Chapter Text
‘Sempre caro mi fu quest’ermo colle,
E questa siepe, che da tanta parte
Dell’ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude-’
“Just ask him!”
“It’s not that easy A-Cheng-”
“-What the fuck do you mean it’s not that easy just- ”
Lan Wangji tensed up at the two voices, one cheerful and bright, the other just that bit fiercer, just that bit harsher. There was silence after some scuffling and for a moment he almost considered looking up and seeing what was going on. Breathing deeply and letting his shoulders relax, he zeroed his attention back onto the page before him, a small collection of Italian poems bound in a tiny novella on the desk in front of him. Usually whilst on campus he wouldn’t indulge himself in such personal interests, but he was currently ahead in most of his classes and didn’t think that using his free period re-reading his favourite poems (specifically Giacomo Leopardi’s L'infinito ) was a waste of time.
‘Dell’ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude-
Ma sedendo e rimirando, interminati
Spazi di là da quella, e sovrumani
Silenzi, e profondissima quieteIo nel pensier mi fingo, ove per poco
Il cor non si spaura-’
“-You’re being stupid-”
“-It’s from spending so much time around you-”
Lan Wangji truly was trying to tune them out. He usually could. It probably had something to do with the fact that it was his voice in particular that always made him so attentive, even if he desperately didn’t want to be.
‘-E come il vento
Odo stormir tra queste piante, io quello
Infinito silenzio a questa voce
Vo comparando: e mi sovvien l’eterno,
E le morte stagioni, e la presente-’
“-You’re gonna fucking fail just-”
And next thing Lan Wangji knew his table was shaking and he was reaching his hand out to steady the other boy, who he assumed had been shoved harshly across the room. He had reached out without thinking, and upon realising just who the other boy was, Lee Wangji felt a frown form on his face. Luckily, the other boy was just out of reach of his hand, just a few centimetres away. He quickly pulled his outstretched hand back to flatten out the worn out pages of the old novella and thankfully, Lan Wangji didn’t have to be burned by Wei Wuxian’s touch. Yet.
“Lan Wangji! Fancy seeing you here?”
It came out more like a question. He wished it wasn’t rude not to look at Wei Wuxian. Because when he raised his gaze he was met with the other boy, a few months younger and somehow more lanky and scraggly than he himself was. Wei Wuxian made the uniform look thrown together, despite being well designed to avoid such a look. Somehow, on his lithe frame it was too baggy, too tight, too wrinkled, too pristine. His shoes were scuffed, the dress pants were a little too short with how he rolled the hems, black socks instead of white. In the first few days of autumn when they returned for the school year, his sleeves were permanently rolled up, exposing sunkissed skin from the Yunmeng lakes. But it was the end of autumn now and there were ink and paint stains all up the sleeves of the new white blazer he wore instead of the traditional tunic and a spot of red paint beside the emblem on his school shirt’s chest pocket. His tie was too loose around his neck and his hair flopped over his eyes in a hairstyle Lan Wangji was sure wasn’t appropriate for their school’s strict dress code, flyaways framing his face, half up, half down, hair reminding him of a pineapple, too short to lay flat down the back of his head, with a long red ribbon that matched his friend Wen Qing’s (it possibly was hers).
He never looked like he was wearing a uniform.
Although to Lan Wanji, looking at Wei Wuxian’s haphazardly thrown on uniform was easier than looking right into his eyes.
“Right, silly thing to say, you’re always in the library-” Lan Wangji felt his ears warm and fought off the sense of defeat which told him to look away, having been caught staring. He prayed it just looked like he was waiting expectantly for the boy to get on with his point, “-I knew you’d be here, one because you’re always here when you’re not in a class and two, I was just desperately hoping you would be because I actually need to talk to you about something really important before my next class at two and it’s English Literature and-” Lan Wangji’s eyes moved to his watch, the little hands showing the time to be 1:51 before he looked back up at Wei Wuxian, accidentally making eye contact and being forced to hold it. He had puppy dog eyes that almost shone silver in certain light, defying all kinds of logic. Long, flat nose, framed on either side by strong brows and high cheekbones smoothing into a long face, still holding a bit of baby fat. He had full lips that pulled into a lazy smirk, confident and easy, front teeth slightly too big, all of these features accumulating into something that Lan Wangji supposed resembled a rabbit. He gave away smiles like they cost him nothing.
He resisted the urge to scoff at this display and schooled his features, trying not to grimace as Wei Wuxian noisily pulled out a chair, drawing the glares of several other library goers and it made Lan Wangji want to hide.
God, just why was he trying to sit next to him?
In fact he’d picked this spot, in the quietest, most secluded part of the library, to be as inconspicuous as possible. He was here all the time, because it was the one place Wen Chao would never be. The less interaction with him, where he goes crying to Wen Ruohan, his terrifying father, who goes complaining to his uncle, Lan Qiren, the better. And if Wei Wuxian could find it, then brainless Wen Chao definitely could and there’s no way this news wouldn’t spread, Wei Wuxian coming to the library? The boy was naturally a genius he never needed to study, he had no reason to be here other than to make a point. And Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian had never not drawn attention to himself in his whole life.
“-that’s actually what I’m here to talk to you about Lan Wangji. You’re objectively the best in our class, and probably even the whole year level, and I don’t even know why you’re taking the class because whenever I hear you do a presentation or even just talk with Lan Laoshi in class, you basically sound fluent, which is incredible because I heard from Wen Ning that you also do japanese for extra curricular after school-”
Lan Wanji could feel his eyebrow arch as he for the life of him, tried to figure out why anyone, let alone people along the likes of Wei Wuxian were even remotely paying attention to his comings and goings. The realisation left an odd taste in his mouth and he hasn’t quite decided if he was feeling particularly negative or positive about it. He tilted his head slightly, realising that Wei Wuxian was still talking to him,
“Anyways, and he says you’re also really good in that in addition to english, so I don’t know why you bother with staying here when you could probably just go off and be translator or whatever, ‘cause you’d be really good at it I’m sure-ah shit - what I’m trying to say is, could you tutor me for English Literature?”
Lan Wangji blinked, and turned away from the other boy's big, earnest eyes to look at some shelves which were infinitely more interesting, or at least that's what he tried to tell himself. Just as he was wondering if he should pretend he hadn’t heard Wei Wuxian’s spiel, his gaze was interrupted by the boy himself, waving a hand in front of his face, forcing him to look back. At least he had half the sense to look sheepish at the glare he was shot, offering a kind of lopsided half smile, hand scratching his neck.
“I really need the help, I’m pretty far behind because I’ve been given prac after equation after report in all my stem classes, I haven’t had any time to even think about English and if I don’t pass this year, I wont get to go to uni, because I won't be able to get a scholarship if I fail the requirements and I have no-uh-um, you know how it is. But I bet you don’t, you’re the Hanguang Jun, one of the Twin Jades of Gusu, you wouldn't have anything to worry about!”
Lan Wangji began to pack up his things at this, mouth pressed into a firm line, gripping the strap to his bag as hard as he could. He wouldn’t say anything. People like Wei Wuxian don’t understand. They thought that they did, of course, as all people of that sort did, and spoke without thinking. Wei Wuxian fumbled, stumbling over his words and jumping up, reaching out to take a hold of Lan Wangji who shucked out of his grip, glaring up at him from his seat. He finished packing his things away and stood, chair scratching across the wood flooring, several people whispering around as they saw him make a scene.
His Uncle would find out about this, say some rubbish about tarnishing the Lan name, not being careful enough, making a scene, putting personal business in front of everyone else but-
Him and his brother hadn’t been handed anything-
“-that came out wrong! Lan Wangji, come on, you know that’s not what I meant, truly! I’m sorry if I offended you, I’m just-ugh I’m so fucking stressed I don’t know how to function, I haven’t slept in weeks, I don’t even know what I’m saying half the time, please Lan Wangji, you must at least understand that?”
Lan Wangji stared at Wei Wuxian, who was standing in front of him with his arms spread forward like he was calming some kind of rabid animal, or trying to cage in a flighty bird, neither of which Lan Wangji felt was dignified enough for the scene which was unfolding before them. He then made the mistake of making eye contact with those silvery eyes, full of a kind of desperation he’d never quite seen directed at him before. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose,
“Just… please Lan Wangji, I’ll do anything, truly, name it and I’ll find a way, I promise! Just one session, one and if I’m too much, I’ll be out of your hair as soon as possible, I’ll find someone else. I just know that you’re the only one who could actually help me, because you’re so good.”
He opened his eyes, wary of all the sudden compliments that felt more honest than the usual ones spouted in an attempt to fluster him and, instead of dignifying him with a response, he merely gripped the straps of his backpack. Wei Wuxian was now standing with his hands behind his back, eyes open and honest, staring at him with a hopeful little look in those big silvery eyes of his. Lan Wangji suddenly found himself irrationally angry at him for being so open, showing all his cards at every opportunity, like all this vulnerability cost him absolutely nothing. It made him upset that there were people who were willing to do that, or worse yet, could afford to let every part of themselves be known like this. It was like the other boy never so much as thought far enough to even take into consideration the consequences of such vulnerability. It was like he had the luxury to be blissfully unaware of what he looked like right now, without the worry or need to hide any part of himself. Some part of him knew that this anger probably stemmed from jealousy, but he refused to dwell on the thought before pushing it far into the back of his mind.
Lan Wangji scoffed quietly to himself and pushed past the boy, ignoring the whispers that followed them as Wei Wuxian scrambled to collect his own bag, his belongings falling out left right and centre whilst calling out “ah, ah, Lan Wangji-!? Wait up-!” as he almost ran to be next to him. God he wondered how this looked. Their rivalry wasn’t unknown, not that it really was much of one in the first place. They were vastly different academics, not sharing a single class but their orchestral music class, but even then they were playing vastly different instruments, completely on opposite ends of the spectrum. There was hardly any competition even if he had the desire for one. Indeed they were both incredibly intelligent and well known for their abilities throughout the school, it was more so their temperaments that set them apart and caused them to bump heads more often than not. To have Wei Wuxian chase him around the halls, begging for his help-it was truly shameless! He could feel the stares of countless students, a number in which he didn’t want to even imagine, on them as he sped ahead and hoped to god his ears weren’t pink.
“Please Lan Wangji, you’re my last hope, I don’t want a fucking teacher to tutor me that’s so embarrassing-”
Lan Wangji merely walked quicker, eyes forward, as Wei Wuxian slinked along beside him, babbling on about how every teacher in the english department hated him and wouldn’t actually help him, but you would Lan Wangji, you’re so good and kind -his equally long legs quickened to walk in front of him, facing backwards and moving around to get in his line of sight everytime Lan Wangji tried to look around him. Suddenly amongst his desperate pleas Lan Wangji could see his eyes light up, mischief creeping in as a cheeky smile took over his face. Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes slightly, but said nothing, aiming to try and walk around him as their classmates parted to avoid running into a nonchalant Wei Wuxian. He wasn’t going to give this up. Next thing he knew, he’d gasped, breathing paused as he felt the scalding touch of Wei Wuxian’s gentle fingers wrapping around Lan Wangji’s hand, pulling him to a stop between the wall and his body, the corner just before his classroom. Lan Wangji looked at their hands, the way Wei Wuxian’s sunkissed skin made his own look almost dead, lily white from spending his time in the mountain forests of Gusu playing the guqin all summer, before looking up into his light eyes, swearing they looked silver this close up. Wei Wuxian had a cocky little grin on, stepping close enough that he could lean to the side near Lan Wangji’s ear and say quietly,
“Well Lan-er-gege, I never took you as the sadist type, and I can’t say I’m not into it, but if getting on my knees and begging you is the only answer, I’ll gladly do-”
Lan Wangji felt his face morph into one of shock, eyes widening and ears definitely burning bright red from how hot they felt, as he reached out with his other hand to slap it over the other boy's mouth. Wei Wuxian looked surprised but satisfied that he’d finally drawn a reaction out of Lan Wangji, who was trying not to get distracted by the way his smirk felt against the palm of his hand. Everyone was looking at their rather compromising position and Lan Wangji felt himself shrink back from the stares, withdrawing his hand just as suddenly as he’d reached out, straightening back up and attempting to push him away harshly (and only really getting a chuckle from the other, whose tongue ran along the edge of his teeth as he tilted his head a little), resigning himself to his fate with one deep inhale, he nodded once.
“Was that a yes?”
Gods, was he really going to drag it out of Lan Wangji after that little performance? So shameless-
“-Mn,”
“OH MY GODS THANK YOU SO MUCH! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I AM FOREVER IN YOUR DEBT!”
If Lan Wangji’s ears weren’t already bright red and undignified, he would’ve been cross at himself for the incredulous look he’s sure he was sporting at the sudden change in attitude. It baffled him how one could go from what could’ve been borderline flirting to-to an excited puppy dog within a few seconds!? Lan Wangji wondered if that little performance was something he used often, if that's something that had earned him the well known reputation for being a “charming player”.
“How about Wednesday? I’ll see you in the library after school? Or maybe give me your phone Lan Wangji, I’ll give you my number!”
Lan Wangji made no move toward a phone, merely blinking owlishly at the other, who sighed playfully with a big grin on his face, before pulling a pen out of his bag, pulling Lan Wangji’s hand - wait, he's still holding my hand? - toward him and pressing the tip to his skin. Lan Wangji made to pull away, panic welling up in him at the thought of his Uncle seeing the ink on his skin, Wei Wuxian only holding him tighter.
“There! Don’t forget to text me Lan Wangji!”
He said loudly with a wink, sauntering away down the hall leaving Lan Wangji to stare after him, then at the writing on his hand, a demand of “Call me” with far too many exclamation points, his mobile number, then a ‘-wwx’ with a little drawing of a face. He stared at it with his mouth pressed into a tight line, before he noticed the groups of students around them staring between them and whispering to themselves. Lan Wangji flicked out his sleeve and turned around the corner, Jin Zixuan looking around with a frown on his face as the rest of their class was filling in behind the teacher. His face flushed with relief, eyebrows scrunched together with concern as Lan Wangji stood beside him, nodding in acknowledgement.
“Everything alright, Lan Wangji?”
With a hesitant nod Jin Zixuan dropped it, frowning a little bit before asking quietly,
“Tell me later?”
Lan Wangji nodded again before quickly dashing into the class before Jin Zixuan could ask anymore questions.
~
Jin Zixuan was an interesting character, vastly different in comparison to his father. And yes, Lan Wanji was aware that in many cases a child would not even remotely resemble his father. However in his world, the way one's father was could easily dictate the direction in which a child’s life would go, be it for the worse or better. Perhaps it was old fashioned, but it was the way things were here.
Jin Zixuan’s father father; Jin Guangshan, was loud and boisterous, full of boasting and had a penchant for cheating, resulting in Jin Zixuan’s rather large family of half-siblings. Truly the only reason people seemed to like the man was for the influence he held over the rest of the district. He’d neglected all of his children, Qin Su his only (known) daughter having taken a ‘trip’ with her friends and never returning, funding the whole thing with daddy’s money, Mo Xuanyu having “run away” as a teen after Jin Guangshan’s child abuse case was mysteriously shoved under the rug and a large sum of money missing from the family account. His older brother was Jin Guangyao, or as he preferred to be called, Meng Yao and the two were more similar than they’d like to admit.
He was quiet and soft spoken. He was cold in public, similar to the way Lan Wangji was, well aware of what kind of environment they had been brought up in and the expectations they had placed upon their shoulders. In private he was disgustingly sweet and clumsy, full of silent kindness and acts of service. Him and his half brother shared these traits and had long ago come to a shaky truce to look out for each other in their fathers negligence.
Jin Zixuan was lucky enough to be born in most of his mothers good graces, just as handsome as she herself was. His face was square shaped, brows thick and dark, eyes small and had some kind of permanent look of boredom attached to them. Full lips and clear complexion, he stood taller than Lan Wangji did and was far less lanky, pros of being almost two years older. He had intelligence expected of all those that went to Cloud Recesses Private, cool and calculated. Lan Wangji liked him because he never bothered with all the gossip and chatter of the rest of the school, relied on cold hard facts and only spoke to him with blunt honesty. They were good friends that way.
Lan Wangji was drawing out their afternoon study session and if Jin Zixuan noticed it, he was kind enough not to say anything (as to be expected from the secret softie). Wei Wuxian had written his phone number on the back of Lan Wangji’s left hand, so when he practised calligraphy or wrote his notes or typed on his laptop or did anything at all, the stark, black, lines of his chicken scrawl phone number glared back at him in permanent marker. It felt as if the numbers were taunting him. Eventually he’d tried to wash it off, which did nothing but dull it into something more manageable.
“Whose phone number Lan Wangji?”
“Wei Wuxian.”
Jin Zixuan stopped typing, sputtered suddenly, eyebrows raised before a huffed laugh fell from his lips.
“Wei Wuxian? As in Wei Wuxian, the only other eleventh grader that isn’t you who advanced to final year? As in the Jiang’s foster brother? The one person on earth who you can’t get along amicably with?”
“Mn,”
“And how exactly did you manage to catch his eye, Lan Wangji? I’m sure he was charmed by your inability to say more than one word and incredibly affronting stoic face-”
“-In the same way Jiang Yanli is charmed by your warm personality?”
Jin Zixuan glared, but there wasn't much bite behind it, rolling his eyes good naturedly, taking on Lan Wangji’s teasing with an only partially annoyed grin. They’d had this, dare he say; bitchy, back and forth for quite a while, ever since they were children, as the Lan’s and Jin’s had a rather favourable relationship with each other, within the academic community. There’s only so many times one can be dragged to the same elitist social events, completely unwillingly, and not befriend the only other child there, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else. Sticking together was the best option possible in terms of survival when being expected to ‘make an appearance’ in a room full of people who didn't actually care about them, and just wanted to play nice to the children of two of the biggest academic families in the district. Eventually it became less of a survival thing, and more of an excitement before meeting a friend, to the pleasure of their parents and guardians (and much to their annoyance, playing into what was probably their plan all along). Soon when Lan Wangji’s brother would go to meet Jin Zixuan’s older half-brother, Jin Guangyao, he would tag along and meet Jin Zixuan, cementing their friendship even before they started at Cloud Recesses Private.
“He didn’t ask me out.”
“I never insinuated that he did.”
Lan Wangji ignored the heat creeping up his neck, at what exactly Jin Zixuan was insinuating from that comment.
“He needs a tutor.”
“A tutor? Isn’t he the top of all his classes?”
Lan Wangji didn’t say anything, neither confirming or denying it, as he truly didn’t know. It was entirely possible that that was the case, but who was he to say. He didn’t care enough about the other to even bother finding out.
“What does he need a tutor for?”
“English Literature.”
Jin Zixuan made a sound like he understood, returning back to typing. Lan Wangji sighed, happy not to talk anymore about it and attempted to go back to his work. They sat in silence for a while, continuing on their own respective works, asking stray questions here and their about their shared class on which they had a big project coming up for (Ideology and Politics) when he suddenly asked,
“Are you going to do it?”
Lan Wangji stared at him.
“Are you going to text Wei Wuxian?”
He merely went back to typing, not bothering to answer that when there were more pressing matters. He didn’t even know when he would have the time. He was fairly certain their schedules with free periods did not line up at all, let alone their lunch periods, as he’d never seen the other at either. They only shared one class and it was their orchestral twice a week. He went into town almost every night to study Italian and practice the guqin (“ You must know a traditional instrument Wangji, it’s integral ”) and on the other days he was studying Japanese as an extra curricular subject, on top of his already full load. Lan Wangji didn’t stay in the dorms like many of the other students, due to his Uncle being the Headmaster and their home being just up the mountain a bit further. “ There’s no reason for you to stay down there Wangji. You’ll only get distracted.”
“He needs friends, Uncle-”
“-He has Jin Zixuan, that’s enough Xichen, don’t tell me how to raise him -”
So visiting the others dorm after hours was out of the question, first of all he didn’t have one; second, there was no way he would let Lan Wangji visit anyone who wasn’t Jin Zixuan, especially not Wei Wuxian, (who had ended up in his office for detention more often than not) and finally, he sincerely doubted that Lan Wangji would be permitted to bring Wei Wuxian to their house.
It was better if he didn’t text Wei Wuxian at all.
~
Dinner was a quiet affair. It always was.
Somehow even quieter after Lan Huan moved out.
Lan Wangji was thanking all the gods that his Uncle sat on the left side of him at their chabudai, the permanent marker refusing to come off his right hand even after another attempt at washing it off when Jin Zixuan retired to his dormitory. Throughout the meal he thought about how to text the culprit, to possibly work something out, and if they couldn’t, to let him down. He didn’t want to get a reputation of being rude, especially with the speed at which Wei Wuxian shared things. And besides, his Uncle had taught him better than that. When they had both finished their meals, they sat quietly, letting the food digest. It was nothing special, some vegetable soup, something that his uncle liked.
Lan Qiren was a very particular man, and was loved by all the parents that sent their children to Cloud Recesses for that exact reason. Every kid, no matter how rowdy they were, that studied through their highschool years at the Cloud Recesses ended up being an exceptional model citizen when they left. He was so particular that it had a reputation for being the strictest school in the district, maybe even in all of China and had an even bigger reputation of being impossible to get into (without money or genuine talent). Some of the finest minds of the past 30 years all had one thing in common, studying under Lan Qiren in the mountains of Gusu. It was funded by some of the biggest academic families and organisations, those being, of course, the Jiang family, the Jin Industry, the Nie family, and the Wen Corporation, amongst some of the bigger names. He prided himself on this reputation, and when Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji’s mother passed away suddenly, leaving the two boys orphaned, he had taken them in no questions asked, despite being a man who had never been married, nor had any children of his own and had reportedly never been very good with young children (hence the reason he opened a highschool and not a junior school).
Lan Wangji had only been about four years old when this happened, Lan Xichen eight years old.
The years since then, Lan Qiren had grown a goatee and moustache, both of which framed his thin lips, always pressed into a firm line. The wrinkles by his eyes had deepend, but apart from that he showed no real signs of ageing, hair cascading down his back in traditional Lan fashion. Like everyone else in the family (and everyone in Gusu) his traditional headband rested proudly on his forehead, hair tied up into a tight bun at the curve of his head. His eyes were wise and stoic, and he carried himself proudly, shown off in the way he did everything, back straight, chin held high. He’d heard the kids at his school regard him with fear, known for being not only a harsh marker and a difficult person to impress, but a harsh punisher, having some very creative punishments for detentions that ensured students would not do anything of the sort again.
“How was your day A-Wangji?”
“It was fine.”
“And your assignments in your subjects? How are they?”
“All subjects are up to date.”
The man made a pleased hum, leaning back slightly from the chabudai. Lan Wangji stared at his empty bowl and prayed he wouldn’t ask anything else. He prayed that Lan Laoshi knew her coworker well enough not to have told him about the possibility of him tutoring Wei Wuxian. There was no way the other boy wouldn’t have blabbered to everyone he saw that he’d conned the great Hanguang Jun into doing what he wanted, but he sincerely hoped it wouldn’t get back to his Uncle (at least so soon).
After all, one of the students constantly on the receiving end of his punishments was the Wei Wuxian in question.
Uncle didn’t hate any children, but there was no other person that had gotten under his skin quite the way that Wei Wuxian had.
“And how was your afternoon? You came home quite late tonight.”
Lan Wangji could feel the scolding behind the words, and fought off the urge to talk back, mention that 6:00pm wasn’t that late, that he’d heard of many of his classmates getting back home from studying with their friends well after 9:00pm, sometimes even staying over, or going out afterwards. But he didn’t say any of this, just nodded his head once.
“It was fine, I was with Jin Zixuan.”
“Ah, studying I suppose?”
Another nod.
“Very well, I suppose that can be excused.”
Again, another nod.
“You seem anxious to go off A-Wangji… Very well, clear the dishes and be on your way.”
Lan Wangji had never bowed so fast, stacking all the dishes up quietly in front of him, before reaching for his Uncle’s bowl. It was a second after there was a tight grasp on his wrist that he realised his mistake, eyes widening as his head snapped to look at his Uncle’s face.
“Wangji… What did I tell you about writing on your hands?”
~
“Lan Wangji-ah-Lan Wangji! I awaited your call all night, stayed by the phone and counted away the night on the clock, only to have no response! Lan’s aren’t known for breaking promises are they?”
Lan Wangji swallowed. Wei Wuxian was leering at him from his own desk, sitting across from him in their homeroom.
It was almost unnaturally warm for a day at the tail end of autumn, many of the students having forgone their outer layer, or swapped it for the short sleeved version, and Wei Wuxian was no exception. He wore his baggy long sleeve, rolled up to the elbows, the top three buttons undone and the tie merely strung undone around his neck. A dress code violation. He’d pulled most of his hair back into a small bun, exposing heavily pierced ears, three in each lobe and at least three helix piercings in one ear and an industrial in the other, all silver jewellery. Another dress code violation. The hair that didn’t reach the rest of the ribbon fell in tufts around his face. Not a dress code violation but messy. It fell in his mischievous eyes that were desperately trying to capture Lan Wangji’s gaze.
“Hello? Oh Lan Wangji-ah-Lan Wangji~“ he sighed in a sing song voice, leaning closer from his seat, one hand on Lan Wangji’s desk, almost disturbing Lan Wangji’s report for Politics and Ideology, the other on the back of his chair and Lan Wangji felt himself tense, trying not to think about how trapped he was, “-Ignoring me again? Come on, I thought we were better friends than that! Friends don’t break promises-“ he felt Wei Wuxian lean even closer, feeling the words tickling his ear and Lan Wangji resisted the urge to roll his eyes skyward and pray.
“Not friends-“
“-Ah, Lan Wangji! Hanguang Jun! So heartless! So cruel!”
The other boy wailed, leaning back for dramatic effect and Lan Wangji felt like he could breathe again, inhaling deeply with his eyes closed for a moment before staring at the end of his desk. His moment of peace was over, suddenly, as Wei Wuxian leaned around him, looking up at him through his long, dark eyelashes, tongue touching the point of his tooth as he smirked playfully at the other. His sun-kissed skin was shiny with the sweat of existing in the unexpected heat and his Adams apple bobbed with a swallow, catching Lan Wangji’s attention and causing him to fixate on prominent glowing collarbones and an expanse of chest that was absolutely supposed to be covered by their uniforms-
“One day we’ll be friends, I know it.”
It felt like a threat.
Lan Wangji tore his eyes off the exposed skin, making eye contact with the other boy who was grinning like he knew something Lan Wangji didn’t - impossible - and leaned even closer, far too close than socially acceptable.
“Shameless.”
Which was apparently the wrong thing to say, as Wei Wuxian’s eyebrow merely raised in challenge, already-wide grin stretching across his face lazily. Tongue running along the inside of his cheek as he cocked his head slightly, in a way that could possibly pass as smug, possibly even attractive, but Lan Wangji just saw it for what it really was, which was arrogant. He leaned ever closer, and there couldn’t be too much more space between them now, close enough that Lan Wangji could tell what he actually smelt like. He didn’t quite know what to do with that information-
“-You know me Lan Wangji-” No, actually, I don’t - he thought as Wei Wuxian’s voice dipped lower, long fingers, far more dainty than he expected them to be, reaching up from the desk and curling around one of the pieces of hair that framed Lan Wangji’s own face. He froze, caught in Wei Wuxian’s silver eyes and felt his heart skip a beat in panic, Wei Wuxian far too close. Lan Wangji didn’t think he’d ever had anyone this close, not even his family and he was panicking. He swallowed roughly but gave nothing away on his face as Wei Wuxian tucked the strands behind his ear, letting the strands slip through his fingers till the very end and Lan Wangji swore he felt them ghost - burn, Wei Wuxian burns everything he touches - along his jaw, “-I see a pretty face and I just can’t help myself-“
“-A-Xian! Stop harassing Lan Wangji!”
“I would never, Jiang Cheng!”
He yelled back, eyes shining with mirth as he didn’t break his gaze from the other boy's eyes. Lan Wangji stared right back, or possibly more so glared back to anyone else but Wei Wuxian didn’t seem deterred. Rarely ever was. It was a peculiar brand of infuriating.
“Why don’t you ask him?”
“Well?”
The boy asked, tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip. Lan Wangji merely narrowed his eyes, Wei Wuxian leaning ever closer.
“Am I harassing you, Lan Wangji?”
Lan Wangji didn’t know what to say to be honest. Saying yes seriously would get the other to back off, something he found admirable of the other and his reputation. He’d never heard any of the people Wei Wuxian had fancied complaining that he was relentless or impolite or particularly pushy. Wei Wuxian had argued for consent to be taught in their health class when they were covering the topic of sex education, even being sent out for correcting the teacher using outdated terminology and staying firm on certain points (their teacher was a known misogynist who, unfortunately, even Lan Qiren was powerless to remove). So he knew Wei Wuxian would back off if he agreed. But was that what this was? Did Wei Wuxian like him? As in romantically, or even sexually?
His flirting with Lan Wangji had picked up recently, if their current predicament was anything to go by, with the other boy practically draped on the table in front of him, not helped by the state of his uniform or how sweaty they both were from the heat. The insistence on getting Lan Wangji to tutor him, cornering him in the library, a service he’s never had any need for before if his grades had anything to say about it. Now that Lan Wangji thought about it, the other had been following him around a lot more than previous years, trying to start conversations, or get his opinions on certain topics. Even just calling out to him from across the hall or during meal times with an earnest grin. Yesterday also wasn’t the first time Wei Wuxian had followed him to one of his classes, or even part of the way. Could it be that that was an attempt to walk Lan Wangji to one of his classes? Like he’d seen Zixuan do to Jiang Yanli countless times, or Jiang Wanyin used to do with Wen Qing before he realised she was a lesbian? He thought back to all the times he’d seen Wei Wuxian walk his ex’s to class, always carrying their books or bag; along with his own. And then there was the writing of his phone number on Lan Wangji’s hand…
It couldn’t be .
It didn’t make much sense for that to be the case. What did they even have in common, for Wei Wuxian to decide to set his sights on Lan Wangji?
Lan Wangji thought about how Wei Wuxian acted with his friends instead, unsure what to make of the prospect of Wei Wuxian possibly having feelings for him. He flirted with a lot of his friends, Lan Wangji was sure he’d flirt with inanimate objects if given the chance. He thought of the way he grinned cheekily at Wen Qing when he was doing something particularly devious, winking when she scolded him, opening every door he saw for her and bowing dramatically. He thought of Nie Huasiang and the way the two of them would fire compliments and innuendos at each other, Wei Wuxian tugging on his elaborate braid, declaring he could kiss the other anytime Nie Huasiang offered or bought him food, sometimes actually going through with his declarations (much to his Uncle’s chagrin and the rules on the display of relationships within the school halls). He thought of the gentle way he teased Wen Ning, grinning when the younger boy stuttered through his words and fumbled with whatever he was holding when he was caught off guard, the way Wei Wuxian’d swoon when the other would pick him up, exclaiming to anyone who would listen how strong he was, and how handsome too, Ning-er you’re really the whole package! Even Jin Zixuan (who had been gazing after Jiang Yanli when he’d been asked, “ Why do you keep looking at me, Am I that pretty Zixuan-ge? ”) hadn’t escaped Wei Wuxian’s flirting, and they weren’t even friends!
“ One day we’ll be friends, I know it .”
But Lan Wangji wasn't a friend, not really, he couldn’t just join in with it like all of Wei Wuxian’s friends did, and rolling his eyes and ignoring him didn’t do much of anything.
In conclusion they weren’t friends, and Wei Wuxian didn’t have a crush on him, because he acted the same way with everyone regardless of the feelings he had for them, so what game was he playing? Testing the waters? Seeing if Lan Wangji was worthy of whatever attention he decided to bestow? Was it just a mean game?
“Say the word and I’ll stop,”
Yes, you’re harassing me.
He couldn’t open his mouth.
Couldn’t even nod his head.
He studied Wei Wuxian’s eyes, looking for any hints of malice. Wei Wuxian was as open as a book, face so full of expression it was like he spent his whole life playing a role on a stage for people to watch and understand no matter their seat. His eyes met steely silver and for a moment Wei Wuxian looked taken aback, being studied as intensely as he was under Lan Wangji’s sharp gaze. The surprise disappeared and made way for lazy ease, like he had nothing to hide, head tilting to the side slightly in question. His eyes were clear, honest, like he truly meant he’d stop if Lan Wangji was uncomfortable. He wasn’t. Uncomfortable, that is.
Wei Wuxian had never made him uncomfortable.
He just burned -
“-Good Morning everyone, lovely to see you on time for once Nie Huasiang-,”