Chapter Text
Ye Xiu, at age 15, has seen one thing brighter than the sun. Whenever Su Muqiu would look back at him after a successful game (con) and his eyes brighten with glee as his lips stretch into the most dazzling smile, he feels as if he's staring at the sun itself.
He's young but he likes to think that he's more mature now. He left the security of their family mansion. He doesn't have money. What he has now, he earned from his own hard work and ingenuity.
So, he likes to think that he's not quite so immature when he says he might have a crush on his best friend. He thinks, in a few more years, he might fall in love with him. Like, real love.
He never told anyone, even though he knows neither Muqiu nor Mucheng would laugh at him. They're his family now and he likes their dynamic. He doesn't want anything to change.
When he wakes up in a foreign place with familiar faces, all he can think of is where Muqiu or Mucheng are.
His Muqiu and Mucheng, he means. Because it turns out, his life's genre switched from slice of life to sci-fi in a flash.
15 years old Ye Xiu, now dubbed Ye Xiuliu, is in the future with five other versions of himself.
He doesn't know how long they'd stay there but he likes the dynamic they built. It's warm and he feels more at home here in their loud, tight, and bright team headquarters than the large Ye family mansion.
Everyone smiles here. His future selves have different sort of smiles and he notices how it gets tired and strained in time.
He wonders if Muqiu's smile is the same. Is his sun dimmer in this time? He wants to see Muqiu's smile again.
Whenever he asks if they could talk to him, his future selves and Mucheng always deflect him. He's young, not stupid.
He wonders if he and Muqiu had a falling out. Maybe it's because future him confessed.
But, no, Muqiu still trusts future him to watch over Mucheng. That must mean something, right?
Haa. This future is confusing. But he likes playing games. He's good at it.
And he also found another great smile through Glory.
It's a great smile. Not bright like the sun in a way Muqiu's will forever be in his mind. It's pale in comparison, but it isn't fair to compare because they are different smiles from different persons.
His new friend's name is Qiao Yifan and he's quiet in a way that assures Ye Xiuliu that he is always listening. He is shy and blind to his own admirable qualities but he likes to think that with his pushing and support, Yifan can see what he and his future selves see in him.
His smile though.
Yifan's smile is like the first Spring morning after a cold winter season. It's a breath of fresh air. It's not dazzling nor blinding but when it comes your way, it takes your breath away. It's Yifan's smile - a beautiful thing on its own.
15 years old Ye Xiu knows a lot of things.
He knows he loves playing Glory. He knows he always want Mucheng to be happy. He knows that if the Ye Xiu's go back to their own time, a part of him will always be gone. He knows there's no one that can compare to Muqiu's smile. He also knows that given the chance, he might like Yifan's smile a teensy bit more.
Just a teensy bit.
Miniscule amount.
Maybe.