When Rose's Thorns Attack my Sides (But my Eyes Stay Trained on You) (Xingyun)

Ch. 3

Xingqiu did, in fact, bump into Chongyun again.

While he was looking at books in Wanwen bookhouse, he could see a head of light blue hair on his way down the street over the railing.

His eyes light up and he leans over the railing, waving down to him excitedly.

"Hi Chongyun!"

Chongyun looks up and waves back to him, going up the stairs to see him.

"Good to see you again! I was just looking for some more books to read this week." Xingqiu hums, leaning up on his tiptoes to grab a book from a high shelf.

"There we go! This is the one I was looking for too!" He grins.

Chongyun follows him over as he pays for it and they head back down to the street, being wary of the heat and standing in the shade.

"Glad you're having a good day. I'm not..." Chongyun huffs and looks down at the ground dismally.

"How come? I think it's really nice today." Xingqiu looks up at the clear sky dotted with puffy clouds.

"For ordinary people, yeah. But for me, I'm worried that I'll overheat." Chongyun frowns.

"What happens when you overheat?"

Chongyun blushes hard and looks away, shaking his head. "You don't wanna know."

"But I do! And I'm your friend, aren't I Yun? If I don't know, then I can't help you if you end up overheating." Xingqiu points out.

"I barely know you."

"But we are friends, right?"

Chongyun looks at him mildly annoyed before nodding with pink cheeks. "Yes. We are."

"So you can tell me then!"

Chongyun groans quietly before starting to walk, Xingqiu quickly falling in step beside him with his book clutched to his chest, his new bookmark already in between its pages.

"I can loose control and black out, and I can do some pretty embarrassing things. I've made a fool of myself before and didn't even remember it after..." Chongyun explains.

"Oooh. So you'll start acting a lot differently if you overheat?"

"I...guess so. How do you know?"

"I dunno. I've heard people describe you as 'cold faced', but your personality is a lot different. You're very vibrant and passionate!"

"H-how? I always try to keep my emotions in check!" Chongyun sputters, turning pink.

"You do, but maybe you're just different around me." Xingqiu smirks. "That's proof enough that we have something special!"

Chongyun pulls his hood up and squints his eyes away from the light while they keep walking. "Proof that me and you are friends?"

Xingqiu shakes his head and pulls the corner of his hood just enough so he can see him. "Proof that I think you and me will be best friends!"

Best friends.

No one ever told him they wanted to be his best friend before. Sure, he was friends with Xiangling, but she wasn't his best friend like with Xinyan and Yun Jin.

Most kids his age thought he looked too 'serious' and didn't want to even approach him. But Xingqiu?

"...you'll be my best friend?" Chongyun asks him quietly.

"Of course! I don't have that many friends myself. Maybe you could even help me with my curse!" He says, growing excited.

Chongyun's face twisted in confusion as he raised an eyebrow and Xingqiu turns white as ghost.

"I-I wasn't supposed to tell you that. Forget I said anything." Xingqiu clears his throat, walking faster than him.

"Wait, that's not fair! I told you about what happens when I overheat! You should be able to tell me about this...curse!" Chongyun picks up his pace.

"Are you using my words against me?"

"I'm just making it fair. Aren't we supposed to be best friends, anyway?"

Xingqiu closes his eyes and stops, startling Chongyun to a halt.

"I...I've had this curse even since I was born. Somehow, my family lost touch with one of their friends, and as revenge, they cursed me to die since I was born around that time." Xingqiu explains.

"Wait, Qiu, you're dying?!" Chongyun looks at him fearfully. His friend - no, his best friend - was already dying? How? They were only 8 years old!

Chongyun grabs him by the shoulders and his eyes well with tears, and he quickly starts to lose control of himself and fall into an overly emotional state.

"N-no! You didn't let me finish! And you can't call me that, remember?"

"I'm sorry, I just...I don't want you to die!" He cries.

Xingqiu pats him on the side sympathetically and continues his story. "I'm not gonna die anytime soon Yun, don't worry. They were able to change the curse up a bit. It used to be, that when I turned 17, something is supposed to happen that will kill me. Now, it's just supposed to make me fall asleep."

Chongyun face washes over with intense relief, and he falls against his chest. "Thank goodness you're okay! You scared me!"

He pulls away and places a hand to his own chest, trying to calm down. "So how long do you sleep for? Do you wake up the next morning then?"

"That's...the next thing I was gonna say..." Xingqiu looks away uncomfortably. "Actually, I'm not gonna be able to wake up at all unless someone follows the cure."

"What's the cure? Maybe I can help you with it!"

"O-oh, I don't think you'd be able to. The cure isn't really a best friend thing..."

Chongyun looks at him expectantly. "What is it then? What's the cure?"

"I, well..."

Chongyun steps closer, his patience slipping as well as his grip on his emotions. "What is it?"

Xingqiu throws his hands in front of him in defense, his face getting hot. "It's true love's kiss, okay?!"

Chongyun just blinks at him and backs off, looking at him oddly. "How are you supposed to know who your true love is?"

"That's the thing, I don't know. I'm hoping that around that time though, maybe I'll be in love with someone and they'll be able to break it. Or, better yet-"

He grins at him. "You can help me when the day comes!"

Chongyun nods and smiles back. "Don't worry Xingqiu, I'll protect you!"

Xingqiu holds his pinky out to him and looks at him sternly. "Do you promise?"

Chongyun locks his pinky around Xingqiu's and shakes on it. "I promise."

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Written: May 23rd, 2023

Finished/Published: July 11th, 2023

(Word Count: 1,069)