𝒜𝒻𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓉𝓎 | Xiao x Reader

...𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝

Eventually, Xiao finally brought himself to get over his concerns and doubts and just opened the book to check the dedication note on the first page that Zhongli had mentioned. At least if it was dedicated to someone else, he would be able to rethink whether he should continue looking for you.

After all, maybe you deserved to be with someone else now; with someone better, who wouldn't let you die again. Maybe it would be better for you if, this time, the two of you never reunited.

The second his eyes scanned over the page though, all of his prior doubts melted away.

'Dedicated to the one who's left traces on my heart every time we meet,' it read, 'love, Qing Xin.'

He could feel his heartbeat quicken at the words, rereading the message over a couple more times in his head. He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but the way the author addressed whoever they'd dedicated this book to sounded just like how you might have addressed him. That, paired with what Zhongli had already said about you possibly having come back to life to write these books, urged him to continue reading on.

Even though he knew the story would be just like your life again, he still skimmed through the pages that followed, and sure enough, it matched up with everything he'd already experienced with you.

His heart warmed as he read through it all again, vividly remembering the day you two had helped the happy couple get together. They'd gone on to get married and later have a daughter, but the family's story hadn't ended very happily, and he frowned as he recalled the lavender haired little girl that currently worked in the Bubu Pharmacy. You'd never found out what happened to her or her parents, and he wasn't sure he wanted you to.

He knew you'd feel beyond guilty for not being able to prevent it.

Sighing, he was about to close the book now when something else caught his eye; an announcement at the very end.

None of the other books had had something like that, aside from the one with the extra notes about Wangshu Inn, but this somehow seemed different. Rather than just providing context, this one had information on the next book, which he'd yet to see in any of the previous ones.

'Dear readers,' it read, 'The next and final instalment of this series, "The Painter," will release soon, and then it will be concluded. Thank you for following this series, and I hope you all pick up the final book on..."

Xiao didn't finish reading the note, instead moving his eyes to the bottom of the page, where a date had been printed. It was most likely the release date for the final book, he realized, and then his eyes widened when it occurred to him that that was in just a few days.

As painful as reading these books had become, and as much as he would hate to relive your final life all over again, he knew he needed to get it. Like Zhongli had suggested, it was likely that you at least had something do with the author of the series, whether you were its author or not. Looking at the most up-to-date copy might help him finally find you, and so he immediately got to work clearing his schedule for the day it would come out.

..........

The day the final book came out, Xiao arrived at the Wanwen Bookhouse the second it opened for business. He'd already taken care of any potential threats to Liyue, and assumed no one else would be awake to visit at that hour, leaving him to easily be able to purchase a copy of the final book.

Unfortunately, it seemed everyone else in Liyue had had the same idea, and his heart sank when he saw the long line that snaked its way across the bridges and down the stairs all the way to the streets below.