#palefrost

    𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐉𝐎𝐊𝐄! but in a way, xue yang shouldn’t be surprised. xingchen had always been just a little bit dense  ( just look at how he and song lan were! DENSEST COUPLE, the both of them! ).  xue yang smiles to himself as he watches xingchen fumble, his mental state very much 𝑫𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑼𝑹𝑩𝑬𝑫 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑶𝑻𝑰𝑪 now.

    watching the cup overflow, xue yang just moves slightly so that the tea doesn’t drip on him, chuckling to himself as he watches xingchen scramble for a towel. when he returns, xue yang purposefully KNOCKS OVER THE TEACUP, spilling the rest of its contents.

    ❛    oh no, xiansheng—𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐏 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐃. you must’ve hit it with your sleeve,  ❜     he exclaims, his voice full of worry but his eyes full of mirth.

    xue yang lets xingchen clean up the table, silently reaching for the teapot as HE SPLASHES A BIT OF HOT TEA onto xingchen’s bare hand.

From left to right:

Stagstar x Palefrost

Stagstar x Mocha

Stagstar x Perching Crow

‘ probably best you didn’t say anything to them . ’ for xy!

    𝐏𝐀𝐇! who is he supposed to be? his mother? xue yang almost raises his foot to kick the stall over, glares hard at the spoiled tomatoes and rotting fruit. no negotiations, no haggling--WHAT A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT!!

    but to cause a scene... xue yang didn’t want to cause any trouble for xingchen, not when he so kindly walked by, tugging at xue yang’s sleeve to silently ask him to follow. this kind of stall with THIS KIND OF PERSON, a low-life haggler and cheapskate who couldn’t spare a penny for his disgusting produce, 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐌 𝐎𝐅 𝐗𝐔𝐄 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐆'𝐒 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐄. 

    he follows closely to xingchen, staring at his face, judging to see if he was truly angry or annoyed at what had just happened, but there were no lines and no wrinkles. without his eyes, it was even harder to guess his emotions.

               JIANG YANLI BOWS IN RETURN, memory tightening its hold around her throat. now, she is no hero herself, but she has seen enough of them. the man before her has the makings of one, from his easy demeanor down to the IMMORTAL’s mountain where he was raised. yet she cannot help but think of---

               NOT SO LONG AGO, a boy tried to get justice for the people he loved, and got nothing but ash. she has been to the burial mounds once after their destruction, and seen the ruins there. she imagines it is not something xiao xingchen should have to hear. 

               ❛ IT’S A RATHER CRUEL WORLD you’re going up against, ❜ is what she finally settles for. ❛ but i believe you’ll succeed, because else those awful crimes will go unpunished, and i cannot be at peace with such a world. ❜ a beat of silence. ❛ but you are not ALONE, are you ? surely someone else in the world must see things the way you do. ❜