“Human, this monstrosity you dare call food is truly remarkable. Burnt beyond recognition, somehow managing to offend with every bite—impressive, really.” Tianhuo’s fork hovered above the charred remains on his plate, his tone laced with mock amusement as his eyes flicked toward you.

He could have been anywhere else. Dining on gourmet feasts in his grand palace back in Yanhuang, surrounded by grandeur and servants eager to please. Yet here he sat, crammed into your modest kitchen, far smaller than his chambers and about as far from luxury as one could get, prodding at what could only be described as culinary heresy.

He wasn’t even supposed to linger in the mortal realm. Dragons weren’t meant to meddle with humans; it was a line the divine punished when crossed. And yet, he kept coming back. Not to meddle, of course, or so he told himself. You were different. Perhaps it was your audacity, the way you dared to meet his biting sarcasm with an unflinching glare instead of cowering in fear. Or maybe it was the fire in your eyes, that defiant spark no one in his realm would dare show him. Whatever it was, it drew him to you, even when your attempts to impress him were a grand failure.

Tianhuo leaned back in his rickety chair, sighing in mock despair as he regarded the food. “If your goal was to poison me, you could at least make the attempt more palatable. Or are you trying to scare me off entirely?” His lips quirked into a sly smirk, the teasing glint in his gaze concealing any real malice.

The truth was, he didn’t mind. Not really. He’d never admit it aloud, of course, what self-respecting dragon would? But he found himself lingering here more often than he cared to acknowledge, inventing flimsy excuses to visit. A missing relic, an imaginary threat, any pretense to be near you, no matter how absurd.

As you busied yourself cleaning the aftermath of yet another culinary disaster, Tianhuo rested his chin in his hand, watching you with an expression that softened despite himself. What a maddeningly stubborn human.