Chapter Text
“Every day in Liyue feels like a festival!” Xiao has heard that phrase all too much online. He’s pretty sure everyone who says that is a tourist, because as someone who actually lives there, he ends every day feeling completely drained! To him, everything was just busy. Everyone was chasing after the next business deal, the next opportunity, or in Xiao’s case just to get to the next day. Even then, he was absolutely tired. Tons of people come here for vacation, but Xiao was probably the least relaxed person in the world!
Who knew the same daily routine would be such a drag? He wakes up, gets to school, trains, then gets home to study. The cycle repeats and yet Xiao finds that his grades are completely average!It will all pay off in the future anyways… That's what he always tells himself. He tells himself he'll get into a great college, then get a good paying job and keep working. Just like he is right now…
Despite not knowing just what his end goal is, Xiao knows that he can't yield. Not even for a moment. Not in Liyue… How could he stop when all this opportunity was laid out in front of him? He cannot waste a single moment, otherwise he'd fall behind.
Every waking moment feels like he was trying to race to get to the next one. He just keeps running, reaching desperately for the next level, until one day he decides to stop.
The train pulls to a stop, causing Xiao to look up from his phone. The doors slide open and he finds himself quick to step out onto the platform. On any other day, He would’ve left the subway and gone home without looking back, but fate seems to have something else in mind for him. Instead,he finds himself enraptured by what sounds like a siren song. The usual noise of the subway doesn't seem to reach his ears. The sound of this tranquil lullaby overtakes his senses.
It's a simple monophonic flute. That is all it is, but how does it manage to feel so… so nostalgic when he's never even heard it before.
The song's tune wraps around his mind and tugs him closer as he takes a step towards the sound.
His feet eventually take him over to one of the benches, and he finds the source of the music right in front of him. It's a student, seemingly around his age. Their clothes look a bit strange though. Xiao doesn't dwell on the thought. Maybe they're just some street performer looking for extra cash. All he could do is stare like an idiot as the notes fly from their flute like magic.
Despite Xiao being rendered speechless and silent by the person before him, they seem to notice his presence. The music stops when they do, pulling Xiao out of his trance and forcing him to pick up his jaw from the ground. Xiao then locks eyes with the musician. “ah…” He stutters and takes a step back. Great… they probably think Xiao's a weirdo now… Embarrassed, Xiao tries to retreat but the stranger's eyes immediately brighten.
“It's you!” They suddenly speak up and stand from the bench. “I've been walking all day! Ugh, such a pain.” The flutist whines. Xiao can only stare in confusion. “What…?” He mutters. “aww! What? Surprised to see me?” They smirk and nudge his shoulder.
“Oh, oh! And don't forget about this!” They reach into their backpack and pull out a second flute. It was almost identical to their own, with a matching jade pendant to come with it. There was no way Xiao would just accept this random gift right? And yet for some reason the flute was being clutched in his hands.
The stranger continued to go on and on. “I wanted you to have your own! So I got ya one! And—”
Xiao cuts them off before it gets any further “Do I know you?”
“It's me. Don't.. Don't you remember?”
Any conversation after that went silent. Xiao watched as the other's expressions shifted from a wide smile to one of shock, then to one of awkward nervousness.
Their mouth presses into a line and they avert their eyes as quickly as they can. “Oh… Um…” they step away from Xiao, staring at their brown loafers.
“sorry. I thought you were someone else.“ they apologize.
Xiao's eyebrows furrow in response. They thought he was someone else? How weird… he thinks to himself.
The tension is so thick a knife isn't even strong enough to cut it. It feels suffocating for both parties.
It's a saving grace when the train station announcement finally rings out from the sound system. Xiao lets out a breath he had no idea he was holding and the kid in front of him seems to do the same. They smile, but never lift their head to meet his eyes. “S-sorry! Looks like my train is here so um…”
Their voice trails off before the strange musician walks right past Xiao and towards the train. They squeeze through the crowd to try and hide from his gaze.
Confusion runs through Xiao's mind as he watches their back, or maybe it's more like a curiosity…
“wait!” He wants to reach for them, ask them more questions. ‘Why did they give him this flute?’, ‘What are they doing here?’, ‘How do they know me?’ And so on… but, at that moment,only one question is able to escape his lips. “What's your name?!”
“⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛!”
The train's doors shut. Did Xiao hear that right…? He saw them mouth an answer and yet he couldn't quite catch what it was…
And just like that, Xiao's life had gone off the rails for one moment before returning to normal the next. That musician and his beautiful melody left as quickly as it arrived. He didn't even have the chance to return the flute…
The train blurs past, leaving Xiao alone at the station. He shakes his head and pulls his bag back onto his shoulders. just some weirdo…
He makes his way up the stairs and exits the subway station. He needs to get home to study anyways.