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Xie Lian doesn't usually eat at places like this, but encouraged by his best friend - Shi Qingxuan, they go there together to try the restaurant's newest burger.
The cashier who takes Xie Lian's order immediately catches Xie Lian's eye, and Xie Lian has to try very hard not to openly stare at the handsome man, probably in his twenties. His smile is beautiful, the dimple that appears on his cheek when he smiles at Xie Lian (probably out of politeness, he's at work, after all) makes Xie Lian's legs wobble - he has never seen something as cute and adorable as this.
And the black eyepatch the cashier wears makes him look... wild, in a way. Xie Lian can't really explain it.
He feels his cheeks turn red the longer they look at each other. With the intensity evident in the cashier's visible eye, he seems to be looking into Xie Lian's soul. Or at least he tries to guess what Xie Lian is thinking, what makes him blush so furiously.
And then he smiles at Xie Lian, this time differently than before, as if he already has the answer he has been looking for. Xie Lian has no romantic experience whatsoever, but even he can see that the cashier's smile... is flirtatious now!
But Xie Lian doesn't really know what to do with it. He can feel that other people behind him are impatiently waiting for a chance to pay for their orders, so Xie Lian, as much as he wants it, can't prolong this moment any longer. With a quiet sigh, he pays for his order and smiles at the cashier one last time. Then he walks away, feeling his heart break.
In the end, nothing has happened.
However, as Xie Lian walks away from the counter, he doesn't notice the way the man keeps looking at him, openly ignoring the patron in front of him who is trying to pay for their order.
* * *
After a few minutes of waiting, Xie Lian and Shi QIngxuan take their orders and go to look for a table. Once they are seated, Xie Lian, with a beaming smile on his face because the food smells delicious, picks up a burger from the blue plastic tray. But before the food touches his lips, his hands freeze in midair as something on the tray catches his eye.
There's something written on one of the white napkins that Xie Lian received with his order.
"This looks like someone's number!" Shi Qingxuan notes happily between bites of food, but their eyebrows begin to furrow the longer they look at the napkin.
And Xie Lian knows it looks like someone's number, but the only problem is...
"I'm not sure what numbers are written here..." Xie Lian sighs, rubbing his forehead. They are completely illegible, as if someone wrote them down in a hurry and not using their dominant hand.
Xie Lian's burger is long forgotten as he lets his mind wander. Who in the world would give him their number so suddenly? Yes, it happens sometimes that people give him their numbers, but at least they've exchanged a word or two with him first.
And for the past ten minutes, the only person he's talked to is Shi Qingxuan-
Oh.
No way.
Xie Lian's heart races. He also spoke to the cashier, even though he only took Xie Lian's order. But the way he looked at XIe Lian, as if with mutual interest...
Xie Lian stands up, suddenly feeling determination fill his body. This may be his only chance; even if he's wrong and it's someone else's number and not the handsome cashier's, Xie Lian has to seize the opportunity.
If he embarrasses himself with his audacity, he will simply never come to this place again.
It seems simple, and Xie Lian has already made his decision.
Xie Lian leaves Shi Qingxuan before they can ask any questions. His heart is still pounding - even faster now - as he approaches the counter again, his eyes searching for the owner of the beautiful smile that is already deeply etched in his memory.
But the handsome cashier is nowhere to be seen.
His sudden absence - it can't have been more than a few minutes since Xie Lian last saw him - doesn't deter Xie Lian from giving up his search.
His eyes dart between the other employees behind the counter and that's when Xie Lian decides to approach the guy who is clearly not busy with something as important as serving customers; this seems to be the safest choice. And he seems... nice, too, Xie Lian notes, so perhaps he won't suspect Xie Lian of harassing the employees with his unusual question. Xie Lian definitely doesn't want to harass anyone!
The employee in question doesn't even seem to notice Xie Lian's presence, instead he's absentmindedly touching the screen of the tablet on the counter in front of him.
Xie Lian reads the name on the man's name tag - Yin Yu, but still decides not to use his name, finding it quite rude and disrespectful. Instead, he subtly clears his throat to get Yin Yu's attention, and when the man looks at him with a questioning expression, Xie Lian smiles casually and asks, "Excuse me, is... the cashier with the eyepatch still working his shift?"
Yin Yu seems to process Xie Lian's words, watching him carefully. Then: "Did Hua Cheng do something wrong again? Please don't tell me he gave you the wrong change at the register, ugh," Yin Yu groans, a hundred of scenarios flashing through his head.
Hua Cheng, Xie Lian repeats to himself. Now that he thinks about it, he didn't see the nametag on Hua Cheng's uniform shirt. Is he new here so they didn't have enough time to make him one? But he seemed to know the menu, even discouraging Xie Lian from getting their newest burger, saying it was probably the worst overpriced crap on the menu...
Completely forgetting that he's in the middle of a conversation with Yin Yu, Xie Lian shakes his head furiously. The last thing he wants to do is cause trouble for Hua Cheng!
"No, no!" Xie Lian denies it, nervously rubbing his forehead. "I just wanted to ask him something."
Yin Yu looks at him with no particular emotion on his face - but Xie Lian suspects that Yin Yu is sighing in relief that Hua Cheng hasn't done anything wrong - before saying, "He's on a break."
So there's still a chance to talk to him, Xie Lian also sighs in relief. "Could you tell him to come here? It's important," Xie Lian asks half-truthfully. Well, it's important for Xie Lian, but definitely not for Yin Yu because it's not work-related. But to his surprise, Yin Yu simply nods and goes to the back, disappearing behind the door.
Not even a minute has passed before Yin Yu returns to the counter, and then Xie Lian's heart suddenly stops beating: the handsome cashier walks nonchalantly next to Yin Yu, adopting the same flirtatious smile as his gaze hands on Xie Lian.
The curl of his lips is enough to make Xie Lian's cheeks heat up again, and Xie Lian really does his best not to gay panic and run away. There's no way back now!
Yin Yu goes to check on another employee as Hua Cheng approaches Xie Lian, resting his body on his hands on the counter. Now that Xie Lian can see his face so close again, he notices a change in Hua Cheng; but before he can think about it any further, Hua Cheng speaks up.
"I heard gege wanted to talk to me. I'm all ears."
If Xie Lian were a little taller, he would have noticed Hua Cheng clenching his fists nervously. But part of the counter completely hides them from Xie Lian's sight. And Hua Cheng's voice, surprisingly, doesn't betray his nervousness in the slightest.
"I...," Xie Lian begins hesitantly, suddenly forgetting how to speak. But then it enlightens him; he takes out a napkin with a number written on it from his pocket and shows it to Hua Cheng. "That's... quite bold of me to assume," Xie Lian manages to find the last bit of courage to express his desires. "But is it yours?"
Hua Cheng's gaze moves between the napkin and Xie Lian's face, stopping for a second on Xie Lian's lower lip. Then, "It depends."
Xie Lian gasps, not fully understanding Hua Cheng's words. "What do you mean, 'it depends'?" He prays that his voice won't betray his great hopes.
"Does gege want this to be my number? If, hypothetically speaking, it is indeed my number, what will gege do with that knowledge?"
"Then... I'd ask you if you'd like to go out with me to see the garden that recently opened in our city. Only, if, hypothetically speaking," Xie Lian emphasizes those two words, "that's your number. If not, then I'd try to decipher the numbers and call the person who's clearly hitting on me."
At this, Hua Cheng bursts into hearty laughter. "So, now, not hypothetically, this is my number." Hua Cheng crosses his arms on the counter, boldly leaning closer to Xie Lian. "Does gege really want to go on a date with me?"
"I didn't say it was a date..." Xie Lian mutters shyly, biting his inner cheek. Then he looks away from Hua Cheng, too embarrassed to look at him properly.
Hua Cheng rests his cheek on his knuckles, looking warmly at Xie Lian's flustered face. Then admits boldly, "But I want it to be a date. I'm impressed that gege came here to personally ask me out."
"I did not-!" Xie Lian looks back at him, unconsciously raising his voice. This earns a few looks from the other patrons, and he bows his head in apology. "Well," he sighs. "I really wanted this to be your number, so I had to check it myself. I couldn't read what was written here… it almost looks like you were in a hurry, to write it like that," Xie Lian teases back, already feeling comfortable around Hua Cheng, even though he doesn’t know much about him.
Hua Cheng feigns to be hurt by Xie Lian's words, sighing deeply. "Gege hurts me. I tried to write it as best I could."
"Ahaha..." Xie Lian laughs nervously. "So after our first date in the garden... maybe I should give you a writing lesson? I'm not saying your handwriting is ugly! It's... unique. Yes."
"Unique," Hua Cheng repeats with a mischievous smile. "And gege has already called our meeting ‘a date’. He even suggested more dates in the future."
Xie Lian hides his face in his hands, flustered. Yes, he wants this to be a date!
"San Lang," Hua Cheng suddenly says, and when Xie Lian withdraws his hands, he notices a faint blush spreading across Hua Cheng's cheeks. "Call me San Lang," he repeats, rubbing the back of his neck.
At this, Xie Lian tilts his head to the side, visibly confused. "But this person called you "Hua Cheng"?" he asks, pointing at Yin Yu.
"That's my real name. But if gege is going to save my number in his phone, I'd like him to save it as 'San Lang', not 'Hua Cheng'."
"San Lang, then," Xie Lian says, feeling the warmth rising in his body. He never dreamed something like this would happen, but he won't complain about the way events turned out. "My name is Xie Lian, but since we're at the point of calling each other by pet names..."
"En," Hua Cheng's smile becomes only softer. "Gege."
Xie Lian crosses his arms, puffing out his cheeks. "How do you know I'm older than you, San Lang?"
"Hmmm?" Hua Cheng plays innocent, narrowing his visible eye in delight at Xie Lian's slightly upset tone of voice. "Intuition? Gege's aura gives me such impression." However, upon seeing that Xie Lian isn't the least convinced, even puffing his cheeks out even more, Hua Cheng bursts out laughing again. "Ah, gege, I can't reveal my secrets so soon. But, alright. I will make an exception this time so I don't scare you away. We're studying at the same university."
"Oh? So San Lang says there are other things I should know?" Xie Lian doesn't notice that his body leans closer towards Hua Cheng, instead, he picks up on Hua Cheng's game as he presses on, "Has San Lang been watching me for a long time?"
"Ah, gege makes me look like a creep," Hua Cheng pretends to pout, but his smile gives him away.
"Was San Lang planning to ask me out? It's pure coincidence that we met today, you know that, right? How long would you have waited if we hadn't talked today?"
Hua Cheng smiles and raises his hands to stop Xie Lian's words from flowing. "Gege," he says between waves of chuckles that escape his lips. "I said I didn't want to reveal my secrets too soon... but seeing your excited face, I feel like I can't hold myself back, ah."
The other people around them are still looking their way, but neither Xie Lian nor Hua Cheng notices anything amiss, both locked away in their own, cute little bubble.
"Ah, San Lang doesn't have to, really..." Xie Lian assures, but his tone is unconvincing. Just like his face; one look at him is enough to read from his expression: "PLEASE TELL ME EVERYTHING!!!"
Xie Lian isn't usually like this, but it seems that Hua Cheng's mere presence is enough to break the chains that always keep in place, restricting him. With Hua Cheng around, however, Xie Lian feels like he can... just be himself.
How strange.
"Well," Hua Cheng begins quietly, but enough to snap Xie Lian out of his racing thoughts. Xie Lian is unaware of his own movements as he tucks a lock of hair behind his ear, revealing his right, reddened earlobe. "I planned to put a love letter in your locker on campus, but since gege couldn't read the simple numbers I wrote... I'm glad I didn't get a chance to go through with my previous plan, then. Gege would have thought I was threatening him."
Xie Lian's cheeks turn an even darker shade of red at the comment. He waves his hand dismissively, saying, "Nonsense, nonsense. I would never have thought that, but-"
"Hua Cheng." Yin Yu appears out of nowhere next to them, once again showing no particular expression on his face. "Your break is over."
"Tsk," Hua Cheng sighs in dissatisfaction, turning his head towards Xie Lian again. He notices that the blush on Xie Lian's cheeks has disappeared, and instead, he looks as pale as if he's seen a ghost.
Xie Lian covers his mouth with his hand, terrified. "Oh my god, San Lang, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to take up all of your break! You needed a moment to rest, right? Anyone who works in a place as loud and exhausting as this would-!"
"Nonsense, talking to gege was better than any break, I promise. But..." he leans closer again, the distance between them almost nonexistent. "I pray that gege will soon give me some of his time. I'd really like to get to know you better before... you know."
Shi Qingxuan should be proud of Xie Lian for expressing his desires instead of keeping them buried deep inside. Because Xie Lian, realizing that nothing is holding him back, whispers so that only Hua Cheng can hear him, "You won't kiss me until we get to know each other better?"
The corners of Hua Cheng's lips curve warmly. "Yeah. You see, I'm quite the romantic type."
Xie Lian ducks his head, nodding shyly. "Alright. In that case... I'll tell you as much about myself as you want. So you will kiss me sooner rather than later."
And after saying that, Hua Cheng smiles warmly at him one last time before disappearing from Xie Lian's sight.
Only then does Xie Lian realize that...
They still don't know each other's numbers.
But that's okay, Xie Lian smiles to himself. When Hua Cheng returns to the cash register to take orders again, Xie Lian will get back in line, pretending to order something.
However, instead of saying what kind of burger he would like to eat, he will give Hua Cheng his phone number. And if Yin Yu looks at them strangely, wondering if Hua Cheng is slacking off, Xie Lian will ask quietly:
"Can I have a handsome cashier instead of a toy in my Happy Meal?"