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"Hello Hua Cheng, I'm Xie Lian. It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Xie Lian said. He smiled at Hua Cheng and held out his hand.
"Xie Lian...can I call you gege?" The way he took Xie Lian's hand, and slowly raised it to his lips, stopping just at the last minute made it obvious to Xie Lian that wasn't the only permission he was seeking.
Nodding with a charmed smile, Xie Lian felt the blood rush to his cheeks, his neck, gods, even his ears when Hua Cheng leaned down to brush his lips softly against Xie Lian's hand.
He didn't know, and honestly didn't care, if he was actually older than Hua Cheng. Not with the soft affection in his singular dark eye.
"Also," Hua Cheng gave his hand one last kiss before he straightened up. "I much prefer gege to call me San Lang."
"San Lang?" Xie Lian whispered, and it was only because Hua Cheng was still holding his hand that Xie Lian felt the other's small shiver. This close he saw the slow bob of Hua Cheng's adam apple as he swallowed. Xie Lian was captivated by the sight.
Hua Cheng nodded, and Xie Lian couldn't help it.
"San Lang."
And there it was again. The slight shiver, the slow swallow.
"Gege, I have a confession," he said without preamble, stepping a little closer.
Xie Lian's heartbeat had been in overdrive the moment he heard Hua Cheng's voice and it kicked up another notch when it took on a deeper velvety pitch.
"Of course. San Lang can tell me anything," he said a little breathlessly. He stepped closer as well, closing the gap between them without an ounce of hesitation.
Xie Lian found himself distracted by the ridiculously long lashes framing Hua Cheng 's eye. Taking everything in, Xie Lian could also see the tiny gold characters inscribed on the eye patch covering Hua Cheng's other eye. The words were a little unclear, like a reflection in a pond distorted by ripples across the surface. If he squinted, it looked like -
"I loved your voice from the moment I heard you. I listen to your music all the time," he said softly.
Xie Lian gasped, and for a brief moment Hua Cheng was terrified he'd overstepped until Xie Lian overlapped their hands with his other one.
"You too? It was the same for me when I first heard you. In fact, I..."
He stopped, suddenly embarrassed and looked away.
"Gege, don't be shy. I want to hear everything you have to tell me," Hua Cheng said. His words, so openly sincere, drew Xie Lian's gaze back to him.
"I've been listening to your songs throughout this entire trip. " At this rate, Xie Lian's face was going to remain permanently red. "Your voice is so lovely. I could listen to it all day." And it was clear by the tone of his voice that he probably did.
Then Xie Lian had the pleasure of seeing Hua Cheng’s cheeks flush with the faintest hint of red.
Standing so close, gazing into each other's eyes, Xie Lian softly cleared his throat.
"San Lang, I know we just met, but would you like to go for lunch?"
"Gege, I would be honored," he said. Xie Lian beamed a smile his way in return and happily took Hua Cheng's offered arm.
They had barely taken two steps when they were stopped by the very loud protests behind them.
Both turned to see their respective acapella teammates staring back at them with varying expressions of bewilderment and exasperation.
"What are you doing, Xie Lian? We're about to sing our number now!" Mu Qing said pointedly. "Plus, did you forget --"
"---he's the competition?!" Feng Xin finished glaring at Hua Cheng who, honestly, was too into Xie Lian to notice.
"Oh, right, right. Sorry about that, " Xie Lian said laughing.
He turned his attention back to Hua Cheng.
"After the competition then? We can grab dinner instead."
Xie Lian was so excited by Hua Cheng's agreement that he completely missed his teammates' grumbling "not what we meant".
"All right, after then. Gege has to be sure to tell me his favorite dish too. It will be my treat for today's clear winner.
"San Lang, no! In that case I'll definitely be treating you."
Hua Cheng's teammates, He Xuan and Yin Yu, exchanged a look.
"Fuck, those lovesick idiots actually mean it," He Xuan muttered to Yin Yu.
"Let’s just be grateful Hua Cheng isn't one of the judges," Yin Yu whispered back, and both nodded their heads in agreement. They made brief eye contact with Xie Lian’s teammates and after giving them a pitying smile they put the matter out of their mind and turned away to exit the stage.
“Want to go grab some food?” He Xuan asked. Mu Qing and Feng Xin both heard the trailing end of Yin Yu and He Xuan’s conversation. They looked after them with mournful and jealous eyes as Hua Cheng finally left the stage and Xie Lian finally took his place.
If only Feng Xin and Mu Qing could be so lucky. Instead, it was all they could do to keep their appetite as they watched Xie Lian do his best to give Hua Cheng his own personal serenade.