#her poor people posing does not actually mean her parents don't care

[philtatosbuck]

the sooner we (read: you people) realize kie’s parents aren’t shitty for wanting better for her the sooner we can be normal

[localplaguenurse]

Thinking about dad!Zhongli adjusting to having a son, do you think he'll finally have to exercise some financial responsibility?

I mean, I get it, this guy literally made Mora and could presumably make more if he wasn't posing as an ordinary human, but I can just see Mama side-eying him if he were to try putting it on the Funeral Parlor's tab like he does sometimes. Especially as she had to be careful with her finances raising Kei mostly on her own.

Also, just thinking about the extra expenses for two people having to stay for longer than exoecred in Liyue makes me wince. Are they still covered for by the publishing house? Mama and Kei will probably need things like more clothes and other necessities. Maybe we will get to see her in a high cut cheongsam (and unintentionally giving Zhongli Problems) sometime! At least Kei will look precious?

Also, could I ask about the timeline? Since Mama received news of Rex Lapis being dead but the Sakoku/Vision Hunt Decree is still active, thus after the Traveller completed Liyue's Archon Quests but before they began or finish Inazuma's.

It'd be real funny if all the delays (because I'm pretty sure Zhongli is going to pull strings to keep them around for longer, based on his reaction to finding out she's affiliated with the Yae Publishing House) cause them to miss out on the decrees being revoked.

Some of these are points I'm going to go over in the fic, so I'm not gonna get too in detail. The money thing was actually one of the first things beta and I discussed because she actually kinda sorta hates the constant "haha Zhongli poor man" trope. I told her that I am going to bring that up a few times, but it'd be at least semi justified because the man literally just found out he has a son, he hasn't learned the art of single parent budgeting, and oh boy is he about to. As for Mama and the publishing house, don't worry, Yae Miko is a real one.

This is a micro spoiler but I mentioned it in a comment at some point: where we are right now in the genshin timeline is around the time Teucer pops up in Liyue and before Traveler leaves for Inazuma. Part of the reason I gave Mama appendicitis, on top of giving Kei and Zhongli a chance to bond, was because recovery is gonna take a while (it took me a month before I was allowed to go back to work), and by the time she's 100% in the clear, it will be around the time the decrees are being lifted. Give or take.

Maybe we'll get some cheongsam action, maybe we won't. All I can say is no smut except for what happens in the first chapter, the rest is up to you my dear... (just make sure they're being more careful than last time, it's too soon to make Kei a big brother!)