Work Text:
“When are you getting a girlfriend, Mobei Jun?”
Shang Qinghua almost chokes on the air. Keyword almost. Considering where he is, it’s in his best interest to stay put and quiet, after all, he’s in a public restroom. He just needed to do some business and be on his way, but the toilet was against him and wasn’t flushing properly. Before he started to curse it out, he heard the door swing open, so he kept his mouth shut, keeping the curses to himself.
But now, what is this he’s hearing at work? And about Mobei Jun? His friend since college hasn’t spoken a word of love ever. How could he get a girlfriend if he doesn’t have an ounce of romance in his bones? Shang Qinghua isn’t doubting his friend and roommate about his chances of love but all he ever does is work, relax, eat, sleep, repeat!
There's the sound of running water that fills the silence, the anticipation, the suspense. Shang Qinghua is too curious! What’s Mobei Jun going to say?
Shang Qinghua hovers his ear ever so carefully against the cubicle door.
He hears a sigh on Mobei Jun’s end. “I don’t have time for that, sir.”
"Oh, come on now, not one person has moved your icy heart?"
What is with this boss?! Does he not have any sense of personal boundaries?
Shang Qinghua was grinding his teeth at this point. He was thinking of opening the cubicle door just for the boss to stop bothering Mobei Jun… but wouldn’t that create a more awkward situation?! What is with these major decisions Shang Qinghua?
Before he even gets to decide he hears Mobei Jun respond. “No, sir.” And turns off the faucet. “I don’t think it’s necessary for me, as it’ll pose as a distraction from my work.” Shang Qinghua agrees. That’s the Mobei Jun he knows! How could he ever let a lover distract him from his work? Additionally, hypothetically, if Mobei Jun did have a lover, it would only end in a fight and his best friend would be unaffected by the breakup.
Not that Shang Qinghua has any experience with being Mobei Jun’s lover, but they did have occasional fights about work and trivial things when they were in college, and now that they’re adults it all seems so silly. It did leave a mark on Shang Qinghua though, but that’s all in the past! They are both happy, fine, chill, and cool.
He hears Mobei Jun’s boss laugh. “You are an interesting person, Mobei Jun.” Of course, he is! Shang Qinghua agrees, his ear still hovering on the cubicle door. No wait! The boss probably meant that as an insult, to which Shang Qinghua started grinding his teeth again. “Lighten up a little. Not everything has to be about work. Tell you what, I’ll set you up with a girl I know, and you guys could go out and see where things go.”
Boss get away from my friend right now!!! He was about to step out of the cubicle when he heard Mobei Jun say, “No that won’t be needed sir, I’m completely fine with the way things are now.” The door swings open.
“Oh come on, Mobei Jun, just one date? Here I’ll show you a…” Their voices drift off until Shang Qinghua doesn’t hear any of them anymore. What should Qinghua do? He knows how much Mobei Jun isn’t necessarily fond of nosy bosses, and usually, these types of bosses are persistent in getting their way. What if Mobei Jun is already suffering from multiple of these bosses? Poor Mobei! The mental image of these bosses torturing Mobei Jun was too much!
Shang Qinghua steps out of the cubicle to wash his hands and rinse his face. What can he do to help his best friend slash roommate to get this boss off his back? As he was racking his brain for ideas, another pair entered the restroom—his coworkers who didn’t recognize him to be exact.
“My girlfriend made me watch a show again.”
“Again? What’s the show about?”
“Err, something about fake dating and then they fall in love, I don’t remember, I was kinda lost by the fifth episode when they involved family lore and the ex-fiancee of the dude.”
“But isn’t that for the plot? I thought that was supposed to make the show more interesting.”
“Nah, it was supposed to be but it got waaay too complicated. My girlfriend even had to pause and rewind a few times. I gave up trying to understand by the third time she had to go back.”
The coworkers soon left, and soon something clicked in Shang Qinghua.
He and Mobei Jun should pretend to date! That seems like the fastest way to get rid of that boss! Shang Qinghua exits the restroom with a confident smile, having had two missions accomplished in there.
On their commute back home, the ride was… interesting. Interesting because Shang Qinghua was debating whether or not to offer Mobei Jun his idea of a fake date to get rid of the nosy pesky boss off his back. He thinks it’s a great idea! There is nothing wrong with pretending to get together with your best friend, who is also your roommate. No one’s going to be bothered by it, that he can be sure of!
But to bring it up is no easy task either. How would Shang Qinghua even begin to explain that he was eavesdropping on Mobei Jun and his boss’ conversation? Isn’t that a breach of privacy? It is, isn’t it? But, to be fair, Shang Qinghua was in the restroom first and the two just happened to walk in while he was taking his time in his cubicle, so the former didn’t do anything wrong.
“…but I could’ve covered my ears!” Shang Qinghua mumbled a bit too loudly, causing Mobei Jun to look at the shorter man seated beside him with a curious look. Shang Qinghua has been mumbling things to himself since they sat down on the train, which felt like a normal thing to Mobei Jun now, so he never bothered to stop him (except for their first few weeks of living together, it was Mobei Jun’s adjustment period).
Mobei Jun, curious about what his roommate has been mulling over the entire commute, asks, “What’s Qinghua been thinking about?”
“Nothing! Absolutely nothing! My head is empty!” Shang Qinghua whisper shouts at him, clearly panicked, which Mobei Jun picks up on, and if there’s anything he’s learned with Shang Qinghua, it’s that sometimes he can be a pretty bad liar. Sometimes.
Mobei Jun nods instead, not wanting to force him into saying what it is, and goes back to his phone when a notification from his boss, once again asking him if he’s sure he doesn’t want to go to the company dinner that’ll be happening a few weeks from now. The boss brought it up when it was time to clock out to the entire department. The majority were game to go, while the rest had other plans. Mobei Jun was one of those who didn’t have anything planned for that evening but would much rather stay at the apartment and spend the evening with Shang Qinghua, someone whom he was very comfortable with.
Mobei Jun’s boss, for some sick reason, has picked up on his lie that he had “a plan” for the evening of the company dinner (he wasn’t exactly lying, his prior engagement is roommate time with his roommate) and has been bugging Mobei Jun ever since clocking out. His boss isn’t usually this nosy, to even message him after work hours about something so trivial as a group dinner. He sighs, figuring out how to reply to his boss about his plans with Shang Qinghua.
Shang Qinghua notices Mobei Jun’s change of mood when he looks back at his phone and immediately notices the words “…are you sure…” and jumps right into making conclusions. In the next second, he calls his attention.
“Mobei.” Shang Qinghua manages to croak out.
“Hm?”
“Do…” He takes a deep breath and shuts his eyes. “…you want to fake date?”
…
Silence.
He knew it. He knew it! It was a stupid question! Why did he even bother offering it? This is so embarrassing. What’s Mobei Jun going to think of him now? At this point, Mobei Jun must be looking at him weirdly. He probably must’ve thought of Shang Qinghua as a little— no a lot weird already, but this just solidifies it. This very moment solidifies Shang Qinghua’s stupidity. He was just trying to offer his good roommate help, but did it have to be this way? Shameless Shang Qinghua! Shameless!
Mobei Jun, on the other hand, was quite stunned. “What for?”
“I, uh, actually overheard— no, eavesdropped? Maybe both? Anyway, I heard your conversation with your boss about getting a girlfriend and offering to set you up on a blind date with someone, and I know how you’ve always put up with your nosy bosses and I wanted to offer help in some way because I know you’ve always had my back and I want you to know that I have your back as well. And… well you know…”
“We’ve arrived at XX station.”
Having been interrupted by the train announcement, Mobei Jun then says, “Let’s continue this back at the apartment.” And steps out of the train with Shang Qinghua following his lead.
The walk back to the apartment was quiet, even entering the apartment was quiet. None of the two spoke a word as they were settling in for the day.
And it seemed that Shang Qinghua had no intention of picking back up that conversation, at least that’s what it looked like to Mobei Jun because as they sat down on the couch, he took it upon himself to ask Shang Qinghua what he was saying earlier.
“So Qinghua—“
“To summarize, Mobei, I’m offering to be in a fake relationship to lend you a hand with your boss.”
Mobei Jun paused. And thought about it. “What can I gain from fake dating with you? I don’t necessarily need it, I know how to get away from my boss easily, although it’ll take some time, but I’ll be able to get away from his persistent actions for a bit.”
“Well… um… uh… shit I didn’t think this through. Maybe… for a faster way to stop your boss from nagging you? Or he might not take your refusal and still set you up with someone which leads to a lot more issues, if you could even call them issues, but—”
“Okay, let’s do it.”
“—what I’m trying to say is that this is like the easy way out. But of course, you can refu— wait, what?”
“Let’s try this fake dating you’re proposing.”
The shorter man was too stunned to speak.
Proposing fake dating may be easy, but planning for it is not. Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun had to learn that the hard way.
Neither of them was on social media much, so posting each other on there wouldn’t do much because both of them were on private accounts and their one public account was for connections and coworkers to tag them on their posts. Because of this, they couldn’t set the stage for their fake relationship nor could they ‘hard launch’ one another. Social media was out of the plan unless needed.
Shang Qinghua suggests matching attire. Although they may be in different departments, they still come into the same building. They could come to work at the same time to display their couple clothes as they head in. These could be scarves or tops.
“People assume a pair is a couple if they have the same type of clothes?” Mobei Jun asks, a little confused. He’s never thought of it that way.
“Well, for some yes. Some like me.” Shang Qinghua answers mindlessly as he swiftly browses through some sites giving tips on how to display one’s relationship or just how to fake being lovers. “But if you think that’s not going to give away that you’re taken, feel free to suggest something else. Or just give me a minute to—“
“Rings.”
Rings!? Shang Qinghua paused his scrolling. How did his Mobei Jun get so bold? To offer rings to lil ol’ Qinghua.
Mobei Jun continues. “I think rings are efficient for both of us. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an expensive ring but rings for us nonetheless. It’s noticeable and small.”
Shang Qinghua was still stunned at the suggestion. Wearing rings with Mobei Jun was not on his list of shocking things but it may as well be with how at a loss for words he is. “Do you know where to get rings that are good enough for us?”
Mobei Jun shook his head. But then he says, “Aren’t there any cheap ones we can buy online?”
“I can check, but aside from rings, I think we could pick each other up in our separate departments and go home together.” Shang Qinghua continues to scroll through the dating advice sites. “Let’s also increase our time together, like going on dates, watching movies, eating out, drinking together, and the like.”
“Like our weekend hangouts during college?”
“Yeah, only this time we have to pretend to be all lovey-dovey.”
As they continue their solid plan on how to fool Mobei Jun’s boss, they forget one important detail. What happens if the other party falls in love with the person they are in the fake relationship with or with someone else entirely? But both of them highly doubt they would fall for each other, after all, they’ve been together for the entirety of their college life, and they’ve been living together for a few years now. What could possibly go wrong?
“Ah, I wanted to order the rings online but they said it might take a while.” Shang Qinghua groaned.
“How long is a while?”
“A month.”
“Mm. That’s fine with me.”
The first order of business, and the easiest one, was to go to work together and back home together. This wouldn’t pose as much of a problem if only their sleep schedules matched.
Mobei Jun is an early riser and gets a lot of things done in the morning, like cooking breakfast, going out for a jog, watching the news, taking a long bath, and pretty much enjoying his time before going to work.
Meanwhile, Shang Qinghua rarely wakes up earlier than his alarm, well his fifth alarm to be exact. He sets five alarms, all thirty minutes away from each other, and the fifth alarm is the time he’s supposed to be leaving for work. So he’s always a mess when he arrives at the office. But to be fair, he works a lot more during the night.
So the fake couple were already going through their first hurdle. Mobei Jun offered to wake Shang Qinghua up during the first alarm, to which the latter was grateful but he can’t guarantee that he’ll be awake when he rises from the bed.
Mobei Jun just nods. He knew how to wake Shang Qinghua up, after all, they were college friends, and the former knew what would wake Shang Qinghua. But that was long ago, he wasn’t sure if it could still work—the smell of hand-pulled noodles.
Waiting for each other’s shift to finish was fairly easy. Since there were a lot of stores and cafes around their company building, the other could roam around. “Just shoot a text when you’re done!” was what they frequently sent to each other.
Next on their list of fake relationship things to do was to get each other small gifts, like each other’s coffee, snacks, or desserts—something really simple to send and place on their desk during work hours. There didn’t have to be a letter or anything, just a “ To: Shang Qinghua/Mobei Jun ” was enough to get their coworkers in a frenzy about who it was from.
There was one time Shang Qinghua sent cold sweets and that new smoothie from the cafe down the block to Mobei Jun, and the latter, allegedly, had a weird expression when he received the gifts. Weird expression equals maybe he was happy! Shang Qinghua has been used to Mobei Jun’s expressions since a long time ago, you could say he was a master at reading him already.
He enjoyed seeing Mobei Jun’s weird expression as he entered the cafe he bought the smoothie from, and buying that same one again for the latter.
The next thing they did was go out to eat regularly. This was also when they tried to get their social media as active as possible, even though they agreed they wouldn’t have to, but it seemed easier than broadcasting their relationship in real life. Eating outside regularly was something they’ve always wanted to do, but because of time constraints and their unsure schedules, they never pushed through. But now, they’ve been more open than ever in their communication, only when it’s about the fake relationship though. Shang Qinghua read that to be a couple outside, you must do these specific… actions. He highly doubted them, but Mobei Jun insisted they try them out, just to show that they were “in love.”
“But aren’t there other ways to show that we’re a couple in a food place?” Shang Qinghua pleads.
Mobei Jun doesn’t see what’s wrong with it.
These actions are feeding each other, sitting beside each other, wiping the mess for each other, and sharing a drink with some weird heart straw (seriously, is there even a need for this?). However, if it gets the job done quickly, then they’ll use whatever means!
Mobei Jun took pictures of the food, the scenery, the restaurant/cafe, and holding Shang Qinghua’s hand afterward. The smaller man believes it’s kind of like soft-launching someone. Shang Qinghua does the same on his account where they tag each other on their posts.
They hard launched one another’s relationship already. Unknowingly.
News spread like wildfire in the two departments and truthfully, both men were afraid of the weekdays that were coming as they knew fully well that they were not escaping the questioning unscathed. That’s a problem for another day though.
The final hurdle was the office retreat.
The office retreat was something between their departments that was suddenly added to the list of fake relationship goals since they’d be able to showcase of how much they reek of the word “lovers” during the trip to deal with the finishing blow on Mobei Jun’s boss, so he can stop bothering the man about getting with someone!
This retreat was a team-building activity the higher-ups agreed upon for both departments to familiarize themselves with each other. It was needed as their next big project needed both Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun’s departments to take the lead.
For Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun, not only would they have to interact with each other’s coworkers, but they also have to play or tiptoe around the fact that these people know that they are “dating.” Shang Qinghua was confident in his lying/acting skills, he could pull up the craziest and weirdest story for how they both got together, but Mobei Jun on the other hand would probably just use their entire college life as the basis for how they got together.
On the way to the resort that was booked for the teams, Shang Qinghua’s coworkers were surrounding him asking questions like who made the first move, how the two of them met, what’s Mobei Jun like in a relationship, etc.
He was able to answer each question flawlessly, except for one.
“When did you realize you were in love?” A female coworker asked. “Like what made you think of being a thing with him? What was that defining moment?”
Shang Qinghua is a great storyteller. He could lie his way through this. He could mention an activity the two of them did together during their college days or something they did recently during the weekends on their fake dates. Anything. He could say anything.
Yet, the first thing that came to mind was when he ran away from him after a really bad argument and Mobei Jun went running after him in the rain.
WHAT?! No, I was just touched by what he did! I didn’t know he cared for me that much!
“Shang Qinghua?”
“Ah! Yes, sorry, I was thinking.” Shang Qinghua says, then after a while he adds, “I think… the time we spent together so far was my defining moment. If that makes sense.”
The female coworker wanted to ask more questions, but her friends had to stop her because, when she asked questions, she never stopped.
It was already evening by the time their bus finally arrived at the resort. Then they encountered a problem.
“We’re so sorry, there seems to be a missing room.” The person at the front desk apologizes.
Mobei Jun, almost immediately, insists, “Qinghua and I can share a room.”
And both departments looked at them suspiciously. Soon, everyone was in their respective rooms.
Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun were in theirs.
There was only ONE bed.
Mobei Jun offered to sleep on the floor, he never minded sleeping on the floor even at their apartment, but Shang Qinghua argued that it’d be fine if they slept on the same bed, to further enhance the fake relationship, or so he says. If there’s anyone more nervous between the two of them, it’d be Shang Qinghua.
It’s not that Shang Qinghua was feeling awkward after all these years. They’ve shared one bed before! Twice! One was during college, the other was when they didn’t have an extra mattress for their apartment yet. Shang Qinghua was experienced! He was ready for this sharing of bed experience!
Except he wasn’t.
It was lights out, Mobei Jun was fast asleep beside him, but Shang Qinghua couldn’t sleep! Many thoughts were running through his mind, he kept tossing and turning around but nothing helped. He stared at Mobei Jun’s sleeping face and kept staring. He still couldn’t believe he landed a best friend like him, and he even agreed to be in a fake relationship.
He is lucky to have Mobei Jun.
Shang Qinghua whispers, “Your future partner is going to be really lucky to have you, Mobei.” His chest ached. He doesn’t know why, he’s supposed to be happy for his best friend when he gets together with someone he truly loves. Soon this act they're putting up with and showing to others will end. Mobei Jun could continue working, and Shang Qinghua would work just a floor down, and they’d be living happily in their two-bedroom apartment. Or Mobei Jun could have a partner and Shang Qinghua would be his best man. Poor Shang Qinghua, in his little apartment, alone and with no Mobei Jun.
Suddenly, Mobei Jun pulls him close to his chest and wraps Shang Qinghua in a hug. “Qinghua. Sleep.” He groggily says.
…
God if you’re real, please don’t let this man hear my heartbeat.
The office retreat was quite uneventful to be completely honest. After that night, both parties fell asleep comfortably each day throughout the trip. All the activities done throughout that retreat were exhausting, both physically and mentally. After a week at the resort, they finally went back to the office, and soon back to their homes.
Recently, Mobei Jun was in a predicament. It’s been a month since they started their fake relationship. Lately, his roommate has been glowing… at least in his eyes. Not literally, but to Mobei Jun he might as well be.
Maybe glowing wasn’t the correct term, he started feeling sparks. That seemed more appropriate. Sparks that were so bright and so loud they seemed like fireworks, but only to Mobei Jun.
It started with something simple. Or not so simple.
Shang Qinghua and Mobei Jun clean their apartment once a month to keep a tidy home.
Shang Qinghua brought up the idea of cleaning on their sixth month of living together after the mess he came home to from a business trip. That was when he finally put his foot down and begged Mobei Jun to help with cleaning, thus the daily cleaning was born. Mobei Jun was reluctant at first, but as the months passed, it didn’t seem so bad to him, if it meant that it kept Shang Qinghua from running away from the room, but that’s a story for another day.
They were cleaning as usual when suddenly Shang Qinghua found a box he’d put aside for a while in his closet. There were a pair of red robes and yellow and blue robes inside.
“Hey, I remember these!” Shang Qinghua raises the robes to get a full look at them. “Weren’t these the costumes we wore during that one event in college? I just don’t remember what event…” All four robes seemed to be in good condition, except for a few wrinkles and dust here and there.
Mobei Jun nods. Neither of them remembers what event it was when they had to wear these. Nonetheless, Shang Qinghua tries on the yellow robes over these clothes, and wow, it still fits like a glove. He tied the ribbon and looked dusted himself off. “Mobei, what do you think?” Shang Qinghua raised his arms to the side.
Before Mobei Jun could even respond, Shang Qinghua got on one knee, reached out one hand, and said in his loudest voice, “My king, please let me follow you for the rest of my life!”
…
Badump. This isn’t how Mobei Jun remembers that script during that event. He remembers that Shang Qinghua was supposed to be the “pathetic shidi that his seniors leave behind while he distracts the young ice demon prince for the seniors to survive” and Mobei Jun would be that demon prince. But why… does Qinghua’s vibe feel different?!
Mobei Jun thought he misheard, but Shang Qinghua followed with, “My king! Please accept me! I’m very useful!” Shang Qinghua clings onto the bigger man’s legs and started looking up at him with teary-eyes.
Badump. Badump. Shang Qinghua, still kneeling on the floor holding onto Mobei Jun’s legs, says, “It’s your line Mobei. Y’know, like, ‘What use are you?’”
Right! Mobei Jun snaps back to reality. This is just in the script! He had very few lines, and he could adlib some of them if he forgot, but he still remembers the premise and story of that script! He should be fine. “Oh?” He manages to say. “Then, what use are you?”
“I can serve tea, carry water, wash clothes… errrr fold blankets… ah wait no. My king, I can serve you as an undercover agent.” Shang Qinghua beams and then whispers, “It’s your turn, Mobei.”
Mobei Jun can’t come to the phone right now, he’s currently malfunctioning. His heart has been racing wildly. He thinks Shang Qinghua could already hear his heartbeat going badump badump badump badump badump badump badump—
“Mobei?” Mobei Jun jolts to Shang Qinghua, still looking at him, waiting for him to say the next lines.
He looks away from him with an expression he can’t quite describe. “Sorry.”
Shang Qinghua is confused for a second then realizes their position. “Shit sorry.” He stands up immediately takes the robes off and folds both the yellow and blue back inside the box. He awkwardly laughs, “Sorry. You must’ve been… uncomfortable with that.” Mobei wanted to say something, but he needed to calm his heart and keep his head from going haywire. “Let’s just continue cleaning, um, and put the box away maybe.” And Shang Qinghua goes to the next room to clean.
It wasn’t that Mobei Jun was uncomfortable he was just flustered… flustered?
Why would he be flustered? Shang Qinghua is his friend and the person he trusts and relies on the most, in fact, he might be the only one he has. He’s never felt this way with Shang Qinghua before, so why now? Why did that make him feel that way? Why did the other things they did before not bother him? Why didn’t it trigger something in him, but this did?
After that day, he couldn’t keep his cool around Shang Qinghua anymore. All of a sudden his heart would start racing whenever he was nearby. He admired every part of Shang Qinghua. His rambles that he was so used to seemed like podcasts he’d religiously listen to.
But there was a problem. Shang Qinghua, the second he realizes he’s been rambling a lot, stops himself, apologizes, and just leaves the room. Did Mobei Jun do something wrong? Is he being obvious with admiration? Is it written on his face? Did his body language give it away?
Lately, he doesn’t even get to see Shang Qinghua come out of his room anymore, they don’t even come to work together anymore, which results in his coworkers and boss asking what happened and if they got into a fight. Mobei Jun knows he didn’t fight with Shang Qinghua, and he doesn’t understand why he’s trying to distance himself. He tries to interact with Shang Qinghua more whenever he does come out of his room or outside of work to ask how he is, but he always avoids him, saying he’s busy, he has something to do, he’s in a hurry.
If this continues, he doesn’t know what he’ll do… actually, he’ll do what he knows best. And that’s hand-pulled noodles.
Shang Qinghua has been working overtime to avoid Mobei Jun. Why? He doesn’t know. He isn’t sure. He just felt like he needed to since that day when they were having fun with the robes and roleplaying, he couldn’t look Mobei Jun in the eyes anymore. His chest would squeeze and he would get all sweaty from just trying to hold a conversation with him. Shang Qinghua feels like he’s been annoying him. He was always able to read Mobei Jun’s expression, but that was the only time he couldn’t. It felt like he was at fault. So his only solution was to avoid him and taking work overtime.
It’s been 2 weeks since then. He had barely seen Mobei Jun.
He came home late at night, absolutely exhausted. He assumed Mobei Jun was asleep by now, but he noticed the kitchen light was on, meaning Mobei Jun was still awake.
Fuck.
He carefully tiptoed his way back to his bedroom, but he realized mid-way that Mobei Jun was too quiet. He took a glance at the kitchen to see Mobei Jun asleep on the counter with two bowls right next to him. Shang Qinghua walked up to see that both bowls were still full of noodles and they seemed to be untouched.
The noodles were cold already. Though, that didn’t stop Shang Qinghua from eating them.
As soon as he finishes, he sits beside Mobei Jun, gives him a good look, and mutters a thank you. And he lays his head on the table just staring at Mobei Jun for what seemed like forever.
He missed his face. He missed his Mobei Jun.
Badump.
“Fuck, I shouldn’t have come.” Shang Qinghua muttered under his breath. He’s standing in front of the door to their office Christmas party. It’s held on the top floor of their company building. There was a big banner with the words “WELCOME” in rainbow hung on top of the door. Shang Qinghua finds this terrifying, and those are horrible rainbow colors, why are they differing in saturation? He shakes off his nervousness, at least he tries to.
The only reason he’s here anyway is because Mobei Jun requested him to attend.
They haven’t met again since that night. After that early morning dinner or breakfast, Shang Qinghua woke up to a note beside him and another bowl of hand-pulled noodles. He immediately felt the bowl for its temperature. It was hot. Mobei Jun just left for work. Shang Qinghua wanted to talk to him for a bit, but he’d be fine with a note for now. He doesn’t think he’s mentally ready for a long conversation with him yet, especially on a workday.
Shang Qinghua opened up his note and it read:
“Qinghua, I’m sorry but I won’t be able to come home starting today until the day of the Christmas party for the company since I was assigned to be the head organizer for it. I’ll be staying at a friend’s place that’s a walk away from the office. I’ll put his number at the bottom of the page. If you can, could you attend this party for me? I have something important I need to tell you.”
Shang Qinghua wanted to rip the paper apart. What do you mean he has to wait?! And go to a party? No! Mobei Jun will have to come home himself! They can just talk at home and not at the party. He won’t be going to the party and that’s final!
Or so he thought.
As he’s standing in front of the door, still debating whether to enter or not, someone calls out to him.
“Senior Shang!” Gongyi Xiao, an intern at the company calls out to him. “What are you doing standing at the entrance? The party is inside.”
“Ah, don’t worry about me, I’m just nervous.” Shang Qinghua awkwardly says.
“Oh, okay. Then let’s go in together!” Gongyi Xiao clings to Shang Qinghua’s arms and opens the door.
“Wait hold on—” But before Shang Qinghua could even argue, he was already inside the room.
And it was huge.
He remembers this room was only used as a storage room but the organizing team completely transformed it. The dimly lit room only had big boxes of unimportant things before, but since it was all removed, there was a significant amount of space now.
He noticed that there were circular standing tables for people who’d rather be standing up. There were also tables for those who wanted to sit down and even a mobile bar. Not only that, there was even catering! And a DJ?!?
He was already uncomfortable, and even more now since the person he entered the room with was nowhere to be found. He scanned the room for any sign of Mobei Jun but the room lighting was making it hard for Shang Qinghua to make out any faces unless he moved from the entrance. He goes for the catering, only getting enough food to make it not so obvious that he just needed to look for someone (of course he didn’t forget to get a drink too).
He finds Mobei Jun at a standing table. The man’s hair was slicked back and he was wearing a blue suit. His entire aura just shouts of elegantness! He was looking at his phone, seemingly to be waiting for someone. He had been looking around.
Shang Qinghua is stuck standing where he is. The smaller man is just a few steps away from the table, but he can’t move. It was like someone applied glue to his feet and he couldn’t walk anymore.
Before he could even move, two beautiful women approached Mobei Jun. Shang Qinghua didn’t think much of this until Mobei Jun gave them his winning smile. The smile that captured the hearts of many of his peers during their college days! The smile that won him his title of Best Potential Boyfriend on a poll that was hosted by some of Mobei Jun’s fangirls.
Shang Qinghua shouldn’t think much of it. He really shouldn’t. They’re just best friends after all. Nothing more, nothing less. But that was the smile he always showed Shang Qinghua. It was his smile for him.
Mobei Jun and Shang Qinghua lock eye contact. Now, Shang Qinghua doesn’t know what expression he had on his face, but judging how Mobei Jun reacted with a horrified expression, he knew he wasn’t welcome.
Mobei Jun tried to call out to him but Shang Qinghua had already left. He doesn’t forget to at least leave his untouched food somewhere safe, even if he won’t be coming back inside, but at least he isn’t making a mess and runs out the door, heading for the elevator. Shang Qinghua pressed the elevator button continuously like his life depended on it. He doesn’t have the guts to face Mobei Jun now. Everything was too much for him.
As soon as the elevator opens he presses for the ground floor, and the door closes… not.
Mobei Jun’s hand stops the elevator from closing, and now Shang Qinghua is face-to-face with a disheveled, out-of-breath, and possibly outraged roommate. He’s doomed.
Once Mobei Jun is finally inside and the door closes, Shang Qinghua is ready for the wrath that is Mobei Jun, but instead, the latter wraps his arms around Shang Qinghua and rests his head on his shoulder.
“Mobei—”
“Qinghua. Let me catch my breath.”
They’re on the 50th floor, and it’ll take a while for them to reach the ground floor.
45th floor.
“Mobei was that your girlf—”
“No.” He answers with a stern voice. “She’s not.”
Shang Qinghua bites his lip. “But, y’know you’ll need a lover sooner or later.”
Mobei Jun raises his head and looks Shang Qinghua in the eyes, and with his softest voice he says, “I already have you don’t I?”
32nd floor.
Shang Qinghua looks away, his heart thumping loudly against his chest. “You mean as a friend right? After all, that’s all we’ve ever been, why change it now?”
“Qinghua—”
“Y’know Mobei, I can’t even keep a straight face with you anymore. When I’m around you I get all awkward and weird and sweaty and it’s all your fault. My heart feels like exploding anytime our eyes meet, even now with us two in this elevator, I feel like I ran a marathon.”
“Shang Qinghua.” Mobei Jun cups Shang Qinghua’s cheek and makes it so that they’re facing each other.
“You… are someone I treasure dearly. You are someone I trust to save me when I’m at my lowest, and I hope I am the same to you. You are someone I enjoy spending all of my time with, whether on work-related matters or using our free time to eat outside or watch movies. I, too, feel like my heart will explode any minute. If you don't believe me…” Mobei Jun brings Shang Qinghua’s hand to his chest. “This is how I truly feel.”
Shang Qinghua feels Mobei Jun’s heartbeat thumping just as loud as his. He looks at his chest, then back at Mobei Jun’s eyes and he just goes back and forth.
“Qinghua.”
10th floor.
“I will always choose you.”
8th floor.
“Whether in my past life, my future life, or this life. I will always run to you. Even if I have to search the entire globe just to find you, I will. I swear this to you.”
5th floor.
Mobei Jun pulls out a small box from his pocket, and opens it, revealing two matching rings. “So… Qinghua, will I be your choice?”
“ Ground floor. ”
The elevator dings and the doors open. Shang Qinghua grabs Mobei Jun’s hand and says, “Let’s go back home.”
“What’s your answer, Qinghua?”
Shang Qinghua, with a face as red as a tomato, faces Mobei Jun, takes the ring, and wears it. “This is my answer, Mobei. You’ll always be my choice. The very first, and the only one.”
Mobei Jun grabs Shang Qinghua by the waist and kisses him. Shang Qinghua, although startled, wrapped his arms around Mobei Jun’s neck.
They forgot they were still in the elevator, so once the elevator door closed, they needed to stop the elevator on a certain floor. But they won’t stop kissing for a while.