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“I’m feeling very attacked right now,” Wei Ying says, as Nie Huaisang stares at him blankly.
They’re sitting inside a café, the one in front of their university’s main entrance, while they wait for the rain to stop. Neither of them have classes, thankfully, having just finished for the day, but the sudden summer rain caught them off guard as they were talking about what to do for the weekend.
“Wei-xiong, you can’t just expect me to believe you’ve never kissed anyone, in your life.” Nie Huaisang says, fanning himself.
“Why not!?”
“Because you’re you.” Huaisang answers with a glare. “And I’ve seen you at parties. I am sure someone would have definitely thought you wanted to get all up in their business.”
“Are you slut shaming me?” Wei Ying says, incredulously.
“Well, seeing as you haven’t even kissed anyone, I can’t even do that, can I?”
Wei Ying puffs his cheeks and pouts at his friend. So what if he hasn’t kissed anyone yet? It’s not like he’s going out of his way to make out with people he just met at parties. He hasn’t even fallen in love for the first time yet! It’s very sensible of him to wait; he wants his first kiss to be with someone he likes, not just any person that randomly appeared at his line of sight.
“Alright, that’s what we’re doing this weekend,” Huaisang continues, ignoring him. “We’re going to get you to kiss someone at the party on Saturday.”
“What!?”
“Yes. There’s a party at, uh, someone’s dorm, or house?” Huaisang closes his fan and taps it against his chin. “Or apartment? I’m not sure. But there’s a party, and Da-ge is going, so obviously I have to go too.”
“Please tell me that you’re not going to get your brother drunk. I still can’t get the image of him dancing to Hips Don’t Lie out of my head.”
“I really don’t know what you’re talking about, Wei-xiong.”
*
The party on Saturday, as it turns out, is hosted by Jins. And not even by any Jin Wei Ying knows, which, by the way, it’s way too many if you ask him. They’re like cockroaches, whenever you avoid one, another one shows up, and it’s all Jin Guangshan’s fault. That man seriously has to learn to keep it inside his pants for a change. The reason for the party? He recognized one of his many illegitimate sons and the man even changed his name. He’s apparently one of Nie Mingjue’s best friends, which explains why the man is even going in the first place, and why-oh-why Nie Huaisang wants to go too.
When Wei Ying arrives, the house where the party is hosted is decorated from floor to ceiling. He’s not even surprised; the last time he attended a Jin-organized party was his sister’s engagement party and he still shivers at the display of gold in every single corner of the room. This time, although ostentatious, it seems like all the gold pieces the Jins own are hidden.
“Wei-xiong!”
Nie Huaisang waves at him from the kitchen and he walks towards him.
“Did you bring any alcohol?” Wei Ying asks, already knowing the answer.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Huaisang answers and Wei Ying rolls his eyes. “I came here to have a good time, I don’t need alcohol to do that,” he continues as he gives Wei Ying a water bottle that smells suspicious.
“Thanks” he answers, and then whistles at the amount of people in the house. “He went all out, huh?”
“Of course,” Huaisang says, sipping from his own water bottle. “Gotta put those Jin funds to good use.”
Wei Ying snorts and scans the living room. He doesn’t recognize anyone on sight, which means that these people are either Master students, or from another university altogether. He doesn’t get the chance to ask Nie Huaisang because when he turns around, his friend is no longer next to him. Sighing, Wei Ying starts to walk around the place, dancing to squirm between bodies, and miraculously avoids getting groped by people he doesn’t know.
He ends up finding Nie Mingjue, who’s sitting at a couch, his arms thrown around two men. Wei Ying recognizes one of them as Lan Huan. He waves at them because Mingjue looks positively drunk already and Wei Ying decides he’s not going to risk getting traumatized again.
He ends up chatting with a girl, MianMian, he hears her friend call her, and he finds out she’s actually the host’s cousin. She’s fierce, and funny, and quick-witted and Wei Ying likes her.
“It’s a shame you’re a Jin!” he tells her, and she laughs.
“Why?”
“Because I’ve decided to hate all Jins, of course!”
She laughs again, tells him she understands, and then proceeds to make out with someone who, up until that moment, Wei Ying thought was her friend. He raises his eyebrows at them and sighs. Right, he’s supposed to be here to give away his first kiss. Where is Nie Huaisang anyway?
He starts to look for his friend, not without dancing for a bit at the center of the party, of course –the wine in his water bottle starting to kick in a bit, and ends up in an empty room. The music is still loud enough inside, but the emptiness of it allows him a moment to breathe. He really didn’t want to come.
“Wei-xiong!” he hears from behind, the door open and Huaisang looking every bit of put together since he saw him earlier. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Wei Ying pulls a face at him and Huaisang walks inside, closing the door behind him.
“How is the kissing quest going?”
“SangSang, why are you so interested in me kissing people for the first time?”
“That’s a no, then.” Wei Ying sighs. “Wei-xiong, I’m starting to think you don’t want to kiss anyone.”
“Really? Starting to?”
“Don’t be like that, I just want you to go through this mile stone!” Nie Huaisang says, and he takes out a fan from somewhere. Wei Ying has learnt not to ask where he keeps them. “You’re twenty-years-old and you haven’t kissed anyone, let alone done other stuff.”
“And what’s the problem with that? People already think I sleep around.”
“Well, yeah, but it’s one thing hearing about your conquests from other people, and actually knowing you haven’t done any of that stuff.”
Wei Ying leans against a dresser. He thinks he sees why Nie Huaisang is so fixated on it; but at the same time, he just wants to wait until someone special comes to his life. Someone who makes him feel like how his sister’s described being in love feels like.
“I just want my first kiss to be with someone special.”
“Okay, then it’s decided.” Huaisang says, not even a hint of mockery. “I’m going to kiss you.”
“What?”
“Yeah. You want it to be someone special, and who’s more special than your best friend?”
“SangSang, I don’t even like you that way.”
“We all must make sacrifices.”
“Nie Huaisang,” Wei Ying says, laughing, as his best friend comes closer to his face.
It happens so fast. In one moment, Wei Ying is pushing Huaisang away and moving his face and head out of reach, and in the other, a vase falls from the dresser and breaks. The sound quieting the party outside, it seems. Both Wei Ying and Nie Huaisang stare at it with identical, horrified expressions.
“On a scale from one to ten, how fucked are we, realistically?”
“Six. If we stay here, maybe an eight.”
“Let’s go.”
When they get out of the room, everything seems normal enough. Everyone is dancing, the music is still at full blast, and no one seems to have realized that Wei Ying and Nie Huaisang broke some Jin property. No one seems to be watching them, which is exactly what they need to cover up their-. Oh.
“Who’s that?” Wei Ying leans down to talk to Huaisang in his ear. He doesn’t point but Nie Huaisang seems to know who he’s talking about.
“Lan Zhan. He’s Lan Huan’s little brother.”
“He’s watching us.”
“I can see that.”
“I’m gonna go make sure that he didn’t see us get out.”
“Sure. I’m gonna go find Da-ge. Get him drunker.”
“Good plan.”
Wei Ying loses sight of Lan Zhan the minute he steps through the crowd to get to him, which shouldn’t be as frustrating as it is, but here he is. Huffing and groaning when he reaches the place where he saw Lan Zhan leaning against, and he’s not there. He turns and searches in the kitchen. Nothing. He sees Huaisang offering Mingjue his “water bottle”, and snorts. At least Nie Huaisang is doing his part of the plan. When he doesn’t see Lan Zhan anywhere, he decides to go to the back garden. Maybe a bit of fresh air will help him clear his head a bit.
And there, sitting on one of the benches, alone, is Lan Zhan.
“There you are,” Wei Ying mutters to himself as he walks closer to him. “Lan Zhan, right? I’m Wei Ying.”
The man stares at him without saying anything and Wei Ying smiles brightly at him. He sits down on the bench too, not too close, but also not too far. The music is still loud, but not enough that he has to yell to be heard.
“Are you enjoying the party?” Wei Ying asks, and Lan Zhan’s eyebrow twitches. Wei Ying laughs. “Yeah, I get it. I didn’t want to come either.”
“Why are you here then?”
Oh, wow. Wei Ying couldn’t have imagined it with the way Lan Huan’s voice is, but Lan Zhan’s is deep, deep. He sounds like he hasn’t spoken in a while.
“Huaisang made me come. Oh, he was the one who told me your name.”
“Mn, I saw you.”
“Yeah… about that…”
“This isn’t your house.”
“Nope. But I was looking for a place to hide for a bit and Huaisang found me.”
“Mn.”
Wei Ying doesn’t know what to say after that so he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he stares at Lan Zhan. He looks a lot like Lan Huan, and Wei Ying is sure that someone, at some point, must have called them twins, but Lan Zhan’s eye color is a lot lighter than Lan Huan’s, and his expression seems more guarded than anything. He thinks that Lan Zhan is even more attractive than Lan Huan. And that’s saying something.
“You won’t say anything, right?” Wei Ying asks, after a while. “About seeing us getting out of that room?”
“I don’t particularly like Jin Guangyao, so no.”
“Really!?” Wei Ying says, and he’s not sure if he’s more surprised about Lan Zhan saying he’s going to lie –he’s a Lan, after all; or the admittance that he doesn’t like the party’s host. “Why don’t you like him?”
“Gossiping is forbidden.”
Wei Ying laughs at that, and he thinks that Lan Zhan smiles a little bit too.
“Well, you’re not gossiping if you’re just sharing your opinion.”
Lan Zhan stares at him and raises one eyebrow, and Wei Ying dissolves into giggles again.
“What do you study? I don’t think I’ve seen you on campus.”
“Music.”
“Oh, like your brother!”
“Mn.”
“Well, I’m studying to be a mechanical engineer.”
“Like Nie Huaisang.”
“Yeah! But I think he would be better suited for Arts than Engineering. Don’t tell Mingjue I said that.”
“I agree with you. But he wants to make Da-ge happy.”
The way he says things, Wei Ying thinks, has a very final way of sounding. Like: the topic is done, move on. But Wei Ying is anything if not stubborn and he just really wants to know more about this Jin Guangyao-hater Lan Zhan.
“Do you play a lot of instruments?”
“Mn.”
“I know Lan Huan plays the flute, do you also play it?”
“The guqin.”
“Oh, you play the guqin!? That’s amazing! I didn’t know the university’s Music program went for traditional instruments.”
“They don’t.”
“Then… what other instruments do you play?”
“The piano and the violin.”
“Wow, so you play three instruments? You really must be a prodigy.”
“I’m not.”
“If you say so!” Wei Ying tries to think of a different topic. “How about food, what’s your favorite? I really like spicy things, and grilled meat too.”
“I’m a vegetarian.” Ah, fuck.
“You know what, I should have known that. You’re a Lan after all.”
“Mn.”
“But how do you do it? Like, I know the campus’ food doesn’t offer many vegetarian options, and most, if not all, restaurants outside of campus are full of a variety of meat menus.”
“I cook my own food.”
“Really? D’you live at home, then?”
“I live with my brother.”
“Oooohhh. Yeah, that makes sense.” Wei Ying thinks, now, that he should have paid more attention to when Nie Mingjue introduced Lan Huan to him. Maybe he’d know what to talk about to his brother. “So, you guys live in an apartment, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s cool! I live near campus too, with two friends. It hasn’t been the easiest, but it’s fun! We thought it would be better than to find three separate rooms for each of us, since most of the rooms being rented near uni are either for one person, or the household is just either women-only or men-only. And my friends are siblings, so.”
“Mn.”
“Do you have any pets?” And that, above anything else, seems to get a reaction of him. “You do! Tell me about them!”
Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything for a second, and then he’s taking out his phone. For a moment, Wei Ying thinks that he’s just going to ignore him, which, you know, fair. He has been talking his ear off for a while now, and Lan Zhan seems to only give monosyllabic answers; but before he apologizes and leaves, Lan Zhan turns to him and shows him a picture of two bunnies.
“Oh. My. Gods. They’re adorable!”
“Mn. Their names are Wangji and Wuxian.”
“Which one is which?”
He learns that the white one with black eyes is Wangji and the black one with black eyes is Wuxian. He learns that Lan Zhan has taken care of them since they were babies, and that his uncle (who raised both him and Lan Huan, by the way, Lan Zhan tells him that) didn’t let them have pets growing up, so now that they live alone, they’ve compromised with bunnies; neither of them are home enough to take care of a dog, and Lan Huan is allergic to cats.
“They wander around the apartment most of the time. We only lock the enclosure when it’s time to sleep.”
“Don’t they eat the wires?” Wei Ying asks, because hey. He knows a little bit about bunnies, okay?
“Mn. At first they did, but we managed to place the wires high enough they don’t reach them anymore.”
“Bunny-proof apartment, then.”
“Yes. And they really enjoy just hopping around the apartment. One time I found Wangji inside one of my shoes.”
“Please tell me you took a picture of him.”
“I did.”
Lan Zhan then scrolls down his gallery looking for the picture, and Wei Ying sees that most of his gallery are pictures of the bunnies or of his food. He’s way too cute.
“You’re way too cute.” Wei Ying says, because he can’t not say it.
And, oh. Is that a blush he’s seeing? Wei Ying doesn’t know how he’s lived his life without Lan Zhan blushes.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, completely serious. “Now that I know that you have bunnies, how can I live without pictures of them? You have to give me your number and text me pictures of Wangji and Wuxian daily.”
Lan Zhan looks taken a back for a bit, which is not really different from his usual expression, but his eyes do something around the corners and Wei Ying thinks he can see them widen a bit.
“Okay.”
No one but Lan Zhan will know about the cheer Wei Ying lets out after that one simple word.
*
*
“So… you know that thing you told me not to do?”
“Wei Ying.”
“I know, but hear me out! Jin Zixun just wouldn’t leave Wen Ning alone, okay? And Wen Ning hasn’t done anything to him!” Wen Ning looks up at him, his face soft and scared. “Wen Ning just paints, takes pictures, knits and cooks! He doesn’t bother anyone!”
“Wei Ying.”
“And! Jin Zixun just. Says shit to Wen Ning! He even pushed him and made him throw his camera! That shit is expensive, Lan Zhan.”
“Wei Ying.”
“So, of course I could not just stand there and do nothing! I know you said that karma would come for him, but call me Karma because I am this close to punching a bitch.”
“Where are you?”
“Counselor’s office. Something about having to say sorry to Jin Zixun and handing my TP gun to them.”
“You don’t have a TP gun.”
“I made it with a leaf blower and a paint roller.” Wei Ying says, nonchalant. “But that’s beside the point. I know you said I shouldn’t take revenge on him, but ugh. I just hate him so much.”
“Mn. He deserved it.”
“Yes! He de-. Lan Zhan! Oh no. You’re agreeing with me. Now I feel like a bad person.”
He’s corrupted Lan Zhan. Pure, delicate, incapable of ill-will Lan Zhan. He knew this would happen, but he really didn’t think it would happen so soon.
“If you’re a bad person, then so am I.”
“Lan Zhaaaaaaan,” he whines.
“He deserved it.”
“Ugh. What am I gonna do with you?”
“I’m coming there.”
And, you know what, that is all Wei Ying could ask. If Jin Zixun gets here first, Wei Ying will have to apologize without having calmed down, and if that happens… well, there probably won’t be much left of the counselor’s office.
“Lan Zhan is coming,” Wei Ying says, and Wen Ning looks up again. This time he looks relieved. “Hey, why are you looking at me like that! You TPed just as much as I did.”
“I’m just along for the ride.”
“And for moral support.”
“And for moral support.” Wen Ning agrees, going back to staring at his phone. “Do you thing A-Jie will find out about this?”
“Oh, undoubtedly.”
They don’t really have to wait that long before Lan Zhan shows up. He looks clean and pristine, as always, but his eyes betray his cool composure. Wei Ying doesn’t understand it yet, but having Lan Zhan with him automatically makes him calmer. Like his whole presence is enough to put a stop to his spiraling mind.
“Alright, boys, let’s get this over with.” The counselor says as he enters the office a few minutes later with Jin Zixun in tow. “Oh, Mister Lan, what are you doing here?”
“He’s just here as emotional support.” Wei Ying answers, because it’s the truth.
“Okay…” the counselor looks confused for a second but he doesn’t say anything else about it. “Mister Wei, you understand the severity of what you did?”
“I understand the severity of Jin Zixun’s bullying towards Wen Ning.” He answers, because really? That’s how he wants to start this?
“Let’s leave that situation aside for the time being, okay?” Wei Ying frowns, and he can see out of the corner of his eye that Lan Zhan is frowning too. “You covered Mister Jin’s entire dormitory with toilet paper, and this was an act of revenge.”
“Of course it was. Did you not hear how he keeps bullying Wen Ning?”
“Mister Wei, let’s focus here. Mister Jin said that he won’t place an official complaint for breaking and entering if you apologize to him. So why not do that?”
Wei Ying huffs and turns to look at Wen Ning, who nods, and then to Lan Zhan, who looks murderous. That shouldn’t cause a burning feeling in the depths of his stomach. It shouldn’t.
“Okay, fine. Jin Zixun, I’m sorry for going inside your room and TPing everything you own. We were just fucking around and finding out… and ended up finding out way too hard.”
“See? Was that hard, Mister Wei? Now. How about we-. Mister Lan. Mister Lan, where are you taking Mister Wei?”
“Home.”
“But-.”
“You asked him to apologize, he did. There’s nothing else he, or Wen Ning should be doing here.”
“Um.”
Wei Ying sees Wen Ning stand up, grab both his and Wei Ying’s backpacks and following them behind. Once they’re out of the building, Lan Zhan lets go of Wei Ying’s hand and he looks even more murderous now. He takes out his phone and walks a little bit away. It seems like he’s making a call.
“So. We can go home, right?” Wen Ning asks, that seems to bring Wei Ying back to the situation.
“Oh, yeah. Yes. We can go home. Or, well, at least you can. I’m gonna wait for Lan Zhan.”
“Okay! Don’t forget that A-Jie is cooking today, okay?”
“Right.”
Once Wen Ning is gone, Wei Ying turns to look at Lan Zhan again, and he seems to be having a heated discussion with someone. He keeps clenching his hand, and taking deep breaths, and closing his eyes. He doesn’t say many words, and just hums in response to whatever the person on the other side says, but he looks like he’s ready to punch someone.
“Ah, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying whispers as he sighs, and Lan Zhan looks at him. His gaze doesn’t look as murderous as before, so Wei Ying knows that Lan Zhan is not angry at him. “Hey, it’s okay.”
Lan Zhan denies with his head, and Wei Ying doesn’t know if it’s in response to him, or to the person on the phone. He decides to wait until the call is over, so he grabs Lan Zhan’s clenched hand and guides him towards a bench. They sit down together and Wei Ying plays with Lan Zhan’s fingers, unclenching them one by one until Lan Zhan’s hand is open again. He then proceeds to examine it, placing it in front of his face as he looks at the callouses in Lan Zhan’s fingertips; Wei Ying doesn’t know if they are from the guqin or the violin.
“My uncle will do something about the counselor.” Lan Zhan says, finally, after he hangs up.
“What do you mean?”
“What Counselor Thompson did was not right. He’s deliberately ignoring the claims of bullying in favor of the Jins. My uncle will do something about it.”
“Lan Zhan… that’s not necessary.”
“Wei Ying. It’s not right.”
Wei Ying sighs, places Lan Zhan’s hand on his lap and stares at it for a minute. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Mn.”
Wei Ying is not sure when he started to understand what each “Mn” meant.
*
Nobody ever believes Wei Ying when he says it, but Lan Zhan has a sense of humor and he’s petty as fuck. One time, while they were out at a café with the Nie brothers, Lan Huan and Jin Guangyao, Lan Zhan leaned down to whisper in his ear about how Jin Guangyao’s new lady friend (the one he kept talking about much to Lan Huan’s dismay) looked a lot like him, and if they were sure they weren’t siblings. Wei Ying ended up snorting his drink onto the tabletop and then apologizing profusely to Jin Guangyao because most of his drink ended up on his shirt. Lan Zhan looked so smug about it and he’s sure Lan Huan saw it too.
Laughing at inappropriate moments aside, Wei Ying really enjoys spending time with Lan Zhan. Even if they study completely different things, the amount of times they’ve sat down to study together, or write essays and reports since they met, need to be counted with more than two hands. Wei Ying is surprised at how thoughtful Lan Zhan is when asked for his opinion on a topic, and in turn he gets to listen to Lan Zhan practice his guqin; he even got to listen part of a song Lan Zhan is composing himself!
He doesn’t notice how much he talks about Lan Zhan until Jiang Cheng, his brother, points it out to him:
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, could you please stop talking about your boyfriend!?”
“What!?”
“A-Jie, please tell him to shut up.”
“A-Cheng, be nice. I think it’s cute that A-Ying has found someone he likes!”
“Um. Wait!” Wei Ying interrupts before Jiang Cheng can continue. “Lan Zhan and I are not together.”
“Could’ve fooled me.” Jiang Cheng mutters, and Wei Ying glares at him.
“We’re sorry for assuming,” Jiang Yanli says with a smile. “It’s just. You talk about Lan Zhan quite a lot, A-Ying.”
“Well, he’s my best friend!”
“Oh, gods.”
“And I’m sure that’s all there is. I’m just glad you have such a good friend.”
Wei Ying is not sure if the tone his sister uses for that is sarcastic or not, but she is Jiang Yanli and how could he ever doubt of his sister’s intentions? So she must have meant it. And, Lan Zhan is his best friend, he didn’t lie about that. Yes, they spend a lot of time together, but that is only because being around Lan Zhan calms him. Wei Ying can actually focus on his work when sitting with Lan Zhan. And he’s come to discover that he likes a lot of vegetarian food! When they go out together, Lan Zhan always lets him taste his food before he eats, and yeah, it’s sweet and maybe a little corny, but it’s Lan Zhan! How is he going to say no to him?
He doesn’t, of course. That’s the only correct answer.
*
“Hm.”
“What?”
It’s Wei Ying’s birthday, also known in this side of the world as Halloween, and they’re celebrating in his apartment. Both his sister and brother came to visit him for the weekend, and he invited his friends for a little get-together. He doesn’t know who half of these people are, and he suspects it’s Nie Huaisang’s fault. He’s not complaining, though. Everyone seems to be buzz-happy, and the costumes they’re wearing make him very happy every time he sees them. There’s just one little problem:
“My Sad-Lan-Zhan instincts are tingling.”
“Your what!?” Jiang Cheng looks like he doesn’t know if he’s feeling disgusted or confused. Maybe both.
“My Sad-Lan-Zhan instincts. Look at him! He’s all lonely over there!” Wei Ying points towards the general vicinity of the kitchen and Jiang Cheng squints.
“He looks the same.”
“Of course not! He’s sad!”
“How can you even tell!?”
Now it’s Wei Ying’s turn to look at his little brother with confusion.
“What do you mean, how? Didi, it’s written all over his face!”
“Don’t call me didi.” Jiang Cheng says, punching his arm. It doesn’t even hurt. “And he looks exactly the same.”
“No, he doesn’t! His mouth is all frowny!”
“He’s always frowny.”
“Now you’re being difficult, A-Cheng.” Wei Ying says, and avoids the second arm-punch. “His mouth is frowny around the corners, and his eyes are hooded! And his eyebrows are lower than usual. He’s sad!”
“Well. Go see why he’s sad, then!” Huaisang says, and they both jump. When did Nie Huaisang get here?
“Yeah, I’m gonna!”
“Not your boyfriend, my ass!” he hears Jiang Cheng shout and Wei Ying flips him off.
He makes his way to the kitchen which, he cannot stress this enough, is not really that far away, in five minutes. He got stopped multiple times by what’s-their-face people wishing him happy birthday, and hugging him, and telling him that his costume looks amazing, and who is he dressed up as. It took everything in him not to go into detail about the wuxia show he’s been watching and that only Lan Zhan knows about.
“Why are you sad?” Wei Ying asks when he finally, finally reaches Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan looks at him for a second, and then turns to look at the party happening outside of the kitchen.
“Ah. I know you don’t like parties. You didn’t need to come”
“It’s Wei Ying’s birthday.”
“Well. Yeah?”
“Of course, I came.”
“But you’re sad.”
“…” Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything for a second, and Wei Ying feels the warmth in his stomach go up to his chest. Have they always stood so close to each other? “I like it when your face is all red.”
Something inside him explodes and the only response Wei Ying can think of, aside from gulping a couple of times before speaking, is laughing. He’s embarrassed and he wants to get as far away as he can. He hides his face in Lan Zhan’s shoulder.
“I brought you a gift.”
“What!” That gets him back on track again. “Gimme, gimme, gimme.”
Lan Zhan gives him a carefully wrapped box that’s not very heavy, but also not light either. Wei Ying wants to open it now.
“Can I open it?”
“Yes.”
He finds the tape that holds the paper together, unsticks it and starts to unwrap the box. When he finally takes the wrapping paper off, he smiles brightly at Lan Zhan.
“Emperor’s Smile!” He yells, and wraps his arms around Lan Zhan’s neck. “You remembered!”
“Mn.”
While everyone knows that Wei Ying likes to drink –and it didn’t matter that he wasn’t of age, yet. In China he could, okay?–, Wei Ying has been talking about wanting to taste Emperor’s Smile, the wine mentioned in the wuxia show he’s been talking Lan Zhan’s ear off about. And Lan Zhan got it for him! How cool is his best friend, huh!?
“You’re the best. Thank you.”
“Mn.”
“This is what you were sad about? Not being able to give me my gift?” Wei Ying teases, and Lan Zhan’s ears go red. Wei Ying laughs delighted and hugs him again. “Oh, it’s surprisingly nice to hug you. Why haven’t we hugged before?”
“I don’t like it when other people touch me.”
“You let me touch you all the time.”
“Wei Ying is not other people.”
“Sooooooooooooo,” he extends the word, trying to think of something, anything. “What you’re saying is that I can hug you whenever I want?”
“Mn.”
“Lan Zhan, you can’t just say things like thaaaaaat. You have to give me a warning.”
“Mn.”
He’s sure the reason he’s smiling so hard is because of the gift and nothing else. He’s sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Lan Zhan implied that Wei Ying is special. It has nothing to do with that, he’s sure.
*
Lan Zhan does arrive twenty minutes later, and when he does Wei Ying has tea ready for him. They’re both quiet as they walk from the kitchen to Wei Ying’s room, trying not to wake Wen Ning in the process. Wei Ying knows that Wen Ning is actually a deep sleeper, but he won’t say anything that will make Lan Zhan walk slightly farther away from him right now.
“Do you think your brother likes Jin Guangyao?”
“Hm…” Lan Zhan hums in response as he sits down on the bed. “I think he likes both Jin Guangyao and Da-ge.”
“Oh, ho-ho.” Wei Ying snorts, and turns to his desk. He should have organized it a bit before Lan Zhan arrived. “You go, Lan Huan!”
“I don’t think either of them like the idea of sharing my brother.” Lan Zhan says, and even in the darkness of the room, Wei Ying sees the way he holds himself together. It’s as close to a shiver as he’s ever going to get from him.
“I mean, if it were me and I had to share you with someone else, I wouldn’t be too happy about it either.”
“Mn.”
Oh, did he just imply that he likes Lan Zhan? Oh. Oh, no. He has to say something else. Say something else. Say it! Say it! SAY IT!
“Because, you know, you’re my best friend and all that.”
Oh gods, it sounds so fake. And why is he panicking about this? His heart and his brain need to stop the thing they’re doing right this very second.
“I thought your best friend was Nie Huaisang.” Lan Zhan says, and he’s very nonchalant about it.
“He was. Up until the moment he tried to kiss me and we broke a vase at Jin Guangyao’s house.”
“What?”
“Oh, I guess I never told you!” Okay, this is familiar territory. Talking about someone else, he can do this. “That’s what we were doing there, that day. Huaisang found out I’ve never kissed anyone before, and he took me to that party to find someone to kiss. When I didn’t, he offered to kiss me. I tried to push him away and in the process the vase fell and, well. You know the rest.”
“Mn.”
“What?” Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything but he keeps looking at Wei Ying with a very intense look. “Oh, gods, you’ve heard things about me on campus, haven’t you?”
“Mn.”
“Even before we met?”
“… Mn.”
“Lan Zhaaaaaaaaan, why didn’t you say anything!?”
“Because it was not important.”
“So, what, you thought I just went around, hooking up with people and just. Not telling you about it?”
“It is not important.”
“Ugh. Don’t you think that’s sad? Everyone keeps saying things about me, and I’ve never kissed anyone before. I don’t even know how it works!”
“… I can show you how it works.”
“What?”
That brings his brain to a stop. He kept spiraling about every little thing and now it’s quiet. Did he hear correctly? Did Lan Zhan ask if Wei Ying wanted him to show him how kissing works?
“You-. You’re offering to show me how kissing works?”
“Mn.”
“Have you kissed anyone before?”
“Mn.”
“Really?”
“I’ve dated.”
“What!?”
“Before I met Wei Ying.”
Okay. Okay. He’s not sure why that makes him feel better, but it does.
“Would you like me to?”
“Huh?”
“Show you how kissing works.”
Oh. Right. Yeah.
“Um. Yes? Yes.” His heart is beating way too fast to be healthy, and his cheeks feel hot. Would Lan Zhan feel it too, if he touches him? “Yeah, I would.”
Lan Zhan stands up, then, walks decisively towards Wei Ying and pins him against his desk with his body. They stare at each other for a minute, neither of them saying anything, neither of them touching.
“I’m going to grab your face.” Lan Zhan says, and oh, has he always sounded like that when he’s whispering?
“Okay.”
Lan Zhan does grab his face, cradles his cheeks between his hands and leans just a little bit closer. Wei Ying can smell the tea in his breath and he’s not sure why that doesn’t make him pull away immediately. Instead, he wraps his arms around Lan Zhan’s waist, pulling him closer, close enough that their lips are inches apart. He’s not sure if Lan Zhan ends up kissing him first, or if it’s the other way around; what he is sure of is that Lan Zhan’s lips are soft, and a little bit chapped, and a firm pressure on his.
What he is sure of is that his chest constricts the moment they kiss, and is that normal? That’s normal, right?
Lan Zhan kisses him multiple times, pressing his lips against Wei Ying’s at different angles and each time, Wei Ying tightens his grip around Lan Zhan. He doesn’t want to let go, he really doesn’t. This feels nice.
“Open your mouth,” Lan Zhan murmurs against his lips and oh, wow, that gets a reaction out of his dick.
Wei Ying parts his lips, and Lan Zhan’s are on his again, closing around his lower lip and sucking. Oh, he thinks he gets it. He starts to do the same thing to Lan Zhan’s lips, sucking on his lips whenever he closes his mouth around them and it soon turns fast, frenzied, desperate.
He’s not sure how he ends up sitting on his desk, his legs open, Lan Zhan in between them, his hands under Lan Zhan’s shirt and Lan Zhan’s hands on his hair. He’s not sure how he ends up panting against his best friend’s mouth, nor how Lan Zhan ends up looking like a wreck, and oh. Wei Ying did that. Lan Zhan is panting against his mouth, huffing little puffs of air that still smell like tea, his usually put together shirt now wrinkled and out of place, and Wei Ying did that.
“We should sleep.” Wei Ying finds himself murmuring. He’s not sleepy at all.
“Mn.”
*
Finals week is coming up and Wei Ying is stressed. He’s supposed to write a report for one of his classes, have a prototype ready for another, and he has to study for an exam he’s sure he won’t pass. Why do professors have to put every assignment due in the same week!?
“Wei Ying.”
He breaks his gaze from his laptop but keeps typing as he looks at Lan Zhan standing just outside his room. Wei Ying notices, then, that everything is very dark, both outside and inside his room.
“Fuck.”
He scrambles to get up, turns the light on and he closes his eyes immediately after, the light hurting them.
“I’m sorry, Lan Zhan, I’ve been so focused on finishing the report for professor Johnson that I haven’t even showered today.”
“Have you eaten?”
“Sure I have,” Wei Ying answers, “I drank some coffee, and I ate a pastry at like, eight a.m.”
“Wei Ying, that was twelve hours ago.”
“No, it wasn’t, I even put an alarm to remind myself that I needed to eat, look.”
Wei Ying starts to look for his phone, but he doesn’t seem to find it in the amount of photocopies and books he has thrown around both on his bed and his desk. When he finally finds it, his phone is off.
“Oh.”
“Wei Ying, it’s 8:42 p.m.” Lan Zhan says, and well, now that he mentions it, his stomach is making rumbling sounds, yeah. “Come to the living room, I brought you takeout.”
“Lan Zhan, I could kiss you right now! You’re the best!”
“Then, do it.”
“What?” He stops, just in front of Lan Zhan and he looks expectant. “Lan Zhan, I haven’t even showered today, I’m gross. You don’t want me to kiss you like this.”
Lan Zhan raises his eyebrows at him and Wei Ying rolls his eyes.
“Alright, you asked for it.”
He makes a show for it, standing on his tiptoes and huffing as he leans closer to Lan Zhan. It’s just a peck on his lips, nothing they haven’t done before, but Wei Ying still feels nervous nonetheless. What if Lan Zhan does find him gross after all?
“Mn.” He says, and he looks satisfied. “Come eat.”
Wei Ying is left standing there for a few seconds, his heart beating rapidly, and his eyes a bit disoriented. Must be because of all the time he spent in front of his laptop while his room was dark.
“Wei Ying?”
“Coming.” He starts walking towards the living room and realizes something important. “Wait, who let you in?”
*
They’re out with friends, again; this time including Wen Qing, who miraculously has a weekend free from the clinic. Huaisang invited them all to go to a club’s opening night and told them that there weren’t going to be that many people, but clearly, they should have known better. The club is packed. Wen Ning looks uncomfortable but really, when does Wen Ning look comfortable at all, but even Wei Ying feels like maybe there’s not even space for them to breathe.
They end up finding an empty table in a corner, next to the platform where apparently someone will perform later, and there’s a booth big enough to cover four people. Lan Zhan, Wei Ying, Wen Qing and Wen Ning sit on the booth, while Lan Huan, Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao sit on the chairs in front of them. Where is Nie Huaisang, that’s the question none of them seem to find the answer to.
A man comes to stand next to Lan Zhan when all of them are laughing. He says something Wei Ying can’t hear and places a hand on Lan Zhan’s arm. Lan Zhan stares at the man with murderous eyes. The man doesn’t seem to get the hint. Wei Ying wraps an arm around Lan Zhan and turns to look at the man with a wide smile.
“Sorry!” he says, as he basically bats the hand off of Lan Zhan’s arm. “My friend doesn’t like to be touched.”
The man stares at him for a second, he frowns, looks pointedly at his arm wrapped around Lan Zhan’s shoulders and Wei Ying smiles wider, deadlier. The man huffs and leaves.
He doesn’t take his arm off, and he pointedly ignores the looks everyone else is giving him. What? Lan Zhan doesn’t like it when other people touch him, so obviously he wasn’t going to stand there and do nothing. He has to help his best friend out when something uncomfortable happens! That’s the law of best friends!
What Wei Ying doesn’t ignore, though, is the way Lan Zhan smiles into his mocktail. Even if he’s looking from the side, Lan Zhan’s eyes look soft, and his mouth is turned upwards and it’s such a sweet look Wei Ying doesn’t see enough! He wants to, though. He really wants to. So, he makes it this night’s mission: make Lan Zhan smile.
He’s not sure when he started doing it, but when he realizes that he has to go get another drink, his other hand is occupied playing with Lan Zhan’s short strands of hair. And it’s not even a “oops, my hand is in your hair” type of situation; no, his hand is full on Lan Zhan’s scalp, has completely disappeared through hair, and Lan Zhan looks-, oh, gods, he looks content.
He frowns slightly when Wei Ying takes his hand off of his head, but his eyes are still soft and searching when he turns to look at him.
“I’m getting a refill.” Wei Ying says, leaning to his ear. Lan Zhan nods, stands up, and lets Wei Ying get out of the booth. “I’ll be back!” he says to their friends.
When he gets to the bar, he stands in line to one of the bartenders and waits for his turn. Surprisingly, the bar is not as packed as the rest of the club is, so Wei Ying doesn’t have to wait that long to get his drink. However, as he’s walking back to his table, someone grabs him and starts to grind against his ass. Wei Ying frowns, stares at the hands around his hips and counts to ten in his head before taking a step back and stepping on top of the person’s foot. Hard.
“Ouch, asshole!” he hears and Wei Ying rolls his eyes.
When he finally reaches his table, his drink is halfway down his plastic cup, and Lan Zhan is nowhere to be found.
“Where’s Lan Zhan?” he asks Lan Huan, who stares at him with something that looks like distress.
“Outside.”
Outside? Why would Lan Zhan be outside? Does he need fresh air? Did he drink something? Oh, gods, what if he drank alcohol and Wei Ying has to hide the campus’ chickens from him again?
Wei Ying leaves his plastic cup on the table, turns around and squirms through the dancing bodies until he reaches the club’s entrance. Once he’s out, he looks for Lan Zhan and finds him standing next to a street vendor. He seems to be okay enough.
“Lan Zhan!”
His best friend looks up from his phone, frowns at Wei Ying, but otherwise doesn’t avert his gaze. Hm, definitely not drunk, but not a good look either.
“Are you okay?” he asks when he reaches him, buys a gum from the vendor and waits expectantly for Lan Zhan to say something. “Lan Zhan?”
“Mn.”
“Are you sure?”
“I want to go home.” He says, and well, yeah, Wei Ying thought as much.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“No, Wei Ying should stay here with everyone else, I’ll go.”
“Are you not feeling okay?”
“I-.”
“Then I’m going with you.” Wei Ying pats his pockets, makes sure that both his phone and wallet are in there and nods. “Seriously, Lan Zhan, I came here with you. To have fun with you. Why would I stay without you?”
The ride to Lan Zhan’s apartment is not… uncomfortable, per se, but it’s not pleasant either. Lan Zhan makes a point to sit on the passenger seat of the car, while Wei Ying is left in the backseat. He doesn’t engage in conversation, only answering the occasional “Mn.”, and he seems closed off. Is it something Wei Ying did? Is he upset because he got distracted and started playing with Lan Zhan’s hair?
When they get to Lan Zhan’s building, Lan Zhan pays the ride and waits for Wei Ying to get out of the car before going inside. It’s not even midnight, yet, but the building is quiet already and it almost feels like they’re sneaking in. As Lan Zhan closes the door of the apartment, Wei Ying wonders if this was a good idea. Lan Zhan still hasn’t said anything, and the silence is getting a bit uncomfortable now.
Lan Zhan goes to the kitchen, opens a cabinet and then comes back before Wei Ying has finished taking his shoes off. He offers Wei Ying a bag of his favorite spicy snacks and that seems to calm his nerves a bit. Okay, Lan Zhan is offering food, that’s a good sign, right?
As they sit down on the couch, Wei Ying starts to eat his snacks and, even if he’s not as nervous, he can’t help but shove a tremendous amount of snacks inside his mouth. Lan Zhan huffs in amusement and Wei Ying closes his eyes as he feels Lan Zhan’s hand dust the crumbles off of his cheeks. Wei Ying smiles but stops when he opens his eyes and finds Lan Zhan’s eyes distant and hard.
“Lan Zhan, what’s going on?”
“You didn’t have to come back with me.”
“Of course, I did, I told you.”
“You haven’t been out with Nie Huaisang in a while. This was the first party you were going to in months.”
“Yes, and?”
“You should have stayed, enjoyed your night.”
“Lan Zhan. I just told you this. I went there with you.” Wei Ying sighs, exasperated. “What is this really about?”
“… There was someone touching you at the club.”
“Ugh, yeah. That creep. I stepped on their feet really hard.”
“I saw.”
“Oh?”
Lan Zhan doesn’t look at him anymore, instead looking at his hands, clenching and unclenching them. Wei Ying sets his snacks back on the coffee table and thinks. Is Lan Zhan upset because someone grabbed him and ground on him? Or is he upset because of some other reason?
“Can I hold your hand?” Lan Zhan looks taken aback by that but offers his hand to Wei Ying nonetheless. “What are you upset about?”
“There was someone touching you at the club,” he says again, like Wei Ying didn’t hear him the first time.
“Yes, but are you upset because of that, or because you couldn’t do anything about it?” Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything and Wei Ying snorts softly. “Lan Zhan-a-Lan Zhan. Were you jealous? Was my Lan-er-gege jealous?”
“Wei Ying.”
“Aiyo, Lan Zhan, stop looking at me like that or I’m gonna kiss you.”
This time he’s sure who leans in first. Lan Zhan lets go of his hand but he cups Wei Ying’s cheek with it, closing the distance between them in a soft kiss. It’s softer than the other times they’ve kissed, but at the same time it hides more intent, more intensity. The kiss turns heated in a second, and then Wei Ying finds himself sitting in Lan Zhan’s lap, straddling, and he’s close enough he can feel Lan Zhan’s uneven breath.
He gets lost in the way Lan Zhan kisses him, sucks on his lips and bites them with force. He gets lost in the sounds he makes when Lan Zhan kisses his throat, sucking in the space right below his ear, and yeah. Wei Ying knows that will leave a mark. He doesn’t care. Lan Zhan stops for a second, turns to look at him and deliberately lowers his hands from his waist to his ass. A question. An invitation.
“Yeah. Yes.”
And that’s all the answer Lan Zhan needs before he stands up, holding Wei Ying up, and taking them both to his room.
*
When Wei Ying wakes up again, the room smells like food. It’s earlier than his usual wakeup time, but his stomach is asking for food and who is he to deny it that pleasure? He scrambles around the room to find his shirt and his boxers before going out, and as he opens the door it hits him. He had sex with Lan Zhan. They came to Lan Zhan’s apartment last night, sat on the sofa to talk and then they had sex. What if Lan Huan came back home last night and heard them? Oh gods, how is he going to look at them both!?
As Wei Ying gets out of the room, he realizes that Lan Huan’s bedroom is still closed, Wangji and Wuxian out of their enclosure and hopping around the hallway. He leans down and grabs Wuxian, holds him close to his chest as he makes his way to the kitchen. Lan Zhan’s there, cooking breakfast, and he seems focused enough that he doesn’t notice Wei Ying is there. He takes a deep breath, walks as softly and stealthily as he can, and fixes his head on top of Lan Zhan’s shoulder, looking at what he’s cooking. Lan Zhan leans his head a bit on top of Wei Ying’s head after a second.
“What’s for breakfast?”
“Jiaozi”.
“Oh, hell yeah!”
Wei Ying leaves the kitchen and puts Wuxian back on the floor. He sits at the dining table and waits for Lan Zhan to finish. He knows that going into the kitchen with any pretense of helping will end up with him getting kicked out and scolded. He’s learnt his lesson with his sister. However, he can’t stop thinking about what they did last night.
They had sex.
He had sex for the first time, and dear gods did he enjoy it.
But. Lan Zhan is his best friend, has been his best friend since the moment they met, all those months ago. Lan Zhan is the person Wei Ying texts good morning and goodnight to; he’s the person he trusts the most. And really, he thinks, what sign of trust is bigger than having sex with your friend? There’s nothing that screams “I trust you!” more loudly than undressing in front of someone and letting them see your body. But, you know, that’s the thing. Kissing was something they did for fun sometimes, and it was mostly at home, when no one was seeing. Something they did to say hello and goodbye. There was one memorable occasion where they kissed at campus, right behind a tree, in front of the alligator enclosure, but no one was there. No one saw.
And, well, obviously no one saw them having sex. He thinks. Where is Lan Huan anyway?
“Where is Lan Huan?”
“At Da-ge’s.”
Smart man. Wei Ying didn’t come last night to have sex with his best friend, but he is eternally grateful that said best friend’s older brother was nowhere near this apartment last night. Wei Ying was loud.
Fuck.
“We’re not friends anymore, huh?” Wei Ying says, mostly to himself, but loud enough that Lan Zhan can still hear him.
“No. We aren’t.”
And isn’t that the gist of it? Friends can sometimes kiss, but can they sometimes have sex? Isn’t that something else?
“I like the way we are right now.” He says, because he does. He does like the way they are.
Best friends, friends with benefits. It’s Lan Zhan, of course it would end up happening.
“Mn. Me too.”
See? There’s nothing to worry about.
*
"Okay, I was waiting for you to tell me about it because I know you value your privacy and all that, but at this point I'm offended."
"What do you mean?" Wei Ying says, frowning, as he looks up from his phone.
"When were you going to tell me that you're dating Er-ge's little brother?"
"What? I'm not!"
"Wei-xiong, I saw you kissing Lan Zhan."
"When!?"
"Months ago"
"We're not dating. I don't even like him that way. We're friends!"
Wei Ying really doesn’t appreciate the exasperated look Nie Huaisang gives him.
"Wei-xiong, remember what you told me about your first kiss, how you wanted it to be with someone special?"
"Lan Zhan is special!"
"And why is that?"
“Well, because he’s thoughtful, and funny, and he listens to me.”
“Uh huh, continue.”
“What else do you want me to say?”
“Wei-xiong, you don’t spend time with me anymore, not as much as you used to. You’re always talking about Lan Zhan, you’re always with him, you leave parties early to go home with him. And don’t even get me started on the way you both look at each other”.
“He’s my best friend!” Wei Ying says, defensively and Huaisang rolls his eyes.
“I am your best friend too, and you’ve never kissed me. Not even when I offered!”
“Lan Zhan is special,” Wei Ying repeats with a groan.
Nie Huaisang doesn’t answer, and instead looks at him pointedly, like he’s missing something. But what is he missing? Lan Zhan is special. Lan Zhan always gives him the first bite of whatever his eating. Lan Zhan whispers jokes to his ears that make him laugh harder than he’s ever laughed before. Lan Zhan, who is petty, and hides it so well. Lan Zhan, who cleans Wei Ying’s face and who fixes his clothes whenever he is a mess. Lan Zhan, who only allows Lan Huan and Wei Ying to touch him. Lan Zhan, who keeps Wei Ying’s favorite snacks at his home for when he goes to visit. Lan Zhan, who kisses him softly, and hard, and desperate, and wanting. Lan Zhan, who fucks him and who Wei Ying trusts wholeheartedly and blindly.
Wei Ying knows that if something happens, he can call Lan Zhan. Wei Ying has memorized every single eyebrow movement, every single eye twitch and mouth frown on Lan Zhan’s face. Wei Ying has memorized the meaning of each and every “Mn”. Wei Ying, who has “Sad-Lan-Zhan-Instincts”. And yeah, okay, he doesn’t do that for all of his friends, but no one is as fascinating as Lan Zhan. No one else is Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan is his best friend. Lan Zhan is-.
Oh.
Oh.
“Oh.”
“There you go.”
“I’m in love with Lan Zhan.”
“Yeah, man, you are.”
“How did I not know this?”
“Denial is a powerful tool. I would know.”
“SangSang, we’ve had sex. Multiple times. How did I not know!?”
“Wait, what!?”
“I need to talk to him.”
“No, wait a second. You slept with him!?”
“Yeah,” he answers absentmindedly and checks his phone. It’s almost two p.m., Lan Zhan’s class will be starting soon. “I need to go.”
“Wei-xiong, you cannot say that and then just-!”
He doesn’t hear anything else because he’s run away from the little café he was sitting at with Nie Huaisang. Lan Zhan’s building is not that far away, and he will forever thank Jiang Fengmian for making him take martial arts classes growing up, because that’s really what saves him from colliding against people on his way to the Music Faculty building. He knows that Lan Zhan’s class is on the third floor, but he really doesn’t have the patience to wait for the elevator so he takes the stairs.
As he reaches the classroom, he wonders if he should have waited for the elevator after all. He’s gasping for breath, his legs are burning, and when he opens the door –more like, throws it open, with the sound it makes as it collides against the wall–, he wishes he didn’t look as wild as he probably does right now.
“Mister-.”
“Lan Zhan!” he interrupts before the professor can say anything else.
Everyone turns to look at front. Lan Zhan is sitting right at the front, middle seat. Oh, gods.
“Lan Zhan, you are the most amazing person I know. No one else could have been a better person to have my first time with. You’re my best friend, and I don’t know how I’ve lived my life without you in it. I don’t ever want to live my life without you in it. I love you. I want you. Nobody else but you.”
“Wei Ying.”
Wei Ying walks through the row of seats, reaches the front of the classroom and hugs Lan Zhan.
“Did you hear all that?”
“Mn.”
“I’m so sorry it took me so long to realize.”
“It’s okay.” Lan Zhan says to his ear. “Love you. Want you. Nobody else but you.”
Wei Ying smiles brightly at him and leans further closer to kiss him.
“Mister Lan!” they hear the professor yell, accompanied by gasps from students. “Either ask your friend to leave, or I’m going to have to ask you both to leave this classroom.”
“Boyfriend.” Lan Zhan says, and Wei Ying feels his stomach flutter. He smiles and grabs Lan Zhan’s hand. “Not friend.”
Lan Zhan grabs his backpack, throws in his notebook and pencil case using just one hand, and guides Wei Ying outside the classroom through the row of seats once again. Lan Zhan’s classmates are staring in a mixture of horrified and delighted expressions but Wei Ying is too giddy to explore what they mean. Lan Zhan loves him. Lan Zhan wants him. Lan Zhan doesn’t want anyone but Wei Ying.
Yeah, Wei Ying thinks as he tugs on Lan Zhan’s hand through the hallway, there’s nothing else I would want to do right now.