Chapter Text
There were profound ways to convey one’s feelings to the person they fancied. In the city of Liyue, it was a city of love, kindness, and gratitude. The authors who would piece out their books with a decade worth of ink had alluring ways to write a confession scene, Xingqiu would declare; his testing couldn’t have been wrong because he had re-read these romance novels for more proof and clarification, not because he held fondness for the work so much… of course.
In his homeland, it was an odd mixture of all types of sensibilities. One would say they’d be able to meet six different types of individuals all with their unusual and distinctive personalities. His city held pride and rank at a very high level, but the simple joys of life and love were even more valued, thus the authors knew how to work their hands and build breathtaking romantic scenes.
This is what gave Xingqiu a clear and massive opportunity. If he wanted to convey his feelings in the brightest way possible, wasn’t it by recreating the novel itself? Immersing himself in an uncountable collection of romance light novels from such a young age meant that he just knew how to picture the most perfect confession. Don’t believe him? He might as well try this technique out himself, then.
In the most recent self-help book that he read about romance, titled to be ‘Find Hope and Confess!’, it had exactly eight ways to find out if their crushes felt the same way they did before confessing to their crushes.
The author had emphasized on how these methods had worked for him the best and allowed him to finally marry the ‘love of his life’ after sixteen or more failed confessions. The number felt… far-fetched but maybe the author was that unfortunate; at least, they ended up together in the end, right?
Anyway, it was time Xingqiu tried these ways out because he truly wanted ‘the love of his life’ to realize his feelings for them, too. So, he read the first tip in his head:
1. Make more eye contact. If they look back, hold onto the eye contact for a while more. See how they react. If you see them look away or smile shyly, chances are they are fond of you as well. See, when I did this with my crush, she was oblivious for the first thirteen times or so, but she showed signs of nervousness and coyness after my sixteenth try! Morax has truly granted me with tremendous luck when it comes to stealing hearts with a handsome glance only.
Tremendous luck… Xingqiu sighed. Was this author hit on the head to drive them to this much madness?! Just how crazy were they driven to be writing such crazy stories? The author went on and on about each try, specifying just exactly how he was rejected and it made Xingqiu truly believe that his crush was so tired of rejecting him that she might’ve just as well accepted her fate. Xingqiu didn’t think the rest of this author’s rambling would help him further so he skipped it. He thought he was being fooled by the unbelievable stories, but his desperation made him try it. Was he mad, too?
The day after, he called his six-year-long crush over to his house. He needed to test it out without being too over the top so, he cut out ‘picnic date’ from his list of plans, sighing because of how badly he wanted to have a picnic date with Chongyun. Maybe if this lunatic of a author’s ways actually worked, then he would have this date with him, eventually.
Chongyun received the invitation letter a day ago and he immediately sent it back to Xingqiu with a positive response:
“Dear Chongyun,
How have you been doing? I’m quite aware we just had dinner together before departing to our own destinations. However, I do feel as if I need to invite you over to my place for dinner tomorrow evening. There’s no special reason behind this; no tricks, no pranks, and no unfortunate events will take place. It is to honor our friendship by this evening meal. If possible, come by six as the sun sets. We can watch it together, also.
To my dearest,
Xingqiu [SIGN]”
‘Though it was quite difficult trying to understand the words, i got the gist of it. Count me as your only friend who knows how to read your work of art. I’m happy to be invited over and it would be amazing to watch the sunset together. Though now I’m more suspicious because you suddenly mentioned about your pranks, I’ll trust you.
By your dearest,
Chongyun [SIGN]’
When Xingqiu read through, he was left flustered. Unlike other times where Chongyun would give a short and quick reply, this one was thoroughly thought of, Xingqiu could tell. Chongyun even took his time to tease him for his handwriting and sweetly saying that he would ‘trust’ Xingqiu despite his suspicions. The part of this letter that stood out to him most was the very ending. Usually, it was only ever Xingqiu who would end his letters with ‘dearest’ to grow this sense of closeness. Turns out Chongyun also used it this time. Xingqiu could have been reading into the letter too much but he couldn’t help it; it was different from all the other times Chongyun wrote back to him.
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After approximately thirty minutes, Xingqiu heard the knock at his door, alerting him back to the present. He got off of his bed, tidied it a little very briskly before walking over to his door and twisting the handle til it opened, revealing a tall handsome boy with icy blue hair, as well as eyes. His expression held a tint of warmth as he greeted Xingqiu, walking in as soon as the blue-haired boy welcomed him in.
“I could sense the playfulness oozing out from the letter this time, my dearest,” Xingqiu stated shortly with a chuckle.
“It was not my intention,” Chongyun could only smile soundlessly and shake his head before he was lead to the balcony of Xingqiu’s room where the dinner table was set, with food already being served by the butlers, their hands skillful. Like this, the sun could be observed directly from the front and the view below them looked stunning.
Once the butlers were done bringing in the food, which was in fact quite a lot for only two people, they left the room quietly, leaving the two of them alone. They both sat down together, facing each other as they began to eat. Chongyun complimented the dishes multiple times that Xingqiu might as well have lost count after the fourth one, explaining to Chongyun exactly how each were made to perfection. He also made sure to tell him that he advised the workers to not add spice in any of the dishes, just so Chongyun could be at ease and the latter couldn’t help but express his thanks once more, his lips stretched to a fond smile.
”I held a bit of suspicion, actually. I thought you wanted to prank me, again,” Chongyun laughed sheepishly before taking another bite.
”Well, I wouldn’t say it’s not entirely possible. However, today, I truly meant for it to be a sincere evening meal. I’m not always playing tricks now, am I?” Xingqiu smirked while he shook his head, following Chongyun by taking another bite as well.
”We’ll agree on that for the moment, as long as it makes you happy,” Chongyun shrugged. They giggled and enjoyed each other’s company for the night, a scenic view before them.
They were too immersed with their topics that Xingqiu almost forgot about the main reason to why he held this dinner. He thought for only a moment before making up his mind, and fixing his golden eyes at the latter whilst setting his chopsticks down. It was quite an intense stare, and it felt too focused, almost.
Only after a few good seconds did Chongyun feel the strange stare at him, and therefore he tilted his head upwards to see what was wrong. The look he got frightened him immediately. Why was Xingqiu staring daggers at him?? His friend’s look did not falter for as long as he looked back at him.
Then, Xingqiu broke the silence, “Say, how are you feeling after this, ‘Yun?” His gaze still did not falter, and his brows were knitted in seriousness, as if he was looking for one specific answer and… Chongyun didn’t know. He had to gulp down.
”…Huh?” Chongyun was just simply confused as any other human would be if they were stared at with such intensity for no apparent reason; at least not that Chongyun knew of. “I feel conflicted… Why are you staring me down…? Did I do something wrong?” After a few more good seconds of staring, Xingqiu only sighed heavily before dismissing what he did and telling Chongyun everything was alright, urging him to continue on with the food as they viewed the sunset ahead of them. Chongyun was skeptical about the sudden evening invitation and the strange staring that Xingqiu did but he didn’t really give any thought to it. Perhaps, Xingqiu worked too hard today.
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Once they were done with their meal, Chongyun made sure to thank his friend before he tried clearing the table for Xingqiu as a kind gesture. Obviously, the latter disagreed and they argued over it for a hot minute before Xingqiu told the butlers were done for the day. When they were gone, they both worked on clearing the table together.
They both hopped on Xingqiu’s bed as soon as they were done with the plates and cutlery and got comfortable.
“Are you feeling alright, ‘Qiu? You seemed a little odd to me today…,” Chongyun first started as he laid on his back and stared at the ceiling ahead of him, Xingqiu doing the same.
”Oh, I am, really. I’ve… just got this thing going on for a while now. I hope… you know soon, maybe?” Xingqiu seemed a little nervous as he uttered the last bit and bit his bottom lip from saying anything reckless that could make him expose his feelings even by a bit.
”Is it work related? Is that why? Are the editors forcing a chapter out of you again?” The frown could be heard from Chongyun’s words alone and it made Xingqiu lighten up and laugh for a bit, his heart softening and his disappointment from the failed attempt slipping his mind immediately.
”Oh no, dearest. I’m alright, thank you, ‘Yun. Truly,” He sincerely meant it; Chongyun always found a way to make him forget about everything that worried him by showing him his friend simply cared for him.
It was that simple. Were his standards that low or was it just right? He didn’t care, really. Or… was it high? He didn’t care, He didn’t care. He just loved Chongyun, that’s all he knew.
They talked about a lot more that night and Chongyun would mention after every pause that it was getting late and that he would have to leave before he got knocked out but, Xingqiu would keep deviating from the topic til they both… dozed off, eventually; indeed, completely knocked out. Xingqiu just wanted that for that day, to make up for his failed flirting, perhaps.