MXTX really put a lot of emphasis on the question of why Xue Yang stayed in Yi City for three years, didn't she.
It's what Song Lan wants to find out when he confronts Xue Yang and what keeps him from immediately going for the kill. (Xue Yang says that he was luring Xiao Xingchen into killing innocent people, which we know (because it is mentioned twice) he stopped doing "a long time ago".)
Xiao Xingchen is unable to make sense of it, even once A-Qing has convinced him that their housemate really is Xue Yang. He can't come up with a reason why Xue Yang wouldn't have killed him immediately, and it's why he needs to confront Xue Yang directly. (Xue Yang doesn't answer clearly, suggesting that he was simply bored.)
Wei Wuxian wonders about a similar thing - why does Xue Yang want to heal Xiao Xingchen's soul and bring him back? And he has an answer, which he proves when he tries to needle Xue Yang into giving away his position in his fight against Lan Wangji. Xue Yang says that he wants to make Xiao Xingchen into a fierce corpse he can control, but Wei Wuxian points out the flaw in the logic: Why kill Chang Ping, then? It can't be because he's part of the Chang clan, not when Xue Yang waited years to kill him and did it in such a specific way, with Shuanghua, and dug out his eyes in the process. Wei Wuxian all but directly says that Xue Yang was taking revenge in Xiao Xingchen's stead.
The rest (the answer to Song Lan, Xiao Xingchen and Wei Wuxian's initial question) is implied, but it's the elephant in the room. Wei Wuxian, through A-Qing's eyes, saw Xue Yang grieve Xiao Xingchen after his suicide, which presumably led him to the conclusion he then taunts Xue Yang with. Xue Yang's own explanations for his behaviour are all patently unsatisfying. There's a direct parallel between the piece of candy A-Qing cannot bring herself to eat because it's the last thing she has left of Xiao Xingchen, and the rotten piece of candy Xue Yang is still clutching in his hand years later.
MXTX is a very careful writer who puts a lot of meaning and subtext into the words she uses and when she uses them. If she brings something up several times, that's significant. I'd argue that "Why did Xue Yang stay in Yi City for so long?" and "Why does Xue Yang want to heal Xiao Xingchen's soul?" are two of the key mysteries of the Yi City arc, and Wei Wuxian pretty much provides an explicit answer by ruling out all other possibilities. The fact that Xue Yang came to care about Xiao Xingchen (and presumably A-Qing, on some level!) is text, and it's important.
This isn't to say "Xuexiao canon" - it's not. It's not canon that Xue Yang is in love with Xiao Xingchen (though it may of course be read that way). But it is text, or at least very heavily implied, that he cares about him.
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