Chapter Text
The day that his life would drastically shift had finally arrived, and he was… not looking forward to it, to say the least.
Dan Heng, the quiet, timid boy had finally grown old enough to go to preschool. To say that he wanted to go there would be a completely false statement. The boy wanted to stay home and watch those documentaries about stars and space that he had been interested in since he learned to speak. He never liked socializing with other kids, he’d even be shy with his own relatives, as he always liked to have his personal space, peace and quiet to himself. Alas, the choice to go to preschool did not fall on him, and there was nothing he could do.
The moment Dan Heng approaches the preschool with his mother, he already hates it there. Right as they step into the yard of the preschool, he clings to her, tears pouring out of his eyes and soaking his soft, smooth cheeks as he hyperventilates.
”Please, mom… I don’t wanna be here, don’t leave me here…”
The woman, who’s his mother, rolls her eyes and sighs, clearly irritated by the little boy making a big deal out of something so trivial.
“You have to stay here, Dan Heng. You’ll have to grow up and get used to this eventually, and you’ll need to get over your attitude. You’ll have to do this every day, from now on. Besides, I have to go, I can’t stay here,” she says, her voice laced with irritation and annoyance.
”But please, mom! I’ll behave! Just don’t leave me here…”
The little boy is deathly afraid of being abandoned. He thinks that his mother is leaving him for good, and he’ll be stuck with a bunch of strangers forever.
“I’ll be back in a few hours, Dan Heng. Now, let me go and behave yourself. You have to stay here.”
Dan Heng is in complete hysterics. A nearby teacher notices the young boy’s crying and approaches the two of them. His mom pries him off of her side and leaves him with the teacher, thanking her for noticing. She takes her leave, while Dan Heng keeps on sobbing.
The next hour or so is a complete blur to Dan Heng. He had apparently passed out from how much he cried, and he finds himself waking up on one of the comfortable bean bags inside a classroom in the building of the preschool. He slowly opens his eyes, then stretches out and looks around the room, observing his surroundings. He notices that the same teacher that had noticed his mental breakdown right before his mother left, was sitting next to him, and other than her and him, there was nobody else in the classroom. She seemed to be a young woman, with medium-length lavender colored hair. For some reason, he didn’t feel threatened by her presence, seeing that she had put him in a comfortable place to nap after he had passed out from crying.
The woman hears Dan Heng stirring around a little, and turns her attention to him. She gives him a warm smile and softly caresses his shoulder. “Hey, did you sleep well, kiddo?” She asks, her voice soft and comforting.
Dan Heng softly nods. He rubs his eyes and looks around the room again. “Where’s mom?”
”She’s not here yet. Don’t worry, she’ll come back to pick you up when it’s time.”
That doesn’t comfort Dan Heng much. He frowns, but he doesn’t cry again — he’s too tired to do so anymore.
”What’s your name, little guy?”
“I’m Dan Heng,” he says, feeling somewhat safe with the woman.
”Dan Heng… what a pretty name. I’m Miss Baiheng. It’s nice to meet you, Dan Heng.”
She holds out her hand to him, initiating a handshake. Dan Heng knows this gesture, so he shakes hands with Baiheng, his small hand fitting into the teacher lady’s bigger one.
”Would you like to meet the others, Dan Heng?” She asks him, her attitude gentle and comforting for the little boy.
”The others?”
“Yeah, there’s other kids like you here. Do you want to meet them? Most of them are outside, and they’d love a new friend.”
Dan Heng thinks a little. He definitely does not want to hang out with the other kids. Not only is he shy, but he values his alone time far more than socializing and playing around with other boys and kids his age. So, to answer Miss Baiheng’s question, he shakes his head.
Baiheng raises her eyebrow. “Oh? Why’s that, little guy? Are you shy?”
”I don’t know. I just… want to be alone, not with the other kids.”
“Ah, I see…” the woman mutters. Dan Heng is quite a unique case to her, as other kids that she took care of would often look forward to playing with others their age. She figures she shouldn’t force him into it, as the boy looks timid, as well as tired from crying earlier. “Then, I can stay with you here, if you don’t mind.”
Dan Heng isn’t opposed to that idea, so he nods. “Okay. Thank you, Miss Baiheng.”
“No problem, kiddo. Feel free to play around with the toys in this classroom, just be careful not to break them.”
Dan Heng smiles and nods. He stands up and walks around in the classroom. He looks at some toys placed on the little desks in the classroom, but nothing particularly interests him. That is, until he spots a book, titled “The Stars: Everything You Need to Know”. Immediately, the little boy is intrigued. He picks up the book and sits on a chair next to one of the desks. He had watched many documentaries about other planets, the stars, and space in general, so this was a topic of interest to him. He turns the pages, looking at the various images and drawings of stars, and reading whatever he is able to understand.
Meanwhile, Baiheng approaches the little boy. She squats down on the floor next to his chair and looks at the book along with him. “Oh? You like stars, Dan Heng?”
The boy immediately nods. “Yes. I watch many videos about space all the time. I love stars.”
The lady chuckles at the little boy’s enthusiasm, seeing the way he smiles and his face lights up upon interacting with his favorite subject.
”Ah, that’s great! I’m happy you found something you like, kiddo.”
She brings her hand to the top of Dan Heng’s head and ruffles his short, black hair gently. The boy just grins, liking and appreciating the gesture as well.
Just as he’s about to continue reading, some other two kids rush into the empty classroom. They’re two boys — one of them with longer, blond hair and green eyes, and the other with shoulder length, white and fluffy hair, with golden eyes and bangs that cover his forehead.
“Miss Baiheng!” The one with the white and fluffy hair runs over to the teacher. Dan Heng is a bit startled, but he doesn’t say anything.
”Oh, hey, boys! What’s up? Did something happen?”
The blond boy walks over as well, albeit a bit slower than the white haired boy.
”Miss Jingliu told us to tell you something,” the one with the golden eyes starts off, and the other boy then continues.
”Yeah, she told us to tell you that Ren fell down from the swings outside and scraped his knee. He’s at the nurse’s office right now, and he’ll be coming here afterwards.”
Baiheng’s eyebrows immediately furrow upon hearing about another boy hurting himself outside. “Oh, dear. Thanks for delivering her message, boys. I’ll be sure to wait for him.”
Ren? I don’t know who that is… Dan Heng thinks to himself. Of course he doesn’t know. But ah, he’ll have to stay in the classroom with not only Baiheng, but that other boy as well…
Before Dan Heng can continue his train of thought, the boy with the golden eyes approaches him. “Are you new here?” He asks, his tone innocent. Dan Heng nods, and then, the boy proceeds to hold out his hand to him, gesturing a handshake — the same thing that Baiheng did.
”I’m Jing Yuan. What’s your name?”
”Dan Heng,” he says, shaking hands with Jing Yuan.
”Nice to meet you, Dan Heng. That’s Luocha,” he points to the blond boy. Luocha waves at him, and he waves back.
The way this boy speaks is so gentle and kind. Dan Heng hasn’t experienced this level of tenderness, as he felt today from Baiheng and Jing Yuan, from anybody. It’s a strange feeling that makes his heart feel warm.
”Jing Yuan, come on, let’s go back outside and play,” Luocha coos to the white haired boy.
”Hey, hold on, what if he wants to join? Dan Heng, do you want to join us outside?”
Despite the growing feeling of warmth in his chest, Dan Heng still doesn’t want to go outside to the playground. He thinks there will be too many kids there, and the two boys just announced to Baiheng that some kid got injured, so… he doesn’t want to take any risks.
“No, I’m okay. Thank you though, Jing Yuan. I’ll play with you guys later,” he says, his voice a bit shy, feeling somewhat bad about refusing their kind offer like that.
Jing Yuan smiles and nods. “That’s okay! You can join us whenever you want, we’ll always welcome you.”
Dan Heng is glad that the sweet boy doesn’t keep pressing him. Jing Yuan then walks over to Luocha and hugs his arm, while having a smile on his face. “Let’s go,” he says to him. Luocha waves goodbye to Dan Heng, and the two of them leave the classroom while Jing Yuan clings to the blond boy.
Baiheng smiles, and waves goodbye to the two boys as well. “They’re pretty nice, right? You should try being friends with them, Dan Heng. It can be awesome to spend time with people that respect and appreciate you.”
Dan Heng smiles softly, and nods. “Mm. I’ll be sure to talk to them more later. I just want to read this book more…” he looks down at the book about stars that he was reading before the two boys came into the classroom. He sighs and continues to read it, focusing all of his attention on it once again.
”Alright, kiddo, you continue doing that,” Baiheng says, then stands up and stretches out after squatting to the floor for so long. Dan Heng continues to flip through the pages of the book, looking at various pictures and illustrations of stars and space.
A few minutes of silence pass in the classroom, until another somebody walks in from the door. A boy with shoulder length indigo hair, with a grumpy expression on his face. Baiheng immediately rushes to him.
”Ren! Are you okay? How’s your knee?”
Ah, so that’s Ren, Dan Heng thinks. He looks a bit grumpy…
The boy’s knee is wrapped in gauze, and he has a few bandaids on, some on his arms, some on his face. Goodness, he does not look alright.
“Yes. I’m okay,” he says, sounding grouchy as well, as if his facial expression wasn’t enough.
”Be careful today, alright? Just sit down and take a rest,” Baiheng says. As she speaks, Ren looks over to Dan Heng, his expression confused and still the same — his eyebrows furrowed, as if he was angry. Dan Heng is a bit intimidated by the other boy, if he was being honest with himself at that moment. He looks back down at his book, avoiding eye contact with him — the eye contact which he already struggles to make with anybody.
Baiheng and Ren end up chatting together for a bit. Ren describes his situation to her. Turns out, he had fallen down from one of the swings after another boy had pushed him, and the two of them got into a fight. Oh… Based on what Dan Heng hears, Ren seems like a temperamental kid. Now, Dan Heng wonders if there’s even a possibility of them becoming friends. He would definitely not want to be friends with someone so hotheaded if it came down to it.
After a few moments of solitude, Dan Heng feels a presence next to him. He looks to his side and sees Ren standing right next to him, his red-and-orange eyes wide and curious. Dan Heng blinks and raises his eyebrows in surprise.
”Hi,” Ren says.
”Hi,” Dan Heng responds, a bit surprised.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m… Dan Heng. You’re Ren, right?”
Ren nods. “Mhm.”
Strange. Ren doesn’t seem as irritable as he just was. He doesn’t look as grumpy as he just did, either. He just seems like a regular, quiet boy now. Before Dan Heng can say anything, Ren walks away to another corner of the classroom. Dan Heng is a bit confused… but eh, whatever. But then, Ren then comes back to Dan Heng. That was quick. He proceeds to hold out his hands in front of Dan Heng, seemingly holding something in his palms. Dan Heng is curious to see what it is, so he touches Ren’s hands, and as Ren opens them to reveal his palms…
Oh.
He’s holding a little plush toy of a flower. The petals of the flower are colored red, and it has a little smiley face on its center. Ren holds it out for Dan Heng to take. Confused, Dan Heng cocks his head to the side.
”It’s for you,” Ren says innocently.
”Hm? Why?”
“Because, it’s cute. I like it, so I thought you would like it too.”
A small smile finds its way to Dan Heng’s lips. He takes the plush toy into his hands and hugs it close to himself, then puts it on the desk next to his open book. “… thank you, Ren,” he says. Ren nods, his expression more neutral. Instead of saying anything, he picks up a chair and moves it next to Dan Heng’s one to sit down next to him on the desk.
For some reason, Dan Heng doesn’t protest the indigo haired boy’s insistent company. Instead, he finds himself enjoying it. He can’t figure out Ren’s personality, as he’s temperamental and grumpy, but also calm around him. However, he almost feels that he wants to get closer to the boy, to get to know him better, and it seems that Ren’s feelings are mutual.
Ren takes a seat next to Dan Heng. He looks at the book laid out on the desk in front of him, and raises his eyebrow. “What are you reading?” He asks the boy.
”It’s a book about space, about stars. Do you like space, Ren?”
“… I like the moon,” Ren says, almost shyly. “The moon is really pretty. I like going outside at night and looking at it.”
Dan Heng, smiles softly. ”That’s cool! I like the stars most, but the moon is nice as well. I like to go outside at night to look at the stars.”
Ren blinks, realizing the two boys share a similar fascination with the different visible celestial bodies of the night sky. It makes him feel comforted. “Well, at night, you can see both the moon and the stars, right? We like similar things.”
“That’s true, yes. We can watch the moon and the stars at the same time.”
The two boys giggle quietly, happy that they found common ground with each other. Afterwards, Ren smiles shyly, and decides to tell Dan Heng something. “Actually, Dan Heng, I… have a secret.”
“Hm? What is it?” Dan Heng asks, his curiosity piqued.
“My real name… is Yingxing.”
Dan Heng raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Yingxing…? Yingxing… your name has the word ‘star’ in it…”
Ren nods. “Mhm.” A shy smile and a little flush make their way onto his face, and it’s the exact same with Dan Heng.
”Yingxing… why don’t you go by that name? Your name sounds awesome.”
“I… don’t know. I prefer ‘Ren’. It sounds cooler, it’s like a cool nickname. ‘Yingxing’ is more like a secret,” he answers sincerely. Ren truly doesn’t have any other reason for this.
Dan Heng nods. He doesn’t fully understand it, but he won’t bother the other boy over it. “Alright. I’ll call you Ren,” he says softly.
”Thank you. Do you… want to be my friend, Dan Heng?”
“Of course I do, Ren.”
Little did both of them know, that singular interaction would change the course of their lives forever.