Lan Zhan could not explain what made him do it. Squeeze Wei Ying's hand. He had never done that with anyone before.
This was mainly due to the fact that he did not touch most people. And besides Xichen and Shufu, he did not allow others to touch him either. He couldn't stand it. Who knew where they or their hands had been?
And yet he squeezed Wei Ying's hand. Furthermore, he was the only other person he didn't mind touching him besides his brother and uncle. Nor was he averse to touching him.
Did this mean, perhaps, that he liked him? Or felt comfortable around him, at the very least?
Well, Lan Zhan certainly couldn't say that he disliked him, even though his personality contrasted with his. Where he was reserved and private, Wei Ying was much more outgoing and talkative. He was also quite amusing, playful, and very companionable from what he observed.
The only thing he didn't approve of so far was him swearing or giving someone the finger, but even that bothered him less than it would have if anyone else did either. He could see that Wei Ying had a good head on his shoulders in spite of that.
All in all, there was something unique about him. Something that made him more approachable than others. Something that still made him curious to know about the other aspects of his life too. What his own life was like, as well as the things he enjoyed besides art, among other things.
Yes, there were some people who he noticed that was just as playful as he was. Some who were very friendly to others. A few who were quite artistic. But he never felt interested in or drawn to them like he was to Wei Ying.
Lan Zhan found himself agreeing with what his brother told him. It would not hurt to have Wei Ying as a friend. He would be an excellent one.
And yet...he had an inkling that what he felt went deeper than acquaintanceship or friendship. Much deeper. However, he chose to wave away that thought.
It was not as if it would have been a problem if it was. He was gay, and he would never tell anyone otherwise. He had accepted that he was since he was fifteen. He had never been attracted to women at all. Only men.
But he still just barely knew Wei Ying. Something could happen that would make him decide not to have anything to do with him at all. Not that he could find much of anything wrong about him. And he was sure that he wasn't truly an asshole like his brother Jiang Cheng claimed.
Only time would tell. For now, he would just have to see how everything went.
Yet if he did like him in that way...well. He wouldn't deny it, but that would remain to be seen in the future. It would explain why he squeezed his hand earlier.
And even if it turned out that he did, he had no idea if Wei Ying himself was attracted to men. But again, he wouldn't know until he found out.
xXXXXXXx
Nothing out of the ordinary happened for Wei Ying and Lan Zhan over the next three days. They attended their classes as usual, sitting next to each other during some, but unable to in others. Neither of them had much of a chance speak to each other outside of school. The midterm exams were approaching, so they had to prepare and study for them. However, they kept one another updated on the progress of their project whenever they could.
They often wondered when they would talk again. About subjects unrelated to school, that is. It was true that they didn't have much time at the moment, but they hoped that one of them would be able to make time soon.
Wei Ying found himself noticing that Lan Zhan never had a good deal to say one evening. He had told him a few things, of course, but everything else about him was a mystery. He was interested in learning more about him soon.
A part of Wei Ying was still in shock whenever he thought of him grasping his hand. The only people who had done that before - besides his sister - were the few who he used to like. Yet, he had no idea of what to think in this case. Lan Zhan hadn't given him any indication that he liked men, or either women for that matter.
Could it be that he may have had a crush on him? It was possible. But as mentioned before, Wei Ying had no idea since he didn't know if he were attracted to men or not. Plus, they were so different from each other barring what little had in common. Even if Lan Zhan did like him, he would probably only want to be friends with him in the end, unless he simply stopped talking to him. That was what happened with the people who used to like him.
He decided to just put all of this out of his mind. It probably meant nothing serious anyway. However, he still wouldn't mind having him as a friend.
What Wei Ying and Lan Zhan were unaware of was that Jiang Cheng, Nie Huaisang, and Wen Ning had made a bet on them. They watched them during their English classes, trying to see who may be close to winning first.
Due to the current circumstances, though, it was clear that Nie Huaisang was the least likely to. Nothing different appeared to be happening between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan yet. But there was still an opportunity for a sudden turnaround, so he decided not to lose hope.
Jiang Cheng still believed that he would get the ten dollars. And why wouldn't he? He knew how clueless his brother was. He wouldn't be surprised if they didn't start going out until the end of the semester, if they ever agreed to at all. Hell, they probably wouldn't until the next one. But that was only if Wei Ying didn't irritate the piss out of Lan Zhan first; that was more likely to happen than anything.
Wen Ning didn't seem to care either way. He would be happy if his friend and Lan Zhan ever dated each other whether he lost the bet or not. But he knew that may be a big if.
Jiang Yanli and Wen Qing were also interested in how everything would go. As the former told everybody at lunch on Monday, she thought that Lan Zhan was very nice and polite. Wei Ying deserved to have someone like him a boyfriend if they were to ever go out. But only time would tell.
Wen Qing also thought that they would be cute together in spite of how dissimilar they were. Still, she knew that it would be a while before Wei Ying to realized that he had a budding crush on him. Even she knew how oblivious he was in these situations.
Had Xichen been aware of the bet, he would have been as keen about it as they were. Whether he would have participated in or not, though, would have been left up to discussion. Nevertheless, he secretly hoped that his brother would consider dating Wei Ying once they were more acquainted if all went well. But he would understand if they only ended up as friends.
xXXXXXXx
Wei Ying arrived at the college on just before ten o'clock in the morning that Friday. He didn't have English that day or Wednesdays, so he did not have to be there as early.
He still had to be on time for his Art Studio class, however. His teacher may have been kind and easygoing, but she was strict about punctuality. He had managed not to be late since the semester began - though how he did, even he couldn't figure it out - and the last thing he wanted to do was start now. He didn't want to be written up.
Jiang Cheng and his friends were with him too, as always. The former had Business Law at the same time his brother and Nie Huaisang had their art class. Wen Ning, on the other hand, was scheduled to go to Biology 101.
"I can't believe that the midterms are going to be next week already. This semester is just flying by," Nie Huaisang commented.
"That's not a surprise. We have so much work to do that none of us can really keep track of the time," Jiang Cheng remarked with a snort.
"Yeah," Wei Ying agreed.
Wen Ning fiddled with his book bag's strap. "I hope I pass. I'm studying as often as I can," he mumbled.
Nie Huaisang looked tense. "I think you'll be fine. It's me who has to worry about failing. Da-ge is still upset that I just barely managed to graduate from high school and pass my classes so far. He told me that if I don't get better grades in my midterms, he'll take away my books again!"
Everyone else pursed their lips. They all knew his older brother, Nie Mingjue, would actually do it. He had many times before.
"At least we know that Wei Ying will pass. I don't know how he does it; he never studies half as much as we do," Wen Ning exclaimed next.
Wei Ying shook his head. "I wouldn't say that. I actually need to a little more than half as much now. This is a whole different ball game from when we were just in school."
"Can't deny that. The standards are higher here," Jiang Cheng noted. "And speaking of which, I need to get to class before I'm late and get locked out."
"Yeah, same here. Talk to you guys at lunch," Nie Huaisang said to him and Wen Ning.
They waved as he and Wei Ying headed in the direction of their art class.
Nie Huaisang grinned as they went up the escalator. "So, Wei-xiong, how is your project coming along?"
"Fine. Just a bit slow since I have to get ready for the midterms. I was able to buy the poster on Wednesday, but I haven't had much of a chance to start on it yet," Wei Ying responded as he side-eyed him. He didn't trust that smile at all.
"I can't say that that's unexpected. And what about Lan Wangji?"
He rolled his eyes; he knew it. "What about him?"
"How are things between you and him?"
"Okay as usual, I guess. I don't really talk to him unless it's about the project or to help him in our classes. And before you ask it -because I know you're about to - no. He didn't ask me out on any dates or for me to be his boyfriend."
At his statement, he noticed that Nie Huaisang looked oddly disappointed. But for what reason, he had no idea.
"Oh," the latter grunted.
"Why do you always ask that anyway? It's not like we have all that much in common. We don't talk that much as it is, either."
Nie Huaisang snorted. "Because you have been interested in him ever since you bumped into him on our first day. And whenever he is around, you spend most of the time staring at him. And I never saw Lan Wangji talk to anyone besides you. Maybe he's interested in you too."
Wei Ying blinked. He couldn't deny the first two reasons, but at the same time, he hadn't really paid it any mind.
As for Lan Zhan not talking to anybody, that was somewhat true. He himself rarely witnessed him interacting with other students. It was usually to say "Excuse me" if he was trying to get around them or "Can you repeat that?" if they were talking too fast. He would occasionally speak to their teachers, but only if they told him something or asked him questions. But even that wasn't very often.
He was uncertain if Lan Zhan was interested in him, though. Besides the fact that he had squeezed his hand, there was no other sign that he was. And while he was interested in being his friend, Wei Ying didn't see anything more happening between them.
Still, Lan Zhan grasping his hand had to mean something, right...?
Wei Ying just shrugged a third time to dismiss that thought as they entered the Art Studio's room. "I guess," he repeated. "I wouldn't know."
Nie Huaisang rolled his eyes. Jiang Yanli was right. He really was oblivious sometimes.
They were unable to discuss more on the subject because their teacher began the lecture at the moment. However, it lingered in their thoughts for the rest of that day.
It was time for lunch when class was over. Wei Ying was glad; he was starting to feel rather hungry. Breakfast had been more than three hours ago.
He threw his shoulder bag on a chair once he had found the table where Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning were sitting. Then he went to figure out what he wanted to eat.
After looking over the variety of food being served, he chose to buy a platter of Hunan spicy beef with chips and a bottle of green tea. However, when he took out his money so that he could pay for how much it cost, he saw that he only had three dollars. He was four dollars short.
Wei Ying frowned. He could have sworn that he had taken his usual ten dollars out of his dresser before he left the house. (Uncle Jiang would put the money there every evening so he wouldn't go overboard at lunch.) Then again, he wasn't paying attention at the time. He had been running a little late earlier, so he was in a hurry.
He peered into the cafeteria. Jiang Yanli still hadn't arrived with Wen Qing, so he couldn't ask her. His brother sure as hell wouldn't help him out since he already bought his own lunch, and he didn't want to ask Nie Huaisang or Wen Ning.
Sighing in annoyance, he put the Hunan spicy beef back. He would just have to wait until his sister came down. He only had enough money for the chips and green tea...
"Wei Ying," a voice said.
He nearly dropped his tray as he turned to find Lan Zhan gazing at him. He hadn't expected to see him standing there; Lan Zhan hadn't been in the cafeteria when he looked.
Wei Ying nodded. "Hey," he greeted.
"Hello. What is wrong?" Lan Zhan queried in genuine concern. He could tell that something was bothering him.
Shaking his head with a forced smile, Wei Ying replied, "Oh, it's nothing important. You don't have to worry about me."
"It may not be, but whatever it is is still upsetting you regardless. What is wrong?"
Reddening with embarrassment, Wei Ying explained the situation to him in sign language to keep the conversation private.
Lan Zhan pursed his lips. I see. How much more do you need for the Hunan beef?
Only four dollars, but it does not matter. I will just ask Shijie or buy it another time. Wait...what are you doing...? Wei Ying asked as he pulled out his wallet.
Here is seven, Lan Zhan signed, offering him a five dollar bill and two ones. You can buy an extra snack with your Hunan beef if you like. You may be hungry later.
He shook his head once more as he gently pushed his hand. You do not have to do that. It is fine, really. I can just have the chips and tea. But thank you. I appreciate it.
Lan Zhan refused to budge. No, Wei Ying. You should have something more filling to eat for lunch. You do not want to get lightheaded during your classes, after all. Please take it.
But...I have no way of paying you back anytime soon.
There is no need to worry about to. I am not asking you to. I only wish to help you; you have helped me many times during this semester. Please let me have the chance to return the favor.
Wei Ying could tell that he wasn't going to give up easily. Plus, he was right, and it was only fair.
And besides, he was really hungry at this point.
So, with another grin, he inclined his head and accepted the money. Thank you. I will still find a way to pay you back, though. I promise. Or I can buy you something with the extra three dollars to thank you?
Lan Zhan smiled a little. You are welcome. And as I said, there is no need to do that. It is all right. And you do not have to buy me anything either. All I want is for you to enjoy your lunch. That will be enough thanks for me.
Okay. Are you sure, though?
Yes, I will be fine. But thank you. I do appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Okay, he repeated. Thank you again.
Lan Zhan nodded.
And with that, Wei Ying bought his meal as the latter went to get his own. He thought about asking him if he would like to have lunch with him again. They did enjoy themselves on Monday, after all. Or perhaps he would even like to join him with his siblings and friends today if he were up to it.
However, he decided against it after a moment. He knew that Lan Zhan often preferred to eat alone. Besides, he may have wanted to study for his midterms.
Yet, he knew that he could always invite him to some other time. And perhaps he would after the exams were over.
Author's note: Hello! I appreciate all of you who have taken the time to read this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. As I mentioned in one of my other fanfics, I am sorry for not updating in such a long time. My dear aunt passed on 8/28, and I have been in and out of work, and I had been going through a whole lot of stress. But I will try to keep posting as often as I can. Until next time!
