Through The Lenses of Time ♡ Liu Xiao x Reader | Link Clink

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The city lights flickered on one by one, painting the skyline in a soft glow. Liu Xiao hadn’t let go of your hand.

For a moment, you just stood there, breathing in the quiet between you. There was something different about tonight—not like the arcade, where everything had been playful and light. This felt… heavier. More deliberate.

“You’ve never brought anyone else here, have you?” you asked, half knowing the answer.

He was quiet for a beat. Then, without looking at you, he said, “No.”

Your heart ached at the weight of that one word.

Liu Xiao wasn’t careless with his time, with his space, with his emotions. If he let you in, it meant something.

You tightened your grip on his fingers. “Why me?”

His shoulders tensed slightly, as if the question caught him off guard. But when he finally turned to face you, there was no hesitation in his eyes.

“Because you see me,” he murmured.

Your breath caught.

His gaze dropped to your joined hands, his thumb brushing against your skin. “People look at me and see what they want to see. A name. A connection. A mystery.” He exhaled, as if pushing out a weight he had carried for too long. “You don’t do that.”

You swallowed, your chest tightening.

Liu Xiao wasn’t someone who needed saving—he never asked for help. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to be understood.

And right now, he was telling you, in the only way he knew how, that you understood him better than anyone else.

You squeezed his hand. “You do the same for me, you know.”

He looked at you then, really looked at you. His expression unreadable, yet somehow more open than you’d ever seen it.

Then, slowly, he lifted a hand to your face, fingertips grazing your cheek. It was so light, so careful, as if he wasn’t sure he was allowed to touch something fragile.

You leaned into his palm, letting your eyes flutter shut.

For a moment, nothing else mattered.

And then—

A sharp vibration broke the silence.

Liu Xiao’s phone.

You felt him tense instantly.

His hand dropped from your face, and when you opened your eyes, you saw it—the shift. The quiet softness replaced by something colder, more distant.

He pulled out his phone, glancing at the screen. His jaw tightened.

“Is it—?” you started, but he was already turning away, pressing the call to his ear.

“…What is it?” His voice had lost its warmth.

You didn’t know who was on the other end, but you knew it wasn’t good.

Liu Xiao didn’t say much—just a few curt responses. But his posture, the way his fingers curled into a fist at his side, told you enough.

Something was wrong.

When he finally ended the call, he stood there for a second, staring down at his phone like he could will it to disappear.

Then, he turned back to you.

“I have to go.”

Your stomach twisted.

“Liu Xiao…”

He hesitated, like there was something he wanted to say. But then, he just shook his head, stepping back.

“This was…” His voice was quieter now, like he was slipping back behind his walls. “…I’ll call you.”

And then, before you could say anything else, he was gone.

Leaving you alone on the rooftop, the city lights blinking around you.