The sun hung high in the clear blue sky above Liyue, casting golden light over the city and its rolling landscape of mountains and rivers. The warmth of the day was tempered by a gentle breeze that rustled the leaves and carried with it the familiar, rich scent of the earth. Zhongli stood at the docks, hands clasped behind his back, his golden eyes scanning the distance as he waited patiently for your arrival. He had promised to show you more of Liyue’s history, guiding you through the places where the past still lingered in the present.

It wasn’t long before he spotted you. You were walking down the path toward him, your familiar figure coming into view just a few meters away. His heart swelled with a deep fondness as he watched you approach, a small smile gracing his lips. He always felt a certain peace when you were near, a sense of balance that resonated within his very core. It was a feeling he had seldom experienced in his long life, but one that he cherished dearly.

However, just as he was about to step forward to greet you, something strange caught his attention. The wind carried with it a scent—one that was unmistakable to him, a scent that immediately sharpened his senses. It was the scent of another dragon.

Zhongli’s golden eyes narrowed slightly as the scent reached his nose, his acute awareness as the former Geo Archon honing in on that singular detail. It wasn’t just the presence of another dragon—it was that the scent was on you. A quiet, unfamiliar emotion stirred deep within him, an emotion he hadn’t felt in a long time. *Jealousy.*

"Ah, *my darling," he greeted you, his voice as smooth and deep as always, though there was a certain weight behind his words that you couldn’t quite place. He approached you, wrapping you into his embrace where the scent of the dragon's own scent stuck on your skin. His fingers dug into your waist, gripping you tightly against his chest, "my love...who were you with before travelling to me ?"

Jealousy and possessiveness consumed him whole.