalities related to her cousin's death.

Hu Tao was far more relaxed after you left that house.

In the jumps she walked past you, wandering through the uncrowded streets, energetically talking about everything and nothing. Sometimes she got lost in her thoughts for a moment and smiled at her own ideas, which you started asking her about.

"Hehe~ Everything that's going on in my head is a mystery," she gently tapped her fingers about the roundabout of her hat.

As you passed restaurants and food stalls, you were overwhelmed by the smell of all the Liyue delicacies.

Something twisted in your stomach.

On a par with the loud sound your belly made, you realized that you ate nothing today. You left so quickly that you forgot about breakfast. Ha, you couldn't even drink anything!

"Ho, ho," Hu Tao sighed theatrically. "I see that we have to stop and eat something.”

You burned with a juicy blush.

"A-ah, no, no," you protested quickly. "Let's finish what we have to do first. I'll eat something when we're done with work.”

"Come on, it’s my treat!" she clung to your arm and forced you to follow her. "Or rather... I haven't had the opportunity to have someone as my official taster for a long time!”

You found yourselves in the kitchen.

Hu Tao, almost all in the flour, which she had been brushing off from her dark outfit for the last fifteen minutes, took the dumplings out of the oven. She had to be inspired by a dish from Wanmin Restaurant, but she made them far quicker than anyone else who ever prepared dumplings.

Several of them were put on a plate and with a loud "bon appétit!", she placed them in front of you.

"They look... suspicious,” you glanced at the dumpling and came to the conclusion that they all look... very pale, even for a dumpling.

"I'd like to say you don't have to eat it. But I want you to try them," she used the chopsticks to pick up a dumpling from the plate and pressed it into your mouth. She covered them with her hand so that you wouldn't spit it out and watch as you chewed her culinary work precariously. "And how is it?"

You grunted when you felt how an extremely slippery dumpling was being swallowed by you.

Although you could not say that it was so bad.

Something just... was off. Maybe not enough spices? Or some strange ingredient in the stuffing?

"It's good," you replied. "I guess.”

"You sound very convincing," she said, giggling quietly. She seemed very proud of these dumplings. "I see that cooking is another of my hidden talents.”

You didn't answer, but you smiled gently.

Being indifferent while spending some time with her was... impossible.

‏‏‎ ‎

On the table was placed a pot of hot black tea.

In addition to decorative cups with patterns that evoke plum flowers, the pile of cards grew on the countertop every minute. Soon Hu Tao threw the last card she had in her hands and smiled triumphantly.

"I won!" she scooped the cards off the table and deftly began to shuffle them. A few of them fell out of her hands, but she quickly collected them and began handing them out between the two of you.

This was the eighth round of the card game she presented to you less than two hours ago. Throughout the game she seemed to give you forums, but as soon as you got to the end, she showed her mastery skills and within minutes made up for what you collected the whole twenty minutes.

Although you'd like to win with her, you were not particularly angry with that. Because you two were talking a lot, you mostly didn't notice the key moves you could make. It wasn't until you put another card down that you noticed your mistake, and Hu Tao, with a too-sweet and teasing smile, reminded you that you can't undo your moves.

What a stupid game.

With resignation, you have brought together a newly shuffled card tray.

"So that's what your corporate meetings look like, hmm?" You asked, propping up your chin with your hand and browsing through your new options.

"That’s weird to call date a business meeting," she replied, throwing another card on the table.

"Huh?" you shivered, almost biting your tongue in surprise. "So, it was a date?"

"Wasn’t it?" she said surprised. "Don't think I treat every employee like that. You are the exception," she hesitated, and for the first time in a long time raised her eyes from above the cards and looked at you. You couldn't tell what feelings were painted on her face. Gratitude? Joy? Love? In any case, it made you feel such strange, pleasant warmth... “But if so... How about another "corporate meeting", [Name]? You know, you have to take care of your customers, but you need to take care of your loyal employees even more.”

You were sure she had invented it just now, but...

"I shouldn't say no to my boss, shouldn't I?" you answered with a smile that she returned with big grin.

"Surely!"