~ 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙢'𝙨 𝙎𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙 ~ Xiao x Reader

5. ᴡᴀʀᴍɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ -- ʜᴏᴡ ɪᴛ ᴀʟʟ ʙᴇɢɪɴs

~ YOUR POV ~
'Other than almond tofu, what else does Xiao like?' I thought to myself. Come to think of it, I really don't know Xiao all that well. A month already passed yet he's still is reserved as ever.

Alright then! Mission 2: "Make Xiao Warm Up to Me". Surely it shouldn't be that hard if I really try, right?

Wrong. He's deliberately ignoring me. It's been about one week and he won't come to me unless I have almond tofu or something related to the blossom's sword. I sighed and rubbed my head in frustration.

I would ask his friends on what his interests are, but I remembered that he doesn't have any. Is he ignoring me because I asked what his intentions were with the blossom's sword?

"Why is this all so frustrating!!!" I yelled, not caring about my surroundings. People gave me weird looks. "Sorry, pardon me," I said as I shrunk away in embarrassment. I slapped a hand across my face. Great! You just embarrassed yourself in front of the people of Wangshu Inn, this day couldn't get any worse, can it?

I was wrong, again. I went to the river to bring back some water to the Wangshu Inn, but I ended up getting splashed by some stupid large fish, ruining my hair and wetting my clothes, not to mention I had nothing to dry myself with, so I caught a cold. After that, I decided to gather some more information on the blossom's sword, but a storm came in, so I couldn't go out, I almost got struck by lightning!

That's how I got stuck in bed with a stupid cold. Jolly gee, luck is not on my side today. I decided to take a quick nap after a terrible day, this all sucks.

~ XIAO'S POV ~

That mortal has been calling my name non stop. It's been a week, she must of already given up her antics, seeing how she didn't appear in the Inn for a few days. Leaving one question to mind, where is she?

It's none of my concern, she'll come rushing back anyway. At first I thought she found another partner to journey with, but Ver Goldlet told me she caught a cold, that foolish idiot.

At least she isn't dead, I think. Mortals, so fragile.

2nd POV

You felt a lot better after a few days, so you decided to see Xiao again! With new energy, you went to the balcony of Wangshu Inn with almond tofu in your hands and called his name. "Oh Xiao!!! Xiao I'm bac-" you were interrupted by the sound of his voice. "You called?" He said as he appeared behind you.

"W-wow! You appeared a lot faster than usual, missed me?" You teased. Xiao could only shake his head. "You're so foolish catching a cold like that so carelessly, if you can't avoid a small cold like that, good luck surviving on your journey." "No need to be so harsh about it!" "I only state the truth."

You sighed knowing that arguing with Xiao wasn't going to get you anywhere. "Well, luck is on my side today, before I got to Wangshu Inn, I somehow managed to find some more information on the blossom's sword!" You grabbed the gem from your pocket as it starts shining. The light points towards the jade chamber floating in the sky.

"I believe that it's pointing to the next location of another gemstone! It happened to start shining when I walked right underneath the jade chamber while holding the gem in my hands!" You explained. You kept rambling on about the gem, but one word seemed to catch Xiao's eye. "Curse."

Now that you mention it, ever since you brought the gem back to Liyue, the curse in Liyue has been getting stronger, is it a coincidence that the witch got stronger the same time you brought the gem back? It could possibly be because the witch is in Liyue, and now that the gem was brought back, it increased her power. Right? Another possibility that the gem contains the power of the witch, so if an additional energy boost has been added to Liyue, it increases the strength of the curse, it has to be one of those two, if not-

"Xiao? Xiao!? Are you listening?" You interrupted his thoughts with the sound of your voice. "Sorry, go on," he said as his attention was back on you. "So I was asking you about any ideas on how we can get up there, without teleporting, I wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea." You asked.

"Ganyu, she knows how, ask her." Xiao replied. "Alright! Where is Ganyu?" "I...do not know..." "Oh c'mon! Let's ask around then." "I do not like speaking nor large crowds." "Then I'll do all the talking and I'll make sure to keep you away from crowds as much as possible!" You reassured as you grabbed his hand and dragged him around Liyue while asking questions to the people.

"Have you seen Ganyu?"

"Sir, do you know anyone by the name of Ganyu?"

"Do you know where I can find Ganyu?"

So far, after all those questions, you gained absolutely nothing. Just then, you heard a voice. "Of course, it's no problem, happy to help," a woman said as she started walking away. It was Ganyu!

"Oh! (Y/N)! Oh, Conqueror of Demons? It's unusual to see you here, is it something important?" Ganyu asked. You nodded. "He told me you know a way to get to the jade chamber, can you tell me how?" Ganyu gave you a strange look. "I can, but why?" She questioned.

"You know how I told you I was studying for the blossom's sword and we found that red gem?" Ganyu nodded her head. "Well the light of the gem pointed to the jade chamber, which most likely means that another gemstone is there, I promise it'll be quick and I'll exit out the jade chamber immediately!"

Ganyu thought about it for a bit, then agreed. "I'm sure Ningguang would be happy to see someone as interesting as you, she might also be interested in the blossom's sword you're talking about," Ganyu said. You thanked Ganyu as she led you to the place where you can fly to the jade chamber.

"I'll come with you guys to explain the situation to Ningguang," Ganyu offered. However, Xiao was already there when you guys flew up, him and his stupid teleportation. "Cheater!" "It's better to work smarter, not harder," he stated. "Yeah but-!" "Lady Ningguang!" Ganyu cut you off as she approached the tall lady wearing a gold and white dress.

"Hello Ganyu, what brings you here with this young woman and...an adeptus?" Ningguang asked confused. Xiao pulled you away from the two as they started talk.

"Hey! What was that for!" Xiao only scoffed. "I do not like being the center of attention, the word 'adeptus' already attracts the eye of a lot of people," he explained. "Ohhhhh, that makes sense, I'll just scare them off!" "That's a terrible idea. I doubt you can scare them off anyway." "Is it because I look too innocent!?" "That's exactly why."

You pinched his cheeks and squished them around. "Well I don't think you can be talking with that baby face of yours!" "Mortals have no respect for boundaries, take your hands off me," Xiao said as he was about to smack your hands off. "(Y/N)! Xiao! Lady Ningguang would like to have a word with you both." Ganyu interrupted.

She sees your hands on Xiao's face and immediately gets the wrong idea. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to interu-" you cut her off. "NONONONO! You got the wrong idea!" You quickly take your hands off Xiao's face and started to walk towards Ganyu.

Xiao followed behind quietly. "So, you and Xiao are close huh?" Ganyu asked. "Close? I wouldn't exactly say that, I consider him a friend though, but it's probably one-sided, heh." You answered. "I'm sure Xiao cares about you, even though he might not show it, that's just how he is."

"Really!? I knew he'd warm up to me sooner or later!" You say with a smile on your face. "I didn't..." Xiao muttered under his breath.

You arrive in front of Ningguang who was waiting for you. "It's nice to meet you, (Y/N), I am Ningguang, now tell me more about this blossom's sword."

...

To be continued...