Wanderlust: Genshin Impact One-Shots

Bibliophile: Xingqiu x Reader

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ʙɪʙʟɪᴏᴘʜɪʟᴇ (ɴ.) A ʟᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴏғ ʙᴏᴏᴋs
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A request from Snowie_bunn that I accidentally forgot about and now feel terrible because of how long it took me to get around to writing this. So sorry!!

In which Xingqiu and someone who could quite possibly be the love of his life obsess over literature and live out their own story-book romance.

"Xingqiu, I'm telling you. Historical non-fiction is boring, and there's no two ways about it," you insisted.

"That's where you're wrong, dear Y/N. Historical non-fiction can be the most fascinating out of any stories. It's how we learn from the past so we are not doomed to make the same mistakes."

You made a face. "That doesn't change the fact that they bore me to tears."

Xingqiu laughed, the sun glinting off of his perfectly white teeth. "Then you haven't been reading the right ones, my liege."

The two of you had decided to spend the day at Guyun Stone Forest, and while it had taken much of the day to sail there, it had been completely worth it. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and it was just warm enough to be pleasant. It was one of those crystal-clear days that made your heart sing. Your mind felt infinitely clearer than before.

"I sincerely doubt the fact that there is one interesting history book out there. Besides, romances are better in every possible way." You swung your arms lazily by your sides as the two of you strolled down the beach. Xingqiu was right at your elbow, hands clasped behind his back. You liked the way his hair fell over his eyes whenever he tilted his head forward to look at the ground.

"Ah, I seem to remember you telling me," he remarked. "Why is that?"

"Because storybook romances are way better than real-life romances. Do you know why?"

He smiled slightly. "Do tell."

"Romances in books are everything that real-life love lacks. Why do you think they're written? I mean, the reason most books are written in the first place is that someone wanted to create an ideal of what already exists. It's like putting a shiny coating on something drab, dressing it up to make it look the way you wished it had originally."

"Well, that's a very interesting perception indeed. Though I wonder...do you really think love in real life is so drab?" He squinted teasingly at you.

You quickly looked away, hiding the fact that your face burned in embarrassment. Leave it to Xingqiu to tease you about something like that. It hadn't really been much of a secret that you'd admired Xingqiu for about as long as you'd known him--three years to be exact. But it had always been something the two of you had silently agreed to never speak of outright, and at times you wondered if Xingqiu actually knew or if it was your own paranoia that made you think that way.

"You are a hopeless romantic," Xingqiu sighed.

"As if you aren't either."

He gave you a sideways glance that you desperately wanted to counter, but you chose to ignore it at the risk of flustering yourself.
Perhaps it was the fact that both of you loved reading that simply made you get along so well. But you, being as Xingqiu said 'a hopeless romantic,' liked to think otherwise. Maybe it was the red string of fate from one love story, or some happy star crossed chance from another. After all, the first time you'd met had been storybook-perfect.