Chapter Text
Qiao Ling knew something was wrong the moment she walked into the studio. Everything was too quiet. Suspiciously quiet. She paused at the doorway, narrowing her eyes.
Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang were sitting way too close on the couch. Not touching. But close enough that if either of them breathed slightly wrong, they’d bump shoulders. And they were both frozen like two NPCs waiting for dialogue options.
Qiao Ling leaned against the doorframe. “Why do you guys look like you just got caught committing a crime?”
Cheng Xiaoshi flinched like he got shot. “WE DIDN’T-”
Lu Guang spoke at the exact same time, calm but way too fast. “Nothing happened.”
A very slow grin spread across Qiao Ling's face. “Oh?” she said. “Something definitely happened.”
Five minutes earlier
Cheng Xiaoshi had been lying on the couch, scrolling on his phone like his life depended on it.
Lu Guang sat beside him, pretending to read.
Keyword: pretending.
Because for the past three minutes, he had not turned a single page.
Cheng Xiaoshi shifted slightly. His head brushed against Lu Guang's lap.
Both of them froze. “Sorry...” Cheng Xiaoshi muttered, not looking up.
“It’s fine.”
Neither of them moved away. Because moving away would make it weird.
(As if it wasn’t already.)
Cheng Xiaoshi cleared his throat. “Uh... What’re you reading?”
Lu Guang glanced down at the book he had not processed at all. “…A case file.”
“Is it interesting?”
“It’s productive.”
“What does that even mean??”
Lu Guang didn’t answer.
Cheng Xiaoshi laughed awkwardly. Then, without thinking much about it, he reached over and brushed something off Lu Guang’s sleeve.
“There was dust.” he said quickly.
Lu Guang went completely still. “I didn’t notice.”
“Yeah, well, I did.” Cheng Xiaoshi said, already regretting every life decision that led him here.
Their eyes met.
Big mistake.
Huge mistake.
Cheng Xiaoshi’s brain stopped working.
Lu Guang’s grip on the book tightened slightly.
There was a moment. A very specific moment. The kind that felt like something should happen. Neither of them knew what. So instead they both looked away at the exact same time.
“…Right.” Cheng Xiaoshi said.
“…Yes.” Lu Guang replied.
Qiao Ling was fighting for her life trying not to laugh.
“So,” she said, casually dropping her bag. “what were you guys doing?”
“Nothing.” they said at the same time.
She clapped once. “Wow. So synchronized. You practice that?”
Cheng Xiaoshi groaned. “Qiao Ling, please-”
“No no, continue.” she said, already pulling out her phone like she was about to take notes. “This is very educational. I’m studying..." She gestured between the two, "whatever this is.”
“It’s called minding your own business.” Lu Guang said flatly.
“Oh, so you can talk.” Qiao Ling shot back immediately. “Interesting. You weren’t doing much of that two seconds ago.”
Cheng Xiaoshi buried his face in his hands. “Can we not do this today…”
Qiao Ling walked over and plopped down right across from them, eyes sparkling with menace.
“Nope!” she said cheerfully. “We’re absolutely doing this.” She pointed at one of them. “You.” Then the other. “And you... are not dating?”
“Correct.” Lu Guang said.
“Yeah.” Cheng Xiaoshi added.
Qiao Ling leaned forward. “But you’re also not not dating.”
Cheng Xiaoshi choked. “What does that even mean??”
“It means,” she said dramatically, “you two are in the most painful slow-burn situationship I have ever witnessed in my entire life.”
Lu Guang sighed. “That’s not a real term.”
“It is now.”
Cheng Xiaoshi looked like he wanted to evaporate. “We’re just-”
“Just what?” Qiao Ling cut in immediately.
“Friends...”
She stared at him. Then looked at Lu Guang. Then back at Cheng Xiaoshi. “Friends?” she repeated slowly.
Cheng Xiaoshi nodded.
“Friends who sit five centimeters apart.”
“…It’s a couch.”
“Friends who stare at each other like they’re about to confess in a low-budget romance drama.”
“I do NOT-”
“Friends who brush dust off each other like it’s a life-or-death mission.”
Cheng Xiaoshi froze in place. Lu Guang went very, very still.
Qiao Ling’s grin turned feral. “OH MY GOD I WAS RIGHT-”
“IT WAS JUST DUST-” Cheng Xiaoshi yelled. “YOU DIDN’T EVEN SEE IT HAPPEN-”
“I DIDN’T NEED TO.” she shot back. “I felt the tension from the door!"
Lu Guang stood up abruptly. “I have work.”
“Sit down.” Qiao Ling said immediately.
He sat back down.
Cheng Xiaoshi stared at him. “BRO??”
“I panicked.”
“Fair.”
Qiao Ling clutched her chest. “This is insane. I’m watching two grown men collapse over eye contact.”
“We are not collapsing.” Lu Guang said.
Cheng Xiaoshi immediately, “We are collapsing.”
“Stop agreeing with her.”
“I can’t lie under pressure.”
Qiao Ling wiped an imaginary tear. “This is better than any drama I’ve ever watched.” She stood up, pointing at them like a villain making a declaration. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’m going to fix this.”
Both of them froze.
“Fix what?..” Cheng Xiaoshi asked cautiously.
Qiao Ling smiled mischievously. “Your love lives.”
“NO-”
“Absolutely not.”
She was already walking away. “Oh, it’s happening.” she called over her shoulder. “You guys clearly need professional help.”
“We do NOT-”
“You do.” she said. “And unfortunately for you, I’m the professional.”
The door slammed behind her.
Silence fell over the studio again.
Cheng Xiaoshi slowly turned to Lu Guang. "We’re screwed.”
Lu Guang stared straight ahead. "Statistically, yes.”
“Hey...” Cheng Xiaoshi said.
“What?”
“There’s dust on your sleeve again.”
Lu Guang looked down on his shirt. “Where?”
Cheng Xiaoshi reached over. Stopped. Their eyes met. Again.
Qiao Ling’s voice echoed faintly from outside, “I CAN STILL FEEL THE TENSION THROUGH THE WALL.”
“STOP LISTENING!” Cheng Xiaoshi yelled.
"Nope 🩷"
Lu Guang quietly moved two centimeters away. Cheng Xiaoshi noticed, moved two centimeters closer. Neither of them acknowledged it.