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Jin Ling does not like Shanghai.

The air quality index might be better than Beijing on any given day and the streets are less crowded, but he misses the archery equipment back at his old school and walking down the same paved paths to avoid cram school. Most of all, he misses glimpsing at the few pictures of his father when he was a child scattered around the house. Sure, his jiujiu has a few pictures of his mother tucked inside a glass cabinet (a definite step up from the one his other uncle has) but Jin Ling doesn't think Jiang Cheng likes displaying too many pictures.

Jin Ling has spent his whole life shuffled back and forth between his two uncles, changed schools more times than he can count. He hates the new school in Shanghai; the kids here are stuck up and overly pretentious because they're Shanghainese. There's a loud and noisy kid in his homeroom that won't ever shut up. (It's not like his situation at his old school was any better.) His main objection to the change in schools and permanent move to Shanghai is purely on principle. It's not like he can actually object ever since The Incident. But at least he has Fairy.

"Ah, Jin Ling?" Jin Ling looks up to see the smiling face of Lan Sizhui with his lunch tray flush to his chest. If this were anyone else, Jin Ling would describe the way Sizhui's eyes are crinkled into crescents as awkward.

"Yes, Sizhui?" Jin Ling's chopsticks pause halfway to his mouth.

"The cafeteria is a bit crowded today. I was wondering if it would be alright for me to sit with you?" Sizhui laughs, scratching the back of his neck.

That's a lie; there's an empty table next to the one Jin Ling usually claims for himself. Maybe it's because he's tired because of the heated argument he had with his jiujiu this morning, and maybe it'd be kind of nice to actually have someone to sit with at lunch. Jin Ling has always sat alone, but Sizhui has been nothing but nice.

"Sure," he agrees noncommittally.

Sizhui beams before sliding into the seat across from him. For several long moments, the sound of their chopsticks hitting plastic containers fills up the awkward silence. Jin Ling wants to die. "How are you liking your classes?" Sizhui finally breaks the silence.

"They're okay." A lie. They're dull, boring to the point of torture. Jin Ling spends most of his time staring out the window. "English is hard though," he admits before he can help it. Jin Ling scowls, him and his stupid mouth.

"Would you like some help?" Sizhui asks.

Before Jin Ling can open his mouth and protest, No I don't need any help, I'm just fine thank you very much, a loud shout of "SIZHUI" cuts across the entire cafeteria. Heavy footsteps follow and Jin Ling twitches. It's none other than Lan Jingyi, the rambunctious and annoying kid in his homeroom class.

"Running and shouting in the school halls is prohibited, Jingyi." Sizhui reprimands.

Jingyi blanches, but he immediately frowns when he notices Jin Ling. "What's he doing here?"

"I didn't ask for both of you two come over here either," Jin Ling retorts.

Jin Ling scowls back. Sizhui lets out an awkward laugh. "Now now, we're all classmates aren't we? I was just asking Jin Ling how his classes were going."

"Hmpf," Jingyi crosses his arms, sticking his nose up in the air.

"Is there a reason why you were looking for me?" Sizhui asks after a few moments.

Jingyi startles. "Oh yeah, one of the first years made a mess of the archery practice room again. They need your help."

At this, Jin Ling's ears perk up. "Is there an archery club here?" he asks.

"Yeah. And Sizhui's the best archer on the team." Jingyi pounds his chest, puffing up with misplaced pride. Jin Ling thinks he looks like a cross-eyed blowfish. "But Sizhui, they really need your help."

"Sorry, Jin Ling, but it looks like I have to take care of some things first." Sizhui dusts his perfectly pristine pants. "I'll see you later this afternoon then."

"Tch." It's only after Jingyi pulls Sizhui away does Jin Ling realize he never agreed to being tutored in English. He scowls even harder.

This is how Jin Ling finds himself the unwilling victim of Sizhui's English tutoring sessions, and by extension, Lan Jingyi's Crash Course to Korean Dramas. When asked, Jin Ling insists that he was forced into watching half a season of Cheese in the Trap through dubious means that very first tutoring session. It's now routine for Jingyi to bounce up after they're all done with homework and drag– not manhandle since Jin Ling is too dignified to ever let himself be manhandled– Jin Ling towards the couch and watch an episode of The Kdrama of the Week. Sizhui watches the whole ordeal from the side and never once helps him as Jingyi forces him on the couch. Jin Ling once catches Sizhui biting down on a smile before ducking into the kitchen to retrieve snacks and freshly cut fruit. He tells himself he's only doing this because Jingyi can be relentless when he wants to and it's easier to just give in, and not because he's trying to get a glimpse of the amusement dance behind Sizhui's eyes.

"Hey, watch it!" Jin Ling shoves Jingyi to the side the moment the younger Lan flops onto the couch. "You're hogging up all the space."

"Is this couch too cramped for our Jin-gongzhu?" Jingyi counters. He elbows Jin Ling back in retaliation, which causes him to bump into Sizhui as the older Lan settles on the couch.

"Be polite now. Jin Ling's a guest," Sizhui admonishes. "And there's plenty of room on the couch for all three of us." Jin Ling's face burns, but he's not sure from what. He settles for crossing his arms and lets out a displeased hmprf instead.

After some more elbowing and yelps, they Jingyi finally starts the drama. Jin Ling snatches the plate of pears that Sizhui cut earlier. He refuses to let Jingyi grab a piece for the first fifteen minutes. It's only three-quarters of the way through the episode does he notice that the remaining two pieces of pear are gone as well as half a bag of chips. The only thing that stops him from saying anything is the fact the main lead and main characters are having a deep heart to heart.

"AAAAAAH,” Jingyi yells when the episode finally draws to a close. Jin Ling shoves a pillow in his face.

"Is a show like this even appropriate for him?" Jin Ling asks, but privately he agrees. The cliffhanger has his toes curling and makes his chest hurt. Unfortunately, it's late and he needs to get back home before his jiujiu kills him. He contemplates secretly watching the next episode on his own, but then decides against it.

"Are you soulless? It's so frustrating! They're even worse than Senior Wei and your dad." Jingyi complains. "Not that your dad isn't amazing, but..."

Sizhui laughs softly. "How come I still haven't seen this Wei Wu-whatever," Jin Ling mutters. "I come over–" he realizes what the rest of his sentence would imply and flushes.

Wei Wuxian is Sizhui's next door neighbor. Apparently he and Sizhui's dad are "hopelessly and utterly in love," as Jingyi puts it. The two of them were high school classmates, but had a minor falling out, or something. They lost contact until last year when Senior Wei started teaching at a nearby university and moved into the apartment next door. According to Jingyi, just watching them interact is physically nauseating. Jin Ling's only interacted with Lan Wangji that one time he stayed for dinner, and he's not sure he can imagine the man showing any kind of emotion, let alone make “the saddest heart eyes known to mankind”. (Once again, Jingyi’s words, not Sizhui’s.)

"You come over...?" Jingyi smirks.

"Never mind," Jin Ling says hastily. "It's late. I need to get back before jiujiu yells at me."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. This little princess has a curfew," Jingyi snickers.

"Shut up!" Jin Ling says the same time Sizhui offers, "I'll walk you to the subway entrance."

Jin Ling shoots Jingyi a scowl as he grabs his jacket, but doesn't shake off Sizhui's offer. He long since learned his lesson about the Lans and their stubbornness. Just as the two of them reach the door, a sound that makes Jin Ling's toes curl carries down the hall. "Lan Zhan!" The voice trills, "I ran out of spices. Do you have any–"

The door to the apartment opens and Jin Ling is greeted with a familiar face.

There's only one photograph of Wei Wuxian inside of Jiang Cheng's class cabinet. It's a worn-down print of his two uncles and his mother from their childhood and sits inside a cheap purple frame with his mother's neat handwriting scrawled on the outer edge. In the photograph, Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian's arms are slung around each other. His mother sits in the middle with a lopsided birthday cake in front of her. Her smile is wide and she looks positively delighted at the cake. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian's grins are equally bright. It's the only photograph where Jiang Cheng is truly smiling. Every time Jin Ling looks at the picture, his heart aches.

The man in front of him looks just like the other boy in the photograph, only his jaw is sharper and there’s a small hint of something Jin Ling can’t quite place his finger on. Otherwise, the faintly mischievous smirk and twinkling eyes are exactly the same. What happened between you two? Jin Ling wants to ask.

"Y-you're–" Wei Wuxian gapes at him. A hurricane of emotion washes across his face. His hand twitches, almost as if he wants to touch Jin Ling. Jin Ling flinches. Hurt flashes across his face but he recovers quickly. "So you're the new friend Sizhui's been talking about," he comments slyly.

"Senior Wei," Sizhui dips his head. The tips of his ears are red.

"You're telling me your neighbor is my uncle?" Jin Ling doesn’t screech. "You've got to be kidding me.” What is this? One of Jingyi's shitty Korean dramas?"

"Hey, Sizhui I was thinking what if we–" Jingyi pauses once he sees Jin Ling pointing an accusatory finger at Wei Wuxian. "What's going on?"

Jin Ling flushes. "I'm leaving, that's what." He ignores the flash of confusion on Sizhui's face and the way his chest hurts afterwards as he races to the subway station.

Stupid, Jin Ling thinks as the arrow leaves his fingertips. It lands on the inner part of the black circle.

"This is dumb." Jin Ling pulls back the string with a vehemence unknown to mankind. "I can't believe this," he hisses. This time, the arrow embeds itself in the middle of the outer blue ring, on the bottom part of the target board. Jin Ling scowls, knocking and releasing another arrow. It still lands in outer blue circle but this time it's in the top part of the board.

If Jiang Cheng could see him now, he'd surely have a fit. If any of his cousins could see him (not like Jin Ling ever would let them), it'd be the talk of the week. And then, once they found another one of Jin Ling's flaws to pick on, they'd fling this instance of failure back in his face as they dangled other insults in front of his face.

The next arrow falls to the side of the target. The arrow after that barely makes it onto the target. Jin Ling wipes the sweat off his forehead then examines the bow in his hand. On one hand, throwing the bow on the ground would give immense satisfaction. On the other hand, Jin Ling isn't supposed to be here at all. He's technically not part of the archery team. For some odd reason, Sizhui's disappointed face flashes in his mind. Jin Ling feels like he's just kicked a puppy.

"Urgh," he groans. Jin Ling eyes the arrows scattered on the ground and embedded all over the target. Right now, he wants nothing more than to storm out of this stupid archery room and go back home before Jiang Cheng gets back so he can cuddle on the couch with Fairy and watch his shows. Definitely not the latest episode of Love Alarm. And great, he can't even watch one of his favorite shows without thinking about the stupid Lans and stupid Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.

"Your archery skills are not bad. The team could use someone like you." A voice comes from behind him.

"What are you doing here?" Jin Ling demands. It's only when Sizhui walks over to pick up the scattered arrows does he realize the absurdity of his question. Scoffing, he stomps over and collects the arrows with Sizhui. If he hurls one too many arrows into their pile, Sizhui doesn't comment.

When they finish cleaning up there's nothing to fill the awkward silence that grows larger by the minute. Jin Ling coughs into his elbow. Still, Sizhui stands there with the barest hint of a smile on his face. At least he smiles. It could be much worse, Jin Ling could be standing with Lan Wangji.

"Your initial arrows all hit their mark. Try calming your mind next time and you'll see improvements." Sizhui says.

"What would you know about me?" Jin Ling snaps. Sizhui's face doesn't even twitch and Jin Ling hates it. "Who said I wanted to join your stupid archery club anyways. All your equipment sucks."

"Well, I suppose we'll need your help getting new equipment then." Sizhui replies.

"You bet you guys do. I can't believe this is all you guys have," Jin Ling sneers. "Back in Beijing, we had much better equipment and a much better team."

"I look forward to your help then," Sizhui chirps. "Practice tomorrow starts at seven. We do not tolerate tardiness."

It's only when the door to the archery room slams shut and Jin Ling is left with a pile of arrows does he realize what just happened.

The unfortunate part of going to the same school as Sizhui and Jingyi is, well, going to the same school as Sizhui and Jingyi. It's hard to avoid the two when one boy is in his homeroom and the other leads archery practices. Sizhui gives Jin Ling a total of three days before him and Jin Ling finally corner him. So now, Jin Ling is back to square one: eating lunch with two Lan boys. This is most definitely makes Jin Ling’s Top Ten Lowest Moments.

"Man, I seriously can't wait to show you what I've come up with this after school." Jingyi says with a mouthful of chicken.

"Jingyi has been rather, ah, inspired by the recent turn of events," Sizhui explains. He only looks slightly pained at said boy’s loud chewing. "He's very excited."

"Who said I was coming over this afternoon," Jin Ling mutters darkly.

"Well you don't have any club activities or cram school today," Jingyi points out.

The thing is, Jingyi is right. Jin Ling really doesn't have anything else to do. He's become so accustomed to going over to the Lan's apartment that going straight home these past few days has felt utterly miserable and lonely. Even with Fairy at home, the apartment feels too quiet and empty. It's gotten to the point where Jiang Cheng has noticed something was wrong. And Jin Ling really doesn't want to have an awkward attempt at a conversation about Feelings with his jiujiu.

"Just don't assume things next time." Jin Ling huffs, "I'm a busy person you know." Still, he doesn't miss the way two pairs of eyes light up.

However, the moment he steps foot in Sizhui's apartment, he regrets having made every decision that has led him to his terrible fate. As soon as they're done with homework (as per Sizhui's insistence), Jingyi whips out his notebook, clearing his throat.

"So, I was thinking–," he begins.

"You can think?" Jin Ling retorts. He's unable to repress the small sense of glee that rises when Jingyi's eye twitches. Sizhui shoots him a disappointed look and the exultant feeling lodges in his throat like a misswallowed fishbone.

Jingyi clears his throat, "As I was saying, I've been working on this case for a while. However, I believe that some parts of my plan could use a bit of revision and development. If you guys look here..." Jingyi thumbs through his notebook before finally landing on a page.

List of Most Successful Dates in Korean Dramas. Jin Ling's lip twitches. He turns to the next page, lip twitching even more. There are two sheets of paper taped to the inside and when Jin Ling unfolds them he's greeted with a detailed, carefully color-coded evidence board. Jin Ling starts from one end as he reads Jingyi's awful handwriting. LWJ only allows WWX to call him Lan Zhan. Not even uncle LXC calls LWJ that.

"How...long have you been working on this?" Sizhui asks tentatively.

"The evidence board or the plan to get Wei Wuxian and Hanguang Jun together?" Jingyi replies. "Or the evidence board? Because I started that one way back since I thought it was fishy how often Wei Wuxian spent bothering him. I thought I was never going to get my peace of mind!"

The desperate plea in Sizhui's gaze doesn't go unnoticed by Jin Ling. He's tempted to laugh at how pained the other boy looks. Sizhui flips a few pages, face paling even more. This one is titled ~First Date Ideas~. Jin Ling wants to puke from the sheer amount of glitter and pink decorating the page. Jingyi even included pictures cut out from his favorite Korean dramas and their timestamps that influenced his ideas. It's the twenty-first century, Jin Ling honestly doesn't know why the other boy didn't just make a Word Document or one of those online flowchart tool things to detail his intricate plans.

"Why do eighty percent of these ideas have ice cream in them?" Jin Ling inquires as he flips onto the next page of Jingyi's various first date ideas.

“All good first dates need ice cream,” Jingyi says seriously. “No relationship is complete without at least one ice cream hand-holding date.”

"How are you going to get them to hold hands if they can't even admit that they're in love with each other?" Jin Ling sneers.

Jingyi scowls in a manner unbecoming of all the elegance and grace his family claims to have. He struggles to reign in his expression. "All relationships need at least one ice cream date," Jingyi amends.

"And how are you going to get them to be in the park to get ice cream in the first place?" Jin Ling asks. "What if it was winter, would you still make them get ice cream on their first date then?"

Pride swells in Jin Ling’s chest when Jingyi almost leaps out of his chair, clenching then unclenching his fist. “Ice cream is a year round food the same way love exists all year round,” Jingyi says matter of factly. Sizhui shoots Jin Ling a look, effectively shutting him up before he can make another snarky comment. (This time, it's the foreign feeling of guilt that slowly trickles down his throat. Jin Ling doesn't like it.)

"I was...getting there?" Jingyi offers. "I'd like to see you come up with a better plan."

Jin Ling never backs down from a challenge because that was the way Jiang Cheng raised him and because that was the only way he could survive amongst his ruthless cousins. Tilting his chin upwards, Jin Ling snorts. “Yeah, you want to bet?” Jingyi’s plan is full of holes and if it were left up to him, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji would continue to dance around each other in that sickening way of theirs. So obviously someone needs to step in and remedy this situation. And clearly, the best person for the job is him.

Phase One: An Idyllic Day in Shanghai

"You're late." Jingyi says when the door to the Lans' apartment swings open.

Jin Ling grimaces, why couldn't Sizhui's much more pleasant face greet him instead? "I'm still earlier than Wei Wuxian," he spits out. There had been an intense interrogation session last night when Jin Ling told Jiang Cheng he'd be out for most of the day, and then some last minute harassment and nagging as a bottle of sunscreen and an umbrella were shoved into his hands.

"Oh Jin Ling! You have a little bit of sunscreen on your face still." Sizhui says.

"It's okay I can–" Jin Ling protests but one of Sizhui's hands cradles Jin Ling's head while the other slowly rubs the remaining sunscreen into his nose and forehead. Jin Ling feels his entire face heat up. From here he can see the way Sizhui's tongue peeks out of his mouth and Jin Ling combusts for the second time in the span of a minute. Great, not only did he board the subway looking like a complete idiot but Jingyi and Sizhui have both seen him looking like one too.

When Sizhui finishes he steps back with a small, satisfied smile. "Um, thanks." Jin Ling says and there's blood roaring in his ears. The Lans are going to be the death of him. Jingyi coughs in the background.

On the ride to the Pearl Tower, Jin Ling gets shoved into the subway car by the weekend crowd, so he ends up awkwardly sandwiched between Wei Wuxian and the subway door. The two of them end up making eye contact once before awkwardly looking elsewhere. Although Jin Ling supposes, this is still a step up from getting stuck next to Lan Wangji.

"It's so bright," Wei Wuxian exclaims when they finally exit the subway. He runs out like an excited kid on a field trip, practically cooing and shouting at how big the tower is. "Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! It's the only Taco Bell in China. I read up about it online before. They're all over the place in America but China only has one of them."

Jin Ling hangs back, allowing Wei Wuxian to grab Lan Wangji's arm as he drags him forward. He slows his steps so he's walking behind Jin Ling and Sizhui. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see families milling about, little kids holding their parents' hands as they're swung back and forth, large smiles and grins on their faces. Jin Ling's throat turns dry.

"Hey, kiddos!" Wei Wuxian shouts from across the street. He has a new drink in hand and Lan Wangji stands next to him, as stoic as ever. He asks, "Could you take some pictures for us?"

"We're almost in university," Jin Ling grumbles to himself as he reluctantly follows to where Wei Wuxian beckons. Luckily, Sizhui gets relegated to picture-taking duty although it takes all of Jin Ling's restraint not to point out how he's getting the angle all wrong. There’s a reason why Jin Ling’s Weibo and Tik Tok have so many followers (part of the reason is because of Fairy).

From the side, Jin Ling watches how Wei Wuxian poses shamelessly, dragging an apathetic Lan Wangji to his side. The two of them look utterly ludicrous. In the past fifteen minutes Lan Wangji's stone-cold face caused more than one child to scamper away in fright. Hell, Jin Ling wants to run away right now. But apparently achieving the greater good sometimes means he has to sacrifice his sanity. Still, he admits to himself as Wei Wuxian unfurls Lan Wangji's hands in an attempt to get him to make a peace sign, there's a chemistry between them that's hard to come by.

"Jin Ling," Wei Wuxian calls out, snapping the boy out of his thoughts. "What are you brooding over there for? Get over here."

Jin Ling grimaces. "For what?" he demands, crossing his arms.

Wei Wuxian, a grown adult, actually pouts at him. Jin Ling’s grimace deepens. He's not sure whether the feeling churning inside his stomach is revolt or shock. "A picture of course! With my best nephew. It's been years since we've taken a photo together."

"No!" Jin Ling says after sputtering for a moment but he can feel the heat rising to the surface of his cheeks. For a second, sadness and sorrow flicker in Wei Wuxian's eyes. It's similar to the expression he saw in the apartment those few weeks back but, just like last time, it vanishes in an instant. Jin Ling debates with himself before his conscience—thanks so much—actually kicks in and he marches over next to Wei Wuxian with the most contempt he can muster.

"Wha–"

"If I don't take a picture with you, you'll never stop pestering me." Jin Ling scowls. Wei Wuxian's arm rests awkwardly around his shoulder and when Sizhui finishes snapping the picture, Jin Ling can't spring away fast enough.

Once they finish taking more photographs (since Wei Wuxian forces the three of them to take a slew of photos for "the memories" or whatever), they're finally on their way to buy tickets to go up the tower. Jin Ling swipes through the newly taken photos on Sizhui's phone, deleting the bad ones, as he follows the rest of their group.

"I've been here for almost a year but I still haven't come here. Isn't that funny? Usually the first thing people do when they come to Shanghai is go to the Pearl Tower." Wei Wuxian says.

"En, Wei Ying has been busy." Lan Wangji agrees noncommittally.

"Do you think we can all the way up? Like to the top top? I love tall buildings, especially the kind with glass floors. Feels like you're flying."

"We can come back another time." Lan Wangji pauses, staring straight into Wei Wuxian's eyes.

In front of him, Jingyi halts causing Jin Ling to crash into him. The two of them stay still as they watch the intense staring contest going on in front of them. "I think I'm not feeling too well." Jingyi says before pulling out his phone to snap a picture. He grabs Jin Ling and Sizhui's wrists, fleeing to China's only Taco Bell.

"You guys ditched us! For Taco Bell!" Wei Wuxian sniffs when he and Lan Wangji finally arrive. Jin Ling shrugs his shoulders as he continues to sip on his pink lemonade and Jingyi innocently takes a bit of his shrimp and avocado burrito. Sizhui, at the very least, has the decency to look somewhat guilty.

Wei Wuxian marches over and plucks one of their fries. Jin Ling frowns once again. What kind of adult steals food from high schoolers? Jingyi looks similarly miffed; he's slowly pushing his box of fried chicken out of Wei Wuxian's reach.

Lan Wangji glances at the Taco Bell menu then back down at Wei Wuxian's face. "We can get better snacks at Chenghuang Temple," Jingyi says.

"Ah, that's right," Sizhui claps his hands together. "We were going to go there this afternoon. Jin Ling's never been there either, right?"

"No," Jin Ling says, sipping on his drink glumly.

Their time inside the store only means that the temperature, and the number of people, have reached the worst point in the day. When Jin Ling exits the safety of the air conditioning, he's blasted with the muggy heat and swarms of people despite the fact that it's fall now. The state of Chenghuang Temple certainly doesn't improve his mood. There, people are swarming between every nook and cranny. Once again, Lan Wangji sticks out like a sore thumb in the midst of the crowd.

"Are you feeling okay?" Sizhui falls back behind next to Jin Ling as they navigate their way through the sea of people.

"I'm fine." Jin Ling glowers because he hates pity most of all. Sizhui frowns but doesn't press the issue, instead choosing to walk next to him. Jin Ling should find it irritating and a small part of him wants to storm off and go back home but there's something about Sizhui's steady presence by his side that stops him from doing so.

In the marketplace it's easier to slip out of Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's gaze and thus easier to carry out Jingyi's plan. Not that the two were paying close attention to the three of them in the first place. Jingyi practically coos when he sees Wei Wuxian hand half of his qingtuan to Lan Wangji. His ice cream nearly falls off onto the ground beside them and it would have been a very tragic death for the soft serve indeed.

The rest of the afternoon passes in a similar fashion. When they reach Zhengda Palace, Jin Ling gets to watch Wei Wuxian rush to the claw machines, eyes lit up like a child receiving a birthday present. His face is still pressed up against the glass when the rest of them catch up. And really, Jin Ling thinks that his uncle should learn how to be a more dignified adult.

"Do you want one?" Lan Wangji asks.

Jin Ling makes eye contact with Jingyi and Sizhui.

"Me? Haha, I should be asking you that question. You know, I used to be able to get any item I wanted. The only time it didn't annoy Jiang Cheng was if I gave it to him or jiejie." Wei Wuxian says wistfully, eyes getting a bit glassy. Before the Jin Ling can ponder an un-angry version, Wei Wuxian snaps out of his daze. "So, Lan Zhan, which one do you want?"

"Anyone Wei Ying wants," Lan Wangji answers.

Wei Wuxian claps his hands in delight. "How about the bunny? It's cute." He reaches for his phone to pay, but after scanning it on the machine a few times, turns around to laugh awkwardly. "Do you think you could pay? My phone's out of battery." Inwardly, Jin Ling facepalms. Lan Wangji, just like he has been this entire day, takes out his phone and scans it.

"Next time bring a portable charger. Your phone is important." He moves back to watch Wei Wuxian's eyes trained on the claw.

"I forgot, I forgot! I was in such a rush to meet you all today it slipped my mind."

Before Jin Ling can gag on more of this sickeningly sweet exchange, Jingyi pulls him and Sizhui to the side in a way he thinks is inconspicuous but Jin Ling knows for a fact is not.

"What are we going to do about dinner? I don't know of any restaurants with romantic settings in the area!" Jingyi hisses. He scrolls through his phone, holding up a restaurant for them to peer at.

Jin Ling wrinkles his nose. "Urgh, seriously? Do you have any taste?" Jingyi wouldn't know the difference between two and three Michelin stars. "I can't believe you wanted them to end on a dinner date but wouldn’t even let me make the restaurant reservation." He rolls his eyes, to emphasize his annoyance.

"Hey, I didn't know we'd end up here for dinner. I was thinking more of a romantic restaurant on a rooftop restaurant!" Jingyi retorts.

Jin Ling narrows his eyes at Jingyi. "Seriously? Do you know how long ahead you have to reserve for one of those?"

Just before Jingyi is able to open his mouth to argue again, Sizhui cuts in, "Now that's enough. It was an honest mistake. Since you seem to know a lot about the restaurants here, do you think you could pick out a restaurant for the two?"

He wants to open his mouth to say, No, you guys deal with it but Wei Wuxian is walking towards them with a large plush bunny and the thought of disappointing Sizhui scares Jin Ling into silence. He sullenly leads them to a restaurant in the mall both of his uncles have frequently mentioned for their business meetings. However, when they arrive at the restaurant, another one of Jingyi's oversights of the day show.

The restaurant is packed with people and they're relegated to waiting outside. Jin Ling doesn't try to hide his displeasure, he sits as far away from Jingyi as possible and crosses his arms, staring at the ground. He spends the first thirty minutes counting the specks of dust on the floor in front of him, desperately trying to block out Wei Wuxian's story. Still, he can't help but bite down his grin when he hears about his and Jiang Cheng's escapades back in the day. It's difficult to imagine his uncle as anything else other than the stone-faced, angry man he is now.

"Jingyi sent an SOS text to Wen Ning to get us before we get seated," Sizhui says as he plops down into the empty seat next to him.

"Hn," Jin Ling grunts, keeping his eyes trained on his phone. It's a video montage of dog videos on Tik Tok. No one needs to know that Jin Ling likes watching them in his spare time to calm himself.

"You've been improving a lot during this past week of practice." Sizhui tries again.

Jin Ling bites down on his lip and ignores the way something warm stirs in his chest. You're being dumb, he tells himself, scrolling to the next video. "Thanks," his traitorous mouth mutters anyway. Sizhui smiles at him and Jin Ling furiously fixes his eyes on his phone screen.

"They're dog videos," Jin Ling mutters after a few minutes after his eyes have been looking at one thing but his mind thinking about another.

"Ah, that one is cute," Sizhui comments, pointing to the small pomeranian darting through the hoop. Jin Ling makes a small noise in agreement.

The next forty-five minutes pass by quickly, a warm presence next to Jin Ling's side. It's not until a towering bowl of mango shaved ice is placed in front of them, long after their deus ex machina had swept them away from the restaurant, and his stomach is full with soup dumplings and claypot rice and sweet sausage, does Jin Ling become aware of the soreness in his cheeks.

They arrive back at the apartment long before Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji; the three of them pressing their ear against the thick wooden door in an attempt to hear the exchange back in the apartment. It's a mad scramble back to the living room when the hallway goes silent, or rather, Wei Wuxian goes silent. Jin Ling's heart hammers in his chest as the lock clicks and the door swings open. Jingyi wipes a bead of sweat off his forehead as Lan Wangji passes by, straightening stray books and cleaning up dishes in the kitchen.

"When did you get home?" Lan Wangji asks, folding up one of the dishcloths.

"About an hour ago. Wen Ning took us to a nearby restaurant." Sizhui answers smoothly. "How was your dinner?"

Lan Wangji pauses, expression unchanging. "It was nice. It's late now."

"It is. Hopefully his uncle won't be worried. I'll walk Jin Ling to the subway stop," Sizhui says and Jin Ling follows mechanically.

The roar of cars flying past and the distant, indiscriminate chatter fills the silence between them on their way to the subway. It's not like the long stretches of awkward silence that used to occur in the beginning of the year when Jin Ling was being too stubborn to answer any of Sizhui's questions.

"I hope today was not too exhausting for you." Sizhui says, when they finally arrive at the subway stop.

"It wasn't," Jin Ling replies quickly, "It was fun." And he's surprised to find that he actually means it. He enjoyed the cramped seats in the dessert shop and the mindless bickering on their way to dinner. He enjoyed the overwhelming sweet dessert and laughter. He glances down at the ground and digs his heel into the ground.

"I'm glad. I enjoyed it too." Sizhui says, smiling.

It's only when Jin Ling gets off the subway does he realize the soreness in his cheeks is from smiling too much.

Phase One Conclusion: Not Terrible

"Looking at last weekend's results, I do have to say we were pretty successful. However, we need to step up our game if we want Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji to actually get together. I've compiled different clips from different dramas so we can get some inspiration."

Sizhui claps his hands. "That sounds great. Why don't you show us?"

Jin Ling grimaces, face planting his head into the textbook. He’d rather study English than watch Jingyi's "inspirational kdrama videos." Still he peeks from the corner of his eyes to see what clips the other boy will show. He'll never say it in a million years but Jingyi has incredible video editing skills. Jin Ling isn't sure he wants to know how that particular skill was developed.

When the video finishes, Jin Ling asks, “Romantic motorcycle ride with behind-the-back waist-clutching. Seriously?"

“It’s a classic.” Jingyi defends.

“Can you imagine Lan Wangji riding a motorcycle?” Jin Ling asks. The three of them stare at each other in dead silence. Sizhui shivers. The thought of the ever-stoic Lan Wangji on a motorcycle, complete with a helmet and leather jacket makes the hairs on the back of Jin Ling’s neck prickle. Then he imagines Wei Wuxian in a leather jacket, a red shirt, and dark, black jeans as he shakes his hair out, looking at Lan Wangji and–

God, Jingyi’s disgusting penchant for romance is rubbing off on him.

Jingyi pales. “A moped?”

Sizhui chokes on his water. The esteemed Lan Wangji, renown guzhen player, driving a moped bike in Shanghai’s bustling traffic with a pristine white scooter blanket embroidered with light blue, puffs of gray smoke heaving from the machine. Jin Ling can’t suppress his laugh.

“Okay, maybe not.” Jingyi scowls. "But go big or go home, right? We need to make this second date better than the first. What place has some super romantic spots for an intimate heart-to-heart?"

"Hangzhou is very beautiful at night," Sizhui offers.

Jingyi's eyes widen and a familiar smile creeps onto his face. Jin Ling shrivels on the inside. "What if we had them go on a romantic weekend excursion to Hangzhou. They could go to the tea farms and walk along the river at night and–"

(Jing Ling can imagine it already. “Jiujiu,” he’d cough, “can I go to Hangzhou with my friends?” Jiang Cheng’s eyebrows would twitches and he’d have a grimace plastered onto his face. Jin Ling has never feared for his life more. He can’t imagine where the end of this conversation would go and it terrifies him.)

“And how do you think we’re going to get them to Hangzhou in the first place?” Jin Ling sneers instead. “Is your grandfather even going to let you go?” He receives the small satisfaction of watching Jingyi pale, imagining that conversation.

"Maybe not Hangzhou then," Jingyi acquiesces.

"No Hangzhou," Jin Ling affirms and that's that.

When Jin Ling spots Sizhui in the cafeteria he makes a beeline towards the other boy. He tells himself that it's because the only other seat available in the entire cafeteria is next to Sizhui, and not because he actually enjoys sitting next to him.

For the past month, if he's not sitting with Jingyi or Sizhui during lunch, he's sitting alone. It's not that he minds exactly, he used to sit alone at lunch every day up until he changed high schools, but if Jingyi or Sizhui are free it would just be weird to not sit next to them.

There's a pretty, water-colored book obscuring Sizhui's face when Jin Ling plops down next to him. Sizhui startles, glancing around, before quickly shoving the book into his backpack.

"What were you reading?" Jin Ling asks, narrowing his eyes at the lump in Sizhui's backpack.

"Nothing!" Sizhui squeaks, cheeks dusted a light pink.

If anything, it only serves to make Jin Ling even more suspicious. Just what had the other boy been reading? Maybe that's why he also chose the corner of the cafeteria, where almost no one else sits. Jin Ling focuses his gaze on Sizhui and he can see the other boy slowly crumbling underneath his stare. "Well, it looked really interesting since you didn't even notice me walking up. "

Sizhui's face turns even redder. "I was doing research to help Jingyi come up with more ideas," he mutters, uncharacteristically shy for once.

On the inside, Jin Ling cackles at the newfound knowledge. "So a romance novel then? You seemed to be pretty into it."

"It was a romance novel," Sizhui admits looking one part guilty and two parts embarrassed and three parts like he wants to combust on the spot. "They're good for inspiration though? I like them...."

Then, Jin Ling remembers that Sizhui is also the president of the school's book club. He barely fights the smirk from making its way onto his face. Sizhui squirms underneath his eyes as the silence between them stretches. Finally, Jin Ling decides to end his misery. "What's the book about?" he asks.

Sizhui blinks at him. Then blinks again. When he blinks the third time, Jin Ling purposefully lets out an exasperated huff. "The book?" Sizhui asks, "Oh yeah, the book. It's a bit embarrassing," He scratches the back of his neck, eyes darting away from Jin Ling's.

Jin Ling raises an eyebrow, daring the other boy to just try. And if he spends that lunch listening to Sizhui talk about his romance novels just because there's something about the sound of his voice when he's so enthusiastic about something, that's only for him to know.

Phase Two: Unexpected Cooking Date

Their second chance is less of a planned but more of a spontaneous occurrence marked by Jingyi falling out of his seat one afternoon and frantically shouting.

"Guys, look!" He scrambles towards the window in a frenzy, drawing aside the curtains. Below Sizhui's apartment, there's a few major roads and a crosswalk. On the side closest to the apartment is Wei Wuxian, umbrella-less in the torrential downpour. On the other side is Lan Wangji, with an umbrella. Jin Ling holds his breath as Lan Wangji stands motionless, waiting for the stoplight to turn red, while Wei Wuxian continues towards the apartment complex, unaware.

"Come on, come on," Jingyi hisses as Lan Wangji still doesn't move. They all let out a sigh of relief when Lan Wangji bounds over to Wei Wuxian faster than the speed of light. The two pause underneath the rain, then Jin Ling watches as Lan Wangji places a hand on Wei Wuxian's back, pulling him underneath the umbrella.

That's all it takes for Jingyi to start scheming. It's a long ten minutes before Wei Wuxian's voice filters down the hallway, expanding to fill up the empty space.

"Lan Zhan, I'm cold," Wei Wuxian says. There's a long moment of silence and the three of them stare at one another.

Jingyi opens the apartment door and gives Sizhui a shove outside and Jin Ling winces. He kicks Jingyi's ankle as Sizhui speaks to the two hopeless adults in the hallway, ignoring the confused look Jingyi sends him.

"Jin Ling, you're here too!" Wei Wuxian grins. Fat droplets of water drip onto the doormat and he grins like a wet dog caught in the rain. Lan Wangji, on the other hand, somehow manages to look dignified, despite being similarly soaked from the splash when he pulled Wei Wuxian back from a careless motorcyclist.

"You're all wet," Jin Ling says with all the distaste he can mutter.

Thankfully, he doesn't get any closer. Maybe it's because Wei Wuxian was already soaked so the jacket just blended in, or the fact that it was dark outside which made the lightning in the apartment bad, but only now does Jin Ling realize what his long lost deranged uncle has draped over his shoulders. He begins to sputter, face turning red and he swears Wei Wuxian meets his eyes and smirks.

"Ah, Lan Zhan, you gave me your jacket but now it got all wet too. I told you it'd be fine." Wei Wuxian tugs at the light gray jacket on his shoulders.

"You said you were cold," Lan Wangji answers.

Wei Wuxian pouts at the other man, draping the jacket on the coat stand. "I'm here now and still wet and your jacket is all ruined. Can I use your bathroom to dry off?"

Lan Wangji nods. "I'll lend you spare clothes."

"No, really! It's okay I live right next door–" Wei Wuxian's blabbering gets cut off when Lan Wangji encloses his wrist in an iron grip and drags him towards the bathroom.

Once again, the three of them are left staring at each other in shock. Jingyi's eyes look as though they're about to fall off and Sizhui looks pale. Jin Ling feels queasy as well. The two must have the thickest skulls alive if they haven't realized their feelings for each other.

When Lan Wangji returns to the kitchen, Jin Ling can't help but fidget underneath his gaze. The man puts him on edge and makes him incredibly nervous for some strange reason. There's a thick awkwardness in the atmosphere, and none of them say a word until the bathroom door clicks open.

"So," Wei Wuxian says, dry and in Lan Wangji's too-long too-pristine shirt, "I heard that you youngsters wanted to try my cooking?"

"Y-yes," Jingyi stammers.

There's a mad glint in Wei Wuxian's eyes and not for the first time, Jin Ling wonders what exactly he signed himself up for when he became friends with the two Lan boys. Wei Wuxian ends up shooing them all out of the kitchen, save for Lan Wangji. The three of them scamper out of the kitchen as fast as possible, not wanting to suffer the thick tension in the air anymore.

It's quiet as they wait for the two adults to finish cooking, assiduously working on their homework. Jin Ling doesn't notice something's off until a sharp smell pulls him out of his concentration.

"Do you guys smell that?" he asks.

Jingyi wrinkles his nose. "I hope whatever we have for dinner is edible..."

The three of them cautiously make their way back to the kitchen, as though an unseen enemy could attack them at any moment. Unseen enemy, in this case, being the sharp, spicy smells wafting out of the kitchen despite the humming fan above the stoves. The overpowering aroma only gets stronger as they approach the kitchen and Jin Ling wants to gag. His nostrils are on fire.

"Oh! You guys are out here already. Want to help set the table?" Wei Wuxian turns around, wearing none other than the Lan family apron. (In other words, Lan Wangji's apron.)

"Is that....spicy?" Jin Ling inquires, peering over his uncle's shoulder. The pan is full of fiery red chilies and Jin Ling feels his stomach shrivel at the thought. He's always one to add lao ganma to his food whenever they have it in the apartment but even this seems like too much for him. He doesn't know how Sizhui and Jingyi, who eat the plainest food on the face of this planet, will deal.

"Only a little bit. It's not bad at all." Wei Wuxian grins, plating the spicy chicken.

When the five of them are seated around the table, Jin Ling can't help notice the beads of sweat dripping down Sizhui and Jingyi's foreheads. The three of them murmur a quick thanks, unable to repress the shiver at the state their stomachs and bowel movements will be in by the end of tonight. Wei Wuxian, unsurprisingly, takes the first bite with gusto, not batting an eyelid. Curiously enough, Lan Wangji also takes a bit, expression unchanged.

"The food is good," he states before taking another bite.

And if Lan Wangji can eat this food, then surely it can't be that bad, right? Jin Ling's nose tingles as he brings the mouthful of food closer to his tongue and when he starts chewing he knows he's done something horribly wrong. First, his mouth feels like it's on fire, then it numbs to the point where he can no longer feel his tongue. It takes all his control to continue chewing the food and not spit it back out.

"Jingyi, are you okay?" Wei Wuxian glances over, stopping whatever story he was just in the middle of telling.

"M' fine," Jingyi whimpers and out of Jin Ling's teary eyes he sees the boy bowled over the table. "I think...I just...want some more...rice...spicy!" He jumps up, rushing to the rice cooker to dump half the rice into his bowl.

"It's not that spicy, is it?" Wei Wuxian asks innocently. Jin Ling's mouth is too numb to even form a quick-witted retort.

Sizhui eyes also water as he smiles at Wei Wuxian, "It's fine. Just a bit...hot." He takes another bite of his food for emphasis and Wei Wuxian beams. Jin Ling's stomach protests as he forces himself to take another bite underneath his uncle's gaze.

"It's very good," Lan Wangji says, continuing to eat without breaking a sweat.

The remainder of dinner passes by in a spice-dazed blur. Jin Ling's mouth still feels like it's on fire when he gets shoved out of the kitchen with Wei Wuxian in their attempt to help clean. Sensation slowly comes back as he sits next to Wei Wuxian in silence. The two of them continue to stew in insufferable silence until Jin Ling finally snaps.

"If I'm going to the hospital tonight, it's because of your food."

"Now, a little bit of spice never killed anyone," Wei Wuxian laughs, scratching the back of his head.

"No, it never did," he agrees dryly. "Which is why I may not be alive by the end of tonight." That causes Wei Wuxian to burst out into laughter.

"You look just like your mother but you have your uncle's personality," he muses.

Something tugs on Jin Ling's chest. "And is that a bad thing?" He demands. He's been told that he's too much like his jiujiu one too many times for the comment to not sting a bit. He knows he has a prickly personality, and Jiang Cheng is even more prickly, but his uncle is one of the toughest people he knows and Jin Ling would kill himself before he admitted that he really did look up to the man.

"No, it's not. Jiang Cheng was the best friend– best brother– I could have asked for." Wei Wuxian says. He's smiling but there's something wrong about the curve of his lips, the way it twists into a bitter expression.

"Maybe you two should just talk it out like adults and be honest about your feelings," Jin Ling says, "It's not like I won't invite you over." His thumb jabs his chest. He's not sure what happened between the two of them and why Jiang Cheng rarely speaks about Wei Wuxian anymore but he does know that his jiujiu is more lonely than he lets on.

"Thanks, A-ling," Wei Wuxian says, reaching down to ruffle Jin Ling's hair. The touch is warm and Jin Ling is rooted to the spot, reminded of the way Jiang Cheng used to ruffle his hair when he was young.

There's a large lump in his throat as he ducks his head to avoid eye contact because that's the last thing he wants at this moment. "Yeah, whatever. Just figure out whatever's going on between you and Lan Wangji while you're at it too," he mutters.

Wei Wuxian laughs a genuine laugh. It's loud and clear, full of mirth and happiness. "I'll be more honest about my feelings from now on." And, just because he's the biggest menace alive, he adds, "So long as you are about yours.” The words ring in Jin Ling’s ears long after he’s gone home, Wei Wuxian’s smirk etched into his mind as he attempts to decipher the meaning.

Phase Two Conclusion: Wei Wuxian’s Food Is To Not Be Eaten Again

”Is this seat empty?” a gentle voice asks.

Jin Ling looks up to see Sizhui smiling at him, archery equipment slung over his back. His hair is pushed back by the light blue headband he’s so fond of wearing whenever he’s doing archery. There are some baby hairs stuck to his forehead and Jin Ling thinks it’s a bit unfair for his uniform to look impeccable even after a competition.

“Don’t you always sit with Jingyi?” Jin Ling scoffs.

“I’m not sitting with him now, am I?” Sizhui slides into the empty spot behind him and Jin Ling’s heart skips a beat.

"Yeah, whatever," Jin Ling mutters, leaning against the window. It won't do if his cheeks are dusted a light pink and Lan Sizhui is sitting next to him.

The adrenaline left over from the competition still hasn't worn off. Or, at least that's what Jin Ling tells himself so he can justify his clammy palms and rapid heartbeat. His hands have been clenched in fists since they finished packing up the equipment, gripping an invisible bow in preparation to hit his target.

It's not the first archery competition Jin Ling has participated in, nor is it his first one since moving to Shanghai. It is, however, the first archery competition he's ranked higher than Sizhui in and the first competition he's won since coming to Shanghai. Unfortunately, this means that the majority of the team, or everyone other than Sizhui and Jingyi, are giving him the stink-eye for beating their darling captain and ranking higher than all of them.

Jin Ling scowls. He's beat most of them since he first joined the team, it's not his fault he's better than them.

"You did well today," Sizhui's composed voice shakes him from his thoughts.

Jin Ling still doesn't look up, pressing his face further into the glass pane.

"You've improved a lot since joining the team," Sizhui continues.

"Thanks," Jin Ling mutters, throat feeling oddly constricted. His chest is uncomfortable and hot and he probably looks all sweaty and gross compared to Sizhui's impeccable state. If he turns around now, he knows there'll be that annoyingly perfect smile on Sizhui's face and his warm eyes will meet Jin Ling's because Sizhui always makes eye contact when speaking.

"Don't get complacent though, I'll catch up soon," Sizhui adds and Jin Ling whips his head around so fast he hits it against the window and– yeah he was right that goddamn smile is on Sizhui's face.

"Hmph," he wrinkles his nose in the air, "Don't think it'll be an easy thing to do."

Sizhui laughter fills the air around them, charging the atmosphere with his radiance. A strike of lightning hits Jin Ling and he's not sure why his chest aches and his body feels warm all over. His heart beats faster than it did during the competition and when he was waiting for the results. It doesn't calm when he returns to his former spot against the window and when Sizhui leans against the seat. It's a miracle Sizhui hasn't heard how loud his heart pounds in his chest and how Jin Ling hasn't exploded from the warm giddy feeling running through his body.

And, when Sizhui offers his earbud to Jin Ling halfway through the bus ride, Jin Ling almost does implode.

Phase Three: A Romantic Stroll in the Park

The conditions have to be just right. Too soon and there won't be good chemistry. Too late and the atmosphere will be so overcharged with emotion the date will end up awkward. An irritatingly familiar voice rings in his head as Jin Ling stares out the window. He keeps his gaze towards the bottom of the window, unwilling to make accidental eye contact with his schoolmates sitting across the courtyard. Jin Ling doesn't like the way their eyes narrow whenever he walks down the hallway or the way he catches them whispering shamelessly as he enters the classroom.

Sneaking a glance behind him as the teacher drones on about partial derivatives or something equally boring, two seats behind him and one seat to the right, Jingyi's head nods. His eyes are wide open and pencil is still gripped firmly in his hand. Jin Ling scoffs. And really, Jingyi seriously thought he was going to be able to plan this whole thing out? By himself? Sizhui is too nice when it comes to things like this.

The memory of Sizhui smiling patiently as Jingyi droned on and on about the most recent episode to Dazzling burns in his mind. For some reason, Jin Ling feels even more irritated than usual. He goes back to staring out the window, this time at the courtyard. His classmates may hate him but at least he has the best seat in the classroom.

His mind quickly drifts off once more. There isn't any archery practice on Tuesdays because Sizhui has a book club meeting and class council meetings afterward. As inhuman as Sizhui is, not even Jin Ling thinks he could handle three club activities after school along with whatever weird things Lan Wangji has him get up to at home. Although Jin Ling has to admit, he's curious as to what Sizhui is reading now. He hasn’t told him about his novels besides that one time at lunch, Sizhui's hands always covering the titles of the watercolor books he carries around. When Jin Ling had tried to ask him in the hallway the other day, the red on Sizhui's face was first a light dust spread across his cheeks before it rapidly rivalved the color of a pomegranate. Obviously, Jin Ling's interest had piqued but he decided to be the kind soul that he was yesterday since Sizhui can still beat him in archery.

Speaking of which, since he has the afternoon all to himself today, maybe he should go in and use the room for extra practice. Sizhui told him that he was welcome to use the practice room as long as he cleaned up after himself. Jin Ling still hasn't taken full advantage of the older boy's niceness but perhaps it's time he starts doing so. Only to beat him in front of the whole team though.

By the time Jin Ling finally gets out of class he’s found ten new flaws in so-called Operation: Boys Over Flowers that he can’t wait to point out the next time he sees Jingyi’s annoying face as he forces him to watch another episode whatever Korean drama of the week he's into. (Jin Ling likes to think his taste is much more refined.)

Letting out a long sigh as he closes the door behind him, Jin Ling hears the familiar sound of a distinctive set of paws bound over. Jin Ling throws his backpack on the floor and opens his arms wide for the best dog in the existence of the universe.

"Who's a good boy?" he grins, planting a kiss on Fairy's head. Fairy pants, tongue drooping from his mouth. Jin Ling gives Fairy another tight hug, running his fingers through the dark, sleek fur. "Did jiujiu take you out on a walk this morning?" Fairy whines, paws clawing at the doormat. He nuzzles Jin Ling's palm, nudging him back towards the door.

"Okay, okay," Jin Ling laughs. He scratches the spot behind Fairy's ear, smiling as he races to the kitchen to grab a few treats. It's rare for Jiang Cheng to neglect Fairy's morning walk but lately he's been busy with a new client and finalizing some big contract for a thing with lots of technical, complicated business terms that Jin Ling can't quite remember so he forgives his uncle, he supposes.

The air outside warms his skin and the breeze provides pleasant comfort. Jin Ling closes his eyes, breathing in the scent of chrysanthemums and vincas. The vincas are a light shade of purple, a shade lighter than the color his uncle is fond of wearing and the same shade of the hair ribbon adorning his mother's hair. Jin Ling takes a few deep breaths and he hears golden laughter, footsteps pounding against the ground. The scent of water lilies envelopes him. Sometimes, if Jin Ling tries hard enough, he can recall soft, brown eyes and a warm smile that makes him–

jingyi (4:14pm): gUYS GUYS!!
jingyi (4:14pm): GUUUUUUUUYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jingyi (4:15pm): the skies are blue, the sun is shining, the planets have aligned, and my ancestors are giving me their blessing.
jingyi (4:16pm): in case if that wasn't clear it's happening
jingyi (4:17pm): which means get yourselves over here in 15

[real-time location shared]
Fuxing Park, 2.54m away

sizhui (4:18pm): Jingyi, I am standing right next to you.
jingyi (4:18pm): *jin-gongzhu
sizhui (4:19pm): Be nice.
jingyi (4:19pm): *jin ling.

jin ling (4:18pm): coming

"Guess we're going on a run, Fairy," Jin Ling sighs to himself, silencing his phone so it doesn't continue to buzz every few seconds with messages from Jingyi. Fairy barks in response, tongue dangling out of his mouth. Well, it shouldn't be an issue anyway. Jin Ling lives in the opposite direction of Fuxing Park and there's no way he'd make it if he brought Fairy back first, not even if he sprints. Honestly, Jingyi can deal with it since he called him over last minute. (But there's no way he and Sizhui can't love Fairy, the best dog in the existence of the universe.)

Could I have picked anyone worse to hang out with? Jin Ling's eyebrow twitches as he approaches the fountain of Fuxing Park. Sizhui shoots him a pained smile from where he's squatting behind the flower bush. Jingyi has a pair of binoculars in hand and is lying flat on the pavement. He's fully decked out in different shades of green and brown, complete with a bright red cap to match the flower bed near the fountain.

"What's that?" Jingyi hisses. "Also, couldn't you have worn something less conspicuous?"

"That is my dog," Jin Ling sniffs. How dare anyone imply that dogs are not man's best friend. Even more, how dare someone insult his Fairy. "And what's wrong with the color yellow? At least it's the same shade as the flowers."

"It's like you're a peacock parading around," Jingyi mutters.

"What's your dog's name?" Sizhui inquires, reaching out a hand for the previously growling Fairy to nuzzle. Fairy laps up the affection like the attention-hog he is.

Jin Ling's face burns. "Fairy," he coughs. Jingyi lets out a laugh that's quickly muffled once he remembers that they're technically supposed to be undercover. Jin Ling has never wanted to die more. He's never been embarrassed about calling for Fairy in the presence of his obnoxious cousins and extended family in Linyi. Yet, the name somehow feels childish in front of Sizhui.

"It suits him." Sizhui strokes the spot behind Fairy's ear that makes him whine.

"Yeah, whatever," Jingyi rolls his eyes. "Just make sure he doesn't chase any squirrels and for the love of god, get down so we won't be seen." Jinyi grabs him by his jacket, yanking him down to the ground.

"Excuse you, Fairy is more behaved than you'll ever be in a thousand lifetimes," Jin Ling scoffs once he's recovered his breath from rudely being dragged down to the ground. Urgh, his sweater better not stain. This one is limited edition and one of his favorite sweaters.

Jin Ling scowls as he picks off the stay pieces of grass from his sweater. Ordinarily, they wouldn't be able to hear a conversation from this distance but Wei Wuxian's voice still cuts across the vibrant park and Lan Wangji basically doesn't speak. The two of them are standing less than half a shoulder-width apart, watching children run from their parents with glee.

"I saw that Wei Wuxian was around the park earlier and got Sizhui to help me get Lan Wangji here." Jingyi explains. "At least he doesn't have prep classes today." Sizhui's face turns two shades paler from his usual pasty white.

Near the bed of red roses, Wei Wuxian laughs loudly. "Lan Zhan, you really are a strange one. Why would I ever be in danger? Do you see any trucks in the park? Hahaha, maybe I'm just blind or something."

The frown on Lan Zhan's face deepens. "What exactly did you tell him?" Jin Ling demands.

"Um, irrelevant," Jingyi replies. "What's relevant is the fact that Wei Wuxian called him Lan Zhan."

"Doesn't he always call him that?" Jin Ling sneers. It’s nothing new. He’s heard enough of the familiar trill of “Lan Zhan” to laugh a life time. Jingyi shushes him and really, if he's going to be that loud they might as well just stand behind the bush with a huge cardboard sign saying We're here and spying on you guys!

"Only Senior Wei calls him that still. No one has called him that in years." Sizhui says. Jin Ling mind blanks for a moment with the new information. Okay, sure, that's cool. Just let the two of them be weird like that.

Jingyi ushers them to the next bush as Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji leisurely walk towards the next flower bed. Fairy scampers to catch up, skidding on his paws as he slows to a stop so he won't crash into the three of them. Jin Ling is now even more uncomfortable than before. He's pressed up in the corner of the fence, Fairy on one side and Sizhui on the other. If the him of three months earlier saw this, he would have scoffed in disdain.

"Okay, maybe not that relevant," Jingyi amends. "What's actually relevant is that ice cream cart there."

It's the middle of November and here Jingyi is, still pushing for this ice cream hand-holding date to happen. Honestly, Jin Ling doesn't know why he's still pushing for this to happen. How does he expect Lan Wangji to sensually wipe away accidental ice cream left on Wei Wuxian's face and hold his hand around the park when the man can barely say a few words without frowning.

"How will we manage that?" Sizhui asks, voice strained.

"Um, to be decided?" Jingyi offers. Jin Ling should have expected this. Honestly, could a man like Jingyi ever hope to get Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji together?

Jin Ling rolls his eyes as he begins to pull at the grass in front of him. Lan Wangji's face is less constipated than before as Wei Wuxian waves animatedly at the roses. "Did you ever hear about that one legend of the youth who fell asleep in the garden, Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian asks.

"Hn." Jin Ling doesn't hear but he can imagine the way the other man replies from his limited interactions with him in Sizhui's family room. Wei Wuxian seems unperturbed and Jin Ling rolls his eyes again. Urgh, nauseating. The two of them are still nowhere near the ice cream cart. The old auntie manning the cart seems like the hardcore type that refuses to budge on any occasion as well. Just looking at the way she eyes Wei Wuxian steel eyes makes Jin Ling gulp.

"For you," Wei Wuxian smiles. He twirls the red rose between his fingertips. Lan Wangji's face doesn't even twitch. "Come on, it suits you don't you say?" Wei Wuxian pokes Lan Wangji's face with the red flower and Jin Ling glances at Sizhui and Jingyi. Both of them have extremely complicated expressions written across their faces.

Lan Wangji catches Wei Wuxian's wrist the next time the red rose approaches his face. He stares down the other man and for a split second. Wei Wuxian stills, his smile frozen in place as his eyes widen. The sound of children screaming and shouting dims, the roar of car engines fade into silence. At the moment, it's just the three of them hidden behind the bush, Fairy silently panting, and the two adults locked in a standstill. Jin Ling doesn't dare breathe for fear of ruining the moment.

"Don't." Lan Wangji says.

Wei Wuxian titters, "Come on, it was only one flower Lan Zhan." He grins at the stoic man, attempting to pry Lan Zhan's fingers off his wrist. "Your grip is so tight. What do you say to letting go before you break my wrist? Haha." He flashes the stoic man a smile so bright it's amazing how Lan Wangji keeps the same expression. Then again, Jin Ling isn't sure if he's ever seen the man with an expression that wasn't somewhere on the scale of "impassive" to "solemn."

"Promise me." Lan Wangji's frown deepens.

"I promise, it's just this one time." Wei Wuxian smiles sweetly. It's grin of a troublemaker who knows he got caught this time and once his punisher turns around, will gladly repeat the same mistake. However, something in his tone must convince the other man because Lan Wangji acquiesces.

Smirking, Wei Wuxian darts out to tuck the rose behind Lan Wangji's ear. He laughs loudly and unashamedly, the gleeful sound reverberates throughout the park. He looks like an elementary schooler that successfully stole a cookie from the cookie jar after he was punished.

"Come on. Come on." Jingyi mutters.

At the same moment Jin Ling moves his foot back because Sizhui's elbow digging into his ribcage is getting extremely uncomfortable at this point, he bumps into Fairy's face. Fairy, quite unfortunately, has a bad habit of always panting and letting his tongue hang out of his mouth in excitement. It's a habit that neither nor Jiang Cheng have ever bothered correcting. Although now with his back covered in a slimy bundle of spit, Jin Ling is regretting that decision.

"Mrrphm," Jin Ling yelps only that the yelp is muffled by Sizhui's hand and instead of falling flat on his butt, Sizhui's other hand is supporting his back. As he stares into the other boy's eyes, he notices the unexpected roughness of Sizhui's hands. He plays the guzheng and is on the archery team. Of course he isn't going to have soft hands, dumbass.

"Shhh," Jingyi shushes them loudly. At the same time an unfamiliar voice asks, "Sizhui? Jingyi? What....are you guys doing?"

This time it's Sizhui who lets out a startled yelp. Unfortunately, in doing so, he drops Jin Ling right onto Fairy's face. Fairy barks, scrambling out as fast as possible. With no barrier between him and the ground, Jin Ling finally meets his terrible fate of finally Uncushioned Butt Meets Hard Ground.

"Wen Ning!" Sizhui squeaks, the tips of his ears burning. "We were, um–"

Before he can finish, an earsplitting shriek sounds from where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were just moments ago. The hairs on the back of Jin Ling's neck stand up and his skin itches, like there are a million small bugs crawling across it. He's going to have nightmares about this bloodcurdling, warcry for weeks.

"A DOG IT'S A DOG!" Wei Wuxian shouts. He and Lan Wangji are standing a few inches apart, Lan Wangji's thumb wiping a streak of chocolate and white off his upper lip. Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, looks like he's just seen a ghost. His face is completely drained of color, the ice cream dripping onto his hand completely forgotten. The grown man quickly tosses his ice cream to the ground and runs. Fairy, accustomed to games of chase with Jin Ling, runs after Wei Wuxian.

"HELP ME!" Wei Wuxian shrieks as he scrambles up the nearest tree in record time. "LAN ZHAN SAVE ME!" He's up on the lowest branch of the tree, pointing wildly at Fairy on the ground. The tree branch buckles underneath his weight. Fairy lets out a friendly bark.

"I thought you said your dog was well-behaved," Jingyi hisses.

"He is." Jin Ling rubs his lower back. How could anyone accuse Fairy of being a bad dog? "It's not my fault Wei Wuxian is terrified of dogs. Fairy just thinks he's playing a game of hide-and-seek or something."

"Well call your dog off," Jingyi says. "He ruined a perfectly good romantic moment. They finally got to the point where Lan Wangji was doing the lip wipe! The amount of tension that was building up. Urgh."

Jin Ling huffs. "Well Fairy wouldn't have run off if we weren't all cramped behind these bushes and if your friend or whatever didn't sneak up on us."

"Um," the black-haired man says meekly.

"Guys, don't fight now." Sizhui reprimands.

Rolling his eyes, Jin Ling dusts off his pants and is fully prepared to get Fairy and leave and never get involved in any mess the Lans, especially Jingyi, create ever again. Before he can get up and retrieve Fairy, however, he's promptly pulled back and lands on his ass again. (He's going to be so sore tomorrow. Jin Ling's butt is not very cushioned.)

"What are you doing?" Jingyi demands.

"Um, I'm getting Fairy like you asked?" Jin Ling responds. If he has to stay here a second longer he's really going to lose it.

"Well you can't be seen! Wait, wait what are you doing now. You're going to blow our cover." Jingyi shouts.

Jin Ling grits his teeth. "Well if I can't get Fairy myself and if I can't whistle for him, what exactly do you want me to do then since you're oh so smart."

"Now, now," Sizhui says. He lets out the awkward laugh he makes whenever he's nervous. "Wen Ning, would you mind getting Fairy back for us? We really do apologize for the hassle." Sizhui smiles his brightest smile.

Wen Ning nods, moving mechanically towards the open clearing where Fairy continues to bark at Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji looks as though he's about to challenge Fairy to a duel to the death. Jin Ling grinds his teeth, really there were so many better ways he could be spending his afternoon.

Phase Three Conclusion: (Somewhat of a) Failure

After the fiasco that Jin Ling now lovingly dubs in his mind as Fairy Was Wrongly Persecuted, Jin Ling would rather not see Lan Wangji's face. Unfortunately for him, Sizhui is the only person he can stand being around at school out of his own free will, even if the other boy is in the year above him and busy juggling prepping for exams, leading the archery team, fencing, and being part of the student council. (Sizhui is still the only other person who will willingly and happily say "hi" to him in the hallways. He's the first person that's made time in his schedule to hang out with Jin Ling and no, Jiang Cheng does not count.)

What this means is that even before the increase in cram classes and extracurricular activities, Sizhui often had to leave halfway through whatever they were doing and take care of something, leaving him with Jingyi to stew in awkward silence. The silence has gotten better in the past couple months but that isn't the actual issue. The issue is that while Jin Ling would rather hang out with Sizhui on any given day, lately if he’s around the other boy for too long his heart will pound too fast and his hands will get clammy. Also, right now he really just doesn't want to see Jingyi's face for the next month.

"I said I was sorry already, okay!" Jingyi exclaims. "What more do you want from me?"

The three of them are back at Sizhui's apartment for reconciliation, whatever that is. Jin Ling refuses to give Jingyi so much a glance, becoming the direct cause of Sizhui's I'm-smiling-but-not-really smile plastered on his face right now.

"Fairy almost got hurt! Do you know how long he was shaking when I brought him back home?" Jin Ling scowls.

"Well, it's not my fault your dog isn't well-behaved." JIngyi retorts.

"He is trained. Who was the one who forced us all behind that bush in the first place? He wouldn't have run out if your friend didn't scare him."

"Yeah well–"

"Enough," Sizhui says. Both their heads snap up and if looks could kill, Sizhui's would right now. "Jin Ling, Jingyi has already apologized for last week's incident. Sometimes things are out of our control." There's a small "hah" forming on Jingyi's lips but it quickly falls off when he sees the glint in Sizhui's eyes. Jin Ling swallows. He feels highly conflicted right now. "And Jingyi, you need to take more responsibility and make sure your plans are safer in the future. Both Fairy and Wei Wuxian were deeply traumatized that day. You two need to reconcile these differences and learn how to forgive."

Jin Ling would sooner die than reconcile these differences if he has to listen to another one of Lan Jingyi's great plans. However, Sizhui's expression makes him reconsider his decisions.

“Sorry,” Jingyi says through gritted teeth.

“It’s...okay….” Jin Ling answers, equally pained.

"Great," Sizhui beams, clapping his hands together, smiling at the two of them. "Now that you two have made up, we can start on homework." Jin Ling's stomach does the weird flip it's been doing lately. Maybe it's just the overripe pear he ate or his forced reconciliation with Jingyi.

Still, as the soft scratching of pencil against paper fills the air, Jin Ling can't deny that he's missed the comfort of just being around two people he can kind of tolerate and don't seem to mind him all too much. It's nice, being able to actually hang out with others that don't secretly (or openly) despise him.

Time passes by quickly as they finish their homework. This time, unlike the past month, Jingyi doesn't launch into another preposterous plan. Instead, he offers Jingyi his laptop when the three of them settle down on the couch. It's a truce and apology, and this time, Jin Ling accepts it without any hesitance. He catches Sizhui's smile out of the corner of his eye when he finally settles on a drama.

Before long, it's time for Jin Ling to leave. He stands in the foyer, awkwardly shifting his weight between his feet the same way he did the very first time he was invited to Sizhui's apartment. There are words on the tip of his tongue but the syllables are unfamiliar and carry a weight that he isn't sure he's comfortable with. So, Jin Ling waits for Sizhui to break the silence like he always does.

"I can walk you to the subway station," Sizhui offers as Jin Ling's hands linger on the doorknob.

"Uh, it's fine," he mutters. He catches Jingyi's eyes in his haste to hide the way his cheeks flush. Jingyi's eyes dawn in realization and he gives him a wicked grin.

"I don't mind," Sizhui says, pulling open the door, and Jin Ling's mind pauses for two very different reasons.

The second reason being that right now, in the hall, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are engaged in a very passionate liplock. Their bodies are pressed flush against each other and Wei Wuxian's fingers are tangled in Lan Wangji's hair while the other man has one hand on the small of Wei Wuxian's back. Jin Ling doesn't dare let his eyes wander further down.

"Um," Jingyi says, jaw slack.

"Oh," Wei Wuxian untangles his fingers from Lan Wangji's hair and Lan Wangji actually whimpers. He smiles in a way that's too carefree and arrogant and screams the exact opposite of "I just got caught making out by my nephew and his two friends, one of which is the adoptive son of the man I was just making out with it."

Jin Ling's going to have to wash his eyes and ears out after this and erase this fifteen minutes out of his memory for eternity.

"W-wha–Since when did you two get together?" Jingyi stammers since out of the three of them, he's clearly the only one able to string a coherent sentence together. Sizhui looks as though he's just seen a ghost and Jin Ling feels as though he's about to vomit. There are simply some things one should never have to know about their uncle and their friend's father.

"Oh, haha. Yeah, about that, we've actually been dating for the past half a year," Wei Wuxian grins and all of Jin Ling's alarms are screaming at him. "The way you guys tried to get us together was really cute though. I enjoyed the ice cream date."

"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji says firmly, placing his hand on Wei Wuxian's arm.

"Sorry, Lan Zhan, I can't help but tease. They tried so hard, it was adorable." Wei Wuxian grins and Lan Wangji gives him a look that's either full of exasperation or full of adoration. Jin Ling honestly doesn't want to know anymore.

"I'm going to leave now," Jin Ling announces, brushing past Wei Wuxian and his wolfish grin, wondering just how his life ended up like this.

Now that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's relationship is out in the open, the other man is in Lan Wangji's apartment more often than not. Jin Ling's not sure how much he likes seeing his other uncle brewing up his latest stomach ulcer-inducing concoctions in the kitchen or tinkering around in the family room with his latest gadget whenever he comes over to Sizhui's apartment but at least he doesn't have to deal with Jingyi's ludicrous, loop-hole filled plans anymore. They can finally focus on the important things again: watching Korean dramas.

However, the downside of their newly open relationship is that sometimes, Jin Ling comes to the apartment to the sight of this.

Currently, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are seated across from each other on the sofa, gazing into each other's eyes. Lan Wangji tucks a stray hair behind Wei Wuxian's ears, the barest hint of a smile on his face. Wei Wuxian giggles, actually giggles before pulling the other man in for a kiss. Jin Ling watches the scene in shock, grimacing at how cute and nauseatingly domestic it all is.

He lets out a small yelp when someone bumps into him. "What are you standing in the doorway f–- oh," Jingyi says after he's shoved past Jin Ling.

"The door was open," he says faintly and the worst part is that the two still haven't stopped.

"Ah, Jin Ling, you're here," Sizhui says and he doesn't even bat an eyelid at the sight in the living room. Jin Ling's heartbeat quickens.

Yes, Jin Ling tells himself, seeing my uncle and my best friend's dad making out is the only downside to this.

Since their get-together, Jin Ling has noticed the way Sizhui's smile, or even just presence, does weird things to his stomach. He's unfortunately become more aware, or "not as emotionally constipated" as Jingyi puts it since the relationship reveal. Luckily, Jin Ling doesn't think he's become a bumbling mess around the other boy yet but it has been harder to function around Sizhui and what really doesn't help is that Sizhui is just so nice about everything. Yes, Jin Ling may or may not want to punch Sizhui and his stupidly nice face for his stupidly nice personality.

In archery practice, he gets distracted by the curve of Sizhui's cheeks as he gives instructions to the rest of the team. (It doesn't mean he stops practicing though. It just makes it a tad bit harder when Sizhuis is there to congratulate him after a good shot.) When they're watching dramas back at Sizhui's apartment he's acutely aware of how Sizhui's hands are mere centimeters from this thighs and the way his shoulder feels warm against Jin Ling's. The days Sizhui is too busy to eat lunch with them are glum ones because Jin Ling doesn't get a chance to see the older boy throughout the day otherwise. These feelings have become significant enough that Jin Ling's dubbed it as A Mild but Pressing Problem.

"Jin Ling?" Sizhui asks one afternoon on their way back to his apartment. Today is one of the rare days where it's just the two of them. Jingyi had left earlier because of the stomach flu.

"Huh?" Jin Ling asks, tearing his eyes away from Sizhui's face. He flushes in embarrassment when he realizes he didn't hear a single word the older boy had just said because he was distracted.

Sizhui's lips quirk and mirth dances behind his eyes. "I wanted to know if you were free this weekend."

"Um, I am?" Jin Ling answers, confused because he usually spends his Saturdays hanging out with Sizhui and Jingyi anyway.

"For a date," Sizhui clarifies and Jin Ling almost trips over his feet. How embarrassing.

Sizhui has stopped right in front of him and there's an expectant look on his face. Jin Ling's brain's processing speed is about a minute behind so when Sizhui's words finally hit him, he can feel his cheeks turning red.

"I think I really like you!" he blurts out, brain and mouth short circuiting. "Your smile makes me really mad. I don't like it when you don't sit next to me on the bus rides to archery competitions. Also when you're too busy to eat lunch with us I get sad and Jingyi tells me I'm being a brat."

Oh, crap, Jin Ling thinks because that is not what he meant to say. Sizhui looks at him with wide eyes and for a heartbeat, Jin Ling thinks he messed up.

A slow smile spreads across Sizhui's face and Jin Ling's heart soars. His entire body feels like it's in flames and he's never been so embarrassed in his life.

"I like you too, Jin Ling," he says, reaching for Jin Ling's hand. It's warm, Jin Ling thinks, marveling at the newfound weight in his palms.

It's not before half a block does Jin Ling realize his mistake. "That was a yes. To the date."

"I know," Sizhui says, squeezing Jin Ling's hand. Jin Ling squeezes back.

Operation: Boys Over Flowers: Success