Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

When Lan Zhan meets Wen Yuan for the first time, his heart blooms.

“What is your name?” he asks, crouching down till he’s at eye level with the small boy. He looks to be about three or four years old, and his clothes are disheveled and dirty. His hair is lopsidedly tied up, a few strands escaping from the front.

The child’s hand is in his mouth, and his eyes are swollen and red. Lan Zhan can immediately tell that he has been crying, and it does a thing to his heart. 

“Wen Y-Yuan,” the child says, his face immediately scrunching up in a way that suggests he’s about to burst into tears again. Lan Zhan reaches out and wraps his arms around his small knees, effectively hoisting him up into his grasp and gently patting his messy hair down. 

“A-Yuan,” he says, calling his name affectionately. “Would you like to come home with me?” 

A-Yuan doesn’t respond, but Lan Zhan expects as much. Scooping up the child into his arms, he carries him to his apartment, the groceries he had initially gone out for hanging limply from his finger. His living room is warm when he steps inside, and he carefully places A-Yuan onto the couch and goes to the closet to retrieve a blanket. He wraps it around the child’s body, quickly emptying the groceries into the kitchen cabinets and walking right back to sit next to A-Yuan, who has already fallen asleep.

Lan Zhan stares at the kid for a few seconds, before his thoughts are interrupted by a low, gurgling sound coming from A-Yuan’s stomach. He gets up without a word, opening his fridge and taking out a package of baby carrots. He empties a handful into a bowl and awkwardly goes back to sitting on the couch.

Gulping, Lan Zhan reaches out and gently shakes A-Yuan’s shoulder. The child stirs, tear stains blotching his cheeks. Lan Zhan wordlessly takes one of the carrots and holds it up to his tiny mouth. A-Yuan stares at him for about four seconds before parting his lips and letting Lan Zhan feed him the vegetable.

Lan Zhan then gives A-Yuan a bath. It’s surprising, just how quiet the kid is being, but Lan Zhan definitely isn’t complaining. 

After he’s finished, Lan Zhan seats A-Yuan down on his bed and dresses him in whatever he can find. He towels his wet hair in silence for a few moments, before finally speaking.

“A-Yuan,” he starts, “where is your family?”

A-Yuan’s face immediately does the scrunchy thing again. 

Lan Zhan winces as the sobs begin. Okay. No questions about his family, then.

“How old are you?”

The crying stops. A-Yuan holds up every finger on his right hand except for his little thumb. 

Okay, Lan Zhan thinks to himself, he’s four.

“Do you remember what happened?” he asks next, putting the towel away and taking A-Yuan’s hands in his. 

A-Yuan shudders. “Car,” he says slowly. “Big car. Lots of light. My arm hurts.”

Lan Zhan thought as much. Throughout his bath, A-Yuan had been constantly rubbing and poking at his left arm. He sighs, reaching out and taking A-Yuan’s hand in his. He runs his thumb across the boy’s knuckle in a manner he hopes is reassuring.

A car? Maybe he was in some kind of accident, he thinks.

“Are you tired?” he asks.

A-Yuan blinks owlishly up at him. Then, he nods.

“Okay,” Lan Zhan says. “You lay down here. I will be in the other room.” He pulls the blankets over A-Yuan’s tiny body, tucking him in to the best of his abilities and walking over to the light switch. He turns it off, and A-Yuan lets out a low whine.

It isn’t long before he starts crying.

Lan Zhan runs back to the child. He reaches out, awkwardly patting his head and desperately trying to think of a solution.

Luckily, A-Yuan is already way ahead of him.

“You sleep here,” he says, his eyes going wide in hope. 

Lan Zhan stares at him, then nods.

He doesn’t sleep too well that night.

— 

One Year Later:

— 

Wei Ying cocks his head as he reads over the list of students the department head had just emailed him. He runs his index finger down the page, testing the names on his tongue. There are fifteen children in his class this year, and the thought sends an excited rush coursing through his spine. 

Making sure everything around the classroom is perfect, Wei Ying opens the door and leans against the frame, crossing his arms and grinning. There is already a small crowd of children standing in front of him, and he rushes them in happily. 

“Hello!” he greets each of them, bending down onto his knees and holding his hand out for them to high-five as they step inside. “I’m Wei laoshi!”

The kids file in fairly quickly, and Wei Ying makes a mental note of every one. Once he counts fifteen, he lets go of the door and waltzes inside, clapping his hands to get their attention. The children look up at him with their large, five year-old eyes, and Wei Ying can’t help but laugh goodheartedly. 

“Welcome to your first day of school!” he says, giving them jazz hands. “Like, ever, right?”

“No,” one of the kids says, “I went to preschool.”

Wei Ying’s grin widens. He nods. “And what’s your name, preschool-going boy?”

“Ouyang Zizhen,” the kid replies.

Wei Ying nods again. He then randomly points to another boy sitting near him. “And yours?”

The kid looks startled at first for being called out, but quickly regains his composure. “I’m Lan Jingyi.”

Another boy is sitting next to Jingyi, his posture perfect—much too perfect for a child—and eyes downcast. He looks calm, and Wei Ying quirks an eyebrow at him. He walks up to him, gently flicking the boy’s ear to get his attention.

“And what’s your name?” he asks, smiling his most friendly of smiles.

The child peers up at him and smiles back. “Lan Yuan,” he says. “And you’re Wei laoshi.”

“Yes I am!” Wei Ying says, ruffling Lan Yuan’s hair before moving on and asking the other children for their names. He makes a mental note of all of them, knowing it’ll still take him a couple of days before he has all of them down.

He starts his lesson, an introduction to pinyin and the tones in Chinese, sprinkling humor wherever he can in an effort to make the students laugh. It works most of the time, and Wei Ying finds himself laughing along with them more often than not. 

When it’s snack time, Wei Ying joins the kids on the large rug in the center of the classroom with his own paper bag he had packed for himself before leaving his apartment that morning. He makes conversation with all those who are willing to speak, eager to create strong relationships with his kids. 

“My mama is a doctor,” one of the girls says, “and my baba is a… a… enginbeer?”

“Engineer,” Wei Ying corrects gently. He internally groans; he could really go for a beer right about now.

The girl furiously nods. “Yeah, that!”

“My mama and baba are dentists!” the kid from before—Zizhen—says, smiling widely. “See? My teeth are so white and perfect!”

Wei Ying chuckles, “Yes, they are.” He glances over to Lan Yuan, who is sitting next to him and quietly munching at the carrots in his lunchbox. “What about you, Lan Yuan? What do your mama and baba do?”

Lan Yuan looks up, blinking in surprise. There’s still a carrot in his mouth, which he quickly chews up and swallows. His eyebrows furrow as he answers, “My baba is a teacher.” He pauses. “I don’t have a mama.”

Wei Ying ignores the sudden quietness of the room and pinches Lan Yuan’s cheek. “Wow, I’m a teacher too!” he says. He leans in a bit closer. “Do you wanna know a secret?”

Lan Yuan’s eyes widen, and he nods. The rest of the kids are also now listening intently. 

Wei Ying lowers his voice to a whisper, making sure it’s still loud enough for everyone to hear. “I don’t have a mama or a baba.”

Lan Yuan gasps. “Really?”

Wei Ying nods seriously. “I was adopted by a nice auntie and uncle,” he explains, ignoring the lie in his words. He would not really describe his Aunt Yu as nice, but the children don’t exactly need to know that. “But they still love me, just like they love my brother and sister. I’m sure your baba loves you very much, Lan Yuan.”

Lan Yuan looks thoughtful for a moment before nodding. “Baba tells me every night.”

Wei Ying’s eyes twinkle. “What does he tell you?”

“That he loves me,” Lan Yuan says. 

Before Wei Ying can respond, one of the girls asks him about his siblings. Wei Ying grins, immediately launching into a story from his childhood and describing his younger brother Jiang Cheng and older sister Jiang Yanli in great detail. 

When the school day comes to a close, Wei Ying stands at the doorway once again, greeting parents who come in one by one to pick up their children. Wei Ying makes idle conversation with them, his heart swelling when he hears the children praising him in front of their parents. He thinks the day has been quite successful, and he hopes he has somehow managed to worm his way into the good books of the fifteen five year-olds. 

Soon, all of the children have left, and Wei Ying turns around to head back into the classroom to gather his things when he sees Lan Yuan still sitting at his desk, his legs swinging beneath him as he looks around the room. 

Wei Ying walks up to him and kneels down, gently taking his small hand in his own very big one. “Is your baba coming to pick you up?” he asks.

Lan Yuan nods. “Yes,” he says. “Baba told me in the morning that he might be a little late. It’s his first day of work today.”

Wei Ying laughs, and nods. “Well, look at that. It’s my first day of work, too!”

Lan Yuan peers closely at him. “Yes,” he starts. “Both of you have the same first day of work because my baba is actually—”

“A-Yuan?”

Wei Ying perks up at the new voice. He turns around, only to see someone standing pin-straight in the doorway of the classroom. 

Wei Ying’s eyes go wide when he sees who it is.

“Baba!” Lan Yuan squeals in utter delight, letting go of Wei Ying’s hand and running up to the man with his arms held out in front of him. The man stares down at him, the smallest hint of a smile gracing his lips as he bends down to pick him up, straddling him in his arms. He looks over to where Wei Ying is still standing, and offers him a small nod. 

Wei Ying’s lips part in surprise. 

“Lan laoshi?” 

“Wei laoshi.”

He’s only ever seen Lan Zhan in passing, or at the infrequent teacher meetings that the school hosts, but it’s enough for Wei Ying to have built a bit of an impression on him. Lan Zhan is a teacher of one of the fifth grade classes, and he is the epitome of the word poise. He doesn’t speak much, but Wei Ying picks up on the teachers gossiping around the building enough to know that his students are still incredibly fond of him. 

That, and the fact that half of the young female faculty are head over heels for him. Wei Ying doesn’t think much of that, though, considering even he has been hit on quite a few times by the same women. 

But Wei Ying has never had a conversation with him—there’s never really been a need to have one, anyways.

“Lan laoshi,” he starts, walking up to the door and plastering on a huge smile, “is Lan Yuan yours?”

“Mn.”

Wei Ying’s smile widens. “He’s a very good boy.” He reaches out, ruffling Lan Yuan’s hair. “You are, aren’t you?”

Lan Yuan nods dutifully. 

Lan Zhan’s gaze breaks away from his son and moves back to Wei Ying. “I’m sorry for my tardiness,” he says. “One of my students held me back after class.”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all!” Wei Ying says quickly, shaking his hands in front of his chest.

Lan Yuan looks between them for a moment. “Baba,” he says, catching Lan Zhan’s attention, “do you know Wei laoshi?”

Lan Zhan sets Lan Yuan down to the floor and takes his hand. Wei Ying thinks it’s quite an adorable sight, especially when he notices the way Lan Zhan has to bend down and ruin his ever-perfect posture in order to be able to tightly grasp Lan Yuan’s fingers. 

“I see your baba at meetings sometimes,” Wei Ying quickly interjects. 

Lan Zhan stares at him, expression not moving in the slightest. 

“Meetings?” Lan Yuan asks, his eyebrows quirking up in question. “You meet my baba, Wei laoshi?”

“We work together,” Wei Ying clarifies. “Your baba teaches in the classroom upstairs with the rest of the fifth year teachers.” He points somewhere above him to further accentuate his point.

Lan Yuan nods slowly. “Ohhhh.”

“Say goodbye to Wei laoshi,” Lan Zhan says in that soft, gentle tone of his. 

Wei Ying beams when Lan Yuan waves excitedly up at him. “Bye bye, Wei laoshi!”

“Bye bye, Lan Yuan!” Wei Ying says. He looks up at Lan Zhan and winks. “I’ll see you around, Lan laoshi.”

Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything, simply turning and walking away with his son in tow. Wei Ying watches their backs as they get further and further away from him, smiling to himself when he sees the way Lan Yuan skips in time with Lan Zhan’s long strides. 

Wei Ying laughs to himself. This is absolutely the most hilarious thing to ever occur in his entire teaching career.

He quickly takes his phone out to send a text to his best friend and roommate of three years.

wei ying >>> wen qingwingfling

wei ying: omg did u know tht lan zhan has a kid

wen qingwingfling: the year 5 teacher? seriously?

wei ying: YEA N U WILL NEVER BELIEVE THE BEST PART

wei ying: HIS KID IS MY STUDENT AHAHAHDJJSSJ

wen qingwingfling: … i’m not even gonna ask

wei ying: nonono this is funny ur gonna love it meet me in the parking lot in 10 mins OK? ok!

wen qingwingfling: i didn’t even

wen qingwingfling: fine 

—

“So you’re telling me,” Wen Qing says as she buckles her seatbelt and pops a fry into her mouth, “the teacher literally every girl in the department has a crush on is secretly married?”

Wei Ying shakes his head, adjusting the mirrors of his car. “I don’t think so,” he says. “We were talking about our families today and Lan Yuan said he doesn’t have a mom.”

Wen Qing frowns. “Oh, dear.” She sighs. “Well at least his work hours align with Lan Yuan’s school hours. That’s gotta make life a lot easier for him.”

Wei Ying shrugs, which immediately causes Wen Qing to chide at him for his unsafe driving practices. 

“Any interesting patients today, Nurse Wen?”

Wei Ying doesn’t even have to look at her to know she is rolling her eyes. 

“One of the kids in third year puked all over the air conditioner in his classroom,” she says, which makes Wei Ying cackle. “His mom was furious because she had to leave work early to pick him up. It was… not a pleasant sight.”

“You’re good with the parents,” Wei Ying says, taking a turn into the parking lot of their apartment complex.

“Fortunately,” she says. 

They climb out of the car and Wei Ying tosses her the keys. They make their way into the elevator and to their floor, Wen Qing clicking the lock open and stepping inside. She takes off her shoes, walking into the kitchen and rummaging around the fridge for a moment. 

“How old is Lan Zhan, anyways?” Wei Ying asks, going over to the couch and plopping himself down onto the soft cushions. 

He hears Wen Qing hum as the fridge door closes. She emerges with two cans of juice and hands one to Wei Ying before taking a seat on the floor. “He’s your age, actually,” she says. “Just a couple months earlier, if I remember correctly. He’s… January? I can double check later. But, yes, he turned twenty five this year.”

Wei Ying’s eyes pop out of their skull. Of course, he trusts Wen Qing on this matter, like he does with every other matter. She’s the school nurse and has the records of every faculty member and student in the school on hand. 

“Seriously? He’s so young!”

Wen Qing gives him a look. “You’re younger than him.”

“Well, yeah, but I don’t have a five year old son, do I?” Wei Ying argues. 

Wen Qing sighs, taking a long sip of her drink. “Point taken,” she concedes. “But, anyways. How was your first day of class? Besides the whole thing with Lan Yuan.”

Wei Ying smirks victoriously. “I can guarantee you these kids will forever remember me as their most favorite teacher ever.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“You’re just a meanie.”

“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t give you a reality check every now and then?”

“That is such a lie,” Wei Ying says immediately, “every now and then? Try every hour of my life, Wen Qing.”

Wen Qing doesn’t say anything. She takes her laptop out from her bag and places it in her lap, opening the cover and beginning to type away at something. Wei Ying frowns at the lack of attention on him, leaning over the couch and peering at the screen curiously. 

“What could possibly be more important than talking to me?” he whines. 

Wen Qing sends a glare in his direction. “Unlike you, I have actual responsibilities. I need to send an email to all the teachers letting them know to remind parents that I need their child’s physical forms by next month.”

“I better be the first teacher in the recipient box!”

“Okay,” Wen Qing says, moving her mouse to the box, “first recipient. Lan Zhan—”

“Hey!” Wei Ying screeches, shoving her away and grabbing her laptop. “That’s so rude!”

Wen Qing stands up, putting her hands on her hips and pursing her lips. “You are absolutely impossible.”

“But you love me anyways,” Wei Ying drawls as Wen Qing successfully manages to snatch her computer back from his grasp. 

“A severe overstatement,” she says, going straight back to her emailing. Wei Ying frowns, pushing himself off of the couch and going over to the dining table. He opens his own computer, sighing as he clicks into his favorite document application and begins to type out his lesson plans for the next few weeks. The two of them work in relative silence for the next half hour, the only disturbance from Wen Qing when she gets up again to go and make herself and Wei Ying coffee. Wei Ying takes the mug from her gratefully, sending a flirtatious wink in her direction all the while. 

Wen Qing does nothing but ignore him, but that’s to be expected. Wei Ying has a peaceful, friendly dynamic with his best friend, and he does love her a lot. He knows Wen Qing feels the same way about him, no matter how much she’ll constantly deny it. The two have known each other since their university days, and when they both got a job at the same primary school they immediately looked for an apartment to share around the area. 

Wei Ying is extremely grateful for her presence in his life. 

“Staff meeting tomorrow,” Wen Qing says suddenly, slipping into the seat across from him at the table. Wei Ying startles, looking up and meeting her eyes. 

He groans. “Seriously? Those things are always so fucking early—”

“You know,” Wen Qing interrupts him smoothly, “if you were a good, proactive teacher, you would be waking up as early as that anyways.”

Wei Ying pouts. “That’s so not true!” he presses. “Me waking up at seven every morning is perfectly acceptable! School doesn’t even start till, like, eight. It gives me plenty of time to get ready and shit.”

“Whatever,” Wen Qing slides the topic away with ease. “You need to be up and out of your room by six tomorrow. The meeting is at seven.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“Glad to see you have a sense of self awareness.”

Wei Ying gapes at her as she stands up and walks towards her bedroom door. “Did you actually just say that—”

“Call me out when dinner’s ready!”

“Hey! Hey! It’s your turn to cook—”

Wen Qing’s bedroom door slams shut.

— 

Against every bone in his body’s judgement, Wei Ying does manage to crawl out of his bed just fifteen minutes later than he had set his alarm for. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes as he drags himself into the kitchen, where Wen Qing is currently standing in her silky red robe and pouring herself a glass of milk. She gives Wei Ying a sheer look of disappointment as he begins to rummage through the cabinets for a protein bar or something.

“You’re late,” she chides. 

Wei Ying glares at her. “It’s six in the fucking morning. Don’t talk to me.”

“Actually,” Wen Qing says, leaning against the counter, “it’s six-fifteen in the morning.”

“You forgot the fucking part.”

“I am not a vulgar-mouthed person.”

Wei Ying snorts. “Yeah, right.”

They navigate their way through the rest of the morning with relative ease, and twenty minutes later, Wei Ying finds himself in the driver’s seat of his car with Wen Qing sitting next to him fixing her makeup. He sends her a withering look. 

“You totally forced me out of bed that early because you wanted a free ride to school,” he accuses as Wen Qing clicks her tiny little compact mirror shut and shoves it into her purse. 

“I will neither confirm nor deny that statement,” she says smoothly. 

Wei Ying ignores her, pulling out of the parking lot and turning in the familiar direction of the school. Once they make it there, Wen Qing leans over and pinches Wei Ying’s nose. 

“Ow! What was that for?”

“Behave yourself at the meeting today,” Wen Qing scolds. “There are a few new faces in the faculty this year, and you know how the saying goes.”

“First impression’s the last impression,” Wei Ying finishes for her, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I know, jiejie.”

Wen Qing nods, like she accepts his answer. “Good,” she says before climbing out of the car and straightening her dress shirt and slacks. “Let’s go. There are only ten minutes before the meeting starts, and you don’t want to be late to the very first one of the entire year, do you?”

It’s not a question, but Wei Ying answers her anyways as they walk into the building, “I don’t give a damn and you know it.”

Wen Qing glares at him, but doesn’t respond.

They walk into the large faculty room right by the main office, and Wei Ying is surprised to see that a plethora of people have already gathered and are chatting amongst themselves. Some of the teachers look their way as they enter, nodding in greeting, while others are completely oblivious. Wei Ying smiles and grins at all of them, anyways. 

Wen Qing starts prodding his shoulder for some reason, and Wei Ying shoots her a look. 

“What?” he asks. 

Wen Qing tips her head to the side, and Wei Ying follows her gaze only to see Lan Zhan standing in the very corner of the room, his poker face as perfect as ever. Upon closer inspection, Wei Ying realizes his left eyebrow is downturned ever so slightly, and he can’t help but wonder why. 

His question is answered when he sees a small child poke his head out from behind Lan Zhan’s legs. Lan Zhan bends down and whispers something to Lan Yuan, but the kid just giggles loudly. Wei Ying glances around the room to see some of the faculty members sending the two curious looks, and he walks up to them without a second thought.

Lan Zhan straightens himself when he sees Wei Ying approach. 

“Lan laoshi,” Wei Ying begins, “good morning.”

Lan Zhan says, “Wei laoshi.”

Lan Yuan peeks out from where he’s still standing, hidden behind his father’s large figure. “Wei laoshi!” he squeals, holding his hands out to wave. “Hi!”

Wei Ying grins immediately, reaching down to give the child a high-five. “Hey, Lan Yuan!” he says. “You ready for class today?”

Lan Yuan nods happily. “I can’t wait, laoshi!”

Wei Ying looks up to Lan Zhan, who’s facial expression is currently twisted in a variety of ways.

“I am sorry for the disruption,” Lan Zhan says, glancing down at Lan Yuan with a sigh. “This is the first year I’ve had to bring him to school with me.”

Wei Ying’s lips part in immediate understanding. More people are now beginning to file into the room, and he’s struck with a sudden idea. 

“Say,” he starts, “why don’t you let Lan Yuan stay in the classroom till the meeting’s over? I can open it for him.”

Lan Zhan looks steadily at him. “That is okay,” he says. 

Wei Ying raises an eyebrow, clearly doubtful. 

Lan Zhan stares back, not saying a word. 

Wei Ying breaks out into a friendly grin, and waves his hand out in front of him. “Oh, don’t worry about it. He’s a good kid. I’m sure he won’t, like, break anything.” He stops and hums, thinking. “Actually, I don’t even think there’s anything of value in there, anyways. C’mon, it’s gonna make you feel loads more comfortable.”

Lan Zhan seems to be conflicted for a moment, but Wei Ying doesn’t give him any more time to be doubtful. Instead, he leans down and grasps Lan Yuan’s hand into his own, smiling happily when he hears the child laugh. He pulls Lan Yuan toward the door and out of the room, looking over his shoulder to see Lan Zhan following him. 

Victory. 

He throws a wink to Wen Qing as he passes her, and his best friend looks nothing but distraught at his sudden disappearance. He knows he’ll be receiving quite the scolding from her later, but that’s something he can worry about when it actually happens.

“Come on!” he says, beckoning Lan Zhan to walk faster as they make their way to Wei Ying’s classroom. “We have, like, an entire six minutes before we have to be back there.”

“This is so unprofessional,” he hears Lan Zhan say. 

Wei Ying laughs. “Oh well. It’s not like they can fire me for housing your kid in my classroom for thirty minutes.” He reaches the door, letting go of Lan Yuan’s hand to rummage through his pockets and produce the key. He pushes it in, clicking it open and opening it wide. He reaches for the light switch at the entrance, flicking it on and basking in the room now bathing in soft, yellow light. 

He ushers Lan Yuan inside quickly. “Hey, Lan Yuan, do you mind staying in here for a couple minutes while your baba and I go and do important teacher things?”

Lan Yuan stares up at him for a moment. “Do I have to stay here alone?” he asks. 

“Just for a little bit,” Wei Ying responds, patting the kid’s hair down. “Are you okay with that?”

“You can come back with me if you want, A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan says from somewhere behind them. 

Lan Yuan seems to contemplate this option for a second. He shakes his head. “No,” he says. “Baba and Wei laoshi can go alone.”

Wei Ying throws him two thumbs-ups. “You’ll be good, Lan Yuan?”

Lan Yuan nods seriously, as if his little life depends on it. 

“Great!” Wei Ying says, throwing his arms into the air and standing back up next to Lan Zhan. “I’m gonna be back after the meeting to set up the classroom for today. You wanna help me, bud?”

Lan Yuan’s eyes widen comically at this. He nods, his hands clenching around the front of his shirt. 

“Okay!” Wei Ying says, backing up and dragging Lan Zhan with him. “Sit here for a bit, okay? I’ll be back soon!”

Lan Zhan breaks away from the hold Wei Ying has acquired on him and goes over to his son, bending down and pressing a kiss to his forehead. His eyes are closed from where Wei Ying can see him, and he quickly stands up again and pats Lan Yuan’s right shoulder.

“Be good,” he says under his breath, just loud enough for Wei Ying to be able to hear him.

“Bye, baba! I love you!”

“I love you too.”

Lan Zhan then turns, ignoring Wei Ying as he swiftly walks past him and back into the doorway. Wei Ying trails after him, looking back over his shoulder once more and waving to Lan Yuan, who is already busying himself by looking through the titles of picture books on the bookshelf by Wei Ying’s desk. Wei Ying closes the door, locking it for extra measure. He turns around after he’s done to find Lan Zhan waiting for him a couple feet away, across the hallway. 

He smiles, spinning the keys on his index finger and walking up to him. 

“Let’s go!” he says when Lan Zhan meets his eye. “If my calculations are correct, we still have a minute and, like, forty seconds before it’s socially unacceptable to enter the faculty room.”

“Mn.”

They speed-walk back to the meeting room, and usually Wei Ying would try to make small conversation, but the two of them are clearly focused on getting there on time. Thankfully, they burst through the door a few seconds before seven, and Wei Ying immediately catches Wen Qing’s furious gaze on him.

He laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as Lan Zhan disappears in the crowd of people in the room.

The meeting goes on without much flair, and Wei Ying would be lying if he said he remembers any of it. In fact, he may have almost fallen asleep twice, but it only took a sharp pinch at his side from Wen Qing to drag him back to a state of consciousness.

“I cannot believe you,” she says after the meeting. She’s holding a stack of papers against her chest, and her lips are pursed into a thin line. “I cannot believe you.”

“Hey,” Wei Ying begins defensively, “at least I made it back in time.”

“Where even were you?”

“I was dropping off Lan Yuan in my classroom,” Wei Ying says, eyes sparkling. “I was just being a nice colleague!”

Wen Qing snorts when they stop in front of the nurse’s office. “Sure,” she says. 

Wei Ying puffs his cheeks out in a frown. “I’m sure if I complain to my students about how mean you are, they’ll never go to you if they feel sick.”

“Which is exactly why you are not going to do that,” Wen Qing says. “Don’t you have a class of first years to get ready for? What are you still doing here, standing around and talking to me?”

“You secretly appreciate my presence in your life, I just know it.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Wei Ying laughs, and waves as he retreats. “I’ll see you after school!”

Wen Qing huffs, turns her back on him, and enters her office without another word. 

She loves him. He knows she does.

Today is the first full day of school—yesterday was a half day, meaning the kids were let out a few hours earlier than normal and did not eat lunch at school.

Today, however… 

When lunchtime rolls around, Wei Ying guides the children to the cafeteria and to the large table assigned for his class. He seats them down one by one, and then gestures wildly over to the array of food stalls at the far end of the large room.

“Okay, kids, are we ready for lunch?” he asks, throwing his arms up excitedly. There’s a chorus of yes, which makes his grin widen. “Okay! So if you brought your own lunch from home, you can go ahead and open it up and start. If you didn’t, and you want to buy some from the school, there’s a line that starts over there!” He points over to the slowly forming line. “Oh, and if you don’t have money for today, you can let me know and I’ll buy something for you.”

About half the class gets up and waddles over to the line, and Wei Ying stays with the other half. Usually he’d go back to his classroom and enjoy his own lunch by himself, or maybe with Wen Qing if she isn’t busy, but today he thinks it would be better to stay with his kids and make sure they’re comfortable with the arrangement. Being a first year teacher is very different from being a teacher of the older grades, considering his students have never been to the school before and he has to guide them through a lot of the formalities.

His eyes flicker to the table, where Jingyi is trying to talk to Lan Yuan but is met with stone silence from the latter.

Wei Ying frowns. He walks over to the two of them and sits down in the empty seat next to Lan Yuan. 

“Lan Yuan?” he asks, making the child perk up. “Is there something wrong with your food? You don’t wanna talk to your friend?”

Lan Yuan swallows the bite he’s currently chewing, and he seems to contemplate something for a few moments. Then, finally, he opens his mouth to speak. 

“Not that,” he says. “Baba tells me not to speak during meals.”

Wei Ying immediately shifts his gaze to the far end of the cafeteria to where the fifth grade tables are. He scans the area, ultimately finding Lan Zhan standing a little to the side, already staring at them. Wei Ying blinks in surprise when he makes eye contact with him, before looking back to Lan Yuan and lopsidedly grinning.

“Really?” he asks. “Seriously? Your baba says that?”

“It’s one of the rules of the house,” Lan Yuan says with a definite nod. 

“But isn’t that—” Wei Ying catches himself before continuing. It isn’t his place to question a kid’s upbringing directly to them. 

However…  

He stands up and gracefully makes his way over to Lan Zhan, who is still staring at him.

“Lan laoshi,” he greets with a wave, and Lan Zhan’s eyes flick between him and Lan Yuan. 

“Is something the matter, Wei laoshi?” Lan Zhan asks, his arms behind his back as he surveys the scene calmly. “Is A-Yuan okay?”

“He’s fine,” Wei Ying says, brushing it off. “I just had a very interesting conversation with him.”

Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything.

Wei Ying is slowly starting to learn that he’s going to have to be filling in a lot of the gaps in their conversations himself. Not that he minds, of course. He’s always been good at talking to people.

“He wasn’t talking to his friend, Jingyi,” Wei Ying continues. 

“Oh, I have heard that name,” Lan Zhan says. “One of A-Yuan’s friends, I presume.”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying says. “But he told me he couldn’t talk to him because he’s not allowed to talk during meals.”

Lan Zhan blinks once, then twice.

Then, “Mn.”

Oh, come on.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, and Lan Zhan’s eyes widen briefly at the usage of his name, “what kind of rule is that? What’s the fun in lunchtime if you can’t talk to people?”

“It is a rule of our household.”

Wei Ying frowns. “But Lan Yuan wants to talk to his friends!”

Lan Zhan’s glare on him sharpens. “Did he tell you that?”

Wei Ying nods. It’s, like, an almost truth, so it doesn’t really matter.

Whatever. Lan Yuan will thank him later. 

“Yeah!” he says quickly. 

Lan Zhan looks somewhere behind Wei Ying’s shoulder, undoubtedly looking for his son. He stares for a few seconds more, before directing his attention back to Wei Ying. 

“Alright,” he agrees. “You may let him know.”

Wei Ying grins and pumps his fist into the air. “Awesome!” he says, holding out a thumbs up and turning around again to skip back to his class. He arrives back at the table to see Lan Yuan looking at him with curious eyes. 

“Why did Wei laoshi go and talk to Baba?”

Wei Ying laughs and ruffles the boy’s hair. “Your baba told me to tell you that it’s okay if you talk to your friends during lunch!”

“Really?” Lan Yuan asks. “Baba said that?”

“Mhm! You can ask him yourself if you don’t believe me.”

Yuan looks like he wants to, but Wei Ying quickly reaches down and picks up a carrot from his lunchbox. He waves it around, cackling when Lan Yuan tries to reach for it to no avail. Surrendering, he drops the vegetable into his outstretched hand and watches as he munches on it happily. He turns to Jingyi, food still in his mouth, and begins to chat animatedly about the lesson they had left hanging a little while ago.

“Nuh uh,” Wei Ying chides, flicking a bit of hair on Lan Yuan’s head, “it’s okay to talk to your friends during lunch, but let’s remember to finish swallowing before we speak. Okay?”

Lan Yuan finishes his carrot, making a huge effort to down it, and then looks back at Wei Ying.

“Done, Wei laoshi!”

Wei Ying nods, pleased. “Perfect!”

The rest of lunch goes pretty smoothly, and before he knows it, Wei Ying is back in his classroom and continuing on with his lesson. He writes some simple characters on the board using a dry erase marker, creating brilliant analogies to help the kids catch onto their meaning more quickly. 

After class is over, Wei Ying makes sure to say goodbye to every one of the kids individually as their parents arrive to pick them up. Others, who probably have working parents, either ask him to direct them to the after school activity services or to where the busses are lined up. Wei Ying responds to everyone’s requests to the very best of his abilities, priding himself in the way they look at him with utter respect and love in their eyes. 

It’s the best part of his job—seeing the kids’ happy smiles. It’s the reason Wei Ying decided to major in education in the first place.

Soon, it’s only him and Lan Yuan left in the room. Wei Ying waltzes over to him, smiling when he sees that Lan Yuan is busy drawing a picture using some brightly colored neon pens Wei Ying has stashed in the art shelves. 

“What’re you drawing, little guy?” he asks, peering over Lan Yuan’s shoulder to take a closer look. 

Lan Yuan pushes the paper into his line of sight. “It’s a picture of me and Baba!”

Wei Ying’s eyes widen when he sees the drawing. There’s a tall stick figure with two dots and a straight line on the face, and another, much smaller stick figure that seems to be beaming. Next to them is a small blob with two long, curvy lines extending from the top. 

Wei Ying promptly bursts into laughter. 

“What is so funny?”

Wei Ying perks at the sound of Lan Zhan’s voice, looking up to see his figure walking into the room. He’s already wearing his coat, and has his bag slung over his shoulder.

“Baba! I drew you a picture!” Lan Yuan says, waving the paper in the air. 

Lan Zhan’s eyes immediately soften, a sight Wei Ying still hasn’t completely gotten used to seeing. Lan Yuan holds the paper out for Lan Zhan to take, and when he does, the corners of Lan Zhan’s lips curve up into the faintest of smiles. 

“Aw, Lan Zhan! You’re smiling!” Wei Ying can’t help but tease. 

Lan Zhan immediately drops the smile, going back to his perfect facade of indifference. He looks at Wei Ying sharply. 

“Were you laughing at my son’s drawing?”

Wei Ying’s jaw almost drops in surprise. 

“No!” he quickly says, waving his hands out in front of his chest. “Of course not! I just… thought it was funny. The way he drew you.” He walks over besides Lan Zhan, pointing at the deadpan expression on the stick figure. “See? It’s pure comedy.”

Lan Zhan regards it for a moment. “It’s not that funny,” he says. 

“Well, of course you wouldn’t think it’s funny,” Wei Ying says in a matter-of-fact voice, “that’s because it’s a drawing of yourself, and your son is the artist. You’d think anything he draws is the epitome of Picasso.”

“I do not know what that is.”

Wei Ying blanches. “Seriously? You don’t know Picasso? Haven’t you ever heard of the famous Guernica?”

Lan Zhan’s eyebrows furrow. “What is… Guernica.”

“It’s a painting!” Wei Ying says, holding his hands up in the air like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Which, well, it is. It should be. 

“I am not familiar with the arts,” Lan Zhan says. 

“Baba,” Lan Yuan whispers, even though it’s not really a whisper, “even I know what the Guernica is.”

At this, Wei Ying bursts into pompous laughter again. 

Lan Zhan, of course, doesn’t think it’s very funny. His grip on the flimsy piece of paper tightens, and he bends down to scoop Lan Yuan up into his free arm. 

“It’s time to go home, A-Yuan,” he says. 

“Aw, don’t be like that, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says. 

“Baba, why is Wei laoshi calling you by your name?” Lan Yuan asks. “Can I call you by your name?”

Lan Zhan looks at his son. “No. Your laoshi is ridiculous.”

“Well,” Wei Ying begins, “I wouldn’t say ridiculous—”

“Ridiculous,” Lan Zhan cleanly interrupts, turning on his heel and heading straight towards the door. 

“Hey!” Wei Ying calls after him. “You can call me Wei Ying if you’d like!”

Lan Zhan ignores him.

Chapter Text

Lan Zhan doesn’t know what to think of Wei Ying.

He seems nice enough. He’s A-Yuan’s teacher, and his son seems to like him a lot. 

Lan Zhan knows of Wei Ying from before he became A-Yuan’s teacher, though. Wei Ying has been a faculty member at the school for even longer than Lan Zhan has, and he’s a bit infamous in the gossip of his certain female coworkers. Before he knew him personally, the only hints of Wei Ying that Lan Zhan knew were that he’s incredibly good with kids, he’s fairly attractive, and he’s very close friends with the school nurse. 

In fact, Lan Zhan at first thought that the two of them were married. His suspicions were only further accentuated when he heard that they lived together. 

One of the other fifth year teachers, a nice old woman who Lan Zhan has worked with for a while now, kindly told him that the two were simply best friends and roommates when the topic came up. Lan Zhan didn’t know how much of that to believe, but after passing Wen Qing talking to another teacher about her girlfriend on accident, he quickly came to realize the truth for himself.

He had seen Wei Ying around the school occasionally, though their paths never really crossed considering how far apart the classrooms they taught in were. At staff meetings Lan Zhan would see Wei Ying silently dozing off in the background without a care in the world.

So, naturally, his first impression of the man isn’t the best. 

“A-Zhan, you need to stop pacing around so much. You’re going to drill a hole in your floor at this rate.”

Lan Zhan snaps his head up to meet his brother’s eyes. Lan Huan is looking at him with a concerned expression while A-Yuan runs around the living room with a thin blanket tied to his neck in lieu of a superhero cape.

“I’m not,” he tries weakly.

Lan Huan regards him with a raised eyebrow. “Is something bothering you? I’ve been here for less than fifteen minutes and you’ve already walked around in a circle about thirty times.”

Lan Zhan doubts he had been keeping count, but he appreciates the sentiment. 

“I am fine,” Lan Zhan says, walking over to his couch and taking a seat. “I was just thinking about work.”

Lan Huan hums, accepting his answer. “How was your first week? How’s A-Yuan liking it?”

At the mention of his name, A-Yuan pops his head out from behind the television. 

“I love Wei laoshi!” he exclaims. 

Lan Huan looks over at Lan Zhan, whose eyes are narrowing by the second. 

“Wei laoshi?” Lan Huan repeats. 

“A-Yuan’s teacher,” Lan Zhan explains. “A-Yuan, ah… seems to be very fond of him.”

“And… that’s a good thing, right?”

Lan Zhan purses his lips into a frown. “Wei Ying is very unprofessional.”

His brother is quiet for a moment, simply taking in the new information. Lan Zhan watches as Lan Huan’s expression shifts into a weird, sort-of smile. “Ah,” he says. “Wei Ying is very unprofessional.”

Lan Zhan feels his eyebrows dip down involuntarily. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing,” Lan Huan says. He holds his arms out to A-Yuan, who giggles and climbs into his uncle’s lap. “A-Yuan, tell your uncle about your new teacher and your new class. Have you made any friends?”

A-Yuan nods. “I have a best friend! His name is Jingyi,” he says happily. “I talk to him during lunch.”

Lan Huan’s lips part in surprise at this. “During lunch?” He looks over to Lan Zhan. 

“Yes! Wei laoshi talked to Baba about it! Laoshi told me Baba said it was okay!”

Lan Zhan diverts his gaze. “Wei Ying told me to let him talk during school lunchtime.” He pauses, surveying his own words. “I do not think he was going to take no for an answer.”

“Ah,” Lan Huan says, smiling that weird smile again. “A-Yuan, do you like Wei laoshi?”

“I love Wei laoshi!” A-Yuan says again excitedly. “Wei laoshi teached us about addition yesterday. Two plus seven is nine!”

“Taught,” Lan Zhan corrects automatically. He feels strangely proud of his son for knowing simple math. “Wei laoshi taught you addition yesterday.” 

A-Yuan seems to think very hard about this. 

“Okay,” he says slowly.

“I think,” Lan Huan starts, “that you becoming friends with Wei laoshi is a good thing, A-Zhan.”

Lan Zhan stares at him. “What? I am not becoming friends with him.”

“You call him by his name,” Lan Huan chides gently. 

“That is only because he did it first,” Lan Zhan argues. “I am perfectly content with addressing him as Wei laoshi. He is A-Yuan’s teacher.”

“But you don’t,” Lan Huan says. 

And, well, Lan Zhan can’t exactly argue with that. Instead, he pointedly decides to ignore his brother, standing up and walking over to the kitchen. He makes a big show out of pouring himself a glass of water, filling it to the very top before gulping it all down within seconds.

Lan Huan laughs when he sees this. 

Lan Zhan, determined to change the topic, places the glass onto the kitchen counter and straightens his posture. “Brother, the open house is next week,” he says. “Will you go to A-Yuan’s class for me? I have to speak with the parents of my own class.”

Lan Huan smiles softly, bouncing his nephew in his lap and nodding. “Of course,” he says. “I’ll even get to meet your new friend.”

“Baba, you have friends?” comes A-Yuan’s little voice. 

Lan Huan bursts into laughter at the question, and Lan Zhan’s ears tint a light shade of red. 

“A-Zhan,” Lan Huan says, trying to hold back his peals of mirth, “that is just sad.”

Lan Zhan doesn’t answer. 

—

After finding A-Yuan on the streets over a year ago, Lan Zhan knew he was already long gone for the child. After talking with his family about it briefly, (much to his uncle’s disapproval,) Lan Zhan quickly filled the adoption papers and changed Wen Yuan’s name to Lan Yuan. 

The first time A-Yuan called him Baba, Lan Zhan physically felt his chest bursting with joy. He knew next to nothing about parenting and being a good father, so he spent quite a large sum of money purchasing books on the topic. After reading them dry, Lan Zhan still had many questions, but he supposed he would just have to figure them out as he went along.

He had his job at the school to worry about, so for the first few months, his brother was the one to look after A-Yuan during the day. Lan Zhan would drop him off to Lan Huan’s apartment in the mornings, pick him up in the late afternoon, and the cycle would repeat every day save for weekends and special holidays.

After a while, Lan Zhan managed to find a good preschool near his apartment with flexible hours. Feeling bad about his brother always looking after his son, he quickly enrolled A-Yuan into their program till he was old enough to attend regular primary school. 

Naturally, A-Yuan would go to the school Lan Zhan teaches at, and it wasn’t a problem to have him start first grade as soon as he was old enough.

A-Yuan was a little confused about it at first, and he would ask Lan Zhan why he couldn’t be his teacher. Lan Zhan calmly sat down and explained to him that in a couple years, maybe he would get Lan Zhan as his teacher. 

He didn’t tell his son that the department head wouldn’t actually allow A-Yuan to be in his class, but he didn’t need to know that just yet.

When they got the email telling them that his first grade teacher would be Wei Ying, Lan Zhan was a bit skeptical at first. After all, from what he had seen of the guy, Wei Ying did not seem to be a very proactive individual. However, the other teachers in the school seemed to hold great respect for his apparent ability to keep his young students actively engaged in the curriculum, so Lan Zhan supposed he would just have to go along with it and see for himself how good of a teacher he is.

Judging from A-Yuan’s current attitude towards his class, Lan Zhan decides Wei Ying passes his little test. The last thing he wants is his son to complain about going to school. 

When A-Yuan isn’t at school and Lan Zhan isn’t stuck grading his students’ work, the two often take walks through the park nearby, or go grocery shopping.

Like, for example, today.

“A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan says as he pushes the cart along through the isle, “don’t knock anything over.”

“Okay, Baba!” A-Yuan says, dutifully placing his hands behind his back and skipping along.

“Would you like to sit in the cart?” Lan Zhan asks. 

A-Yuan happily nods. “Yes!” He holds his arms out, and Lan Zhan gracefully picks him up and places him into the cart. A-Yuan immediately moves so he can lean over the edge, trying his hardest to read all the labels on the packaged food on the shelves. 

“What is this?” Lan Zhan asks, pointing to a can.

A-Yuan eyes it carefully for a moment, his eyes scanning the words. “Soup!”

Lan Zhan nods, pride seeking into his chest. “Good job,” he says, taking the can and putting it into the cart, right next to A-Yuan.

A-Yuan then makes a weird noise of surprise, alerting Lan Zhan immediately. 

“Baba!” he whisper-shouts, clasping a hand over his mouth. “Look over there!”

Lan Zhan follows his son’s line of sight all the way over to the sauce section, and his own eyes widen when he sees what A-Yuan is pointing to. Or, rather, who he is pointing to.

Wei Ying, in all his glory, is standing there, seemingly carefully examining the nutrition facts on a bottle he is holding. 

Lan Zhan sucks in a breath as A-Yuan begins to madly wave. Before he can stop him, Wei Ying’s eyes flicker up in their direction.

“Wei laoshi! Wei laoshi!” 

Lan Zhan sees Wei Ying’s lips part in pleasant surprise. He’s wearing more casual clothes today, which makes sense given it’s a weekend and they don’t have any actual school-related responsibilities. Wei Ying’s shoulder-length hair, which he usually ties up into a lopsided ponytail, is instead freely hanging by his neck, a few strands pulled up to keep it out of his face. He’s wearing black sweatpants and a thin, sleeveless t-shirt. 

He looks like, well, a kid. 

Lan Zhan briefly wonders exactly how old he is. 

“Lan Yuan!” he yells, waving his arms to beckon them over. Lan Zhan’s eyes harden at the new turn of events, but with his son looking so hopefully up at him, he cannot really do much to protest.

“Wei laoshi,” Lan Zhan says once they’ve made their way over. 

Wei Ying looks up at him with that annoying, beaming smile. “Lan Zhan,” he starts, and Lan Zhan tries to ignore the way his arms bristle under the attention, “I told you that you should call me Wei Ying!”

“Mn.”

Wei Ying looks over to A-Yuan, grinning and holding out two bottles of sauce. 

“Lan Yuan, what do you think?” he asks, shaking the bottles in front of A-Yuan’s face. “Should I get the spicy sriracha? Or should I get the plain hot chili?”

A-Yuan considers this, eyes darting between the two options. Finally, he uses both of his hands to point a finger at each of them.

“Both!”

Wei Ying looks surprised for a moment, before his expression melts into a kind laugh. 

“You, my friend, are going to be an excellent adult,” he says, before tossing both bottles into his shopping cart. Then, he turns to Lan Zhan with a sheepish grin. “Wen Qing said it was my turn to do the groceries. I dunno why, though, she knows that if I’m in charge of what goes in the kitchen, she won’t be able to even feel her tongue!”

Lan Zhan blinks.

“See,” Wei Ying continues, not seeming to be bothered by the lack of response, “it is my personal theory that the human tastebud was built to step up to any tasty challenge. And what could possibly be more tasty than spicy food?” He looks back to A-Yuan, who is listening to his spiel with great intensity. “Isn’t that right, Lan Yuan ah?”

A-Yuan frowns. “But Baba doesn’t cook spicy stuff.”

Wei Ying’s eyes widen comically at the revelation. “What?” He gasps. “How? Why? Why would you do that to yourselves? Lan Zhan?”

“Hot spices are not good for a child,” Lan Zhan says.

Wei Ying frowns. “But that’s so boring.”

“Aromatic spices are acceptable.”

“Aromatic spices?” Wei Ying repeats, blinking rapidly. “Like, what, fu— hecking cinnamon?”

Lan Zhan’s eyes go wide at the almost-slip up. Wei Ying seems to sense this, and quickly offers him an apologetic smile. 

“Cinnamon is one of them,” Lan Zhan says instead of bringing it up. “Nutmeg, garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander—”

“Okay, okay, I get it. You cook.”

Lan Zhan pauses. “I do not make it a hobby,” he says. “I only cook for my family.”

A-Yuan is grinning. “Hecking cinnamon! Baba, Wei laoshi said hecking.”

“You are not to listen to a word of what Wei laoshi says from now on,” Lan Zhan says. As an afterthought, he adds, “and don’t say that word.”

Wei Ying doesn’t seem very happy with this. “Hey!” he exclaims, reaching over and looping an arm around A-Yuan’s shoulder. “Lan Yuan is my student. Of course he has to listen to me! I’m gonna teach him everything he knows, Lan Zhan!”

“Wei laoshi, that is—”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying cuts in, continuously emphasizing his name. “I told you! Call me Wei Ying.”

Lan Zhan stares at him. He feels a bit weird. “We are not close enough for that.”

“How old are you?” Wei Ying asks. 

Lan Zhan purses his lips as he responds, “Twenty-five.”

Wei Ying breaks out into a grin. “Oh, great! I’m twenty-four. But I’m gonna turn twenty-five next month! See, gege? It is perfectly plausible for us to become close friends! Best friends! Haven’t you ever wanted to have a cool teacher best friend?”

Lan Zhan ignores the last part. “I was under the impression you considered Nurse Wen to be your best friend.”

“Nurse Wen—oh, Wen Qing?” Wei Ying asks. When Lan Zhan doesn’t respond, Wei Ying just shrugs. “I mean, yeah, but she’s so mean to me. It would be nice to have a best friend that isn’t constantly yelling at me for every wrong thing I do.”

“You think I am nice to you?”

“Well,” Wei Ying says, “you haven’t yelled at me yet!”

Lan Zhan repeats, “Yet,” under his breath, but Wei Ying doesn’t seem to notice. 

Instead, he says, “So? What do you think?” Lan Zhan stares at him. “Friends? Enemies? Acquaintances? Business partners?” Wei Ying leans forward and bats his eyes innocently. Lan Zhan leans back to make sure they don’t touch. “Or…” Wei Ying stops to smile wickedly. “Unless, of course… you want to be something more?”

Lan Zhan immediately takes an entire step backwards, ignoring the way Wei Ying has now freely burst into large guffaws. 

“Oh, Lan Zhan, you should see your face right now!” he’s saying, holding his stomach to keep his laughter at bay. “You’re about as red as the chili sauce!”

“A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan says, gripping onto the handle of his cart, “we are going to get going, now.”

“Aw, where’s the fun in that?” Wei Ying asks, pouting. He holds his hand out for A-Yuan to high-five. “Lan Yuan, do you wanna go and shop with your boring baba, or do you wanna hang out with your cool, awesome, friendly amazing Wei laoshi?”

“I wanna hang out with Wei laoshi!” A-Yuan says immediately. 

Lan Zhan turns on his son. “A-Yuan.”

“Oh, can we, Baba?” he asks, sticking his bottom lip out and making his eyes go very wide. Lan Zhan can distinctly hear Wei Ying laughing in the background, but he pointedly keeps his eyes away from him. “Please? Please, please? Pretty please? Jingyi is going to be so jealous that I get to hang out with Wei laoshi outside of school!”

“We do not make our friends jealous, A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan scolds. 

“Don’t listen to your baba, A-Yuan,” Wei Ying says, the affectionate name for the child rolling off of his tongue with ease. “He’s the jealous one here. He’s sad that you like me more than him.”

A-Yuan turns to look at his father. “Are you sad, Baba?”

“No.”

“Are you sure, Baba?”

“Yes.”

“He’s very sad,” Wei Ying says solemnly into A-Yuan’s ear. “He’s just saying that to make you feel better.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says in a warning tone.

Wei Ying looks positively delighted now. “Oh!” he says, clapping his hands. “You finally did it! You called me Wei Ying! Good job, Lan Zhan!” Then, to A-Yuan, he says, “Okay, little sir. The poll is out! Who do you like better, Wei laoshi or Baba?”

“What’s a poll?” A-Yuan asks. 

“It’s where you can put your opinion on something,” Lan Zhan says.

Wei Ying nods seriously. “Exactly. So what’s your answer, A-Yuan?”

A-Yuan seems to be in very deep thought while he considers the question. Frankly, Lan Zhan isn’t sure whether or not to be offended. His son’s answer should be instant, after all. 

Finally, A-Yuan says, “Baba.” He cringes. “Sorry, Wei laoshI! It’s only because he’s my baba and I see him more than you!”

Wei Ying doesn’t look fazed in the slightest, of course. He laughs, ruffling A-Yuan’s hair. “That’s okay! I didn’t expect you to pick me, anyways,” he says. “But does that mean A-Yuan doesn’t wanna hang out with Wei laoshi at the store right now?” He’s pouting, and Lan Zhan doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do in this kind of situation.

“No!” A-Yuan quickly says. “I still wanna play with you, Wei laoshi.”

Wei Ying nods. “That’s what I thought. But you have to ask your baba if it’s alright with him first, okay?”

A-Yuan turns to look at Lan Zhan, who is debating whether or not to verbally sigh at the sudden turn of events. 

“You may play with your laoshi,” he says. 

Wei Ying and A-Yuan high-five. 

Lan Zhan decides to sigh. 

“Awesome!” Wei Ying says, rolling his own cart right next to Lan Zhan’s. “Lan Zhan, do you have a shopping list? You seem like the type of person to keep a shopping list.”

Lan Zhan furrows his eyebrows, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a thin white sheet of paper with a number of items written in neat pencil.

Wei Ying stares at it for a second. “Seriously? Not even on your phone?”

“It is easier this way,” Lan Zhan says, unfurling the paper and eyeing it closely. “We need carrots.”

“Carrots!” A-Yuan agrees enthusiastically.

“You Lans really do enjoy your carrots. Lan Yuan is always eating them with his morning snack and with his lunch,” Wei Ying says as they begin to walk towards the piles of vegetables near the front of the store. Lan Zhan ignores him, going over to the carrots and picking up three large bags of baby carrots and then a handful of regular ones. He feels Wei Ying’s eyes on him. 

“What.”

“No no, it’s just…” Wei Ying trails off. “That’s so many.”

“Some are for the rabbits,” Lan Zhan says. 

Wei Ying raises an eyebrow. “Rabbits?”

“Marshmallow and Cottonball!” A-Yuan quickly jumps in to clarify. 

Wei Ying looks absolutely marvelled at this. “Lan Zhan,” he says, his lips parting as he looks at him, “you have pet bunnies?”

“Yes.”

“That is the absolute most adorable thing I have ever heard in my life,” he says. “Honestly? It kind of suits you. Bunnies. Do you like bunnies?”

“Rabbits,” Lan Zhan says.

Wei Ying waves him off. “Same thing.”

“Baba gives Marshmallow and Cottonball three kisses on their heads every single night!” 

Lan Zhan very pointedly looks everywhere but at Wei Ying.

“Ah, wait, that’s right!” Wei Ying says quickly. “Last week when A-Yuan was drawing a picture of the two of you he included a little bunny! I was wondering what that was.”

“Are you saying my son is a bad artist?”

“What?! No!” Wei Ying says quickly. “Of course that’s not what I’m saying! You know what I mean!”

Lan Zhan hums, but doesn’t respond.

“Baba, can we get cookies?” A-Yuan asks, looking over to the packaged Oreos sitting idly on a nearby shelf. 

“We already have cookies at home,” Lan Zhan replies.

“Can we get more cookies?”

“How about we get a cake instead?”

A-Yuan’s eyes go wide. “A cake?”

Lan Zhan runs a tongue over his bottom lip as he eyes the display of miniature cakes in the freezers. There are big ones, small ones, white ones, and colorful ones. He subconsciously rolls the cart over so he and A-Yuan can take a look. 

“Which one do you want?” Lan Zhan asks, his voice soft as he looks at his son.

“Hmm.” A-Yuan looks over the variety of cakes, tapping his tiny little index finger on his chin as he surveys his options. “I want chocolate.”

Lan Zhan nods, pointing over to the section with the chocolate cakes. “Those ones are all chocolate.”

“I want the blue one!”

Lan Zhan leans over and picks up the small cake with blue icing on it. “This one?”

“Yeah!”

Carefully, Lan Zhan places it into the cart, nodding to himself in satisfaction. “Excellent choice.”

“Woah,” Wei Ying says, and Lan Zhan almost startles from surprise. He had almost forgotten the other man was still there. “I was totally preparing for you to be a mean dad and tell him that he can’t buy any sweets. But you actually went and bought him an entire cake!”

Lan Zhan glares at him. “I am not a mean father.”

“Tell me honestly,” Wei Ying says, putting his elbows on the rim of Lan Zhan’s shopping cart and leaning forwards, “you secretly wanted that cake yourself, didn’t you?”

“I have no idea what you are referring to.”

“Oh, this is gold! I can’t wait to tell everyone I know about just how soft you are for your son!”

“There is nothing wrong with me wanting to make my son happy.”

Wei Ying blinks once, then twice. “Oh, this is so cute!”

“What’s cute?” A-Yuan asks, looking between the two of them in confusion.

“Nothing,” Lan Zhan says, “Wei laoshi is talking about you.”

A-Yuan seems pleased with this response. “I am very cute, I know!”

Wei Ying grins, nodding along. “Lan Zhan, are you sure this kid is really your son? You two are so different.” He pauses. “Actually, I take that back. You should see him in class, the definition of prim and proper and perfect.”

Lan Zhan’s heart swells with pride upon hearing this. He gently pats A-Yuan’s head, tucking a strand of his long hair behind his ear. “That is good,” he says gently. “I am glad he is staying out of trouble in school.”

They finish shopping for their respective things and make their way to the check out lines. Lan Zhan gets into one of the lines with Wei Ying behind him, and once he’s finished paying for his things, he waits by the main entrance for him. Wei Ying grabs his bags and tosses his keys into his mouth, walking up to where Lan Zhan is and shooting him a wink. He then places his bags down for a moment and rummages through them, pulling out a box of Oreos and passing them over to A-Yuan, who is looking at him with wide eyes. 

“A-Yuan! I bought you the cookies you wanted,” he says. 

Lan Zhan moves to protest, but A-Yuan is already squealing with delight and hugging the box close to his chest. He swallows down his words, taking a deep breath instead. 

“My cookies!”

“There is no need for that,” Lan Zhan says. 

Wei Ying shrugs. “Nah, don’t worry about it! I wanted to give him a little something.”

Lan Zhan glances down to A-Yuan, who is already trying to discreetly open the packaging. “Well. If you insist. A-Yuan, what do we say to Wei laoshi?”

“Thank you, Wei laoshi!” A-Yuan exclaims.

“Thank you, Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan repeats, nodding his thanks. 

Wei Ying grins, reaching down to pick up his bags again and walks past them out through the doors. “It was nice seeing you two today! I’ll see you on Monday, right, A-Yuan?”

A-Yuan nods excitedly. “Bye bye, Wei laoshi!”

“You too, Lan Zhan!”

Lan Zhan stares at Wei Ying’s back as he waltzes away from them and climbs into his car parked a few spots away from Lan Zhan’s own. He waits till Wei Ying is safely inside his vehicle before taking A-Yuan’s hand and guiding him to their car, not wanting to catch Wei Ying’s eye again and be forced into another conversation.

When Lan Zhan and A-Yuan are both safely inside, Lan Zhan sighs. 

It is a long sigh.

—

Wei Ying thinks he is making splendid progress in his friendship with Lan Zhan.

Wen Qing, obviously, isn’t too sure about that, but Wei Ying doesn’t really care for her opinion.

“I can’t believe you shopped with your student and his father,” she says as she unpacks the groceries Wei Ying had brought. She pulls out the two bottles of spicy sauce and frowns. “I had asked for ketchup. Not chili.”

“Chili sauce is better than ketchup,” Wei Ying says pointedly. “I did you a favor.”

“And what’s this?” Wen Qing says, two cans of Pepsi in her hands. “Soda? Seriously, Wei Ying? I told you last night that we’re going to start being more healthy in our food choices!”

“Yeah, but you didn’t say when we’re gonna start,” Wei Ying says defensively. “For all I know, you could have meant next year.”

“You know very well that I did not mean next year.”

Wei Ying shrugs.

Wen Qing groans. “Okay, remind me next time to never let you go grocery shopping by yourself. Give me the bill.” Wei Ying dutifully hands her the receipt. She scans through it carefully, her eyes glancing back and forth between it and the pile of food on their counter. “Oreos?” she asks. “I don’t see any Oreos here. Did the cashier make a mistake? How could you just let that slide—”

“Oh, no no,” Wei Ying says quickly, “I did buy Oreos.”

“Did you eat them or something?”

“No, I gave them to A-Yuan.”

“A-Yuan?” Wen Qing presses. “Are you talking about Lan Yuan? Lan Zhan’s son?”

Wei Ying nods, a smile creeping onto his face. “Aw, Qingqing, you should have seen his cute little happy face when I gave them to him! He’s so cute!”

Wen Qing peers closely at him. “I hope you realize that this is a perfect example of showing blatant favoritism to one of your students. You could get fired for this. Or, at least, heavily told off by the department head.”

Wei Ying huffs. “And that is exactly why you’re going to keep it a secret!”

“How do you know Lan laoshi isn’t going to tell anyone?”

“I very highly doubt he will,” Wei Ying says. “He doesn’t really… talk a lot. I’m not even sure if he has any other friends besides me at the school.”

“That’s…” Wen Qing shakes her head. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter. Are you two friends now?”

“Of course we are!” Wei Ying says. “You don’t just shop with someone for an hour and not become at least friends.”

Wen Qing rolls her eyes. “Okay, great! That means you can stop bothering me at lunch hour and eat with Lan laoshi instead. You know, because you two are such good friends and everything.”

“You,” Wei Ying says, “are an incredibly rude woman.”

Wen Qing smirks. “I wouldn’t say rude is the correct word. I am just clever when I need to be.”

“Yeah, at exactly the wrong moments!”

“Exactly,” Wen Qing nods, “just when I need to be.”

And that is how Wei Ying finds himself sitting alone in his classroom during lunchtime on Monday. He isn’t on lunch monitor duty, so it doesn’t make sense for him to go to the cafeteria and sit with the kids, but he also can’t barge his way into the nurse’s office without a proper reason.

He takes his phone out and reads through his last conversation with Wen Qing, an irritated growl at the tip of his tongue.

wei ying >>> wen qingwingfling

wei ying: are u srsly not coming to eat lunch w me

wei ying: wen qiiiiiinnnnggggggggggggggggg

wei ying: jie jieeeeeeee wen qing jieeeee :(

wei ying: this is so RUDE i am so BORED U R SO MEAN TO ME AND FOR WHAT!!!!!!!!

wen qingwingfling: shut up

wen qingwingfling: i am enjoying a nice, quiet luncheon with my fellow nurse friends

wei ying: WEN QIINGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!

Wei Ying knows it’s a lost cause. Once Wen Qing makes her mind up about something, there’s absolutely no changing it. It’s one of the many, many flaws in her character. 

With a long sigh, Wei Ying opens up the lunch Wen Qing had packed for him in the morning, immediately forgiving her when he smells the spicy fried rice and vegetables. He takes his chopsticks into his hands, fiddling with them for a second before furiously digging in. He shovels food into his mouth with one hand while scrolling through his phone with the other, humming in contentment when he notices the small container of chili sauce at the bottom of his lunch bag. 

He pours it onto the rice, grinning wildly to himself. He glances up when he’s done, his eye catching movement at the door. 

Lan Zhan is walking by his classroom, and Wei Ying can just barely make out his tell-tale poker face. 

“Lan Zhan!” he immediately yells in an effort to get his attention. He cranes his neck to see if he can hear him turning around, and sure enough, Lan Zhan’s head is poking into his classroom a few seconds later. 

Lan Zhan stares at him. “Wei Ying,” he says in lieu of proper greeting.

Wei Ying isn’t complaining. He knows it’s the most he’s going to get out of him. 

“Lan Zhan!” he waves happily. “Are you going to lunch?”

“I was about to go back upstairs to my classroom to eat,” Lan Zhan says.

A wicked idea comes to Wei Ying’s mind. 

“You should eat with me!” he says, holding up his chopsticks for extra added effect. He stares at Lan Zhan, who’s eyes widen ever so slightly for barely a fraction of a second before setting back into their usual position.

“That will not be necessary,” he says, already turning to walk away.

“Wait, no!” Wei Ying calls for him quickly. “Why not? We’re friends, right? Friends should eat lunch together! Plus, aren’t you going to go and eat by yourself in your classroom anyways? Why not join me and we can keep each other company?”

Lan Zhan looks at him for a long moment. 

“Fine.”

Wei Ying feels a swoop of victory course through his spine. 

“Great!” he exclaims. “Go and get your lunch quickly! We only have, like, twenty minutes till we have to go and pick the students up from the cafeteria.”

Lan Zhan disappears without a word, and Wei Ying uses the extra time to quickly move to one of the small tables designed for the young children. Normally he would eat at his own desk if he’s alone, but it doesn’t feel right to pull up one of the tiny chairs to his large desk and expect Lan Zhan to feel comfortable sitting on it. He’d much rather they both sit at the tables. 

Wei Ying buries his long legs underneath the table as Lan Zhan reappears in the doorway. He’s holding a small blue lunchbox with a rabbit pattern on it in his left hand, and the way he makes his way through the classroom and to Wei Ying gives off the impression that he’s gliding on the floor.

“You actually came!” Wei Ying says as Lan Zhan takes a seat in the space next to him. 

Lan Zhan gives him a look. “I told you I would eat with you.”

“Yeah, but like, you actually did.” 

Their legs bump into each other under the table, and Wei Ying immediately flinches from the initial shock. He tries to pull back, but it’s impossible with the minute amount of space.

“I will never understand how they make tables this small,” he mutters. 

“The tables in the fifth grade classrooms are quite large,” Lan Zhan says. “You may come upstairs to eat there next time.”

Wei Ying’s eyes almost pop out of their sockets right there and then. 

“Next time?” he repeats slowly, before his smile widens across his face. “Next time? Lan Zhan, you wanna make this a regular thing?”

Lan Zhan looks like he regrets he ever got the ability to speak. 

“I do not know why I said that,” he says. “We do not have to eat together again.”

“No no!” Wei Ying quickly shakes his head. “No, we should definitely keep eating together. It’s not like I have anyone better to eat with.”

Lan Zhan’s nose scrunches slightly, and Wei Ying involuntarily finds it incredibly endearing. “I thought you and Nurse Wen are good friends,” he says. “Do you not eat with her?”

“I do, sometimes,” Wei Ying says, “most times? I don’t know. She’s mean. She doesn’t wanna eat with me anymore. It’s not like she’s doing me a big favor or something, I eat with her for, like, all my meals. It’s annoying. She’s annoying.”

“I see.”

“Lan Zhan, don’t be like that!” Wei Ying pouts. “You’re supposed to be sympathetic and worry about me! Repeat after me, okay? Ah! Oh no, Wei Ying, what ever shall you do now?”

He waits patiently for Lan Zhan to copy his words, but when he doesn’t, Wei Ying crosses his arms and leans back in his seat with a petty frown. 

“Rude!”

“Ah. Oh no, Wei Ying, what ever shall you—” Lan Zhan begins in the most deadpan of voices.

“Stop,” Wei Ying says, and Lan Zhan stops. Wei Ying sends him a look. “You’re not actually supposed to stop.”

“Oh. But you said—”

“You take everything incredible literally, don’t you?”

Lan Zhan closes his mouth, then opens it again. “I am sorry.”

At his apology, Wei Ying barks out a laugh. “I would love to sit in one of your lessons someday,” he says with a grin. “I wonder what kind of lecturer you are. Like, do you talk a lot? Not talk at all? Give the students their own independent work so you don’t have to do anything? Do you just stare at them and hope that some kind of mind telepathy shit is able to convey your words for you?”

“Of course I do not,” Lan Zhan says with a small frown. Wei Ying thinks it’s almost enough to resemble an actual human emotion, but it’s gone as quickly as it had come. “My students often tell me that they quite enjoy my teaching style.”

“Oh yeah? And what’s your teaching style?”

Lan Zhan looks like he’s thinking about it for a moment. “In the mornings I have a small activity for them to complete pertaining to whatever we learned about the previous day. In the main lesson, I interact with my audience using the available technology and my own speech. We take a break for a snack, in which I ask them about their day and try to formulate conversations with them. We continue onto the next lesson, eat lunch, come back and resume, and then it is time for the children to go home.”

It’s the most amount of words Wei Ying has ever heard from him, and he finds that he doesn’t really mind listening to Lan Zhan talk. 

Actually, it’s quite comfortable. 

“Wow,” he says. “Your kids must be learning loads of new words every day because of you.”

Lan Zhan looks confused at this. “Beg pardon?”

“I dunno,” Wei Ying shrugs. “You speak with a lot of…” He gesticulates, his arms rapidly flying around him. “... big words.”

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I can—”

“No! No, it doesn’t,” Wei Ying says quickly. “I guess I’m just not used to hearing you talk so much.”

“I see.” Lan Zhan takes a bite of his food. “Is A-Yuan doing well in his studies?”

“Oh he’s great,” Wei Ying says. “Seriously, Lan Zhan, you have a bright kid. He’s always bringing up new ideas to the group and he’s an excellent listener.”

At this, Lan Zhan actually smiles. It’s faint, but Wei Ying can clearly see it’s there. 

“That is good to hear,” he says. “Is he… making friends?”

“He and Jingyi are stuck at the hip constantly,” Wei Ying says, “but he’s also been talking to the other boys and girls lately. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Lan Zhan nods. “He has always had a bit of trouble with that,” he says, making Wei Ying perk up. “Talking to others, and making new friends. At his old preschool he did not talk to anyone, and he would come home crying almost every day because he did not enjoy learning.”

“Really?” Wei Ying asks, leaning forwards on his elbows. “What changed?”

Lan Zhan doesn’t respond—he simply looks directly at Wei Ying, his eyes hard as they maintain eye contact for a few seconds.

Wei Ying’s eyes widen in realization.

“Me?”

Lan Zhan looks away.

Wei Ying can’t help but smile widely. “Seriously? It’s because of me? He really likes me that much?”

“I suppose he does.” Then, “You seem like the type of instructor to have that kind of effect on your students.”

“You think so?” Wei Ying asks, his spine straightening up as he looks somewhere away with a beaming look. “When I graduated university, I was looking for a position in a secondary school. I was gonna be an art teacher!” He feels Lan Zhan’s eyes on him, so he continues. “But while I was on my job hunt, an assistant teacher position opened up in an elementary school nearby, so I gave it a shot and… I dunno. I really liked the small kids. Older children are an absolute pain, especially when I myself am pretty young.”

Lan Zhan nods like he understands. Wei Ying wonders if he does.

“So, obviously, I changed my requirements a bit and started to search for a job at a primary school. Wen Qing and I both coincidentally got hired here, and we kinda just made it work.” He smiles. “I haven’t even been teaching here for very long, but I can definitely see myself doing this for the rest of my life, you know?”

“Your passion is admirable.”

“Ah, well.” Wei Ying rubs the back of his neck with his hand, warmth pooling in his chest. “Enough about me! What about you, Lan Zhan?” Lan Zhan stares at him. Wei Ying immediately understands that it’s an invitation for him to expand on his request. “Why do you teach?” he asks, prompting him to respond.

Lan Zhan purses his lips, his eyes glancing away from Wei Ying for a moment. “I have always enjoyed working with children,” he says. 

If Wei Ying didn’t know any better, he never would have taken Lan Zhan as the type to like kids, but now that he’s getting to know him a little better, he can kind of sort of see it. Lan Zhan is the exceptionally calm, serene type of person. He would totally be the type of person to be completely able to handle any sticky situation involving a young child. 

Wei Ying gives himself a mental pat on the back for figuring him out so quickly.

The bell rings suddenly, and Wei Ying jerks back into reality. Lan Zhan is already busy packing up his things, wrapping up the remainder of his food and placing it carefully into his bag. 

“Oh, did you not get to finish your lunch?” Wei Ying asks.

Lan Zhan doesn’t even look at him when he responds, “You did not finish yours, either.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says dumbly, realizing that he still had about half of his rice left over in his little box. He quickly closes the container, standing up and walking back over to his desk so he can clean himself up a bit. “Oh, well, sorry about that!”

“It is okay,” Lan Zhan says, “I can finish my food after school is over.”

Wei Ying nods. “Me too,” he says. “Um. I have to… uh, go and get the kids now.”

“I will see you later,” Lan Zhan says, walking up and out of the door without another word. 

Wei Ying is left to stare after him, his mind still in a state of shock.

—

When Lan Zhan comes by to pick A-Yuan up later that day, Wei Ying is comfortably lounging at his desk and finishing up his lunch from earlier. A-Yuan is standing on top of a table, telling Wei Ying a story animatedly. 

“And then Baba ended up finding Marshmallow hiding underneath the washing machine!” he squeals, throwing his hands into the air for dramatic effect. Wei Ying bursts into laughter at the image of a distraught-looking Lan Zhan crouching over a giant machine, desperately looking for his pet bunny.

“Seriously?” he says between his infrequent wheezing. “That’s hilarious. What happened next?”

“And then,” A-Yuan continues, “Baba went to put Marshmallow back in his little house, but when he got back guess what he found?”

“What?” Wei Ying asks, eyes twinkling.

A-Yuan grins. “Cottonball had disappeared!”

“Pfft!” Wei Ying snorts, his laughter continuing aimlessly. A-Yuan joins him, the only sounds in the classroom their relentless mirth. “Your baba must have been furious!”

“Baba almost started crying!”

“Oh my God! He did not!”

“Mhm! He did!”

“What is going on here.”

Wei Ying doesn’t even flinch when he hears Lan Zhan entering, the latter looking between the two of them with a suspicious glare. He grins, waving him over. 

“Your brilliant son was just telling me the funniest story I have ever had the pleasure of hearing,” he says. “It’s all about how you lost your rabbits and almost started crying!”

Lan Zhan’s eyes flare as he turns to his son. “A-Yuan!”

A-Yuan blinks innocently up at his father. “Sorry, Baba. Wei laoshi thinks it’s really funny too! So there’s no problem with him knowing, right?”

Lan Zhan looks like he wants to punch something.

Wei Ying thinks it’s absolutely hilarious.

“I did not cry,” Lan Zhan says. 

“Your son seems to think otherwise,” Wei Ying responds with ease.

Lan Zhan stares at him, his expression unmoving. “Are you eating your lunch?”

Wei Ying had expected the change of topic, so he has no problem easily sliding into it. “Yep!” he says, popping the last bit of his rice into his mouth to accentuate his claim. “Did you finish yours?”

“I will eat mine at home,” Lan Zhan says.

A-Yuan tugs on Wei Ying’s sleeve. “Wei laoshi, did you and Baba eat lunch together today?”

Wei Ying grins, nodding enthusiastically. “Yeah we did!”

A-Yuan gasps. “Are you and Baba friends?”

“Oh, A-Yuan, we’re not just friends,” Wei Ying says, leaning in and winking down at the child. 

A-Yuan’s face does a little scrunchy thing, which Wei Ying finds incredibly adorable. 

“Are you dating or something then?”

Wei Ying sputters, gulping as he tries to regain his composure from the sudden question. He glances up at Lan Zhan, who is slowly turning into a brilliant shade of scarlet. He clears his throat before shaking his head. 

“Well, I was going to say that we’re best friends, but if your baba is interested in dating, then—”

“We will be going now,” Lan Zhan smoothly interrupts them, scooping up A-Yuan into his arms. “A-Yuan, say goodbye and thank you to Wei laoshi.”

“Bye bye, Wei laoshi! Thank you!” A-Yuan choruses. 

“Goodbye, Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says. 

Wei Ying laughs and waves to them. Just as the two are about to step outside, another figure comes into the classroom. Wei Ying blinks for a moment, before recognizing that it’s just Wen Qing. 

There’s one problem, though. She looks absolutely pissed.

Lan Zhan stops right where he is as Wen Qing storms into the room and walks right past him, marching right up to Wei Ying and reaching for his ear. She roughly grabs it, dragging him up to his feet as he protests in pain. 

“Ow— ow, Wen Qing,” he groans. “Let go of me! What the—”

“I,” she snaps, “have been waiting for your sorry ass outside in the freezing cold for the past fifteen minutes. Wei Ying, did you forget we came to school together today in your car?”

Wei Ying stills. “Oh, whoops.”

“I cannot believe you sometimes—”

“Baba, is that Wei laoshi’s wife? I thought he was dating you!”

Wen Qing whips around immediately, her eyes landing on Lan Zhan and A-Yuan, who are now crowded in the corner of the room looking extremely out of place. Lan Zhan is busy shushing his son, but A-Yuan is looking directly at Wei Ying.

The room dissolves into silence for a sweet moment, before Wei Ying bursts into laughter. 

“Me—me and Wen Qing? Pfft!”

Wen Qing groans. She rounds on Wei Ying once again, who immediately cowers back in fear. “Wei Ying, you’re dating Lan laoshi?”

“No I’m not!”

“But Lan Yuan just said—”

“A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan says, taking A-Yuan’s hand in his and heaving out a sigh. “That is Nurse Wen. She and Wei laoshi are best friends.”

A-Yuan’s eyebrows furrow deeper. “But Wei laoshi just said you’re his best friend.”

“This is chaos,” Wen Qing says, reaching up to rub her temples. She plasters on the biggest, fakest smile Wei Ying has ever seen on her, before gathering herself up and walking over to A-Yuan. She kneels down, holding out her hands for him to hold. “Hi there, Lan Yuan. I’m one of the nurses who works in the office right as you enter the school. I am not married to Wei laoshi. I am not involved with Wei laoshi in any way other than the fact that I am living with him. We have no relationship. I am not that unfortunate.”

“Hey!” Wei Ying exclaims in a huff.

“Oh, okay,” A-Yuan says, nodding like he understands this perfectly. “So Wei laoshi and Baba can still date each other?”

“A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan says, “Wei laoshi and I are not dating.”

A-Yuan frowns. “But Wei laoshi said—”

“I told you,” Lan Zhan says, “you should not listen to a word of anything he says.”

Wen Qing suddenly grins. She turns to look directly at Lan Zhan with an approving nod. “I like you already, Lan laoshi.”

Lan Zhan seems pleased by this. “I am glad.”

“Okay okay yeah yeah,” Wei Ying interrupts, standing up and clapping his hands to divert the attention back to himself, “yes, we get it, everybody loves Lan Zhan. A-Yuan, you should definitely listen to me. I am your wise, amazing teacher. Everything that comes out of my mouth is the truth and nothing but the truth.”

Wen Qing immediately shakes her head, looking back at the kid. “As his best friend, I am telling you right now that that is the biggest lie you will ever hear in your life.”

A-Yuan frowns. “Wei laoshi, it isn’t good to tell lies.”

Wei Ying throws his hands up into the air in defeat. “Every single person is out to get me in this world. It’s just me, myself, and I.”

“Okay,” Wen Qing says, “before you get even more unnecessarily dramatic, we should go.” She turns to Lan Zhan and bows politely. “I’m so sorry for earlier.”

“It is okay,” Lan Zhan nods. 

Wei Ying rolls his eyes, picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. “Whatever. Let’s go!” he says, grabbing Wen Qing and dragging her to the front door. He tosses Lan Zhan the key to the classroom and gives him a thumbs-up. “Lan Zhan! Finish your lunch here before you head out, okay? Just lock up for me once you’re done! Bye!”

“Wait, what, Wei Ying—”

But before he can protest, Wei Ying slides himself out of the door with Wen Qing in tow.

Once they’re in the car and are heading out, Wen Qing turns to Wei Ying. 

“You do realize that now you won’t be able to get into your classroom tomorrow morning, right?”

“Oh, fuck.”

Chapter Text

Wei Ying decides that this is the year he is going to have an actual birthday celebration for himself. 

He informs Wen Qing of his plans—she ignores him, but Wei Ying had been expecting that. He tells her again when she’s paying more attention to him, and her eyes immediately go wide. 

“A birthday party?” she repeats incredulously. “What are you, four?”

“Hey!” Wei Ying says, crossing his arms. “There is nothing wrong with wanting to throw myself a party celebrating another year added to my wonderful life!”

“Uh huh,” Wen Qing says, going back to whatever it is that she’s doing. “You have fun with that.”

Wei Ying sits down on the couch and takes his phone out. He clicks into his note taking app and starts to make a list of potential guests.

Wen Qing, obviously. Her little brother would be invited too—Wei Ying hasn’t seen Wen Ning in ages. 

His own family members would be invited as well, yes. Wei Ying isn’t too sure if his aunt and uncle would be interested in coming, but there is no harm in adding them to the list. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli would of course come. And if Jiang Yanli came then so would her annoying peacock of a husband Jin Zixuan, and their cute kid (Wei Ying’s nephew!) Jin Ling. 

He moves onto the people from school. He’ll probably invite Nie Huaisang, a second grade teacher he’s sort of close with. There’s also Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen, two fourth grade teachers Wei Ying often talks to during staff meetings. 

And, of course, Lan Zhan. 

Wei Ying pauses after typing his name, then quickly adds Lan Yuan after it. If Lan Zhan was coming, there’s no way his son wouldn’t too. Plus, Wei Ying thinks it’ll be fun to have him and Jin Ling there together. 

Feeling satisfied with his list, Wei Ying holds up his phone to show Wen Qing, who peers at it closely. 

“Lan Zhan and Lan Yuan?” she asks. “You do realize that there is absolutely no way it’s allowed for you to be inviting one of your own students to your birthday party.”

Wei Ying waves it off. “It’s not a big deal unless it’s made into a big deal.”

Wen Qing stares at him, pure disappointment dripping from her facial features. 

Wei Ying shrugs. “Qingqing, you seriously gotta start having more faith in me.”

Wen Qing barks out a laugh. “The day that happens you can willingly murder me. I will be so far gone it’ll be impossible not to put me down.”

“That’s so fucking rude!”

“I never said I was a nice person.”

“Oh, trust me. I know that better than anyone else.” He clicks his phone shut, putting it aside. “I can’t not invite Lan Zhan and his kid! A-Yuan being in my class aside, Lan Zhan and I are best friends!”

“Frankly, I am offended.”

“Shut up.” Wei Ying sticks his tongue out at her. “Lan Zhan’s a million times better than you. You will just have to deal with the cold hard truth: you are now and forever will be number two in my heart.”

“Don’t worry,” Wen Qing deadpans, “it’s not a loss for me.”

“Wonderful!” Wei Ying says, clapping his hands and settling the matter. “So it’s finalized! Lan Zhan and A-Yuan will be attending my twenty-fifth birthday bash.”

“If they even agree on coming,” Wen Qing says pointedly.

Wei Ying frowns. “Why wouldn’t they?”

“I don’t know if you’re just dense or really fucking dumb,” Wen Qing says, “but it’s a bit weird to take your kid for his teacher’s birthday party.”

“No it’s not!”

Wen Qing rolls her eyes and goes back to folding the fresh laundry into two separate piles—one for her own clothes, and the other for Wei Ying’s. She doesn’t answer him, so Wei Ying is left to sulk on the couch, a thousand scenarios running through his mind. Lan Zhan would come to his party, right? Right?

“Wei Ying, I can almost hear your thinking,” Wen Qing says, very rudely interrupting his thoughts. 

Wei Ying pouts, heaving out a sigh. “I’m going to be sad if he doesn’t come.”

“Why? Because you’re dating him?”

“Shut up,” Wei Ying hisses. “You know A-Yuan didn’t actually mean that.”

“No, no, I’m pretty sure he meant that.”

“He probably doesn’t even know what dating is,” Wei Ying argues. “He’s, like, two years old. And there’s no way Lan Zhan has given him the talk yet.”

“He’s five,” Wen Qing says, looking aghast. 

Wei Ying shrugs. “Same thing, basically.”

“Shouldn’t you know how old he is? He’s literally your student,” Wen Qing says. Wei Ying is almost certain that if they continue with this pointless conversation any longer, one (or both) of them are going to end up losing a few too many braincells. 

“I’ll send out the invitations tonight,” Wei Ying says, quietly humming to himself, completely content with his plan. “Oh, this is so exciting. Maybe I should have it be Halloween themed or something! A costume party would be so much fun, don’t you think?”

“I think it’s time for me to go to bed,” Wen Qing says, standing up and dropping a large pile of clothes onto Wei Ying’s lap. “Here you go. You can put them into your own cupboard by yourself.” She picks up her own clothes and moves to march away into her bedroom. “Goodnight, Wei Ying. Enjoy!”

Wei Ying is fine with this. In fact, he prefers it. He spends the next thirty minutes on an art app on his phone, swirling different digital colors together and using the different fonts and gadgets available to produce an appropriately aesthetically pleasing invitation. Nodding to himself, he saves a copy of it onto his phone and then attaches it to his sibling group chat. Clicking send, he adds a small caption and sits back, pleased with his work. 

wei ying >>> FAM JAM!!! XD

wei ying: [Open Attachment] i’m holding a cute lil bday get together y’all better come

sweet little didi: this is the stupidest thing i have ever laid my eyes on

wei ying: shut up jiang cheng u know u wanna come >:D

a-jie: oh that’s wonderful, a-ying. am I to bring a-ling and a-xuan too?

wei ying: jin ling for SURE i miss my cute lil bub

wei ying: i suppose the peacock can come 2 if he wants

wei ying: omg wait since it’s halloween themed u shld make him dress up as a peacock fr

sweet little didi: i’m busy that day

wei ying: it’s ok i can move the date around to one tht works for u

sweet little didi: i’m busy on that day too

wei ying: the fcking DISRESPECT in this household just keeps on Piling Up By The Day

a-jie: of course you’re going, a-cheng.

sweet little didi: ok

wei ying: wow

wei ying: the magic of a-jie

a-jie: :)

He sends the invitation to the rest of the people on his guest list, too, and he faintly can hear Wen Qing’s groan from the other room when it lands in her inbox. Wei Ying silently cackles to himself, before typing in Lan Zhan’s name into the recipient box in his messaging app and…

Oh. 

He doesn’t have Lan Zhan’s number.

Mentally facepalming, Wei Ying takes a moment’s break to rethink the extending of his invitation. Wen Qing’s words ring in the back of his mind fervently; Lan Zhan wouldn’t find it weird, right? He wouldn’t think much of Wei Ying asking him to come and celebrate his birthday with him and the rest of his friends… right? 

Ever since the first time, the two had been continuously meeting up for lunch upstairs in Lan Zhan’s fifth grade classroom. He was right—the tables and chairs were much bigger and more comfortable there. Wei Ying could easily sprawl his legs out underneath him without having to worry about accidentally brushing against Lan Zhan’s thigh. 

They’ve been doing this for over a week, now, and Wei Ying personally quite enjoys the new company. 

He can only hope Lan Zhan feels the same way about it.

Heaving a sigh, Wei Ying turns off his device and retreats to his bedroom with an armful of warm, clean clothes. After putting them away and getting himself washed up, he climbs into his bed and shuts the light off, setting his morning alarm to wake him up in time for school. 

Oh well. He’ll just have to worry about it tomorrow.

—

When Wei Ying waltzes into school the next morning, he finds Lan Zhan standing by the main office, a pile of papers in his hand. He seems to be scanning over them, flipping the pages between his fingers and raking his eyes over the small, black print. Wei Ying walks up to him, quiet enough to make sure he isn’t heard, and peers over Lan Zhan’s shoulder.

“Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying startles back in surprise. Lan Zhan’s head is slightly turned over his shoulder, and his eyes are bearing directly into Wei Ying’s skull. He laughs it off awkwardly, reaching back to rub the spanse of skin on his beck—it’s a bit of a nervous habit he’s picked up over the years.

“Sorry about that, Lan Zhan,” he says, smiling sheepishly. “Didn’t mean to scare you!”

Lan Zhan places the papers onto the table in front of him. “You did not.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says. “Well, that’s good.” He glances around, and then checks the clock on the wall. There’s still fifteen minutes till he has to go to his classroom and open up, so he supposes he has a bit of time to kill. Wen Qing has already long ditched him in favor of heading to her office early. “Where’s A-Yuan?”

Lan Zhan moves so that he is facing him, standing perfectly straight as always. He’s wearing a crisp white button-down shirt with dark slacks, and his long, black locks of hair are pulled behind his ears. He looks so well and put-together that Wei Ying has to physically restrain himself from crying.

There is something, though—the skin below Lan Zhan’s eyes is just a little darker than usual, and he looks exceptionally tired. 

“A-Yuan will be coming to school with Lan Jingyi today,” he says, and Wei Ying can immediately notice the way his bottom lip is pressed inwards ever so slightly. It’s an expression he’s never seen before on the man, even though on the exterior he looks just as normal as ever.

“Huh?” he asks, quirking an eyebrow. 

Tight lipped, Lan Zhan replies, “A-Yuan insisted on spending the night at his friend’s house yesterday.”

Wei Ying’s eyes widen in understanding. “Seriously? A five year-old sleepover party?”

“Mn.”

“I’m surprised you let him,” Wei Ying says carefully, wondering if this is just some kind of set-up and Lan Zhan is in fact going to explode any second now. He shakes the preposterous thought out of his head. 

“A-Yuan did not seem to be keen on taking no for an answer,” Lan Zhan says, and with a quick glance downwards, Wei Ying is able to catch the way his fingers tighten around his palm. “I called Jingyi’s parents and because they were alright with it, there was not much I could do.”

“Makes sense,” Wei Ying says, leaning against the wall they’re standing against and blowing a bit of hair out of his face. Lan Zhan is very obviously worried about his son, not that Wei Ying blames him. “Did you hear from Jingyi’s parents this morning or anything?”

“Mn. They told me everything went well.”

“Oh, that’s good!” Wei Ying says, breaking out into a grin he hopes is coming off as reassuring.

“Mn.”

Wei Ying furrows his eyebrows, taking a step closer to him. “Hey, I’m sure everything’s fi—”

“Baba!”

Wei Ying’s soon-to-be motivational, heart-wrenching speech is ripped out of his mouth upon the new voice. He turns towards the source at the same time as Lan Zhan, delighted to see a tiny little A-Yuan stumbling through the front doors with Jingyi in tow. Lan Zhan immediately breaks away from Wei Ying, walking up to his son and kneeling down with his arms wide out in front of him. He engulfs A-Yuan into a tight hug, his fingers gently stroking through the child’s hair. 

“Baba! I missed you,” A-Yuan says as Lan Zhan presses a kiss into his temple. “My sleepover was so much fun! Jingyi’s mom made us brownies and ice cream and I ate three.”

There’s a small crowd gathered around them now, mostly full of the female faculty who were stopping to see what all the commotion was. Wei Ying scrunches his nose when he sees the way they’re all cooing at the interaction between father and son, feeling strangely off put by the attention. 

“Three?” Lan Zhan is saying, looking up at his son with a strange type of warmth in his eyes.

“She said I could,” A-Yuan says.

Lan Zhan nods. “Okay.” He stands up, taking A-Yuan’s hand in his and then looking down at Jingyi. “Did you two have fun?”

“Holy shit,” someone says by Wei Ying’s side in a faint whisper, and he turns to see Nie Huaisang staring at Lan Zhan and A-Yuan with wide eyes. “Wei-xiong, who’s that?”

“Who’s who?” Wei Ying asks, lifting an eyebrow. 

Nie Huaisang points to Lan Zhan. 

“Oh,” Wei Ying says, “that’s Lan laoshi. He’s a fifth grade teacher.”

“No, I know that,” Nie Huaisang says. “Who’s the kid he’s holding hands with?”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says again, his lips parting. “That’s Lan Yuan. He’s Lan laoshi’s son.” He beams widely. “Lan Yuan is my student!”

“Lan laoshi has a son?” Nie Huaisang says, eyes wide with disbelief. “Is he married? Who’s he married to? What is going on?”

Wei Ying shakes his head. “He’s not,” he says, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable with the topic of conversation. He desperately searches his mind to find something else. “Oh! That’s right! Did you get my text last night?”

Nie Huaisang looks confused for a moment, but then his expression flattens out into one of realization. “Oh, the birthday party invitation? For the day before Halloween?”

Wei Ying nods.

“Yeah,” Nie Huaisang says, “of course I’ll come, Wei-xiong. You don’t even have to ask.”

Wei Ying grins. “Great! I’ll put you down as a yes. Though it would have been most ideal if you had just responded to my text—”

“You know I’m bad at responding to people,” Nie Huaisang says. “I’m just honored you thought to invite me! Who else is coming?”

“I’ll send you the list later,” Wei Ying says. “Now, goodbye! Class is about to start!”

He waves goodbye and pushes Nie Huaisang away, shaking his head with a small laugh as he glances back. By now, everyone has already dispersed and gone back to their duties, but Lan Zhan is still standing there, looking straight at Wei Ying with his signature poker face.

Wei Ying blinks.

“Seriously, Lan Zhan, you would do great in a casino,” he chides playfully, skipping up to him and taking the spot on his other side. He grins down at A-Yuan and ignores the way Lan Zhan’s gaze hardens on him, “Hey, A-Yuan! How was your cool sleepover party?”

“It was so much fun, Wei laoshi!” A-Yuan begins excitedly, before launching into a detailed story about his night. The three of them walk towards Wei Ying’s classroom, Jingyi skipping along in front of them and chatting animatedly with A-Yuan once he’s finished ranting about his amazing night to his teacher. Wei Ying is incredibly endeared—Lan Zhan is thoughtfully humming from next to him, and Wei Ying takes it as a good sign. 

They arrive at the classroom, and Wei Ying turns on his heel to grin madly at Lan Zhan. “Okay,” he says, “we’re here! You can go upstairs to your own students now, Lan Zhan. Your kid is in great hands with me.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan says, turning his back to him and beginning to walk away. 

“Hey, wait!” Wei Ying calls after him after ushering A-Yuan and Jingyi inside. Lan Zhan glances back at him. Wei Ying quickly fishes out his phone, opening his contacts app and handing it over to him. “Give me your number. There’s something I want to send you.”

Lan Zhan eyes the phone for a moment, before wordlessly taking it into his own grasp and typing something. He hands it back to Wei Ying, who grins and quickly saves the contact. 

“Great!” he says. “Thanks! I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Mn.”

“Bye bye!”

“Goodbye, Wei Ying.”

—

wei ying >>> lan zhan

wei ying: [Open Attachment]

wei ying: here we go!!!!!! you’ll come, right? :D

lan zhan: What is this.

wei ying: it’s an invitation!!! to my birthday get together!!! i’m having it the day before halloween (halloween is my actual bday) and it’s going to be FUN!! and u BETTER COME!!!!! ok!!!! bring a-yuan too!!!!!

lan zhan: Wei Ying. Are you sure your student should be celebrating your birthday with you?

wei ying: :D who cares!!!!! u r my friend and ur son is also my friend and there4 u r both invited

lan zhan: This is extremely unprofessional.

wei ying: but u’ll come anyways?? :D

lan zhan: Mm.

lan zhan: I will see if I am available.

wei ying: thts like  . practically a Yes

wei ying: AMAZING I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE UUUUU don’t forget it’s a costume party!!!!! so u absolutely gotta dress up hehe A-YUAN TOO

wei ying: also did u kno u text exactly how u talk its great

lan zhan: Wei Ying too.

wei ying: ?? huh

lan zhan: You also text exactly how you speak.

wei ying: srsly??? icb i make disgusting typos irl too thts craazzyyyy

wei ying: or i guess not typos. speekos. yassss

lan zhan: Goodbye.

wei ying: awwwww

wei ying: ig ur super busy with ur cool dad responsibilities >:D goodbye lan zhan!!!! talk to u later!!!!!!!

lan zhan: Mhm.

—

Having Lan Zhan’s number is great, because it means Wei Ying can use every possible excuse he has to bother him. He doesn’t know why getting under Lan Zhan’s skin is so entertaining, but for some reason, Wei Ying can’t help but crave for the latter’s attention. 

It’s a bit strange, but he pushes it aside under the impression that he simply wants to spend more time with his new friend. New best friend, actually—Wen Qing would just have to deal with it. 

Most of the time, Lan Zhan just ignores him, and Wei Ying has learned to take this as a good sign. If he was actually being a legitimate bother, Lan Zhan would surely tell him, or at least be more intricate in his glaring. It’s a perfectly legitimate response to the severe lack of two-sided fondness. Wei Ying is proud of the progress he’s been making in his sudden friendship, and he makes that fact known to practically everyone around him. (Nobody particularly seems to care, but that’s their own problem.)

Everyone ends up responding with a yes to his birthday party invitation—everyone except for his aunt and uncle, who are currently abroad for some work business. Wei Ying doesn’t mind; he knows his sister will send them pictures of the event to make up for their absence.

Wei Ying decks himself out in an extravagant pirate costume he had bought online a couple years ago, complete with an eyepatch and extremely uncomfortable boots. He emerges from his bedroom to find Wen Qing already in the living room, a white coat hanging loosely off of her shoulders.

“Did you seriously just wear your medical coat from university?” Wei Ying asks, raising an eyebrow when Wen Qing turns around to glare at him.

“I don’t know if you noticed,” she starts, “but I don’t actually care about dressing up for this.”

“You’re going to be the odd one out!” Wei Ying says. “What are you even supposed to be?”

“A doctor, obviously.”

“You are a doctor! Halloween is all about being something you’re not!”

“Firstly,” Wen Qing says, “I am a school nurse. And secondly, I will definitely not be the odd one out. Do you actually think Jiang Cheng is going to take your costume party gimmick seriously?”

“No, But A-Jie will make him!”

“Jiang Yanli doesn’t live with Jiang Cheng anymore! There’s no way she can make him do anything!”

“A-Jie is extremely scary over text!”

Wen Qing looks at him incredulously, like she’s actually shocked that Wei Ying would think that Jiang Cheng would follow through with the dress code. 

“Okay,” she says calmly, “let’s bet on it, then.”

Wei Ying huffs. “Fine!”

“One thousand yuan.”

Wei Ying’s jaw drops. “No fucking way! You literally know what my salary is.”

“Oh?” Wen Qing says. “So you do think you’re going to lose.”

In that moment, Wei Ying decides that he absolutely despises his roommate. 

The doorbell rings, snapping them both back to reality. Wei Ying leaps over to the door, peering through the little peephole and grinning. He unlocks the door and opens it wide, holding his arms out for his older sister to engulf him in a hug. 

“A-Ying!” Jiang Yanli exclaims. She’s wearing a long, flowy dress and a crown atop her head. Wei Ying can immediately tell that she’s dressed as a queen. “It’s so wonderful to see you again!” Behind her, Jin Zixuan is standing with a little Jin Ling in one arm and a large white box in the other, and Wei Ying ushers them inside and gently leans over to pinch his nephew’s cheeks. The entire family is wearing clothes resembling modern royalty, and Wei Ying nods his approval, pleased that they had listened to him and complied with wearing costumes. 

Though, it would have been nice if Jin Zixuan had worn a peacock suit.

“Hey there, Jin Ling!” Wei Ying says, holding out his hand to the child for a high-five. “Do you remember me? Your favorite uncle! Your—”

“Okay, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” a new voice interrupts him, and Wei Ying looks deeper into the hallway to see his little brother trudging himself to their door. 

“Jiang Cheng!” Wei Ying exclaims. “Where is your costume?”

Jiang Cheng gives him a look. “Did you seriously think I was going to wear a fucking costume? You should be glad I’m even here in the first place! Wasting my precious time on this stupid party. Couldn’t you have just been, like, a normal fucking brother and let me call you on the morning of your birthday, talk to your sorry ass for like five minutes, and then move on with my life?”

Wen Qing suddenly appears out of nowhere, standing right next to Wei Ying and smugly holding her hand out. 

“My one thousand yuan, please.”

Wei Ying gapes at her. “What? No! I never actually agreed to the stupid bet!”

“Oh but you did,” Wen Qing says. 

“No, I did not.”

“Yes, you did.”

“What did you two bet on?” Jin Zixuan asks from somewhere behind them. 

Wen Qing is quick to respond before Wei Ying can protest any further. “I told him that Jiang Cheng wouldn’t come wearing a costume, but this guy had too much faith in his brother.”

Jiang Cheng snorts. “Slam fucking dunk.”

“A-Cheng!” Jiang Yanli scolds, poking her head out through the front door. “Don’t swear in front of the children!”

Jiang Cheng eyes Jin Ling skeptically, who in return stares right back at him with wide eyes. 

“Children?” he repeats with a scoff. “There’s only one—”

“Wei laoshi!”

Wei Ying breaks out into a smile when he hears the tiny, high-pitched voice. He turns around to see a little A-Yuan running through the hallway to the door of his apartment. Lan Zhan is walking behind him, his strides long and graceful as always, and the father and son duo are wearing matching rabbit costumes. It makes Wei Ying grin. 

Lan Zhan stops in front of him and holds out a plastic bag with a balloon design on it. “Wei Ying,” he says as Wei Ying takes the bag from his grasp, “happy birthday.”

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying says, trying his hardest to stop himself from peering into the gift bag. “You didn’t have to get me a gift!”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan supplies.

There’s a sudden pressure on Wei Ying’s left leg, and his eyes dart down to see A-Yuan completely wrapped completely around his calf. Wei Ying laughs, reaching down and patting the kid’s hair down. 

“Hey, A-Yuan!” he says. “Are you excited for today?”

“Mhm!” A-Yuan says, his grip tightening. “Baba said this is Wei laoshi’s birthday party and that I was specially invited!”

“Yeah!” Wei Ying nods. “A-Yuan is, after all, my favorite student!”

Lan Zhan catches his eye. “Do not give him ideas.”

Wei Ying waves it off, leading them all inside his apartment. “Oh, it’s okay. What’s a little love between teacher and student every now and then, am I right?”

Lan Zhan releases air through his nostrils. “Ridiculous.”

“Hey!” Jiang Cheng says as Lan Zhan walks through the door. He glares at him, lips tightening into a thin line. “I’ve never seen you before.” He crosses his arms and leans closer to Lan Zhan, who remains perfectly still under the sudden inspection. “Who are you? Why didn’t Wei Ying mention you?”

Lan Zhan clears his throat before Wei Ying can respond. “Hello. I am Lan Zhan. I am a teacher at Wei Ying’s school.”

Nie Huaisang, who suddenly appears out of nowhere, snorts. “That makes it sound like Wei-xiong is the student.” He holds out his hand for Lan Zhan to take. “I dunno if you know me, Lan laoshi. I’m Nie laoshi! I teach second grade.”

Lan Zhan looks at Nie Huaisang’s outstretched hand for a couple of seconds, before gently taking it and giving it a firm shake. 

“Is that your kid?” Nie Huaisang asks, looking over Lan Zhan’s shoulder and pointing at Jin Ling, who’s running around Wei Ying’s living room. Lan Zhan simply shakes his head, then gestures down to A-Yuan who is still standing by Wei Ying’s feet. 

“This is A-Yuan. He is a student of Wei Ying’s.”

“Oh, right. I almost forgot.”

Wei Ying snickers. “You did forget.”

“Oh!” Jiang Yanli exclaims, suddenly reappearing from the kitchen, where she had been with Wen Qing. She walks over to A-Yuan, bending down and gently touching the tips of her fingers to his chin. “Hello, there! I’m Wei laoshi’s jiejie!”

“Jiejie,” A-Yuan repeats, testing the word on his tongue. 

Jiang Yanli nods. “Yes! I’m his older sister. How old are you, A-Yuan ah?”

A-Yuan says, “I’m five.”

“Oh, great!” Jiang Yanli says. She then points over to Jin Ling, who’s rolling around on the floor now, laughing at something on the ceiling. “That’s my son, Jin Ling. He’s about four years younger than you.”

Wei Ying jumps in, eagerly seeing the teaching opportunity. “A-Yuan, if you are five and A-Ling is four years younger than you, how old is A-Ling?”

A-Yuan seems to think about this for a moment, before he responds, “One?”

Lan Zhan looks exceptionally proud. 

“Exactly!” Wei Ying says. He turns to Jiang Cheng. “See? I am an excellent educator.”

“What you are is a pain in the ass,” Jiang Cheng responds without missing a beat.

“Pain in the ass!” Jin Ling repeats, giggling.

Jiang Yanli gasps, turning to her brother and smacking his shoulder. “A-Cheng!”

Jiang Cheng at least has the shame to look a little guilty upon hearing the baby’s outburst, which Wei Ying absolutely relishes in. He openly cackles, ignoring the pointed glares his brother is sending him.

The remaining guests arrive, too, Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen decked out in matching suits and Wen Ning dressed as a ghost. Jiang Yanli claps her hands together to get everyone’s attention, beckoning Wen Qing out of the kitchen. When Wen Qing appears, she’s holding a ginormous cake, carefully moving to the dining table and setting it down.

Wei Ying’s eyes go wide. “Holy shit,” he mutters, ignoring the pointed looks he gets from both fathers in the room, “I literally forgot I was supposed to get a cake.”

His sister nods. “Yes, I was expecting that,” she says, and Wei Ying pouts at her. “Which is why I baked one myself.”

“Jie!” Wei Ying exclaims, eyes wide. 

Jiang Yanli waves him off. “Oh, please, it’s not a big deal, A-Ying.”

Jiang Cheng nods. “Yeah, if anything you should be thanking her for saving your pathetic ass. Who forgets to get a cake?”

“But if I didn’t forget, we would have two cakes,” Wei Ying points out.

“So?” his brother asks. “Who would complain about having two cakes?”

“Boys,” Jiang Yanli chides in that warning tone Wei Ying knows all too well. 

Wen Qing holds a lighter up in the air. She pointedly ignores the entire exchange going on between the siblings, using the stick in her hand to start a small flame and holding it against the candles that have been evenly spread out on the top. Wei Ying barely has time to admire the beautiful decorative flowers his sister has so generously placed around the words Happy Birthday Wei Ying! before everyone is bursting into song. 

He grins under the attention, quickly blowing the candles out and cutting two slices. He passes the first one to A-Yuan, and the second to Jin Zixuan.

“That’s not for you,” Wei Ying says as Jin Zixuan accepts the cake. “That’s for my darling nephew.”

“Your darling nephew can’t even eat cake,” Jin Zixuan says, before taking a plastic fork from the table and aggressively eating a large chunk of the slice. 

Wei Ying gasps. “A-Jie!” he screams. “Your husband is being mean to me on my birthday!”

“Your birthday is tomorrow,” Jiang Yanli says. 

“Jie!” Wei Ying exclaims, mocking offense. “Are you really gonna side with the peacock over your darling little brother?”

“You are anything but darling,” Jiang Cheng interrupts.

“No one asked you, asshole!”

“Asshole!” Jin Ling squeals. 

“A-Ying!”

“Baba?” A-Yuan asks, tugging on Lan Zhan’s leg. “What’s an asshole?”

“A word that you may not say,” Lan Zhan says. 

They all manage to gather around the dining table without much fuss afterwards, slipping into their respective seats. Wei Ying sits at the head of the table, of course, and Lan Zhan quietly takes the seat next to him. Wei Ying shoots him a friendly grin, and the sentiment is not returned.

Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan start serving everyone the dinner Wen Qing has ordered from Wei Ying’s favorite restaurant earlier in the day. When Wei Ying’s plate is full, he pops a carrot into his mouth and then uses his chopsticks to put the rest of his in both Lan Zhan and A-Yuan’s dishes. 

Lan Zhan gives him an alarmed look, while A-Yuan picks his carrots up and munches on them happily. 

“What?” Wei Ying asks, blinking innocently. 

“That was not necessary,” Lan Zhan says under his breath.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, “you gotta loosen up a bit! You eat, like, ten carrots every single day with your lunch. I know you like them.” He turns to the rest of the guests. “Isn’t Lan Zhan so cute? He’s like a little bunny rabbit!”

The tips of Lan Zhan’s ears turn bright pink as he buries himself into his meal. 

“Lan laoshi,” Song Lan says, “I was not aware that you have a son.”

Lan Zhan sets his utensils down. “A-Yuan has been under my care since last year,” he says. 

Wei Ying whines, “Why are all of you so formal? We’re not at school.”

Xiao Xingchen laughs at this, gently patting Song Lan’s shoulder. “I told Song laoshi about Lan Yuan because I saw him with Wei laoshi and Lan laoshi at school,” he says, “but he wouldn’t believe me. He told me I was crazy.”

“Don’t expose me,” Song Lan says, and there’s a chorus of laughter around the table. He turns to Lan Zhan. “I’m sorry, Lan laoshi. But when you’re constantly hearing one of the other fourth grade teachers talking about how good looking she thinks you are, it kind of… you know.”

Wei Ying thinks he sees the smallest hint of a smile on Lan Zhan’s face. 

“No offense taken,” Lan Zhan says.

There’s a flash of lightning outside, which makes everyone jump in surprise. A-Yuan immediately buries his head into Lan Zhan’s lap, and Wei Ying desperately wants to do the same. Lan Zhan looks unfazed, simply reaching forward for his glass of water and taking a long sip. 

“Oh dear,” Jiang Yanli says, eyeing the window. “It wasn’t raining that badly when we arrived.” Her observation is immediately followed by the pounding sound of thunder. 

“Baba,” A-Yuan whispers, his voice shaking as Lan Zhan gently runs a hand through his son’s hair. 

Wen Qing frowns from where she’s sitting next to her brother. She pulls her phone out and looks at something on it for a few seconds. “It doesn’t look like the rain is gonna stop anytime soon,” she says. “Did everyone come in their cars?”

“I took the train,” Jiang Cheng says. 

Lan Zhan’s eyes flicker down to A-Yuan, who’s still clinging to him out of fear. His eyes soften, but he still looks a little stricken. Wei Ying leans towards him with a small frown. 

“What happened?”

Lan Zhan looks up to meet his eye, and he looks to be hesitating for a moment.

“I…” He trails off, pinching his lips together. “Nevermind.”

“What?” Wei Ying asks. What’s wrong?”

“It is nothing,” Lan Zhan says, curt and quick to the point. Wei Ying wants to interrogate him further, but his roommate’s voice comes over his thoughts before he can say anything more. 

“You should stay the night here, then,” Wen Qing is saying to Jiang Cheng. 

Jiang Cheng’s eyes go wide for a moment. “What? Nah. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine.”

Jiang Yanli fixes her brother with a look. “A-Cheng! Don’t be rude. It’s not safe for you to be travelling far in this weather. You can stay here for tonight and then go back tomorrow morning.”

Jiang Cheng blanches at her, and before he can say anything, Wei Ying interrupts with a snicker. 

“Yeah, Chengcheng,” he drawls, a teasing glint to his eyes. “Wouldn’t you like to spend the night at your lovely brother’s place? Ooh! We can stay up and I can play pranks and scare the shit out of you for old time’s sake!”

Jiang Cheng glares at him. “Jin Zixuan and Jiejie recently adopted a dog. His name is Fairy and I will not hesitate to let him loose on you.”

Wei Ying feels the color drain from his face. 

“You—you wouldn’t.”

Jiang Cheng snorts. “Fucking try me.”

“Will you two please stop swearing in front of the kids?” Jiang Yanli says with an exasperated sigh.

Wei Ying looks at her accusingly. “Jie! You got a dog! How could you! I can never come over again!”

Jiang Yanli pointedly ignores him in favor of suddenly becoming very interested in the bib around Jin Ling’s neck. Wei Ying wants to yell some more—yelling is very cathartic, he thinks—but the crackling sound of thunder stops him right in his tracks. He shudders, still not completely used to it.

“Oh,” he hears Lan Zhan say, just loud enough for Wei Ying to be able to hear him. Wei Ying looks at him, his eyes widening when he sees that A-Yuan has fallen asleep in his father’s lap, and Lan Zhan is holding onto him looking like a lost bunny. Literally. He’s still wearing the fake bunny ears atop his head. 

Wei Ying reaches out and gently strokes A-Yuan’s cheek, careful not to wake him up.

“I am sorry,” Lan Zhan says, clearing his throat. “I was not expecting him to just…”

“It’s okay!” Wei Ying says quickly. “He’ll probably be more comfortable on an actual bed, though. Lan Zhan, you should take him and let him lay down in my room.”

Lan Zhan stares at him. “That is not necessary.”

A-Yuan’s head then promptly falls out of his lap, startling him and making him quickly reach down before anything drastic can happen. A-Yuan hums, stirring slightly, before knocking right back out into the land of dreams.

Wei Ying snickers, and Lan Zhan does not look very amused. 

“Let’s go,” he says, standing up and grabbing Lan Zhan’s wrist. Lan Zhan makes one of his signature mn noises, before standing up and gathering A-Yuan into his arms. A-Yuan leans against his father’s shoulder, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck and snuggling into his chest. The sight is so unbelievably endearing Wei Ying almost lets out a small scream. 

He leads them into the main hallway and clicks open the first door on the right, pushing it and letting Lan Zhan walk inside in front of him. Wei Ying gently pushes the door closed artfully so that there’s still enough light peering into the room, standing a little away from his bed in favor of watching Lan Zhan lay A-Yuan down and carefully pulling the blankets over him. He sits down next to his son, gently pushing a bit of hair out of his face and fondly looking over him.

He leans down, pressing his lips to his son’s forehead. 

“Goodnight, A-Yuan,” he whispers, and Wei Ying wills his heart not to burst from cuteness. Lan Zhan stands up then and turns around, stopping right in his tracks when he sees Wei Ying leaning against the wall, staring at him. There’s barely any light in the room, but Wei Ying can still make out Lan Zhan’s figure. It’s enough so that if he wants to walk up to him, they won’t bump into each other.

“Lan Zhan,” he starts. “What were you going to say earlier?”

Lan Zhan looks confused for a moment, and doesn’t answer.

Wei Ying continues, “I asked if something was wrong and you said it was nothing.” He releases a breath. “No offense, but you aren’t a very good liar.”

Lan Zhan seems to realize what he’s referring to, and he looks down at his feet. 

“Nurse Wen had asked if everyone came in their respective vehicles,” he says. 

Wei Ying raises an eyebrow. “Yeah? And?” When Lan Zhan seems to be hesitating again, realization dawns upon him. “Ohh,” he says. “You didn’t come in your car, did you?”

“Mn.”

Wei Ying releases a breathy laugh. “Is that all?”

“I… was not careful,” Lan Zhan says. “Your apartment is not too far from my own, and I thought it would be beneficial to get some fresh air. I did not realize the weather would turn out this way.”

Wei Ying glances outside the window, glad that the curtains are not drawn so he can look at the way the rain comes pounding down. He sighs. “This is so fitting,” he mutters. “The night before halloween. The night before my birthday the weather just has to be a pain in the ass.”

“It is not your fault.”

“Well, yeah, I know,” Wei Ying says, “but it’s still annoying.”

“Mn.”

“You can’t walk home like this,” Wei Ying says. “I won’t let you.”

Lan Zhan releases a breath. “I did not think you would. That is why I did not want to tell you.”

“You should just stay over tonight and—”

“Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying deflates. “Okay, yeah. Yeah, I know.”

Lan Zhan looks away. “It is not a big deal. I can walk home with A-Yuan.”

“Well, yeah, I know you can,” Wei Ying says, “but if you do you’re gonna catch a cold. And A-Yuan is just a child.” Suddenly, he gets an idea. “Oh! I know what you can do!”

Lan Zhan regards him with a look. “What?”

“I’ll drop you off!”

“Wei Ying—”

“No, seriously!” Wei Ying says quickly, cutting straight through whatever Lan Zhan is about to say. “I have a car. It makes the most sense! Plus, this way A-Yuan can stay asleep. It’s literally so perfect!” He gives himself a mental pat on the back for being so smart.

Lan Zhan, however, doesn’t seem all too convinced. 

“Listen,” Wei Ying says, “you said it yourself! Your place isn’t too far from mine. And it’s seriously not a big deal at all. You’re not inconveniencing me! Plus, I know you don’t want A-Yuan to fall sick.”

Lan Zhan seems to want to argue with this, but then he casts a glance over his shoulder to where A-Yuan is sleeping peacefully on Wei Ying’s mattress, tiny fists clenched around the sheets. There’s something in his eyes that Wei Ying can’t quite make out—he blames it on the darkness of the room. Lan Zhan turns to look back at him once again, and his teeth jut out to bite at his bottom lip. It’s a clear indication that he’s nervous. Wei Ying had never expected to see the tell from him.

“If… if you are okay with it,” Lan Zhan says finally. 

Wei Ying instantly breaks out into a smile. “Of course I’m okay with it!” he says. He glances at the watch on his wrist, faintly being able to make out the time. “It’s almost eight. Do you want to go now, or do you wanna wait around with the others for a bit? I was thinking about getting out some Emperor’s Smile. It’s my favorite.”

“I do not drink,” Lan Zhan says.

“Really?” Wei Ying asks. “Oh, well, I guess that makes sense. You know, since you have a kid and everything.”

“I have always had a low tolerance for alcohol.”

“Seriously?” Wei Ying asks, blinking. “Oh my God, now I have to go drinking with you! We totally should sometime.”

Lan Zhan glares at him. “Absolutely not.”

Wei Ying winks. “Don’t worry, Lan Zhan ah! I’ll convince you someday!”

Then, Lan Zhan says, “I sleep at nine.”

“Nine?”

“It is a habit of our household,” Lan Zhan says. “No one has ever missed curfew.”

“God, how many weird rules do you Lans have?” Wei Ying blanches. “Seriously, don’t you get tired?”

“Yes,” Lan Zhan says. “I get tired every day. At nine.”

“That’s not what I—you know what? Okay. Fine. Whatever. Cool. Nine.” Wei Ying rolls his eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Well then. If you have to be in bed by nine, we should definitely get going.”

At this, Lan Zhan nods. “We should.” 

“Alright, then! Let’s go!”

—

They manage to escape the scene without too many questions, and Wei Ying snags an umbrella from the coat rack and slings the handle around his wrist. Holding A-Yuan, Lan Zhan trails behind him as he leads the two down into the garage where Wei Ying’s car is parked. Lan Zhan sets A-Yuan down in the backseat, carefully buckling his seat belt before slipping into the passenger’s seat, right next to Wei Ying.

“Okay!” Wei Ying says enthusiastically, but not loud enough to wake the sleeping child in the back. He takes out his GPS from the compartment in front of Lan Zhan’s legs, turning it on. “What’s your address?”

Lan Zhan furrows his eyebrows. “Wei Ying, I can just give you directions.”

“Yeah, but it’s easier this way.”

Lan Zhan nods, before saying his address slowly so Wei Ying can type it into his little gadget. They buckle up as Wei Ying starts the car, reversing out of his parking spot and driving into the cold, rainy night. 

He immediately has to turn his windshield wipers on, wincing at the sound of the heavy raindrops hitting the car. In a single movement, he cranks up the heat and turns on the radio, pleased to find a soft, synth-pop classic humming over the speakers. He keeps the volume low, just in case A-Yuan decides to wake up.

He raises an eyebrow when he sees the destination time on the screen.

“Ten minutes?” he asks, looking to the side at Lan Zhan who is sitting with the most perfect posture ever—much too perfect for just sitting around in the car. “Lan Zhan,” he frowns, “your place is a ten minute drive from here. Were you seriously planning on walking back? How did you two even walk here in the first place?”

Lan Zhan hums. “I do not mind long walks.”

“Clearly,” Wei Ying snorts. “I’m glad you told me, though. I would have literally never forgiven myself if I found out later that I made you walk home in this disgusting weather.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, “you would not have made me do anything.”

“I’d still feel bad, though,” Wei Ying says. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Lan Zhan look away and out the window. “That is my job,” he says quietly.

Wei Ying blinks. “Huh? What do you mean?”

There’s a long moment of silence, which Wei Ying decides not to fill like he usually does. 

Finally, Lan Zhan speaks. “I do not feel great that you missed out on a large portion of your birthday party because of me.”

Out of all the conversations Wei Ying has had with him, this is by far the most he’s ever heard Lan Zhan speak, especially so openly and honestly. Sure, they talk over their daily lunches, but those are usually just Wei Ying chattering about anything and everything and Lan Zhan providing little nods and sound effects every now and then. Wei Ying doesn’t mind, of course, because he’s learned that that’s just how Lan Zhan is. He finds comfort in silence, and speaks so much by saying so very little. It’s never awkward—not in the slightest. In fact, Wei Ying thinks it’s quite nice to have someone listen to him so intently. 

Lan Zhan never makes him feel like he’s being a bother. Of course, he doesn’t know what he actually thinks—maybe Lan Zhan secretly hates him. 

But… he doesn’t think so. Not really.

“Lan Zhan,” he starts with a small laugh. “I’m not missing out on anything, trust me. It’s the same formula every single time everyone gets together.”

Wei Ying can almost hear the way Lan Zhan frowns upon hearing this.  

“You are still missing out on time you could be spending with your family,” he says next.

“Well, yeah, but it’s not like I’m doing nothing,” Wei Ying says. “I’m here, talking to you. And you’re my friend. My best friend, even. Remember? We talked about that!” He smiles cheekily. “And honestly? This is a lot of fun. I thrive off of adventure.”

“Mn.”

“We’re turning this horrible weather into a source of entertainment!” Wei Ying says as he turns the wheel. “And I like spending time with you. You may secretly hate me, but I think you’re a pretty cool person to hang out with! What would I ever do without our fun lunch meetups?” He finishes his spiel off by dramatically raising the back of his hand to his forehead. 

Lan Zhan hums. “I do not.”

Wei Ying blinks. “What?”

“Hate you,” Lan Zhan continues. “I do not hate you.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says, and it sounds dumb to even his own ears. “Okay. That’s. Um. Good. I’m glad.” He laughs awkwardly, and briefly wonders why he can hear the faint outline of his heart beating wildly in his chest. He gulps, his bottom lip quivering involuntarily. He pushes on the break. “Uh… we’re here.”

Lan Zhan looks around, nodding when he seems to recognize the parking lot of his apartment complex. He gathers his things together as Wei Ying rolls the car up to the front entrance. Wei Ying quickly puts the car into park, grabbing the umbrella and climbing out. He opens the umbrella above his head and jogs over to the other side of the car, ignoring the sloshing of rainwater against the soles of his sneakers.

He holds the umbrella out and over Lan Zhan as the latter reaches into the backseat and secures his arms around A-Yuan. Lan Zhan picks his son up with practiced ease and gathers him into his right arm, using his left hand to close the car door. He turns to Wei Ying, his eyes widening in surprise when he notices the umbrella that’s being held above both of their heads.

“Uh…” Wei Ying starts again, unsure of exactly what’s going on right now. “The umbrella. Take it.”

Lan Zhan stares at him. “No. It is okay. I just have to walk to the front door now.”

“I don’t want you to get drenched,” Wei Ying presses, pushing the umbrella handle further away from him till it’s right up against Lan Zhan’s chest. “Seriously. I have, like, twelve at home. You can give it back to me at school.”

“Wei Ying—”

“Lan Zhan.”

Lan Zhan huffs, before raising his left hand and tightening it around the handle, just above where Wei Ying’s hand still is. Wei Ying stares at their hands for a long second, before recoiling his and hiding it behind his back. Lan Zhan is holding the umbrella out in a way so that it still shelters both of them, but their close proximity is suddenly making Wei Ying’s head ache with a strange type of discomfort.

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan suddenly says, causing Wei Ying to snap out of his thoughts. 

“For what? The umbrella? I told you, it’s no—”

“For everything,” Lan Zhan says.

Wei Ying’s mouth immediately seals shut.

“Thank you for inviting me and my son to your birthday party,” Lan Zhan continues, “and for dropping us home. I am very grateful to you for your kindness.”

“It’s… it’s seriously okay,” Wei Ying says. “Don’t worry about it! You’re welcome. It was the least I could do.”

Lan Zhan nods. “Will you be okay getting home?”

“Yeah.”

“Text me when you do.”

Wei Ying laughs. “I’ll make sure to do that before nine.”

At this, Wei Ying makes out the ghost of a smile on Lan Zhan’s face. 

—

wei ying >>> lan zhan

wei ying: i’m home!!!!!! ^__^ the party’s still going strong btw ur missing out

lan zhan: I am glad you are having fun.

wei ying: yeah yeah sleep well prestigious hanguang-jun :D

lan zhan: Hanguang-jun?

wei ying: idk it seems like a fitting title for u

wei ying: ya wtv ignore me!!!! goodnight lan zhan!!! i’ll see u at sch on monday!! tell a-yuan i love him <3

lan zhan: Wei Ying.

wei ying: yea??

lan zhan: Happy birthday.

wei ying: silly

wei ying: it’s not my birthday yet

lan zhan: Oh.

wei ying: pfft goodnight!!!!!

[00:00] lan zhan: Wei Ying. Happy birthday.

wei ying: DID U SRSLY STAY UP PAST UR BEDTIME WTF LAN ZHAN 

wei ying: TO WISH ME A HAPPY BDAY????? I CANT BELIEVE U

wei ying: WHAT THE FUCK

wei ying: LAN ZHAN COME BACK WHERE DID U GOOOOOOO

lan zhan: Goodnight.

wei ying: LAN ZHAAAAAANNNNNN

Chapter Text

Wei Ying wakes up the following morning with a delicate hum in his forehead. It’s probably from all the alcohol he drank last night, but he knows it wasn’t enough to give him a genuine hangover. He groans, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and hoisting himself out of bed. It’s a Sunday, which means he doesn’t have work, but it also means he has absolutely no idea what time it is. 

He reaches for his phone, unplugging it from the charger and tapping the screen once. It’s almost ten in the morning, and there are countless messages waiting for him to be read. They’re all birthday wishes from his family and friends, and the revelation makes a small smile emerge on his face.

He trudges out of his room, walking into the kitchen to see Wen Qing leaning against the counter on her phone with a mug of coffee in her hands, and Jiang Cheng at the table, working his way through an egg.

Wei Ying scrunches his nose in at the sight of his brother.

“Ugh, right, you stayed over.”

Jiang Cheng looks up, an annoyed little tick near his left eyebrow. “Your couch is the most uncomfortable piece of shit I’ve ever had to lay my poor, precious back on.”

Wei Ying rolls his eyes. “Yeah yeah, you ungrateful slob.”

“Happy birthday, Wei Ying,” Wen Qing deadpans from where she is, setting her mug down and sighing deeply. “Do you want breakfast? I made some of your favorites because it’s your birthday.”

Wei Ying grins, sliding into the seat opposite Jiang Cheng. “You’d cook for me anyways.”

Wen Qing grimaces. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself.”

Jiang Cheng grins. “Happy birthday, shitface.”

Wei Ying sticks his tongue out at him. “Thanks, motherfucker.”

Wen Qing drops a plate of rice noodles, tofu pudding, and spicy congee in front of Wei Ying, whose eyes widen comically at the sight of the food. He thanks Wen Qing aggressively before taking his utensils and digging in, happily slurping his way through his breakfast.

Jiang Cheng takes a long sip of his coffee, before speaking.

“So. What’s going on between you and that Lan teacher?”

Wei Ying promptly chokes on his bite of noodles. He clears his throat, nodding gratefully to Wen Qing who is hitting his back for him. He turns to Jiang Cheng, swallowing. 

“What are you talking about?”

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. “Oh don’t play dumb with me. You two went to your room to put his kid down to sleep and didn’t come out for, like, fifteen minutes. And when you did, it was to literally rush out the next second! To his fucking house! What kind of impression do you think it gave off?”

Wei Ying comes to a horrifying halt at the new information.

“What?!”

“You’re so fucking annoying,” Jiang Cheng says. “While you were gone, it was literally all everyone was talking out. We were honestly just counting on you to never even come back.”

Oh. So that’s why everyone was giving him surprised looks when he had entered his apartment again, only slightly drenched from the rain. Wei Ying had just shrugged it off, thinking it was just due to the suddenness of his arrival. However, that clearly was not the case.

“I went to drop him and A-Yuan off because it was raining so hard! They had walked here together. I couldn’t just let them go back in that weather! That’s what we were talking about in my room, too!”

Jiang Cheng levels him with an unimpressed glare. 

Wei Ying groans. “I’m telling you the truth!”

“Okay,” Jiang Cheng says, “doesn’t change the fact that you still went out of your way to drop them off.”

“Okay, well, newsflash! I’m not a shitty person!”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Do you wanna fucking go?”

“Yes!” Jiang Cheng says. “I actually do want to fucking go. I want to leave.” He turns to face Wen Qing, who just looks extremely tired. “This was nice and all. Thank you for letting me stay the night, but if I look at my brother’s face for a single second longer I swear something bad is going to happen.”

Wen Qing waves him off, gesturing to the front door without a word. She turns around, moving her attention to the dishes in the sink. 

Jiang Cheng looks down at Wei Ying, who’s still sitting with a dumbfounded expression painting his features. 

“You are the dumbest person I know,” he says. “Fucking turkeys are smarter than you.”

“Shut the fuck up!”

“Seriously, I already thought something was up by the way you two were acting at the dinner table,” Jiang Cheng continues, ignoring him. “And then that show you two put on. Fucking disgusting. Don’t even try to convince me that there’s nothing going on there.”

“What do you mean?” Wei Ying presses. “I was acting perfectly normal at dinner!”

This time, it’s Wen Qing who speaks up. She heaves out a sigh. “Wei Ying, you literally called him cute. In front of all of us. And then asked if we thought the same way. You called him a bunny rabbit, if I’m not mistaken. Wen Ning asked me if Lan laoshi was your boyfriend after you left with him, and I had to calmly explain to everyone that you two are just—”

“Friends!” Wei Ying finishes for her. “We’re best friends!”

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. “Best friends. Uh huh. Sure.”

“Why are you even still here?”

“I don’t know,” Jiang Cheng says. “But I will not be sticking around to find out. Goodbye!” 

And with that, he’s out the door, leaving Wei Ying sitting completely dumbfounded at the dining table with Wen Qing peering at him pitifully. She walks over and places a hand on his shoulder. 

“You,” she says, “are a mess”

Wei Ying groans when she lets go, rubbing the spot her hand was on. “Shut up.”

—

wei ying >>> lan zhan

wei ying: lan ZHANN

lan zhan: Wei Ying.

wei ying: the sch open house is this week ,, obv u aren’t gonna come to a-yuan’s meeting thing bc u have to deal w ur own children’s parents right

wei ying: so who will i b having the absolute Pleasure of meeting on friday?

lan zhan: My brother will be going in my place.

wei ying: YOU HAVE A BROTHER!!!! older or younger? what’s his name?? ARE U GUYS like super similar or super different??? hes prob way nicer than friggin Jiang Cheng -_-

lan zhan: Older. His name is Lan Huan.

lan zhan: We are pretty similar.

wei ying: OK! good 2 kno i am looking forward to it :D

lan zhan: I will let him know.

wei ying: heh he

—

When he sees him at school on Monday, the first thing that comes to Wei Ying’s mind is that Lan Zhan looks incredibly tired. 

He catches his shoulder before school begins, and Lan Zhan immediately stops to look at him. Wei Ying’s eyebrows furrow in concern when he sees the way his friend’s eyes are drooping, and his usually perfect posture is lagging ever so slightly. 

“Lan Zhan?” he asks. “Are you okay? You look awful.”

In hindsight, it may be the best thing to say to him—but Lan Zhan doesn’t really seem to care.

“Wei Ying,” he greets with a nod. “I am fine.”

“Where’s A-Yuan?”

“A-Yuan is at home,”  Lan Zhan says. “He fell sick last night.”

“Oh, shit,” Wei Ying says, his hands coming up to cover his mouth. There’s no doubt about it; A-Yuan definitely caught a cold because of the rain on Saturday, and it seems like no matter how hard they had tried to shelter him, it hadn’t ended up working.

“Mn,” Lan Zhan says, reaching up to rub his temples. “My brother will be taking care of him today.”

It’s clear that Lan Zhan had been awake for a majority of the night, tending to his son and making sure he was feeling okay. Something knots in Wei Ying’s stomach as he sees Lan Zhan’s dark circles and flushed cheeks. 

“You should go home and get some sleep,” he says. He contemplates whether it would be appropriate to place his hand on Lan Zhan’s arm as a comforting gesture, and ultimately decides against it. “Seriously. You look really tired. Don’t worry about things here, I’m sure you’ll be able to find a last-minute substitute that can—”

“Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying blinks up at him. “Lan Zhan, you don’t wanna catch a cold too, do you? Then you’ll end up missing even more school!”

“I have my own responsibilities here,” Lan Zhan says, looking away and putting his hands behind him once again. He catches Wei Ying’s eye, and offers him what Wei Ying thinks is supposed to be a reassuring quirk of his lips. 

“Did you go to the doctor?” Wei Ying asks, ignoring this. “Wen Qing can take a look at him! Or, actually—” He stops to grimace, lifting his hand and placing the back of his palm against Lan Zhan’s forehead. “—you might want to get yourself checked out. You’re not burning up right now, but there’s definitely a risk.”

Lan Zhan reaches his hand up and clasps it around Wei Ying’s wrist, pushing it away from him. He doesn’t let go, and Wei Ying regards him curiously. 

“Then it is good I am not at home right now, with the sick child,” he says simply, dropping his hand and returning to his initial position. “I hope you will excuse A-Yuan’s absence today.”

Wei Ying nods slowly. “Yeah, yeah, of course. I’ll let the office know. Don’t worry.”

“I have already told them,” Lan Zhan says. “A guardian has to.”

“Right.”

Lan Zhan glances at the clock on the wall opposite them. “I will get going now,” he says before beginning to walk away.

“Wait, Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying calls. “We’re still on for lunch today, right?”

Lan Zhan stops where he is and glances back at him. “Of course. There is no need for you to ask.”

Wei Ying shuts up at that, cowering back in on himself and rubbing his arms. He suppresses a shudder from the aftershock of the strange exchange, before shaking himself out and plastering on his regular confident smile. He strides over to his classroom door, unlocking it and letting himself inside. As his students begin to file in, Wei Ying greets them and tells them to take their seats and get started on their work. 

He goes over the art supplies he keeps in his room, picking out a sheet of baby blue construction paper and cutting it into a small rectangle. He walks back to his desk, taking a seat with an assortment of markers. 

He carefully draws a cartoon rabbit to the best of his abilities, only stopping a couple of times to look up the correct references on his laptop. He writes the words Feel better soon, A-Yuan! on the top and decorates the border with colorful stickers and glitter. 

Pleased with the final product, he slips it into the top drawer of his desk and stands up, ready to start his lesson.

At lunchtime, Wei Ying leads his students to the cafeteria before bounding back. He gathers his things, remembering to take the card with him, and goes upstairs to Lan Zhan’s classroom. Lan Zhan is already sitting at their usual spot, his computer out in front of him as he types relentlessly on the keys. Wei Ying walks up to him, peering over his shoulder to take a look. 

Lan Zhan is texting someone on his laptop, and with a closer look, Wei Ying realizes he’s typing up intricate details on certain medications. He sees the recipient is someone named Lan Huan, who Wei Ying remembers to be Lan Zhan’s older brother.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan greets, not looking up from his screen, “you are here.”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying says, sitting down in the chair next to him. “What’re you doing?”

Lan Zhan presses the enter key quite roughly before looking up to meet his eye. “I was informing my brother of the correct dosage of medicine to give A-Yuan.”

Wei Ying raises an eyebrow. From what he had seen, Lan Zhan had been typing paragraphs of text. He smiles to himself, knowing just how careful Lan Zhan was being and how important his son is to him.

He takes his lunch out, leftovers from the meals Wen Qing had made for him yesterday. Lan Zhan is idly sipping at his flask, his eyes closed as he seemingly takes in every single swallow.

“What do you have today?” Wei Ying asks, gesturing to the flask. 

Lan Zhan holds it up for him to see. “Radish and carrot soup,” he says. “I made some this morning for A-Yuan to have and did not have time to make anything else for myself.”

“What is with you guys and carrots?”

“They are very tasty.”

Wei Ying snorts, pushing his little covered bowl of congee out in front of him. “This is some of my favorite stuff. You should take it back home with you and give it to A-Yuan.”

Lan Zhan eyes it carefully. “What… is that?”

“It’s congee!”

Lan Zhan gives him a look. “I was not under the impression that congee is red.”

“Yeah, well,” Wei Ying says, “I like mine spicy.”

“Spicy,” Lan Zhan repeats.

“Yeah!” Wei Ying exclaims, opening the container and sticking a spoon inside. He shoves some onto the utensil and holds it up, using his other hand to make sure none of it drops onto the table. 

He waves it in front of Lan Zhan’s face. 

“Here! Try it! You’re bound to like it.”

Lan Zhan stares at the food for a long moment, then looks up at Wei Ying. Wei Ying wiggles his eyebrows, leaning forwards more so that the congee is closer to Lan Zhan’s mouth. 

Then, suddenly, Lan Zhan opens his mouth and rocks towards the spoon, elegantly placing his lips onto it and taking the food. Wei Ying’s fingers almost completely loosen around the spoon, surprise etched into his features. He had just been doing that as a joke, but…

He watches as Lan Zhan chews, then swallows. His expression does not change, except for the slight tinge of pink around his ears. 

“Um…”

“It,” Lan Zhan begins. He stops to cough once, which turns into multiple more violent coughs. He squeezes his eyes shut, and intakes a long breath. “I do not think that it is suitable for a child.”

“So… you like it?” Wei Ying asks. 

Lan Zhan seems to be painfully thinking about what to respond with. He hums for a moment, before speaking just loud enough for Wei Ying to hear, “It is not bad.”

Wei Ying breaks out into a smile. “Seriously? Oh thank God! By the way you reacted to it, I thought you were gonna tell me you hate it or something!”

“Did you cook that yourself?” Lan Zhan asks.

“I mean, I usually do,” Wei Ying says, “but this specific one was made by Wen Qing. And let me tell you, she is definitely not as generous when it comes to putting in the spices. The good stuff.”

Lan Zhan stares at him. “Wei Ying’s is even spicier?”

Wei Ying nods seriously. “Of course!” To accentuate his point, he spoons a large mouthful into his mouth and swallows greedily. “This is, like, nothing compared to true spicy congee! I’ll have to make it for you sometime, Lan Zhan! I think you’re gonna like it a lot!”

Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything. He reaches for his bottle of water and takes a long sip. 

“I see,” he says.

“How are you feeling, by the way?” Wei Ying asks, his face morphing into a frown. “Better? You were really tired in the morning, Lan Zhan.”

“I am feeling good,” Lan Zhan responds. “Thank you.”

Wei Ying nods. “Yeah, of course.” Then, he remembers something. “Oh! Right! I almost forgot!” He reaches into the front pocket of his bag, taking the blue card he had made for A-Yuan and sliding it over the table. “I made this for A-Yuan before class this morning. See? It’s a bunny rabbit!”

Lan Zhan’s eyes follow his, and when he looks down to the card, his eyes widen ever so slightly. His cheeks puff out, and the corners of his lips quirk up into a faint—yet very prominent at the same time— smile. He gently picks up the card, running his fingers over the words and the drawing. 

“You like it?” Wei Ying asks, his chest swelling with pride. “You’re smiling!”

And this time, when Wei Ying points out his smile, Lan Zhan doesn’t release it. Instead, he turns to look directly at him and nods furiously. 

“A-Yuan will love it,” he says. 

“Aw, you think? That’s great!” Wei Ying exclaims, clapping his hands. “I spent two of my three braincells on it!”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, setting the card down. “You did not have to.”

Wei Ying frowns. “What? Of course I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to!”

At this, Lan Zhan’s eyes dart away, like he’s deeply contemplating something. Wei Ying has begun to draw various conclusions from the sparse variety of facial expressions Lan Zhan shows—a fact that he is very proud of. Lan Zhan looks a bit conflicted right now, and Wei Ying briefly wonders why.

“You did not have to,” he says again. “Wei Ying. I hope you do not think you owe us something as A-Yuan’s teacher.”

“Of course I don’t,” Wei Ying says, now incredibly confused. Does Lan Zhan seriously think Wei Ying is doing this for another reason than just simply wanting to? “Lan Zhan, what are you talking about? I love A-Yuan. I want him to feel better.”

Lan Zhan sucks in a hard breath at the confession, and he quickly looks away from Wei Ying’s gaze. He opens his laptop up again, staring blankly at it for a moment too long before closing it again and turning back to his previous position. His eyes bare directly into Wei Ying’s, hard and articulate. Wei Ying wonders if he should be looking away, but he can’t seem to tear his eyes away.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, “do not say things you do not mean.”

“What? I—”

“A-Yuan is your student,” Lan Zhan continues, interrupting him with ease. “It is natural for you to feel like you have a moral obligation to take care of him. It is your sense of responsibility.”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, eyebrows furrowing. “You are my best friend, and A-Yuan is your son. And even if he wasn’t!”

Lan Zhan purses his lips. “You should not show favoritism to your student like this.”

Wei Ying can’t help but grin. “It’s not a big deal till it’s made into a big deal.”

“You have said that before.”

“Have I?” Wei Ying blinks, then laughs. “Yeah, I say it a lot. Life motto!”

“Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying’s eyes flick up to meet him. He sends him a lazy, lopsided grin. 

“Yeah?”

“Do you really want to make congee for A-Yuan?”

Huh?

“What?” 

Lan Zhan narrows his gaze on him, like what he’s saying requires a great deal of effort. “It will have to be the regular kind. With no spices.”

“What?”

The bell rings then, and Lan Zhan sighs as he stands up. He’s diverting his eyes away from Wei Ying now as he gathers his things together. Wei Ying stands up with him, a smile slowly creeping its way onto his features. He darts left and right, trying to make Lan Zhan look at him to no avail.

“Lan Zhan,” he choruses as the man in question tries to walk back to his desk. “Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan.”

Lan Zhan flips around on his heel, fixing Wei Ying with the meanest of glares he’s ever seen. Wei Ying, however, can’t even bring it in himself to care. This is the most he’s ever gotten out of Lan Zhan for the entire duration of their friendship. 

“Lan Zhan!”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, exasperated. 

Wei Ying grins, then laughs at the top of his lungs. “To answer your question,” he says, “yes. I would love to make congee for your son. I will have it ready for him tomorrow morning! Delicious, hot, and disgustingly bland!”

Lan Zhan looks down at his hands. 

“There is no need for that.”

Wei Ying blinks, confused. “Huh? But I thought you said—”

“I will not bring A-Yuan to school tomorrow. If you give me the congee tomorrow it will be cold by the time I get it to him.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says. He swallows. “Um. Then I can… make it tomorrow night? And bring it on Wednesday?”

Lan Zhan shakes his head. “It would be most ideal if A-Yuan can eat it at the peak of his illness.”

“Um…” Wei Ying trails off, unsure what to say. “Then… you want me to make it today?”

Lan Zhan nods. 

Wei Ying’s lips part in surprise. “Huh? How would that work? I need to make it at home.”

“You may come over to my apartment after school with me,” Lan Zhan says, his expression visibly tightening. “If you would like to. I have everything you would need in my kitchen.”

Oh.

Wei Ying gasps dramatically, his hands flying up to cover his face. Lan Zhan ignores this and walks over to the door of his classroom where his students are beginning to file in. He greets each of them with a nod and tells them to go to their respective seats. 

“Wei Ying, you should go back to your class now,” Lan Zhan says when he notices Wei Ying still standing in the middle of the room, dumbfounded expression on his face. 

“Lan laoshi,” a young girl says, “who’s this?”

“This is Wei laoshi,” Lan Zhan says. “He is a first grade teacher.”

This manages to snap Wei Ying back to reality. He blinks a few times, still getting over the initial shock from Lan Zhan’s proposal. He gulps, looking down at the girl who had spoken. 

When he sees her confused expression, he smiles and reaches down for a high-five. The girl returns it, albeit a little reluctantly. It makes him laugh. “Ah, Lan Zhan ah! They are truly your students. Hello! I am Wei laoshi! I’m Lan laoshi’s bestest best friend.”

The girl nods and bows. “Hello, Wei laoshi.”

“I’ll be off now!” Wei Ying says, sliding right past Lan Zhan and waving. “And Lan Zhan, I’ve decided to take you up on your offer! Come downstairs after school so we can leave together. I’ll have to text Wen Qing about it. See you later!”

Lan Zhan nods stiffly as Wei Ying leaves. And Wei Ying? Wei Ying is on top of the moon.

—

wei ying >>> wen qingwingfling

wei ying: i wont b coming home w u after sch today!!!! so u can go ahead w/out me

wen qingwingfling: okay, but why? is there a meeting i wasn’t aware of?

wei ying: nope!!! lan zhan invited me over!!! a-yuan is sick so i’m gna make him some congee :D

wen qingwingfling: …

wen qingwingfling: okay

wen qingwingfling: have fun

wei ying: i will :D BYEBYE!

—

Lan Zhan has a nice car. It’s white and sleek and the seats are super comfortable. They’re plush, soft, and the minute Wei Ying slips into the passenger seat, he never wants to leave. He sinks himself into the cushion, and Lan Zhan fiddles with the heating system for a second before buckling his seatbelt. 

Wei Ying softly gasps. “Oh—Lan Zhan. Heated seats? You spoil me!”

“It is only about a ten minute ride, Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says as he backs out of his parking spot. “Do not get too comfortable.”

“You know,” Wei Ying drawls, ignoring him, “I distinctly remember the apartment complex I drove you to on Saturday was very fancy. It may have been super dark, but I have excellent eyesight.”

“Mn.”

“I can’t believe my best friend is rich!” Wei Ying exclaims as they pull out of the school and into the main roads. “No, seriously though. Why the sudden invite?”

“We are friends.”

“The best!” Wei Ying agrees immediately. “But, like, it was so random. You almost gave me a heart attack, Lan Zhan!”

“It was not random,” Lan Zhan says, “you were the one who offered first.”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t think you’d actually listen to me.”

Lan Zhan visibly frowns. “Wei Ying. If you are uncomfortable, we can—”

“No!” Wei Ying quickly says, shaking his hands out in front of his chest. “No, no. I am definitely not uncomfortable. Just surprised.”

“Mn.” Then, “A-Yuan will appreciate your efforts.”

“Does he know I’m coming? Did you tell your brother?” Wei Ying gasps. “Oh! Am I going to get to meet your brother before the open house? That’s so exciting!”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan nods. “Lan Huan will be leaving once we arrive, but I have not told him that you are accompanying me.”

“Okay!” Wei Ying says. “Sounds good to me! It’ll be the best surprise for A-Yuan. And for your brother, I guess, though he doesn’t know I even exist.” He pauses. “Hey, he won’t think I’m some kind of serial killer, right? Someone who drugged you and made you take me to your home so I can steal your money?”

Lan Zhan turns his head to shoot him a look. 

“Ge is aware of your existence,” he says simply, evidently ignoring the rest.

Wei Ying’s eyes go wide. “Huh? Seriously? He is?” His lips part as a smile overtakes his features. “Oh my gosh, Lan Zhan. Did you tell your brother about me? That’s so—”

“We’re here,” Lan Zhan cleanly interrupts as he pulls into a parking spot. Wei Ying blinks; he hadn’t realized the time had passed so quickly. Shaking it off, he unbuckles his seatbelt and grabs his bag, climbing out of the car and skipping over to where Lan Zhan is currently locking it with his fancy key. Lan Zhan glances at him, nodding for him to follow. 

Wei Ying walks a few feet behind him as they make their way into the building and to where the elevators are. He had been right: this place is massive and sparkly. He almost wants to bring it up, but Lan Zhan is clearly doing his best to ignore everyone and everything around him.

They get inside the elevator, and Lan Zhan presses the button for the seventh floor. Wei Ying is quiet for the entirety of the ride, and Lan Zhan is too. It’s a comfortable silence, though—one that Wei Ying has begun to get quite used to given all the time he spends with the man.

When they arrive at his floor, Lan Zhan walks out first and through the corridor. He stops in front of one of the doors, reaching toward the doorbell. 

Wei Ying quickly grabs his arm before he can press the button, making Lan Zhan spin around to face him with a confused expression. 

“A-Yuan might be asleep,” Wei Ying says, putting his free hand up to his lips and shushing. Lan Zhan’s eyes widen, and he nods. When Wei Ying lets go of his grip on his wrist, Lan Zhan clears his throat and raises his knuckles to the door, gently knocking. There’s a rustling sound behind the door, before it opens widely and Wei Ying comes face to face with… well, he’s pretty damn sure it’s Lan Zhan’s brother, given how similar the two look.

“A-Zhan!” Lan Huan says, beaming from ear to ear, and— okay. So Lan Zhan had been wrong on the whole very similar thing. “You’re back! How was—oh? Who is this?” He’s looking directly at Wei Ying, who can’t help but gulp from the sudden attention. 

Before he can say anything, Lan Zhan jumps in and does the introductions himself. 

“Brother, this is Wei Ying,” he says. “Wei Ying, this is my older brother, Lan Huan.”

“Nice to meet you!” Wei Ying says quickly, extending his hand for a shake.

Lan Huan stares at him for a moment, before he smiles and wraps his own hand firmly around Wei Ying’s. “So this is the famous Wei laoshi I’ve heard so much about.”

“Brother.”

“You have?” Wei Ying asks, letting go of Lan Huan’s hand and blinking rapidly. He turns to Lan Zhan. “So you have been talking about me to your—”

“Let us go inside,” Lan Zhan says, cutting him off. Wei Ying frowns playfully before nodding and following him into the apartment. “Brother, how was A-Yuan?” Lan Zhan asks as he sets his bag down. “Is he any better? Where is he?”

“A-Yuan is asleep right now,” Lan Huan says, voice dripping with warmth. “You can go check on him later. He just fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago, so he should be out for a while.”

Lan Zhan nods. “Did you give him his medication?”

“I did,” Lan Huan says. “Exactly how you told me to.”

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan says. He then nods his head slightly to where Wei Ying is standing. “Wei Ying is here to help me make congee for him.”

“Oh!” Lan Huan says. “I see! Okay. I should get out of your hair, then.”

Lan Zhan’s eyebrow ticks, just enough for Wei Ying to catch it. “Brother, you are more than welcome to stay till dinner.”

Lan Huan smiles, then shakes his head. “Oh, no, don’t worry about me, A-Zhan. I have some work to do anyways. I should get going.”

“Alright,” Lan Zhan says. 

“It was nice meeting you, Wei laoshi,” Lan Huan says as he walks over to where his shoes are stored in the entrance closet. “I suppose I will be seeing you on Friday? For the school open house?”

“Yeah!” Wei Ying nods. “Oh, and just Wei Ying’s fine.”

Lan Huan’s smile widens at this. “Then you may also just call me Lan Huan,” he says. He walks over to the couch and grabs his bag, slinging it over his shoulder and nodding towards his younger brother. “I will get going now, then. Let A-Yuan know that I left a little early, okay, A-Zhan?”

“Mn.”

“Goodbye!” Lan Huan says one last time. And then, just like that, he’s gone.

Wei Ying looks over to Lan Zhan, only to find him already in the kitchen, rustling through the huge cabinets and pulling out random ingredients. Wei Ying walks over to him and leans against the counter with crossed arms, casually observing him from afar. Lan Zhan seems to notice this quite quickly, and he turns to pass him a strange look. 

“What’re you doing?” Wei Ying asks. 

Lan Zhan’s hand stills over the pepper he’s holding. “Will Wei Ying be staying for dinner?”

“Dinner?” Wei Ying blinks. “I’m allowed to stay for dinner?”

“If you would like to, you may stay for dinner.”

Wei Ying stares at him for a couple of seconds, noticing the way Lan Zhan’s shoulders are rigid as he awaits his response. He looks like the regular image of himself, fluid motions guiding him through the kitchen, but there’s definitely something. And no, that’s not just Wei Ying’s ego talking. He has some class. And some self awareness. 

“Of course I’ll stay for dinner, then!”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan says, taking out a knife and a cutting board and beginning to dice the vegetable into tiny pieces. “I will make enough for the three of us, then.”

“You cook?” Wei Ying asks, walking up behind him and peering at Lan Zhan’s hands closely. “Wait. That’s a stupid question. Of course you cook. You literally told me.” He grins. “I cannot wait to eat the prestigious Hanguang-jun’s food.”

“Mn.”

“Okay!” Wei Ying says, clapping his hands. “Where’s your rice? I have some congee to make!”

Lan Zhan walks over to a cabinet by his legs, opening it and passing Wei Ying a small measuring cup. Wei Ying looks into the cabinet to see a huge bag of rice, and he throws Lan Zhan a thumbs up before measuring out the correct amount he needs. Then, he gathers a hefty amount of water into a large pot and places it on the gas.

Beside him, Lan Zhan is carefully looking between two carrots in his hands. Upon further inspection, Wei Ying notices a huge drawer in the corner of the kitchen—it’s filled to the brim with, well, carrots.

“Oh my God,” he says incredulously. “You have, like, probably around three hundred carrots in there.”

“Not even one hundred,” Lan Zhan responds when he selects the carrot in his left hand. The other one goes straight back into the drawer, and he walks back over to where the cutting board is, beginning to carefully slice the orange vegetable. 

“What’re you making?” Wei Ying asks curiously as he mixes together his rice and water. 

“Noodle soup. It is good for A-Yuan. He likes it when he is sick,” Lan Zhan responds. Then, as an afterthought, he adds, “With carrots.”

“Of course with carrots,” Wei Ying says, rolling his eyes. “Oh, wait! That’s right! You have pet bunnies, right? Can I meet them? Please? Please please please? Please?”

Lan Zhan stops his relentless begging with a huff. “The rabbits are in the living room,” he says. “You may go and say hello once you are further into your meal prep process.”

Wei Ying pouts. “Do you not trust me enough to think I can’t handle making some boring old congee?”

Lan Zhan shoots him a calculating look.

Wei Ying quickly looks away. “Alright, alright! Fine.” 

He gets back to work, managing to find a large wooden spoon without Lan Zhan’s help and dipping it into the pot. He stirs idly, heaving out a sigh.

“This is when I’d start to pour in the chili,” he says wistfully. “Oh, yum. I can almost taste it.”

“You had some earlier today with your lunch,” Lan Zhan says without even looking at him.

“I know, but you can never have enough spicy congee,” Wei Ying says. “You know Jin Ling, my nephew? Once I made him eat some of it and I ended up being banned from my sister’s house for like a month. The peacock was furious. It was so worth it.”

“Mn.”

“Jie is relentless when it comes to A-Ling,” Wei Ying continues, “but since I’m family, she can't really do anything about it.” He stops to chuckle. “What can I say? She loves me too much!”

“Do you miss being away from your family?”

The question comes as a bit of a surprise to Wei Ying—he hadn’t been expecting an actual, legitimate question from Lan Zhan regarding his personal life. It’s not like he’s angry—far from it—but it does still come as a bit of a shock. He smiles, then shakes his head. He doesn’t even know if Lan Zhan is looking at him to see it, but he doesn’t care all too much either. 

“Not really,” he supplies. “I mean, I do have my days, of course. But it isn’t like they’re halfway across the world or something. I can still go and visit them if I want to, or they can always come over to my place instead.” He grimaces. “On second thought, maybe Jiang Cheng wouldn’t come to visit me, but he is literally the only exception.”

“Your brother is…” Lan Zhan trails off, as if searching for the right word, “... interesting.”

Wei Ying snorts. “Interesting? He’s insane! Do you know what he told me yesterday morning?”

Lan Zhan turns to face him.

Wei Ying continues, “He asked if there was something going on between us!” He sighs, letting go of his hold on the spoon and crossing his arms. “Apparently, it… didn’t really give off the correct impression. Me dropping you and A-Yuan home.”

He surveys Lan Zhan’a face carefully, taking note of the way his eyes dart to the floor and the tip of his nose dusts a rosy shade of pink. 

“I see.”

Wei Ying releases a long breath. “Yeah, so, he’s horrible. And he’s super annoying if you couldn’t. If you ever are unfortunate to meet him again, please don’t feel bad about ignoring his existence entirely.”

“He is Wei Ying’s brother,” Lan Zhan says. “I will not do anything of the sort.”

“Well he’s not my real brother or anything.”

At this, Lan Zhan’s stare on him hardens. 

“I was adopted,” Wei Ying explains. “Jiang Cheng and Jie aren’t my real brother and sister, but like, they might as well be.”

“Family is not determined by blood,” Lan Zhan says firmly. Then, a little quieter, “I should know.”

Wei Ying’s mind darts to A-Yuan. “Oh, that’s right,” he starts. “On Saturday you said something about how A-Yuan has been with you for the past year.” He stops to make sure Lan Zhan is okay with the new topic of conversation. When he doesn’t get any complaints, he continues. “Obviously you don’t have to tell me anything, but…”

“I took him in,” Lan Zhan says. “He was… in an accident. He lost his parents.”

Wei Ying’s heart can’t help but ache wildly at that. He remembers back to all the times he’s seen Lan Zhan dote over his son, giving him all the love and attention in the world. It’s obvious to anyone how much Lan Zhan cares for A-Yuan—someone would be downright stupid to think otherwise. 

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says. “You’re a really good father.”

Lan Zhan looks up at him. 

“Like,” Wei Ying continues, contemplating exactly how to phrase what he wants to say, “I don’t know if I’d be able to do what you did. It’s seriously admirable. You love A-Yuan so much.”

“I do,” Lan Zhan agrees. 

“Yeah,” Wei Ying says. “He’s turning out to be a great kid, too. He’s very nice and friendly—to everyone. There’s this really annoying girl in our class and he’s even nice to her—”

“Should you really be badmouthing one of your students to another teacher?” Lan Zhan says, the slightest quirk of an amused smile decorating his lips.

Wei Ying groans. “Oh, come on. Like you don’t have students you secretly hate.”

“I do not.”

“That’s such a fucking lie!”

“All of my students are likeable,” Lan Zhan says, going back to making his soup. 

“That’s because you don’t have to deal with five year-olds.”

“You told me you enjoyed working with younger children.”

“Doesn’t mean I can’t hate a few!” Wei Ying huffs, throwing his arms into the air like this is a very big deal. Which it is. 

“Mn.”

Wei Ying pouts at the lack of response. “You don’t really say much, do you?”

“Mn.”

“Lan Zhan.”

“Your rice is going to burn.”

Wei Ying yelps, quickly picking up the wooden spoon again and dunking it into the now-boiling water. He slowly stirs, making sure the solution remains consistent.

“It’s okay, though,” he starts again, “I think I’ve started to properly get to know you! Like, you may not talk a lot, but you do talk. And you say the important stuff! So I guess that’s what really counts in the end, right?”

“Move.” 

Wei Ying darts to the left when he hears the voice right by his ear. He turns in his position to see that Lan Zhan has creeped up right behind him, a pot in his hands. Wei Ying yelps when he feels Lan Zhan’s arm press against his own, and quickly makes sure the latter has enough space. Lan Zhan ignores him, putting his put onto the stove right next to Wei Ying’s congee, turning the gas on and proceeding to add his ingredients. 

“Haha,” Wei Ying tries in an attempt to get rid of his own awkwardness. He absolutely despises how Lan Zhan looks so unfazed by the whole thing—it’s absolutely sickening. Wei Ying hates how something in his chest does a little leap of nervousness. Lan Zhan is not a touchy person at all, so when stuff like this happens it is absolutely natural for him to feel a little out of place. 

He glances to his right in the most discreet way possible, hoping Lan Zhan can’t feel his eyes on him. Lan Zhan’s eyes are downturned as he works on making his soup, and when Wei Ying catches a scent of it, he hums in satisfaction.

“That smells good,” he compliments. “Though it would smell better if you added some chili.”

“I can add chili into your serving,” Lan Zhan says.

“Really?” Wei Ying asks. “I’m surprised you even have chili in your house.”

“Some dishes require it.”

“Hmm…” Wei Ying dips his spoon around his bot, increasing the intensity of the fire under the gas by a few notches. “Do you cook often? Every night?”

“Mn. Every night.”

“But what about the times when you’re feeling a little lazy?” Wei Ying presses, eager to know more about his friend’s lifestyle. “You know, there are some amazing takeout options around this part of town. There’s this one restaurant Wen Qing and I get delivery from, like, every weekend. I’ll text you the address if you wanna try it out!”

“I do not eat out very often,” Lan Zhan says as he drops the carrots he had been chopping into his pot. “I prefer to make organic, home cooked meals for A-Yuan, too. They are good for him.”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, “when was the last time you went to an actual restaurant?”

Lan Zhan’s hand stills over the knife that’s currently cutting a wedge of cabbage. He seems to consider this for a moment. 

“Before A-Yuan came into my care,” he says before resuming his activity.

“Seriously?” Wei Ying blanches. “That long ago? What about on dates? Don’t tell me you don’t go on dates.”

“Wei Ying.”

“What? It’s a valid question!”

Lan Zhan’s eyes dart over to the corridor, undoubtedly where A-Yuan’s bedroom is. “I do not have time for that.”

Wei Ying’s heart stutters a bit when he hears the sheer confidence in Lan Zhan’s voice. He looks a little out of it, yes, but he doesn’t look particularly unhappy. Wei Ying supposes he doesn’t have a reason to be unhappy, though. He clearly has everything he could possibly ever want. 

Still.

He decides to stop talking about, knowing they’ve reached a bit of a dead end. He’s still curious about Lan Zhan’s views towards dating, yes, but he supposes he has plenty of time to ask him about them at a later date. Besides, he’s here to make congee for A-Yuan, not interrogate the child’s father. 

“So,” he says, smoothly sliding into the next topic, “I get inviting me over to make food. But dinner, too? Hanguang-jun, don’t you think we’re moving a little too fast?” He leans over and bats his eyes furiously in Lan Zhan’s face, grinning when he sees the way he prickles under the attention. “Besides, weren’t you the one who said something about all this being unprofessional or some shit?”

“Do not curse,” Lan Zhan says, ignoring everything else Wei Ying had said.

Wei Ying frowns. “But there aren’t any children around now!”

“You are a child.”

“Hey! We’re literally the same age!”

“Hm,” Lan Zhan hums. “If you are truly uncomfortable with my offer of staying for supper, you may leave.” He pauses for a moment. “There are no hard feelings.”

“No!” Wei Ying exclaims. “I’m not uncomfortable, I was just thinking you’d be uncomfortable.”

“There is no reason for me to feel uncomfortable,” Lan Zhan says, eyebrows turned downwards as always. His voice is completely emotionless, and Wei Ying prides himself in knowing better. “The two of us often eat together at the school.”

“Yeah. At the school.”

Lan Zhan stares at him intensely. “Why should this be any different?”

And, well, Wei Ying can’t exactly argue with that. There’s nothing different about eating with Lan Zhan this time, except for the fact that he’s currently standing in Lan Zhan’s apartment and cooking in Lan Zhan’s kitchen. He suddenly becomes incredibly aware of his surroundings, and feels a bit of a burn in the depths of his chest. 

He releases a breath, clutching the kitchen counter with his fingertips. “Okay,” he says slowly. “The congee just needs to sit for a little while longer, now. Is your soup almost done?”

In response to the question, Lan Zhan takes off the lid on the pot and peers into it. He picks up a nearby spoon, stirring the contents around for a few seconds before looking back at Wei Ying and nodding.

“It just needs to cook.”

“Great!” Wei Ying says, dusting the palms of his hands against each other. “That means we can go and do other stuff!”

Lan Zhan puts the lid back onto the pot and slows the gas a little before stepping away from it.

“Mn. What would you like to do?”

Wei Ying grins wickedly. “I wanna see your bunnies!”

“Rabbits,” Lan Zhan corrects, but despite this he walks right past him, trailing into the huge living room connected to the kitchen. Wei Ying had only seen a glimpse of it upon entering the apartment earlier, but now that he’s able to get a better look, he can’t help but gasp in surprise. It’s absolutely ginormous. It’s minimal, with only the most essential of furniture, but he can pick out the little details that truly transform it into a place worthy of calling home.

There are a few toys scattered around, but it doesn’t make the room look messy. If anything, it adds more to the entire aesthetic. There’s a book on the coffee table, carefully placed perfectly in the corner and bookmarked with a long, thin piece of blue paper. Wei Ying also sees a small tablet next to the book, the case littered with tiny bunny stickers. He grins, turning to Lan Zhan.

“Let me guess,” he starts, “your phone case also has bunny stickers on it.”

“It does not,” Lan Zhan says, taking his phone out of his front pocket and holding it out in front of him. He’s right, there are no stickers on his phone case—rather, the phone case itself has a pattern of carrots on it. 

Wei Ying throws his head back and chuckles. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice that before!”

“Mn.”

Lan Zhan walks over to the other end of the living room, where a small portion of the floor is closed off with a thin white cage. Wei Ying is quick to follow him, and he looks down into the area to see an assortment of pet toys scattered around. There are large wooden planks and miniature buildings as well, and in the center of it all, a plane of fake grass. 

“Holy shit!” Wei Ying exclaims. “You seriously have pet bunnies!”

“Rabbits,” Lan Zhan chides gently. He points over to one of the dens. “They are sleeping under there.”

“Can I wake them up?” Wei Ying asks, eyes twinkling. “What were their names again? Little and Bitch?” He can’t help but laugh at his own joke. “Get it? Because when you put the two names together—you get Little Bitch! Hahaha!”

Lan Zhan doesn’t look very amused, but then again, Wei Ying wasn’t really expecting him to.

“Marshmallow and Cottonball,” he says. “You… you may wake them up.” The last part comes out a little pained, like he actually physically felt hurt by the thought of Wei Ying interrupting his poor bunnies’ sleep schedule.

“YO!” Wei Ying yells at the top of his lungs. Well, maybe not at the top of his lungs, because he knows A-Yuan is still asleep somewhere deeper into the apartment. Still, he’s pretty loud. He makes a few weird noises with his mouth, hoping they’re enough to attract the attention of the sleeping bunnies.

Then, a small white head pokes out from underneath the den. Wei Ying gasps softly when two tiny bunnies emerge and hop over to him, seating themselves in front of him while facing each other.

“Marshmallow,” Lan Zhan says, pointing to the one on the left. He then points to the one on the right and says, “Cottonball.”

Wei Ying shoots him a look. “No offense, but they literally look the exact same.”

“You say that because you do not know them like I do,” Lan Zhan says, before reaching down and picking up Cottonball, cradling the small bunny in his arms. It’s a sight that makes Wei Ying want to almost croon at. It’s absolutely adorable, the way Lan Zhan’s eyes soften at the sight of his bunny curling into his palm.

Wei Ying follows suit, picking up Marshmallow and holding him in a similar manner. Marshmallow is soft in his hands, a tiny little ball of fluff. Wei Ying wants to cry from how cute everything is.

Then, there’s a faint rustling from somewhere behind them. Wei Ying turns around to see that the sound is coming from the corridor, and a few seconds later he gets a glimpse of someone small peeking around the corner.

“Baba…?”

Lan Zhan quickly sets Cottonball down, rising himself to his feet and walking over to A-Yuan, who seems to have just woken up. Wei Ying takes a seat on the floor, still cuddling with Marshmallow. 

“A-Yuan ah,” Lan Zhan says softly, kneeling down in front of his son and gently lifting his fingers to push the child’s hair behind his ear. “How are you feeling? Are you still tired? Does your head hurt?”

“Baba,” A-Yuan says, and Wei Ying looks up to see that he’s staring directly at him, “what is Wei laoshi doing here? Am I in trouble?” He gasps, looking back up to Lan Zhan. “Baba! I told you I shouldn’t miss school today! See what you did?”

“A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan says softly. “It is okay. Wei laoshi is not here because you are in trouble.”

“You’re not in trouble, little sir!” Wei Ying says, using his free hand to beckon him over. A-Yuan seems to hesitate for a moment, before breaking away from his father and walking up to him. Wei Ying pats the spot on the floor next to him, gesturing for A-Yuan to take a seat. When he does, Wei Ying places Marshmallow into his small arms.

A-Yuan smiles, pressing Marshmallow close to his chest. “Wei laoshi, are you here to play with the bunnies?”

Wei Ying laughs, turning to Lan Zhan. “See? Even your own son calls them bunnies!”

“Childish,” Lan Zhan murmurs under his breath.

“To answer your question, A-Yuan,” Wei Ying says, “I am indeed here to play with the bunnies! You wanna give me a formal introduction? Your baba just pointed at them randomly and told me their names!”

A-Yuan nods excitedly, before launching into a detailed explanation about both of the bunnies. Wei Ying listens intently, crossing his legs beneath him and putting his elbows on his knees. He balances his head in his palms, blinking rapidly as he sinks in every detail about the stories A-Yuan is so happily telling him.

“A-Yuan,” he starts after about fifteen minutes of this. Lan Zhan has retired to the couch opposite them, and has picked up his book and is gently flipping through the pages. “You wanna know the real reason why I’m here?”

A-Yuan blinks up at him, confused. “Wei laoshi isn’t here to play with Marshmallow and Cottonball?”

“Well,” Wei Ying says with a sly wink, “that is definitely part of it, but it’s not the entire reason.”

At this, A-Yuan’s eyes narrow down into a calculated stare directed straight back at him. Wei Ying blinks under the scrutiny, unable to stop himself from being reminded of the way Lan Zhan looks at him. He coughs awkwardly, wondering if it’s the correct moment to elaborate on his words.

“Wei laoshi,” A-Yuan asks suddenly, making Wei Ying blink back to reality, “are you here because you’re dating Baba?”

Before Wei Ying can even begin to react to that, he hears sudden, violent coughs coming from the other end of the living room. He looks around to the source of the noise to see Lan Zhan buried in his book, obviously embarrassed at the question. Wei Ying presses his lips together to stop himself from bursting out into laughter, managing to contain himself enough so that he can manage to answer A-Yuan, who has turned to looking between the two of them with a strange glint in his eye.

“A-Yuan,” Wei Ying says, failing to suppress his laughs, “your baba and I aren’t dating.” Then, he turns to Lan Zhan and throws him the most flirtatious wink he can muster. “Yet.”

He grins at the way Lan Zhan glares at him upon his remark, but Wei Ying doesn’t think it’s all too intimidating given the way his cheeks are absolutely blazing with heat. 

“Kidding!” Wei Ying says, laughing as he raises his arms in front of him. “I’m just kidding!”

“Shameless,” he hears Lan Zhan mutter.

“Huh?” A-Yuan asks, cocking his head to the side in obvious confusion. 

Wei Ying grins heartily, reaching out and looping an arm over the kid’s shoulders. “No, A-Yuan, I am actually here because your baba invited me over to make some deliciously disgusting congee for you!”

“Deliciously… disgusting?” A-Yuan asks, fumbling a bit over the two words.

“Well, I wanted to make it extra spicy,” Wei Ying explains, “but your baba told me that I couldn’t because you’re still sick.” He leans closer to his ear, covering his mouth with his hand as he whispers, “A-Yuan, did you know your baba actually enjoys spicy food?”

“Really?” A-Yuan says, also in a voice that’s barely above a whisper.

Lan Zhan, seeming to recognize that he’s being talked about behind his back, clears his throat. “Wei Ying,” he says in that awful warning tone of his. Seriously, Wei Ying thinks it’s absolutely the worst mood-killer possible.

So, he ignores him. He turns back to A-Yuan with a shiteating grin. “Maybe when you’re feeling better, I can make you some congee the way it’s supposed to be eaten!”

“The way it is supposed to be eaten,” Lan Zhan interrupts, standing up and putting his book down in the exact same place Wei Ying had seen it before, “is exactly how Wei laoshi is making it right now.” He gives his son a stern look. “Do not eat the one he makes that is full of spices. You will know it is the wrong kind upon looking at it. If it is red, that means stop.”

“Red means stop,” A-Yuan repeats seriously.

Wei Ying groans. “Lan Zhan, you are such a buzzkill!”

“A buzzkill,” A-Yuan repeats again. 

Wei Ying smirks. “Yes, exactly, A-Yuan. Your baba is a buzzkill.”

“That doesn’t sound like a very nice word, Wei laoshi,” A-Yuan says in a matter-of-fact tone.

“It’s not!” Wei Ying says, smiling gleefully.

“A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan says, “remember what I said?”

“To not ever listen to Wei laoshi outside of the classroom,” A-Yuan says dutifully. “I know, Baba!”

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying says, gasping in mock offense. “I cannot believe you would feed such unnecessary thoughts into my favorite student’s head!”

While Lan Zhan levels him with a sharp look at this, A-Yuan just looks positively delighted. 

“I’m your favorite student, Wei laoshi?”

“Don’t tell Jingyi!” 

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, emphasizing the second character in Wei Ying’s name in the same way Wei Ying often does for him. “Do not give him ideas.”

Wei Ying looks directly back to A-Yuan, and the two of them share a long look before simultaneously grinning and saying, “Buzzkill!”

Lan Zhan is horrified, to say the least.

—

Wei Ying grins as he pours three bowls of congee, leaving one completely untouched and garnishing the other two with a hefty amount of chili flakes. After all, Lan Zhan enjoys spicy food! There’s no way he won’t appreciate Wei Ying’s amazing contribution to his portion of the food. 

They sit around at the large dining table, Lan Zhan appearing with a tray of three bowls of soup with some cold noodles on the side. A-Yuan is patiently sitting on his chair at the head of the table, and Lan Zhan and Wei Ying slip into the chairs on either side of him. Lan Zhan carefully places the soup bowls out in front of each of them, and Wei Ying quickly follows suit with his congee. 

“Okay, A-Yuan,” Wei Ying says, sliding a spoon over to him, “let me know what you think, okay? I made this especially for you.”

A-Yuan nods diligently, taking the spoon and eagerly dipping it into the congee. Wei Ying sucks in a breath as he watches the child put the end of the spoon into his mouth and swallow, analyzing every single twist and turn in his facial expression. 

After what seems like an eternity, A-Yuan finally reaches his spoon out and takes another mouthful, a large smile creeping its way onto his face as he happily goes about eating the food. Wei Ying can’t help but release a sigh of relief, looking across the table at Lan Zhan and subtly winking at him. Lan Zhan ignores him, but even he looks pleased by the results. 

“Do you like it?” Wei Ying asks, taking a napkin and rubbing it around the corners of A-Yuan’s mouth, where a bit of the congee had smudged his cheek. 

“It’s really good, Wei laoshi!” A-Yuan says through a mouthful. He then looks over to his dad and sheepishly bows his head. “Sorry, Baba. I know I’m not supposed to talk during dinner.”

“It is okay for today,” Lan Zhan says. “But do not talk with your mouth full.”

“Personally,” Wei Ying cuts in, “I don’t understand this rule of yours. Like, what’s the point? What about when A-Yuan grows up and goes out with people? Is he really just gonna stay completely silent throughout his dinner dates?”

Lan Zhan fixes a warning look on him, but Wei Ying just shrugs. 

“That is up to him when he becomes older,” he says “It is only my job to teach him some table manners.”

Wei Ying sighs, leaning against the palm of his hand and looking directly back at him. “But Lan Zhan,” he starts, “you talk to me all the time during lunch at school!” 

There’s a dangerous glint in Lan Zhan’s eyes upon hearing Wei Ying’s remark, and instead of responding, he picks up his own spoon and ferociously dips it into the congee in front of him, not even sparing it a glance as he shoves it into his mouth.

What happens next is a little alarming. Lan Zhan, who usually looks so perfect and poised, suddenly turns a dark shade of red as he immediately breaks out into a series of violent coughs. Wei Ying immediately gets up, flying to the other side of the table and crouching behind him, lifting his hand and hitting Lan Zhan’s upper back to help him through his mini choking session. 

When Lan Zhan calms down, he turns his head to glare up at Wei Ying, who returns the look with a curious glance. 

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, “what did you put in my congee?”

It’s then when Lan Zhan looks down at his bowl, his eyes visibly widening when he sees the overwhelming amounts of red. Wei Ying watches as Lan Zhan bites the flesh of his bottom lip, clearly looking a little conflicted about something. Lan Zhan sighs deeply, before pushing himself off of his chair and walking into the kitchen, where he takes a glass out from one of the cupboards and fills it with water. Gulping it down, he takes a deep breath and looks back to where Wei Ying is still standing in the middle of the dining room. 

“I am sorry,” Lan Zhan says, golden eyes flicking away from him. “It took me by surprise.”

“It’s okay!” Wei Ying says, unable to stop himself from laughing. “I thought you had noticed that I added the chili flakes to yours.”

Lan Zhan looks over to A-Yuan’s plate.

“I didn’t add them to A-Yuan’s!” Wei Ying says quickly. “Don’t worry!”

Lan Zhan nods. “Mn.” He gathers himself together and puts his cup down, walking back to his seat and sitting down again. He gestures for Wei Ying to do the same, and Wei Ying happily obliges. 

Wei Ying picks up his soup bowl, holding it out to Lan Zhan in a silent salute before raising it to his lips. Lan Zhan, in contrast, takes his spoon and carefully takes controlled sips. Wei Ying, however, goes straight for the kill and gulps down almost half of it in one go. He looks back up, licking his lips in satisfaction. 

“This is so good!” he compliments, going back in immediately and drinking up another few gulps. 

“Mn. I am glad you think so.”

“Wei laoshi,” A-Yuan speaks up, setting his spoon down to look at his teacher. Wei Ying cocks his head to the side and plasters on his friendliest of smiles. 

“Yeah, little sir?”

“Thank you for coming to make dinner for me.” A-Yuan gets up out of his chair to bow, and Wei Ying’s hands fly out to stop him. 

“Ah! Ah… ah—no, no! A-Yuan ah!” he exclaims, fumbling around to make him stand back up. “You don’t need to thank me! I wanted to come!” He ignores the way his heart does a little fluttery thing upon the sight of the child’s face, the way his eyes are big and round and sparkling with a certain intensity Wei Ying has never seen before. It’s a new feeling, one he has never experienced before.

He glances back over to Lan Zhan, and is surprised to find that he is already looking at him. Wei Ying catches the way Lan Zhan’s lips press together as he stares at the exchange between teacher and student, child and adult… friend and friend? Can Wei Ying even call A-Yuan a friend?

He doesn’t think so, but the warmth in his chest says otherwise: Wei Ying knows in that moment he is absolutely smitten with the kid.  

Chapter Text

“Welcome! Welcome one and all! Please find your little friends at their respective desks and take a seat with them!”

Wei Ying prides himself in how great he is with kids. After all, it’s one of the reasons that led him to wanting to become a primary school teacher in the first place. However, he also knows that it isn’t just kids he’s good with—more generally, he’s just good with people.

Which is why he feels absolutely no discomfort in welcoming the parents of his students at the annual school open house, an event designed for teachers to get to know the families of the kids they teach, and for them to explain exactly what the rest of the school year is going to look like. Wei Ying loves the open house night, because it gives him an opportunity to connect with others and a chance for him to get to know his students better.

The night is off to a wonderful beginning—Wei Ying greets every single adult entering the room with the widest, brightest smile he can muster out of himself. He is already acquainted with a few of them, due to the fact that in the beginning of the year they would come inside to pick up their kids. Others, however, Wei Ying has never seen before. He gets a few once-overs because of how young he looks, but he’s used to that. Besides, he knows many parents prefer having a younger teacher for their younger children.

“Wei Ying,” he hears someone say from behind him. Wei Ying turns around from where he’s directing a couple to their daughter and grins widely when he sees who it is.

“Lan Huan!” he says, pushing his hand out and enveloping him in a firm handshake. “It’s great to see you! A-Yuan is over there.” He points to where he sees the little guy sitting patiently at his desk, currently in conversation with Jingyi. 

He supposes it isn’t exactly the most appropriate thing to call his student by the affectionate name in such a public setting, but since when has Wei Ying been anything but shameless? (Lan Zhan tells him this quite often.)

Lan Huan nods, his hands clasped behind his back again as he walks over to his nephew. Wei Ying watches as A-Yuan immediately launches himself out of his chair and clings to his uncle’s leg, the latter returning the hug with a soft, fond smile. The two begin to talk, and A-Yuan quickly starts showing Lan Huan every nook and cranny of his desk. 

“Okay!” Wei Ying says, clapping his hands to get everyone’s attention. The chattering slowly dies down before he continues. “Welcome to Open House Night!”

The rest of the night goes on fairly smoothly, with Wei Ying pulling up the messy powerpoint he had been forced to create by the administration. After a few minor technical difficulties, however, Wei Ying sighs in defeat and abandons it, opting to simply use his words to explain the way he teaches his class and more information regarding himself.

It’s near the end of the evening, however, when Wei Ying realizes that everything in his life is too good to be true.

Most of the parents have already left with their children, so Wei Ying is free to saunter over to where Lan Huan and A-Yuan are, offering them bright smiles and reaching down to high-five A-Yuan. 

A-Yuan giggles as he returns the gesture with just as much enthusiasm. “Wei laoshi, you did very well today!” he compliments.

“Thanks, little sir!” Wei Ying says, shooting him a thumbs-up and gently ruffling his hair. He looks up to Lan Huan, who is looking over the entire exchange with a strange glint in his eyes, and Wei Ying is suddenly stricken with how incredibly similar he and his brother look. 

You know, minus the one obvious difference: Lan Huan smiles much more frequently than Lan Zhan does. 

“A-Zhan will be downstairs soon,” Lan Huan says. “He texted me to tell me that I should stick around till he does. He is A-Yuan’s father, after all. I’m sure he wants to come to his open house as well.”

Wei Ying nods. That makes sense. “Yeah, sure,” he says. “I wasn’t planning on leaving for a little while either, so it should be fine.” He grins. “Wen Qing is in charge of dinner tonight since she doesn’t have any classes to run.”

At this, Lan Huan looks mildly alarmed. “Wen Qing?” he asks. 

“Oh, right. Wen Qing is my roommate. She’s the school nurse here,” Wei Ying quickly explains. “And no, before you ask, we are not married.” He dramatically shudders for added effect. “God, I feel bad for anyone who has to spend the rest of their life with her.”

Lan Huan breaks out into his signature soft smile again upon hearing this, and Wei Ying manages to only be a little confused. Oh well. The Lans are strange people. 

Someone clears their throat from the entrance, and Wei Ying’s eyes immediately lighten up. He grins, turning on his heel to greet Lan Zhan, but stops right in his tracks when he sees who it is.

The… the principal of the school?

Wei Ying’s eyebrows furrow, but nevertheless he manages to keep his smile intact. In fact, if it’s even possible, Wei Ying thinks his smile grows.

“Old Man Lan!” he exclaims, putting his hands on his hips and marching over to him. Lan Qiren—the principal of the primary school, the one sole person who seems to actually dislike Wei Ying—regards him with the coolest, most neutral glare Wei Ying has ever seen. This is normal, though, and Wei Ying knows it.

See, Lan Qiren has never exactly been fond of Wei Ying. He doesn’t like how Wei Ying uses humor and enforces absolutely no strict rules in his classroom. He doesn’t like how Wei Ying talks back to him, despite him being his very literal boss. 

“What’re you doing here?” Wei Ying asks, cocking his head to the side and leaning against one of the tables. “Are you here for one of those monthly principal inspections? But on Open House night? Seriously?” He twists his lips and narrows his gaze on the elder man. “C’mon, Old Man Lan, do you really not trust me to be able to handle a simple open house?”

“Absolutely,” Lan Qiren says without missing a beat.

Wei Ying pouts. “Well, that’s not very fair! I’ll have you know I did perfectly tonight!” He grins, turning back to wink at A-Yuan. “Isn’t that right, A-Yuan?”

“Wei laoshi did good,” A-Yuan nods dutifully.

“Well,” Lan Huan chides, “Wei laoshi did well.”

“Well,” A-Yuan repeats with another nod.

Wei Ying smiles gratefully, turning back to Lan Qiren. “You hear that, Old Man Lan?”

“A-Yuan?” Lan Qiren presses, gaze narrowing on Wei Ying’s figure. 

Oh, fuck. Right. Right.

“Lan Yuan!” Wei Ying says quickly, putting his hands up into the air and taking a step back. “Haha, has your hearing gone a little hard, Old Man Lan?”

Before Lan Qiren can respond, however, someone else appears in the doorway. Wei Ying almost wants to cry from relief when he sees Lan Zhan peering into the room with a calculating gaze, his golden eyes flicking between the principal, Wei Ying, Lan Huan, and A-Yuan. A-Yuan breaks the suddenly awkward silence with a small squeal. The kid stands up and breaks away from his uncle, running up to his father and enveloping him in a tight hug. 

Lan Zhan’s eyes immediately soften as he picks his son up into his arms, brushing a bit of his hair out of his face as he looks at him.

“Had fun?” he asks.

A-Yuan nods happily. “Wei laoshi was just fighting with Principal Lan!”

Lan Zhan looks over to Wei Ying in alarm, then sets A-Yuan back down to the floor and straightens up. He turns to Lan Qiren and bows slightly in greeting. 

“Uncle.”

Someone bursts out laughing. Wei Ying sees Lan Huan clutching his stomach and biting the back of his free hand in an attempt to stop himself, but it doesn’t particularly seem to be working. 

Wei Ying thinks he misheard. He has to have misheard… right?

“Uncle?” he repeats, eyes wide. “Lan Zhan, what do you mean uncle?”

“Lan Zhan?” Lan Qiren repeats incredulously. 

Oh. 

Oh. Fuck. 

Lan Qiren. Lan Zhan. Lan Huan. Lan Yuan. 

Fuck, fuck fuck fuck. Fuck.

He had just written it off as a happy coincidence, but— 

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan begins, cutting into his thoughts and ignoring Lan Qiren’s incoherent sputters of “Wei Ying?!”, “This is my uncle. He is also the principal.”

“Old Man Lan is your uncle?” Wei Ying gasps, eyes darting from Lan Qiren’s less-than-amused-and-possibly-maybe-kind-of-sort-of-extremely-pissed expression to Lan Zhan’s completely blank one. 

Lan Zhan’s eyebrow twitches. “Old…” He shakes his head. “My apologies. I have never mentioned it to you before.”

“Holy shi— moly.” Wei Ying nervously glances down at A-Yuan, then back to Lan Zhan. “Um,” he says eloquently, “okay, well, okay. Okay. That’s great.”

Lan Qiren doesn’t seem to think it’s very great. 

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan starts again, catching his eye from across the room, “how was your open house?”

“It went well!” Wei Ying exclaims, glad for the change of topic. “A-Yuan was great. My star student, as always.” He walks over to them, bending down and resting the palms of his hands on his knees. “Isn’t that right, little sir?” After A-Yuan’s nod, Wei Ying looks back up at Lan Zhan and winks. “And yours, Hanguang-jun?”

“Informative,” Lan Zhan replies curtly. Wei Ying wonders how he’s able to remain so calm in their situation, when his own heart is beating rapidly in his chest. He doesn’t know why— he’s always been able to keep his clam in anything he gets himself stuck in. 

Then, Lan Qiren speaks up. “I was told that this is Lan Yuan’s classroom,” he says, nose flaring as he directs his gaze straight at Wei Ying. “I didn’t inform myself on who is his first grade teacher, but now I wish that I had.”

Wei Ying twists his lips and raises his eyebrows. “Aw, come on, don’t be like that, Old Man Lan. You may not like me very much, but the kids do!”

Lan Huan, who has been mostly silent for the duration of the exchange, walks up besides Wei Ying and gives him a reassuring side glance. 

“Uncle, you are not fond of Wei Ying?”

“Wei laoshi is the exact example of an over-hyper, bumbling buffoon of a teacher,” Lan Qiren says coolly. “Once I walked into his classroom during inspection rounds last year, and he had been standing on his students’ desk and dancing.”

“You misunderstood me, Old Man Lan!” Wei Ying says, raising his hand as if he is the student. “I wasn’t dancing! I was demonstrating! What better way is there to teach a bunch of five and six year-olds the English vowels than to act them all out?”

“Pray tell me, Wei laoshi,” Lan Qiren says, “how on earth is that supposed to work?”

“A song!” Wei Ying presses. “See?” He holds his arms up above his head and connects them in a circular shape. “This is O.” He grins suddenly, looking to where A-Yuan is standing and staring back at him with mild fascination. “A-Yuan, you get a front-row seat to next semester’s very first lesson, two months early!”

“Do not make excuses!” Lan Qiren says, voice raising ever so slightly. He releases a deep breath, as if his outburst made him realize something. “That’s right. The noise. Here in Cloud Recesses Primary School, we have a strict No Yelling rule. Wei laoshi, I often see you running through the school hallways being your noisy, disruptive self.”

“But Old Man Lan,” Wei Ying says, eyebrows furrowing. “Don’t you think that’s a little hypocritical for you to say?”

Lan Qiren’s right eyebrow twitches. “Excuse me?”

“Well, I only say that because you always yell at me when I’m caught doing those things.” Wei Ying stops to smile cheekily at him, mentally bracing himself for the incoming scolding. It’s fine, he’s more than used to it at this point. He also knows that no matter how much he provokes him, Lan Qiren can’t actually do anything about it. Sure, he’s the principal, but it’s not his sole decision whether or not Wei Ying gets to keep his job. As far as Wei Ying is concerned, all the other members of the school board love him to pieces. 

Lan Qiren doesn’t seem to like that fact very much, either.

The principal straightens up, and Wei Ying knows he has done quite enough to piss him off even further than he already was. Wei Ying glances to his side to see Lan Huan hosting an amused smile of his own. Lan Zhan looks as he always does, but—and it may just be his imagination—Wei Ying thinks he can see the smallest hint of something else there, just at the very corner of his lip. 

Lan Qiren then makes a big show of ruffling his clothes out and turning to walk away. He huffs straight out of the classroom without a single look back. and when he’s completely out of sight, Wei Ying can’t help but release a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

“Wow,” Lan Huan says under his breath, “I have never seen Uncle rendered so speechless like that before.”

Lan Zhan presses his lips together and nods, eyes trailing after where his uncle had been a couple of moments prior. Wei Ying lifts his arm behind his neck, rubbing at the warm skin there and laughing sheepishly.

“Sorry,” he says, though he’s not actually very sorry at all. “Um. The principal and I have a… very interesting relationship.”

“We can see that,” Lan Huan says, eyes sparkling as he smiles. “Don’t worry, it’s quite hilarious, actually. I’d love to know more about it, if you’d be willing to indulge me.” He looks over at Lan Zhan, the two of them seeming to have a conversation with just their eyes. Wei Ying blanches; the two must be extremely close to one another to be able to do that. He can’t imagine ever being able to talk wordlessly with someone like Jiang Cheng. Finally, Lan Zhan nods, and Lan Huan looks back to Wei Ying with a bright smile. “Would you?”

Wei Ying blinks, quickly refocusing on the conversation at hand. “Oh, um, sure!”

“Wonderful,” Lan Huan says. “Why don’t the four of us go out to dinner together so we can hear about it?”

“Brother,” Lan Zhan says.

“What?” Lan Huan asks, eyes widening innocently. Wei Ying wishes he knew what was going on. “Unless of course, Wei Ying is busy tonight. You did mention something about dinner with your roommate earlier.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Wei Ying says, waving it off. “Wen Qing ditches me, like, all the time. It’s not a big deal. In fact, it means I don’t have to cook breakfast for myself tomorrow morning!”

Lan Huan nods. “Perfect,” he says. He walks over to A-Yuan and takes his hand. “Is there a certain restaurant you all would prefer? I can call ahead and make reservations.”

“A vegetarian one,” Wei Ying says. “Um.” He looks over to Lan Zhan, who is already staring at him. “I remember Lan Zhan once told me that he’s a vegetarian.”

“Right, of course!” Lan Huan says, voice suddenly a lot more cheery as he takes his phone out with his free hand and begins to click through something on it. Wei Ying suddenly feels incredibly stupid. Of course Lan Zhan’s own fucking brother would know his dietary restrictions. In fact, Lan Huan himself was probably a vegetarian.

Before his brain can make it into a bigger deal than it is, Wei Ying clears his throat and swiftly moves past the topic. 

“I’ll text Wen Qing quickly,” he says, pulling his own mobile device out and clicking into his messaging thread with the woman in question. 

wei ying >>> wen qingwingfling

wei ying: change of plans im not coming home for dinner today

wen qingwingfling: what? but i already made some for you

wei ying: its ok ill have it 4 breakfast tmrw

wen qingwingfling: alright. did you make plans?

wei ying: lan zhans bro invited me along to their cute lil fam dinner :D

wen qingwingfling: of course -_- well, have fun

wei ying: thank u my amazing best friend

wen qingwingfling: okay so /now/ i’m your best friend?

wei ying: u will always have a special place in my heart <3

“Okay!” Wei Ying says, pocketing his phone and shooting them all a thumbs up. “We are all set to go!”

—

The restaurant they end up at is a fairly small one with a pleasant buzz in the atmosphere. It’s incredibly warm, and Wei Ying has absolutely no qualms about slipping into the booth first and sliding his jacket off. Lan Huan and A-Yuan come up to the table next, and Lan Huan tugs his nephew into the opposite side of the booth with him. Lan Zhan eyes the scene for a moment before taking his seat next to Wei Ying, across from his son.

Wei Ying sends him a full-toothed grin as they are given their menus, which Lan Zhan very pointedly ignores. 

Their waiter comes over to their table to take their drink orders, and Lan Huan gestures for Lan Zhan to go ahead.

“Two glasses of iced water,” he says as the waiter furiously begins scribbling it down in the tiny notepad he’s clinging to, “and one kid’s carrot juice. My son is five.” Lan Zhan then pauses, seeming to be considering something. Wei Ying wonders if it’s his turn to place his drink order, but Lan Zhan beats him to it. “I’d also like a bottle of Emperor’s Smile, if you have it.”

Wei Ying’s eyes bulge out of their sockets as the waiter confirms their order and then disappears. He uses his hand to aggressively tap Lan Zhan’s shoulder in an effort to get his attention, the latter settling back into his seat and regarding him with an indifferent stare. Upon closer inspection, however, Wei Ying notices that his eyes are just slightly wider than usual. 

Is he nervous? 

Nah, it can’t be that. Maybe he’s just feeling a bit cold.

“Lan Zhan,” he says, a smile begging to fully take over his face, “Emperor’s Smile? Really? You told me you didn’t drink!”

“You know that it is not for me,” Lan Zhan says, his fingers flipping through the main menu with ease. “You told me you preferred Emperor’s Smile to other liquors on the night of your birthday party.”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t think you’d actually remember!”

“You remembered that my family is vegetarian,” Lan Zhan counters, and, well, Wei Ying supposes he does have a point. 

“Okay,” he says. “Then as a reward, I’ll let you have some of it with me!”

“That will not be necessary,” Lan Zhan says, placing the menu back onto the table and then resting his hands on his lap. “You already know that I do not drink.”

Wei Ying pouts, but doesn’t argue. Lan Huan looks straight at him, a strange curl of his upper lip accompanying his calming gaze. “Our family is known for not handling our alcohol well,” he says to explain. Wei Ying’s lips part in sudden understanding. “But, well, A-Zhan’s tolerance is especially low, if you know what I mean.”

“Ah, really?” Wei Ying asks, nudging Lan Zhan’s side teasingly. “That makes sense, I guess. I wonder what kind of drunk you are, Lan Zhan!”

“Baba,” A-Yuan pipes up from where he’s sitting with a leg in his uncle’s lap, “what does drunk mean?”

Lan Zhan shoots Wei Ying a look, and Wei Ying suddenly thinks it was stupid of him to be surprised that he’s related to Lan Qiren. Then again, Lan Zhan is millions of times better than that old man. Wei Ying mentally scolds himself for ever making such a comparison.

The waiter comes back with their drinks soon after that, and Wei Ying eagerly pours himself a cup of Emperor’s Smile, pleased when the familiar taste hits the back of his throat upon the first shot. Lan Zhan moves to order their main courses, choosing small dishes for them all to share. When he catches Wei Ying pouting at him, he sighs and adds two items that have three tiny little pepper symbols next to them, indicating that they were options with extra spice. 

“Anyways!” Lan Huan says once their food orders are in. “Wei Ying, tell us about how you got on our uncle’s bad side.”

Wei Ying snorts. “Isn’t it obvious? I don’t think our, ah, personalities… I don’t think they clash well together. If you know what I’m saying.”

“I do,” Lan Huan nods, elbows on the table and eyes looking at him with great intrigue. “Our uncle is very vocal when it comes to people he disapproves of. From the bottom of my heart, I apologize on his behalf.”

“Oh, nah, there’s no need,” Wei Ying says with a shrug. “If anything, it has provided me with great entertainment over the past few years. No offense, but your guys’ uncle is absolutely hilarious when he’s riled up.”

“I’m sure he is,” Lan Huan says sweetly. 

Wei Ying grins, looking over to Lan Zhan and wiggling his eyebrows. “Lan Zhan, you never told me your brother is so friendly!”

“I told you he is like me,” Lan Zhan says, taking a small sip of his iced water.

Wei Ying… honestly can’t tell if that’s supposed to be a joke or not, so he decides to ignore it.

When their food arrives, Lan Huan quickly passes out the plates Lan Zhan helps lay out all the different dishes. Wei Ying graciously accepts his share, taking his chopsticks and eagerly beginning to pick through one of the spicy ones Lan Zhan had ordered for him. He holds a bit of it out to him in a silent offering, but Lan Zhan just shakes his head and gestures down to his own full plate. Wei Ying shrugs and gobbles his offering up without a complaint.

Wei Ying glances around him when he notices that, well, no one is talking. He inwardly groans, remembering the stupid family rule.

“Are you guys serious?” 

“Talking is forbidden while eating,” Lan Zhan murmurs from beside him. 

“We always talk when we eat together!” Wei Ying says, pointing an accusatory finger at him. “Even earlier this week when I stayed over at your apartment for dinner!”

Lan Zhan doesn’t look up, instead focusing directly down at his plate. Wei Ying thinks he notices the tips of his ears turning a faint pink. 

“Really?” Lan Huan asks after swallowing a mouthful of his dinner. 

“Brother,” Lan Zhan says.

“Dinner?” Lan Huan continues, ignoring him. “Wei Ying, I was not aware that my little brother invited you to stay for dinner that night.”

Wei Ying blinks. “Huh?”

“As the eldest here,” Lan Huan says, “I think it’s okay for today to break the rules a little. Wouldn’t you agree, A-Zhan?”

Lan Zhan very pointedly chooses not to answer. 

Wei Ying can’t help the smile from spreading across his face. He happily munches through his food, humming in contentment. “Well, in that case, yes! Lan Zhan asked me to stay for dinner and I got to see A-Yuan try out the congee I made for him” He shoots an affectionate wink towards the child who is sitting diagonally away from him. “You liked it, didn’t you, little sir?”

“Yes!” A-Yuan nods. “I loved Wei laoshi’s congee!”

“Exactly,” Wei Ying says approvingly. He pours another cup of Emperor’s Smile for himself and downs it in one go. 

“So, Wei Ying,” Lan Huan begins conversationally. Wei Ying hums to indicate that he is indeed listening, despite how he’s also very concentrated on trying to pick up a piece of wet chili-coated cabbage with his chopsticks. “I know you said that there’s nothing going on between you and Nurse Wen.” At this, Wei Ying looks up with a confused quirk of his eyebrows. “But I was wondering, actually, you’re a handsome young man. I’m sure there are plenty of women that you’ve taken an interest in, hm?”

Lan Zhan promptly chokes on his water.

Wei Ying winces, instinctively reaching out to hit his upper back just like he had done back at Monday night’s dinner. 

“Um,” he starts, suddenly feeling a little conscious about all the attention on him. Even A-Yuan seems to be interested in the turn of events. “Well, I mean, not really.”

“Oh?” Lan Huan asks. 

“Bobo,” A-Yuan whispers, though it’s not really a whisper because everyone at the table can hear him, “don’t make Wei laoshi feel awkward. He’s already dating Baba!” 

Lan Zhan promptly chokes on his water. Again.

Wei Ying continues his ministrations on his back as he laughs and shakes his head. “A-Yuan ah, I am very sorry to disappoint, but your baba and I are not dating.” He sighs. “We keep telling him but he still doesn’t believe us. Or maybe he just doesn’t remember? Lan Zhan, your son has a bad memory.” Then, he smirks. “Actually, I guess if we’re supposedly dating, he’s our son.”

Lan Huan is snickering behind his hand, and Lan Zhan looks like he desperately wants to commit murder. 

“Do not give him ideas,” Lan Zhan whisper-shouts. Wei Ying grins, pulling his hands back from where they lay on Lan Zhan’s back. He’s secretly glad A-Yuan has managed to divert the attention away from the topic of conversation Lan Huan was bringing up, knowing that although he does not consider himself to be an awkward person, he could always end up saying something he doesn’t actually mean. 

The rest of their dinner goes by pretty smoothly, and although Lan Zhan does not contribute much to the conversation, Wei Ying tries his best to include him and tease him at every single possible moment. They’re all exhausted by the end of it, their bellies full and hearts content. 

When they’re out of the restaurant, Lan Huan takes his keys out of his bag and waves goodbye to them. He had come in his own car, while Wei Ying had hitched a ride with Lan Zhan and A-Yuan. Wei Ying and Lan Huan exchange numbers with a promise to make plans again soon, and Wei Ying can’t help but have a slight bounce in his feet as he skips over to Lan Zhan’s car. 

“What is up with you?” Lan Zhan asks as they climb into the front seats. A-Yuan is sitting in the back, his eyes already drooping from sleepiness. 

“It’s the spicy food,” Wei Ying responds. 

“Mn. Or the alcohol.”

“Hey! I have a very high tolerance.”

“I can see that,” Lan Zhan says as he buckles up and starts the car. “I will drop Wei Ying off first.”

“Do you wanna do something fun?” There’s a mischievous glint in Wei Ying’s eyes when he asks the question, one that he’s sure Lan Zhan takes note of as soon as he sees it. 

Lan Zhan turns his head to face him, his fingers grazing the wheel. “Something fun?” he repeats.

“Yeah!”

Lan Zhan seems to think about it for a couple of seconds. “It is already half-past eight.” He’s referring to the Lan curfew, yet another boring rule. “A-Yuan needs to be asleep by nine.”

Wei Ying raises an eyebrow, and then points to the backseat. “A-Yuan is already asleep.”

Lan Zhan looks back in alarm, but his features visibly soften when he sees the sleeping face of his son. “Mn,” he says. “I see.”

“So?” Wei Ying asks, leaning over the console and batting his eyes in Lan Zhan’s face. “C’mon, Lan Zhan, do you really wanna go to bed so early? It’s eight on a Friday! The night is still young! We’re in our mid-twenties! Think about all the fun we could be having!”

“I have a child,” Lan Zhan says. 

“We could drop him home,” Wei Ying suggests. He mentally slaps himself. There is absolutely no way Lan Zhan is going to agree to that plan.

“Irresponsible,” Lan Zhan says, just like Wei Ying thought he would. “He will have to come with us.”

Wei Ying’s eyes widen in surprise at the agreement, but he quickly manages to recover and nod enthusiastically.

“Okay!” he says with a grin, settling back in his seat with an excited jitter at the tips of his fingers. 

Lan Zhan starts driving out of the parking lot, and Wei Ying can’t help but notice his ever-perfect posture and sharp eyes surveying every corner of the road. He drives fairly slowly, but steadily—Wei Ying is sure he is keeping the speed limit in mind, because of course he’d be keeping the speed limit in mind. How utterly Lan Zhan of him. 

“Where are we going?” Lan Zhan finally says, breaking him out of his little trance and making Wei Ying jump a little in surprise. He averts his gaze away from where he was shamelessly staring at Lan Zhan, drifting off into his own stupid thoughts. 

He clears  his throat. “Hmm,” he hums, reaching up to stroke the bottom of his chin. “We should probably go somewhere we can keep A-Yuan in the car.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan agrees. Then, “I know of a place we can go.”

“Really?” Wei Ying asks. 

“Mn.”

“Okay!” He grins and nods. “Perfect! Lead the way, Hanguang-jun!”

“I do not understand that nickname,” Lan Zhan says, leading the car to wherever it is he’s taking Wei Ying. Wei Ying briefly wonders if it’s a good idea to just blindly go with someone to a place he doesn’t know, but since when has he ever listened to the logical side of his brain? Does his brain even have a logical side?

“I read it in a book somewhere,” Wei Ying says, leaning back into his seat and settling in with a soft sigh. “I think it means… Light Bearing Lord? Or something. Dunno. It’s pretty fitting though, don’t you think?” He grins. “What, would you prefer Lan Er-gege instead?”

Lan Zhan doesn’t look away from the road, but Wei Ying can just barely make out the way his ears burn upon the nickname. He cackles from his seat, hands clutching his lower abdomen.

“Ridiculous,” Lan Zhan mutters, but Wei Ying knows he doesn’t mean it. Not really, anyways.

They drive for a while, and Wei Ying uses the time to hum along softly with whatever familiar songs play from the radio station. He stares out of the car window, thinking better than to keep looking at Lan Zhan like he had been doing before. He doesn’t exactly know why, but it makes something in his stomach swoop around in a bit of a nervous frenzy. Wei Ying gulps, pushing it away and out of his mind before he can dwell on it further. 

It’s not a big deal till it’s made into a big deal, and Wei Ying will not let it become a big deal. 

He isn’t sure when his eyes begin to droop, but it’s only when he feels a soft nudge on his shoulder that he darts awake, eyes blinking the sleep away. He looks over to see Lan Zhan staring at him, the moonlight doing nothing but accentuating the pretty golden flecks in his eyes. The eyes that are, without a doubt, bearing directly into Wei Ying’s own. 

Wei Ying gulps. 

“We’re here?” he asks, breaking away from his gaze and looking around. The first thing he notices is that they’re in the more rural parts of town, a tall mountain towering over them somewhere in the back. Lan Zhan has parked in a small landing looking out into the main city. 

“Mn,” Lan Zhan confirms. Wei Ying nods and quickly manages to unbuckle his seatbelt. He opens the car door and tumbles out, catching himself with a steadying breath. 

What is with him tonight?

He pulls himself together when he sees Lan Zhan closing the doors and locking the car with his keys. He walks over to the backseat window, staring inside with a small, fond smile. He’s looking at A-Yuan, Wei Ying realizes, his little sleeping son. 

“What time is it?” Wei Ying asks when Lan Zhan walks up to join him. 

Lan Zhan wordlessly takes his phone out, tapping the screen to wake it up. “It’s a quarter past nine.”

“We were driving for that long?” 

Lan Zhan hums. “I did not want to wake you up.”

At this, Wei Ying can’t help but laugh. “Wow,” he murmurs. “I can’t believe I was the one to fall asleep by Lan family curfew, and you were the one who stayed up and babysat me.”

“It is not a bother for me,” Lan Zhan says, furrowing his eyebrows. “I do not usually prefer staying up past nine, but you are right.”

“About what?”

“There is nothing better to do. It is Friday evening.”

Wei Ying nods, clasping his hands behind his back and spinning on his heel. He walks up to the fence at the very edge of the cliff they’re standing on, breathing in the night air. He closes his eyes for a moment when he hears rustling from behind him, indicating that Lan Zhan too is walking up and standing beside him. Wei Ying opens his eyes and artfully avoids looking at him, instead focusing directly on the view. 

Beautiful is the first word that comes to Wei Ying’s mind. It’s an absolutely gorgeous lookout spot, one that many tourists often come to. The dark of the night bathes the city outline, and since it is still quite early, the lights from the buildings beneath them almost look like twinkling little stars. The air is a pleasant chill, just shy of being too cold to bear. Wei Ying’s eyes widen for a moment, then soften as he feels an overwhelming sense of warmth pooling in his chest. 

“Where are we?” he asks, finally taking a chance and glancing over to his left. Lan Zhan is silently looking at him, and Wei Ying tries to avoid thinking about how the moonlight accentuates every curve and slope of his nose and cheekbones. 

“Gusu Mountains,” Lan Zhan responds. 

“Gusu… Mount Gusu?” Wei Ying asks, blinking rapidly. There’s a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach at the name. He cocks his head to the side, lips parting. “Why did you bring us to Mount Gusu?”

“It is quiet here,” Lan Zhan says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Wei Ying almost wants to cower back. “Oh,” he says, the epitome of eloquence. He shivers.

“Are you cold?”

Nothing gets past him, huh?

“No,” Wei Ying says, followed by another shiver.

Lan Zhan gracefully raises an eyebrow. 

Wei Ying groans. “I’m not,” he presses. “You’re just making me nervous!”

“I am making you nervous?” Lan Zhan asks. He looks stricken, like this is actually a surprise. Wei Ying wants to cry. “I am sorry. We can go back—”

“No!” Wei Ying quickly says. “You’re stupid. I don’t wanna go back!”

“But you said—”

“I don’t actually mean half the things I say,” Wei Ying babbles on, stopping to swallow. “Except the stupid bit. You’re definitely stupid.”

“Did I do something to make you upset?” Lan Zhan asks, looking genuinely confused. 

Wei Ying twists his lips, struggling to find the correct words. When he finally does speak, it comes out as a bit of a garbled mess. “No, you stupidhead!”

“Then… why…?”

“Okay, shut up!” Wei Ying says, childishly stomping on the ground and sticking his lips out in a pout. Jiang Cheng once told him that this particular facial expression of his made him look like a duck. Wei Ying immediately tries to push the thought away. There is absolutely no way he’s going to think about his dumb little brother right now.

When he looks back over to Lan Zhan, the latter’s lips are sealed and he’s looking out past the cliff. 

Wei Ying rolls his eyes because he can’t help himself. “I didn’t mean actually shut up.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan says. “I know.”

“You know?” At this, Wei Ying huffs out a smile. “Aw, Lan Zhan! You’re beginning to understand the way I speak now!”

“It is not hard,” Lan Zhan says. “You are very… articulate.”

“Am I?”

“Mn.”

“Hm…” Wei Ying hums, taking the risk and leaning against the thin wooden railing with his elbows. “I used to come here a lot as a child. Uncle Jiang would bring me, Jiang Cheng, and Jiejie.” He puffs out his lips and releases a breath, only mildly alarmed when he sees the air visibly leaving his mouth. “Aunt Yu wasn’t very happy when she found out where Uncle Jiang was whisking us off every weekend, but well, she’s never been too fond of me.”

He feels a hand on his arm, and looks up to see Lan Zhan giving him a strange look. 

“Uncle Jiang and Aunt Yu,” he begins, “are they your adoptive parents?”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying nods affirmatively. “Uncle Jiang was good friends with my parents before they passed. He, um, took me in.” He isn’t exactly sure why he’s suddenly spilling out his entire life story, but Lan Zhan doesn’t seem like he minds too much. Wei Ying is glad for that—Lan Zhan never makes him feel like he’s burdening him with their conversations. 

“I see,” Lan Zhan says, letting go of his hold on Wei Ying’s forearm and stepping back a bit. “Your… are they good to you?” When Wei Ying doesn’t respond for a second, he quickly adds, “I am sorry if this is overstepping.”

“No no, don’t worry about it,” Wei Ying waves him off. “It’s okay. I love them both, no matter what they feel about me.”

Lan Zhan purses his lips as the information sinks in. “You are avoiding the question.”

Wei Ying releases a soft breath, pressing his lips into a thin line as he winces when memories come flooding back to him. 

“Uncle Jiang…” He trails off, searching for the right words. “Well, he’s always… he’s always been a bit of a pushover? Kind of? He and my aunt own a pretty large company together, but he’s… they don’t always agree with each other.” Then, he laughs breathily. “They disagree even more when it comes to their kids.”

“You?” Lan Zhan asks. 

“Mhm,” Wei Ying says, “and Jiang Cheng. Jiejie’s always been pretty independent when it comes to this stuff. Actually, did you know that Jiang Cheng and I weren’t even on speaking terms throughout all of our college lives?” He can’t help but grin. “I’m so glad we got past that.”

Lan Zhan looks like he wants to ask something more. 

Wei Ying immediately understands. “You wanna know why, right?”

Lan Zhan’s eyes flicker up to meet his, and he looks slightly shocked that Wei Ying knows exactly what he’s thinking. Still, he nods. “Mn.”

Wei Ying nods, then starts fiddling around with his fingers. He bites his bottom lip as he starts to speak, ignoring the pangs in his chest as his mind starts revisiting the part of his life he has so carefully tucked away. It isn’t that he minds talking about it—far from it, really—it’s just that when he does, he’s not exactly sure what to say. 

“Have you heard of Yunmeng Jiang?” he asks. He looks over to Lan Zhan’s whose eyes suddenly become very wide. Wei Ying smiles. “Good, so you have. Jiang Cheng is the CEO.”

“In Lotus Pier?” Lan Zhan asks.

“Yeah,” Wei Ying nods. “Yunmeng Jiang is my adoptive family’s company. It was started by one of Uncle Jiang’s ancestors, and it’s been passed down for generations. Obviously, when we became old enough, Jiang Cheng was supposed to become the next head, because even though he’s younger than me, he’s still the only blood-related son of the Jiang family.” He hums thoughtfully. “Well, I guess Jiejie was also an option, but she never wanted it.”

Lan Zhan nods. “Mn.”

“Jiang Cheng was going to be the CEO, but,” Wei Ying says, looking down at his feet, “Uncle Jiang always preferred me.”  

Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything to this, instead simply letting Wei Ying continue. 

“Obviously, Aunt Yu wasn’t too happy about this. It wasn’t very good for their marriage, to be honest, but theirs was arranged so really nothing was perfect about it. I guess, seeing her husband care more for the servant’s son than his own child ticked her off. She’s never really liked me.” Wei Ying sighs, reaching up to hide his face in the palms of his hands. “I didn’t even want the company. I wanted to be a teacher! But obviously even this wasn’t enough to get her off my back, because apparently I was being ungrateful and shit.”

“I suppose your brother wasn’t too happy about it.”

“He didn’t believe me,” Wei Ying says. “He thought I was doing it for him, and that I actually did want to become the next Yunmeng Jiang CEO. When I applied to university with a major in education, it made him so angry that he refused to speak with me for years, even after he became the official head of the company.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, catching his eye. “This is not your fault.”

Wei Ying huffs. “I still invite Uncle Jiang and Aunt Yu to every gathering I have, but they never come. Remember my birthday party? I had invited them but Jiejie told me they were on a business trip.” He looks away, twisting his lips into a frown. It feels weird on his lips. “But at least Jiang Cheng is okay with me now. We have, um, an interesting relationship, but at least the relationship is there in the first place.”

“Mn. Your brother is… very loud.”

At this, Wei Ying can’t help the loud laugh from escaping his lips. “Ha! He is! He’s also really annoying. He gets annoyed easily, too. It’s like you can never win with that guy.” He smiles fondly, remembering something. “Remember how he stayed the night on my birthday? The next morning he kept annoying me about you.”

“Me?” Lan Zhan blinks. 

Wei Ying nods. “It’s really stupid, but like, I think at least half of the people there think there’s something between us.” He pauses. “Wait. I told you about this already.” He groans. “Whatever.”

“Mn.” 

“But don’t worry about it,” Wei Ying says. “Wen Qing already told everyone that we’re just friends.”

Lan Zhan doesn’t reply for a moment. Then, “Mn.”

Wei Ying laughs. “Well, anyways. That’s my story. Gotta say, Lan Zhan, I never thought the day would come when I’d be standing in Mount Gusu spilling my life story to someone.” He chuckles, hiding his mouth behind his hand. “Guess you really do bring out the worst in me!”

Wei Ying hears footsteps walking up to him, and the next thing he knows, Lan Zhan is right next to him, standing perfectly still and staring out into the horizon. Wei Ying gulps instinctively, but doesn’t find it in himself to step away.

When Lan Zhan speaks next, his voice is low. 

“I lost my mother and father,” he says, and Wei Ying’s head snaps to face him. “I was too young to understand at the time, but my uncle is the one who has raised me and my brother.”

“Lan Zhan—”

“I do not remember my mother very well,” Lan Zhan continues, ignoring him. “Just that I loved her fiercely. I was devastated when she passed.”

Wei Ying stares at him, the air suddenly growing a few degrees warmer. There’s a certain softness behind Lan Zhan’s words, something that Wei Ying can’t help but cling to. It’s profoundly personal, this conversation they’re sharing, and if Wei Ying knew any better he’d definitely be first to back away. Yet, he can’t seem to do it. Something keeps him there, staring intently right back into Lan Zhan’s eyes. Lan Zhan is back to looking at him, glints of yellow visible even through the dim moonlight. 

Wei Ying gulps.

“And… your uncle?”

“Uncle is a brilliant person,” Lan Zhan says, “but I do… sometimes I wish he would have let me have more freedom as a child.” He takes a moment to glance over his shoulder, back at the car. “It is one of the reasons I swore to give A-Yuan the childhood he is worthy of.”

“You’re a good father,” Wei Ying says. “I know I’ve told you this a lot, but, I really think it’s true.” He wonders if it’s appropriate to reach out and put a hand on Lan Zhan’s shoulder, and ultimately decides to just go for it. Lan Zhan bristles slightly at the unexpected touch, but he doesn’t pull away, and after a few seconds he even seems to visibly relax into it. Wei Ying presses his lips together when Lan Zhan’s eyes flutter close and he exhales slowly.

“I am glad you think so,” Lan Zhan says. “I have only ever wanted what is best for him.”

“It seems your uncle approves of him.”

“Not at first,” Lan Zhan says, opening his eyes again and looking somewhere in the distance. “It took awhile for him to open up to the reality that was me suddenly becoming a father. In fact, he refused to support me unless I got married before the adoption process.”

“What?” Wei Ying asks, eyes going wide. “Why?”

“He was simply worried for me,” Lan Zhan says with a sigh. “He did not want to see me under a lot of pressure alone. But… I was only twenty-four. I had a stable job. I did not have any reason to get married.”

Wei Ying leans back in a stretch, a lazy smirk quirking at the corners of his lips. “I’m sure the prestigious Hanguang-jun had someone in mind, though.” He grins. “Right?”

“Wrong,” Lan Zhan says quietly. “I do not… there was no one in my heart.”

“Seriously?”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, turning to look at him again. His gaze is sharper than before, like he has thought about this before. Wei Ying’s almost sure he has. After all, how could someone not contemplate their love life every now and then?

“Yeah?”

Lan Zhan purses his lips. “Wei Ying. I have a child.”

“So?”

“It is not fair,” Lan Zhan begins, “for me to put that kind of responsibility on another person. A-Yuan should not be a burden for my partner.”

Wei Ying furrows his eyebrows. “What? So just because of that, you refuse to date?”

“It is not just because of that,” Lan Zhan presses. “It is a very legitimate concern.”

“I mean, I guess,” Wei Ying says. “But the way I see it, it’s their choice whether or not they want to take on the responsibility of A-Yuan. I don’t think you should be the one to worry about that.”

Lan Zhan stays quiet for a moment. “That is what my brother tells me as well.”

“See?” Wei Ying says. “I knew I liked your brother for a reason! He is the voice of reason I’m telling you.”

“I still would not feel comfortable with it,” Lan Zhan says. “Unless…” He stops himself there.

Wei Ying leans closer to him, eyebrows raised atop his forehead. 

“Unless…?” he prompts.

“Unless,” Lan Zhan starts again, “I know for sure.”

“Know what for sure?”

“Know for sure that they feel just as strongly for A-Yuan. As I do.” He says it with a somewhat wistful expression—like he doesn’t believe it’s possible. Like A-Yuan isn’t the most lovable child in the entire universe. 

Something akin to heat curls in the depths of Wei Ying’s chest at the thought. If it were up to him, Lan Zhan would be happily dating someone and his partner would be caring for both him and his child like their life depended on it. But Wei Ying knows that it isn’t up to him. He knows that whatever he may say will likely not make much of a difference.

Still. 

“There’s definitely someone out there,” he says, making Lan Zhan give him a funny look.

“Mn.” He doesn’t elaborate.

Wei Ying slowly exhales, leaning against the railing and tilting his chin up to look at the sky. He can’t see the stars, but he knows that they are there. A constant, comforting presence looking down upon him and the rest of the world. 

And then, he breathes.

Chapter Text

“I am so sorry about this, A-Ying,” Jiang Yanli is saying as she rolls up with a bright green stroller. Baby Jin Ling is kicking his feet around inside, bubbling laughter coming from his lips. Wei Ying looks up from where he’s sitting at one of the tables outside of the cafe with a smile, quickly putting his phone away and getting up to go and greet his sister.

“Jie!” he says happily, taking the stroller handles into his own grasp and skipping over to the table. Jiang Yanli shoots him a grateful smile, slipping into the seat across from him. Wei Ying has already taken the liberty of ordering her favorite mocha latte, and she pulls the full mug closer to her and leans in to take a sip. Wei Ying grins, “Don’t worry about it at all! My Saturday was completely empty and boring anyways.”

“I’m glad,” Jiang Yanli says. “A-Xuan and I weren’t expecting such a sudden invitation from the company, and our babysitter requires at least a two-day advance notice.” She looks extremely tired, dark circles painting the bottom of her eyes. 

“I love my favorite nephew. I’m happy to look after him for a weekend,” Wei Ying says, waving it off. He looks over to Jin Ling, who’s currently in the midst of trying to pull the funniest face at him. “We’re gonna have so much fun, right, A-Ling?”

“Fun!” Jin Ling repeats, giggling. 

Jiang Yanli’s smile softens. “Thank you, A-Ying,” she says, reaching over the table and clasping his hands in hers. “I would have asked A-Cheng to help out but he’s coming with us to the meeting.”

“Where is it?” Wei Ying asks, tightening his hold on her.

“Lanling,” Jiang Yanli says. 

“Lanling?” Wei Ying repeats, cocking his head to the side. “Headquarters? Are you sure you’re gonna be able to come back in two days? It’s pretty far from here.”

“I’ll leave the conference early if I have to,” Jiang Yanli says with a laugh. “I don’t really need to be there, anyways. A-Xuan insisted that I come along.”

“If that peacock is giving you any trouble—”

“A-Ying,” Jiang Yanli says sternly. 

Wei Ying pouts. “Okay, okay. Whatever. Sorry.” He settles back into his seat, lifting his own mug of coffee up to his lips and taking a small sip. 

“There’s a reception at the end of it,” Jiang Yanli says. “A bit of a formal gathering.” She laughs. “No children allowed, of course, but A-Xuan made a fair point about it being beneficial for me to appear there with him.”

“Being the CEO’s wife sounds like a lot of work,” Wei Ying grimaces. “I pity whoever Jiang Cheng ends up with.”

“That kid,” Jiang Yanli says, shaking her head and smiling fondly. “I keep telling him it’s about time he meets someone. He just turned twenty-five last week.”

“Fuck, right,” Wei Ying curses, immediately throwing his hands to cover his mouth. He gives Jin Ling a sheepish glance when Jiang Yanli glares at him, but then releases a quick sigh before continuing. “Jiang Cheng’s birthday party. It’s in a week, right? What am I supposed to get him?”

He had gotten the invitation a few weeks ago in his inbox, but it had completely slipped his mind till just now. Jiang Yanli gives him an incredulous look, before it melts back into an amused smile. She uses a small spoon by her plate to swirl through her latte, shaking her head. 

“Whatever you get him, I’m sure he’ll love it,” she says. “It’s just a house party in his apartment, so I wouldn’t worry too much about the formalities.” Her eyes sparkle. “Maybe you should bring someone with you?”

“Huh?” Wei Ying blinks.

“It’ll help set a good example for your brother,” Jiang Yanli says. “Plus, well, I’m not sure if you’ve been seeing someone, A-Ying, but from what I hear…”

“What do you hear?” Wei Ying asks. 

Jiang Yanli gives him a meaningful look. “Wen Qing mentioned something about that… Lan laoshi? The teacher who came to your birthday party.”

“You talk to Wen Qing?”

“Of course I talk to Wen Qing!” Jiang Yanli says. “She gives me weekly updates on how you’re doing, you know. And on her own life, of course. Oh, A-Ying, her and Mianmian are so sweet.”

“She’s still with Mianmian?”

Jiang Yanli reaches over to lightly smack his arm. “Aren’t you the one who lives with her?”

“Well, yeah,” Wei Ying says, “but we don’t usually talk about that stuff. It’s weird.”

“There’s nothing weird about it,” Jiang Yanli says. “She’s your best friend. You should ask her about her relationship sometime. It’s absolutely wonderful.”

“Holy shi—crap,” Wei Ying says. “They’ve been together for so long now.”

“Almost three years,” Jiang Yanli says, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Wei Ying raises an eyebrow. “I don’t know how to feel about my older sister keeping tabs on me through my roommate.”

“But anyways,” Jiang Yanli continues, ignoring him. “Tell me about your boyfriend.”

Wei Ying scrunches his nose and raises his eyebrows high on his forehead. “I don’t know what Wen Qing is telling you, but Lan Zhan is not my boyfriend.” He rolls his eyes. “Seriously, why does everyone think we’re dating? Even A-Yuan always says something about it.”

“A-Yuan is his child, right?” Jiang Yanli asks.

“Yeah,” Wei Ying nods. “He’s my kid too.”

Jiang Yanli looks at him.

“Not like that!” Wei Ying quickly says, shaking his hands out in front of his chest. “He’s a kid in my class.”

“Oh, I know,” Jiang Yanli says. “I just thought your phrasing was funny.”

“Jie!”

“What?” Jiang Yanli asks, feigning innocence. She smiles warmly then. “Well, even if the two of you aren’t together. You can still bring him along. I’m sure A-Cheng won’t mind.”

“He’ll never let me live it down,” Wei Ying says. 

“Well, yes, I suppose that’s true.”

“You just want me to suffer.”

“I just think,” Jiang Yanli says, “that this could be an opportunity for the two of you to get closer. You and Lan laoshi.”

“We’re already close,” Wei Ying argues, crossing his arms. “Plus, I can’t bring him with me. He makes me feel weird.”

Jiang Yanli lifts a delicate eyebrow as she speaks, “Oh?”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying says, nodding fervently. “Yesterday he took me up to the Gusu Mountains. Gusu Mountains. And then we just stood there and talked for like an hour and it was so weird.”

“A-Ying, you really are a kid,” Jiang Yanli says with a laugh. 

“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?” Wei Ying exclaims.

“Nothing,” his sister says. “Just… think about it? I think it would be nice if you brought him along. You said you’re close, right?”

“Lan Zhan is my best friend,” Wei Ying says seriously. 

Jiang Yanli’s expression is somewhat hard to decipher—it’s a bit frustrating for Wei Ying. He’s always been able to tell what his sister’s thinking at any given moment. She’s the person who knows him best, and he likes to think he knows her fairly well too.

Still, when they depart it’s with smiles. Jin Zixuan comes to pick Jiang Yanli up, and Wei Ying pointedly ignores him till his sister ends up pinching his ear. He leaves with Jin Ling in his stroller a few minutes after they leave, climbing into his car and taking out the car seat he had bought earlier that morning.

Jin Ling is whining throughout the entire ride for his mother, and Wei Ying knows it’ll take him a couple of hours to convince the baby he’s actually the one who’s going to be taking care of him for the next few days.

He doesn’t think it’s going to be too much of a problem. After all, he is Jin Ling’s favorite uncle. 

“Dajiu!” Jin Ling squeals as they enter Wei Ying’s apartment. 

Wen Qing immediately looks up from where she’s sitting on the couch.

“Wei Ying,” she starts, eyes darting between him Jin Ling, “when you told me you were going out to lunch with your sister, you did not mention that you’d be bringing home a child.”

Wei Ying waves her off. “Sometimes you just gotta go where life takes you, Qingqing-jie.”

Wen Qing looks like she desperately wants to say something.

“Besides,” Wei Ying says, “what kind of uncle would I be if I didn’t agree to babysitting my lovely cute little baby nephew?”

“I am not helping you,” Wen Qing says immediately.

Wei Ying sticks his tongue out at her. “I wasn’t even asking you to help me!”

“Yeah, but I don’t trust that you won’t later,” Wen Qing says, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. “Actually, no, you’re definitely gonna ask for my help later. I’m leaving.” With that, she marches over to the front door and takes her jacket and purse. 

Wei Ying looks at her incredulously. “What? Where are you going?”

“I’ll be back tomorrow morning,” Wen Qing says. 

“Okay, but where are you going?”

“My girlfriend’s house,” Wen Qing says as she mindlessly takes her phone out and begins to type something on it.

“Wait—wait, you’re seriously still with Mianmian? Why didn’t you ever mention it?”

“Literally. What.” Wen Qing turns to deadpan him a stare. “Did I ever mention breaking up with her? What?”

“No,” Wei Ying says.

Wen Qing stares at him. “So?”

“Okay, okay,” Wei Ying says, still bouncing Jin Ling lightly in his arms. “Okay, I get it. I’m an idiot. Have fun!” Then, he smirks. “But not too much fun.”

The door slams shut in his face.

Wei Ying sighs, looking down at the baby in his arms who is staring up at him with a curious expression. 

“Jin Ling ah,” he starts, “you’ll be nice to jiujiu, won’t you?”

A certain smell drifts by Wei Ying’s nose, making him immediately startle.

He groans. “A-Ling!”

—

Okay. This is fine. How hard can changing a measly little diaper even be?

Very hard, apparently.

After a couple of attempts—failed ones, of course—Wei Ying decides that it’s better if he just dies young. He thinks about calling his sister, but that idea is immediately thrown out the window when he realizes Jiang Yanli is probably on her flight to Lanling right now. He grimaces, looking down at Jin Ling, who is currently rolling around on the bathroom counter with tears beginning to form at the corners of his eyes.

Maybe if he had a friend with a kid, he could— 

Wait.

“Lan Zhan!” he yells into the phone as he tries to soothe Jin Ling’s cries. “Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! Are you there? Oh, please tell me you’re there!”

“Wei Ying,” comes Lan Zhan’s voice, just a little crackly through the line. “Is everything okay?”

“No!” Wei Ying exclaims.

“Are you crying?”

“No!” Wei Ying says. “That’s Jin Ling!”

“Jin Ling?”

“My nephew!” Wei Ying says. “Remember? You met my sister at my birthday party, right? He’s her baby! Lan Zhan, you need to help me!”

“What is going on?”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, beginning to get anxious as Jin Ling’s wails become even louder. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to change a diaper! You’re the only person I know who has a kid. You’re literally my only hope right now.”

“Is Nurse Wen there?”

“She went to her girlfriend’s place to avoid exactly this from happening,” Wei Ying says with a pout. “Can you help me? Please? You just need to tell me what to do!”

“Are you at your home right now?”

“Yeah, why?” 

“Alright,” Lan Zhan says. “Clean him up with water and some towels. I will be there shortly.”

“What—Lan Zhan, what? No! You don’t have to—”

The call ends.

The doorbell rings about ten minutes later, and Wei Ying trudges himself over and opens the door wide. Lan Zhan is standing there holding a bag with a pattern of bunnies and carrots on it. Wei Ying raises his eyebrows as he moves aside to let him in, and Lan Zhan immediately bends down to take out a pair of white heavy duty gloves. He slips them onto his hands and gestures to the hallway where the cries are coming from.

Wei Ying gapes at him.

“Where is the baby?” Lan Zhan asks, expression completely serious.

“Uh…” Wei Ying shakes his head, quickly gathering himself up and walking past him to the bathroom. Lan Zhan follows him, and when he sees Jin Ling in the bathroom, he walks up to him confidently and gets to work.

Jin Ling’s cries only increase when the new person comes into view, but Lan Zhan ignores this and keeps going. Wei Ying watches from the doorway as the task is completed in a few short moments, and when Lan Zhan is throwing the dirty work into the trash can, he finally finds his voice to speak. 

“Holy shit.”

Lan Zhan turns and gives him a look. “Do not curse in front of the baby.”

“Sorry,” Wei Ying says. “I just… what? What just happened?”

Lan Zhan picks up Jin Ling into his arms and gently begins to rub his back. Jin Ling, who suddenly seems to like this new guy, relaxes into Lan Zhan’s shoulder with a quiet gurgling sound. Wei Ying can’t help his disgusted look.

“I helped you with the baby,” Lan Zhan answers simply.

Wei Ying slaps his hand to his forehead. “Jie is gonna kill me.”

“I am sure she will understand,” Lan Zhan says, walking up to Wei Ying and past him. He slides out of the bathroom, leaving Wei Ying blinking for a few moments before quickly scrambling to clean up the rest of the bathroom and spray a bit of the new perfume he had gotten as a birthday gift from Wen Ning into the air.

When he’s done, he reaches for the light switch and snaps it off, walking out of the bathroom and closing the door firmly shut behind him. When he gets back to the living room, Lan Zhan is sitting behind Jin Ling and running a comb through his hair. 

Wei Ying blinks once, then twice.

“What’re you doing?”

Lan Zhan glances up to him briefly, before his eyes slide back down to the task at hand. “Taking care of the baby.”

Wei Ying pads over to him, sitting down across from him and Jin Ling and putting his hands in his lap. For some reason, he suddenly feels incredibly incompetent. 

“Um,” he starts, “sorry.”

“There is nothing you need to apologize for,” Lan Zhan says immediately. 

“I’m just glad you have the whole diaper experience already,” Wei Ying says.

“I do not.”

Wei Ying stares at him. “Huh? But you…”

“A-Yuan was already trained in the bathroom when I adopted him,” Lan Zhan explains. “There was never any need for diapers.”

“What?!” 

Lan Zhan levels him with a look. “Is there a problem?”

“No,” Wei Ying shakes his head. “No, of course not. I just… what? How the fuck did you know how to change A-Ling’s diaper, then? What?”

“Do not curse in front of the baby,” Lan Zhan chides immediately. Then, he sighs. “Wei Ying. Changing a diaper is not very difficult. It just requires a little concentration and a bit of logical sense.”

“I feel like I was just insulted for some reason,” Wei Ying murmurs. 

Lan Zhan, “Mn.”

“So, what, you didn’t actually know how to change a diaper when I called you?” Wei Ying asks, placing his elbows on his knees and leaning forwards. “You just packed your baby things and came here? Seriously?”

“You sounded… distressed.”

“This is so embarrassing,” Wei Ying says, cowering in on himself and hiding his face in his hands. Suddenly, he realizes something. His head snaps up and he meets Lan Zhan’s eyes. “What about A-Yuan? Holy shit, did I make you leave A-Yuan at home alone?”

“Of course not,” Lan Zhan says. “A-Yuan is with my brother for the day.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says elloquently. “I guess it… worked out then? Haha.”

Wei Ying doesn’t know why he feels so awkward right now. It’s just Lan Zhan. It’s the same Lan Zhan who he loves to tease and make fun of and hang out with and bother to his heart's content. So then, why does he suddenly feel so… so weird? He feels the palms of his hands beginning to become clammy, and there’s a faint trickle of something akin to sweat pooling at his temple. 

Lan Zhan is running his fingers through Jin Ling’s hair, the softest of smiles painted on his delicate features, and all of a sudden it’s all too much.

Wei Ying’s throat goes completely dry as his chest blooms with an unfamiliar feeling. He watches as Lan Zhan cradles his nephew in his arms, quieting him down and handling him with all the care in the world. Wei Ying wonders what it would feel like if it were him in Lan Zhan’s arms instead, and—

No.

He stumbles up to his feet, making Lan Zhan look at him in alarm.

“Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan asks, voice oh so perfect and oh so concerned. 

Wei Ying gulps heavily, then raises a shaky hand up in the direction of the bathroom. “I’ll, uh…” He trails off for a moment, inhaling deeply to calm himself down. “Bathroom.”

He barely pauses to see Lan Zhan’s reaction to that, instead turning out and bolting away and out of his sight. Once he’s safely in his bathroom, he leans against the door and steadies himself. He takes a few breaths, eyes wide as he stares down at the floor. His heart is pounding wildly in his chest, and suddenly everything is one hundred-percent not okay.

He fumbles around his front pocket for a moment and produces his phone in his hands. He opens it, gulping deeply, and clicks into his contacts. 

Wen Qing? No. He can’t do that. He has no idea of what he’ll be interrupting if he calls her.

His sister? No. She probably just landed and is with her stupid husband. 

He eyes the next person in his emergency contacts, and clicks call without a second thought.

The phone rings three times before Wei Ying makes out the sound of a familiar scowl. 

“What do you want?” says Wei Ying’s least favorite voice in the world. 

“Jiang Cheng,” Wei Ying says, his breath coming out just a little too squeaky to be considered normal—even for him. 

There’s a pause. Then, “What do you want?”

“Jiang Cheng,” Wei Ying says again. “Lan Zhan is in my living room and I’m hiding in the bathroom because I’m really, really freaking out right now and he’s so goddamn pretty and holy shit I’m about to go insane and I can’t do it and he’s just sitting there taking care of Jin Ling and it’s literally way too much and I feel so weird and my heart is fucking about to explode and I just—”

“What the fuck,” Jiang Cheng interrupts him. “Why the fuck are you calling me about this?”

“Jiang Cheng.”

“No, wait, you know what,” Jiang Cheng says, “here. We all just landed in Lanling. Talk to A-Jie about this shit.” There’s a faint rustling sound, before Wei Ying hears his favorite voice in the world speak. 

“A-Ying?” Jiang Yanli asks sweetly, concern laced in her words.  “Is everything okay?”

“Jie,” Wei Ying says, “Jiejie. Jie, you were right.”

Jiang Yanli doesn’t say anything for a few moments, and Wei Ying can barely make out the sound of Jin Zixuan saying something in the back. He ignores it. The last thing he needs right now is to think about that stupid peacock. 

“What was I right about?” Jiang Yanli asks softly. 

“I was literally fine, like, two seconds ago,” Wei Ying says, his speech coming out in a jumbled mess. “I didn’t know how to change a diaper so I called Lan Zhan over and he just came without any complaints he doesn’t even know how to change a stupid fucking diaper but he came to my apartment with all this baby shit and helped me with Jin Ling and now he’s back out there sitting on the floor in my fucking living room combing Jin Ling’s hair and Jin Ling isn’t even his child he isn’t even my child but he already always does this kind of shit for A-Yuan and he’s so good and perfect and so fucking beautiful and life is so unfair Jie life is so fucking unfair.”

He ends his rant by inhaling a deep breath and panting heavily. 

“Oh,” Jiang Yanli says, and Wei Ying can practically hear the smile in her voice. “Oh, A-Ying.”

“Jie.”

“A-Ying,” Jiang Yanli says, “Deep breaths, A-Ying. It’s okay. You said he’s in the living room, right?”

“Yeah,” says Wei Ying.

“Okay, good,” Jiang Yanli says. “Everything is going to be okay. You’ve just realized that perhaps your feelings for him run a little deeper than just friendship, hm?” Wei Ying closes his eyes. “That’s okay, A-Ying. That’s perfectly normal. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

“It’s stupid,” Wei Ying says. “I think it’s stupid.”

Jiang Yanli laughs. “Why don’t you go back outside and talk to him?”

“I can’t talk to him about it, Jie!”

“Not about that,” Jiang Yanli says. “I don’t think you’re quite ready to talk about it with him yet. Am I right?”

“Yeah.”

“But you should,” his sister says, “not now, but eventually, okay?”

Wei Ying grimaces at that. “I don’t know. I don’t think I can.”

“Why not?” Jiang Yanli asks.

“He doesn’t… he told me he doesn’t date,” Wei Ying says, gulping heavily. “He was like, he was telling me about how he wouldn’t feel comfortable with it. Or something.”

“A-Ying, you can never be completely sure unless you ask.”

“I know, but…”

On the other end of the line, Wei Ying hears the distinct voice of his younger brother yelling to give him his phone back. Wei Ying can’t help but roll his eyes, despite everything, and he pushes a laugh back when he settles into the absolute absurdity that is his current situation.

“A-Ying, I’ll talk to you later about this, okay?” his sister says. “A-Cheng, A-Xuan and I need to find the car. I’ll see you soon though, alright? I love you.”

“Love you too, Jie,” Wei Ying says, “bye. Tell Jiang Cheng he’s a piece of shit for me.”

When the call ends, Wei Ying lets his phone hang limply off his arm. He takes a deep breath, straightening himself and peering across the bathroom and into the mirror. He walks up to it, runs his fingers through his hair to comb it down, and then pats his clothes against his chest. He nods to himself, plastering on a natural smile, before turning around and walking straight out the bathroom door.

He finds Lan Zhan in the kitchen and Jin Ling sitting on the counter. Lan Zhan is rummaging through his giant bunny-themed baby bag. He’s taking out a banana and peeling it, putting the bare fruit into a small bowl. 

He looks up when Wei Ying enters. 

“Wei Ying,” he greets with a nod. “Are you alright?”

“Peachy,” Wei Ying says, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter. He ignores the feeling of the tips of his cheeks becoming just a few degrees too warm. “What’re you doing?”

“Do you have a spoon?” Lan Zhan asks in lieu of answering the question. Wei Ying blinks in surprise for a hot second, before pointing to one of the drawers. Lan Zhan opens it, finds what he’s looking for, and then proceeds to smash the banana into a soft formula. 

Wei Ying gapes at him. He walks over to where Jin Ling is sitting, his nephew reaching out and punching him on his side. 

“Soft fruits are good for babies,” Lan Zhan explains as he lifts the bowl and takes a bit of the banana onto the spoon. He holds it out to Jin Ling’s mouth and opens his own. “Ahh. Say ahh, baby.”

“Baby?” Wei Ying repeats as Jin Ling complies without much fuss. 

“Is Jin Ling not a baby?”

Wei Ying can’t help the funny look he finds himself making. “I mean, I guess, but wouldn’t you refer to him by name instead?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Lan Zhan says, and Wei Ying’s stomach does that stupid little swooping thing. Lan Zhan looks back at Jin Ling, his expression softening as he continues to feed him the banana. “I would have gotten carrots,” he confesses, “but in order for them to be okay to feed a baby, I would have had to boil them. Didn’t have the time.”

Wei Ying feels the same way as he usually does when Lan Zhan begins talking about his carrot obsession, but now he supposes he can put an actual name to it: Endearment.

Oh, he is so fucking screwed.

“Of course you wanted to give him carrots,” he says. 

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan. “When I first met A-Yuan I fed him carrots as well.”

Wei Ying stares at him incredulously. “Seriously? His first ever memory of you is fucking carrots.” Lan Zhan immediately narrows his eyes on him, which makes Wei Ying smile sheepishly. He puts his hands up in the air. “Sorry, sorry. No swearing.”

“No swearing,” comes Jin Ling’s little voice. Wei Ying sticks his tongue out at him, and Jin Ling blows a raspberry back in retaliation.

“A-Yuan is fond of carrots,” Lan Zhan says. “I have let him explore his own likes and dislikes. If he ever shows distaste, I will stop making carrot-based dishes for the family.”

“No you won’t,” Wei Ying sniggers.

Lan Zhan pauses. “I will stop… for A-Yuan’s meals.”

“Ah, Lan Zhan ah,” Wei Ying can’t help but laugh, “I think I know you too well! Eh?”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan says, quietly positive. Wei Ying blinks back his initial surprise, but then manages to artfully suppress it in favor of walking over to the other side of the kitchen rummaging through his cabinets.

He takes out a little pod of coffee mix, holding it up to Lan Zhan in display. “I’m gonna make some coffee. You want?” Before Lan Zhan can reply, however, he remembers something. “Oh, wait, right. You don’t drink coffee, do you? No problem! How does tea sound?”

“Wei Ying has tea?” Lan Zhan asks, pleasantly surprised. Wei Ying tries hard not to revel in his expression. 

“Yeah,” he nods. “I mean, no, but like, yeah. I don’t drink it. Wen Qing goes on these fad diets every month for the heck of it even though I specifically tell her that there’s literally no need.” He sighs. “So instead of drinking coffee now, she’s taken a liking to green tea.”

Lan Zhan hums his approval.

“You do seem like a tea person,” Wei Ying comments as he uses his coffee machine to pour a mug of hot water. He sets a tea bag inside it before moving to start brewing his own drink. 

“Tea is a softer way to consume caffeine,” Lan Zhan says. 

“Softer?” Wei Ying repeats.

The tips of Lan Zhan’s ears turn a nice shade of pink. “I did not know what other word to use.”

Cute, Wei Ying thinks idly. Then, God, I need to fucking stop before I say this shit out loud by accident.

And then, when he sees the face Lan Zhan is suddenly making at him, he thinks with fair certainty, Too late.

Lan Zhan’s lips are parted in obvious surprise, and although his cheeks are the same cool spanse of skin as always (Lan Zhan doesn’t blush, Wei Ying has realized), his ears are absolutely burning. Wei Ying thinks, for a moment, what possibly could have happened to make him react in such a way.

But then…

“What?” Lan Zhan says, voice coming out in a deadly whisper.

Wei Ying blinks. “What?”

“What did you just say?”

“Huh?” Wei Ying asks, feigning innocence. He knows exactly what he has said. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You did,” Lan Zhan says. “You said…”

“What did I say?” 

Lan Zhan looks like he desperately wants the ground to swallow him whole. If Wei Ying wasn’t steaming in embarrassment, perhaps he’d find it in himself to tease him about it. 

“You called me…” Lan Zhan trails off, visibly gulping. Wei Ying has never seen him like this before. In all honesty, it’s kind of beginning to freak him out. More than he’s already freaked out. And he is very freaked out right now. 

“I did call you,” Wei Ying says, crossing his arms and pressing his lips together in a tight line. “But that was, like, an hour ago Lan Zhan! I called you with my phone and you came over.” He laughs awkwardly, hoping and praying that the latter will just go along with whatever stupid shit he’s saying. 

“... Right,” Lan Zhan says, and Wei Ying wants to kiss him because of how grateful he is.

He stops in his thoughts right then and there, because What the fuck, Wei Ying? Calm the fuck down.

He wishes, fleetingly, that Lan Zhan had never come over to his apartment today. Maybe then he wouldn’t have gone through his overly dramatic Realization Of Feelings. This was all so terribly uneccessary and stupid.

With a sigh, he retrieves his coffee and passes Lan Zhan’s tea over to him. Taking a sip, he grimaces.

He could really go for a nice, extra-large jar of Emperor's Smile right about now.

—

The following morning, Wei Ying explains his crisis to Wen Qing over lunch. They’re at one of their favorite restaurants, and Jin Ling is sitting in a baby-chair on the edge of the booth. When Wei Ying is finished with his rant, Wen Qing levels him with an unimpressed look.

“You’re an idiot,” Wen Qing says exasperatedly. “Seriously? You just realized your feelings for him?”

“What does that even mean,” Wei Ying groans. “And shut up! You’re beginning to sound like Jiang Cheng.”

“Your brother may be a little shit, but he does have a brain when it’s needed,” Wen Qing replies easily. She takes a bite of her salad, chewing the peppers in her mouth like her entire life depends on it. “And, anyways, I just thought you were already aware of your giant crush on him.”

“What do you mean, aware of it?” Wei Ying presses. “You’re acting like you’re the one who’s not surprised.”

“That’s because I’m not,” Wen Qing retaliates. “The only thing I’m surprised about is that you yourself weren’t aware of this.”

“I hate you, I hope you know that,” Wei Ying says. “And, what, you’re saying you already knew?”

“Of course I already knew,” Wen Qing says. “You spend more time with him than all your other friends combined. You do stuff for him that I never thought I’d see you do.”

“Like what?”

“Are you oblivious or just plain dumb?” Wen Qing snaps.

“Dajiu is dumb,” says Jin Ling.

Wei Ying’s cheeks go red, and he points an accusatory finger at the child. “You shut up, A-Ling! This is all your fault!”

In response to that, Jin Ling just throws his arms in the air and giggles. Wei Ying finds it incredibly insulting, but before he can use a few more choice words targeted at the demon that is his nephew, Wen Qing sends him a deathly glare. Wei Ying immediately cowers down, biting his lip in frustration. Fuck her and her grossly intimidating aura.

“Anyways,” Wei Ying says, sliding onto the next topic of conversation. “You’ll be my date to Jiang Cheng’s birthday party on Sunday, right?”

Wen Qing’s eyes go wide for a moment. She seems to think it over, before slowly shaking her head. 

“What?!” Wei Ying gasps. 

“I can’t,” Wen Qing says. “I’m going with Mianmian to visit her family next weekend. They invited me over for this annual family gathering and I can’t miss it.” She frowns at him. “I’m sorry. It would have been nice to meet your family again.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says. He shrugs. “Don’t worry about it. It’s at Jiang Cheng’s place anyway, so it’s not really a big deal.” He leans forward with great interest, then. “Mianmian’s fam jam gathering, huh? Sounds like… a lot.”

“It is,” Wen Qing nods. “I went last year, too. It’s horrible. Everything’s so formal.”

“You’re good in those kinds of situations, though,” Wei Ying says. “Remember last year’s end-of-year teacher formal? I never ever would have thought you were that good at socializing with strangers.”

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Wen Qing says pointedly. “Just a little… out there. At times.”

“Old Man Lan didn’t seem to think so,” Wei Ying says with a snicker. 

“Principal Lan has never been fond of you.”

“Oh!” Wei Ying says suddenly. “Did you know that he’s Lan Zhan’s uncle?”

“What?” Wen Qing asks, her mouth opening in surprise. “Lan Qiren is Lan laoshi’s uncle? Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying nods fervently. He doesn’t blame Wen Qing for being surprised—he had been in a similar condition when he had found out, too. “It’s crazy. Lan Zhan’s brother thought it was the funniest thing on the planet.”

“You’ve met his brother?” Wen Qing asks. “Oh, wait, right. You went with them to dinner the night after the open house, right?”

“Right,” Wei Ying nods in confirmation. 

Wen Qing mumbles, “It’s a wonder how the two of you aren’t already dating.” Then, “Why don’t you ask Lan laoshi to go with you to Jiang Cheng’s birthday party?”

“Absolutely not!” Wei Ying says immediately. “Maybe… perhaps I would have considered before this whole… mess. But now? Never. Nope! Not gonna happen.”

 “The two of you are friends,” Wen Qing says, rolling her eyes. “What do you have to worry about? It’s not like he’s gonna say no.”

“Exactly!” Wei Ying exclaims. “I know he’s gonna do that stupid thing with his face and then say Yes, Wei Ying, and I fucking hate it! Jie told me to ask him too, and, absolutely not.”

“Your sister is a gem in this world,” Wen Qing says.

“I know,” Wei Ying nods. “She’s the best. Except when she tells me stuff like this.”

“Mama,” comes Jin Ling’s little voice. 

Wei Ying glances over to him. “Yes, A-Ling. Your mama is the best.”

Jin Ling looks pleased by this.

“Speaking of your sister,” Wen Qing says, sipping her glass of strawberry lemonade delicately. “She and her husband are arriving back tonight, right? With your brother?”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying says. He reaches over and gently pinches Jin Ling’s cheek. “Sorry, A-Ling. The two of us are gonna have to part soon, but I’ll miss you dearly and I’ll definitely see you at your xiaojiu’s birthday party, right?”

“Jiujiu’s birthday party!” Jin Ling squeals. 

As they begin to pack up and pay their bill, Wen Qing turns back to look at Wei Ying again. 

“Do you have any more plans for the day?”

Wei Ying thinks about it. “I was gonna head over and grade homework with Lan Zhan tonight, why?”

Wen Qing stares at him in utter silence for a solid three seconds before she speaks next. “Remind me again why you’re worried?”

“Shut up,” Wei Ying says. “We will not speak about it for the rest of forever.”

“Sure,” Wen Qing rolls her eyes. “And no reason. I was just wondering if I had to deal with your ass for any longer today. Are you gonna be staying there for dinner?”

“Um, probably?”

“Alright,” Wen Qing nods. “Have fun then, I guess.”

At this, Wei Ying can’t help the grin that spreads across his features. “Sure will, Qingqing!” Then, as an afterthought. “Don’t tell Jiang Cheng.”

Wen Qing laughs. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

—

wei ying >>> lan zhan

wei ying: do u mind if i bring jin ling w me????

lan zhan: Not at all.

wei ying: ok greAt sry wen qing has some dumb work she needs to do tonight and would prefer a No Distractions evening u kno

lan zhan: Mm. Jin Ling is welcome to come and play with A-Yuan.

wei ying: o RIGHT right great!!!!! thts so exciting ill see u soon!!!!!

lan zhan: See you soon.

—

Wei Ying leans against the frame of the door as he rings the bell to Lan Zhan’s apartment. Jin Ling on his waist, suave smile on his lips, he juts his hips out ever so slightly as the door swings open and he comes face-to-face with the most beautiful man he’s ever seen.

Lan Zhan looks a little startled at first, but his lips quirk up in the ghost of a smile Wei Ying has grown to be able to notice with ease. He ushers him inside, patting Jin Ling’s head affectionately in greeting. When Wei Ying enters the large living room, he sees A-Yuan sitting on the couch with a picture book in his lap. He looks up when he hears the noise of new footsteps, and when he makes eye contact with Wei Ying, he squeals in glee. 

“Wei laoshi!” A-Yuan exclaims, running up to him and latching onto his leg. Wei Ying laughs, passing Jin Ling over to Lan Zhan and bending down so he can properly greet his favorite student. He ruffles his hair, pushes it behind the child’s ears, and has to physically stop himself from leaning over and pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“Hey there, little sir!” Wei Ying says as A-Yuan giggles. Someone starts whining, then, and Wei Ying looks up to see Jin Ling’s bottom lip quivering as he looks between the two of them. Wei Ying laughs, standing up and holding his arms out. Lan Zhan gently places Jin Ling back into Wei Ying’s grasp. “Aww, don’t be jealous, A-Ling! There’s plenty of me to go around.” He shoots Lan Zhan a wink.

If Lan Zhan could roll his eyes, then Wei Ying is sure that would be exactly what he’s doing right now. Instead, an amused little smile plays at his lips.

“I assigned a paper to my students about two weeks ago,” he says, walking over to the kitchen table where Wei Ying can see a stack of staples packets. “They turned them in on Friday, so I thought I would get an early start on grading them.”

“A paper?” Wei Ying blinks. “But they’re fifth graders.”

“It is good to learn these kinds of life skills early,” Lan Zhan responds, slipping into his seat. Wei Ying walks over with Jin Ling resting on his side and A-Yuan following closely behind him. He takes a seat across from Lan Zhan and puts Jin Ling down next to him. A-Yuan obediently waddles over to the seat across from Jin Ling and next to his father, quietly taking it and going back to reading his book.

“I guess,” Wei Ying says. “I just tell my kids to go and explore something around the house and tell me about it the next day. Not really homework, I guess, but at least it’s something.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan nods. “I hear about your assignments from A-Yuan.”

“Oh?” Wei Ying turns to A-Yuan, who perks up at the sound of his name. “Do you like the homework I give, A-Yuan?”

“Wei laoshi doesn’t give homework,” A-Yuan says, cocking his head to the side.

Wei Ying can’t help but laugh at that. “Yeah. Yeah, I suppose I don’t really.”

“It is fine,” Lan Zhan says. “Your students are too young, anyways. Here.” He reaches over and takes a stack of papers from the other end of the table and plops them down in front of Wei Ying. “I trust that you are familiar with grading.”

“Of course,” Wei Ying nods. “I told you. I was going to teach in a high school before coming to Cloud Recesses. Primary school papers are nothing.”

Primary school papers are much more difficult than Wei Ying had thought.

Every time he makes a small mark with the bright red pen Lan Zhan had let him borrow, he hears a small noise of displeasure coming from across him. Wei Ying glances up nervously, only to see Lan Zhan painfully looking back at the sheet Wei Ying is working on.

After this happens for the twelfth time, Wei Ying throws his pen down and crosses his arms. He huffs, catching Lan Zhan’s attention. 

“Alright,” he says. “Spill it. What’s the problem?”

Lan Zhan regards him coolly. “There is no problem.”

“There’s so obviously a problem!” Wei Ying says. “I don’t think you trust me enough to grade your students.”

“It is not that I do not trust you,” Lan Zhan says slowly. “I just think that between the two of us, our grading styles differ… quite drastically.”

“Huh?” Wei Ying asks, eyebrows raising. “I think I’m doing quite well! What, do you think I’m going too easy on them? If that’s the case, I can—”

“No,” Lan Zhan says, shaking his head. “The opposite.”

Wei Ying blinks. “You think I’m going too hard on them?”

“They are only ten,” Lan Zhan says, setting his own pen down. “Any grade below a ninety-percent is not something they should be subjected to at such a young age.”

“Ninety?” Wei Ying asks, jaw going slack. “But… but some of these essays are so bad!”

“Again,” Lan Zhan says, going back to grading with a passive expression, “they are only ten.”

“Ten year-olds should totally be able to take a bit of constructive criticism!”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says. He points down to the paper Wei Ying has been working on for the past fifteen minutes or so. “Take a look at your markings. There is barely any white left. You have covered it in red.”

And, well. Wei Ying can’t exactly argue with that. 

He pouts. “Lan Zhan, I gotta let them know how to make it better! That’s my job as a teacher!”

Lan Zhan regards him for a short moment. “For some reason, I feel relieved by the fact that you did not end up working with high schoolers.”

“Hey!” Wei Ying says, mocking offense. Before can respond any further to that, however, his phone rings. Lan Zhan glances to it pointedly, and Wei Ying mutters something incomprehensible under his breath before clicking accept without looking at the caller I.D. “Hello?”

“A-Ying,” comes the telltale sound of his sister’s voice.

“Jie?” Wei Ying says, immediately sitting up and blinking rapidly in surprise. “Is everything okay? Isn’t your flight in a couple of hours? How is everything? Do you want me to pick you guys up from the airport?”

He hears his sister sigh deeply.

“A-Ying,” Jiang Yanli starts, “I am so sorry about this.”

“What?”

“The conference,” she says, and Wei Ying can practically hear the wince in her tone. “It was extended. We can’t come home tonight. In fact… I honestly don’t think we’re going to be able to come back for another few days.”

Wei Ying glances over to Jin Ling, whose eyes are drooping and heavy with sleep. “Did something happen?”

“Nothing important,” Jiang Yanli says. “Just a few minor disagreements. There was supposed to be another conference next week but one of the important department heads cancelled on us last night, so they’re moving that meeting to now as well. Everyone’s already here, so they thought it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. They just don’t consider the fact that some of us have children—”

“Jie,” Wei Ying says, “it’s totally okay! I don’t mind looking after Jin Ling for a little while longer.”

“But, A-Ying, you have your job and everything to take care of,” Jiang Yanli says. She sounds incredibly upset, and Wei Ying doesn’t like it at all. “Plus… there’s something else.”

“He can come to work with me,” he says. “It’s totally okay. The principal never has to know.” He glances up to Lan Zhan, who’s giving him a curious look. “Seriously, don’t worry about me. Jin Ling and I are at Lan Zhan’s place right now. What else?”

“Oh?” Jiang Yanli’s tone immediately changes. “He’s there right now?”

“Um. Yeah? Why?”

“Actually,” Jiang Yanli says, “there was something I wanted to talk to him about.”

“What?” Wei Ying asks. “You wanna talk to Lan Zhan? About what?”

“He’s done a part in taking care of Jin Ling with you this weekend,” Jiang Yanli says. “I just want to thank him for his efforts.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says. He gulps, lifting the phone away from his ears and holding it out across the table to Lan Zhan. “Here. My sister wants to talk to you for a sec.”

“Me?” Lan Zhan asks, pleasantly surprised. He eyes the phone for a moment, before nodding slowly and taking it. “Alright.”

What follows is the most painful sixty seconds of Wei Ying’s entire life. He strains his ears in an effort to try and make out what Jiang Yanli is saying, but his efforts are useless. Lan Zhan is the least talkative person on the planet as usual, only ever giving out positive hums in response to whatever he’s being subjected to. Wei Ying flails his arms around, silently asking Lan Zhan to give him any sort of hint on what is going on, but he’s met with stone silence.

“We would be happy to,” Lan Zhan finally says. “Thank you. Mn. Okay. Goodbye.” He ends the call then, not even giving Wei Ying a chance to talk with his sister again. Oh well. He supposes he can just call her back or text her later.

“What happened?” Wei Ying asks, leaning over the table and eyeing Lan Zhan closely.

Lan Zhan just looks down at his lap for a long moment, and from what it seems like, he’s just now letting a huge shock settle over him. His ears tinge pink, and, uh oh, that can’t be good.

“Your sister invited me and A-Yuan to your brother’s birthday party next week,” Lan Zhan finally says. 

The color drains from Wei Ying’s face.

“What?!”

“It is in Lanling,” Lan Zhan continues. “On Sunday. She bought the three of us flight tickets for Saturday afternoon.”

“What?!”

“She asked me if I had weekend plans,” Lan Zhan says. “She then told me that your parents decided to keep Jiang Cheng’s birthday celebration in the Jin mansion instead of here in Gusu as they are already in Lanling for the business conference.”

“What the fuck?!” Wei Ying sputters, his jaw dropped and eyes ablaze. “What the—what the fuck? She didn’t bother to tell me?”

“Do not swear in front of the children.”

“I’m sorry, but what the—”

“I did not know if you would feel comfortable with this,” Lan Zhan says, this time a little quietly. “But I did not know how to decline her kindness.”

“Me?” It occurs to Wei Ying then that perhaps Lan Zhan truly did not want to go to the party. With him. Alone. And now… now the party was in Lanling? Which meant that if Lan Zhan were to go, they would have to travel together? Alone? With Jin Ling and A-Yuan?

There’s no way Wei Ying can miss the party. Wen Qing would have come with him if she didn’t already have plans, but since she had said no, he was just planning on showing up to Jiang Cheng’s apartment on Sunday alone. And now the party is in Lanling? In the Jin mansion? With all of his stuck up relatives and his sister’s family by marriage?

His parents?

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan calls, snapping him back to reality. 

“Ha,” Wei Ying laughs awkwardly. “This is. This is fantastic.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, eyebrows knitted in concern. He reaches over the table and gently presses his fingers against the back of Wei Ying’s palm. It makes the latter startle in surprise, but despite the harsh blush that’s beginning to make its way to his cheeks, he can't help but relax into the touch. “Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan starts again, “I do not have to come with you if you would not feel comfortable with me there.”

“What?” Wei Ying blinks, looking back at him. “Of course I’d be comfortable with you there! I thought you wouldn’t be comfortable.”

“It is fine with me,” Lan Zhan says quietly. “I do wonder why your sister invited me.”

“I was telling her about you,” Wei Ying says. Lan Zhan’s gaze on him suddenly sharpens. “She knows we’re friends. You came to my own birthday party.”

“Would your brother be okay with it?”

“Jiang Cheng?” Wei Ying scoffs. “He’d be thrilled I have someone there to talk to instead of me bothering him.”

Speaking of his brother, he really needs to text Jiang Cheng about all of this. 

—

wei ying >>> sweet little didi

wei ying: YOU LITTLE SHIT WTF DID U DO

sweet little didi: IT ISN’T MY FAULT

wei ying: THEN WHOSE FUCKING FAULT IS IT??????

sweet little didi: ok listen 

sweet little didi: the conference was extended to thursday and mom remembered that i was gonna have my party on sunday back home

sweet little didi: so she decided it would be better to just have it here in lanling and everyone just sort of agreed ok i didn’t have any say in it like of course i want to have my party back home!!!! all my friends are back in gusu

wei ying: u have friends???

sweet little didi: shut the fuck up. 

wei ying: jie invited lan zhan

sweet little didi: LMAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOO

wei ying: STFU OK IM SUFFERING HERE IDK WHAT TO DO

sweet little didi: didn’t you just realize u have the hots for him. LOL

wei ying: i never want to speak to you again in my life

sweet little didi: your wish is my command!

—

wei ying >>> lan zhan

wei ying: ok but don’t u think this is like super unprofessional n shit?????

lan zhan: … 

lan zhan: Go to sleep.

wei ying: no jin ling is making tht v hard 

wei ying: N E WAYS back to my point. i srsly thought u wld be the first one to say how unprofessional this entire thing is. like going on a vacation w ur student???

lan zhan: I am not the one who is going to be getting in trouble.

wei ying: u wound me, lan zhan!

lan zhan: My uncle will not mind. 

wei ying: are u gonna tell him????

lan zhan: Not unless he asks. 

wei ying: wait

wei ying: WAIT

wei ying: IS THT WHY UR ALWAYS OK W SHIT HAPPENING W US IN THE END. LIKE W ME AND YOU AND AYUAN. BC OUR BOSS IS LITERALLY UR FAMILY MEMBER?????

lan zhan: Goodnight, Wei Ying. 

wei ying: LAN ZHAAAAAAAAN

wei ying: WAIT wht abt ur brother???????

lan zhan: What about him?

wei ying: ??? is he not gonna mind?????? did u alr tell him abt this?????

lan zhan: My brother will be happy. 

wei ying: HAPPY why happy

lan zhan: I do not usually go out to places. Especially since A-Yuan came into my life. 

wei ying: wat

wei ying: srsly???

lan zhan: Mm.

wei ying: oh

wei ying: WELL it’s abt time That Changed!!!! i’ll take u to plenty of cool new places lan zhan!!!! :D

lan zhan: Okay. 

lan zhan: Good night, Wei Ying. 

wei ying: night night lan zhan!! don’t let the bed bugs bite!!!! see u tmrw!!!!

lan zhan: See you tomorrow. 

Chapter Text

wei ying >>> lan zhan

wei ying: we’re gna need formal wear

lan zhan: Formal wear?

wei ying: liiiike suits?? ties??? expensive jackets/pants/shirts etc the works u kno… my parents r hosting the party n knowing how aunt yu is…….. if we don’t show up looking like tip top Perfection shes gna BLOW 

lan zhan: Your mother seems very hotheaded.

wei ying: LMAO thts one way to describe her

wei ying: n e ways do u have a suit or smth??? bc i def do Not have a suit. and its alr wednesday. and we leave on SATURDAY omfg im gna die im literally gonna die lan zhan it was nice knowing u ig 

lan zhan: We can go shopping today. 

wei ying: huh??? rlly???? u’d take me shopping???

lan zhan: Of course. You need a suit.

wei ying: god u r literally the best yes PLS let’s go shopping today PLEASE

lan zhan: Alright. What time should I pick you up?

wei ying: ur gna pick me up too T__T wht a gentleman…. 5pm? we can get dinner after hehe :D

wei ying: o wait we shld probably go to a kid friendly restaurant then ig 

lan zhan: No need. I can ask my brother to look after A-Yuan for the evening.

wei ying: OH r u srs…. omg ok then i’ll leave jin ling w wen qing as well 

lan zhan: Mm.

wei ying: OK! sounds like a plaannn haha see u soooooon

lan zhan: See you soon.

—

“I fucking hate Jiang Cheng,” Wei Ying says as he slides into the passenger’s seat of Lan Zhan’s car. “And before you say anything, I am totally allowed to swear today! The kids aren’t here!”

Lan Zhan doesn’t even look at him as he pulls away from the curb and starts driving. 

“Anyways,” Wei Ying continues, settling back into his seat, “as I was saying. I fucking hate Jiang Cheng. The pussy can’t ever speak up against Aunt Yu. There’s no fucking way he wanted to have his birthday party in fucking Lanling. The Jin mansion is huge and pretentious and full of unnecessary sparkly shit.”

“Wei Ying swears a lot when he is worked up,” says Lan Zhan. 

“My observant Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, the words rolling off of his tongue before they even register in his brain. He freezes for a fraction of a second, but then manages to smoothly move past it before his cheeks heat up too much. “You know, I still don’t know what the fuck my sister sees in that peacock.”

“Is the peacock a Jin?” asks Lan Zhan. 

“Mhm! The most annoying of them all,” Wei Ying says. “Actually, that’s probably not true. Jin Zixuan is a dumbass, but his cousins and half-brothers are honestly even more disgusting. His father is the worst of them all.”

“Mn. I am looking forward to meeting them.”

“No you’re not.”

“No I am not,” Lan Zhan agrees. 

Wei Ying snickers. “Also, like, they kinda all hate me. Or, well, maybe not hate. They’re just… not the most fond of my personality.”

“I am sure that’s not the case,” says Lan Zhan.

“I don’t care for their opinions, anyway,” Wei Ying shrugs. “The only people who really matter to me don’t seem to think so. So, honestly, who the fuck cares?”

Lan Zhan nods, and they spend the rest of the ride in relative silence, the only sounds coming from Wei Ying fiddling relentlessly with the radio system. He cruises through multiple channels, never truly finding anything he likes till Lan Zhan finally pulls into a parking spot. Wei Ying looks up, noticing that they have arrived. 

They head inside, the smell of leather and posh people wafting into Wei Ying’s nose. He cringes, but Lan Zhan doesn’t look particularly uncomfortable. Wei Ying lets himself be carried through the array of suits, following Lan Zhan all the way to the back. They find a worker in the fitting rooms, and Wei Ying quickly describes what he is looking for and is pushed inside with a variety of different options hanging off his arm.

He pulls the first one on, stepping outside the room once finished and awkwardly displaying himself in front of Lan Zhan. 

He watches as Lan Zhan’s eyes trail from the very tip of his shoulders to the bottoms of his legs. Wei Ying can’t help but involunarily gulp, feeling his adam’s apple bob as he feels Lan Zhan completely take in his appearance. 

“Well?”

“It is good,” Lan Zhan says after a beat. “But…” He looks thoughtful, then raises his hand to beckon the store worker over to them. After speaking to him for a moment, the worker nods dutifully and disappears, returning again with another jacket. 

He hands it to Wei Ying, who eyes it carefully before shrugging. Oh well, Lan Zhan definitely knows more about this whole thing than he does, so he supposes he’ll just have to trust him on this. 

He trails back inside the fitting room and changes into the new jacket, feeling it mold perfectly against his features. He gazes at his reflection in the mirror, jutting his right foot out and posing in a ridiculous manner. He can’t help the smirk that rises to the corners of his lips as he nods in satisfaction and walks outside again. 

This time, he doesn’t miss the way Lan Zhan’s eyes seem to widen as Wei Ying comes into his line of sight. Lan Zhan’s tongue runs across his bottom lip, and oh, that’s not fucking fair. Wei Ying keeps his eyes directly back on him, not daring to look away. His heart definitely skips a few beats, and his mind is most probably a very jumbled mess, so he barely even registers the way Lan Zhan quickly nods after giving him one last once-over and hurries him back inside the fitting room. He barely notices the way his own hands work against himself, taking the suit off and folding it perfectly and setting it aside on the small chair in the corner. 

Wei Ying pays for the suit fee and all of a sudden he’s walking back outside the store with Lan Zhan quietly trailing behind him. He hums to himself, swinging the bag lightly between his fingers. 

“Do you already have a suit, Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying asks to break the silence. 

Lan Zhan walks up next to him and nods. “I do. I have plenty.” Then, “I am more surprised that you did not have one. The annual teacher formal?”

“I’ve always rented for those things,” Wei Ying says with a shrug. “I’ve never actually bought one for myself. This is my first personally-owned suit!”

“I see,” Lan Zhan says as they get into the car. “I think your mother will be quite satisfied with your selection.”

“You mean your selection,” Wei Ying snorts. “And oh yes, she’s gonna love it. When she finds out you’re the one who picked it out for me she’s gonna fall in love with you too.” He rolls his eyes, but can’t help the fond little smile from forming around his mouth. 

“That is,” Lan Zhan starts, “good. I hope she thinks well of me.”

“Yu Ziyuan is not an easy woman to please, I’ll tell you that,” Wei Ying says. “Jiang Fengmian—Uncle Jiang—he’s… easier, I guess? I don’t know. I guess you’ll be finding out soon, anyways!”

Lan Zhan nods. “You said you wanted to go out for dinner?”

“Oh,” says Wei Ying. Right. He did say that, didn’t he? What is with him and digging himself into annoyingly large holes? Putting himself into situations he knows he’ll have a hard time getting out of?

But it’s fine. It’s all good. It’s just dinner with Lan Zhan, right? They’ve eaten together plenty of times before. Granted, Wei Ying wasn’t exactly aware of his… ah… feelings, during those times. But still. This is nothing new for him.

So when they slip into opposite sides of a comfy booth in a fancy restaurant with dim candle lights and a very expensive-looking menu about thirty minutes later, Wei Ying does everything in his power to ignore the constant beating of that annoying organ in his chest. Honestly, who invented the human body?

“Do you… ah… come here? Often?” Wei Ying asks as they’re looking over their menus. He cringes to himself when he realizes how his words sound out loud. 

Lan Zhan looks at him for a moment, face perfectly impassive as always. 

“I do not,” he says. “Uncle hosts monthly dinners with me and Brother. He has brought us here once.”

“Oh,” says Wei Ying. A part of him becomes impossibly giddish at the revelation that Lan Zhan has not, in fact, brought anyone else to such a fancy place. 

A thought passes through him in that moment. Is this… a date?

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says after they’ve placed their orders. Wei Ying is carefully directing his eyes everywhere but directly back at him, but Lan Zhan’s voice makes it very hard to keep up with the act. He glances up, biting his lip and nodding for him to continue. “Tell me more about your family.”

Tell him more about his—okay. Okay. Wei Ying can definitely do that.

“Well,” he starts, “you already know Jiejie. And her husband. And Jiang Cheng, I guess.” He hums thoughtfully, taking a sip of his wine. “There are my parents. My siblings and I were inseparable as children, there are so many stories I can tell you about us as kids, but I’ll save them for the plane ride.” He grins. “I’m sure A-Yuan would like to hear them too.”

“He would,” says Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying nods. “Right. Aunt Yu and Jin Zixuan’s mom were really close friends growing up, so they planned for their children to get married.” Wei Ying sighs. “It’s just so fucking unfortunate that they actually ended up falling for each other. Jin Zixuan is the rudest, most annoying person on the planet. And I know Jiang Cheng, so that’s saying something.”

“He did not seem too bad at your birthday party,” says Lan Zhan, swirling his straw around in his glass of iced water. 

“Oh, that’s just an act,” Wei Ying says immediately. “You’ll see. He’s made Jie cry, like, twice. It’s horrible. She deserves so much better than that peacock.”

“And your brother?”

“What about him?”

“Does he approve of their marriage?” Lan Zhan asks. 

“I mean,” Wei Ying starts, “I guess he’s not opposed to it or anything. I’m not either, I guess. It’s just annoying. I don’t know why Jie likes him.” Then, he smiles fondly. “Still, they did make a pretty cute kid. A-Ling is everything.”

“Wei Ying is good with children,” says Lan Zhan. “You seem to care for… for Jin Ling, quite a lot. It is heartwarming.” He’s making a funny face, one that Wei Ying has never seen before.

“I love Jin Ling,” Wei Ying says. “He’s my only nephew! For now, at least. Unless Jiang Cheng spruces up his act and gets at it soon, maybe he’ll be my only nephew for a while.” He grins. “But Jie wants more kids. Not now, obviously. She just had A-Ling. But soon! I’m so excited.”

Lan Zhan seems to be mulling over his words. He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, and when he does speak, his voice is low. “Do you?”

Wei Ying barely hears it. “What?”

Lan Zhan looks like he’s physically pained by saying these words. “Do you?”

“Do I what?” Wei Ying asks, quirking a curious eyebrow at him.

“Want children,” says Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying blinks. “Oh.” He doesn’t have to think about that one. “Of course I want children! They’re so cute. And apparently I’m good with them, or at least, that’s what everyone tells me.” He scrunches his nose in. “Actually, that’s not what people used to tell me back in college. When I told people that I was training to be a teacher, they all were like Oh, Wei Ying, are you sure that’s a good decision for someone like you?” He scoffs. “Like, come on. I may be an airhead at times, but I can totally be responsible when I need to be!”

“You are good with them,” Lan Zhan says firmly, like there is absolutely no room for argument. “You are very good with them. Your students love you.”

Wei Ying grins wildly at that. “Thanks!” he says. “And A-Yuan is included in those students, right?”

“Of course.” Lan Zhan trails off for a moment. “A-Yuan has grown very fond of Wei laoshi.”

“Really?” Wei Ying asks, eyes sparkling through the dim lighting of the restaurant. Their food arrives before Lan Zhan can formulate a response, and Wei Ying immediately digs in. Lan Zhan had recommended a spicy dish for him, and he is oh so glad he had ultimately decided to place his order for it. 

They eat the rest of their meal quietly, only sounds from whatever it is that comes out of Wei Ying’s mouth and Lan Zhan’s intent hums every time he says something. It’s peaceful; it’s perfect. It’s something Wei Ying knows he could very well get used to. The thought is jarring, but it is there, quietly present in the back of his mind.

When it comes time to pay for their meal, Wei Ying really, really has the feeling that this is somewhat of  a date. 

“No,” he says immediately when he notices Lan Zhan taking out his card. “I invited you out for dinner. I should pay.”

Lan Zhan hesitates for a moment, then shakes his head. “I know you invited me. But I brought you here. It is only right for me to pay tonight.”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, ignoring the waitress standing by their table. She’s looking more and more disgruntled by the minute, but Wei Ying can’t bring himself to care. “I’m dragging you and your son to Lanling this weekend. I’m paying for this dinner.” His voice is firm, like there is no room for argument. There wouldn’t be any room for argument, in any other situation, but not with Lan Zhan. Never with someone like Lan Zhan.

“Your family is taking care of my expenses and accommodating me and my son during that trip,” Lan Zhan says, handing over his hard to the waitress who quickly whisks it away before Wei Ying can so much as open his mouth to respond. “I am paying.” Then, “You may pay next time, if that is what you wish.”

Wei Ying’s lips smack shut upon hearing that. Next time? There’s going to be another one of these acutely-romantic evenings between just the two of them?

Or, maybe, Lan Zhan means it in another way. Maybe he means they’ll go out with A-Yuan for dinner or something, which Wei Ying is definitely not going to complain about. He loves the kid more than he loves himself.

So, with a sigh, he settles back in his seat and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Fine,” he mutters, cheeks warming ever so slightly. “Fine, then! But I am definitely paying for us next time. Okay?”

“It is a deal,” says Lan Zhan when he receives the bill and his card back. After quickly signing it, he slips the card back into his wallet and puts his things away, standing up and slinking out of the booth. Wei Ying quickly follows behind him, slipping his coat on and following him outside.

“What’s the time?” Wei Ying asks once they’re back in the parking lot.

Lan Zhan checks his watch, because of course he wears a fucking watch. “It is half-past eight,” he says. “A-Yuan will have to be put to bed soon.”

Wei Ying snorts as they climb back into Lan Zhan’s car. “You’re gonna have to be put to bed soon, too. I will never understand that strange curfew of yours.”

“It is okay for me to stay up a little later,” Lan Zhan says as he starts the car and pulls out of the parking slot. “It is beneficial for A-Yuan, however. He is just a young child.”

Wei Ying hums his agreement and they sit in comfortable silence throughout the rest of the ride to his apartment. Lan Zhan rolls up to the front door, quickly putting the car into park and looking over at him. 

“Will you be alright going up?” he asks, and Wei Ying thinks, briefly, about how unfair this entire situation is.

“I’ll be fine,” he reassures. “Thanks for today. Seriously. You… didn’t have to. Thank you for letting me bother you for an entire evening.”

“You are not a bother,” says Lan Zhan without missing a single beat. “Wei Ying. You are never a bother.”

Wei Ying gulps. “Are you sure, because—”

“Not a bother,” says Lan Zhan, quietly certain. 

Wei Ying needs to get out of there. “Okay,” he says. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He manages a small, grateful smile before he gets out of the car. He retrieves his new suit from the back seat and carefully smooths it out. He shoots Lan Zhan one last smile before retreating to the front door of his apartment complex. He feels Lan Zhan’s eyes on his back, and looks over his shoulder one last time before clasping his hands around the doorknob. 

Lan Zhan is staring at him, expression soft and secure. Wei Ying nods at him, and Lan Zhan returns the gesture. 

He quickly makes his way inside, and when he hears the door click to a close behind him, he bolts to his unit. 

He very pointedly ignores Wen Qing’s questioning stare on him as he goes to put Jin Ling to bed.

—

Lan Zhan rolls up to him at noon on Saturday, light blue suitcase in one hand and A-Yuan’s tiny fingers in the other. They agreed to meet near the waiting area of the airport, and Wei Ying looks up immediately from the game of peekaboo he’s playing with Jin Ling when he hears A-Yuan’s little voice screaming for him.

“Wei laoshi!”

“Ah! There’s my favorite student!” Wei Ying exclaims, reaching a hand out to pat A-Yuan’s head affectionately. “How are you, little sir? Are you ready for the flight?” A thought passes through his mind, and he looks up to Lan Zhan. “Has he ever flown before?”

“Once,” Lan Zhan says. “He is very good on airplanes.”

Wei Ying doesn’t doubt that at all. “I’m sure,” he says. He glances down to Jin Ling, who is currently making faces up at him. “I have no idea how A-Ling is gonna hold up. Do babies cry a lot in flights? A-Ling seems like he’d be the type of baby to cry a lot in flights.”

He’s been religiously exchanging texts with his sister for the past couple of days, and he’s learned that Jin Ling has never flown before, and also that Jiang Yanli is very sorry that Wei Ying has to deal with this on his own. 

To which he reminds her, plainly, that he isn’t alone. He has Lan Zhan and Lan Zhan’s kid with him.

He honestly isn’t sure if being alone with Jin Ling would be better. At least then he wouldn’t have to worry about his stupid feelings getting in the way of anything.

But Lan Zhan is wonderful, as always. Wei Ying wants to kick him. He wants Lan Zhan to suddenly turn into some kind of horrific demon so he’ll stop feeling this way for him. It makes everything so much unnecessarily harder. Lan Zhan is just minding his own business, buying treats for the children and coffee for Wei Ying, but Wei Ying is internally cooing at how adorable he is. The way he knows exactly what Wei Ying’s coffee order is, the way he knows exactly what a one year-old baby can and can not eat, the way he glances over at Wei Ying with that stupid expression of his like he actually wants to be here. 

Maybe he does, but Wei Ying doesn’t want to think about that possibility. It makes him think of other possibilities. Possibilities that are definitely not true in the slightest.

As they wait for their flight, Wei Ying debriefs Lan Zhan on every single possible person they have a chance of bumping into at the party tomorrow. He completes the small ritual with pictures from his phone and funny screenshots of text messages exchanged between him and whoever he’s talking about. The best are from Jiang Cheng, obviously, but that’s only because his little brother is gullible and dumb and very easy to tease.

Lan Zhan listens intently, just as he always does. A-Yuan is quietly sitting beside him reading his book, and Jin Ling is asleep in Wei Ying’s lap. 

When they board the flight, A-Yuan takes the window seat. Lan Zhan sits next to him in the middle, and Wei Ying takes the aisle with Jin Ling still in his arms. The flight attendant comes by and asks how old the baby is, and nods when Wei Ying answers.

It isn’t till take off till it’s a problem, which, frankly, is a couple hours later than when Wei Ying thought everything would go to hell. 

Jin Ling starts whimpering from the airplane noises, and Wei Ying cringes. He tries to rock him back and forth in his arms to soothe him, but the cries seem to only be getting louder and louder. He gets a few dirty looks from the people sitting near them, to which he responds with apologetical frowns and nods of his head. 

Then, suddenly, Lan Zhan is taking Jin Ling into his arms. There’s a pacifier in his hands, and—what?—literally where did Lan Zhan get a pacifier from? He sticks it into Jin Ling’s mouth and whispers in his ear, pressing the baby up to his chest and gently rubbing his back in the softest, most comforting way ever. It makes Wei Ying’s heart preen; he just wants to cry from how ridiculous this entire thing is. 

Soon, Jin Ling is fast asleep again, and Wei Ying can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. His eyelids droop, heavy with sleep. He didn’t get much rest the night before—Jin Ling was being a pain again. (Wei Ying still loves his nephew very much, no matter how much he cries during the night.)

“Sleep,” comes Lan Zhan’s voice from next to him suddenly.

Wei Ying blinks, surprised. “What?”

“Sleep,” Lan Zhan says again, still bouncing Jin Ling in his arms. “You are tired. There is still an hour before we land.”

“I can’t just leave you to fend for both the kids,” Wei Ying says, hating how fucking domestic it sounds. Like A-Yuan and Jin Ling are their actual kids. 

Well, A-Yuan is Lan Zhan’s kid, at least, but he’s definitely not Wei Ying’s kid. 

“It is okay,” Lan Zhan says. “A-Yuan will behave. If I give Jin Ling back to you he will wake up. He will have to stay with me for the rest of the flight anyways.”

“But—”

“No buts,” Lan Zhan cuts in. “Sleep. I will wake you up before we land.”

And, well, Wei Ying can’t exactly argue much more with that. Not when Lan Zhan is giving him his stern glare, the same one Wei Ying is sure he saves only for his students. Though he’s not even really sure about that. Lan Zhan seems like he’s way too easy on his students, judging solely by his horribly flippant grading techniques. 

So, he settles back into his seat, crosses his arms over his chest, and closes his eyes. He releases a single breath, and he’s out.

When he wakes next, he feels a pressure on his left cheek. Groggily, he opens his eyes, and the first thing he sees is Jin Ling, still safely wrapped in Lan Zhan’s arms. 

The next time he sees is Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan, whose shoulder Wei Ying is currently very blatantly claiming as free real estate. Wei Ying is fully leaning on Lan Zhan’s side, his head nestled between the crook of Lan Zhan’s side and neck, and—oh my God—is he drooling on his shoulder?

With a start, Wei Ying jolts back upright. Lan Zhan looks over to him, eyebrows pinched down into a concerned frown. 

“Wei Ying?” he asks, voice soft and just barely audible over the rumble of the airplane. “You’re awake. There are still ten minutes before we land.”

“Oh,” says Wei Ying dumbly. “Okay. Um. Sorry about…”

Lan Zhan shakes his head. “It is fine.”

Wei Ying isn’t even exactly sure what he was apologizing for, much less what Lan Zhan is pardoning him of. He just hopes it’s enough to encompass the whole taking care of Jin Ling thing, letting him literally use him as a bed for the better part of the hour, and, well, playing along with the entire mess this situation is.

Jin Ling wakes up again when the wheels on the plane land on Lanling ground, but it doesn’t really matter this time. Wei Ying quickly whisks the baby back into his own grasp, exiting the plane as efficiently and quickly as possible, and then making his way through the rest of the airport formalities with Lan Zhan trailing closely behind him.

“Okay,” Wei Ying says as he takes his phone out of his back pocket and uses one hand to type out a text to his sibling group chat. “Jiang Cheng’s coming with the peacock to pick us up. He says he’s already here… so…”

“There,” says Lan Zhan. Wei Ying looks up to see him pointing somewhere ahead, and he follows his gaze to land directly on Jiang Cheng’s scowling features. 

Wei Ying breaks out into a smile, his hold on Jin Ling tightening as he skips over to his brother. 

“A-Cheng!” he says, dumping Jin Ling right into his other uncle’s arms. Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes, but handles the baby with care. 

“Took you long enough,” he mutters, threading his fingers through Jin Ling’s hair. 

Jin Zixuan, who Wei Ying has very pointedly been ignoring this entire time, speaks up next. “Your sister is waiting for you back at home. Shouldn’t we get going?”

“Yeah yeah,” Wei Ying says, waving his hand in front of his face. “You don’t get to talk to me for the next forty-eight hours.”

Jin Zixuan rolls his eyes and doesn’t respond. 

Jiang Cheng turns to eye Lan Zhan carefully. 

“Lan Zhan, correct?”

As Lan Zhan begins to nod, Wei Ying gasps dramatically. He shoves his index finger against Jiang Cheng’s chest, careful not to startle Jin Ling. “You will refer to him as Lan-xiong, Jiang Cheng. With respect. Repeat after me. Lan-xiong.”

“Whatever,” says Jiang Cheng, who redirects his gaze down to A-Yuan. A-Yuan is staring back up at Jiang Cheng, a flicker of recognition coursing through his eyes. “A-Yuan, right?” Wei Ying doesn’t miss the way his brother softens upon seeing the child, and he silently cheers. See? Even someone like Jiang Cheng can’t get enough of A-Yuan!

Wei Ying feels an emotion he thinks is something akin to pride. 

“I’m A-Yuan,” A-Yuan says, dutifully sticking his hand out. Jiang Cheng stares at it for a moment, then carefully wraps his own much larger hand around it. 

“Charmed,” Jiang Cheng says slowly. 

“A-Yuan,” Wei Ying says, “this is my little brother. You remember him, right? From my birthday party?” Then, as an afterthought, he adds, “You should call him shushu.”

Jiang Cheng sputters.

“And that,” Wei Ying continues, ignoring him and pointing up to Jin Zixuan, “is gufu. You’ll meet gugu soon.”

“Shushu, gufu,” repeats A-Yuan. “Gugu.”

“If he calls A-Jie gugu, Wei Ying, she is going to have a heart attack,” says Jiang Cheng. “Do you really want to be the cause of your sister’s death right after she had her baby?”

“Shut up,” Wei Ying says. He turns over to look at Lan Zhan, who is quietly observing the scene. “Lan Zhan! You don’t mind, do you?”

Lan Zhan eyes him for a moment, then shakes his head. “I do not.”

He says it so sincerely, that Wei Ying has to mentally remind himself that it’s just a joke. It’s just a joke. He and Lan Zhan aren’t actually married. A-Yuan isn’t actually Wei Ying’s son.

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan aren’t even dating. Lan Zhan doesn’t even like him like that.

Wei Ying needs to stop before he gets himself into serious trouble. 

They get to the car without much fuss after that, each of them taking their seat with Jin Zixuan and Jiang Cheng in the front. A-Yuan sits in the middle of the back seats, and Jin Ling bounces on Wei Ying’s lap. Lan Zhan sits on the other side, face quietly impassive but soft nonetheless.

When the door to the Jin mansion opens and Wei Ying sees Jiang Yanli on the other side, he lunges at her, wrapping her into a tight hug and letting a happy laugh escape his lips. 

“Jie!” he exclaims. “I missed you so much!”

“I missed you too, A-Ying,” Jiang Yanli says. When they let go, she instinctively reaches for her son. Jin Ling exclaims happily at the sight of his mother, immediately clasping his tiny fists into her hair. “I hope A-Ling wasn’t too much trouble for you.”

“He was…” Wei Ying cringes. Well. “He was fine. Peachy. Lan Zhan helped out a lot.”

“Oh!” Jiang Yanli looks over to Lan Zhan, who’s awkwardly standing off to the side. “Lan laoshi, right? Thank you so much for helping A-Ying out with my son. It’s wonderful to see you again.”

“Likewise,” Lan Zhan says with a nod.

“And little A-Yuan!” Jiang Yanli says, bending down till she’s eye level with the kid. Wei Ying really, really loves his sister. She’s, like, the best person ever. Along with Lan Zhan. The two of them are probably tied for the number one spot. 

“Gugu,” says A-Yuan, and everyone freezes.

Wei Ying wants the ground to swallow him whole, because fuck. Fuck. He only did this to himself. He can’t believe this. He didn’t think A-Yuan would actually—

“Oh,” breathes Jiang Yanli, her voice soft and lovely and way too good. “Oh.” She looks up to Wei Ying, then to Lan Zhan. “A-Ying didn’t tell me that—”

“Okay!” Wei Ying quickly says, cutting into his sister’s words before she can say anything on the matter. He can’t believe that this is actually happening right now. “Let’s go inside! Haha. Is it just me, or is it getting very cold out here?”

“Oh!” Jiang Yanli says, nodding. “Yes, yes. Come inside, you all.” She moves aside, making room for them all. 

When Wei Ying passes, she catches his arm to stop him and pull him aside. He shoots a helpless look at Lan Zhan as he is taken away, but quiets down when he sees his sister’s expression.

“A-Ying,” she says, voice hushed and careful. “Do you want to tell me why A-Yuan just called me auntie?”

“It was a joke,” Wei Ying whines. “I didn’t think he’d actually do it.”

“He is five. He’ll take everything you tell him seriously,” Jiang Yanli says. “I’m sorry, A-Ying. When he said that, I just thought—”

“It’s okay,” Wei Ying shakes his head. “It’s not your fault. Anyone would think that.” He sighs. “But, just for future reference. If anything like that happens, which it absolutely will not, you will be the first to know.”

“Of course I will,” Jiang Yanli nods, pleased with this.

“Of course you will,” Wei Ying agrees.

They head back to the main area of the house, which is just as obnoxiously huge as Wei Ying remembers. Jiang Cheng is talking to Lan Zhan about something, and Lan Zhan’s expression is perfectly centered as always, giving absolutely nothing away. Jin Zixuan seems to have been tasked with looking after the kids, Jin Ling in his arms and A-Yuan tugging at his pants. Jin Zixuan looks like he’d rather be anywhere else doing any thing else, and Wei Ying absolutely relishes in it. 

He waltzes over to Lan Zhan and shoots his brother a withering look.

“Don’t taint my best friend,” he chides.

Jiang Cheng sighs deeply. “You are impossible. Best friend? Where’s Wen Qing? Is she not coming?”

“She wasn’t with us at the airport, was she?” Wei Ying shoots back.

Jiang Cheng lifts an eyebrow.

Wei Ying sighs. “She went to visit her girlfriend’s family for the weekend.”

“Girlfriend?” Jiang Cheng repeats, blinking. “You mean Luo Qingyang? They’re still together?”

“That’s what I said!” Wei Ying says. He whips around to face his sister, who is speaking quietly with her husband a few feet away. “See, Jie? I’m not the only one who didn’t know Wen Qing is still dating Mianmian!”

“A-Cheng is not her roommate,” says Jiang Yanli, “you are.”

Wei Ying shuts up pretty quickly at that.

Jiang Cheng says, “Why don’t you and Lan laoshi go to your rooms and get yourselves settled in before you go and meet Mom and Dad? They’ve been waiting for you, dipshit.”

“Don’t swear in front of the children,” Wei Ying says immediately, and, God, he’s beginning to sound like Lan Zhan. “And okay, whatever. Where do I go?”

“A-Xuan will take you upstairs,” Jiang Yanli says, picking Jin Ling up. 

Wei Ying tries very hard not to grimace, but some things are simply out of his control.

Jin Zixuan walks many feet ahead of them, and Wei Ying sticks to Lan Zhan’s side as they make their way through the huge mansion. A-Yuan is looking at everything with wide eyes, and Wei Ying silently appreciates him for how good he is. 

Seriously. A-Yuan is the best child, ever. Period. Sorry, Jin Ling!

“Here they are,” says Jin Zixuan, huffing as they stop in the middle of some very large, grand-looking hallway. He points over to one side, at the only door on the entire wall. “Wei Ying, that one is yours.” Then, he points to the one across from it. “Lan laoshi, you will be staying there.”

“Thank you,” says Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying just snorts and rolls his eyes. Jin Zixuan exits fairly quickly after that, surely not wanting to spend any more time with them than he has to. Wei Ying, for one, is grateful for it.

“Baba,” A-Yuan says, “I’ll stay with you, right?”

“Of course you will,” says Lan Zhan. 

“Hey,” Wei Ying says, suddenly feeling all kinds of awkward, “I’m, uh, sorry.”

Lan Zhan looks at him. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I’m just…” He shakes his head. “It was a silly joke. The whole… the whole name thing. I’m sorry if you felt uncomfortable, because that definitely wasn’t my intention.” He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “Jiang Cheng always brings out my stupid side, I guess.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan starts, and Wei Ying looks up to meet his eyes. “I do not feel uncomfortable.”

“What?”

“I do not feel uncomfortable,” Lan Zhan says again, “if. If A-Yuan wants to address your family familiarly. If it is okay with you, then it is okay with me.”

And, well, that’s the annoying part of it, right? Lan Zhan is always so nice, always so willing to go along with whatever Wei Ying asks of him. It’s blinding, how fast and hard Wei Ying is falling; he can’t seem to stop himself.

“Wei laoshi,” comes A-Yuan’s little voice, “A-Yuan is sorry.”

Wei Ying’s chest immediately bursts with fondness. He crouches down, sitting on his knees and gently holding his arms out. He offers A-Yuan a small smile, inviting him to come closer. When A-Yuan takes a step forward, away from Lan Zhan, Wei Ying tugs him over and pulls him into a hug. He hears Lan Zhan inhale sharply from above, but he’s too focused on the child in his arms to think about what that could possibly mean right now.

He presses a light kiss to A-Yuan’s forehead, unable to help himself.

“Yuan-er,” he says, the term of endearment rolling off of his tongue like it was always meant to be there, “don’t say sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong. Wei laoshi just got anxious for no reason.”

“Wei laoshi,” A-Yuan whines into his chest.

“A-Yuan can call all the people here whatever he likes,” says Wei Ying, running his hand through A-Yuan’s hair. “Okay? Anyone who wants to say anything about it can come and fight me directly.” He pulls away for a moment to grin down at him. “And I’ll have you know, A-Yuan, I am an excellent fighter.”

A-Yuan giggles like he believes it. Wei Ying smiles. 

Lan Zhan crouches down now, too, till the three of them are all at eye-level and can comfortably look at one another. Wei Ying feels his heart shrivel from warmth, and he can’t help but think of one word very distinctly. 

Family.

He wants this. Whatever it is. The realization hits him very hard all of a sudden, and he feels tears spring to his eyes. 

“Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan asks, and, oh no, he definitely noticed. Wei Ying quickly shakes his head, looking away as he feels a single tear roll down his cheek. Sniffing, he uses his hand to wipe it away, taking a deep breath and steadying himself. 

“I’m fine!” Wei Ying says, voice coming out just a little too cracked to be considered completely fine. 

But, well, who can really blame him? He had just gone through quite the epiphany. First with his feelings for Lan Zhan, and now with his feelings for Lan Zhan’s son. God, this was bad. This was really, really bad. It was one thing to be helplessly in love with your best friend, but another thing entirely to be helplessly in love with your best friend’s son. Enough for you to actually consider him as your—

Wei Ying needs to get inside his room before he legitimately bursts into uncalled for tears. He’s sure that’s the absolute last thing Lan Zhan and A-Yuan should see right now.

They part ways a few minutes later, Wei Ying rolling his suitcase into his room and closing the door behind him. He sinks to the ground, his back sliding against the wall all the way down, and he brings his knees up to his chest and buries his face in his hands.

Holy shit.

Wei Ying really, really wants, well, that. That word. That stupid, six-letter F-word.

He wants that. With Lan Zhan. He wants to be with Lan Zhan. With A-Yuan. And it’s absolutely freaking him out. Like, a lot. A painful amount. 

He’s grown to love A-Yuan in a way he never thought was even possible for him.

If someone asked Wei Ying a couple months ago if he could ever see himself as a family man, someone who would be a good husband and raise his good kids, Wei Ying would have laughed loudly in their face. The image is absolutely not anything he has ever considered for himself. It’s nothing like what he had planned for his future.

But, for some strange, stupid reason, his mind is changed now. Everything is changed now. Wei Ying literally has no idea what to do with himself anymore—with these dumb feelings.

So, he does the best thing he can. 

He takes a deep breath and tries his best to slide the thoughts away.

“Fuck,” he curses. Once. Just because it’s a nice, cathartic way to relieve his stress. And also because there are no kids around.

Then, he quickly unpacks his things, determined to go about the rest of his day as blissfully unaware as possible.

—

Evening falls when Wei Ying finally comes face to face with his parents. It’s been a while since the last time he saw them—almost two years now, actually. Oh well. It doesn’t really matter. Wei Ying is very busy with his job at the school and everything.

Plus, he’ll never admit it out loud, but Yu Ziyuan is a very scary woman. 

Speaking of her.

“Wei Ying,” his adoptive mother greets him when he steps into the large dining hall for dinner. Lan Zhan is behind him, A-Yuan’s hand clasped tightly in his. Wei Ying is very, very tempted to reach out and hold onto A-Yuan’s other hand, just for moral support, but decides against the idea fairly quickly.

“Aunt Yu,” he says, bowing low. Jiang Fengmian is sitting next to her, and he smiles warmly when he sees Wei Ying walking up to them. The two of them stand up, and Jiang Fengmian clasps his hands around Wei Ying’s. 

“A-Ying,” he says, “it’s so great to see you again. How have you been?”

“I’ve been good, Uncle Jiang,” Wei Ying says, a smile peeking at the corners of his lips. He feels Lan Zhan behind him, and he can’t even begin to describe how grateful he is for his presence. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees A-Yuan scurrying off to where Jiang Yanli is, his sister taking notice of him immediately and leading him to the empty seat next to her. 

“Very well then,” Yu Ziyuan says, tapping her silver fork against her wine glass. “Now that we’re all here, why don’t we take our seats?”

Madam Jin, who is sitting on the opposite end of the table with her husband, nods. Jin Guangshan is already eating his portion of the food, but that’s to be expected. Wei Ying has never paid him much attention, and he’s not about to start now.

So, Wei Ying looks back to Lan Zhan, gesturing for him to follow him over to where his sister is sitting. A-Yuan is already happily chatting away with her, and Wei Ying slips into the seat across from them with Lan Zhan at his side. Lan Zhan looks over the table and offers his son a small smile, and Jiang Yanli gazes at him with nothing but warmth. 

Jiang Cheng is sitting on Wei Ying’s other side, the two playfully glaring at one another just as dinner begins. 

“Wei Ying,” Madam Jin says suddenly, just as Wei Ying is reaching for one of the dishes. “I was not aware that you invited your… partner, here.”

Wei Ying can’t help but cringe at her words. He feels a weight on his thigh, and looks down to see that Lan Zhan has placed his hand there. He knows it’s supposed to be comforting, but it does absolutely nothing but quicken the pace of Wei Ying’s ferociously beating heart. 

He’s not surprised. He knows the topic was bound to come up eventually—he just didn’t think it would happen so soon.

But before he can say something, anything, it’s Lan Zhan who speaks.

“I was invited by Wei Ying’s sister,” he says quietly, but firmly. He doesn’t elaborate further, and Wei Ying is silently shocked. 

He hadn’t corrected her.

Jiang Yanli, having sensed something amiss in the atmosphere, quickly added on, “Yes, Mother. Lan laoshi works at A-Ying’s school with him. They are good friends. Little A-Yuan here is Lan laoshi’s.”

Madam Jin hums, taking this new information in.

“You aren’t married?” asks Jin Guangshan to Lan Zhan, and of course it’s Jin Guangshan. Wei Ying has never liked him. Not one bit at all.

Lan Zhan visibly tenses, but says nothing.

“Father,” Jiang Yanli says, evidently using her warning voice masked by the sweetness of her tone. 

“I’m just asking,” Jin Guangshan says. “He’s not married then, I presume?” Then, he scoffs. “Raising a child without a mother? That isn’t very proper.”

“Are you really one to be talking about parenting, Jin Guangshan?” Wei Ying snaps before he can stop himself. 

Everyone in the room immediately freezes.

“Wei Ying!” Yu Ziyuan exclaims. 

But now that Wei Ying’s said it, he knows there’s no point in taking it back. Especially not when retracting his words is the absolute last thing he wants to do right now.  

So, he continues. 

“Lan Zhan has done a brilliant job of raising A-Yuan. Don’t be disrespectful.”

“Wei Ying,” says Lan Zhan from beside him. “It is okay.”

But even Wei Ying can see the way he’s quietly seething with anger.

“How is that okay?” he asks, voicing their concerns for the both of them. “You’re seriously just gonna take that?”

Lan Zhan’s ears are bright red. He’s looking down at the table, and Wei Ying absolutely hates it.

“Alright,” says Jiang Fengmian. “Let’s let bygones be bygones, okay? We’re all here in a group for the first time in years. Let’s enjoy our meal in peace now.”

He doesn’t leave much room for argument, so everyone quietly goes back to the food. Wei Ying desperately wants to continue the fight, but he also knows better than to go against his uncle. If he ever wants to have the face to be able to see him and Aunt Yu again, he better stop before the situation gets out of control. 

When dinner is over, however, Wei Ying reaches down and grabs Lan Zhan’s hand, giving it a tight squeeze. Lan Zhan’s eyes trail up to meet his, lips parted and cheeks full. Wei Ying offers him the faintest of smiles. 

“Talk later?” he murmurs, just loud enough for him to hear. He knows his sister is going to want to talk to him about what had just happened before they retire for bed, and by the looks Jiang Cheng is sending him, he’s sure his brother also wouldn’t mind a word.

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan. 

Lan Zhan and A-Yuan retreat upstairs in the direction of their room, and Wei Ying sees them off with a smile. He politely bows to the elders as they leave as well, very pointedly ignoring Jin Guangshan in favor of saying a few words to Jiang Fengmian. When it’s just himself, his sister, and Jiang Cheng, however, Wei Ying finally takes a moment to breathe. He shakes slightly as he falls back onto his brother, the younger steadying him with a strong grip on his shoulders.

“You’re an idiot,” Jiang Cheng hisses into his ear.

Wei Ying weakly smiles. “I feel like I should be regretting what I did.” He hums. “I don’t regret it, though. That felt really fucking good.”

Jiang Cheng eyes him. 

“Are you gonna scold me, A-Cheng?”

“Don’t call me that,” Jiang Cheng says. Then, he sighs. “And no. Of course not. You said what everyone’s been too afraid to say for years.”

“A-Ying,” Jiang Yanli says, walking up to him and placing a comforting hand on Wei Ying’s cheek. He immediately leans into the touch, smiling happily at the affection from his sister. Jiang Yanli strokes his face softly, her expression the epitome of warmth. “Are you okay?”

“‘M fine,” says Wei Ying. 

“You should go and talk to him,” Jiang Yanli says. None of them need to ask to know who the him she’s referring to is. 

“I will,” Wei Ying says with a nod. 

“And please tell him that I’m very sorry on my father in-law’s behalf,” she continues.

“It isn’t your fault, Jie,” Wei Ying says. 

She smiles. “I know, but please? I’ll tell him tomorrow morning myself, too.”

Wei Ying sighs. “Okay, then.”

He says goodnight to the two of them not long after that. He walks in silence upstairs to the hallway where his room is, and when he gets there, he pauses outside Lan Zhan’s door. 

Should he knock? Should he just go in? 

Shaking his head, Wei Ying turns around and heads into his own room, hearing the lock click faintly behind him. He heads over to his suitcase, quickly taking out a pair of pajamas and slipping them on. He flops onto his bed once he’s finished changing, taking out his phone and opening up his message thread with Lan Zhan.

wei ying >>> lan zhan

wei ying: hey

wei ying: are u still up??

He eyes the time. It’s only a little after eight, but Lan Zhan is probably tired from the journey. Still, he can’t help but hope he’s still up to talk for a little while.

His phone buzzes, distracting him from his thoughts.

lan zhan: I am.

wei ying: are u ok?

lan zhan: I am fine.

wei ying: do u wanna talk? 

lan zhan: Yes.

Wei Ying smiles, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

wei ying: ok, do u want me to come to ur room?

lan zhan: No.

lan zhan: I will come to Wei Ying’s room. Let me get A-Yuan settled into bed and I will be over soon.

wei ying: ok! see u soon then!

There’s a knock on his door about fifteen minutes later, and Wei Ying springs up out of bed to go and get it. Lan Zhan is standing in front of him when he opens it, also already in his nightwear. Wei Ying tries very hard not to croon over the sight of the small patterned bunnies on his shirt and pants and the carrot-themed eye-mask strapped around his neck.

He grins, opening the door wider to let him in.

“Lan Zhan,” he says once they’re both safely inside and the door is closed once again, “will A-Yuan be alright alone in your room?”

“Mn,” nods Lan Zhan. “He was asleep when I left.”

“Okay,” says Wei Ying, walking over to where he’s awkwardly standing in the center of the bedroom. “Jiejie wanted to tell you she’s sorry. On behalf of the jerk that is the peacock’s father.” He bites his tongue to stop himself from cursing Jin Guangshan out. 

Lan Zhan, however, looks amused. His face is set perfectly in stone as always, but Wei Ying can see the mirth dancing in his eyes.

He blinks. “Lan Zhan?”

“It is not her fault,” Lan Zhan says. “It is not her fault at all.”

“Yeah, I know. Exactly.” Wei Ying studies him for a moment. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” says Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying peers at him closely, eyes narrowing on the taller man’s figure. “Something is definitely funny.” He huffs and crosses his arms. “Spit it out. What is it?”

“Nothing,” says Lan Zhan again. “It’s just that I have never seen Wei Ying so angry.”

It’s a tease. Lan Zhan is teasing him.

“Oh,” says Wei Ying. 

Lan Zhan closes his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them again, there’s a different type of sparkle prancing around. It glints under the dim lighting of the room. He takes a step forward—till he’s close enough for Wei Ying to be able to quietly memorize the slopes of his face if he so desired.

(He does desire. He desires it a lot.)

“You did not have to do that,” Lan Zhan says, voice lower this time. 

Wei Ying’s breath hitches. “I know,” he says, “but I wanted to. I couldn’t stand him talking about you like that.” He pauses before continuing. “Not when I know you the way I do.” He wonders if the last bit was too much, if this is the final straw in his relationship with the latter. He hopes, prays, that it isn’t.

It isn’t.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says. “I am used to it.”

Wei Ying blinks once, then twice. “What?”

“Over the time I have been caring for A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan says, “I have gotten many similar comments. People ask me if I am married, or if I have a partner, a girlfriend, or if A-Yuan’s mother is still in the picture.” He releases a breath. “No one ever considers that there was never a mother in the first place. Nor will there ever be.” 

Wei Ying’s head is beginning to spin. His lips part automatically.

“Lan Zhan?” he asks, voice soft as ever. To his understanding, what Lan Zhan had just said meant… “You don’t want another parental figure for A-Yuan, ever?”

That’s it, isn’t it? The end to Wei Ying’s endless fantasies. What he has been dreaming about—the possibility of maybe, maybe, being a part of Lan Zhan and A-Yuan’s small little world—it’s over, isn’t it? Wei Ying can’t do anything if Lan Zhan doesn’t want that for him and his child in the first place.

No matter how much it hurts, Wei Ying can’t defy his friend’s wishes like that.

But,

“No,” Lan Zhan says, snapping Wei Ying back into his thoughts immediately. “That is not what I meant.”

What? “What?”

“I have already told you,” Lan Zhan says, “I have told you that the person that comes into our lives must love A-Yuan just as much as I do.”

Wei Ying nods slowly. “Yes. Yes, I know.”

“If,” Lan Zhan seems to be struggling, “if someone like that appears. I… I would be willing.”

Willing? “Willing?”

“To let them,” says Lan Zhan. “I would be willing to let them… take care of us. If that is what they wish.”

Oh, God, this is too much. 

Wei Ying is willing. He knows he’s willing to do anything for the two of them. He wants to do everything for the two of them. The fondness he feels for A-Yuan is nothing compared to the fondness he feels for Lan Zhan, but that’s only because they exist on two different spectrums. One that’s deep yellows, and another that’s magnificent blood reds—the color of roses. Both colors of love. 

He takes a step closer.

Is he ready for something like this? Is he sure that Lan Zhan is ready for something like this?

Wei Ying knows, deep down, that it probably isn’t a good idea to do this here. In Lanling. Not when the three of them have to hop on a flight tomorrow night and spend many hours alone travelling together. Not when they have to go to work and see each other every single day for many months in the future.

But he supposes that is the price he has to pay for becoming so attached. 

It’s too much— too much— Wei Ying doesn’t know how to handle it anymore. He feels like he’s going to burst any moment now with how much he feels. How much he’s scared of feeling. 

How much he knows he can feel.

He gulps down his nerves, taking another step into Lan Zhan’s space. Lan Zhan’s eyes are growing wide, and when Wei Ying takes the third step, his arms automatically raise up to rest by Wei Ying’s waist. The touch is tentative, a world of uncertainty, but it’s there, warm and soft against the fabric of Wei Ying’s thin shirt. It’s absolutely agonizing how long it takes before he hears Lan Zhan’s breath come out in a slight hitch and he sees Lan Zhan’s mouth open in surprise and he feels Lan Zhan’s grip around his waist tightening, tightening, tightening.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan whispers, breath dancing across Wei Ying’s nose.

Wei Ying offers him a smile—it’s small, anxious, but there. “Lan Zhan.”

“Wei Ying,” says Lan Zhan.

“Lan Zhan,” says Wei Ying.

Wei Ying reaches his arms up, his fingers grazing the hairs on Lan Zhan’s neck. His hands roam all the way up to his cheeks, curling back till his thumbs are palming at cool, clear skin. Lan Zhan’s golden eyes are flickering back at him, and Wei Ying inhales sharply at the sight, his chest rising and head leaning back ever so slightly to accommodate the lack of space.

They’re so close like this, staring back at each other without a care in the world. Wei Ying isn’t exactly sure what he looks like right now, but he imagines a dumbstruck love struck expression masking his features. He briefly hopes Lan Zhan doesn’t take note of it, but that thought is gone before it can properly even begin to formulate. 

Because Lan Zhan is leaning in.

He’s— oh— oh, what is going on. What is going on.

Wei Ying’s hands fall to rest on the spanse of Lan Zhan’s shoulders, the weight surely heavy but constant and blinding at the same time. His eyes are fluttering shut, involuntarily, probably, but Wei Ying isn’t complaining.

He can feel Lan Zhan’s breath hot against his lips. 

They grow closer,

and closer,

and closer.

Until,

There’s a knock on the bedroom door. Wei Ying springs away from Lan Zhan immediately, the latter’s eyes flying open and looking back at him in shock. They stare at each other for a moment, and Wei Ying has half a mind to pull him right back in and continue where they left off.

But then, the voice behind the door throws that thought right out the window. 

“Wei laoshi?” It’s A-Yuan’s little tinkling voice, quiet but undeniably his. Wei Ying inhales as Lan Zhan freezes.

“A-Yuan?” Lan Zhan whispers. He closes his eyes, then opens them. He visibly gulps, then turns out to walk over to the door. Wei Ying watches him open the door, and sure enough, A-Yuan is standing outside clutching his stuffed cartoon carrot tightly against his chest. 

“Baba? Baba,” A-Yuan whines, reaching his tiny hands up. Lan Zhan drops down, picking him up with grace and lightly bouncing him in his arms. “Baba, I’m sorry. I couldn’t sleep. I was thinking about Marshmallow and Cottonball. What if they’re not okay? What if they have nightmares without us at home?”

“Oh,” breathes Lan Zhan. Wei Ying feels tears prick at his eyes from how adorable it is. “Oh, A-Yuan, it is okay. Marshmallow and Cottonball are okay. Bobo is taking care of them for us, remember?”

“Mm.” A-Yuan nods. “Baba, I woke up and looked for you but you weren’t there. I didn’t wanna disturb anyone else but I thought maybe Wei laoshi would know where you are.”

“Good boy,” says Lan Zhan. “You will go to Wei laoshi if anything like this happens again. Okay?”

Wei Ying’s heart soars.

“Okay, Baba,” A-Yuan sniffles. “I’m sorry. Were you busy? I’m sorry.”

“Yuan-er,” Wei Ying cuts in, walking up behind Lan Zhan and reaching out to lightly pinch A-Yuan’s nose. “It’s okay, your baba and I were just talking.” Talking, yeah right. “Don’t apologize. It was nothing important.” Nothing important, yeah right. “We can keep talking about it tomorrow.” He looks at Lan Zhan, who is already staring back at him. “Right, Lan Zhan?”

Lan Zhan nods. “Of course.”

Wei Ying hopes his expression does not betray his excitement upon that confirmation, but when he sees the way the corners of Lan Zhan’s lips quiver in a betraying fashion, he knows that he’s absolutely transparent.

“Tomorrow is Shushu’s birthday party,” Wei Ying continues, looking back to A-Yuan, “and it’s getting late for you, little sir. You wanna be well rested for the party, right?”

“Right!” says A-Yuan dutifully.

Wei Ying nods. “Exactly. So you should go to bed.” As an afterthought, he adds, “And take your baba with you. He is very tired as well. He just doesn’t wanna admit it.”

“Wei Ying,” says Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying shakes his head. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Lan Zhan looks like he wants to argue, but when A-Yuan tugs on his shirt, he lets out a defeated frown.

“Tomorrow,” he says. 

“Tomorrow,” Wei Ying promises.

With that, he pushes Lan Zhan and A-Yuan out the door, waving them goodnight one last time before closing himself back into his room and leaning against the doorframe. He releases a long breath, one he didn’t know he had been holding, and closes his eyes. 

What would have happened if A-Yuan didn’t interrupt them? 

He shakes his head. Maybe right now is not the best time to think about it. He twists his mouth shut and walks dully over to his bed. He switches off his lights and climbs beneath his covers. If A-Yuan hadn’t interrupted them, would Lan Zhan still be here? Would Lan Zhan be in this bed right now, with him?

Wei Ying flops onto his stomach, buries his head into the pillow, and groans.

Needless to say, he doesn’t get much sleep that night.

Chapter Text

Wei Ying wakes up the next morning with a crick in his neck.

It’s annoying. And very painful. He immediately feels it upon rising out of bed, constant and burning behind his ears. He trudges to the bathroom, headache prominent and throbbing at his temples. His eyes, for lack of better description, feel like they’re going to bleed out any moment now. 

He checks the time. It’s only six a.m., which means there are still about three hours before the rest of the house is projected to be awake. Seriously, why is he up so early?

Memories of the previous night come flooding back to him all at once, and Wei Ying immediately understands why he feels like death. He groans, reaching up to cover his face with his hands. He tries to shake his head to rid himself of the thoughts, but the stupid fucking crick in his neck makes it extruciatingly difficult. 

With a long sigh, he goes over to his suitcase and picks out the first clean thing he can get his hands on. Upon inspecting it for a close second, he deems it to be acceptable enough, and quickly pulls it on. He wonders if he should shower, but decides against it. Oh well. Jiang Cheng’s birthday party is in the late afternoon—he can shower when he’s getting ready for that.

Besides, he could really go for some coffee right now.

After running a wooden comb through his hair and ridding it of the obnoxious tangles it had gotten himself into the night before, he takes a deep breath and nods at himself in the mirror. It’s way too early for anyone to be up, but just in case he runs into someone on his way downstairs, it’s best to be prepared. 

He quietly opens the door to his room, stepping outside with his soft, fluffy slippers and closing it behind him. 

The first thing he sees is the door across from him, open just a fraction of an inch. 

He blinks. 

Lan Zhan?

This is probably a very bad idea, but Wei Ying can’t help himself from padding over to the door. He tilts his head, ignoring the pain from the dumb crick in his neck, and peeks inside. He has no idea why he does it, but he can’t stop himself.

He blames the crick for making things difficult.

He can make out Lan Zhan’s back, and oh my God, is he actually awake right now? Upon closer inspection, Wei Ying can also make out A-Yuan, sitting up in bed without a shirt on. Lan Zhan moves so that he’s sitting in front of him, and in his hands are a pair of pants and a t-shirt. 

“Put your hands up,” Lan Zhan says quietly, and A-Yuan obediently raises his arms. 

Wei Ying watches as Lan Zhan pulls the t-shirt over A-Yuan’s head, clothing him quickly and efficiently. A-Yuan bursts out into a smile as Lan Zhan reaches over and gently ruffles his hair. He giggles at the attention, and Wei Ying feels very, very warm all of a sudden.

“You must behave well today, A-Yuan,” says Lan Zhan as he runs his fingers down A-Yuan’s cheek. “Today is a very important day for Wei laoshi’s family.”

“A-Yuan knows, Baba,” A-Yuan says. “Are we going back home tomorrow?”

“Tonight,” Lan Zhan says, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss onto his son’s forehead. 

“Baba,” A-Yuan says after a beat of silence. Lan Zhan hums to show that he’s listening as he begins to flatten out the tiny legs on the pants for A-Yuan to wear. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” says Lan Zhan. 

“Can Wei laoshi be Baba too?”

Wei Ying can’t make out Lan Zhan’s face from the angle he’s standing at, but he definitely sees the way Lan Zhan’s entire body freezes. Wei Ying himself freezes. His lips part and his eyes widen, and he has to choke back the surprised noise that threatens to escape from the back of his throat. 

Can Wei laoshi be Baba too?

Wei Ying feels tears prick the corners of his eyes.

When A-Yuan seems to notice that his father isn’t answering, however, he immediately cowers back and bows his head down low. The movement seems to snap Lan Zhan out of it, but before he can respond, A-Yuan is talking again.

“I’m sorry!” he says, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Baba, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… shouldn’t have—”

“Does A-Yuan want that?”

Wei Ying leans forwards on the very tips of his toes as he waits for the child’s response. His heart is racing madly in his chest, like his entire life depends on the next sentence that comes out of A-Yuan’s mouth. Which it does, in a way. 

Yes, Wei Ying thinks to himself, yes, please. Please, I want that. He can only hope— pray— that A-Yuan feels the same way.

And then, A-Yuan nods.

It’s small, a scared little gesture, but it’s definitely there. Wei Ying definitely saw correctly. There’s no way his mind was making that up, right? Right?

“Does Baba want it?” asks A-Yuan, and Wei Ying has to bite his lip very hard to make sure he doesn’t suck in a very large breath. 

Lan Zhan hums, voice soft and smooth as honey. Wei Ying stares, eyes ablaze, as Lan Zhan reaches out to touch A-Yuan’s arm tentatively. Uncertainty clouds his mind, because this is it, isn’t it? No matter what had happened last night, it would mean nothing if Lan Zhan never had any interest in the first place. Wei Ying doesn’t think that’s the case anymore, but he can’t possibly jump to conclusions. 

He’s been taught from a young age to never hold high expectations for anything. That would only lead to disappointment, heartache, the like. 

But he wants to, God, he wants to. With this. With Lan Zhan. For A-Yuan. It’s painful, how Wei Ying has never wanted anything more than this in his life. 

Lan Zhan speaks, voice quiet but certain. 

“Baba wants it very much, A-Yuan.”

Wei Ying’s heart blooms.

A-Yuan is nodding, a giggle escaping through his tiny lips and cheeks pushing his eyes up into crescent shapes. 

“A-Yuan wants it too!” he exclaims. It's a childlike wonder. Excitement. It tugs at Wei Ying relentlessly; he wants nothing more than to push the door open fully and walk right in. He wants to envelope the both of them into his arms and hold them there forever and ever and ever. 

“A-Yuan,” says Lan Zhan. He wraps his hands completely around the small boy, discarding the pants off to the side and hoisting him up till he’s seated in his lap. “A-Yuan, you must understand. It is not our decision.”

A-Yuan gives his father a quizzical look. “Huh?”

“If Wei Ying…” Lan Zhan trails off. “If Wei laoshi does not want it, A-Yuan, we cannot do anything about that. We must not do anything about that. It is not up to us.”

“But Baba,” says A-Yuan, “what if Wei laoshi does want it?”

Lan Zhan falls quiet again, almost like he hadn’t even considered this. Wei Ying finds this incredibly stupid—Lan Zhan of all people should know just how ridiculous the possibility of Wei Ying not wanting them is. 

Then again, Wei Ying himself hadn’t realized till only recently. He supposes he can’t blame him too much for it.

“If,” starts Lan Zhan, “if that is the case, I will let him.”

A-Yuan seems to like this answer a lot. “Really, Baba?”

Wei Ying presses his lips together and takes a step back before he can hear Lan Zhan’s answer. He’s heard enough. He’s about to start crying any minute now—he needs to get out of there. Right now. Once he’s a safe distance away from the door again, he takes a deep breath, gulping dry air and steadying himself. 

He turns on his heel and walks all the way down to the kitchen, his original destination, and turns his thoughts only to the sweet release of caffeine. The tile floor of the kitchen feels cool against the fabric of his slippers, and he rubs his eyes as they readjust to the bright lighting. 

When he opens them again, he comes face to face with his sister and his sister’s stupid husband, the two of them sitting by the counter and sipping identical mugs of what Wei Ying presumes is tea. 

Jiang Yanli immediately looks up upon the noise of his entrance. She blinks, then widens her features into a warm, comforting smile. It’s exactly what Wei Ying needs right now, you know, minus the presence of the dumb peacock. Wei Ying supposes he’ll have to make that sacrifice this morning, however.

“A-Ying?” she asks, standing up and setting her tea aside. “You’re up so early! Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee?”

“Yes please, Jie,” says Wei Ying, nodding gratefully as she makes her way over to the coffee machine. He shoots Jin Zixuan a withering look, just because he can, the latter not even lifting his gaze to greet him. Wei Ying rolls his eyes. 

“Did you sleep alright?” Jiang Yanli asks while she’s loading the machine and slipping a bright blue mug underneath the tap. She turns to eye him closely, frowning after a few seconds. “A-Ying, you don’t look so good. Your eyes are all red.”

“Are they?” Wei Ying asks, blinking rapidly. This, however, does nothing but accentuate the heavy tears just begging to escape. He stares back at his sister, her beautifully soft features pinched with worry, and something inside him just breaks. 

Jiang Yanli is immediately by his side, and this time even Jin Zixuan gets up and walks over to them. Wei Ying crouches down, his thighs pressed against his chest as he raises his arms to rest on his knees. He buries his face in them, feeling the salty tears running down his cheek without constraint. 

“A-Ying?” his sister is saying from somewhere far away, but Wei Ying can’t bring himself to look at her. He’s embarrassed, for one, but he also knows this was bound to happen sooner or later. He had already set himself up for this particular breakdown yesterday when he was with Lan Zhan and A-Yuan, when he had only allowed a single tear to escape. 

“Jie,” he whines after about thirty seconds of pure agony. He holds his arms out, sticking his bottom lip out in a babyish pout, and she immediately sits down across from on the floor and brings him in for a tight hug. 

God, Wei Ying loves his sister. 

“Oh, A-Ying,” she whispers as she rubs soothing circles on his back. “What happened? Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

“Jiejie,” says Wei Ying, sniffling, “A-Yuan asked Lan Zhan if I can be his baba too.”

Jiang Yanli pauses, then threads her fingers through Wei Ying’s hair. “Oh,” she breathes, voice betraying her surprise. “Oh, A-Ying. That’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

“I’m scared,” Wei Ying blurts out. As the words ring heavy in the air, he realizes just how true they are.

He is scared. Not of responsibility, but of his potential to fuck everything up. That’s the last thing he wants for Lan Zhan—for A-Yuan. 

“What if I’m not good enough?” It comes out as merely a whisper, and he wonders if his sister was able to even hear him. When her grip on him tightens, however, Wei Ying is pretty sure of the answer to that question. 

“A-Ying,” Jiang Yanli says, softly. “A-Ying, you are. You are good enough, A-Ying. And I’m not just saying this because I’m your sister. It’s because I’m your sister that you should believe me more than anyone else.” She leans her head back and raises her knuckles to Wei Ying’s droopy eye bags, wiping the wetness away from his cheeks in a single swipe. She holds his head in her hands, stroking it with all the gentleness in the world.

“I really want it,” Wei Ying says. “Like, I really want it. I want to be with Lan Zhan, and I want to be there for A-Yuan through all of his little kid milestones.” He frowns, then looks back up at her. “Is that crazy? That’s crazy, right? I haven’t even known them for that long. I’m being stupid.”

“You are indeed being very stupid,” comes Jin Zixuan’s voice. 

Wei Ying glares at him. “Why are you even here?” He pouts at his sister. “Jie, tell him to get lost!”

Jin Zixuan sighs exasperatedly. “You obviously care a lot for him. Why don’t you just tell them?”

Wei Ying thinks about this. Then, “Jin Zixuan.”

“What?”

Wei Ying’s eyes flash as he meets his brother in-law’s stare head on. “How did you court my sister?”

Jin Zixuan sputters. “What?”

“Yeah,” says Wei Ying. “I mean, if she said yes to someone like you, then you have to have done something extraordinary. I should do the same thing. There’s no way Lan Zhan can say no then.”

“What does that even—did you just insult me?”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying nods. He shrugs. “So?”

“Unbelievable,” Jin Zixuan huffs. “Absolutely unbelievable.” Then, “And if you must know, it wasn’t very difficult. Like I said before, you must tell him your feelings. I did the same with A-Li.”

Wei Ying raises an eyebrow. “That’s it?” He looks to Jiang Yanli for confirmation, and his sister just nods, clearly amused by the sudden turn of events. Wei Ying sighs and crosses his arms over his chest. “Jie, you gotta up your standards! What’s one measly confession in the face of all the times he made you cry?”

“Oh, A-Ying, that’s all in the past,” Jiang Yanli says, rubbing her hand against his forearm. “See? It worked out for us in the end. I’m sure it’ll be fine for you as well.”

Wei Ying grumbles, “Maybe.”

“Relationships,” Jiang Yanli says, “are wonderful.”

Wei Ying presses his lips together, and nods. 

—

wei ying >>> wen qingwingfling

wei ying: i’m gonna confess to lan zhan

wen qingwingfling: nice

wei ying: ??? hello???????? u r supposed to be Supportive And Kind

wen qingwingfling: shut up i’m going through something rn

wei ying: what????? wen qing???

wei ying: qingqing???? r u ok??? wtf? did smth happen????

wen qingwingfling: no

wen qingwingfling: yes

wen qingwingfling: mianmian asked me to marry her

wei ying: WHAT THE FUCK

wen qingwingfling: but good luck with lan laoshi!! i’m sure it’ll work out in the end for you, wei ying

wei ying: WHAT THE FUCK GO BACK HOLD ON

wei ying: WHAT THE FUCK

—

“She just did it,” Wen Qing breathes on the other end of the call. “In front of everyone. Her entire family. She just pulled out the ring and kneeled and did it.”

Wei Ying is sprawled across his bed on his back. He’s grinning wildly as he stares up at the ceiling. 

“Holy fucking shit,” he curses. “You totally cried, didn’t you?”

“Shut up,” Wen Qing says. Then, “Okay. Just a little.”

“I knew it,” says Wei Ying. He laughs. “I’m so happy for you, Qingqing. Congratulations! I better be invited to the wedding.”

“Loser,” says Wen Qing, the fondness in her tone betraying her words. “Of course you’re invited. You’re the first person on the list, right after Wen Ning.”

“Hey! That makes me the second!”

Wei Ying can practically see Wen Qing rolling her eyes. “I mean,” she says, “you said it, not me.”

“Have you decided on a date yet?” he asks. 

“Mm, probably in the middle of next year,” says Wen Qing. “We’re thinking a couple weeks after the school year ends.”

“That’s amazing,” Wei Ying says. “You have to tell me everything about it when we see each other tomorrow. Are you on your train back home yet?”

“Yeah,” says Wen Qing. “I’m set to arrive in about another two hours.”

“Awesome,” says Wei Ying with a nod, even though he knows she can’t see him. There’s a sudden knock on his door, and Wei Ying quickly says, “Hold on,” before pressing his hands to his phone microphone and yelling, “Come in!”

Still sprawled across the bed, Wei Ying arches his chest up so he can see who enters. His eyes pop out of their sockets when he sees fucking Lan Zhan standing awkwardly in the doorway, and he immediately scrambles up till he’s sitting on his knees in the middle of the bed. 

He raises his phone back to his ear, “Sorry, Wen Qing. I’ll call you back later, okay? Bye! Safe travels!” He ends the call without bothering to listen for her response.

Lan Zhan is staring at him. 

Wei Ying can’t help himself from gulping nervously, offering him a weirdly-placed smile. Lan Zhan still doesn’t move, eyes bearing directly back into Wei Ying’s without a care in the world.

The pain from the crick in his neck has numbed down by now, but it suddenly makes its presence very known as Wei Ying climbs out of bed. He groans, hand flying up to his neck automatically and gently pressing at it. 

Lan Zhan sucks in a short breath before striding up to him, immediately using his hand to push Wei Ying’s hair back. Wei Ying halts to stop as he feels Lan Zhan’s eyes on the bare skin of his neck. 

“Lan Zhan, I—”

“Is your neck bothering you?” Lan Zhan asks before he can say whatever the hell he was going to say. Wei Ying is silently grateful for the interruption; he has absolutely no idea where he was going with that sentence. 

“No,” he says, shaking his head. This, however, just makes the pain come back. He winces, then swallows. 

Lan Zhan lifts an eyebrow delicately. 

“I’m fine,” Wei Ying says, “really. I just slept weirdly last night.”

Lan Zhan pulls his hand back, and Wei Ying almost, almost, lets out a displeased whine. He doesn’t, thankfully. That would be so embarassing. 

“Where’s A-Yuan?” he asks instead of dwelling on it.

“He is downstairs with your sister,” says Lan Zhan. “I was sent upstairs to tell you that breakfast is prepared.”

“Breakfast?” Wei Ying blinks. Oh, fuck, right. Breakfast. He almost forgot about the most important meal of the day! “Okay.” He nods, immediately regrets it, then smiles sheepishly when Lan Zhan’s worried expression makes its way back onto his face. He presses his lips together, reaching down to grab Lan Zhan’s wrist and tugging him to the door. 

Lan Zhan makes a weird noise behind him, but thankfully doesn’t comment on the sudden touch. Once they’re outside in the hallway, Wei Ying reluctantly lets go of his hold, hand lingering by Lan Zhan’s wrist for only a fraction of a second before he’s being pulled back in. He bites his lip to stop himself from smiling, eyes roaming downward involuntarily to see that Lan Zhan has intertwined their fingers together and is very pointedly looking anywhere but directly back at him. 

“Wei Ying,” he says softly. Their steps have slowed down to what can barely even be considered a walk, but Wei Ying doesn’t have the mind to care about that right now. 

He gulps. “Yeah?”

“You said,” Lan Zhan begins, eyes flickering down to meet his, finally, “we would talk. Today.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying says. Right. He did say that, didn’t he? “You wanna talk right now?”

Lan Zhan shakes his head. “Whenever Wei Ying is ready.”

If Wei Ying’s being honest, he has no idea when he’s ever going to truly be ready. So, well, he might as well just go forth with the strange, newfound sense of confidence he’s gained in the past couple of hours. He doesn’t know if he’s going to end up losing his momentum, and if he does, he’ll only end up making things harder for himself in the long run.

There’s a reason he purposely told a lot of people about his plans to confess to Lan Zhan. This way, there’s no way he can chicken out.

So, he stops walking. His fingers tug Lan Zhan back, the taller man blinking in slight shock for a moment. His features melt down, softening as he turns around to face him. The hallway is still completely empty, and it’s very unlikely that they’ll be interrupted given that everyone is downstairs eating breakfast.

But Wei Ying really, really doesn’t want a repeat of last night.

“Wei Ying?” asks Lan Zhan after Wei Ying hasn’t said anything for a while.

Wei Ying looks up at him. “Let’s go back to my room.”

Lan Zhan blinks once, then twice, then three times. “What?”

“My room,” Wei Ying says before turning on his heel and pulling Lan Zhan behind him right back where they had been coming from. 

“Wei Ying, Wei Ying, what—”

Wei Ying pulls him into his room again roughly, almost throwing him inside and quickly following behind. He pushes his back against the door and then uses his leg to close it fully again. He reaches back to find the lock, turning it once and only relaxing once hearing the satisfactory click. 

Lan Zhan is looking at him in shock.

“Sorry,” Wei Ying says quickly. “I know it won’t happen again, but. I don’t know. I don’t wanna be interrupted for the second time.”

Lan Zhan’s eyebrows relax, worried expression sliding right off of his features as he nods. 

“No jokes,” Wei Ying continues, “no jokes right now.”

“Yes,” says Lan Zhan. 

“I’m… I’m serious,” Wei Ying says. “No jokes. If you make a joke I’ll cry. I already cried enough this morning about this.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, lips parting. “I will not joke. Why were you crying?”

“It was stupid,” Wei Ying says. “It was nothing.”

“Not stupid,” says Lan Zhan, taking a step closer to him. “Was it… was it because of me?”

Oh, no. 

“No!” Wei Ying says. “I mean, yes? I guess, technically—wait, no. Fuck. Wait. No. I’m doing this wrong.” He shakes his head, closing his eyes. “Fuck! Ouch.” 

“Your neck—”

“I’m fine!”

Lan Zhan hums. Then, “I’m sorry.”

“What?” Wei Ying straightens up, looking directly back at him. “What are you sorry for?”

“Last night…” Lan Zhan trails off, looking a little uncertain. Wei Ying freezes. “Last night I may have made you uncomfortable. And for that, I apologize.”

“What?” says Wei Ying. “Uncomfortable? How did you make me uncomfortable? You did not make me uncomfortable.”

“I—”

“And for the record, you’re stupid,” Wei Ying continues. “Do you seriously think I wouldn’t want it? Seriously? You and A-Yuan mean the fucking world to me, Lan Zhan. I don’t care if you don’t think it’s your decision! You’re his father. Of course it’s your decision.”

Lan Zhan’s lips are parting more and more with each passing second. “Wei Ying. What are you talking about?”

Oops. 

He remembers a second too late that he isn’t actually supposed to know anything about the conversation he overheard between Lan Zhan and A-Yuan from the morning. He smacks his mouth shut immediately, feeling his cheeks color. 

“Wei Ying?”

Well. Wei Ying supposes the cat’s out of the bag now.

“Sorry,” he cringes. “I kinda, um, heard you. With A-Yuan. This morning.”

Lan Zhan’s eyes go very, very wide very, very quickly. Honestly, Wei Ying would find it funny if his heart wasn’t racing a mile per minute right now.

“Oh.” His voice is soft, quiet, but he doesn’t sound angry.

“Yeah, so… yeah.” Wei Ying doesn’t dare look up at him now, not with how badly this conversation is already going. “As I was saying, it’s stupid of you to think it’s my decision, whether or not I enter your family.” He groans. “Fuck. I’m doing this backwards. Okay, you know what. Why don’t we start over—”

But suddenly, Lan Zhan is all up in Wei Ying’s space. Wei Ying inhales a sharp breath when his vision is clouded by the sight of Lan Zhan’s collarbone, and he carefully glances up to see the taller man staring down at him with an unreadable expression. 

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, firmly. His voice shakes a little, just barely noticeable. “I would be ridiculous to deny you.”

Wei Ying can’t breathe.

“I used to think,” Lan Zhan says, swallowing, “that you were merely doing this out of obligation. That the only reason you took so much care into making sure A-Yuan was accounted for was because you felt a sense of responsibility towards him as his teacher.”

“Never,” says Wei Ying. “Lan Zhan, no. I obviously feel responsible for him because of that, but my feelings for him go much beyond that of a teacher at this point.”

“Mn,” hums Lan Zhan. “I know that now. The way you look at A-Yuan, the way you treat him… it is unrivalled.”

Wei Ying feels his entire face soften upon hearing his words. He knows it’s true, and if it isn’t, well, he has a few choice words to say to whoever else is looking at A-Yuan like he’s their entire world.

Except, of course, if it’s the one person who matters the most. Lan Zhan. 

Wei Ying hates sharing, but perhaps it’s okay if it’s with Lan Zhan.

He tilts his neck up, and this time, the crick doesn’t even bother him. His breath ghosts the surface of skin on Lan Zhan’s face, and he can’t help but smile warmly. He holds his arms up, making them rest against Lan Zhan’s shoulders as he feels Lan Zhan’s hands come to rest at his waist. It’s a similar position to the one they were in last night, but it feels different this time. For some reason.

Wei Ying feels the most safe he’s ever felt before. Right here, right now.

“I’m your…” he starts, but anything he could possibly say right now feels insignificant—like it’s not enough. He tries again, “I’m your best friend.”

Lan Zhan shakes his head, the slightest movement. Wei Ying notices the way his eyes sparkle in the dim lighting, because of course he does. His brain is simply wired to Lan Zhan at this point. 

“Not just my best friend,” says Lan Zhan, and if it were even possible, he leans in closer. Wei Ying can barely make out the rest of his face now through his own peripheral. 

“Yeah?”

“So much more than just my best friend,” Lan Zhan says. “Have been fond of you for so long now.”

“Oh?” Wei Ying presses his lips together to suppress his smile. 

“Used to think Wei Ying was ridiculous,” says Lan Zhan, “thought Wei Ying was so unprofessional, coming into staff meetings minutes late and interrupting superiors without any proper thought. Wondered why Uncle still had you hired.”

 “Lan Zhan.”

“After A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan stops for a moment to swallow, “I understood—I realized how good you are. How wonderful you are. How your element belongs to your students, how much you care for them and how much they care for you in return.” Wei Ying can’t see them, but he’s sure Lan Zhan’s ears are pinkening upon his small confession. “Admired Wei Ying a lot.”

“Lan Zhan,” breathes Wei Ying, feeling his own breath bounce back to him against Lan Zhan’s chin, “Lan Zhan ah, Lan Zhan. You can’t just say stuff like that to me. What am I supposed to do now?”

“For you,” says Lan Zhan, “anything.”

Wei Ying unwraps his arms around Lan Zhan to bring them down to his face. He buries himself into them, feeling the warmth of his cheeks against his palms. He wants to scream his lungs out, because what the fuck. This is not how he had been expecting their conversation to go, because yes, they did almost kiss last night, but Wei Ying’s brain is stupid and it always decieves him. 

Low expectations, always. Never high. No room for disappointment. That’s what he’s been taught. 

But with Lan Zhan…

“I’m going to tell you something,” he says, voice only slightly muffled through his fingers.

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan, still above him. 

“No,” says Wei Ying. “You don’t understand. I’m going to tell you something. Something really big.” He lets go of his hold on himself and moves to rest his hands back on Lan Zhan’s shoulders. “And I know we’ve been leading up to it for the past, like, twelve hours, but it’s still really important and it’s really huge for me and I know you already know what it is but you need to listen to me and maybe help guide me through it.”

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan. He’s staring down at him with only fondness in his eyes, patience evident and painted into his beautiful, beautiful features. Wei Ying almost starts crying again right then and there, but manages to compose himself before the influx of tears bombard every single one of his senses.

“Okay,” Wei Ying says, biting his bottom lip and taking a deep breath to steady himself. “Yesterday. Yesterday I came to this realization. Okay? Realization. Are you listening?”

“I am listening,” says Lan Zhan.

“Okay, okay good,” says Wei Ying. “Anyways, my realization. It’s a really big realization. And it makes me kind of scared, because it’s about something that I really, really want. And if you’re not ready for it, or you don’t want to give it to me, then I totally understand! I do, I really do. You’re super important to me, Lan Zhan. Your answer isn’t going to change anything. I won’t let it change anything. Okay? Are you still listening to me?”

“I am,” says Lan Zhan. 

Wei Ying swallows, adam’s apple bobbing through the action. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Wei Ying,” says Lan Zhan suddenly, and Wei Ying snaps his gaze up to meet his. “If you do not want to tell me, then that is okay. You do not have to do anything you are not ready for.”

“No!” Wei Ying says quickly, shaking his head. “I am ready! I’m totally ready. I’m fine.”

Lan Zhan eyes him. “Are you positive?”

“Yes,” says Wei Ying. “I’m positive. Anyways, back to my realization.”

“Mn.”

“It’s just that…” Wei Ying averts his gaze for a moment. “When I see you with A-Yuan, when I’m with you and A-Yuan, I don’t even know how to describe the feeling I get. I’ve been getting it for a while now, but like, recently I was finally able to put an actual name to it, you know?”

“What is it?” Lan Zhan asks, quietly.

“I want to say it’s… warmth? Happiness? Contentment?” Wei Ying groans. “Lan Zhan, you know I’m not good with words! That’s your strong suit.”

“Wei Ying is fine.”

Wei Ying huffs quietly, breath coming out staggered but sure. It’s easier now, for some reason. Maybe it’s because of the way Lan Zhan is still staring at him, gaze unmoving and comforting and just there. 

“Stop that,” he whispers, barely audible.

Lan Zhan blinks. “Stop what?”

“That,” says Wei Ying. “That… that look you’re giving me. If you don’t stop that I’m not gonna be able to stop myself from doing something crazy.”

“Crazy,” repeats Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying nods. “Something really crazy.”

“Do not hold yourself back,” says Lan Zhan. It’s said so quietly that even Wei Ying, despite their close proximity, has to strain his ears to be able to hear him. 

But he does. Loud and clear. 

And, well, actions have always spoken louder than words, right? 

So, in one single movement, Wei Ying’s fingers crawl up to the spanse of skin right below Lan Zhan’s hair on the back of his neck. He presses down firmly, pressure encompassing the entirety of his palms, and he pulls him down. It’s not a significantly large distance—they’re already close enough for the tips of their noses to be touching—but it’s enough to hear the small intake of breath and to soak in the feeling of skin on skin, skin on skin, till instead of skin it’s lips, chapped and cracked and soft and oh, oh.

At first, it’s just a brush; barely a peck. Wei Ying feels Lan Zhan freeze in his grasp and he almost moves to break away. Did he read the situation incorrectly? Is something wrong? See, this is why he always keeps low expectations. Low! Expectations!

But then, all of a sudden, Lan Zhan is moving again. He’s pressing closer, closer, till his hands are running up Wei Ying’s side and resting beneath his jaw line, cupping it gently and rocking it between his fingers. He’s taking Wei Ying’s mouth into his own, firm and sweet, and Wei Ying tries very hard not to melt under the touch.

(He does not succeed.)

But Lan Zhan is there, he’s right there, holding him up and kissing him like he’s never been kissed before. Their lips are moving together till Lan Zhan is prying his open and tilting his head and going deeper, deeper. Wei Ying’s legs feel like jelly; his heart and mind and every other annoying part of his body races as he stumbles to catch up to their momentum. 

They kiss till they’re breathless. Lan Zhan’s mouth is perfect. The best pair of lips in the entire world, Wei Ying thinks. They’re soft and wet and make his chest burn with an excited type of warmth. He hums into his mouth, smiling against his lips, before abruptly remembering something.

“Wait,” Wei Ying says as he breaks away. Lan Zhan immediately lunges back in, chasing his lips once more. Wei Ying lightly pushes him away, enough force to make Lan Zhan blink back to his senses, but not enough to make him step away. 

“Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan asks, voice rough and scratchy and oh dear, Wei Ying is completely and utterly gone for him. He looks beautiful like this, like Wei Ying has been made for kissing those lips. 

“No,” he says. When he sees Lan Zhan’s eyebrows pinch together, he continues, “Wait, not no, because obviously. Yes. Anyways. No. I’m still doing this backwards.” He groans, seeing Lan Zhan still giving him that stupid fucking look. Before he can stop himself, he pulls him back in, giving another short, chaste kiss to his swollen lips. “Fuck. Okay. Don’t let me kiss you again.” He lunges at him immediately, capturing him in again.

“Hm,” hums Lan Zhan against his mouth, “you are not good at following through with your word.”

“Shut up,” hisses Wei Ying. “I’m trying to tell you something.”

Lan Zhan kisses him again, and Wei Ying can’t help but gasp audibly into his mouth. He licks inside, deepening it and pressing their chests together. 

“I like you,” he says once they pull away again. Lan Zhan immediately freezes, so Wei Ying quickly continues. “I mean, I fancy you. I love you. I want you. I whatever you.” He drops his forehead onto Lan Zhan’s shoulder. “Fuck, I’m so bad at this. I want to be with you. You and A-Yuan. I don’t just wanna be his teacher. I wanna be there for all of his firsts and seconds and thirds and fourths and I wanna be there for them with you.” He looks up, hooking his chin onto where his chin was and meeting Lan Zhan’s eyes. “I don’t want anyone but you—it can’t be anyone but you. You’re really important to me, you know that? You and your adorable, beautiful little son. I know you said you don’t date, and you’re waiting for the right person, and we… we don’t even have to date! We don’t have to do anything! I just want you to know that I… I’d be willing. To be with you. To be by your and A-Yuan’s side. For, um, for as long as you want me to be.”

He’s panting by the time he’s done, breaths coming out short and choppy and undoubtedly betraying how anxious he is for Lan Zhan’s response.

“Wei Ying.”

Lan Zhan’s voice is crackly, like the remnants of a lonely fire in the woods, but underneath all of that it’s soft and perfect and so undeniably him. He’s looking at Wei Ying like he’s hung the stars in the sky and has magically invented a new color, one that’s gloriously vibrant and clear and equivalent to reds and peaches and golds and purples. 

“Wei Ying,” says Lan Zhan, with so much emotion it’s absolutely frightening. “Like you too. Love you too. Want to be with you.” He smiles, a real, true smile, and Wei Ying thinks oh, well, I’ve lived a good life. Goodbye, world! 

Instead, he speaks warmly in return. “Yeah?”

“Mn,” nods Lan Zhan. “A-Yuan feels the same way, though you may talk to him about it yourself if you would like.”

“I will,” says Wei Ying. “I will. I’d really like that.”

“He loves you,” says Lan Zhan, quietly. 

“I know. I love him as well,” says Wei Ying. “Very much. Very, very much.”

Lan Zhan kisses him again, and Wei Ying kisses him back just because he can. He knows there’ll be a lot more where that came from, but for now it’s okay to sink into Lan Zhan’s arms and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist. 

He exists only, only in the arms of this man.

—

wei ying >>> wen qingwingfling

wen qingwingfling: change of plans

wen qingwingfling: i’ll be spending the night at mianmian’s 

wei ying: wow

wei ying: this actually works out perfectly

wen qingwingfling: oh? i take it the confession went well then

wei ying: it did :D

wen qingwingfling: congratulations!!!! i’m really happy for you :)

wei ying: thanks qingqing :DD

—

Jiang Cheng’s birthday party is a quiet affair. 

Well, as quiet as a party at the Jin mansion can be, anyways. 

Wei Ying nurses a glass of wine as he watches Lan Zhan across the room, awkwardly being roped into small talk with random relatives who Wei Ying himself can’t really remember the names of. He offers him cheeky grins as Lan Zhan sends him helpless, pleading gazes in his direction. 

“I suppose things went well,” a voice says from behind him. Wei Ying turns around to see Jin Zixuan walking up to him, Jiang Yanli at his side. His sister is cradling Jin Ling in her arms, and Wei Ying brightens immediately upon the sight of his nephew. 

“A-Ling!” he says, reaching over to gently ruffle his hair. Ignoring Jin Zixuan, he looks up to his sister. “Jie, I’m gonna be a father.”

Jiang Yanli looks surprised for a moment. Then, her expression softens out into a relaxed smile. “Oh, A-Ying. I’m so happy for you.”

Wei Ying grins proudly. He glances around the ballroom, eyes searching for A-Yuan. He finds him standing with some of the other children his age, and holds his hand out to point at him. He brings his outstretched hand to his heart, then, and presses his lips together to stop himself from breaking his face from the strength of his smile. 

“Mine,” he whispers as he feels Jiang Yanli put her hand on his shoulder. “My son. My son.”

It feels so good to say it out loud. He hasn’t talked about it with A-Yuan yet, but he already has a pretty good idea of how that particular conversation is going to go. He catches Lan Zhan’s eye from across the room again, and this time he can’t stop himself from beckoning him over. He laughs when he sees Lan Zhan hurriedly end whatever conversation he’s currently in the middle of—politely, of course, because he’s Lan Zhan—and quickly making his way over to where Wei Ying is.

He immediately bows when he sees Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan. Jiang Yanli laughs, reaching out to pet his head fondly. 

“Welcome to the family,” she says. Lan Zhan’s eyes dart over to Wei Ying, who simply nods.

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan says, a smile playing at his mouth. It’s small, but it’s there, and Wei Ying knows his sister can see it. 

“Hey!” comes the telltale voice of none other than Jiang Cheng. Wei Ying whips around to see his little brother marching over to them, permanent scowl even deeper than usual. “It’s my birthday party. What’s going on here?”

“Go away,” says Wei Ying, rolling his eyes. 

Jiang Cheng scoffs. 

Jiang Yanli walks over to him after depositing Jin Ling with Jin Zixuan. “A-Cheng, A-Ying and Lan laoshi are together.”

“Lan Zhan,” Lan Zhan suddenly says, surprising everyone. Wei Ying can feel his smile returning, and he gently reaches down and squeezes their hands together. Lan Zhan gives him a grateful nod, then continues. “You… please, call me by my name.”

“Lan Zhan,” Jiang Yanli says. She breaks out into a smile, accompanied by the sweetest laugh Wei Ying has ever heard. “Yes, yes. A-Cheng, A-Ying and Lan Zhan are together.”

“Lan Zhan—” Jiang Cheng starts, but Wei Ying quickly interrupts. 

“Nuh uh!” he says, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “For you, he is Lan-xiong.”

“Shut the hell up before I call him fucking Zhan-ge.”

“You may,” Lan Zhan says coolly.

Jiang Cheng’s jaw drops. 

Wei Ying bursts into laughter. “Oh, yes! That’s better. Please, A-Cheng. He even gave you permission!”

“Now now,” says Jiang Yanli. “You two figure out the formalities later.” She glances to Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. “Can I talk to my nephew?”

“Nephew,” whispers Lan Zhan, loud enough for only Wei Ying to hear. He looks to Wei Ying, who is already staring back at him with the fondest of smiles. Lan Zhan’s eyebrows set into a determined line as he nods. He calls A-Yuan over, who happily waddles up to the group. 

Jiang Yanli crouches down and holds her arms out. He kneels down in a way so that A-Yuan can nervously take a seat on her thigh, and she immediately pulls him in and starts stroking his hair behind his ear. Wei Ying feels the tears, again, but manages to keep them in as he looks upon the scene. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan walking up to them, and, well, now the entire family’s here, right?

Family.

The word sends a shiver of excitement through him. 

“A-Ying,” says Jiang Fengmian as he approaches them with his wife at his side, “what time is your flight back?”

“Nine,” says Wei Ying. He had managed to book that specific flight so that A-Yuan could be asleep by the time they boarded. Ah, what a considerate father he is! “So we’ll be leaving soon, Uncle Jiang. Thank you for having us.”

Jing Fengmian nods. 

“A-Yuan,” Jiang Yanli is saying, making everyone turn their attention down to the ground where she’s sitting with the kid, “it was very nice to meet you. You want to see me again soon, right?”

“Yes!” A-Yuan nods, excitement pouring through his voice. Wei Ying feels his heart clench at the sight. “I really want to see Gugu again soon.”

Wei Ying chuckles, bending down and slipping his hands beneath A-Yuan’s armpits so he can hoist him up. A-Yuan naturally curls his legs around his waist, and Wei Ying can’t help but lean forwards and plant a sloppy kiss to his cheek. 

“You’ll see your gugu plenty of times, little sir,” he says. 

“A-Ying,” says Jiang Yanli as she stands back up, “you better bring him over to our place, okay? And I want weekly updates with plenty of pictures!”

Wei Ying dutifully salutes. “Of course, Jie! Your wish is my command!”

“A-Zhan,” Jiang Yanli continues. She blinks. “Oh, I’m sorry. Am I allowed to…”

Lan Zhan nods. “Mn. You may.”

If it’s even possible, Jiang Yanli’s smile deepens. “A-Zhan, give me your number. We’ll keep in touch, even back in Gusu, okay?”

Lan Zhan agrees with another nod, taking out his phone and handing it over to her so she can input her information. While they’re doing that, Wei Ying turns to A-Yuan, who’s still holding onto him tightly. They meet eyes, and Wei Ying offers him his best, most friendly smiles. 

“You and I need to have a long talk,” he says seriously. 

A-Yuan blinks owlishly down at him. “Us, Wei laoshi?”

“Oh, that too,” Wei Ying says. “The whole Wei laoshi thing.” He glances over to Lan Zhan, who’s currently engaged in talking to his sister. He leans into A-Yuan’s ear, cupping it around his mouth and whispering, “At the airport, do you wanna help me surprise your baba?”

A-Yuan’s eyes widen for a second. Then, he nods. “What kind of surprise?”

Wei Ying smirks. “You’ll see.”

When it comes time for the three of them to leave, Wei Ying leaves A-Yuan with Lan Zhan to bid one final farewell to his parents. 

He approaches Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan with a polite bow, then breaks into his usual naughty grin.

“We’ll be leaving, Uncle Jiang, Aunt Yu.”

“Wei Ying,” Yu Ziyuan says suddenly. “Back there, that child referred to A-Li as gugu.”

“Oh,” says Wei Ying, blinking for a moment. He takes a breath, then nods. “Um, yeah. Lan Zhan and I…” He trails off, knowing that much is enough to get his point across. He watches as Yu Ziyuan’s eyes flicker over to where Lan Zhan and A-Yuan are, and his breathing comes to a halt. He gulps. Wei Ying may not care about the opinions of people in general when it comes to his life, but this has always been a bit of a sore spot for him. The approval of his parents.

“He seems like a good person,” says Jiang Fengmian, finally. His gaze softens when Wei Ying immediately brightens up upon his words. “I hope you are happy, A-Ying.”

“I am,” Wei Ying says. “Thank you, Uncle Jiang.”

Yu Ziyuan scoffs. “You should tell your brother to get settled down too,” she says, and Wei Ying’s heart soars. That’s, like, the most amount of approval he’ll ever get from her on this subject. 

He breaks out into a smile, and has to physically restrain himself from lunging at the two of them. He feels Lan Zhan behind him, and he turns around to give him the warmest of smiles. Lan Zhan hands A-Yuan over to him, and Wei Ying takes the boy happily into his arms. 

“Sir Jiang,” Lan Zhan says, bowing to Jiang Fengmian. He turns to Yu Ziyuan and does the same. “Madam Yu. Thank you for having me and my son. Please extend my regards to the Jin family as well.”

“Safe travels,” says Jiang Fengmian. 

Lan Zhan nods stiffly. “We will get going now.”

“Goodbye!” Wei Ying grins, using his free hand to wave as they retreat. He nudges A-Yuan’s side with his chin. “A-Yuan, that’s your nainai and yeye. Say bye and thank you to them!”

“Bye bye, Yeye. Bye bye, Nainai,” says A-Yuan. 

Wei Ying quickly turns around before he can see the look on Yu Ziyuan’s face upon hearing that, but he does have a pretty good idea of what it looks like.

—

At the airport, Wei Ying and Lan Zhan walk side by side with A-Yuan between them, swinging from both of their arms. They roll their suitcases with their free hand, checking in and going over to where their gate is. 

As they take a seat to wait for their flight, Wei Ying turns to Lan Zhan.

“Lan Zhan,” he says, catching his attention. “There’s still a bit of time before we have to board. Can you get us some dinner?”

Lan Zhan nods and moves to get up. A-Yuan makes a noise of displeasure upon being put down in his seat from the comfortable spot on his father’s lap, but Wei Ying immediately pulls him into his lap.

When Lan Zhan is gone, Wei Ying darts forward to press a kiss to A-Yuan’s temple. 

“A-Yuan,” he says. 

A-Yuan blinks up at him. “Is this about the surprise?”

“My smart little boy,” says Wei Ying, uncontrollably fond. “Yes, it is! Do you wanna know what it is?”

“Mm!” nods A-Yuan excitedly. 

Wei Ying laughs, “Okay!” Then, he takes a deep breath. “A-Yuan ah, how would you like to call me something else from now on? Instead of Wei laoshi?”

“Instead of Wei laoshi,” A-Yuan repeats, eyes going comically wide. “Like what?”

“Hm…” Wei Ying pretends to think about it, reaching up to stroke his chin thoughtfully. “How about… Papa?”

“Papa?” A-Yuan asks, eyeing him quizzically. Wei Ying doesn’t say anything, simply allowing the child to let the words sink in. After a few moments of silence, A-Yuan gasps, his hands flying up to cover his mouth. His eyes are wide on his face, and Wei Ying, again, feels as if he’s about to cry. “Papa?” A-Yuan asks, and when he moves his hands away from his face, Wei Ying sees that he’s smiling from ear to ear. 

“Yeah,” he breathes, softly. “But maybe not at school just yet. I really don’t want to see Old Man Lan—I mean, Principal Lan pop a blood vessel or something.”

“Great Uncle would be very shocked,” A-Yuan says seriously. 

“I’m sure,” Wei Ying says, then shudders. He is seriously not looking forward to breaking the relationship announcement to Lan Qiren. He shakes the thought away, redirecting his attention back to the child in his lap. “But anyways, how does that sound? Can I… can I be Papa to you? Or, I guess, anything you’d like would be fine. What about Dad? Daddy? Father? Oh, nevermind, please let’s not use Father. That sounds way too superficial and exactly something the Lans would—”

“Papa,” says A-Yuan, and Wei Ying’s breath comes to a halting stop, “you’re freaking out.”

“Yes,” says Wei Ying, trying very hard to make sure his voice doesn’t come out too choked, “yes, well, I suppose I am. Just a bit.” He looks at him, lips quivering. “Papa is good, then. I’m… I’m Papa now.”

“You’re Papa now,” agrees A-Yuan easily, like Wei Ying isn’t seconds away from screaming to everyone in the airport that he’s Papa now!

“Your… no. Baba doesn’t know about this yet,” Wei Ying says instead, brushing a strand of hair out of A-Yuan’s face. “So we can surprise him, okay? You should call me Papa in front of him and we can see his reaction.”

“Okay, Papa,” A-Yuan says. He’s smiling sweetly, epitome of innocence. Wei Ying finds it incredibly endearing—he finds everything about A-Yuan endearing, really, but this is a very special case.

When Lan Zhan comes back with three bags of food, A-Yuan is still sitting on Wei Ying, and the two are looking at something on Wei Ying’s phone. Wei Ying looks up when he hears Lan Zhan approaching, face breaking out into a grin and then immediately softening when he sees the way Lan Zhan is looking between him and A-Yuan. Wei Ying pats the seat next to his and Lan Zhan slips onto it, unwrapping the bags and passing it around.

“A-Yuan,” Lan Zhan says, “when we get on the plane, you should go to sleep.”

“Okay, Baba,” A-Yuan nods. 

“Yeah!” says Wei Ying. “You’re probably tired from this weekend, right?”

“I’m okay, Papa,” says A-Yuan.

Wei Ying’s eyes dart up immediately when he realizes that A-Yuan has just taken the opportunity. He looks at Lan Zhan, who is staring down at A-Yuan with his perfectly impassive expression, watching as it melts away into something completely different.

Lan Zhan’s eyes find him, and Wei Ying cheekily grins back. Lan Zhan’s lips part for a second before his mouth curls up into a smile, and a few moments later he’s beaming. It’s an expression Wei Ying has never seen before on him, so open and bright and undeniably happy. 

“Papa?” Lan Zhan asks him, voice barely above what can be considered a whisper.

“Papa,” Wei Ying says with a nod.

Lan Zhan looks at A-Yuan, who is watching them nervously. 

“A-Yuan,” he says. He points over to Wei Ying. “Who is that?”

“Papa,” says A-Yuan without an ounce of hesitation. 

“Mn,” Lan Zhan nods. “Correct.”

Correct, he says. Correct, he says! Wei Ying can’t help himself—he leans forwards and lands a kiss right onto Lan Zhan’s cheek, the latter blinking rapidly in response. His smile never leaves, though, and Wei Ying feels like he can dance on clouds right now. 

When Wei Ying retreats, Lan Zhan’s eyes darken. “Come here,” he says quietly, before reaching his hands out toward him.

Wei Ying crouches back, holding A-Yuan to his chest and squealing. “No!” he says, shaking his head. “Not now! Not here.”

Lan Zhan doesn’t seem very pleased with this.

Wei Ying rolls his eyes. “Later,” he promises.

“Later,” says Lan Zhan, before turning around in his seat and facing forwards. Wei Ying smirks, then returns to playing with A-Yuan. 

The flight is much calmer this time with Jin Ling not there. A-Yuan, true to his word, falls asleep right after take off, and Lan Zhan quietly requests for a blanket from one of the air hostesses to wrap around his tiny little body. Wei Ying puts the arm rest between their seats up so he can snuggle close against Lan Zhan’s side, reaching down to intertwine their fingers together. He dips down and rests his head into the nook between Lan Zhan’s shoulder and neck, and spends the flight watching Lan Zhan draw patterns onto Wei Ying’s skin with his fingers.

When they land back in Gusu, they find Wei Ying’s car right where they had left it. They climb inside, Lan Zhan carefully laying A-Yuan down into the back seat before taking his own spot up front right next to Wei Ying. 

“Do you wanna stay over tonight?” Wei Ying asks quietly, careful not to wake A-Yuan up.

Lan Zhan stares at him. 

“Wen Qing is at Mianmian’s place,” Wei Ying continues. “A-Yuan can sleep in her room.” Quickly realizing the implications of his words, he shakes his head. “You can sleep in that room too, of course! It’s not like I—that’s not what I meant, I—”

“Wei Ying,” comes Lan Zhan’s voice, that painfully beautiful, somber tone of his. “I do not mind.”

“Okay,” says Wei Ying, gulping. 

And so, they set off. 

It’s past midnight when they finally pull into Wei Ying’s apartment complex. They keep Lan Zhan’s suitcase in the trunk of the car, knowing they’ll be able to return it to Lan Zhan’s own place the next morning. 

They enter the apartment with a click. Wei Ying turns back to look at Lan Zhan, who’s closing the front door behind him and cradling a sleeping A-Yuan in his arms. 

“He has school in the morning,” Wei Ying whispers, walking over to them. “Come. I’ll take you to the room.”

Wei Ying helps Lan Zhan set A-Yuan down onto Wen Qing’s bed, pulling the covers over him and properly tucking him in. The two of them crouch down by the side of the bed, Wei Ying in the front and staring fondly down at the sleeping child. 

He feels hands on his shoulders. Lan Zhan rubs them across the spanse of his upper back, then curls Wei Ying’s hair between his fingers and gently strokes through his locks. Wei Ying relaxes into the touch immediately, releasing a soft sigh.

“You are tired too,” Lan Zhan murmurs. Wei Ying feels him lean down and press a light kiss to his shoulder. “You should sleep.”

“Lan Zhan ah,” Wei Ying says, turning around fully so that he can face him, “how do you expect me to sleep now that you’re acting like this?”

Lan Zhan’s hand wraps around Wei Ying’s arm as he pulls both of them off of the floor. Slowly, he guides them to the door, slipping outside into the hallway with Wei Ying close behind. They silently close the door to Wen Qing’s room and press against each other with Wei Ying’s back to the wall. 

Wei Ying looks up, catching the gentle flicker of Lan Zhan’s pearly golden eyes staring right down at him. He offers him a small smile, eyes drooping to betray how tired he really is. Lan Zhan looks at him with what can only be described as concern. 

“I’m fine,” Wei Ying shakes his head. 

“We both have work tomorrow,” says Lan Zhan. 

“I know,” says Wei Ying. 

Lan Zhan reaches down and clasps his hand, tugging him over to the room on the other end of the hallway. Wei Ying lets himself be pulled inside, the two eventually finding themselves standing in the middle of his bedroom. 

“Shit,” Wei Ying curses, “your nightwear. It’s still in your suitcase. Should I go and get it?”

“No need,” says Lan Zhan. “I can sleep in these clothes.”

“What?” Wei Ying asks. “No way! You can borrow some of mine for tonight.” 

Before Lan Zhan can say anything in response, Wei Ying is already walking over to his cupboard and pulling out a pair of cotton pants and a thin t-shirt. He throws them to Lan Zhan, who catches them without much flair and looks down at them skeptically.

Wei Ying rolls his eyes. “Don’t worry. I haven’t poisoned them or anything.”

Lan Zhan swallows, then nods. “Thank you.”

“Sure,” Wei Ying says. “Do you wanna use the bathroom first? Or…”

“Wei Ying can use the bathroom,” Lan Zhan says. “I can change out here. You will need to use your other bathroom essentials, and I do not have any use for them.”

Okay, okay. Wei Ying can do this. He slinks into the bathroom connected to his room and quickly strips down. He washes his face, combs his hair free from any tangles from the plane ride, and briefly contemplates whether or not he should take a quick shower. In any other circumstance, he wouldn’t hesitate to jump under the warm water, but Lan Zhan is outside. Lan Zhan is in his room, waiting to spend the night by his side. 

Wei Ying is a very impatient man. And besides, he’s just doing Lan Zhan a favor—he’s sure Lan Zhan is very eager for him to finish too. 

He pulls on his comfiest pair of pajamas and towels his face dry, smothering his cheeks and arms with some hibiscus-scented body lotion before clicking the door open and stepping outside. He walks out to find Lan Zhan sitting up on one side of Wei Ying’s bed, absently scrolling through something on his phone. 

He looks up when Wei Ying enters the room. He’s already taken the liberty of turning off the main lights, Wei Ying notices. Now only the small lamp by the bedside is lit, illuminating the rest of the room and washing it over with a faint golden glow. 

Wei Ying quickly climbs into the opposite side of the bed, crawling over to where Lan Zhan is as the latter shuts his phone off and places it on the nightstand a few feet away. Wei Ying immediately lunges for him, wrapping his hands comfortably around Lan Zhan’s waist and sinking into his side as Lan Zhan pulls the thick blanket over both of their legs. 

Everything feels so incredibly domestic. It’s nothing that Wei Ying has ever experienced before, but it’s also probably the best moment of his entire life thus far. Well, at least, it’s definitely up there in the top five. 

“Sleepy?” Lan Zhan asks as he hooks his arm around Wei Ying’s back and buries his fingers into his scalp.

“No,” says Wei Ying. “Not sleepy. I wanna stay up with you.”

“It is one in the morning,” Lan Zhan says. 

“Oh!” Wei Ying exclaims. “That means today is the first full day of us being together.” He grins lopsidedly up at him. “So, what do you say? Can I call you my boyfriend? You should definitely call me Babydaddy. It’s, like, practically set in stone.”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says exasperatedly.

“Or that’s fine too,” Wei Ying shrugs. “Wei Ying. I guess that’s alright. I guess.”

“You may.”

Wei Ying blinks. “What?”

“You may,” Lan Zhan repeats. It may just be the lighting, but Wei Ying can almost make out the faintest blush on his cheeks. “You may call me your boyfriend. If that is what you wish.”

“Silly,” says Wei Ying. “Of course you’re my boyfriend. My partner. My best teacher-in-crime. Does this mean you’re gonna join me in playing pranks on Old Man Lan now? You have to have seen them over the years, right? They’re great.”

“Will you be roping A-Yuan into them too this year?”

“Of course!” Wei Ying nods seriously. “He’s in my class! It’s only natural. Plus, I gotta teach him how to be a fine troublemaker. He’s way too polite for his own good. He’s only five.”

“A-Yuan is not a troublesome child,” says Lan Zhan.

“I know,” Wei Ying smiles. “He takes after his baba.”

“For now,” says Lan Zhan. “Soon, he may take after his papa too.”

Wei Ying’s chest suddenly feels very warm. His grip around Lan Zhan’s middle tightens a bit, and he nestles into his shoulder. 

“Lan Zhan,” he says quietly. 

“Mn.”

“I’m really happy.”

“Mn.”

“Like, really really really really really happy.”

“I know. I am happy too.”

“How long have you liked me for?” Wei Ying asks. He had been wondering about it on the flight, and now seems like the perfect time to ask. 

“Hm,” Lan Zhan hums, thoughtfully looking away. “I am not entirely sure.”

“That’s no fun!”

“What about Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan asks. “Since when have you liked me?”

Wei Ying thinks about it. It’s true that he had realized his feelings only recently, but... 

“From when we started eating lunch together,” he says. “Or, at least, I think that’s when it started. When I saw you taking care of A-Ling, though…” He smiles, remembering back to his chaotic phone call with his siblings. “That was when I really realized it.”

Lan Zhan is staring at him, quiet and unmoving. 

“Before that,” he says, “when A-Yuan and I met you that time at the grocery store.”

“Really?” Wei Ying asks, eyes dancing with amusement. “Oh, Lan Zhan, that’s so cute. We’ve liked each other for so long. We are such idiots. I could have been like this in your arms so much sooner.”

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan. “Wei Ying is an idiot.”

“Hey!” Wei Ying chides. 

The moment is interrupted with the sound of Lan Zhan’s phone ringing. Wei Ying groans and hides his face in Lan Zhan’s shoulder as he moves to get it. 

“My brother,” he whispers. 

“Lan Huan?” Wei Ying asks. “But it’s one in the morning! Don’t you Lans have curfew or something?”

“I am sorry,” Lan Zhan says, sighing quietly to himself. “I told him that I would call him once I arrived home. It seems to have slipped my mind.”

Wei Ying eyes the phone in Lan Zhan’s hands. 

“It’s a video call,” he says bluntly.

“Yes,” says Lan Zhan. “My brother is not usually one for regular phone calls.”

“Aren’t you gonna pick it up?”

Lan Zhan eyes him meaningfully.

Wei Ying shrugs. “I mean, he’s gonna find out sooner or later. This just makes it, like, a thousand times more dramatic!” He grins. “And you know me. I live for drama. Have you been in touch with him over the weekend?”

“Yes,” Lan Zhan says, thumbing over the accept call button. “Briefly. Multiple times. Though I have not properly spoken with him since Saturday. The morning before our flight.”

“You should probably pick up,” Wei Ying says. “It’s gonna go to voicemail or whatever soon. That’s just gonna make him worry more.”

Lan Zhan nods once, then straightens himself up on the bed. Wei Ying carefully lets go of his hold on him, even though it is absolutely the very last thing he wants to do right now. He backs away a little, giving Lan Zhan some space as he accepts the call. 

Wei Ying hears the sounds of the line connecting, before Lan Huan’s voice fills his room.

“A-Zhan? A-Zhan, are you back home safely?”

“I have arrived back in Gusu,” Lan Zhan says, carefully masking the truth. 

There’s a pause, and Wei Ying almost snickers out loud. 

“A-Zhan,” Lan Huan says, “where are you?”

“I am with my boyfriend,” says Lan Zhan without a second’s hesitation. Wei Ying’s eyes go very wide before he bursts out into laughter, surely audible over the otherwise quiet room. 

“Your—A-Zhan, what? Wait.” There are a few seconds of silence. Lan Zhan’s expression is painfully blank, which makes it all the more entertaining. “Wei Ying?” Lan Huan asks. 

Wei Ying takes this as his cue. He jumps into the frame, hooking his chin onto Lan Zhan’s shoulder and smiling lazily into the camera that’s currently being pointed at him. He sees Lan Huan’s expression as it shifts into one of obvious surprise. He cheekily grins, waving at the elder. 

“Hi!”

“Wei Ying?” Lan Huan asks. “You… what happened this weekend?”

“Many things,” Wei Ying says seriously. “But Lan Zhan and A-Yuan are staying with me tonight, so you don’t have to worry!”

“I see,” Lan Huan says slowly. He looks incredibly shocked, but Wei Ying doesn’t exactly blame him. “You will indulge me later, I presume?”

“I will call you after work tomorrow,” Lan Zhan says. “Goodbye.”

“Wait, A-Zhan, what—”

Lan Zhan ends the call with a click.

Wei Ying bursts into another fit of laughter, this time clutching tightly onto Lan Zhan to steady himself. Lan Zhan wraps his arms around him once more after placing his phone back on the nightstand, the two settling into each other’s warmth like they had never been interrupted in the first place.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying breathes. He looks up to him, leaning in and pressing his mouth to his cheek. Lan Zhan immediately responds by turning his head to properly face him, planting a real kiss to his lips and pushing him back against the mattress.

Wei Ying hums as the back of his head hits the pillows beneath him. Lan Zhan moves so that his knees are on opposite sides of his thighs, straddling him in a way that makes him feel nothing but secure. Safe.

They kiss softly—tenderly—like they have all the time in the world. Which, well, they definitely do not. The sun will rise in a few hours and they will be thrust back into the chaos of their daily lives soon enough, but for now, Wei Ying is perfectly content with staying like this. He falls asleep against the soft lull of Lan Zhan’s chest; he knows he has nothing to worry about now, and that this, this warm feeling in his core, is a new constant for him, soft and gliding as it leads him into a new tomorrow.

Chapter Text

“What do you mean A-Yuan can’t come with us to the banquet?” Wei Ying asks, frown deepening the lines of his mouth.

Lan Zhan deadpans a stare across the kitchen to him. He’s chopping up some carrots and mixing them into a colorless broth, and simply the sight of it makes Wei Ying want to gag. (Seriously, where’s the flavor? Where’s the flavor?)

“Wei Ying,” says Lan Zhan, voice dripping with exasperation, “it is the end of year teacher formal. Teacher formal. You have been to it several times before and know how it functions.”

“Yeah,” Wei Ying says, “but that was before A-Yuan became the light of my life.”

“I do not think my uncle cares much for that.”

“Of course he does!” Wei Ying says, walking across the kitchen to stand next to him. “A-Yuan is Old Man Lan’s cute little great nephew! The adorable, tiny six year-old child of his own nephew! A-Yuan’s first ever year of school at Cloud Recesses is over, so why shouldn’t he be able to join the party?”

“He is a child,” Lan Zhan says as he stirs his soup absently. “He is a student, therefore he is not allowed.”

“He’s my son!”

“He is my son too,” Lan Zhan says, reaching over with his free hand to gently push Wei Ying back a couple of inches. “And as a responsible father, I will pay attention to the rules.”

“Hey!” Wei Ying exclaims. “Did you just call me irresponsible?”

“Of course I did not,” says Lan Zhan, not sounding sincere about it in the slightest.

“I just think,” Wei Ying starts again, “that it’s totally worth a shot! And hey, worst comes to worst we can always just sneak him into the venue.”

“Ridiculous,” says Lan Zhan, but Wei Ying can make out the small, amused little dance in the depths of his eyes. It’s something he’s become very familiar with: the practice of knowing exactly what his boyfriend is thinking about any situation at any given moment. 

“So… that’s a yes, right?”

“No,” says Lan Zhan as he walks over to the cupboards and takes out three bowls and a small bottle of chili sauce. Wei Ying watches with nothing but fondness as he empties about half the bottle into one of the bowls and stirs. Lan Zhan catches his eye and says, “Call A-Yuan for dinner.”

“Gotcha!” says Wei Ying with a wink. He slithers out of the kitchen and into the living room, where he finds A-Yuan sitting on the couch with a book. 

A-Yuan looks up when Wei Ying approaches him, expression immediately melting into a smile. “Papa! Is dinner ready?”

“Dinner is indeed ready,” Wei Ying says, flopping down next to him. “What’re you reading, little sir?”

“The history of turtles,” says A-Yuan. He points to the middle of the page, where a small green illustration is. “This one was found on the shore by a fisherman.”

Wei Ying grimaces. “That sounds extremely boring.”

“Baba recommended it to me,” A-Yuan says. “But, um, don’t tell him I said this, but I also think it’s a little boring.”

Wei Ying breaks out into a grin and lunges to his feet. “Lan Zhan!” he exclaims, skipping back over to the kitchen. He hears A-Yuan squeal from behind him, before his son is clinging to his leg and frantically shaking his head. 

This is how Lan Zhan finds them moments later, and he momentarily stills with the bowls of soup in his hands. 

“Wei Ying,” he says, setting them down onto the table, “what did you do?”

“Hey! Why do you think I did something?”

“He did!” A-Yuan says, letting go of his hold on Wei Ying’s thigh and heading over to his seat. “Baba, I am innocent.”

“Mn,” Lan Zhan says, patting his head. “You are.”

“I don’t appreciate this,” says Wei Ying. “And if you must know, our son just told me that—”

“Baba!” A-Yuan interrupts, wincing. “Sorry. I shouldn’t interrupt. But Baba! I really like the book you gave me.”

“Oh,” says Lan Zhan. “I thought it was quite boring.”

Wei Ying promptly bursts into laughter. A-Yuan’s ears go red. 

“But—Baba, you gave it to me to read,” he says.

Lan Zhan nods. “I did.”

A-Yuan stares at him. “What?”

“I never said I enjoyed it,” Lan Zhan says as he takes his own seat next to Wei Ying, who is already digging into his spicy soup. To this, Lan Zhan says softly, “Eat slowly.”

“Mm!” Wei Ying nods through a particularly large spoonful. He then continues to eat at exactly the same pace as before.

Lan Zhan sighs.

“A-Yuan,” Wei Ying starts, swallowing, “do you wanna come with me to visit Qing-jiejie tomorrow?”

“Does Wen Qing need something?” Lan Zhan asks, turning to face him. 

Wei Ying grins. “She’s trying on qipaos for the wedding,” he says. “She asked me to come along because of my impeccable taste in fashion.”

Lan Zhan lifts an eyebrow. “I can really see that in your daily wear.”

Wei Ying’s eyes glance down to the battered hoodie and ripped jeans he has on.

“Okay,” he says, “well, this is a true fashion statement, Lan Zhan. You just wouldn’t understand because you don’t know fashion like I do.”

“Right,” says Lan Zhan. “Of course.”

“Besides,” Wei Ying continues with a wave of his hand, “it’s just a wedding dress. How hard can it be?”

—

Very hard, apparently.

Wei Ying gapes at the dozens of different dresses in front of him, and then back to the two Wen Qing is holding out in front of her. 

“I don’t get it,” he says. “They look like the exact same dress.”

“No,” says Wen Qing, impatience clearly evident in her tone. “This one is ruby, and this one is crimson.”

“They’re literally both red.”

“Well obviously they’re both going to be red!” Wen Qing says. “The shade of red, though, that’s what truly matters.”

“They’re the exact same color.”

“No,” says Wen Qing, shaking her head. “Ruby is clearly darker and much more elegant-looking. Perfect for a wedding dress.”

“Then why don’t you just get the ruby one?”

“I was planning to.”

“What the fuck?” Wei Ying exclaims. “Why did you even ask me for my opinion then?”

“Perhaps it would help in deciding which not to get,” says Wen Qing, hanging the crimson dress up onto one of the racks by her. “Anyways, don’t hold your breath. I’m going to go and try this one on and see how it looks.”

“You’re impossible,” Wei Ying says.

Wen Qing doesn’t bother to answer him, instead disappearing into the fitting room and leaving him in the midst of all the other dresses.

He sighs, walking over to the bench at the side of the room and taking a seat next to A-Yuan, who has been perfectly well behaved with his book in the corner. 

“A-Yuan,” he says, leaning back and letting his head hit the wall. “When I marry Baba, you won’t give me shit for what suit I decide to wear, right?”

“That’s a bad word, Papa,” A-Yuan says.

Wei Ying sighs. “You know not to say it.”

“Papa is marrying Baba?”

Wei Ying pauses; he runs his tongue over the spanse of his bottom lip. He already knows for a fact that there is absolutely nobody else in the world he could ever see himself with, and he also knows that he fully plans on spending the rest of his life with Lan Zhan, marriage in place or not. So, he guesses, it doesn’t really matter if they marry, right? Lan Zhan is his, and he is Lan Zhan’s. That fact is never going to change, Wei Ying thinks.

People would tell him he’s crazy, though, if he voiced this out loud. You’ve only been dating for eight months, they’d say, how do you know that for certain?

But Wei Ying knows. He’d be a fool not to know. He also knows that Lan Zhan knows it too. 

“Mn,” he hums, looping an arm around A-Yuan’s shoulders and bringing him close up to his side, “I will.” He nods. “Someday. Then I can become your real papa, hm? You’d like that, right?”

“You are already my real papa,” A-Yuan says immediately. 

Wei Ying presses his lips together to control the strength of the smile that blooms on his face. “I am,” he agrees. “I am, aren’t I?”

“Mn!”

“You’re beginning to sound like Baba,” Wei Ying says with a laugh. 

“Papa says it too,” says A-Yuan.

Wei Ying blinks. “I do?” Does he really? Well, yeah, he probably does at this point. 

“You just did!” A-Yuan says. “Just a few moments ago!”

Oh, well, yes. He did, didn’t he?

This Lan Zhan.

Wen Qing clears her throat from somewhere ahead of them, and Wei Ying has to forcibly tear his eyes away from his beautiful little son to look up at her. His jaw drops when he sees her standing a few feet away, fully decked out in the magnificent red dress.

“Holy shit!” he curses before he can stop himself.

Wen Qing shoots him a playful smile, before walking over to the floor-length mirror by him. She examines herself carefully, turning around so she can look at every single inch of the dress.

“You look stunning!” Wei Ying says, springing up off his seat and going over to her. “Seriously, Qingqing! Mianmian is going to drool.”

“That is disgusting,” Wen Qing says, not bothering to cast him a glance. “Do you really think so? I’m not sure if it fits well.” She purses her lips. “It is quite a pretty design, though.”

“It fits fine,” says Wei Ying. “You can always get it altered.”

“I will have to,” says Wen Qing, “no matter which one I pick. I also want to add some things to the final one.”

“Right,” says Wei Ying. “So are you going to get this one?”

“Of course not,” says Wen Qing.

Wei Ying blanches at her. “What? But you like it!”

“Yes, but it’s only the first one I’ve tried on,” Wen Qing says, smoothing the front of the dress out with her hands. “There are still plenty more I need to wear.” She eyes him carefully. “And no, you do not get to leave till I am finished.”

“Hey!” exclaims Wei Ying. “Why do you think I’m going to leave?”

“I have known you for far too long to not think that,” says Wen Qing smoothly. 

“You are quite literally the most annoying person I know,” Wei Ying says, “and I know Jiang Cheng.”

“A-Yuan,” Wen Qing calls, walking over to the kid and displaying herself. A-Yuan looks up at her with wide eyes. “What do you think about Jiejie’s dress?”

“It is very beautiful, Qing-jiejie,” says A-Yuan seriously.

Wen Qing grins. She looks over to Wei Ying over her shoulder, “If there’s one thing you have done right in your life, it’s becoming the father of this child.”

Wei Ying snorts. “Yes yes, I know. My son is the epitome of perfection.”

They go in like that for another couple of hours, and Wei Ying is just eternally glad that A-Yuan is a well behaved six year-old. Seriously, what kid will sit quietly while his father and his father’s best friend shop for wedding garments? Which kid? 

Wei Ying’s kid, obviously. 

He grins at the thought.

Wen Qing doesn’t even end up buying any of them, nor does she pick one out to be sent for tailoring.

“Your wedding is in a month,” says Wei Ying, “are you sure you have time to be frolicking around looking for a suitable dress? Are you really sure you’re not going to have a ceremonial breakdown at three a.m. a week before your wedding because you still don’t have one and then call me and interrupt my beauty sleep—”

“The breakdown will happen despite the status of my dress buying,” says Wen Qing smoothly as they exit the store. “And you will definitely be called at some ungodly hour. You must learn to expect these things, Wei Ying.”

“Don’t worry,” Wei Ying grumbles, “I already do.”

—

wei ying >>> wen qingwingfling

wen qingwingfling: great news!

wei ying: what do u want

wen qingwingfling: my grandmother called and said she has a qipao for me! it was my mother’s, the same one she wore to her own wedding :)

wei ying: …

wei ying: ok thts great and all but

wei ying: EXCUSE ME??? WHAT THE HELL??

wei ying: I DID NOT SPEND 5 HOURS SHOPPING FOR DRESSES W U FOR THIS SHIT????

wei ying: i DEMAND an apology RIGHT NOW.

wen qingwingfling: well hey would you look at the time! goodbye! thanks for shopping with me!

wei ying: get back here??? hey??? get bACK HERE???

— 

wei ying >>> my lan zhan <3

my lan zhan <3: Miss you.

wei ying: miss u too!!!

my lan zhan <3: Mm. A-Yuan is at Jingyi’s house.

wei ying: WHAT

wei ying: COULDNT U HAVE OPENED W THAT

wei ying: i am coming over RN!

my lan zhan <3: Okay.

my lan zhan <3: :)

wei ying: ARRGHDJJDFS THE SMILEY FACE UR SO CUTE I LOVE U SO MUCH

my lan zhan <3: Love Wei Ying so much as well. :)

—

wei ying >>> wenqingwingfling

wen qingwingfling: oh one more thing

wei ying: can u SHUT UP i just got inside lan zhan’s apartment and u just KILLED the mood

wen qingwingfling: … you could’ve just ignored me but ok

wei ying: I CANT?? U HAVE MET LAN ZHAN THE SECOND SOMEONE TEXTS OR CALLS AND WE’RE NOT TOO FAR INTO IT HE MAKES ME GO AND SEE WHAT IT IS

wei ying: smth abt no interruptions Later T__T

wen qingwingfling: ok gross i don’t want to know about your guys’ habits during sex

wen qingwingfling: but now that you’re here i’ll tell you 

wei ying: can u GET to the POINT

wen qingwingfling: i’ll be moving into mianmian’s place after the wedding, so either u find another place to stay or u keep paying 2 ppl’s worth of rent

wei ying: ugggghhhhhhhhhhh fuuuccccckkkkkkkkkkkkk

wen qingwingfling: yeah i’ll leave you to that

wei ying: fuck yOU ugghhhhdjfhgsajhfs

wen qingwingfling: no thanks i have my wife for that

wei ying: UR NOT EVEN MARRIED YET STOP BEING ANNOYING

—

“Wei Ying? Is something wrong?” Lan Zhan asks. Wei Ying’s legs are swung over the edge of the bed, phone in hand as he frantically texts Wen Qing. 

He softly gasps when he feels Lan Zhan creep up behind him, lips attaching to his neck and fingers fiddling with the collar of his t-shirt. His t-shirt that’s still on, mind you. Honestly, fuck Wen Qing to the moon and back.

“Nah,” he says, clicking his phone off and tossing it onto the floor. He turns in his spot so that he’s facing Lan Zhan fully, reaching up to wrap his arms around his neck. He pulls himself up till he’s straddling his lap, hands smoothing down the surface of his skin till they land on the sides of his biceps. Giving them a firm squeeze, he lets his lips melt into a casual smirk. “Just Wen Qing being Wen Qing.”

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan, arms slinking around his waist to pull him closer. “What did she want?”

Wei Ying grimaces. “Are you seriously gonna make me talk about her when I am mere seconds away from giving you the most magnificent—”

“Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying huffs. “Okay, okay! She just texted to tell me that I need to move out.”

Lan Zhan stares at him, face unmoving. “Move out?”

“She’s moving in with Mianmian,” Wei Ying explains. “I mean, obviously. They’re getting married in, like, three weeks. But that also means there’s no need for a two bedroom apartment that costs way too much than it’s worth in my hands.” He shrugs. “It’s not a big deal. I can probably find something. I can even move in closer to you! Oh my gosh, do you think this building has any vacant one bedroom apartments?”

“There will be no need for that,” says Lan Zhan. He leans in to peck Wei Ying’s lips softly, and Wei Ying happily hums into it. 

“Aw,” says Wei Ying once they break away for air, “c’mon, Lan Zhan. Don’t you wanna see me more often? If I live near you, that can totally happen!”

“You do not need to live near me when you can simply live with me,” says Lan Zhan, and Wei Ying immediately freezes.

He stares down at Lan Zhan, whose eyes are set in a determined fashion with nothing but seriousness settled between his brows. It’s his regular, unmoving expression, but Wei Ying has learned to decipher the smallest discrepancies in it. This time, however, he sees none.

He gulps. “What?”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says. “My cupboard is half full with your clothes. You have toothbrushes in each of the bathrooms. A-Yuan and I have started using your shampoo of choice because it is always there by the shower. A-Yuan already calls you his father. I have been meaning to give you the spare key for a while now.”

“Okay, firstly!” says Wei Ying. “Don’t act like you don’t wear my clothes all the time!”

“Because they are always there,” says Lan Zhan. “You simply prove my point further.”

“That’s…” He trails off, looking away for a moment and biting back his smile. “Yeah, okay. I can’t exactly argue with you when you make such a compelling argument, Lan Zhan!”

“Didn’t want an argument in the first place,” says Lan Zhan.

“Okay,” says Wei Ying, breath fanning against Lan Zhan’s face. “I’ll… okay. If you’re okay with it, I would love to move in with you guys.”

“I am more than okay with it,” Lan Zhan says, before his hands snake around Wei Ying’s neck and pull him in.

They kiss for a few minutes, and Wei Ying doesn’t even mind that they don’t seem in much of a rush anymore to get anywhere with it. He cups Lan Zhan’s face in his hands and rocks them together, managing to put enough pressure against his chest to fully push him down. Lan Zhan makes one of those beautiful sounds of his at the sudden change in position, but Wei Ying firmly holds him down to stop him from flipping them over. 

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan whispers.

“Nope,” Wei Ying says.

“Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying grins lazily down at him. “One condition.”

“What is it?” Lan Zhan asks.

“Talk to your uncle about making the teacher banquet family-friendly.”

Lan Zhan deadpans him with a stare, and the mood is instantly killed.

Wei Ying cackles, finding that he doesn’t even care.

—

Wei Ying ends up winning, because of course he does. There’s no way Lan Zhan can ever deny him of anything, and there’s also no way Lan Qiren can deny A-Yuan of anything. All it really took was a bit of pleading to his son for Wei Ying to finally convince him to use Lan Zhan’s phone to call his great uncle. Lan Qiren was extremely confused at first, but seemed to catch on fairly quickly.

So, two weeks later, Wei Ying finds himself holding A-Yuan’s hand, who is holding Lan Zhan’s other hand as well, as the three of them enter the school gymnasium.

He immediately breaks out into a grin when he sees all the other families of his fellow teacher friends.

“See, Lan Zhan?” he says. “Look at how much more fun this dumb event is now!”

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan with a short nod, and Wei Ying is so in love with him it hurts.

“Oh, look there!” he says. “Speak of the devil and he appears!”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan hisses when he too notices Lan Qiren approaching them. “Do not let him hear you.” Then, “Hello, Uncle.”

Wei Ying snickers under his breath when he sees Lan Qiren’s general gaze of disapproval. It’s nothing he isn’t used to, though, so he doesn’t particularly care.

“Old Man Lan!” he says, using his free hand to wave to him. “What do you think? My suggestion was pretty good, wasn’t it?”

“I do not recall you ever giving me any sort of suggestion,” Lan Qiren says coolly. “If I remember correctly, it was A-Yuan who offered his thoughts.”

“Right!” Wei Ying says with a nod. He lets go of A-Yuan’s hand to gently pat him on the head. “I actually completely agree with you. I had absolutely nothing to do with this at all. It was all my sweet, beautiful little son’s idea. Isn’t that right, little sir?”

“All my idea, Papa,” A-Yuan agrees, crouching under the affectionate touch.

Lan Qiren exhales through his nose. “Unbelievable,” he mutters, before turning around and stomping away.

“Lan Zhan,” says Wei Ying once he’s a safe distance away, “I think our next course of action is to get your uncle’s head out of his ass.”

Lan Qiren has been absolutely relentless in his disapproval for their relationship. Well, at first, at least. After he saw his adamant Lan Zhan was about not breaking up with him, he slowly, slowly, started to lay off on them. In fact, now Wei Ying was even invited to the next monthly Lan family dinner! (When he had gotten the invitation through Lan Huan, he was so shocked Lan Zhan ended up having to call his uncle himself in front of him to make sure it wasn’t some kind of prank.)

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

“Yeah?”

“Your brother is here.”

Wei Ying pauses. “What?!”

Lan Zhan hums, then points to something across the room. Wei Ying follows his gaze, only for his eyes to end up landing on, yes, fucking Jiang Cheng standing off to the side. His little brother is nursing a can of soda in his hands, and looks terribly, terribly out of place.

Wei Ying gasps. “What the fuck?”

“Language,” Lan Zhan chides softly. 

“Sorry. What the heck is he doing here?”

“I am not sure,” Lan Zhan murmurs. “We should go and say hello.”

Wei Ying nods feverishly before turning on his heel and marching over. Lan Zhan and A-Yuan are following him from a little behind, but Wei Ying’s sight is firmly set on his brother.

He freezes in his tracks when he sees Nie fucking Huaisang join Jiang Cheng with his own soda, the two clinking their cans together before talking in hushed voices, faces inches apart. 

Wei Ying’s jaw drops. 

“Excuse me?” he says as he approaches them. Nie Huaisang’s eyes widen while Jiang Cheng visibly flinches, hard. “Hello?” Wei Ying says again, placing his hands on his hips when he’s in front of them and rapidly tapping his foot onto the ground. “What the fuck is going on over here?”

“Wei Ying,” says Jiang Cheng through gritted teeth.

“Hello, Wei-xiong,” says Nie Huaisang placidly. “As you can see, I have invited A-Cheng to the party. Once I got the email that Principal Lan was making this open to family and friends of teachers, I sent him an invitation fairly quickly.”

Wei Ying, however, is staring directly at Jiang Cheng, who in turn is looking anywhere but back at him.

“Jiang Cheng,” he begins sweetly. Jiang Cheng flinches again. “Would you like to tell Gege when this started?”

Jiang Cheng seems to hesitate for a moment, before finally releasing a long breath. 

“Like, three months ago or something.”

“Three months ago?”

“Nie laoshi,” greets Lan Zhan as he walks up behind Wei Ying. “Jiang Cheng.”

“Lan laoshi!” says Nie Huaisang.

“Lan Zhan,” says Jiang Cheng stiffly. “It is… good to see you again.”

“Hold on,” Wei Ying says. “Back up. Wait. Three months? What the fuck? You didn’t bother to tell me? I told you about me and Lan Zhan immediately after we got together!”

“No,” says Jiang Cheng. “A-Jie told me about you and Lan Zhan.”

“Same difference,” Wei Ying says. “Wait, does Jie know about this?”

“Of course she does,” says Jiang Cheng. 

“What? And I didn’t?”

“You are only marginally important in my life.”

“Jiang Cheng you—”

“Wei Ying,” comes Lan Zhan’s voice from right next to him. He’s placing a hand on his shoulder, and Wei Ying instantly relaxes upon the touch. “The speeches are starting in a couple of minutes. Shall we go?”

“Fine,” says Wei Ying. He purses his lips and narrows his gaze on his brother. “This is not over.”

“Yeah yeah,” says Jiang Cheng, waving him off. 

The rest of the event goes by fairly smoothly—as smoothly as it can go, at least. With Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng in the same room, Lan Zhan and Nie Huaisang frequently have to cut in before they can start being particularly rough on each other. In better news, Wei Ying finally meets Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan’s daughter, A-Qing, and puts her to play with A-Yuan. 

“Congratulations on the wedding,” he says once the children are off on their own. The relationship between Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan came out back in December, when the two spontaneously announced their marriage to the surprise of… well, absolutely no one. Nie Huaisang was the one who told Wei Ying, looking the least bit bothered about it out of everyone. Something tells Wei Ying that Nie Huaisang had a very good idea of what had been going on, but then again, Nie Huaisang is the type of person who just naturally has gossip gravitating towards him.

Xiao Xingchen smiles warmly. “Thank you,” he says. “Principal Lan was… flabbergasted, to say the least.”

“He’s like that,” Wei Ying says with a sigh. “I’m still not used to it.”

“You have the rest of your life for that, Wei laoshi,” says Song Lan.

“I assume we’ll be expecting a wedding invitation soon as well?” Xiao Xingchen says. 

Wei Ying’s eyes go wide for a fraction of a second. “Let’s worry about Wen Qing’s wedding before we start planning any more.”

“Fair enough,” nods Xiao Xingchen.

“Love is in the air for the Cloud Recesses’ faculty this year, isn’t it,” Song Lan says. 

Wei Ying realizes just how true that statement is. Himself and Lan Zhan, Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen, Wen Qing and her girlfriend, and now Nie Huaisang with fucking Jiang Cheng. Wei Ying shakes his head, releasing a breathy laugh.

“Good luck,” says Xiao Xingchen when they part, and Wei Ying smiles gratefully at him. 

He goes to find Lan Zhan again, seeing that he’s standing in the corner talking with Wen Qing. He lifts an eyebrow and waltzes over to them, slipping his hand into Lan Zhan’s and grinning when he feels him squeeze them together in return. 

“Don’t you have a wedding to plan?” Wei Ying asks, eyes narrowing on Wen Qing’s frame.

She rolls her eyes, taking a sip from her drink. “Like I would miss this. When you told me Principal Lan changed the rules, I just had to attend and take a look.” She whistles under her breath. “Not gonna lie, Wei Ying, I’m sort of impressed.”

“Of course you are,” Wei Ying says as another person approaches their group. He glances over to see Mianmian walking up to them and slipping her arm around Wen Qing’s waist, their matching engagement rings flashing beneath the bright lighting of the gym. “Mianmian! How are you?”

“Tired,” Mianmian says with a smile that says completely otherwise. “But wedding planning is super fun! Exhausting, but fun.”

“I can only imagine what it’s like for the two of you,” Wei Ying says. “I’m only taking part in a fraction of the preparations yet I’m already feeling burned out.” He glances over to Lan Zhan, who is quietly observing the scene. “Guess we’ll have to find out for ourselves at our wedding, right Lan Zhan?”

Lan Zhan looks startled for a moment, the tips of his ears pinking beautifully at the sudden call-out. He nods. “Mn.”

“Baba! Papa!” A-Yuan’s little voice interrupts them. Wei Ying and Lan Zhan turn around simultaneously to see him running over to them, a piece of white paper hanging from one of his arms. Wei Ying crouches down to pick him up, swinging him into his arms and letting him bob lightly against his ribs. 

“What’ve you got there, little sir?” he asks, peering at the paper.

A-Yuan quickly holds it against his chest to stop him from being able to see. “There’s an arts and crafts table outside for all the kids. I drew you and Baba a picture.”

He glances over to Lan Zhan. “Old Man Lan really did up his game,” he mutters, and Lan Zhan nods in response. Wei Ying looks back over to the paper in A-Yuan’s hands, just in time to see him display it properly for them all to see. 

It’s a drawing of three people, along with two little white blobs in the corner. Marshmallow and Cottonball, Wei Ying thinks fondly. The figures are also equally adorable—Wei Ying thinks his son really does have a future in art!. It’s clearly depicting himself, A-Yuan, and Lan Zhan standing underneath a bright sun and in front of what Wei Ying thinks looks suspiciously like Lan Zhan’s apartment building.

Their apartment building now, actually. 

He laughs, taking the picture out of A-Yuan’s hands and handing it over to Lan Zhan so he too can look at it more closely. He leans over and kisses A-Yuan’s temple, before nuzzling his nose into his neck.

“Papa! That tickles,” A-Yuan giggles.

“You are the best boy ever,” Wei Ying says seriously. “I am being totally honest about this. You are the best boy ever.”

“Papa,” A-Yuan says, “you shouldn’t show favoritism to your students like this.”

“You aren’t my student anymore!” Wei Ying says in defense. “The school year officially ended weeks ago! I am allowed to show favoritism to my son all I want! Also, A-Yuan, you are beginning to sound exactly like your baba.”

“Oh, Qingqing,” Mianmian pipes up suddenly. She’s pointing to A-Yuan, and Wen Qing raises a delicate eyebrow at her. “Can we have one? Please can we have one?”

Wen Qing sighs. “You want children already?”

Mianmian nods madly. “He’s so cute! Can we have one too? Maybe we should have a little girl!”

“A girl?” asks Wen Qing. She pauses for a moment, before her face breaks out into a gentle smile. “Okay, yes. A little girl.” Then, “Not now, though. Maybe in, like, two years.”

“Two years?” Mianmian asks, aghast. “You’re gonna make me wait two years for my pretty little daughter?”

“Why, do you want to make it three?”

Mianmian pouts at her, and Wen Qing shoots her a playful frown.

“I feel like such a third wheel right now,” Wei Ying groans. “Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! Love me!”

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan before awkwardly sticking his arms out and wrapping them around Wei Ying. It’s a bit of a strange angle, given that A-Yuan is still in Wei Ying’s arms, but they make it work. They always make it work.

—

Wen Qing’s wedding is, in one word, magical.

Wei Ying’s heart feels incredibly warm as he watches his best friend get married to the love of her life from afar. He sits at a table near the middle of the reception hall, Lan Zhan and A-Yuan by his side as they take turns feeding each other helpings of the delicious catered food. 

“Do you want anything from Germany?” Wen Qing asks later, when the hustle and bustle of the day has quieted down and she’s able to come and greet them. 

Wei Ying raises an eyebrow. “Germany for the ‘moon, huh?”

“I have heard excellent things about black forest cake,” says Wen Qing. 

“Is that why all the cake here is vanilla flavored?”

“Shut up,” Wen Qing says, rolling her eyes. “Anyways, you’re moving in with Lan Zhan next week, right?”

“That’s the plan,” Wei Ying nods. “Honestly, Qingqing, I gotta hand it to you. Your marriage results in me getting dicked down every—”

“Can you please,” Wen Qing cuts in, exasperation heavy in her voice, “shut up. For two minutes of your life. That’s literally all I’m asking for. Two minutes.”

“No can do!” Wei Ying says with a grin.

Wen Qing mutters something under her breath, but Wei Ying is already too distracted by something else to pay her any mind. He sees Lan Zhan out of the corner of his eye, sitting a few tables away and talking softly with Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan. He perks up at the sight, quickly excusing himself and skipping over to them.

He ruffles A-Yuan’s hair and picks him up, smoothly stealing his seat and placing him in his lap. His sister perks up upon his arrival, and his sister’s dumb husband regards him with a cool stare. Lan Zhan places his hand on Wei Ying’s thigh reassuringly from beside him, hidden under the table and subsequently away from view. 

“A-Ying!” Jiang Yanli exclaims. “I was just talking to A-Zhan about your move-in plans.”

“You two are moving awfully fast,” Jin Zixuan comments idly.

“Shut up, peacock,” Wei Ying says. “You’re the one who married my sister after dating for six months. Six months! You have absolutely zero room to talk!”

“A-Li and I have known each other since childhood,” Jin Zixuan argues. 

“Now now,” Jiang Yanli says, shaking her head with a fond smile. “This conversation is pointless. We are all happy with our significant others, correct?”

“He better be,” Wei Ying hisses. “Don’t think I forgot about that time in eighth grade when you—”

“Shut up! I told you we were never to bring that up again!”

“You dare interrupt me, Jin Zixuan?”

Someone slams their fist onto the table, and Wei Ying gasps in surprise. He looks over to see Jin Ling trying to climb onto the tabletop, his sister immediately squealing in protest and moving to grab him. 

“A-Ling!” 

Wei Ying glances to his side to see Lan Zhan looking upon Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan, and Jin Ling with a strange look in his eyes. Wei Ying frowns—it’s another one of Lan Zhan’s expressions he hasn’t quite managed to decipher yet, but somehow he can make out… yearning? Want? 

What?

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying asks, using his free hand to dip down and cover Lan Zhan’s fingers on his leg. 

Lan Zhan seems to snap out of whatever trance he’s in. He looks over to Wei Ying and opens his mouth, words spilling out before Wei Ying can so much as blink.

“Wei Ying, we should get married.”

The room seems to dissolve around them immediately. Which, honestly, isn’t really true. It’s just their small little table which turns to pin-drop silence.

Wei Ying blinks once. He blinks twice, then three times.

Jin Ling promptly bursts into tears.

“W-what?” Wei Ying barely manages to squeak out over the sound of his cries.

Lan Zhan, however, doesn’t look fazed in the slightest. “Married. We should be married.”

Wei Ying’s jaw goes slack. “Are you seriously proposing to me at my best friend’s wedding?”

“No,” Lan Zhan shakes his head, “Wei Ying deserves to be properly proposed to. I am merely stating a fact. We should be married.”

“I’m gonna go,” Jin Zixuan says, abruptly standing up and taking a still-crying Jin Ling into his arms. Jiang Yanli shoots Wei Ying a look, one that’s mixed with excitement, confusion, and distress all at the same time, before picking herself up and walking around the table till she’s standing by his seat. She reaches down and scoops A-Yuan up from his lap, the latter not making a single sound of protest as he too seems utterly shocked at the sudden turn of events. 

Then, without another word, she leaves to go and follow her husband.

Wei Ying’s lap feels cold from A-Yuan suddenly being gone, but his mind is too busy whirring at a mile per minute to pay any mind to the lack of heat. He turns back to look at Lan Zhan, who is still looking back at him with nothing but determination in his eyes.

“Wei Ying.”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying gulps, “I—”

“Wei Ying is the love of my life,” Lan Zhan cuts in, drawing all the breath out of Wei Ying’s lungs. Lan Zhan suddenly looks a little embarrassed at this sudden outburst, and darts his eyes away to clear his throat. Wei Ying doesn’t utter a word, simply watching him. 

Lan Zhan directs his gaze back to him, and continues.

“I am sorry. This is not how I wanted to do this,” he says softly. “You deserve to be properly courted, and I will do that for you once I know that you are ready for that step in our relationship.” He drops his head, eyes burning into his lap.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, reaching his hands out to clasp around Lan Zhan’s own. “Sweetheart, look at me?”

Lan Zhan looks up fairly quickly after hearing that. His ears are clearly pink, and Wei Ying can’t help but smile goofily up at him.

“You’re crazy,” he whispers. 

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan. “Crazy for Wei Ying.”

“I can’t believe you actually just asked me to marry you at Wen Qing’s wedding,” Wei Ying says, breathy laugh escaping his lips.

“I did not,” Lan Zhan says. “I merely informed you that I plan on doing it sometime in the future.”

“Not if I do it first,” Wei Ying says with a wink.

Lan Zhan gives him an unimpressed look.

Wei Ying grins. “Okay, okay! I get it. You’ll be eternally mad at me if I ruin your perfect proposal plans.”

“I could never be mad at you,” Lan Zhan says, shaking his head.

Wei Ying snorts. “Okay. Tell me that once we’ve been married for three years and are cranky old bitches.”

Lan Zhan smiles at this.

—

Three Years Later:

—

“I do not understand,” Lan Zhan says as he eyes his computer screen with a frown. “What do they mean, A-Yuan’s teacher is Yao laoshi?”

Wei Ying walks over behind him, leaning over his shoulder and reading over the letter the school just sent them. 

“I think,” he says, “and I may be wrong about this, but I think they mean that A-Yuan’s teacher is Yao laoshi.”

“That does not make any sense,” Lan Zhan says, shaking his head. “I specifically requested for him to be in my class this year. It is fifth grade. It only makes sense for me to be his teacher.”

“Lan Zhan ah,” Wei Ying says, waltzing back over to the kitchen where he’s currently scrubbing at the dirty dishes, “how absolutely unprofessional of you! Can you imagine what class time would be like if your own son was in your class?” He mocks a gasp, just for extra effect.

Lan Zhan frowns. “A-Yuan was in your class when he was in first grade.”

“Yes,” Wei Ying says, laughing, “but at that time A-Yuan was not my son, and we were not married.”

“I must call Uncle about this,” Lan Zhan says, immediately reaching into his pocket for his phone. “This is absolutely unacceptable. How is A-Yuan supposed to go through an entire year without me—”

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, putting the plate he’s currently holding down and skipping over to him. He leans down and plants an affectionate kiss onto his husband’s cheek, gently caressing his hair between his fingers. “You know Uncle will not give into you for this. He knows how soft you are for A-Yuan.” He rolls his eyes. “It’ll be okay! He went through all of second, third, and fourth grade without us! What’s another year?”

“Fifth grade is crucial,” Lan Zhan presses. “I should be with him. I can be with him. This is ridiculous.”

Wei Ying heaves a sigh. He shakes his head to himself, knowing that it’ll take a lot more to convince him. After all, Lan Zhan has been secretly looking forward to being A-Yuan’s teacher for years now. He’s never voiced it aloud, but Wei Ying knows him much too well. He can see the silent hope in his eyes whenever he tells him stories about A-Yuan from when he was still in first grade.

“Come on,” Wei Ying says, “it’s time for dinner.”

Lan Zhan gets up to call A-Yuan to the dining room, and Wei Ying quickly moves to set the table with three plates. Once he’s done, he slips into his seat and begins to chow down. 

Lan Zhan comes back with A-Yuan by his side a few minutes later, the two taking their own spots at the table and serving themselves their respective portions. Wei Ying grins, reaching over the table to gently pinch A-Yuan’s cheek affectionately. 

“Your teacher assignment for fifth grade came in just now,” Wei Ying says. 

A-Yuan immediately perks up at this. “Oh, really? Who will my teacher be?”

“Who would you like your teacher to be?” Lan Zhan asks before Wei Ying can say anything. He seems so bitter about this, it’s absolutely hilarious. 

“Um,” A-Yuan says, pausing thoughtfully. Lan Zhan looks offended that he’s even stopping to consider his answer. “Well, of course I know that Baba cannot be my teacher. Jingyi is in Yao laoshi’s section this year, so that would be really fun.”

Lan Zhan’s expression is mildly distasteful. Wei Ying bursts out laughing. 

“What?” A-Yuan asks, looking between his fathers with a confused type of shock.

“Oh, little sir,” Wei Ying says fondly, shaking his head. 

“Papa, when will you stop calling me that?” A-Yuan asks, looking down as his cheeks flush. “Will I still be little sir when I’m forty?”

“Of course you will!”

Lan Zhan sighs. It’s a very loud sigh. And Lan Zhan almost never sighs. 

“Your teacher is Yao laoshi,” he says, voice low. 

A-Yuan’s eyes widen. “Really? That’s wonderful!”

“Wonderful,” Lan Zhan repeats in a slight grumble.

“A-Yuan,” says Wei Ying, “Baba is very jealous of Yao laoshi. The only thing he’s wanted for the past three years is to be your teacher when you become old enough to be in his class.”

“I am not jealous,” says Lan Zhan smoothly. “Do not listen to Papa.”

A-Yuan doesn’t seem to be convinced of this. “Baba, I’ll still visit your classroom every day! You can make friends with Yao laoshi so you can come and randomly see me as well.”

Lan Zhan, for a split second, looks absolutely horrified by the suggestion.

The strength of Wei Ying’s laughs increase exponentially.

“I suppose I will,” Lan Zhan says, voice ever so quiet. Wei Ying isn’t even surprised—Lan Zhan absolutely would try to become friends with his fellow fifth grade teacher in order to see his son more often at school.

Wei Ying’s phone rings, snapping him out of his thoughts. He reaches for it and sees the caller i.d., immediately perking up.

“Who is it?” asks Lan Zhan.

“Jiejie!” says Wei Ying, displaying the phone screen for him to see. He picks up quickly, putting the call on speaker. “Hello? Jie?”

“A-Ying!” Jiang Yanli’s voice comes through the phone. 

“Jie! The entire family’s here!” Wei Ying says. “Say hi to Lan Zhan and A-Yuan!”

“Oh! Hello, A-Zhan, A-Yuan!”

“Hi, Gugu,” says A-Yuan. 

“Hello, Li-jie,” says Lan Zhan.

“I was just calling to let you guys know that the teacher assignments for this year’s term at Cloud Recesses arrived in my inbox a couple of minutes ago,” Jiang Yanli says. 

Wei Ying straightens up excitedly. Jin Ling will be entering first grade this year, so there is a potential opportunity for him to be in his class. 

“For A-Ling?” he asks. “Who’s his teacher?”

“You!” exclaims Jiang Yanli.

Wei Ying’s jaw drops. “Really?”

Lan Zhan’s eyes widen a comical amount. “Really?”

“Jin Ling is gonna be Baba’s student?” A-Yuan asks. 

“This is preposterous,” says Lan Zhan, eyebrows turning down as he speaks. “A-Yuan should be able to be in my class.”

Wei Ying ignores him, instead clapping his hands happily. “This is so exciting! A-Ling is going to have the absolute best year with me!” He grins at A-Yuan. “You remember when you were in my class, right, A-Yuan? It was the best time of your life, right?”

“It was very fun, yes,” says A-Yuan, nodding his head.

“You would have fun in my classroom as well,” Lan Zhan says.

“Baba,” A-Yuan says sternly.

Lan Zhan twists his lips and looks away. Wei Ying thinks that it’s absolutely adorable. 

“Oh, is A-Yuan in someone else’s class this year?” Jiang Yanli asks. 

“Heh,” says Wei Ying. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “It’s a bit of a sore spot for us right now. Don’t worry! This too shall pass!”

“Yes,” Lan Zhan nods, “it will pass next year.”

Wei Ying scrunches his nose in. Then, “Jie, it’s getting late. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? I wanna talk to A-Ling! My new favorite student!” He winks at A-Yuan, who smiles and shakes his head. 

“Alright!” says Jiang Yanli. “Goodnight, you guys. Sleep well!”

“Bye bye, Gugu,” A-Yuan says, before Wei Ying quickly ends the call. 

Wei Ying turns to Lan Zhan, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. 

“You and I need to have a conversation,” he says. He reaches out to grab Lan Zhan’s arm, then turns back to A-Yuan. “A-Yuan, don’t go to sleep too late, alright?”

“Okay, Papa,” A-Yuan nods as his fathers stand up. Wei Ying smiles gratefully at his perfect, perfect son, before dragging his husband into their bedroom and closing the door behind him.

Once they’re inside, Wei Ying leans back and tugs at Lan Zhan’s shirt, pulling him closer till he’s completely crowded against the door. He holds his hands up and rests them against Lan Zhan’s jawline, their noses a breath apart as they stare at each other for a long moment.

“You good?” Wei Ying asks, voice barely above a whisper.

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan.

“You really wanna be A-Yuan’s teacher, huh?” Wei Ying asks, an amused smile painting his features. Lan Zhan looks stricken for a moment, and he can’t help but laugh lowly. “You’re so adorable, Lan Zhan. What am I gonna do with you?”

“We can do many things,” says Lan Zhan seriously. “You can do many things with me.”

“You’re—” Wei Ying shakes his head. “Nevermind. And, just for the record, we can’t right now. A-Yuan isn’t going to be asleep for another couple of hours!”

“Mn,” says Lan Zhan. He swoops down anyways, pressing their lips together and muffling whatever nonsense Wei Ying had been planning on saying next. Wei Ying immediately responds to it, tilting his head and kissing him back deeply, his hands dropping from his face and moving to tangle themselves in Lan Zhan’s hair.

Lan Zhan pries his mouth open, arms slinking around the lower part of Wei Ying’s waist. He pulls him closer, their chests slamming together till Wei Ying is raising his right knee to hook his leg around Lan Zhan’s thigh, and Lan Zhan is slipping his hands underneath Wei Ying to hoist him up till both of his legs are off the ground and wrapped around his middle.

They stay like that for what seems like hours, till Wei Ying finally pulls away and whispers softly against Lan Zhan’s lips, “I know I said we can’t right now, but maybe if we’re quiet? We could totally—”

Lan Zhan cuts him off with another kiss, his grip on Wei Ying tightening as he picks him up and moves away from their position at the door, carrying him all the way to their bed. 

As Wei Ying is gently lowered onto his backside, he feels Lan Zhan’s arms around him, secure and safe and always there. This feeling in his chest, it burns brightly as his passion bleeds into the softness of their movements, the room dim. Warm.

“I love you,” he says, voice rough. Lan Zhan leans down to press butterfly kisses against Wei Ying’s throat, humming gently in response.

“Love you,” Lan Zhan whispers, his husband, his lover, his partner-in-crime for life.

And Wei Ying closes his eyes, releases a long breath, and smiles.