#ive been seeing people call hc a stalker for 2 plus years

[unforth]

Since I constantly see this mixed up, let me make it clear.

Xie Lian has 0 (zero) stalkers in the "present" timeline of TGCF. A stalker is "a person who harasses or persecutes someone with unwanted and obsessive attention." No one is doing that to Xie Lian. The only person following him around some of the time (Hua Cheng) is someone Xie Lian clearly wants around.

Xie Lian has 1 (one) stalker in the "past" timeline. It's Bai Wuxiang. Hua Cheng is not and was never stalking him, he avoids him as a child and as a soldier he's always excited to be around his idol but always goes away when asked. He loves to help if he's able but he doesn't intrude. Meanwhile Bai Wuxiang is there making Xie Lian miserable and showing up to deliberately manipulate him. Only one of these people is a stalker and it ain't Hua Cheng.

Xie Lian has 2 (two) people obsessed with him.

Jun Wu is obsessed (derogatory).

Hua Cheng is obsessed (affectionate).

I'm so fucking tired of seeing even joking takes refer to Hua Cheng's behavior as stalking. Better never consume another fan/celebrity story again, then, because that's literally all Hua Cheng is. He's an obsessed fan, but he always respects Xie Lian’s boundaries, and deliberately doesn't push his feelings on Xie Lian. I swear to God folks have no idea what stalking actually IS and it drives me crazy.