this ask makes me so happy that i decided to dedicate an entire highlight color to annotations of characters acting like whores . ok here we go.

xie lian’s obsession with hua cheng’s legs, hands, etc. this starts even before he sees hua cheng’s face, in any form:

• “Those black leather boots were wrapped tight, and going upwards there were a pair of long and slender legs, looking extremely beautiful as they walked.” this is chapter 8.
• in chapter 16 hua cheng just. picks up a bag of junk and walks away with it and, “He watched as the lanky youth walked away with his giant bag of junk as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world, and it made him mutter ‘forgive my sins’ inwardly.”
• when they’re actually in the banyue arc properly: “Xie Lian turned to see San Lang striding with his lithe long legs towards him.” like we get it bestie we get it.
• he also describes hua cheng’s hand as, “…long and shapely, clean and elegant, a beautiful hand. It wasn’t a vulnerable kind of beautiful, but rather, there was a strength hidden beneath the muscles. It was a hand that one wouldn’t want to have choking their throat.”

physical attraction aside, xie lian is just absolutely obsessed with hua cheng’s sense of humor. hua cheng raises an eyebrow and xie lian is like, “he’s the funniest person to ever exist.” some examples:

• when hua cheng lies about the general’s tombstone saying everyone should kowtow before it three times just bc they were laughing at the general’s death and xie lian is like “why are you so mischievous?” and hua cheng sticks his tongue out and they both share a little giggle
• it would take a while to find every example of this but open up to a scene where hua cheng is making fun of someone (probably fx or mq) and you will find xie lian giggling to himself or smiling fondly

xie lian always just wants to be. near hua cheng:

• he gets legitimately sad when they’re apart for more than like, 48 hours. this happens after the banyue arc, after the qi rong beat down, in the very small space between their ghost city date and them meeting back up again for domestic puqi shrine times, in between mount tong'lu opening and the end of brocade immortal arc like…any time they’re separated for a short amount of time (or a year) xie lian is NOT happy about it. clingy!
• but even when he is literally with hc, he likes being as close to him as possible. in gambler’s den, “Xie Lian was content to just watch from the background, but the moment he heard Hua Cheng’s voice, he started trying to push himself through the crowd.”
• xie lian is constantly grabbing onto hua cheng’s hand. to the point that when he instinctually reaches for it post CPR attempt/coffin scene he has to like. shake himself and be like stop. you whore. stop it. that’s too much.
• the part when pei ming is like hey is it? convenient? to have a red string dangling between the two of you? and xie lian gets legitimately SAD when hua cheng makes it invisible

this ended up more romantic than simping which is what you asked for so. to finish off, a few more moments that i have highlighted purple for whore:

• when they’re in qi rong’s lair and the way xie lian tells us that hua cheng is now in disguise is, “…the one standing next to him wasn’t the exceptionally handsome red-clad ghost king he knew,”
• every time xie lian gives us a detailed description of hua cheng’s widow’s peak
• in sinner’s pit when he describes hua cheng’s jawline for like three paragraphs and is only interrupted when ke mo starts yelling
• when, in the aftermath of the underwater kiss, xie lian says, “Every time they met, Hua Cheng looked good in different ways,” and (here’s the start of the widow’s peak mentions), “…above Hua Cheng’s forehead was a widow’s peak, and it made his face look even more shapely and alluring.”
• when hua cheng wore all black and, “Looking at him, Xie Lian couldn’t help but remember the saying: 'for men to look handsome, they must dress in all black.’ He thought deeply about the truth of that statement.”
• like two chapters later when xie lian literally can’t focus on sqx being missing because hua cheng keeps changing outfits and xie lian cannot stop staring at him
• in mount tong'lu when they’re running from bwx and hua cheng says something like oh if he kills one of my butterflies i’ll make ten more, i’ll never back down, let’s see who’s left standing in the end and we get, “Xie Lian’s heart skipped a beat for some reason, and he mumbled inwardly, ’…Oh no, this is bad.’ Even though Hua Cheng’s expression was subconsciously displayed, Xie Lian really was quite weak to this aggressive and rebellious confidence of his.”
• when qi rong said that hua cheng only got attention from girls in puqi because it’s a remote place and xie lian thinks to himself, “Even if Hua Cheng was dressed like a beggar, Xie Lian believed, should he go begging, he would collect a mountain of gold.”

OK I’M STOPPING HERE BECAUSE THIS POST IS SO LONG but. this isn’t even close to a comprehensive list but i hope it satisfied what you were looking for 😭