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Fang Rui sees the promotion banner at the supermarket a few days before and an idea forms in his head. He grabs a few boxes from the shelf, pays for his purchases, and goes on his merry way.
A little team bonding outside of Glory always goes a long way.
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All those unlucky enough to come across him so far had fallen.
His first opponent – Steamed Bun – was a total noob at the game. After a quick explanation of the rules, Steamed Bun enthusiastically began playing. It didn’t take long before Steamed Bun lost. Fang Rui gave him an unopened box and cheerfully told him to keep practicing.
He hasn’t seen Steamed Bun since and should probably be worried. Instead, he just shrugs and continues searching for his next opponent.
//////////////
Next came Wei Chen who had seemed confident.
“Haha, old man, you probably never even played this with someone, have you?”
“Who do you think I am, huh?? How hard can it be to play your silly stick game?!”
“Try it then!”
“Fuck prepare to bow down to this master!”
Wei Chen didn’t even last three seconds.
//////////////
Luo Ji took one look at the box in his hand, and refused to participate, fleeing to the safety of his room with the excuse of research to be done.
//////////////
Fang Rui was a little surprised at how well Ye Xiu was playing the game. The Glory Textbook had come close to winning, but ultimately victory fell into Fang Rui’s hands.
…
Alright, he amends mentally, maybe if Ye Xiu hadn’t been called away by Guan Rongfei, the older male would have won. Maybe.
//////////////
Fang Rui isn’t quite what to think about his current opponent.
They had gone at it quite energetically, each side taking just enough until there was very little space left between them. After a one-minute standoff, her eyes had flashed to the side. He had never seen her eyes filled with mischief from up close.
He wasn’t at all prepared for her sudden movement. He watched a little dazedly as Su Mucheng stretching forward, almost covering the distance between their lips before abruptly retreating. He watches as Su Mucheng again looks to the side, her smile turning very much amused.
The smell of cigarettes wafting from behind him has Fang Rui freezing and almost choking on the pocky stick in his mouth.
He braves a glance behind him, strained smile on his face. Was it time to pray to every deity he knew?
“Old Ye! What a surprise! You’re back so quick hahaha…”
His laughter trails off awkwardly when Ye Xiu just stares at him blandly. Fang Rui watches as beautiful fingers pluck the cigarette from Ye Xiu’s mouth before the little cancer stick is extinguished on the ashtray. Fang Rui could swear that Ye Xiu grounded the cigarette far more forcefully than usual.
Then, Ye Xiu smiled and Fang Rui swore he could feel his death looming over him.
“Are you having fun?”
Scratch that, he’s definitely dying if he doesn’t leave soon.
“Haha yup! Absolutely, in fact I think I’ll try playing with someone else, you know, to share the fun. Okay, thanks Sis Mu, bye!”
Fang Rui takes his victories where he can get them and hightails out of there. The sound of Su Mucheng’s snickering follows him.
//////////////
Of course, he doesn’t quite learn and continues on his winning streak.
//////////////
Fang Rui leans in just a little bit more, mouth inching forward. His opponent reciprocates, reducing the space between them by the same amount. They’ve been at this for a surprisingly large amount of time.
Fang Rui squints his eyes, the corner of his lips turning down a little. He glances down to gauge how much more he can move forward. He nearly goes cross-eyed from the attempt.
Really, he thinks, maybe I shouldn’t have challenged the most patient member of Team Happy.
He shifts his gaze just a little higher and he’s gazing into blue eyes.
Pretty, his brain supplies, and the sudden thought almost startles him back. However, the more he gazes into them, the more Fang Rui thinks that Mo Fan has very pretty eyes.
This close, he can see every shift of those blue eyes, watching as the pupils dilate, and restlessly move around.
Fang Rui inches forward a bit more, and watches in fascination as Mo Fan’s lips turn downwards. At the same time, a bright flush rises to Mo Fan’s cheeks.
Fang Rui feels his breath catch at such a sight. His roommate had always been a little pale, and the blush made him look just a little healthier.
Makes him look prettier, his brain thinks traitorously.
The Master of Dirty Playing thinks he finally made a very serious mistake this time, because when Mo Fan moved forward, Fang Rui’s eyes trailed down to pinkish lips and Fang Rui wonders what kissing his roommate’s lips would feel like.
A sharp intake of breath, and Fang Rui bites down thoroughly on the pocky stick, breaking it off before abruptly leaning away. He feels a blush of his own rising, a little mortified at the thought that entered his brain.
He tries to play it off with a laugh while getting his heart under control.
“Haha, good game, good game!”
Mo Fan’s eyebrows furrow a little before he too steps back.
“Mn,” he says simply, chewing on the remaining pocky stick. Mo Fan’s tongue darts out quickly to lick his lips, taking away any bits of chocolate that had remained.
Fang Rui feels like his lungs have suddenly stopped working.
Impulsively, he takes Mo Fan’s hand, ignoring the way the other male jumps slightly at the sudden touch. Fang Rui presses the rest of the Pocky box into Mo Fan’s hand, retracting his hold only when he’s sure the box won’t fall.
“Here, since you won you can have the rest.”
“…Ah?”
Fang Rui clicks his tongue almost scoldingly, hands slipping into his jeans pocket.
“What ‘ah’? You should be saying ‘thank you’!”
Mo Fan looks at the opened box in his hands. Then his eyes meet Fang Rui’s, and he nods.
“Thank you.”
Mo Fan takes another chocolate-covered stick and starts nibbling on it before heading to Team Happy’s Training Room – his original destination before Fang Rui had accosted him with declarations of playing a game.
And Fang Rui finds that though his win-streak against the members of Team Happy is finally broken, he doesn’t quite mind.
He follows his roommate to the Training Room.
“So dedicated! I’ll join you, okay?”
Mo Fan pauses at the threshold of the Training Room. He looks back at Fang Rui for a moment before nodding.
“Okay.”