Archive of Our Own

It's around 3 pm, and Jiang Cheng has been waiting for almost 10 minutes by now for his friend to show up.

He's starting to get really impatient, when he hears a familiar voice behind him.

"Jiang Cheng, hey!" Wei Ying waves, grinning wide, his movements energetic.

He's in a good mood, Jiang Cheng thinks as Wei Ying hurries towards him.

"Hey," Wei Ying says again when he's next to Jiang Cheng, "Long time no see, right?"

"It's only been a week," Jiang Cheng replies, voice indifferent.

Wei Ying only laughs, as if he's said something funny though. And then, Jiang Cheng is suddenly hit with realization.

Having grown up together with Wei Ying has countless downsides, but it has its perks as well.

One of them is knowing what he’s thinking or feeling only from the little things.

Wei Ying isn't only in a good mood. He's in a particular mood.

"What are you planning," it's not even a question, as Jiang Cheng looks at Wei Ying, already terrified.

Wei Ying looks at him innocently, "Huh? Nothing," he shakes his head, "Not me."

Jiang Cheng raises an eyebrow at that. "Not you?"

"Yep! But you're right, there is a plan," he smirks. Jiang Cheng looks around, wondering if he runs away right now, could he still escape his awaiting fate.

But as if Wei Ying could read his mind, he grabs Jiang Cheng's shoulder, and says, "We're going to visit Japan!"

Jiang Cheng looks at him in disbelief. Going to Japan?

After a pause, Jiang Cheng slightly nods. "Alright... Where is the twist?" he asks, because there has to be something. Japan just in itself isn't a weird idea, though admittedly it still feels out of nowhere, but it's Wei Ying after all, so Jiang Cheng really isn't that surprised by now.

"Twist? There is no twist," Wei Ying is giving him the same honest look as before. Jiang Cheng doesn't believe him.

So he asks, "Why Japan? Why now?"

"Oh, actually," Wei Ying starts, "Have you ever heard about the Rabbit Island?"

Jiang Cheng stares at him. "The Rabbit Island?"

"Yes! It's a real place. And we're going to visit it!"

"The.. Rabbit Island," Jiang Cheng repeats, not quite sure how to react to this.

At least he's found the twist.

"How is that not your idea?" he asks.

Wei Ying grins, "Because it was Lan Zhan's idea!"

Jiang Cheng needs a minute to process this information.

Can it get any weirder than this?

"Lan Zhan... the same guy who's your boyfriend, right?"

Wei Ying gives him a funny look, then speaks, "Yes, do you know a second guy with this name?"

"Just making it sure," Jiang Cheng sighs, "So, it was him... he wants to go to the Rabbit Island?" Why? isn't asked, but it's heavily there.

Lan Zhan.. that expressionless guy, who's for reasons even unknown to God started dating with Wei Ying about half a year ago.

Jiang Cheng has met with him a few times, and his impression about him is... not much. He's not social, neither one to show any emotions, interest or anything that would prove he's a human, really.

But he puts up with Wei Ying, somehow, so Jiang Cheng kind of respects him for that.

"A few days ago we saw a video on Youtube," Wei Ying starts explaining, "Where a couple went to visit the island. And it's full of bunnies! We both thought they're adorable, especially Lan Zhan. You should've seen the expression on his face!" Jiang Cheng wouldn't say, but he's actually curious about that. He can't quite imagine Lan Zhan making any sort of expression, if he's being honest.

Anyway, Jiang Cheng now has an explanation.

(From Wei Ying, this sort of reasoning is enough to understand the rest of it.)

There's still one part what he doesn't understand, and he voices that, "Why am I going too?" He won't even bother complaining about not being asked about it in the first place. Over the years he got used to just getting dragged along with Wei Ying's random ideas and decisions.

Wei Ying's answer is as simple as Jiang Cheng expects it to be, "The more the merrier!"

What can he say to that?

"Right, Lan Zhan's brother is also coming," Wei Ying comments offhandedly.

"His brother?"

Wei Ying nods, "Yes, you've met him once, you remember?"

Now that Wei Ying has mentioned it, Jiang Cheng does remember. It was on Wei Ying's birthday, where Jiang Cheng ended up sitting next to Lan Zhan's brother, Lan Huan, and they've exchanged a few words. His looks are similar to Lan Zhan's, but their personalities seem to be different, as much as Jiang Cheng can tell.

Either way, he doesn't mind his company. "Is it just the four of us?"

"Yup, everyone else seems to be busy," Wei Ying answers.

Jiang Cheng snorts, "How did you know I don't already have plans?"

Wei Ying gives him an almost pitying look. Then he pats Jiang Cheng's shoulder, saying, "You barely leave your apartment, Jiang Cheng. So unless by plans you meant watching movies all by yourself in your living room, then..."

Jiang Cheng's face flushes at this, snapping Wei Ying's hand away, "I'm gonna beat you up!"

Wei Ying laughs loudly, which pisses Jiang Cheng off even further. Seeing his reaction, Wei Ying puts up his hands in front of him, and in attempt to make peace, he asks, "You don't wanna come?"

"I don't really care," Jiang Cheng shrugs. It leaves a bitter feeling in his mouth, but Wei Ying is still right - he didn't have any plans for the holidays, anyway. Getting out and spending time with others might be better than sitting alone at home sometimes, he supposes.

"Great! We're going in three days, so pack up til then!" Wei Ying says care-freely, and it seems like he's finished with this subject.

However, Jiang Cheng isn't ready to switch topic yet, "Wait, care to elaborate more? Like, how many days? What time are we leaving and where will we meet up? Where are we going, exactly? And..."

Wei Ying interrupts him, "Three days! We'll talk about the details a bit later, don't worry! Lan Zhan will take care of everything," he smiles lightly, and Jiang Cheng frowns a little.

"What about the money?"

"Lan Zhan's family is rich," Wei Ying replies, as if that explains everything. It doesn't, but Jiang Cheng leaves it at that.

Since there's nothing more to this case right now, Jiang Cheng lets it slip away, and listens to Wei Ying's stories about his last week.

(Jiang Cheng isn't sure how, but Wei Ying's days are always full of turns and surprising events. But in the end, it fits Wei Ying, and Jiang Cheng actually likes to listen to him talk about them, though he probably wouldn't admit to anyone.)

Three days later, a big white car arrives in front of Jiang Cheng's apartment exactly at 6 am.

Jiang Cheng isn't the type of person to be late, so he has been outside already with his small luggage, still a bit sleepy from having to wake up early.

When Wei Ying gets out from the car, he greets Jiang Cheng with a wide grin, as usual. "Good morning, Jiang Cheng!" his voice does sound tired, however, even if he acts all energetic.

Jiang Cheng can't help but tease a little, "Not used to waking up this early, huh?"

"I didn't even go to sleep," Wei Ying answers with a sudden serious expression, and Jiang Cheng must be really tired too, because he bursts into laughter.

Wei Ying takes his luggage and puts it in the trunk, then both of them hop into the car. Inside, Lan Zhan greets him with a small nod from the driver's seat, while Lan Huan says him a good morning, sitting next to him in the back row.

Wei Ying looks around, then with a grin, he says, "We're all here and set, so let's go to the airport!"

Lan Huan just smiles, while Lan Zhan hums in agreement, and starts the car. Wei Ying turns on the radio, and some catchy pop song comes on, which is unfortunately known by Wei Ying, so he starts singing along with it.

By the time they get to the airport, Wei Ying is soundly asleep, and Jiang Cheng can also feel his eyelids getting heavier. He decides he'll definitely sleep during the flight.

Once they check in, they stroll through the shops, Wei Ying sometimes stopping and taking photos of funny looking gifts. He also makes Lan Zhan wear some stupid looking hats, wiping at his eyes, which are tearing up from laughing too hard, and Jiang Cheng thinks Lan Zhan must be deeply in love with Wei Ying to endure all of this.

They buy drinks, then sit down to wait for their plane to arrive. Wei Ying starts playing on his phone with some game and talks to Lan Zhan about some series he's watching, while Lan Huan takes out a book to read. Jiang Cheng decides to browse the news on his phone through the airport's wifi.

Without any trouble, once their plane is there, they get up on it, and sit in two different lines - Wei Ying sits together with Lan Zhan, while Jiang Cheng sits next to Lan Huan a row behind the couple.

When the plane is high above in the sky, Jiang Cheng leans back comfortably and slowly nods off.

He wakes up to the sound of the flight assistant's voice, telling the passengers they'll start landing soon. Only after she finishes talking Jiang Cheng realizes his position has changed, and his head is actually leaning against a shoulder now - Lan Huan's shoulder, to be exact.

Jiang Cheng quickly straightens up and looks at Lan Huan, feeling a bit embarrassed, "Sorry about that."

Lan Huan's smile is soft as he says, "Don't mind it. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah... I actually couldn't go to bed early, so I was a bit tired," he admits, "But I feel more awake now." Looking at Lan Huan, he looks refreshed and well rested - according to Wei Ying, Lan Zhan usually goes to sleep around 9 pm, so assuming his brother shares the same sleeping habit, it'd explain a lot.

After getting off the plane and picking up their baggage, they look for the bus stop they need via google maps, and go there.

Their bus arrives a few minutes later.

They sit in the back row, with Wei Ying sitting next to the window, Lan Zhan following, then Lan Huan and Jiang Cheng sitting next to each other.

Wei Ying curiously eyes the scenery outside, and minutes later he almost jumps in his seat when he notices something.

He points at a statue on top of a building excitedly, "Oh my god, it looks like a big piece of shit!" he exclaims, pressing against the window. His eyes sparkle, expression impressed, like he's seeing something extraordinary. "Quick, Lan Zhan, give me your phone, my battery is dead!" he reaches out his hand towards Lan Zhan.

Lan Huan is faster, however, as he places his phone in Wei Ying's hand in a blink of an eye.

Wei Ying says a hurried thank you, before turning his full attention back to the poo resembling statue, snapping pictures of it.

Jiang Cheng watches the whole scene in dismay, putting a hand on his face, secretly hoping no one thinks he's with them on this bus.

The rest of the road is somewhat peaceful. After a few transfers, they arrive at the hotel they're staying. It's past noon, and they're all feeling a bit hungry, so they decide to find a restaurant around the area and have lunch there.

"I'm gonna order the spiciest food on from the menu!" Wei Ying declares on their way to the restaurant.

Jiang Cheng grimaces, "Your stomach will pay you back one day for all the spicy food you stuff it with, you know," he tells Wei Ying.

Wei Ying, however, shakes his head in disagreement. "My stomach loves spiciness just as much as my taste buds! Besides, you eat spicy food as well."

"Yes, but the level you eat..." Jiang Cheng shudders at the thought, "Please tell me you're not allowed to cook at your place."

"I cook," Lan Zhan notes.

Jiang Cheng lets out a relieved sigh, "Thank god.."

Wei Ying huffs, "Hey! You're all just picky. And weak!"

Lan Huan, who's just been listening to it so far, chuckles a little, "It's true that after a certain amount, it can be unhealthy. But once in a while it shouldn't hurt, right?"

Wei Ying looks at Lan Huan with a grateful expression, before turning back to Jiang Cheng. "See! Lan Huan understands me."

"He said once a while, Wei Ying," Jiang Cheng emphasizes his words.

Wei Ying eyes him for a while. "Are you actually worried about my health, or do you just want to pick on me?"

Jiang Cheng ponders about it, before saying, "Kinda both."

Wei Ying sticks out his tongue at him, "Mean!"

Once they're finished eating, they go back to the hotel.

"We still have the afternoon ahead of us, we should go sightseeing," Wei Ying suggests. They agreed back at home that they'd go to the Rabbit Island on the second day, but they didn't talk about what to do on the other two days.

Sightseeing seems reasonable, since it's their first time in Japan.

Jiang Cheng asks, "Is there anything near?"

"Lan Zhan, your phone," Wei Ying says, since his is at their room, charging. When Lan Zhan hands him the device, Wei Ying searches around the internet for a while. "There's a castle not too far away.. but you can't go inside. And a big Marketplace a town away.. oh, there's an aquarium too! And an open-air museum.. What should we do?"

"We have aquariums at home too," Jiang Cheng says, "So I think we should try the others."

Wei Ying nods, "I agree. The weather is nice outside, so it should be fun just walking around!"

"Then, which place should we go first?" Lan Huan asks.

Wei Ying starts tapping on the phone again, "Let's see..."

They go to the open air museum first. Taking photos are allowed there, and Wei Ying lives with that opportunity - he takes a selfie with almost every statue. Most of the artworks there are human-like statues, with exaggerated anatomy and funny looking faces. Wei Ying tries to copy their expressions, as he poses next to them. They also take some group photos at some huge, interesting looking and colourful statues.

Their next stop is the marketplace. Jiang Cheng hasn't brought much money with him for the trip, so he mostly just looks at the stuff the shops are offering. On the other hand, Wei Ying isn't shameless at all. If there's something that peaks his interest or liking, he calls for Lan Zhan, who appears next to him, already handing Wei Ying his wallet.

Jiang Cheng doesn't plan on buying anything, but then his eyes catch a big, fluffy, soft looking dog plush.

"Do you want that?" He doesn't even notice Lan Huan showing up beside him, so when he hears his voice, it startles Jiang Cheng a little.

"No," Jiang Cheng quickly says, "At least, not for myself. I have a 2 years old nephew, you know," he smiles fondly as he remembers Jin Ling. "So I thought, maybe he'd like it if I brought a gift for him."

Lan Huan smiles too. "That's a nice idea," he agrees.

Jiang Cheng steps closer, to look at the price tag. And his smile dies off with that.

He lets out a sigh, as he turns back. "I can’t afford it," he says bitterly.

"Is that so? Do you want me to buy it?" Lan Huan asks, sounding sincere. Jiang Cheng looks at him with wide eyes.

"You don't need to do that," he says, "Besides, it wouldn't really be a gift from me, anyway..."

Lan Huan thinks about it. "That's true. Then how about I just complete the price for you?"

Jiang Cheng blinks at him a few times, opening then closing his mouth.

Is Lan Huan this generous or just too rich?

Maybe it's both.

Still, Jiang Cheng shouldn't accept an offer like this. "No, it's fine.. I'll just look for something else." There should be something even his wallet can allow, right?

"Is there something wrong?" Wei Ying comes up to them.

"Nothing at all," Jiang Cheng waves his hand, "Just thought about buying that plush for A-Ling, but it's not affordable for me."

"Oh! A dog," Wei Ying's smile is nervous for a second. Even a plush can make him feel a bit uneasy if it comes to dogs. "A-Ling adores dogs, doesn't he? You should get it for him!"

"As I said, I don't have enough money for that," Jiang Cheng tells him.

"So? Didn't Lan Huan offer to pay the rest of it?"

Jiang Cheng glares at Wei Ying, "You were totally listening to our conversation, weren't you?"

Wei Ying grins, "Yep! And I say you should accept it!"

"I'm not as shameless as you!"

"But it's for A-Ling, isn't it? Then what's the problem? I'm sure he'd love this gift!" Wei Ying points at the big dog plush.

Jiang Cheng knows he's right. He can even see it, as Jin Ling hugs the plush that's almost as big as him, smiling wide and happy.

Jiang Cheng's heart wavers a bit at the thought.

Lan Huan tries again, "It's really not a problem for me. I want your nephew to be happy, as well."

Lan Huan is just too nice. He doesn't even know Jin Ling, yet he'd help Jiang Cheng buy a gift for him?

Jiang Cheng isn't strong enough to keep saying no to this.

"Okay.. fine, then," Jiang Cheng looks away awkwardly, "If it's really not a problem.."

"Not at all," Lan Huan smiles.

Jiang Cheng ends up buying the big dog plush.

"I did it for A-Ling," he mutters under his breath, as he realizes he has to carry it with himself for the rest of the day.

Their third and last stop is the castle. It's in the middle of a lake, but there's a bridge leading to the building, making it approachable. It’s surrounded by blooming cherry blossom trees and plants are running up at the castle’s white walls – with a scenery like that, the place looks like it belongs to some fantasy world.

"I wonder why can't it be visited," Wei Ying looks at the 'No enter' sign in front of the castle's stairs that lead up to the front doors. Then suddenly, he gasps, "maybe it's haunted?!"

"Don't be ridiculous," Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes.

Wei Ying looks at him, "Why not! You can't know. What if ghosts are real? Maybe there are evil ones hiding in this castle, waiting for someone to enter so they can consume them..!"

"Sure. I hope they'll take you first," Jiang Cheng grunts.

Wei Ying exclaims, "They couldn't!" He then turns to Lan Zhan, who's a few steps away, examining the front doors. "And Lan Zhan would protect me, too. Right, Lan Zhan?"

Lan Zhan hums, expression serious. Wei Ying grins proudly, then his eyes shift to look at Lan Huan, who's next to his brother.

Wei Ying asks, "Lan Huan, do you think we could fight an evil ghost and win?"

"I'm sure we could," Lan Huan answers after a moment, as if he's truly given it a thought.

Jiang Cheng wonders if he's the only sane person here.

After they take some photos of the castle and some group selfies in front of it, they return to the hotel to put down the stuff they've bought - what Lan Zhan has bought for Wei Ying.

Jiang Cheng snaps a picture of the dog plush, and sends it to Jiang YanLi, with a message saying he's bought it together with Lan Huan for Jin Ling.

Jiang YanLi replies a few minutes later, saying it's super cute and A-Ling will adore it, with tons of emojis.

Later, the four of them go out to a different restaurant for dinner, and arrive back to the hotel when the Sun is setting.

When he returns to his room, he slumps down the armchair.

It's been a while since he felt this tired, which reminds him how it's been a long time ago he spent the whole day out, just having fun.

Because today has been fun, which makes him feel a bit cautious too, actually. The thing with Wei Ying's random ideas is that, usually, something always goes horribly wrong. But so far everything went smoothly.

But then Jiang Cheng remembers that this time, it was Lan Zhan's idea to come here, technically.

So maybe it's okay for him to relax fully and just enjoy their short trip.

The next day, they leave with a ferry to the Rabbit Island at morning.

After arriving, Wei Ying quickly dashes off the boat, the others following behind him.

"Oh my gosh, there are so many!" Wei Ying beams as he looks around. Before them, there's a huge green field, with many rabbits resting or hopping around everywhere.

They move forward, and the rabbits start noticing them one by one.

A few even come up to them already, probably knowing they're getting food.

Jiang Cheng can hear Wei Ying's happy squeals behind him, while he's staring at the little, furry, long eared creatures in front of him.

First there's only a few rabbits looking back at him curiously, but the number quickly grows bigger.

Until, there are almost twenty rabbits surrounding Jiang Cheng.

He whispers, "What..."

Wei Ying notices the scene as well, as he shouts over, "Looks like the rabbits here already like you!"

"I.. I don't have food with me, what do they want?" Jiang Cheng turns around hopelessly. He can't move his legs, as rabbits are even stepping on his feet.

"They just wanna snuggle you!" Wei Ying answers.

"They just keep coming," Jiang Cheng looks at the still increasing rabbits around him.

Lan Zhan, deeply focused on the little animals, mutters, "So many..."

Wei Ying nods, laughing, "Right, it's an army of bunnies!" He steps next to a white rabbit, who's just resting in the grass, and points at it. "Look, Lan Zhan, this one reminds me of you!"

Lan Huan observes the rabbit. "Oh, he does look like Zhan di."

Jiang Cheng's eyebrows twitch, "Hey, don't just ignore me here!"

"What's wrong?" Wei Ying asks.

"I can't move?" Jiang Cheng complains, "I'm surrounded by rabbits!" He states the obvious.

However, Wei Ying only grins, saying, "You should enjoy it then!"

Jiang Cheng's hand fists, as he grunts, "Wei Ying..!"

Wei Ying raises his hands, "Fine, fine, let's grab the food and feed them, shall we?"

Lan Zhan and Lan Huan take out the food they've brought for the rabbits, which mostly consists of leaves, hay, seeds and a few carrots and other vegetables. They've also packed a lot of water bottles and some bowls.

Lan Zhan hands a big bag of seeds to Wei Ying, who immediately throws some in a bowl and places it down. The rabbits quickly run to the bowl, finally freeing the space around Jiang Cheng, allowing him to move.

They put out all the bowls, some of them filled with water, while the others are full of seeds and leaves.

"Lan Zhan looks so happy," Lan Huan chuckles as he watches his brother.

Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying look at Lan Zhan's face, who's staring at the bunnies with an... indifferent expression.

"Does he..?" Jiang Cheng frowns. He looks at Wei Ying, "Can you tell the difference?"

Wei Ying shakes his head, "Not at all. I'm trying to learn, though. But Lan Huan is really good at reading Lan Zhan's expressions!" He gushes.

Jiang Cheng turns his attention back to Lan Zhan, trying to see any sort of emotion on his face. He gives up after a minute, arguing, "But he's not making any expression at all..."

"Actually, he's blushing a little, if you squint," Wei Ying touches his own cheeks with one finger, pressing them.

Jiang Cheng looks for a little longer at Lan Zhan, before averting his gaze away, "I suppose..."

A little later, after they've decided the rabbits here have gotten enough food and water, they move further, looking for other places.

They stop a few times to feed rabbits who chose solitary and hop around all by themselves on the road.

Jiang Cheng crouches down next to Wei Ying, who's watching two bunnies eat from a small bowl in front of him.

Jiang Cheng watches them for a while, before admitting, "They are kinda cute. Not as much as dogs, though."

"I think they're way cuter than dogs," Wei Ying objects.

"Of course you would."

Wei Ying points at a rabbit, the one who's crunching on a leaf almost angrily. "What about him? He looks grumpy, just like you."

Jiang Cheng takes out a vegetable from his bag, and says, "I'll beat you up with this carrot."

"No playing with the food!" Wei Ying scolds him.

"It wouldn't be playing!"

"Then I'll call for Lan Zhan to help me attack back," Wei Ying crosses his arms.

"That's cheating," Jiang Cheng says, his voice serious, but his expression teasing.

"Everything is fair at war," Wei Ying shrugs, as his eyes meet with Jiang Cheng's. Then, they both start to laugh.

The next field they encounter is smaller, and has less rabbits around than the first one. But as soon as they start to rattle with the food, most of the bunnies rush over, jumping around them.

After refilling the bowls for the third time, Jiang Cheng starts to wonder, "Just how much more rabbit food do we have?"

"Lan Zhan wanted to make sure every rabbit will have enough food," Wei Ying responds.

Jiang Cheng knits his eyebrows, "Like, all of them? Isn't that too many?"

"They should be feed well," comes Lan Zhan's calm answer.

Jiang Cheng looks at him, dumb-folded. He turns to Wei Ying, "He.. really loves rabbits, doesn't he?"

But Lan Huan explains before Wei Ying could reply, as he steps beside them, "They're his favourite animals. When we were little, he always wanted to keep one, but our family didn't allow it."

Jiang Cheng asks after a moment, "What about now?"

"I believe he could keep one on his own, if he wanted to," Lan Huan smiles.

"He totally should!" Wei Ying says, grinning, "I'm gonna make him adopt one. Maybe two even!"

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes, "Shouldn't he decide it for himself?"

"I'm sure he'd love to keep rabbits!"

"He probably does," Lan Huan agrees.

When they start walking again, Wei Ying tells about his newfound idea to Lan Zhan, while the other just hums lowly in response sometimes.

It's only a few minutes later that Jiang Cheng notices he's being followed by a small creature.

The others become aware of it too, as Lan Huan comments, "I think that one really likes you, Jiang Cheng."

"She keeps following you around," Wei Ying snickers. Then, a mischievous smile spreads across his face, "Aw, you finally have a girlfriend!"

Jiang Cheng's expression darkens and he sneers, "You...! You really want to get your ass kicked today, huh?"

"Don't look so scary, you're going to frighten your girlfriend," Wei Ying continues teasing him.

Jiang Cheng suddenly stops. He forms a fist with his hand, raising it before himself, and starts massaging it with his other hand, saying, "Wei Ying, you better fucking run now."

Wei Ying has stopped as well, but after hearing this, he actually starts running, while he also laughs, "Lan Zhan, save me!"

A bit later, the two boys sit down on the grass, panting heavily. Jiang Cheng still manages to slightly punch Wei Ying's shoulder, to which the other reacts with an exaggerated painful sound.

As they rest there, forgetting where they actually are, rabbits slowly start to appear around them, one hopping directly into Jiang Cheng's lap, stunning him.

"They really like you a lot, huh," Wei Ying stands up, watching as more and more bunnies slowly bury Jiang Cheng's lower half.

"Why is this happening to me," Jiang Cheng mumbles as he stares at his own lap in horror.

As Lan Huan and Lan Zhan approaches them, Lan Zhan's eyes widen a little at the scene, while Lan Huan softly laughs.

To help Jiang Cheng, they use the same method as before - putting out bowls and filling them with seeds and water. It does the effect quickly, attracting all the rabbits away from Jiang Cheng, except one.

A rabbit with dark, black fur comfortably lays in Jiang Cheng's lap. He's watching the rabbit, feeling helpless, when a figure appears in front of him, and gently takes out the small animal from his lap.

As Jiang Cheng looks up, he recognizes Lan Zhan - he holds the bunny carefully in his arms, and steps away.

Jiang Cheng stands up, and speaks, "Thank you, Lan Zhan."

"No problem," Lan Zhan says, and he crouches down, releasing the rabbit.

Many hours pass, and after they've ran out of foods to give, they decide to go back to the docks.

Through their whole trip on the island, Wei Ying has been taking pictures and recording videos of the rabbits and themselves too. On their way back, Wei Ying excitedly shows them around, mostly to Lan Zhan, who watches them with interest.

"Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng!" Wei Ying calls out his name, as he walks beside him, "Look at this one!" he shoves the phone to Jiang Cheng's face.

It's a picture of him, sitting in the grass, with that black rabbit in his lap. His expression can't be seen, as he's looking down at the rabbit, making it a nice photo, actually.

But Jiang Cheng only grunts, "Don't you dare upload this online!"

Wei Ying pouts, but he promises, "I won't! Oh, but can I send it to jiejie?"

Jiang Cheng thinks for a moment. "Yeah, but only her!"

"Alright!" Wei Ying's lips curve into a big smile, and he goes back to Lan Zhan's side, showing him more pictures.

When the ferry arrives, they get on and sit close as they all watch the videos on Wei Ying's phone. The first one has Jiang Cheng surrounded by rabbits, and Wei Ying's loud laughter is heard in the background, with the camera shaking in his hand.

Jiang Cheng smacks Wei Ying lightly on the shoulder, "Why did you even record that!"

"It was funny! Besides, I want to keep many memories of this day," his smile is warm, and seeing that, Jiang Cheng isn't in the mood to argue anymore.

The next video shows many rabbits as they eat, sometimes fighting over a leaf or pieces of seeds. It's followed by a recording of a resting bunny, up and close, with a part only focusing on the constantly moving nose of the little animal. Wei Ying's lively voice or laughter is present in almost all of them, but Lan Huan's soft voice and Jiang Cheng's grumbling can be heard too sometimes.

The videos differ from bunnies rolling around and playing with each other to them feeding the rabbits from hand with vegetables. There's also many videos of Wei Ying fooling around, making faces with rabbits behind or next to him.

And there are a good amount of recordings that just show Lan Zhan standing as he's watching the rabbits, or follows them around.

"This one is my favourite," Wei Ying remarks when a new one starts. In this, Lan Zhan is crouching down, as a rabbit is standing in front of him, supporting herself with her little paws on Lan Zhan's knees. Lan Zhan is feeding her some vegetable, and as the camera moves closer, his face becomes more discernible.

His expression isn't different from the usual, but there's a noticeable change.

A small smile is sitting on his mouth, as he's looking down at the little animal.

(Even Jiang Cheng's heart tightens a little at the rare sight.)

After the last video ends, they start discussing where to eat. Since they've only brought snacks and sandwiches with them for the trip, they're all feeling a bit hungry by the time they arrive back with the ferry.

They go back to the hotel after eating dinner, and by 8 pm, Jiang Cheng actually feels sleepy. It's been a long day, after all, and he's even more tired than yesterday, so after a quick shower, he falls asleep.

On the third day, they all hang out in Wei Ying and Lan Zhan's room after they've had breakfast.

Jiang Cheng is sitting on the sofa, reading some article on his phone. "When are we leaving?" He asks without looking up.

"Around 11 am," Wei Ying answers, "We still have a few hours til then."

"Should we do something?" Lan Huan asks.

"Hmm... oh!" Wei Ying jumps up from the bed, "We could go to the beach!"

"Isn't it still too chilly?" Jiang Cheng asks. The weather is warm, but it's mid-March, so the sea is still too cold to bathe in.

"We could just take a walk there. It's not so far, probably a few stops," Wei Ying says, already looking it up on his phone.

The beach is empty when they get there. The Sun is above the sea, its light glinting softly on the waves of water.

Wei Ying runs ahead, stopping before the shore. He kicks off his shoes, and steps on the slightly wet sand.

As the waves wash the beach, Wei Ying's bare feet get under water, and he jerks back a little, shouting, "It's really cold!"

"What did you expect, really.." Jiang Chengs asks in a low voice as they catch up with Wei Ying.

He grins at Jiang Cheng, as he steps closer to the water again, more careful this time.

This view is nothing new to Jiang Cheng. He's been to the beach a few times at home, but it's still a sight that captures his eyes. As Jiang Cheng watches the endless sea, as the horizon and the water's blue meets, almost blurs together in the distance.

The seagulls' cries are no different either, giving Jiang Cheng a familiar feeling.

It has a calm and timeless atmosphere, and that's something Jiang Cheng could definitely get used to.

We Ying walks around the shore freely, splashing the water when it washes up to his feet. Lan Zhan follows beside him, walking on the dry sand, listening to Wei Ying's talking.

Lan Huan is standing not far from Jiang Cheng, watching the scene with a slight smile.

Jiang Cheng suddenly feels curious about something. "Did you come because you also like rabbits?"

Lan Huan looks at him, a bit surprised. He shakes his head, "I don't dislike them, of course, but they're not the reason I came. I was simply asked by Wei Ying if I want to come with them," he says.

Jiang Cheng nods, "Is that so.."

"You came because Wei Ying dragged you along, didn't you?" Lan Huan asks, his tone playful.

Jiang Cheng coughs a little, speaking, "I could've said no, if I wanted to."

"I'm sure," Lan Huan doesn't sound like he's being dishonest. He continues, "I've heard it from Zhan di. You two are like brothers, right?"

Jiang Cheng looks at Wei Ying in the distance. He's still playing in the water, trying to splash water at Lan Zhan this time, who skillfully avoids it each time. Jiang Cheng smiles softly, "Yeah, our families used to be neighbors, so we basically grew up together."

"Then you must have a lot of fun stories together," Lan Huan says.

Jiang Cheng's mind is immediately flooded with many memories from their past, "So much I can't even keep count of them," he laughs a little.

Jiang Cheng then tells the story about how Wei Ying once got scared by a dog, climbed up a tree, and stayed there, crying, as the dog kept barking under the tree. In the end, Jiang Cheng drove the dog away, but Wei Ying was too afraid - he couldn't get off the tree. Jiang Cheng waited there for an hour with him, chatting about anything, until their parents came home. By the time Wei Ying was helped down by his father, he also calmed down and was laughing again.

Lan Huan also shares a story from their childhood with Lan Zhan, and they keep exchanging tales with each other for the rest of the time.

By 11 am, they're sitting on a bus that takes them back to the airport. Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying argue about whether yakisoba is better with sauce or battered.

At the airport, the four of them play word chain. It was Wei Ying's suggestion, and the others agreed mostly out of boredom.

(That is, until Wei Ying pisses off Jiang Cheng to the point he refuses to continue playing anymore, because Wei Ying has kept giving him words ending in the same syllable, making Jiang Cheng run out of new words he could think of.)

During their flight, Jiang Cheng sits next to the window, so he spends most of the time looking out and watching the landscape or the clouds below. From behind, he can hear Wei Ying's laughter sometimes, as he's watching funny video complications with Lan Zhan.

Only when they get into Lan Zhan's car, ready to head back home, Jiang Cheng realizes that their first trip to Japan has ended.

But, knowing Wei Ying, it most likely won't be their last one.

And if Jiang Cheng is being honest, he's actually looking forward to the next one, whenever it'll be.