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There were about three things Xue Meng thought were off in the office today.
Firstly, Mei HanXue was there. No, not that Mei Hanxue. but his insufferable twin brother, Mei HanXue. To Xue Meng, they’re both insufferable, so there’s that. For what it’s worth, the three of them had sort of grown up together. Hailing from a foreign country, Xue Meng’s parents had kindly taken them in, and the children would hang out often on weekends.
Unfortunately for Xue Meng, he’d always end up as the target plaything for the brothers, with little Mei Hanxue pulling (mostly harmless) pranks on him, to Mei HanXue’s regular verbal provocation. Or the one time the both of them ganged up to push Xue Meng into the pool while they were taking lessons together, as a joke. Eventually, even though they had attended school together as well, they’d drifted with age, but ended up back here, in this Bureau hell.
Xue Meng doesn’t like to think about them. But Mei HanXue was clearly loitering around the water dispenser, as if beckoning Xue Meng over. So he does, like a fool.
“Mei HanXue.” Xue Meng says, voice sharp. “What are you doing here? Doesn’t the elite Taxue team have better things to do?”
The Taxue team takes care of more enforcement matters in the Bureau, and their movements are mostly unknown to even other members in the same organization, which is why they barely show up in the office itself as well.
Immediately, Mei HanXue snaps his gaze to Xue Meng, and scoffs. “And what about you, Ziming? Don’t you have some… papers to stamp?”
He ends the question with a scathing smirk, and Xue Meng really, really wants to punch this bastard into the floor right now, punch him until he looks different from his brother. With immense effort, Xue Meng holds it back. He had wanted to ask why the younger brother wasn’t around, but Mei HanXue’s habit of trying to pick a fight within 30 seconds of conversation doesn’t seemed to have changed.
Xue Meng just sends him a dirty glare, and walks away.
Fine, so maybe Xue Meng was starting to get sick of his job. The previous director Nangong Liu had totally lied to him about the importance of his job because he couldn’t afford to offend Xue Meng’s dad! He’s just there to approve plans that are already approved, and reject plans that are already mostly rejected! Where’s the large, noble ideal behind that?
Besides, the main reason behind why he even worked so hard and got a job here in the Bureau was because he had admired the Yuheng Elder since young. The Yuheng Elder was the greatest independent cultivator in the realm – and for good reason – he was the inventor of the Holy Night Guardian, mechanical tools to keep evil spirits away from commonfolk households, and travels the world alone to solve troubles caused by evil spirits. What’s there not to admire about such a cool, aloof immortal living as if he was higher than other mortals?
The famous Yuheng Elder happened to also be a family friend of Xue Meng’s parents, and it had been Xue Meng’s secret childhood aspiration to accumulate enough achievements to be able to have the courage to ask his parents if he could meet the mysterious Elder someday.
See, he’s not being snooty or ungrateful – he’s not ranting like an entitled filthy second-generation living off hand-me-downs! He just expected to have been directly involved in saving the lives of thousands of people, to contribute to the safety of the cultivation world directly, not this… Recently, especially after the whole fiasco with the failed simulation of Mo Ran’s love life, Xue Meng had gotten entirely sick of his office even, and started permanently lurking in the lobby with his laptop. Which is why he was here, but Mei HanXue had to be a prick and ruin Xue Meng’s already ruined mood. Fine, whatever, maybe they were just playing a prank. Xue Meng has witnessed too many times for his liking, when the twins get flocked by girls whenever they pull weird public antics like this, so. Whatever, fuck the both of them.
Sometimes, he’d even find himself being envious of the Hanxue twins for being able to be part of enforcement, being part of the action. Doing things. Lofty goals for someone in his position right now. Not to mention, the new director Jiang Xi seems to have something against him… so it was impossible to be freed of his stupid stamping designation.
Sigh.
Pretending to tap away at his laptop, Xue Meng’s gaze darts around the lobby, crowds about settling around this time, a slow crawl towards 4PM. Honestly, the Bureau doesn’t really receive common folk, but serves more as a correspondence centre for personnel working related to the cultivation world. On an average day, the lobby is truly a very boring sight to look at.
Today, however, Xue Meng almost chokes on nothing as he sees a familiar face enter the automated sliding glass doors, almost dropping the laptop off from his lap. It’s Chu Wanning! The now third weird thing going on at work today! Now this is weird, because Xue Meng recognizes Chu Wanning from Mo Ran’s simulation (and Xue Meng may never forget… he’s actually started to believe in the concept of soulmates after it, even as Jiang Xi was lecturing him about ethics and such), but Chu Wanning would not know Xue Meng yet.
Just out of real morbid curiosity, Xue Meng moves before he can think, already stepping towards Chu Wanning before the other man can make it to the reception counter. Truth be told, Xue Meng didn’t really care that much about how the simulation would have gone, or the mental gymnastics behind the morality and ethics of it. Or whatever. At this moment, he just really wanted to know if in this world, right in front of him, if Chu Wanning and Mo Ran ended up together as well.
Previously, Jiang Xi had ended up contacting Mo Ran and inviting him down to talk to him about the situation around his birth and stuff that Xue Meng ended up not listening to, and Mo Ran had mentioned that he had not been involved in any romantic relationships yet. But if Chu Wanning exists so close to them, would Mo Ran have really stayed single like that? Or was he lying?
Maybe Xue Meng just really needed a break from his meaningless job. He reaches out a hand and places it on Chu Wanning’s shoulder, feeling the slightly taller man jump under his touch.
“Hey there, do you have any business here? Regular people don’t really come to the Bureau.”
Chu Wanning turns around to him, slight confusion in his eyes. “I found an abandoned cat a few days ago,” he pauses, “he was badly injured, so I took care of him. But his tag had an address for this place.”
“Cat?” Xue Meng replies dumbly, a frown between his brows. Nobody had ever kept pets in the Bureau, and nor were they allowed to, so where would this cat have come from? And a tag? Did someone’s secret pet get lost by mistake? They’d better get their ass ready for a whipping by Jiang Xi…
“The problem is, he’s too comfortable in my house now.” Chu Wanning grimaces, whipping out his phone and showing Xue Meng a photo of… it’s less of a cat, and more of a blurry white furball, with close ups of the tag on its collar. It’s the Bureau’s, alright. “I wanted to bring him here today, but he refused to leave the house.”
“Well, if it’s ours, I’ll just go with you to get it back, no biggie.”
At this, Chu Wanning tilts his head. “You’re not suspicious of who I am, if this was real or not? You’re just coming to my house like that?”
Xue Meng clamps his lips together in embarrassment – of course he trusted Chu Wanning, unconditionally – he’d seen first-hand through the simulation what kind of person Chu Wanning was, through every setting and lifetime, and had no inherent qualms with following him back home. But without the context now, Xue Meng is the one who looks suspicious.
“As a Bureau officer, I have the responsibility to check every claim,” Xue Meng smiles, lying through his teeth and ignoring the weird look at Chu Wanning is still giving him (deservedly so).
“I’m a visiting professor at the nearby Sisheng University,” Chu Wanning says first, already turning to leave the building, “so I’m not a suspicious person, in any case. Follow me.”
So Xue Meng does.
-
Along the way, Xue Meng finds that Chu Wanning is actually a really cool guy, being able to climb up academia at such a young age, and wasn’t smug about it, unlike many of the adults Xue Meng has had the displeasure to meet. This overlaps with the positive impression that Chu Wanning had already left on Xue Meng from the simulation experience, and he finds himself enjoying the company of the older man.
Although Chu Wanning is rather soft-spoken and reserved, he was well-mannered and would engage in conversation when prompted by Xue Meng. By the time they’re at the front door of Chu Wanning’s apartment, Xue Meng found himself really liking Chu Wanning’s personality so far, and was wholeheartedly supportive of him and Mo Ran, if, you know, they did end up together in this world as well.
The door unlocks with a soft click, and before the two of them step into the apartment, a cheerful, deep voice rings out from the living room.
“Wanning, baobei, you’re back! Do you want dinner, a bath, or m—” The voice closes in, then freezes immediately. It was Mo Ran, a wide sheepish grin on his face that also froze on his face as he takes in the view of Chu Wanning being not very alone at the doorstep.
For a while, there is only silence.
“I mean. Welcome back, Wanning. I just finished making dinner, make sure you eat it all up or you’ll fall sick again. I’m— I’ll just be leaving.”
Xue Meng can’t find the words to say, only staring at Chu Wanning beside him, who already has his ears flushing a bright red. Chu Wanning! Xue Meng shouts in his head, you’re really dating this idiot!? Why is your taste like this!
Internally, Xue Meng takes a moment to mourn for Chu Wanning’s brilliance to have been wasted to this tall idiot named Mo Ran, but a gnawing thought reminds him that he does agree that they belong together, or whatever, so okay.
He clears his throat. “Sorry for the intrusion. I’m Xue Meng from the Cultivation World Protection Bureau, I think we’ve met once but I don’t know if you remember me.”
“…He’s here to pick up the cat,” Chu Wanning chimes in, voice flat, kicking his shoes aside and gesturing for Xue Meng to enter.
“I…” Mo Ran tries, his hand fumbling around the edges of his apron. Wait, god, he’s wearing an APRON, Xue Meng’s monologue continues relentlessly. “I do remember you,” he finishes lamely with a smile. “Thanks for helping out the last time, I’m doing okay.”
Xue Meng doesn’t have the heart to tell him that he didn’t conduct the simulation out of goodwill, but it’s whatever. He needs to disperse this… atmosphere now, first. “So where’s the cat?”
Chu Wanning leads Xue Meng to one of the rooms and turns on the lights quietly. The room is well-furnished with shelves of books along two sides of the room, a long table in front of the window stacked with opened books messily, and at the middle of the room is a furry cat bed, a sleeping cat on it.
“Ooh, the fur looks nicer in real life,” Xue Meng blurts, almost reaching his hand out to pet the cat, but stops to look at Chu Wanning first.
“Mm,” Chu Wanning nods and says, a small smile on the corner of his lips, “he’s pretty. His leg was caught in some kind of a snare when we found him, but it’s mostly recovered now. We used to keep a pet dog at home, so you can trust us with the treatment.”
Ah, Xue Meng’s heart sort of melts at the way Chu Wanning refers to himself and Mo Ran like that. They’re really happy together, aren’t they? Xue Meng has to physically restrain himself from letting out a sniffle. He’s not usually a sap like this, but yes, the simulation project had taken a toll on him. “No, no, I have to thank you instead,” Xue Meng sighs, “I don’t know who this cat belongs to, since actually pets are prohibited in the office. But since it’s tagged, I’ll bring him back to check.”
Chu Wanning nods. He crosses the room to one of the large bookshelves, and moves out an empty pet carrier. The thing about them being pet owners before was probably right then. Xue Meng resists the urge to ask about the pet dog.
“You can take him with you in this,” Chu Wanning says, walking to the cat and slowly runs his hand through the long snowy fur, making the cat purr and rouse from its sleep. Chu Wanning quietly guides the cat into the carrier, and clicks the flap close without any resistance from the sleepy feline.
“Thank you so much,” Xue Meng says when Chu Wanning hands the carrier over to him. “When this is all settled, I’ll see what our director can offer as thanks for your help.”
“Not at all.” Chu Wanning waves a hand. He takes a glance outside the room, and then outside the window. It’s late, and Xue Meng should really be on his way home. He takes that as a hint, and moves out of the room.
“Oh, are you guys done?” Mo Ran asks from the couch, and Xue Meng can see the dining table lined with food, the sight suddenly invoking a sense of hunger in him. “Xue Meng, I made extra food, do you want to stay for dinner?”
Xue Meng almost jumps at the invitation, guilty as charged. He does. The food looks so good. But he glances at Chu Wanning, then back at Mo Ran, and decides not to intrude on their mealtime. Besides, they barely knew him just yet. “It’s alright, I’ll have food at home.”
-
“Aren’t they lucky,” Xue Meng mutters to no one as he slowly makes his way home. The cat in his arms lets out a soft whine as if in agreement. “I mean… as long as they’re happy, I guess. Not that I’m envious or anything. You know that, right?”
The cat purrs in amusement. Xue Meng frowns at the carrier in his hand. “Hey, do you have a name? What did Chu Wanning and Mo Ran call you?”
They’re in front of Xue Meng’s house now, so he lowers the carrier and lets the cat out on the ground. The white cat blinks at him with his bright, chilly blue eyes, and waves his tail lazily. Xue Meng leans down to check the collar around its neck, and aside from the address of the Bureau, there wasn’t any other information on it.
“Eh, since your fur is white, like snow, let’s call you Xue-er! For now, at least,” Xue Meng continues to talk to the cat, fishing out his keys. “This is my house, and my parents are already probably home. I don’t know what I should feed you tonight so I’ll ask them.”
Xue-er meows happily. He was probably already hungry, then. With a smile, Xue Meng opens the door.
-
“Okay so we got lucky since Mom was petsitting for her old junior, and have some pet supplies left over. Come here, Xue-er,” Xue Meng leads the cat to a room, with a cat bed and food already laid out on the ground.
No, Xue Meng wasn’t a spoiled child, how dare you if you were considering even entertaining that thought. His mother just likes to take care of everything in the house, no matter how busy of a doctor she was. Xue-er looks up at Xue Meng as if he was having the same train of thought, so Xue Meng grimaces. “Anyway, you’ll stay here tonight, okay?” Xue Meng coaxes the cat onto the bed, stroking its fur slowly. “I’ll take you to the Bureau tomorrow so we can find out how this happened, and what got you injured.”
Xue-er lets out a lower whine this time, his blue eyes dimming with some sort of disappointment, but stays still obediently.
Actually, all things considered, Xue-er was pretty well-behaved for a cat that just met Xue Meng, and had shown close to no resistance all the way from Chu Wanning’s house up to this moment, happy cat noises and bright eyes, swishy fluffy tails and all that. Offhandedly, Xue Meng wonders which unfortunate bastard had lost such a good boy, and if Xue-er also misses his owner.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Xue Meng ends up saying subconsciously, his fingers still carding through Xue-er’s fine hairs, enjoying the soft rumbling of the skin when he purrs. “You’ll get to see your owner soon again. Sorry about this.”
“Good night.”
When Xue Meng turns off the light and leaves the room, he feels like Xue-er was still staring at him, gaze unrelenting through the darkness.
-
The next morning goes by in a blur, with Xue Meng running late for work because Xue-er was being uncooperative with leaving the house. Seriously, and after all that praise about it being an obedient cat last night! Where did that nice and cute cat go?!
After much hassle (on Xue Meng’s end), and some help from his mother, Xue-er was finally in the carrier. Now, all Xue Meng has to do is run, and pray that Jiang Xi, the sadistic bastard, wasn’t looking for him at 9AM in the morning.
-
When Xue Meng takes the final turn to the Bureau building, Xue-er suddenly lets out a sharp hiss, the cage rattling in retaliation. Was it hungry? Xue Meng ignores the signs, and strides towards the sliding doors, but Xue-er actually unclasps the lock on the carrier itself, then pouncing on the side of Xue Meng’s leg. Its ears perk up and it takes a look at the building, tail stiffening, then runs away.
Xue Meng was already running super late, but he wasn’t inhumane. He leaves a voicemail to his own office phone, prays that one of the nice staff ladies will pick it up and understand, and dashes after Xue-er to the side of the road, setting the carrier on the bench.
Once far enough from the Bureau, Xue-er leaps into Xue Meng’s arms, little paws clawing against Xue Meng’s chest in protest. It’s a weird sight, Xue Meng coddling the clingy but obviously annoyed cat in his nice formal office wear.
“Okay, what is it?” Xue Meng tries, trying to stop the cat from actually clawing holes out of his fancy dress shirt. “You don’t want to go in? Don’t you want to see your owner?”
Xue-er actually shakes its head, letting out a sad meow.
“Well, what do we do now? You won’t go in, but I have to work,” Xue Meng groans, but his hand is still petting the top of Xue-er’s head softly.
Then, his phone rings.
“Xue Meng, explain yourself.”
Ah, god damn it, Jiang Xi really was too free today! Of all days to be free!
“Like I said in the voicemail, I found a cat with the Bureau’s address tagged on him. I was going to bring him into office today to check who he belongs to, but he’s refusing to go in. We’re outside, at the park across the road now.”
Jiang Xi is silent on the other end of the call. “What do you mean, he’s refusing to go in? Just bring it in.”
This… cruel asshole was too much!! How could Xue Meng force himself to drag the poor cat in when he had so violently indicated his wishes?!
“D… Director Jiang, pardon me, but the cat tried to scratch me and all, just because he didn’t want to go in.” Xue Meng pauses. “Can you let me take today off, so I can see what I can do about it?”
On regular days, Xue Meng would never, never be this courteous to Jiang Xi. It’s a public secret that Xue Meng cusses the new director out when he’s in his office, calling him a “nasty cold-blooded bitch” when the assistants around his vicinity pretend not to hear.
Jiang Xi was probably taken aback by Xue Meng’s tone as well, taking a pause to clear his throat. “Okay, whatever. Just come back when the cat wants to. It’s not like your position is that important, anyway.”
“…”
Xue Meng hangs up without saying anything, refraining from starting to shout at the other man. He just couldn’t go a day without saying something like that, huh? May he choke on his coffee today! May his elevator take three minutes to reach him today! May a bird take a shit on him today!
In his arms, Xue-er seems to have noticed Xue Meng’s anger, so he pats Xue Meng’s arm and starts to lick his fingers quietly.
“Sorry, sorry,” Xue Meng looks down and mutters, “don’t be scared. I’m not mad at you. Come here, let’s go home?”
-
Unsurprising to Xue Meng now, Xue-er is back to his well-behaved, model cat behavior the moment they’re home. Since Xue Meng’s parents are both busy with work, he has to take care of the cat himself for now. Damn that Jiang Xi for being rude as hell, but since he still conceded and let Xue Meng have some time off, Xue Meng has nothing much to complain about now.
Xue Meng watches as Xue-er gobbles up the cat food, thoughts drifting to his job again. Deep inside, he sort of feels like this time off was something that he’d always wanted – not because he’s worn out, or anything, rather because he’s… simply sick of his job. And it’s the old fogey Nangong Liu who had scammed him into signing the employment contract, so he can’t hold that against Jiang Xi for looking down on himself because of his job scope.
Was it that tough to get a respectable job that can provide the kind of emotional fulfilment that Xue Meng has always admired? To be able to work for a noble cause. To be part of the frontlines. Or something. Like what the Hanxue twins do, even. He grumbles at that, then sighs. Can’t believe I’m upset enough to be jealous of the twins now, of all people.
Xue-er’s ears perk up at the sound, and he quickly leaps over to lick at Xue Meng’s fingers again, also rubbing the side of his face against the back of Xue Meng’s hand occasionally. Xue Meng sniffs. “Good boy, good boy, I’m not that sad, I’m okay.”
He was about to go back to sleep, actually, but the idea of leaving the poor good cat alone in the room, especially after what happened earlier, made him turn around and pick Xue-er up instead. “Come on, let’s go rest in my room.”
-
It’s since been about two weeks that Xue-er has permanently moved into Xue Meng’s room. His parents – especially his mother – was strangely happy about it, going on about how Xue Meng could gain to learn from taking care of a pet himself, and all that.
Pfft. It’s just a cat, how hard could it be?
Besides, Xue-er was extremely well-behaved, he wouldn’t thrash on Xue Meng’s bed, he eats extremely cleanly, and was even potty-trained. About every two days, a weird twinge of guilt rises in Xue Meng’s guts, reminding him that every day he’s enjoying Xue-er’s company is another day he’s depriving the original owner of it.
Not to mention, Xue-er’s injured leg was almost fully healed now, with pet owner veteran Chu Wanning’s approval (they’ve exchanged numbers at some point), and the two of them had dropped by a few times to visit Xue-er, and to stay for dinner.
As fine as things were going, Xue Meng sighs. It was about time to attempt Project Bringing Xue-er Into Office, act 2.
-
Xue Meng draws the blinds of the windows to his room, fumbles around for his nightlight, and plops onto his bed. As a rule, he’s consistently kept to an early bedtime of not later than 11:30PM every night, but he was feeling a little reluctant to sleep tonight.
After a moment of hesitance, he keeps the nightlight on. Xue-er climbs onto the bed deftly, curling his tail around Xue Meng’s leg as he settles close to Xue Meng’s chest, purring softly. A quick pang of guilt strikes Xue Meng again, and he gathers the cat into his arms and lifts him up.
“Hey, Xue-er,” Xue Meng says, looking into the blue eyes, “are you happy?”
Xue-er doesn’t respond, opening his mouth in a little yawn, trying to wriggle out of Xue Meng’s grip.
“You really don’t miss your owner?”
“What if they’re missing you?”
After a few unanswered questions, Xue Meng sighs and looks at the now sleeping cat, then nodding off slowly.
-
Xue Meng jerks awake. The nightlight by his desk was still lit, and it’s still dark out. His eyes dart to the clock, which says 3:24 in bright red. He’s feeling a headache coming, and even though the fan was turned on, for some reason, his body was really warm. Xue Meng usually sleeps really well, barely ever waking up at night like this.
He groans, reaching out a hand to press at his temples, but his arm bumps into something solid before it can reach his face. Wait, what?
Finally blinking the remnants of sleep away from his eyes, Xue Meng refocuses his vision, and sees a shocking head of blond against his chest.
What the fuck!!!!
Xue Meng jumps reflexively, jolting the person in his bed awake in the process. Before Xue Meng can get over the initial shock of seeing someone else in his bed (mind you, Xue Meng is extremely pure and…), the figure sleepily rouses awake and attempts to pull Xue Meng into a hug. Xue Meng shivers, then finally takes a good look at the stranger. Long blond hair, a muscular sculpted torso, and really familiar sapphire blue eyes… wait…
“You…! M—Mei Hanxue!!” Xue Meng shouts (as loud as he can, at 3AM), hands flailing to get Mei Hanxue’s arms away from him. “Why are you here?!”
At Xue Meng’s voice, Mei Hanxue also fully wakes up, looking back up at Xue Meng. “Good morning,” he yawns, still trying to wrap his arms around Xue Meng.
Shameless! Shameless! Mei Hanxue had better not be mistaking Xue Meng for one of his random girls, or whatever flings in his bed! “Mei Hanxue, get the hell up! Do you know where you are?!”
Mei Hanxue’s arms finally stop groping around Xue Meng’s sides, and he sits up, scratching the back of his head, his long hair pooling gracefully behind him on the sheets. “Mm. Good morning, Ziming.”
“You knew it was me, and you still dared to be so touchy-feely! You fucking pervert, Mei Hanxue!” Xue Meng hisses, snatching the blanket back from Mei Hanxue. “Answer my question, how did you get here?”
The windows were still locked, so there was no way he could’ve come up from there. Although Xue Meng’s parents would probably also let Mei Hanxue come in no matter what time of the night it is, there was also no reason how he would end up in Xue Meng’s room, in Xue Meng’s bed.
“You’re really slow, aren’t you, Ziming?” Mei Hanxue’s gaze is slightly serious, a dark glint in his eyes indicating that he wasn’t joking around. Xue Meng doesn’t answer, just stares back with the same question in his eyes.
“You… can’t be… you…” Xue Meng gulps, pointing an accusing finger at the man sitting across him, “you are X—Xue-er…?”
He almost doesn’t believe the words coming out of his own mouth, but Mei Hanxue finally cracks a smile on his cool face, slumping down on the bed again.
“You’re Xue—I mean, you’re the cat?” Xue Meng says again, at a loss for words, and Mei Hanxue nods. Suddenly, a quick flash of memories of the past few weeks fly through Xue Meng’s mind, filling him with a weird sort of embarrassment. He had given the cat a nickname, fed it meals, taken baths with it, slept with it every night… “Fuck, did you enjoy seeing me like an idiot for so long?”
“Weren’t you enjoying taking care of me in the past few days? Bathing me, feeding me, and what was that… Xue-er? I was going to cry if I weren’t a cat, you even ended up using my name correctly!”
Xue Meng almost screams from indignation. He grabs a pillow and tries to smash it into Mei Hanxue’s face, but it gets avoided deftly. “You’re the pervert for turning into a cat and fooling me, I swear to god! Don’t make me sound like a weirdo!”
“…It’s not like I wanted to turn into a cat, you know,” Mei Hanxue offhandedly comments, snatching the pillow over from Xue Meng’s hands to stop his unrelentless assault.
“Oh yeah? I wouldn’t have guessed, you’re nasty all the time, anyway.” Xue Meng snorts, grabbing the pillow back from Mei Hanxue again but setting it back on the bed this time. “Then, explain yourself.”
Mei Hanxue sighs. “Well you see, I get love letters all the time, right?” Xue Meng interrupts with another snort. Mei Hanxue ignores it in stride. “I got a package of chocolates the other day, and I’m not actually a fan, but since my brother didn’t want it, I ate it.” He pauses, “nothing happened at first, but after two days, I turn into a cat at dawn, and turn back like this at midnight.”
“Then, you seriously couldn’t wake me up all this time to tell me the truth?” Xue Meng snaps, annoyed, not a single tinge of sympathy in his voice.
“…”
“See, you were fucking making fun of me!” Xue Meng cries, face red in embarrassment. “Get off my bed, Mei Hanxue!”
Mei Hanxue refuses to move, only plops down harder on the bed. “I’m injured, I can’t go anywhere. Besides, I turn back into a cat soon. Do you want me to get lost again?”
“That’s your own fucking business! Had I known it was you, I wouldn’t spend all this energy and time doing all of this! Jiang Xi’s still waiting for my report on this lost cat!” Xue Meng pauses to add, “Your leg injury is already healed, anyway, get lost.”
“Ziming,” Mei Hanxue sighs again, voice softer now. “My leg injury is one thing, but they also targeted my spiritual energy. I can’t do anything now, so you have to take care of me.”
“No.” Xue Meng refuses, “what about your brother? Can’t he help you? Why me? I don’t give a shit about what happens to you.”
“You know my brother, he hates dealing with my problems with ladies,” Mei Hanxue replies nonchalantly, “he wouldn’t speak to me after the first transformation. Did you not see him in the office recently? He was there to explain things to the Taxue team leader.”
Xue Meng thinks back to that day Mei HanXue was in the office all moody and broody, and it somehow makes sense now, even though Xue Meng can’t help but be still pissed that Mei HanXue had acted like that towards him without explaining anything. But Xue Meng wasn’t in the mood to talk about that with the pervert right now. “What do you plan to do if you don’t recover?”
“…The Taxue team doesn’t need the help of a cat,” Mei Hanxue responds sarcastically with a smirk, ignoring the scathing glare that comes from Xue Meng once again. “I don’t know the answer to that, but Director Jiang Xi did mention that he’d look out for something to help.”
“Also, then…” Mei Hanxue continues to ramble on in Xue Meng’s silence, with a toothy grin that makes Xue Meng back off instinctively, “…since you’re the only other person who knows my secret now, you have to keep me.”
“What? Fuck! Who wants a pet like you?!?!?” Xue Meng spits.
Mei Hanxue frowns, pretending to be hurt, but a hint of a smile lingers on the corner of his lips. “Actually, a lot of ladies, I’ll have you know that.”
“Then fuck off and go find a pretty lady to take care of you! Get off my bed!” Xue Meng finally snaps and grabs a pillow, whacking it repeatedly on Mei Hanxue, but the blond man only laughs for a bit, then grabs Xue Meng’s wrist, stopping his attacks. “I only want Ziming to take care of me, though?”
Xue Meng gapes for a moment, jaw hanging open but finding himself unable to formulate a response. Anything at all. Mei Hanxue quickly puts a finger against his lips, making him freeze completely. “Since Jiang Xi had agreed for you to stay home and take care of me, you should, right?”
Jiang Xi that bastard, he already knew about Mei Hanxue’s cat problem, and pretended he didn’t know what Xue Meng was talking about that morning when he called him! Xue Meng was so going to get back at him for that, once he’s back in the office.
Then, he pretends he didn’t hear Mei Hanxue’s question. “How did Chu Wanning and Mo Ran not find out you weren’t a real cat? You turn back at midnight, right? Do they go to sleep that early?”
“Well… they leave me outside in the study room at night. God knows what they’re doing inside there, eh?” Mei Hanxue winks. Xue Meng’s eyes widen at the implication between that subtle accusation, and the stuff he’s seen for himself in the simulations, then splutters, scowling at Mei Hanxue.
“…Are you sure nobody else knows about what happened to you?”
Mei Hanxue pauses to think, then he looks back at Xue Meng with wide eyes. “Actually, Auntie does.”
“My mom?”
“She figured it out the first night,” Mei Hanxue chuckles, “she’s too good at her job.”
“And how did you convince her to let you stay like this?”
“Hmm, I told her it was part of my plan to get closer to you.”
For a moment, Xue Meng remembers his mother being suspiciously happy about Xue Meng’s decision to keep Xue-er in their house, but he waves it away. “Stop saying weird things,” Xue Meng sighs, exasperated, throwing the pillow at Mei Hanxue again. “I’m going back to sleep so I no longer have to look at you anymore.”
He lays down again, ignoring Mei Hanxue beside him, and angrily closes his eyes.
Mei Hanxue looks over and smiles. “Xue-er will see you tomorrow, then.”
Xue Meng pretends he didn’t hear that, but it takes him a while to finally drift off to sleep without the familiar warmth against his side.
-
After that, Mei Hanxue had shown a bit more restraint, not crossing his boundaries again, be it in his cat or human form. Xue Meng thought he was starting to learn how to be a more decent person, so he also went along with it, not returning to office just yet.
Regardless, having the extra warmth by his side when he falls asleep is starting to feel like a welcome sensation.
-
The alarm rings shrilly, making Xue Meng jerk awake in his bed, legs kicking reluctantly in his sleep, ending in a futile attempt as there is no blanket on him. Right. It’s a common occurrence now, and it annoys Xue Meng to no end, but Mei Hanxue had turned out to be a serial blanket-snatcher, the both of them having tug-of-wars almost every single night now.
But Xue Meng doesn’t let that bring him down. He hops off the bed, and snarls at the miserable puff of white covered in his hard-earned blankets. Today was going to be a good day, since he had asked for special permission to go back to work, since the mysterious traveling doctor was going to be visiting the office. It was to be a rare happening once every two years, as mentioned in frivolous office gossip by the pantry. (Yes, Xue Meng hangs out there now.)
Doctor Hua Binan, who travels the world to refine his medicinal skills and offers treatments to people in need without asking for any payment, shows up in the office only when he needs to.
According to Jiang Xi, Doctor Hua was here to submit his collection of rare herbs that he’s collected in the past two years, and to bring back reports of sightings he’s seen. Previously, Director Nangong had always instructed for lavish banquets for visitors like this, but Jiang Xi… who knows if he’s just a stingy bitch (Xue Meng’s opinion), or if he’s just bad at playing host (Xue Meng’s opinion). He had only scheduled for a quick tea session, much to all the employees’ chagrin.
A rare visitor used to mean extravagant parties, lots of time to slack, no work, and things like that. Nangong Liu wasn’t the type to skimp when it comes to appearances, and they would always have a good time. Now that Jiang Xi was doing things his way, it would be pretty much a regular workday for everyone, with a longer lunch break. Despite this, Jiang Xi conducted himself well in his position, and was capable, so none of the employees had the guts to complain about these changes in arrangements.
And so the day went on as per usual. Hua Binan wasn’t a frivolous nor flamboyant person, so the tea session was kept very low-key, and was truly just like an extended lunch break. He had left as quickly as he came, only lingering in the Director’s office for an hour or so.
However, the bitch Jiang Xi had made them all stay back after the doc had left, to fill in learning reports or some shit, keeping them for at least an hour extra. Xue Meng was exhausted by the time he left the building, the evening sky stretching a brilliant mix of orange and scarlet across his peripheral vision.
His stomach growls unceremoniously, but the sound gets quickly swallowed up in the bustle of the evening crowd. Moving to grab something to fill his tummy on the way home, Xue Meng hops to the nearby convenience store, but freezes in his tracks when he sees someone walking their dog from across the road.
Wait, Mei Hanxue was still alone at home! With his parents away, there would’ve been no one to feed him in his cat form, and Xue Meng had stupidly forgotten to prepare the portions for his lunch since his mother had always been the one doing it.
Oh, no.
Xue Meng gulps and turns on his heels, rushing through the commute to get back home, hunger temporarily pushed aside in his head. He hopes Mei Hanxue hadn’t died in his house - or worse, in his room - he was still too young and ambitious to carry a crime on his back!
Dashing off the train, Xue Meng runs towards his house as quick as he can.
The lights from the lampposts by the roadside flicker on, and by the time Xue Meng approaches the front of his door, he’s met with a surprising scene.
It’s Mei Hanxue, in his full human glory. He’s leaning against the front door, eyes darting around as if he was waiting for someone.
My god, was Xue Meng stupid! Obviously, Mei Hanxue turns back into his human form after the sun sets now, that was how the curse had been so far. Recently, his transformation timing seemed to have gotten earlier and earlier, if he wasn’t hallucinating. How could he forget?! Would Mei Hanxue really have starved without him?! Why did he waste all that energy in running all the way back?!
And judging by the way he’s looking around like that, maybe Mei Hanxue has already even gotten himself a dinner date and was waiting to be picked up, or picking someone up. Damn him and his frivolous, flighty lifestyle that Xue Meng wants no part of. He’s huffing, and almost leaves until Mei Hanxue’s light voice calls out for him, finally spotting him from where he’s waiting. “Ziming!”
Refusing to admit that he had ran all the way back out of concern, Xue Meng decides not to reply, just striding all the way back to the front door. “What?”
“Did you have dinner?” is Mei Hanxue’s first question, the grin not disappearing from his accursed good-looking face.
“Yes.” Xue Meng lies.
“You haven’t, right?” Mei Hanxue refutes it immediately, pulling Xue Meng by the arm into the house. “Don’t lie to me, I know that Director kept everyone back for a long time, so you couldn’t have had the time.”
“Aren’t you capable, Mei Hanxue?” Xue Meng snaps, irked, “why don’t you go home already?”
“Don’t say that,” Mei Hanxue replies, continue to pull Xue Meng to the dining table. “Since Uncle and Auntie are both out, I decided to borrow the kitchen today. Come here.”
The dining table was laid full of food. Mei Hanxue had taken the effort to prepare a full meal that could even feed a family of five. Was this… all supposed to be just for Xue Meng alone? “You, do you want to feed me to death?”
Mei Hanxue just smiles and says nothing, waiting for Xue Meng to take a seat. Despite his reluctance, Xue Meng does follow, and his stomach does react at the sight of the food on the table.
For all the time they’ve spent together growing up, there was barely any moments that they were not bickering. More accurately, almost every interaction had been them at loggerheads, from the pettiest childhood feuds, to Xue Meng’s little indignation at the Hanxue twins’ more admirable job scope. This… this was rare, almost unprecedented, especially when it’s Xue Meng alone with the usually unbearable Mei Hanxue.
Now, see, with Mei HanXue, Xue Meng could deal. The brother was cold and aloof, but the way he provokes Xue Meng was alright. Mei Hanxue, on the other hand, likes to tease reactions out of Xue Meng, and that he didn’t know how to deal with. And now, faced with a Mei Hanxue who wasn’t fooling around, Xue Meng was honestly at a loss for words.
“…Say something, I’m not used to you acting decent.” Xue Meng mutters, beginning to pick at the food. It looked good, and smelled good, damn it!
“Why, can’t I be a little nice to you sometimes?” Mei Hanxue retorts, joining Xue Meng in eating. “You’ve taken care of me for so long now, it’s the least I can do for you. Of course, if you don’t mind, I could repay you more…”
Xue Meng raises a hand to stop him. It was getting stranger, it really is. Mei Hanxue’s voice is void of sarcasm, and on the contrary he sounded really sincere. Xue Meng almost wants to ask if there were other side effects to the chocolate curse, but holds himself back.
He looks up at Mei Hanxue’s blue eyes. Under the warm lighting in the house, they seem to be twinkling a lot brighter tonight.
With a start, Xue Meng thinks to himself, that this is… fine.
Xue Meng buries his face back into his rice bowl again, willing the thought to leave as fast as it came.
-
To Xue Meng’s chagrin, his absence in the office was virtually of no significance to anyone. He knows that his stamping job wasn’t that important, but still! Having gone for more than a month, and people around him acting like nothing had changed really made Xue Meng feel a little miffed inside.
But that’s no matter. Today the Bureau was hosting another guest – this time even more prominent than Doctor Hua Binan – the Yuheng Elder was visiting! According to Jiang Xi’s (secretary’s) morning email blast, the Elder would be coming personally to deliver his new Guardian prototypes for further development by the Bureau, and to provide improvement blueprints for current working models. Times come and go, but the Yuheng Elder remains the firm pillar of reliability in the cultivation world for sure. Today, Xue Meng will finally get to meet him in person!
Also, he was allowed back to work as Mei Hanxue’s transformation timings were starting to get earlier and earlier, and Jiang Xi had decided that he was able to take care of himself now. Xue Meng isn’t too sure of the technicalities in his diagnosis, but it’s one step back to normalcy for Xue Meng. That, and the anticipation of finally meeting the Yuheng Elder, had made today much more bearable already.
As per the new norm, there was no fancy banquet set up for even the greatest of all cultivators. Xue Meng internally fumes at the shabby treatment of his idol, and sends a few more internal curses at Jiang Xi for being a stingy boss as he heads towards the conference room where the Elder is supposed to be.
He’s about fifteen minutes early, honestly, his legs had taken him here before he could make a conscious decision, simply being too excited for the meeting. However, the room was empty, except for Jiang Xi… and… Chu Wanning…?
What was Chu Wanning doing here, today?
Across the room, Jiang Xi shoots him a dirty look. “Xue Meng, why are you already here? Don’t you know it’s against the rules to come in before you’re allowed to?”
Xue Meng stammers, realizing his mistake too late. “I—I’m sorry, I just got too excited and entered by mistake. But why are you here, Chu Wanning?”
At that, Jiang Xi’s glare turns into a questioning look, then he looks back at Chu Wanning. “Xue Meng, even if you’re friends, don’t forget your manners here in the office,” Jiang Xi reprimands, lowering his smoke pipe to the desk where he was leaning against. “Since this is a corporate event, you best address him as Yuheng Elder. What have your parents taught you…?”
Yu… Yuheng Elder? Chu Wanning? Why would Xue Meng have to call Chu Wanning the Yuheng… Oh… oh…
Xue Meng looks up like he was scalded. “You— you never told me…”
Chu Wanning blinks, setting down the documents on the desk beside Jiang Xi. “It’s not that important.”
Ah, fuck! Xue Meng dashes out of the room immediately. No way – there’s no way, right?! Xue Meng’s childhood idol, his career aspirations, his goal in life, to put it bluntly… was Chu Wanning all along? His cool, aloof, holier-than-mortals grandmaster role model… is Chu Wanning…
Xue Meng takes a deep breath. That’s not all bad news – Chu Wanning was a respectable person and Xue Meng had approved of him even before this, but the disjoint… and the fact that… he and Mo Ran were soulmates… even his untouchable idol had a soulmate and was living happily! No, Xue Meng was not envious, not at all!
He runs to the pantry, where the food and drinks for the tea session were being set up, and quickly downs a can of beer, then sits in a daze for the rest of the afternoon.
-
By the time Mei Hanxue reaches the office, called over by some concerned coworkers, Xue Meng was already collapsed on the table of the pantry, several empty cans surrounding his pitiful head resting against his arms.
“Senior Mei, we tried to wake him up, but he wouldn’t get up…”
Mei Hanxue nods, and gestures for them to leave.
“Senior Mei, we could call a cab for him! You don’t have to trouble yourself…”
Mei Hanxue looks over at the swooning girls, and lets out a very charming smile. “It’s alright, I’ll take care of Ziming. Can you girls help me get the cab, please? Leave the rest to me.”
No one could say no. The girls hurry out of the pantry immediately. He then sighs, thanking that his curse had been slowly fading, and he could regain his human form even before the sun sets now. Slowly, he pokes Xue Meng’s arms, then tries to carry him on his back.
“Let me goooo,” Xue Meng whines, struggling against Mei Hanxue’s arms.
“Why are you throwing a tantrum here? Come, let’s go home.”
Xue Meng hiccups, then looks up at Mei Hanxue, although he doesn’t seem to recognize him. “Can’t believe my role model got defiled,” he mumbles.
Yeah, Mei Hanxue didn’t understand that. He makes a second attempt at gathering the limp body against his back, but Xue Meng only thrashes about, whining softly. “Maybe, maybe if I drink more and stay like this, I’ll just wake up. This is a dream.”
Did he not know that the Yuheng Elder was Chu Wanning? Mei Hanxue quickly draws the link, and sighs again. “Ziming, you really are a handful, you know?”
“Mei Hanxue, I didn’t ask you to take care of me,” Xue Meng sobs.
Mei Hanxue ends up forcing Xue Meng in a bridal carry, his arm hooked under Xue Meng’s knees, and Xue Meng flails but loses balance together with his wobbly head, so he wraps his arms around Mei Hanxue’s neck on reflex.
“Ziming,” Mei Hanxue sighs as he carries Xue Meng out of the room and into the cab that’s been waiting downstairs, “I love you, but god, please don’t ever drink again, okay?”
“You shut your mouth, Han…xue…” Xue Meng trails off, dozing off weakly beside him.
-
Mei Hanxue lays Xue Meng on his bed, resting a cold towel on his forehead. Xue Meng wasn’t the type to puke when he’s drunk, thankfully, so he lays obediently, finally starting to sober up. He sees Mei Hanxue sitting beside him on the bed, and in his sluggishness, his recognition of Mei Hanxue overlaps with Xue-er, and he reaches out to comb his fingers through Mei Hanxue’s hair.
“Good, good, we’re home,” Xue Meng mutters, fingers carding down through the long blond hair to the hair ends.
Before his hand can fall back down, Mei Hanxue catches it in his own hand.
“Ziming… you… what’s wrong with you today?”
Xue Meng blinks, gathering his thoughts and sitting up a bit, even though his head still hurts a little. He laughs, an airy sound through his throat that’s been washed by alcohol. “I worked so hard all my life, looking up to the Yuheng Elder, right, but it turns out he was right there all along.” Xue Meng says, looking at his hand in Mei Hanxue’s, but not reacting. “I just feel stupid.”
“And, he’s dating Mo Ran, of all people!” Xue Meng starts ranting, “I know Mo Ran is a big idiot! I’ve watched them in the simulation experiment! But I know they’re happy… Even my idol is happy, what about me.”
Mei Hanxue’s grip on his hand tightens, and suddenly, Xue Meng’s head spin. Mei Hanxue had pulled Xue Meng towards him, their lips meeting in the collusion.
“Mmph!” Xue Meng struggles, but Mei Hanxue places his other hand on the back of Xue Meng’s neck, and runs his tongue along Xue Meng’s lips. In a moment of panic, Xue Meng gasps, and Mei Hanxue uses the opening to slip his tongue in, deepening the kiss.
Xue Meng hasn’t kissed anyone, or been kissed like this his entire life. He wasn’t sure what to do, how to react, but his hand is warm in Mei Hanxue’s grip, and the slide of Mei Hanxue’s tongue against his was making his head burn in a good way. He wasn’t sure how kisses were supposed to feel, but this right now? This was kind of good.
It may be the alcohol, it may be the frustration, or something else, Xue Meng can’t quite put a finger on it. But Mei Hanxue is kissing him almost like he was desperate, lips chasing after his own despite Xue Meng trying to break away to breathe. He clutches at Mei Hanxue’s shirt, and lets out a shaky moan that barely sounded like himself, feeling Mei Hanxue shudder against his mouth.
When Mei Hanxue finally lets him go, Xue Meng is panting, lips tingling and swollen. Okay, fuck, Mei Hanxue was definitely experienced in stuff like this, so he knew what he was doing, but Xue Meng’s heart is beating so fast, he almost thinks he’s going to faint on the spot along with his throbbing head.
And so he does.
-
Xue Meng’s alcohol tolerance was bad. Close family and friends in his life know that. Xue Meng barely ever initiated drinking by himself, because he knows that it was his weakness. Yesterday had been a mistake. Xue Meng sits up with a heavy head, the throbbing headache gone but his skull was still ringing with the aftermath.
Then, he reaches up to touch his lips with his fingers. No way that had happened for real, right? Was it a dream, or did Mei Hanxue really go crazy and kiss him? And what’s crazier was, why didn’t Xue Meng stop him?
He was almost going to slap himself in embarrassment of remembering what happened, he had thought to himself that it felt good!
“I want to die,” Xue Meng mumbles, finally sitting up and opening his eyes.
It was a Saturday, and Xue Meng didn’t have to go to work. The alarm didn’t go off today, so he probably slept in. Oh, he still needs to get up to feed Xue-er—no, wait…
Regaining his senses, Xue Meng finally notices that Xue-er isn’t there. Mei Hanxue turns into Xue-er at dawn, but what was in Xue-er’s place wasn’t Xue-er, but still Mei Hanxue. “You… What’s going on?”
Mei Hanxue shrugs. “I didn’t turn back.”
“Is the curse gone?”
Faced with a surprise like this, Xue Meng felt like the issue of yesterday’s shame was thrown to the backseat of his very messy mind, but Mei Hanxue smirks.
“I think so, didn’t I receive my true love’s kiss last night?”
“You—!” Xue Meng splutters, pillow in hand and leaning over to Mei Hanxue, but his wrist gets stopped in mid-air. Xue Meng’s heart starts thumping, his mind filled with unsolicited fragmented memories of last night, and it was hard to explain what these feelings were, what they all meant. In Mei Hanxue’s grip, his wrist shakes.
Once again, Mei Hanxue pulls Xue Meng onto his lap and leans down to kiss him, and now that Xue Meng was fully sober and awake, it was five, ten, fifty times more embarrassing, feeling hyper-aware of the thumping of Mei Hanxue’s heart beating against his palm, the feeling of Mei Hanxue’s soft hair tickling the sides of his face, the soft, wet sounds coming from between their mouths and tongues.
Xue Meng wants to die.
“Ziming,” Mei Hanxue says when he finally pulls apart, his fingers gently brushing stray hairs away from Xue Meng’s face, “I like you.”
Xue Meng wants to die.
“I’ve always liked you.” Mei Hanxue continues, fixing Xue Meng’s head in place so that he can’t look away. “Do you know why my brother and I worked so hard to be in the Taxue team?”
Not trusting himself with words now, Xue Meng only shakes his head dumbly.
“I always knew you admired strong people. So I thought, when I become strong, then maybe you’d look at me more.” Mei Hanxue smiles. “At the very least, I can protect you. Then I dragged my brother into it with me.”
“Are you stupid,” Xue Meng finally breathes out. “Here I was thinking you two were… were capable, for achieving that. But you’re saying it’s for me?”
Mei Hanxue hums, his usual flirtatious expression on his face again. “So, Ziming, what do you feel about me?”
Xue Meng didn’t know what to say. Someone help him! He hasn’t ever been in a relationship, and nobody had pressed him into a corner this badly before. He wants the bed to open up and swallow him whole so he can stop thinking about this.
“Did you like it when I kissed you?” Mei Hanxue whispers, leaning closer to Xue Meng. At Xue Meng’s silence, he presses on. “Was it enjoyable?”
“Did you think to yourself that it felt good?”
Xue Meng’s eyes close in a fit of embarrassment at that. “Mei Hanxue, I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you! Aaah!” He grabs the pillow and finally lands a few satisfying smacks on Mei Hanxue, face flushed a deep red from embarrassment and guilt.
He takes a few deep breaths and looks at the man before him. Xue Meng was never that good at talking, especially about his feelings. Why’s a capable man gotta do corny stuff like this, right?
So, fuck it.
Xue Meng leans forward and kisses Mei Hanxue.
-
Today, again, Mei HanXue was in the office.
Xue Meng lifts his folder to hide his face from him. Right now, Mei HanXue was sort of the last person that he wanted to see in the whole world. Maybe it was embarrassment. But not now, Mei HanXue! He thinks to himself, get the hint!
Maybe Mei HanXue was feeling a little merciful today. He throws a quick glance at Xue Meng’s direction, but stalks off like he’s seen nothing. Xue Meng was so sure he was going to start poking fun of him since he’s started g… going out with Mei Hanxue, but it seems like he still had some kindness in him.
Phew.
Xue Meng takes a few steps backwards in relief, but he stumbles over a part of the rumpled carpet, and trips and lands on his ass. “My god, what bad luck,” he mumbles, getting up and rubbing his sore behind. As he regains his balance standing up, a firm arm curls around his waist to support him.
“Ziming, be more careful,” Mei Hanxue’s whispers in his ear, a little smile in his voice. Before Xue Meng can retort, he continues, “but if you sprain your ankle or break your leg, I’ll take care of you too. Like you did for me.”
Xue Meng wants to die.
This was going to take some time to get used to.
And this was so very unfair.
Mei Hanxue has had his fill of flirting with pretty ladies, so he’s naturally good at saying things like that without thinking, while Xue Meng finds himself often at a loss for words. Besides, being on the receiving end of these frivolous words should usually make Xue Meng annoyed, but Xue Meng’s heart wouldn’t stop pounding. In another way, it was making Xue Meng annoyed, but in a more ‘why am I being affected by these words’ way.
It’s hard to explain.
But Mei Hanxue pats the dust off Xue Meng’s clothes, looks around, then drags Xue Meng to an empty corridor. He presses Xue Meng against the wall and pecks him on the lips, a fond smile on his face. “Take care of yourself, Ziming.”
Xue Meng’s heart flutters again, and at this point he was rather thankful that his stupid stamping job wasn’t all that demanding. He pulls Mei Hanxue down by his tie, a bold look in his eyes.
-
The next time Xue Meng meets Chu Wanning, he had finally gotten over his five stages of grief, and meets him not as his idol Yuheng Elder, but as Chu Wanning, the cool professor with his stupid boyfriend. He passes over the pet carrier, and some other pet supplies that he’d initially borrowed.
“Chu Wanning,” Xue Meng blurts, “are you happy?”
Chu Wanning looks at Xue Meng with a puzzled glance, but his gaze softens as he smiles. “I think I am.”
Maybe, maybe Xue Meng’s idol could still be someone like this. This doesn’t change the greatness of the Yuheng Elder, actually, it only added on to his complexity and the way he conducted himself, as Xue Meng knows firsthand now. And if he’s happy together with Mo Ran, that’s a bonus.
“And what about you?” Chu Wanning shoots the question back. “I did hear from Director Jiang that he was considering reassigning you to another role.”
Xue Meng wasn’t spoiled, okay. He wasn’t going to let the great Yuheng Elder, or his parents try to talk Jiang Xi into giving him a better job, that would ruin the purpose of it all. Maybe, in a weird way, he was motivated by Mei Hanxue to work harder for what he really wants to achieve in his job, and eventually reach a point where he can be accepted by Chu Wanning for his own merit.
“I think I am, too.”
As the sun slowly sinks beneath the horizon, the lights on the lampposts flicker on dimly on the way home. Xue Meng vaguely makes out a figure of bright blond in front of his house.
I think I am, too.