Work Text:
Jiang Yanli comes to campus with her hair in two complex four-stranded braids and a purple ribbon running through each plait.
Zixuan wants to touch them, but even he knows that is a Bad Idea. He can't stop staring (they're right there! in front of him!) and so he sits on his hands during lecture instead.
When class is over, in which Zixuan learned nothing but the exact hue of Yanli's hair under the fluorescent lighting on one side and the natural light from the window on the other, Yanli tosses both of her pretty braids over her shoulder to put her backpack on.
That's it. Zixuan makes his move.
"Hi," Zixuan says, as suavely as he can. He thinks he may not have pulled it off, based on how Yanli tilts her head in concern.
'Your hair," he adds, before she can reply and render him speechless, "looks soft. Like silk."
To his relief, she doesn't laugh at him, nor does she scoff like he's seen some of the other girls do to people they dislike. Instead, Yanli's eyebrows lift in surprise, her eyes widening in pleasure. "Thanks, Zixuan," she says, and smiles at him. A smile! At him!!
He's on a roll, so he desperately tries to keep the moment going as they walk out of their classroom. "Did you do them yourself?" Zixuan manages, because all he can think about is how lovely her hair is and how nice her smile is and how he just wants to be like this, walking side by side with her forever.
"Actually, no," Yanli says. "A-Xian did them for me!"
Oh.
A-Xian.
Her brother's name sounds so close to his — A-Xian, A-Xuan — and Zixuan's face does something that he can't control. What would it take for her to call him such a sweet nickname? Is it weird for him to offer to braid her hair? He doesn't even know how to braid! What if...?
Oh, shit. He's taken too long to answer and Yanli's smile has faded by the time he looks up. "I'm not sure what you have against my brother," she says sternly, "but he's a good person. He doesn't need your judgment."
"No," Zixuan yells, then winces at his volume. "No, I wasn't judging, he's so cool, he's smart, it's not-" Zixuan is aware that in his rush to reassure Yanli, he's probably being a bit too effusive. He doesn't want Yanli to think he's crushing on her brother, after all. "It's just that your hair looks good," he finishes at nearly a whisper, "regardless of who braided it."
There's a brief pause where Zixuan contemplates the physics of melting into his shoes from embarrassment. When he looks up again, Yanli's back to smiling. "I like your hair too," she says.
Zixuan immediately stammers out a "thanks" and reaches up with his free hand, to check how his hair lays and remember it forever. He'll style it like this for the rest of his life, obviously, because Yanli said that she liked it that way. "Does it look good enough to go to lunch with you?" Zixuan asks, and then flushes.
What kind of an awful pickup line was that? It's not like Yanli is superficial like that, he knows she's not that kind of person, and oh no why can't his face stop turning red and sweaty, now he definitely can't be seen in public and especially not by her, except that Yanli's smilie is growing wider and—
She giggles! She giggled at something he said!! Sure, his inner monologue pipes up, maybe she's giggling at him but then—
"Yes, let's have lunch," Yanli says, and Zixuan's mind goes entirely blank.
"With me," Zixuan says, just to clarify that he's invited too, not just his hair, and this time, Yanli outright laughs.
"Zixuan, let's have lunch together, if you're free now," she says.
Zixuan nods fervently in response. His mind contains nothing but a void: if he isn't supposed to be free, he's prepared to beg forgiveness from anyone he might be standing up. "My treat," he says, because he's probably going to be an embarrassment in front of Yanli, and he needs her to know that he's not a complete mess. It's very important that she knows he's not irredeemable, that he'll try his best for her, regardless of how awkward he might be.
To his great joy, she nods. "Your treat this time," she says with particular emphasis, and while Zixuan's brain starts to shut down again—does this mean there could be a next time??- Yanli suggests a place near campus. "I really like their sandwiches," she confesses.
Hmm. Really likes. She really likes their sandwiches. Zixuan will bring her a sandwich every day. Two sandwiches. As many sandwiches as she likes.
Really like. What does Zixuan really like? He casts around for something that he can say, to show he's listening and can hold a conversation, and, "I really like you," spills out of his mouth before his brain can intercept that thought.
When he realizes he's said those words out loud, with his actual mouth, he fights the urge to walk away at double-time. Instead, he stares down at the pavement. Growth!
"Oh," Yanli says, her voice sounding far away and then suddenly up close. "Oh, Zixuan, I really like you too," Yanli says, and then she's taking his arm and threading hers through it, standing closer than she's ever been before. It gives Zixuan confidence, makes him feel like he's sprouted wings.
"You could call me A-Xuan," Zixuan suggests, because if she really likes him, hopefully she won't mind calling him something close. There's a brief pause where his heart beats hummingbird-fast in his chest, and all he can think is that hopefully he hasn't overstepped.
"A-Xuan," she says, and it's the best thing Zixuan has ever heard in his life, he's ready to ascend, it's even better than he'd imagined, except that she follows it up with, "You can call me A-Li," and Zixuan changes his mind, how could he possibly address such a perfect human being by such a familiar name, oh no, this is the worst.
"A-Li," he tries, when she smiles at him encouragingly. He expects a bolt of lightning to strike him down, but instead, Yanli just squeezes his arm.
"Let's have lunch," she says, and it's all Zixuan can do to nod, to follow, and to hopefully stop sweating through his shirt by the time they arrive. (He does not actually stop sweating through his shirt, but Yanli doesn't seem to mind.)
When they finish their meal, he pays with some regret as it means their first date is coming to an end. As if reading his mind, though, Yanli reminds him that she'll cover their second date. A second date! His fingers are numb as Zixuan hands her jacket back to her—it's hot in the cafe; at least his nerves aren't the only reason he was sweating buckets—and as she puts it on, one of her braids gets stuck under the collar.
He can't help it. Zixuan reaches out, and with Yanli's encouraging nod, carefully extracts the errant braid from her jacket and lays it flat on her back.
"Do you still like my hair?" Yanli asks impishly, when Zixuan hasn't let go after a few seconds, and Zixuan swallows.
"I like everything about you," he says, physically unable to lie with her right there. It's true. She's so pretty, so smart, so kind; there's nothing he'd change about her even if he could.
Yanli fixes him with an assessing gaze, and then —
She rises up on her tiptoes and plants a soft kiss on his cheek. "A-Xuan is so sweet to me," she says, and — that's it, Zixuan is no longer able to function.
Some hours later, Zixuan finds himself in front of his afternoon lecture with no memory of how he got there. There is a new entry in his calendar for dinner that evening with Yanli, though.