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scriptura-adrepticius · 6 years

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Angel - Zhu Zhengting

After many days of thought and screams and death and obsessively showing @tanzderwhat my drafts, it’s finally being posted.

Pairing: Zhu Zhengting x OC/reader

Genre: some fluff, angst, war!au

Triggers: death, war

Word Count: 8.5k

To Zhengting, you were an angel.

Masterlist

look at his hat why does no one talk about his hat it’s almost cuter than him

Zhengting’s come back from war.

The first thing he does when he steps foot in his hometown is call his friends so he knows they’re safe and sound. Hours pass in a flash as they catch each other up about what happened over the past four years, but now that the laughter and tears have come and gone, Zhengting mostly feels drained and a little empty.

Most of the boys have gone to bed already, needing rest and medicine prescribed by doctors or just a little alone time. Zhengting just sits on the couch, blankly staring into space.

The war has changed all of them. Things will never be the same as before.

“Ge,” Justin says, sitting next to Zhengting. Only the two of them are left in the room. Zhengting looks up at his youngest friend, the friend whose bright smile and contagious laugh has been dimmed and dulled from the grueling years. “You didn’t talk about yourself at all today.”

Justin’s always been observant and clever, Zhengting thinks. Those qualities of his were always overshadowed by his loud and cheerful nature, but now he appreciates them.

Zhengting sighs. “You’re right.”

“Do you want to talk about it now?” Justin asks.

Zhengting looks at him, noting with sadness at how the innocence that used to shine in Justin’s eyes has been replaced with a maturity that spans beyond the boy’s eighteen years. “Sure,” he says, but he fails to elaborate.

“So what happened?” Justin prompts.

There’s a long pause, and then Zhengting finally speaks. “I met someone.”

Justin hesitates before asking his next question. “Who did you meet, Ting?”

A soft, sad smile crosses Zhengting’s face. “I met an angel.”

. . . . .

| Day one |

The first thing Zhengting registers when he wakes up is that he can’t see. So naturally, he starts to panic.

“He’s awake!” someone shouts, their voice muffled and warped in his ears. He feels a human presence next to him, and then a warm hand is holding his and a soft, calm voice is speaking to him.

“Can you speak?” the voice asks him. He attempts to use his vocal cords, and a slight croak comes out. He clears his throat. “Yes,” he says hoarsely. “I can’t see.” His panic begins to rise again at the loss of one of his most important senses.

“Hey. Listen to me, alright? It’s okay,” the voice says soothingly, squeezing his hand gently. A smooth hand seems to smooth his hair away from his forehead. Zhengting relaxes slightly, the gentle touch calming him just a little. “Are you in any pain?”

“Right shoulder and left leg,” he replies.

“Figures. You hit your head, which damaged an optical nerve. Your vision should come back in a few weeks or a month. You were also shot in your shoulder and leg, but the bullets are out and we’re just waiting for the wounds to heal. Until then, you’re going to stay here with us, okay? Do you need anything?” the voice asks. His hearing is improving, and Zhengting discerns that it’s a woman speaking.

“Water,” he manages. A straw is placed at his lips, and he sucks in the cold liquid eagerly. Then, spent, he falls asleep again.

The one last thought he has is that this woman, this soft-spoken woman with the gentle touch, must be an angel.

~~~

“Zhu Zhengting?” you whisper, looking inquisitively at Dinghao. “That’s his name, right?” Dinghao nods, placing a final stack of blankets in your arms. “Can you make the beds where Yue Yue, Qin Fen, and Ruibin were?” You nod wordlessly, walking quickly to where the beds are, lying in three rows, sheets rumpled and messy.

None of them died, thank god. You’ve seen enough death to last a lifetime. Yue Yue and Qin Fen were honorably discharged, while Ruibin was sent back to fight. You say a short prayer for the boy.

You’ve just finished making Qin Fen’s bed when there’s a slight rustling nearby. You look around to see the new patient, Zhengting, struggling to sit up, his eyes open and blinking wildly.

“He’s awake!” Dinghao calls. You give him a thumbs up, quickly placing down the dirty sheets to join Zhengting at his bedside.

You take a deep breath. “Can you speak?” you ask, voice quiet and soothing as you take his hand. A wave of relief washes over you as you feel Zhengting relax in your grasp. He opens his mouth, manages a small croak, then recovers enough to choke out a “Yes,” followed by, “I can’t see.” You feel his panic begin to rise again, and you squeeze his hand gently, trying to head it off.

Well, that explains the excessive blinking, you think. It makes sense, since it was reported that he’d hit his head. Dinghao passes you a clipboard, and you look at it, reading that he’d damaged an optical nerve in his fall. You nod, passing the clipboard back.

“Hey. Listen to me, alright? It’s okay,” you whisper, smoothing back Zhengting’s hair. He relaxes a little under your touch. “Are you in any pain?” For his sake, you hope he feels pain, because he got shot. If there’s no pain, then something’s wrong.

“Right shoulder and left leg.” His voice is broken and hoarse from disuse, but you have a feeling that when he gets used to talking again, his voice will be much, much more different from now. You nod, letting out a sigh of relief, before remembering he can’t see you.

“Figures. You hit your head, which damaged an optical nerve. That should heal in a few weeks or a month. You were also shot in your shoulder and leg, but the bullets are out and we’re just waiting for the wounds to heal. Until then, you’re going to stay here with us, okay? Do you need anything?” you say, pulling his blankets up so that more of him is covered.

Zhengting tries to say something but fails, then tries again. “Water.”

Dinghao comes over with a glass of water. You guide the straw to Zhengting’s lips and he drinks quickly, greedily sucking up the liquid. Moments after you pull the empty glass away, he’s asleep.

. . . . .

| Day two |

Zhengting wakes up, thinks it’s the middle of the night, and then remembers that he’s blind, and that there’s a bandage wrapped around his eyes. He lets out a deep sigh, lying limp on his bed.

“Awake?” a soft voice asks, startling Zhengting. He recognizes it as the sweet voice from yesterday that took care of him. The angel.

You laugh a little. “I guess so, since your eyes seem to be open. Do you need anything?”

“No,” Zhengting manages to say with a little less difficulty than the day before. “What time is it?”

“It’s five thirty,” the voice answers. “You slept for almost a day.”

A whole day? Zhengting’s pretty sure that in his whole time serving at the front, he hasn’t slept for more than twenty-four hours total.

Someone sits down next to him with a soft sigh, blowing air into his face. A gentle hand brushes his hair away from his face and rests on his eyes, quickly untying the bandage. “Your eyes don’t seem to be getting worse, but we’ll have to take a better look at that later,” the same voice says. Zhengting concludes that the person sitting next to him must be you.

The hand moves to his shoulder, his shot shoulder, and he flinches a little. “I just need to check your wounds and redo your dressings,” you say soothingly. Zhengting does his best to nod, relaxing as much as he can.

Nimble, warm fingers dance against his skin, carefully unwrapping the gauze from his shoulder. “Do you want to talk?” you ask him, breath fanning his face.

“About what?” he replies, wincing a little at how hoarse his voice has become. It’s strange that just a year ago, he was singing onstage. A wave of memories crashes over him, making him gasp a little.

“Anything,” you say, oblivious to the thoughts running through Zhengting’s head, the bandage coming away from his skin. Fresh air hits the wound, and he hisses a little. “You ask me a question, and after I answer, I’ll ask you one, and you’ll answer,” you continue kindly. “Sound good?”

“Okay,” Zhengting says. Your hand lifts from his skin, leaving a slight empty feeling at his shoulder. Soon, though, the hand is back, rubbing some sort of salve over the wound. “If I ask you something that makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer.”

You laugh, a warm and bright sound that seems to fill up the whole room. That word echoes through his mind again.

Angel.

“That’s very considerate of you, Zhengting. Thank you, and same for you. Now, ask away.”

Zhengting thinks for a minute before settling for something simple. “What’s your name?”

“I never introduced myself?” you say, more to yourself than Zhengting. “I’m so sorry.” A little laugh escapes you. “I’m Wang Yiyue.”

“Yiyue,” Zhengting says as though testing out your name on his tongue. “It’s pretty.”

Zhengting can’t see it, but a small blush crosses your face. “Thank you,” you say. You finish wrapping the bandage on his shoulder and move to his leg. “What’s your favorite color?” you ask.

“Pastel colors,” he says. “Blue, mostly.”

It suits him, the more you look at his features. He has a soft and handsome face, and you’re not surprised at all by this new fact. You tell him this, and his cheeks tint red, slightly.

“Thank you, Yiyue. Um… how old are you?” is his next question.

You huff a little, calculating your age on the fly. To be honest, you’ve kind of forgotten. “Uh, twenty one,” you finally say. “I’ll turn twenty-two in a few months.”

“You’re only a little younger than me, then,” Zhengting says. “I turned twenty two a couple weeks ago.”

“Well, happy belated birthday,” you say, laughing slightly.

“And happy early birthday to you, Yiyue,” he replies, a light smile appearing on his lips. It’s a beautiful smile, truly. Is it your imagination, or is that a little glow around him?

“So,” you cough, turning your attention back to his leg. A question pops up in your mind, different from the simple ones that have been asked thus far, but you go for it anyway. “Do you want to be famous?” you ask. “And if yeah, what do you want to be famous for?”

Zhengting stays silent for a little bit on this, the only indication that he’s alert and listening being his open eyes. “Hm,” he says finally. “I don’t particularly want to be famous, but I think it would be okay, if I was famous for something good. Something that… I guess I’d want to be famous for helping people.”

“Helping people,” you echo. “That’s a nice thought.” You rub more salve onto his wound, mulling over his words.

“Now that we’re getting to the deeper questions-” you snort a little, cutting out a new piece of gauze- “I guess I’ll ask… If you woke up tomorrow and had gained any quality or ability, what would you want it to be?” Zhengting’s eyes, though he still can’t see, fixate on where he thinks you are.

You hum in response, thinking deeply. “I suppose I’d want the ability to eat whatever I want without getting fat,” you reply, laughing. A broader smile crosses Zhengting’s face and he laughs with you, an adorably mellow sound that makes your heart beat a little faster. “You remind me of a friend,” he says. “He would’ve said the exact same thing.”

“I want to meet him,” you joke, tying off the bandage. “I guess that concludes our little interview for now, Zhengting. I bet you’re tired, you should rest.” You stand up, placing the roll of gauze and scissors back on a small cart. “Do you need anything? Food, water?”

“No, Yiyue, I’m fine. Thank you,” Zhengting mumbles, his voice already slightly drowsy.

“Alright, Zhengting,” you whisper.

Just as Zhengting falls asleep, he feels a hand brush across his face, so light it could be a feather.

. . . . .

| Day three |

The next day brings a surge of soldiers to the small, mostly empty infirmary. Most injuries are simply bullet wounds, but in comes a girl whose leg is caked in blood, most of it hers.

You swallow your apprehensions and immediately start on wiping the blood away, allowing her to squeeze your hand tighter and tighter until you feel like you’re losing circulation. By the time the dried blood is gone, you’re faced with a mass of tissue and still-leaking red liquid. Bile rises in your throat, but you swallow it down. It’s swelling slightly, and is hot to the touch.

Infection.

“Your wound is infected,” you tell the girl lowly, watching her reaction carefully. She nods, her face white. Dinghao rushes by, pushing a cart of supplies over to Yujin who’s taking care of a line of men with bullet wounds. “Dinghao!” you call. “Infection!”

He swears, rummaging through the boxes in the back before producing a bottle of pills which he tosses you. You open it quickly, shaking one into your hand. “Swallow this,” you say, handing her a glass of water. She downs it in a flash. You then instruct her to lie down, and when she does, you begin rubbing ointment onto the wound.

An hour later, you deem her wound okay for the time being. She’s already fallen asleep, so you end up going to help Yujin with gunshot wounds. By the time you’re finished, you’re absolutely exhausted, and someone still needs to take care of Zhengting.

“I’ll go handle Zhengting,” you say quietly, dragging yourself over to his bed. “Sorry, Zhengting,” you say. “We just got an influx of new patients, so the place is going to be a little noisier now.”

“It’s okay,” Zhengting says, then falls silent again as you unwrap the bandage around his eyes, checking for any bad signs. “Do you want to continue yesterday’s questions?” you ask a little teasingly. To your surprise, Zhengting agrees. “You first,” he says.

You bite your lip as you tie the bandage back around his eyes. “Where are you from?”

“Anhui,” he says immediately. “What about you?”

“Hangzhou,” you reply. “What was your greatest accomplishment in life?”

“I became a dancer,” he says quietly.

Your mouth forms an ‘o’ in response. “A dancer,” you repeat. “I can see that.”

“Why?” Zhengting asks, curiosity evident in his tone.

“I… don’t know,” you confess, applying salve to his shoulder. “It just fits you. What kind of dance did you do?”

“I guess… modern? Hip hop? I was an idol,” he says. You see him blush a little, and a smile crosses your lips. “I bet you had quite the following,” you tease. His blush becomes redder, and you laugh, rewrapping the bandage around his shoulder.

“My turn,” Zhengting says quickly, eager to switch the subject. “What was your greatest accomplishment in life?”

You have to think on this one. Many events flit through your mind, but you finally settle on one. “When I decided to become a nurse,” you say, “but a close second is when I got accepted to university.”

“University? Wow,” Zhengting says, wincing a little as you unwrap his leg. “How come you chose becoming a nurse as your greatest though?”

You purse your lips, wondering whether or not you feel stable enough to tell him just yet. “I think that’s a story for another time,” you say lightly, concealing your true feelings. You notice Zhengting about to apologize, but you stop him. “You have nothing to apologize for, Zhengting. It’s only that I don’t think I… I don’t think I have the strength to retell that story right now.”

You rewrap Zhengting’s leg in a new, clean bandage before standing. “I have to go help out, but someone will bring you some soup and water, okay?” Zhengting nods as best as he can and you smile unconsciously, allowing your hand to brush against his cheek as you walk away.

Zhengting can’t help but wonder if that’s the touch of an angel.

. . . . .

| Day seven |

Zhengting is restless. He’s tired of lying in bed all day, doing nothing except sleep, eat, and drink. It’s been a full week. The only highlight of his day is when you come to redress his wounds. So he brings this up the next time you come.

“Can I go outside?” he asks, by way of his first question. He feels your hands stop from unwrapping the bandage around his eyes in surprise. “I don’t know, Zhengting,” you say uncertainly. “I’ll ask Dinghao.”

Dinghao isn’t so sure about this idea, but when you bring up the fact that he’s been cooped up in bed for so long, and that you can just settle him in a wheelchair, he can’t really argue. You return, beaming, to Zhengting’s side, and Yujin helps you lift him into the wheelchair.

Zhengting’s quiet as you push him around, simply enjoying the fresh air on his face.

“My turn for a question,” you remind him lightly, pushing a lock of hair away from your eyes. “What do you feel most thankful for in your life?”

“Yiyue, why are you so deep?” Zhengting whines. Still, an inevitable smile spreads across his face. “I suppose… I’m most thankful for supportive friends and family. I never would’ve been able to achieve my dream without them.”

“Your dream of becoming a dancer?” you ask. Zhengting nods, and you’re touched at just how much he cares for them. Every time the subject of family or friends comes up in your little interviews, you can sense just how much he loves them.

“Now, for my question…” Zhengting trails off, visibly deep in thought. “What were you before now?”

“That could be taken in a few ways,” you say. “Before the war, or before I became a nurse?”

Zhengting thinks for a moment. “Both.”

You chew your cheek, your feet unconsciously coming to a halt. “Before the war,” you begin slowly, “I was a student.”

Zhengting must realize that you’re hesitant about answering the rest of the question, because he quickly speaks up. “If you’re uncomfortable, don’t answer, Yiyue,” he says seriously.

You’ve already avoided talking about it once. You shake your head to clear your thoughts. “Don’t worry,” you say lightly. “I’ll answer.” Still, it takes you a little time to find the right words to talk about your experiences.

“Before I became a nurse,” you say, “I was a soldier.”

You hear Zhengting suck in a breath in surprise. “A soldier.”

“A soldier,” you confirm, “for a year. I was drafted.”

You hear Zhengting’s unspoken question and sigh. “I became a nurse because I couldn’t stand killing anymore,” you say, a bitter smile covering your face. “Cowardice at its finest, huh? Because I’d rather heal than kill. Still, I regard that decision as the best I’ve made in my life.”

Zhengting remains silent, an unreadable expression on his face. “It’s not cowardice,” he finally says. “Anyone that says so is an idiot.”

You smile a little at the vehemence of his words. “Thanks, Zhengting,” you say softly. “I think we should go back inside now, the sun’s going down.” Zhengting nods. “Yiyue.”

“Yeah, Zhengting?” you say, turning the wheelchair.

“You can call me Ting,” he says quietly. “It’s what my friends called me.” You can sense the loneliness behind these words, and your heart feels deeply for this young man that you’ve only taken care of for a week.

“In that case, Ting,” you say, smiling down at him, “you can call me Yue. It’s what my friends called me.”

The slow smile that spreads across Zhengting’s face is breathtaking. “Okay, Yue.”

. . . . .

| Day nine |

It’s on this day that, when you lift the bandage from Zhengting’s eyes, that he can see a change in the light from pure darkness to more shades of grey. He senses your elation when he tells you this excitedly, and when you take him outside for some more fresh air, he rejoices in the warm sunlight he feels on his face.

“Your question,” you remind him, holding back a little laughter, and he snaps out of his dreamy phase, blushing slightly. “Then, Yue, what do you value most in friendship?”

You don’t hesitate when you answer. “Loyalty and trust. Without those two things, I don’t think it can be called a friendship.”

Zhengting nods silently, digesting your reply. “Loyalty and trust,” he murmurs. “How come those two?”

“A friend is someone you have… a bond of affection and trust with,” you say, thinking over your words carefully. “Maybe I’m different, but a friend isn’t just someone you add, on, like, Facebook or something. You have to have something… deeper. And unless I trust someone, I don’t consider them a friend. An acquaintance, perhaps.” You take a deep breath. “As for loyalty… once I’m your friend, I will be loyal to you until you give me reason to be otherwise, and I expect the same from my friends.”

“Then am I your friend?” Zhengting asks teasingly. Beneath the teasing tone, however, you sense that he’s seeking an actual answer.

There’s a long silence before you reply. “I suppose so,” you finally say, a smile tilting the corners of your mouth. “I don’t tell people about my being a soldier until I trust them, and only friends get to call me ‘Yue.’”

Zhengting doesn’t know why, but this makes him wildly happy.

“So am I your friend?” you ask Zhengting playfully, pushing him under a shady tree.

“Yes,” Zhengting replies quietly. “Only friends can call me Ting, and you’ve done much more for me than I have for you.”

“Oh, Ting,” you say, laughing, “you’ve done much more for me than you think you have.”

“Really?” Zhengting asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

You smile, brushing his hair off the bandage on his eyes. “You gave me someone to care for.”

. . . . .

| Day fifteen |

Today has been hectic. So hectic that you aren’t able to clean Zhengting’s wounds or take him outside. Instead, Dinghao is left with that job, while you’re trying to keep down the infection in the girl’s leg.

By the evening, though, you’re not sure if there’s anything else you can do except amputate it.

“Am I going to die?” she asks fearfully.

You swallow. “Not if I can help it,” you say fiercely.

Dinghao isn’t hopeful when he looks at the wound, however. “We may have to amputate,” he tells you quietly as you go to get more antibiotic ointment. You chew your cheek and nod, relaying the information to the girl. She simply nods in assent before falling asleep again.

You’re dead tired when the day is over, but you see how dead your coworkers seem to be, so you’re the first to volunteer to take the night shift. Yujin tries to fight you for it, but you don’t let her, instead shooing her onto a small cot to rest.

You take up position on a chair, sorting through supplies to keep you awake. You’re not quite sure when you dozed off, but suddenly you’re jolting up, sweat beading your forehead from the nightmare that came with your first kill.

A shaky breath leaves you, and you get a glass of water, sipping at the cup until you finally feel calm again.

Well, on the bright side, you’re not sleepy anymore.

“Yue?”

The whisper startles you, and you whip around to look at Zhengting’s bed. “Zhengting? Why are you awake?” you whisper.

“I heard something,” he says, trying to sit up on his own. You immediately go to help him, feeling a little guilt in your chest. “Sorry, that was probably me,” you say. “I dozed off and just woke back up.”

There’s a little silence. “Nightmare?” Zhengting asks.

You sigh. “You know it.” A wry smile crosses your lips.

“Wanna talk?”

Another sigh. “Not really.”

Silence falls again, and you busy yourself with the supplies.

“Was it about your first kill?”

The scissors snap shut in your hand, missing the bandage you were trying to cut, and your hand begins to tremble.

Deep breaths, Yue.

“Yes.”

“Understandable,” Zhengting says. “Your turn for a question.”

It takes you a moment to realize that he’s back to playing the question game you always play. You place the scissors back down on the cart, thinking of a question for him.

“What is your worst memory?”

“Oh, come on,” Zhengting whines, “is this payback for asking about your nightmare?” He laughs a little to let you know he’s not serious, then falls silent, thinking. “I suppose…” He trails off before he speaks again. “I think it was when I left my bandmates and my family at the airport when I came here.”

Your heart cries for him, remembering your own sorrow at having to leave your loved ones behind at the airport. Zhengting continues. “I think it was more so that all of us except two were drafted. I was the first to leave. The two youngest, Chengcheng and Justin, were too young to serve. It was the worst to leave them behind, because in a way, it felt like I raised them.”

“Spoken like a true mother,” you say teasingly, but your heart feels for him. Zhengting scowls in the faint light of your lamp and you laugh, smoothing back his hair. “You want some water?” you ask. He nods, and you bring him a glass.

“Now, my question,” Zhengting says after draining the cup. “When… was the last time you cried in front of someone else?”

You’re taken aback by this, but you go with it, racking your memory for the last time. “The first time someone died in my care,” you say finally. “I cried in front of Dinghao.”

Zhengting’s silent, wondering just how horrible it is to try to save someone but have them die in the end. You even dropped out of fighting and became a nurse just to help people instead of kill them. He can’t imagine how you felt when someone died despite you trying to help.

“So, Zhengting.” Your voice breaks into his thoughts and you caress his cheek. He leans into your touch. “What do you think of love and affection?”

“Necessary for someone to be… for someone…” Zhengting trails off, frustrated that he can’t find the right words. “They’re… feelings… no, not feelings… well, kind of. They’re feelings that aren’t just for yourself. They’re for you to share.”

“An interesting answer,” you say, rhythmically stroking his hair. The motion makes Zhengting sleepy, and he closes his eyes involuntarily. “I’ve asked that question to a lot of people, and I think that’s the best answer I’ve gotten so far.” You look down, noting the evening of Zhengting’s breaths. “I think that’s enough for tonight,” you whisper, more so to yourself than to him. You push yourself off the chair.

“One more question,” Zhengting mumbles as you help him lie back down. “Yeah, Ting?”

“Are you an angel?”

You stop short, flaring red blush covering your entire face. You laugh awkwardly. “No, I don’t think so.”

“I think you’re an angel,” Zhengting murmurs, before falling fast asleep.

You barely manage to get rid of the redness of your face before Dinghao wakes up to take over.

. . . . .

| Day sixteen |

Zhengting wakes up wondering if everything that happened last night was a dream. The questions he asked, the questions he answered, and more importantly, whether or not he asked if you were an angel.

The bandage has been taken off his eyes, so he sees the blurry person he associates with you rushing around the room, picking up bandages and towels and cleaning dark liquid - probably blood - off of sharp instruments.

He looks at the bed next to him to see the girl with an infected leg… without her leg anymore.

He swallows, looking at the stump, or what seems to be the stump, and then forces himself to avert his gaze. He shifts himself into sitting position.

“Oh, Ting, you’re awake,” you say, coming over to him. You notice his gaze flicker to the girl questioningly.

“We had to amputate,” you whisper, a sick feeling crawling up your throat. You force it down, though, trying to focus on the one good thing. “You can see her stump, can’t you?” you ask. Zhengting nods.

“At least that means you’re getting your vision back,” you say, relief washing over you. “Your wounds are almost healed as well, so you’ll be healthy soon. Do you want to go out now?” Zhengting nods, and you bring the wheelchair over.

“Actually…” Zhengting swallows. “Can I walk?”

You’re hesitant to let him, but after Dinghao checks his leg and pronounces it okay, you lead Zhengting outside, him grasping your arm and leaning on your shoulder.

“So,” Zhengting says, “your turn for a question.”

You purse your lips, wondering whether or not to ask the question you’ve had in mind all day. Looking at Zhengting, you find yourself saying why not? So you take a shot.

“Why did you ask if I was an angel yesterday?”

Zhengting is silent, but when you look over at him, redness has crept up his cheeks. You have to fight the urge to coo over how cute he looks.

“Because,” he breathes, “I think you are one.”

“Why?” You look at him, gazing into his unseeing eyes as you guide him along.

“When I first woke up in the infirmary, you were the one that calmed me down. I couldn’t see, I could only hear and feel. It sounds cringey, but your voice was soft and soothing, and your touch was gentle.”

“You’re right, that is a little cringey,” you laugh, covering your face with your free hand. Right now, you’re kind of glad Zhengting can’t see, or else you’d probably die of embarrassment because your face is so, so red.

“But it’s true,” Zhengting continues, a soft smile on his face. “I thought that that voice and that touch could only be that of an angel. I didn’t mean to ask you that question yesterday, but I guess my sleepy brain forced it out of me.”

“Be that as it may, Zhengting,” you say, “I don’t believe I’m an angel. I’m just as human as you are.”

Zhengting’s grip on your arm tightens a little. “I don’t think so, Yue.”

There’s a little moment where you try your best to will the blush away from your cheeks, and then Zhengting speaks up again. “I think I have a question now,” he says.

“Go for it.”

“Yue…” Zhengting swallows, and you look at him curiously. “Do you think fifteen days is too short to fall in love?”

Your heart stops.

“Because I think I’m in love with you.”

You can’t breathe.

Zhengting squints, his eyes trained towards the sun, waiting for your answer.

You finally speak. “No, Ting,” you breathe, “I don’t think it’s too short.”

He stays silent, waiting for you to continue.

“Because I think I’m in love with you too.”

There. You’ve said it. You wait anxiously, stopping your movement so that the two of you are facing each other, his eyes trained on you.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he whispers, bringing up an uncertain hand. You catch it, bringing it to your cheek, and reciprocate the motion with him.

Your thumb brushes soft circles on his skin, making Zhengting feel dizzy and overwhelmed as he continues to savor your touch against his skin and his touch against yours.

You smile. “Let’s go back inside, shall we?” Zhengting doesn’t want to let you go, but you’ve already stayed out long enough, so he nods, allowing you to lead him back inside.

“Ladies first,” you tease, opening the door wide for him to step through. He huffs, sticking his tongue out in your general direction, and you laugh before taking his arm and leading him in.

. . . . .

| Day twenty one |

Zhengting wakes up and at first doesn’t realize what has happened. He looks around blearily, blinking rapidly as he sits up.

Then he realizes.

“I can see,” he whispers.

“Hey, Ting, you’re awake,” you say easily, passing by. “Need anything?”

“I can see, Yue!” he says excitedly, gazing around the room before training his eyes on you.

It’s the first time he’s ever truly seen you. The blurred colors and shapes from before don’t count. He’s enraptured by your hair, the curve of your mouth, and the shape of your eyes.

“Oh my god,” you whisper. “Dinghao!”

Said boy comes rushing over, looking at Zhengting. “He can see now?” Dinghao says, looking joyful. Zhengting nods, grinning with a joy he hasn’t felt in a long, long time.

Dinghao busies himself with checking over Zhengting as you go to take care of the girl with the amputated leg, whose name he now knows is Huiyi. She looks at him with a blank expression, then smiles and mouths ‘congratulations.’ He gives her a smile of thanks.

Later that day, when you take him outside for your daily walk, Zhengting is able to see every smile and every blush that comes onto your face, and you’re able to see his eyes light up and crinkle whenever he laughs and grins.

It’s then, behind the infirmary in the shade of the large tree, that Zhengting gives you your first kiss together.

The kiss is sweet, bright, and full of love, the type of kiss that a young couple would share. By the end, you’re a blushing mess, and Zhengting isn’t much better. Giggles and whispered words follow you two back to the infirmary, where Zhengting opens the door for you and says, “Ladies first.”

You and him both know that now, since he’s healed, he’ll be going back to fight again soon. You’re required to inform his commanding officer that he’s healthy again.

But that doesn’t stop you from enjoying your last days together.

. . . . .

| Day thirty |

Nine days pass in bliss as you and Zhengting share stolen moments together, pressing hasty kisses to each other’s lips and cheeks and foreheads, leaving lingering touches on each other’s skin.

However, all good things must come to an end.

Zhengting’s commanding officer shows up on day thirty, ready to take Zhengting back to the fight. You look at the officer calmly, asking for just ten more minutes.

“Alone,” you clarify, staring daggers at the man.

Zhengting can’t hold back the small snicker in his throat when the officer immediately walks back into the infirmary, leaving the two of you alone.

“You’re an angel, but a scary one,” he laughs, grasping your hands in his. You laugh as well, rubbing small circles against his knuckles, your touch making him relax into your hold.

There is no need for words as you stare into each other’s eyes, letting vision communicate all the things left untold.

Finally, it seems that ten minutes are almost up, and you press your forehead against his, willing the tears to stop pricking your eyes.

“Don’t forget me, alright, Ting?” you whisper.

He smiles, dropping a light kiss on your nose. “Never,” he whispers back.

And he leans in, and you lean in, lips meeting in a soft, gentle, sweet kiss. Your eyes are closed, simply savoring the moment and the taste of his lips, and he leans into you, hands cupping your cheeks as you grasp his arms.

All too soon, it’s over, and the officer is back, as impatient as ever. You send him a withering look as you and Zhengting part, and Zhengting laughs.

“Now, Zhu Zhengting, don’t go killing yourself after all that work it took to bring you back to this state,” you say teasingly, poking his cheek.

“I won’t, Doctor Wang,” he replies in good humor, trying to disguise the fact that tears are brimming in his eyes.

A tear drops onto your cheek, and he brushes it away softly. “Hey,” he whispers, “don’t cry. We’ll see each other again.”

You nod, wiping away a tear of his own. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

A last kiss, a last tear, a last laugh and a last smile. Then Zhengting is off, walking away with the officer, waving to you until he disappears over the small hill.

You barely manage to hold yourself together for the rest of the day.

. . . . .

| Day three hundred and sixteen |

You glance through the pile of letters and photos you’ve amassed one more time, flicking through each and every one that Zhengting has sent you with a smile.

The war is almost over, or so you hear. You do hope it is, because then you can see Zhengting in person again.

You reread his latest letter, the one that promises you he’ll be on the last flight back, and that you must wait for him. You haven’t had time to pen a reply yet, but you keep that on your mind.

“Zhengting again?” Huiyi says, rolling her eyes. After losing her leg, she was no longer able to fight, so she chose to stay and help you all instead. You’ve struck up a nice friendship.

“Of course,” Dinghao replies, disgruntled. “She’s like a teenage girl all over again!”

“Shut up!” you scowl, causing laughs from a couple of patients. You stack up the letters again, placing them in the box you keep them all in.

The day passes rather quickly, and soon it’s already afternoon. You go outside to throw some stuff out, but as you walk back inside, you feel something’s off.

“Something’s wrong,” you tell Dinghao. “It’s too silent.”

Sure enough, there are no birds chirping, no squirrels climbing up the large tree in the back. Everything is quiet.

Dinghao narrows his eyes. “Get the patients on one side of the infirmary,” he says quietly. “You know the drill.”

You nod, quickly relaying the orders to Huiyi and Yujin, who quickly begin moving the patients furthest away from the door. You begin pushing empty beds against the door as a barricade, while Dinghao takes out the sharp objects that remind you a little too much of your time as a soldier.

A bullet suddenly punches through the windows. No one is hurt, but then gunfire sounds at the door, and the barricade threatens to fall.

You swallow, pulling out the gun you have stored just for emergencies. No one says anything as you position yourself to shoot at the door.

“Come out and surrender, and we might let you live!” a soldier yells. You look at Dinghao with wide eyes.

“It’s against the international treaty to attack hospitals and infirmaries!” Dinghao yells back.

“To damn with the international treaty!” The door flies open.

It all happens too fast. You let loose with the rifle, shooting down the first soldiers that come through. The smell of blood sickens you but you force yourself to stay alert, moving back when the bullets are spent to protect the patients.

Dinghao’s yelling, Yujin’s screaming, and Huiyi is throwing metal objects from the corner. You pick up the sharpest pair of scissors you can find in your hurry and hurl them at a soldier who’s too close for your liking. They stab him in the eye.

In the chaos, no one remembers that Huiyi’s lost a leg. She can’t move nearly as fast as the rest of you. So it’s with terror that you twist around to see her being aimed at by a soldier whose finger rests on the trigger of his gun.

You scream, leaping impossibly across the room to knock her out of the way. The bullet punches through your shoulder but you don’t feel the pain, too high on adrenaline to stop. A scalpel embeds itself into the soldier’s neck.

The fight begins to die as Dinghao and Yujin incapacitate more soldiers. Soon, only a few are left, and they’re beginning to look uncertain.

Then, you see him. In the corner, unnoticed by everyone else. A manic smile twists his face and he cocks his gun, aiming for two of your best friends.

The pain in your shoulder is getting sharper, and you’re exhausted and becoming unfocused, but adrenaline gives you that last kick you need to knock Dinghao and Yujin aside.

Gasping, you become aware of the sharp pain and the liquid pouring out of your chest.

I promised him.

I promised.

“NO!” someone screams.

Zhengting, I’m sorry.

I’m so sorry.

“No,” Dinghao says, face white with panic. “No, no, no! No!”

You hear an unearthly shriek that has to have come from Yujin, and a blur of her white uniform crosses your vision as she wrestles the soldier to the ground.

“No,” Dinghao sobs. “Not you, Yue, no!”

You struggle, spitting blood out of your mouth, and place a shaking hand on Dinghao’s cheek. “It’s okay,” you say haltingly, a sad smile crossing your face. “It’s okay, Dinghao.”

Huiyi’s face comes into your vision, streaked with tears, gasping with sobs. “Please, no,” she whispers, gazing in terror at the hole in your chest. “No.”

You do your best to smile at them, to reassure them that things will be fine, that they will be fine. “Don’t…” you cough, and Yujin wipes away the blood from your mouth. “Don’t mourn too much for me. I…” You cough again, your voice weaker. “I love you all.”

Dinghao’s face glistens with tears, and your hand trembles at the effort it takes to hold it to his cheek. “Just tell…” You cough. Dinghao leans closer to hear what you’re saying. “Tell Zhengting… he must live for me. Tell Zhengting I’m sorry.”

You brave a last smile for them, feeling the life drain from your body. “Tell him I’m sorry,” you whisper, your voice barely audible. “Tell him... I’m sorry.”

Your hand goes slack and falls at your side, and blackness consumes your vision. You speak no more.

Dinghao sniffles, feeling for your pulse. Nothing.

“She’s gone,” he says shakily, standing up unsteadily.

He dissolves in tears.

. . . . .

| Day three hundred and thirty two |

Zhengting steps off the plane, entering the packed room on trembling legs. This is where he will finally see her, after two long weeks of nothing. He feels his mouth curve up in a broad smile at the thought. He will finally see you.

His angel.

His legs carry him around the room, dodging crying women and men, eyes searching for your features. Minutes pass and he begins to worry, wondering why he still hasn’t found you yet. Then, his eyes alight on not you, but a familiar face.

“Dinghao!” he calls, pushing his way through the crowd. The boy starts, wide eyes looking through the crowd nervously. Their eyes meet, and Dinghao’s face crumples slightly, but Zhengting’s too excited to notice.

Zhengting finally manages to get to the boy, a breathless and hopeful grin on his lips. “Hey, Dinghao! Do you know where Yiyue is?” He must look so stupid, but he doesn’t care. Zhengting’s bouncing on his toes in anticipation and excitement.

Dinghao, for a moment, says nothing. Zhengting’s grin begins to falter. “Dinghao?”

“She’s…” Dinghao says thickly, his voice shaky. “She’s not here.”

Zhengting’s confused. “Then… is she at home already?” he presses.

Dinghao’s eyes fill with tears.

Suddenly, Zhengting understands.

“Yes,” Dinghao gulps, “she’s at home.”

A choked cry leaves Zhengting’s lips, and the two men collapse against each other, holding each other tight, so tight, so, so tight, to fill the emptiness that opened up when they lost you.

. . . . .

| Day three hundred and forty |

When Zhengting finishes, Justin doesn’t say anything, just places an arm over the elder’s shoulder. He glances at Zhengting’s face and is almost scared to see how broken he looks, a terrible contrast from the strong, cheerful leader he was four years ago.

Justin knows that he cannot relate to Zhengting. He simply hasn’t experienced, and may never experience, the feelings Zhengting just described.

“I’m sorry, Ting,” he says quietly.

Zhengting gives a weak laugh. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Justin,” he says quietly, finally lifting his head to look at the boy he considers his brother. “Thank you for listening to this old man rambling.” The weak smile on Zhengting’s face begins to fall.

“Old man rambling?” Justin snorts, pulling Zhengting closer. “I may never experience what you just told me about, Zhengting. That passion, that love.” Justin cringes a little but forges on. “Don’t tell me that was just you rambling, or I might actually have to punch you.”

A slightly stronger laugh leaves Zhengting’s lips, and he hugs Justin close. “Gosh, what would I do without you, Justin?” he asks teasingly as Justin struggles to get out of the strangling grip. “Ge, get off me!” he yelps.

Silence falls as the two men sit next to each other, each lost in their own thoughts, until Justin speaks up. “Have you visited her yet, Ting?” he asks quietly.

Zhengting bites his lip. “No,” he answers, “but her family invited me to the funeral.”

“Go, then,” Justin urges. “You have to.”

Zhengting sighs, then looks at the ceiling. “I guess so.”

. . . . .

| Day three hundred and forty seven |

Everyone has finally dispersed, and Zhengting finally kneels alone at your grave, holding a single blue tulip. He remembers the day you told him your favorite flower and smiles bitterly. He places it down in front of the headstone.

The last vestiges of daylight fall on your grave, making the marble shine in soft shades of white and pink and orange, just enough light for him to make out the words engraved on the stone. He traces them with his fingers, the words already burned in his memory.

Here lies an angel, who has simply gone home to rest.

A tear slips down his face, and he whispers your name, quietly, brokenly.

A memory comes to him, from the moments before he left for the front again. It’s like he hears your voice in his ears, your soft, teasing voice that brought him back to life.

“Now, Zhu Zhengting, don’t go killing yourself after all that work it took to bring you back to this state.”

A shaky grin finds its way to his lips as another tear falls, landing on the grass beneath him. “You know, Yue,” he says, gazing at the rising moon, “the reason I haven’t joined you yet is because I know you’d kill me yourself if I did.”

And the wind blows, ruffling his hair and brushing his cheek, just like you always did when he lay in that infirmary bed, and he hears a ghost of your laughter in his ear. He knows exactly how you’d rebuke him, reminding him that he has his friends and family, and that he must live for them.

He knows how you’d touch him, how you’d place your hand on his cheek with the gentleness of an angel, how you’d smile in mock exasperation and tell him to go away.

Another tear falls, and then another, and then he’s sobbing, head in his knees, gasps and sniffles muffled by his arms as he cries, really cries, for the first time since that breakdown when he realized you wouldn’t be there to welcome him home.

Dimly, he recalls a lyric from a song he once danced to.

Oh, I’m in pieces, it’s tearing me up, but I know

A heart that’s broke is a heart that’s been loved

“A heart that’s broke is a heart that’s been loved,” he whispers amidst the tears, gulping furiously to get rid of the lump in his throat.

A heart that’s broke is a heart that’s been loved.

That’s right. She loved me.

Another memory resurfaces, again just before he left for the front. He remembers your foreheads pressed against each other’s, faces so close that his lips almost touched yours. He remembers the sad but beautiful smile on your face as you said five words.

“Don’t forget me, alright, Ting?”

He remembers how you struggled to hold back tears, how you said nothing about it but held it all in.

You had so much strength.

He wipes his tears, gazing at your name carved on the white headstone, faintly gleaming in the fading light. “I won’t, Yue,” he whispers. “I’ll never forget.”

After all, how could he forget his angel?

He stays like this for a while, hugging his knees to his chest almost childishly as he talks to you, his words hanging in the air before the wind carries them off to wherever you are. He stays like this until the moon is in the sky, shining pale light on your grave and making the marble gleam.

“Yue,” he whispers after a long silence, gazing at the moon. A smile of irony twists his lips, for your name literally means the moon. “Are you watching me?”

At that, a wisp of wind blows his hair into his face, and he chuckles a little, wiping away a tear. He can almost hear your annoyed “Of course!” ringing in his ear, followed by, “If I didn’t watch you, God knows what kind of stupid trouble you’d get into.”

He feels the tears welling up in his eyes again, but he refuses to let them fall. “Yue,” he whispers, “I miss you.”

Another breeze blows, gentler than the first, as though you’re saying, “I miss you too.”

He smiles at the moon, a tragic, broken smile, and he stands up, brushing off his pants. He looks down at the forlorn blue tulip lying on the ground, then back at the moon.

“I’ll never forget you,” he answers, gazing at the white orb. “Wait for me, alright?” His smile falls, and he looks back down at the ground.

Zhengting walks to the cemetery gate slowly, taking his time with long steady steps. He looks around him, noticing a young girl walking to the gate from the other direction. They reach the gate at the same time, and he smiles a little at her.

She’s dressed all in white, like a small angel, he notes.

“Ladies first,” he says quietly, a slight teasing tone in his voice. She nods and smiles back, albeit sadly, and walks out, her small form a patch of brilliant white in the darkness.

Zhengting continues slowly, dragging his feet along the cracked sidewalk. Memories of you consume his thoughts, and another lyric from the same song comes to mind.

When I fell down you’d be there holding me up

Spread your wings as you go

When God takes you back

He’ll say hallelujah, you’re home.

Perhaps that little girl, dressed all in white, was a sign to him. That you will always be with him.

You, his angel.

A gust of wind blows around him, stirring his hair and caressing his face, and Zhengting closes his eyes, imagining your wings folding around him.

A final tear slips down his face. “Wait for me at home, my angel.”

And he walks away.

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alpxcamin · 7 years

Text

Goodbye

Requested?: Yup

Words: 1.1k

Group: Idol Producer

Member(s): Ruibin

A/N: Thanks for requesting! I hope this is okay and I know the show hasn’t ended yet, but let’s just say Ruibin does make it at the end...Also, I’ve been wanting to write some angst recently, but I feel like I’m not very good at it lol, but ye hope you enjoy! :’)

Part 2

Looking down, you fiddle with your dress, a nervous habit you have picked up. Being scolded is never a good feeling especially when it’s for being caught doing something you aren’t supposed to be doing. You bow and your CEO excuses himself, leaving you by yourself in the room. You weakly make your way to the door that had just been slammed closed. You grab the handle but slide down against the door, the tears prickling your eyes finally spilling out.

However, you know that it is your responsibility to deal with. Being a famous idol really isn’t easy. You knew all the conditions and restrictions your job would have on your personal life. In fact, your CEO had actually let a lot of the terms go just for you because you have proven yourself early on in your career.

The CEO had even let you date, but his only condition is to never let anyone know. You and Ruibin have been dating for a few years now. After years of careful planning and trying your best to hide your relationship, it had unfortunately failed. The two of you have relaxed a little, used to the routines. However, apparently, you haven’t been used to it enough. You had been a little more reckless this time and got caught by a fan. The news was all over the internet within a few minutes.

You let out a few whimpers as you place your head into your hands before beginning to sob. Hoping that you wouldn’t be heard, you curl into a small ball, attempting to muffle your cries. Suddenly, you hear a few knocks. You quickly wipe away your tears, sniffling a little and open the door. To your surprise, it is Ruibin.

“W-what are you doing here?” you ask with a shaky voice.

“Hey, I’m sorry about all of this,” Ruibin says in a quiet voice, shuffling to you and closing the door behind him.

“It’s not your fault, it was mine,” you sigh.

Ruibin takes you into his warm embrace, patting your head gently. You let your tears pour out again, no longer able to hold them back anymore. You wrap your arms around Ruibin’s tall frame, finding comfort in it.

“Hey look, it was both of our faults. We should’ve been a little more careful,” Ruibin kisses your forehead after he pulls away from the hug.

“I just...I’m so sorry,” you wipe more tears away.

Ruibin reaches for the box of tissues and holds it out to you. You take a couple of tissues and wipe your tears away, but more keep coming out. Giving up on drying your face, you take Ruibin’s hand into your own shaky one.

“No, it’s okay...you’re shaking…” Ruibin frowns.

“Ruibin,” you look at his hand and intertwine your fingers with his, “did the CEO tell you anything?”

“Oh, no...I know he just talked to you though. He passed by me, but just shook his head,” a bit of confusion is clear in his voice.

“Oh, um…” you refuse to make eye contact with Ruibin, unsure of where to start.

“What is it?” now you can hear a bit of fear and insecurity in Ruibin’s voice.

After a moment of silence, you finally speak up,” We need to break up.”

Ruibin doesn’t say anything and you finally look up at him. His eyes are beginning to water and his lips are sealed into a tight frown. His perfect brows are furrowed, his pupils shaking. His mouth forms a small ‘o’. He forces himself to smile, the tears finally coming out.

“Ah, I see. That’s understandable,” Ruibin chuckles, his voice wavering.

“Ruibin, I didn’t want to…” you shake your head vigorously, trying to keep your own tears in.

“It’s fine, I understand,” Ruibin is clearly crying now.

“No, I--” you reach up to wipe away his tears.

“It’s fine,” Ruibin says a little more firmly this time.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper.

“M-maybe we could find another way? Or, we could just take a break...o-or we can just pretend we’re not--” Ruibin frantically spits out ideas.

“We can’t,” you softly cut him off, “We still have your career to consider. You might be debuting soon, we can’t ruin your job too.”

“Why?” Ruibin begins, “Why can’t we just try something?”

“Ruibin, please,” you beg.

“No, y/n, why? Do you not like me anymore?” Ruibin sniffs.

“Ruibin, stop! You know that I still love you very much, I just...it’s for the best,” you sigh.

You bite your lips and look up at Ruibin again. You can see the fight in him had left completely. A part of you is yelling at yourself to stop, but you know it’s for the best. The expression he is making makes you want to just wrap your arms around him, to reassure him that everything is okay.

“Ruibin, say something,” you whisper.

“Fine, it’s fine. I’m sorry that this happened. I still love you, but if it’s for the best…” Ruibin shakes his head, turning away, “Goodbye, y/n.”

You look at your feet, trying to keep the tears in as Ruibin slams the door close after stomping out the room. Your vision begins to blur from the tears. You open the door, only to see Ruibin’s retreating form. The sight finally brings out the tears again.

“Goodbye, Ruibin.”

---

“Congratulations to Zheng Ruibin for making it into 9th place!” Yixing announces.

You watch Ruibin’s cheery face appear on screen, a small smile on your own face. It had been almost half a year since you had broken up with him. You chuckle as Ruibin tears up a little while making his speech.

“Finally, I just want to thank a certain someone for helping me through everything and getting me to where I am right now,” Ruibin looks into the camera and you feel as if he’s looking directly at you.

“Thank you. You did it for me and it really was for the best,” Ruibin smiles.

“No problem,” you whisper to no one in particular, knowing that he won’t hear you through the screen anyway.

A smile finds its way onto your face as you watch Ruibin find his way to his seat. He had made it and that is all you could’ve asked for.

~Admin Liz ♡

Tagging: @ilynong (idk if you still wanna be tagged?)

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loading99percent · 6 years

Text

Exclusive 3/3

Pairing: LYJ x OC (Melanie/Li Xiangjun) || CXK x OC (Serena/Jiang Yingyue) Genre: slice of life, college!au, fluff Word Count: 5,313 Summary: Lin Yanjun openly flirts with Melanie, yet she’s tired of his games and can’t take him seriously. Cai Xukun and Serena chill on a daily, but there’s gotta be more than that between them. Eventually enough, the boys just want the girls exclusively to themselves.

part one.part two.part three

Warning: matured content as in college related stuff. swear words. NOT MOBILE FRIENDLY! not sure why, but it has all the breaks and stuff while on a desktop. (teach me if mobile is different and it can be done!)

The last part of Exclusive. Honestly, altogether if it was posted in one post it would be about 14.6k words. Just saying. Thanks for reading if any of you did and hopefully my next work can be shorter, but who knows. When it comes to you, it just comes to you. Anyways, so yeah, this is the last part and happy reading! kthxbai, Admin Lia~

"Alright, fellas, the votes are accounted for and the results are now out!" Li Rang announced while he and Chen Siqi stood opposite of Yue Yue and Wang Yilong with the big television screen in-between them displaying their house insignia.

"Okay, to keep it in suspense," Siqi began with a wicked smile with the others groaning, "We're going to announce the top five that turned in their list first. Then we'll announce the next top five that completed the most off of the list."

Yue Yue spoke after him. "Next we'll announce the top five who took the most with a Nu Chi Phi member. Lastly, we'll announce the overall number one for this scavenger list who will be our picture center and banquet host."

"Now, let's begin!" Yilong cheered as he listed the top five for turning in the list first. "Fifth, Bu Fan. Fourth, Qin Zimo. Third, Dong Yanlei. Second, He DongDong. First, Cai Xukun. Congratulations."

The boys' names appeared on the TV in their ranking order while others let out cheers for their fellow brothers.

Yue Yue spoke again after it had calmed down. "Now for the five that completed the most off the list." His eyes gazed over them before reading off the names. "Fifth, Lu Dinghao. Fourth, Zhu Xingjie. Third, Han Mubo. Second, Qin Fen. First, Cai Xukun. Congrats!"

Again, the boys' names appeared on the TV in their ranking order under a different category.

"Moving on! Next it's for the most pictures taken with a Nu Chi Phi member. These five brothers are actually super lucky to get a picture with these lovely ladies. I'm jealous I didn't participate in this one as much." Li Rang chuckled before revealing the top five. "Anyways, fifth, Zheng Ruibin. Fourth, Jeffrey. Third, You Zhangjing. Second, Wang Ziyi. First, Cai Xukun. Congratulations, fellas!"

Once more, under a different category, the boys' names were listed alongside the other two ranking statuses. Although Xukun was confused as he remembered that he didn't take it with a Nu Chi Phi member and wondered if Serena had kept that information from him just like the coffee bit.

Yilong looked at the TV before looking at his fellow brothers with an amused expression. "Wow, Cai Xukun has appeared three times in first place. Will he be our number one for picture center and banquet host?!"

A chant for Xukun began and he grew a bit embarrassed and shy from it.

"Okay, okay, calm down. Calm down." Yue Yue held up a hand before turning it into a fist to quiet down his fellow brothers to which they obeyed and he smiled. "Good. Now, Siqi, please announce our number one for this scavenger hunt."

"Can I have a drum roll please?" He asked as everyone started patting the surface before them. "Number one is..." He paused for dramatic effect. "It's Cai Xukun with a whopping nine hundred and nine points!"

Everyone congratulated Xukun as he was shocked and surprised that he actually won the scavenger hunt. Now he was going to be the picture center as well as the banquet host. Yue Yue quieted them down once again before signaling to Li Rang to explained Xukun's points and placement.

"Alright, so, Xukun, there was sixty things listed on the scavenger list," Li Rang began as he gave a summary of how Xukun's got first place overall, "You completed fifty-five of them and they were worth five points each which gave you your two hundred and seventy-five points out of three hundred points." Li Rang paused before letting Yilong continuing with the rest.

Yilong chuckled softly at Li Rang suddenly passing it on to him before speaking. "Okay, so the points are doubled when you take a picture with a Nu Chi Phi member and that's how your points became five-fifty instead." He held a hand up to silence the boys from speaking so he can continue on without interruptions. "Anyways, then we awarded you a random three hundred and fifty-nine points because it's the exclusive Serena."

Siqi interjected before the others could start asking questions about it. "Dongyue, the president of N-C-P, gave us a list of her members to include in our scavenger hunt." He explained. "This was a secret bonus and Serena was one of them, especially in the top to being featured since Dongyue told us that Serena always keeps herself low-key and not many people know she's a Nu Chi Phi member."

"Therefore how we knew for sure it was Serena was through Dongyue's help as she helped us identify each Nu Chi Phi member that you guys took photos with." Yilong inputted. "Since Serena likes covering her face and it obscures our view to notice her, Dongyue helped us make her out and even she was surprised that Serena had taken so many with Xukun and was the one to reward Xukun the points in the end. Congrats!"

Everyone congratulated and cheered for Xukun once more before chanting to reveal second place and Yue Yue announced that it was Ziyi with five hundred and thirty-one points. He rose due to taking the most pictures, but it was also his secret bonus points that was awarded to him by Dongyue because he had the most pictures taken with Nu Chi Phi member, Melanie.

The four then announced that they all can view the slideshow displaying all the images that the members had taken. Yanjun looked over at Ziyi and wondered how close was he to Melanie since he didn't think they knew each other that well or maybe it was just pure coincidence. Bei Honglin then nudged his friend breaking Yanjun out of his dazed.

"What?" Yanjun faced Honglin who shot him a knowing look. "Better ask her soon or you'll regret it."

"I won't regret anything."

"Ziyi could be your potential love rival and I won't blame Melanie if they end up dating in the end." Li Ruotian inputted with a laugh.

"I'll beat him up."

Zhangjing rolled his eyes. "No you won't."

"I could." Yanjun stated with a smug look.

"Yeah, but you won't."

"Whatever."

"Seriously though, I won't blame Xiangjun if she rejects you, Yanjun." Jiang Jingzuo added with Zhixie agreeing. "Yeah, you're the one pulling stupid stuff around her."

"I don't pull stupid stuff around her."

Dinghao looked at him a bit annoyed. "Three times you've used her as your pretend girlfriend. Three times." He repeated as Yanjun rolled his eyes. "That's different."

"Y'know, Xiangjun did confessed something to me." Chaoze admitted as everyone turned to face him with Yanjun staring intensely at him. "What?"

Zhangjing intervened. "Don't you dare say anything or she'll kill us."

"I'll torture you guys instead if you don't tell me." Yanjun threatened.

"I fear XiangXiang more than I fear you at this point, Yanjun." Zhangjing admitted as Chaoze sighed giving in. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you."

"Lin Chaoze, don't you dare say anything." Zhangjing warned, but Yanjun shoved him out of the way and leaned closer to Chaoze. "Tell me now."

"Well..."

Serena's phone buzzed and she reached a hand out to find her phone to silence the call. She almost fell back asleep, but her phone buzzed once more and she silenced it once again without bothering to look at the caller ID again. Serena let out a sigh when her mobile went off a third time and she repeated the same action as before. She felt it vibrate and dinged a second later to notify her that she got a message and it repeated three more times and Serena knew she wasn't going back to sleep peacefully unless she put it on 'do not disturb' and set it only for alarms to go off.

Picking up her phone to do just that, Serena was surprised that it was Xukun contacting her so late at night. He usually just messaged her. He hardly ever called her unless he needed something. Or wanting to be an annoying brat to bother her, but it didn't happen often. Just as she was about to set her phone to 'do not disturb', Xukun's name popped up indicating that he was calling her for a fourth time. Serena let out a sigh, but answered.

"Hello?"

"Can we meet?" Xukun asked her out of the blue.

"Bruh, it's like two in the morning."

"Please, Yingyue."

Serena was about to declined when she heard his next words and reconsider his suggestion.

"I got your favorite boba."

"I'm listening."

Xukun chuckled before speaking again. "I also have your favorite snacks. So will you meet me?"

Serena thought about it before speaking a few seconds later. "Honestly, it's late, Xukun, and yesterday's events was super eventful for me. I just kinda wanna sleep before classes start later today."

There was a long pause and Serena believed he may have hung up on her or she may have dozed off for a bit, but he was still on call with her and she gave him a moment to speak again. Still, Xukun didn't speak and she wondered if he had dozed off instead.

"Xukun?"

"Hmm?" He hummed a few seconds later.

"Oh, you're still awake."

"Yeah, I'm still awake."

Silence fell between them again until Serena broke it.

"Do you still wanna meet right now, KunKun?"

"Yes, YingYing, I do, but I also don't want to trouble you if you don't want to. I know how important sleep is for you."

"True for sleep, but you've already called and messaged me, Xukun." Serena sat up and ran a hand through her hair slowly. "Plus, I kinda can't go back to sleep right now."

"I'm sorry, Yingyue."

Serena could hear the sincerity in his voice and a small smile graced her lips. "It's fine, KunKun. I'll get ready after you tell me where you wanna meet?"

"Do you remember the place where we met the first time?" Xukun asked not hesitating to tell her the meeting point.

Just as Serena was about to answer she was distracted by the vibration sound and light blinking from Melanie's phone across the room. She ignored it at first and replied back to Xukun that she did and before she could clarify the actual location when the vibration and flashing light occurred once again. Serena glared at her sleeping friend, but then heard something knocked lightly at the bedroom's window.

"I'll meet you soon, KunKun. Bye." Serena hung up quickly not giving Xukun a chance to say goodbye as she placed her mobile on the bed and got up to investigate what it was that was making the noise.

Serena pulled back the curtains and opened the window and peered down below to see Yanjun standing underneath.

"You're not Xiangjun." Yanjun stated as Serena rolled her eyes. "Obviously. What do you want?"

"Xiangjun, of course."

"Obviously, but why?"

"To talk."

"You couldn't do it like later?"

"No."

"The boys on this campus are so buggin'" Serena muttered before looking down at Yanjun again. "Were you the one that called her just now?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I just do. Give me a minute." Serena half-turned away, but faced Yanjun again. "No bullshit."

"No bullshit. I swear." Yanjun held up his hands in a surrendering mode. "I promise."

"Don't make promises, Yanjun. Xiangjun seriously hates those because they always get broken. Just speaking from past experiences. " Serena advised him as Yanjun nodded. "Okay, Yingyue, thanks. I'll try my best to not bullshit with anything concerning Xiangjun."

"Good. I'll be back."

"Well, it's not like I'll be leaving any time soon unless she doesn't want to speak with me." Yanjun muttered more to himself than towards Serena as he waited less than a minute before hearing Melanie called him by his English name. "What, Evan?"

Yanjun glanced up at Melanie with a dimpled smile. "Hey, Melanie."

She rolled her eyes before looking down at him again. "What do you want at two in the morning?"

"I just wanna talk."

"We are talking."

"I mean could we talk with less distance between us and me not looking up at you?"

"No. It's two in the morning and some of us are trying to sleep without disturbance."

"I mean I could wake them up by talking louder and letting them know that you got a fat ass crush on me." Yanjun smirked as Melanie became more alert and narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't have a fat ass crush on you."

"Bet."

"I ain't betting shit with you, Yanjun."

"C'mon, Xiangjun, just admit that you actually like me and we can get this all done and over with."

"No. Go back to Iota Phi Theta and leave me alone to sleep."

"But Chaoze said you liked me."

"Damn. I can't tell that boy nothing." Melanie muttered, but Yanjun heard her and smirked even more. "So it's true?"

"It's nothing, Evan. Talk to me when the sun's out."

"But you've out-shined the sun so it's already out, Melanie." Yanjun stated with a smug look as Melanie shook her head at his lame attempt, but still found it kinda endearing and a smile appeared upon her face which Yanjun noticed. "See, you don't completely hate me like you think you do."

Melanie rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "I never hated you, Yanjun, I just hated all the stupid shit that surrounded you."

"So that means you like me, right, Xiangjun?" Yanjun asked unsure as Melanie shrugged with an aloof expression with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Have a good night, Evan."

"No, Xiangjun, wait. Melanie, wait." Yanjun pleaded in a panic to grab Melanie's attention and basically blurted out his confession. "I like you."

"Um, is it right here?" Serena asked herself when she arrived outside the classroom that she had first met Xukun. "Or was it at the library?" She second guessed herself upon not exactly remembering which location it was. "Shit. I should've just asked him."

"You know, Yingyue, if we were together, I would have to set your alarms of all of our anniversaries and add in notes of our special places." Xukun said appearing from around the corner of the building holding a bag of snacks and two bubble tea drinks in hand.

Serena laughed with a shrug. "Luckily we aren't, huh? I'll be a lost cause if anyone was in a relationship with me." She admitted taking her boba from him along with the bag. "Thank you, KunKun."

"You're welcome, and you're not a lost cause, YingYing, just forgetful. Super forgetful and clumsy."

"True." The two began roaming the campus aimlessly. "Anyways, why do you wanna meet so randomly?" She then nudged him. "Oh, did you win the list thing and now you're center and host?"

"Yeah. It's all thanks to you."

"I helped a little. It was all you, Xukun."

"Actually, I only won because you were a Nu Chi Phi member that helped double my points along with gaining secret bonus points."

"Ah, so now you know I'm part of a sorority."

Xukun smiled, but was still left wondering what other things Serena kept hidden in general. "I know it's none of my business, but I feel like there's a lot of things I still don't know about you."

"But isn't that better though?" Serena remarked not looking at him. "The less you know, the less you are aware of things."

"Why do I have a feeling that there's another meaning to those words when its coming from you, Ying?" Xukun looked at her with a curious look just as she turned to face him with a small smile. "You're thinking too much, Kun."

"I don't think I am. I feel like you've been hiding yourself from me or at least trying to keep yourself distant for some reason."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, but I would like to get to know you better."

"Isn't what we have good enough?"

"But what if I want more?"

Serena stopped walking with Xukun doing the same and they faced one another while Serena shot Xukun a curious yet cautious glance. "Why?"

"Why what?" He asked confused.

"Why do you want more? Why do you wanna get to know me better? Why are you suddenly interested in my life? Why?"

"Would you believe me if I told you that I have feelings for you?" Xukun answered with his own question instead.

"Xukun, are you being serious, right now?"

"Yes, Yingyue, I am."

"August." Serena used his English name as a warning while Xukun did the same thing to mess with her. "Serena."

Serena narrowed her eyes at him with Xukun shooting her a playful one.

"Out of all the girls in this school and your life, Cai Xukun, why me?"

"Honestly, Jiang Yingyue, I don't know, but here we are and all I know is that I like you and I would like to take our relationship to the next step."

"You do know that if we don't work out our friendship is ruined, right?"

"Yingyue, meeting you was fate. Becoming your friend was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control."

"Gosh, you're such a dork. I can't believe you would use that on me. Have you been hanging out with Yanjun too much?" Serena playfully punched his shoulder when she heard those words fall out of his mouth with Xukun laughing sheepishly. "Okay, maybe I picked up a few things from him, but it's the truth. I really do mean them."

"Seriously though, love is a little too strong right now. We're just gonna go with like, okay?"

"So does that mean you also like me, too?"

"Well, I never actually thought about it beyond that or anything." Serena coyly responded as Xukun rolled his eyes knowingly. "Xiangjun was right. You really do like playing hard to get."

"I do not." She then narrowed her eyes at him. "You should not listen to Melanie. She likes messing with me."

"Oh, yeah?" He answered with a mischievous glint in his eyes as he neared her and brought his face closer to Serena's. "I started noticing all of your little signs yesterday that Xiangjun pointed out to me when she told me, but thought it was just your introverted self at work." He smiled wider. "But now I'm beginning to think otherwise."

Serena slightly pushed him away while taking a step back herself to put some distance between them. "Whatever, Xukun. Is this the only reason you asked me to meet you at two in the morning so you can clarify my feelings for you?"

"Partially." He answered with a chuckled before continuing. "But I was hoping you'll actually say yes in being my date for the banquet."

"What if your fangirls kill me when they find out about us or whatever. When they knew that you at first thought of me only as a friend, huh, KunKun? I'ma die at the hands of some stupid girls that only like you superficially."

Xukun started laughing and Serena punched him. "Seriously, it's not a laughing matter. I'm being serious about my future life here if we get together."

"I know, YingYing." He calmed down from laughing before reaching a hand out to pull her body against his. "And I'll be here to protect you."

"Couldn't you've just said that without pulling me against you?" She asked him becoming aware of their close proximity.

"No, then I wouldn't be able to do this easily."

"Do w-"

Xukun pressed his lips against Serena's silencing her in mid-sentence. When he pulled away breaking the kiss, Serena's first response was to slap his chest after regaining her senses back and he laughed.

"What was that for?"

"I can't believe Melanie basically told you everything concerning my love life." Serena stated while feeling all sorts of emotions building up inside her and she didn't know which one to express more.

"Well she did tell me that I would have to make the first move since you would continue to run away from it."

"Of course she would."

"Anyways, now that I got the exclusive Serena to myself, you think she'll open up to me more now?"

"I dunno. She has a mind of her own, but I'll ask and get back to you as soon as possible on what she says." Serena smiled after calming down the feelings inside her.

Xukun gave her a look and Serena giggled at his reaction while hooking their arms together and leading them to walk aimlessly once more in a random direction after taking a sip of her bubble tea drink. "C'mon. Let's just take it slow for now. It's too early to process all of this. We can deal with this when it's later in the afternoon or something."

"How about we just Netflix and chill?" Xukun offered as Serena side-eyed him. "You can Netflix and chill alone and I'll go back to mine's to sleep."

"Can't we just fall asleep together while watching a movie and eating popcorn in the process?"

"No. That would mean cuddles for you and waking up to extra body heat for me."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

"I guess you have to reconsider about this whole thing of being in a relationship with me then."

Xukun laughed. "Xiangjun warned me that you would try to convince me otherwise and to not fall for it."

"Ugh, Melanie's so annoying even though she's not here." Serena muttered before looking down to see that Xukun had laced their fingers together and looked over at him expectantly where he was already gazing at her tenderly. "Give me a chance, Yingyue, and I'll show you that it'll be worth it."

A smiled appeared on Serena's face as she slowly nodded. "Okay, Xukun, and I'll try my best to be more open with you as best as I can."

"It's a start." Xukun grinned happily as Serena smiled with a shake of her head. "Yeah, it is."

"Excuse me?" Melanie stared down at Yanjun suspiciously. "What did you say, Evan?"

"I like you, Xiangjun." Yanjun repeated while confidently looking up at her. "Now can we talk better?"

"Stay there. I'll be down." Melanie ordered him as Yanjun rolled his eyes. "Does she think I'm gonna run off or something?"

A mischievous smirk slowly appeared on his face as he ran off to hide from Melanie. When Melanie finally made her way out of the house and around it to talk with Yanjun, he was no longer standing where she last saw him.

"Och, where did he go? That brat."

Before Melanie could turn back around to go inside the house, she felt arms suddenly wrapped themselves around her with Yanjun's voice whispering playfully against her ear. "Aww, baby, did you miss me already?"

"Gosh you're so annoying." Melanie answered instead although she didn't fight to get out of his embrace which Yanjun interpreted as a good sign.

"That's what you always say, Melanie, but we've done this so many times."

"It's only because you're super clingy, Lin. Yan. Jun."

"Only for you."

Melanie internally cringed and let out a sigh. "Don't you ever get tired?"

"Only if I'm running around in that mind of yours every day."

"If you don't answer me with an actual straight answer, Yanjun, then I'm gonna slap you."

Yanjun chuckled as his grip tightened a little more around Melanie in a cozy back-hug while placing his chin onto her shoulder. "You've threatened me many times, Xiangjun, but I don't recall you having ever delivered any of them."

"Well, we can find out right now because I want to be the first one to report your death and all of your fangirls can mourn over you."

"That's harsh isn't it? Especially for you, considering you'll be crying the hardest over my passing and didn't even get a chance to confess your love for me when you had the chance to."

"My dude, you're so friggin' annoying." Melanie let out in an exasperated tone as she tried to shrug him off of her, but it was hardly useful as he had a firm grip upon her while laughing at her attempt. "Only the best for my favorite girl."

Upon hearing that Melanie stopped squirming and stood still suddenly alerting Yanjun of her change in behavior.

"Like can you stop?" Melanie said in a flat tone.

Yanjun removed his arms from around Melanie and turned her around to face him instead. "What do you mean?"

"This. All of this. Everything, Evan." She motioned with her hands between him and her. "Can you stop fucking with me and go annoy some other girl who is willing to deal with your bullshit twenty-four-seven because I'm honestly done with it."

Yanjun stared at her blankly as he tried to process her words which made Melanie continued on with her pent-up frustrations towards him.

"You're a cool person and all, Yanjun. Don't get me wrong, but you have nothing but drama surrounding you that I don't wanna fuck with." Melanie admitted. "From your constant flirting to your dumb ass hardcore fangirls and turning to me as a fake girlfriend when one of them gets it into their head that they can be more with you because of your actions when I shouldn't even be involved at all. That's not my problem to handle. It's yours."

Melanie ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "Honestly, it's hard for me to see you as a genuine friend or even something more beyond that when I constantly see only that side of you majority of the time and it just turns me off." She let out a long breath while looking at him with tiredness in her eyes. "I'm sorry to blow up in front of you, but I'm just so tired of your games and bullshit excuses, Yanjun."

Yanjun continued to stay speechless as he was still trying to process the sudden change in the atmosphere between him and Melanie from earlier prompting Melanie to end the night with a heavy heart as she didn't want to continue with this. "Anyways, have a good night, Evan. When or if ever you do get your shit together, maybe we can start over."

Just as Melanie had walked on passed Yanjun, his hand shot out to firmly grip her forearm preventing her from leaving and bringing her back around to face him again. Melanie was about to protest when she suddenly felt Yanjun's lips upon hers. Unconsciously, Melanie tried to pull away, but Yanjun placed a hand at the back of her neck instinctively to prevent her from doing so.

Yanjun deepened the kiss to convey his feelings to Melanie as her body relaxed against him and kissed him back a few seconds later. Yanjun broke the kiss a moment later allowing the both of them to catch their breaths. Melanie avoided all eye-contact as she shifted her gaze downwards to regain all of her senses as she was totally caught off guard by the sudden kiss. Yanjun placed his forefinger and thumb against her chin to lift her head so that they can lock eyes with his staring at her tenderly.

"I really like you, Xiangjun, and I'm sorry for putting you through those situations and other bullshit." He confessed. "I didn't mean for them to get out of hand, but one thing led to another and repeated and I just assumed it'll all fall into place on its own accord. I'm really sorry."

"Saying sorry, doesn't fix everything, Yanjun." Melanie told him as Yanjun smiled sadly. "I know, but I'm willing to make it up to you as best as I can."

"Did Serena tell you that I hate promises?"

"Yes."

"That girl."

"And I'm glad she did, because I'm done bullshitting you." He looked at her expectantly. "By chance is it too late to start over?"

"It's never too late to start over."

"Good. Because I need to stake my claim before it's too late."

Melanie shot him a weird look. "Too late for what?"

"To make you exclusively mine, Melanie." Yanjun smirked. "Wang Ziyi is not gonna take you away from me."

"Ziyi is just a friend."

"Then why did you let him take so many pictures with you when you wouldn't even let me ask you to do that for me yesterday?"

"Because you were a brat, Evan, and Ziyi isn't."

"Y'know, I got dirt on him."

"You got nothing on him, Yanjun. The only dirt you're gonna find on him is him planting flowers for the greater good."

"Yeah, you right." Yanjun admitted with a laugh as Melanie looked at him in concern. "What about your fangirls?"

"What about them?"

"You better control them and not come at me because you decided to like me and want to pursue a relationship."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to be the one that gets them off your back for good."

"You better or I'll end this relationship so fast and move on to Ziyi in a blink of an eye."

"Don't you even think of doing that, Xiangjun." Yanjun warned her as he encircled his arms around Melanie's body and pulled her against him with a cheeky smile a moment later. "How about an impromptu late night slash early morning date?"

"Nah, I'm good. I need to sleep, anyways." Melanie declined with a laugh as she wrapped her arms around his waist a moment later. "We can have a date after I'm done with my classes later today."

"But that means you won't be done until after four."

"Okay, stalker, chill. We got lots of time to hang out."

"One, I'm not a stalker. Two, I'm your boyfriend so it's validated that I would know your schedule."

"Okay, boy, slow your roll." Melanie chuckled with a shake of her head. "One, I never agreed to becoming your girlfriend, and two, we just admitted our feelings for one another not too long ago."

Yanjun laughed while also shaking his head. "I'm pretty sure we can skip to the point where we're exclusively a couple already." He grinned. "Besides, Melanie, we had three practices of becoming boyfriend and girlfriend in the past. It's validated that we're official now."

"That's according to you." Melanie rolled her eyes, but smiled anyways as she began to lead them to the front of Nu Chi Phi's front yard. "Whatever, Evan, you do you. Now go back to Iota Phi Theta and get some sleep. Then maybe we can have breakfast in several hours if I feel like it."

"Whether you feel like it or not, maybe I'll bring breakfast to you in bed." He nudged her.

"If you can get through the front door."

"Oh, I have no worries about not being able to get through the doors, Xiangjun."

"I'm sure you don't, but please no. I'll meet you at Little Tangerine instead."

"How about I meet you outside your sorority house and we can go to Little Tangerine together."

"Sure, Yanjun, that's fine with me. Good night." She bid him farewell with a small wave, but Yanjun softly tugged her back by the end of her shirt and she looked at him with a confused expression. "What?"

"My good night's kiss." He said with his dimples showing as Melanie caught the mischievous glint in his eyes.

Melanie quickly pecked Yanjun on the cheek and ran off laughing with a final wave before disappearing inside Nu Chi Phi a second later. Yanjun scoffed with a light chuckle and shaking his head simultaneously at Melanie's action just now.

"How cute." He muttered while looking at the house before turning on his heels and headed casually towards his own fraternity house. "I ain't mad." He told himself with a cheeky grin upon his face. "I'll get a proper kiss later today eventually."

#loading99percent #idol producer scenarios #nine percent scenarios #9% scenarios #9 percent scenarios #lin yanjun #cai xukun #idol producer #nine percent

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beihonglin · 6 years

Text

seeing lin yanjun irl!!

okay i want to preface this by saying that yanjun is Really Not My Type (my type is zhangjing / honglin / eunwoo i.e. soft smiley angels) so all this is coming from a non-yanjun stan!! please don’t kill me

so a little while back this guy i follow on wechat posted about yanjun’s flight schedule from shanghai to new york and @ynajun and i were like !!!!!! except he didn’t post any details so we had to scout around for information ourselves?? i.e. relying on info from friends & fansites’ previews of him leaving shanghai and counting 14h forwards and trying to find flight details on flight apps

this is gonna get long y’alls so under the cut it goes

180907

but fast forward and we’re at jfk terminal 1 at 2pm and ready to die!! we meet a bunch of c-fans who specially flew from china to new york just to follow him (it’s insane how much money they have!!!!!! one of them was just like ‘sure i’m gonna buy yanjun a dior gift just because’ even though ! she was an ikun/isee ! and not an evanism!!) and some who drove down to ny for the weekend and we form a group chat!

and so we wait one and a half hours for yanjun to come out of customs dammit yanjun and he !!!! appears!!!!

skinny legend himself!!!! and we can’t see him at all bc he’s all bundled up but it’s okay we know he a tol and skinny god!!!! also bc he's looking down at the ground and makes no acknowledgement of the people around him whatsoever

also there's a LOT of people and everyone follows him out of the waiting space into the pick-up area (it really wasn’t as crowded as it looks in the picture like there was space to walk and stuff but also i’m used to new york crowds so i can’t objectively say)

but boi gets in a car and drives away and conno and i have to leave for a meeting anyway so we go back!

and proceed to go to times square after the meeting bc we’re both dumbasses and thought he would go to times square... bUT GUESS WHAT AYEEE WE SAW HIM THERE!!!

jk lmao he didn’t go to times square that night so we sat there like two idiots for two hours in a slight drizzle for nothing ajajkahskjs

180908

okay so the night before we’re sitting on the group chat and one of the jiejies in the chat was like hey bitches so tmr he’s gonna be at world trade centre for the longchamp show at 3pm and at the soho store at 4pm yall wanna go? and ofc we’re all like ??? yeS????

so we meet for lunch and start camping out at world trade centre at 1.30pm waiting for him to come and he !! doesn’t show up until the last minute

also bc we were waiting for so long one of the jiejies was like, “damn if he doesn’t show up soon i’m jumping wall and opening a fansite for the security guards,,” which was ?? understandable bc look at one of them:

like ?? damn boi

and after a lot of false scares later (other celebrities show up and everyone rushes there only to find out it’s not yanjun etc) GOD HIMSELF FINALLY ARRIVES JESUS CHRIST ON A STICK

connie: “what did he do in his past life to deserve this face,,,, fucK you,,”

yall i got an ask asking if he really was unphotogenic and,,,, yanjun,,, mr leej,,,,, a whole god,,,,,,,,, listen you know how you try to take a photo of the sun but your camera fucks up and you’re left with one (1) shining dot in the middle of a black blur,,,, that’s what taking pictures of lin yanjun is like

also to clarify i don’t whitewash my pictures i only adjust for exposure, shadows, contrast and vibrance so uh mr golden statue in all his glory

also there was like a shit ton of people (more than the airport crowd) mostly bc there were also reporters and other non-yanjun fansites + random people from the memorial site across the road who came over to see what the commotion was so i’d estimate about 50 people:

but also ?? his name 冷彦俊 (cold yanjun) really isn’t for nothing he didn’t look at anyone at all and mostly stared into the distance and he didn’t smile or acknowledge anyone once the entire weekend and his rbf was ?? really hella strong so mmmmmmmmm idk

also ^ this is the best picture i took all weekend oof i’m really proud of it please don’t edit or crop logo thanks

so after he goes into the building we all sit around and cry for a good ten minutes before getting our shit together and planning our next course of action (read: i pull out lightroom and start editing photos until everyone else decides on our next course of action bc i’m terrible at making decisions)

and after a good half hour it’s decided that conno and i check out the spring street location while the rest of them wait for him to come out of the longchamp show!! and so we take the subway to soho & they send us a picture of his car plate so we can look out for him in case he gets there earlier than they do but as it turns out the new york subway is reliable for once and they arrive before his car gets there so !!

anyway the longchamp staff were like yall can wait inside!! and so a good two thirds of them went to wait inside to get good pics but conno and i were like nah we don’t trust that shit so we stood outside in the slight drizzle

a good choice!! bc his car pulled up near the side entrance instead of the main entrance and since conno and i knew the car plate number we were like o shit that’s him and ran into position!!

he went in through a side door like really really fast and i think we were two of the few people who actually saw him enter / got pictures of him entering the building?? we waited a good two hours for this one moment zzzzz also he changed clothes in the car asdjhdaskjdhsa

and so we wait another two hours outside in the rain for him to come out and this time everyone was smart and nobody waited in the longchamp store so everyone poured out to wait for him and it was really really crowded + there were other bystanders who were like ?? who y’all waiting for??? and decided to wait and take pictures too even though they had no idea who lin yanjun was so it was Packed (there were even people waiting across the road just to get a glimpse of whoever we were waiting for) and i didn’t get photos zzzz

180909

so the night before conno and i are trying to catch up on homework when someone in the wechat group sends a picture of yanjun on the street and we were like !!!!! o myg od

bc 1) he looks hella good asdlhkfja 2) i’ve lived in housing for two years and both those years were spent in different dorms in zip code 10003 so if there are pictures of any celebrity in any part of 10003??? both conno and i are highly likely to be able to tell where they are

and so we immediately recognise the background of the picture as somewhere near one of my old dorms (i’m not gonna say where his hotel is ajsdhfkjd he’s still in new york at the time i’m posting this) and like ??? damn yalls longchamp really spending that dough on yanjun

i know i put the header of this section as 180909 but it’s a lie asdjhkjs i check the weather forecast and it says it’s going to rain all sunday and i’m just like :~) jk i’m not going out in new york rain even for mr lyj so uh that’s the end of my account asjkhkdsajd

(SPEAKING OF THE WEATHER!! it’s been raining every day since lin yanjun landed in new york and the temperature has been dipping lower every day kajsdlha and it’s apparently going to get warm tomorrow right when he leaves so uhhhhhh i’m not saying he’s causing the black clouds but that’s,,, also exactly what i’m saying)

(also bi wenjun just landed today and apparently the weather’s getting warmer from here until he leaves so coincidence that the weather’s getting nicer the moment weatherman boy wenjun arrives??? i think not)

anyway things i’ve learnt from this weekend:

fansites really work very hard to take photos - they spend so much money flying back and forth to get airport pictures + they spend so much !! energy !! running up and down and playing waiting games just to get a few good shots, please respect their photos and !! stop!!!!! editing !! without their permission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

most of them also buy their photos - there were some fantakens uploaded to fansites that clearly weren’t taken by them (photos from inside the longchamp show when clearly nobody but the media was allowed in) so we knew that those fansites bought their photos from journalists + there were also more fansites releasing photos than people at the venue so some of them were 代拍s selling photos to fansites (not that there’s anything wrong with this, it’s just ?? interesting to have found this out i was wondering how some of them got their photos)

some fansites also have like 0 sense of privacy - at the longchamp spring street store they had cars prepared and running just waiting for him to leave so they could jump into the cars and follow him wherever (we’re still trying to work out who they are so we can stop supporting them on forjingyan ;;;;)

yanjun,,,, truly is one of the coldest idols asjdkldasjk our wechat group was talking about it and one of the jiejies in there (we were two of the youngest,,,, a first!!) has been following him around for the thx with love tours and she says she’s only seen him talk to fans one (1) time the whole time she’s followed him!! compared to another jiejie who usually follows 1k around and she says ziyi’s usually very gentle & always speaks to fans ;;;;; + how there are always pictures of zhangjing smiling or at least waving at the airport

(more of a self-reflection point) but i realise the type of idol i tend to bias is very much the kind to smile easily / the more warm ones that interact with fans (like honglin and ruibin) or at least acknowledge the fans that have been waiting for a period of time to meet them like ziyi and zhangjing!! (not that there’s anything wrong with being cold in case yall disgruntled diehard yanjun stans come at me lol) so really yanjun is really truly not my type akjsdfhlaksjd

but that’s it!! thank u for reading kjfkjasdhf

#lin yanjun #林彥俊 #yanjun #林彦俊 #nine percent #this is a long read yall #vivi yells into the void

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