Work Text:
Huan Tong had grown used to walking with three other people. Before, His older foster brother Lin Qingyu, insisted on walking to school together and used the time as a slot to fuss over him. Huan Tong suspected the reason he did was to shake off all the excess maternal energy he couldn’t suffocate the youngest with.
It was why he was grateful when Jiang Xing and Hua Lu had joined up with them.
Jiang Xing had the ability to snatch Lin Qingyu’s attention wholeheartedly and the other teen revelled in it.
Huan Tong basked in the fervour of youthful love while Hua Lu watched them out of the corner of her eye. They could accept bedroom eyes but at the slightest hint of linking pinkie, the beast inside the younger girl would growl against its muzzle. Huan Tong admired the girl’s dedication to defending her cousin’s purity.
It was a particularly nice morning and it made him want to sing with the birds. He hoped the weather would hold out, he would love to go out for an evening bike ride. Anything to avoid studying the harrowing words confined to the pages of his economics textbook. He shuddered at the very thought.
“Huan Tong, you want a sweet bun?” Hua Lu offered.
“No thanks,” he declined as he turned around. He blinked at the empty space behind them. “Weren’t they just behind us?”
Hua Lu whipped around so fast Huan Tung swore he heard her neck crack. “They wouldn’t have!” she sounded aghast. “It’s not even ten in the morning.”
Huan Tong suspected what she was talking about but he also liked not feeling nauseous so he compartmentalised. “We should just go ahead of them. Lin-xiong won’t be late for school. They’re together so they should be fine.”
Hua Lu inhaled sharply before letting out a full body sigh. “It’s because they’re together that I’m so worried.” she grumbled.
^^
Lin Qingyu was blessed with elegant features and an enthralling disposition. It was a natural response to look up and stare when he walked into a room. One look was all it took for a person to offer their total devotion to him.
There were certainly advantages that coexisted with these facts but there were also surely unpleasant downsides to that.
One of which he was currently being forced to handle.
“Come on, pretty president,” the beefy student sneered at him. The coldness of Lin Qingyu’s glare scratched at his ego and he pressed on, unwilling to yield to the clear signs of distaste and displeasure. “All we’re asking for is a kiss.”
Lin Qingyu was only holding himself back with the image of his would-be assailant squealing like a pig with his thin fingers wrapped around the beast’s neck to soothe his irritation. He had been doing his duty of locking all the activity rooms in the evening after club and sport activities had been completed before he had been cornered.
He really wanted to let loose on this trash scoundrel but the door to this room was wide open and it wouldn’t do his reputation any good to be caught pommeling a guy. The alternative would be to push past him, but his pride would rather have him die than run from a barnacle. He would have to have to decide quickly, every second spent on thinking the creature’s rancid breath got closer to him.
“President Lin. I’d thought you’d abandoned me,” Jiany Xing’s frame filled the doorway. His voice made the accoster stiffen up while Lin Qingyu felt himself relax.
Lin Qingyu glared at him. A kinder look from Lin Qingyu had brought a man to his knees but Jianq Xing’s brows furrowed, he looked concerned. “Did I forget to do trash duty, President Lin? I’m sorry, don’t be angry. I didn’t mean slack off on a task that could affect you.”
The third person in the room glanced between the other two, observing the one-sided conversation. Emboldened by Lin Qingyu’s silence, he stepped towards Jiang Xing, puffing out his chest. “Oi, what do you think-”
“Since when could trash talk?” All the warmth in Jiang Xing’s voice vanished like an illusion. His genial face bore an expression that would make granite feel like a warm pillow. The recipient instinctively shrunk back, arms subconsciously dropping “Are you that eager to be taken out? Just be patient. This Xiong will complete his task.”
“I’ll do it myself.”
“Oho I thought our darling president was angry with me but he’s promising me a show instead.”
Ah, I f*cked up. Was the last thought the delinquent had before his lights got knocked off.
^^
When Jiang Xing comes to the student council room, messenger bag slung over his shoulder and ice boba tea in his hand the council sighs with relief and joy because it signals the school day is over for them.
The tradition had already been established by the time Hu Ji had joined the student council. Lin Qingyu was the perfect picture of calm and composed, consistently working away on whatever jobs the student council were dealing with for the season. The only time Hu Ji ever saw him let down his hair or smile in other ways other than polite was at the end of the day.
For most of them it was because they were finally free to go home, but their president had something more to look forward to.
Hu Ji smiled at him as he walked by his desk, Jiang Xing nodded back in greeting before heading to the back of the room.
Hu Ji stood up and started clearing his desk. The student council was currently planning for the annual talent show and he was slated to approve or reject performances as needed. He was glad to see how eager people were to display their skills but between this and reading chemistry the soreness of his eyes were keeping him from a good sleep.
“What flavour is this?” Lin Qingyu’s voice, wariness apparent from his tone of voice.
“Taste it,” Jiang Xing deflected. “I even got the coloured cup to keep the surprise.”
“I don’t like surprises,” Lin Qingyu replied.
“But you like me,” Jiang Xing cheekily replied. “Just trust me.”
Hu Ji sighed, as he zipped up his bag and left the room. He should call his friend for dumplings.
Ma Sujie, their vice treasurer, let out a lovelorn sigh. “I wish my boyfriend would pick me up from the council room every evening.”
Bai Huixiu, events manager and promoter, scoffed. “You would complain about feeling suffocated by him. What do you think, Xiansheng?”
“I think it is kind,” Hu Ji replied.
“Aww, Xiansheng is so romantic. Bai Hiuxiu, you should learn from him.”
“Who should be learning what?!
^^
Quite frankly, Sun Yanying doesn’t get the hype.
If you asked him, Lin Qingyu was a stuck-up rich boy with Daddy’s money to soften his path in life. Jiang Xing was the picture of arrogance and his nonchalance pissed him off. He didn’t have to interact with them and he avoided any reason to disrupt this established order. He shared a homeroom with them but he wasn’t going to fawn over them like a thirsty fan.
It was rotten luck that he ended up staying in the classroom over lunch with those two inconsiderate lovebirds in the back. It wasn’t his fault that he had forgotten to do his English worksheet! His family dog was sick and his sister wouldn’t stop annoying the whole household with her crying over the fact.
So he’s stuck in his classroom, pickled plum rice balls in one hand, furiously scribbling pencil in his other, open English textbook in front of him and the blasted snake and dog duo to his back.
“I just want to stay inside, Qingyu. I’m so tired.”
“Eat before you sleep.”
“I had something before. I’ll be alright.”
“You’ll just be hungry during class then. I don’t want that beast of a stomach you have interrupting the lesson.”
“Hmm then feed me Qingyu. Please~~”
I hope you choke on it. Yanying thought viciously, stuffing the rest of the rice ball in his mouth and wiping his hand on his trouser. The worksheet was more difficult than he had thought.
“Qingyu is so good to me. I wish you would feed me everyday.”
“What would you be doing with your hands?”
“The most important task of all. Holding you in my arms.”
He can’t take this. “Could you quiet down? Some of us are trying to get some work done.” He snapped at them, turning around to shoot a glare at them.
Lin Qingyu glared right back at him, with enough venom in his gaze to melt a steel door. “Piss off to a library if you want to work during lunch time.”
Yanying turned back to his worksheet, grumbling about ‘stupid gays’ and ‘ abuse of power’ but he didn’t make another peep in their direction, even when Jiang Xing obnoxiously hummed and moaned at everything Lin Qingyu fed him.
^^
Lin Qingyu had his hand wrapped around Shen Huaishi’s wrist securely as he half-pulled, half-dragged him along to wherever he was going. Shen Huaishi wanted to ask where they were going or if he could let go because his hand was a little tight around his wrist but he felt compelled to keep his mouth shut.
Most people didn’t know because Qingyu loathed the idea of most people knowing him but their school president was extremely overprotective of his friends and possessive of his boyfriend. That meant that Qingyu would never allow his friends to hang around someone he believed was dangerous to their health in any way.
And he had stumbled upon Huaishi being cornered by Xiao Cheng.
Huaishi shoved all thoughts about him into the space Xiao Cheng had carved for himself in his mind. He would not be dealing with that tangled mess of emotions in school. Maybe at home, with his blackout curtains, warm blankets and orchestral music blasting his eardrums to oblivion.
“Xing and I were going to study for a few hours in the library. You should come with us for a bit.”
Huaishi wanted to go home and be alone truly but they did have assignments that he was behind and if it was two of them…at least he wouldn’t be lonely.
Jiang Xing had given him a warm, albeit a little confused, smile. Huaishi tried to convey his apologies for intruding wordlessly but Jiang Xing exchanged a glance with Qingyu before realisation washed across his face.
He was intrigued by it. The telepathic connection that the two of them shared. It was always fascinating to see it. He wondered what quirk opened them to each other. Was the way their eyebrows arched or lips quirked? An obscure blinking pattern or blatant body language?
He wanted what they had. He realised, watching as Lin Qingyu settled down and focused on his book. He was sitting close to Jiang Xing, invading his personal space but the other teen just looked endeared rather than annoyed.
He wanted that trust and comfort. He wished he could have found it with Xi-
He really should focus on his assignments
^^
Jiang Xing is an absolute annoyance. Lin Qingyu concluded, collecting his fifth small bouquet on the day. He appreciated the fact that it was clearly one big bouquet divided down and not five separate large bouquets. The flowers smiled too nice for him to gather any anger.
Where was his lazy boyfriend? The man he loved would certainly not have spent hours planning out an elaborate valentine - but it seemed he had. He had also managed to rope strangers, friends and acquaintances alike into his ploy. Every desk that Lin Qingyu used had welcomed him with flowers and dessert.
It would be nice if he also let Lin Qingyu see his face. They were deskmates so Jiang Xing hadn’t completely avoided him but he certainly hadn’t clung to Lin Qingyu’s side like he normally did.
Inhaling the light fragrance again, Lin Qingyu determinedly shut his locker and walked towards the staircase. If he knew his boyfriend as well as he believed then the logical next location-
“Took you a while, baobei,” Jiang Xing greeted with a grin. “I was getting worried.”
Lin Qingyu didn’t reply, striding forward with purpose. Jiang Xing’s confident grin faltered at the neutral expression on Qingyu’s face.
“Ah, the flowers weren’t a hit?” he chuckled nervously.
Lin Qingyu grabbed the lapels of his school blazer and dragged him forward. “You are infuriating.” He judged, before kissing him.
“And you are as sweet as sugar,” Jiang Xing professed, when they separated for air. “Let’s do this again next year.”
Lin Qingyu rolled his eyes at the sappiness before shutting them both up with another kiss.