Chapter Text
The request reaches Qiao Ling through a friend of a friend.
It’s not uncommon for her to get jobs that way, with word having spread fairly far that there’s a witch who can use photos to change time. She doesn’t mind, not even when it comes from people she knows well. She’s good at laughing it off when she needs to, or making an excuse that’s not quite a lie when the job matters. So when her friend reaches out to her asking to pass her number along to someone who was looking to contact her, Qiao Ling agrees without much thought. Which is how she ends up sitting at a table outside, a bubble tea in front of her and a stranger sitting across from her.
Though Li Yunru isn’t quite a stranger, not really. Her name isn’t written on every billboard or magazine, but it’s certainly written on a few. She’s well known enough that Qiao Ling had taken a moment to clarify if her friend had mistyped when she’d texted her because surely someone who’s name was in most households, at least, wouldn’t be seeking her out. And yet Li Yunru was sitting across from her now, smiling and far more approachable than someone with such a big name would be expected to be. She had even gone out of her way to come several towns over to meet with Qiao Ling because her request was something she wanted to discuss in person.
“Thank you for meeting me,” Li Yunru says amicably, her hands curled around her own bubble tea. She looks at ease, entirely unbothered by the idea that people might recognize her sitting here. “I had heard that you may be able to help me with something I’m looking to do.”
“I’d certainly be happy to try.” Qiao Ling agrees with a smile, trying to match the ease of Li Yunru’s posture. It was still a little hard, after everything they’d been through recently, but she was able to drop her shoulders from her ears and let her spine slump just a little.
Li Yunru doesn’t waste any time, her gaze turning wistful as she talks. “My best friend is getting married soon, and I’ve been wracking my brain for ideas of what to get her. You only get married once, you know? And we’ve been friends for our whole lives, so I really wanted to get her something special.” Qiao Ling doesn’t mention that with the fortune associated with her name, getting her anything her heart could possibly desire shouldn’t be a problem. As if Li Yunru is reading her mind, she adds, “I know I could get her other things, but we’ve been friends so long that getting her something expensive just because it’s expensive feels like an insult.”
Qiao Ling nods along, “You want it to be sentimental.”
Qiao Ling can certainly understand— she’s always prided herself on picking out the perfect gifts for her friends and the price tag never came into consideration when she did. It was always something that would mean something to her friends. Sometimes that was something she could buy from the store, other times it was something she created, and some of the times it was nothing more than her time. But still, she understood the value of finding a gift that mattered, and she was hopeful that they’d be able to help.
“Yes!” Li Yunru answers, sitting up straighter with a smile that says Qiao Ling has gotten her point exactly. “That’s a perfect word for it! I want it to be sentimental. And after all this time of thinking, I’ve finally come up with the perfect idea.”
“That’s wonderful.” Qiao Ling says after she takes a sip of her tea. “I imagine that’s where I come in?”
“Yes,” Li Yunru pauses to drink her own tea. “Recently Meng Xiu lost her mom. It wasn’t unexpected, but that never makes it easier.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you,” Li Yunru smiles and it’s sad at the edges. “Since her mom passed, she’s been talking non-stop about this recipe her mom used to make when we were little. She was known for it and it was always delicious. The problem is that the recipe was never written down. And now that she has lost her mom…”
“She’s lost her chance to be taught the recipe.” Qiao Ling fills in.
“Exactly.”
Qiao Ling smiles and thinks about Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang and how thrilled they’re going to be to get a job like this. Cheng Xiaoshi loves when he gets easy jobs, especially when they’re food related. And Lu Guang, though he’d never say it, always looks less tired the following day when Qiao Ling comes to pick up the photos and get a report when they do cases like this. On some of the other cases, Lu Guang looks like a ghost the next day, haunted and lacking sleep. And After everything they’ve been through recently, they don’t need something else adding to their stress.
She spares a moment to worry for Cheng Xiaoshi, the way she and Lu Guang both seem to do whenever there is mention of parents— specifically a mother. Qiao Ling is never quite sure how open and bleeding that wound is for Cheng Xiaoshi at any given time as it seems to fluctuate, but she decides that she can at least offer the job to them and let him decide. And when she does, she’ll no doubt share one of those unspoken looks with Lu Guang where they try to line up on the same page about Cheng Xiaoshi, ensuring that they’re both prepared for whatever he may need. It’s how they’ve gotten through everything this far. And Qiao Ling knows that Lu Guang will step in if Cheng Xiaoshi is offering more than he’s currently able to give. Ever since he showed up in their lives, he seems to have made his real living in taking care of Cheng Xiaoshi and the photo studio was just his secondary job.
“Well, as long as you have a photo from when her mom was alive, I’m sure it can be done.” Qiao Ling answers, trying to remain as vague as possible about the process. Even though she now knows the process and could explain it if she had to, she finds that it’s still better practice not to.
She remembers first finding out about their powers and the way things work, remembers being surprised in some aspects but not in others. It explained a lot, to know how it worked— to know that Lu Guang got to watch the moments while Cheng Xiaoshi lived them. Those days when she would come in and Lu Guang would be at the front, dark circles under his eyes, looking like he hadn’t slept for more than four minutes— those were the days that Cheng Xiaoshi was never there to greet her. Or if he had happened to be up front with Lu Guang when she’d arrived, he’d make an excuse and disappear to the back. She never said anything about it, or about the way Lu Guang would casually smooth it over without even a moment’s hesitation. And now she understands why. Those were the times that Cheng Xiaoshi was healing and Lu Guang was hurting from having watched Cheng Xiaoshi suffer through whatever terrible things they’d seen.
She’s never been jealous of their powers because she’d seen the aftermath before she’d gotten the truth and oftentimes the aftermath wasn’t pretty.
“That’s the thing.” Li Yunru says, and she looks a little concerned. “I do have a photo, but I can’t bring it to you. You have to go to it.”
“I’m sorry?” Qiao Ling pauses with her tea halfway to her mouth, tilting her head as the words try to sink in. “What do you mean?”
“Several years before Meng Xiu’s mom passed away, her house was unfortunately lost to a fire. There was only one picture that managed to survive. It’s from the right time frame that I think would be most beneficial to you. But because it’s one of Meng Xiu’s only childhood relics remaining, she’s very protective of it. Especially since she lost her mom. She keeps it framed in her house and she would certainly notice if it disappeared, even if just for a few hours.”
Well, Qiao Ling thinks as she sets her drink back on the table without ever taking her sip, that poses a bigger problem than she expected.
“Couldn’t you simply ask her to borrow it?” Qiao Ling tries for the most obvious route first, but she’s not particularly hopeful.
Li Yunru shakes her head. “I want it to be a surprise. And there’s no way for me to request the photo without raising her suspicions. Besides, I’m not honestly sure she would even let me have it if I asked, it’s that important to her.”
“Okay,” Qiao Ling blows out a breath and tries to come up with a different option.
But Li Yunru seems to have already come prepared for this part of the conversation. “I was just thinking that I’d take you to the wedding with me. She lives in a rather large house and the reception will be held in her backyard. So if you attended the wedding and reception, I’m certain that you’d be able to slip off during the reception at some point to find the photo and would be able to use it from there? So that way it wouldn’t ever have to be taken from its home.”
“Well…” Qiao Ling says, and then she hesitates. There’s really no easy way out of this without explaining Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi’s involvement. It’s that, or decline the offer outright, which she doesn’t really want to do either.
Since Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi had been released from the hospital and returned to the studio, they hadn’t taken on any cases. There had been no formal discussion about it, no request from them to take a little break. After everything they’d been through, it had been an unspoken agreement by all three of them that additional time would be needed and their transition back into taking cases would have to be gentle. And this was exactly the kind of gentle case that would be a great way for them to get started. It was low stakes, easy, and shouldn’t be full of anything too traumatic that would be bad for either of them. So, Qiao Ling wasn’t inclined to decline the offer because she knew how hard offers like this were to come by.
“If it’s money you’re worried about, please don’t be! I promise I can and will happily pay any price that you list!” Li Yunru hurries to explain and her genuine concern and desire to complete this for her friend sways Qiao Ling further.
“It’s not that.” She answers honestly, and then decides that she has to tell at least some amount of the truth. “The fact of the matter is that I’m just the one who gets the jobs. It’s actually two other people who would be completing the request, so to agree to something that would involve both of them traveling without talking to them…”
“Oh, of course, I understand!” Li Yunru nods. “I apologize, I had no idea! I was under the impression that it was you who did everything!”
“Most people are,” Qiao Ling agrees. “It’s easier that way, to have it all coming through me. And normally it’s not an issue, but like I said, I don’t want to agree to anything that big without at least consulting with them first. Besides, I’m not sure what cover story you would have to come up with to justify bringing two guys with you to the wedding.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that.” Li Yunru waves a hand dismissively. “I’m confident that I can come up with something if they would be willing to help.”
Qiao Ling brings her tea back to her mouth and chews on her straw for a moment, thinking it through. “I think they would be,” She answers honestly after a moment. “Cheng Xiaoshi is always willing to help anyone, and he loves experiencing new things. And Lu Guang will do anything Cheng Xiaoshi does, within reason. He also likes helping people, and he would be glad for it to be such a sweet case.”
Li Yunru is smiling at Qiao Ling now, “They sound lovely.”
“They’re great.” Qiao Ling agrees with her own smile. “Cheng Xiaoshi is basically my little brother. And Lu Guang is his partner in everything. They’ve been good for each other. And they really do great work with requests like this. So I would love to accept the job, but would you be willing to give me a chance to talk to them first just to make sure? They’ve recently been dealing with a lot so I want to be sure they’re up for it.”
Li Yunru nods immediately and agreeably, reaching across the table to place a hand over Qiao Ling’s. “Absolutely! Please understand that while I would appreciate the help, I will completely understand if it doesn’t work out. I know it’s asking for a lot. The wedding is next Saturday so it’s short notice as well, and I apologize for that.”
“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Qiao Ling says. “They don’t typically run particularly busy social calendars as it is,” she pauses as Li Yunru huffs out a laugh, her hand still warm over Qiao Ling’s, “but after everything they’ve been dealing with, I’m certain they don’t have anything planned then.”
“I can provide everything,” Li Yunru vows with so much conviction that it tugs on Qiao Ling’s heart. “I can get them rides, a place to stay, I’ll even get them suits for the wedding!”
“That’s very generous of you.” Qiao Ling pauses after she says it, trying to decide what to do.
She’s definitely going to present the job to Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang, that’s not her hesitation. She knows that Lu Guang will have questions about the logistics— questions that she won’t be able to answer. If she were to leave now and present this to them, this would just initiate a back-and-forth case where Lu Guang would have questions and she’d have to ask Li Yunru— and then she’d relay the answers only to have more questions presented to her, over and over again. It almost feels like it would take until the day of the wedding to hash everything out at this rate and she knows that she can’t possibly do that.
Li Yunru is sipping quietly on her tea, providing no pressure but clearly watching as Qiao Ling runs through options in her head.
There’s really only one option that makes any amount of sense at this point, so she straightens her spine and looks at Li Yunru. “How busy is your schedule today?”
“I’m as free as you need me to be.” Li Yunru answers without any hesitation whatsoever.
Qiao Ling smiles as she stands up from the table. “Then come with me. I think it’s best if you talk to Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang yourself.”
When they arrive at the shop, Cheng Xiaoshi is outside sweeping off the front steps. He looks up, smiles, and waves when he sees Qiao Ling, and then seems to notice Li Yunru at her side and offers her a smile as well.
“Hey!” He says as they get closer, immediately abandoning his sweeping without a second thought.
“Cheng Xiaoshi,” Qiao Ling comes to a stop and gestures to her side, “this is Li Yunru. She has a job for you.”
“Great!” Cheng Xiaoshi says without hesitation, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Come in, please! I’ll go get Lu Guang!”
Cheng Xiaoshi opens the door to the shop, nearly toppling over the broom in the process. He manages to catch it as Li Yunru and Qiao Ling enter the shop and then he follows them through. He skirts around Qiao Ling, bumping her shoulder affectionately as he goes, darting back into the sunroom. Next to her, Li Yunru is taking in the scenery around her, looking over every inch of the photo studio. She takes a few steps forwards to look at the pictures that Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang have framed and up on the walls.
It’s interesting for Qiao Ling to try and look at this shop through the eyes of someone new— she’s seen this place as a second home for as long as she could remember. If pressed, she could probably name what each of the photos on the wall were of, but she was so used to looking at them that they didn’t jump out at her at all anymore. She honestly couldn’t name the last time that she had actually bothered to look at any of them. But Li Yunru was staring at them wondrously, trailing a finger carefully along the edge of one of the frames with a gentle smile, like she was touched by what she was seeing.
Qiao Ling steps up next to her to look at the photo. It’s one of Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang from their trip to Bridon— despite being told the story several times, Qiao Ling still didn’t understand how they had ended up doing a photoshoot. But they had, somehow, and several weeks after they had returned, an envelope had come in the mail with printed versions of their photos. Cheng Xiaoshi had tried to hang all of them up, declaring something about their modeling debut, pushing Lu Guang away every time he tried to snatch the photos out of Cheng Xiaoshi’s hands. Lu Guang had wanted to put up none of them, grumbling about it until they had compromised on two: this one and one that Qiao Ling knew was framed on the table next to their bunk beds upstairs.
“Hurry up, would you?” Cheng Xiaoshi’s voice floats around the corner and Qiao Ling can swear that she hears Lu Guang’s answering eye roll.
They round the corner together, Cheng Xiaoshi’s arm slung around Lu Guang’s shoulders the way it often is, his grin big enough for the both of them.
“Idiot,” Lu Guang mumbles, but he stays perfectly in step with Cheng Xiaoshi anyways, allowing himself to be led to the front of the shop without any actual fuss.
Qiao Ling crosses to stand between the boys and Li Yunru, turning to begin introductions, The words falter on her tongue for just a moment when she catches the same wistful expression on Li Yunru’s face, this time directed at the real Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi. Qiao Ling shakes herself out of it and gestures to the boys.
“Okay, so you met Cheng Xiaoshi already.” She says and Cheng Xiaoshi offers a little wave as if it had been unclear which one of them he was. “And this is Lu Guang! Boys, this is Li Yunru and she has come here to discuss a job with you.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Lu Guang replies, polite as ever, offering a small smile. “And while I’m happy to meet you, I must admit that it’s unusual. Qiao Ling doesn’t typically bring people directly to us.”
“Yes, well, I fear I’ve come with a bit of an unusual request,” Li Yunru says sheepishly. She glances down briefly at her feet before looking up to meet Lu Guang’s eyes.
“Well, we’re willing to listen.” Lu Guang says simply.
“Yeah!” Cheng Xiaoshi adds with his signature smile. “We’re definitely willing to help if we can, so just tell us what’s going on!”
And so Li Yunru does. She explains It to Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang the same way she had explained it to Qiao Ling— about the recipe, the house fire, her friend’s protectiveness over this one remaining picture. Qiao Ling watches both Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang’s faces closely as Li Yunru talks, looking for any signs of distress or discomfort, anything that would indicate to her that she should be the one to step in and put an end to this so they didn’t have to,
But neither one of them looks uncomfortable. Lu Guang looks worried, but he looks like he’s most likely worried about the practical things, just as Qiao Ling had expected him to be. He spares one glance at Cheng Xiaoshi and assesses him, quickly scanning over his expression. Cheng Xiaoshi notices, glancing at Lu Guang with a smile that's definitely meant to be reassuring, as if he not only knows what Lu Guang is doing but had expected it. After a moment of lingering eye contact, they both turn back to Li Yunru and that seems to be that. Lu Guang doesn’t look as if he’s worried about the case itself or the emotional ramifications of it, so Qiao Ling lets out a breath doesn’t step in or say anything.
As soon as Li Yunru finishes telling the whole story all over again, Cheng Xiaoshi is beaming and shaking Lu Guang by the arm that he still has draped around Lu Guang’s shoulders. “You hear that, GuangGuang? We get to go to a wedding!”
Lu Guang glowers but makes no move to shake Cheng Xiaoshi off. Instead, he turns his attention to Li Yunru who is watching them with a blatant sort of fondness, smiling as she looks at the way they interact with each other. “I understand the need for us to be at the wedding ourselves in order to complete this, but what exactly would be our way into the wedding? We don’t know the bride or the groom, so we’d have no business being there.”
“Oh!” Cheng Xiaoshi exclaims. “We could go as photographers! We both have some photography experience, I’m sure we could get by.”
But Lu Guang shakes his head. “If we’re going to find the photo and get the recipe, that will involve both of us sneaking off for several hours.” He explains and Cheng Xiaoshi’s face falls in realization. “If we were photographers, we wouldn’t be able to leave the wedding for any extended amount of time and even then, it would only be one of us that would be able to leave at a time.”
“That’s true…” Cheng Xiaoshi acknowledges.
There’s a momentary silence where both boys seem to be thinking over the logistics of the situation before something seems to occur to Lu Guang.
It's always been interesting to Qiao Ling, watching both Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang. She can see the exact moment the thought occurs to Lu Guang, the way he almost seems to perk up as the question bubbles up and over. She can also see the exact moment that Cheng Xiaoshi notices it, too, the way he turns his full attention to Lu Guang unconsciously, going so far as to tilt his shoulders in Lu Guang's direction as if he has to guarantee his unbridled attention.
“Can you tell us about the photo? Do you know when it was taken?” He pauses for a second and then elaborates, as if realizing that the question seems strange without context, “Can you tell us if the photo was taken at a time where your friend was with her mom? If it’s a photo she took on vacation or something, there might not be much we can even do.”
“We could always call.” Cheng Xiaoshi points out in a way that is clearly meant for only Lu Guang. Lu Guang considers this for a moment and offers a shrug in response.
For a moment, the two of them just stare at each other, but they're clearly running through some mental scenario in their heads, communicating the likelihood of it working without actually talking. Qiao Ling, with the knowledge she has of their powers now, can piece together what they're likely thinking about and suggesting doing, but she doesn't say anything. It's not her place to talk about their powers or share their dynamic normally, but especially not with both of them standing right here. If they don't want to elaborate, she's certainly not going to.
“Oh,” Li Yunru thinks about it for a moment, seeming to accept that there is information she can't know and moving on. “Her mom is in the photo with her. That’s part of why it’s so important to her.”
“Perfect!” Cheng Xiaoshi throws a hand in the air. "Problem solved!"
He grins at Lu Guang who offers him an unimpressed look in response.
“Does that matter?” Li Yunru asks, glancing between the two of them.
“Yes,” Is all Lu Guang says. He doesn’t offer any further explanation and Li Yunru seems to understand that there’s an underlying reason for that, so she doesn’t ask. She nods absently to herself, as if filing this information away somewhere to think about it later.
Qiao Ling briefly wonders what conclusion she’ll come up to on her own when she thinks about this later, when the boys turn over the recipe to her without any additional explanation on how they managed to do it. Qiao Ling always wonders what the clients think after they get their results, if anyone has ever figured out how it works or if everyone is just willing to accept what has happened without any further questions, the way she had in the beginning. She had simply known that they were getting the job done and that had been enough for her.
“Qiao Ling told me you’re partners. Is that right?” Li Yunru asks, moving the conversation further along when it becomes clear that she'll get no additional information on the previous question. She asks Innocuously, completely unassuming, but there’s something in her tone that implies more.
A cold sort of dread settles over Qiao Ling as she listens to the question, realization dawning on her in a slow, horrible sort of way. Based on the way Lu Guang seems to freeze under Cheng Xiaoshi’s arm, his eyes seeking her immediately, he has the same sort of realization. When Qiao Ling had said that Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi were partners she had meant business partners, partners in crime, not— not romantic partners. But without the full understanding of what it is that they do and now with the added context of having spent somewhere upwards of ten minutes talking to them without Cheng Xiaoshi letting go of Lu Guang once, Qiao Ling realizes all at once that there really was no other way for her words to be taken. And now there’s no way for her to clarify without elaborating far more than she’d like to and likely embarrassing Li Yunru in the process.
For a brief moment, she thinks that she has to, despite how uncomfortable the clarification is going to be. And then a picture pops in her head— one of Cheng Xiaoshi gently draping a blanket over Lu Guang when he’d fallen asleep on the couch, the sun slanting over him and casting just the right amount of light over Cheng Xiaoshi to let Qiao Ling see the fondness in his expression. And then another— the way Lu Guang had let Cheng Xiaoshi sling his arm over his shoulders for the entire trip back from the hospital, even though he didn’t need to, like Lu Guang couldn’t bear to have Cheng Xiaoshi out of his reach. And then a million more after that.
All the times she had seen one of them look at the other when they weren’t paying attention, all the casual touches she had seen between them. The way they seemed to hold conversations between the two of them with just a glance. The way that they were each other’s safe space, their solid foundation. She had known Cheng Xiaoshi for as long as she could remember and the person he was before Lu Guang was someone else entirely. Lu Guang had showed up and a lot of Cheng Xiaoshi’s battered edges had soothed and softened, his carefully guarded heart had become more unburdened. Cheng Xiaoshi allowed himself to be more open with Lu Guang there, like he knew that Lu Guang would never hurt him and would always be there to pick up the pieces if someone else hurt him.
And the thing is, Qiao Ling knew that, too.
She knew with unfailing certainty that nothing would be able to separate the two of them and she pitied anything or anyone who tried. There was something about the electricity that seemed to spark between the two of them, the way they wordlessly and perfectly moved around each other as if they were two halves of one whole that operated better together.
She thinks again to the pictures on the wall and the way she hasn’t paid them any mind in years, their presence something she’s simply used to. She thinks of those pictures and she looks at Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang now and realizes that their dynamic has been the same sort of thing for her. She hasn’t thought twice about the way they interact with each other, the closeness they share, the way they always go back to each other before anything else. But then she tries to look at them through fresh eyes like she’d tried to look at the shop through fresh eyes and something strikes her all at once.
Even just standing there like they are now, it seems so obvious all of a sudden. It’s in the way Cheng Xiaoshi still has his arm around Lu Guang, leaning his entire body into Lu Guang’s space. It’s in the way Lu Guang accepts all of Cheng Xiaoshi’s weight without hesitation, the way he hasn’t attempted to put any distance between the two of them since they got up here. It’s in the way they glance at each other as they formulate a plan, in the half sentences they had used to get on the same page as they’d started to work this out. It's the way Lu Guang had been silently checking in with Cheng Xiaoshi this entire time, the way Cheng Xiaoshi had been responding silently, too. It's in the consideration they put into each other's feelings before anything else. And it's definitely in the way the realization had hit Lu Guang, his entire body going rigid as the implication had landed.
Suddenly, Qiao Ling isn’t wondering how Li Yunru took her use of “partners” romantically, she’s wondering how she herself never did.
“Yep!” Cheng Xiaoshi seems to be the only one unaware of the revelation running through the room, smiling like this is a normal way for him to describe his relationship with Lu Guang. “Partners in everything!”
Qiao Ling sees the moment that Lu Guang wants to bury his face in his hands and watches as he barely manages to restrain himself. She feels something between horror and amusement as she watches, like a train wreck happening in slow motion right before her eyes.
“Great, that makes it easy!” Li Yunru declares confidently. She seems equally as unaware as Cheng Xiaoshi to the discomfort in the room, but for entirely different reasons. “I could say that one of you is my nephew who came to town to visit me and he brought his partner along. My friend would happily let me bring my nephew to the wedding, and she’d never dream of asking him to exclude his partner, so that would easily get both of you in the door.”
Cheng Xiaoshi nods along. “That sounds like a convincing story to me.”
“Then, once you were at the wedding, you’d just have to find a chance to sneak away. I’ll make sure you know where to find the photo and then I’ll leave the rest up to you!” Li Yunru finishes.
And just like that, a full plan is laid before them. It accounts for all the major obstacles and even comes with a cover story that should work. The only hiccup is the part where Li Yunru is clearly expecting them to come as dates and then everything that results from that. One glance at Lu Guang tells Qiao Ling that he’s running through similar mental calculations.
The part of Qiao Ling that has just realized that something blatant has been hitting her in the face for years without her realizing it is thrilled at the situation. The part of her that knows what they all just went through, the part that sat in the hospital room that was weighed down with pointed silences and guilt can't bear to put them in a situation like this. Even if there is something between them— and she has always known that here has been, even if she's never let it take a shape or a name in her mind before this moment— she hesitates to push it too far when things are still so fragile.
“Look at that!” Cheng Xiaoshi beams, “that’s perfect!”
“Cheng Xiaoshi…” Qiao Ling starts to say, ready to gently break the news to him and start talking their way out of this situation. She isn't sure how the sentence is supposed to end when she starts it, just hopes that it ends up being calm and unassuming. But then it doesn't matter and she never has to figure out where the sentence was headed because Lu Guang catches her eye. He’s frowning again, and Qiao Ling wonders if he’s mad. But he doesn’t say anything, he simply glances quickly at Li Yunru and then shakes his head minutely, indicating to her not to say anything to ruin the impression that Li Yunru has.
Li Yunru glances between all of them but she doesn’t mention the growing tension in the room.
Qiao Ling suddenly doesn't know what to say either, caught off guard by Lu Guang's reaction. He meets her eyes again and there's something there that she can't quite name. He tilts his head just a little and somehow it's enough for her to understand the point he's trying to make: he'll talk to Cheng Xiaoshi about it later. For all that Cheng Xiaoshi is the one who is loud and outspoken in his care for others, Lu Guang has always been very attentive to the needs and concerns of those around him, too. He likely doesn't want to embarrass Li Yunru— or the three of them, for that matter, as Qiao Ling things they'd all come out of that conversation with some level of humiliation— and instead would rather deal with it behind the scenes.
So, Qiao Ling inclines her head a little in acknowledgement and for the second time during this conversation, she doesn't say anything.
“You said that you and Meng Xiu have been friends since childhood.” Lu Guang says after a moment, forcibly casual even though his shoulders are still rigid under Cheng Xiaoshi. Cheng Xiaoshi sends him a questioning glance. Whatever expression Lu Guang makes in response seems to convey the same message of we'll talk later. Cheng Xiaoshi accepts it without hesitation or any comment. “Wouldn’t she know your nephews? It sounds like your families have always been close so she’d be able to easily identify that we weren’t related to you in any way.”
“You are very thorough.” Li Yunru comments, but she’s smiling. It sounds more impressed than anything else.
Qiao Ling, more than anything else, is impressed at Li Yunru's ability to roll with the evolution of this conversation. She's impressed by her ability to simply accept what's said to her and to gloss over the things she's clearly not meant to acknowledge. Maybe it comes from being famous, Qiao Ling thinks absently, learning when to speak and when to let things go, learning to deal with uncomfortable situations or behind-the-scenes dealings.
The warmth in Li Yunru's comment softens the edges of Lu Guang’s frown. “I don’t like to take chances.”
It’s an understatement, Qiao Ling knows, and the weight of it hits her square in the chest. Even Cheng Xiaoshi seems to feel it, and he jostles Lu Guang a little in an affectionate gesture, settling Lu Guang a little more firmly under his arm and pressed up against his side as he does so.
“I have a brother who is older than me and moved abroad when I was still in my teens.” Li Yunru explains, “he has since gotten married and had two children, one of whom is a young man about your age and even with your same coloring.” She gestures to Lu Guang as she speaks. “My friend has seen pictures over the years but she’s never met him personally, so I think it would be easy enough to say that you were him. Plus, if you were my nephew visiting from abroad, she would be even more insistent that you come to the wedding. So I really think it would work.”
Lu Guang considers this for a moment. “Do you have a picture of your nephew?”
Li Yunru reaches for her phone in her purse without any hesitation, It takes her several moments of scrolling before she finds what she’s looking for and then she flips her phone around for all of them to see. In the photo, there is a young man who does appear to be about twenty-one or twenty-two, the same pale hair and eyes as Lu Guang. He’s smiling broadly and his shoulders are a little more narrow, but it’s a pretty good match. His hair is longer than Lu Guang tends to keep his, but that could easily be explained away. Especially if all Meng Xiu has ever seen is photos.
“He really does look a lot like you.” Qiao Ling says, glancing between the phone screen and Lu Guang. “Enough that I think the story could work.”
“Yeah,” Cheng Xiaoshi agrees. “His eyes are a little lighter than yours, but I mean, that’s not a deal breaker.”
Qiao Ling looks back at the photo. She stares intently at it for a moment before turning to look at Lu Guang again. She focuses on the eyes, but no matter how many times she glances between the two, it's hard for her to see a clear difference. But Cheng Xiaoshi had noted it immediately and without hesitation. It's nothing monumental, but it makes Qiao Ling's confusion at her own inability to recognize what had been in front of her grow a little deeper.
"Will I have to go by your nephew's name?" Lu Guang asks.
Li Yunru shrugs. "If you want to. Or I can tell them that you've decided to go by a different name. I could probably say it's some American thing." That earns a laugh from Cheng Xiaoshi and even a crack of a smile from Lu Guang. Li Yunru seems pleased by this reaction as she takes her phone back and places it back inside her purse. "I understand that I'm asking a lot, and that this is a much bigger commitment than you're used to. I would absolutely understand if I am asking too much, but I would also greatly appreciate your help if you feel comfortable giving it."
"I'm in." Cheng Xiaoshi replies without any sort of hesitation. "Are you kidding? It sounds great!"
Li Yunru looks to Lu Guang and she seems to understand what Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi already understand: the final decision is his. He's the one in charge of keeping things on track, the one who has to reign Cheng Xiaoshi and his reckless streak in. He's the one who always has the most reservations and hesitations. And in this specific case, he's also the one who has a role to play, a story to upkeep. It really is more than Qiao Ling has ever asked of them before.
But still, she can see it clearly in Lu Guang's face: he wants to accept this case, too. She suspects that he views it in a way similar to her— that this is an easy case to start them back into things. Li Yunru seems genuinely down to Earth, kind, and very understanding and accommodating. Cheng Xiaoshi has already expressed his desire to participate, which truthfully had never been in question anyways. Everything was lined up for it to be a perfect case back if it weren't for the whole partners thing.
"I think it's very likely that we will accept." Lu Guang answers honestly but fairly. "But if you wouldn't mind giving us until tonight to decide formally, I would appreciate it. There's a few things that I'd like to talk through with Cheng Xiaoshi first."
"Of course," Li Yunru smiles gratefully at him. "That's not a problem at all. Qiao Ling has my number, so if any questions come up, or there's anything that you need to clarify, please feel free to reach out to me at any time. If you choose to accept this job, I will reach out to Meng Xiu and let her know that I will be bringing my nephew to the wedding and we can formalize the rest of the details from there."
Lu Guang offers her a grateful smile of his own, "Thank you for your understanding. We will absolutely be able to let you know by the end of the day."
With that, Qiao Ling instructs the boys to call her once they've made their decision so she can pass the message along. They agree easily and readily and then Qiao Ling shares another glance with Lu Guang. This time there's a lot more uncertainty in his eyes, like he's dreading the conversation he has to have with Cheng Xiaoshi. She tries to put as much encouragement into her own gaze as she can before she bids them farewell and heads out the door with Li Yunru.
The door has barely closed behind Qiao Ling and Li Yunru when Lu Guang is turning to look at Cheng Xiaoshi.
There’s about fifteen different emotions swirling around inside of him and he doesn’t know which one to pay attention to first or how to even feel and acknowledge all of them. Most of them are some version of fear or trepidation, but there's also a thrum of something a little warmer there, too, humming quietly underneath it all, steady and unwavering. There must be something written on his face because Cheng Xiaoshi is looking at him with his eyebrows drawn together and his head tilted, the question he’s not speaking aloud plastered all over his expression. Cheng Xiaoshi had known that they were going to be having a conversation, but there's still something in the way he's looking at Lu Guang that makes Lu Guang feel like he needs to do a better job controlling his expression.
“What?” He asks when Lu Guang doesn’t immediately jump into any explanation.
And Lu Guang isn’t really sure how to broach the subject. He’s not sure how to tell Cheng Xiaoshi that he seems to have missed the point entirely, but Lu Guang’s even less sure how to tell Cheng Xiaoshi that he didn’t miss the point and he still basically agreed to the whole thing anyway. What explanation is he supposed to give for willingly and knowingly entering into this? He swallows. He hadn't wanted Qiao Ling to say anything in front of Li Yunru for several reasons. He hadn't wanted to embarrass Li Yunru, first and foremost, but he also couldn't be entirely sure of Cheng Xiaoshi's reaction. And he couldn't be certain of his own reaction to Cheng Xiaoshi's— he thinks that it would hurt if Cheng Xiaoshi rebuffed the idea of them being partners in that way and he wasn't certain that he'd be able to keep that off his face if it happened so publicly.
It was a conversation that he didn't particularly want to have, but one that he wanted to have in private if he was going to be forced to have it at all.
He thinks that being straight forward is probably the best way to go about it, but there’s still a delicacy to presenting the implications that he tries to maintain. He scrambles for a minute to try and figure out what way to word it and instead he just ends up hedging around the bush. “Do you understand what we just agreed to?”
“Yeah?” Cheng Xiaoshi looks more confused. He scrutinizes Lu Guang's expression for some sort of clue. “We’re going to a wedding and we’re doing an easy dive to help give a sentimental gift.”
“We’re going to a wedding as partners.” Lu Guang says, trying to put enough emphasis on the word that it clicks in Cheng Xiaoshi’s head.
It doesn’t. “…Yeah.”
Lu Guang scrubs a hand over his face for a moment, wishing for more strength than he has as he finally says, “Romantic partners.”
Cheng Xiaoshi opens his mouth like he’s ready to agree easily again, like Lu Guang is continuing to point out obvious things that he already knows. His mouth looks like it’s starting to form the words of another absent agreement before Lu Guang’s statement catches up to him. Lu Guang swears he can see the moment Cheng Xiaoshi’s train of thought derails completely and he forgets about literally everything else. His hand hangs in the air between them, halfway raised as his eyes stare at Lu Guang like he’s trying to see the meaning written in his own eyes.
After several long seconds, Lu Guang also watches the moment Cheng Xiaoshi’s brain kicks back on, the rapid replaying of the conversation that had no doubt just been happening in his head coming to a close as he realized the implications that had been there the entire time.
Lu Guang braces for something— anything negative— but he doesn’t have to. Cheng Xiaoshi doesn’t yell, he’s not mad, and he doesn't rebuff the idea. He doesn't look disgusted or displeased, he doesn't look like he's crawling out of his skin at just the thought of it. He just shrugs and says, “Okay, we can do that.”
And now it’s Lu Guang’s brain that goes temporarily offline. He hadn’t been sure what kind of reaction to expect, but it hadn’t been for Cheng Xiaoshi to know the full extent of the deal and then agree to it so casually. If he were being completely honest, he wouldn't have expected Cheng Xiaoshi to go all the way to disgust— they were too close with their lives too intertwined for him to feel that negatively about it. But there had still been an irrational fear inside of Lu Guang that had been braced for a reaction that strongly negative. And now that he hasn't gotten it, he isn't really sure where to go from here.
“Cheng Xiaoshi.” Lu Guang says, trying to drive the depth of his point home. “We will have to act like romantic partners,”
“No shit.” Cheng Xiaoshi says easily, back to looking at Lu Guang like he's stating the most obvious things in the world. And he is, or at least he feels like he is, but the weight of it doesn't seem to be hitting Cheng Xiaoshi the way he needs it to.
“That means doing romantic things, like— like—” Lu Guang gestures vaguely with one of his hands, not sure how to articulate what he’s trying to say. Or, more realistically, just not able to get the words out.
How is he supposed to voice the fact that if they do this, they’ll have to act out all the fantasies he’s tried to keep locked away in the back of his mind and the shadows of his heart? The things that only ever to show up in his dreams because he’s not awake to guard their cage as closely as he usually does? How is he supposed to articulate the things that have his heart thundering in his chest just thinking about them? If he can’t even say them, there’s no world in which he’ll be able to actually act on them.
Because Lu Guang had accepted his feelings for Cheng Xiaoshi a long time ago— it had been easy for him, really. He couldn't imagine not feeling this way for Cheng Xiaoshi when he spent nearly every waking second with him. But in the same way that he had accepted his feelings, he had also accepted that he would never act on them, never breathe life to them, never let them see the light of day. Too much was at stake for him to risk it for his own heart, so he had vowed that those feelings were something he would take to his grave. And now he was being asked to act on them, to live them out in a temporary capacity. He was signing up to give Cheng Xiaoshi an unfettered view into the depths of his heart and then to have it taken away after one night.
This was perhaps his worst idea ever.
“Like hold hands?” Cheng Xiaoshi replies, extending his hand into the space between them. Automatically, Lu Guang reaches out to place his own hand on top, muscle memory and instinct combined. “We do that all the time.”
“Not like this,” Lu Guang says, staring at his own hand where it rests on top of Cheng Xiaoshi’s. “It’ll have to be… more.”
“Okay,” Cheng Xiaoshi says as he steps closer to Lu Guang, shifting so he’s standing next to Lu Guang more than he’s standing in front of him. His hand shifts under Lu Guang’s and then suddenly Cheng Xiaoshi is slotting their fingers together and curling his protectively around Lu Guang’s. “We can do more.”
Lu Guang has nearly lost the ability to speak. He’s nearly lost the ability to breathe, really, and his capacity for thought is rapidly diminishing as well. All he can feel is the inferno that starts between their palms and sinks all the way down to his core, turning him into a phoenix that will continue to burn only to rise from the ashes so that he may die the same death over and over again. Because he will— he already has, always returning to Cheng Xiaoshi's side despite everything. His throat is dry as he swallows and tries to think about what he’s supposed to say next in this conversation, tries to remember what the hell his point even was to start out with.
He forces his eyes off of their connected hands and turns to look at Cheng Xiaoshi. Truthfully, it’s not any better for him, the sight of Cheng Xiaoshi’s soft smile nearly enough to double him over right there on the spot. He has a lot of practice in the face of Cheng Xiaoshi and his smile, he’s used to basking in the warmth of Cheng Xiaoshi’s kind soul. It’s something that he’s never immune to, but is usually better at coping with.
At this exact moment, he’s not coping at all.
“You’re sure?” He manages to choke out after several long seconds of them staring at each other.
He recognizes the bemused edge to Cheng Xiaoshi’s smile but he doesn’t acknowledge it. “What, is dating me really that bad? You think you can’t even pretend to do it?”
Lu Guang wants to tell him that he knows that he can’t do it, that his fragile heart will not survive standing in a room full of people and claiming Cheng Xiaoshi as his only to know that the words are hollow of truth but packed full of desperate longing. He wants to tell him that he’s barely surviving just the mere thought of it and he’s not stupid enough to think that it’s going to get any easier. But he can’t say that, so he doesn’t.
“I know you,” He says instead, his voice steadier than any other part of him feels. “Of course I know dating you would be that bad.”
“Hey!” Cheng Xiaoshi laughs and tugs on their conjoined hands, making Lu Guang stumble a step closer to him. “I’ll have you know that I would be an excellent boyfriend.”
“Sure,” Lu Guang answers, the sarcasm hiding the tremor in his voice as he tries to appear unaffected. For the fact that he had really thought he’d mastered that by now, he feels like he’s falling short. “Who wouldn’t want to date someone who doesn’t change the toilet paper roll and spends their time playing stupid jokes?”
Cheng Xiaoshi looks somewhere between amused and offended, “Who wouldn’t want to date someone who cooks them breakfast? Who is a great listener?”
“Who thrashes so much in their sleep that they shake the whole bed?” Lu Guang supplies, trying to settle his nerves. He has a sneaking feeling that he's going to spend the next week and a half with his nerves in this constant state of near-fried.
There’s a moment where Cheng Xiaoshi looks like he wants to throw a rebuttal to that but knows that he can’t. Instead, he frowns and says, “Well who says you’re going to be a better boyfriend?”
Lu Guang stares at him for a long second, wondering when this became his life and how they managed to even get here in the first place. He knew that he had officially moved past his comfort zone and he was now navigating every situation without a playbook, but he had never expected that this could’ve been in his future, no matter how off the rails his life had gotten.
“I would definitely be better than you.” He manages to say after a moment.
“You’re boring,” Cheng Xiaoshi complains, but they’re still holding hands between them, fingers curled around each other and keeping them connected. “You just sit and read all the time.”
“So I’m smart.” Lu Guang replies.
"And you nag all the time!" Cheng Xiaoshi cries, throwing the hand that isn't holding Lu Guang's up into the air.
The argument trails down a familiar path from there as they bicker over the same points that everything always comes back to. But it’s familiar to Lu Guang, comforting in a way that it lets him get used to the feeling of Cheng Xiaoshi’s hand in his, lets his bask in the warmth of Cheng Xiaoshi’s confidence and smile a little more openly. It doesn’t completely settle his nerves and nothing can stop the alarm in the back of his head from blaring and reminding him that this is a terrible idea over and over again. But he’s ignored that alarm enough times now that it’s more background noise than anything else.
Cheng Xiaoshi calls Qiao Ling later that day to confirm their agreement to complete the request. Qiao Ling asks him once if he truly understood what it was he was agreeing to and when he insisted that he did, that he and Lu Guang had talked about It, all she does is sigh on the other end of the line.
“You guys are stupider than I give you credit for.” Is all she says before assuring him that she will pass their acceptance along and get back to them with more details as she learns them.
Cheng Xiaoshi hangs up the phone with an unsettled feeling in the depths of his gut. It’s not a bad feeling exactly, but it’s hard for him to overlook. It seems to tremble inside of him, rattling his skeleton and making his bones bump like wind chimes. When he examines it more closely, he realizes that it’s a sort of anticipation, like his entire being is holding its breath and waiting for something. It’s not hard for him to guess what it is that he’s preparing for, but he tries not to look at it too closely.
A part of him had wondered why Lu Guang hadn’t fought him on accepting this case— a bigger part of him didn’t want to push and have it taken away from him. He was sure that there was a perfectly logical reason for it, that Lu Guang would be able to explain it away in an instant if he asked. But truthfully, Cheng Xiaoshi didn't really care, because he just wanted to do the case. It was stupid, reckless, going to blow up in his face. It was idiotic in a way that exceeded his own natural level of recklessness, but he didn’t care. Because it very well may be the only chance he ever gets to do something like this, the only time he’s granted even a small amount of access to the sides of Lu Guang that he’s been craving since they first met.
Cheng Xiaoshi knows unfailingly that he is the closest person to Lu Guang’s heart, that Lu Guang trusts him above all else. He also knows that there are things that Lu Guang isn’t ready to talk about yet, walls he keeps up for the protection of one— or both, he suspects— of them. Cheng Xiaoshi is perfectly content to be patient and to wait until Lu Guang decides that the time is right to break those walls down and let him in because he does truly believe that those moments will come.
But that doesn’t mean a part of him doesn’t yearn to break through the walls himself, to walk into the core of who Lu Guang is and refuse to leave, sitting himself down and just overflowing with love. That’s what he’d like to do if he could. He’d find the softest, weakest parts of Lu Guang, the parts that Lu Guang hides and guards the fiercest. He’d find them and he’d wrap them up in a warm embrace and he’d never put them down. He’d nurture them, patching up the wounds and smoothing out the jagged edges. He would do it all happily with no concern to how long it would take, making that his entire life purpose.
And he knows it doesn’t work like that, he knows that he can’t just barge on in but has to be invited instead. But there’s a part of him that’s hoping that this— the request, sure, but mostly the fake relationship they’ll have to forge— will allow a few cracks to form in one of those walls, to allow Cheng Xiaoshi a glimpse of what it is that he wants to see the most.
He’s not worried about the fake dating part— partially because as each other’s closest person, they have the kind of deep bond that will be easily convincing. They won’t have to make up lies on the spot or pretend to know things about each other that they don’t really know. Their interactions can be completely genuine and entirely convincing at the same time. He’s also terribly worried about the fake dating part because there’s a part of him that already aches to drop the “fake” part out of the title and if he’s feeling that way before it even starts, it doesn’t bode well for how it’s going to end.
He settles on the couch next to Lu Guang after he calls Qiao Ling and he thinks about it. The implication that Li Yunru had meant romantic partners had completely flown over his head not because he had missed the context but because, to him, there had always been a romantic baseline and undertone to their partnership. It was something he kept to himself, something he didn't think people from the outside could see, but something that was just there all the time. It wasn't so much that he hadn't realized that she had meant romantic partners when she had said it as it was that he had forgotten he was supposed to feel something about that— shock, upset? He wasn't sure, but he was fairly sure now that Lu Guang had been expecting him to take the implication with something other than the casual acceptance he had given it.
But he couldn't even muster up the energy to pretend to be upset or surprised by it. The one thing he wanted most was being dangled right in front of him and he was reaching for it, willingly taking a bite from the forbidden fruit even when he knew that it would lock him out of the Garden of Eden for eternity. After everything they'd been through, after he'd thought he lost Lu Guang completely, he was itching to hold on tighter than ever. This would come back to bite him in the ass, he was sure of that, but he couldn't bring himself to care right now. Right now, all he wanted was Lu Guang to be as close as he could possibly be, even if that meant tangling his heart up in something that was only going to get messy.
But it’ll just be one night, he tells himself. One night of pretending that Lu Guang is his in a way he’s always dreamed of but never thought he’d get. One night of toeing the line that separated what he's always wanted and what he currently has. One night of pushing the limits just a little bit, just enough to give him the taste of that forbidden fruit, but no more than that. He may be known for being reckless, but even he could keep it together for one night. For the greater good of Li Yunru and Meng Xiu.
He could keep it together for one night, he tells himself as he tries not to think about the feeling of Lu Guang’s hand in his earlier.