Chapter Text
A/N: My long fic is taking forever to get to the sex, so I decided to write some on the side. I'm shallow like that.
Modern AU: No courtesy names. No cultivation. Wei Ying uses “Wuxian” as his name on the hookup app to protect his identity, and Lan Zhan uses “Wangji” but these are not their names in real life.
Premise of the story is “meet cute except it was via a hookup app”
Set in a fictional version of China that uses the canon locations rather than the modern ones, and the degree of anti-LGBTQ pressures/laws in modern China are toned down to make this a less complicated story.
Thanks to ZazGeek for beta'ing!
It was 5:30 on a Saturday morning, many hours earlier than he usually would be awake. Wei Ying grabbed the fluffy white towel that was neatly folded on the metal towel rack at the back of the large, hotel shower. He was definitely a fan of the fantastic water pressure, compared to the rather pathetic one he had in the apartment he shared with his roommates, Wen Ning and Wen Qing. But after having lived in the hotel in Gusu during his three month project as a freelance design engineer, he was more than ready to go home. He had booked the first flight out that morning, even though it meant he had to wake up at an ungodly hour to catch it. But it was worth it to be able to get home now that he no longer had work to distract himself from the isolation of being away from everyone he knew and living out of an impersonal hotel room.
Wei Ying loved his job. Being a freelance design engineer meant he got to pick and choose the projects he worked on. During the project, Wei Ying always lost himself in the job. His overactive mind constantly thinking about the task at hand, driving him relentlessly. He kept his tablet by his bed, because he often woke up in the middle of the night with an idea and needed to be able to get it down. He lost track of time in the office, often forgetting to eat and - on a few occasions - forgetting to go back to the hotel to sleep.
The designs he came up with were always brilliant and amazing, and he was fast earning a reputation for himself in the industry. But was sort of hell on his personal life.
Wei Ying had always been like that, even as a child. His guardian, Jiang Fengmian, used to say that Wei Ying’s passion ran deep. Madam Yu would say he was undisciplined and erratic. Both were true.
But as much as he loved his job, being away from home got lonely. Wei Ying was not good at being alone.
He missed hugging his sister and his roommates. He missed mock fighting (and sometimes real fighting) with his brother. He missed having real, in person conversations with people who knew him outside of work, where he could slump up against them and tell them the latest stupid thing he’d done or hear the latest hilarious story from their jobs.
Wei Ying was a tactile man, and he made no apologies about it. If he went to therapy, they would likely tell him it was because of his childhood, being orphaned, then living on the streets for a while until he was found, then living in a group home with other older, less adoptable orphans until a family friend of his parents came forward and agreed to be his guardian.
Uncle Fengmian and his wife were not the most physically affectionate couple, neither with each other nor with Wei Ying, so Wei Ying had gone a lot of his childhood without the hugs and touches that most children had.
So if he found affection with his friends, his siblings (he’d stopped calling them his ‘sort-of’ siblings long ago after his jiejie put her foot down in an extremely forceful way), and the occasional hook-up, well… it was what it was. He knew that there were a lot of people who found him too touchy, too gregarious, but he was who he was and made his friends accordingly.
Finishing a project always felt like coming up for air after being too long under water. His insides burned to breathe in the affection of his family and friends, and all the weeks of isolation suddenly piled up and pressed down on him.
He couldn’t wait to get home, and getting up at the ass-crack of dawn was a small price to pay.
His phone chimed, and he wondered if it was Jiejie texting him about where she’d meet him in the airport. He grabbed his phone, and his face fell as he saw that it was actually a message from the airline that his flight had been cancelled. He quickly launched the app to rebook his flight, hoping for one later in the morning.
He grimaced when he saw that all of the flights that day were sold out or cancelled due to some sort of storm. The first flight he could get was the last flight out the following day, well into the evening. It was selling out fast, so Wei Ying quickly grabbed one of the last seats, then went to search for train availability.
There was a train that left the next morning, but it got him in an hour later than the flight, so Wei Ying just kept the flight as it was. He briefly thought about going down to the airport anyway and trying to fly standby, but the degree to which the flights appeared to be oversold made that likely to be a frustrating and exhausting endeavor.
He eyed his suitcase, which he’d packed the night before at his sister’s instruction. She’d been so excited to see him and had been (rightfully) concerned about his ability to function enough that early in the morning to pack everything up without missing his flight or forgetting something.
He sat down on the bed, then flopped back and stared up at the ceiling.
“Fuck,” he whispered into the empty room.
Jiang Yanli had gone shopping yesterday, buying the ingredients for all of Wei Ying’s favorite foods. She’d started cooking last night to have them ready for him to be there for a late lunch today. The Wens were expecting him home the next day, and they were going to do a movie night and stay up catching up. Wen Qing had taken Sunday and Monday off work at the hospital.
Now, all their plans were screwed.
Wei Ying sighed and opened his WeChat app, quickly typing out a note out to the group letting them know his flight was cancelled and that the earliest he could be in was the next day. He closed the app, not bothering to wait for a reply. It would be at least an hour before anyone was awake to see it.
He lay there for several minutes splayed out on his back. It was stupid, how the idea of waiting even another day somehow seemed intolerable when he’d been fine the past two months. But it was not fine. He felt like he had been right at the finish line, but then someone had gone and moved it further away.
He was not going to be able to sleep given how churned up he was feeling. He quickly called down to the front desk to let them know about his flight and extend his room another day, which - fortunately - they had no problem with. It would be expensable, given the cancellation, so at least he didn’t have to worry about that.
He needed to get out of the hotel room, but the weather was shit. But he knew himself well enough to recognize the itch in his skin and know he would begin to spiral if he stayed alone and dwelled on silence and emptiness of his room with nothing to distract him.
He had found out a long time ago that the two best ways to shut his incessantly chattering brain up were alcohol or getting railed into his mattress by a guy who really knew how to hold him down. He’d gone pretty heavily into alcohol for a bit, but Wen Qing and Wen Ning had basically staged an intervention when he’d moved in with them during college. It was part of why he still lived with them, despite all three of them now being financially well-off enough to have places of their own, if they'd wanted.
So, alcohol was off the table. But sex was a definite option.Wei Ying pulled up another app, one that he didn’t use often but was his go-to for moments like this where he really needed to not get stuck in his own head while he was alone. It was pretty early for anyone to be online, particularly online and looking for a hookup, but he figured he would at least search through the profiles of people in the area and message a few who caught his eye and see if anything could work out for later that day.
Wei Ying had no idea what the gay community was in Gusu, but he didn’t use his real name on the app, anyway, so there was no risk in checking things out. If he didn’t find anyone who interested him, he could always just go for a swim in the hotel pool and try to work himself into an exhausted enough state that he could sleep a lot of the day away.
He spent maybe twenty minutes or so swiping through profiles, no one really catching his eye. He was about to close the app and try to go for a swim (it was still early enough that he would likely have the pool all to himself), when a profile picture made him freeze. Despite the ridiculous hour, the guy was actually online at the same time Wei Ying was.
The profile picture was… it had to be fake. Wei Ying still stared at it, because even if it was fake, it was still a fucking work of art. As with most of the profiles on the app, it didn’t show all of the man’s face. It went from the side of his (ridiculously perfectly sculpted) jawline, catching full, lush-pink lips, before descending to the torso of a man who (if he was real, which he definitely was not ) spent a ridiculous amount of time working out. Wei Ying had seen a lot of different body types, and the closest he could think of was gymnast? Martial artist?
It was ridiculous. Smooth, pale skin. Broad shoulders, contoured biceps, beautiful forearms. And the hands . Holy fuck, this man’s hands. Even if the artist had made them slightly too large for scale, they were phenomenal. Scratch gymnast, this guy had to be some sort of musician. Concert pianist? Wei Ying didn’t know, but the man’s hands were possibly one of the most beautiful things Wei Ying had ever seen, and he had taken some classes in the Fine Arts department in college (along with many other things, but still ).
Wei Ying knew beauty when he saw it. He recognized art and whoever had created this ‘photo’ had to be one of the most talented digital artists Wei Ying had ever seen. All of the shadow angles were consistent. Even the shading of the lighting was perfectly done. No odd lines or weird disruptions in the background. The technical elements of the image were flawless, which was hard enough on its own, but what really blew Wei Ying away was the aesthetics of it.
The entire ‘photo’ was just on the edge of what could be realistic. The muscle definition of the pecs and abs almost befitting an anatomy textbook, yet somehow subtle and smooth enough to look refined and supple, not bulky or overdone. The image was just… a perfect example of what the male form could be, at its most exquisite. It made the viewer want to believe that there could be a person who actually looked like this, both strong and elegant, broad but also graceful, powerful but also beautiful.
The only mistake that the artist had made was the slightly disproportionately large hands, and frankly unbelievably large cock (which was tastefully outlined in a semi-hard state by the white silk boxers the figure was wearing). Even partially aroused, the man’s dick was significantly larger than average. The designer should have quit while he was ahead to make it more believable, but had, for some reason, decided to go the extra mile. Or extra nine inches, as it were.
But, fair enough.
This was a hookup app, so Wei Ying could see the rationale. Despite this flaw, Wei Ying wanted to meet whoever it was who had created this image. There was a chance that the artist wasn’t the person who was going to answer his message, but Wei Ying could at least hope. He had done a quick reverse search of the image and it wasn’t on any public forums online that he could find, so he had hopes.
A quick read through the rest of the man’s profile revealed… not much. He used the name ‘Wangji’ on his profile, which was obviously as real of a name as “Wuxian” was for Wei Ying. No family name included, which was normal given there were a lot of creeps out there. There were no other photos and no personal information. Clearly, the account holder was relying on the (admittedly) spectacular profile picture to lure people in. All it contained aside from that photo was a brief summary of likes, dislikes, and hard limits. Two items caught Wei Ying’s attention: No overnights. No repeats.
Hm. That didn’t sound very encouraging. Wei Ying had hoped to spend the night with someone, to distract himself from the downward spiral his mood seemed to be taking. But he supposed it didn’t really matter. He would meet with this guy, find out if he was the digital artist who made the photo, and hopefully spend a little bit of time talking shop about what program the guy used and what his technique was. Wei Ying was no slouch at making graphic images himself, but even he could not tell how this guy had been able to do what he had done in this photo. Had he worked from a base model, and just enhanced it? Or was this entirely from scratch? Usually, he could tell from just a glance but this… really almost looked real to him (except for the fact that it couldn’t be real). If this Wangji guy needed a job, Wei Ying could totally hook someone this talented up pretty much anywhere.
If he enjoyed drawing the male form, Wei Ying was pretty sure that Huaisang would have a steady flow of work for him.
Wei Ying sent a message to “Wangji”, not really sure if it would go anywhere. Wei Ying’s own profile had a lot more photos (all chosen by Nie Huaisang, who liked to use Wei Ying as both a model and a dress-up doll sometimes when they were both drunk on a Saturday night) though he didn’t post full face photos. But still, he’d been told enough times about what his mouth looked like to know to post a few pictures of his smile.
Huaisang had taken a few more 'artistic' shots of Wei Ying in his Speedo, just before he dove into the pool. Wei Ying had thought he looked stupid with his swim cap and goggles on, but Nie Huaisang had insisted that it showed off his (in Huaisang’s words) ‘ridiculously small waist to ass ratio’ in a way that was not subtle when posted on this particular app. So. The photo had stayed, and Wei Ying had never been disappointed by the response to his profile. Evidently, Huaisang knew what he was about. Since Wangji’s profile stated he was a top, Wei Ying hoped his luck would hold.
He typed out a quick message.
Hey. My flight home was unexpectedly cancelled. Looking for some company today.
It still wasn’t even six am, so Wei Ying wasn’t expecting a response until a few hours from now. There was a good chance the guy had just left his app open from the night before. Wei Ying knew he should keep scrolling to see if he could find someone that he might actually get to hook up with for the night, since this was more about just meeting an artist, but he found himself less interested in the other profiles.
He was surprised when he got a message back just a few minutes after sending his own.
When are you available?
Wei Ying blinked. Usually there was more to it than that. Sure, Wei Ying had a lot of his likes/dislikes in his profile, too, but still. There was something to be said for like… a discussion about the dicking down that was about to occur.
He reminded himself that there would not likely be any dicking down, since this was really more about professional curiosity and respect on how the guy managed to create such a perfect image. That could happen over breakfast just as easily as dinner. Wei Ying looked at his watch. Were breakfast places even open this early? He wasn’t sure. This was not an hour of the morning he had much experience with.
In an hour? We could meet for coffee and see how it goes
Wei Ying always met his potential hookups somewhere neutral first, because you really never knew who you were talking to online. Catfishing was a pretty common thing, and Wei Ying had left more than one guy standing at the bar when he turned out to be totally different from what he’d put out on his profile.
I do not drink coffee.
Wei Wuxian frowned at the message from ‘Wangji’, not sure what to make of it. Was the guy saying he didn’t want to meet, or just that he did not like the idea of coffee? Before Wei Ying had decided how to reply, he’d received another message.
There is a tea house that serves both coffee and tea nearby.
I will meet you there in an hour if you are amenable.
There was an address that followed, and Wei Ying noticed it was only about four blocks from his hotel. It made sense, since Wei Ying had set the proximity screen for someone reasonably close.
“Amenable. Who fucking says ‘amenable’ on a hook-up app?” Wei Ying chuckled softly as he typed out a quick reply agreeing to the plan, then went to dig through his suitcase to see what would be the most appropriate to wear to a not-date with a graphic artist.
Wei Ying knew that it wasn’t really a potential hook-up, but he still pulled on his tightest black jeans that made his ass look amazing, and a loose, cropped, dark red sweater that would not only keep him warm but also drew attention to his neck and collarbone. It was casual enough to make it look like he wasn’t trying too hard, but also made it very clear that the swimsuit photo was not a lie. His waist-to-ass ratio was real, thank you very much.
He didn’t bother with his hair, tying it up in a messy ponytail with one of his red scrunchies, then he made his way down to the tea house. He was running about five minutes late, but he didn’t really feel bad about it because at least he hadn’t lied about his profile photo.
Wei Ying walked into the shop wondering how he was going to recognize his graphic artist/catfisher, since there was no way to guess what he actually looked like. He smirked slightly as he thought about how he would call the guy out.
He scanned the tables… and froze.
Holy shit.
The photo had not shown ‘Wangji’s’ full face, but there was no disguising that perfectly chiseled jaw and lush, pink mouth from Wei Ying’s artist’s eyes. But it wasn’t just the face that was the same. The man seated at the table near the window of the shop was clothed in a fitted, white button-down shirt that made it clear that the breadth of the shoulders was no exaggeration, either. Wei Ying’s gaze went helplessly to the large hands that were resting elegantly on the small table, where a white porcelain cup of tea steamed gently.
Wei Ying was so fucked.
He was not ready for this. He swallowed, forcing himself not to think about the rest of what that photo had revealed.
‘Wangji’ was not a graphic artist. ‘Wangji’ was a work of fucking art, and Wei Ying was not prepared for this.
He briefly considered fleeing right back out the door of the tea house, but the man had already seen him, ridiculously golden eyes flaring slightly in recognition. The man nodded to Wei Ying, a smooth, graceful motion that was too formal to be welcoming. There was no change in expression at all on the guy’s face, and Wei Ying realized he’d just been standing there staring, like an idiot.
Wei Ying put on his best smile, which he had been assured was quite good, and rapidly tried to make the mental pivot from ‘meeting an awesome if slightly dishonest graphic artist’ to ‘trying to hook up with the hottest man ever to have existed’.
Never let it be said that Wei Ying’s mind was not a thing of infinite agility, when given the right incentive.
“Wangji?” Wei Ying asked as he approached the table. The man stood and…
Oh.
Wei Ying was tall. He was used to being the tallest person in his group, and often taller than his partners. It was rare he found someone more than an inch taller than him.
Wangi was a good three inches taller, and Wei Ying found himself tilting his head back slightly to meet the man’s eyes. Why was he so close? Oh, shit. Wei Ying had walked right up to him.
He took a step back, laughing somewhat nervously.
“Ah, Wangji, Right? Sorry! I didn’t think you’d look like… you,” Wei Ying said, his words coming out fumbling.
Wangji’s perfect brows furrowed only the tiniest bit, but somehow the motion was able to convey confusion.
“Did you not see my profile photograph?” Wangji asked, his voice low and rich and every bit as ridiculously perfect as the rest of him.
Fuck Wei Ying’s life.
“Haha. Ah. Yeah! I saw it. Shall we sit? Oh, wait. I need to order something. Just a minute.” Wei Ying nearly ran to the counter, feeling more flustered than he could ever remember being.
What the actual fuck? It wasn’t like he’d never been on a date before, or ever met someone just to hook up. But Wangji’s presence was just… so fucking intense that it was a little overwhelming when Wei Ying had been expecting to meet up with some (probably) nerdy, dumpy graphics wizard.
He ordered a coffee, using the time to collect himself, glancing over his shoulder while he waited. Wangji had returned to his seat and was watching Wei Ying with no expression whatsoever on his face as he sipped his tea. He looked… possibly annoyed. Possibly bored.
He did not look particularly interested in Wei Ying, which was really a shame but not surprising.
Wei Ying got his coffee, then went back to the table where Wangji was waiting calmly, as though it was a totally normal occurrence for his hook-up to run flailing away in order to compose himself.
Maybe it was. How many people could really just stand there in the face of such perfection and not have at least a minor existential crisis? Not Wei Ying, who was trying to decide if he was more interested in drawing the lines of Wangji’s perfect body or tracing them with his tongue.
That was a lie. He already knew which he’d prefer, it was just a matter of whether he was going to be allowed to do so or not. Wei Ying had no idea what his own face was doing, but Wangji seemed to be waiting for him to speak.
“Sorry! I’m Wei Ying. Did I say that earlier? Haha,” Wei Ying said, finally greeting him properly. He used a pseudonym online for privacy, but he really didn’t like someone calling out a random name while they were fucking him, so he always gave his real name in person if he thought it was going to go somewhere.
“Lan Zhan,” Wangji - Lan Zhan replied. “Why would I not look like my photo?”
Wei Ying winced, wishing he had better control over his mouth. “Ah, well. It was just that… a lot of people want to make themselves more attractive than they actually are on these sites. So their profile pictures are not always… accurate.”
Lan Zhan’s face didn’t change much, but somehow he still managed to radiate disapproval. “Dishonest.”
Wei Ying grinned, “Easy for someone who looks like you to say.”
Lan Zhan’s expression remained disapproving, but he did not say more about it. “Yet you agreed to meet with me.”
“Well. It was just that your photo was done so perfectly. All the shadows lining up, the quality of the image was so great. And the aesthetics. I mean… it was almost perfectly proportioned.”
“I did not alter any of the shadows,” Lan Zhan said, looking still slightly disapproving and overall skeptical.
Wei Ying gave a rambling explanation about his experience in graphic design and how to tell a fake image, but all that earned him was another disapproving hum. Wei Ying realized that he’d been in the tea house for more than twenty minutes with the guy, and Lan Zhan hadn’t smiled at him even once, nor said anything beyond very terse responses or questions.
Wei Ying was trying to find a way to shift the conversation away from Wei Ying coming here thinking Lan Zhan was a liar, but before he could, Lan Zhan decided to make it even more awkward.
“You said something about the proportions?” Lan Zhan asked, and Wei Ying felt his cheeks heat.
“Well, I mean. Obviously you’re real, so… the proportions must be…,” Wei Ying made a vague gesture that encompassed all things Lan Zhan. “... accurate. With your hands and… everything.”
Lan Zhan looked at him steadily for a moment then slid his fingers gracefully around his tea cup. The bones of his hand were extremely fine, the fingers long, the palm smooth and flat. Wei Ying wondered if the man was doing it on purpose.
“Yes. The proportions are accurate,” Lan Zhan said, the tone of his voice not quite as flat as before.
Wei Ying made a slightly strangled sound. Yeah, the man knew exactly what aspects of his body Wei Ying had thought were… unlikely. And the asshole was definitely messing with him.
Wei Ying was into it, and he just needed to see if he could get Lan Zhan to be interested back. He lounged back in his chair, letting his sweater slip slightly off his shoulder and tilting his head just enough back to make the line of his throat look interesting.
Lan Zhan looked, but his expression did not even flicker.
Shit.
“Alright. So you’re really who your photo was. So tell me, Lan Zhan. Do you live in Gusu or are you also just traveling?” Wei Ying took a sip of his coffee, looking up at Lan Zhan from over the rim.
“I live here,” Lan Zhan replied, though he didn’t offer anything more.
Wei Ying waited, hoping Lan Zhan would say something more about himself, or show any sort of interest in Wei Ying. The silence stretched, and Wei Ying fidgeted in his seat. If it were dinner, they could at least rely on a waiter bringing their food at some point, but in the small tea shop it was just… the two of them. Silently drinking their morning beverages.
Wei Ying did not do well in silence.
“I live in Yiling. But I’m a contractor. I’ve been in Gusu two months and the project just finished. I was supposed to fly out this morning, but my flight was cancelled due to the shitty weather.” Wei Ying smiled in what he hoped was a friendly way, rather than a desperately thirsty way.
“Yes. You said that in your initial message to me,” Lan Zhan replied, his voice sounding bored and inflectionless. Or possibly annoyed. Wei Ying was not sure, but neither option boded well for him getting railed into the mattress imminently.
There was another small silence. Wei Ying said a brief mental eulogy to his hopes of getting fucked by the beautiful man sitting across from him.
He was always one to attempt the impossible, though, so Wei Ying decided he might as well shoot his shot before giving up completely. He turned up the charm, giving Lan Zhan his highest power smile (one that he had been told on multiple occasions was fucking gold for getting people to want to fuck him), and sprawling further back in his chair in a way that drew attention to the long, lithe lines of his body and collarbone, but Lan Zhan’s eyes only widened the tiniest bit in response. He did not return Wei Ying’s smile, and his eyes barely flickered along Wei Ying’s form.
Evidently, Wei Ying’s best did not even earn a full checking-out.
Wei Ying felt his smile falter a bit as his nerves edged up. This was not going well. Lan Zhan was clearly not interested in him. Even though Wei Ying had walked into the tea house assuming this was not going to end up being a date, he now really wanted it to become one.
Wei Ying decided to give it one last try. If he crashed and burned, at least he'd be able to walk away with no regrets. If Lan Zhan wasn't compelled by Wei Ying's looks, maybe he could draw him out in other ways. He tried asking Lan Zhan questions to see if he could get him to warm up. Lan Zhan gave nearly single word answers, if he bothered to answer at all rather than a small 'hmm'. Yes, Lan Zhan uses the app relatively frequently. No, Lan Zhan does not travel much.
The most information Wei Ying was able to get out of him was that he taught music theory at Gusu University. Wei Ying hadn’t gone to school there, but he knew that it was very prestigious, ranked number 1 in the country on many subjects, including music. Everyone who was accepted into that program was ridiculously talented, many of whom went on to be famous. Wei Ying could only imagine the criteria for being an instructor at a school like that. Somehow, it totally fit with Lan Zhan’s overall aura of perfection. Of course a man so ridiculously beautiful and intense was also ridiculously talented and successful.
Lan Zhan did not ask about where Wei Ying went to school, but Wei Ying joked about how his advisor had threatened to drop him if he added any more courses but he had struggled to decide where his focus would be and just ended up taking a bunch of courses that ended up sorting themselves out into a double major in electrical and biomedical engineering.
“I thought you studied graphic design?” Lan Zhan asked, one of the first times he’d actually initiated any part of the conversation flow.
“Eh, I studied a lot of things in college, actually. Drove my advisor crazy. I took a few design classes, and even classes in the fine arts school.” Wei Ying laughed a little at the memory. “I took a bit of everything, to be honest, but engineering is where I landed.”
Lan Zhan hummed, and Wei Ying wasn’t sure if it was in interest or disapproval.
“It is important to have focus,” was all Lan Zhan said.
Disapproval, then, Wei Ying thought, swallowing down a burst of disappointment.
“Well, I still managed to graduate on time,” Wei Ying said, somewhat smiling with all teeth, a little bit defensively. He’d worked his ass off in school to finish before his scholarship ran out, and - not to brag - but he’d been the only student in the history of the engineering school to double major in those two areas. He’d had to get special permission from the dean. The courses didn’t overlap very much, and it was one of the few moments in his entire life where he had almost felt good about himself.
Oh, well. So much for impressing the guy. Lan Zhan was a teacher at a top-tier institution, which meant he either had a PhD or had done something amazing early in his career. He was likely not impressed by someone who’d cashed out and gone into contracting work right out of getting his engineering degree.
Wei Ying shrugged it off. It wasn’t like they were going to be lifelong friends. At best, it would have only been an afternoon (or late morning) hook-up. It was too bad it wasn’t going to happen, but Wei Ying was well versed in not being able to get the things he wanted. It would give him a story to tell his friends, if nothing else.
It wasn’t just the way Lan Zhan looked. If it were just a pretty face and ripped body, Wei Ying would probably have given up after the first 15 minutes. But Lan Zhan had this quiet sort of intensity, this absolute steadiness that made Wei Ying unable to think of anything other than riling him up and making those big hands latch onto his wrists and pin him down with intent. Wei Ying wanted Lan Zhan to take him apart with the same cold control and precision he seemed to do everything else with.
But he was losing the man’s interest, if he’d ever even held it in the first place. Wei Ying wondered if the reason that Lan Zhan had responded to Wei Ying’s message before 7 in the morning was because he would spend the day interviewing potential bed mates, discarding one after the other until one finally piqued his interest.
Wei Ying could practically visualize it. He was pretty sure that anyone who came across Lan Zhan’s profile would try to hit him up. It had certainly worked on Wei Ying.
Still, Wei Ying knew when it was time to cut bait.
They had long since finished their drinks, and the tea house was filling up as the rush hour crowd came in. Wei Ying looked down at his cup of coffee, realizing it was probably time to just call time of death on this whole thing. Lan Zhan had barely spoken the entire time they were there. There was no way he was interested in taking this further. It was fine. Wei Ying was used to not always getting what he wanted, and he had at least gotten to have his morning coffee with the most beautiful man in the world, so it wasn’t a complete loss.
“Hey, Lan Zhan. I, uh. Look, thanks for suggesting this place. It’s got way better coffee than the hotel.”
Lan Zhan gave a small hum in acknowledgement.
“So, anyway, we said we’d meet up and see how things went, and it’s pretty clear you’re not interested, so I’m gonna just head back to my -,”
Lan Zhan cut him off for the first time that morning. “I am interested.”
Wei Ying laughed, a little hollowly. “Lan Zhan. Come on, man. I can tell if a guy is into me or not. You’ve barely said a word the entire time we’ve been here, other than to tell me I lacked focus. It’s fine. It’s still stupidly early in the day. We can both find someone else, there’s plenty of time.”
Lan Zhan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “ No .”
Wei Ying blinked at the vehemence in the tone. It was by far the most animated that Lan Zhan had been since Wei Ying had met him.
“No? Lan Zhan I -”
Lan Zhan cut him off, his ears turned pink, and he looked slightly distressed, if only by the way he placed his hands on the table, as though not sure what to do with them.
“I am… not good at conversation. I apologize,” Lan Zhan said, his eyes locked on Wei Ying earnestly.
“Uh, no! It’s fine,” Wei Ying said, not sure what to do with the apology. He had been so sure that Lan Zhan wasn’t interested, but now Wei Ying didn’t know what to think. He didn’t need nor want a pity fuck, but that didn’t really seem to be Lan Zhan’s speed, either.
“No, I don’t.. I don’t usually do this,” Lan Zhan explained, gesturing at the cafe table.
Wei Ying frowned. “You don't do hookups?” Lan Zhan had told him earlier that he did use the app pretty regularly, so that seemed contradictory.
“I do. But we don’t. Talk,” Lan Zhan’s ears became a slightly deeper shade of pink.
Wei Ying blinked, then he burst out laughing. Lan Zhan looked a bit embarrassed (though it was hard to tell how Wei Ying knew that, since his face was basically wearing the same expression it had been the entire time they’d been talking, but Wei Ying was somehow pretty sure he was right).
“I’m sorry, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying gasped out, still laughing mostly at himself. “I just… I was so sure I was completely blowing this and you were just waiting for me to shut the fuck up so you could turf me and find someone else.”
“ No ,” Lan Zhan said, with emphasis. “I do not want to ‘turf’ you.”
Wei Ying had finally managed to stop laughing, though the nearly visible air quotes that Lan Zhan used when he said the word ‘turf’ almost set him off again. The meaning of what Lan Zhan had just said captured Wei Ying’s full attention, though, saving him from possibly offending the man more.
He had the sudden realization that Lan Zhan wasn’t being an asshole, or a snob. Lan Zhan was just… shy? No, not shy. Not with all that quiet confidence and steadiness. More like awkward. Reserved. It was somehow incredibly endearing (and hot) that a man so gorgeous and talented could be that way.
Wei Ying gave him a lopsided grin, and this time he noticed the way Lan Zhan’s fingers tensed, the minuscule parting of the man’s pink lips.
Yeah, Wei Ying had been wrong. Lan Zhan was not indifferent to him. Wei Ying’s grin widened.
“Cool. Well, Lan Zhan, I definitely am not looking to turf you, either.” Wei Ying let his grin turn just a little bit dirty.
There was a flash of relief on Lan Zhan’s face that honestly made no sense to Wei Ying. Who in their right minds wouldn’t want to sleep with someone like Lan Zhan, even if he came across as a little stiff?
Idiots, that’s who. And Wei Ying might be many things, but he was not an idiot.
“What do you say we get out of here,” Wei Ying said, lifting an eyebrow in a way that would be pretty much impossible to misinterpret.
“Yes,” Lan Zhan said firmly. He stood, somehow managing to be both graceful and hurried in the movement. Wei Ying could sense a clear shift in him. The Lan Zhan who had been sitting and drinking tea with him while Wei Ying tried to get to know him was clearly out of his element.
The Lan Zhan who stood before him now, motioning politely for Wei Ying to stand and follow him, knew exactly what he was doing. Especially as he placed a large hand in the small of Wei Ying’s back, letting it slide just low enough to make his intent clear.
Wei Ying felt the nervousness that had been churning inside him settle deliciously into anticipation as he walked with Lan Zhan out of the tea house. Lan Zhan informed him that he had already booked a room in a hotel that was only a few blocks away, and had confirmed an early check-in.
Wei Ying grinned. He liked a confident man.
As they walked, Lan Zhan kept his hand proprietorially on the small of Wei Ying’s back, his long fingers curving at his waist. Wei Ying could feel the heat from his hand spanning the entire width of his back, and he wondered if Lan Zhan would actually be able to span his entire waist with his two hands. The thought set a spike of heat through him, and he slowed his pace just enough to increase the pressure of Lan Zhan’s hand through his shirt.
“Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan asked, noticing the change of pace.
“Ah, sorry,” Wei Ying said, feeling his face flush slightly at being caught out. His actions had the desired effect, however, as Lan Zhan’s hand pressed more firmly against his lower back, sliding down to rest on the upper swell of his ass.
Wei Ying could feel heat start to pool low in his belly, and he really hoped the hotel wasn’t far.
To be continued...
(I have the second part of this MOSTLY written, but I haven't written the final scene. Planning to post tomorrow, or Sunday at the latest).