#formatted a little more fanfic-esque than your average AITA post but call that artistic licence i guess

[bitterflames]

Hello Langya friend - Your answer to question 4 was correct - Xiao Jingyan is the best! Full credit. For question 5 I noticed you are a Jingsu shipper, so, would Xiao Jingyan feel some angst about kissing MCS before the reveal?

omg, i love this question, thank you anon! i, uh, have A Lot Of Feelings about jingyan and his lin shu-related grief and how all of that colours his relationship with mcs and... for reasons i ended up writing out my response as an r/AmITheAsshole parody. as you do.

Posted by u/WaterBuffalo 3 minutes ago

AITA for still being hung up on my first love?

I (31M) lost my best friend/cousin/first love (it's complicated) to a tragic incident twelve years ago, and was convinced I would never feel the same way for anyone else. I'm basically married to my work anyway, so it's never really been an issue.

Until I met this guy (30?M) - I guess you could say he's a work friend? We see each other regularly; we practically live in each other's back pockets, and I don't think I'm being delusional when I say there's a spark there.

Except… I don't know why, but whenever I'm around him, my thoughts keep going astray. They don't look alike, they're opposites in every way - one was outdoorsy and full of energy, a little fireball even in the dead of winter; the other is a fragile scholarly type who's always cold. But all these little mannerisms he has, the way he clenches his hands in the hem of his sleeves, they remind me of my first love so much I think I'm going crazy.

And last night, one thing led to another, and I kissed him in the secret tunnel between our houses (don't ask). It was just a brief kiss, but I could tell he was into it - the way that he shivered and clung to me with those long, elegant hands, even called me by name (which he never does).

And then he left in a hurry. Since last night he hasn't returned a single one of my messages, and I'm alone with my thoughts, and worst of all I can't stop thinking - they even kiss the same way.

I know it's not fair on either of them. Not to the memory of my first love, or to my new friend. Maybe it's just wishful thinking; maybe I'm just seeing the ghost of a dead man in places where he doesn't belong, because I miss him so badly. I don't know.

AITA?