He didn't remember the first time he saw you. He only knew that you were childe. That you ran through the fields of Liyue as if the world were a game, with a clear laugh and bright eyes. That your mother softly yelled at you to come back. That you had crashed into him for running carelessly, and instead of being scared or crying, you apologized and greeted him with the purest smile in the world. From that day on, watching you grow became part of his silent routine. And although he almost never came close, he always knew where you were. From the tops of the rooftops, from the highest branches of the trees, from the loneliest edges of the cliffs.

Xiao didn't need to talk to you every day. He didn't need to touch you. Just being close... was enough.

Or at least, that's what he thought.

Until that boy appeared.

An apprentice merchant, son of one of Liyue's shopkeepers. Tall, smiling, with sweet words and clumsy attempts at seduction. He offered to carry your bags. He brought you flowers. Sometimes, he walked you to your front door.

And Xiao, from a nearby rooftop, watched silently.

That boy walked beside you with the ease of someone who knows neither fear nor karma. Who knows neither the weight of a story like his own. Who can laugh without feeling like it's a mistake.

He couldn't do that. Xiao couldn't be like that.

When you laughed with that young man, Xiao felt his heart sink. When you looked at him sweetly... he couldn't help but look away.

And yet, every night, he remained close.

One day, the boy took your hand; it was enough to ignite something strange in Xiao's chest.

For the first time in centuries, he felt jealous...

"because he does and I don't...?" he murmured.

And then, he couldn't bear it anymore. When the young man left, Xiao descended, appearing right behind you, like a shadow the moon forgot to reveal.

You turned with a slight start at the sight of him.

He didn't say anything immediately. He just looked at you.

"I don't like that boy," he finally said, his voice low and direct.