Yes, he does defy Xie Lian. It’s one of the things that’s great about hualian (Xie Lian also defies Hua Cheng)…but it is a bit of an exaggeration to put it this way?
Lies to his face on multiple occasions:
After a pause, he added, “San Lang…might have lied to me about something, but I truly don’t think it’s anything that would harm me.”
I would use the word “deceive.” The novel also uses that word. Hua Cheng, for the most part, dodges the truth or he technically tells the truth but omits a lot. I’m not saying he doesn’t lie, but more often, he just doesn’t tell the truth—and those aren’t the same. He also doesn’t continue to lie after the truth comes out, and his lies, as Xie Lian says, are never intended to harm Xie Lian.
“Hua Cheng swiftly reached out and gave Xie Lian’s shoulder a gentle tap in return.”
“But just then, a silver, curved blade flicked Fangxin, hooked it, and pulled it aside.”
“Hua Cheng didn’t say a single word as he continued to block Xie Lian.”
He’s not really being offensive so much as he’s putting up a firm defense. These events also don’t take place in the revised story. Hua Cheng takes Xie Lian on a vacation for several days so that LQQ and QR can hash things out themselves.
Explicitly said he wanted time apart:
“And now that Mount Tonglu had reopened, Hua Cheng had more on his plate.”
“Xie Lian used “troubled times” as his excuse and said that they had better not see each other for the time being to focus on their respective duties. And with that, they very amiably bid each other farewell.”
Since they hadn’t seen each other for a long time, Xie Lian had missed him dearly—even though that “long time” was no more than a few days. Yet who would’ve thought Hua Cheng had been hiding right by his side all this time? Xie Lian’s mood brightened immediately, and all his previous concerns were completely forgotten.
They do part ways, but it’s not as though Xie Lian forbids Hua Cheng from coming to see him. They have other things to worry about, and Xie Lian doesn’t know how to keep his feelings a secret. He also feels bad for leaving Hua Cheng because it feels like he’s ditching a friend who needs him, and he’s very happy that Hua Cheng was by his side all along.
There’s a healthy push and pull between hualian. They ignore each other and omit the truth and bicker and disagree, but I do want to make sure it’s clear Hua Cheng isn’t a danger to Xie Lian, y’know?