Chapter Text
There was a new member of the student council.
Usually this wasn’t a particularly noteworthy event—students campaigned yearly to fill the vacancies left by graduating seniors. But this particular student had been appointed in the middle of the year without a single vote. No one had even heard of him.
Well, almost no one.
“He’s a freshman by hours but he’s a year older than the seniors,” He Xuan was saying around a mouthful of fries. “He was enrolled here five years ago. Dropped out at the start of his second semester to hike the Camino or some shit and then I think he joined some weird cult. Now I guess he’s back.”
Ling Wing and Pei Ming were listening intently, almost identical expressions of concentration on their faces.
“That’s all very interesting but it doesn’t explain how he’s in student council,” said Ling Wen in a way that suggested that she didn’t find it very interesting at all.
“His daddy probably paid off the board,” said He Xuan with a lazy shrug, eyes never leaving his burger, his thoughts clearly elsewhere. “Fucker’s so rich he could buy the whole school if he wanted to. Probably threatened to do just that.”
Pei Ming was incensed. “The board was bribed?”
“I assume.”
“And Jun Wu just let him join stu-co? With no vote?”
He Xuan glanced up at that, only to give Pei Ming the full force of his most deadpan expression. Pei Ming slumped back into his chair tragically, shaking his head. He knew what He Xuan meant— ’ how could Jun Wu say no to the board of the university, you dumb bitch’—but he pretended as though He Xuan had said ‘ugh, totally Pei Ming, I know.’
Ling Wen’s voice was crisp. “This makes all of us look bad.”
“You already look bad,” said He Xuan. “You’re in student council.”
Ling Wen and Pei Ming watched as He Xuan took the last bites of his burger before loudly crumpling up the grease-stained wrapper that once held his food with an air of finality. He was clearly done with the conversation. Pei Ming thought this rather unfair. He and Ling Wen had paid for this information in food, surely they were entitled to more than just a few brief seconds of conversation. But, he conceded to himself woefully, it was a cheap burger.
“If you want to know more you should ask those juniors, Mu Shen and Feng whatever. They went to the same high school as him.”
“Oh.” Pei Ming perked up. “Didn’t Hua Cheng go to their school too? I can ask him tonight at the house.”
“No,” said He Xuan, “Don’t.”
Ling Wen and Pei Ming watched him leave before sharing a look. Hua Cheng was more easily accessible, but he could be a little…
“…So, the juniors?”
“The juniors,” Ling Wen agreed.
---
To be honest, Pei Ming wasn’t entirely sure what had compelled him to join the student council. He knew it had something to do with his best friends already being members and getting FOMO when they went to meetings without him. He also knew it had something to do with realizing that he was so wildly popular that he would have no problem at all securing a nomination from his peers if he decided to run. But, above all that, there was something about the dignity and nobility of the position that appealed to him greatly. He imagined applying for jobs after college and having the interviewer say ‘Wow, you were on student council?’ and then Pei Ming would laugh like it was no big deal and say, ‘Oh, it was just one of those things. My whole life I’ve been drawn to leadership. The role suited me, much in the way this role suits me at Enter Fancy Company Name Here.’
And the student council did suit him. Surprisingly well. Things had been good ever since he had joined last semester, at the start of his senior year. He mostly kept his head down during the meetings but when he contributed to the discussion he found his contributions to be meaningful. It was fulfilling to be able to enact positive change at his school. He volunteered to do much of the public-facing tasks (such as graciously accepting comically large checks at sporting events and speaking at Mothers Against Drunk Driving meetings) to fulfill his service hours and he glowed in the spotlight of public spectacle. And, of course, the networking was phenomenal. During the day Pei Ming watched his LinkedIn grow steadily more impressive, but more importantly, at night numbers started saving themselves into his phone left and right. In the words of his fraternity brother, stu-co bros score mad puss.
It kind of made sense. Stu-co was a position of power, and power was hot. Also it set him apart and made him seem dependable and mature and smart, which he was. Perhaps most importantly, chicks loved telling their friends that they had a fling with a guy the on student council because the student council was famous in the way that niche microcelebrities were—like not actually famous but known widely enough to cause the whole table at brunch to gasp and say ’no you did not, how? when?’
The point was, he was proud to be on the council. It meant something to him. He felt protective of the home he had found there. Which was why it was so infuriating to see a spoiled rich little yacht-club twat waltz in with a wave of a credit card.
But the situation could still be rectified. Members could be removed by petition and a vote by the board of the school. Pei Ming was sure that if they presented the right evidence this could all be solved through good old-fashioned democracy. But first they had to put together a solid case.
Unfortunately, evidence had proved hard to get. The guy had no social media to speak of. Googling his name had returned some local news reports about various achievements (some academic but mostly stuff about martial arts contests) but all at least five years old and useless. With no other search parameters, they had trouble finding anything that could be used against him. So far He Xuan had been their best lead, to no one's surprise. The guy was a treasure trove of other people’s business. If he thought the juniors were worth asking then they probably had all the information Pei Ming could ask for.
On the bus heading home after his conversation with He Xuan and Ling Wen, Pei Ming checked his phone to find unread messages in the stu-co group chat. He tapped the notification.
[Shi Qingxuan, 11:04AM] HEY GUYS 👋 happy tuesday!! 💕🔥😜💃🏻 i’m picking up pizzas for the meeting tonight, text me if ur vegetarian or gf or whatever so i can get something special if i need to!!!!!!!!!!!🍕✨🍕💕🍕✨🍕
[Shi Qingxuan, 11:04AM] gf=gluten free not girlfriend lol!
[Jun Wu, 11:04AM] Thank you, Shi Qingxuan.
[Feng Xin, 11:15AM] thx 🙏 meeting finna be lit
[He Xuan, 11:32AM] pepperoni
[Shi Qingxuan, 11:35AM] i’ll for sure get pepperoni!!!! 🥰
[Jun Wu removed He Xuan from the chat]
[Jun Wu, 11:33AM] Reminder that only formally recognized members of the current Student Council should be added to this chat. Thank you.
Pei Ming and Ling Win had agreed to reach out to one junior each. Ling Wen had Advanced Business Writing with Feng Xin later that day, so Mu Qing had been left to him.
Pei Ming opened a new DM and entered Mu Qing’s name in the recipient box. The chat was empty. He paused. Then he typed.
[Pei Ming, 11:45AM] Hey man, is Shi Qingxuan getting vegetarian options for tonight? 👑🔥🌱🍄💯👊🏼
Pei Ming read over the text, added a few more plant-based emojis, then hit send. He stretched out his legs while he waited for a reply. The woman sitting across from him on the university bus looked seriously at his trendy shoes then shuffled her feet further under her seat to make room for him. Pei Ming smiled at her kindly, grateful to her for being accommodating even as she was clearly having a bit of a rough day. He briefly considered asking her how she was, knowing that serendipitous kindness from a handsome stranger could make anyone’s day nicer, but he decided against it as she seemed to be now focused on furiously typing someone on her phone. Pei Ming looked back to his phone, mindlessly checking his email and replying to texts while he waited for Mu Qing to check his phone.
[Mu Qing, 11:47AM] idk why don’t you ask him
[Pei Ming, 11:47AM] No no, not for me, doofus, for you! You’re a vegetarian, right?
Little dots indicated that Mu Qing was typing. The dots went away then came back a moment later. Mu Qing was typing. And typing. And typing. Wow, this was a long message. Pei Ming watched the dots dance with growing concern. Eventually the dots stopped and disappeared entirely. A few seconds later, Mu Qing’s message came through.
[Mu Qing, 11:48AM] ???
Pei Ming blinked. No way was that the first draft of that message. He briefly considered asking Mu Qing what the original message had been, but he decided all the typing had probably been unrelated or maybe a glitch in the app. He moved on.
[Pei Ming, 11:49AM] She asked people to send dietary restrictions, if you haven’t checked the GM 🔥👍😎
[Mu Qing, 11:49AM] I have
[Mu Qing, 11:49AM] what I don’t understand is why you’re asking me about it
[Mu Qing, 11:49AM] who told you I was vegetarian
Pei Ming stared down at the message, feeling that the conversation had slipped away from him somehow. It wasn’t weird that he happened to know that Mu Qing was vegetarian. Stu-co often had meals catered to their events and Mu Qing was always turning down meat and quietly asking if there were other options. It was an absolutely reasonable thing to have picked up on.
[Pei Ming, 11:49AM] NBD, just hate to see a fellow King go hungry 🤴🤝🤴
[Pei Ming, 11:49AM] And SQX probably will be devastated if she forgot and you didn’t get a pizza. Gotta look out for my best bro’s little sibling, you know how it is.
[Pei Ming, 11:50AM] What can I say, I’m a bit of what they refer to as a defender type haha. “Protector of the home” and all that.
[Pei Ming, 11:50AM] It’s just in my biology. Hunt, defend, conquer, be it the fighting of the mammoth or the ordering of pizza haha.
[Pei Ming, 11:53AM] Anyways what’s up?
[Pei Ming, 11:54AM] You excited for tonight’s meeting? I think we’re going to talk about the water fountains in Hubbard Hall 😤👊🏼🔥
[Mu Qing, 11:55AM] jesus christ
[Pei Ming, 11:55AM] Haha what?
[Mu Qing, 11:55AM] has anyone ever called you annoying
[Pei Ming, 11:55AM] No? Haha
[Mu Qing, 11:55AM] an oversight to be sure
[Pei Ming, 11:56AM] Haha wait what have I said that’s annoying?
[Mu Qing, 11:57AM] just
[Mu Qing, 11:57AM] what do you want
[Pei Ming, 11:57AM] My sources say you know the new guy.
[Mu Qing, 11:58AM] sources
[Mu Qing, 11:58AM] you don’t have sources you have people who talk shit about things that aren’t any of their business
[Mu Qing, 11:58AM] you’re not an independent news journalist, you just like to pry
[Mu Qing, 11:59AM] and if you were an independent news journalist your articles would suck because i don’t
[Mu Qing, 11:59AM] *know the new guy
[Pei Ming, 11:59AM] Oh? You didn’t go to high school together?
Mu Qing didn’t respond. Pei Ming frowned at his phone. Maybe He Xuan was wrong? He had never known He Xuan to be wrong about anything but…
There were still a few minutes left in his bus ride home so Pei Ming Googled ‘Mu Qing Xianle High School.’ Sure enough, the second result was an old article about some fancy private school in Xianle. Mu Qing had given a quote in the article but even before seeing that clear confirmation Pei Ming knew in his heart that it was the right school. Of course Mu Qing had gone to a private high school. He had that sort of aloof disdain that could only be honed in the halls of a school that charged you a billion dollars to attend.
Pei Ming skimmed the article, noted the year, then searched for a directory for the student government that year. Sure enough, he found a directory that listed Mu Qing and Feng Xin as members of the Xianle High student government the same year that one Xie Lian was appointed as student body president.
He sent Mu Qing a screenshot in the thrill of the discovery, then he put his phone away. Catch him in a lie then walk away. Yes. Give him time to reflect. It was a little mean but that was what he got for calling him annoying, haha. What a cheap dig. And it wasn’t even true.
Pei Ming lived at the house owned by the fraternity that he had joined his freshman year. As far as frat houses went, it was actually pretty comfortable. The house was massive and two stories tall. The second floor was reserved for members’ rooms, with each room housing anywhere from one to five dudes. Because of this, the whole second floor was a patchwork masterpiece of used furniture, strange or ambiguous artifacts, old cans of Natty Lite, flags for countries and sports teams pinned on walls, and empty liquor bottles used as decor. The first floor was mostly open-concept, featuring a breathable kitchen complete with a deep freeze filled almost entirely with frozen pizza and ice cream and a fridge dedicated almost entirely to beer. All the essentials. The first floor was decorated much like the second, except it also had the Greek letters Sigma Epsilon Chi painted artlessly in dripping black paint across the entire left wall.
Pei Ming shared a room with Shi Wudu, who had been his best friend since they met freshman year during rush. He was on his way to their shared room to get some work done before his next class when he had an idea.
Pei Ming stopped by Hua Cheng’s room instead of continuing on to his own.
Same as Shi Wudu, he and Hua Cheng had met during rush. They got along okay but had never really been friends, mostly due to the fact that Hua Cheng seemed to exist in his own world, always just a little further away than he appeared (but also partly because Hua Cheng treated him with the same cold hostility that he treated everyone else. But Pei Ming knew that, deep down, Hua Cheng thought he was alright).
The door to Hua Cheng’s room was carelessly ajar, music floating out into the hallway. Pei Ming invited himself inside. He found Hua Cheng sitting on the floor by his bed in a small sea of notes and civil engineering textbooks. To think someone could be drowning in material after only a week of classes made Pei Ming feel a warm sort of fondness for his own major. Oh, beautiful Political Science. You mathless heaven. You primarily-essay-based island of relevant knowledge. How I adore you. Let me count the ways.
This moment of warmth lasted about the length of time that it took Pei Ming to remember that he had to read twelve chapters of Modern Political Theory before nine AM, at which point his emotions regarding higher education returned once again to their base state of cold despondency.
Hua Cheng glanced up when Pei Ming entered. He looked at Pei Ming then at his open door and then back to Pei Ming, raising an eyebrow. “Yes?”
He Xuan had said not to talk to Hua Cheng about this but Mu Qing had been a dead-end and the stu-co meeting was tonight. Pei Ming sent out a silent apology to He Xuan then smiled warmly. “Hey, man. How are you doing?”
Hua Cheng glanced again at the door then back to Pei Ming. Except for the pencil twirling mindlessly between his fingers, he was still as stone.
Ah, what a strange guy! Undeterred, Pei Ming continued. “Great, great. Hey, while I’m here, I heard you might know something about the new member of student council. Do you have a second?”
When Pei Ming said ‘student council’ Hua Cheng’s expression glazed over. He turned his attention back to his notes.
Pei Ming said, “He joined under odd circumstances, so we’re all curious about him.”
Hua Cheng reached over to turn the music up from his phone. He jotted down a note on the page in front of him.
Pei Ming politely waited. He considered pointing out that this behavior was rather rude but he figured that was the intended effect so he settled back against the wall near the door, content to wait out Hua Cheng’s little bad-attitude flare-up.
When it became clear Pei Ming would not be scared off, Hua Cheng glanced back up, a superficial smile on his face.
“Congratulations. Or my condolences. Whichever. Now if you don’t mind, I’m rather busy.“
“You went to Xianle High school, right?”
Hua Cheng’s plastic smile twitched with what could have been genuine amusement. “Pei Ming, you should stop spending so much time with He Xuan, that man is a—“
“Did you know the student body president your junior year? Xie Lian?”
Hua Cheng froze, his smile wiped clean away. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the airy voice of Doja Cat rapping about how she might bite until Hua Cheng slowly reached over and paused the song, casting the room into silence. Pei Ming watched his reaction with raised eyebrows, his already high curiosity piqued to almost intolerable levels.
When Hua Cheng eventually spoke, his voice was completely void of emotion save for an echo of something hollow and lost. “He dropped out. Nearly five years ago.”
Though Pei Ming didn’t understand the sudden shift in mood he rolled with the dramatics of it. He spread his hands out in front of himself theatrically, speaking slightly lower, quieter, to build the suspense. “Well, now he’s back. And in student council. But here’s the thing: he was just appointed. No election. Weird, right? We’re trying to figure out how this happened, in case we need to petition for his removal. It’s not fair that someone can just be handed a leadership role just because their family has money, you know? His family does have money, right, because that’s what—oh, are you going somewhere? Hua Cheng, wh—? Hey!”
Hua Cheng had stood up, grabbed his wallet off his desk, and walked out of the room without saying a single word. By the time Pei Ming followed him into the hall Hua Cheng was already halfway down the stairs.
Pei Ming watched him leave the house in stunned silence.
A long moment passed before he heaved a disappointed sigh. Damn. What a weird guy. Pei Ming pulled out his phone to text Ling Win that he hadn’t been able to get any information from either Mu Qing or Hua Cheng and that unless Ling Win cooked up something good they were screwed.
He had a text from Mu Qing waiting under the screenshot of his high school’s student government registry.
[Mu Qing, 12:00PM] this is terrifying what is wrong with you
[Mu Qing, 12:16PM] you’ll meet him tonight, ask him yourself if you’re so curious
---
Shi Qingxuan brought pizza. He bought almost an entire pizza for every member of the council and joyfully handed out boxes, laughing and chatting with everyone he saw. When Pei Ming walked into the meeting hall he immediately started to make his way over to him, his entire brain shifting into ‘ hell yeah pizza’ mode. A few feet away from the table, he was stopped by Ling Wen stepping out in front of him.
Pei Ming ground to a halt. He gave Ling Wen a look that said many things at once, including ‘what’ and ‘sorry I couldn’t find anything out’ and ‘can this wait, there’s pizza?’
Ling Wen’s voice was low. “He’s here.”
Pei Ming looked around the room.
Ling Wen grabbed his shoulder to keep him from spinning to look behind him and hissed, “Could you be more obvious. Next to Shi Qingxuan.”
Pei Ming cast a glance in that direction—subtly, this time—and noticed a rather sheepish looking guy standing nervous next to Shi Qingxuan that Pei Ming had never seen before. He had to be the new guy. Xie Lian. The one-percent private school daddy’s yacht-club trust fund baby infiltrator. He was… not what Pei Ming had been expecting. He looked boring. Normal. He had the soft sort of elegance that only came with being raised with money but his white t-shirt was starting to fray at the collar and the backpack leaning against his chair was faded and patched with duct tape. His dad could buy the whole university, but couldn’t he start with buying his son a new backpack?
“Huh.”
Ling Wen continued, speaking so quietly Pei Ming had to tilt his head to hear her. “Apparently he didn’t join due to any under-the-table negotiation. He was actually voted in during a completely valid voting cycle five years ago during his initial freshman year. He dropped out right before they posted results. When he re-enrolled, the school felt it right to honor his first nomination.”
“Huh,” Pei Ming said again, brighter, feeling a weight lifting off him. “Well, that’s alright then. That’s actually quite honorable of the school. I’m glad they did that.”
Ling Win’s mouth briefly quirked into a smile. “No one says ‘honorable’ anymore, Ol’ Pei.”
“My very honorable woman, perhaps they should.”
“Hm. Returning to my point, he would have made the council automatically regardless, with how much Jun Wu likes him.”
Once Pei Ming had been convinced that the new member’s presence was justified and that no petition was necessary he happily approached to accept his pizza from Qingxuan.
“Ming-ge!” Shi Qingxuan cheered when he saw Pei Ming stepping up to his pizza-tower table. “My absolute favorite best friend of my big brother that isn’t Ling Wen! How are you? Waitwaitohmygosh, you need to meet my new friend, Xie Lian. He’s joining stu-co! Isn’t that wonderful! Xie Lian, this is Pei Ming, he’s so funny and he’s super nice and he’s in a real frat like on TV! Isn’t that cool? Here, have a pizza!!”
Pei Ming accepted the pizza that was pushed his way with a laugh, expressing his gratitude for both the food and the charming greeting. Xie Lian looked a little overwhelmed with the activity, a light flush high on his cheeks. His smile was genuine but his hands were a little flighty. He was cute. That was really the only word for it. And now that Pei Ming knew he was here due to his own merit it was easy to extend to him a gracious welcome.
Pei Ming and his pizza made their way to the open seat next to Shi Wudu, greeting people on his way. Shi Wudu was already seated, which was expected, since he and Shi Qingxuan often carpooled to meetings. What he didn’t expect was for Shi Wudu’s eyes to be closed, his head on the table, and his backpack serving as a makeshift pillow. Pei Ming hesitated, not wanting to wake him, until Shi Wudu cracked open an eye and kicked out Pei Ming’s chair from under the long lecture hall table without raising his head. Pei Ming accepted his seat.
“Long day?” He asked after eating a slice of his pizza in silence. Shi Wudu grunted. Pei Ming patted his arm a few times in sympathy.
Shi Wudu was the treasurer of Sigma Epsilon Chi and had been up the majority of the night squaring away the semester’s budget as well as studying for one of his ridiculously difficult exams. Pei Ming still didn’t understand what was so difficult about the ocean that it required so much studying—like you take water and then you get a lot of it and bam, ocean—but he knew Shi Wudu loved his classes. Because of this, Pei Ming tried to keep his opinions of Shi Wudu’s major to himself, but sometimes it was hard to stay quiet when it stressed Shi Wudu out and kept him up until the small hours of the morning so often.
Pei Ming ate his pizza and watched the rest of the members of the student council arrive. When there was only a few minutes to go until the start of the meeting, Pei Ming looked around the lecture hall with a furrowed brow. Mu Qing was abnormally late. Usually he was one of the first ones to arrive. Right when he was about to get worried enough to shoot him another DM ( Hey king did your class run late? Haha, I can give you the run-down later on what you missed 🤝🤝🤝🤝 ) Mu Qing burst into the lecture hall, Feng Xin on his heels.
It looked as though they had been talking, which was to say they both looked pissed. Pei Ming could see Feng Xin’s jaw work from across the room. Mu Qing headed straight to the top section of the lecture hall, taking a seat as far removed from the rest of the members he could manage without risking being called out. Feng Xin looked a little like he was going to charge after him, but as soon as Feng Xin noticed Xie Lian his expression cleared.
Feng Xin made his way over to where Xie Lian was now sitting next to Shi Qingxuan near the front of the room. Xie Lian hastened to stand when he noticed him coming over. He seemed tense, for some reason, but Feng Xin greeted Xie Lian like an old friend, giving him a friendly punch to the shoulder and saying something that made Xie Lian laugh. Though Pei Ming was too far away to hear their conversation it was clear Feng Xin was genuinely happy to see him.
Pei Ming turned in his seat to look at where Mu Qing was sunk low in his chair. He looked royally pissed. Huh. Maybe they really weren’t friends after all. Pei Ming turned back around to face the front of the hall. He ate another slice of pizza.
At the front of the lecture hall, Jun Wu pushed himself back from the desk where he had queued the powerpoint on the overhead projector. He pointed a remote at the screen and then the screen flickered to life. Jun Wu stepped forward, his expression pleasant but expectant as his eyes slowly swept across the hall.
The hall hushed instantly. Feng Xin hurried to take the empty seat next to Xie Lian.
“Welcome to today’s student council meeting,” said Jun Wu, sounding and looking exactly like the president of a student council at a moderately prestigious university, which he was. “And I would like to extend a special welcome to our newest member, Xie Lian. I know you will all help him feel at home. And thank you to Shi Qingxuan for the pizza, which was an unexpected kindness that I knew we all appreciate. First on the docket: the water fountains in Hubbard Hall.”
---
After the meeting, Mu Qing left through the back door. Pei Ming asked Qingxuan about a leftover vegetarian pizza. She said that there weren’t any leftovers. But, she added cheerily, if Pei Ming was still hungry he could have her leftovers. Pei Ming insisted that he wasn’t hungry to which Qingxuan had wondered why he had asked about leftover pizza in the first place. Did he not like his? Pei Ming said that no, his pizza had been perfect, thank you again, he was just curious since he noticed that Mu Qing hadn’t taken one. Qingxuan looked confused. Pei Ming said that he just happened to notice that Mu Qing had left without a pizza but it wasn’t a big deal. Qingxuan repeated that if he was hungry he could have her leftovers. Pei Ming took her leftovers.
---
The next morning Pei Ming carpooled to campus with Shi Wudu. Being roommates and having a similar class schedule, Shi Wudu let Pei Ming bum rides to campus all the time. Since their drive to campus passed Ling Wen’s apartment they picked her up on the mornings that her schedule aligned with theirs. Pei Ming loved those mornings. Driving around with his best friends in a sleek, expensive car made him feel like the protagonist in an 80’s movie.
Ling Wen had barely entered the car before Shi Wudu was saying, “Ling Wen, I feel like we need to spend more time together. What are you doing this—?”
Ling Wen cut him off. “I’m not going to another date party.”
“Come on.”
“There’s no way in hell. Stop asking.”
Shi Wudu looked very much like he wanted to keep asking but then he caught Ling Wen’s expression in the rear view mirror. He mumbled something angry sounding under his breath and threw his Audi into gear, pulling away from the curb.
Pei Ming smacked Shi Wudu’s arm. “You need to start going on dates with actual women, Wudu, we talked about this.”
Shi Wudu said, “But I like Ling Wen,” at the same time Ling Wen said, “Pei Ming, you are a pig.”
Pei Ming twisted in his seat to give Ling Wen a sweet smile. “My sweet darling girl, please don’t take offense. I’m not saying you’re ugly, you know you’re a solid nine. Eight point five. I’m just saying that when it comes to dates, you don’t count.”
“How do I not count?”
“Because clearly we’re not romantically interested in you which is the whole point of a date. Without romantic interest a date is just hanging out with a bro, i.e., not a date.”
Ling Wen raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh? I clearly remember a number of times that you’ve gone on dates with girls you said you weren’t interested in.”
“Please, that’s entirely different,” Pei Ming scoffed. “I can have sex with a woman I’m not interested in dating. Interest in sex is still romantic interest, therefore still a date. You’re like our sister. It’s inherently unromantic. Impossible to be date material.”
“She isn’t our sister,” said Shi Wudu, scowling, his eyes fixed on the road. “She’s our friend. There’s absolutely no reason that we couldn’t go on a date with her.”
Pei Ming gaped at him. “No, I’m telling you, Ling Wen doesn’t count, she’s completely sexless.”
Shi Wudu growled, “You’ll be sexless if you keep talking.”
“I should sue you both for harassment,” Ling Wen said flatly.
Pei Ming ignored her. “Listen, Wudu, plenty of women want to date you, the only reason you keep getting stuck asking out Ling Wen all the time is because you always get busy and push it off until the last minute. You’ve got to plan ahead. This party’s been posted since last semester, don’t you check the G-Cal?”
Sigma Epsilon Chi had a date party this Saturday. Date parties were like normal parties except every member was required to bring a date. Lots of times these types of parties had themes like “togas” or “fifth and cuffs'' but thankfully Sigma Epsilon Chi was one of the more laid back houses and instead tended to stick to the theme of “get trashed then go home.” This cavalier attitude was one of the reasons Pei Ming had wanted to rush Sigma Epsilon Chi over the other houses.
Shi Wudu shot him a glare. Pei Ming, feeling sympathetic for his friend, said, “It’s fine, Shui Shi-xiong, you still have time. We can figure this out. What about that girl from Gamma Gamma Phi, the one at the cookout last weekend? I saw you talking, she was totally into you. I have her snap.”
Shi Wudu made a face. Ling Wen laughed. The sound was as clear and lovely as a wind chime possessed by the spirit of a heartless bitch that delighted in the misery of others.
“Wudu, Pei Ming is pimping you out.”
“I don’t need your help, Pei Ming,” Shi Wudu said, aggravated in a tired, I’m-too-old-for-this kind of way. “I’m perfectly capable of finding a date for one date party.”
Pei Ming raised a hand in a conciliatory gesture. “Alright, alright. But if you decide you want help from the god of love, the master of masculine wiles, the king of romance, the—”
“Who are you going with then?” Shi Wudu asked sharply.
Pei Ming smiled and told him. He had been talking to a beautiful girl from Alpha Phi that he had been interested in since junior year because she went as Princess Jasmine to a halloween party and Pei Ming is a simple man. He hadn’t formally asked her yet, but it was a sure thing. Besides, he explained, the longer he waits the more she’ll suspect that he found someone else which means when he does act her she’ll be even more excited and smug to have bagged him. If there’s one thing women like, Pei Ming said, it’s winning over other women.
Ling Wen said that Pei Ming didn’t know the first thing about women. A few minutes later, Shi Wudu quietly asked Pei Ming to send him the snap of the girl from the cookout. Pei Ming did so happily while Ling Wen spoke scathingly about the degradation of men.
After Shi Wudu parked the Audi the three parted ways, heading to their respective classes. Pei Ming was about halfway to his policy lecture when he was stopped in his tracks by a hand to the chest. He had been replying to something in the Sig Chi group chat and hadn’t noticed someone walking over.
He looked up into the stormy eyes of He Xuan.
“…Good morning?”
He Xuan’s eyes narrowed into slits. He glanced back over his shoulder before hissing, “I told you not to tell him.”
Pei Ming blinked. “What? Who?” He looked over He Xuan’s shoulder. “Who were you looking for just—“
“Hua Cheng. That fucker.” He Xuan used the hand still on Pei Ming chest to give him a small shove backward. Pei Ming allowed himself to sway back before righting himself with raised eyebrows. He Xuan was still talking. “He kept me up all fucking night. You know how many better things I had to do than listen to his bullshit whining? God, he wouldn’t stop talking about—you—” He Xuan looked properly mad, his mouth twisted unpleasantly, his shoulders bent forward slightly, his chest rising with heavy breaths.
Pei Ming blinked, trying to shift gears away from Saturday’s date party and the half-finished text message on the screen of his phone. “Talking about…me?”
He Xuan calmed down slightly in surprise then looked at Pei Ming with some akin to pity. “No. You miserable bastard, not you, Xie Lian. His pathetic, psychotic obsession with that prick on your stupid fucking council. God.”
Pei Ming was so confused. “Wh-what? Who? Wait, sorry, what did I do again?”
He Xuan continued as if Pei Ming hadn’t spoken. “Did you know that you can go to the school board and request a meeting with a member of the student council if you have a valid case? Something about a student’s right to representation or some shit like that. Do you know how I found this out? Five AM in the goddamn morning on my laptop, lights on, Hua Cheng on the floor, Yin Yu begging—begging—for my help, being all ‘this is your fault’ but it wasn’t my fault because I told you not to tell him. See if I ever help you again. I hope it was worth it. Asshole. God. I have to go to class. Listen,” He Xuan stepped forward to better point a finger threateningly in Pei Ming’s face. “We’re not friends. Not even close. I am not asking you this as a favor, I am telling you for your own physical wellbeing. If Xie Lian says anything to you about Hua Cheng, you know nothing. Nothing. Do you understand me?”
Truthfully, no. Pei Ming barely understood a third of what had just been said. But he did understand the imperative so he nodded quickly in affirmation. “Yes. Yep. Don’t tell Xie Lian anything about Hua Cheng. But why does—?”
He Xuan, however, was done with the conversation. “You’re so stupid. I have to go to parasitology, fuck off.” He sneered before, conversely to his words, turning on his heels and leaving Pei Ming shell-shocked in the middle of the walkway.
After a moment Pei Ming, feeling confused and a little guilty, resumed his walk to class. He tried to resume his text as well but his thoughts were now elsewhere.
Slowly the pieces came together. He Xuan was angry about Pei Ming telling Hua Cheng that Xie Lian was in the student council. But why would Hua Cheng care so much? Pei Ming quickly did the math. Hua Cheng was a senior this year but he had graduated high school a year early. If Xie Lian was a year older than him, then Hua Cheng would have been a sophomore the year Xie Lian was his student body president. Maybe Xie Lian had been a terrible president and Hua Cheng was worried that he would inflict similar damage to their university? But, no, Hua Cheng didn’t at all care about the school as an institution. It would make more sense for the problem to be personal, but what personal drama could cause this sort of reaction after five years?
There was someone who might know.
Pei Ming opened his DMs.
---
[Mu Qing, 12:18PM] no
---
[Mu Qing, 12:23PM] fine
[Mu Qing, 12:23PM] I’m not promising anything but if you’re in the underground in five you can buy me lunch
---
The Underground was a collection of fast food options located in a mid-sized cafeteria that happened to be, you guessed it, underground. It wasn’t the only place on campus that was located underground but it was the only one that was a frequent meeting spot, being a fairly centrally located food joint, hence the nickname.
Pei Ming found Mu Qing standing near the front doors, posture stiff, arms crossed. As soon as they made eye contact Mu Qing moved to join the end of one of the lines. Pei Ming lowered his hand from where it was half raised into a wave and followed.
The line Mu Qing had queued in was some greasy taco joint, which was just as well since the other options were much the same substituting “taco” for “burger” or “pizza.” Pei Ming joined Mu Qing in the taco line. Mu Qing glanced at him once out of the corner of his eye then studied the menu. Pei Ming pretended not to notice the glance and studied the menu, wondering why Mu Qing seemed to be extra on-edge.
Turns out, he didn’t have to wonder for long. They hadn’t been standing in line for two minutes before Mu Qing spoke, words lashing out like he had barely been holding them back. “Have you already talked to Feng Xin?”
Pei Ming was taken aback by both the tone and the question. “Feng Xin?” For a moment, nothing made sense. And then, “about Xie Lian?”
“Yes,” said Mu Qing, turning to face Pei Ming head-on, his expression steely.
“Uh, no, I—“
“Has Ling Wen?”
“No? I mean, not that I know—”
“I know you operate as a pair. You’re not subtle, everyone knows the two of you are petty gossips.”
Pei Ming spent about an eighth of a second offended that he would be described as ‘petty’ but then he relented on the ground that his reaction meant that it was probably true. “I’m not trying to collect gossip.”
“That’s such a lie. What could you possibly need to know about someone who is quite frankly none of your business?”
Pei Ming had thought he would have had more control over this conversation. He hadn’t planned on being verbally accosted at the first opportunity and now that he was backed into a corner he realized that he didn’t quite know how to explain everything. Besides, Mu Qing was clearly not in a listening mood. Pei Ming, deciding that diverting the conversation was his best option, pulled himself up and tried to look mildly amused instead of flustered.
“I’ll explain everything, I promise. But can we get food first? It’s much more pleasant to discuss serious things while sitting down.”
Mu Qing eyed him, considering.
“Fine,” said Mu Qing eventually, voice curt. It was a voice that said ‘I understand what you’re doing but I’ll allow it.’ Mu Qing turned back to face the right way in the line. After a moment, Pei Ming followed suit.
Pei Ming wondered if there was something he could say to diffuse the coiled tension radiating off Mu Qing in waves. He figured it would probably be something witty and disarming, charming but from the heart. Maybe something that also had a call-back to one of the times they had volunteered at the same Mothers Against Drunk Driving event to remind him of their shared history and all the good times they’ve had assuring mothers that their dear child’s university absolutely prohibits all forms of intoxication and distraction while operating a vehicle. It would be something casual though, like he hadn’t put any thought into it. Something brief and not annoying. Above all, it wouldn’t be annoying.
They reached the front of the line before Pei Ming would wrangle together the perfect phrase. Mu Qing politely ordered something complicated. Pei Ming glanced back up at the menu with faint awe, impressed that a simple item could be mangled so far from its original design.
Mu Qing mumbled something about grabbing a table before grabbing his drink cup and disappearing. When Pei Ming looked back at the employee still waiting for his order he found that she was watching him with a kind smile. She was rather cute, Pei Ming noticed. He wished he had the presence of mind to flirt but he was too distracted with what he was going to say to Mu Qing.
He placed his order and soon after was bringing their tray of food over to the small table Mu Qing had secured in the corner of the busy cafeteria.
“Here’s your…vegan tofu taco salad whatever wrap,” Pei Ming said. “How did you even know they made those?”
Mu Qing accepted the food but ignored the question. “Explain,” he demanded, unwrapping his burrito whatever and then cutting it with a fork and knife like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Pei Ming sat down slowly across from him. “Right.” After a pause he couldn’t help but say, “Sorry, I’ve never seen someone eat a burrito with a fork.”
Mu Qing’s glare was withering. “They’re messy.”
“Okay,” Pei Ming said, hoping he didn’t look as charmed by this new information as he felt.
“If you don’t explain yourself in thirty seconds I’m going to leave.”
“I’m going to answer your question. But first, how well do you know Xie Lian?”
“We… went to the same high school.”
“So not well?”
Mu Qing looked annoyed. Again. Pei Ming was beginning to suspect that this was his default expression. It bothered Pei Ming. He liked when people liked him. He liked when people would smile and lean in and watch him with gentle wonder. He wondered if Mu Qing had ever watched anyone with gentle wonder. He wondered if he was capable of it.
“I know him,” said Mu Qing with a scowl. “Why does it matter how well?”
“I’m… hm.” Pei Ming picked at his straw wrapper thoughtfully. “I don’t want to bother you with my concerns if you aren’t already involved and if you don’t know Xie Lian personally then you probably aren’t already involved.”
Mu Qing gave a truly spectacular roll of his eyes, scoffing an “oh, please,” derisively, to really set it off, in case his opinions on the subject weren’t already entirely clear.
Pei Ming raised his eyebrows. “Pardon?”
“You don’t want to bother me with your concerns? What kind of excuse is that? You’re just trying to dig for information. Well how’s this—I’m not talking until you do. Explain.”
Pei Ming felt a flush of indignation. He had genuinely been trying to spare Mu Qing’s concern, but now he could find no way to prove that without laying everything out like Mu Qing had asked. “Fine. It’s like this. I’m concerned that Xie Lian might be involved with a gang.”
“…a gang?”
Pei Ming couldn’t even feel satisfaction from Mu Qing’s obvious shock. He just nodded a few times, taking a bite of his quesadilla, giving Mu Qing a moment to collect himself.
“What caused you to think this?”
Pei Ming picked his words carefully. “I happen to know someone who has a former gang affiliation and this someone happens to have taken a rather powerful and uncharacteristic interest in Xie Lian’s return to the school.” He said, as delicately as he could. After a moment he added, “Not me. I was never in a gang.”
“Yeah, clearly, no one in a gang has ever said ‘former gang affiliation,’” said Mu Qing, a little distractedly, before asking, “Who?”
“Ah. I can’t say.”
Mu Qing accepted this after a brief pause. “But you’re sure?”
“I’m… sure that this person is acting strange and I’m sure that it involves Xie Lian. I’m sure that this person was involved in a gang in the past. Can you think of any other explanation?”
Mu Qing hummed. After a moment he shrugged lightly and said, “Yeah, a few.”
Pei Ming blinked. “Like what?”
Mu Qing snorted delicately. He picked up his fork which had been set down in his surprise. “I don’t need to tell you,” he said primly, while stabbing another bite of burrito onto his fork.
Pei Ming watched him eat and took a moment to appreciate how this was the second time in as many days that he bought food for someone to buy information and ended up feeling that he really didn’t get his money’s worth. “You’re right, you don’t need to tell me. Could I convince you to tell me anyway?”
“No, you couldn’t,” Mu Qing said with a level of bitterness that Pei Ming didn’t understand. Mu Qing leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the table and pointing his plastic fork in Pei Ming’s face. “I can pretend to accept the lie that you are here out of simple altruism. Whatever. I don’t care. But regardless of the real reason you started this little project, it needs to stop. Xie Lian isn’t your problem to solve. He isn’t anyone’s problem. Whatever Xie Lian’s situation is, he’ll figure it out. But he doesn’t want your pity and he doesn’t have time for your drama and he definitely doesn’t need to be saved, like a helpless animal. He’ll do the best with what he’s got, just like everyone else, and he’ll be fine.” Mu Qing’s voice was growing increasingly acrid. “He’s not a prince or a god or some helpless victim that we all need to dance around in a neat little circle. He’s just some guy who I used to know, and I’m sick of talking about him.”
From the tone of his voice, Pei Ming guessed that Xie Lian was somebody’s problem, and that somebody was sitting across from Pei Ming right now. His memory flashed back to when Feng Xin and Mu Qing had gotten into a fight before Xie Lian’s first meeting. The three had gone to the same school. Maybe he should talk to…
Before that thought could fully coalesce, Pei Ming remembered the defensive way Mu Qing and turned to him in line. Have you already talked to Feng Xin?
“Okay. We can stop talking about him, as long as he’s safe,” Pei Ming said.
There was a pause where Mu Qing seemed to be assessing him. Assessing him for what, Pei Ming couldn’t guess, but he must have passed because Mu Qing nodded curtly and said, “Of course he’s safe. The only danger Dianxia faces is failing his geometry class. He hasn’t taken math in six years.”
“Dianxia?”
Mu Qing was suddenly very interested in spearing another bite of his food with his fork. He muttered, “Nickname.”
“Cute nickname.”
“I guess. He’s lucky to have it. There are many worse things to call a spoiled, self-righteous prick like him.”
Pei Ming couldn’t help but ask the question that had been burning in him since the stu-co meeting. “Did you guys have some sort of falling out, or…?” Mu Qing didn’t answer, leveling Pei Ming with a flat stare that could have passed for indifference if he looked just a shade less irritated. After a heavy silence, Pei Ming said happily, “Well, if you’re sick of talking about Xie Lian, what do you want to talk about?”
“Anything.”
“Okay. What drew you to student counsel?”
Mu Qing made a face. “Anything that doesn’t make me feel like I’m in a job interview.”
“What’s your major then?” It was a simple question, practically linked to asking for someone’s name when on campus. Pei Ming was actually a little put off that he didn’t already know this about Mu Qing. They had been loose acquaintances for long enough.
From the way Mu Qing glared at him, you would have thought Pei Ming had asked him for his mother’s social security number. “What’s your major?” He snapped back, like it was an argument he was determined to win.
Pei Ming, wanting to steer them towards something that better resembled a conservation instead of something that would go down five minutes before a bar fight, said, “Why don’t you try to guess?” before taking another bite of his quesadilla.
Mu Qing said, “Business,” so quickly Pei Ming felt he must have considered it before. He raised an eyebrow.
“Why?”
Mu Qing shrugged one shoulder, his mouth twitching with a private smile. “Just the way you talk. Am I right?”
“No,” Pei Ming said slowly. He wondered what Mu Qing meant by that. Hopefully something good, but something about Mu Qing’s smile told him it was better not to ask more questions. “Guess again.”
“Hm,” Mu Qing actually thought this time. He seemed to be enjoying the game, which Pei Ming counted as a win. “Not anything in STEM, I’m sure.”
“Fuck no,” Pei Ming agreed cheerfully.
“Literature.”
“Wrong again,” Pei Ming grinned. “I’ve never been big into reading, actually.”
“That’s not as shocking as you made it sound,” Mu Qing said before taking a sip of water.
“Why’d you guess it then?”
Mu Qing took another sip of water, slower this time, before saying, “I’d rather not say.”
Pei Ming blinked. He frowned. He got the sense he was being insulted, but nothing Mu Qing had said had been insulting. He decided they had played the game long enough. “It’s political science.”
“Ah,” Mu Qing said, faintly amused. “Of course. Aspirations for local government?”
Pei Ming was very much back on board with the conversation. “No, actually. I respect local-level politics a lot, of course, but for me it’s too much work for not enough pay-off. But the way societies operate and interact and shift over time—it fascinates me. I don’t plan on going the public sector route, but who knows, if I end up there I’m sure I’d rock it.”
“That can be your campaign slogan,” Mu Qing said with mild distaste, “I’m sure I’d rock it.”
Pei Ming smiled. “Hey, I’d vote for me, with a slogan like that. You're so fully of good ideas. You should be my campaign manager.”
“You think I’d want to manage your campaign?”
“We’d be a perfect team,” Pei Ming agreed, “Because we’d both not want to be there. Your turn. My first guess is nursing.”
Mu Qing drew back, looking confused and surprised. “What on earth inspired that as your first guess?”
Pei Ming considered giving a genuine answer but then his courage left him. He shrugged easily and said, “You’d look hot in scrubs.”
Mu Qing stared at him for a full fifteen seconds, hardly moving. Pei Ming happily chewed a bite of his lunch, giving him time.
“No one looks good in scrubs,” Mu Qing said eventually, sounding both offended and disappointed.
“ Hard disagree,” Pei Ming said. “Then am I right?”
“No. And you lose the privilege to make a second guess.”
“Aw.” Pei Ming had been going to guess teaching. He felt good about that one. “What is it then?”
“You’ve lost that privilege as well,” Mu Qing said sternly. “Next question.”
See? Totally a teacher.
Rolling with it, Pei Ming asked, “Do you have siblings?”
Mu Qing seemed surprised and a little uncomfortable. “No. Kind of. I mean, no. I don’t want to talk about that either. Do you? Have siblings, I mean.”
“Two sisters. What do you like to do in your free time?”
“I don’t really have free time,” Mu Qing said, growing even more uncomfortable.
“Heard. Can you believe they’re talking about increasing volunteer hours next year? They’ll have to lower academic standing requirements at this rate.”
Mu Qing relaxed a little at this less-personal topic. “Maybe a higher bar of entry is the goal. They’re increasing admissions as well, they’ll need to be more selective unless they want the council to become massive.”
“But the student council is an elected group, there shouldn’t be an academic standing requirement in the first place. It undermines democracy.”
“Wow, you are in poly sci, aren’t you?” Mu Qing sounded amused again, but differently than he had before.
“Of course. If I was going to lie about my major, I would have picked something more impressive.”
“Political science is plenty impressive,” Mu Qing said crossly. He had likely said it just to be contrary because he frowned when he realized that he had inadvertently paid Pei Ming a compliment. Pei Ming grinned. Mu Qing glared and demanded, “Next question.”
“Next question,” Pei Ming agreed. He considered for a moment, and then asked, “Would you go on a date with me?”
Mu Qing’s blush flooded his entire face—violently sudden and alarmingly pink. It was not at all hidden by the defensive scowl that bloomed in time with the rush of blood, as if the two reactions were physiologically linked. Knowing Mu Qing, they probably were.
Pei Ming, who had found his heart stirred by the blush of a beautiful woman more times than he could count and tried to coax this reaction out of as many people as he could, hadn’t known that it was even possible to blush that fully. If he had known, he would have never suspected Mu Qing of having such a delightfully miserable affliction, with his aloof and cold demeanor. But now he had seen it. Now, he held this information reverently, though a little confused with what to do with it, like gently cupping a baby bird with both hands while the baby bird angrily pecked at his fingers.
“Actually,” said Mu Qing, slightly louder, “we’re done here.”
Pei Ming made a few half-affronted protests while Mu Qing picked up his food to take it to-go. He tried to appeal to Mu Qing’s sense of decency (“I’ve barely started eating, are you just going to make me eat alone?”) and when that didn’t work he tried to backtrack his question (“I shouldn’t have phrased it like that, it’s not a date it’s a date party, it’s totally different, sorry if that was misleading.”) but nothing could stop Mu Qing from sweeping out of the Underground with his half-finished weird salad wrap.
Pei Ming poked half-heartedly at his food. He would fiercely deny allegations that he was “pouting.” He didn’t pout. He was just…disappointed wasn’t the word.
Pei Ming pulled out his laptop and tried to read an assigned article while he finished his food but he ended up reading the same paragraph over and over.
Giving up on his reading, Pei Ming texted Princess Jasmine. He figured he had made her wait long enough. She happily accepted a few minutes later.
---
Saturday arrived the way it always did—just in time. Pei Ming had crawled his way through the tailend of the week. When he opened his eyes on Saturday morning he took a moment to simply breathe.
It was early but Shi Wudu had already left their room, bed made, backpack and laptop missing from his small desk. Pei Ming took his time getting ready, changing his shirt three times because the first two options didn’t match the vibe, the vibe being “Saturdays are for the boys and it’s Saturday and I’m a boy so fuuuuuck yeah.”
He practically skipped his way down the stairs, on the hunt for coffee and breakfast.
The house was already in the early stages of getting ready for a party. The beer fridge was extra stocked. The ping pong table had been pushed away from the corner. The back-up trashcans had been wheeled in from the garage.
A few members of the frat were already milling about the kitchen, chatting, checking phones, heating up Poptarts in the microwave, sipping their caffeinated beverage of choice, etc.
“This party boutta be fire tonight, bro,” said one of the guys, looking at the corner that now held the ping-pong table.
“Mad fire, man, that’s no cap, for sure,” said another guy, smugly.
Here’s how Pei Ming’s Saturday went:
9:00AM—Hit up the gym with a few of the frat’s gym rats, including Feng Xin.
11:00AM—Finish workout. Brunch with the homies.
10:15AM—Consider asking Feng Xin about whatever the situation was between Mu Qing and Xie Lian.
10:16AM—Decide against it. Feel proud of decision.
2:00PM—Pregaming has started at the house. Healthy pours of liquor are mixed haphazardly into coffee cups and Nalgenes. Spiked seltzers and beers leave sweat rings on the countertops. Country music bleats harmlessly on the speakers. A few of the guys are blowing up balloons they found in a drawer. Every few minutes they pop one to draw a laugh, which it does every time.
3:00PM—Shi Wudu returns from the library. He takes a nap in their room.
3:04PM—Hang out in the backyard with Qingxuan, who is here early despite He Xuan’s warning that he would be working on homework until just before the party. Add three moves onto secret handshake.
3:27PM—Qingxuan says he and He Xuan got into a fight the other day. Pat his back encouragingly. Say sometimes relationships are hard. Have a conversation about boundaries. Qingxuan smiles and makes a joke about how much Pei Ming must have learned about this stuff after what happened sophomore year. Laugh. Change the subject.
4:00PM: Shi Wudu is awake. Play dress up with Shi Wudu to make sure he looks perfect for his date, which is secured with the girl from the cookout. Successfully convince Shi Wudu that the blue shirt looks best.
4:30PM—Beer run.
5:00PM—Run into Hua Cheng in the stairway. Say nothing. Keep walking. Note that he looks nervous. Remember conversation with Mu Qing. Hope it’s nothing.
6:00PM—Read textbook. Outline essay about feudalism.
9:00PM—Pregamming is in full swing. Get called into the kitchen for shots. Tap out after only two but cheer the loudest.
9:20PM—The music shifts into something stronger.
9:45PM—The house starts to slowly fill up with members and their dates. Shi Wudu’s date is here. She compliments Shi Wudu on his shirt. W.
10:00PM—Find Xie Lian lingering by the doorway looking happy but anxious. He’s relieved to see someone he knows, he says over the music. Ask who his date is. Date? Xie Lian’s eyes are wide. What do you mean? Explain what a date party is. Xie Lian hadn’t known. He wonders what this means, like, probably friends go with each other to d-date parties, right haha? Say it really depends on who his date is. Is it Feng Xin? Feng Xin is a nice guy, he’s probably just being friendly. Xie Lian says you’re right, Feng Xin is quite friendly, and excuses himself from the conversation.
10:04PM—Leave to pick up Princess Jasmine. She smells like flowers when she hugs him. He says she looks very nice. She smiles.
10:25PM—Arrive back at the house, which is now packed.
10:30PM—Drink.
11:30PM—Drink.
11:47PM—Win two games of flip cup in the backyard. Throw a half empty beer can in the air to celebrate. Princess Jasmine is laughing.
11:51PM—Run into Feng Xin.
11:51PM—Tell Feng Xin it’s cool that he invited Xie Lian, it’s good that he’ll have friends so soon after starting at a new school.
11:51PM—What are you talking about, my date isn’t Xie Lian. Wait, is Xie Lian here? Why would—who is—fuck, of course, that’s why Mu Qing asked me to invite him. Shit, I need to go, sorry Pei Ming, I’ll catch you later. Hey, let’s do brunch again, huh?
11:52PM—Wait, did you just say Mu Qing asked you to invite him? Invite him here?
11:51PM—Yeah dude, I was surprised too. It’s not really his scene. But he cashed in a favor, so. Look, he’s up there, like a fucking weirdo.
11:51PM—Feng Xin points up to the balcony.
11:51PM—Look up.
11:52PM—Mu Qing is leaning on the balcony railing.
11:52PM—Holy shit, Mu Qing is here.
11:52PM—Mu Qing is here.
“Mu Qing is here.” Pei Ming had to yell over the music.
He Xuan stared at Pei Ming blankly. Qingxuan was a few feet away dancing with abandon to the music. Her cheeks were rosy, halfway to laughter at any moment.
“I really didn’t think he would be here, I’ve never seen him at a party.” Pei Ming paused, then, “He’s Feng Xin’s date.” He paused again. “Well, Feng Xin invited him. I don’t think they’re here on a date -date. I mean, they could be. Do you think they’re on a date-date?” Pei Ming considered the blasé way Feng Xin had mentioned inviting him. Then he frowned, remembering how Mu Qing had looked out across the sea of drunk college students with an expression of mildly grossed-out boredom. If it was a date-date then it was going poorly.
Suddenly Pei Ming had an armful of Shi Qingxuan. She was yelling and giggling and grabbing his hand. Her hair was messed up, her eyeliner had smeared on one eye.
“Ming-ge!” She yelled, “Why are you frowning! No! Being! Sad!” She whacked him on each word. “Come dance with me!”
Pei Ming carefully extracted himself from Shi Qingxuan’s grasp, pulling forth every excuse he could think of. He really wasn’t in the mood for dancing. His mind was spinning with Mu Qing cashing in a favor to be here tonight, Xie Lian standing awkwardly at the door, asking what a date party was, Hua Cheng looking nervous. Hua Cheng never looked nervous.
Pei Ming went to the kitchen. He grabbed two Bud Lites. Then he put one back and grabbed a Strawberry Mike’s Hard Lemonade instead.
He went upstairs.
Mu Qing was still standing by the balcony.
It was less busy up here but there was still a healthy collection of drunk college students idling about. Pei Ming made his way through the crowd to lean against the rail next to Mu Qing. He watched the way Mu Qing instinctively recoiled from the new presence before catching himself when he noticed who it was. Not relaxing, but not allowing himself to pull away.
Pei Ming wordlessly held out the Strawberry Mike’s Hard. Mu Qing’s eyes flickered down and back up before watching Pei Ming warily. Pei Ming watched him back. Mu Qing was dressed largely the way he always was, except that his hair—which was perpetually in a high ponytail—was a black cascade down his back. It was longer than Pei Ming had expected.
“This place is disgusting. I can’t believe you live here,” Mu Qing said in lieu of a normal hello. They were standing close enough that he only had to raise his voice a little to be heard over the music.
Pei Ming looked out across the crowd below. Then he shifted his gaze up. From this spot on the balcony, one could look out of the large second-floor windows into the backyard. The angle was high enough that it was easy to see the firepit on the far edge of the yard. Pei Ming saw two figures sitting close in the dim glow of the fire. They did not touch but they were leaned towards each other, like flowers stretching to the sun.
Pei Ming looked back at Mu Qing, the question on his tongue, but when he saw his pissed-off expression he knew that he had guessed correctly.
“It’s a good thing Xie Lian’s not your problem, huh?” He asked lightly.
Mu Qing snapped, “What do you want?”
“Nothing. Just wanted to bring the babysitter a drink.”
Mu Qing grumbled something under his breath before holding out his hand. Pei Ming passed over the Mike’s, pleased.
There was a delightfully long moment where Mu Qing processed precisely what drink Pei Ming had brought him. He looked briefly happy, then offended, then completely and perfectly neutral. Pei Ming said nothing. He pretended not to notice the reaction at all, leaving Mu Qing to work out whatever he was thinking on his own and trust him to come out the other side with something reasonable to say.
This reasonable thing ended up being the most reasonable thing. Mu Qing took a quick sip then said, very properly, “Thank you.”
Pei Ming smiled. “You are most welcome.”
“And for the record, before you start feeling smug,” said Mu Qing quickly, “I was already planning on coming here before your little intervention. I already knew that guy had asked him to be here before your cryptic little warning, of course I wasn’t going to let him just wander alone into this situation.”
“Oh, you know Hua Cheng?”
Mu Qing rolled his eyes again. “Unfortunately,” he muttered before taking a sip of his drink.
“That’s super cool. We should all get lunch sometime.”
Mu Qing looked at him hard before returning his attention to watching the figures below.
Pei Ming tried to enjoy the people watching as well but he soon couldn’t help but ask with a smile, “So are you enjoying the party?”
“Not even a little.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“I do not have the constitution to enjoy myself in any room that includes spray paint as a design feature.” Mu Qing said with a passive glance about the room that seemed to take in the entire house and all its occupants and judge them as not worthy of any further consideration.
Maybe it was the alcohol but Pei Ming found this formal response impossible not to laugh at. When he was done he said merrily, “I can hang a sheet over the spray paint. You should be having fun.”
“Fun,” Mu Qing repeated doubtfully.
“Yeah. Fun. I’ve been having a wonderful time.”
Mu Qing’s expression was still shuttered, his thoughts occupied with something more important than the conversation at hand. Maybe that was why he said, “Yes, you have been enjoying yourself, haven’t you? Is it empowering for you to know you are very good at flipping cups off the edges of things? Or does it feel mostly like an impractical skill?”
Pei Ming’s smile grew and changed in quality. “You were watching me?”
Mu Qing immediately caught his mistake. His full attention snapped to the present with cold and sudden precision.
Pei Ming expected him to deny it. He expected him to disengage. He longed for him to blush but he knew he hadn’t earned that particular pleasure. What he didn’t expect was for Mu Qing to say, “You must think I’m the dumbest person alive.”
“...I’m… what?”
“Just because I like men doesn’t mean I’m going to sleep with any man who spares me five minutes of his attention. You are self-absorbed and arrogant and I find your sudden attention embarrassing and insulting. You’re not even my type.”
Pei Ming blinked, thrown so far off the script for how this conversation was supposed to go that he didn’t even know where to begin.
“…uh, you—“
“Why did you come talk to me?” Mu Qing continued, gaining steam. “Did Feng Xin set you up to this? What did he say to you? Why are you being so nice ?” Mu Qing hurled this last word like being nice was the greatest crime he could imagine.
“I’m a nice person,” said Pei Ming, mildly offended.
“Yeah, and I bet people are real nice to you back, aren’t they? I know your reputation. I know what you’re doing. I’m not falling for it.”
Pei Ming took a long pull from his cheap beer. He could feel Mu Qing’s anger like a physical thing, heavy as the music that pulsed around them. He held Mu Qing’s words in his mind and twisted them around until he found the angle where everything fit into a simple shape. When he found it he said, “I like you. That’s why I came up here. It doesn’t have to be about sex. It isn’t. I just like you.” He paused then added, “As a friend,” in case that wasn’t clear.
Mu Qing laughed once. “As a—what? Back up, hang on. A friend? We’re not friends.”
“We’re not, but I would like us to be, that’s my whole point.” Pei Ming was getting frustrated. He flexed his hand against the banister railing, wishing that he had had fewer drinks before having this conversation. Either that or significantly more.
Mu Qing was looking at him like he was stupid. “You asked me out.”
“No,” Pei Ming explained slowly, “I invited you to a date party.”
“You’ve been staring at me for months.”
“Yes, well, you’re incredibly pretty,” Pei Ming said a little defensively, and then grinned ruefully. “Why do you think I want to be your friend? Because of your winning personality?”
Mu Qing’s already icy expression grew colder. “You’re not doing a good job convincing me you’re interested in getting to know me.”
“No, I am, see,” Pei Ming gestured to himself with his beer, “All my friends have terrible personalities. Ling Wen is a bitch who thinks she can fix me. Shi Wudu is stubborn and thinks he’s better than everyone when he’s not too busy being a controlling workaholic. You’ll fit right in.”
Mu Qing’s voice was sharp. “I don’t want to be your friend. I don’t like you at all and I like your friends even less.”
“Sure.” Pei Ming made himself comfortable against the railing, inching himself even closer into Mu Qing’s space. “Can I have your phone number, by the way? I’d rather text than DM.”
Mu Qing recoiled slowly, the physical embodiment of the word ‘ugh.’ “I don’t have a phone.” He said flatly. “And for the record these are the kinds of comments that make me feel like you don’t want to be my friend.”
Pei Ming blinked. “Because I want to be able to text you?”
“No. Because of the way you said it.”
“How did I say it?”
“You—” Mu Qing pushed his hair back from his face. He looked miserable but like he was trying to hide it which made it worse. “You said it the way you say everything to me, which is the way you say everything to everyone, which is why I know you don’t want to be my friend.”
…Okay, now he was confused. Pei Ming narrowed his eyes contemplatively. “I don’t understand. I speak to you the way I speak to everyone else? Why is that bad? How do I speak to you?”
“I don’t know,” Mu Qing snapped. His face was growing warm with color, from embarrassment or anger or both. “Like you want to—like you’re—like—ugh.” Mu Qing stepped back once, the fingers of the hand not holding his drink flicking as if he had just touched something mildly unpleasant. He said, “This is ridiculous. I can’t believe I’m even discussing this with you. I’m going home.”
“What? Now?” Pei Ming didn’t want to end the conversation like this. He didn’t know where this left them. “Do you have a ride? I can call you a ride.”
“I haven’t had anything to drink, except for—” Mu Qing held up the still mostly full drink in his hand.
“I’ll walk you to the door.”
“No.” Mu Qing’s voice was stern. He was already walking away.
Something in Pei Ming panicked. He knew that he had been acting a little flippant but he wanted—he needed—Mu Qing to understand that he was being genuine. And if Mu Qing left now, that was it.
"Wait."
To his surprise, Mu Qing actually stopped. He half turned back to Pei Ming, waiting. Just as he asked. But Pei Ming didn’t have a clue what to say. Why don’t you like me sounded whiny. Let me prove myself to you felt way too serious. But Mu Qing was visibly and quickly loosing patience so Pei Ming though fuck it and said, “You’re right. I have been watching you. I’ve been watching you since the semester started, and it’s not,” He let out a shaky laugh, “not just because you’re pretty. I’m fascinated with you. You hate it when people draw attention to you and you keep to yourself but you’re popular enough to be elected to the student council. You’re rude to everyone in stu-co but then you turn around and volunteer an extra eight hours because the holiday food drive is understaffed. You tell me that you’re sick of the guy you went to high school with just to go to an event you don’t want to attend with someone I think you might genuinely hate just to make sure he’s safe. I want—” Pei Ming hesitated. He was distantly aware that he sounded a little insane and that this was creepy, but hey, he had gotten this far. “I want to be friends with you because I think, despite you trying awfully hard not to be, you're one of the most sincerely good people I’ve ever met.”
Mu Qing’s expression was hard. His chest was rising and falling too fast. Pei Ming curled his hand into a fist to keep himself from fidgeting against the ironclad wall of his judgment.
Pei Ming waited for Mu Qing to say something. Instead Mu Qing took a step forward. And then another. And then another.
Pei Ming's breath left him in a shaky laugh when Mu Qing stepped towards him again, so close now that Pei Ming could feel the heat of him through their clothes. Pei Ming tried to step back to give him some room to breathe, but he was already backed up to the banister. He reached back and gripped the railing hard, like it would steady him, knuckles turning white. “What are you—” He started to ask, and then abruptly stopped when he felt something warm touch his hand as it gripped the balcony.
He looked down in shock to see Mu Qing's hand covering his own. When he looked back up, he stopped breathing.
Mu Qing was so close. And he was so tall, Pei Ming thought almost hysterically. He had known Mu Qing only a few inches shorter than him, he had known that Mu Qing was taller than any girl Pei Ming had ever been this close to, it was absurd to be so—so affected by something he already knew, but he had never been this close to him before, and Mu Qing wasn’t a girl, of course, although he was pretty like one. Or no, that wasn't right, Mu Qing wasn’t pretty like a girl, he was pretty like—like a knife.
Mu Qing still hadn’t pulled away. He seemed to be waiting for something, but Pei Ming hadn’t the slightest clue what he wanted. And then he watched as Mu Qing’s attention fell on his mouth.
All the alcohol in Pei Ming’s system, all the blood in his body, suddenly became too much. He felt almost numb, and then he felt all he was condense into a single thought that hit him like a car wreck.
He’s going to kiss me.
Pei Ming’s only free hand was holding his beer so he dropped it, not caring where it landed. He reached for him, needing to bury in fingers in Mu Qing’s hair, to pull him close, to feel the heat of him, to—
A sudden pain in his wrist.
Pei Ming opened his eyes. He hadn’t remembered closing them.
He looked at his hand, the one not trapped under Mu Qing’s hand on the railing, and found it had been trapped by Mu Qing as well, just beside his ear. Damn, he had a strong grip. That was kinda hot. Pei Ming tried to pull his hand free but Mu Qing’s fingers were a vice grip. Pei Ming moved his attention from the pain in his wrist to Mu Qing, his thoughts sluggish and unsteady. He couldn’t understand why they weren’t kissing. His eyes dropped to Mu Qing’s mouth in time to watch it twist from an impartial line to a displeased sneer.
“That,” Mu Qing hissed, “is how you talk to me. That is what you want from me. Do not pretend that you’re interested in anything else.”
Pei Ming opened his mouth. Then he closed it.
Mu Qing didn’t wait for Pei Ming to pull himself together. He glanced down at their feet where both their drinks were fizzing on the stained gray carpet. Mu Qing had dropped his drink as well to catch Pei Ming’s hand. “Clean that up,” said Mu Qing. And then he left.
Pei Ming didn’t move for a long, long time.