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Xie Lian sighed as he settled on the loveseat, trying to resist the urge to check if Hua Cheng had responded to his message informing him that he was out of class and now available to call. To avoid his phone, he quickly pulled out his study materials, setting them on a nearby stool he had dragged from the kitchen. As he resettled, his phone suddenly started buzzing rapidly, inadvertently startling him. He fumbled, almost dropping his phone, and eagerly opened it to answer the incoming call.
"Hello," Xie Lian spoke somewhat shyly into the phone.
The usual warm chuckle greeted him. "Hello, Gege; how are you doing this morning?"
Xie Lian relaxed somewhat after hearing the warm tone and said, "I'm doing well. How is San Lang this morning?"
"I'm hanging in there." Hua Cheng's tone had a slight lilt of tension to it.
Xie Lian 'Hmmm'd' knowing that phrase was his friend's way of communicating his exhaustion or stress but not entirely wanting to talk about precisely what was occurring to cause said stress.
Xie Lian decided to chat idly with Hua Cheng, hoping to cheer his friend up. And if Xie Lian occasionally drifted casually into flirting territory during the call, it was only because Hua Cheng started it by intentionally flustering him. He prattled on about upcoming class assignments, pausing to hear Hua Cheng's commentary. While talking with Hua Cheng, he watched his roommate Shi Qingxuan sleepily putter about the kitchen before they joined him on the nearby couch in the living room. The topic of Xie Lian's rambling had veered into ranting about the latest gossip about his cousin Qi Rong's wedding.
"With all of this" Xie Lian wildly waved one of his hands "drama around Qi Rong's wedding, I am not entirely sure I want to go anymore. In fact! It's my unpopular opinion that he shouldn't be getting married in the first place!" In the corner of his eye, he noticed Shi Qingxuan nod along furiously to his ranting, looking slightly more awake and peering eagerly at Xie Lian as if waiting to hear more drama.
Hua Cheng snorted in agreement before asking, "Gege, do you want to know my unpopular opinion?"
"Huh?" Xie Lian questioned.
"I support being a grave robber, and everyone hates me for it."
There was a pause in which Xie didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. Then he let out a little chuckle that turned into a loud guffaw that echoed into the room, making Shi Qingxuan startle and look at Xie Lian, a little shocked. Xie Lian just wiped at his eyes, making sure the few laughter tears were off his face. He was glad for Hus Cheng's subtle redirection from thinking or talking about Qi Rong's wedding.
Xie Lian let out one last chuckle as he asked Hua Cheng, "Why do you support grave robbing, San Lang?"
Shi Qingxuan perked up and mouthed “Xuè Yǔ Tàn Huā?”
Xie Lian just smiled at his roommate and gave a slight nod as he patiently waited for Hua Cheng to form his response.
"The reason comes from the thought that typically people get buried with a lot of stuff, right?" Hua Cheng started. Xie Lian breathed a curious hum after a few seconds passed; Hua Cheng continued, "Well, obviously, I support grave robbing because they don't need that stuff, but I do." Xian let out another laugh, although this one was not as loud to echo into the living room, and despite the fact Hua Cheng couldn't see him, he gave a chiding shake of his head. Then he had a quick, impulsive thought pass through his mind.
Before he could stop himself, Xie Lian blurted out, "What will you do when I am buried?"
Hua Cheng chuckled before answering, "I'll rob your grave, of course."
Xie Lian shook his head once again but smiled and sighed, "I suppose that's fine, but just be warned, I won't have anything of worth in my casket anyway."
A silent pause from the other end of the phone, but before Xie Lian could ask what was wrong, Hua Cheng's voice came accusingly, "Gege, you're making this too easy."
Xie Lian raised his eyebrow in confusion before remembering Hua Cheng couldn't see him and said cautiously, "Huh, what do you mean?"
"Take a look back on our conversation, Gege. You said you wouldn't have anything of worth but forgot that you'd be the only thing worth stealing in the first place," Hua Cheng asserted.
Xie Lian blushed furiously while stuttering, "San Lang, don't tease!"
Shi Qingxuan raised their eyebrows at Xie Lian's blush and then gave a knowing smirk. Xie Lian resorted to sticking his tongue out at them.
Hua Cheng's amused tone was clear as he said, "Well, it's true, and deep down, you know it."
Xie Lian huffed and pouted, "If that is too easy, what do you expect from me?"
"Gege, you could make it a little harder?" Hua Cheng implored.
"I don't know what you mean…" Xie Lian began to whine a bit. "I don't know what you want me to do or say. I'm just being me."
Another warm chuckle from Hua Cheng that seemed to hold a tinge of fondness. "That's fine. I don't want you to do or say anything. Gege, I just want you."
Xie Lian blushed again and decided to quickly wrap up the call before he could get any more embarrassed. As he put down his phone on the nearby stool, Shi Qingxuan, who had been there for the entire conversation, perked up and began to ask him rapid-fire questions. As he answered them patiently, Xie Lian decided he could also somewhat now support grave robbing as long as it was with Hua Cheng.