Chapter Text
“A-Niang, honestly I wish you wouldn’t stress so much about it. I think you’re over-reacting a little.”
“Why would I over-react, A-Cheng? When have you ever known me to over-react to anything?”
When you called the building superintendent to check on me because I didn’t answer my phone by the third time you rang, Mama, Jiang Cheng thought. But of course he didn’t dare say. He still didn’t know how she had even gotten the superintendent’s number. Probably when she had come to inspect the building personally before she had allowed him to take an apartment here. She had done the full range of health and safety assessments, so thoroughly the superintendent had thought she was a genuine inspector, rather than just an overprotective parent who was having sleepless nights at the thought of her youngest child leaving the nest for a little while to attend university.
He had been taking a shower at the time of the missed call, and things had gotten a little...steamy...for him, in more ways that one. And because of that he hadn’t realised how long he’d been under the spay. Or that he’d missed several calls from his mother.
Imagine his embarrassment when the superintendent had bashed on the bathroom door, interrupting him ‘showering’ to check he hadn’t passed out in there because his mother couldn’t get in touch with him and she had bullied the man until he agreed to check up on her almost-certainly-passed-out-or-dead son.
He was only saved from complete mortification by the fact there had been no way the superintendent would be able to tell exactly what he’d been doing in the shower from their shouted conversation through the bathroom door.
Needless to say it killed the mood. In fact it wasn’t something he’d dared to do again. And he now showered with his phone right next to the stall so he could always hear any calls.
He ended the conversation after a while, having actually managing to talk his mother down from sending over a locksmith to add at least three new locks to his apartment door after she’d read the news that burglary in Wuhan was increasing, and promising not to walk too close to the rivers, scared he was going to fall in and be swept away, (she was obsessed with the rivers).
Once free he set off for the local store to buy dinner.
He felt like he’d earned it in managing to talk his mother out of her latest panic attempt to wrap him in cotton-wool from afar so he was easily tempted into treating himself to boba tea along with the other things he threw into his basket, including snacks to keep him going while studying, and was on his way out of the exit when disaster struck.
He stepped out of the store, but had to dodge as a pair of young boys on bikes pedalled past. Right into a tall guy dressed all in black. The drink was caught between them, the lid shot off and the beverage went over them both in a fountain, covering them from head to toe.
He was frozen in shock for a moment, before he began trying to wipe the liquid from his face enough to see again.
“I’m so sorry! I dodged to avoid the bikes and didn’t see you.” He almost stuttered over the words; he couldn’t get the apology out fast enough.
The guy laughed, and Jiang Cheng paused, trying to squint from between his now-sticky lashes to assess the man. The last thing he had expected was the other to laugh; punch him, maybe, but definitely not laugh. And that smile, on that face; it was something else. As if everything that had already happened wasn’t enough of a nightmare, the guy had to be this good looking to torture him with a clownish first meeting.
“It’s fine, I saw them, if I hadn’t been jumping out of the way too I might have been able to avoid you.”
“I’m so sorry about your clothes.” That coat looked to be real leather, and custom made, and Jiang Cheng felt another flash of guilt. Perhaps they could still salvage everything. “My apartment is just around the corner, if we go quickly we might be able to wipe the worst from your jacket at least,” Jiang Cheng offered. A complicated look flitted across the man’s face, before he reached out and flicked Jiang Cheng on the forehead.
“You shouldn’t be inviting strangers back to your place, Cutie.”
“Then you can stay out in the hallway. Or just be sticky. It’s not like I care.” He had no idea where the sudden irritation came from; he should be contrite, not yelling at the guy he’d just soaked from head to toe.
“Better.” The guy just laughed again though. Was Jiang Cheng now a comedian? “If you don’t mind though, I’d very much like to at least stand in your hallway and try to wipe the jacket down. It’s quite expensive and I’d hate to have to beg my Mom to loan me the money to buy a new one.”
His words of course pricked Jiang Cheng’s guilt again, and he nodded rather than arguing further, and they set off.
“I’m Wei Wuxian, Cutie, what’s your name?”
“Jiang Cheng.” He informed. Should he take umbrage at being referred to as Cutie? It was sort a compliment wasn’t it? But was it a nickname he wanted to be referred to as? He decided to leave it for now. What was the point of arguing with someone over a silly name when they’d part ways shortly and likely never see each other again?
“Jiang Cheng.” Wei Wuxian repeated, then smiled, “pleased to meet you, Jiang Cheng. Are you a student? These apartments are quiet near the university.”
Jiang Cheng nodded, “are you?”
Wei Wuxian shook his head. “I was visiting a friend I used to go to school with who’s place in around here.”
“Is he a student?”
Wei Wuxian hummed his agreement. They had reached the door to his apartment building, but Jiang Cheng turned at the feeling of being watched intently.
Wei Wuxian was looking at him carefully.
“What?”
“How about if I said I’m suddenly really upset about my poor clothes. But you could make it up to me by buying me dinner? Having your handsome face across the table from me would probably help me to get over it.”
Jiang Cheng turned away in disgust, pushed open the door, debated slamming it in the other man’s face for a few moments, yet dismissed the idea, and stood back to allow him entrance.
“No?” Wei Wuxian questioned, his voice amused.
“I don’t appreciate being teased!”
“Teased?”
“About how I look.”
“How is my commenting upon what a handsome guy you are teasing?”
“If you don’t mean it, its teasing, and how can you mean it?” Jiang Cheng snapped.
“I do mean it. You’re a prickly little thing aren’t you? It’s usual to accept a compliment by saying thank you, rather than savaging the complimenter.”
Despite the fact Wei Wuxian had teased him after confirming he had been sincere in his compliment he was caught by the surprise at his new acquaintance's apparent honesty at calling him handsome. Did the other really think so?
No one had ever called Jiang Cheng handsome, or cutie, before. He and his sister had been quite sheltered when growing up, so he had never had close bonds within his peer group, and of course he had never dated. His understanding of his own sexuality had all been gleaned second hand and with no real practical exposure. He had known he wasn’t only attracted to women when forming celebrity crushes during his youth, yet there was still a lot about himself that he didn’t yet fully understand.
He had hoped moving away to university would help him gain some life-experience in everything he was missing so far, but it was proving difficult as he was quite shy and found it difficult to come out of his shell.
Yet here was a man who seemed to be asking him out on a date. After he had throw his drink all over him. Who had admitted he thought Jiang Cheng was handsome.
What more could he do to embarrass himself? He might as well at least take up Wei Wuxian on his offer, right?
He opened the bag of groceries, and checked what he’d bought and ticked it off against what was still in his refrigerator. He could probably stretch his ingredients to make a meal for two comfortably.
“I’ll make dinner, while we wash your clothes, if you want.” He met Wei Wuxian’s gaze as he made the offer, and the other waggled his eyebrows at him.
“You move fast, Jiang Cheng, already thinking of ways to get me out of my clothes. I have full confidence in how great my ass looks in boxers, so why not?”
“Do you ever just stop talking?” Jiang Cheng asked, irritated.
“Sometimes. When my mouth is busy with other things.”
He didn’t even need to waggle his eyebrows this time for effect; Jiang Cheng just turned away in utter embarrassment. And walked right into a wall.
***
“Are you still mad at me, Jiang Cheng?” Wei Wuxian asked. His tone was something between amusement and contrition, like he didn’t know if Jiang Cheng was going to yell at him or not.
And he was angry, but it wasn’t really at Wei Wuxian; yes, the other had been teasing him, but it was his own fault he’d turned and walked right into the wall.
Wei Wuxian made Jiang Cheng sit on the couch, on a blanket he’d thrown down to protect it from the tea still on their clothes, and held an icepack against the cheekbone Jiang Cheng had hit the wall with.
His professors were going to think he’d been in a fight, when he turned up to lectures tomorrow with a black eye.
“I’m not mad,” he denied, and Wei Wuxian grinned.
“Your eyes are glaring.”
“I’m not mad at you,” he corrected.
Wei Wuxian tapped him on the tip of the nose. What was it with this man and touching his face? Surely it was far too familiar for a random stranger to touch him so casually? “Don’t be mad at all, you’re still the cutest thing I’ve seen all day,” he pulled the icepack away to assess the damage, “I think we can clean up now. Lets order food, and I’ll buy, to say sorry for teasing you enough to make you walk into the wall.”
“I said I’d make dinner to apologise for drenching you,” Jiang Cheng protested.
“We both have to clean up still, it just makes more sense to order in, and seeing as I’m the one suggesting it I’ll pay. And you can cook for me next time.”
Next time? Jiang Cheng sat with his mouth opening and closing soundlessly for a few moments.
But he was neatly railroaded by Wei Wuxian’s full-on personality.
He wondered what his mother would say to find out he had let a random stranger into his apartment, that that random stranger was currently naked in his bathroom, and had cheekily suggested they shower together, ‘to save water’.
Jiang Cheng was so out of his depth with Wei Wuxian it was actually scary. The other was just so confident, and sure of himself. He acted like it was a foregone conclusion sooner or later they were going to end up in bed together, and yes, while losing his virginity, and experiencing sex was something Jiang Cheng wanted to do at this stage of his life, this quickly would just be too much to consider. They didn’t even know each other, they’d met barely an hour ago, and although Jiang Cheng couldn’t deny there was a spark of attraction, of fascination for this person, who on the surface was so very unlike himself, or anyone else he’d known before, he felt he would need to know him better than he did now to agree to sex.
He didn’t think it had to be his one and only true love for him to consider sleeping with someone, but he did want to know that person a little better, didn’t want it to be a one time thing he regretted as soon as it was done.
The first thing they had done when returning was to wipe down the troublesome leather jacket, and by the time they had both showered and put on some of Jiang Cheng’s lounging clothes, the items they’d been wearing were in the washing machine, and dinner had arrived.
Jiang Cheng had always known he was shy; he really had never had a chance to come out of his shell while growing up, but it seemed to be a little different with Wei Wuxian. He didn’t get quite so worried about voicing his opinion, and when he clammed up Wei Wuxian just teased him into a response, usually a snippy retort, which just seemed to amuse the other.
Wei Wuxian seemed to talk a lot. Yet it would surprise Jiang Cheng when he thought about it later that night, how much information Wei Wuxian had pried out of him despite the fact he couldn’t remember talking half as much as the other. And he had found out relatively little about him in return.
Wei Wuxian claimed he wasn’t a student, he didn’t mention a job, in fact if anything Jiang Cheng got the impression he was a semi-delinquent fuerdai who was enjoying his youth playing about as a bad boy instead of settling down into the family business.
Definitely not someone Yu Ziyuan would approve of. And that was something that weighed on his mind as, when Wei Wuxian left later that evening in his freshly laundered clothes, and paused at the doorway, he kissed Jiang Cheng.
It was a shock, but based on everything else about Wei Wuxian’s personality it shouldn’t have been, it was very much in keeping with how Wei Wuxian had expressed himself to be so far.
He pulled back after a few seconds, confused, before realisation dawned in his gaze. He’d worked out it had been Jiang Cheng’s first experience of kissing. Probably from the terrible showing he’d made.
“Just follow my lead, Cutie,” he ordered, leaning back in.
It was a quick thing really, and it didn’t go on long enough for Jiang Cheng to completely grasp the process, but as Wei Wuxian pulled away and stepped out into the hall, he threw a devilish look over his shoulder.
“To be continued, very soon, Sweet Thing,” he promised, with that eyebrow waggle again, “I’ll call you tomorrow, we’ll arrange dinner.”
Jiang Cheng vacillated, wanting to slam the door in his face for the ever-increasingly-terrible pet names, and the offensive eyebrow waggle, but Wei Wuxian, of course knowing Jiang Cheng better than he knew himself by now, held up a finger.
“Now, you owe me dinner, you promised to cook for me to say sorry for destroying my jacket, remember!”
And how could Jiang Cheng deny it?
So he just stood there, confused by his own mixed feelings, as the other wandered away down the hallway, throwing a casual wave over his shoulder as he went.