Work Text:
Looking back at his day, Jiang Cheng really thought things couldn't get worse. Bus crash in the morning, late to class, tongue burnt by his lunch and tripping twice in the subway on his way home. What else could go wrong, eh?
Jiang Cheng arrived at his apartment, restless and tired at the same time. It was Friday night, he had no inclination whatsoever to join his brother at the arcade bar, but he also knew he did not have the mental capacity for studying right now. His eyes landed on his skateboard, peeking out from under his bed, unused for a few weeks since the beginning of the semester.
He thought about it. Yes, October was definitely on its way with the mid-chilly wind, but...it was still warm enough. The weather was perfect during the day, and it didn't seem like rain would come soon. And while he still had time to enjoy his Friday nights, shouldn't he do something of it?
So Jiang Cheng left his school bag on the floor and the contents of his lunchbox in the sink. Stuffing his keys in his jeans pocket, throwing on a flannel for wind protection and grabbing his earphones and his skateboard on the way out, he set out in the streets of the city's university district.
The streets, still inaccessible for cars to let pedestrians freely walk around at this time of the year, bustled with energy. Lines were forming at the entrances of restaurants and bars, and their wide windows let a faint coloured illumination onto the darkened street. People went from one place to another, in little groups or alone, trying to find a place to spend the evening. Jiang Cheng rolled carefully, mindful of the heavy traffic and the minor holes in the asphalt.
Once arrived on the plaza, less busy, he decided he would practice some tricks. There weren't any ramps, but he would get by. Skateboard tricks were the only thing he could beat Wei WuXian at.
In front of him, an orange plastic cylinder stood. Another big pothole was probably covered for security, seemingly waiting for the day the city would send a truck for the refilling. Jiang Cheng jumped over it to avoid a collision.
And really, he truly should've been more careful about where was going.
Because the universe was totally against Jiang Cheng and intended to doom him during this god-awful day, there was another pothole that wasn't covered, and one of the wheels caught in the dip. The skateboard stopped, but Jiang Cheng didn't - instead, he fell forward, managing to stay on his feet but wavered like a newborn deer for what must've been a solid thirty seconds. Dizzy, lost in his surroundings and still falling, he latched onto the first wall he found -
But it wasn't a wall. The white wall shifted and moved, and caught him in its arms, and oh, they really have strong arms, before he realized he was being spun around like a helpless lady in front of a dozen people by someone in heavy robes.
When he looked up to assess just who had saved him from an embarrassing fall, his heart did a double take. Now, he was no literary person - but if he was, he could write dozens of poems about his face alone.
Ethereal skin of jade, wide dark eyes of a bunny lined with faint blue eyeliner, body carved of stone, and clothes made of white silk. Was he dreaming?
"Are you okay?"
He blinked.
Oh shit. He was still in the man's arms. He felt his cheeks warm, and prayed the darkness of the night covered up his embarrassment. "Hi. Uh, did I accidently crash a TV set?"
The man laughed out loud and helped Jiang Cheng back on his feet. "No actually, I'm coming back from a convention. I just dressed for the occasion." His eyes crinkled in delight as he adjusted his headpiece and straigtened his robes.
"Well- um- you look really god. Yeah. Uh- I mean good. Oh shit my skateboard. Gotta go. Bye." Jiang Cheng dashed in the street, picked up his skateboard from where it lied sadly and ran from the scene of the crime.
What the fuck!! What the fuck had he just said? Why had he said that? Couldn't he say fucking thank you like a normal fucking human and leave?
He locked himself in his apartment for the weekend, ignoring the texts from his friends asking if they could go out. What was he supposed to do, go outside? Where people would definitely recognize him as the skateboard idiot from the student plaza? He'd rather be dead.
The sun rose on Monday morning, and when Jiang Cheng opened his blinds, the realization dawned on him.
He had to go to class.
He let out a long sigh, tossed his flannel and his hoodie from Friday night into the laundry pile to avoid wearing it during the week, and pulled his hair into a tight ponytail. He had had plans to cut it during the weekend, but he figured long hair would help change his face framing, which in turn would be necessary to avoid getting recognized.
He said goodbye to his beloved solitude after breakfast and set foot outside, only to be doused in rainwater because he forgot his stupid fucking raincoat. What a long day it would be.
🛹
Relief washed through him when he managed to make his way to class without anyone disturbing him. He took a seat at the front of the class, as he always did, and pulled out his phone as he waited for his teacher.
Murmurs rose around him. He lifted his head, wondering if this was the moment where some random student would recognize him, when he made direct eye contact with the person who stood at the professor's desk.
It was Mr period-drama convention guy. And although he had looked regal in his period robes...this change of outfit was just about the last fucking straw in Jiang Cheng's attempts to repress his bisexuality.
When the guy nodded his head with a corner smile, one strand of his short, slicked-back gelled hair fell out of the bunch to rest delicately on his temple, and if he wasn't frozen in his spot Jiang Cheng deliriously thought he would've gotten up to tuck it back.
What.
"Hello class, I'll be replacing Professor Sanchez today, who's currently away on a trip to Congress. You can call me Lan XiChen and you don't need to address me with formalities, I'm just another student of NYU like you. So, does anyone have questions about the material from the previous class?"
Jiang Cheng managed to stand the entire four hours of the class without getting too distracted, but it was safe to say he would definitely have some questions on the metarial from this class the next week.