You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.
对我而言,你只是一个小男孩,
Duì wǒ ér yán, nǐ zhǐshì yīgè xiǎo nánhái,
To me, you are still nothing more than a little boy
和其他成千上万的小男孩没有什么不同。
hé qítā chéng qiān shàng wàn de xiǎo nánhái méiyǒu shé me bùtóng.
who is just like a hundred thousand other little boys.
我不需要你。And I have no need of you.
Wǒ bù xūyào nǐ.
你也不需要我。And you, on your part, have no need of me.
Nǐ yě bù xūyào wǒ.
对你而言,我也和其它成千上万的狐狸并没有差别。
Duì nǐ ér yán, wǒ yě hé qítā chéng qiān shàng wàn de húlí bìng méiyǒu chābié.
To you, I am nothing more than a fox like a hundred thousand other foxes.
但是,假如你驯服了我,我们就彼此需要了。
Dànshì, jiǎrú nǐ xùnfúle wǒ, wǒmen jiù bǐcǐ xūyàole.
But if you tame me, then we shall need each other.
对我而言,你就是举世无双的;对你而言,我也是独一无二的。
Duì wǒ ér yán, nǐ jiùshì jǔshì wúshuāng de; duì nǐ ér yán, wǒ yěshì dúyīwú'èr de.
To me, you will be unique in all the world; to you, I shall be unique in all the world.
a headcanon: the reason why the lantern festival is the one & only festivity xiao ever partakes in is that he gets to write down the wishes and desires that he was forced to consume, onto lanterns that would be released into the sky for them to come true.
additionally, xiao is good at calligraphy and he makes sure that every wish is written nicely with meticulous care because he thinks it’s what his victims deserve after all that he’s done.