"Why do we have to do this off-campus?" Jiang Xiao Shuai grumbled, squinting at the cloudy sky.
"Because," Cheng Yu said, loading the tripod into the backseat of the cab, "the community center director only agreed to talk today. And because our dear club president said, and I quote, 'You two need to bond or kill each other trying.'"
"I vote kill," Xiao Shuai muttered.
Cheng Yu grinned, holding the door open for him. "How romantic."
They rode in silence for a while, save for the occasional honk and Cheng Yu sipping something that was definitely his second bubble tea of the day.
Xiao Shuai stared out the window, earbuds in — but no music playing. Just static. He was too aware of the warmth beside him, the way Cheng Yu's knee kept brushing his. On purpose? No. Hopefully not.
The cab hit a bump.
Their shoulders touched.
Neither of them moved.
***
The interview at the community center went fine. Better than fine, actually.
Cheng Yu turned on his professional charm, warm, engaging, funny when it counted. He made the director smile, made the children laugh, asked thoughtful questions that surprised Xiao Shuai.
Xiao watched him behind the camera lens, frowning.
He's... good at this. Too good.
But something strange flickered in Cheng Yu's expression when he glanced at Xiao Shuai mid-interview like he was looking for approval. Or maybe just hoping for it.
They wrapped late. The clouds broke open the moment they stepped outside.
And of course — no umbrella.
***
They ran to a nearby bus shelter, clothes soaked, laughing in disbelief. Xiao Shuai shook out his hair like a wet cat.
"You owe me new shoes," he said, wringing out his hoodie.
"I owe you a lot more than that," Cheng Yu said, shivering slightly. "That shot you got of the kids playing? That was perfect. You're really good."
Xiao Shuai blinked, caught off-guard.
"...Thanks."
They sat in the cold silence of the shelter for a moment. Rain hammering the roof. Cheng Yu pulled his jacket tighter, then paused.
"Why do you hate me?" he asked, voice quiet.
Xiao Shuai looked at him, surprised.
"I don't hate you."
"You act like you do."
Xiao Shuai sighed, then looked away.
"I don't hate you. I just... don't trust people who pretend everything's easy."
Cheng Yu was silent for a beat.
"I don't pretend. I just survive."
Xiao Shuai looked back at him then. Really looked.
And for the first time, Cheng Yu's smile wasn't all shine. It was cracked around the edges, rain clinging to his lashes, his lips pressed in a tight line like he was trying not to say more.
Xiao Shuai's throat tightened.
"...You're freezing," he said, softer than he meant to. "Here."
He shrugged off his soaked hoodie and handed it over.
Cheng Yu took it, blinking.
"You'll be cold."
"You complain more than I do. You're delicate."
"I'm not—" Cheng Yu laughed, shaking his head, tugging the hoodie over his head. It hung slightly off his shoulders too narrow for his build but he didn't care.
"You'll get sick," Xiao Shuai muttered, moving slightly closer to share his body heat.
"Are you... worried about me?" Cheng Yu asked, smiling again but this time, it didn't feel performative.
Xiao Shuai looked straight ahead, heart hammering.
"Unfortunately," he muttered, echoing Cheng Yu's own words from before.
Cheng Yu stared at him.
Then laughed.
Quiet, honest, surprised.
"...You remembered."
Bonus Text: "I Think I'm in Trouble"
[Cheng Yu 🌀]
He gave me his hoodie.
In the rain.
After we fought.
And then didn't fight.
I think I'm dying?
[Chi Cheng 🧊]
You're not dying.
You're catching feelings.
Same symptoms, though.
[Cheng Yu 🌀]
I looked at him through the lens today.
Like really looked.
He looked back.
Didn't flinch.
[Chi Cheng 🧊]
Sounds fatal.
Call an ambulance. Or confess.
[Cheng Yu 🌀]
Very helpful, thanks.
How did you do it?
How did you fall in love with Wei Wei and survive it?
[Chi Cheng 🧊]
I didn't.
I died, came back, and decided I'd rather be in love with him than untouched by anyone else.
[Cheng Yu 🌀]
You're so dramatic 😒
But also
God I get it now.
[Chi Cheng 🧊]
Welcome to hell, bro.
It only gets worse from here.
Also, tell him you like him before Meng Tao shows up again.
[Cheng Yu 🌀]
What???
Why would you say that?
Do you know something???
[Chi Cheng 🧊]
Goodnight ❤️
***
Jiang Xiao Shuai POV
He should be asleep.
He wants to be asleep.
But every time Jiang Xiao Shuai closes his eyes, it's not dreams that greet him, it's that laugh.
That annoyingly low, warm, almost too charming laugh Guo Cheng Yu let out when their fingers accidentally touched on the bus bench. When Cheng Yu handed him back his camera lens with a teasing, "Careful, Xiao Director. You drop this and I'm not buying you a new one."
It wasn't the words.
It was how he laughed after – like he meant every joke, but also none of them. Like he was hiding something behind that crooked smile. Something that made Xiao Shuai's chest ache in ways he couldn't name.
He turns over, buries his face in the pillow, and sighs against the fabric.
The hoodie he wore earlier is still hanging on the chair by his desk. Damp. Smells like rain and static and Cheng Yu's cologne expensive and too bold, like the boy himself.
And stupidly, stupidly, Xiao Shuai wants to bury his face in it.
"Stop it," he mutters to no one.
Because he knows what this is.
He's been here before — not exactly like this, but close enough to know how it ends. Boys like Guo Cheng Yu don't stay. They flirt, they flash you that full-volume smile, they hold your wrist for a second too long... and then they vanish.
But.
But Cheng Yu didn't vanish. Not today. Not when Xiao Shuai was shivering in the rain and pretending not to.
He stayed.
And when Xiao Shuai gave him his hoodie, Cheng Yu took it. No flirting, no show. Just a quiet, almost hesitant, "Thanks."
Just that.
And it makes Xiao Shuai's throat tighten now, hours later in the dark, long after everyone else has gone quiet.
"Just don't fall first," he whispers to himself.
But he already knows it's too late.