Chapter Text
Nine out of ten teachers at Gusu High School would say that the worst student they ever encountered was none other than Wei Wuxian. The other tenth didn’t bother staying long enough to give their student an official review. He was renowned, to say the least, for his bold personality, winning charisma, and devilishly handsome charms.
“Hahh, I can’t believe someone like me would end up somewhere like the library after school. Who could have ever imagined?” Wei Wuxian mused. He strolled along the halls at a leisurely pace, trying to mask his dread under his usual cheery nonchalance.
“You’ve brought this upon yourself, asshole.” Jiang Cheng grumbled next to him. His fist clenched at his purple bag strap, restraining himself from knocking some literal sense into his brother.
Wei Wuxian stuck his tongue out, and for a moment it seemed like Jiang Cheng would go through with his punch if it weren’t for a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“It’s surprising to me, Wei-xiong-” Nie Huaisang’s mild voice cut through the brothers’ playful aggression- “how you’ve never once gone to the library before. You’re a senior!”
Wei Wuxian hummed. “You know me! I’m too smart for nerd stuff like the library.”
“Or you’re just too lazy for hard work. Remind me again how you’re gonna win Prom King when you keep sabotaging your tests?” Jiang Cheng asked.
Wei Wuxian shrugged. It wasn’t his fault that the day-to-day of high school got boring two days into freshman year. Their class was big, but not very interesting. His worst nightmare was trudging through the rest of his glory days in a sludge of homework and bland niceties. So what if he stirred up some trouble every once in a while? He was just trying to make things more exciting. This school was sorely lacking in anything fun. Who better to remedy that than the king of fun himself? Some smuggled drinks here, a harmless prank there- honestly, it wasn’t even that big of a deal. His classmates didn’t seem to mind the occasional interruption to their education- some even welcomed it! Teachers and Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, had some other opinions.
Jiang Cheng held in his hand the latest copy of Wei Wuxian’s exam. The 100% on top was crossed out in favor of a “Wei Wuxian!! See me after class!!” scribbled next to it in bright red ink.
“Why do you even know the introduction to the Communist Manifesto?”
“Can’t a guy indulge in some healthy Marxism once in a while?” Wei Wuxian pouted, batting his eyes at his friends.
The paper crinkled in Jiang Cheng’s grip. “No! You can’t! Even if you could, why did you write it on the back of your test?”
“Wow, Wei-Xiong you sure outdid yourself with this one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the color drain from Lan Laoshi’s face so fast.” Nie Huaisang pried the crumpled test out from Jiang Cheng’s grasp.
Wei Wuxian pretended not to notice how they both blushed over their brief hand contact.
“Really? I’d say it ranks top five Lan-laoshi scares, sure, but not number one. It didn't beat out when I switched out his slideshow for my Vote Wei Ying Senior Class Prom King presentation. And it definitely didn’t top that time I organized a three-minute flash mob to promote Shijie’s bid for Prom Queen last year.”
It was one of his proudest moments. Wei Wuxian was obsessed with the idea of Prom. Glitz and glamour aside, it was so absurd and unnecessary- how could he not love it? A whole night dedicated to dressing up in fancy suits, getting wasted right under the noses of stuffy adult chaperones, and dancing with all your friends to celebrate the survival of four hellish years. Wei Wuxian (despite never having been) practically invented Prom.
So when his dearest A-Jie announced that she would be a contender for Prom Queen, well, it would have been downright irresponsible of Wei Wuxian to not support her as loudly and obnoxiously as possible. Jiang Yanli was not the type of girl for flashy, sweeping gestures (why she decided to fall for the flashiest Peacock of all, Jin Zixuan, only the gods would know). Lucky for her, Wei Wuxian was precisely the man for the job. Cue a surprise marching band and dance performance during third period history that sent Lan-laoshi fuming. Worth it!
Jiang Cheng cringed at the memory. “How are you not blacklisted from his classes yet?”
Wei Wuxian answered. “I’m a delight in the classroom!”
“Yeah,” Huaisang snickered, “which is why we’re escorting you to mandated tutoring, right?” The phone that was usually covering his face was put away for once as he scanned over Wei Wuxian’s vandalized test.
“Exactly. See, Jiang Cheng? Huaisang gets it. They obviously think I’m so good at school, I should stay even longer!”
“Keep it up and they’ll want you to stay and repeat your whole senior year!” Jiang Cheng threw Wei Wuxian’s mocking tone back at him.
Nie Huaisang laughed as Wei Wuxian punched his younger brother in the arm. “You wish! I know you guys are only being so hard on me ‘cause you’re sad I won’t be free for afterschool boba anymore.”
Huaisang sighed, his hand clutched his heart. “We’ll drink in your honor.”
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “My wallet is crying out in relief. Why do you always get so many toppings?”
“You can use the extra money to get Huaisang somethin’ real nice.” Wei Wuxian gave an exaggerated wink.
“You!” Jiang Cheng punched him, and it actually hurt a bit more than his usual hits. Huaisang didn’t say anything, pretending to be absorbed with something on his phone.
The two brothers continued to exchange hits, scurrying back and forth along the hallway. Huaisang followed close behind, recording their antics and poorly suppressing a laugh. Thank goodness the halls were empty now that it was well past final bell. Yeah, whoever Wei Wuxian’s tutor is better have the patience of a monk. It was probably for the best that he was late anyway. Wouldn’t want to create any unrealistic expectations.
As he exchanged quips with his two friends, it was easy for Wei Wuxian to forget why he was still in school and not on the way to the bubble tea store until the bland sign of the library showed its face. He pulled himself together before anyone inside saw him. The laughter died there. Jiang Cheng’s face returned to its usual grimace, and Huaisang was back to tapping away at his phone.
“Welp here we are. Pour one out for me, boys! I’ll miss you! Muah! Muah!” Wei Wuxian blew them kisses as they left. He chuckled into the sleeve of his hoodie as he heard Jiang Cheng in the distance, complaining to Huaisang about Wei Wuxian’s atrocious bubble tea orders.
The library was packed with the usual crowd. Well, Wei Wuxian assumed it was the usual crowd: the smart kids in class rushing to see who could finish their problems the fastest, people too cool to attend their lunch period, and that one kid who forgot to print his assignment out and is rushing to make the computer work under the guise of being on a “bathroom break.” There was one part of the library sectioned off for tutoring. He could tell because there was a sheet of printer paper with the word “TUTORING” printed on it in a size both too big and too small at the same time. Everyone sitting in said corner was already paired off with their tutors, save for-
Oh. Damn.
A tall, black-haired boy sat all by his lonesome dressed in a neat white button-up and tie. Like he was in some freakin' anime. Hot!
Wei Wuxian’s legs carried him over before he could comprehend it. The chair made a too-loud screech as he dragged the wood across the floor. Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome looked up. So, he was also hard to shake, eh? Wei Wuxian flashed his best, unrestrained smile.
“Hey! Are you supposed to be my tutor?”
Mysteriously Hot Tutor gave him a blank stare, looked at his watch (Wow, he wore a watch! The plot thickens…) then looked back. “Wei Wuxian?”
Even his name sounded attractive coming from this guy. “That’s me!”
“You’re twelve minutes late.” His voice was deep too. Not in the scary way, even though he may have sounded frightening to someone more faint of heart like Huaisang, but in more of a- well, maybe Wei Wuxian was just attracted to danger like that.
Either way, this attractive being seemed to be expecting an explanation.
“Ahaha, my bad! I got… lost?”
“Are you not a senior?”
“I am! I just haven’t been to the library before, is all.”
His tutor blinked at him, as if waiting for the punchline.
But Wei Wuxian was one-hundred percent serious! “Sorry again, er- what’s your name?”
“Lan Wangji. I am your tutor. You will not be late again.”
Wei Wuxian nodded. He sure as hell wouldn’t be late again if it meant getting to stare at this guy all period long. Lan Wangji was satisfied with that response, and turned back to his paper.
Scooting his chair closer, Wei Wuxian gasped. “Dude, your handwriting is so neat!”
The characters were written in a very sharp point. It was basically a font! Not a single mistake or line out of place. So not only did this tutor look the part of hot professor-in-training, but Lan Wangji might actually be a hot professor waiting for his doctorate to fall into his lap.
Lan Wangji gave no reaction to the compliment. Instead, he slipped a sheet of paper across the workspace. Multiple Choice Practice? Lame. Wei Wuxian tried not to scoff as he continued to inch towards Lan Wanji. Or should he say, as it read in the upper corner of the paper, Lan Zhan.
“Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian tested the name out. Said boy froze in his seat- the biggest reaction so far. “Lan Zhan! Is that your name? I love it way better than Lan Wangji. I think it suits you. Can I call you Lan Zhan?”
“Ridiculous,” Lan Zhan uttered under his breath.
Well, that wasn’t very nice. It only egged Wei Wuxian on further. “Oh come on, it’s nice! You can call me Wei Ying in return if you’d like. Not many people do, so this is a special offer just for you! Not even Jiang Cheng calls me that.”
Wei Wuxian hoped the mention of his brother would pique his tutor’s interest, but Lan Zhan kept on writing. “C’mon, Lan Zhan! Don’t be like that. I thought this was supposed to be a tutoring session. You can’t tutor if you don’t talk.”
Lan Zhan tapped the worksheet with the tip of his pen. A single, sharp sound. “Work on the paper. Ask if you need help.”
“Pfft, I don’t need any help with this.” Wei Wuxian chuckled.
“Then why are you here?”
“Good question. You should ask old man Lan that.” He took the opportunity of Lan Zhan’s initial shock at his crassness to keep on talking. “Now that I think of it, your names are pretty similar. Is he your dad or something?”
“Uncle.”
“Really?” Oh, this just made everything all the more tantalizing. Imagine Lan-laoshi’s face if troublemaker supreme Wei Wuxian scored a date with the guy’s nephew! Who was hot?! It was like all the stars really lined up for him today. “Now that I look at you, I can see the resemblance. What year are you anyway? You must be a senior. No one else would be free this early in the day. Funny how I’ve never seen you around before. I definitely would have noticed someone like you in the halls-”
“Noise is discouraged in the library.” Lan Zhan didn’t move his eyes off his own work, but his writing hand clenched.
Wei Wuxian lowered his voice but kept talking all the same. “Ah, that’s the key word isn’t it? Discouraged. I love a good technicality. That and bubble tea, pissing off my brother, Prom, hot tutors, am I missing anything else?”
“Ridiculous.”
“I’ve been called worse. Say, have you ever taken one of your uncle’s classes before? You’ve gotta have, considering the essay you’re writing. It’s a shame we were never in the same class.”
Silence again.
Wei Wuxian leaned his head on his elbow, twiddling his pencil between his fingers. “I’m great in class. He doesn’t show it, but your uncle loves me as a student. Who wouldn’t? Look at me, Lan Zhan. Aren’t I lovely?”
It was subtle, but Wei Wuxian saw the smallest deviation in Lan Zhan’s careful strokes. He added one more line than necessary. Lan Zhan paused for a second, unable to process the mistake he made. The mistake. That he made.
“I think you missed a stroke.” Wei Wuxian teased. The glare he got in return made it all the more worthwhile.
Lan Zhan quickly remedied his error, and soon it was like it never happened at all. The point was that it did, though, and Wei Wuxian caught it. He felt like he stumbled upon some hard kept secret. Or witnessed an event unintended for the human eye. He didn’t know Lan Zhan very well (yet), but that was the vibe he got from their interactions.
And it seemed Wei Wuxian wasn’t the only one learning from this tutoring session. He started by writing his name on the worksheet, but then went right back to pestering his new buddy with every question under the sun except ones related to schoolwork.
What was his favorite food? Did he have a favorite animal? Does he do anything else other than tutoring? Why was he tutoring anyway?
It was soon apparent to Lan Zhan that ignoring the boy did not solve the problem. He gave his answers straightforward. Plain rice. Bunnies. Studying and Guqin practice. For extra credit.
Surface level answers for some pretty surface level questions. Wei Wuxian was glad he managed to get somewhere with this guy, but he knew there had to be more under the eerie, cool exterior of Lan Zhan. “Ah, those answers are so boring, Lan Zhan. You’ve gotta have more interesting stuff than that! I will admit, bunnies are very cute. But plain rice? You gotta spice it up a bit at least! No seasoning or anything? Next time, throw in some peppers. They really work wonders! Also, studying doesn’t count as a hobby.”
“I answered what you asked.” Lan Zhan spoke as if he really was upset at Wei Wuxian for calling out his boring lifestyle.
“Let’s be real, Lan Zhan. No one who answers with studying is telling the truth. Not saying you’re a liar, but I don’t think you’re a truth-er either.”
“That’s not a-”
“Anywho, I guess it’s partly my fault for asking such basic questions. What is this, our first date? Haha! Only if you want it to be.” Wei Wuxian winked.
Lan Zhan’s brows crossed and fixed his eyes on Wei Wuxian’s. A protest caught in his throat. His face really was something else!
“Relax, won’t you? I would never agree to do homework on a first date. I’d take you out for a nice lunch or something. It sounds basic at first, but I know some great restaurants. Or maybe we’d go to the pet store and steal you some rabbits.”
“Crimes are illegal.”
Wei Wuxian looked at Lan Zhan, but he was totally serious! Laughter bubbled up and caused Wei Wuxian to get shushed by the students around him. He offered apologetic smiles all around before leaning in close to whisper to Lan Zhan, “Warn a guy next time! You said that so seriously, it was too funny!”
Now that he was closer to the other boy, Wei Wuxian saw how Lan Zhan’s ears were dusted a light pink. And when the boy noticed how close the other was, it deepened to a solid red.
Lan Zhan tilted his head away. “Not trying to be funny.”
“Sure, Lan Zhan, sure.” Wei Wuxian winked again.
Lan Zhan made a noise of disgust and resumed the essay he was writing.
But there were still so many questions to ask! He seldom got a response, but it wasn’t like he was running out of questions either. “Do you have any siblings? I have an older sister, Jiang Yanli. She was Prom Queen last year. Ah, she’s just the best! Oh, and Jiang Cheng. He’s younger than me, but we’re in the same year.”
The logic didn’t sit right with Lan Zhan. Wei Wuxian could tell by how the boy’s eyes become thoughtful for a moment.
“I’m adopted. It’s not a big deal though. I’ve grown up with A-Jie and Jiang Cheng since as long as I can remember. I might not have the best memory, but for what it’s worth I’d say that counts for something.” Wei Wuxian mused to himself. He turned over his worksheet eyeing the blankness with intent.
To his surprise, his deskmate broke the silence first. “Brother.”
“Hm?” Neither of the two were looking at each other, absorbed in their own worlds.
Lan Zhan said, “I have an older brother.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have pegged you as a younger sibling. What’s his name.”
“Lan Xichen.”
“Elegance must run in the family, huh?” Wei Wuxian looked away from his sheet towards Lan Zhan’s ears. Sure enough. Pink. “Say, you never told me what your ideal first date was.”
Another beat. Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure if Lan Zhan was ignoring him again or actually considering the question. He got his answer. “No time to date.”
“Well, we’ll have to fix that,” Wei Wuxian said to himself, but the other boy heard.
Lan Zhan choked out, “Wei Ying!”
The outburst was so sudden, no one believed it happened. Fellow tutors stared in shock. Even the librarian gaped, unable to chastise the transgression. All the attention made Lan Zhan send Wei Wuxian a deadly stare. His eyes were larger than ever before.
The golden color captivated his attention more than Wei Wuxian expected. And they said staring straight into the sun was a bad idea. He smothered his laughs with his sleeve. “Here! Present and accounted for!”
A text from Huaisang lit up his phone, revealing the time. Has it been half an hour already? He felt like he could talk to Lan Zhan for hours on end and not get bored. He was a pretty interesting guy. Wei Wuxian told his tutor just that.
“Absolutely shameless.” Lan Zhan grit his teeth, still embarrassed from his shouting before. He refused to take his eyes off Wei Wuxian, like he expected the boy to start summoning demons if he blinked.
The energy radiating from Lan Zhan was not unlike the mean looks Lan-laoshi gave him all the time. A key difference was the effect though. An unexpected pit of excitement bubbled up in his chest. It must be his body’s recognition of dejá vù. The anger from Lan Zhan didn’t feel as genuine. Perhaps the guy liked the taste of misbehavior and didn’t want to admit it. Not everyone was as good at embracing chaos as Wei Wuxian, after all.
“Don’t be mad at me, Lan Zhan! Let’s be friends!” Because gods, Wei Wuxian really wanted to be friends. This tutoring session was one of the few interesting things that have happened all month. “Here, a peace offering.”
He slid his worksheet over, face-down. Wei Wuxian wasn’t the best artist, but he spent enough time in class not paying attention becoming a half-decent doodler.
Lan Zhan held the paper up, examining the lines. He gasped. “This-”
While his tutor was busy being an absolute nerd, Wei Wuxian used the time to engage in something more productive. The portrait was, in his opinion, one of his finest works. He even took the liberty to add some flourish, doodling a flower crown on Lan Zhan’s head. At the bottom listed Wei Wuxian’s phone number.
“Consider it a special gift, just for you! Feel free to make it your WeChat avatar.” Wei Wuxian glanced at his phone again. The notification from Nie Huaisang was at the very top.
Huaisang: Woow ur missing out! The tea shop has a buy 1 get 1 special ending in 10. Jiang Cheng spotted me ^-^ Better luck next time, Wei-xiong ;p xxx
Crap! How could he miss such an important deal? The prospect of buying one and getting a second one? For free? It was too good. That means he can have one drink on the way home and another once he was inside. Or, he could buy two and give an extra to his sister, leaving him with three whole bubble teas made to his order. One after another, ideas popped into his head like firecrackers. His leg began to shake. Restless. Ten minutes. Library is on the second floor. Not too bad. If he disregards the traffic lights, he can make it with six minutes to spare.
“Lan Zhan! I’d love to talk with you some more, but it looks like I gotta go. I promise I’ll make the time up to you! Think about where you want me to take you out, yeah?”
His tutor didn’t have enough time to even put the paper down. “What-”
Wei Wuxian shoved his pencil in his pocket and had his bag on in an instant. “See ya tomorrow, Lan-er gongzi!”
He wasn’t able to catch Lan Zhan’s expression as he dashed out. It was probably still attractive yet hilarious though! Did his ears turn pink again, or was his expression slack? Don’t let the flies land in your mouth, Lan Zhan! There’ll be time to figure all that out tomorrow.
What a shame he wasn’t able to see Lan Zhan’s reaction in real time. Especially once he realized that Wei Wuxian finished the worksheet too. For real! He wasn’t going to torture Lan Zhan (that was what Jiang Cheng was for), and he already got the boy in trouble with all their racket.
A burst of energy filled his body, and he began to race down the hallways. A laugh escaped as he hit the ground floor and burst through the doors. As he rushed past students and cars, he mused, “Lan Zhan, ah Lan Zhan.” It was nice to have the boy’s name roll off his tongue, uncanny as it was.
“Until we meet again tomorrow!”