Chapter Text
This had to be some sort of sick joke.
Nie Huaisang stared at the prim envelope, embellished with gold calligraphy and borders, that sat on top of his pile of mail with wide eyes, his fingers shaking as he picked it up, turning it over in his hands. He muttered to himself incessantly, sounding almost deranged as he cut open the seal with his nail.
Nie Huaisang quickly scanned the contents of the letter, and he went pale.
Of course this was a joke. It had to be. It was quite elaborate for a joke, but Nie Huaisang wouldn’t put it past Meng Yao to put effort into trying to make a fool out of Nie Huaisang, the treacherous snake. But, yes. This was a joke. It had to be.
Because if it wasn’t, Nie Huaisang would have to come face to face with the fact that Meng fucking Yao was getting married. Before Nie Huaisang!
Who the fuck would even marry that two-faced weasel? There was no one patient enough— stupid enough—to ever be fooled into marrying—
We cordially invite you to an all-expenses paid destination wedding celebrating the union of Meng Yao and Lan Huan.
Oh. Nie Huaisang scrunched up his nose. He took it back. This wasn’t a joke.
His ringtone snapped Nie Huaisang back into reality, only for him to scowl at Meng Yao’s name blinking on the caller ID. That conniving bastard. He must have known that Nie Huaisang just got his fucking wedding invitation, that fake little—
“San-ge!” Nie Huaisang greeted cheerfully as he picked up the phone, plastering a smile on his face at his empty apartment.
“Huaisang, I hope you’re doing well,” Meng Yao greeted him jovially. “I just wanted to call to make sure you received the invitation?”
“I did! Congratulations on your wedding!” Nie Huaisang said. “I’m so happy for you! You and Huan-ge really deserve each other!”
Meng Yao laughed, and at least he had the decency to sound a little bashful. “That’s very kind of you to say, Huaisang. No one is truly deserving of him, so I’m still having a hard time believing he chose me.”
“Yeah, me neither,” Nie Huaisang muttered under his breath.
“Sorry, didn’t catch that. What did you say?”
“Nothing! I’m just so happy for you!” Nie Huaisang said quickly. “And a destination wedding as well! The Lans must have been very generous.” Nie Huaisang set the invitation down on his kitchen counter, tapping it with his nail. “But you know, you didn’t have to call me to ask if I could make it. I wouldn’t miss your and Huan-ge’s wedding.”
More like his older brother would make him go. Besides, not attending Meng Yao’s wedding would be like admitting defeat, and Nie Huaisang would die before he let Meng Yao win anything.
“Oh, of course! I just really wanted to make sure that you got the invitation okay! I was worried that it could have gotten it lost since you—ah… since you moved.”
Nie Huaisang’s finger stopped tapping, and suddenly he felt his heart clench in his chest and his blood run cold. “How thoughtful of you,” he said.
“A-Anyway,” Meng Yao said. “I included the wedding referral code for a plus one just in case, but there’s no need to use it!”
Nie Huaisang crumpled the envelope in his fist. “What are you talking about?”
“...I just… Sorry, A-Sang. I know it’s been quite… difficult since your break-up,” Meng Yao said hesitantly. “The invitations were printed before I knew and… I wanted to make it clear that it was a mistake.”
Meng Yao’s voice was soft and pitiful, filled with so much sympathy as if he were extending a kind hand. It made Nie Huaisang furious.
“‘Break up’?” Nie Huaisang asked with faux innocence. He laughed. “Oh! No, you must have been confused. We had a… lovers’ quarrel, but it’s all water under the bridge now. And we moved recently! Together,” Nie Huaisang added hastily. “So this works out.”
“Oh?” Meng Yao asked. “But your brother…”
“Oh, you know how Da-ge is,” Nie Huaisang said with forced laughter. “He tends to exaggerate.”
Meng Yao still sounded dubious, but Nie Huaisang refused to give in, ignoring the way his chest ached.
When the call ended, Nie Huaisang swore under his breath. He stared at the fancy wedding invitation for a long time, and at the second referral code that was sitting there, mocking him.
Nie Huaisang opened his phone and furiously began to scroll through his messages. He had almost missed the contact he was looking for, his eyes trained to look for the heart emoji he had since deleted from his ex’s name a month ago. Their chat log was filled with short messages, pictures of random things answered with one word replies from either of them. Nie Huaisang scrolled up, and felt a bitter taste fill his mouth when he saw a from himself message dated a month ago that never got a reply.
>I left the keys on the counter.
Nie Huaisang almost wanted to laugh at himself. Pathetic as always, wasn’t he? Didn’t he tell himself repeatedly that it was fine? That this was for the best and they could still be friends? They were still keeping up with each other—albeit not as often as they used to, and it was still a little strained, but they were friends. Why lose nerve now?
Nie Huaisang was over it. But he wasn’t going to lose to Meng Yao, so he began to type.
>Jiang-xiong? Are you busy tomorrow?
>Let’s have lunch. I need to talk.
Nie Huaisang walked at a leisurely pace into the coffee shop and ordered a drink before sitting down with an apologetic smile. He brushed the fringe of his hair off his face and behind his ear, hoping it wasn’t too apparent how hot his face felt, or how quickly his heart pounded.
“Sorry I was late,” Nie Huaisang said with a small laugh. “I totally forgot that you said you could meet today.”
Nie Huaisang could feel his smile falter when he finally looked at Jiang Cheng, who had looked up at him from his laptop when Nie Huaisang had sat down. How unfair that Jiang Cheng looked especially handsome today—or maybe that was just the effects of seeing your ex that you were still kind of maybe attracted to after a month. Sure they were still communicating, but it wasn’t like Nie Huaisang had seen him, and Jiang Cheng had always been one of those lucky guys who was effortlessly hot. Despite knowing that, Nie Huaisang couldn’t help but feel self-conscious as he quickly looked down, taking a sip of his coffee.
Jiang Cheng snorted. “You were the one who suggested the time,” he said, continuing to type away at his laptop.
Wow. Even when they were meeting for the first time since the break up. Typical Jiang Cheng.
Feeling a little affronted, Nie Huaisang couldn’t help but huff as he shrugged. “I don’t know. I was meeting with someone else beforehand and I totally lost track of time,” he said. “You know how it is.” Nie Huaisang took another sip of his coffee as Jiang Cheng looked up.
Okay, so. That wasn’t completely… true. Nie Huaisang did have a prior appointment—a work appointment. He was meeting with the manager of an upcoming exhibit to take a look at some art that had just been delivered. But he had a huge breadth of free time after that, before this appointment. Truthfully, Nie Huaisang had arrived early—a whole hour early. And kept peeking through the window of the coffee shop until Jiang Cheng had arrived right on time. After that, Nie Huaisang waited a total of seven minutes to arrive fashionably late. Or at least early enough that Jiang Cheng didn’t think he ditched him but also just late enough to let Jiang Cheng know that Nie Huaisang wasn’t really thinking about him.
And if five out of seven of those minutes were spent pacing back and forth, wondering if he should go in or ditch this whole idea entirely, that was between Nie Huaisang and the path he weathered into the sidewalk.
In the end, Nie Huaisang had concluded that he was being silly. After all, he and Jiang Cheng were on good terms. The break up had been… mutual. In a sense. And they had agreed to continue being friends at least. Sure, they weren’t really communicating as often as they did, even when they were still friends before they had gotten together years ago, but that was just so they could give each other some space, as you do to your ex.
Either way, it was fine now, because Nie Huaisang was over it. Being attracted to Jiang Cheng wasn’t the same as still being in love with him. Love was subjective, Nie Huaisang decided, and if anyone tried hard enough, they could turn it off as easily as they could turn it on, and what was the point of putting that much emotional labor into someone who didn’t love you back? So, Nie Huaisang decided that he was, in fact, over Jiang Cheng. Sure, he still felt his heart pang when he thought of Jiang Cheng and he had spent maybe more than one night drunk crying over it, but it had only been a month. It was just a phantom pain—like missing a limb. But Nie Huaisang would get over it eventually. Jiang Cheng certainly had by now, so it was only right.
Although, Jiang Cheng looked rather… tired since Nie Huaisang had last seen him though. The man had a habit for working himself to exhaustion. Nie Huaisang had to constantly coerce him into taking a break when they were still together. He had often wondered how Jiang Cheng was taking care of himself without him around. Nie Huaisang had even almost texted him a few times to ask what he was eating or if he had any water yet before he thought better of it.
“How have you been, by the way?” Nie Huaisang asked, frowning. “You look… under the weather.”
The way Jiang Cheng scoffed, a wry smile on his face made the dark spots under his eyes even darker. “I’ve been better,” he answered, running a hand through his hair.
“Is it work again?” Nie Huaisang asked.
Jiang Cheng looked at Nie Huaisang for a long moment. “Something like that.”
Nie Huaisang leaned his cheek against his hand. “You know, this… isn’t my business, I guess,” he began, the words feeling like bile in his mouth for some reason. “You already didn’t sleep enough as it was. I know work is obviously important, but they won’t explode if you sleep for eight hours a night. I’m worried about you—as a friend.” He added the last part hastily, so Jiang Cheng didn’t get the wrong idea.
“As a friend,” Jiang Cheng repeated, but Nie Huaisang wasn’t quite sure who it was directed to. “I’ll be fine. Anyway, uh, how are you?”
Nie Huaisang smiled, but let out a beleaguered sigh, slumping dramatically in his seat. “I’m exhausted, A—Jiang-xiong. The manager for the new exhibition is a pain in my ass, as usual. Honestly, I can’t wait until the exhibit opens so I don’t have to deal with his whining anymore.”
“Isn’t this the traditional Chinese art exhibit you were excited about?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“Oh, you remember?” Nie Huaisang asked, sitting up a little straighter. HIs heart couldn’t help but flutter slightly. It was always nice when people remembered stuff about Nie Huaisang.
“Yeah, you kept breaking your non-disclosure agreement to show me the fan art samples on your laptop,” Jiang Cheng said with a smirk.
Quickly Nie Huaisang hushed him, his cheeks dusting pink. “Not so loud, Jiang-xiong! I was excited, okay? Traditional art is cool ,” Nie Huaisang crossed his arms with a huff. “I am still excited, actually, but it’s been a long few months. I’ll just be happier when we can unveil it. I just need a vacation— we both need a vacation.”
At that Jiang Cheng choked on his drink. “ ‘We ’?” he repeated. “Together?”
Although Jiang Cheng was falling right into Nie Huaisang’s perfect set-up, suddenly Nie Huaisang felt hesitant. Perhaps… this was weird? Wasn’t getting back together with your ex generally a bad idea? But it wasn’t like Nie Huaisang had a lot of options at this point—he had already made his bed when he told Meng Yao that he and Jiang Cheng hadn’t broken up. If Meng Yao found out Nie Huaisang was lying, he’d definitely tell Lan Huan, who would definitely tell da-ge, and then he’d be forced to have a “serious but concerned” conversation. Which wasn’t necessary, since Nie Huaisang was over Jiang Cheng.
Ultimately, this would be good for the both of them. Jiang Cheng needed a vacation and Nie Huaisang needed a fake date. It wasn’t really getting back together with your ex if you were both just faking it. He was just asking as a friend, anyway. If Jiang Cheng was uncomfortable with it then so be it.
...But it would be nice if he agreed.
“Yeah,” Nie Huaisang said, looking down at the table as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. “I don’t know if you’ve heard yet, but Meng Yao and Lan Huan are getting married.”
“Yeah, I heard,” Jiang Cheng said. “I didn’t get an invitation though—my siblings are going with their partners. Isn’t it some fancy destination wedding?”
“Yeah, the Lan family really went all out,” Nie Huaisang said.
“What about it?” Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow at him.
Nie Huaisang took a deep breath. The moment of truth.
“What,” Nie Huaisang began, “would you think of going together?”
As the question spilled past his lips, Nie Huaisang’s heart began to race, the sound of its beating pounding in his ear. Nie Huaisang watched with a dry mouth as Jiang Cheng’s eyes went wide, and Nie Huaisang immediately felt a feeling of immense dread wash over him.
“I just—I mean, I think you were meant to go, anyway. Meng Yao accidentally sent your invitation to my new place,” Nie Huaisang explained hastily. “He had forgotten about—you know. And I… maybe accidentally told him it was fine because… we’re still dating?”
“You said what? ”
“Don’t be mad!” Nie Huaisang quickly put up his hands placatingly, which seemed to work since Jiang Cheng didn’t really look mad , but he was better safe than sorry. “I just—okay, you know how I feel about Meng Yao, and I don’t really think it was an accident. He was obviously trying to mock me about the fact that I’m still single and he’s off getting married to the heir to the Lan family fortune. I just got so mad that I just… spoke before I could think about it.”
Jiang Cheng was sitting frozen, and beyond the shock, Nie Huaisang couldn’t read the expression on his face. The silence dragged on, even as Nie Huaisang slunk back in his seat, taking a sip of his coffee.
Was it really that bad? To be seen with Nie Huaisang? He knew Jiang Cheng didn’t like it, but he thought that was only at corporate events. Rude.
“Look, you need a vacation, right?” Nie Huaisang tried again, grimacing. “What better place to vacation than a resort in Hawaii? You’ll get a free trip and I won’t lose face in front of everyone. And after this is over, I’ll… think of some explanation. We just have to pretend to be together—it doesn’t have to be for real unless—”
Unless you want it to.
Nie Huaisang stopped and furrowed his brows. Why would he say that? Of course, Jiang Cheng didn’t want to—and Nie Huaisang didn’t either! Not really.
“‘Unless’?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“Unless…” Nie Huaisang said quietly, his mind racing. “Unless you’re uncomfortable with it. I know… it’s only been a month, but we’re still friends, aren’t we? There’s nothing else, so please? Just as a favor to a friend?”
Jiang Cheng looked at Nie Huaisang for a moment too long without saying anything, and his shocked expression was changing to something blank. The longer the silence went on, the more Nie Huaisang felt his chest pang kind of painfully.
This was stupid. He didn’t even know why he thought it would work. Or why he even wanted to try.
Nie Huaisang began to reach for his bag. “We don’t have to—”
“Okay.”
Nie Huaisang’s head snapped up. “What?’ he asked, heart skipping.
“Okay,” Jiang Cheng said. The other man closed his laptop with a soft snap, and his shoulders seemed to relax as he took a deep breath. “Let’s do it. Let’s go to the wedding together.”