Chapter Text
"Oho so that's the guy?"
"Definitely… Chongyun, look!"
Withdrawn from his morning daze, Chongyun blinked groggily to where Xiangling was not so subtly pointing.
The person she was referring to was turned away whilst talking to the teacher, so it didn't give Chongyun much to go off. They stood at a shorter-than-average height with unique, choppy blue hair.
Was he supposed to recognise this guy or something?
"That's the “princess”." Xiangling responded coyly in response to his puzzled expression.
Oh, Xingqiu. He’d heard that name circulate the school quite a bit. If Chongyun could remember correctly, he had a reputation of being the so-called 'pretty boy' of his year, or what Xiangling liked to call 'The Eye Candy'. He would have to get a look at his face at some point to address the rumours. Chongyun was never one to care much about appearances, but the attention this guy received must have meant something, right?
Xingqiu was also a very studious individual, often helping around class and aiding the teachers and their faculties.
‘He’s probably on the Student Council, is Class Rep, or something similar…’
"We must be pretty smart to get into his class!" Xiangling beamed, rocking back and forth on her heels.
"Hate to break it to you Xiangling," Chongyun sighed, broken from his thoughts, "But they mixed the classes up this year so students with varying grades would be together."
He supposed it was a plan formulated by the teachers to raise the exam results of lower level students by matching them with those that achieve higher grades.
"And that explains why I finally get to be with my lovely Yanfei!" Hu Tao chuckled, twirling to the front of the class to be with her girlfriend.
"Miss Tao, please head back to your seat. Class will begin in a few minutes." The professor sighed, no doubt not wanting to deal with such a hyperactive child running through his class so early in the morning.
"Good thing they're not sitting together, otherwise they'd be removed already." Chongyun hummed. "Xiangling, where are you sitting?"
"I'm by the door at the front, so I'll have first access to the cafeteria when class ends!" she chuckled with a wink. "You?"
"Oh, I'm right here." Chongyun gestured to the small desk beside them. He thought it was best to locate his place instead of panicking when the teacher called them to sit.
Hu Tao cut in, "Lucky for you Chongus - I'm a couple seats to your right, near the back of the class… which means I can keep an eye on you all throughout the lesson! Hehehehehe."
Chongyun rolled his eyes at another one of Hu Tao's ridiculous nicknames and her devious schemes.
"And throw paper aeroplanes at the back of my head?"
"Precisely that!"
Chongyun sighed. This was going to be a long year.
Getting settled, Chongyun kept a close eye on the people who would be sat around to him. Directly behind him was the back door to the classroom, but a couple spaces along from the empty space sat Hu Tao (meaning he'd have to keep an ear out for her usual pranks she would eventually pull). The space to the right of him was taken by someone he didn’t recognise. He had really light blonde hair, nearly white and had bumped into the side of his desk in a panicked hurry. Chongyun had glanced at the time it wasn't too late so maybe he was just a nervous character, that or being late was a unfortunate habbit the boy was trying to break.
Finally the last seat left was the one infront of Chongyun.
He was briefly aware of Xingqiu approaching out of the corner of his eye. But what he had not calculated for was Xingqiu being the one to take the last remaining seat. This short amount of time of Xingqiu walking over to him gave Chongyun just enough time to finally see what this guy actually looked like. He didn't want to stare, but the rumours… were pretty honest. He was, admittedly, very attractive. With a clear complexion, golden amber eyes, long lashes... Although his hair had an odd trim, unfortuante. But it was a lovely shade of blue that practically shimmered in the sunlight and framed his cute face.
...Wait. Cute? Chongyun get a hold of yourself.
Before Xingqiu sat in his seat, he threw Chongyun a cheeky smile. Chongyun didn't really know how to react to it but he knew one thing. It spelled trouble.
As expected, his friends made a fierce beeline towards his table after class, ready for lunch. Xinyan had flashed him a big smile and an apologetic wave, leaving him to deal with the others, before she had rushed off to investigate the music rooms. Most likely to set up her equipment. Xingqiu quickly left, having gathered his items and excused himself, which Chongyun was internally quite grateful for. As much as he loved his friends, he didn’t want them to embarrass both themselves and him.
But wait, where was Xingqiu going? Having lunch outside? No it wasn't the nicest weather for that... Maybe- "EARTH TO CHONGUS???"
Chongyun winced, shielding his ears from Hu Tao's auditory attack.
"Enough, I heard you the first time." He grumbled
"Then why didn't you answer me?" Hu Tao pouted leaning into his space. His response as always was to shrink into the collar of his shirt, hoping to create a little distance from her accusatory eye.
"I was hoping to ignore you, you're overreacting."
"We're just curious!" Xiangling piped up. "Sooooo… how was it?"
"How was what?" Chongyun attempted to remain ignorant, glancing away. What was so appealing to people about sitting behind Xingqiu? Honestly there were quite a few things that made it very not appealing. One was the amount of eyes on him and Xingqiu. Throughout the lesson, there was always at least one other person watching him. Whenever Xingqiu raised his hand or answered a question, all eyes were glued to him, entertained by his mere existence. Christ, popularity is no mean feat.
He usually wouldn't care so much but since Xingqiu was directly infront of him the gaze of his classmates fell also in Chongyun's direction. Usually he'd like to sink into the background and not be spotted so the attention, although not focused on him, wasn't too pleasant.
Now he understood what the girls meant by Xingqiu being the school's “prized possession''. He was well-liked by the teachers and seemed to draw in everyone's attention, even when completing the most mundane of tasks. Chongyun was convinced he had some odd sparkling aura.
"Don't play dumb with us!" Hu Tao smirked. "You get to sit behind the most popular guy in class."
"And what's so great about that?" Chongyun droled, mentally pleading with Morax for this conversation to end. What was the point of this?
"He's soooo pretty! Hell, I’m a lesbian, but I can appreciate a good view when I see one!"
Hu Tao really had no shame.
He wish he had that confidence...
Chongyun hid his face behind his hands in chagrin. "Please don't say that stuff when he's around… or when he could come back at any time, for that matter. You'll draw unnecessary attention to me." He groaned.
"But Chongyun, isn't that what you want?" Xiangling questioned, positively shining with glee. "You're always complaining about being so lonely and how you'd love a boyfriend."
He definitely did not word it like that.
"Xiangling, are you thinking what I'm thinking??” Hu Tao chirped. “Actually wait, you're probably thinking about what the school has to offer for snack time treats."
"You know me so well!" She beamed before skipping towards the cafeteria.
Hu Tao redirected her attention back to Chongyun and his alarmed expression.
“No-”
"I'm setting you up." She stated with an evil grin.
"Hu Tao, I said-" Chongyun protested but was quickly cut short. "UH UH UH." She ruffled his hair, seating herself in Xingqiu's chair to face him, resting her chin on the top of it.
"This is gonna be so exciting, the lovable princess of the classroom and the insecure nobody hopelessly pining for him."
"Ouch- is that really what you think of me?" Although panicked beyond belief, the way she worded it was a little amusing to him.
"Just exaggerating for dramatic impact. Though you really should speak to people more. This might be a good chance for you to get better at socialising!" Chongyun groaned for the 8th time that day. He already had friends he didn't need to put any effort into socialising and definitely not trying to get a boyfriend.
"I need to focus on studying, not people." Hu Tao wiggled her eyebrows "Xingqiu can help you with that."
.
.
.
"I can help with what?"