Chapter Text
The bell finally rang that afternoon, indicating the end of a gruelling class in chemistry and the students were too eager to leave. In a swift moment, everyone was gone.
Zhuo Yichen, however, took his time to pack his things while Ying Lei was towering over him, agitated.
"I'm so doomed. Physics exam is in 3 days. I still haven't copied your notes, Xiao Zhuo." Ying Lei pouted, looking at him pleading with his eyes and reaching for his hand.
"No." He muttered under his breath, not daring to look at Ying Lei's dejected eyes. Pei Siheng watched them on the side, digging his gaze on Ying Lei.
"Aiyah~ Xiao Zhuo! Please I won't be stubborn next time, just let me borrow your notes," Ying Lei pleaded. Pei Siheng scoffed.
"I told you to copy them before this week but all you did was play your cooking game." Pei Siheng answered for Zhuo Yichen.
Ying Lei shot his gaze on Pei Siheng and rolled his eyes dramatically.
"It was serious! I had a quota to meet." Ying Lei reasoned, making the latter grimace.
Zhuo Yichen sighed and threw his physics notes which he had completed earlier today to Ying Lei who caught them willingly and smiled.
"You're absolutely the bestest friend—"
"Return them before the day ends." He didn't let him finish. Ying Lei nodded immediately.
"Noted! See you later, Xiao Zhuo!" He immediately left the room.
"You're not going?" Pei Siheng asked, Yichen stood up and carried his bag with him.
"I am, let's go." He replied, Pei Siheng offered to let him walk first as they both exit the room yet before they do he saw the figure of the man standing on the wall, across the room, seemingly waiting. The man immediately saw him and his face lit up, his hands waving towards Zhuo Yichen.
Zhao Yuanzhou.
"Your brother is here. I'll go first." Pei Siheng told him, he nodded as they approached the exit, Pei Siheng nodded at the man, considering he is a senior and walked off in a different direction.
"What are you doing here?" Zhuo Yichen asked, his voice too casual.
"To fetch you?" Zhao Yuanzhou returned his question while taking his bag off his shoulder and carrying it for him. He didn't protest, more like he couldn't, now that the man was already walking towards the exit.
"Let's go. I'm starving." Zhao Yuanzhou led him to the campus exit, carefully opening the glass door for him.
They walked to the cafeteria with a comfortable silence that Zhuo Yichen was used to, he loves it when people don't talk when it's not needed. They reached the cafeteria and Zhao Yuanzhou found them a seat next to the large glass window, overlooking the school grounds.
"Wait here. I'll order something for us." He said and was quickly gone to Zhuo Yichen's sight.
His gaze fell to the view in front of him. It was already autumn, the leaves from the autumn trees were slowly tumbling the field and his memories came rushing like a flood from that day.
...how long has it been since then?
Five? Six? Seven years?
Yichen doesn't exactly know how long.
Since he silently fell for this man.
He hadn't realized that it has been years since the first autumn season that changed his life, with this person.
Yichen met him when he was 10, he was crying in an empty alley after losing sight of his brother and this man came like a knight in shining armor, saving him and taking him to his brother's location, since then, he had been wanting to be his friend...and it has been ages since then.
Their first meeting, the accident, and Zhao Yuanzhou, all of it was long ago. Yet, it was like yesterday 's experience for Zhuo Yichen.
"Xiao Zhuo, what are you looking at?" He heard a familiar voice that made him stop reminiscing, fixating his gaze on the man in front of him with a tray on both hands. He carefully lent a hand and placed the tray to the table then they both settled down.
"Why were you so dazed?" Zhao Yuanzhou asked again as soon as they sat on opposite sides. He looked over the dish he ordered for him, he warmed up upon knowing that he ordered his favorite dish, though he never failed to order his likes. He started digging in on his food while casually replying,
"Why do you care?" Yuanzhou scoffed at him, shaking his head from that obnoxious answer.
"Rude as ever." Yuanzhou said as he also started eating his food. They ate in a comfortable silence. Yichen not knowing what to talk to but he's usually quiet and Yuanzhou understood that too well, he's always the one starting the conversation, and by means conversation...
"Xiao Zhuo," Yuanzhou called him in the middle of eating his food.
"Mn." Yichen could only hum because his mouth was full.
"Xiao Zhuo," he called him again. This time Yichen knew he was being teased so he didn't respond and just continuously ate his food.
"Baobao," Yuanzhou called...again. Yichen's heart hammered inside him, he almost choked on his food. He immediately raised his head to glare at the man in front of him who appeared to enjoy every tiny bit of reaction written on his face at that moment.
"What the hell?" He blurted out as he forcefully swallowed his food, afraid he might choke because there was a sudden lump forming on his throat.
"What's wrong, baobao? You don't like it?" Zhao Yuanzhou continued to tease with his voice changing into a suggestive tone. Yichen's blood slowly rises to his cheekbones but more so on his head.
What's wrong with this guy?!
"Stop calling me that." He glared at him to hide the faint redness in his ears then. Yuanzhou stared at him for so long that Yichen didn't know whether to hide under his sleeves or punch the hell out of his face. Suddenly, Zhao Yuanzhou laughed.
"Fine, don't be mad" he said, his smile unwavering, the younger fuming in his place, getting mad from being teased too much.
They returned to their food quietly, but then after a while,
"Xiao Zhuo, " Zhou Yichen was too fed up with this man's cunning moves, he raised his fork close to the man and shot daggers, Zhao Yuanzhou panically laughed while saying,
"Ah ah! Don't hurt your gege like that." Zhao Yuanzhou said, carefully holding Yichen's hand with the fork and lowering them.
Gege.
He started talking again once he knew that Yichen had calmed down from his teasing, "Do you have time tonight?" He carefully asked.
"No. I have to study." Yichen quickly retorted. Yuanzhou laughed at this.
"I haven't said anything about what we're going to do yet you're already turning me down" he said, Yichen peered at him and sighed.
"Say." Yichen replied, impatient.
"Let's go to a karaoke party with my friends." Zhao Yuanzhou said with a tad of appeal in his voice which was quickly, again, turned down by Yichen.
"No."
"Why?" He asked, perplexed.
"I have Physics Exams in 3 days" Yichen simply replied to the question, uninterested. Though he knows how persistent Zhao Yuanzhou is, he wouldn't stop. He saw how Yuanzhou's expression turned somber, he pouted.
"You have plenty of time to study for that. I'm only asking for your time tonight," his voice was quiet and sorrowful though Yichen wouldn’t buy it.
"No."
"Please—"
"No"
"I'll help you." He offered.
Yichen shook his head. "I doubt that."
"You won't go home late." He offered again.
"No"
"A—"
"No."
"A-Chen, please"
Yichen still. At that moment, Yuanzhou knew that he had won. He always had the upper hand once he called the young boy, A-Chen. It's always soft, gentle and his heart would always pound every time he hears him say his name like that.
He already knew the end of the argument.
He sighed, setting down his utensil, gaping back at Yuanzhou's hopeful eyes. "I will go back early." He resigned. He saw his face lit up with ecstasy as he nodded.
"Yes, that will do." Yuanzhou answered, euphoric at his sight.
"Okay."
"Thank you bao—" Yichen glared at him again. Yuanzhou laughed.
"A-Che-" Yichen held the fork once again, Yuanzhou immediately bit back his second teasing and chuckles, holding his hand.
"Xiao Zhuo. Thank you, Xiao Zhuo."