Chapter Text
He's a persistent man, Guo Chengyu. Jiang Xiaoshuai is constantly dodging him whenever he can. It makes it difficult when the number one place the man shows up is his workplace, the clinic he runs. Xiaoshuai will be going over paperwork, assessing his patients, and he hears that little bell chime that someone is entering the clinic. When he looks up and sees it's Chengyu, he rolls his eyes behind his round glasses. He walks behind the counter, tossing his clipboard. “What now?” He demands.
“I need to check in.”
“Excuse me?” Xiaoshuai scoffs, “Um, no, you don't. Nothing is wrong with you.”
Chengyu raises an eyebrow. “How can you say that? Are you denying me medical attention?”
“Yes, because you're annoying and you're using any excuse to get close to me.” Xiaoshuai crosses his arms over his chest, leaning against the counter. “So, go away. Bye.” He lifts a hand to wave him off.
Chengyu stares at him hard for a moment. Not in irritation or anger, mostly amusement. And Xiaoshuai isn't sure if he likes it or not. He clears his throat and shifts on his feet. “I said go, before I smack you.” Xiaoshuai huffs. And Chengyu just chuckles and shakes his head, walking away. When he leaves the clinic, Xiaoshuai breathes a sigh of relief.
Wu Suowei takes a seat behind the counter, grinning. “You're really not letting him in, huh?”
“No!” The doctor snaps. “I… don't have time for games.” He lets his shoulders sink.
After a small, comfortable silence between the two, Wu Suowei clicks his tongue, keeping his eyes turned towards the computer. “How do you know that Guo Chengyu is a bad guy? What if you actually enjoy being around him?”
“Have you seen him?” Xiaoshuai exasperates. “He could be a player, he could have no boundaries, he could be the worst person I've ever met and I'm not trying to take that chance.”
“He's Chi Cheng's best friend.” Wu Suowei points out.
Xiaoshuai looks at his friend like he just grew two heads. “Just because I helped set you up with Chi Cheng doesn't mean you need to set me up with Guo Chengyu.” He huffs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Wu Suowei opens his mouth like he's going to say something else but then closes it promptly, going back to scrolling through the computer. The rest of the day moves on smoothly with no interruptions, much to the doctor's relief. He removes his white lab coat and folds his glasses up, leaving them on his desk before he locks up for the night. As he's walking down the alley, his eyes land on the last person he wants to see right now.
“You've got to be kidding me.” He huffs.
Guo Chengyu fakes a hurt look, holding his hands over his heart. “What? I can't walk you home?”
“No! And I don't want you to!” Xiaoshuai snaps, feeling his heart racing at the immediate irritation that fills his body. He crosses his arms and storms off down the road, Chengyu trailing behind him, but at a respectable distance. He notices for a slight second that although Chengyu is persistent with walking him home, he doesn't crowd his personal space or put hands on him. He almost overanalyzes that but stops himself, preferring to remain upset. It's a quiet walk and Chengyu doesn't force him to talk. When they arrive at Xiaoshuai's apartment building, he puts a hand out to stop the other man. “That's it.”
“Okay.” Chengyu smiles. “I just wanted to walk you home. Have a good night.” He wiggles his fingers in a wave before turning and walking back down the street.
That's it? Xiaoshuai's eyebrows knit together. He stands there, watching Chengyu leave. Huffing under his breath, he walks up the stairs to his apartment. The rest of the night, he tries not to think about that persistent man he has trying to break through his walls. It's hard. He goes to bed tossing and turning, punching his pillow.
The next day, he raises an eyebrow at a delivery man walking through the door. “I think you have the wrong place.”
“Are you Jiang Xiaoshuai?” The man asks, looking at his phone, confirming the information on the order.
“Me? Yes.” He tilts his head.
“The order says it's for you.” The guy shrugs his shoulders, placing the bag of food on the counter. He takes a picture and heads out without another word.
“But…” Xiaoshuai mumbles under his breath, looking at the receipt. His eyes immediately widen seeing the name on the order. Guo Chengyu, directions stating, For Jiang Xiaoshuai, with the delivery address being the clinic. Xiaoshuai feels his heart racing and butterflies in his stomach. Fuck. He opens the bag, and there's a bowl of spicy noodles, a small carton of rice, and strawberry milk tea. He pouts a little, flopping down in the chair behind the counter. He can't let his stubbornness not let him accept this order. Thinking about it, Guo Chengyu might not want to irritate him by showing up unannounced, so he's showing affection in different ways. But Xiaoshuai knows deep down, his mind is holding him back. He sighs. Wu Suowei walks up, raising an eyebrow. He looks at the receipt and grins.
“And you still won't go out with him?”
“Shut up!” Xiaoshuai snaps, grabbing the bag of food and storming over to his office.
Xiaoshuai sits down and eats his food, his eyebrows knit together nearly the whole time as his brain works overtime trying to process what just happened or why his stomach is flipping, and not because of how spicy the noodles are. They're amazing, just as he likes them. Does Chengyu pay that much attention to details? God, Xiaoshuai is going crazy. He finishes the food and swivels in his chair, sipping on the strawberry milk tea. He groans, tilting his head back against the seat.
It's later in the week, he finds himself actually feeling a bit down that he hasn't seen that one person. Was Xiaoshuai too harsh? He doesn't know. But isn't this what he wanted? He's blaming his feelings on the fact that it's a slow day at the clinic and he doesn't need his techs to help him, so his mind is free to wander by the low traffic coming through the doors. Just as he thinks his mind is clear, the bell chimes and Chi Cheng walks in, Guo Chengyu trailing behind him. He raises an eyebrow, mainly at Chi Cheng. “Yes?”
“Where's my boyfriend?” Is the immediate response.
Xiaoshuai scoffs. “Shouldn't you know better than me? He's not here.”
The look Chi Cheng gives Xiaoshuai is unamused.
“Chi Cheng, why don't you call Wu Suowei?” He sighs after a second. When Chi Cheng steps aside while pulling his phone out to get to the bottom of this, it's just him and Guo Chengyu lingering around the counter. And Xiaoshuai feels a slight flush creeping up on his cheeks.
“Slow day?” Chengyu breaks the silence.
“Um, yeah. That's why I sent Wu Suowei home.” He mumbles softly, trying to remain casual in this conversation. “Uh…” He hesitates, scratching the back of his head. “I've been meaning to say thank you… for, uh, getting me lunch that one day. That was very sweet of you.” He stumbles over his words.
Chengyu looks at him in awe, a smile spreading across his face. “It was no problem at all.”
“Yeah, but, you didn't really need to do that. I appreciate it, though.” Xiaoshuai's face is hotter than ever.
“Like I said, it's not a big deal.” Chengyu says, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. And that, for some reason, makes more butterflies swarm his stomach. Xiaoshuai sighs softly.
“Thank you..” Xiaoshuai says almost inaudibly, avoiding eye contact. He sits in the chair at the check-in counter, trying to look busy, but he’s really not. And it’s sort of obvious, given the fact that no one is in the waiting room. It’s an empty clinic at this point. His mind is swimming with so many thoughts. He looks over at Chi Cheng, who is on the phone with Wu Suowei, and it seems that they’re discussing plans for the rest of the night. There’s a bit of an awkward silence - awkward to Xiaoshuai more than anything. Chengyu is standing nearby, leaning against the counter, one arm crossed over the other as he mindlessly scrolls through his phone.
After a few moments, Chi Cheng comes back up, explaining to Guo Chengyu that they’re going to meet up with Wu Suowei. Xiaoshuai just keeps an ear open as he continues to make himself look busy, but he’s really just trying to keep his composure. Chengyu turns to him with a soft smile, giving him a small “bye” before waving and heading out, trailing close behind his best friend.
Xiaoshuai releases that breath he didn’t know he had been holding, leaning back in his chair. He still has a few hours before he has to close the clinic. It’s going to be a long day, he just knows it.