The weekend was quite a busy one for Wei Ying. Besides studying for the midterm exams, he had to start on his poster and complete the homework he was given. It was all so much to do that he didn't know how he would be able to get to everything.

Nevertheless, he managed to somehow. His homework was done by late Friday night. After that, he spent a couple hours on his poster before going to bed. He continued to work on it on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. The evenings and any leisure time he had were reserved for studying like hell. He and Jiang Cheng also reviewed what they learned in English class thus far together.

Everything went along okay, and his poster was turning out beautifully. He still had to finish up the essay on Chagall, as well as the important information about him. But that could wait until Monday or Tuesday night. The project was due and had to be presented the upcoming Friday.

He hadn't spoken to Lan Zhan at all, but that was out of choice on his part. He knew that he was busy doing most of the same things and didn't want to disturb him. It was likely for these reasons that Lan Zhan had not contacted him either. But that was all right. They would have time to catch up at some point during the week.

Wei Ying felt a bit tense as he headed to the college with Jiang Cheng on Monday. He would be taking his English exam first thing that morning, and his Trigonometry and Art Theory midterms were after lunch. He wasn't afraid that he wouldn't pass, of course, but he still hoped that they wouldn't be inordinately difficult.

Although Jiang Cheng didn't show it, he could tell that he was feeling ill at ease. He had more trouble in school than he did and often struggled with exams and quizzes. However, Wei Ying believed that he would do fine in English, if nothing else. He seemed to understand things more clearly when they reviewed everything with each other.

He gave him a reassuring smile. "You'll be all right. We studied together, remember? I even helped you with your other classes too. Try not to worry so much," he said.

"I hope I'll do fine," Jiang Cheng muttered. "A-Niang will never let me hear the end of it if I fail or don't get good enough grades on any of my tests. You know how she is."

"Oh, don't I," Wei Ying scoffed.

Madam Yu would either berate and smack Jiang Cheng if his marks weren't up to her standards. Which they rarely - if ever - were. It didn't help that she was further enraged that Wei Ying's were always higher than his. She thought that it should be the other way around due to how much pressure she put on Jiang Cheng to do better. After all, he was her son. Why wasn't he smarter than Wei Ying, who wasn't actually family to them, or at least as smart as Jiang Yanli?

She also blamed her husband for the fact that their son wasn't excelling. He would be doing much better if Jiang Fengmian took more of an interest in his (and their daughter's) education than Wei Ying's.

Her constant criticism only had the opposite effect, however. And it was a large part of why Jiang Cheng struggled so much.

Wei Ying patted his back. "I wish I could take your test for you," he remarked, understanding how he felt.

"I know. But then we'd both get in trouble, and I don't want you to get punished for wanting to help me. A-Niang and A-Die would murder us. Well, A-Die probably won't murder you, but he would definitely join A-Niang in murdering me."

"Yeah."

They met up with Nie Huaisang and Wen Ning when they arrived on campus soon after that. The both of them seemed even less ready for their upcoming exams than Jiang Cheng did. It was obvious that they were just as anxious as he was, if not more.

"Damn. What time did you go to bed?" Wei Ying inquired of Nie Huaisang, looking at the shadows under his eyes.

"Late enough," he yawned. "I've been up until nearly one or two o'clock studying on Friday and Saturday. It would have been the same last night if Da-ge hadn't made me go to bed at midnight. He demanded to know how the hell I'm supposed to pass my English, Fundamentals of Photography, and Art Theory exams if I'm sleepy while taking them."

"Ohhh. Yeah, that sounds like something he'd ask."

Wen Ning hummed quietly. "Jiejie suggested that I turn in early, but it didn't really help. I was so nervous just thinking about how my English and Precalculus tests might go that I couldn't fall asleep for a long time."

Jiang Cheng pursed his lips. "You've scored really well in both so far, though. I don't think you have to worry that much, unlike me."

"Yeah," Nie Huaisang agreed. "Or me."

"Everything will be fine, guys. Just do the best you can," Wei Ying encouraged them.

Mr. Xiao's room was awfully quiet when they stepped into it. Almost everybody was there, but none of them were talking. This was not unexpected, though. They were probably just waiting to receive their exams and get them over with.

Wei Ying saw Lan Zhan in the front row as he made his way to an empty seat. Unlike their other classmates - and his brother and friends - he looked as if he didn't have a worry in the world.

Lan Zhan noticed him too and inclined his head. He smiled as he waved back in return.

He hadn't forgotten that he helped him with buying lunch the previous Friday. Before he left the house earlier, he asked Uncle Jiang for seven extra dollars to go along with his usual ten. Although Lan Zhan told him that he didn't need to pay him back, he wanted to anyway. If nothing else, at least he would know that he could keep his word.

Wei Ying was just about to sign that he had something to discuss with him when Mr. Xiao cleared his throat.

"Good morning, everyone," he announced once the last remaining students walked in and they were all sitting. He closed the door. "I know you are anxious about your exam, and you will have them in a moment. Please know that there is to be no speaking while you are taking it. If I see that your eyes are wandering anywhere they shouldn't, then I am afraid that I will have to take your test away on suspicion of cheating. Also, please make sure that all of your phones are on silent.

"Remember that your exam will count as fifty percent of your final grade. Your results should be in by next Monday. I wish you all luck. And take a deep breath. I understand that you are nervous, but do not be. If you have studied adequately, you shall do well. If anyone finishes before 10:15, you may leave early if you wish. I know some of you will want to relax. Or you may have another test right after this one and want to prepare for it. But if you wish to stay, please remain quiet out of respect for your peers."

He passed out their exams then, and it fell silent once more as everybody started on them.

Thankfully, as Wei Ying hoped, it wasn't too complicated. Not for him, at least. However, he knew that it wasn't the same for others, not that he was able to look and see. He knew that he would get in trouble if he attempted to.

He was done within thirty-five minutes, but spent the next several checking his answers. He also made sure that there weren't any errors or questions that he had unintentionally skipped. Once he was satisfied that most - if not all - of them were correct, he stood to give it to Mr. Xiao.

As he walked over to his desk, he noticed that he wasn't the only person who had finished their exam early. There were empty seats here and there; some of his classmates had already gone. However, a few were handing in their own tests. One of them was Lan Zhan.

Wei Ying was only taken aback he was still there. He thought that he had left sooner himself. Lan Zhan was even more intelligent than him, in his opinion. Then again, he could have been reviewing his own test, just like he was a moment ago.

Lan Zhan blinked in surprise when he turned to see Wei Ying right behind him. He hadn't expected him to be there all of a sudden. He nodded again, then moved to step around him.

Wei Ying lifted a finger, asking him to wait a moment, before putting his exams papers on Mr. Xiao's desk.

I need to speak to you, he signed afterwards. Can you meet me outside of the class? Please?

Yes. But we cannot talk for very long. I have my Precalculus midterm at 10:30.

I know. Wen Ning told me.

He then retrieved this shoulder bag and left with him. Jiang Cheng and his friends already knew that he wouldn't be staying, so he didn't have to tell them anything.

Lan Zhan faced him once they were a short distance away from the room. "How are you, Wei Ying? Are you all right? Is the project progressing well?" he queried in concern.

"I'm okay. And yeah, it's going fine. Don't worry," he replied, waving his hand. "The essay and the information still needs to be finished up, and the poster is turning out to be awesome! They should all be finished by tomorrow night, hopefully. And if not then, on Wednesday."

"Mn. That is good."

Wei Ying beamed. "What about on your end?"

"Everything is completed. I am only waiting on the poster."

"Ah. Well, don't worry. You won't be waiting for long."

Lan Zhan nodded. "Mn. How do you think you did on the English exam?"

Wei Ying shrugged. "It wasn't too tough, so I guess I did all right. I hope I passed. What about you?"

"I suppose I did well too. I did my best."

Nudging him gently, he laughed. "Aiya, so modest. You'll probably be one of the top five scorers in our class! You're too smart not to be."

"Perhaps. We shall see. And Wei Ying likely will too; Wei Ying is also intelligent."

His face tingled as he rubbed his nape of his hair. "I am...but you're still smarter."

The corners of Lan Zhan's mouth rose. "And you say that I am modest."

They were sharing a chuckle when Wei Ying remembered why he asked to speak to him.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, reaching into his pocket. "Here. I wanted to give this back to you."

"Mmm? Wei Ying...I told you on Friday. There is no need to do this. I wanted to help you. And to return the favor for your helping me," he murmured when Wei Ying tried to offer him the seven dollars. He refused to take it.

He put in his hand anyway. "Yeah, I know. But I still think that it's only fair. I said that I would find a way to pay you back, didn't I? Let me keep my promise, at least just this once. Please? It's only seven dollars. I'll respect your wish if you ever help me again, though. Okay?"

Sighing deeply, Lan Zhan bobbed his head. He could see that he wouldn't take no for an answer. "Very well. I will accept it this time. As I told you before: you have helped me many times. Therefore, paying me back isn't necessary. And even if you haven't helped me, I still would not have asked for or expected anything in return. But thank you. I do appreciate you keeping your word."

Wei Ying smiled. "You're welcome! I should let you go now. You don't want to miss your Precalculus exam," he remarked.

Lan Zhan checked his watch. "Mn. You are right. I have to be there soon. What about you? Do you have any other tests today?" he inquired.

"Yeah. Trigonometry and Art Theory, but those aren't until after lunch."

"Mmm. I wish you luck, Wei Ying. However, I believe you will do well."

"I'll try. Good luck to you too. I guess I'll see you tomorrow? I know you'll probably go home when your exam is over."

"Yes. I may stay for lunch, but I do want to rest. Then I plan to do more studying for my Economics and Education 101 midterms."

Wei Ying nodded. "Same here...for Education 101, I mean. I have to study for Art Studio too."

"I understand. But I must go now. I truly will be late otherwise. You know how my Precalculus teacher is."

"Oh! Yeah, you'd better. I don't want you to get in trouble because of me. Good luck again, Lan Zhan! I'll see you tomorrow, and don't forget that I'll video call you when the poster is finished."

"Mn. Thank you. I look forward to it. But if you call, please do so before nine o'clock. That is the time I go to bed. Good-bye, Wei Ying."

"Bye! I'll try to remember that."

And after shaking hands, they went their separate ways.

Later

The Trigonometry exam was challenging, but not overly so. Art Theory's was not too bad either. In fact, Nie Huaisang was confident that he had at least passed that with a B. Like Wei Ying, he was quite talented at art. However, what his grade would be remained to be seen.

Wei Ying sighed heavily as he left the campus with Jiang Cheng. He felt mentally drained. All he wanted to do was lie in bed and rest for a while.

"Three midterms down, just two to go for tomorrow," he announced once they were on the bus.

Jiang Cheng harrumphed. "You're lucky. I still have three more. My Business Ethics exam isn't until Wednesday," he remarked.

"Yeah. I remember you telling me. Don't worry, though! It'll be over with before you know it."

"I hope so. And speaking of Business Ethics, I noticed you leaving with Lan Wangji earlier. What was that about?"

Wei Ying shrugged. "Nothing too important. The only thing we really did was talk about our other exams and our project. It's due on Friday, you know."

He never told him that Lan Zhan had helped him out with buying lunch. He didn't feel the need to even now. The matter was between them and not all that serious.

"Oh. I still can't believe that he hasn't gotten tired of you yet. If he were anyone else, he would have been already."

"But why would he be, when he's grateful that I help him in two of our classes? He said so himself. I don't think he's the kind the guy that would say something he didn't mean. If he was really tired of me, he'd tell me so, or avoid me except for when he couldn't. I doubt he'd let me keep helping him too."

And he probably wouldn't have squeezed your hand last Monday either.

Wei Ying quickly brushed away that thought.

Jiang Cheng rose an eyebrow at this, but he couldn't say that he was wrong. He had some fair points, after all. "Mmm. Still, like I told you weeks ago, don't actually start irritating him. You know how you are."

"Pffffft."

Wei Ying headed to his room to relax when they made it home. He chose to not to bother with anything at the moment. He really was tired.

Thankfully, his energy came back after he had dinner, and he spent the next three hours working on his poster. He wasn't able to finish it, however. There was still a little more to sketch and color in, as well as touching up to do. But he'd get to that tomorrow night. Hopefully, it would be done by then or Wednesday evening.

On that note, he studied for Art Studio and Education 101, then went to bed after 12:00am.

xXXXXXXx

The next morning and afternoon at the college were almost like the previous one, but with some exceptions. Mr. Xiao resumed teaching as usual, beginning the second half of the semester. Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng went home earlier too. Their Education 101 and Algebra exams were both at one o'clock. The former waited for his brother in the cafeteria, though, as he took longer with his.

Wei Ying was glad that his midterms were behind him now. The only major thing he had to deal with was his project until Friday. Other important assignments would crop up eventually, but he didn't need to worry about those for the time being. And the finals wouldn't be for several weeks.

Well, he did have to worry about the English homework he received that morning. However, as the next class was on Thursday, it could wait to be taken care of. The more time he had for his poster, the better.

He got started on it shortly after he returned home. In spite of having two midterms earlier, he wasn't exhausted like he had been the day before, due to the fact that they were all over with.

The hours passed as Wei Ying did the last of the sketching. He touched up the drawings after, recoloring anything that had faded and empathizing Chagall's La Mariée. He wanted it to be perfect, or as close to perfect as it could be. The only time he took a break was for dinner; that was how hard he worked on it.

Finally, not long before eight o'clock, everything was completed. He looked it over with a joyful smile, pleased by the way it turned out. Lan Zhan would approve of it. At least, he hoped so. But he would certainly find out if he would or not in a moment.

Knowing that he would calling him for the first time was strange to Wei Ying. He never had a reason to before this evening, and Lan Zhan hadn't either. Communicating by text was adequate enough since they didn't talk much outside of school to begin with.

However, tonight was different.

Wei Ying set up the poster on his desk chair. Then he opened Google Duo on his phone, went to Lan Zhan's contact, and clicked the video call icon.

Somewhere across the city

Lan Zhan was also in his room, studying the last of his notes from Business Ethics. He wanted to be sure that he was properly prepared for its midterm the next afternoon. Not that he didn't think that he was, of course. He had reviewed them the past weekend. Still, it wouldn't hurt to do so again.

He had just put his books in his bag moments later when his phone abruptly vibrated. Wei Ying's name flashed on the screen.

Lan Zhan rose an eyebrow, feeling somewhat taken aback. He hadn't been sure of what day he would contact him this week. Nor did Wei Ying say when he would in English that morning. They didn't have a chance speak to one another much except for when he helped him, as usual. And, of course, they weren't allowed to during their Education 101 test. Plus, he left before Wei Ying did once he had finished it.

Picking up his phone, he answered the video call.

Wei Ying beamed as soon as he appeared. His heartbeat quickened.

Hi Lan Zhan! the former signed, waving vigorously. Did I catch you at a bad time?

Good evening, Wei Ying. No, you are fine, Lan Zhan replied. I had just finished studying for tomorrow's Business Ethics exam.

Oh, okay. Cool! I know you will do great!

I hope to.

Wei Ying laughed. You really *are* modest all of the time, aren't you?

"Ehn," Lan Zhan said noncommittally.

He chuckled some more. I will take that as a yes.

Lan Zhan had to smile a bit himself. "Mmm." So, what do I owe the pleasure of your call? You look quite happy about something.

Wei Ying beamed once again. That is because I am. The poster is done! I just finished it minutes ago.

That is good, Wei Ying. I would like to see it, please, if you do not mind showing it to me.

Sure! I would not have called if I did not want to you to. Here, look!

Wei Ying then rotated the camera, and Lan Zhan's mouth fell a bit at the sight before him.

The images on the poster were nearly similar to his designs. However, unlike them, they were colorful instead of in pencil. And, of course, they were much larger.

Everything had been drawn with intensity. On the right side of it, Anne Sullivan teaching Helen Keller the word "water". The awe on the young girl's face as she realized that what was been spelled into her hand represented the people and objects around her. Chagall addressing his students as he worked on La Mariée. It was obvious that Wei Ying spent a lot of time on the painting. He had captured even the smallest details impeccably; he doubted that Chagall himself would have found fault with it. Nothing on the poster was out of place, and that even included the artsy decorations.

To say that Lan Zhan was impressed was an understatement. He was completely blown away!

Wei Ying flipped the camera back to himself. Ta-da! What do you think? Do you like it? he queried.

Lan Zhan blinked. He didn't understand why that question was even being asked, or why he looked nervous. I do not see how I, or anyone else for that matter, would *not* like your poster. I cannot begin to express how fantastic it is. You have done extraordinarily well.

Wei Ying was pleased. Thank you! I was hoping that you would think so!

You are welcome. I believe our classmates will also. And Mister Robertson especially would.

Yeah. I cannot wait to present it on Friday! It just might be the best poster he will see overall!

Lan Zhan hummed, secretly agreeing. Nevertheless, he told him, Try not to boast, Wei Ying.

He chuckled and waved his hand. Okay, okay. I won't. I will let you go now, though. You are probably tired since it is almost nine. I just wanted to show the poster to you before working on my essay.

"Mn." Thank you very much. Again, I truly do like it. I look forward to seeing in person.

That will be soon! Practically in the blink of an eye!

Lan Zhan smiled. "Yes."

Wei Ying nodded as he grinned back. See you tomorrow, then. Let me know if you need anything.

"Mn." I will. Feel free to do the same if the situation arises, Wei Ying. Good night.

Good night, Lan Zhan. Oh, hold on. Wait! I actually *do* need something.

Yes?

Can you give me the information on Anne Sullivan tomorrow or Thursday, please? That way, I can add it to the poster without bringing it to the school before Friday.

Lan Zhan inclined his head. Of course. That will not be a problem. I will hand them to you during our class tomorrow.

Okay, cool! Thank you.

You are welcome.

And with that, they bid each other good night last more time and hung up. Lan Zhan put his phone on the charger, did his nightly routine, and went to bed soon afterwards. He fell asleep quickly, his thoughts of that magnificent poster - and its equally stunning artist - carrying him over to his dreams.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The next one will hopefully be posted by Sunday at the latest, but I will see if I can by later tonight or at some point tomorrow!