#yibo looks sharp

[anotherdescentintomadness]

My first Wei RuoLai fanart 💔

[accio-victuuri]

zhang tian yang talks about working with yibo in the drama war of faith:

The scene opposite Wang Yibo in the drama will really "incite hatred" for you. Are there any behind-the-scenes stories you can share?

ZTY: I have never cooperated with him. I have thought about what kind of person Yibo is but when I arrived at the scene, I found several of his behaviors that impressed me deeply. The first one was that he was hung on that shelf and his wrists were tied. The copper handcuffs are very hard, and the edges of the handcuffs are actually quite sharp. If they are handcuffed on the wrist for a long time, it will sting. He did not leave in order to give me a scene, a dialogue, and a look. There I said it's okay, Yibo, but you can put your hands down, and that's okay with me, but Yibo said it's like this. After the handcuffs are taken off, it will be numb, and it will be more troublesome to put them back on, which will delay time. Today's scenes are all in this position. He wants to save time for everyone He didn't take off the handcuffs and kept hanging there with me through all the scenes. I really admire him. And he did all the action scenes himself. Besides, he has dancing skills and he performed all the scenes. It's really beautiful

[phenomenalgirl9]

Idol/Actor!Wang Yibo x Idol/Actor!Reader: Drama

A/n: I am crazy about this guy okay. And idc There just arent enough fics about him so I'll fix that😭 (Y/n is a member of a group called Enigma, with Leader Aera, Nix, Flora and Soojin. They're under ✨KQ✨)

Summary: Yibo, the legendary actor from the Chinese drama The Untamed had finally been cast in a Korean Drama. What happens when he meets this recently debuted Idol, and finds them interesting. Will he act on his interest?

----------------------------------------------------

Even before your trainee and pre-debut days you've wanted to become an idol plus actor so when your manager brought you an acting gig you jumped into action. Since then it's been a progressive journey, with your group's performances and comebacks you barely managed, but it made you happy.

"Y/n! Come on, leave the script alone, please just practice one last time before you leave. You can rehearse it more on the way anyway!" You leader Aera called out. You huffed and kept it inside your bag.

"I really need to get this gig okay!" You said and jumped into position for the practice of the b-side track of your next comeback.

Sweaty and out of breath you collapsed on the ground. "Y/nie?" Nix you other group members asked.

"Yes?" You asked to support the upper-half of your body on your elbows.

"Why are you so desperate for this one?" She asked

"I bet one of her favourite actors is in it? Who is it?" Flora asked. You shook your head and said "I really want it okay, One, it's a good role and two it has good screen time".

Well, lets say the auditions wasn't really difficult.

----------------------------------------------------

"Y/N UNNIE!!!! Y/N UNNIE?!" Soojin came running to you, "The Turn Tables! That's your drama right?!! You made the lead supporting?! There's Wang Yibo!" She huffed and spoke, excited and out of breath.

"What?! How did you know?!" You asked.

"Uh, Soompi" she said "Why didn't you tell us!" She groaned. "I wanted to surprise you guys!" You said

"Wait what?" Flora, who was chilling on her side of the bed asked "Aren't you excited?"

"Excited! I feel like I'd throw up not gonna lie" you said.

"Why? Why would you throw up?" A familiar voice said from the door behind Soojin.

"No what are you two menaces doing here?" Flora asked

"Hey I was invited" Yunho protested

"How did you even imagine to do this without me?" Wooyoung said wiggling his eye brows.

The two took a seat on your bed as Soojin walked out and Flora put on some headphones and said "Don't mind me, I'm gonna nap".

You had called Yunho as he's done romantic roles before and this was your first time. So, Wooyoung helped you run the lines as Yunho guided you better.

"Make your eyes a bit big as you say that" he told you and you nodded your head.

All of you were actually trainees together, specially you Wooyoung, Yeosang and Flora were together even before joining KQ at Bighits. From there, being KQ trainees and then KQ Chicás, you all have come a long way.

(a/n: I made up KQ fellas to KQ Chicás)

And here you were standing infront the elevator in the TV station trying to calm your nerves, when your manager said "Y/n, Look sharp"

You looked up to find Wang Yibo and whom you assume to be his manager walking straight towards you. Your primary trance broke as they stood infront of you both and the two managers greeted eachother.

"Hello sunbaenim, I'm Y/n from Enigma" you bowed and said.

"Hello, I'm Wang Yibo" he bowed back and smiled.

"You're doing the role a Yerin? Right?" The manager asked you. You nodded.

"You have many scenes together, get along well okay" he told you both as Yibo passed a small smile.

"Um, I don't know much people around, how's the Director?" He asked

"Ah, she's very nice and chill, as long as you remember your lines" you said and smiled.

"That's good to know. Lets work well" he said bringing up a fist and said "HWAITING!"

To say you were flustered was an understatement, being in front of Yibo itself short circuited your brain plus the conversation, damn. His smile was so much cuter in reality. You felt your heart melting and that wasn't good for you.

This was the start of a budding friendship between you and Yibo, and you looked forward to the schedules. Because it was a crime and action series it took more time to shoot, as you had fights and chases but you liked them.

The day of your 1st fight scene a few of your members and friends came to cheer you. Hence you found a worried Nix and Aera and a very excited Yeosang and Wooyoung.

"Beat some!" Wooyoung cheered as Aera glared at him. After your scene, Nix, Yeosang and Aera went as they had schedules, but Wooyoung decided to stay back as it was an indoor shoot anyway. Yibo and you had a joint fighting scene which led to you both saving the main female protagonist who was taken by the villains you were "fighting".

"Ackh" you fell to the ground as the charecter fake pushed you and you were thrown on Yibo. And the director shouted "cut". But that moment that Yibo held you and your eyes connected, your heart almost jumped out of your chest.

"I saw that" Wooyoung teased

"What?" You asked as your makeup artist ran up to you to touch up and the fx make up artist came to touch up your fake cuts and bruises.

"You know" he said wiggling his eyebrows "Introduce me? Please"

"No!" You said blushing and looking away

"I swear if you don't, I'll post that picture of yours that I took yesterday while you were eating!" He said laughing

"That's blackmail you bitch" you snickered and motioned him to follow you.

"Sunbaenim" you went up to him.

Wooyoung could see from afar how his eyes almost lit up at your sight.

"Yes, Y/n ssi?" He answered

"My friend here wanted to meet you" You said shyly.

"Hello, I'm Wooyoung from Ateez. It's nice to meet you" Woo said bowing.

"Hello, I'm Wang Yibo." He said and they shook hands.

"Huge fan, of your music and acting" he said

"Ah, trust me I also love your music, KQ really has very good artists and music" he complimented and You knew it was meant for you as well and you smiled.

And even though Wooyoung was a catalyst, after that moment you and Yibo spoke more often and in between shoots y'all were generally found chatting. You even introduced your other members to him. The whole cast along with the main female lead Solbin were all sweet to you and you all were like friends. Wooyoung often visited the site and he had quite the friendship with Yibo considering they both were filled with Gremlin energy. The three of you have also been to grab coffees and had lunches together, with Solbin tagging along too at times.

Yibo genuinely enjoyed your company, and your personality made you easier to talk to. You? You loved talking and joking around with him. Currently you were laughing at how he brought out the handkerchief from his coat pocket and was "cleaning" his fake gun. Just what goes on inside his head?

----------------------------------------------------

You were sleeping as you still had time for the next shot, the comeback and shooting was getting to you. But you had to do it, you felt something warm being draped over you. You open your eyes lightly to see Yibo, draping his coat over your sleeping form. His heart dropped seeing you so tired but he knew this is your dream and you've gotta keep going on. He wished he could be beside you for all those times to come. He loved talking to you, he loved the way your eyes lit up when you talk about your passions and your friends.

You were woken up later for your scene, you found Yibo's jacket drapped over you which brought a smile on your face. It smelt like him, his manly smell and cologne. You were informed of the next scene and you winced, it was the scene where your charecter Yerin sees Yibo and the female protagonist kiss and finally decides to move on. You had go watch him kiss. Well even though its acting even the thought pulls your heart strings, after all your celebrity crush is now your actual crush, and who would like to watch there crush kiss someone else.

"Action" the director yelled and the scene rolled, you walked down the corridor and were about to call Suho (Yibo's charecter) but stopped to find them kissing, you knew all this wasn't real, you knew this was acting but you couldn't stop the tears stinging your eyes threatening to fall. The director gave counts "three, two, one" and you kept stepping back with every count and "run" you ran away from there.

"And Cut!" The director shouted. "Very good Y/n!" He said as you lightly wiped your tears.

"You're okay?" you heard Yibo's voice

You nodded your head.

"Ah our poor Y/nie must be so tired" Solbin said "You did good"

"Thank you" you said bowing not being able to meet anybody's eye. But you could not ponder on that thought for long.

Soon the stylist walked up to you with a huge spray bottle and you went "Wow! Whats that for?" You asked.

"this is your last scene for today, the rain scene remember?" She said and you nodded. Yes, today was the day you'd meet the actor who would be Yerim's love interest. You couldn't remember who it was, well guess you'll meet him in the shoot it self.

Once the artificial rain was on, the director started rolling "POSITIONS, ACTION!"

You ran out and walked off looking downwatds as the script said suddenly you collided with someone, "Oh sorry" he said as you looked up to find Cha EunWoo. You kept following the script, and kept looking into his eyes and he looked at yours, the counts were given before the scene proceeded, with his charector Woosik, seemingly helped you get a cab. As soon as the camera got cut you went to greet Eunwoo. "Oppa! Hi" you called.

"Hi Y/nie! You were good" he said

"You aced it too" you said.

You stood there for some time talking to him, about your current activities. Unknown to you both Yibo's eyes were glued at the two of you, watching closely at the way the two of you were talking to each other. He rushed after you as soon as he watch the two of you bid farewell.

The shoot was over for the day, you were about to leave when, you heard "Y/n! Y/n! You have promotions right?"

"Yess Op- gege" you told him. You've always called him after je asked you not to call him 'sunbae'

"Can i come with you?" He asked

"Umm... Ok. It's in this building anyway" you said.

"Yes. And Y/n call me Oppa instead" he said with a smirk. You were left with a flustered face.

----------------------------------------------------

"What's he doing with you?!" Aera asked

"He is not WITH me! He's just here" you debated as the others shook their heads. The crew of the show took over and provided him with a seat, he was with a mask and cap so it wasn't much of a hassle in any way when he entered with your managers and took a seat behind the cameras.

Soon the show started and Yibo's eyes went wide to see the MC. Damn he's everywhere, Yibo thought. To say he was amazed to watch you dance, sing and rap was an understatement. He really loved the hip-hop style your team used instead of general bubble-pop. He actually followed your songs and progresses since before debut but seeing you up close, his bias was something else. And now that he knows you in person he's almost proud of you. However, the way he tightened his fist every time you and Eunwoo interacted, be it during the interview or side glaces and smiles was visible to anyone who was looking and in this case someone was looking. It was true seeing you even look at Eunwoo pulled at his heartstrings, he hated the way Eunwoo looked at you.

"Oppa, Yibo Oppa" You called out as you found him leaving. Yibo stopped in his tracks at the name you called him, his heartbeating fast.

"Can you do a tiktok with me? Our dance challenge?" You asked when turned to look at you. He nodded. The two of you came to the place where most idols shoot their tiktoks. Only for Yibo to find Eunwoo wait there, probably for you. At least you're not doing it alone with Eunwoo. You showed them the steps of your song as your Manager stood there to record it when asked. You showed them the steps as the two followed and after practicing it twice, you shot it. Thanking the two, all three of you went to you're own ways.

The next day you met a chirpy Yibo who told you "I liked dancing with you, can we do it again like hangout and dance and we could grab a coffee. If you're free sometime" he said

"You will have to teach me your Swalla routine then" you said.

"Deal" he said with his signature smirk.

So, you were waiting at the KQ dance studio, you were wearing some loose cargo with a loose top and a cap. Messing with your phone and decided to post a selfie for your fans, putting a cute caption you did that and as if on queue Yibo entered.

"Hey!" He said and sat beside you on the floor.

"Nobody stopped you right?" You asked

"Nope, but your manager said, I'm welcome here" he said and ruffled your hair.

"Ah Hanguang Jun!" You whine

"Oh god! No!" He laughed

"Oh yes!" You said and stood up, followed by Yibo.

He taught you step by step and you caught on to them fast because you're a fast learner and you've watched the video a million times.

"You're good Lady L/n" he said with a smirk and your heart skipped a beat. After an hour of messing around you filmed the end result dance with Yibo.

That was when an idea struck you and you said "Do you remember the choreo to Falling in love?"

"Yeah somewhat" Yibo nodded

"Let's do it" you said propping him up.

You both took a video reference from youtube to recall the steps and practiced the choreo a good few times. When done the two of you popped on the floor, laughing and exhausted.

Watching you dance made him feel some type of way, you looked so adorable in the baggy dress and so beautiful without make up. He felt himself falling for you more and more. He doesn't know what to do? He has not felt this in a long time, this pull and longing, he can't not act on it.

"I love doing this with you" he side glanced at you and said.

"Me too, it's good to dance with someone else other than my members and Ateez. I'm glad it's you" you said and smiled.

That was when Yibo said he had a video choreo he wanted to try.

"Would you be comfortable?" He asked.

"Yeah I am" you said with flushed cheeks. Who wouldn't want to be close to their crush when the said crush wants it himself.

And you obliged, it was your first time with that kind of dance, but the thrill was killing.

You tried to copy, step by step, memorising them and synchronising your moves. You could swear your heart almost leaped out of his chest each time he drew near.

It was the same with Yibo, looking into your eyes for permission, he held you. Somehow, you, right there in his arms felt so good to him, it felt so right. You lost count of how many times you both got lost into each other's eyes and missed beats. But ultimately, you made it.

After filming that and sharing contacts you both decided to get coffee as you were met by a smirking Yeosang and Yunho on the way.

Soojin knew you had an awesome day the moment she found you at the door smiling ear to ear. You told her everything, starting from how you openly fangirled on his acting as Lan Zhan and his pair with Xiao Zhan which made him blush so red. To how you had a moment when dancing so close. How, even having his hands on your waist was so comfortable for you. What she noticed was how you were falling more and more for Wang Yibo.

----------------------------------------------------

"Really? 7 times?" Yibo asked in shock

"Yea. I just love the whole series. You're chemistry and acting was so on point" you said

"Hey hey!" You heard Wooyoung's voice in a sing song.

"Don't you have schedules?" You asked

"Nope, I'm free today, so I came to cheer you" he said making fists.

"I told nobody to come. It's embarrassing!" You whinned

"It's ok Y/n-ah. You'll do great" Yibo said.

"Were you talking about your unhealthy obsession with Untamed?" Wooyoung asked.

"Shut it" you said. Soon Solbin came to join y'all as you were called for a scene. It's the scene you've been dreading, the scene in Woosik's office, the kiss scene.

"Wah not just Eunwoo sunbae even Y/n is so good in acting" Solbin said and got up to get inside when Wooyoung spoke up.

"Acting isn't as difficult for Eunwoo hyung, that's the natural way he looks at Y/n" Wooyoung said, only to find Yibo with gritted teeth.

On the other hand, Eunwoo stood up and pinned Y/n against his desk and they got close, closer too close. And right then Eunwoo closes the gap.

"Y/n, stay stiff" the director kept saying "Soft, soft and hold" and you held Eunwoo's collar pulling him in closer. Tears formed into Yibo's eyes, he knew this was acting but hell, did it hurt. Wooyoung notices his gritted teeth and tightened fist, just as last day.

"Hyung you should tell her" Wooyoung finally said. And Yibo just looked at him confused, but Wooyoung's expression clearly said Yibo's secret crush on you, wasn't a secret at all to him.

"Are you crazy?!" Yibo said,

"So you want someone else to take her away? When you clearly like each other?!" Wooyoung said

"But her career? Media?! Com-" Yibo was rambling at this point

"Hyung we don't have a dating ban. And the rest can slowly be managed" Wooyoung said "I saw how you get upset whenever she's near Eunwoo hyung. But trust me, it's only on his side, Y/n had eyes for you even before she met you, but now, all the way more"

Yibo went silent, he did like you. After a long time he found someone who genuinely made him laugh and he found himself getting drawn to you like a moth to light. He felt this attraction since the very first day the two of you spoke. He needs to try, what if Wooyoung is right? He can't let you go.

He was in the middle of his thoughts, when he heard cheers and your voice thanking everyone. Followed by Wooyoung cat calling and the two of you bickering, which brought a smile to his face.

"Y/n, we need to talk after shoot" he said

You were shocked but nodded.

However, he had to rush to someplace after the shoot and he couldn't tell you. So you two decided to meet in the studio the following free day you had (yes he made his manager change and shift schedules accordingly).

This time you found Yibo waiting for you in your dance studio as soon as you entered he played the song you both practiced last day and he took position. So you did the same without a word and when he pulled you close by the end he said "I like you".

"What" you went into shock.

"I really do, I think I might have even fallen for you in these past months. Watching you near Eunwoo kills me. I love talking to you and knowing your point of view and opinion and stuff. I love how passionate you are and I would love to stand by you as you move forward" he said. You felt tears in the corner of your eyes and you acted on impulse and pulled Yibo by his neck and placed your lips on his. He immediately held your hips tighter and pulled you closer. You parted, in the need of air, as Yibo connected your foreheads and said. "I take that as a yes"

As he pulls you in for more, this time in a deeper kiss as he pull you closer holding you tight against his body. You're his.

"What did you mean by bringing up Eunwoo oppa? You were jealous?" You asked playfully.

"Wouldn't you be?" He asked.

"Oh I was. When you were kissing Solbin, my expressions were real" you said pouting.

"Aww" he cooed kissing your cheek. Gosh, he loved doing that.

Things were easy from then on, but you had each other, your members and Ateez cheered so loud when you told them. It was your plan to gather them saying you wanted to show them something. Yibo and you, performed your routine and ended it with a kiss and Never has anyone heard Wooyoung cheer louder.

The company didn't have a problem if things weren't public. When the drama aired you had fun promoting it with your boyfriend, with solbo, YiY/n, EunY/n even Y/nbin (you and Solbin lol) trending. But it was fun and you both knew that this was the end game.

----------------------------------------------------

Other Works

Other Untamed fics

[rainbowsky]

Meet strangers, stick to it, Mr. Ye Wang Yibo. Looking down and thinking, there is endless world in his heart. On the first day of the first lunar month, the sword shows its sharpness! 1 day until the release of "Hidden Blade"!

[nutteu]

to the end of nowhere

-

[AO3]

Yibo kept following Xiao Zhan around. Xiao Zhan decided to capitalize on it. [Yibo/Xiao Zhan; college au; published 2021-08-07; word count: 7,187]

-

It wasn’t like it was intentional. It really wasn’t. Yibo just heard about this apparently popular upperclassman who absolutely refused to date anyone, or even to have a nice, meaningless date to appease his barrage of fans. He had been told how pretty, how talented, how cold, cold, cold his beautiful eyes were. What sort of arrogant asshole this man was?

He wasn’t—an asshole that was. He just didn’t care much about the swarm of people around him. He was extremely good at evading the touches and hands trying to pull him closer to them. Yibo got it, he did. It was tiring to hold up conversations and niceties all the time. To lose the sense of privacy and be held at a certain pedestal with feet barely touching the ground. It was hard to keep your sense of self intact, when people had a certain imagery of what you should be.

Yibo was intrigued only because Xiao Zhan had mastered this fluidity between politeness and rows and rows of barricaded walls that essentially told people to fuck off to Jupiter. It was highly effective, and worked well against people’s guilt. It also capitalized on his beauty privilege—who wouldn’t feel guilty that they were causing distress to this beautiful, delicate young man? Precisely.

So he just kept an eye whenever they happened to be in the cafeteria at the same time, in the coffee shop near the campus, in the library, passing the halls, coincidentally being in the same lecture hall for certain advanced classes that Yibo took, or just in the yard enjoying their free time. He didn’t actively keep track of where Xiao Zhan was, or what he was doing. He was content to just observe him from afar.

Things went on with the same pace for months, until it didn’t. Again, he would like to reiterate that it wasn’t intentional. It really wasn’t.

It wasn’t intentional that Xiao Zhan forgot his wallet at his apartment one day when he was about to pay for his coffees, he didn’t bring his phone either because why would he? It was supposed to be a quick in-and-out order, and his apartment was only across the street. But oh it was such a hassle. So, Yibo, who just happened to stand behind him, said to the cashier that he’d pay for it.

Xiao Zhan glanced down at him. He was taller than Yibo, he knew that. But this time it was a completely different sensation, to stand next to him, looking up at sharp eyes framed by lush lashes. Xiao Zhan wasn’t that much bigger from Yibo’s muscled bulk, one that was born from this competitiveness with his frat brothers that ended up being a habit; he was slender, with broad shoulders and pretty fingers. But there was something about him that made Yibo have this morbid thought of being cut in half if he wasn’t careful. He felt so cold—his eyes, the aura radiating off of him, the thin press of his pretty lips, the way his face was stone-cold in his regard.

“You don’t need to,” he said, voice still so frustratingly polite though he had moved to better face Yibo, body language deceptively lax. “My apartment is close by.”

“I know,” Yibo blurted out, then cursed himself inwardly at how creepy it sounded. “I-I heard you talking to the cashier,” he grunted the curse out loud when Xiao Zhan’s eyebrow rose higher. “I mean—“ he sighed, “I just think it’s a hassle. You can pay me back later if you’re really worried about it.”

“I’m not inviting you to my apartment,” Xiao Zhan said, calmly, with a raised eyebrow still in place.

“No, no,” he hurried to say. “I don’t mean that. I mean at campus, we both have the same classes on Wednesday and Friday.”

This time, both of the eyebrows were climbing the hairline. Yibo groaned and looked at the cashier helplessly, as if she could help him out of this predicament. To her credit, she just took Yibo’s offered card and swiped it on the machine. She gave the card back along with the receipts.

“I don’t want to know how you know that,” Xiao Zhan said, finally accepting the course of the event. He bowed a little to the barista who gave him a four-pack filled with coffees, a sweet little smile that looked more sincere than any of his interaction with Yibo. “I’ll repay you on Friday, then. I assume you already know my name too?”

“Yeah,” Yibo said, smiling weakly at Xiao Zhan’s sharpening eyes. “I’m Yibo. I usually sit on the back.”

“Okay,” Xiao Zhan said, still eyeing Yibo carefully. “Thank you,” he said, more genuine this time, and then went out of the café without preamble.

Yibo turned back to the cashier, smiling awkwardly. “I’m not a weirdo, I swear,” he said.

“I’m sure,” the cashier said pleasantly. “Your order, please.”

See? It wasn’t intentional. Though he had to admit that the way he handled it was less than favorable for a first impression. Then again, Yibo didn’t really have to worry about any impression at all. It wasn’t like he was interested in befriending Xiao Zhan, and judging from the other’s reactions, he wasn’t either.

It also wasn’t intentional that Xiao Zhan’s new textbook was still on its way after his cat splashed some coffee on it. They sat next to each other, pressed from shoulders to thighs with Yibo’s textbook perched on their conjoined thighs. He was terse and stiff from anxiety and discomfort. Xiao Zhan seemed so displeased by this arrangement that Yibo had to wince from how cold his face looked. He understood fully why he had such a reputation revolving around him. And yet, tense and pissed off as he was, Xiao Zhan still looked unbelievably pretty this close. Yibo felt a hand closed up around his trachea, squeezing tight as he berated himself from the thought.

Xiao Zhan repaid him with the exact amount for his coffee, bowed a little, and then went away without so much as a single glance back. Yibo tried his best not to be seen by him anymore after that.

But these unintentional coincidences kept happening despite his efforts. Starting from Yibo forgetting his notes and Xiao Zhan letting him copy his as repayment for the textbook incident; Yibo holding his jacket on top of their heads as rain suddenly came upon the unsuspecting students at the yard; him smiling sheepishly at Xiao Zhan when the cafeteria was full, and he really needed a place to eat because his test was about to start in fifteen minutes; needing to borrow the same book for their assignment and decided to share it while they slaved away in the library; and going so far as Yibo holding Xiao Zhan’s hair as he threw up on the toilet in some frat party that they both happened to attend.

“You’re everywhere,” Xiao Zhan said, voice hoarse and sounding so tired of everything—of Yibo, especially. He felt around his teeth with his tongue, feeling the last remains of mouthwash that Yibo had given to him after he was done puking his guts out. “Are you sure you’re not stalking me?”

“I’m sure,” he grimaced, filling the glass with tap water, then carefully tipped it to Xiao Zhan’s mouth. The older man shot him a grateful look that was so different from his usual scowl or indifference. It reminded Yibo of Xiao Zhan’s reputation as this polite, gentle soul that helped people around him despite not wanting to stay around longer than necessary.

His hair was a mess after being held up by Yibo’s rough, sweaty palm; face pale with noticeable purple hue on his eye bags. They were in the middle of finals, he knew how rough it could be, especially for upperclassmen. This party was kinda crazy, to be held in the middle of grueling time, but everyone was desperate for a relief and neither of them was an exception.

“And yet you keep being there,” the man said, his voice low, near a whisper. It sounded so intimate, as if he didn’t quite realize that he had voiced it out loud. Yibo felt like he was intruding on a private thought. In this enclosed bathroom, with an empty glass held loosely between his clammy fingers, with Xiao Zhan leaning weakly against the bathtub—Yibo felt like they were the only ones that existed in this reality, like everything just faded away, erased by the waves of his heartbeat.

“As if you’re obsessively following my existence, even without you realizing it,” Xiao Zhan continued.

Yibo nearly dropped the glass. It felt like the man had just read his thoughts. He put the glass back on the sink counter with trembling hands. He wasn’t the one who had just emptied half of his stomach on the toilet bowl, and yet he felt shaky, unstable on his feet. Maybe he drank too much alcohol. His head was going to give him hell tomorrow. He was probably going to fail his 1pm test.

But he also couldn’t stop himself from kneeling in front of Xiao Zhan, reaching out with a rough palm to cup the side of his face. “Maybe,” he whispered.

Xiao Zhan regarded him for a moment. His face was still so unfairly, unbelievably beautiful even under the harsh light of the bathroom. Yibo wondered for a moment if he was even real. But the heat under his palm was real, the sharp eyes looking into his own were real, the way Xiao Zhan leaned in with a mocking smile on his plush lips was so terrifyingly real.

“I’m going to have to charge you if you keep doing that,” he said calmly, seemingly appeased with his assessment. Of what, Yibo didn’t know. He was just happy that Xiao Zhan hadn’t bashed his head on the side of the tub yet for touching him.

“I don’t mind,” Yibo said, more honest that he should have voiced out. He attentively leaned closer, didn’t know what the fuck he was doing, but wanting it regardless. Yibo was intrigued, and their frequent accidental meetings didn’t help much in making him even more and more curious about Xiao Zhan. It was hard to focus on anything, his unintentional stalking tendencies included, in front of a face this pretty, eyes this sharp and cold. He might be more invested than he had thought, and he didn’t know whether he could blame coincidence on this.

“You’re hopeless,” Xiao Zhan taunted, before closing his eyes as Yibo closed his lips over his.

As far as the first kiss went, it was quite desperate. It was soft and tentative for all of five seconds, before Xiao Zhan moaned, and Yibo heaved him onto his lap, kissing him with a touch of frantic fire that was starting to spread throughout his body. Xiao Zhan tasted like beer and mouthwash, the bitter tang of acid on the back of his tongue. He was as addicting as much as he was terrifying.

Yibo had never felt like this—this detached interest that burned brighter than any genuine love he had experienced. It boggled his mind, how he got roped into all these accidental turns of events. How was it that Yibo minding a rumor could end up with them making out in a bathroom, while stressed out college students partied their ass off outside the door?

Xiao Zhan didn’t want to fuck in the bathroom, didn’t want to be on his knees or on his back on the hard floor or the bathtub or against the cold tile of the bathroom wall. Yibo found out which floor was his apartment, found out that Xiao Zhan had a very organized and impeccable interior, found out that the kitchen and living room table was messy; found out that Xiao Zhan hardly made any sound in bed, but when he did, he was fucking loud. He found out that he was terrified when he touched Xiao Zhan so gently, with enough reverence to startle even himself; found out that Xiao Zhan slept like a log and hogged all the blankets and leaving Yibo shivering until he had to hug the man—roll of blanket and all—to stave off the cold.

When Yibo woke up, there was a coffee and tuna sandwich on the table, underneath the plate was a note. It explained that Xiao Zhan had a morning test, and a bill for Yibo—for unintentionally following him, and for fucking him. It felt a little weird, felt a little like a joke. But Yibo left the money underneath the small ashtray nonetheless, and washed the dirty dishes in the sink dutifully before he went back to his own apartment.

“You know that I was joking, right?” Xiao Zhan said after a test. His face was scrunched up a little in worry. He was dressed in fitting dress pants, a loose button-up shirt, and a long coat; Yibo thought that he was extremely handsome, and had to look away for a moment.

“Yeah, I know,” he said after he was sure he could manage to look at Xiao Zhan without blushing.

“Then why did you do it?” the older man asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He was bristling. He looked really intimidating and beautiful when he did it. Yibo needed to look away again, but Xiao Zhan prevented that by taking a hold of his chin. “You’re a college student, don’t throw away money like that. Especially over some jokes.”

“I, uh, I have the money, don’t worry,” he said, unable to think clearly with Xiao Zhan’s delicate fingers framing his face.

In an instant, Xiao Zhan’s face fell. His stare turned flat, and Yibo felt a lot like he was being scolded all of the sudden. “Why? Are you wealthy? How much is your allowance?”

Yibo mentioned the digits as he was told, and felt the sense of loss when those fingers fell away to rub slowly at Xiao Zhan’s face. “Should have known,” the man said, sighing. “Rich, privileged, good looking kid. You can have anything you want, can’t you?”

“Not really,” Yibo said. “I work hard to be in this Uni. I got a scholarship, too. I dance and I have to pay for the course by myself, so I applied for odd-jobs. Though my apartment is paid for by my parents, and they bought me a lot of things too. But because of that, I don’t really use my allowance except for food and hang-outs. And stalker jokes, too, apparently.”

Xiao Zhan was silent for some time, eyes blinking rapidly before he settled with a tilt of his lips. “My apologies for assuming. That was really rude of me.”

“It’s okay,” he said, shrugging. He had been told the same thing before. And then, because Xiao Zhan looked so soft and warm, he said, “You think I’m good looking?”

There was an exasperated sigh, before Xiao Zhan turned to leave.

He didn’t really hear anything from Xiao Zhan for a few weeks after. They were on a break, so there were no classes where Yibo could accidentally meet him. They only met at a party, though it wasn’t as coincidental as all of their interactions before. Yibo had asked his friend whether a senior named Xiao Zhan would attend. Once he got an affirmation, and several hundreds teasing, he went to the party and kept looking at every corner in case he spotted the man.

“You’re following me again,” Xiao Zhan said once they were pressed front to front in someone’s bedroom. “I really should charge you for it, jokes be damned.”

Yibo nodded. “You should,” he said, and then kissed Xiao Zhan because he missed him, he realized. He had spent so long in the man’s shadow, tracing his steps, observing him from afar, getting to know that he could be warm and soft underneath the cold demeanor.

They didn’t go back to Xiao Zhan’s apartment, but Yibo found himself knocking at the door a few days later. He berated himself when no one answered the door after some time. He didn’t even know if Xiao Zhan was home. This was stupid, he was stupid. God, he shouldn’t have come—

“I see the stalking has upgraded tremendously.”

Yibo gasped, eyes alight as he hugged Xiao Zhan right then and there in the hallway. The man stiffened, unsure on what to do. When Yibo didn’t show a sign of letting go, he just sighed and patted his back slowly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Yibo said, shaking his head. He heard Xiao Zhan laughing, and hugged him tighter.

“Which one is it then?” the man asked, trying to move them with difficulty. Yibo was heavy, even heavier now that he refused to budge. “Come on, my landlord will give me shit if he sees us like this.”

He moved then, but as soon as the door was locked, he latched back onto Xiao Zhan. “Sorry,” he whispered to the crook of Xiao Zhan’s neck. “I was just panicking. I realized that I didn’t know whether you’re home or not, and I don’t have your number to ask.”

“I’m not gonna give you my number,” came the reply, though he was still carding his fingers through Yibo’s hair.

“I’ll pay for it,” he said without thinking, then the words registered, and he let go with shock. “I, ah, I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to—I-I mean—“

“Oh, what the fuck,” Xiao Zhan said, startling Yibo. That was the first time he had ever heard the older man cursed. “Whatever. I need the money anyway. God knows this dingy place costs a lot more than it should.”

“Um,” he started carefully. “So I can—“

“Yes,” Xiao Zhan cut him off again, though it was softened by the way he gestured for Yibo to follow him into the small living room. There was only a counter that separated it to a mini kitchen. He had finally realized that the only thing that saved this apartment was the interior. He supposed it was all Xiao Zhan’s work.

“If you tell me your bank account numbers, I can wire you the money, along with what I had to pay the last time,” Yibo said, feeling brave enough now that Xiao Zhan had agreed to this arrangement. He didn’t even know why they stumbled upon this, and why it even happened in the first place. But Xiao Zhan intrigued him and Yibo had always been a curious child. It was hard to let go of his hyper fixation once it started and Xiao Zhan kept giving him enough reasons to stay.

“Last time—oh, are you kidding me,” Xiao Zhan groaned. “Who would have thought that I’d resort to being an escort.”

“You’re not an escort, though,” Yibo pointed out. “You just said that I should be charged because I kept following you.”

“That,” the man said with a wry smile, “does not reflect anything good for any of us. But, yes, I am. I entertain you, don’t I? That’s why you keep seeking me out. You wanted to know what is underneath all the façade and persona that I keep in front of polite companies.”

Bullseye, Yibo thought, a little guiltily. He just rubbed the back of his neck and waited for Xiao Zhan to continue.

“I keep you company, you’re satisfied after you’ve done your share of wedging yourself into my life, we occasionally fuck, and you act like I’m your eye-candy for the evening whenever we ended up hanging around each other,” Xiao Zhan finished, all business-like. He looked and sounded like a lecturer despite being clad in his ratty t-shirt and sweatpants. But then his tone softened when he said, “You think I’m pretty, don’t you?”

Yibo swallowed, looking at the soft slant of Xiao Zhan’s eyes, the understanding in his eyes, the coldness that seemed to have seeped into his core—one that could never be shaken off despite his kindness. He nodded. “Yeah, I do,” he said, voice suddenly hoarse and sounding so, so small in his honesty. “I really, really do.”

“I know,” Xiao Zhan said, reaching out to push Yibo’s bang away from his forehead. He offered a small smile. “Like I said, an escort.”

He gave back a little tilt of his lips, feeling less nervous and less like he was a raw nerve exposed to the whole world. Xiao Zhan told him his phone and bank account number, and Yibo wired the appropriate amount of money. Though apparently they had a different view of appropriateness, because Xiao Zhan squinted at his phone, and then at him.

“Even if, say, I’m an actual escort or even a sugar baby, I still wouldn’t charge this much, Yibo,” he said, heaving out a deep sigh. He wagged his finger in warning when Yibo was about to say something along the line of, ‘I have the money’, so he wisely kept his mouth shut. “Just- just come here and get your money’s worth.”

And so, here was how this arrangement worked: Yibo would follow Xiao Zhan around in campus, parties, and their apartments; he would ask Xiao Zhan out for some coffees or breakfast/lunch/dinner; they sat together in the few classes they shared together; they fucked regularly; Yibo paid for everything, for each time they met, he gave some small gifts for Xiao Zhan too sometimes; he ignored the questions from his friends, and ignored the pang in his chest whenever he saw Xiao Zhan talking to someone else.

Sometimes he gave in to those feelings. Acknowledging the absolute hatred and jealousy because those people didn’t know how Xiao Zhan liked his eggs scrambled in the morning; didn’t know how he liked his coffee; didn’t know that he wanted to be an actor but ultimately chose to be a designer because he didn’t feel like he was ready for all the risk of being in stardom; didn’t know how Xiao Zhan sounded so sweet and filthy under Yibo’s fingers, around his cock; didn’t know that he was afraid of ended up without dreams, without spite, without motivations; didn’t know that he had barricaded himself so tight because he was afraid of connecting with other people.

The last two, Xiao Zhan didn’t tell him. When it came to his personal feelings, Yibo had to find out by piecing little trickles of clues that the man had left around their entwined lives. He had never shown his weak moments, never been willing to be vulnerable emotionally, never explained why he traced the lines on Yibo’s face so carefully in the morning when Yibo was pretending to be asleep.

He was kind, and fun to be around. He understood Yibo’s jokes, and he gave as good as he got whenever Yibo had this urge of swatting his arm or punching his sides jokingly. Being with Xiao Zhan was comfortable, exhilarating. But he always felt that coldness that wafted off of the older man like the never-ending waves in the ocean. Like he could never quite touch Xiao Zhan, like he would drown instead of finding the grasp of his fingers.

“How are you not running out of money yet?” Xiao Zhan asked one day, chest to back with Yibo behind him. He was twirling his stylus between long, graceful fingers. It was a lazy day. Summer was upon them once again. “You’re still a college student.”

“I work harder, that’s all,” he answered. He didn’t say that he had dropped off his dancing classes. Xiao Zhan would immediately cut this arrangement if he found out. And Yibo found that he loathed the future where he couldn’t call him to ask whether he was home or not. He was living just fine; he did work harder, and his parents had increased his allowance due to his necessities being tripled this semester, but he just thought that the more money he had, the more he could meet Xiao Zhan.

It wasn’t even necessary anymore, not really. Xiao Zhan had said multiple times by now to only pay him on certain things. But he didn’t understand that Yibo simply liked spending his money for the man, that was all. Everything that came with it was just a bonus. All he wanted was to have Xiao Zhan’s company by his side.

“I can see that,” Xiao Zhan said, kissing each of Yibo’s eyelids. “Stop with your ridiculous rate. Just pay me less, get more rest instead. Okay?”

He didn’t want to. But Xiao Zhan was so warm and a comfortable weight in his arms, so he just nodded tiredly, and snuggled against the man. He was so ready to take a nap for twelve-hours straight. But then, Xiao Zhan leaned in to kiss him lightly, saying, “Don’t waste so much money on someone who won’t stay forever, Yibo.”

Yibo’s heart skipped a beat, as if it was stolen along when Xiao Zhan moved out of his embrace to fetch something in the kitchen. He laid there, eyes closed, yet heartbeat frantic and terrified. What did he mean by that? Logically, Yibo knew that this arrangement would come to an end someday. But he was—he wasn’t ready for that now. Probably not ever.

Xiao Zhan didn’t come back to lay by his side. Instead, he pressed his back against Yibo’s as he typed away on his laptop. He didn’t know whether the man could feel his heartbeat, because he felt like it was incredibly loud in the silent room. On a lazy, summer afternoon, Yibo realized that he could lose Xiao Zhan sooner than he thought.

And so, because of that realization, he spiraled into this weird spectrum where he ran around from one end to another at a neck-breaking speed that left him breathless and aching. He was left floundering between trying his hardest to accept Xiao Zhan’s farewell, his everlasting coldness, and trying to cling onto him as hard as he could before he had to let go. Maybe if he did it hard enough, he didn’t have to. Maybe if he did it just right, they could find a balance where Yibo wasn’t as desperate and Xiao Zhan was staying.

It evaporated into thin air as fast as water poured on the sizzling asphalt, however.

Yibo kept wanting to spend as much time as he could with Xiao Zhan, and in the confusion of his extreme-ended spectrum, he didn’t realize just how clingy he had become, how suffocating he was to Xiao Zhan.

“It’s not that I don’t like hanging out with you,” the man said, sighing as he inhaled his cigarette. “But I barely have any time to do anything anymore. I’ve never even spent any time with my friends these past few weeks, Yibo. Just… I don’t know what’s happening to you, but take it easy for now, okay?”

“Okay,” Yibo said, dejected.

In his haste to ensure that Xiao Zhan would stay by his side, he didn’t realize that he was chaining the man down. It was really hard to do, however. He was aware that he was being exactly what Xiao Zhan had accused him of more than a year ago: obsessive. Sure, he wasn’t following him around, wasn’t always unintentionally there with him, but he kept checking his phone, kept asking himself whether it was the time to meet Xiao Zhan when it was only a day or two since they last met.

At one point, even Xiao Zhan’s patience ran thin because of it.

“No, I don’t want to meet you right now,” he said through the phone. He sounded irritated, Yibo could see the frown and little pout on his lips. He despaired even more because of how intimately he could imagine Xiao Zhan’s expression.

But he was getting closer and closer to the other end of his spectrum, the one who demanded him to be as close as humanly possible to the man. No matter what the cost.

“Look, I got the money,” he said, aware of how frantic he sounded but unable to stop it. “I can pay you as much as you want, just—“

“It’s not about the goddamned money,” Xiao Zhan cut him off. He was calm, sounding collected and almost polite. But Yibo had been with him long enough to know that wrath was boiling underneath the calmness of the ocean, just seconds away before the thunderstorm.

This was the cost of Yibo’s desperation: Xiao Zhan himself.

“I don’t want to meet you,” Xiao Zhan repeated; still so calm, still sounding like he wanted nothing but to see Yibo burnt into a husk. “Not now, not tomorrow, not the day after. Probably not for a few weeks. Don’t call me unless you want me to block you.”

He didn’t cut off the call immediately, waiting for Yibo as always like a polite gentleman he was. Yibo was helpless, already closing his eyes in defeat and loss when he said weakly to the phone, “Yeah, I get it. Take- take care.”

“I will,” the man said, sounding more and more detached by the second. “Thank you.”

When he hung up, Yibo felt like he had already lost him.

They didn’t talk for weeks, just like how Xiao Zhan had said. Whenever they happened to be in the same room, neither of them approached the other. It felt almost like a mockery; the coincidental turn of events that had brought them together in the first place, now a taunt that reminded them of what they had become. Even with conscious efforts of staying away, still they found themselves in situations where they had to acknowledge each other’s presence.

It wasn’t until two months after that, when Yibo’s phone rang. He fell asleep while studying for the upcoming finals, and was startled awake from a ringtone that he had specifically set for Xiao Zhan. He hastily swiped the green icon, speaking into the speaker with a voice ladened with sleep. “Hello?”

There was no immediate answer, just murmurs in the background and clinks of glass. Was it a party? A bar? A club? Yibo was more alert now, wiping his drool clean with the sleeve of his shirt, and closing his books and laptop.

“Xiao Zhan?” he called out again. “Are you okay?”

“No,” came the reply, small and so, so tired. “Pick me up, Yibo.”

“O-okay,” he said, hurriedly snatching his keys, before remembering that Xiao Zhan might be drunk and would not be able to hold onto him on the bike. He might fall asleep on the way, it’d be dangerous. So he put on his jacket, took his wallet and mask, and came down to hail a cab instead. Xiao Zhan gave him the address of the bar, before the call was cut off and Yibo was left fidgeting on the back seat, waiting impatiently for the car to speed up.

Xiao Zhan was alone on the counter when Yibo arrived. He could see that some people were interested in approaching him, but Xiao Zhan’s gloomy face, and the glare he sent to people whenever they were about to step in his direction was enough to deter them off. Yibo felt the inexplicable sense of satisfaction he felt when he saw the jealousy on their faces as he approached Xiao Zhan and had the man leaning his head on his shoulder instead.

He wrapped his arm around the man, inhaling the scent of his shampoo as he buried his nose on soft strands of hair. It really had been too long. He had missed this a lot. Maybe Xiao Zhan had forgiven him. Maybe they could go back to—

“You know that I don’t love you, right, Yibo?” Xiao Zhan asked, a bitter smile on his flushed face. The tang of alcohol on his breath made Yibo’s eyes water. Though whether it was only from the sharp smell, or the words the man had just uttered, he didn’t know.

“You’re drunk,” Yibo said, sounding weak and childlike. He felt like a child, refusing reality. Maybe if he believed it enough, reality would bend to his will instead, as most children would usually have in their childhood. This wasn’t childhood, however. They both were adults, and they had to deal with the consequences of their actions, of their own feelings.

“I am,” Xiao Zhan said slowly, then looked up into Yibo’s eyes. He looked beautiful, almost cruelly so. As cruel as his words when he said, “Which doesn’t mean that I don’t know what I’m talking about. It just means that I don’t have as much inhibition as I usually have.”

“Oh,” he breathed out, feeling very much like someone had just sucker-punched him on the gut.

“Yeah,” the man continued, reaching for the full shot glass before downing it quickly, as if he needed encouragement from the alcohol. “You… you keep clinging on to me like you want to chain me down. Like you couldn’t bear to step away from me without feeling like a breath has been stolen from your lungs. You like me, don’t you?”

He didn’t know what to say, what to feel. He felt numb, he felt like his chest was burning alight with pain, he wanted to stay away and get closer to Xiao Zhan at the same time. He didn’t know what he should do. In the end, all he could do was wave over the bartender, told her he wanted three of the same thing as Xiao Zhan had and didn’t say anything before his drinks arrived.

He traced the mouth of the small glass, feeling a bitter smile pulled at his lips. He could feel Xiao Zhan watching him from next to his seat. He lifted his glass and whispered, just before the rim touched his lips, “I do. I really, really do,” and downed his shot.

He felt the liquid burn in his throat, inside his lungs. He nearly spluttered. He didn’t know how Xiao Zhan could drink it with such a straight face. But maybe he was used to it. There were still quite a few things that he didn’t know about Xiao Zhan, weren’t there? Yibo wondered just how disillusioned he was all this time. Maybe that was why Xiao Zhan was so irritated by his presence.

“I don’t like it,” he heard the reply. There was a frown on pretty face, an inexplicable emotion that crossed it for a flash. Yibo didn’t know whether Xiao Zhan wanted to be angry or cry. He didn’t think he was ready to know. “I don’t want you to like me. I don’t- I don’t think either of us deserve it.”

“I never asked to like you, either,” he said, almost detached from his second shot and their conversation. “I don’t know what you meant by the last one, but I think I deserve to like whomever I want, and you deserve to be loved, too.”

There was a hitch in Xiao Zhan’s breath. When Yibo looked at him, his lips were trembling as he looked down at his glass. “We’re not talking about love now, Yibo.”

“No,” he agreed, making his decisions. “But we could be.”

There was a small shake of head from the man next to him, and Yibo’s heart fell. He swallowed down the last shot, feeling the strong alcohol making his own head spin. It was okay. If Xiao Zhan didn’t want Yibo to love him, then he’d love him in his silence. He didn’t need to know it. Yibo just needed to be by his side, as whatever Xiao Zhan was ready for him to be.

“I’m going to leave you one day,” Xiao Zhan said; frail, afraid. “Not even any amount of money can buy my presence in your life anymore.”

He heaved a deep breath, pushing away the anguish that lanced through his heart. “One day is not today.”

He saw the bitter smile on Xiao Zhan’s face, the glisten of tears in his eyes. Yibo didn’t understand, and he wouldn’t pretend that he could. But the sight still brought pain to the chambers of his heart. “You wanna know something funny?”

“What is?”

“It’s never about the money,” Xiao Zhan said, the smile pulling taut on his lips like a bad joke. “It’s just you, and I don’t like that I feel that way.”

Oh , he thought. Oh, Go, what kind of mess he had landed himself in? He was fighting a losing battle, and Xiao Zhan didn’t even want to try despite everything. Still, he found himself pushing away Xiao Zhan’s glass and pulled him by the arm.

“Let me take you home,” he said, couldn’t quite hide the pain and loss in his voice.

Sharp, cold eyes looked at him for some time, before Xiao Zhan nodded. “Okay.”

Yibo paid for their tabs, and hailed a cab to his apartment. He held Xiao Zhan in his arms throughout the drive, ignoring the look from the cab driver. He didn’t really give a shit about prejudice when his heart was on the line.

Xiao Zhan didn’t say anything when Yibo kissed him, when he undressed them both. He cried out softly when Yibo fingered him carefully, gently, with affection that made him heart tremble. The man looked like he was in pain, as if being held with such love sent agony lancing through his lungs. When Yibo held him, there was a tinge of desperation in his thrusts, in his groans and cries, in the way he called out Xiao Zhan’s name over and over again.

Not once, not even once throughout the night did Xiao Zhan call out his name. Yibo accepted it and held back his tears. In the morning, Xiao Zhan was gone.

He dutifully wired the money, and it continued from there. They no longer hung around each other, Yibo no longer followed him around like a lost, overexcited puppy. Somehow, they no longer found themselves in coincidences anymore. It was as if the universe was telling Yibo that he indeed was losing everything he had desperately tried to keep close to his heart.

Xiao Zhan only called him when he was drunk. When Yibo held him down, fucked him with gentle and harsh touches, Xiao Zhan held on tight with the same desperation that had been resonating in Yibo’s lungs for weeks. When they did it in Yibo’s apartment, he was always gone in the morning. When they did it in his apartment, they didn’t talk at all in the morning. Yibo was getting used to the sight of Xiao Zhan’s back on the balcony, smoke rising from his cigarette. He had been smoking more and more these days.

Instead of banter and laughter, the sound of cicadas and the bustle of the city replaced them. Instead of playing around in the kitchen and having lunches together, staying together in silence had become their routine. Summer was hot and sticky, and his reality made Yibo’s head spin from the heat of pain and hopelessness.

When he thought that they could no longer go on like this, that something had to be done, Xiao Zhan took that decision for the both of them.

When Yibo knocked on his door that day, he was hit with a sudden feeling of grief so hard that he had to stop and heave a deep breath for a second. Xiao Zhan embraced him so softly once the door was closed, and Yibo clung to him tightly, wrapping his arms around slender waist and inhaling the scent of familiar shampoo. He wasn’t ready to lose this, he thought, he would never be ready.

They ate in silence. Yibo did his own assignment, Xiao Zhan typed away at his laptop. It was an e-mail; he saw at a glance. He didn’t look up again until he was called for dinner. It was a reminiscence of their old days—of days spent together in each other’s company. Without burden, without pain, without loss.

When Xiao Zhan reached out to wipe a smear of sauce on the corner of Yibo’s mouth, he grasped it with his hand and pressed a kiss to the palm. He let the low simmer of heat flow together with his sorrow. When he kissed Xiao Zhan, he responded gently. As if he was afraid of breaking Yibo even more than he did. When he held him tight, whispering unsaid love in kisses that he etched onto smooth skin, Yibo held back his tears, his plea for Xiao Zhan to stay.

When Xiao Zhan called his name, Yibo felt tremendous grief encompassing his whole being.

Xiao Zhan’s back was the first thing that he saw in the morning. Outside, the light was warm; the plants hung around the balcony cascading delicate shadows inside the room, on the side of Xiao Zhan’s face. Yibo knew, then, what was going to happen.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Xiao Zhan said, turning slightly. The cigarette was halfway done between dainty fingers.

Yibo nodded, rustled around to sit. He waited, always waited. He rarely ever followed Xiao Zhan anymore these days. He wasn’t allowed to.

There was silence enveloping them both for a long time, before Xiao Zhan said, “I’m graduating early.”

There was something stuck in his throat, choking him slowly, preventing air from entering his lungs. He nodded slowly.

“The ceremony is quick. There are only a handful of us,” the man continued, inhaling his cigarette as if mocking Yibo’s current state. “I’m moving away after that.”

“Where?” he finally managed to say.

“Australia,” Xiao Zhan answered. “I already have an offer from a company, with accommodation. I’m going there in two weeks.”

“Okay,” he said. He wasn’t. He wasn’t okay at all. He was losing Xiao Zhan, and he wondered—wondered if he had lost him long before he even realized it.

He watched as Xiao Zhan finished his cigarette; remembering the dip of his spine, the soft rustle of his hair, the sadness hidden in the lines of his pretty face. It was almost too much, and nowhere nearly enough. When he was done, he pulled on a shirt, and looked at Yibo as if he wanted to say something, as if he—as if he wanted to stay.

But he just said, “I’ll give you some time to get ready. I- I want you to be gone from here when I get back.”

Xiao Zhan left—without farewell, without a last kiss, without ever saying the words hidden beneath his tongue, without ever shedding the tears glistening in his eyes. Yibo’s face crumpled, silent in his tears.

This was the end of their relationship, their detached love. The front door closed softly behind Xiao Zhan, just like the way he had closed the door to Yibo’s heart, locking his shadows inside the chambers; a juxtaposition of him leaving Yibo alone in this empty apartment.

Outside of the bedroom, the end of summer was approaching upon them.

-

[neerbear]

Congrats on hitting over 500 followers! I’m not sure if you’re still into genshin, but if you are, could I request zhongli with his dragon form? If not, could I request a happy songxiao with a qing? Have a great day, and congrats!

Thank you so much! While writing this, I'm almost at 1k, I'm so grateful that so many people find my work appealing and want to stick around!

I am very much still into genshin! I just haven't drawn it in a while... I tried to do BOTH of your requests and it sent me into a spiral so here's EVERYTHING I did for this lmaoo

here's the speedpaint so you can watch me suffer with this. I started recording with full confidence that this would look great - it did not.

the actual drawing

THEN, I started on the SongXiao + a-Qing idea and I kept feeling like my art wasn't all that good anymore (standard artist things) so I tried doing a little challenge - drawing wangxian and songxiao with different faces (aka anti-same-face-syndrome). I had a whole video for this but the audio got corrupted and the video didn't make sense without it so I'll just quickly write down my thoughts.

LWJ & SZC - I wanted them to be slightly similar, so you can tell they are parallels for each other, but different enough that you can tell they're not related.

WWX & XXC - the same thing, I wanted them to be obvious parallels but different enough.

LWJ - since he's in his 30s, I wanted him to have a mature face, I wanted to keep the sharp eyes + side eye that Wang Yibo had in the drama, I imagine him having these sharp shaped eyebrows, straight nose and downturned lips.

WWX - I imagine his shape language to be a triangle, so I gave him a pointier chin, I gave him the dimple he had in the drama, I imagine him with thinner lips and upturned nose.

SZC - I imagine him with more mature features, a square shape language. I imagine him with hooded eyes/monolids, a more hooked nose (idk the correct term, not a native english speaker), fuller bottom lip and strong adam's apple.

XXC - his shape language is full on circle in my eyes, he's just such a soft soul, so I gave him a softer jaw, a rounder nose and eyes, and I kept the upturned corners of his lips bc I think SJY's smile is adorable.

After proving to myself that I CAN, in fact, draw, I started on the actual request. The first thing I did was completely ignore what I just learned LMAOOO

and here it is! I'll also be reuploading it as a separate post later, but this is the full journey here!

[bluuwithyou]

[tracer85s]

yibo-official update

hello, 24 year old yibo~

a year flies by, and your rapid growth is beyond imagination. you are calm, open minded, happy, quiet, and fearless. the extreme speed of growth may come from breaking and re-shaping again and again. you have encountered thorns, but you only care about going forward. however, if you can do better, you don’t hesitate to become better

welcoming the sun, chasing the dusk, leaving the sharpness in the stage and works, so that there are traces of growth and harvest. every time you shoot, you give yourself up completely. from looking for "me" to being without me, you unconditionally obey the role, and strive to become the "him" in the story, which is your respect for your identity as an actor and your pursuit of the acting profession. what is remarkable is not only the visible growth and the ability to "love to the extreme", but also the clarity and enthusiasm for everything and the youthful spirit. excitement flowed in exclamation marks, moved emotions melted in tears that are unwilling to be noticed again and again, pure sincerity and youthfulness shine in the tide of chaos.

in the busy work, you occasionally steal a few moments: skateboarding, playing magic, a little freestyle will fill the short happy time in the busy gap, so that the daily life becomes interesting and vivid. keep loving without losing interest, forever filled with curiosity and passion, you can achieve love and a broader self.

day by day, the drums are beating urging people to grow up. i hope you have enough time to be yourself than to run to faraway places bravely and fearlessly. no one has made a rule that you need to be the most powerful person. when you are tired, i hope you can skateboard freely in an open arena, or ride a motorcycle across sichuan. all along, you just need to become a better version of yourself, and this better version of yourself is defined by you. everything is cool, grow up slowly, and be yourself every second. grow up happily!

[betweentheracks]

We*bo Night Style Review

The following is my insight and perception as a professional stylist and is subjective to my position and role. 

Long post is long. 

Starting from the first I saw, I will address Yibo's blue Chanel number. This look pulls directly from Chanel's Spring 2021 Ready-to-Wear line. It is paired with Jimmy Choo Mocca loafers and a beret which has a badge on it bearing "my own private planet" on it. This is a cute accessory for the The Little Prince homage alone. I won’t go into how fitting it is for Yibo to pull from this beloved book as it would make this post needlessly gushy and too long, just know that I have had loud feelings about it all day. 

Honestly, I was underwhelmed upon first impression when I saw this fit. Setting aside my own personal dislike of Chanel, the overall feel of this look didn't catch nor meet what I would have expected to see. It held a cute air of youth to it and played upon the boyish charm Yibo simply cannot be rid of thanks to his facial structure and features. It is jarring for me to write about Chanel in conjunction to "youthful, boyish charms" as Chanel caters near exclusively to women with deep pockets that enjoy looking as if they corner the ideal of being a Stepford Wife, no matter the age. 

However, Yibo has always successfully turned Chanel's overt "Emily Gilmore" aesthetic on its head and has singlehandedly returned Chanel to being in the ranks of fashion which are aimed at younger to middle range adults. Tonight is no exception to this as he did look wonderful. The accessories and the shirt are all also Chanel and initially debuted in as an ensemble when this Spring 2021 Ready-to-Wear line was trotted out at the end of last year. In my opinion as a professional and critical eye, Yibo wore this look better than the original model. The way his hair stylist did his hair with micro extensions and false locks to give him that additional length and furthering the ideal of youthful leisure really made this style snap off. 

Some notes on the pieces in play: 

This is not the first time Yibo has worn this specific collection of Chanel’s. His styles from Tencent Star Awards were also from this range. 

This collection was inspired by actresses of the vintage screen. Virginie Viard has commented that she wanted to capture the duality of modern actress lifestyles - high production value and quality of the red carpet service styles, to the staged nuance of being off screen and therefore off duty while waiting in line for coffee - framed by classic lines of the bygone Hollywood era. Yibo specifically seems drawn to the separates-based mix of the set, which were all styled from the draw of the 1980s - hence the shoulder pads and candy colors of pink and now blue. I feel it is worth mentioning that when this line debuted the runway many comments flew about how the collection felt very reminiscent of looking at Regina George inspired couture. Mean Girls, but make it Wang Yibo. 

The mini purse around his waist is actually a necklace, not a belt. 

He is wearing the Coco Crush ring. This item is peak comfort item material as he seems incredibly keen on wearing it whenever possible and is unabashed to have it called to attention. There is a story behind this ring, of this my professional chimes are ringing loudly in certainty. 

My impression of this style changed drastically the more I looked at it and marveled at the almost pale vulnerability the look managed to pluck upon. The color is flattering despite it being candy-bright and almost too pigmented to think of as a functional red carpet choice. Also, I strongly suspect the play here was to highlight the duality of Yibo himself since the style he served up immediately after this completely overwhelms the fawning spring of this style. 

Wang Yibo 2.0

This second look features Fendi, Patek Philippe, and Louboutin. The blazer is a Fendi black wool piece and the shirt, also Fendi, is from their lovely Spring/Summer 2021 collection. The watch is Patek Philippe and further showcases Yibo’s taste for expensive and bold watches and it’s actually incredibly admirable for him to use watches as an accessory which seals the deal on an ensemble. There aren’t many that can pull this off due to how often watches remain hidden by the cuffs and sleeves of jackets and shirts and therefore go unnoticed or are seen as bulky obstructions and are being slowly and steadily phased out from being considered staples of style. Of course the shoes are Louboutin, which is just a nice choice no matter what. Solid footwear; sleek and stylish no matter what. 

If I was initially underwhelmed by the previous fashion choice then this look did more than simply overwhelm me; it devastated me and left me gaping. The! Hair! The black on black silhouette! The way he flawlessly transitioned from being youthfully boyish and bursting with charm to a domineering presence of matured angles and sharp zeal!! Wang Yibo with an undercut and draped in matte black Fendi is enough to score through my bingo card of styles I was unprepared for and yet thankfully blessed by. 

Some notes on the pieces in play:

While the Fendi blazer isn’t altogether spectacular and one of their more run of the mill items, the shirt beneath and the collection it was pulled from are interesting. The Spring/Summer 2021 Fendi line caters to the celebration of love and the surreal intensity of what a domestic experience quarantine and lockdown was like. The menswear was notably designed as “boardroom to boudoir” meaning that the concept was embellished loose linens which could be tucked into a business or formal setting only to later be tugged free and worn sweetly casual, bordering intimate. 

This is the shirt in it’s full glory. It isn’t something you would expect to be expertly tucked into the slim lines of Yibo’s stature and one can imagine how it must appear when it left to fall loose around his lean frame. It is a bed shirt in essence and was utilized in such a way that it looks like an entirely new garment on him.  

And now we move along to Xiao Zhan and his timeless and classic style.

A man of brand/designer solidarity, he is decked from head to toe in Gucci. I won a bet on this as I wagered he would absolutely be in his chosen favorite. The brooch is another staple in his fashion repertoire and is a Tiffany & Co. item. 

He appears very timeless in these classic and clean lines. This is a straight fit wool suit which Gucci favors in tailoring to accentuate slim and tall builds and as such drapes over Zhan’s body as if it were an extension of his body itself. The fit is that perfect. He strikes me as looking very refined and noble in this suit; mature and aloof. 

Some notes on the pieces in play:

Gucci has a reputation for constantly improving the way they tailor suits and as such this “relaxed straight fit” is exclusive to their label. Any other fashion house has slim fits, which are the original frame for this style, but entirely different in how Gucci has renovated the way it all fits and hangs. They alter jackets to be comfortably loose along the back of the neck while remaining pleasantly tucked to accentuate the lines of the shoulders, arms, and chest. The pants are brought in at the waist to make slim appear sleek, and the fall straight through the legs to provide the air of being relaxed. 

The brooch he is wearing, “Four Leaves” by Jean Schlumberger via Tiffany & Co, is an antique item as Schlumberger was alive from 1907 to 1987. Schlumberger is only one of four designers ever given allowance to sign their work to Tiffany & Co. He created the collection the “Four Leaves” brooch hails from at behest of a friend and fellow admirer of nature’s glory, Rachel “Bunny” Mellon. The irony of Xiao Zhan, resident rabbit,  wearing a piece created on the request of someone called Bunny is not lost to me and hopefully not any of you now that I’ve made mention of it. 

The gemstone in the brooch is blue-green tourmaline. Tourmaline has many different correspondences depending on the color at hand. Blue-green rouses luck and success and is often used to manifest goals, notably of a creative nature. It is also a crystal of peace and encourages the release of past hurts by bringing them to the surface to be healed via honest and heartfelt communication. Tourmaline can evolve as it is worn and will adhere to the wearer’s conviction, rousing the idea of living a life of integrity and accountability; inviting the wearer to accept any perceived flaws and weaknesses with easy tolerance. I am making this mention because every bit of this seems so incredibly in line with where Xiao Zhan is in life and in his career, especially in light of what he so graciously said on we*bo yesterday as we made it to a year since hell came for him. I am always very moved by this man. 

Here is the brooch just so you can have a proper look:

And that’s a wrap on We*bo Night’s lookbook! 

This is a bit of a messy post and I do apologize for that, but nevertheless I hope it was enjoyable and gave you some new insights on the way fashion fits together at every turn. 

[iressails]

Content creator 2021 wrapped tag game

Cut this into what works for you. Want to do only one instead of five? Do it. Tag 2 people? Do it. This game is not your mum or the Apple App store to tell you what to do. But there are a couple of rules:

RULE 1: Review your creations over 2021. Tag some gifmakers/creators, friends and strangers to get them to do the same.

RULE 2: Link to the content, commentary optional.

Countdown

5 (or more!) creations from others that made you smash the reblog button hard, closely followed by your ‘insp’ tag or 'fave tag'. Link to sets that started conversations, outstanding composition, colouring, etc.

4 creations of which you’re proud. These are goals you scored. Nothing to do with notes.

3 creations others loved. Include the one that one that got most notes, great comments, or the classic ‘how dare you!’

2 creations that stretched you as a creator: style, colouring, blending, text, etc. include the one that should have got more notes.

1 creation of yours that you find most aesthetically pleasing to the eye and self AND 1 creation that broke and (maybe remade you) as a creator – we all have that one.

0 the creation that never was because nothing was working that day.

Overall comment on your creativity year 2021 ->

5 (or more!) creations from others that made you smash the reblog button hard, closely followed by your ‘insp’ tag or 'fave tag'.

In no particular order I tag:

@olincino's Middle Aged Husbands AU I love this one because it's so soft, and also really really clever.

@lmillers Ruth Wilson on talk show being ... Ruth, I guess! This set is so thirsty lol. The colouring and sharpness too.

@lordbelacqua I'm the best weapon you'll ever have I love this style. The last compilation one in black though, no words. (I love the ccss one, but this set wins by a hair!).

@robinsonjudy Isaac McAdoo. Content, style everything. He is a great character and this set highlights it so well.

@significanceofmoths with elf!Yibo. I love how nice it is the sparkle, and he is so cute. You get across so much with his personality with the last one.

@liquidsnvke with Finley and Sophie Dying gasp of s2 and fingers crossed. I love how clear and luminous this set is considering it is in the dark.

@roifernandez with El desorden que dejas kids. I love the first gif the b&w and the color with the portraits.

@elenas with that ghost one that everyone knows, so cool.

@lady-eleanor-vane with the Eleanor one so sharp and dark and textured you only get on a video editor!

@femadols Itzy Yeji the smooth movement in this one.

These really aren't in order just me fishing though my mass post editor on a laggy laptop.

4 creations of which you’re proud. These are goals you scored. It has nothing to do with notes.

Tess from The L Word in b&w. It really pays to fiddle with the colours on this adjustment to make it pop. It looked so much better in b&w compared to the original coloured one.

Brian Molko from Placebo. This was from a grainy youtube of a 90s music video. I changed colours, removed grain, and pushed it to the limit. I like it even if he looks a bit smooth and alien.

Tess in a shimmery silver top. I don't know if it's because of her or because of the colouring but I liked how I cropped this, except for one iffy one I didn't notice, haha. Will I change it? No. Flaws are okay.

Deran Cody being sad. I am not a text person so this one was a challenge, but the words are mine, and I think apt.

3 creations others loved. Include the one that one that got most notes, great comments, or the classic ‘how dare you!’

This one everyone loved of Tess pulling faces. I don't know why they liked it. I can see the colouring is off in some.

Patrick Kitten Braden on Breakfast on Pluto. These were nice gifs and I spent ages choosing the scenes. Movies do my head in seems more high stakes compared to TV.

The in-the-rain Tess/Shane kissing one. Lighting and the angles were terrible (thanks tlwgq) but I did my best with so many levels layers. Even a year ago I couldn't get it to look so nice and light.

2 creations that stretched you as a creator: style, colouring, blending, text, etc. maybe include the one that should have got more notes

Dexter New Blood where I tried doing monochrome with red, harder than I thought it would be. Results mixed but I wouldn't mind trying it again.

Hello cutie Tess again it was dire and yellow a good scene so I added a gradient map of blush pink. Based on one that an old fandom friend had gifted me. I felt like an embalmer here. Take colour out, put colour in. Probably one of my favourite sets ever.

1 creation that you find most aesthetically pleasing to the eye and self

Jules from Euphoria The cropping and colouring was nice warm and cool

AND

1 creation that broke and (maybe remade you) as a person – we all have that one

The Haunting of Hill House. Twas an attempt to write an eng. lit essay via gif. Should have got more notes lol. But can see why it didn't, it's a lot happening. I did get a lot of comments 'this is insane' though, so yay.

0 the creation that never was because nothing was working that day. -> No link, but it was an Outlander Jamie with Black Jack Randall. Eff the red coat, and prison gloom lit with bilious dungeon yellow.

Overall comment for creativity year 2021 -> Didn't have time except for Tess from The L Word: Generation Q.

[gege]

With the year ending, let's look back at what we did! What are your favorite creations you did or the ones you think deserve more love? Send this to 5 other creators to share the love

Thanks anon! Thank you also to @manhasetardis @aheartfullofjolllly @highwarlockkareena @lanwangiji and @yibo-wang for tagging me in this!

1. Hanguang-Jun birthday sparkles The first of the birthday sparkles!

2. Yaoyang valentines day video I don't need to explain this one.

3. Just a nice sharp close up of XZ's face Pretty pretty man.

4. Actually did a cool thing with a colour palette Even though I still have trouble with colouring.

5. Worm-on-a-string-xian

6. Hualian Zhongyuan post I struggle colouring tgcf and this turned out how I wanted it to.

7. This one from the style exchange event Turned out way better than I expected it to.

8. Zhang Linghe pretty

9. Luoyang food I need to make more Luoyang gifs.

10. Love Crossed Xu Nian piano scene Another one that turned out how I wanted it to.

I won't tag or send this to anyone now, but I'll inbox this to people in December to start a new round for this year!

[rainbowsky]

I just want to say, that Yibo is wicked smart. Everybody who researches him even a little bit realizes that. As an example just look at this video. you*tube.*com/watch?v= cG_Z0vArqEI Some people make me so mad. Don´t believe everything you read - do your own reseach! Use your brain.

This is in reference to a previous post.

Anon is talking about this video from SDOC3.

That game came to my mind, too, when that whole discussion was happening. DD is a sharp-witted guy. The fact that he has an unconventional mind only enhances that aspect of him.

Those who view neurodivergent approaches as inferior tend to have a conformist, elitist attitude about how people should be and think, and a really narrow, blunted understanding of human potential.

People with ADHD (and a lot of autistic people as well) are often exceptionally skilled in areas that are novel to them - areas they are especially interested in - because their minds are often driven by interest and urgency rather than externally imposed notions of priority.

[yibo-wang]

Hi Aamna! 3, 7, 8, 12, and 22 for the ask a gif maker. I hope you're having a wonderful day 💛💛💛

Teressa!! hi hello! it’s been a tiring day but i hope you’ve been well! 💛

3. Who/what inspires your graphics / gifs?

other content creators! seeing other people’s art/edits or watching shows or mvs. they get me so excited, sometimes it becomes an issue cause i dont have enough time or energy lmao

7.  Your favourite graphic and or gif by someone else

i was thinking about this set by jackie this morning sjkdjh i love it so much @nyx4

this light on me set by orthy (it’s gorgeous!) @ohaewpanwa

lan zhan is a good boy by sophie (SEROTONIN!!) @inessencedevided

this set by you <33 ahh this makes me feel SO MUCH

8. Your favourite graphic and or gif created by yourself

the yibo set cause I really liked how the colors turned out

lwj being the prettiest person ever

yibo as lwj playing with bunnies 🥺

12. Font(s) you like using

answered this one here <3

22. What is your biggest improvement since you started making graphics and or gifs?

definitely understanding coloring and sharpness. God looking at the first sets of gifs i made they make me laugh so much because they were so bad hahaha. 

thank you for sending bb!! 💛💛 take care!!

ask me about gif making

[setsailtomorrow]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN

dearest @jlf23tumble i have no editing skills, but what says love on the internet and in fandom more than reccing explicit works? hope you have a great day, you deserve it!!! (and thank you for being a sane and rational space in any and all fandoms)

i tired to pick works under 10k for you, but some were just too good to be left out <3

please, if you’re not jen, check all tags on the fics!

Wangxian:

hot necromancer singles seeking dom daddies in your area: [19k, M] Without the aid of the Yiling Wei sect and its patron, the Yiling Patriarch, the Sunshot Alliance surely would have lost the war against the tyrant Wen Ruohan. Now the Yiling Patriarch is demanding repayment in the form of a tribute bride -- and he only wants Lan Wangji. What could a dark sorcerer possibly want out of a union with the strongest and most righteous spiritual cultivator? Whatever Lan Wangji was expecting out of this marriage, it wasn't this...

quick quick slow: [2k, E] By the second day of their visit, Lan Zhan understands that Wei Ying has made a campaign of this. That Wei Ying believes - not without justification - that his brother and his husband-to-be must be handled if the project of family unity is ever to spread its fledgling wings. That he has decided - and this Lan Zhan thinks, to the extent that he can think like this, spread over Wei Ying’s lap and panting, is unfair - that the best way to handle Lan Zhan is to keep him worn out and sated and too hazy with recent or anticipated pleasure to bother needling Jiang Cheng.

In another better life, Wei Ying would have led armies of the living, and done it well. His strategies may be unorthodox but they’re rarely ineffective.

Lan Zhan decides to believe that the sound he has just made is not a whimper.

you're a bird in the water / i'm a fish on the ground: [8,7k, NR] It takes half a year of being married to a human before Wei Wuxian learns that he can, in fact, have intercourse with his husband.

Something Unpredictable: [28k, E] When he was a teenager Lan Wangji started to dream about an older Wei Wuxian visiting an older version of him in Cloud Recesses. In them, he saw strange details of an unusual life where Wei Wuxian would come and go.Then, the dreams stopped and, with time, he forgot. Until the dreams began to become reality.

like sandalwood and sweet dumplings: [5,8k, E] I want you to be mine. I want you to stay with me.

I want to put a child inside of you and love you forever.

spawn: [10,8k, E] Officially, Wei Ying is on a diplomatic mission from Earth, as liaison to the Lan as part of their species conservation programme. Professional Monsterfucker is just snappier.

An alien eggpreg breeding kink AU.

Yizhan (lololololol, i gotta):

Just Getting Near It: [9k, E] The first time that Xiao Zhan kisses Yibo, they're both still dressed in the long robes and extensive wigs of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. It's not smart, and it's not safe, but in retrospect, Xiao Zhan thinks it's as smart and as safe as it could possibly have been under the circumstances. (THIS AUTHOR IS OBSESSED WITH SWEATY XZ AND I AM OBSESSED WITH THEM)

The Boy With The Pearl Necklace: [23k, E] Something flashes beneath the collar of Yibo's shirt, caught fortuitously in the light, and Xiao Zhan has just enough time to register it as a pearl necklace, half hidden by the tie wrapped lovingly around his throat. It's a strange, unexpected detail.

He really should let it go. He's taken up enough of Yibo's time already, more than he deserves, and this is a live event. And yet he can't quite help opening his mouth, greedily scoops tiny grains of Yibo's time into his hand to cherish. "What's with the pearls?"

Yibo turns back, offers an even more brilliant grin, one that's caught more in the mischievous gleam of his eyes than around his beautiful, expressive mouth. "I like them."

gimme what I want (you know you’re mine): [3k, E] They’re close enough now that he can see everything about Xiao Zhan—the shadows under his eyes, the lovely line of his lips, the way his tongue slips out to get them wet and how the knot at his throat moves when he swallows.

And Yibo feels the heat. In his own body, radiating with want, but coming off Xiao Zhan too. Hot and sweaty, his shirt damp over his shoulders, beneath Yibo’s hands. Yibo wants to be in bed together like this, running too hot, the passion they’ve been stoking all summer finally set alight. He wants everything.

slow hand, this quiet ride: [3k, E] Xiao Zhan decides fuck it, quietly unsticks his arm from Yibo's where they sit shoulder to shoulder and begins to slide his hand in a heavy drag across Yibo's clothed thigh. They don't even make it back to their hotel before Xiao Zhan can resist sticking his hand down Yibo’s pants.

your eyes are talking, but your lips are staying still: [8k, M] “He comes off as cold when he’s shy, but don’t worry, he’s a sweet boy.”

A sweet boy, is not how Xiao Zhan would describe the model that walks onto set, lounging over the prop motorcycle with the cocky assurance of a professional. Sharp eyes are made even sharper with eyeshadow and liner. With the help of contouring, the strong cut of his jaw is even more prominent. There’s nothing soft or timid about Wang Yibo.

you used to live a blonded life: [6666, E] “We’re in a band, you know,” Yixuan continues, laughing when Wenhan bats at his arm.“Don’t brag about it! Ugh!”

Xiao Zhan takes a sip of his beer, raising his eyebrows in an expression he hopes looks surprised enough. His eyes are drawn back over to Yibo, who’s talking quietly to Seungyoun. He looks up, apparently sensing the weight of Xiao Zhan’s gaze on him, and smiles. Xiao Zhan’s heart flutters. Shit.

“Oh, really?” Xiao Zhan says still looking at Yibo. Yibo narrows his eyes a little then smirks at him, leaning in to catch the plastic straw in his soda with his tongue, sucking it into his mouth while maintaining eye contact. Xiao Zhan quickly looks away. “I don’t think I know you.”

No Sense, No Feeling: [3k,E] “You’re kind of a whore, aren’t you Yibo?” Xiao Zhan says mildly, and he steps forward right into Yibo’s space, looking down at him.

Yibo chokes on his tongue, “Excuse me?”

--- Xiao Zhan has had enough of watching Yibo act so desperate all the time, and gives him exactly what he's been asking for.

[plan-d-to-i]

I turned away from a fic when the author note said it was set in cql universe because 'wwx's death was too vague in the novel'

which annoys me because the death was explained twice. Wei Wuxian destroyed the seal to prevent anyone bad from using it. Lost control of the corpses, got torn apart and died horribly.

He died saving people from his weapon. Which to me will always beat the "Suicidal jump of a cliff, on no, now I die to prevent jc from killing both me and lan zhan anyway"

:) I agree! I don't hate cql but I can't really say I trust something that comes from a 'cql was better in terms of story telling/plot/narrative' place. I basically watch cql bc I like Xiao Zhan, Wang Haoxuan, Wang Yibo, Song Ji Yang, Liu Haikuan & Zhu Zanjin and uh... not for the story...(¯ . ¯٥) lol

Novel WWX disingenuously gets dismissed as an unreliable narrator a lot, but the only area where he regularly is an unreliable narrator is when it comes to the Jiangs & softening their treatment of him. That's the only reason I'd say the circumstances of his death can appear more vague in the novel- bc he's the one relaying them and downplaying it. So although it's less vague in cql where jc clearly forces him to die to save LWJ it also drops the significance of WWX's choice to not use the seal again and then, as he sees the inevitability of his defeat & death without its power, destroy it to prevent it from falling into the the hands of those who would misuse it against the people.

I also think WWX & Wen Ning's discussion of WWX's death in the novel gets misinterpreted quite a bit. WWX's words are taken at face value and whilst WWX doesn't feel like he owes Jiang Clan anything in his new life, he still doesn't speak about the shitty way they treated him. He doesn't tell LWJ for example that he broke his foot climbing a tree at night because jiang cheng threatened to set dogs on him.

Looking at his legs, Lan WangJi asked, “Why did you climb the tree at night?”

Wei WuXian bent down in laughter, “There’s no why. You know. I love fooling around outside at night. Haha.”

So in this scene Wen Ning's reaction is to me the more telling one. & WN clearly calls bs on WWX dismissing/downplaying jc's role. WWX himself doesn't argue and just shuts down the conversation.

“Wen Ning whispered, “Sect Leader Jiang, Jiang Cheng, brought a siege upon the Burial Mounds. And he killed you.”

Wei WuXian, “I’ll have to clarify this one. He didn’t kill me. I died from a backfire.”

Wen Ning finally looked up at him, “But, Sect Leader Jiang clearly…”

Wei WuXian, “Nobody can walk safely on a single-plank bridge for their whole life. It couldn’t be helped.”

Wen Ning seemed as if he wanted to sigh, but he had no breath to let out.”

Poor Wen Ning. </3

WWX's death is also obliquely addressed when he hears children playing as cultivators in the street:

“Someone else barged in, “No. I’m the SanDu ShengShou. I’m the most powerful.”

The “YiLing Patriarch” replied as if he understood everything, “Jiang Cheng, how is it possible for you to be better than me? Is there even one time that you didn’t lose against me? How do you dare to say that you’re the most powerful? Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“Jiang Cheng”, “Hmph, I can’t be better than you? Do you remember how you died?”

The light smile on Wei WuXian’s face dissipated at once. It was as if he had suddenly been pricked by a poisonous needle. A faint, sharp pain came from all around his body.”

('Pricked by a needle' is totally a common expression so I'm absolutely not saying this is on purpose but I think it's ironic that it's "poisonous" when jc's sword is called "三毒 sandu –three poisons" lolol)

Anyway as it stands, we may not be shown exactly how WWX's death happened in the novel, but I don't think that makes it vague. I mean we clearly see the circumstances jc created that led to it: “if not for Jiang Cheng making a plan that aimed at Wei WuXian’s weaknesses, the siege might not have succeeded”. A siege's worth of ambitious cultivators were also ultimately ok w jc taking the credit for the death of the Yiling Patriarch, so clearly jc enthusiastically applied himself to the task (and was close enough to get his hands on Chenqing first which we know JGY wanted as well). Whether he got close enough to hurt him or close enough for WWX to realize death was imminent it follows the same line of forced self destruction as cql just on a grander more meaningful scale. Much more in line with WWX's character.

[tracer85s]

brb cryingg yes i know EXACTLY what u mean the first thing I stare at in lwj's scenes is that nose omg! it's perfectly straight yet it has the same slight curve downwards at the tip as do his cheeks, and his steel gaze contrasts with the softness of it all UGH. I love it. Now talk to me abt xz's nose too plsss i never personally considered his nose specifically but i could be easily talked into it, his face is amazing too like damn

YES THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY. the tip of yibo’s nose is more rounded and contrasts with the rest of his features which are more long and sharp like the shape of his face and his eyebrows so his nose makes him look a little soft and it’s cute

xiao zhan’s nose is like you want to boop it but if you look at your finger afterwards it might be bleeding BECAUSE HIS NOSE IS SO SHARP AND STRAIGHT. i don’t know i just really like his nose it’s delicate and sharp at the same time