Wei Ying did choose to "abandon" his brother and friends at lunchtime, but only partly for the reason he gave Nie Huaisang. He felt it would be better if he and Lan Zhan went over the designs for the poster alone. It wasn't so much that the project was private, as he told them about who they were working on, but having them around would be awkward. And the last thing he needed was any teasing, especially from Nie Huaisang.

Thankfully, he managed to locate an empty table not far from theirs after getting something to eat. He had just sat down when he noticed Lan Zhan standing in the cafeteria's entrance. He was looking back and forth, obviously searching for him in the crowd of people.

He waved his hand vigorously so that he could find him more easily. Lan Zhan did almost immediately, and with a nod, signed that he would be right there. He was going to buy his lunch first.

Shortly after that, he joined him at his table with large bowls of garden and fruit salads. He gave Wei Ying a small smile, which he returned shyly.

"Hello again," Lan Zhan murmured.

Wei Ying nodded. "Hi. How did Precalculus go? Did you and A-Ning get there on time?" he queried.

"Mn. And it went fine."

"Cool, cool. I was hoping that I didn't make you two late. Your teacher wouldn't have liked that."

"No. She would have made us leave the class and told us to be on time for our next lecture. I saw her do it before."

He chuckled. "Oh, shit. Your teacher doesn't play games, does she?"

"She is right not to. I would have done the same if I were her, if it happened more than once with the same students. But I would give them a warning first."

"Mmm. That isn't a bad way to manage. So...would you like to see the designs now, or...?"

"Let us eat first. I will take a look at them after."

Wei Ying beamed. "Okay."

They grew quiet as they started on their meal. He couldn't think of anything else to say right then, and Lan Zhan was focused on his lunch.

How are your salads? Wei Ying signed moments later.

Delicious. Would you like to try some? he offered, noticing that he didn't have any fruits or vegetables with his burger and fries.

Wei Ying made a face. He never cared for any type of salad.

Lan Zhan nearly smiled. You do not like them?

Not salads, no. I like some fruits and vegetables, but I generally do not eat them unless it is for dinner or a snack.

"Mmm." You should more often. They are healthy for you. Please try some. I am sure it will not hurt.

Wei Ying blinked at the glint he saw in his eyes. Unless he was mistaken, Lan Zhan was actually...teasing him.

After recovering from his surprise, he nodded again. He just couldn't say no. All right. But only some.

Lan Zhan scooped a little of both salads onto his plate. He also handed him a few packs of his apple cider vinaigrette dressing, just in case.

The garden salad was just okay, even with the apple cider vinaigrette. However, the fruit salad was better, though Wei Ying didn't like the cantaloupes or honeydew much. They tasted a bit weird to him. Still, he smiled at Lan Zhan and gave him a thumbs-up.

They are not bad. I cannot say that they are my favorite, but they are edible.

"Mn." Would you like more?

No, but maybe another time. Thank you, though.

Lan Zhan inclined his head. You are welcome.

They finished eating soon after that. He moved his empty bowls aside before gesturing to him.

"May I see your designs now, please?" he inquired.

"Yeah. Just let me move over," Wei Ying responded.

He pulled his chair next to Lan Zhan's and took his sketchbook out of his shoulder bag. He flipped to the middle of it, then set it on table.

Somebody wolf-whistled loudly. Wei Ying turned to see Nie Huaisang laughing at the table nearby. He gave him the finger, then returned his attention to Lan Zhan, who was scowling with confusion and disapproval.

I will explain later. But anyway, I made eleven of these during the weekend. If you do not like any of them, I can always draw more before this Friday.

"Mn."

Just as he was about to look at the first picture, however, Wei Ying heard footsteps behind him.

"A-Xian!" they said cheerfully.

He turned to find Jiang Yanli and Wen Qing there. Grinning widely, he stood up.

"Hi Shijie, Wen Qing. I wasn't expecting you two to be here. You usually have class at this time," he announced as he embraced his sister.

She nodded. "We were supposed to, but it was cancelled because our teacher is sick," she remarked.

"Yeah, so we decided to have our lunch earlier," Wen Qing added.

"Oh, okay. That makes sense." Wei Ying then gestured to Lan Zhan. "I would like you to meet Lan Wangji, my classmate from English and Education 101. You remember me and A-Sang mentioning him, don't you? I'm sitting with him because we're working on a project together, in case you were wondering why I'm not with the guys. He's almost completely deaf and uses sign language, but he can read lips pretty good too. Lan Zhan, this is my older sister Jiang Yanli. I told you about her before. And this is Wen Qing, Wen Ning's sister and our friend as well," he told them while signing everything he said for Lan Zhan's benefit.

Jiang Yanli smiled warmly. I am pleased to meet you. It is good that A-Xian has finally introduced us. He is right. They did tell us a little about you several weeks ago.

She also translated this for Wen Qing.

Lan Zhan nodded, the corners of his mouth rising. "Likewise. I hope that it was all good?"

Do not worry. It was.

"It is also nice to meet you, Wen Qing," he went on, turning to her. "I knew of your brother before Wei Ying introduced us this morning. He is in my Precalculus class, as well as English."

Wen Qing rose an eyebrow in surprise and bobbed her head. "You too, Lan Wangji. That is interesting to know."

Jiang Yanli hugged Wei Ying after that. "I will let you both go back to what you were doing now. Lunch is halfway over, and I know you must have a lot to discuss." To Lan Zhan, she signed, I hope we can talk again sometime.

"Mn. That would be good."

"See you two later if we're not done by the end of lunch," Wei Ying added.

He waved to them as they nodded and headed over to the table where Jiang Cheng and their friends were. Then he sat down once more before grinning at Lan Zhan.

He returned it with a small one. "Your sister seems very kind. So does Wen Qing," he noted.

Wei Ying laughed. "Wen Qing can be, but don't let her fool you. She can be as tough as nails and cruel if you piss her off. And Shijie is; she's the best sister anyone could ever ask for."

"I can say the same about my brother. I will tell you about what he is like soon."

"Okay. I'd like that."

Lan Zhan picked up the sketchbook again to look at the first picture. Marc Chagall was on the left while Anne Sullivan was on the right of the template of a poster board. Around them were artsy decorations. He could tell that Wei Ying had researched photos of them because his drawings were just as realistic as the others he had seen.

The rest were similar, but with different variations. They were on opposite sides in a couple of them. Some had miniature versions of Marc Chagall's most famous paintings. Helen Keller was with Anne Sullivan on a few. He couldn't help but be impressed with each one.

Lan Zhan faced Wei Ying, who was twirling his spoon nervously. "These are all quite exemplary. I am afraid that I do not know which to choose," he stated.

"Is there one that you like best?" the latter queried.

He skimmed through them again. "Hmm...this," he responded moments later, pointing to the eighth drawing. It had a small crowd of students in front of Marc Chagall, who was painting La Mariée. On the other side was Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller with a water pump between them from the 1962 version of The Miracle Worker. "It shows them teaching and something they are famous for, which I am certain Mr. Robertson will approve of. But I will understand if you prefer a different one. They are your designs, so it is honestly up to you. As I said, they are all good, so I will agree with whichever you pick."

"No, no! I can do that one. To tell you the truth, it's actually one of my favorites. But let me know if you change your mind," Wei Ying said.

"Mn. I will, but I doubt it."

"All right. I will work on it after I buy the poster."

Lan Zhan bobbed his head. "Very well. I look forward to seeing it."

Wei Ying smiled. "I'll show it to you the minute I'm done. If you want, I can video-call you when I am?"

"That would be fine."

Meanwhile, as this was going on, Jiang Cheng and the others were chatting at their table. Their conversation was mostly about Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, who they were watching.

"I'm telling you. Those two will be dating by the end of next week. Just see how Wei-xiong is looking at him. He has it hard for him," Nie Huaisang observed.

"Not a chance," Jiang Cheng huffed. "It won't be long before he gets on Lan Wangji's nerves, if he isn't already. Just you wait."

Wen Ning pursed his lips. "I don't know...it doesn't look like it. Lan Wangji never seems to be annoyed when Wei Ying helps him in class, even if he is frowning most of the time."

Nie Nuaisang inclined his head. "Exactly. See? Even Wen-xiong agrees with me."

"How does he help him?" Wen Qing inquired.

"By translating whatever the teacher is saying when he isn't facing the class in sign language."

"Ohhh."

Jiang Yanli chuckled as she drank her water. "Awww. That's so sweet of him. And Lan Wangji does seem like a nice young man. He was very polite to me and Qingqing when A-Xian introduced us. We were amazed when he told us that he can't hear; neither of us were expecting that. It looks like they are getting along well so far. I wouldn't be shocked if they did end up dating, but you know that A-Xian is oblivious when it is comes to anything involving romance. He was never aware of anyone having a crush on him in grade school unless it was brought up to him."

"Yeah. I would probably give it about a month if I were you, Huaisang, or even longer than that," Wen Qing remarked skeptically.

"That would be more likely. I'll bet you ten dollars that she's right," Jiang Cheng challenged.

Nie Huaisang smirked. "You're on! And if I'm right, you owe me ten dollars."

"And what if neither of you are?" Wen Ning queried. "What if it takes less than a month?"

"If it does, I'll give you ten dollars?"

"And I'll give you five for sheer luck. Deal?" Jiang Cheng added.

He nodded. "Yeah. Deal."

At the other table, Wei Ying put his sketchbook in his shoulder bag before he and Lan Zhan gathered up their trash to throw it away. Then he reached out to shake his hand, trying to ignore how jittery he felt as he did.

"Thank you again for meeting with me. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" he inquired.

"Mn," Lan Zhan agreed. "I will be going home since I do not have any more classes today. Please contact me if you need to discuss anything else about the project."

"I will. Same to you. Let me know if you want to pick another design instead. And as I told you last Thursday, you can call or text me if you just want to talk about anything in general. I won't mind."

"All right. Good-bye, Wei Ying. Try not overwork yourself in your Trigonometry and Art Theory classes."

Wei Ying snickered. "Don't worry. I won't."

And after grasping his hand softly, Lan Zhan nodded and left the cafeteria. Wei Ying froze, taken aback by this gesture. He didn't know what he meant by it or if he even intended to do that.

"So, did you ask him out on a date yet?" Nie Huaisang asked when he joined him and the others a minute afterwards.

Wei Ying rolled his eyes. "No. There isn't going to be any date. I told you this a billion times already," he snapped.

Jiang Yanli gazed at him with concern. "Are you okay, Xianxian? You're pale; it's like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine, Shijie. I was just...startled by something, that's all."

"Oh? What happened?"

He shook his head, not wanting to mention what Lan Zhan just did. "Nothing important. Just a noise, that's all."

Nie Huaisang grinned slyly. "Was it really, or does it actually have something to do with your new friend?"

"Oh, shut up. You're just trying to get back at me for what happened earlier," Wei Ying grumbled.

"What do you mean?" Wen Qing asked.

Wen Ning smiled. "He woke Nie-xiong up when he fell asleep in English by shaking him and calling him Peppermint Patty. The people sitting near us thought it was funny. Even Lan Wangji did."

Nie Huaisang frowned as everybody laughed loudly at this, looking as embarrassed as he had that morning.

"Touché," he muttered, and he went back to finishing his lunch.

Author's note: Hi everyone! Looks like a bet is on! Who do you think will win the $10? Let me know your guesses. Thank you so much for reading. Until next time!