Chapter Text
Chongyun’s life greatly lacked warmth. Not in temperature, but in things like kindness and support. His life wasn’t horrible, but he definitely could’ve been handed a better deck. Some of the only times he felt warmth that wasn’t from a fire or some AC was when a particular boy was around. The thing Chongyun didn’t understand was why this boy brought him a feeling of warmth. He hated this dark navy blue-haired boy, and it would be pretty believable to say the other hated him back.
At least, he thought he hated this mysterious boy.
It was after school, the bell having rang 5 minutes ago. Chongyun was trying to get to the entrance before his father got there in fear of getting in trouble, but had seemed to take a wrong turn in his hurry. When he realized his mistake, he turned back and started to make his way back when he heard ragged breathing coming from one of the empty classrooms. The snowy-haired teenager leaned his head against the door he suspected it was and he thought he recognized the voice that was mumbling on the other side.
He slid the door open slightly, trying to see who it was and get a better scope of the situation, and was taken aback when he saw the crying person was none other than the one he swore to hate, Xingqiu.
“Xingqiu…?”
The teary boy jumped at the sudden voice and quickly started wiping at his eyes, most likely trying to hide the fact he was crying.” H-hello, you should be waiting to be picked up.”
“I accidentally took a wrong turn, and heard what sounded to be crying.”
“What do you want?? Tell anyone you saw this and I swear to god, Chongyun,” Xingqiu said with slight hostility, turning around. When the other saw the honor student’s face, his eyes were very obviously red from crying.
“I have no reason to tell anyone you were crying, so chill, and I just wanted to see who it was and perhaps why they were crying,” Chongyun explained.
“It’s none of your business.”
Chongyun sighed a little. It was expected that he wouldn’t get a word from him.” I’m waiting here until you either leave this room or tell me what’s up. I understand we hate each other's guts, but I still won’t just leave someone crying alone,” He said, entering the room and shutting the door behind him, sitting on the floor.
It was silent for minutes before Xingqiu grumbled and gave in.
“Fine, you obviously aren’t leaving anytime soon so I might as well tell you something,” Xingqiu said with a slightly annoyed tone, looking at the floor.
Chongyun stood from where he sat on the floor and walked over and pulled out a seat from one of the desks, sitting to face the other.” I was stressed and had a poor day, and just couldn’t keep it together until after the student council meeting, I will not elaborate further,” the Navy blue stated.
Chongyun looked at him and softened his usually icy and cold glare,” I understand, do you still feel the need to cry?”
“Why would I tell you that?! I’ve already shared more than what you’re owed, so leave.” Xinqgiu spat.
Another sigh. He nodded and got up, making his way to the door, For a second, Chongyun cursed himself for letting his motherly side get the better of him and risk making his father wait. The thought sent a shiver down his spine, making him walk quicker when he got into the hall.
He saw his father’s car and felt like running away. He knew he should’ve just let his curiosity pester him and end up losing sleep. Better than dealing with his angry father. He jogged to his father’s car in the parking lot, not wanting to make him wait any longer. He opened the back door and swiftly slid into the seat, buckling in.
“Mind telling me why you decided to waste more of my time by making me wait?” Spoke the older man, tapping his finger against the steering wheel.
“I was asked to speak to the teacher after class. They just wanted me to drop off paperwork at a student’s house since they live relatively close and had to leave early.” It wasn’t a complete lie. He was asked after one of his classes to drop off work at a student’s house that lives a street or two over.
“That’s not an excuse, and you know it, Chongyun.”
“You wouldn’t have to even come if I could walk to school…” Chongyun mumbled.
“What was that?!” His father spat turning around in his seat to face the other.
For some reason, Chongyun was feeling cocky today, and so he continued instead of taking his usual approach.” If I had a parasol, I could walk to and from school and you wouldn’t have to ‘waste time’ driving me.”
When his father tried to slap him and failed due to being too far, the snowy-haired boy was glad he sat in the back.” Then get a damn job, brat!”
“I WOULD IF I HAD TIME TO WORK!” Chongyun shouted.
“I’m sorry for making you study so you don’t fucking fail in life!” The other shouted back.
Chongyun sighed to himself,” All I would need is just 4-6 hours free of studying on the weekend, then I can work and eventually buy myself a parasol.”
“Do what you want, you clearly don’t give a shit about your future. Just know that I won’t be letting you stay after graduation if you fail.” His father said in a low grumble, starting the engine and beginning to drive off.
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His father placed the plate of food in front of him, placing the same dish in front of an empty seat which he quickly filled. Chongyun smelled the food and it was very obvious that it was a Liyuenian dish with the spicy aroma coming from it.
“Dad, you do remember that I can’t have spicy foods because of my medical condition…”
“Not my problem, you can either eat it or starve. You really need to be more grateful, kid.”
“Yes, father.” Chongyun looked at the food with a grimace, his stomach rumbling. He spent a hot minute debating the results of either decision and what would be better.
Getting up and picking up his place, he started walking to the kitchen.” If you’re not gonna eat it, don’t waste it and give it to me and go to your room and study.” Chongyun nodded and turned around, making his way over to the other taken seat and placing the plate down.” I won’t be as lenient about his the next time you talk back to me, kid.”
“Yes, dad. I won’t speak to you like that again,” Chongyun said in a quiet voice before turning on his heel and walking to his room.
It was almost midnight and Chongyun had failed to fall asleep thus far and was feeling rather hungry which only made it harder. He sighed, getting up and walking to his window. He looked at the tree a few feet away, looking for something hidden within the branches.
“Damn it, I forgot to hide food while dad was out…” He whispered to himself. He pivoted towards his nightstand and went over, picking up the phone and unlocking it in a quick motion. He hesitated and thought about how late it was, but ultimately gave in.
The phone rang and Chongyun started to second guess his actions as it continued to ring unanswered.
“Hello? What’s up, Chongyun?” A voice of a girl on the other end spoke.
“Phew, I thought you were asleep.” He said in relief.
“With this upcoming group assignment?! No way!” The other end answered.
“You haven’t finished it yet, Xiangling?! Whatever, that’s beside the point,” Chongyun replied.
“You still haven’t told me why you called at such an hour, is it your dad again?”
“He brought Liyue cuisine home and so I had to skip dinner, and am unfortunately out of food in my tree…” He explained.
A sigh was heard from the young chef,” I’ll be over in 10 with some food for you, are you still able to eat Inazuman cuisine?”
Chongyun smiled at how considerate she could be, and how she bothered to remember that he grew to react in some way or another to dishes from most places, such as Sumeru or Snezhnaya.” I haven’t had a heat flash or reaction to it yet, so it should be safe. Thank you, Xiangling, I promise to pay you back at school tomorrow.”
"There’s really no need, Chongyun. But if you’re really insistent on paying me back, a great way of doing so would be filing for emancipation or something like that. Just get the hell out of that house and away from your father. I honestly believe he’s two seconds from harming you more severely,” She replied, shuffling of clothes being heard.
“Well I doubt slapping is grounds for an abuse report, and he’s done nothing more than that so I have no case. He seems to be letting me get a job though, so I’m definitely gonna be looking around.”
A car door could be heard shutting along with a roar of an engine being started.” If you want, I can pull a few strings at my father’s restaurant and get you a job there. Or the library I work at, more specifically the cafe there.”
“I’m not sure if I’d do well with all the spicy dishes and heat at your restaurant, but the cafe should be fine. If I don’t find a decent job, then I’ll let you know. I’ve been interested in working in a cafe anyway.” The only other thing that brought him a feeling of comfort was the calm atmosphere of cafes, and so he loved going to them.
“I’ll see what I can do then, you should be able to at least get a cashier position.”
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As he said over the phone, he paid Xiangling money for bringing him some food to stash for the next time he was forced to skip a meal, the next day. Despite her great reluctance, she eventually gave in and took it.
“I said it was fine, you should be saving for that parasol so your dad doesn’t have to drive you.”
“It’s the least I can do, I made you drive out in the middle of the night. If you don’t want me to pay you back for the food, then just think of it as money for the gas you used.” He countered.
“So you say that I can think of it as gas money, but you won’t think of the food as an apology for making you eat the weird or slightly spicy food I make?!” She said in a raised volume.
“So you’re the victim she moved on to after middle school!” Said a familiar voice from behind. Chongyun spun around, the sudden voice startling him.
“Correct you are, Xingqiu,” Xiangling replied, not bothering to turn around.
“I do find it odd that you’re only giving him slightly spicy food though, you’d make me eat Jueyun chili chicken made with ghost peppers whenever you got your hands on them,” He said with curiosity in his tone.
Chongyun felt himself heat up at the thought of the food and started fanning himself, earning a laugh from Xiangling.” Mr.Snowman can’t get too hot or eat spicy food,” She answered.
“Snezhnayan?”
“No, I’m full Liyuenian, it’s because I get heat flashes or act like a whole new person if I do,” Chongyun said, butting in before Xiangling could reply. Lowering his voice and leaning closer, he whispered to her,” Since when were you two so close??”
“We met in middle school, I know you guys have known each other for a bit, so you might remember him from back then. I found how he pretended to be a main character so funny and befriended him.”
Chongyun grinned at the memory, barely stopping himself from letting out a chuckle.
“Why was sir snow paying you for food by the way?” Xingqiu asked, trying to move on from his embarrassing younger self.
“His fa-” Xiangling started, being quickly cut off by Chongyun.
“My father had company over and forgot to make buy stuff for dinner, so I asked her to go to the store for me since I didn’t own a car.” He lied, giving Xiangling a look telling her to go with it.
The bell rang, signaling it was time to head to class.” I see, well I have to go now, so farewell. And please don’t kill him Xiangling, it’s been rather nice not eating ghost peppers with cheesecake.”
The two waved him goodbye and Xiangling waited ‘til he was out of earshot to ask Chongyun.” Why did you lie to him? Does he not know or something?”
“We might’ve been close friends as children, but at the time my mom was still around and my father was fine. We’ve gotten kinda distant and he seems to strongly dislike me now, so I had no reason to tell him.” Chongyun answered.
“He seemed not to know about your condition, why’s that? Haven’t you had it your entire life?” Xiangling’s seemed kinda confused, so with a sigh, Chongyun elaborated further.
“When he and I were friends, which was up until 4th grade, which is when he started distancing himself from me, my condition was pretty mild and was still undiagnosed. Up until the middle of 6th grade, it wasn’t too severe and easy to hide and deal with, so I never told him or anyone. Once it got worse, I started telling the people I usually ate with and around about it so that I wasn’t risking harm or disaster.”
“And if I recall correctly, your mother left when we were in 5th grade, which is when your father started acting like he does.”
“Yeah. Can we please move to a different topic now?” Chongyun hated talking about his mother leaving. Some part of him wanted to resent her for doing it, but with how his father acted after she left, he questioned whether this was how he treated her.
“Yeah, sorry. I know how you feel about her leaving and all,” Xiangling apologized.
Most of the day went fine, classes being boring as always and uneventful. PE on the other hand was a different story.
“Alright class, today we’ll be going outside and running the track. Unless you literally can’t walk, you will be participating today,” said the teacher. She was a substitute, their actual teacher was taking care of their wife because they had a baby recently.
Chongyun raised his hand. It was at least 80 degrees, and he was already considerably warm. The teacher quickly called on him, wanting to get on with the class.” Ma’am, it’s at least 80 degrees out, and if you read my file, you’d know I shouldn’t be out in such warm temperatures.”
“Can you walk?” She asked.
He sighed, thinking for a moment.” Whether I am able to walk or not, I will not be doing this activity. Send me to the principal for all I care, I doubt he’d agree with my reason for being disciplined,” Chongyun finally settled on as a counter.
“Then the office you go. If you wanna be dramatic over a little heat, then you can sit in detention and be proud of convincing the idiots there that you have this ‘condition’. Unless you actually do have it, then you can prove it by running. If I’m wrong, I might lose my job and you won’t have to deal with me, if you’re lying then you’ll be suspended for falsifying your medical record.”
Chongyun thought about the situation. He really didn’t want to risk passing out in front of the class, especially if no one he knew was there. But if he was suspended, his father would be livid and he would no doubt lose any chance of getting a job. He looked around to see if someone he knew was there, preferably someone who had seen him show symptoms.
Unfortunately, no one there had seen him have a heat flash or pass out, so he was out of luck there. But there was someone he knew, and that happened to be the one boy he swore hated him.
“Well? Are you gonna prove it or not?” The substitute said, getting impatient and annoyed.
He sighed walking over to the door leading to the track. He paused for a second, then said,” My medical file should have at least some instructions on what to do after showing signs of a heat flash or passing out. As you might’ve read, it says to give them to a person I trust nearby, and that would be Xingqiu at the moment, so please give it to him.”
The teacher rolled her eyes, still not believing him. He opened the door, the rest of the class following him out. Once he stepped out of the cool building into the direct beams of the sun, he immediately felt the heat and stumbled a bit, feeling light-headed already.
He started walking around a little bit, not sure of what else to do. He had been doing that for maybe 5-ish minutes when his vision started dotting black in spots, and he felt lighter.
He tried sitting down so as to lower the risk of ending up waking with a concussion. Then he passed out.
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The class stood and looked at the now unconscious boy in shock, the teacher still standing in place with an annoyed face, seeming to still believe he was just trying to get out of gym class. Xingqiu walked over to the sub and tugged at her sleeve slightly.
“What, kid?” She asked, annoyance obvious in her tone.
“He said he wanted instructions for when this happened handed to me,” he explained.
“Just wait a few minutes, he’ll get back up once he realizes no one buys it. Thought someone like him would’ve given up on this act when I told him to go to the office.”
The navy blue-headed teen looked back at Chongyun and the teacher with worry and anxiety.” Ma’am, I don’t think he’s joking,” he urged.
“Just wait and see, kid. I know a liar when I see one,” she said, continuously getting more annoyed.
“His friend even told me about his condition before the first bell even rang! Why would I be told that if he didn’t even know what we were doing for gym?” Xingqiu argued.
The teacher gave Xingqiu a nervous glance at that but still continued to wait. She realized after a few minutes passed by that he showed no sign of getting up soon that he had in fact not been lying and started to panic. Fortunately, she was still able to think enough to hand the sheet to Xingqiu.
He quickly read over the sheet and went into action, calling over a few tougher-looking kids to help get the snowy-haired kid into the building or under some shade. He reread the instructions to make sure of what was to happen next and sprinted out of the gym and to Chongyun’s locker, quickly unlocking it and searching his bag for a water bottle and the pills that were supposedly kept in there.
Once he retrieved the items from the bag, he shut the locker and put the lock back on. As he was about to leave, he heard a feminine voice call out, asking what was happening. He turned and saw it was Xiangling. He quickly waved the paper in hopes she’d understand and started sprinting back to the gym. He didn’t know how serious or bad something like this was, so he acted with great haste in case it was dire. Although now that he had someone else he knew, it might’ve been easier to tell and act accordingly.
As he saw her rush past him, grabbing his arm and dragging him along, he knew she understood and felt slightly relieved.
She saw Chongyun a little ways away from the door leading outside, students fanning him. Xingqiu stumbled as she quickly ran over, grabbing the things he was holding and sitting Chongyun up, propping him against the wall. She shook him slightly, trying to wake him up.
When he stirred and blinked open his eyes, he remembered a little of what was happening and so opened his mouth. She popped in the pill and some water quickly, him swallowing it slowly. He laid on his side, resting his eyes once more.
She turned to the class, glaring at them.” If the instructions were followed quickly after he passed out, he should’ve been up by the time we arrived, or at least 5 minutes after being under some shade and out of the heat. Considering the fact I had to wake him, it seems his care was delayed, would any of you care to explain why that is? Or even why he was outside in the first place?”
She stared at the whispering students, seemingly deciding who was gonna explain the situation. With a frown, Xingqiu explained,” The teacher refused to believe his condition was real and forced him to prove it by going out in the heat. She still refused to believe him and so made us wait at least 7 minutes before giving me the paper.”
Fury filled her eyes as she listened, turning to the teacher once Xingqiu was finished.” Your job is to teach and make sure students are safe, not to try and prove if a kid is lying to get out of gym class. You are also a substitute, so you have even less reason to investigate things like that. If you think a kid is doing that, you report them.”
The teacher spoke, anger evident in her voice,” Listen, young lady, yo-”
Xiangling cut her off,” I was not finished. You are to report or talk to the principal and, or actual teacher about this student and your concern.” Once she finished scolding the teacher, she slid her arms under the snowy teen and lifted him into the air, walking over to the entrance of the gym to head to the nurse's office. As she left, Xingqiu following close behind her, the substitute just stood there, dumbfounded.