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Su She crosses his arms over his chest, “Jin Zixun, move.”
“Not until you do it.”
Su She has half a mind to just punch him in the face to get him out of the way, but he also knows that will likely just send him to the dean’s office, and he has no interest in seeing Lan Qiren today or ever again in life.
He sighs, “We’re already late for class, will you just move?”
Jin Zixun just leans closer, blocking the bottom of the staircase, “Then kiss me.”
Su She frowns and leans back, “Why should I? Haven’t I rejected you like four times already?”
“Yeah, this is repayment for that as well.”
“Why am I the one repaying you?”
“Emotional damages.”
Su She rolls his eyes, “Whatever.” Then he gets an idea, “Why don’t I create a tab then?”
“A tab?”
He nods, “Mhm. And every time you ask for a kiss, you can just add it on, and I’ll pay you back when I’m ready.”
Jin Zixun thinks for a moment, “How do I know you’re not lying?”
“I’ll make a contract.”
“Fine. But you still have to pay me for right now.”
Su She scowls, “But my tab-”
“Isn’t valid until we sign the contract.”
“Fine, close your eyes.”
Jin Zixun closes his eyes, humming happily when he feels a fist connect with his stomach. He doubles over, and Su She runs past him, laughing.
“I’ll see you later!”
Jin Zixun wants to chase after him but is in too much pain. He gives Su She’s back a half-smile.
The next time they see each other is in detention.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
Su She glares at the grin Jin Zixun gives him.
“This is your fault! You made me late for class! I’m counting this as a kiss for wasting my time.”
Jin Zixun just scoots his chair closer, bumping their shoulders together, “Did you draft the contract yet?”
Su She huffs and pulls the paper out of his bag. The reason he suggested making a tab was that he knew Jin Zixun didn’t stay fixated on things for very long. He only ever chased after people for a few months at most, and then someone else would catch his eye. So Su She knew that if he left the tab for long enough, Jin Zixun would forget about it altogether.
Jin Zixun reads the contract carefully, making sure there are no flaws or loopholes. He frowns in concentration. Su She pokes the space between his eyebrows.
“Don’t frown when you read, you’ll get lines.”
Jin Zixun looks up at him, face unreadable. Su She yanks his hand away from his face, feeling an unwanted blush form on his cheeks.
“Are you done yet?”
Jin Zixun looks back down, smirking, “I was getting towards the end when you touched me.”
Su She crosses his arms over his chest and sits back in his chair, huffing. When Jin Zixun is finished with the contract, he hums happily and signs the bottom. Su She relaxes a little at his acceptance and signs as well.
“What are you two doing?” The proctor at the front of the room calls out.
Su She buries his head back in the sheets of his homework, and Jin Zixun pretends to be writing something.
Mission accomplished.
Su She owes Jin Zixun many kisses that he will never pay back. After they sign the contract Jin Zixun starts tacking on kisses to everything. Blocking the staircase, his locker, sitting next to him at lunch. God forbid Su She needs to borrow a pencil. He’d rather ask Lan Wangji at this point. Though he’s sure the boy would just stab him through the eye with it.
Su She isn’t entirely sure if Jin Zixun is keeping score of the number of kisses he’s owed. He’ll probably just say a random number when asked. Not that Su She is interested.
“How many is it today so far?”
“Today, you’ve tallied up a total of five kisses.”
Su She rolls his eyes, “Where’d you get that number?”
Jin Zixun puts his arm around his shoulders, “Two for the staircase, two for lunch, and one to walk you home.”
“I told you not to walk me home.”
“Oh, really?”
Su She shoves him away, “Take that one off. You didn’t keep your end of the deal.”
Jin Zixun pouts, “But it’s just one kiss.”
“Exactly! One whole kiss and you still walked me home. It’s robbery!”
Jin Zixun grumbles, “Fine, but I’m charging you extra for lunch tomorrow then.”
“I thought you said I get a discount for lunch on Wednesdays!”
By now they’ve reached Su She’s apartment building, still arguing.
“How am I supposed to take half off of three kisses? One and a half kisses?”
“Yes! A cheek kiss is a half kiss.”
“Fine, then! One and a cheek kiss for lunch tomorrow. You better remember.”
Su She agrees with this bargain. They shake hands on it, and Su She heads up to his apartment, humming happily.
Su She has long lost count of how many kisses are on his tab, and that worries him. It’s been three months, and Jin Zixun still hasn’t lost interest. He still blocks Su She in the staircase, still charges him for not sitting with him at lunch (he raises his price from two to two and a cheek kisses), and still insists on walking him home, even when Su She says he’s losing kisses.
At first Su She thought it was just because Jin Zixun refused to let Su She get away without a scratch. But then they got a new transfer student in their class. She was pretty, short, and very curvy, exactly Jin Zixun’s type. But, the boy had barely batted an eye at her, too focused on debating with Su She about the value of a forehead kiss (eventually they agree it’s one-quarter of a kiss). That’s when Su She begins to worry.
He’d done everything in his power to get Jin Zixun to pay attention to her, asking, “Isn’t she pretty?”
Jin Zixun had just responded with a quizzical look, “I thought you weren’t into girls?”
So, Su She went to his last hope, Jin Guangyao. He’d been avoiding coming to him since he and Jin Zixun lived together, and he didn’t want to make it awkward for them.
Jin Guangyao frowns at him when he tells him his problem.
“You’re upset that he’s not showing interest in her?”
“I mean, I’m not upset, per se. It just doesn’t make sense!”
Jin Guangyao looks even more confused, “Why not?”
“Jin Zixun always moves on after a few weeks or months of chasing someone down. That’s just how he is! But now he’s not even pretending to be interested in anyone else. And when I bring it up he acts like I’m being the weird one when he’s the one following me around like there’s not a pretty girl that’s just his type sitting two feet away from us!”
Jin Guangyao’s brow unfurrows in clarity, “Oh, I see.”
“You get it, right? It’s lik-”
“Minshan, are you scared he might actually like you?”
Su She blushes, “No! I’m not scared, because it’s not possible! Us being together doesn’t make sense!”
Jin Guangyao looks amused now, “But a few months ago, didn’t you say-”
“Yeah, but that’s me. Jin Zixun is Jin Zixun. He never takes anything seriously.”
Jin Guangyao just nods, “If that’s what you want to think. But I think he just likes you.”
Su She wants to tell him that he’s insane, but just sighs and lays back in bed. Whatever, Jin Zixun would leave him alone soon enough. He always did.
It’s the Monday of the last week of school, and Su She is so close to tasting freedom. He’s on his way to his class when Jin Zixun suddenly appears in front of him.
Su She rolls his eyes, “Just put in on my tab.”
Jin Zixun beams at him, “Invalid. I only accept payment in cash now.”
Su She frowns, “What? That’s not fair!”
“What do you mean it’s not fair? These are the terms of your contract.”
“Where the hell did you see that?”
Jin Zixun pulls out the sheet of paper as if he expected Su She to say something like this. He kept the original copy of the contract after accusing Su She of potentially going back on his word. The bottom line of the contract is highlighted in blue.
“See? ‘All charges on the tab will be paid back by the last week of school at the latest.’”
Su She internally panics. He made those the terms because he thought there was no way that Jin Zixun would still care by now! It was so far from his mind, he even forgot he made those terms! He should’ve said the end of high school if it meant Jin Zixun would leave him alone.
He looks at the other boy, asking slowly, “How many do I owe?”
Jin Zixun takes out a notebook, flipping through the pages, “Five hundred and thirty-four and cheek-hug kisses.”
Su She goes bright red, “There’s no way! You’re making that up!”
Jin Zixun hands him the notebook, “How dare you! I made a detailed recording of all the kisses you owed me day-by-day, even the cheek-forehead-hug ones. Adding it all up and converting all part-kisses to full kisses, you get five hundred and thirty-four and a cheek-hug kisses.”
Su She flips through the notebook. He did indeed have a detailed recording of all the kisses added on in a day, down to what they paid for. He also included unit conversions for the partial-kisses into whole kisses.
“Who the hell even makes a list like this? Couldn’t you just make up a number or, better yet, leave me alone!”
Jin Zixun frowns, “But… I like you.”
It’s almost as if the words don’t register with Su She, the way they ring in his ears before being properly processed by his brain.
“Huh?”
“Aren’t you tired of playing so hard to get? I mean, I did all this so you would see I do take things seriously, but you still-” He sighs, “Whatever.”
Su She’s brain still isn’t quite there yet, “But you- the new girl-”
Su She’s world tilts. Literally. He finds himself with his back on the staircase, Jin Zixun caging him in with one of his hands, the other keeping Su She’s head from cracking on the stone. He feels his face heat up and pushes his palms against his chest.
“What are you doing?”
Jin Zixun scowls down at him, “I don’t like her. Why do you keep trying to make me like her?”
“Well, you don’t like me either!"
“Yes, I do! And you like me, too!”
Su She sputters, “Who said I liked you?”
Jin Zixun looks at him in pure, frustrated exasperation, “You did!”
“When?”
“A few months ago when you were talking to Jin Guangyao on the couch. It was Valentine’s Day, and he asked if you liked anyone, and you said you liked me!”
Su She goes silent in shock before slapping his chest, “Why the hell were you eavesdropping?”
“You were in the living room of my house! How is it eavesdropping if it’s in a public area?”
Su She turns away, ready to die of embarrassment. He had said that. He was lamenting being single on a Valentine’s day with Jin Guangyao and may have let it slip that he had a crush on the other boy’s cousin. But he hadn’t known Jin Zixun was there! Otherwise, the words would’ve never left his mouth under pain of death!
Jin Zixun leans closer to him, and Su She leans further into the hard stone staircase, feeling his back pop against the edge. He refuses to look at Jin Zixun, even when the other boy speaks.
“Are you done pretending now?”
Su She keeps his eyes trained on the far wall behind Jin Zixun’s head, refusing to give in. He feels more than hears Jin Zixun’s sigh of defeat.
“Whatever.”
Jin Zixun begins to pull away, but Su She moves faster. His hands move without permission from Jin Zixun’s chest, further up and around his shoulders. He pulls him down into a tight hug.
“It was one hug, right?” he mutters into his shoulder.
Jin Zixun relaxes into the embrace, holding him, “Yeah.”
Su She feels his heart in his throat, turning his head and pressing his lips against Jin Zixun’s face, whispering.
“And one cheek kiss, right?”
Jin Zixun doesn’t move, “Mhm.”
Su She turns his head a little more, closer to the corner of Jin Zixun’s mouth, “And then it was-mm!”
Jin Zixun cuts him off with a soft kiss. Su She squeaks in surprise, mouth still parted from when he was speaking. Jin Zixun presses even closer, deepening the kiss, and Su She can feel the boy’s heartbeat pound against his own chest. He melts against Jin Zixun’s mouth, kissing back slowly.
Jin Zixun shifts and his knee bumps into a stair. He tries to pull away for a second, but Su She pulls him back down with a noise.
Su She never thought his first kiss would be on a staircase floor but here he is, holding onto Jin Zixun like a lifeline. The stairs are digging into his back painfully, and he keeps squirming until Jin Zixun pulls him up and pins him to the wall instead, barely disconnecting their lips.
Now instead of the staircase trying to crush his kidneys, it’s the banister, but Su She couldn’t care less. Now standing up, he has to tilt his head up to reach Jin Zixun’s mouth. When they finally manage to pull away from each other, Su She feels how warm his cheeks are. He opens his eyes slowly, and Jin Zixun is staring down at him, eyes alight.
“That’s one.”
Su She blinks.
“One! But that was- we were doing it for so long!”
“Yeah, but it was only one kiss.”
“No way!”
“What do you mean ‘No way’? It was only one kiss! How else would you classify it?”
“It was at least three! One kiss is up to ten seconds!”
“Fifteen!”
“You-! Fine, but I’m timing them!”
Su She pulls out his phone and before he can open his stopwatch, Jin Zixun is kissing him again. Su She makes a soft noise, but kisses back, eyes still on his phone.
He hits start on the stopwatch just as Jin Zixun pins his wrist to the wall. He kisses Su She in a way that makes his knees weak. Having his second kiss pressed against a staircase wall is a little more acceptable, he supposes. Especially when Jin Zixun cups his jaw, tilting his head and deepening it.
He makes a soft noise and almost drops his phone.
"Are you really timing this?" Jin Zixun mutters against his lips.
"Of course I am. You're a known cheater."
Jin Zixun scoffs and kisses him again.
A loud throat-clearing has Su She shoving Jin Zixun away with all of his strength.
Lan Xichen is in the doorway to the staircase, very pointedly not looking at them.
“Jin Zixun, Su She, your teachers are looking for you. Luckily, the dean is too busy right now to look as well.”
Su She bows his head in embarrassment and shame. Jin Zixun just crosses his arms over his chest, annoyed at having been interrupted.
“S-sorry, Zewu-Jun,” Su She mutters, calling Lan Xichen by the nickname all of the students had given him.
Lan Xichen just shakes his head, finally looking at them, “Just please go to class and… no more of this on school property.”
Su She bows his head again and drags Jin Zixun off to class.
Last Valentine’s Day:
“I hate being single,” Su She laments, draped across Jin Guangyao’s couch.
His friend just smiles at him, “Did you have someone you wanted to spend today with?”
Su She squirms and begins to blush, unsure if he should say the person’s name in his own house. Jin Guangyao catches his nervousness and teases, “So there is someone you like. You can tell me.”
Su She buries his face in a throw pillow, too busy being dramatic to hear Jin Zixun walk out of the kitchen and into the living room.
“Jin Zixun,” he mumbles, not looking up.
Jin Guangyao’s teasing smile freezes in horror as Jin Zixun pauses right behind the couch. He breathes a sigh of relief when he reads the confusion evident on his face.
‘Good, he doesn’t know the context, then.’
Then, Su She repeats, with more conviction, “I like Jin Zixun.”
‘Minshan, you idiot.’
The confusion vanishes from Jin Zixun’s face and goes to shock, then he smiles. Jin Guangyao is sure he’s never seen such a soft smile on his cousin’s face in his life. He meets his eyes over the back of the couch, and Jin Zixun raises a finger to his lips and sneaks off.
A few days later, Su She comes to Jin Guangyao in a state of shock.
“Jin Zixun asked me out,” he says, breathless.
Jin Guangyao puts down his phone, thinking over the information, “And you said yes?”
Su She scowls, “Of course not. I’m not stupid.”
“But you said you liked him.”
“I did. I do. But that doesn’t mean he’d be a good boyfriend. He’s never serious about anything. If I got mad he’d probably just laugh it off, the jerk.”
Jin Guangyao sneaks a subtle, pointed glance at Jin Zixun, who is hiding behind a doorway, out of Su She’s line of sight. Jin Zixun glares at Su She in offense and hurt, then at Jin Guangyao to defend him.
“I think he can be serious when it counts,” he tries.
Su She rolls his eyes, “I’ve never seen it. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it. It’s weirding me out. Can I see your math notes?”
Jin Guangyao gives him his notebook, but is unwilling to drop the subject while Jin Zixun is still watching.
“What do you like about Zixun?”
Su She’s hand pauses in the middle of flipping a page, “I don’t know. I like the way he argues with me, I guess.”
“You… like arguing with him?”
“It’s not like we’re actually arguing.” He turns the notebook pages, “And he’s cool, I guess. And he’s not ugly.”
Jin Guangyao gives Jin Zixun an amused look, “You think he’s handsome?”
Su She scoffs, “I said ‘not ugly’.”
“Of course. My mistake.”
Jin Zixun’s spirits look sufficiently lifted, and Jin Guangyao discreetly shoos him out of the room before Su She can notice.
Su She pulls away from Jin Zixun’s mouth and hits the stop on his timer.
“Two minutes and thirty-four seconds.”
“Ten and one forehead kisses,” Jin Zixun answers immediately.
“How are you so good at that?”
He shrugs, “Just for calculating your kisses.”
Su She rolls his eyes, but can’t force down his smile, hiding his face in Jin Zixun’s neck. “You’re so dumb,” he says, without a hint of displeasure. He pulls away and looks into Jin Zixun’s eyes, still smiling, “So, does that take care of my debt?”
Jin Zixun nods but tightens his hands around Su She’s waist, “But there’s interest, you know.”
Su She’s jaw drops, “No there isn’t! That’s not in the contract!”
Jin Zixun pouts, “But then how else would I get you to kiss me?”
Su She rolls his eyes, “Just ask, you dork.”
“But what if you say no? What if you don’t want to date me anymore?”
Jin Zixun’s voice is trying very hard to sound teasing, but his eyes betray the insecurity he feels. Su She gives him a small smile and kisses his nose.
“Dummy. Of course I still want to date you.”
Jin Zixun hides his grin in Su She’s chest, “It’s because I’m amazing.”
Su She rolls his eyes, “Whatever.”
The front door to the Jin house opens, and Su She starts so badly, he throws himself off balance and onto the floor.
Jin Zixuan takes a look at them and says, “Please stop making out on our couch.”
Jin Zixun helps his boyfriend back up. Su She doesn’t sit back on his lap but on the far more appropriate place next to him.
Jin Zixun puts an arm around his shoulders, “You’re just jealous because you have no one to make out with.”
Jin Zixuan rolls his eyes, “As if. I would just rather my home go untainted.”
“Hey!”
Su She just leans into Jin Zixun’s embrace, ignoring their bickering as he changes the channels on the TV.