Chapter Text

Chapter 1:

Mu Qing works at the office. He is the head of design. People think he's sharp, in fact,  he is sharp and he knows it. Ever since he and his two friends began their wedding-planners business, he's worked hard along with his friends and tried to focus towards achieving even better standards than the ones they've got in their six years of work in the business.

Their designs and ideas are unique and memorable to last a lifetime like weddings should be and Mu Qing is proud of it. He's been often asked what his inspirations are for all the designs that seem to always awe the soon-to-be weds. He doesn't tell anybody who asks him what inspires him but he does have his muse. For him, there is someone he'll probably never have but someone he's sure he'll get to see close enough for most of his life. He's glad for it and he's happy as he is. That is his muse, his secret person.

It is Monday morning and the beginning of another week. Mu Qing is doing research on ways to incorporate surfing into a wedding that's due in six months. There is a knock on his office door. A tall, beautiful, tan-skinned man with broad shoulders and dark brown eyes is leaning against the door frame. Feng Xin, one of his friends with whom he began this business start-up met Mu Qing's eyes and rolled it towards the direction where Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were standing. Through the glass windows and the break room door, Mu Qing had a partial view of his other friend and his new assistant chatting with eyes that didn't leave the other's gaze. So Xie Lian was flirting awkwardly with the new guy. 

Mu Qing felt a pang of protectiveness. 

 Mu Qing turned his head to look back towards Feng Xin whose expressive eyebrows were now slightly  furrowed and eyes conveying the same emotion. His jaw was taut showing off his jawline and his displeasure at the scene both at once. Mu Qing suddenly had to put some effort into not getting distracted by how gorgeously young Feng Xin's face had grown into the adult Feng Xin who now frowned. 

Having grown up together they had seen each other change from little boys to lanky teenagers to the adults they had become. Mu Qing was a boy when he first fell in love. He is technically an adult now but his someone surely makes him feel like that bumbling lovesick boy inside. 

He shook himself mentally. He focused on the scene at hand and turned to look at Xie Lian again.

Xie Lian and Hua Cheng were just a bit closer than was appropriate for the break room of an office, flirting with each other rather than talking. If one went by the glances they exchanged and the degree of blush on both their faces, not to mention the unusually casual touches they exchanged, then it was quite an obvious flirting of one oblivious Xie Lian and one very suspicious new assistant named Hua Cheng. Their "casual" conversations were lasting long and concerningly longer with each passing day, now even eating into the work hours as it had been 15 minutes past lunch break already. Anyone with the gift of sight would not be fooled by that kind of a facade. At least anyone with the added benefit of being Feng Xin or Mu Qing i.e., Xie Lian's childhood friends, knew that that was not how colleagues or even friends behaved. Their hands were even brushing at every other sentence. 

For Pete’s sake, A-Lian!

Mu Qing took a deep breath and sighed. He then rolled his eyes because- 

one : he's tired of receiving dog food when he's single and suffering from a one sided crush and then

  two :he knows it to be stupid but his breath caught when his eyes met Feng Xin's after he'd been beckoned by him. He knows it is still foolish of him to be so hopeful that Feng Xin might like him of all people. Why would he be called on by Feng Xin for any purpose other than the concern for their mutual friend, Xie Lian?

Although it was not so that Mu Qing did not care for Xie Lian as Feng Xin did. He simply had someone he cared for more in a special way and that idiot was too stupid to see it.

It was frustrating on another level when he thought about it.

As far as the present issue was concerned, brought to his attention by said idiot, Mu Qing had obviously seen and suspected what was going on between Xie Lian and the new, fairly handsome employee. He simply was biding his time until anything that might seem more concerning than prospective glances the two exchanged for the past couple of days happened.

However, despite Feng Xin's handicap at reading social situations, it was high time the blind Feng Xin noticed that Xie Lian was apparently on the verge of swooning over the new guy during the entire lunch break. It had began when Xie Lian skipped the brunch the day before because he had to meet a "friend" 

Mu Qing took a pen from his pen holder and wrote something down on a sticky note before sticking it onto Feng Xin's shirt sleeve. With a dramatic slow head shake, Feng Xin unstuck it and read:

"Are you sure they're dating?"

Feng Xin shot him an incredulous look and whispered, "Aren't you sure by now that they're dating?"

Mu Qing rolled his eyes again.

It was meant to be sarcastic, idiot .

Mu Qing had observed that Xie Lian had been acting weird ever since he returned from the week long business trip with that new and intimidating guy at the office. With every smile that Xie Lian tried to hide from the texts he received and every corresponding smug smile Hua Cheng seemed to have at the same time, he noticed. Everyone at the office was charmed by either the "new guy's" impeccably perfect way of working or his looks despite the way he behaved was completely cold to all who weren't Xie Lian. That was already so suspicious , thought Mu Qing. Even if the deception worked for all, nothing unusual in the office could pass without Mu Qing's notice.

And now this.

As much as Mu Qing had to admit, despite being a stupid insensitive ass to almost everyone else, Feng Xin was also capable of using more than his usual two brain cells when it came to Xie Lian. It was indeed truly concerning to see his K-drama style chaebol-status friend who was sheltered to the point of innocence, swoon under the influence of a mysterious and questionable new human. This had to be discussed. This was serious.

He turned to Feng Xin. Feng Xin had his face turned into a grimace while he continued to watch the pair in the distance with distaste. His expression was one that he wore when he was contemplating something deeply. 

So much for Feng Xin realising that a friend is swooning over someone any day, Mu Qing thought and cleared his throat. 

"What, Mu Qing?",came a gruff reply while Feng Xin did not turn his head, still staring at Xie Lian and Hua Cheng as if they were prey.

Mu Qing took another sticky note on which he wrote, @7:30 sharp, same place, For XL.

He got up from his chair, walked around the fairly generously large oak work-table and slowly stuck the note on Feng Xin's forehead, pressing it on with two hands, "Let us also schedule a meeting then shall we?" he whispered into Feng Xin's ear.

This is the most I can get, Mu Qing thought as he turned around to his desk. It was a poor substitute for alone time with Feng Xin, far far away from Mu Qing's dream of a proper date.

This will have to do.

 (The same way he's been having to make do for as long as he's realized how disgustingly in love with Feng Xin someone he is. Although he tries not to be.)

He picked up his coffee mug and crossed Feng Xin on the doorframe to walk to the break room with a scowl of his own. He had two people waiting for him to ruin their moment together.

__________

7:20 pm, "Same place"

Mu Qing drove his car to the edge of the city, near the beach, and into the parking lot that was almost always close to vacant when it wasn't summer. He checked his watch. It was early. He felt butterflies fluttering around in his gut. Just ten more minutes. Another chill went up his spine. 

To him, this never got old; meeting Feng Xin like this-- like lovers running away from prying eyes.

What a lovely thought,

Feng Xin loved Mu Qing,

As Mu Qing loved Feng Xin.

Feng Xin and Mu Qing, secret lovers; Amusingly lovers at all.

Goosebumps rose all over his body.

Feng Xin . 

Feng Xin... 

Feng Xin? 

Feng Xin !!!

He is suddenly aware of his surroundings. He is in a car in a secluded parking lot for a "secret" meeting with his own friend for the sake of their mutual best friend as if it were something no ome should know about.

It sounded pathetic even to him and he knows it is pathetic because despite having grown up together there has been unnameable friction between him and Feng Xin. 

He is a pathetic ass and Feng Xin is an idiot. 

Adorable idiot , his mind supplied unhelpfully, who would never be Mu Qing's .

He groaned out of frustration.

It was painful to have his own mind remind him for the nth time that Feng Xin was friends with him for the sake of Xie Lian and Xie Lian only.

Otherwise he despises you and thinks you despicable , chimed the unhelpful voice in his head that worked in the self-sabotaging department of his brain.

He decided to close his eyes and rest, to ignore his very unhelpful and possibly defective brain which had the audacity to fall in love with Feng Xin. Traitor , he thought of his heart before drifting off to the land between sleep and wakefulness where everything seemed possible.

Plus, he needed a nap to ease the slight headache forming in his head because of all the dog food he didn't want but was served anyway.

After a few minutes he was woken up by someone tapping on his window. It was the idiot.

Adorable idiot , his mind annoyingly auto-corrected.

He checked his watch again.

7:32 pm.

Acceptable .

"Get in."

"Ok so have you seen those two in the office lately? Feng Xin asked, sitting down beside him and looking unfairly handsome for someone who just got off work on a Monday.

Of course, he goes straight to the point. Doesn't even ask if he's kept me waiting for long or doesn't even apologize for being late or even give a polite explanation for why he's late. So very Feng Xin, Feng Xin.

But you love him the way he is, don't you? The voice from the masochist department of his brain spoke up, smugly.

I hate myself , was all he could think before turning his attention to Feng Xin who continued rambling in his smooth voice after Mu Qing's silence to his first statement.

Feng Xin had turned his head to face him. Mu Qing noticed that his hair was a little tousled and his tie was loose. 

How do you manage to look like a model out of a business magazine so casually?

He felt a tugging sensation in his gut. 

Oblivious to the reactions bubbling inside his audience because of his own uncared for appearance, Feng Xin continued looking at him right in the eye in the confident manner he takes on when he speaks of something he's very invested in, "They probably think they're not being obvious and I don't know how the entire office isn't aware of them by now but how could you miss it of all people Mu Qing?

Don't you see it too?"

Mu Qing was burning under that gaze. He needed to vent somehow.

"No Feng Xin, I DON'T see them stealing glances at each other every FIVE minutes getting NOTHING done on Xie Lian's part but somehow Hua Cheng's work is ALWAYS?! up-to-date which nonetheless causes problems for us because Xie Lian is one of our department HEADS and Hua Cheng is only his SECRETARY. Not to ADD that almost ALL of our senior staff can feel something is weird even if they haven't voiced it YET . "

Feng Xin's face had scrunched up with every word he had spoken in which he laid unnecessary dramatic emphasis.

He could only watch as Feng Xin took a deep breath flexing those swimmer's broad chest muscles to fill in his lungs to full capacity slowly only to hold it for a few seconds and release his lungs' fill even more slowly.

Femg Xin was probably trying to stop himself from murdering Mu Qing.

He looked as if he was counting in his mind. 

Seconds passed

One.

Two.

Three.

.

.

.

.

.

…Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

"So?"Feng Xin finally uttered with a hint of challenge in his voice.

Mu Qing felt satisfied at having gotten a reaction out of Feng Xin no matter what it was. At least it was a reaction to him, for him. Mu Qing will take what he can get. Even if it was annoyance, irritation or anger. Anything but indifference. Also, more than ten seconds of getting to stare at that side profile was precious enough. Maybe Mu Qing could go home and try to recreate the image as his masterpiece.

 It was not like Mu Qing could hope to garner the affections of a man who hated him and tolerated him for the sake of someone else even if that someone else was their mutual friend whom he too cared for deeply. 

Barely hiding his small smug smirk by turning his head to look out of the window, he put on a nonchalant air --wavelength adjusted-- and instead asked, "What do you propose we do?"

Two seconds of silence.

"We need to do something to stop them,"said a deep low voice from closer than before as Feng Xin had moved towards him without breaking eye contact to make his point. Feng Xin's eyes seemed to be distracted by something on Mu Qing's lower part of his face. Did he still have some crumbs of the banana cupcake on his chin left?

Apparently he did because long, slender fingers swiped his lower lip which made him feel the pull in his gut grow stronger. It wasn't even close to the peak of summer yet and suddenly even the car was feeling hotter than before to him. Then his gaze met Feng Xin's again, the strong hand retreated. The moment as slow as it felt, was quickly over and Feng Xin looked at him expectantly awaiting a response.

Mu Qing's smugness turned to despair at Feng Xin's utter lack of care for his own love life. The obliviousness was appalling. Annoyance replaced his smugness.

"Are you serious ? Xie Lian is not not an adult. He can handle himself, you know," he spat out.

"We still need to do something. And Xie Lian is  an adult but--but- but- you know", Feng Xin huffed in an attempt to make a defence but flustered obviously because he was definitely not good with words. He could have wanted to say, but what if that guy hurts our Xie Lian? What if he comes in between us and takes our friend away from us and later dumps him so Xie Lian will hurt and A-Lian is infuriating enough that he won't even come to us if he's hurt. And you know he's got no sense of self -preservation :(

Mu Qing definitely couldn't read minds and didn't know what Feng Xin meant by his "you know" but what he did know was that they were Xie Lian's friends as well as his family. They were supposed to take care of him.

With a sense of responsibility taking over he replied calmly,"I don't know but we'll have to wait and see. It's only been three days you know."

"Eh, but still man, we've got to be careful because you know how easy dianxia can be," came the reasoning.

He could only let out a long tired sigh. He could feel a new headache coming thinking about having to arrange future meetings with Feng Xin about this . His stomach was doing somersaults at this point. He couldn't handle being around Feng Xin any more than the usual hours. Of course he'd love to bask in his presence because being near  Feng Xin is like breathing fresh air in a world full of smog. The problem was that he would definitely lose control of himself and do something stupid like he did when he was younger and didn't know how to navigate being around Feng Xin and Xie Lian. He was so naive then. If only he could go to the past and tell his younger self to not make Feng Xin hate him. Huh . But of course, Feng Xin would hate him no matter what he changed. Feng Xin seemed to hate Mu Qing's entire existence. Feng Xin was such an idiot, really. Little did he know he was missing out on so much that he was ready to give, so much love and so much devotion. If only Mu Qing had a chance against his image in Feng Xin's eyes.

He would have a lot to hear from this (hot) guy if they really do have to intervene and investigate Xie Lian's new "friend". It would be pleasantly risky. Nonetheless, he did not doubt for one second that they had to do this for their dianxia.

After a pause, in his business voice he said, "We'll observe them for this week. Gather info on any and every suspicious behaviour that has come to light so far in the given time period. I will do the same and we will discuss this matter on Sunday."

He didn't ask if Feng Xin was free on Sunday because he knew FengXin would be free on Sundays. Feng Xin was the kind of guy who would complete all his work at work and make sure none of his private time was wasted on menial office work. Feng Xin was just so in love with a discipline like that.

(And he loved Feng Xin like that.)

Of course that was also partly because Feng Xin went on blind dates  whenever he could get them. And of course, most of his dates didn't work out no matter how fancy the restaurants or how good the movie might be. Feng Xin just wasn't the type of guy who could be comfortable around girls. Out of his blind dates, the remaining few who showed up again, gave up on the second or third dates and the tenacious handful lasted a fortnight, max. Feng Xin's discomfort around women was too apparent but that stupid man would never learn.

(And he grew envious of each blind date he went to but couldn't help but love the child in Feng Xin. He felt like an idiot).

He didn't care though (that is what he tries to tell himself). Let that idiot keep on torturing himself. It's not like he could take Feng Xin out on dates to show him how it's done. Feng Xin would just probably be disgusted by the idea of going out with someone as deceitful as him.

His heart said a silent prayer for his future self.

"Mn" Feng Xin gave in affirmation, and got out of the car swiftly with his long legs that Mu Qing wanted; breaking Mu Qing's train of thought which had started something churning in his gut again.

"Bye" Feng Xin said before walking off.

Sigh.

Mu Qing drove back home and began running a background check on one Hua Cheng.

________________

9:30 pm; same day

Mu Qing was preparing for bed when he heard his message notifications go off a few times. He continued making his bed when a series of message notifications went off in rapid succession.

He felt annoyed into finally picked up the phone.

-.   -    -.   -

Warriors of Xian Le [6]

Dianxia : 

Dianxia : The thing is San Lang (that's what I call Hua Cheng; you're not allowed to call him that) [9:29pm]

Dianxia : won a two day free group trip to G**** C***. The entire vacation is paid for. Hua Cheng wanted us to go on our first vacation as a couple but I hadn't told you both so I'm inviting you to come with us? It's an apology for not telling you sooner. [9:29pm]

Dianxia : San Lang is quite shy so yeah…

[9:29pm]

Dianxia : you up for it? [9:29pm]

Nan Yang :  …….

[9:29pm]

-.     -.     -.    -

Feng Xin (Idiot )[16]

FX: Hshdbxhsnoxdn

FX: Mu Qing

FX:Did you see it?????

FX:DID YOU SEE?

FX:I told you they were sus

FX : And a Vacation???

FX:Our Xie Lian told us over text????

FX: How could he do this to us?

FX: Answer

FX: asap

FX:Mu Qing.

FX:Mission critical

FX: They're going to be alone if we don't go

FX :Will you go?

FX: I'm going with or without you

FX: Mu Qing we have to DO SOMETHING!!!!

[9:30pm]

-     -.    -.   -

Mu Qing wanted to die.