Chapter Text
Xie Lian walked to the tree, the tree where he always waited for Hua Cheng after school. His eyes followed those annoying bright yellow school buses, where he could make out the group of silhouettes from the inside.
He took out his phone from his jean’s pocket, checking the time again and frowning slightly. Sighing, he lifted his neck, taking in the sight of the blue sky through the yellow leaves of the tree he was currently leaning on. Looking up briefly at the clouds, he was able to make out random shapes, vaguely making out the shape of a fox.
“Gege!”
That voice struck him out of his thoughts. He turned back to see Hua Cheng walking towards him with his backpack hanging off one of his shoulders, giving him a nonchalant and carefree appearance. There was a radiant smile on his face, instantly filling Xie Lian’s chest with a warm feeling. With his wavy black hair, tall stature, and face carved from the gods, he was definitely the most handsome guy Xie Lian had seen.
“San Lang,” he smiled, relieved that his friend was finally here. “You’re finally here.”
“I’m sorry for taking so long,” Hua Cheng pouted, scrunching his eyebrows up in a spoiled way. “I didn’t want to make you wait…”
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Xie Lian patted the taller boy’s head. “Let’s just go.”
Since Hua Cheng had moved here, he had a lot of people trying to befriend him. Although he did have a couple of other friends besides him, only the two of them would walk to school together and walk back home. Their houses weren’t actually that close, but Hua Cheng had insisted on walking him home when they became close a couple months ago, and it became a routine.
Nowadays, they didn’t separate, always stuck hip to hip. It was rare to see Xie Lian without his Hua Cheng.
“Gege, how was your day? Did you miss me?”
Xie Lian raised one eyebrow at him, a smile inevitably settling on his face. “We saw each other only a few hours ago.”
Hua Cheng raised one finger, “To me, the point is ‘you left’, not ‘only a few hours’. Even for an instance it’s still separation.”
Xie Lian almost tripped on his own feet. He was once again struck by Hua Cheng’s words, that became bolder every day. Laughing, he admitted, “Okay, yes I missed you very much, San Lang.”
As they talked about their day, the cold wind became slightly rougher. Xie Lian shivered, hugging his binder slightly tighter to his chest. Although he was wearing his turtleneck sweater, it was thin and a bit loose, allowing the cold wind to pierce right through.
Naturally, Hua Cheng noticed this. Without a second thought, he slid off his backpack and shook his red jacket off.
“San Lang, what are you doing?” Xie Lian asked, eyes going wide.
“I’m giving you my jacket,” Hua Cheng stated calmly. “You’re cold, I saw you shiver so don’t say you’re not. I’m not really cold, so you should have it.”
“I-,” Xie Lian felt his face heating up. He hadn’t been friends with Hua Cheng for even a year but if he had to count the amount of times Hua Cheng had made him blush he wouldn’t have enough fingers.
Seeing as there was no use in objecting, he sighed, taking off his backpack to let Hua Cheng drape his jacket over his shoulders.
A pair of strong arms encircled him, filling his senses with a rich, yet warm scent. Inhaling softly with his eyes closed, Xie Lian didn’t dare look up, not with how close their faces were.
They were still in the middle of the sidewalk, anyone could see! Xie Lian felt so embarrassed that he almost covered his face.
He pulled on the jacket better, secretly loving how it smelled of Hua Cheng. Although it was rather big on him, it was expected.
“Thank you,” Xie Lian smiled awkwardly, pulling on his backpack and continuing to walk. Hua Cheng followed, delighted at the way how flustered the other looked.
After they reached Xie Lian’s house, they said their goodbyes and Hua Cheng walked by himself to his own house. Just as Xie Lian was closing his front door, he remembered something.
He was still wearing Hua Cheng’s jacket. Xie Lian was going to return it to him when they reached his house, but he completely forgot.
Just as he was going to scream internally at himself, Shi Qing Xuan gasped loudly from the corridor.
Shi Qing Xuan was his neighbor since they were kids, but they came here so often that they practically lived here by now.
“Xie-xiong,” they said, eyes going wide. “Who’s jacket are you wearing?”
Xie Lian shrugged his shoulders in attempt to look casual, giving Shi Qing Xuan an obvious look. “San Lang let me borrow it.”
“Ah, your red boy, the new kid,” Shi Qing Xuan smirked. “The one that never leaves your side.”
“What do you mean my red boy? And he’s not that new anymore.”
Shi Qing Xuan crossed their arms, lifting a brow, “Isn’t it obvious? I’m pretty sure the whole school knows you guys have something for each other.”
Xie Lian nearly choked on air.
Truthfully, he did harbor some kind of feelings for his friend. When he saw him, his heart did little jumps, and he immediately smiled whenever he thought of him.
“We-we—,” Xie Lian stuttered.
“You guys what?” Shi Qing Xuan popped their gum. “Don’t tell me you really didn’t know…?”
When Xie Lian didn’t answer, they continued. “Well, might I remind you that prom is closing in. I’ve already asked He Xuan out, and he said yes so I can’t go with you. Aren’t you going to ask him to be your date?”
Xie Lian felt his heart beating faster. “Do I have to go to prom…?”
“Duh!” Shi Qing Xuan yelled, a smile widening on their face. “You need to have some fun, Xie-xiong! Besides, what better way to confess your feelings than asking him to prom?”
“And if he says no?” Xie Lian felt himself panic. He did want to go have fun with Hua Cheng, but there was always the possibility that Hua Cheng didn’t actually like him back. There was another thought at the back of his mind, looking darkly.
What if he already had someone else in mind?
Shi Qing Xuan’s voice shook him out of his thoughts. “Xie-xiong! I’m gonna go out for a bit, okay? Make sure to eat dinner!”
Xie Lian nodded, settling down and getting ready for a shower. It had been a long week, and now that tomorrow was Saturday he could finally relax in the comfort of his house all day.
Walking tiredly to his bed, he grabbed his things and was about to set down his phone when he got a notification.
San Lang ❤️：Gege, want to hang out tomorrow?
Completely forgetting about his plans of staying home all day, Xie Lian excitedly typed out an answer.
Xie Lian: I’d love to, San Lang!
San Lang ❤️: Un, where do you want to go? 👀
Xie Lian: There isn’t really a specific place. Just hanging out with San Lang is enough 🥰
On the other side of the screen, Hua Cheng silently squealed, rolling around in his bed with his phone held to his chest.
San Lang ❤️: Then how about we walk around and find out tomorrow?
Xie Lian: I’d like that !!
—————————-
The next day, Xie Lian shot himself out of bed, choosing out his clothes carefully and hopping in the shower. Today, he had to make sure he didn’t look bad, for a reason he wasn’t sure yet. He made sure to put extra shampoo to make his hair softer, and when he stepped out he even sprayed himself with the special perfume he kept for special occasions.
But when he looked at himself in the mirror, he still felt like something was missing. Frowning at his reflection, a thought suddenly struck him.
Please forgive me, Qingxuan.
He reached out and grabbed the makeup bag that Shi Qing Xuan always kept by the mirror. Unzipping it, he quickly got out some mascara and an eyelash curler. Then, he chose a very light shade of cherry lip gloss that tinted his lips just a little bit redder. Once he was done picking out what he needed, he got to work.
It was his first time hanging out with Hua Cheng outside of school matters, after all. When he finished, he carefully pulled on a soft baby blue crew neck and brushed his hair quickly.
They had agreed on meeting at 12 am at the corner of the block. It was barely about 11:30, but Xie Lian had already repeatedly checked his phone for any new messages from Hua Cheng.
He grabbed his things and walked out, trying his best to not notify Shi Qing Xuan next door. It would result in so many questions and knowing looks that Xie Lian didn’t want to deal with at the moment.
He made his way over hurriedly, pushing back the stray strands of his bangs that fluttered over his eyes. From a distance, he could already make out a familiar tall body dressed in a black jacket over a red button up and black leather jeans.
“San Lang!” Xue Lian waved, his smile widening sweetly.
The boy turned his head towards him, showing him a smile of his own. He walked over to Xie Lian, meeting him halfway. The red earring on his ear glinted in the sunlight, giving him a charming aura.
“Gege.”
As they walked next to each other, Xie Lian felt his fingers brush over Hua Cheng’s pinky. Blushing, he pursed his lips and cleared his throat, trying to ignore the heat that traveled all the way to his ears.
Trying to act nonchalant, Xie Lian asked, “San Lang, where are we going?”
“There’s a small cafe that’s close to my house, I go there in my free time. Would gege mind going there?” Hua Cheng asked, grinning down at him. Just as Xie Lian was about to answer a quick “I don’t mind!”, he felt cold fingers wrap around his own, enveloping his smaller hand completely.
Xie Lian paused for a quick second, but tried to fix his composure fairly quickly. The hand wrapped over his was cold, but it warmed Xie Lian’s chest and face. Looking down at how nicely they fit with each other, he couldn’t help but smile.
“I don’t mind, San Lang. Lead the way.”
They spent nearly the whole day together, losing track of time and only growing concerned when the sky began turning dark. This was probably one of the funnest days in Xie Lian’s life. Hua Cheng was one of the easiest people to talk to, just topic after topic, with jokes and some flirting in between, hand-holding, drinking warm coffees with sweet whip on top, hand-holding, petting the stray cats and buying snacks, hand-holding, and going into a flower shop where Hua Cheng bought matching roses for both of them.
Now, Xie Lian looked up worriedly at the sky, where gray clouds were seeming to form. It was already about 7 pm, and Shi Qing Xuan was probably beginning to worry. Not to mention the cloudy sky that could only mean one thing.
“Gege,” Hua Cheng put an arm around him, leading him back in the direction of their homes. “It looks like it’s going to rain soon, we better—,”
Hua Cheng did not have a chance to finish his sentence before the rain poured down suddenly. The thick raindrops rapidly hit his face, immediately wetting his hair and clothes.
“Oh!”
San Lang glared up, as if cursing the skies for pouring. His skin glistened all over his face, which was becoming increasingly wet.
Grabbing Xie Lian by the arm, he pulled him away, quickly leading him to a wall that had a slight roofing.
Once they were safe in a dry space, he heaved out a sigh.
“San Lang, are you okay?” Xie Lian turned his body towards the other boy, who was leaning against the wall and panting tiredly. Now that both of them had gotten drenched, they just stared at each other with wide eyes, hair clinging to their foreheads.
Instead of answering, Hua Cheng’s gaze turned to Xie Lian’s upper body, his eyelashes turning down where raindrops were still hanging off.
Xie Lian’s crew neck wasn't that convenient, just loosely hanging off of him in a pitiful way. Since the wind was coming their way, some raindrops still managed to get on Xie Lian’s back. The material of his sweater sticking to his back allowed the cold rain to get through easily, making him shiver.
“Gege, come closer,” Hua Cheng said suddenly. Xie Lian obliged, not sure what his friend was about to do. Once he was a step away from him, Hua Cheng beckoned him closer with a hand gesture.
Gulping, Xie Lian took a careful step forward, trying not to think about how his chest was nearly touching Hua Cheng’s. His breath fanned on his cheeks, and Xie Lian tried his hardest not to think about how if he just tilted his head up, they would be kissing.
The thought left as soon as it had come In the next second, he felt Hua Cheng drape his jacket over his shoulders, pulling him flush against his own body.
“Gege, are you cold?” he heard Hua Cheng’s hoarse voice whisper into his ear. His breath felt warm on Xie Lian’s skin, but his whole body still shuddered.
“A little.”
Hua Cheng lifted his neck, staring forward at the pouring rain that seemed to never stop. After a while of staying wrapped up with Xie Lian, he came to a decision.
“Would gege like to go to my house? It’s closer to us, and we can dry off there.”
Xie Lian’s eyes widened.
Hua Cheng’s house?
As embarrassed as he was, Hua Cheng was right. The rain didn’t look like it would stop soon, and they couldn’t keep hugging each other like this in the cold.
He buried his face into Hua Cheng’s chest in embarrassment, muffling out a small, “yes.”
Hua Cheng laughed lightly, poking at Xie Lian’s head. “What’s that? I couldn’t hear it that well…,”
When Xie Lian lifted his head, he was met with a familiar teasing look.
“Yes, San Lang, let’s go to your house,” he whispered, keeping eye contact with Hua Cheng.
————————
By the time they arrived, they were both dripping water from their clothes. Hua Cheng quickly inserted the key, clicking open the door and making way for Xie Lian to enter.
“Gege, come on,” he put a hand on Xie Lian’s back, gently leading him forward and inside.
Hua Cheng’s house was big. It was much bigger than Xie Lian’s. He entered a corridor with white walls that lead to the larger room that was the living room. Apart from being pretty spacious, the black leather couches looked extremely comfortable. They sat over a big red rug that covered most of the ground in this room. On the walls, he had a couple paintings, probably Hua Cheng’s own. He once told Xie Lian he liked to paint.
“Wow,” Xie Lian whispered. Hua Cheng turned to look at him with a happy glint in his eye.
“Gege, do you like it?” he asked. He didn’t say it in a showing-off way, more like asking him for his opinion, like a child that handed you something they made for you, waiting for your approval.
“Of course, San Lang. Your house is so nice!” Xie Lian grinned, taking off his wet shoes.
“Then, you can come whenever you like.” Hua Cheng shook his floppy hair. Now that it was wet, it hung even more in front of his face, but now in wavy curls. The short hair at the back of his neck just plastered on his skin.
“Let’s go get some dry clothes,” Hua Cheng motioned for Xie Lian to follow him.
Xie Lian shyly followed behind the taller boy, all while trying to memorize the corridors they were taking to Hua Cheng’s room.
The first thing he noticed about Hua Cheng’s room was the big bed with red, soft sheets. Next to it was what Xie Lian guessed was his closet. He dug into the drawers, pulling out a large black shirt and some gray sweats.
“Here, you can wear this for now,” Hua Cheng handed him the clothes with a soft smile on his face. “I hope these fit you, I got the smaller ones.”
Xie Lian took them hurriedly, a blush starting to form on his face. Once he successfully evaporated all the I’m gonna wear his clothes!! thoughts, Xie Lian said, “Thanks! Umm.. where do I…?”
Hua Cheng’s eyes widened a tiny bit, but Xie Lian was able to catch it. “Ah, you can use my restroom, it’s the first door right after this room.”
Xie Lian thought he saw some red on his ears, but it might’ve been his imagination.
He quickly left for the restroom, locking it and taking off his wet clothes, dropping them on the floor. Looking to the side, he saw a pile of clean towels sitting over a cabinet. He wondered silently if Hua Cheng would mind if he used one quickly to wipe his hair and face. He always helped Xie Lian out with almost everything, so he didn’t think Hua Cheng would mind that much.
Xie Lian wiped his face, hair and chest quickly before placing it back on the stand. Taking the black shirt Hua Cheng lent him, he pulled it over his head. Immediately the scent of Hua Cheng infiltrated his senses, making him breathe in pleasantly.
He pulled on the gray sweats, adjusting the size of the waist to fit his. The sweats were a bit long, and the shirt fell all the way to almost mid-thigh, but it was fine.
He took one look in the mirror before leaving the restroom.
Hua Cheng was waiting for him in his room, already changed into some nice black sweatpants and a red tee. “Gege, you-,”
He stopped, nearly dropping the wet clothes he was holding.
“San Lang?”
Xie Lian stood next to the door, holding his arm in one hand. His hair was a bit messier than usual, ruffled on top of his head from when he dried it with a towel. Due to how loose Hua Cheng’s shirt fit him, his collarbones were showing in full display, and the shirt made him look even smaller in height to Hua Cheng than usual. He wasn’t a short person, but he felt like he was drowning in the garments.
“You…,” Hua Cheng started, turning his head away in embarrassment. After clearing his throat, he stepped towards him. “Um, give me the wet clothes, I’ll dry them.”
Xie Lian stared suspiciously at his face for a second before handing him the clothes. After Hua Cheng left, Xie Lian was left alone in Hua Cheng’s room.
He sat on the bed, patiently waiting until Hua Cheng came back. After a while of waiting, the door swung open again, revealing a smiling Hua Cheng.
“Gege, want to order some takeout?”
—————————————
After deciding on ordering Vietnamese, they sat at Hua Cheng’s kitchen table, which was just as big as Xie Lian imagined it would be. Xie Lian finished quickly texting Shi Qing Xuan, then put his phone down and took another spring roll. Looking around, he wondered how Hua Cheng had this much money. He had never seen his family. He had never mentioned any siblings, just briefly said something about his mother once.
“San Lang,” Xie Lian wondered out loud. “Your house is really big and pretty. How… uh, how—,”
“Gege wants to ask who earned this much money?” Hua Cheng finished for him.
Xie Lian coughed awkwardly, “yes.”
“Honestly, I didn’t have much of anything before. But then I realized, I can’t be up to anyone’s standards like this, so with some help from a couple of rich relations and a lot of hard work, I managed to get by.”
Xie Lian’s eyes widened, nearly dropping the spring roll from his chopsticks. “Wait, you— what exactly do you do?!”
Although they were in their last year and almost 18, they were still in high school, so Xie Lian was most definitely surprised to hear he worked hard and got himself this rich.
Hua Cheng smiled. “I’ll explain it later if you still want to know. Let’s eat.”
After filling themselves up, he helped Hua Cheng clean up and take out their clothes from the dryer. Now that they were dry, Xie Lian could easily put them back on, head back home, and say goodbye to Hua Cheng for the day. But for some reason, he felt a little disappointed, and he didn’t want to go just yet, but he didn’t want to burden Hua Cheng with a guest.
Xie Lian quickly moved the curtains aside to look out the window once, and saw that the rain didn’t have any mercy on him. That wasn’t the problem though, Hua Cheng had a car that was rarely used, but he seemed reluctant to use it.
“Are you sure you want to go? Isn’t your friend not at home today?”
That was true, after texting Qingxuan that he was at Hua Cheng’s place, they must’ve gotten the impression that Xie Lian was going to stay the night over and left to have a sleepover with He Xuan.
“It’s okay, they don’t stay over every time. I can sleep by myself.”
Hua Cheng pouted, “Are they with He Xuan?”
Xie Lian nodded. “Mn, a ‘sleepover’.”
Hua Cheng fiddled with the red string on his finger, twirling it back and forth in thought. He leaned over to rest his face on Xie Lian’s head suddenly, startling him. Wrapping his arms around Xie Lian, he said in an embarrassed tone, “Do you… want to have a sleepover too?”
Xie Lian turned red.
“A sleep… over?” Xie Lian thought about it. The idea wasn’t bad, he actually was reluctant to part with Hua Cheng as well. It was also Saturday, so tomorrow they were free from school. It should be fine.
His silence must’ve confused Hua Cheng. He quickly went to remove himself from Xie Lian, already saying, “It’s okay if you don’t want to, I’ll drive you home.”
Xie Lian subconsciously pulled Hua Cheng back towards him by his shirt, shaking his head. “San Lang, of course I’d like to sleepover too! I like spending time with you, I just didn’t want to be a bother…”
Xie Lian shut up before he could continue blabbering in embarrassment. Obviously Hua Cheng wouldn’t mind, the boy was always sticking to him. Space shouldn’t be a problem in this house either. But after all, he wasn’t used to all this space, and he was used to not wanting to bother people too much.
“Gege, you’re never a bother,” Hua Cheng languidly wrapped his arms around Xie Lian’s waist. “I’m happy to have you here. We can play games, or watch a movie, or if you want to sleep, you can take my bed.”
Xie Lian looked up at his face, noticing once again how attractive his features looked up close. The dark, trimmed brows and long eyelashes along with his wavy fluffy hair that made Xie Lian want to pet his head, it was messy in an attractive way.
He didn’t notice the way his hand had traveled from Hua Cheng’s back to his nape, gently treading his fingers through the hair on the back of his neck. He relaxed in his hold, just feeling safe and warm.
“Then, thank you for the offer, San Lang,” he finally said, massaging the other boy’s nape. The action made Hua Cheng release a sound that sounded half like a purr and half like a satisfied groan. “I can play games. Let’s do that and go to sleep.”
Hua Cheng nodded, and Xie Lian noticed a strangely victorious glint in his eye already. He scoffed, thinking to himself, My luck may be bad, but video games are something that never fail me.
Before they knew it, it was already 10 pm and they had played so many rounds of video games that Hua Cheng’s fingers were starting to hurt. He looked over at Xie Lian, who had a defeated frown on his face.
This really just wasn’t fair, how was he supposed to know that Hua Cheng was a video game expert? Not only did he beat him every single round, but he did it so effortlessly that even the game seemed to be favoring him. It seemed like the little bit of luck Xie Lian had had transferred over to Hua Cheng as well.
“Gege, it’s late, we should go to bed.”
Xie Lian looked up at him with sleepy eyes, looking like he was going to pass out at any moment.
“San Lang,” he drawled out sleepily. “I haven’t beat you yet though, I swear I’m good at this game-,”
“Alright, alright,” Hua Cheng set the controller down, leaning over to gather Xie Lian into his arms. “You’re really good gege, you’ve already beat me so many times.”
Xie Lian looked up at his face through half lidded eyes, clearly not knowing what exactly was going on. “I have?”
“Yes, gege is the best player. Let’s go to bed now, okay?” Hua Cheng gently pried the controller from his fingers, turning them off and setting them down somewhere in his bag.
Xie Lian held on to Hua Cheng’s shoulders. “San Lang,” he whispered. “I’m…sleepy.”
Hua Cheng shook his head, smiling. Why do you sound drunk?
“Let’s go, stand up,” Hua Cheng tried to get up from the couch, only to be held back by Xie Lian’s arms around his neck. Gasping, he looked down with wide eyes at Xie Lian’s droopy eyes and ruffled hair. His gaze landed on Xie Lian’s pouty lips, which were swollen from biting his lip when he was playing games.
“Gege…?”
When Xie Lian didn’t let go, Hua Cheng’s expression suddenly changed, smiling triumphantly. “Then gege, don’t mind if I do!”
Hua Cheng suddenly lifted him up, placing one hand under his knees and the other on his back to carry him “bridal style”. Xie Lian yelped, wrapping his arms hurriedly closer to Hua Cheng’s neck.
Laughing, Hua Cheng teased, “Well, you didn’t want to let go of me, so the only option is carrying you. What? Is gege suddenly shy?”
Xie Lian was too tired to blush, so he simply hid his face in Hua Cheng’s neck in embarrassment and didn’t look back up.
He felt himself being carried through a long corridor, falling more and more asleep with every step. His eyes drooped down, and finally closed shut. Right after falling asleep, Xie Lian began snoring gently all the way while Hua Cheng got to his room.
“Gege,” Hua Cheng whispered softly. With careful steps, he made it to the bed and set him down slowly, making sure to rest his head on one of the pillows and placed his legs in a comfortable position. Xie Lian only mumbled incoherently in his sleep, trailing his hands down from Hua Cheng’s neck to fall on the bed sheets.
Once he was settled in with a blanket, Hua Cheng walked back to get to the other room where nobody slept. It was for guests, but Hua Cheng never got guests anyway.
He came back to his room once more to retrieve some blankets he left for himself. He opened the door gently, careful not to wake the sleeping beauty. Once he picked up the bundle of sheets he needed, he was about to walk away when he heard Xie Lian mumbling something to him.
“San Luhngg I leuk ouyy.”
Hua Cheng paused, frowning slightly. “Gege?”
Xie Lian turned over, mumbling more incoherent things like “prom” “go” and “lethsh gwo thwo geother.”
In the darkness of the room, Hua Cheng let out a breath, chuckling. It seemed like Xie Lian was simply talking in his sleep, another cute habit he’s learned of.
He grabbed the doorknob, already opening to leave when he heard a clearer sentence from Xie Lian, one that made his heart pound faster and his head swirl.
“San Laaang,” Xie Lian drawled in his sleep. “Mm, I like you San Lang.”