Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The party is too loud even for Wei Ying’s standards.

The hotel Huaisang rented for the occasion is huge, the decoration green and purple and wild, and he can already see that some people aren’t going to know how to pace themselves with the open bar. The party just started two hours ago, and there are already people on the dance floor cheering a bit too loud.

Whoever said teachers can’t party was severely lying to themselves. Granted, this is a party for the postgraduates in their university, students doing their masters and their PhDs, but most of the people here are also currently professors. Wei Ying looks around at the people grinding on the dance floor and wonders how many of them actually have to get up early on Monday to teach something like geography in elementary school.

Wei Ying laughs to himself, twirling an entire bottle of wine in his hand. The perks of being friends with the host is that he doesn’t have to get his drink in small doses. He just asked Huaisang for a bottle, and Huaisang told the bartender to give it to him.

“Hey!” a voice louder than the music around yells in his ear. “You good?”

Wei Ying looks to the side and meets Wen Qing’s eyes. She’s standing there with her own bottle of wine – rosé, because she thinks she’s classier than him – and Mian Mian hugging her waist from behind. Their faces are already a bit flushed from drinking.

“I think I’m too old for this!” he yells back, half joking and half serious. He had more than his share of parties when he was in college. Now that he’s 28, he kinda just wants to go back home and finish that damned diamond painting Jiang Cheng gave him as a joke.

“Everyone here is too old for this!” Mian Mian smiles at him. “Doesn’t mean you have to sulk by the bar.”

Wei Ying shrugs and drinks a sip of his wine. Maybe he’s just being grumpy.

“Huaisang dragged you out so you could have fun,” Wen Qing says in an accusatory tone. “You’ve been too focused on work.”

“I know!” he says. “And I am having fun. I’m drinking.”

He lifts up the bottle again, and they both roll their eyes. 

“We’re gonna go find somewhere quiet,” Wen Qing says. “See you later!”

She takes Mian Mian by the hand, and they disappear into one of the many doorways this hotel apparently has. Wei Ying knows very well what ‘find somewhere quiet’ means, so he leaves them to it.

He walks around a little, saying hi to the people he knows and ignoring the people who look a little too drunk and will surely be embarrassed about it tomorrow. It’s the beginning of a new semester, and Huaisang always likes throwing parties to get everyone acquainted in the most embarrassing way possible. He loves the gossip it generates, and Wei Ying doesn’t want to be part of that gossip this year.

From the other side of the room, Huaisang waves at him, and he waves back. The guy in front of Huaisang looks around to see who he’s talking to and waves at Wei Ying too. Wei Ying recognizes him as the man Huaisang’s currently hooking up with, but when he tries to come up with a name, there’s nothing.

He tries to learn the names of Huaisang’s flings, he really does. He wants to make sure Huaisang knows that the fact that Wei Ying is straight doesn’t mean they can’t still share secrets about the people they’re dating with each other. If anything, Wei Ying finds it super fun to hear about, and way more entertaining than trying to talk to straight men about girls ever was.

But Huaisang just dates so many people. Which is fine – go Huaisang – but Wei Ying can’t possibly be expected to remember all their names.

“Where’s Wen Qing?” Huaisang mouths, but Wei Ying only shrugs. Huaisang rolls his eyes, and turns back to his date.

Wei Ying takes another look around and starts walking through the property. The main venue is crowded with people everywhere, but the adjacent rooms are a bit more quiet. Wei Ying still can’t believe Huaisang rented the whole place for this.

He wanted nothing more than to stay home and either work on his project or do something quiet, but after knowing how much money was in it – still not that much for Huaisang, the guy is filthy rich, but a lot for him – Wei Ying had to come. Especially knowing how much these gatherings mattered to his best friend.

There’s a couch in one of the corners of the adjacent room he's walked in, near what seems to be an honest to god ice sculpture. Wei Ying can see two men sitting on it, and something about them seems wrong right away.

He recognizes the first one immediately. It’s Lan Zhan, the quiet guy who’s always correcting papers at the university park and hogging the best places to sit before Wei Ying can get there. They used to see each other more when they were getting their bachelor’s – Wei Ying remembers having a few classes with him – but now that they’re both doing their PhD in very different areas, none of their schedules clash.

The other guy – and Wei Ying has to do a double take to make sure he didn’t see it wrong – is Su She.

The instinct to turn around and leave is strong, but the intrigue he feels speaks louder.

Wei Ying doesn't really know Lan Zhan. The most words they’ve exchanged have been during the classes they had together, years ago, and even then most of them had been during class discussions where their opinion either lined up perfectly or completely differed. He knows Lan Zhan teaches Literature at a High School nearby, but that’s about it.

Still, he would never imagine Lan Zhan to be the type of guy to hang out with Su She. The guy’s an asshole. He's rude to staff, he’s a snob, and half the University knows he only got his master's by hiring someone else to write his entire thesis.

Wei Ying takes a step closer, trying to understand what’s going on. Lan Zhan has his arms crossed over his chest, one hand clutched around a bottle of soda, and he’s leaning as far away from Su She as he can. As Wei Ying watches, he realizes Lan Zhan's entire body language is saying no.

Su She doesn’t seem to be getting the hint though, crowding all over Lan Zhan’s space. Wei Ying comes a little closer.

“If you don’t leave, you’ll be wearing a cast tomorrow,” Lan Zhan’s voice somehow reaches Wei Ying’s ears, low and intimidating.

“Ah, but I'm just trying to have a conversation,” Su She says. “You always look so angry, I bet no one was ever good for you–”

Lan Zhan suddenly gets up from the couch and starts walking away. Su She follows right behind.

“Wait, that was a joke!” he says. “Laugh a little, won’t you? You always have such a huge stick up your ass!”

Lan Zhan suddenly stops walking, his free hand curling into a fist, and Wei Ying holds his breath. Lan Zhan’s whole stance changes, eyes narrowing, and for a second it almost looks like he’s gonna break the bottle he’s holding with his bare hands.

Su She doesn’t see it. He comes closer, and puts a hand on Lan Zhan’s shoulder, urging him to turn around.

“Come on, stop being so freaking uptight all the time…”

Wei Ying sees it all unfolding in front of his eyes, as clear as day. Lan Zhan’s body tensing. The way he starts to turn. And suddenly, he knows Lan Zhan is about to beat the shit out of that man in front of the entire party.

He acts on instinct.

In two seconds, Wei Ying is right in front of Su She’s body, getting between him and Lan Zhan. He pretends to stumble on his own feet and bumps hard against Su She, making sure to trip him up a little.

“Oh–” Wei Ying reaches forward as Su She loses balance, pretending to try to hold him. He grabs a hold of Su She’s arm with one hand and immediately lets it go.

The guy lands on his ass, still trying to reach up for him. 

“Fuck! Sorry!” Wei Ying bends down, and then proceeds to dump half the content of his bottle of wine on him. “Aah!! I’m so sorry! Fuck!”

"What the hell?!" Su She stands up as fast as he can. He looks down at his pants with almost comically wide eyes. "You stupid fucking–"

"Are you okay?" Wei Ying starts slapping Su She's legs with exaggerated force, spreading the wine further under the pretense of trying to clean it. "Fuck, this is gonna stain! You have to go wash it right now!"

"Stop! Get your hands off me!" Su She pushes him away. "Who the fuck are you?"

By his side, Lan Zhan has gone completely still. Wei Ying ignores him for now, focusing on getting Su She out of here. There’s a door by his right that looks like a bathroom. Perfect.

"You seriously need to go right now," Wei Ying turns Su She's body and starts pushing him towards the door. "Quickly. If you wash it immediately with dish soap and then let it marinate soaked in white wine, you might save it."

"What?!"

"It's my granny's recipe! But you have to do it right now or it won't work, run, don't walk, come on…"

Wei Ying keeps pushing him and talking, not leaving any room for him to reply. Su She resists a little, trying to sink his feet to the ground, but Wei Ying is stronger than him, and keeps pushing until they’re at the door.

“Good luck! I hope it doesn’t stain!” he says, and then he opens the bathroom door, and pushes Su She inside before closing it back.

When he turns back around, Lan Zhan is still standing right where he was, staring at him with something that seems like shock in his eyes. Wei Ying runs back to him and opens a huge grin.

"That was a close call, huh?" he says.

Lan Zhan blinks a few times, staring at the bottle on his hand and at the drops of wine he left on the floor.

“Thankfully most of it went to Su She’s pants,” Wei Ying says. “I have a really good aim.”

"You did that on purpose?" Lan Zhan asks.

Wei Ying opens his lips to reply, but the sound of the bathroom door opening again slams behind them.

"Hey!" Su She says, walking back inside. "Come back here! You need to pay for this!"

Wei Ying feels a rush of adrenaline coursing through his body. In a fit of mischief, without thinking, he reaches for Lan Zhan's hand.

"Run," he whispers, and then he pulls Lan Zhan along.

His heart races as they run through the hotel, dodging the crowd of people in between. Lan Zhan runs behind him without protesting, without saying a single word. Wei Ying guides him through doors and stairs and empty rooms that they probably should not have access to, trying to get rid of the most annoying guy in the entire university.

He doesn’t know what compels him to do it. He just knows that, in that moment, running away is all he can think about. He looks behind him for a second, just to make sure Lan Zhan is okay, and when their eyes meet he seems just as determined as Wei Ying is to escape.

“Here,” he turns two corners in a row, running down a long corridor. There’s a huge door at the end, and it seems to lead outside. “Come on!”

Wei Ying tugs Lan Zhan with him and goes through the huge door, closing it quickly behind them.

Lan Zhan stops by his side, the sound of their heaving breaths coming out loud. Wei Ying puts his bottle down and touches his ear to the wood, trying to listen for footsteps. His other hand is still holding Lan Zhan's, but he barely notices it.

“Shhh,” he says, even though Lan Zhan is already quiet. Their gazes lock again, and Wei Ying can’t help but smile a little. “Wait.”

Lan Zhan waits for him to check, his face flushed from the effort of running, his lips slightly parted. A strand of his hair came out of its perfect ponytail, and when Wei Ying stares at him, he finds amber eyes looking back.

“I think he's gone,” Wei Ying says, whispering just in case.

Lan Zhan's hand twitches in his, and Wei Ying quickly lets it go. He steps away from the door and picks up his bottle of wine again.

"Sorry for kidnapping you," he says. "You just looked like you were about to do something that'd get you expelled."

Lan Zhan swallows, and takes a second to respond.

“I was,” is all he says.

Wei Ying laughs, then looks around them again, trying to understand his surroundings.

They’re standing outside, on some kind of porch, facing the back gardens of the property. There are stairs leading down to soft, well kept grass, and the sound of the music doesn’t seem quite as loud here.

“This is actually a really nice place,” Wei Ying says, breathing in the damp, night air. “It must’ve been so expensive to rent.”

He sits down on top of the stairs, facing the landscape in front of him and trying to catch his breath. He might be a little out of shape. The last few months of his life have been so busy he barely had time to work out.

He looks back, but Lan Zhan is just standing there, still holding his bottle of soda in his hand. His hair is a bit messy from running, but his clothes still look pristine on his body. He’s wearing high waisted pants in a color Wei Ying thinks is either white or light gray, and his blouse is blue and loose, tucked inside them, making his waist look tiny in comparison to his broad shoulders.

It all looks like a fashion magazine heard the words “heartthrob High School teacher” and decided to dress him to fit the part. Wei Ying would be impressed, but he doesn’t remember ever seeing Lan Zhan wearing anything that didn’t look like it came out of a fashion photoshoot.

“You okay?” he asks.

Slowly, without answering, Lan Zhan comes over to sit on the stairs by his side. He doesn’t look at Wei Ying, keeping his gaze carefully fixed on the garden. After a while, Wei Ying looks ahead too.

“You threw wine on him,” Lan Zhan says eventually.

“Yeah,” Wei Ying smiles. “You were about to beat him up, so I thought it was the safer choice.”

Lan Zhan glances at him.

“You did that for my benefit?”

Wei Ying leans back on his hands, letting his legs spread a little in front of him on the steps.

“Hmm,” he thinks. “Yeah. But it was a little bit for me, too. He’s a dick.”

Lan Zhan tears his eyes away again. He makes a low humming noise, and Wei Ying almost doesn’t hear it. He thinks it might be Lan Zhan’s way to agree.

“Hey,” Wei Ying bumps him with his shoulder. “Why was he bothering you, anyway? It’s not like you look super approachable or anything.”

Lan Zhan’s jaw goes tight, and Wei Ying instantly regrets saying it.

“I mean–” he says. “I just mean, you look kind of intimidating. Not in a bad way. Just in a way that lets people know not to mess around with you.”

It seems to work. Lan Zhan takes a sip of his drink, which has to be warm by now, and relaxes again.

“He’s been bothering me…” Lan Zhan says slowly, glancing briefly at him, “... ever since he found out I’m gay.”

Wei Ying’s brain screeches to a stop, his eyes fixed on Lan Zhan’s face.

Somehow, wrapping his mind around the idea takes a few seconds. He had no clue Lan Zhan was gay. Not that he ever wondered about his sexuality, of course. Well, maybe once in one of their classes together, years ago, when Lan Zhan kept mentioning queer authors to their professor. But that could have been a coincidence. Wei Ying mentioned a lot of queer authors too.

He just… never would’ve guessed it. He wonders if he should have known, if it’s something people can usually tell about him. He always dresses so well, but that doesn’t matter, right? That’s a stereotype. And he’s so quiet that–

Wei Ying realizes he’s focusing entirely on the wrong thing, and quickly shakes the feeling away.

“What?!” he manages to say. “Is Su She a homophobe too, on top of everything? Seriously, this guy should be fucking expelled if–”

“Not that kind of bothering,” Lan Zhan clarifies.

Wei Ying tilts his head, trying to understand what he means, and then it dawns on him.

“Oh, wow,” he laughs. “That guy? Really? He thinks he can get someone like you? That’s delusional.”

Lan Zhan blinks at him, and then looks down at his own feet. Wei Ying turns away too, suddenly a little self conscious.

“Has… he been bothering you a long time?” Wei Ying asks.

“A while,” Lan Zhan says, his voice a little lower than before. “Today was the first time it bordered on harassment.”

“What an absolute asshole,” Wei Ying grimaces. “If he keeps this up, you should report him.”

“I don’t think it’ll get to that.”

“With these kinds of guys, you never know,” Wei Ying turns to him. “Don’t just let it happen, okay? If he ever goes too far, definitely tell someone about it.”

There must be something in his eyes, because Lan Zhan stops for a second, staring at him.

“Alright,” he says, slowly. “I will.”

Wei Ying nods, satisfied. These things are serious, and a lot of guys don’t know how to take no for an answer, whether they’re gay or straight. Lan Zhan probably already knows that about men, though. Since he’s– Well. He’s gay. Lan Zhan is gay. Wei Ying really had no idea.

He clears his throat, offering Lan Zhan an apologetic smile.

“Sorry if I made it weird.”

“You didn’t,” Lan Zhan says, his deep voice sounding soothing in the quiet night. “I appreciate the concern.”

Wei Ying nods again, then lifts his bottle and takes a sip of wine. He watches from the corner of his eyes as Lan Zhan raises his own bottle of soda to drink.

The loud noises of the music inside are almost muted here, and the only thing that remains is the rumble of the lower base in the song, sending weak vibrations through the floor. The night around them is warm in a pleasant way, and the wine makes him feel even warmer inside.

He’s only slightly drunk, though. Half of the contents of the bottle are currently on Su She’s pants, anyway. What a fucking waste.

Lan Zhan puts his soda down on the stairs between them and straightens his legs on the steps, crossing his ankles. His pants are a little stretched out on his thighs. Wei Ying wonders if maybe they’re a size too small.

“No alcohol?” he asks, turning his focus back to something else.

“No,” Lan Zhan says. “I have a very low tolerance.”

“I hear they have weaker stuff at the bar,” Wei Ying says. “Definitely sweet, in case you just don’t like the taste.”

Lan Zhan’s face is unreadable as he turns to look at Wei Ying again. His eyes look darker here, without any light shining on him to accentuate the amber in them. It makes him look more intense, somehow.

“I can’t drink any amount of alcohol,” Lan Zhan says. “It makes me sleep almost instantly.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says. He can’t imagine how useful that would be for his insomnia, if he reacted like that. But probably not that good for his liver. “That must suck.”

Lan Zhan does a movement with his shoulder. Not exactly a shrug, but something almost like it. It pulls Wei Ying’s eyes to his shirt again, the way the fabric falls on his body. It seems like a good quality shirt. It must be soft to the touch.

“I don’t miss it,” Lan Zhan says. “I never cared much for parties like this.”

Wei Ying puts his bottle of wine next to Lan Zhan’s on the steps and leans a little in his direction. The wine is getting to him a little bit, he thinks. He feels a little too warm, now.

“I thought you looked a bit too serious to be enjoying it,” Wei Ying teases, tilting his head at him. “Why did you come today, if you don't like parties?”

Lan Zhan glances at Wei Ying’s hand, resting between them on the steps, and then looks back into his eyes.

“My… brother insists that I attend some form of social event, every once in a while,” Lan Zhan says slowly. Wei Ying thinks his voice has gone even lower, somehow. “It’s his way of making sure I’m not drowning in work.”

“Ugh,” Wei Ying does an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “That's exactly why I came, too.”

Lan Zhan tilts his head in curiosity, like Wei Ying has his full attention.

“I have a roommate,” Wei Ying explains. “Well, he’s more like a landlord, since the apartment is his and I just rent the room. I don’t like living alone, it’s a whole thing,” he says. “Anyway, I’ve been working too much lately, with my job and my PhD project, and he pretty much forced me to come today. I told him I wasn’t going to. I’m in my last year! But he insists on me taking at least one day a week where I don’t do anything work related.”

Lan Zhan nods, really looking at him, and for some reason that makes Wei Ying want to keep talking. He forgets about his wine entirely, scooting closer to Lan Zhan on the stairs, and tells him about how he hasn’t been able to focus on his social life lately. About how hard he’s been working on his project, and how his friends have been worrying for him.

“I have the same problem,” Lan Zhan says. “But in the end, they’re only trying to care for us.”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying laughs a little under his breath. “I know that. I just… get lost in the work, sometimes. It’s hard not to feel guilty when I’m doing something else. I try to take Saturdays off, but even then… Sometimes I just end up working.”

Lan Zhan hums like he understands, like he feels exactly the same way. It's a little bit thrilling, to be talking to Lan Zhan like this. He never imagined he'd be this easy to have a conversation with.

Their eyes meet, and Wei Ying smiles at him, in that bright, wrinkly way he knows makes his eyes look shiny.

Immediately, Lan Zhan looks away, staring down at his own legs.

“Hey,” Wei Ying says, because this is the second time Lan Zhan looks away, and he doesn’t want to make him uncomfortable. “You know you don’t have to keep me company or anything, right? I mean, you’re welcome to, but you don’t have to.”

Lan Zhan only shakes his head a little. “I’m fine here.”

Just those words, nearly nothing at all, but it’s enough to reassure him. This is a good sign, Wei Ying thinks. Lan Zhan could’ve gotten up and walked away. He could’ve crossed his arms and leaned away, just like he did with Su She, but he didn’t.

Lan Zhan isn't leaning away at all. This means they’re getting along, right?

“I’m Wei Ying, by the way,” he says suddenly, just in case he doesn’t remember. Their classes together were so long ago.

Lan Zhan turns back to him, confused.

“I know who you are.”

Wei Ying is taken aback. “You do?”

“Yes,” Lan Zhan’s frown deepens. “We had a few classes together, back in college. I’m–”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, smiling brightly at him. “Obviously, I remember you. The guy who walked out when the professor said there was no possible queer interpretation to the extremely queer historical poetry he’d been reading to us.”

It’s not very light out here, but Wei Ying thinks he sees a little shade climbing up on Lan Zhan’s neck. Is he embarrassed that Wei Ying remembers it? But it was so cool, the way he just walked out. How could he ever forget?

“I…” Lan Zhan pauses, blinking a few times. “I didn’t think anyone noticed that.”

“Oh, come on,” Wei Ying bumps their shoulders together, laughing a little. “You can’t possibly think you’d go unnoticed anywhere. Not looking like that.”

Lan Zhan’s gaze snaps back to him, his lips parting slightly. His eyes are just as intense as before, and they make something restless spark under Wei Ying’s skin, something warmer than the wine he’s been drinking.

He’s so drunk. He must be very drunk, because when Lan Zhan keeps looking at him, he doesn’t want to look away. He holds his breath, unmoving, and watches as Lan Zhan reaches down to take his soda again.

Lan Zhan holds the bottle up to his lips, taking a few big gulps, and it isn’t until he frowns that Wei Ying notices—

He’s drinking from the wine bottle.

“Oh no,” Wei Ying says, at the same time that Lan Zhan puts the bottle down, his jaw pressed tight. “Spit it out. Come on, quickly–”

Lan Zhan shakes his head, and Wei Ying knows it’s too late. He already swallowed the wine.

For a second, they both just sit there. Lan Zhan has gone completely still, like he’s thinking of how to proceed. Should Wei Ying tell him to go throw up somewhere? He could hold his hair up. He’s definitely done that before.

“What’s gonna happen now?” Wei Ying asks, suddenly entirely sobered up again. “What do I do?”

“I’m…” Lan Zhan starts, turning in his direction. “I should go home.”

Lan Zhan reaches for his pocket and brings his phone out. He types his password on it, opens the uber app, and by the time he’s typing in his address, his fingers are already pressing a few of the wrong keys.

“Fuck, how fast are the effects?” Wei Ying reaches for him, though he isn’t exactly sure why. “Can you even get home? Is this some kind of allergy, or–”

“Not an allergy,” Lan Zhan says. “What’s the address here?”

Wei Ying tries telling him, but Lan Zhan keeps typing it wrong. He isn’t sure if he’s already drunk, or just really nervous about having that sip of wine.

“Give me that,” Wei Ying says, reaching for his phone. “I’m gonna take you home, okay? Can I take you home?”

Lan Zhan nods a few times, his eyes closing as soon as the phone is out of his hands. Okay, that’s good, he’s trying to calm himself down. Wei Ying types the address to the hotel and quickly sets up the ride.

It seems like ages before there’s a car available for them. And eight minutes away, too. Curse Huaisang for choosing such a weird location for this party. Couldn’t he pick a normal spot, for once in his life?

“Don’t worry,” Wei Ying says, when the driver is one minute away. “Just don’t fall asleep yet, alright? I’m gonna take you–”

There’s a sudden weight on his shoulder, landing heavily against his arm. Wei Ying looks to the side, and sees Lan Zhan completely asleep, leaning on his body as if he’s a very convenient pillow.

It’s… kind of hilarious, if he’s being honest. How fast it happened, how out of it Lan Zhan is. Wei Ying laughs a little, and then quickly scolds himself. This must be terrible from Lan Zhan’s perspective, being this vulnerable, and this fast.

The car gets there, and Wei Ying manages to wake Lan Zhan up just enough to walk him to it. He has to support most of Lan Zhan’s weight, one arm curled around his waist to lift him up, but he manages just fine.

Lan Zhan mumbles a few things to him in the car ride there. Wei Ying doesn’t understand any of them, but he responds anyway, wanting to keep Lan Zhan as awake as possible. The driver looks at them through the mirror with something like amusement in his eyes, and Wei Ying suddenly feels a bit protective of this man who went to college with him and he barely ever talked to. He wraps an arm around Lan Zhan’s shoulder, and tries to hide his face from the prying eyes of the driver.

Wei Ying has to shake him awake again once they get to his building, and it’s considerably more difficult this time. He stops at the gate, trying to keep Lan Zhan up, and stands in front of him.

“Lan Zhan, what’s your apartment number?” he asks, gently tapping his face. It’s smooth under his fingers, and it acquired a light blush after the wine he drank. “Tell me where you live. Lan Zhan?”

Lan Zhan blinks his eyes open, and then immediately closes them again.

“Lan Zhaaaannn,” Wei Ying calls again, but it does nothing. “What’s your apartment number?”

“Fvvthreirtee,” Lan Zhan mumbles.

Wei Ying can’t help it. He lets out a small laugh, looking at how pouty Lan Zhan’s face has gotten. But he’s allowed to laugh, because his laughter isn’t mean. Not like the weird driver who couldn’t stop glancing at them. What was his problem, anyway?

“Say that again?” Wei Ying asks. “Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan!”

The scream startles him for a second, just enough for Lan Zhan to talk.

“530,” he whispers.

“Is there an elevator?” Wei Ying asks, but Lan Zhan’s eyes are already closed again. “Lan Zhan. It’s five flights of stairs. Please tell me there’s an elevator.”

“Mnnnn,” Lan Zhan hums, sounding a little bit angry.

“Hey, I'm doing you a favor!” Wei Ying says as he opens the doors to the building for them. “Don’t give me attitude for it!”

Instead of answering, Lan Zhan throws himself on Wei Ying’s back, his face pressed on the back of his shoulder, and Wei Ying has to carry him inside.

Thankfully, there are functioning elevators.

Getting to Lan Zhan’s door is another challenge. Wei Ying holds Lan Zhan’s arms around his neck, leaning forward a bit to support his weight, and Lan Zhan’s feet practically drag behind him. Anyone who looked at him now would think he’s carrying a dead man. Wei Ying is fucking sweating.

He prays the lock isn’t a code, because he doesn’t think he can get more numbers out of Lan Zhan, and is relieved to find out it’s a normal, old school door. Leaning back again, Wei Ying puts Lan Zhan in a standing position, and turns around to face him.

Lan Zhan sways a little on his feet, and Wei Ying laughs again, holding him steady. The quiet, stoic guy from class, who was threatening to break Su She’s arm, is actually kind of endearing like this.

Wei Ying frowns at the thought, then shakes it away.

Without thinking about it, Wei Ying does a quick tap around Lan Zhan’s hips to feel where his keys are, then reaches inside his back pocket to get it. His shirt really is soft to the touch, and so are his pants, apparently. They’re just… a bit tight, around the– the ass… area. Wei Ying has to really wiggle his hand in there. On… on his ass. It’s fine. Wei Ying isn’t thinking about it. Who puts their keys in their back pocket, anyway?

He fishes the keys out quickly and opens the door.

“Okay, there you go,” Wei Ying puts him inside his apartment. “Safe and sound. I’m gonna go–”

Lan Zhan leans his body against the open door, and starts to slide down to the floor.

“Lan Zhan, no!” Wei Ying comes inside and holds him up. “Don’t fall asleep yet, go to your bed…”

But it seems that Lan Zhan’s body has recognized home and decided to switch off entirely. He’s suddenly way heavier in Wei Ying’s arms, less responsive than before. Fuck.

Wei Ying holds him up in his arms and looks around, trying to ignore the way Lan Zhan is shoving his head into his neck. This is definitely the closest he’s ever been to a guy, but it’s fine. He’s helping him. It’s not weird.

Lan Zhan is nuzzling into the sweaty skin of his neck, and it’s not weird.

He finds a small corridor and tries to see in the dark. One of the doors is open, and he can’t tell if it’s a bedroom or a bathroom. He drags Lan Zhan to it anyway, hoping for the best.

Once his eyes adjust enough, Wei Ying can see a big bed, entirely made, and a room so pristine it looks like a hotel.

“Okay,” Wei Ying says, walking with him to the bed. “Shoes off. Come on.”

Lan Zhan falls more heavily into him and kicks his shoes off slowly, apparently blindly trusting Wei Ying to hold him up in the process. Wei Ying has to hook his arms around Lan Zhan’s waist, really squeeze him, just to keep them both from tumbling.

“Good,” Wei Ying says. “That’s good. Now, lean back into the bed and–”

Lan Zhan wraps both of his arms around Wei Ying’s body and does exactly what he was told.

They fall together with a heavy thud, landing on the soft mattress. Wei Ying’s breath is knocked out from his lungs, a startled sound leaving his mouth. He barely has time to process what’s happening before Lan Zhan hooks a leg around his hips.

“Lan–” he tries, but Lan Zhan is already nuzzling into his neck again, putting most of his weight on the side of Wei Ying’s body. He hugs Wei Ying tightly, trapping him with both hands wrapped around his shoulders and arms, his leg curling around him, like Wei Ying is his own personal hugging pillow.

And then he stops moving entirely.

Wei Ying lies there on his back, half of his body covered by Lan Zhan’s, and both of Lan Zhan’s hands digging hard into him. For a second, he doesn’t move, just catching his breath.

This… This feels… Wei Ying doesn’t really know how it feels. His breathing has gotten so fast, his heart racing hard inside his chest. He tries moving a little, and Lan Zhan’s arms tighten further around him, even in his sleep.

Wei Ying looks to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of Lan Zhan’s face, but it’s buried entirely on his neck. All Wei Ying can see is his ear, a bit red on the tip, probably still from the alcohol. All he can feel is Lan Zhan’s warm breath, right on the sensitive skin underneath his ear.

Okay. Fuck.

He has to get up. Yes, this is what his next move should be. He’ll have to kick Lan Zhan off and probably really startle him in the process, but it’ll be fine. He’s so sleepy he probably won’t notice.

Get up. Get up get up get up get up–

But Wei Ying’s body is already relaxing into the mattress, and the most instinctive part of his brain is already thinking ‘hm… warm bed’. Wei Ying is still drunk, probably, and he can’t be held accountable for his body’s decisions if he simply lies down on a soft mattress and wants to stay there, right? And anyway, he isn’t even sure if he can move.

He tries to shift his body a bit, but Lan Zhan’s grip on him is strong, and the more Wei Ying moves the harder it seems he wants to hold on.

Wei Ying lets his head fall back on the stupidly soft pillow, trying to calm down his breathing, and decides that, well, there’s simply no way around it. He’s just gonna have to stay here and wait until Lan Zhan decides to let go.

He manages to kick off his own shoes, and they fall to the floor. This is… kind of comfortable, actually. Even with Lan Zhan grabbing him like a touch-starved baby panda, this is comfortable. No one has ever held him this hard before. The night is chilly, but Lan Zhan’s body is warm, so he doesn’t even need a blanket. And the weight of his leg on Wei Ying’s hips feels nice, feels comforting, just like the little puffs of breath he’s letting into Wei Ying’s neck.

And something smells so good. Wei Ying closes his eyes, already feeling sleepy, and tries to identify where the scent is coming from. He turns his face to one side and then the other, chasing it, until his nose touches Lan Zhan’s cheek.

He pulls back quickly, not freaking out, because it’s fine. He touched Lan Zhan’s cheek with his nose, and Lan Zhan smells really fucking good, and they’re lying down together on a very soft bed, and Lan Zhan is gay but Wei Ying isn’t, and it’s fine.

Wei Ying swallows hard and closes his eyes again.

He doesn’t think about how he didn’t try that hard to escape at all.

–

It’s strangely light when Wei Ying feels something stir next to him.

It starts soft, barely perceptible. Something moving on the bed with him, shifting the weight on the mattress. Wei Ying is lying down on his side, and there's a feeling of something heavy on his hips, sliding down his leg, and then the weight is off.

Wei Ying stays in his dream for a second, tightening his arms around whatever it is he has in between them. He thinks it might be a pillow, but it’s a bit too hard for that. The fabric is soft to the touch, though. He kinda wants to shove his face into it, so he does.

There’s a sharp inhale above him, and then the something moves away completely from his body, leaving him to the cold.

“What?” Wei Ying startles awake, snapping his eyes open and looking around. “What’s happening?”

He’s met with the sight of an actor from a movie, a model from a magazine, someone doing a just-woke-up-with-flawless-messy-hair photoshoot. Wei Ying blinks a few times, waiting until his eyes focus better, and realizes he’s staring at an extremely shocked Lan Zhan.

He yelps and pulls back, leaning up on his elbows. “Lan Zhan! You scared me!”

Lan Zhan doesn’t move at all, staring at him with wide eyes. His face is covered in a furious shade of red, going all the way down to his neck.

He looks down at Wei Ying’s body, the puffy poet blouse that was tucked inside his pants yesterday, but now it’s slightly pulled up, revealing a strip of his belly underneath. He looks at Wei Ying's black pants, the lack of shoes on his feet.

“What–” Lan Zhan’s voice sounds raspy from sleep, and slightly panicked. “What happened?”

“Nothing!” Wei Ying says, sitting up fast. “Well. You took a sip of wine, and then you fell asleep. I brought you home and tried to leave you at the door, but…” he tries laughing a little, but it just comes out nervous. “You kept being a hazard to yourself, so I brought you here, and then…”

Lan Zhan’s eyes get impossibly wider, and it would be hilarious, if Wei Ying’s pulse wasn’t racing with anxiety.

“And then we slept!” he says. “I mean, I told you to lie down, and I was kinda holding you up, so you just… did, but you were holding me, so I was trapped–”  he says, and it’s not a lie, it’s not a lie, “... and you fell asleep, and I couldn't get out, so eventually I guess I fell asleep too.”

Lan Zhan keeps looking at him, like he’s trying to make sense of everything Wei Ying is saying. He looks at Wei Ying’s clothes again, and then at his own, clearly checking to see if they’re still wearing them.

Fuck, this is bad. Wei Ying should tell him he’s straight, just so he knows it’s fine. It wouldn’t be weird to say it now, would it? That would solve everything. Tell him. Just tell him. Tell him you’re straight tell him you’re straight tell him–

“Did I say anything?” Lan Zhan asks. Wei Ying shakes his head, but Lan Zhan isn’t done with the questions. “Did I make you uncomfortable?”

“What? No!” Wei Ying nearly yells, and his shock must be clear on his face, because Lan Zhan finally seems to relax. “You were completely out of it. Even getting you here was difficult.”

“Oh,” Lan Zhan says, and nothing else. He’s still flushed from head to toe, but his eyes aren’t as wide, which is good.

Wei Ying swallows, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. One look at the window tells him it must already be 9 am, and who wants to wake up on a Sunday morning and have an unwanted guest sleeping in their bed?

He should go home and leave Lan Zhan alone.

“I’m gonna…” he points to nowhere at all, not quite knowing what to do. “Can I use your bathroom?”

Lan Zhan is still staring at him, but he points him in the right direction.

Wei Ying gets up as fast as he can, almost stumbling on his way out of the bed. He picks up his shoes and locks himself in the bathroom.

His face stares back at him from a spotless mirror. His hair is thankfully not as messy as it could be, but his face looks squished and one of his cheeks has a red patch on it. He quickly washes his face and his mouth, using what looks like extremely expensive toothpaste and his finger because, well, desperate times call for desperate measures.

The entire bathroom looks kind of spotless, actually. Lan Zhan probably wasn’t expecting guests today – although he feels more like an intruder –, so Wei Ying would understand if it had towels thrown around and products lying everywhere. It doesn’t though. It looks clean and pristine, just like the bedroom did.

It somehow seems to fit what he knows of Lan Zhan’s personality so far. Super focused in class, always wearing something fashionable, and someone who always keeps things clean.

He laughs a little, and then curses himself for laughing, because what the fuck. This is a serious situation! Lan Zhan is probably standing outside, angry and entirely ready to kick Wei Ying out and never look into his eyes again, and Wei Ying is laughing.

He puts on his shoes and walks out. Lan Zhan isn’t in the bedroom anymore, which means he must be at the door, holding it open for him to leave already.

Wei Ying feels his stomach sinking for some reason. He really liked talking to Lan Zhan yesterday. It’s a shame it has to end like this. It’s a shame this is probably too awkward for them to ever get past it.

He walks along the corridor leading to the living room, and sees Lan Zhan standing near the kitchen sink.

“Hey, I should really apologize,” Wei Ying says. Lan Zhan jumps a little, almost imperceptibly, and Wei Ying curses himself for scaring him. “Um. Sorry. I was super drunk yesterday, and when I–”

Lan Zhan turns around to face him, holding two plates in his hand, and Wei Ying immediately shuts up.

“I’m the one who should apologize,” Lan Zhan says. His voice still seems a little shaky, but he looks a bit more put together. “I know how I can be when I get drunk, which is why I avoid it.”

Wei Ying blinks at him, not knowing what to say. Lan Zhan somehow had time to change his clothes into a comfortable shirt and pants, and adjust his hair into a flawless ponytail. The two plates he’s holding have toast and eggs in them, clearly made just now, judging by the steam still rising from the eggs. And all of that in the time Wei Ying was in the bathroom freaking out. How long was he in there?

“You don’t have to apologize,” Wei Ying says quickly, remembering his words. “You weren’t well, so I helped. It was no trouble.”

Lan Zhan gives him a funny look at that, and it gets a nervous laugh out of Wei Ying.

“Okay, maybe it was a little bit of trouble,” he admits. “But I didn’t mind. And I actually slept well. Your bed is crazy comfortable, so…”

He stops. He shouldn’t have said that. Why did he say that?

“In that case,” Lan Zhan sets both plates on the kitchen counter. “Have breakfast with me. As a thank you.”

Wei Ying’s stomach is suddenly very, very interested in the idea. But Lan Zhan isn’t even looking at him, his eyes carefully set down on the counter, and in the clear light of day Wei Ying can see Lan Zhan’s ears are still red with embarrassment.

“I… don’t know,” he says. “I already imposed so much by sleeping here, and I–”

“You did not impose,” Lan Zhan says firmly, finally looking up at him. “You brought me home safely. Breakfast is the least I can do.”

Wei Ying isn’t strong enough to deny food, especially when it’s offered so politely, and especially when it smells this good.

“Alright,” he says with a tiny smile, and then sits on the counter.

Lan Zhan pushes a plate gently in his direction, and sits opposite him.

Somehow, with that simple gesture, the atmosphere between them changes again, and the awkwardness from the morning starts dissipating as they eat.

Wei Ying realizes quickly that Lan Zhan doesn’t like to talk when eating, but he doesn’t seem to care when Wei Ying talks. So he fills the silence for both of them, telling Lan Zhan about how he had to carry him like a baby the whole way here, and how pouty he got when Wei Ying had to keep waking him up to ask him questions.

It’s worth it to see the way Lan Zhan blushes all over again, starting from his ears going entirely red. Wei Ying laughs, tells him he’s just exaggerating, and lets Lan Zhan glare at him from across the counter.

Lan Zhan finishes eating first, because he wasn’t talking the whole way through, so Wei Ying asks him about his work. Lan Zhan tells him that he’s currently teaching High School, which Wei Ying already knew from general university gossip, but that eventually he wants to be a college professor. His focus is literature, but he takes an interest in history, too. His research for his PhD is a philological study on the terms and language used to code and describe queer characters throughout history, and the way his eyes sparkle when he talks about it makes Wei Ying want to keep asking him about the project.

“Is there gonna be a book?” Wei Ying asks, only halfway serious, but then Lan Zhan says ‘maybe’, and suddenly Wei Ying is inexplicably excited for this man he barely knows and only really spoke to yesterday. “Can I get it autographed?”

By the time Lan Zhan is asking him about his own project, both of them have been done with breakfast for some time.

He tells Lan Zhan about his work, and his own PhD on game design. He talks about how he’s not teaching, but he wouldn’t be opposed to it in the future. He talks and talks and talks, and before he knows it, he has his shoes off again, and Lan Zhan is getting up to make them jasmine tea.

“Are you into games like that?” Wei Ying asks, taking the mug he’s being offered. “Or are you not the gaming type?”

Lan Zhan presses his lips together, which is such a tiny movement, but it seems huge on his face. Wei Ying doesn’t mean to keep observing Lan Zhan this closely, trying to read things in his face that aren’t there, but with how minute his expressions are, every small movement seems to matter.

“I’m… more into other kinds of games,” Lan Zhan says. “Not as exciting.”

“What, like card games?” Wei Ying leans his elbows on the counter. “Those are exciting though.”

Lan Zhan takes a sip of his tea and shakes his head.

“More like chess,” he says carefully, like he’s scared that Wei Ying will make fun of him for it. “Nowadays, I’m mostly into puzzles.”

Wei Ying’s eyes go wide. “Puzzles? Shut up! I love doing puzzles.”

Lan Zhan pauses. “You do?”

“Yes,” Wei Ying says. “I like doing things with my hands. And with puzzles, I can put on a nice audiobook and just do it for hours.”

“That’s what I do, too,” Lan Zhan says. “It’s the reason we’re not eating on the table. I currently have one set up.”

He points, and Wei Ying turns back to see it. A huge puzzle, almost done, is set on the center table of Lan Zhan’s living room.

“Fuck, that seems hard,” Wei Ying gets up to walk to it. “Where did you–”

His phone suddenly starts ringing. Wei Ying forgot he had his phone on him, so he startles before reaching into his pocket to get it.

“Sorry,” he murmurs to Lan Zhan before picking up. “Hello?”

“Where are you?” Mian Mian’s voice sounds loud in his ear. “You said you’d be here by noon!”

“Fuck,” Wei Ying whispers to himself. “What time is it?”

“It’s twelve thirty!” she says. “We need you to bring the pasta, or there’ll be no lunch at all.”

“What?” Wei Ying pulls the phone back to look at the time. “Oh god, I had no idea.”

“Just hurry up,” she says. “We’ll be waiting.”

And then she hangs up.

Wei Ying stands there in Lan Zhan’s living room, halfway on his way to the puzzle, and turns back.

Lan Zhan is looking at him with something unreadable in his eyes. He has his mug in his hands, sitting quietly on the stool the same way he’s been for the entire morning, looking cozy and calm. Wei Ying thinks the whole vibe must have gotten to him, because he was starting to feel calm too, even after waking up so anxious.

“I… kind of have to go,” he says, not without regret. “I have lunch with some friends.”

It’s harder than it should be to say it. But this morning has been fun, despite the weird way it started.

“Alright,” Lan Zhan says. “I’m sorry for keeping you.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Wei Ying walks in his direction. “I’ve been talking your ear off all morning. I should’ve just gone home.”

“I invited you to stay,” Lan Zhan says.

“But I overstayed.”

“You did not.”

Wei Ying has an answer on the tip of his tongue, but he keeps his lips shut. This could go on forever.

“Okay,” he says, smiling a little. “Well. I guess we both got lost in the conversation, right?”

Lan Zhan’s eyes feel warm as he nods. For some reason, it makes something stir in Wei Ying’s chest.

He puts on his shoes again, and really walks to the door this time. Lan Zhan walks with him, opening it so he can leave, and stands there as if he’s waiting for Wei Ying to say something.

Wei Ying really thinks he should say something. He really did lose himself, spending over 3 hours talking to Lan Zhan while sitting in almost exactly the same position. It’s not… usually this easy, for him to actually enjoy someone’s company.

He should ask for Lan Zhan’s number, right? So they can keep this going. Really become friends this time, like they didn’t during class all those years ago. Wei Ying feels like they’d match.

He opens his lips to ask for it, and stops himself at the last second.

“Well,” he says, simply. “I’m going.”

Lan Zhan stays quiet. Wei Ying turns around to leave.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says.

The voice makes him turn around immediately, and it’s so strange, how fast his heart starts racing.

Lan Zhan takes a step closer, and then another. Wei Ying holds his breath, watching him without being able to move. He raises an arm towards Wei Ying’s face, and then–

“I think it’s from my pillow,” Lan Zhan picks something from his hair and shows it to him. It’s a piece of foam.

Wei Ying feels the blood rushing quickly to his cheeks.

“Oh god, that’s so fucking embarrassing,” he brings his hands to his hair, just to make sure there aren’t any more. “How long has that been there? Lan Zhan! You should’ve told me!”

“I only noticed it a few seconds ago,” Lan Zhan says. But Wei Ying has spent the entire morning with him, and he thinks he sees an amused glint in Lan Zhan’s eyes.

“You’re such a liar!” Wei Ying says, faking outrage. “Next time I see you I’m gonna dump a bunch of foam on your hair.”

“You could try,” Lan Zhan says, defiantly. Wei Ying feels a rush that he can’t really explain, like his entire face is getting warm.

“Asshole,” Wei Ying pushes his shoulder, making Lan Zhan sway back slightly. “I better not catch you outside.”

He’s smiling as he says it, and when he looks into Lan Zhan’s eyes, he sees that he’s on the verge of it, too. He’s not quite smiling yet, though. Wei Ying has a strange feeling about it, down in the pit of his stomach, like he wants to see it. He wants to keep this going, to tease and challenge Lan Zhan a little bit more, just to see how far he needs to go to see a real smile appear on his lips.

Instead, he allows his grin to change into a more friendly one, and shakes his head. Then he turns around and leaves Lan Zhan behind.

The rush he’s feeling follows him all the way outside.

–

During lunch at Wen Qing and Mian Mian’s apartment, they ask him if there’s anything new with him. They ask him how was the party, and if he went home early, since he disappeared.

Wei Ying tells them he went home and just rested, since he needed to catch up on sleep. Huaisang didn’t sleep at home, so he has no idea Wei Ying is lying through his teeth.

He isn’t sure why he doesn’t tell them about Lan Zhan. He isn’t sure about the feeling crawling under his skin, the need he feels to keep this completely for himself. He just knows he has an instinct about Lan Zhan, a gut feeling about him, and he wants to chase it, if he can.

His instincts about people are rarely ever wrong, anyway.

–

The problem with not telling anyone about Lan Zhan is, Wei Ying kind of can’t stop thinking about him.

He’s gotten like this before with other people, when he meets someone who’s so interesting he can’t help thinking about them. It happened to Mian Mian when they met, even though it lasted for only a few days, and to a guy he knew in High School who became his best friend back then. Sometimes, people just intrigued him, and he wanted to know more about them.

He regrets not getting Lan Zhan’s number almost instantly. He’s a chatty person, and with Lan Zhan on his mind he keeps wishing he was able to send him little texts, to get some kind of friendship going while Lan Zhan still has him in his good graces. He thinks about it when he sees two people sitting on Lan Zhan’s usual table at the park on Monday. He thinks about it again on Wednesday when he goes to the coffee shop and gets jasmine tea for himself, just because he really liked the tea Lan Zhan served him that morning.

He walks around campus looking everywhere around him, just to catch a glimpse of long, black hair. Huaisang asks him what he’s looking for once, and Wei Ying just smiles and says he’s a bit distracted.

It’s not until next week that Wei Ying finally sees him again.

It’s Monday, a full week after the party incident, and he’s going by the park where most people stop to study and chat. It’s late afternoon, and he just finished work, but he has a little bit of time to spare before he needs to go to a programming class he’s taking. He’s thinking of maybe going back home for a quick shower when he spots him.

Right on his usual table, the one under the biggest tree, where it’s safe from both the strong sun and the lighter drizzles, is Lan Zhan.

He has a cozy, light sweater on, even though the weather is getting warmer by now. His hair is not in its usual ponytail, but styled in a side braid that falls over his shoulder and ends right at the line of his chest. He has a stack of papers on one side of him, and it seems by the exasperated look on his face that he’s grading them.

Wei Ying’s pulse picks up so fast his entire body suddenly feels warm. He should talk to him. Even if Lan Zhan is busy, he can at least say hi, right?

He gets an idea on how to make a good impression, and disappears for a few seconds. When he comes back, he’s holding both his coffee and the brand of soda Lan Zhan had been drinking at the party that day.

Without saying anything, he sits on the bench in front of him and places the soda close to Lan Zhan’s body.

Lan Zhan looks up at him, at first with an annoyed expression, and then with surprise when he sees who it is.

“Wei Ying,” he says.

“Hi,” Wei Ying feels slightly breathless. He had to run to get that soda, so that’s probably why his lungs can’t work properly. “This is the one you like to drink, right?”

Lan Zhan looks at the bottle in front of him, and then back at him, his lips slightly parted. He has leaves falling all around him and scattered on the table, but none on his body, as if they know he’s there. As if they know not to mess up with his perfect magazine look.

“It’s… yes,” Lan Zhan says.

“Cool,” Wei Ying sips on his coffee, trying to seem nonchalant. “I saw you were sitting here, looking like you wanted to murder some students, so I thought I’d say hi.”

“I don’t want to murder them,” Lan Zhan says in a low voice. “Just scold them a little.”

Wei Ying chuckles, and Lan Zhan glances briefly at him, as if he’s surprised he made Wei Ying laugh. He doesn’t reach for the soda though. It suddenly dawns on Wei Ying that maybe Lan Zhan is one of those healthier people who only drink soda on special occasions.

“Uh, well…” he shifts a little on the bench. “You don’t have to drink it. I just thought you might like something sweet, so–”

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan takes the bottle immediately and opens it. “That was very thoughtful of you.”

Wei Ying watches as Lan Zhan takes a big gulp of the drink, then puts it down and stares at him. He looks… weirdly determined, for some reason. Wei Ying doesn’t know what to say.

“Good. That’s… cool,” Wei Ying says again, bouncing his leg nervously. He doesn’t really know what to do when Lan Zhan looks at him like that. “Well, I don’t want to bother you, so I’m gonna go work somewhere else.”

He starts getting up. Lan Zhan’s head snaps up at him.

“Why?”

“What?” Wei Ying asks. “Why what?”

“You can work here,” Lan Zhan says. “There’s plenty of space.”

Wei Ying looks around him. Most of the tables are empty, so he would have no trouble finding somewhere else to sit, but… This is the best table around. And he does like the idea of working with Lan Zhan.

“Okay,” he says. “But just a warning, I tend to be a little fidgety.”

“That’s fine,” Lan Zhan scoots his papers a little closer together, making even more space for him.

And so, Wei Ying sits down, opens his laptop, and starts working.

It’s a little unnerving, at first. Wei Ying keeps getting distracted, thinking he’s feeling Lan Zhan’s eyes on him, but when he looks up, Lan Zhan is just as focused on his work. It’s hard keeping himself from trying to stare at what Lan Zhan is doing, to control the tiny shifts of his hips. For the first few minutes, he’s hyper aware of his body, and of every time Lan Zhan seems to be glancing at him.

But then Lan Zhan sighs at the paper he’s looking at, and reaches for the soda again, almost absentmindedly. The frown between his eyebrows disappears as he drinks, and he looks up for a second, like the soda reminded him of Wei Ying’s presence.

Wei Ying smiles at him, glad to think that the drink is somehow helping him unwind. Lan Zhan doesn’t really smile back, but he keeps his eyes focused on Wei Ying for a second.

Wei Ying feels a surge of satisfaction run through him. After that, it gets a lot easier to focus.

The silence between them becomes comfortable, companionable. Lan Zhan moves so little that his presence feels soothing, somehow. Almost like it’s keeping him calm, like he felt when they had breakfast together.

Before Wei Ying knows it, the sun is already setting around them. Lan Zhan looks at his wristwatch – an actual wristwatch, not his phone or anything, which is kind of amusing to Wei Ying – and starts putting the papers back into his bag.

“You’re leaving?” Wei Ying asks. His voice comes out disappointed.

“I have class in ten minutes,” Lan Zhan says.

Right. Wei Ying has class too, half an hour from now. He should really get going.

Lan Zhan puts his bag on his shoulder and then hesitates, looking into Wei Ying’s eyes.

“What?” Wei Ying asks. “You ok?”

Lan Zhan nods, still staring at him with that serious face he has. The lines of his jaw are sharp, and when he presses his lips together, they lose a bit of their pink, reddish tint. Wei Ying watches it as Lan Zhan opens his lips again, and the color comes back to them slowly.

“I’m usually here at this hour,” Lan Zhan says. “If you want to share a moment of focus.”

Wei Ying can’t help but giggle at that. The way he says it is so funny. Share a moment of focus. Wei Ying kind of wants to bully him for it a little bit, in a friendly way, but Lan Zhan looks so hesitant he holds himself back.

“I think I’ll be here more often, then,” he says with a smile. “I always need help focusing.”

Lan Zhan’s eyes dip to his smile, and then he nods. Before Wei Ying can say anything else, Lan Zhan is walking away in quick steps, carrying the empty bottle of soda with him.

It isn’t until the sun has nearly set completely around him that Wei Ying realizes he’s still smiling.

–

Wei Ying finds him in the exact same spot the next day. And the next. And the next.

It kind of becomes a thing.

He sits down in front of him, opening his laptop and working on his project as Lan Zhan works on his. Sometimes, he asks Lan Zhan what he’s doing, and the answers are always so interesting he loses himself in listening to him for a few minutes.

Lan Zhan also asks him about his project, and sometimes Wei Ying even turns the screen in his direction to show him something. He can see Lan Zhan is really trying to understand gaming lingo when he explains it, which is nice. One time, Wei Ying mentions something he’s sure Lan Zhan won’t know about, but he’s shocked when Lan Zhan nods in understanding.

Wei Ying thinks he might have done some research on this, which is… Well. It’s very considerate of him. If Lan Zhan really does care about what he’s saying to that point, then that’s good. It’s nice. It’s a good start to a promising friendship.

It’s also something else, something Wei Ying can’t really put his finger on, but it makes him feel weirdly fuzzy about the whole thing. But he’s not looking deeply into it. People doing nice things for him always gets him smiling from ear to ear. He’s just pathetic like that.

Their conversations eb and flow like this for the entire week, rising and disappearing into a comfortable silence when they both turn back to their own work and focus again. Lan Zhan always has to leave first, and it leaves Wei Ying feeling like somehow it wasn’t enough time. Like they didn’t talk about all the things they could’ve talked about. Like there are always more things Wei Ying wants to bring up, to know Lan Zhan’s opinion about.

And still, every day, he gets too shy to ask for Lan Zhan’s number. He has no idea why he keeps chickening out. Lan Zhan gets up, and Wei Ying opens his lips to ask for it, and then something heavy settles in his throat and keeps him from speaking. It’s ridiculous. He’s never been this shy with anyone.

So Wei Ying comes up with a plan.

Lan Zhan likes puzzles, and Wei Ying found a really cool one that seems like he’ll enjoy. His plan is to show it to him on his phone, and when Lan Zhan’s eyebrows do that little twitch of interest thing Wei Ying noticed they do, he’s gonna ask for Lan Zhan’s phone to send him the link.

Simple. Effective. There’s no way he’ll fail.

Except Wei Ying walks all the way to their usual table the next day, where Lan Zhan is already waiting for him with his notebooks out, and feels his resolve disappearing inside him.

“Hi,” he says as he sits down. Lan Zhan looks up at him with liquid honey eyes, soft and warm, and Wei Ying doesn’t think he remembers how to say a single word.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, like he’s been waiting for him for hours, and it’s. It’s so. He’s just–

What the hell, Wei Ying thinks. What the hell is going on with him. He looks away quickly, and starts taking his laptop out so he can work.

He's more fidgety than usual, and he thinks Lan Zhan notices it. He keeps changing positions, shaking his leg, accidentally bumping into Lan Zhan's feet under the table when he moves.

It lasts all the way to the beginning of sunset, again. Wei Ying's starts getting even more anxious. Soon, Lan Zhan is going to leave, and then it'll be another weekend, and Wei Ying will have to spend two entire days without talking to him.

He needs to get a grip, and put the plan into motion.

"Oh, right," Wei Ying says as if the thought just occurred to him, and it sounds so fake it almost makes him cringe. "I have something to show you."

Lan Zhan looks at him and puts his pen down, giving him his undivided attention. Wei Ying swallows.

"Look," he clicks through his phone and gets to the page with the puzzle. "It's six thousand pieces. Cool, right?"

Instead of taking the phone from his hand, Lan Zhan leans in closer. His shirt is loose today, so it makes a section of skin under his neck show, which is scandalous for his standards. He's always super covered up. Wei Ying doesn't know if he should say anything, like, 'hey, dude, your whole collarbone is showing, and I know you don't like that so…', or if that would make this even weirder.

He’s just worried, is all. Lan Zhan seems like a private person, always wearing closed collars and long sleeves, so–

“It's a pretty image,” Lan Zhan says, bringing his attention back up to his face. “And it looks difficult.”

For a second, Wei Ying almost doesn’t understand what he’s talking about. And then he remembers the phone in his hand.

“Right?” he says, recovering fast. “It's filled with blue, so I thought you'd like it.”

Lan Zhan gives him one of his looks, the one where his eyebrows rise a little. Wei Ying thinks he can see a bit of a red flush on the shell of his ears. It’s so funny, how easily he blushes.

“How do you know I like blue?” Lan Zhan asks quietly.

Wei Ying only shrugs. “I mean, it’s obvious, isn’t it? Everything you own is a shade of blue. When it isn’t white, that is. You always wear that blue ribbon on your hair, too. You have… Well. All of your things, basically.”

Lan Zhan looks down at the table between them. “Oh.”

“I mean,” Wei Ying says, because he feels a strange need to keep talking. “People always have color preferences, right? Sometimes they’re clear.”

He waits for a few unbearable seconds as Lan Zhan seems to think about his answer. Is it weird that he noticed it? It’s not, right? People have favorite colors. Wei Ying is an observer. It’s normal.

Finally, Lan Zhan nods at him.

“Mn,” he says. “... And you like fiery colors.”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying smiles, relieved. "What can I say? I'm a fiery person."

Lan Zhan huffs out a tiny breath of exasperation, and it almost sounds like a laugh. One of those reluctant ones, when you don’t really want to laugh, but you still do. Wei Ying stares at him, trying to understand if he heard it right, waiting to hear it again.

Instead of indulging him, Lan Zhan reaches back to take his own phone from his pocket.

“I had been looking for a new one to start this weekend,” Lan Zhan says. He takes a quick glance at Wei Ying's screen, then mouths as he types on his own phone. "Blue whale puzzle…"

Wei Ying's heart sinks. Oh. Lan Zhan is searching for the name of the puzzle, instead of asking him for the link. He pulls his phone back, the smile disappearing from his face.

For a while, he just watches as Lan Zhan types and scrolls away. It's ridiculous, the whole thing. Ridiculous how he can't say a simple sentence like 'hey, give me your number'. Ridiculous how he feels so down about his plan not working.

Wei Ying shakes off the weird thoughts and straightens up his body again. This should be simple. Lan Zhan is just a guy, it’s not like he’s the president. The stakes aren't that high for him to be this nervous.

“Ordered,” Lan Zhan says, putting his phone down again. “It says it’ll arrive tomorrow morning.”

“That’s fast,” Wei Ying says, trying to bring his face back to a happy expression. "Have you ever done a puzzle with this many pieces?"

"I have," Lan Zhan says, oblivious to the mess in his head. "Although it usually takes me a couple of weeks."

That makes Wei Ying frown. “A couple of weeks?”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan hums.

"That's nothing for a professional puzzler, Lan Zhan," Wei Ying teases. "I bet that if you really tried you could have it done in a few days."

Lan Zhan lifts one eyebrow at him, recognizing it for the challenge it is. Wei Ying feels a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"A few days," Lan Zhan repeats.

"Yeah," Wei Ying’s smirk widens. "Easy."

"Could you do it in a few days?"

"Obviously," Wei Ying leans his elbows on the table and comes closer to him. "I could do it in two."

"Nonsense," Lan Zhan shakes his head. "Not while working."

"During the weekend, then," Wei Ying says. "Two days! I'm a professional, Lan Zhan."

"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan says, clearly doubting his skills. “This is huge.”

"You could do it in two days too, if you really tried," Wei Ying gives Lan Zhan’s foot a tiny kick under the table. "And I bet that if we got together we could have it done in a single Saturday."

Lan Zhan goes completely still. When their eyes meet, Lan Zhan’s gaze feels heavy on him. Wei Ying feels strangely exposed.

“Really?” Lan Zhan asks, his voice merely a whisper.

“Yeah,” Wei Ying says, because he isn’t going to back down from teasing him. “We’re both good at it, right? If we did it together, we would definitely be done fast.”

For some reason, that makes Lan Zhan look away from him, focusing his eyes back on the table.

"Alright," he says, and nothing else.

"What?" Wei Ying leans in closer, frowning slightly. "Alright what?"

"We could try," Lan Zhan says slowly. "This Saturday."

Wei Ying's lips fall open. Wait. Did he just ask Lan Zhan to hang out without even realizing it? And did… did Lan Zhan just say yes?

"Oh," he says, stupidly. "Yeah. Yeah, let's do it."

Lan Zhan still isn't looking at him. Wei Ying doesn’t like the lack of eye contact at all.

"Your apartment?" Lan Zhan asks. "Or mine?"

"It definitely has to be yours," Wei Ying laughs. "I have a roommate, so."

Lan Zhan looks up at him then, his face slightly more flushed than before, but it’s getting too dark to know for sure. Wei Ying feels so itchy under his gaze, like he has to get up and do something. Run a marathon, maybe. Dig his fingers really hard into whatever he can get his hands on. Bite down on something that’ll sink under his teeth.

"Okay," Lan Zhan says. "My place."

It suddenly dawns on him, with the way Lan Zhan keeps staring, that the roommate comment was probably uncalled for. Did it sound like he was saying that he wants to be alone with Lan Zhan?

Well, he does. Obviously Wei Ying would rather not have to share his time between him and Huaisang, who he sees every day. But Lan Zhan is– Fuck. Lan Zhan is gay. Is he thinking of this as a date? Did it sound like Wei Ying was asking him on a date?

Wei Ying should tell him that's not what it is. He should say it now, clear the air, make sure they're both on the same page.

It's probably just a silly thought he's having, anyway. Lan Zhan wouldn't even say yes if he thought this was a date. Someone like him would never go on a date with Wei Ying. But what if he thinks that's what Wei Ying wants?

Yes, clearing the air would be better. Wei Ying should just say it now. 'It's nice to plan days with new friends', or something like that. Say it. Just say it. Say it say it say it.

He takes a deep breath in. Lan Zhan blinks at him, his eyes deep and filled with secrets Wei Ying wishes he could just coax out of him, one by one.

Instead of speaking, he picks up his phone, opens a new contact page, and hands it to Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan stares at it.

"Your number. So you can text me your address," Wei Ying says, as if his heart isn’t lodged somewhere near his throat. As if he doesn’t already know Lan Zhan’s address.

Lan Zhan doesn't seem to remember that, either, because he picks up the phone and types his number in. Then he calls himself before handing Wei Ying his phone back.

Wei Ying's heart is galloping at worrying speeds by the time Lan Zhan's first text comes. It's just the address, accompanied by a humble "3 pm?" text right after it.

"Yeah," Wei Ying says, looking back up at him. "3 pm is perfect."

It happens, then. A quick upturn of a corner of Lan Zhan's lips. A very tiny, almost imperceptible hint of a smile.

It makes the world stop spinning around Wei Ying, his lungs forgetting how to work. He's smiling back before he realizes it, trapped in that single twitch of Lan Zhan's lips like it's the biggest victory he ever had in his life.

Lan Zhan is so. He's just so…

Wei Ying gets up from the bench before he can finish that thought, shaking it off quickly.

"I have to go," he says, picking up his things as fast as he can. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay–" Lan Zhan starts saying, but Wei Ying is already walking away.

He doesn't look back at Lan Zhan even once as he walks, a single thought echoing in his head.

What the fuck. What the fuck.

–

Wei Ying has a quick check-in with his own thoughts and decides that it’s fine.

It’s all that he has on his mind on Saturday, as he goes through the grocery store picking up snacks to bring to Lan Zhan’s apartment. It’s fine. It's great, actually.

He hasn’t made a new friend in so long. He’s known Huaisang and Wen Qing since High School, and he met Mian Mian during college. It’s been years and years since then, and he forgot how exciting it can be, when you first get close to someone new. Finding out little quirks about them, getting to learn their little expressions. He has always liked that in new, developing friendships.

And Lan Zhan is just so serious by nature. Of course seeing him smile feels like a huge accomplishment. Wei Ying doesn’t think he’s ever seen him smiling a single time in all of these years they’ve been bumping into each other in hallways. He didn’t even smile during that one class they had together with that funny teacher who used to crack jokes all the time.

So, yeah. It’s great. The fact that Lan Zhan smiled – well, kind of smiled. Wei Ying is counting it – is a win. The fact that Wei Ying felt good about it means he’s getting to understand Lan Zhan more.

He smiles to himself as he holds a huge block of ham in his hands. Hanging out with Lan Zhan in silence as they work is fun, but today they get to talk again, like they did that day during breakfast. Wei Ying has so many things he’d like to ask him, so many things he wants to know about Lan Zhan’s opinion on literally anything at all. And he has an entire day to find out.

It’s okay that he’s excited about this, Wei Ying decides. It’s amazing that he found someone new and interesting when he’s almost 30 years old. It’s so hard to make new friends at his age. He won’t feel weird for wanting to enjoy Lan Zhan’s company. He won’t feel weird just because he feels good spending time with him.

Holding the ham with one hand, Wei Ying snaps a picture of it and sends it to Lan Zhan. Earlier, as soon as Wei Ying woke up, he sent Lan Zhan a good morning text and asked if they were still up for today. Lan Zhan confirmed, and since then Wei Ying had been narrating his day to him through messages.

>Wei Ying<

ham cubes as a snack. Yes or no?

>Lan Zhan<

If you want it, of course. But I should warn you, I'm a vegetarian, so I probably won’t be eating it.

>Wei Ying<

really? 

that actually fits you for some reason

no meat it is!!

Lan Zhan sends him a picture of the puzzle, which apparently really arrived this morning. I’ll wait for you to set it up, he says, and something tight squeezes inside Wei Ying’s chest.

He throws a bunch of snacks into his cart and goes to checkout as fast as he can.

–

Wei Ying is only 20 minutes late when Lan Zhan opens the door for him.

“Hi!” Wei Ying says excitedly, waving his bags around. “I brought snacks.”

Lan Zhan stands there in front of him, wearing a loose button up shirt and tight pants that he probably only threw on at the last minute and still somehow feels like he made an effort to look amazing. His hair is completely down today, no ribbon holding it up. It falls slightly on one of his eyes, and he shakes his head a little to get it out of the way.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan's deep voice greets him. “Hi. Come in.”

He steps aside to make way for him. Wei Ying stands there a second longer, looking at him instead of going inside. He’s never seen Lan Zhan with his hair down before. It feels… so dressy, for some reason. Like he looks even more put together.

Which is ridiculous, of course. Technically, not tying his hair is doing one less thing than what he usually does. He should look less good than usual, really. But–

“You can put the bags on the counter,” Lan Zhan says, and Wei Ying realizes he's been staring.

Before things get awkward, Wei Ying smiles at him and comes inside. He puts the bags on the appointed spot and hears Lan Zhan closing the door behind him.

“Wow,” Wei Ying says, making a show of looking around. “You have a really nice apartment!”

Lan Zhan frowns at him. “You've been here before.”

Wei Ying leans in his direction and cups his mouth, like he's sharing a secret.

“That doesn't count,” he whispers. “Today is the first time it's official.”

Lam Zhan just keeps staring. “Official,” he echoes.

“Yes!” Wei Ying says. “Come on, humor me.”

He leans back from Lan Zhan again.

“It's so light and comfortable,” Wei Ying continues. “I bet you're proud of decorating it.”

“Oh. Yes,” Lan Zhan nods stiffly, and it's so funny, how he's trying to get into the game. “Would you like a tour?”

“Yes, I would,” Wei Ying says, then points at the bookshelf in the living room. “Starting with the pictures on that shelf, please.”

Lan Zhan's shoulders drop as he realizes he fell right into Wei Ying's trap. Wei Ying throws his head back and laughs loudly, walking towards him.

“Sorry, Lan Zhan, I had to,” he says. “I noticed there were pictures the last time I came here and I'm really curious about them. You don't have to show me everything!”

Lan Zhan doesn't exactly roll his eyes, but it looks like he really wants to.

Still, he walks to the shelf, and Wei Ying walks right behind him as he shows him the few pictures he has up on it.

The first one is Lan Zhan in a suit, surrounded by teenagers in formal clothes. He tells Wei Ying this was the first graduation he was a part of as a teacher, and his students insisted for him to be there. He looks proud of it, if keeping the picture on display is any indication, and Wei Ying oohs and aahs about it accordingly.

“You must be such a great teacher, then,” he elbows Lan Zhan playfully. “They'll probably remember you for a long time.”

Lan Zhan seems pleased by his comment, but he clears his throat and moves on to the next picture. There are only a handful of them. Lan Zhan and his uncle, standing side by side in a garden. Lan Zhan and his guqin, which Wei Ying had no idea he played. 8-year-old Lan Zhan and his mom, who passed away when he was little.

It prompts a conversation about parents, and before Wei Ying knows it, they've both been standing there for a few minutes, just talking about their lives. Wei Ying brushes over his past to tell Lan Zhan that he lost his parents too, and Lan Zhan looks at him for a few seconds, clearly noticing how much he's not saying.

Instead of asking pressing questions, he steps aside, and shows Wei Ying the last picture, which is just him and his brother in hiking clothes, standing on a trail in the sun.

“Is he your twin?” Wei Ying asks, taking the picture in his hand to look at it closely.

Lan Zhan has sunglasses on in the picture, which shouldn't make him look as cool as it does. It also looks like he's wearing leggings. Wei Ying tries to imagine Lan Zhan by his side, casual-chic Lan Zhan, wearing tight stretchy pants instead of whatever brand of dress pants he’s wearing right now. The thought almost consumes his brain for a second.

“He's two years older,” Lan Zhan says. Wei Ying looks at both of their faces again, and the similarities are uncanny.

“Wow, you guys look exactly the same,” he says.

Lan Zhan's lips twitch by his side, and not exactly in a pleasant way. Oops. Wei Ying said something wrong, didn't he? Sibling comparison can get really weird. He knows that first hand.

“But you're way prettier than him,” Wei Ying playfully bumps Lan Zhan with his elbow. “I mean, he's okay, but nothing compared to university heartthrob Lan Zhan.”

Lan Zhan's ears instantly go red at that, and Wei Ying's eyes are immediately drawn to it.

“University heartthrob?” Lan Zhan asks in his low voice, without looking at him. “... Is that something people say?”

“Probably,” Wei Ying puts the picture back in place. “I mean, I made it up, but I'm sure I'm not the first one.”

Lan Zhan turns to look at him, and Wei Ying opens a wide grin. For a second, Lan Zhan just sustains his gaze, the flush in his ears spreading to his neck.

“I bought wine,” Lan Zhan says suddenly, and walks past Wei Ying to go back into the kitchen.

Wei Ying gladly follows him there. Lan Zhan’s apartment is modest, not that big, but just comfortable enough for one or two people. The light colors in the decoration and dark wood floors fit his personality well. Huaisang has a lot of expensive, collectible items, which means his apartment is cluttered, even though it’s never really messy. Wei Ying likes it there, but he has to admit, the atmosphere here just feels different. It’s no wonder it felt so soothing to have breakfast with Lan Zhan that morning.

Lan Zhan comes back to him and stands by his side, handing him a bottle of wine. It’s the same one Wei Ying was drinking that night at the party. He can’t believe Lan Zhan remembered.

“Lan Zhan!” he says, delighted. “You shouldn’t have. You don’t even drink.”

“But you do,” Lan Zhan says simply.

Wei Ying smiles at him again. He can't help it. He’s been feeling excited about coming over all morning, and he thought the excitement would dim down once he actually got here, but it’s the opposite.

“Well, I can’t refuse a good wine,” he says. “But I won’t drink all of it, okay? I don’t wanna get drunk today.”

For some reason, that makes Lan Zhan blush again. “I understand,” he says.

Wei Ying tilts his head at him, not quite understanding it himself.

“Um,” Wei Ying says, hugging the bottle to his body. “Do you have a corkscrew?”

Lan Zhan’s face falls. Clearly, he didn’t think about a corkscrew at all.

“It’s alright!” Wei Ying says instantly. “Do you have, like, a sharp thin knife? Or scissors?”

“I… yes,” Lan Zhan says, rushing to his drawers.

He takes a knife from one of them, but it’s too large to fit into the bottle, so they have to use the scissors. Wei Ying asks him to hold the bottle down as he tries to shove one blade of the scissors into the cork, and Lan Zhan does as told with a huge frown on his face.

Just for fun, Wei Ying suggests the method of wrapping a towel around the bottle and then smacking the bottom of it into a wall to pop the cork out. The horrified expression Lan Zhan makes is so hilarious Wei Ying almost drops the bottle with how hard he’s laughing. If Lan Zhan hadn’t been holding it too, there would be wine all over the floor.

He’s still laughing when he finally manages to open it. Lan Zhan lets out a discreet, contained sigh, clearly relieved that they didn’t have to resort to other methods. It’s a pity. Wei Ying tells him he was about to suggest warming the bottle with some fire, and gets a killer glare in response.

When they finally make their way to the center table, Wei Ying has a glass of wine in his hand and a huge smile on his face.

They sit on the floor in front of the couch, leaning back into it. Lan Zhan arranges the snacks Wei Ying brought into tiny containers and puts them around them on the floor too. It’s all so casual it brings Wei Ying back to memories of being in High School, going to his friend’s house every day after class just to play around. With Lan Zhan, it feels new and exciting in a way it didn’t, back then. There’s an agitation in the air around him, and Wei Ying feels more giddy than he has in years.

They finally open the puzzle box, and Wei Ying unceremoniously dumps all the pieces on the table at once.

“Whoa,” he says when he sees the sheer amount of them. “This really is a lot.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan says. He’s already starting to turn up the pieces that are upside down. Wei Ying starts helping him, not even trying to hide his shock.

“Are you sure it’s gonna fit the table?”

“If the dimensions on the box are correct, yes,” Lan Zhan says.

“The pieces are so small,” Wei Ying says. “And there are. Just. So many of them?”

Lan Zhan stops what he’s doing and stares at him. When Wei Ying looks back, he sees a hint of amusement in Lan Zhan’s eyes.

“What?” he asks.

“Nothing,” Lan Zhan says.

“We’re still gonna do it in a day!”

“If you say so,” Lan Zhan turns back to the table.

“Shut up,” Wei Ying bumps their shoulders together. “Don’t give up on the challenge when we haven’t even started.”

“It might be impossible.”

“Then today we're attempting the impossible,” he says, already smiling again.

He thinks he sees Lan Zhan smiling, too. He thinks he sees the corner of his lip rising up, just slightly. It’s enough to make Wei Ying’s pulse race inside his veins. He drinks a sip of his wine, just so he can ground himself, and focuses on the puzzle for a while.

It’s almost disconcerting, how fast they settle into a comfortable rhythm, their conversation flowing naturally. After the pieces are all turned up, Wei Ying gets started on a corner, and Lan Zhan gets started on another one. Occasionally, he finds a piece that looks like it belongs to the part Lan Zhan is assembling, and playfully slaps his hands away so he can fit it there.

Lan Zhan sits incredibly close to him, which isn’t weird at all, even though it maybe should be. Their thighs and knees aren’t just bumping together, they’re touching, resting on each other, and every time Wei Ying leans into Lan Zhan’s space to fit a puzzle piece for him it seems like they get even closer.

At one point, Lan Zhan finds a piece for him, and leans in to do the same. He doesn’t slap his hands away like Wei Ying does, but Wei Ying gives him space anyway, already chuckling to himself. Lan Zhan’s knee comes up above his thigh as he leans in, his face so close Wei Ying can smell his perfume.

It brings him right back to the night he slept here, the memory hitting him so hard he has to stop moving. He can almost feel the ghost of Lan Zhan’s arms around him that night, the way his nose bumped on Lan Zhan’s cheek.

Wei Ying manages to keep talking only by sheer force of will, blinking the memory away as quickly as he can, and saying something about how he used to fight Jiang Cheng when he was younger. Lan Zhan doesn’t seem to notice it. He just goes back to his corner like nothing happened, and asks Wei Ying more about his relationship with his siblings.

It’s nice, and it’s fun, and it strangely makes Wei Ying’s body feel warm all over. He knows it’s not just the wine. He just… really likes spending time with Lan Zhan. Which is fine. It's good. It's how he's supposed to feel. Of course he's supposed to like it. If he didn’t, they wouldn’t become friends.

“What about the book club?” Wei Ying asks at one point, after who knows how many hours have gone by. He just knows the snacks are almost done, he had to refill his glass of wine two times, and Lan Zhan had to get up and get some more iced tea for himself. “You told me you were thinking of making one? Is that true?”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan hums, a sound Wei Ying is coming to recognize as entirely him. It can mean ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘I’m thinking about it’ or even ‘you’re being annoying’. It’s just one more of the tiny things about Lan Zhan that he can’t help noticing and cataloging in his mind. “It was my students’ idea.”

“Your students?” Wei Ying asks, surprised. “High schoolers who want to read?”

Lan Zhan sends him an icy glare, and that single look somehow contains an entire defense speech for literature-loving teenagers. Wei Ying starts laughing before he even opens his lips.

“I’m joking! Ay, Lan Zhan, you’re so funny,” Wei Ying smiles. “I’m just saying it’s nice, that’s all. How did they come up with the idea?”

“They wanted a way to better bond with each other,” Lan Zhan explains. “They’re all part of a queer group. Also led by me.”

Wei Ying immediately imagines Lan Zhan standing in a classroom, with a legion of baby queer students standing tall behind him in all kinds of power poses. It’s such an endearing image he can’t help but giggle.

“That’s so cool,” he says. “How did you even come up with the group?”

Lan Zhan sighs, trying to assemble two puzzle pieces together. He turns them a few times, but they don’t fit, so he sets them aside.

“It wasn’t on purpose,” he says. “I don’t hide the fact that I’m gay, but I also don’t talk about my dating life at school.”

“Right,” Wei Ying says. “Students are nosy.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan agrees. “One of them found out, and the news spread quickly. I thought there was gonna be some backlash, but what happened was that some of them started asking me for advice. For help.”

Wei Ying puts down the piece he’s holding, turning in Lan Zhan’s direction. He’s gone serious now, more than he usually is, and Wei Ying can feel that this really matters to him.

“And then?” he prompts, giving Lan Zhan his full attention.

Lan Zhan turns to him too. “And then, I realized those students needed more than just casual support from a teacher. They needed each other. So I made a group, and gave them the choice to remain anonymous or not. Those who aren’t anonymous can go to our in person meetings. Those who are anonymous only participate in the online chat, and I’m the only one who knows their names.”

Wei Ying feels Lan Zhan’s care for his students like something warm radiating from him. As if it spreads through Lan Zhan’s body, even with his impassive face and unbothered expressions. It makes Wei Ying want to hug him, to squeeze his hand, to do something. It makes him want to thank Lan Zhan for it, even though he has no right to feel like that.

“That’s amazing,” he says. Lan Zhan isn’t looking at him, so Wei Ying tilts his head a little, making sure their eyes meet. “You’re amazing, Lan Zhan.”

Lan Zhan holds his gaze, intense. There’s a fire in his eyes, something Wei Ying hadn’t noticed before, but he thinks he won’t be able to unsee it now.

He chuckles a little at his own thoughts. He’s being so dramatic today.

“I bet a bunch of them have major crushes on you,” he says, trying to lighten the mood.

Lan Zhan actually does roll his eyes this time. “Ridiculous.”

Wei Ying starts laughing again, resisting the urge to tease him even more about it.

“Sorry, sorry,” he pokes Lan Zhan’s arm a few times, and the touch actually makes him soften a little. It’s funny, really. Lan Zhan isn’t as averse to touch as Wei Ying thought he’d be. “How did they even find out about you?”

Lan Zhan looks down at the puzzle pieces again.

“One of them saw me on a date,” he says. “At a park near the school.”

Wei Ying’s stomach does a weird turn, so briefly he almost thinks he imagined it.

“A date?” he asks, keeping the smile on his face. “I mean, you couldn’t have prevented that.”

“It was a mistake,” Lan Zhan says. “Both the location and the person.”

That makes Wei Ying laugh. He picks up his glass of wine to take a sip, and watches as Lan Zhan tucks his hair behind his ear once again. It keeps falling in front of his eyes. It's a little bit distracting.

“Why was the person a mistake?” Wei Ying asks. Just because it’s the obvious next step. Just to keep the conversation going.

Lan Zhan takes a few seconds to answer, like he’s really thinking about it. The puzzle lies untouched in front of them, their bodies slightly turned towards one another, still touching. Wei Ying suddenly feels like he maybe had too much to drink.

“He wasn’t fun,” Lan Zhan says, at last.

The answer isn't at all what Wei Ying was expecting.

“Is that what you’re looking for?” he teases. “Fun?”

“It’s a start,” Lan Zhan looks at him. “Since I am anything but.”

“What?” Wei Ying pulls back a little. “Who told you you’re not fun?”

Lan Zhan raises an eyebrow at him, and then looks pointedly at the puzzle pieces on the table. But that only makes Wei Ying more angry. Puzzles are fun! Lan Zhan is fun, too. Wei Ying has been here for however many hours and he didn’t even feel the time go by. He didn’t wish he was alone, either.  And this is extremely rare for him. What kind of men has Lan Zhan been dating?

“What the hell, Lan Zhan,” he shakes his head. “You’re fun, and you’re funny, too, in a cool, petty way. Like, your deadpan expressions? Hilarious. Whoever said you weren’t just doesn’t understand you.”

Wei Ying says it and holds his gaze, just to make sure he gets that he’s serious about this. Lan Zhan stares back, looking at him with his unreadable, amber eyes.

“Don’t just look at me like that,” Wei Ying says. “Tell me who said that about you. I’ll beat them up.”

Lan Zhan huffs out a bubbly sound, completely involuntary. Wei Ying freezes for a second, realizing what it is he just heard.

He laughed. Lan Zhan just laughed at him.

The sense of triumph is immediate, rising through Wei Ying’s entire body and making him smile brighter than he has all day.

“You’re laughing,” he says, almost breathless. “I can’t believe you’re laughing at me, Lan Zhan. I’ll really beat them up, you know. I work out.”

“I have noticed,” Lan Zhan says, like it's the most normal thing in the world.

Wei Ying swallows, feeling a little bit like he just climbed a mountain. Noticed? What does he mean, he noticed? Is he just saying that casually? Or. Is Lan Zhan. Looking at him? Like that?

Should Wei Ying ask about it? No. That would be awkward. He needs… he needs to ignore it. Move along. Yeah.

He giggles a little bit, like laughing will somehow dissipate the tension he has in his body, like it will calm down the weird way his heart keeps racing.

“Not fun,” Wei Ying repeats, still outraged. “Maybe you should look for someone who’s not an asshole, for a start.”

Lan Zhan hums, and Wei Ying decides that actually, he hasn’t had too much to drink. He downs the rest of the wine in his glass all in one go, staring at the huge amount of blue puzzle pieces still left to be assembled.

“What about you?” Lan Zhan’s voice is low, almost hesitant. He’s not looking at Wei Ying anymore, his whole attention back on the table in front of them.

“Me?” Wei Ying asks.

“What do you look for?” Lan Zhan asks. “In a partner.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says, and goes quiet.

That is… a difficult question. An impossible question, really. The truth is, Wei Ying never really thought about it.

His idea of romance is so abstract it feels more like a compilation of fables, unreachable scenarios that are probably only possible in movies and books. He has dated a couple of girls, but he never really thought about it in a way that would last. He just couldn’t see himself with any of them in the future, married and living in the same house. He could definitely imagine children, if he tried, maybe a small legion of them, but never with anyone else. Whenever he tried to put any of the girls he dated there… the dream vanished right in front of his eyes.

It always felt like the image wasn’t quite right, like his feelings weren’t strong enough to warrant spending an entire lifetime together.

“I… don’t know,” he says, trying to make his voice sound light, but all it does is come out strained. “Someone nice? Someone who likes how much I talk would be cool. Someone who gets it when I just need to hyperfocus on something for like 7 hours and then emerge like nothing happened. I don’t know if I can ask for much more than that.”

He forces out a laugh. Lan Zhan glances at him, his eyebrows slightly pinched.

“I believe that is the bare minimum, Wei Ying,” he says.

“Yeah,” Wei Ying shrugs. “I guess I never really thought about it that much. I haven’t dated in a while, and I’m not super into hookups or one night stands, so…” he pauses. “I’ve just been focusing on work. It’s been a bit crazy, with how much I have to do.”

Lan Zhan’s eyes seem to see right into his soul.

“That seems lonely,” he says.

“It’s fine,” Wei Ying makes himself smile. “Seriously, it’s alright. I mean, I have friends. And I’m… trying not to be so lonely anymore. I’m trying to get out more, spend more time away from work. I’m here now, right?”

Lan Zhan just keeps looking at him. He seems… genuinely worried about Wei Ying’s life, about his perceived loneliness.

“Still,” Lan Zhan says quietly. “It doesn’t mean you should settle for anyone who is just nice to you.”

That makes Wei Ying truly smile, this time. “Alright. What should I settle for, then?”

"Someone who values every part of your brightness,” Lan Zhan says, turning his face back to the table to grab his glass of iced tea. “And your mind. Definitely not just anyone.”

Wei Ying stares at him, watching as he takes a sip of his drink, unable to draw a single breath in. He has no idea what to say.

After a while, the silence becomes too much, so he answers the only way he knows. By teasing, and joking, and trying to lighten the mood.

“Are you scolding me? Am I being scolded right now?”

“Yes,” Lan Zhan says. “If it works.”

“Shut up,” Wei Ying smiles, bumping him with his knee. “Enough talking about me. I need more snacks, come on.”

He gets up and pulls Lan Zhan by the arm. Lan Zhan goes easily enough, letting himself be guided all the way back to the kitchen.

As it turns out, it’s a little over 6 pm, which is why the sun keeps getting lower and lower in the sky. Their snacks are done, so Wei Ying convinces Lan Zhan to let him order dinner for them. They sit side by side on the stools by the counter, and Wei Ying watches as Lan Zhan scrolls through the app on his phone and carefully chooses what he wants to eat.

They take a break from the puzzle when the food arrives, and Lan Zhan drags the table away so they can sit on the couch and watch TV. Lan Zhan lets him choose what they’re going to watch, and Wei Ying picks a random cooking show, which seems to please Lan Zhan.

Night falls around them as they talk. Lan Zhan is still a bit quiet, but he looks more comfortable in his own home, talking slightly more than he has during the week. Wei Ying still has to fill most of the silence, but Lan Zhan seems to want to keep him talking, asking questions about his favorite TV shows, and whether he likes to cook for himself.

Wei Ying is surprised by how much he ends up enjoying himself, even with the puzzle forgotten. Even as Lan Zhan starts talking less and less, and they start to pay more and more attention to the TV.

At some point in the night, Lan Zhan reclines his body on the couch and lets his head rest back on the cushion. Wei Ying notices, but doesn’t think hard about it, too focused on the end of the crime show that started playing.

It’s only a few minutes later, when he feels a soft weight falling on his shoulder, that he realizes Lan Zhan has fallen asleep.

He almost jumps up, holding himself back at the last second. The credits roll up on the screen, and when Wei Ying checks the time, he sees it’s 9:30 pm. He’s been in Lan Zhan’s apartment for over 6 hours.

It seems shockingly early to fall asleep, but Lan Zhan did tell him today that he usually wakes up early, which Wei Ying assumed meant about 6:30, 7 am every day. Wei Ying acted properly scandalized about it, and Lan Zhan seemed to find it funny.

Lan Zhan hadn’t laughed again, though. He only laughed that one time. Wei Ying kept hoping for it, all day, but Lan Zhan’s smiles were rare and his laughs were even rarer.

Wei Ying looks down at his face, watching it more closely now that Lan Zhan isn’t watching him back.

His forehead is smooth and peaceful, and his cheeks are soft, one of them squished against Wei Ying’s shoulder. It makes Wei Ying remember the picture on the shelf, the one with 8 year old Lan Zhan hugging his mom. He looks so much like that kid like this, relaxed and sleeping. It’s kind of adorable, honestly. Wei Ying wants to poke one of his cheeks, just to see his finger digging into it.

But there are a lot of differences, too. Wei Ying tilts his head to look at him better. This Lan Zhan has a stronger nose than he used to have. His jaw is sharper. His eyelashes are ridiculously long. And his lips look bigger than they used to in the photo, slightly more red even than they seemed to be yesterday. Wei Ying wonders, for an insane second, if Lan Zhan applied some kind of weak lip tint, or if he’s just imagining things.

Wei Ying quickly turns ahead, facing the TV again. He shakes his head a little, as if he can wipe the thoughts away from it. This is so weird. Who the hell watches a sleeping person like this?

He shouldn’t even be here anymore, really. Clearly, Lan Zhan is too tired to have company over, and Wei Ying is just overstaying his welcome.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says gently. When it doesn’t work, he shakes Lan Zhan a bit. “Lan Zhan, wake up.”

Lan Zhan flutters his eyelashes open, and his honey-colored eyes focus intently on Wei Ying’s face.

Wei Ying swallows dry. They’re really close, like this. He hadn’t realized it before. He can even feel the warmth from Lan Zhan’s body down his entire arm. Is it weird for two guys to be this close? It doesn't feel weird, but. Should– Should he–

He turns away again and clears his throat.

“I have to go,” he says. His voice comes out a bit too high.

“Oh,” Lan Zhan finally realizes where he is, and pulls back from him almost lazily, like he can’t quite make himself move too fast when he’s sleepy. “Already?”

Wei Ying can’t help but smile at that. Already, he says, as if Wei Ying hadn’t been here the entire day. Their working sessions throughout the week have lasted for two hours, max, so this is already three times more Wei Ying than Lan Zhan is used to. And he’s saying ‘already.’

“Yeah, already,” Wei Ying laughs weakly. “Since we've met, you’ve fallen asleep on my shoulder twice, you know.”

Lan Zhan seems embarrassed by that, his ears blushing slightly. “I apologize. I usually go to bed by 9, and I–”

“What?” Wei Ying says, louder than he intended. “Lan Zhan! Why didn’t you tell me?”

He gets up, and the left side of his body where they had been touching suddenly feels cold. Lan Zhan looks up at him, confused.

“It’s nine thirty already! I’m being such an asshole,” Wei Ying picks up the plates they left on the floor. “I can’t believe you didn’t kick me out!”

He goes to the kitchen and rinses what he can, as quickly as he can. Lan Zhan gets up from the couch and comes after him.

“Wei Ying, it’s fine,” Lan Zhan says. “I don’t mind.”

“I do,” Wei Ying says. “I didn’t even know how late it was for you. I’m gonna tidy this up and then I’ll be out of–”

Lan Zhan is suddenly by his side, his long fingers closing over Wei Ying’s wrist.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says. Wei Ying stops where he is, looking at him. “I don’t mind,” he repeats, more firmly this time.

Wei Ying takes a good look at him, but he seems just as honest as he always is.

“Alright,” Wei Ying says. Lan Zhan lets go of him, so he closes the tap and dries his hands. “I really do need to go, though. It’s pretty late.”

Lan Zhan nods, so Wei Ying steps away from the sink and gathers his things; his keys, his phone, his wallet that he had thrown on the counter after paying for their food. Lan Zhan follows him with his eyes as he goes along, his face looking sleepy. Wei Ying keeps glancing back at him, and every time, without fail, Lan Zhan meets his eyes.

He puts his shoes on at the door, and turns back. Lan Zhan walks up to him with a soft expression on his face.

“Well,” Wei Ying says, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. “I guess I was wrong. We didn’t even get close to finishing that puzzle.”

“I will not say I told you so,” Lan Zhan says.

Wei Ying gives him a playful kick in the shin. “You’re so annoying.”

Lan Zhan’s eyes feel fond when their eyes meet. Wei Ying smiles at him, feeling something warm and liquid settling in his chest.

“I guess we’re just gonna have to finish it another day,” he says, and then quickly remembers he has no idea if Lan Zhan ever wants to do this again. “Or. You know. You could finish it yourself. If you want to. It would probably be annoying to just leave it on the table and not do anything with it.”

“We started it together,” Lan Zhan frowns. “Shouldn’t we finish it together, as well?”

“I… Yeah, definitely,” Wei Ying says right away. “Yes. I mean. I’m sure it’s bad luck not to finish a puzzle with the person you started it with, right?”

“Surely, it must be,” Lan Zhan agrees.

Wei Ying lets out a relieved laugh, feeling lighter already. It’s fine. This is fine. He’s going to see Lan Zhan again, and they’re going to keep doing this.

“Nice,” he says. “Cool. I’m free next Saturday.”

Lan Zhan nods. “So am I.”

His hair falls over his face again, and it almost makes Wei Ying smile, how often it keeps happening.

Without thinking, he reaches forward to brush Lan Zhan’s hair back, tucking it behind his ear.

“I’ll bring you some hairspray next time,” Wei Ying says, laughing under his breath. “Your hair behaves even less than mine.”

Lan Zhan inhales, his eyes snapping up to him, and Wei Ying quickly brings his hand back down again.

“Anyway,” Wei Ying says, his heart beating annoyingly fast. “I have to go now. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“... Yes,” Lan Zhan whispers. “Monday.”

With one last smile in his direction, Wei Ying turns away and walks out the door.

He has to force himself not to look back even once. He shoves his hands in his pockets and keeps looking ahead, waiting for the elevator to come.

It isn’t until the elevator doors open in front of him that he hears Lan Zhan’s door closing.

–

Wei Ying has trouble falling asleep.

He thinks he gets a good four hours, if he’s being generous, but he tosses and turns in bed all night, not really knowing why he feels so agitated.

Being with Lan Zhan was nice. He had fun, he ate well, he laughed, and Lan Zhan seemed to like it too. There’s no reason why Wei Ying should get back home and feel like he made one hundred mistakes. Like he left one thousand questions unanswered, and one million possibilities open. There's no reason why he should be feeling so… unsatisfied.

But that’s exactly how he feels, even as the sun rises outside his window. He keeps thinking about it, thinking about everything he said, and wondering why the hell he's feeling like he left too soon if he spent the entire Saturday in Lan Zhan’s apartment.

He forces himself to stay in bed until 9 am, because he refuses to get up earlier than that on a Sunday. When he finally does get up, he takes a cold shower, and eats half of the baguette Huaisang bought the day before.

Then, he throws himself on the living room couch and scrolls through his phone. He should probably work today, since he spent the whole day yesterday doing absolutely nothing work related. But spending the week working at the park with Lan Zhan has been useful, and Wei Ying isn’t actually late on anything.

Instead of doing what he should do, which is look at his schedule and see which tasks he can get started on, Wei Ying opens his Instagram.

He looks at the only picture he took yesterday, a shot of the puzzle pieces scattered on the table and the box right to the side, and posts it. Then, he opens his messages to Lan Zhan.

>Wei Ying<

rise and shine!!!

>Lan Zhan<

It is almost 10 am.

>Wei Ying<

so?

>Lan Zhan<

I have been up since 5.

>Wei Ying<

and that’s weird of you

but we all have our own quirks

>Lan Zhan<

Good morning, Wei Ying.

>Wei Ying<

morning :))))))

I posted a picture from yesterday

:link_attached:

Lan Zhan doesn’t answer for a while. After a few seconds, Wei Ying gets a following notification, and a like notification on the puzzle picture.

He clicks the profile so fast his phone almost slips from his hand.

For some reason, Wei Ying didn’t think Lan Zhan would have an Instagram account. It seems like such a normal thing, but Lan Zhan said he wasn't into a lot of social media, so Wei Ying just assumed he wouldn’t have one. But now, here he is, staring at Lan Zhan’s name, and a bio that says absolutely nothing about him. The profile picture is a distant shot of Lan Zhan at the top of a hiking trail, and he’s so far away that Wei Ying can barely see that it’s him.

The account is private, but when he clicks to follow back, Lan Zhan accepts it immediately.

Wei Ying is only human. He starts scrolling through his pictures.

Lan Zhan’s Instagram is… interesting. It’s exactly like him, which is saying something, because even though Lan Zhan has a blank face, he has a lot of personality to go with it. There are pictures of full auditoriums, most of them with other people featuring as lecturers, but some of them with Lan Zhan at the front of the stage, speaking to a crowd. There are pictures of groups Wei Ying assumes must be the teachers in his school. There are pictures of Lan Zhan with his uncle and brother, most of them out in nature, because apparently they are a hiking family.

And then, every once in a while, a different photo appears. A more personal shot, taken from Lan Zhan’s own phone. A page of a novel with an underlined quote. A random wild bunny in a park, and Lan Zhan’s hand in the picture, clearly reaching for it. A stack of papers piled on top of each other, where the top one has a clear ‘10’ on it, and the caption on the picture says ‘Proud of my students this year.’

There are no selfies, no pictures at all where his face is the focus. Wei Ying catches glimpses of him through other people’s cameras, but never how he chooses to portray himself. Instead, Lan Zhan posts pictures of the things he pays attention to, and there are even a few finished puzzles he decided to share.

His Instagram is clearly filled with things he loves.

Wei Ying smiles to himself, scrolling further down, and then stops.

Right there, dating from a few months back, is another picture someone else took of Lan Zhan.

He’s wearing something Wei Ying has seen him wearing a thousand times before. Cream colored dress pants and a white button up shirt. As always, the clothes are perfectly ironed, and the shirt looks so smooth on his body it’s almost annoying.

But in this picture, Lan Zhan has his back turned to the camera, and he’s squatting down. There’s a bunny in front of him, but Wei Ying barely sees it. His eyes keep being brought back to a single point.

Because Lan Zhan’s pants in the picture are so tight on his legs it looks like they’re about to burst. Because right there, under the cream colored fabric, Wei Ying can see each bump of the muscles on Lan Zhan’s thigh. Because if he squints just a little bit, he can see the faint line of Lan Zhan’s underwear under his pants.

It’s… kind of scandalous. Wei Ying is so shocked his hands tighten on the phone, bringing it closer to his face. It almost looks like a thirst trap, except that Wei Ying doesn’t think Lan Zhan is the kind of guy to post thirst traps.

Does Lan Zhan even know what this looks like? Did he post it on purpose? And if he didn’t, should Wei Ying tell him? Send a message like ‘hey, this picture looks kind of suggestive, did you mean it that way?’

It’s what a friend would do, right? Wei Ying has analyzed thirst traps for Huaisang before, helping him choose which one looked the most effortlessly sexy and like Huaisang didn’t even mean for it to be a thirst trap at all. When a picture didn’t work, Wei Ying told him about it.

If that’s what Lan Zhan meant with this picture, to look like he’s being effortless… Wei Ying has to admit that it works very well. It doesn’t look like it’s on purpose, but. He’s squatting, and the pants are a little pulled down, and it all just looks very… suggestive.

Lan Zhan hikes, so obviously his thighs are huge, that’s normal. It’s expected. Wei Ying could’ve guessed it, even if he hadn’t seen them like this, so it doesn’t seem like Lan Zhan is showing off on purpose. And his ass is–

“I’m home!” Huaisang slams the door behind him, and Wei Ying jumps up on the couch, quickly locking his phone. “Wei Ying, you're here! You vanished yesterday.”

“Hey,” Wei Ying says, trying to sound casual. Which he is. He is very casual. He wasn’t doing anything weird. “Yeah. I was out.”

Huaisang takes off his shoes and puts his bag of groceries on the table.

“Out where?” he asks, not even in an accusing way. Just in a normal, I-want-to-know-what-my-friend-was-doing way.

“Just out,” Wei Ying says defensively. His tone doesn’t work; it comes out a bit too high. Huaisang immediately turns to him, narrowing his eyes.

“You’re being weird,” he says. “Where did you go?”

Wei Ying presses his lips together, trying to think of a good lie. He doesn’t want to tell him about Lan Zhan yet. He doesn’t know exactly why, but he wants to keep Lan Zhan to himself, for now.

“I was out,” he repeats, like saying it three times will make Huaisang leave the subject alone. “You told me I needed to get out more, right? So I did.”

Huaisang looks at him for a long time, like he’s trying to see into Wei Ying’s mind. He glances at Wei Ying’s phone, clutched in his hand, and Wei Ying has to force himself not to hide it from him. He wasn’t doing anything wrong. He was looking at a picture. There’s nothing wrong with that.

“Did you use protection?” Huaisang asks.

Wei Ying feels himself blushing up to the root of his hair. “I didn't– It wasn’t like that.”

“Fine,” Huaisang throws his hands in the air. “Don’t tell me. See if I care about you next time you want to tell me something.”

He walks towards his bedroom, stomping dramatically on the floor. Before he closes his door, he gives Wei Ying one last look.

“I got us lasagnas. You’re putting them in the oven for lunch,” he threatens.

“Yeah, fine,” Wei Ying says.

“Fine,” Huaisang closes himself in his bedroom.

Wei Ying relaxes back into the couch, his head ringing like he was in imminent danger. He can’t believe how fast he locked his phone once Huaisang got in. Why would he even do that? It’s not like he was doing something embarrassing. Huaisang would’ve looked at the picture, asked him about the cute bunny. Maybe he would’ve commented on Lan Zhan’s looks, like he has sometimes, when he occasionally saw Wei Ying watching a video by a guy he thought was hot. And Wei Ying would’ve laughed, like he always does, and they both would’ve moved on. That’s it.

Maybe he just doesn’t want Huaisang commenting on Lan Zhan's body. That’s always weird between friends. When Wen Qing started noticing Mian Mian, that was awkward. And Huaisang would’ve definitely talked about Lan Zhan, firstly because he probably has seen him around the campus, and secondly because Lan Zhan is objectively good looking, and Huaisang has eyes.

Yeah, that definitely would’ve been uncomfortable. Wei Ying is right to hide Lan Zhan for a while. If he’s trying to build a friendship with Lan Zhan that will last, having Huaisang trying to flirt with him would be…

The thought is so intolerable Wei Ying can’t even entertain it. He shudders a bit, trying to get it out of his mind.

He opens his phone again, convinced to put the topic aside. Lan Zhan’s picture is still there, facing him, and when Wei Ying looks at it he is horrified to see that the heart underneath it has gone red.

He liked it. Wei Ying accidentally liked a picture from months ago. Fuck. What is Lan Zhan even going to think?

He tries to think fast, tapping his fingers on the phone, until an idea comes to mind. He screenshots the picture and sends it to Lan Zhan in a text.

>Wei Ying<

I can’t believe I have to find out you like bunnies through your Instagram!!!

absurd, Lan Zhan

I’m so disappointed

>Lan Zhan<

I apologize.

I used to own one when I was a kid.

>Wei Ying<

what!!!!!

you need to tell me everything about that story

please please please please please please

It's an awful excuse. There are at least three other bunny pictures on Lan Zhan's Instagram before that one, and even one where a bunny bookmark is sticking out of one of Lan Zhan's books.

Still, it seems to work. Lan Zhan starts telling him about the bunny he used to own, and doesn’t question the like he left in the picture at all, or the fact that Wei Ying was looking through his old photos. Wei Ying sighs in relief, sitting back on the couch so he can be more comfortable.

He ends up texting Lan Zhan for a long time. Back and forth, sharing childhood stories like they hadn’t talked for six hours straight the day before.

When it’s 2 pm, Huaisang comes out of his bedroom to complain about the lack of lasagnas in the oven, and Wei Ying realizes he hasn’t let his phone go for over 4 hours.

He tells Lan Zhan he has to go, not without some regret, and then heats his and Huaisang’s lunch. Wei Ying doesn’t freak out, doesn’t scream, and doesn’t think it’s weird that he keeps wanting to hide Lan Zhan from everyone else.

And he absolutely does not think about Lan Zhan’s picture again.