Author's Note: I do not own The Untamed or any other works of Moxiang Tongxiu. I hope that you enjoy my story, and please comment and let me know your opinions. No flames, please. No offense is intended at all. Thank you!

Summary: Ever since Wei Ying's first day of college, he was intrigued with getting to know his fellow classmate, Lan Zhan. However, he couldn't seem to catch his attention no matter how hard he tried.

It is not until a chance encounter with him that Wei Ying learns that there is more to him than he suspected. Likewise, Lan Zhan finds out something about Wei Ying that he would never have anticipated.

It is because of this that they eventually start to bond, and understand that no matter what may impair someone, it can never hinder love.

Italics=Thoughts

Bold Italics=Sign Language

Shit. It's only my first day of college, and I'm already running late, Wei Ying thought to himself in annoyance as he rushed through the building towards the classroom he was assigned to go to for English 101. It was on the third floor, and luckily, he was on the second.

Of course, he knew that it was really his own fault that he was. He had insisted on eating breakfast before going to class. Having overslept a little, he didn't have the chance to at home. He told his adoptive brother, Jiang Cheng, and his friends Nie Huaisang and Wen Ning to go to class without him. He would join them shortly.

He lingered over his food longer than he had meant to. It wasn't until he noticed the time on his phone that he realized that he would be late if he didn't hurry. So, he quickly ate the rest before dashing out of the cafeteria.

Wei Ying arrived at his class with a minute to spare. He sighed in relief as he entered the room and looked for a place to sit. He found a desk right next to Jiang Cheng; most of the others were taken.

"What took you so damn long?" his brother demanded in a whisper as he plopped into his seat. "You were almost late!"

"Relax, shidi. I'm here now," Wei Ying cooed teasingly. "I just lost track of time, that's all."

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at him as Nie Huaisang and Wen Ning snickered.

The teacher at the front of the room cleared his throat then, seeking the class' undivided attention. "Good morning, everyone. Welcome to English 101. My name is Xiao Xingchen. You may call me Mr. Xiao. I will be your instructor for the rest of the semester, and I hope that we enjoy our time together as I broaden your knowledge on what is personally my favorite subject," he announced in a slow, clear voice.

"You may have noticed that I am speaking very loudly," he continued, noticing the bewildered frowns that were directed at him. "We have a few students in our class who cannot hear very well, so I must ask you to please do your best to help me accommodate them. Now, the first thing I will do is call your names so that I can become acquainted with each of you."

He wrote this last statement on the board, just in case.

Wei Ying laid his chin on his palm as he glanced around the room. Besides Jiang Cheng and their friends, there were several other classmates that he recognized from the high school he attended.

Three of them were Jin Zixun, Luo Qingyang, and Meng Yao. Jin Zixun was the cousin of his adoptive sister's - Jiang Yanli - boyfriend Jin Zixuan. Luo Qingyang, who they all called Mianmian, was a friend of both cousins. Meng Yao was Nie Huaisang's and his brother Nie Mingjue's friend.

The rest of the students were unknown to him, including one particular young man in a white t-shirt who caught his eye. He was one of the handsomest he had ever seen. Like him, his brother, and his friends, he was of Asian descent. He had dark brown eyes and black hair that was as long as his. It seemed to flow down to his waist like a river...

"Wei Wuxian," Mr. Xiao called out at that moment, using Wei Ying's courtesy name.

The latter jumped. "Oh...I'm here!" he said as he raised his hand.

Mr. Xiao spent the rest of the class going through the syllabus. He told them about the books they would be reading, other course materials they would require, and asked everyone to get them as soon as possible.

Wei Ying grew so bored that he only half-listened to him. Nie Huaisang was too; he kept nodding off. Wen Ning had to nudge him with his foot to prevent him from falling asleep.

"...and I will see you all again on Thursday. Have a good morning, everybody," Mr. Xiao declared ten minutes later.

Blinking in surprise, Wei Ying looked up from his syllabus, which he had been doodling on. Class was over already?

He gathered his things before standing up to leave. He was just about to walk out the door when he accidentally bumped into the handsome classmate he noticed earlier.

"Oops...sorry," he said after turning to face him. His heart fluttered oddly as he did. He was even better-looking up close.

His classmate just nodded and left.

Jiang Cheng huffed as he followed Wei Ying out. "You need to watch where you're going. I thought you were going to get punched by the way he looked at you!"

The latter thought that he had a point for once; his classmate did appear to be angry until he apologized.

"Good thing he didn't. We both would have gotten in trouble if we had to fight each other, especially on our first day. Besides, he would have damaged my cute face if he chose to punch me there!"

"Cute my ass. Just make sure that you're not late for Art Studio. I'll meet you guys in the cafeteria for lunch after that."

With that, Jiang Cheng made his way to Economics 101. Nie Huaisang waved to him as he followed Wei Ying, and Wen Ning headed to Biology 101.

xXXXXXXx

Wei Ying enjoyed himself during art class. Like Mr. Xiao, the teacher went over the syllabus. Then they were allowed to draw, paint, or whatever they wished to do.

He spent the remainder of the period doing sketches of the college's buildings. Nie Huaisang painted a picture of a mountain range. When his teacher came to have a look at what they were doing, she nodded, looking impressed.

"This is excellent. I can see why you two chose this class. Keep up the good work," she praised in a low voice.

They smiled as they continued what they were doing.

It was 11:45 when they made their way down to the cafeteria. Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning were already there, their classes having ended minutes ago. Wei Ying and Nie Huaisang bought their lunch before joining them.

"Hey, guys. How was Art Studio?" Wen Ning inquired.

"Fun, unlike English class. It was so boring hearing him talk about the syllabus," Wei Ying replied as he dolloped an unholy amount of hot sauce on his two slices of pizza.

Jiang Cheng shook his head while rolling his eyes at him. Wei Ying had consumed so much hot sauce, chili flakes, and chili oil in the eleven years that he had known him that it was a wonder his esophagus was not burned out or full of holes.

"Yeah, but Mr. Xiao doesn't seem too bad. His class might be more interesting once he gets started," Wen Ning remarked.

"Hopefully. I don't want to get bored to the point where I actually fall asleep," Nie Huaisang chuckled.

Wei Ying glanced around the cafeteria as he ate. It was packed at the moment, since a good number of students were there for lunch too. Most of them were sitting with their friends, but he noticed that a few were alone.

One of them was his handsome classmate from English. He was reading a book as he ate his own lunch.

"So, what classes do you have next?" Wen Ning asked Wei Ying.

"Just Education 101," he murmured. "I'm going home after that."

"No, you're not. You promised to wait for me until I'm done with my Algebra class. It's only fifteen minutes longer than yours," Jiang Cheng said irritably.

"Fine, fine. I'm surprised that you even want to take the bus home with me since I piss you off so much."

"You do. Don't forget that the last time we were supposed to go somewhere together, you disappeared, and I couldn't find you for an hour."

Wei Ying laughed. This was indeed true. Uncle Jiang Fengmian had asked them to get a few supplies from Home Depot three months ago. Wei Ying thought it would be amusing to run around the store and hide from Jiang Cheng until he decided to give up. Madam Yu - Jiang Cheng's mother - was furious when she found out, but Uncle Jiang and Jiang Yanli thought it was funny.

Jiang Yanli attended the same college as they did, but as she was a junior, her classes were at different times. She promised to have lunch with them on Friday, however. Wen Qing, Wen Ning's older sister who was also a junior, planned to join them too.

They remained in the cafeteria for a while longer before going to their respective classes. When Wei Ying stepped into Education 101, he blinked in surprise. His classmate from English was in this class too! He likely desired to be a teacher, just like him. He wanted to teach art in the future.

Not much happened during their lecture. The teacher did the same as the other two, then asked the students if they would like to volunteer anything about themselves. He was also curious as to why they were interested in becoming teachers or pursuing a career in the education field.

Wei Ying did, explaining that he wanted to be an art teacher since he was a child. Not only because he had a passion for art, but also because one of his own art teachers had inspired him. He wished to do the same for others. In addition to that, he loved children, and perhaps some of them would go far.

After that, he listened as several others spoke, but he noticed that his classmate from English didn't. He figured that he was shy, or was not in the mood to.

The class only lasted for an hour, so it seemed like no time before it was over. Wei Ying carefully exited the room this time, not wanting to bump into anybody else, especially someone who might actually hit him.

Jiang Cheng met him in the cafeteria fifteen minutes later, as he said he would. Nie Huaisang and Wen Ning would remain behind, since the former had four classes today instead of three. The latter was going to wait for his sister. Wei Ying sent them a text to let them know that he would talk to them later before he and Jiang Cheng went home.

xXXXXXXx

The next day, Wednesday, was not as busy as the previous day for Wei Ying. He only had two classes; Education 101 and Art Theory in the afternoon.

This gave him time to buy the items that were mentioned on his syllabuses from the college's bookstore. He could wait to buy the others, as he wouldn't be able to carry too many things in his shoulder bag.

Jiang Cheng, Nie Huaisang, and Wen Ning had classes today too, but unlike him and Wen Ning, they only had one. His brother would be attending Business Ethics. Nie Huaisang - who told them that he would be at the campus before lunchtime - was in his Art Theory class. Wen Ning was already there for his morning class, which was Precalculus. He had Biology lab after lunch.

"You could have slept in, you know," Wei Ying said to Jiang Cheng as they picked out what they needed. "Your class isn't until 2:15, like my second one."

"I still have to get my things too. Plus, I want to check out a few places here until then," the latter mumbled as he perused Economics textbook that he had to buy.

"Which places?"

"The library, computer lab, internet cafe. I want to see what the gym looks like, too."

Wei Ying nodded thoughtfully. "I'd like to do that myself. Why don't we do it after our classes instead? We'll have plenty of time."

Jiang Cheng frowned a little. "We would actually have to be quick if we do that. Jiejie's making her famous lotus and pork rib soup after she gets home from her own classes."

Wei Ying smiled at the thought of it. He loved his sister's soup. Then again, they both did. He clapped this shoulder. "I'll find you after my Art Theory class."

"Okay. Nie Huaisang might want come with us, too. Is he on his way yet?"

"Yeah. I told him to meet us here, so he should be coming any minute now."

He eventually did ten minutes later. Once the three of them bought what they were required to get, they went to have lunch. Wen Ning joined them a moment after.

Wei Ying had just begun to eat when he saw his classmate from English and Education 101 passing by. He must have had his lunch already because he was leaving the cafeteria.

Jiang Cheng followed his gaze. "Him again. I saw him one other time after English yesterday, in my Economics class," he explained when he, Nie Huaisang, and Wen Ning looked at him with curiosity.

"He's in my Precalculus class too," Wen Ning piped up in a low voice.

"Really? What's he like?" Nie Huaisang inquired.

Jiang Cheng shrugged. "I don't know. He never said anything, just listened to our professor."

"Mmm. He did the same thing in Education class. Even when our teacher asked if we would like to give him any information about ourselves, he was quiet," Wei Ying remarked.

"I never heard him say a word either, so maybe that's just the way he is," Wen Ning said.

"Yeah."

They didn't talk about much else after that. Nie Huaisang and Wen Ning agreed to join Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng in having a tour of the places in the college they wished to see. Wei Ying stayed with them until he left for his Education class twenty minutes later.

Wen Ning was likely right about his classmate (whom he learned was named Lan Wangji while the roll was being taken) because he did not speak once during the entire lecture. Wei Ying nodded to him with a friendly smile when it was over, but he didn't seem to have noticed.

xXXXXXXx

As the days passed, Wei Ying slowly grew acclimated to being in college. It was like high school to him in some ways. His brother, sister, and friends were still around even if they weren't in the same classes. He saw other students that used to go to his school as well. He even knew Mr. Xiao, who was one of the alumni. He was a senior when Wei Ying started his freshman year.

However, unlike school, he had to pay for his books and classes, among other things. The latter were also a bit more challenging, and he had much more work to do. There were some nights when he barely slept because he was trying to keep on top of everything.

That didn't mean that he didn't have any time for fun or leisure, of course. He drew, painted, sketched, or played his flute when he was alone. On the weekends, he was able to catch up on sleep. He spent time with his family at home. At school, he, Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Yanli had lunch with their friends when their schedules allowed.

Wei Ying managed to sneak into a frat party with Jiang Cheng, Nie Huaisang, and Wen Ning one evening. Nie Huaisang invited Meng Yao, but he had to work and couldn't come.

The party lasted until one in the morning, by which time the four of them were so drunk that it was out of the question to take the bus. Not that it mattered. They had already managed to miss the last one by the time they left. Poor Wen Ning was so inebriated that he practically had to be dragged into an Uber by Nie Huaisang and taken home on a shared ride.

This resulted in a highly pissed off Wen Qing. She threatened to tranquilize the three of them if her brother was ever brought home in that state again. They didn't doubt her; both she and Jiang Yanli were in nursing school. Each of them knew that she was more than capable of doing that or worse.

There were things to do around campus as well. The internet cafe was a fun place to be, and there were several clubs they could check out. They could play sports in the gym if they wanted to also. Not to mention they could visit each other at one of their houses and do whatever they were in the mood for, as per usual.

Wei Ying was so preoccupied in getting used to college that he was too busy to think of anything or anyone else.

He barely would have noticed his classmate, Lan Wangji, if he didn't have English and Education 101 with him. Why he did at all was something he couldn't understand, other than the fact that he was handsome. He hadn't interacted with him since their first day.

Still, there were several instances when he saw him on campus.

One was while he and Jiang Cheng were going home. Lan Wangji happened to drive by them in a silver Infiniti as they were waiting for the bus.

Another was when Wei Ying was walking by one of the buildings. He noticed that Lan Wangji was sitting in a lounge area on the first floor with his back to the window. He went over to knock on it, just to catch his attention and wave hello. However, he didn't seem to hear him no matter how loudly he did. It did earn him a few glares from other students, though.

The third time, he was playing catch football with Wen Ning. Jiang Cheng was reading one of his textbooks while Nie Huaisang laid on a blanket next to the bench.

Lan Wangji was strolling along the path between him and Wen Ning, but stopped when the latter threw the ball. Wei Ying smiled after he caught it and waved his hand, signalling that it was all right for him to pass. Lan Wangji nodded in thanks and continued on his way.

Wei Ying saw him the in cafeteria, as usual, and in the hallways going to or from classes a number of times. Sometimes he would call out to him, but he never responded or even turned around.

It was after one of those occurrences when he suddenly realized that Lan Wangji was always by himself. He didn't appear to have any friends or acquaintances.

He likely preferred to be alone. Still, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to invite him to sit with him, his brother, and his friends during lunch one day. It was worth a shot. He would like to get to know him, at the very least.

xXXXXXXx

It wasn't until his third week of college when Wei Ying finally had the opportunity to speak to him without being busy or in the middle of something.

He had just stepped into the cafeteria one Thursday afternoon when he noticed him sitting at a table near the entrance. As always, he was reading a book as he ate. He told Jiang Cheng and his friends to go on without him.

"See if you can find us a table. I'll be right there in a minute," Wei Ying stated.

After that, he made his way over to Lan Wangji.

"Um...hi," he greeted, standing across from him.

Lan Wangji didn't answer, just continued to read.

"Hi!" Wei Ying tried again.

Still no reply.

"Lan Wangji!"

Not even a glance. Was he ignoring him on purpose?

Wei Ying rapped on the table, and this time, Lan Wangji looked up.

The former waved with a grin. "Hi. I'm Wei Wuxian; you probably know me since we're in two of the same classes. I was wondering if you would like to sit with me, my brother, and my friends. Maybe we can talk about our English assignment, or study together? I'll leave you alone if you don't want to, though, or if you would rather do it another time."

Lan Wangji's frown became more pronounced as he said this. Wei Ying was beginning to think that he had upset him again when he spoke to him for the very first time.

"Can you repeat that a bit more slowly, please? I am almost completely deaf and cannot hear you," he stated in a remarkably clear voice.

Wei Ying drew back in utter shock. This revelation was the last thing that he expected! So, he was one of the students that Mr. Xiao was talking about on their first day.

However, his surprise would be nothing compared to Lan Wangji's a moment later.

Wei Ying gave him an understanding smile before nodding and lifting his hands.

My apologizes. Would you prefer it if I used sign language instead?

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this first chapter. Please let me know your thoughts!