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Jiang Cheng wakes up with another preppy pop-song stuck in his head and he sighs as he buries his head back into his pillow.
It’s of course nice to have a soulmate, but sometimes Jiang Cheng wishes his would be a late sleeper and be into different music genres. Maybe even mix it up sometimes. If Jiang Cheng has to listen to one more pop-song for an entire day he’s going to lose his mind.
He doesn’t even know how his soulmate can stand it.
“Make it stoooooop,” Jiang Cheng groans into his pillow when his soulmate repeats the refrain over and over again.
“What’s going on?” Nie Huaisang asks, barging into Jiang Cheng’s room without any regard for his personal space and by now Jiang Cheng is so used to it that he doesn’t even blink an eye.
“It’s too early,” Jiang Cheng mumbles but of course that doesn’t deter Nie Huaisang from flopping on top of Jiang Cheng who lets out a groan at the suddenly added weight.
“For what?” Nie Huaisang wants to know and somehow Jiang Cheng manages to turn his head enough to glare at him.
“You, this,” Jiang Cheng gets out, flapping his hand in an undignified manner.
The song is still on a loop in his head.
“I’m going to go insane,” he whines out and Nie Huaisang laughs.
“Your soulmate again?”
“How can they listen to these catchy songs this early in the morning?”
Nie Huaisang only laughs at his plight and Jiang Cheng manages to wrestle him off himself for that. Nie Huaisang’s yelp is a sweet, sweet reward.
“That was so rude,” he complaints but Jiang Cheng only buries his face in his pillow, not that it does much to tune out the song inside his head.
“My soulmate is rude,” Jiang Cheng mutters and then lets out a surprised yell when Nie Huaisang steals his blanket from him. “What the fuck, Huaisang!”
“It’s time to get up,” Ne Huaisang decides. “You cannot mope around here all day, that won’t make the music situation better. What is your soulmate even listening to?”
“Nothing anymore,” Jiang Cheng grumbles but gets out of bed. “They are repeating the same refrain over and over again. I’m stuck in a loop,” Jiang Cheng sighs out as he gets dressed.
“Maybe it’s time to pester them with a song of your own?” Nie Huaisang suggests. “Just to get back at them.”
Jiang Cheng thought about that a lot as well, but the fact is: he doesn’t like music, he doesn’t have an ear for it and he certainly doesn’t have any musical understanding.
Never has and probably never will. Sure, he listens to the radio sometimes but no song has ever caught his attention enough to remember any words to it. He just doesn’t have an ear for music and he’s perfectly fine with that.
But that means that he has nothing he can annoy his soulmate in return with and when the same stupid refrain starts over in his head he wishes that were different.
If only to make his soulmate understand his own pain.
“I wish,” Jiang Cheng mutters and follows Nie Huaisang down the stairs.
Going by the smell that greets them Nie Mingjue has been up and about for a while and used the time to prepare breakfast for them.
“It smells divine,” Nie Huaisang say, sniffing the air and Jiang Cheng has to agree.
“Still too early for breakfast, though,” he complaints, mostly to be contrary and going by the look Nie Huaisang throws him, he knows it as well.
“Da-ge, A-Cheng says it’s too early for breakfast, I can have his share, right?” He blinks his eyes innocently at Nie Mingjue when they step into the kitchen but Nie Mingjue is not impressed.
“Absolutely not. Wanyin needs to eat breakfast himself. Also good morning,” he then greets them and both Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng are quick to say the same.
“You will eat,” Nie Mingjue reiterates once again when he puts a plate down in front of Jiang Cheng who dutifully nods and digs in not even a second later because Nie Mingjue’s cooking is simply too good to pass up. “How come you’re up this early?” Nie Mingjue wants to know and Jiang Cheng fights the blush that threatens to overcome him.
He still has to get used to the fact that while Nie Mingjue does pay attention to what he does he doesn’t do it in a malicious way, and he’s not going to use it against him like his family did. He’s not asking because he is accusing Jiang Cheng of being lazy normally, he just noticed that Jiang Cheng likes to sleep in on his days off.
That’s all, and Jiang Cheng has to consciously unclench.
“His soulmate,” Nie Huaisang helpfully chimes in when Jiang Cheng stays quiet for too long. “Apparently they’ve been listening to the same song over and over again.”
“Just the refrain,” Jiang Cheng corrects and frowns when Nie Mingjue freezes.
“Ah, I see,” he says then, turning away from them abruptly and Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng share a confused look.
“Everything okay?” Nie Huaisang wants to know but Nie Mingjue pretends as if he hasn’t heard him.
It only worries them further.
“Da-ge,” Nie Huaisang starts again but when Nie Mingjue pulls his shoulders up Jiang Cheng intercepts.
“Thank you for breakfast,” he says, giving Nie Huaisang a look that tells him to shut the hell up and then they have an entire conversation only with their eyebrows.
“Stop that,” Nie Mingjue says mildly, still with his back to them and both Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng freeze like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
“Sorry,” Jiang Cheng says and then digs into his breakfast, lightly kicking Nie Huaisang to do the same.
Breakfast is a quiet affair after that even when Nie Mingjue joins them and once the are all done Jiang Cheng motions for Nie Huaisang to leave.
He’s going to talk with Nie Mingjue about his strange mood, because he knows he tries to keep as much away from Nie Huaisang as he can and if something is troubling him then he’s more likely to open up to Jiang Cheng.
At least he hopes so.
Nie Huaisang hesitates for a few seconds before he finally gets up. “Thanks for breakfast, da-ge, A-Cheng will help you with this, I’m sure, I’m busy, so bye.”
It’s one of his stranger exits and Nie Mingjue notices as well, going by the thoughtful frown on his face.
“He thinks he did something wrong,” Jiang Cheng explains as he gathers the plates. “Did he?” he asks when Nie Mingjue stays quiet and he’s not prepared to see him look down at his clasped hands, misery written all over his face when Jiang Cheng turns back around to him. “Mingjue, what’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry,” Nie Mingjue says, which just doesn’t make sense at all and Jiang Cheng sits down opposite of Nie Mingjue again.
“About what?”
“The music,” Nie Mingjue mutters and hides his hands under the table. “I’ll try to tone it done.”
“What music?” Jiang Cheng asks because he can’t remember if Nie Mingjue ever listened to music when they were in the same room and so Jiang Cheng has never been annoyed by it.
“You’re—the music,” Nie Mingjue say again and taps his temple. “I know I’m your soulmate but I never considered how it might be annoying for you to have to listen to my songs all day.”
The answer leaves Jiang Cheng completely flabbergasted.
“Excuse me, you’re my what,” he whispers eventually and Nie Mingjue shrugs. “Why did you never say something?”
“Because you’re not mine,” Nie Mingjue whispers and gives Jiang Cheng a small, sad smile. “I can’t hear your music. I thought it would be better to not say anything at all, but I failed to consider how it might annoy you. I’m sorry.”
“Wait, wait, wait, hold on,” Jiang Cheng rambles. “You’re my soulmate? You’re into catchy pop-songs?”
“So what?” Nie Mingjue asks, clearly defensive about this preferred music but Jiang Cheng is still stuck on the fact that it’s been Nie Mingjue all along.
“You’re my soulmate,” he whispers, completely delighted by that fact but then he remembers how Nie Mingjue is convinced that Jiang Cheng isn’t his.
“Wait, why am I not your soulmate again?” he asks even though he’s reasonably sure that Nie Mingjue just told him but he can’t remember.
Nie Mingjue is his soulmate!
“I can’t hear your music. I can’t hear anyone’s music, to be honest, so I guess I don’t have a soulmate.”
“Bullshit,” Jiang Cheng immediately says. “You’re so amazing, there’s no way the universe would not give you anyone.”
“Then how do you explain the absence of songs in my head?” Nie Mingjue wants to know and at that Jiang Cheng has to laugh.
“No offense, but you listen to enough music for both of us. And let’s just—I’m in love with you, okay?” Jiang Cheng softly tells him. “I’m just not a fan of music. I don’t listen to music, not really. I have not a single song memorized. I could still be your soulmate, though,” he says, because he hopes that he is Nie Mingjue’s soulmate as well.
“Here, let’s try this,” Jiang Cheng decides and tries to remember the song Happy birthday.
He knows that it shouldn’t be this hard, but he has no ear or interest for music and so even that takes him a few tries but in the end he thinks he manages it.
“Happy birthday, really?” Nie Mingjue grumbles but then starts to beam at Jiang Cheng. “That was you, right?”
“Yes,” Jiang Cheng nods. “Don’t ask me to do it again, though,” he then begs because even that leaves him with a headache.
“You’re my soulmate,” Nie Mingjue whispers, clearly still in wonder about that fact and Jiang Cheng smiles warmly at him.
“And you’re mine,” he says and offers Nie Mingjue his hand over the table. “Hello, soulmate. I’ve been dying to meet you.”
“Hi,” Nie Mingjue gives back as he takes Jiang Cheng’s hand in his. “Likewise.”
(Sometimes Nie Mingjue needs a little reminder that Jiang Cheng really, truly is his soulmate and Jiang Cheng memorises a song just for that occasion. Nie Mingjue still listens to his preppy songs but now that Jiang Cheng knows it’s him, it’s much less annoying than before.)