Chapter Text
Maybe he was ‘behind the times’, perhaps a little old-fashioned, but Wei Ying never quite understood the need for name-brand items. He just simply didn’t understand why someone would spend over $200 on a belt when you could get a perfectly good one for $10, with the only difference being the lack of a Gucci symbol.
But here he was, sent by his brother, on a hunt for a good “well-priced” belt.
Unlike Wei Ying, his brother Jiang Cheng had been welcomed into their family company with open arms since birth. So Jiang Cheng never had an issue spending a godly amount of money. Wei Ying, since birth, was taught only one thing: His brother will one day be head of Jiang Industries, and Wei Ying will be nothing more than his assistant. Why else would a wealthy family like the Jiangs take in a useless orphan?
Growing up in the Jiang family wasn’t all that bad though. The Jiang siblings, unaware of their parents' reasoning for adopting Wei Ying, always thought of him as one of their own. Treating him as their brother and not someone who was brought in specifically to be their underling. Aside from Jiang Cheng, the Jiangs have another child, Jiang YanLi. She is, if you ask Wei Ying, the best person on this planet. She is kind, caring, beautiful, and strong. She is the only one who can calm Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng whenever things get heated. She, although close to Wei Ying in age, was the closest thing he had to a mother figure. Jiang YanLi would take care of him whenever he got sick or hurt. She would cook him food just to cheer him up when he was sad.
As Wei Ying entered the mall, he is hit with a shiver of dread. He looks around him and feels out of place. The mall, due to it being a school day, is mainly filled with prissy adults who think that what you wear defines you more than what you do. Usually, Wei Ying isn’t one to bat an eye at this kind of atmosphere, but for some reason, it feels like a whole other world when he, himself, has to purchase something of that caliber. Something that to him, is a complete waste of money.
As he makes his way to the Gucci storefront, he becomes increasingly aware of his appearance. He is wearing a light red button-down shirt, paired with loose-fitting black jeans. His long hair is in a high ponytail tied together with a thick red ribbon. Upon first glance, he looks fine, but once you get closer, you can see the slight flaws in his get-up. His shirt, along with his pants, has small but still noticeable holes. His black jeans are discolored, and some spots have been noticeably colored in with a black Sharpie.
He makes his way into the store and immediately makes his way to the belts. Normally, he is not one to pay attention to the price of items. Whenever he is brought to places like these, his job is to simply give his input and help carry out the bags afterwards. When he finally chances a glance at the pricing of the belts, he almost jumps.
Contrary to the $200 he had originally thought a belt here would cost, the cheapest he could find is one over $400.
He pulls out his phone to look at the photos his brother had sent, trying to find the belt or one similar to the one that he wants.
Unable to find the exact one, he decides to take photos so he can get his brother's approval before buying. As he snaps a photo of the third belt he found, he is unknowingly approached from behind.
“Excuse me, sir,” a man's voice comes from behind, “I only allow paying patrons into my store, and let me put it bluntly, you do not seem one to be of the sort.”
Wei Ying turns around only to be face-to-face with an employee.
“Huh?” he sputters, “But I will be a paying patron?”
The worker just scoffs at this and continues, “Look kid, I know a broke person when I see one.”
“Kid?” Wei Ying repeats.
“Your clothes are ripped and your shoes are unpolished, so would I be wrong to assume that you are simply here to either shoplift or scare off my customers with your dirty hands?”
“Dude, I’m looking at belts for someone else, not for me,” he begins, “And only a dumbass would shoplift this worthless junk anyway.”
The employee sputters, “Worthless junk?! I’ll have you know-”
The employee is cut off when Wei Ying looks at his phone and says in a flat voice, “Oh, would you look at that, my boss has decided on the belt he wants to spend an absurd amount of money on.”
Wei Ying grabs the belt, “So, if you’ll be so kind to assist me, I would like to become… what did you call it? Oh yeah, a ‘paying patron’.”
Wei Ying realizes that this was the wrong thing to say when the belt gets snatched out of his hands.
“Get your grubby hands off my merchandise and get out of my shop. I will not ask again.”
Although shocked, he persists, “Listen kid, I am on the clock and my boss will have my head if I don’t get him a belt before his meeting. So please just ring me up already.”
At this, the worker starts fuming, “I’m not an idiot, there’s no way in hell a broke bastard like you could afford to shop here.” The worker grabs Wei Ying's arm and yanks him toward the exit, “And if your ‘boss’ cared about his appearance, wouldn’t he dress his errand-boy a little better? If you really did have the money for this, it would only be because you stole it.”
Wei Ying hisses as his arm gets pulled, “Let me go! You asshole!” Wei Ying all but yells as he pulls his arm back, freeing himself of the other man's grasp. He stumbles back a little as he rubs his arm, trying to soothe the pain. As he moves back, however, he bumps into someone.
“Ah!” Wei Ying yelps and turns around, “I’m sor–” turning around too fast, he loses his balance. He starts to flail his arms around in an attempt to steady himself, his hand manages to hook onto something, and without even thinking, he pulls up.
Next thing he knew, time stood still. Wei Ying had not only managed to bump into a man with the most enticing eyes in the world, but also, in an attempt to save himself from falling, pulled on the other man’s shirt just hard enough, somehow managing their lips to touch for a brief moment. They pull back, but neither move.
The world seems to pause as Wei Ying looks into blinding gold eyes, entranced, almost as though he was never meant to look away from them. The other man stares back for a moment, then suddenly snaps out of it and pushes Wei Ying back, helping him stand up straight.
Wei Ying, still frozen, just looks at the other man as he avoids his gaze.
The man clears his throat and turns his attention to the employee that Wei Ying had forgotten completely about.
“SuShe, might I ask why exactly you were dragging a customer by his arm?” His voice was low but so smooth, the beautiful, rich voice shocking Wei Ying out of his stupor.
“Ahhh…” Wei Ying starts, not letting this ‘SuShe’ get a word in, “Well, I was simply here to buy a belt for my boss, and this dude started harassing me out of nowhere. Claiming that I was a thief and I was scaring off the ‘actual customers’.”
“Boss, I was just looking out for the merchandise. I know a thief when I see one!” SuShe defended.
“Once you see someone steal, then they are a thief. Until then, they are harmless.”