’til next weekend

.

.

Jiang Cheng had told Nie Huaisang in advance that he might not be able to pick him up on the day of the party because he’d been roped in by his nephews and niece to help them make Jiang Yanli’s birthday cake.

And. Well. That’s absolutely goddamn adorable, Nie Huaisang didn’t even have it in him to feel any disappointment.

Besides, Jiang Cheng promised that he would be ready to welcome Nie Huaisang at the door, lest he get ambushed by a curious auntie or a rude Jin before he could so much as find and greet the birthday celebrant.

Because Jiang Cheng is a man of his word, that’s right where he’s waiting when Nie Huaisang arrives.

When Nie Huaisang asked what kind of party it was going to be, Jiang Cheng had said that it’s not a super fancy party. It isn’t a private, intimate gathering either, impossible with the kind of big family and community that Jiang Yanli has. It’s a “simple” party, just with many guests. So Nie Huaisang is not surprised to see many people already there – some he even vaguely recognizes from around the market district. It makes sense that they’re invited, of course – they are Jiang Yanli’s business neighbors, her community.

It’s a lot of people, and most of them recognize and greet Jiang Cheng by the entrance. Jiang Cheng is content to give them a polite smile in greeting and thank them for coming before sending them in.

Until Nie Huaisang steps up, smiling giddily. “Hello, I hope I got the right place? Is this the Jin residence- Oh! It’s A-Cheng!”

“You’re very funny, huh.” Jiang Cheng deadpans.

Nie Huaisang just smiles and asks, “How’d the cake project go?”

“Barely finished it on time. But it looks good. Yan-yan had to take another shower, though. You can guess why.”

“…Flour?”

“Worse. Frosting.”

“Yikes.”

Jiang Cheng tilts his head, squinting slightly. He notices that the gold tinsel is back on Nie Huaisang’s braid. So are the earrings and the layers, though he looks much more formal today compared to how he was a week ago in his street clothes.

“You look good.”

“Thank you! You said colorful’s okay.”

“It is okay.” Jiang Cheng shrugs.

“And I’m the celebrant’s brother’s plus one! I can’t look basic.”

Jiang Cheng wonders how Nie Huaisang could manage wearing all these layers and accessories, yet still look understated. Maybe it’s the colors. The deep green looks very elegant on him.

“Hey, you don’t look basic. You’re actually making me feel underdressed now.”

“Oh, no. We can’t have that, you look really good too!” Nie Huaisang says, shaking his head intently as he looks Jiang Cheng up and down, and back up. Then, he tilts his head, thinking. “Although… hm… May I?”

Jiang Cheng could only nod, and lean down slightly when Nie Huaisang reaches up to adjust his shirt collar. Then he goes for the sleeves – Jiang Cheng doesn’t know why they suddenly look different – better – rolled up in Nie Huaisang’s particular way somehow. Maybe the man knows some clothing trick Jiang Cheng has never heard of.

Nie Huaisang looks up at Jiang Cheng again, and this time he does undo the top button of Jiang Cheng’s shirt. Then he reaches around his own neck, unclasps one of his many necklaces and puts it on Jiang Cheng instead.

He steps back to assess his work. Then he clasps his hands together as if in prayer, closes his eyes and lets out a breath. ”Dear Gods, thank you for blessing me. He is the most handsome man.”

Jiang Cheng can’t help but let out a baffled sound, before spluttering, “I-I’m right here???”

Good, Nie Huaisang thinks – this is payback for that phone call. He shrugs. “I mean, you already know I like you. I have nothing more to lose.”

At this, Jiang Cheng blinks at him, a bemused grin tugging at his lips. “So it’s like that?”

“Like what?”

“You just like me now?”

“I guess. You’re the one who started it.” Nie Huaisang grins back, playful, teasing, but somehow – Jiang Cheng can tell – honest. “Do you mind so much?”

Jiang Cheng shakes his head before simply offering his arm. “Just don’t overdo it? Tonight might be rough.”

Nie Huaisang clings to him and pats his arm. “There, there. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”

.

.

.

The Jins are rich rich, is the first thought that comes to Nie Huaisang’s mind as they step inside. Jiang Cheng has mentioned that this isn’t even Jin Zixuan’s childhood home – no, that’s in Lanling and much bigger. This was just his mother’s wedding gift.

But for how big it is, Nie Huaisang can appreciate that it isn’t super gaudy or over-decorated. It is a big house, with a large entrance hall where the guests are standing and sitting around enjoying food and company – but besides the party balloons, streamers and flowers, there isn’t any unnecessarily expensive decor or show of luxury.

Leave it to Yanli-jie to be classy, Nie Huaisang thinks.

“I think jiejie invited most of the market district business owners, some bakery regulars, and of course Jin Zixuan’s siblings. His jerk cousins are here too, I guess, they always invite themselves to these things anyway-”

Jiang Cheng is in the middle of a quick rundown of the party guests, when someone’s vaguely familiar voice catches Nie Huaisang’s attention.

“Ahhhh~ Is that who I think it is?!”

Nie Huaisang turns, just in time to see a blur of black and red weaving through the crowd and towards him at an alarming speed. He is vaguely aware of Jiang Cheng stepping away from him and taking him by his shoulders as if to place him in the path of this figure, or maybe just to shield himself from-

“Wei-xiong?!” Nie Huaisang yelps, as he is almost tackled, but instead is given the biggest hug. He laughs when Wei Ying actually lifts him up and twirls him around once before setting him back down.

“Hello, hello! You’re here! Long time no see! Super long time!” Wei Ying exclaims, smile wide, eyes twinkling, practically glowing. Just like Nie Huaisang remembers him. It quickly turns to concern when Nie Huaisang sways a bit. “Oh, are you okay?”

“I’m good, I’m good…” Nie Huaisang waves it off with a sheepish chuckle. “Just a bit light-headed. You surprised me!”

“Ah, sorry. I was just very excited to see you, finally! A-Cheng told us you’ve been hanging out and I was like, I can’t wait to go back to Yunmeng so we can hang out too, you know? Wait, you look so good- Let me-…”

Nie Huaisang is spun around again, this time in place.

“You’re like a model, Nie-xiong! What is this- half-skirt thing. How does it work? Wow. Fashion. Is your hair gold?!”

“Yeah. Fashion.” Nie Huaisang laughs. “You look good too, Wei-xiong! You grew out your hair! It’s even longer than mine!”

“Aw, thank you! My husband likes my hair.” Wei Ying says, this time with a giggle. And then he winks. “If ‘ya know what I mean.”

Nie Huaisang blinks – once, twice. Wei Ying winks again, and then winks quicker. Nie Huaisang finally catches up. He gasps, and gives his friend a playful shove. “Wei-xiong! We are in a public event!”

Wei Ying just laughs, swings his arms across Nie Huaisang’s shoulders and leans on him. “I can’t help it, A-Sang~ I am very in love with him~”

“Well, I would hope so… You have a child together, don’t you?”

“Ah! Yeah! A-Yuan! You have to meet him! Wait, where is my little radish? I haven’t seen him since like, lunch…”

Yep. Somehow this is about everything Jiang Cheng has expected for this particular reunion. He clears his throat. “He was helping with the cake. Last I saw him, he and A-Ling were taking Yan-yan upstairs to clean up.”

“Oh.” Wei Ying nods, then he turns to his brother as if he’s just realized that he’s standing there. “Hi, A-Cheng.”

Jiang Cheng frowns. “Hi? What are you greeting me for? I’ve been here since morning, getting sick of you.”

Wei Ying turns to Nie Huaisang, at this point just openly snuggling the other man. “Ah. He missed me so much, but he will never say it out loud. Is he also mean to you? I bet he is. That’s his love language.”

“I don’t know, Wei-xiong. A-Cheng has been quite nice.” Nie Huaisang shrugs. “But yeah, he gets mean at times.”

Wei Ying clicks his tongue. “Ah, Jiang Cheng, be nicer to your date.”

Jiang Cheng huffs. “He’s not my-” Pause. Wait. Technically, that’s what a plus one is. And jiejie gave him this assignment. Dammit. “I’m being nice. What do you want?”

“Sure, sure.”

“I am.”

“He really is.” Nie Huaisang nods. “So far. But it’s still early.”

“A-Sang.”

Nie Huaisang’s response to that is to giggle and poke his nose. Wei Ying sends him a smug grin.

Great. Now there’s two of them. Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. He must separate them now, before they further join forces and give him an actual headache.

And then, like an angel come to save him, his sister appears from… somewhere. There are too many people, really, and Jiang Cheng has long since lost track of where everyone is since an hour ago.

“A-Sang! You made it!” she exclaims. Unlike Wei Ying who goes for a tackle, Jiang Yanli simply opens her arms and of course Nie Huaisang goes willingly, getting one of those good ol’ Yanli-jie hugs.

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it, Yanli-jie! Happy Birthday! Thank you for inviting me…” Nie Huaisang says, beaming as they both pull back. “Wow, you don’t look a day over 20!”

Jiang Yanli giggles, and squeezes Nie Huaisang’s hands on her own. “You’re always the flatterer, Sang-di.”

“Ah, I’m just happy you even remember me.”

“What? Sweetie, you were in my staff room almost as much as these two were.” she says, not forgetting to shoot a fond smile at her two brothers in turn. “And like I told you already, your brother was the best neighbor. I do miss him too.”

Wei Ying’s smile is teasing as he chimes in, “Jiejie, it’s not too late. Go leave your peacock husband and marry Mingjue-ge. He’s still single, isn’t he, A-Sang?”

At this, both Nie Huaisang and Jiang Yanli shoot him pointed looks, and a very firm, perfectly synced, “Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying has enough flight instincts to scurry over to Jiang Cheng’s side. “Worth a try!” he laughs. “Oh, you two are scary together. Did you practice that?”

Jiang Yanli simply sighs, then turns back towards Nie Huaisang and loops her arm through his as she pulls him towards… somewhere. Of course she’s the only one who knows where to go in this crowd.

“Come, come! I know you’ve met the kids, but I have to introduce you to A-Xuan! I’d have to go and do the rounds on the guests soon, so we should hurry…”

Nie Huaisang is happy to follow the woman’s lead. After all, she’s the birthday celebrant. This is her night.

As Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying trail after them on a more sedate pace, Wei Ying nudges his brother with his elbow.

“What?” Jiang Cheng asks, distracted as he watches his sister and Nie Huaisang talking and laughing together just a few steps ahead.

“I knew it. He’s still cute.”

Jiang Cheng takes a deep breath. Okay. They’re doing this out of the group chat. He has no emojis to save him this time, so he simply schools his expression. “So?”

“Nothing! He’s cute, you two are cute.”

“Stop saying ‘cute’, we’re over thirty.”

“Cuuuuute~” Wei Ying coos, draping his arm across his brother’s shoulders. That’s when he notices- “Hey, did you look like this earlier? Since when were you a necklace guy?”

Jiang Cheng does his best not to shrug his brother off. “Since tonight. What?”

“Nothing, nothing! Chill. You look good.” Wei Ying laughs. “Anyway, I am stealing A-Sang after jiejie’s done introducing him to the peacock. He has to meet Lan Zhan and A-Yuan. And we have to catch up!”

“Sure.” Jiang Cheng shrugs. “Go take him with you, then. I’ll probably be helping jiejie with the guests. A lot of market people out here, she can’t entertain them all by herself.”

He sees that his sister is able to find her husband, and promptly introduces him and Nie Huaisang to each other. Beside Jin Zixuan as always is Mianmian, his secretary, who also gets introduced. It’s clear she’s the better communicator of the two, because she and Nie Huaisang start chattering at each other right away. Jiang Yanli looks pleased as Nie Huaisang smiles all friendly and charming at Zixuan, who looks awkward but is doing a decent job engaging with his new acquaintance.

Wei Ying pats Jiang Cheng’s shoulder. “Alright. You’ve been keeping Nie-xiong to yourself all this time, anyway. It’s my turn now!”

“Do what you want.” Jiang Cheng says with a roll of his eyes. “Just… check in now and then. With him.”

“Hm?” Wei Ying hums, looking at his brother. “Check in? What do you mean?”

“He doesn’t think I’ve noticed, but I know he does get overwhelmed in large crowds. So don’t go just dragging him with you everywhere, go check in on him from time to time.”

“Oh.” Wei Ying blinks, then nods, reassuring. “Sure, A-Cheng. I’ll… slow down a bit. Yeah. That’s good of you to tell me.”

From behind them, they hear someone call Dr. Jiang. Jiang Cheng puts on a polite smile before he turns to acknowledge whoever new guest that is. Wei Ying watches his brother engage in polite conversation with a small group of middle-aged men who must be either bakery regulars or fellow shopkeeps in the market district.

When Wei Ying turns to look back towards where he last saw his friend and his sister, it’s only to see Nie Huaisang walking back to him. He looks past Nie Huaisang, to see that Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli have been pulled aside by a bunch of new guests, as is usual for this kind of event.

“Wei-xiong! Where’d A-Cheng go?” Nie Huaisang asks, blinking, looking around with a small frown.

“Oh, he got stuck with some uncles.” Wei Ying answers easily. He takes Nie Huaisang’s arm with a casual shrug. “It’s okay, he said to take you with me to introduce you to Lan Zhan! Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll catch up when he can.”

“Of course.” Nie Huaisang smiles, and follows his friend’s lead. “So, Wei-xiong, tell me again how you met this wonderful husband? A-Cheng told me like, a one-sentence summary…”

“That’s my didi, with his absolute zero sense for romance.” Wei Ying sighs, then shakes it off just as quick. “But I’ll always be happy to tell people, anyway, so!”

Nie Huaisang laughs, and listens to his old friend’s very enthusiastic story as they go through the halls.

.

.

Nie Huaisang gets introduced to Lan Zhan, who, when they find him, is sitting quietly and peacefully on a couch beside an old grandma who looks like she had dozed off leaning on him and holding on to his arm.

“Oh, dear. Lan Zhan, is Granny okay?” Wei Ying asks, not as loud, looking both amused and concerned at the same time.

“Mn.” Lan Zhan nods. “She ate a lot of mooncake, and slept.”

“Granny…” Wei Ying sighs in resignation. He turns to Nie Huaisang. “This is Granny Wen. Our A-Yuan’s grandma.”

“I see….” Nie Huaisang nods, also softening his voice. “Well, at least it looks like she enjoyed the party?”

“She does love her mooncakes.” Wei Ying chuckles. He looks at his husband. “So you’re stuck there, then? Are you sure?”

“Mn.” Another nod. “Wen Ning will be here soon.”

“Sure, sure. He can take Granny off your hands, then.”

Lan Zhan then turns to Nie Huaisang. “It is nice to meet you. Apologies. I cannot stand at the moment.”

“Oh, that’s totally fine, Lan-xiong.” Nie Huaisang says, laughing lightly. “Do you… need anything, I guess? While you’re sitting there?”

The man simply shakes his head.

Nie Huaisang looks towards his friend. Wei Ying looks smitten, hopelessly fond of his husband. “Alrighty, then. Lan Zhan, do you know where A-Yuan went?”

“Kids’ room.”

“Of course he’s there.” Wei chuckles. “Me and A-Sang will go, then. If you need anything – water, food, freedom – just text me, okay?”

“Mn.”

Nie Huaisang watches as Wei Ying very carefully leans over the sleeping old lady to kiss his husband. Then Wei Ying is dragging him to… some other spot in the mansion again. Nie Huaisang just waves goodbye at Lan Zhan, who gives a little wave back.

“He’s the quiet sort, isn’t he?” he asks, as they round a corner. “Your Lan-xiong? Or is he just tired?”

“Oh, don’t worry, he’s much more energetic when it counts, A-Sang-”

“Ahhhhh- No, no, I don’t wanna know! Why do you keep going there?!”

Wei Ying laughs. “You say the same stuff as Jiang Cheng! I love it.”

.

.

The Kids’ Room, it turns out, is simply another room in the house where it seems all the teenagers and children have congregated for the event duration.

There’s always a spot like this, Nie Huaisang knows. In every family party, there will be a room or a corner where the children would just gather. This one looks to be a game room of some sort, what with the big TV set and gaming consoles, although this time it looks like they’re just playing a colorful animated movie to entertain the smaller kids.

Among the bunch of kids on phones and tablets, Wei Ying immediately spots the mixed group of teenagers and children sitting on a circle on the carpet, playing some sort of board game.

“There you are! My little radish!” Wei Ying calls, voice loud and cheerful.

That proves to be a mistake, because sure, the group that Nie Huaisang now recognizes is Jiang Yanli’s children and their cousins and friends do look up from their game to turn to him, but Wei Ying’s sudden merry-making also manages to rouse another creature from its peaceful nap-

A big bundle of fur bolts upright from where it was laying on the carpet and proceeds to run excitedly towards the newcomers.

Wei Ying screams, and rushes behind Nie Huaisang to hide from the very big, very happy, very playful husky. “Ahhhh! Why is that hellhound here?!”

“O-Oh! Hello!” Nie Huaisang laughs, not hesitating to lean down and pet the dog, effectively also stopping it from reaching his terrified friend behind him. “You must be Fairy? What a sweet girl! It’s so nice to meet you- Oh! You are very energetic, ah-”

“Fairy! Stop! Sit!” Jin Ling calls as he leaves their circle and jogs towards them, quickly working on calming his pet down. He blinks when he recognizes Nie Huaisang, then turns to his uncle. “Sorry, da-jiu. We didn’t think you’d go here so we were keeping Fairy here.”

“Baba, are you okay?” asks the other teen that follows suit, and who Wei Ying immediately clings to.

“A-Yuan, baby, why are you hanging out with this beast???” Wei Ying wails.

“Hey!” comes from both Jin Ling and Nie Huaisang, who have found themselves both crouched down on the floor, petting a very happy and content Fairy, and who look at each other in surprise at their joint reaction.

Nie Huaisang smiles. “Hi, A-Ling.”

“Hi, shushu.” Jin Ling replies, smiling a small awkward smile back.

Nie Huaisang wants to pinch his cheeks. And maybe cry at being called shushu. But then he’s distracted by tiny arms around his neck, as Jin Xiaoyan clings to him. “Sang-gege!!!”

Now he wants to cry because Yan-Yan is so warm and soft and adorable and sweet and she remembers him-

“Hello, Miss Xiaoyan. It’s nice to see you again.” Nie Huaisang says, as he hugs the little girl back. He pulls away slightly, and is absolutely charmed as he looks at her very sparkly poofy dress and ballet shoes. “Oh, you look like a princess!”

The girl giggles. Then she leans down as well to join in on petting Fairy. “Fairy, look! This is Sang-gege. He’s jiujiu’s boyfriend.”

Nie Huaisang now wants to cry for a completely different reason. Oh, boy.

Jin Ling coughs. “Uh. Yan-yan- Err.”

Nie Huaisang only smiles sweetly at the girl. “A-Yan, who told you that, honey?”

“Uncle Xuanyu!” Xiaoyan answers happily. “He made my hair sparkly! He said he made yours too!”

Nie Huaisang now notices the pink streaks on the girl’s twin buns. “I see. Uncle Xuanyu did a good job, your hair looks wonderful.”

The girl looks very pleased with the compliments. Truly the princess of the family, Nie Huaisang thinks. He tells her that she should go back to her game, and she is all too happy to run back to their previous spot and plop herself right on Ouyang Zizhen’s lap.

She accepts the cards that the older boy hands her, and then calls out – “Gege, come back! We will defeat you!”

Nie Huaisang looks at Jin Ling, who is now sporting an expression of indignation that reminds him too much of Jiang Cheng, but in Jin Zixuan’s face.

“They’ve formed an alliance. Against me.” Jin Ling grumbles, then excuses himself so he can herd Fairy away, and so that Wei Ying can stop hiding behind his son.

With Fairy back at a safe distance, Wei Ying can now breathe easier, and he finally gestures at A-Yuan with a flourish. “Nie-xiong, this is A-Yuan! Ta-da! My baby! He’s taller than me now, but he is still my baby.”

A-Yuan laughs sheepishly, adjusting his glasses.

Wei Ying only beams “A-Yuan, this is Nie Huaisang. Your Cheng-shushu’s boyfriend. You heard Yan-yan, Uncle Xuanyu said so.”

“It’s nice to meet you, shushu.” A-Yuan says with a shy, polite smile.

“Likewise, A-Yuan.” Nie Huaisang smiles at the boy. Now he can see how he’s a mix of both his parents. It’s adorable. Then he turns towards Wei Ying again, and this time he pouts. “Wei-xiong, I’ll have you know, Uncle Xuanyu works at the salon.”

“Oh.” Wei Ying nods. “So he has reliable sources, then. Gotcha.”

“Wei-xiong…” Nie Huaisang groans in resignation.

Yeah, there is no winning here, he decides.

“Yuan-gege! Come back so I can defeat you also!!!”

They all turn to see Xiaoyan waving her cards around to call for her older cousin.

Wei Ying blinks at his son. “Is she winning for real or are you all just pretending to lose?”

“Zizhen is winning for real. She’s just sitting on him and holding his cards for him.” A-Yuan says with a shrug. He smiles at his father and Nie Huaisang before he goes to rejoin his cousins. “Okay, here I am, coming back to be defeated…”

“She’s so sweet and such a bad sport.” Nie Huaisang marvels. “It’s beautiful.”

“Okay, I think the kids are… busy.” Wei Ying says, watching as the board game resumes. “What do you say, Nie-xiong? Let’s find someone else to bother? There’s lots of people in this party.”

Nie Huaisang looks at his friend and grins as Wei Ying takes his arm again. “Alright, Wei-xiong. Lead the way.”

.

.

.

It’s easy to get lost in the crowds of people in a gathering like this, Nie Huaisang thinks. He does just fine as the night goes on. He sees that Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan and Jiang Cheng all have not stopped their job of entertaining guests. Even Wei Ying gets intercepted by several relatives just walking around. They do find and greet old acquaintances together, most of them surprised to find either Nie Huaisang and Wei Ying back in Yunmeng, but they were all pretty pleasant and polite.

Nie Huaisang loses Wei Ying an hour in.

“Oh, Lan Zhan wants to tap out. He says Granny is asking where she could take a nap. We’ll just take her to a guest room, I think.” Wei Ying says, looking down at his phone. “Do you want to come with us, or…?”

“Thanks, Wei-xiong, but I think I might find somewhere to sit down a bit.” Nie Huaisang says.

“Sure, sure! I’ll find you after we tuck Granny in.”

So Wei Ying is gone, and Nie Huaisang wanders around by himself, but not for too long.

He finds Song Lan and his partner, Xiao Xingchen in one of the corners enjoying drinks and light snacks. He sits with them for a while. They’re good, peaceful company. The bakery staff are also there, so A-Qing finds them and complains that there are too many old people and no one to hang out with. Nie Huaisang points her to the direction of the Kids’ Room, and she disappears right away.

When Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen move on, Nie Huaisang wanders off again and runs across another old acquaintance. Meng Yao, he remembers, had been a part-timer at the meat shop for a time before he got a scholarship to the university. He works with Jin Zixuan now, he tells Nie Huaisang. He asks about da-ge, and Nie Huaisang is happy to give him a pretty positive update.

Then Mo Xuanyu pops up, immediately clinging to them both, complaining that he can’t flirt with the hot guys in this party because they might turn out to be cousins.

“You have to go to a different party for that, A-Yu.” Meng Yao advises. “Do you want to sit down?”

A hiccup. “I’m fine. I’m not drunk.”

“No one said you were, but now I can tell.”

Mo Xuanyu shakes his head, swaying in place. “Yao-ge, it’s good. It’s chill. That rude Zixun guy said I was a lightweight and now he’s passed out on the table. Hah!”

Nie Huaisang holds up his hand. “A-Yu, how many fingers am I holding up?”

Xuanyu blinks, looking horrified. “Why do you have fingers?”

“Okay.” Meng Yao laughs as he starts to usher his half-brother away. “Let’s get you hydrated, didi.”

Nie Huaisang is happy to wave them off, and is just starting to look around for any familiar face he might approach, when he hears the flutter of a paper fan from behind him.

“Oh, Mr. Nie, that is you, isn’t it? Of course you’d be here!”

He turns and beams at Madame Gong, who as usual looks resplendent in her classic look. “Madame Gong, it’s so good to see you.”

“You too, dear.” she smiles back as she stand beside him. She taps his arm with her fan. “Now, I came here with my daughter, but I seem to have lost her. Would you mind keeping me company while I look?”

Nie Huaisang is quick to nod and offer his arm to the older woman. “Not at all, madame. I’ll be happy to.”

He has to admit that he was nervous, going to this party and then having to navigate it alone. But so far, he’s had good company, which is a relief.

He looks across the room and sees Jiang Cheng in conversation with another guest, nodding obligingly and politely. He seems to be doing okay, so far. Nie Huaisang really should worry less. They’re not socially awkward teens anymore. Jiang Cheng is a professional, a business owner like most of these people. He would know how to entertain them well enough.

So Nie Huaisang turns back to Madame Gong, and makes it his duty to escort her for as long as she needs him to.

.

.

.

Another hour passes before Nie Huaisang finds Jiang Cheng again.

He finds Jiang Cheng in the kitchen.

More specifically, he finds Jiang Cheng in the kitchen doing the dishes.

“A-Cheng?” Nie Huaisang asks, just to make sure he’s seeing correctly. “Are you… washing the dishes?”

Jiang Cheng had the sense to wear an apron and roll his sleeves up, but he is, indeed, washing a stack of plates when he looks up and sees Nie Huaisang by the kitchen doorway. “Oh. Hey.”

“Hey…” Nie Huaisang blinks, walking towards him. “Um… what’s up? Where’d the catering staff go?”

Jiang Cheng shrugs, returning to his task. “I told them to take a break.”

Nie Huaisang nods at that as he leans on the countertop beside him. “That’s nice of you, I’m sure they appreciate it. But they can still do this after their break, you know that, right?”

Another shrug. Jiang Cheng looks at him. “How’re you doing? Sorry I wasn’t able to get back to you earlier, but you looked like you were having fun out there.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I did have fun.” Nie Huaisang smiles, noting that Jiang Cheng didn’t answer his question. “How about you?”

Jiang Cheng makes a noncommittal noise.

“A-Cheng.” Nie Huaisang tries again, this time standing closer, bringing a hand up to rest on his friend’s arm. “Are you okay?”

Jiang Cheng notably stiffens at the touch, just for a moment, before his shoulders drop and he sighs. “Why do you think I’m washing dishes?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.” Nie Huaisang points out. “There’s a dishwasher over there.”

“Nobody uses that.”

“Okay, you got me there.”

Jiang Cheng chuckles, and lets Nie Huaisang cling to his side, warm and comforting. “I’ll be fine. Just needed a break from the party.”

“You could’ve… I dunno. Eaten a snack or something.” Nie Huaisang says, mostly muffled into Jiang Cheng’s sleeve. “The cakes are so tasty… The pasta too…”

“Eh. Needed something to do.”

Nie Huaisang sighs, looks up to peer at his face and then with the most grudging, sulky expression Jiang Cheng has seen on him, he goes to grab another apron and starts putting it on.

“You don’t have to help.” Jiang Cheng says. “You’re a guest.”

“I’m being supportive.” Nie Huaisang pouts as he stands beside Jiang Cheng, takes one of the plates and starts wiping it down. “This looks less sad with two of us. And I’m your plus one, so I go where you go.”

Jiang Cheng just shakes his head, but does nothing and just lets Nie Huaisang work beside him.

“So…” Nie Huaisang starts, “I met Lan Zhan. He got delegated to a pillow for a Granny Wen.”

“Yeah, I heard.”

He continues, “The kids were in the game room place playing a board game. Yan-Yan was winning.”

“Of course she was.”

“Xuanyu is drunk. And how many half-siblings does Zixuan-ge have, anyway?”

“A lot.” Jiang Cheng says with a shrug. “And honestly, good on them all for getting along? Jin Zixuan made an effort to reach out to them a few years ago, though his parents weren’t happy about it. He made sure they were all doing well, helped the ones who weren’t in a good place. Now they’re pretty tight.”

“Whoa. That’s big of him.” Nie Huaisang remarks, slowly getting the hang of his task. “So… is it a whole thing? Like, does everyone just know?”

“It’s kind of an open secret, I guess?” Jiang Cheng answers. “His siblings actually like him, and each other. They just don’t talk to or mention their asshole father. Which is kinder than that man deserves, really.”

Nie Huaisang chuckles. “A-Cheng, is that a nice thing you said about Zixuan-ge?”

A pause. Jiang Cheng nudges him with his elbow. “Don’t you dare tell him. Or anyone.”

“Okay, okay…” Nie Huaisang laughs.

Then Jiang Cheng grumbles, “I owe him one anyway.”

“What was that?”

“Just – earlier.” Jiang Cheng sighs. “He caught up to me, gave me a heads up, let me know that my parents just got here. And they’re not in the best mood. So. I had time to… go here.”

“Oh.” Nie Huaisang blinks, then nods as he takes that in. “That’s why you’re doing the dishes.”

“I guess.”

“So your mom and dad… are here?” Nie Huaisang asks, more careful now as he tries to think of how to continue. “They arrived together? Aren’t they divorced, you said?”

“They have this thing of… always showing up, together, in the same car. To events like this.” Jiang Cheng says, brows furrowed. “Like, I dunno. I’m pretty sure they still hate each other, but they insist on just doing that. It’s weird.”

Nie Huaisang agrees with that. “It is weird.”

“Jiejie thinks they’re trying to save face? Show people they’re civil and there’s no like, winner, in the divorce or something like that. That it was… mutual and amicable.”

“Was it? You never really-”

“It was mutual.” Jiang Cheng chuckles, but it’s bitter. “Not amicable.”

“Ah.”

“Anyway, the showing up together thing really doesn’t work, ‘cause they just end up arriving in a bad mood. That’s what jiejie thinks, anyway.”

“What do you think?”

“I try not to think. About it all. But jiejie is probably right. She’d known them longest. She still talks to them. Regularly.”

Nie Huaisang keeps his voice neutral, unassuming. “Hm… And you don’t?”

Jiang Cheng just focuses on the dishes for a moment, before he shakes his head. “When jiejie married Zixuan… I was kinda relieved.”

Nie Huaisang blinks, not expecting the sudden switch in topic, but he stays quiet.

“I was relieved because mother was pleased with it. Before that, they weren’t exactly… they didn’t like that jiejie chose the bakery. You knew that, you were still here then. But when she got together with Zixuan, that… got her and our parents talking again. And I didn’t like the peacock, but… I thought, good – this is good, that they’re okay again. They should be okay again. Because it’ll be my turn to disappoint them soon.”

Nie Huaisang turns to him, frowning. “A-Cheng-”

“I knew I did. They let me know as much.” Jiang Cheng says, not letting him say anything. “Mother and father both wanted me to take over the family business. And I didn’t.

“So… college and vet school was rough. I did get scholarships, but I also had to work the whole time too because they cut off their support. Maybe they thought I’d give up to do what they wanted instead, if it got hard enough. Jiejie tried to help, but she also had the bakery, and then there was Jin Ling on the way. She still supported me though, her and Wei Ying, the best they can. So I got through it. Somehow.

“Wasn’t until I was opening the clinic that they reached out again. I think jiejie told them to. Mother just… said congratulations. Father said he’s glad to see me doing well. And that was that.”

“What the fuck.” Nie Huaisang says. “That’s… really shitty, A-Cheng.”

“I know.” Jiang Cheng says, with a tired shrug. “But I didn’t want to be fighting anymore. And A-Ling was growing up, I didn’t want him to see me in bad terms with his grandparents. So… yeah.”

Nie Huaisang lets out a frustrated sigh. “This is terrible, you’re gonna make me cry while wiping these stupid plates.”

“Don’t do that.” Jiang Cheng chuckles, nudging him again. “It’s all done, anyway. We do talk, when they ask to. Otherwise, I just… keep my distance.”

“And tonight?”

“Tonight, I’ve had to deal with enough people. And it’s fine. I’m good. But I don’t really know if I have… the energy left to deal with them on top of that.”

“That’s fair.” Nie Huaisang nods. He tilts his head to lean on Jiang Cheng’s shoulder, and he knows the comfort is welcome because he feels the other relax, just a bit. “I’m sorry… about all of it.”

“It’s fine.” Jiang Cheng says. “I’m fine. Just… tired, I guess. It’ll be okay. Guests will leave soon. I just have to stick it out a few more hours.”

“We.” Nie Huaisang corrects. “I’m your plus one.”

Jiang Cheng lets out a short, light laugh. “You’re really sticking to that, huh?”

“Well-”

That’s when someone barges in the kitchen, and they pull away from each other to look at the figure in red and black panting and pouting by the doorway.

“Finally! There you two are-! I’ve been- Wha-… The hell? Are you guys doing the dishes???”

Jiang Cheng looks disapprovingly at his brother’s disheveled state. “Yeah, so?”

“Why?” Wei Ying asks, genuinely baffled. “Nie-xiong too?! You’re a guest!”

“My parents are out there.” Jiang Cheng simply says. “I’m shutting my brain off for a bit.”

“And I’m his emotional support plus one.” Nie Huaisang chimes in.

Wei Ying chuckles at their answers, but he does tone his energy down, and he has a strained smile as he looks at his brother. “A-Cheng? You good?”

“Yeah.” Jiang Cheng says. “I’ll be fine, I’ll just… stay here for a bit. How did they look?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t know. They’re probably both upset about something again…” Wei Ying smiles a sheepish smile. “I’m kinda… hiding from them too.”

“Oh.”

“Let’s look at the bright side!” Wei Ying shrugs the tension off as he beams. “We’re in the kitchen! With all the food! We can hang out and snack right here. But I’m not doing dishes with you guys. That’s just weird. Where are the staff? You really should let them do that, when they come back-”

Jiang Cheng just shakes his head and grins.

Nie Huaisang was right. This is less sad with two – now three – of them.

.

.

.

Most of the guests do begin to leave after a while, until the ones left are close family and friends, who have also broken up into smaller, more mellow groups, just chatting and drinking. Eventually, most of them leave too, with only the people staying in the house for the night remaining.

Nie Huaisang finds himself with Jin Zixuan dragging a drunk (again) Mo Xuanyu to his guest bedroom.

“Xuan-ge, you are very nice, thank you for inviting me to Yanli-jiejie’s birthday she is so beautiful and kind you are the luckiest man…”

Jin Zixuan simply exchanges a helpless look with Nie Huaisang before patting his younger brother on the back. “Sure, didi. And what did we learn tonight?”

“I learned…. That I can win against Shi-…Chi-… Xun-… That cousin. The ugly one. I can win against him but not against Wei-gege…” Mo Xuanyu says miserably, sniffing.

“No one can win in a drinking game against Wei-xiong, A-Yu.” Nie Huaisang says. “Specially if you were already drunk when you started.”

The answer is another miserable groan. “Nev-… Nev’r doin’ that again…”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Jin Zixuan says with a patient sigh.

Eventually they get to the younger’s guest bedroom, and Jin Zixuan thanks Nie Huaisang for the assistance and tells him he can take it from there.

Nie Huaisang just bid his friend good night and closes the bedroom door after them, then starts to make his way back to the sitting room where he knows the others are still gathered, winding down as the catering staff cleaned up.

On his way, he also comes across Lan Yuan with a sleeping Xiaoyan on his back, Jin Ling close behind carrying his sister’s shoes, and Ouyang Zizhen hugging a big unicorn plush.

“Oh, you boys are so cute…” Nie Huaisang coos, but keeps his voice hushed. They all just wave him off in varying degrees of Teenage Boy Embarrassment and tell him they’re going to bed. “Okay, good night, then!”

He continues on his way, and even before he reaches his destination, he can already hear familiar voices and laughter.

“Ah! I know what it is now! I’ve been thinking about it the whole night- A-Cheng, that necklace isn’t yours, is it?”

That’s Wei Ying’s voice. Nie Huaisang slows down.

He hears Jiang Cheng’s more subdued reply, “Uh. No, it’s-… Huaisang let me borrow it, yeah.”

“I knew it! You’re not a necklace guy.” A laugh from Wei Ying. “Oh, you two are matching then, that’s adorable.”

“Whatever. It just… suits the occasion.”

There’s a soft, feminine voice – Jiang Yanli – “It looks good on you, A-Cheng. The aunties thought so too, and as always they tried to get me in on the matchmaking-”

A disgruntled groan – “Jiejie-”

“-and of course I turned them down! Don’t you worry, I said A-Cheng is not looking at the moment, sorry!”

Another voice, still feminine, but a bit deeper and more assertive. Nie Huaisang isn’t as familiar with her, but it’s probably Jin Zixuan’s secretary, Miss Luo – “Didn’t you have a plus one tonight?”

“Yeah, and Wei Ying had him for most of the night.”

“I was catching up with my best friend from high school, thank you!” Wei Ying sounds… pouty, is how Nie Huaisang would describe it. “I’m sorry for stealing your first love, won’t happen again~”

Nie Huaisang blinks. That… is a joke, right? One of Wei Ying’s usual ones?

“Oh, is that what it is?” Miss Luo asks, sounding curious. “And you’re getting back together? That’s actually kind of romantic.”

Jiang Cheng sighs – a sound Nie Huaisang is very familiar with. “It’s not like that. Wei Ying is making things up as usual.”

“No? What else do you call it?” Wei Ying quips back, almost whining. “I know you guys were sometimes kissing, back then. And then he moved, and you never kissed anyone again.”

“You don’t know that.”

“What? Of course I do-”

Then there’s a thump, and several people yelp.

“Ah! Lan Zhan, are you okay???”

“Is he dead?”

“A-Cheng…”

“He just looks dead, jiejie.”

“Oh, he’s drunk…”

“What? He had like, one shot.”

“Yeah, so he’s drunk.”

Nie Huaisang peers around the doorway only to see Wei Ying fussing over his husband, who looks like he passed out face first on the center table. On Lan Zhan’s other side, Miss Luo is awkwardly patting the man’s back. Sitting on a separate couch, Jiang Yanli is looking on, amused, while Jiang Cheng is on the loveseat, leaning back and looking very unimpressed.

Jiang Yanli welcomes him first. “A-Sang, you’re back! How is A-Yu?”

“He’ll be fine, looks like he learned his lesson. Zixuan-ge is just tucking him in.” Nie Huaisang answers, as he returns to the seat he left earlier, next to Jiang Cheng. “Is Lan-xiong okay?”

“We think he’s dead.” Jiang Cheng answers. Nie Huaisang turns to him, trying not to laugh. Jiang Cheng just grins back and shifts to wrap an arm around his back so Nie Huaisang can lean back against him more comfortably.

“He isn’t!” Wei Ying says, scowling at his brother. Then he goes back to stroking his unresponsive husband’s hair. “Lan Zhan~ Lan Zhan, can you get up? You will hurt your back if you sleep here like this…”

No response.

“Dead.” Jiang Cheng repeats, prompting a giggle from both Nie Huaisang and Mianmian this time.

Wei Ying continues his efforts. “Lan Zhan, my love, please get up? Didn’t you say that everyday is everyd-”

Lan Zhan sits up.

“Oh, look at that. He’s not dead.” Mianmian says.

“Ah, there you are~” Wei Ying says, fawning over Lan Zhan who, like a man on a mission, is trying to stand up even though he very much cannot keep his balance.

“A-Ying, maybe you and A-Zhan should call it a night.” Jiang Yanli suggests, looking at the pair with a fond smile.

Wei Ying agrees, and he tries to usher his swaying husband out the room. Mianmian takes pity on them and goes to support Lan Zhan’s other side as she greets Jiang Yanli another happy birthday and tells the rest of the room that she’s off to bed too.

“Good night, you guys.” Jiang Yanli waves them off with a light laugh.

She watches the three stumble out the room, and then finally turns to her remaining companions. She smiles when she sees how comfortably they’ve been sitting together, Nie Huaisang laughing quietly at something Jiang Cheng whispered to his ear.

“Now, as for you two…”

“Don’t worry, jiejie. I can drive home.” Jiang Cheng answers. “I barely drank anything, anyway. I have an early morning tomorrow.”

“You do?” Nie Huaisang blinks. “It’s Sunday tomorrow.”

“Scheduled appointment.” is all Jiang Cheng says. When he sees Nie Huaisang’s concerned frown, he simply moves to rub the other’s arm in reassurance. “It’s fine, I’m already taking Monday off to make up for it.”

“Thank you for staying up this late for me, didi. And for all your help tonight. I really appreciate it.” Jiang Yanli says.

Jiang Cheng just shakes his head. “Anytime, you know that.”

“A-Sang, you?”

Nie Huaisang smiles at their hostess. “I guess… I should head home now? So A-Cheng can rest too. Thank you for having me, Yanli-jie.”

“No, thank you for coming!” Jiang Yanli says. “And yes, you two should get going. It is very late. A-Cheng, you’re dropping A-Sang off at his place?”

Jiang Cheng nods as he moves to stand. “Mn. It’ll be a quick detour.”

Nie Huaisang looks surprised even as he follows his lead. “What? You are? You don’t have to-”

Jiang Cheng looks at him like he said something ridiculous. “You think I’m letting you go on your own?”

Jiang Yanli gives Nie Huaisang a quick hug goodbye and tells him again that she’s glad to see him. Then she lets Jiang Cheng drop a kiss to her cheek, tells him to drive safe, and waves them off as well.

Jiang Cheng takes Nie Huaisang’s hand and together they walk to the front door, only to stop right after they step out of the house.

“Hey, I’ll be back, I’ll just grab a jacket.” Jiang Cheng says. Then he takes a look at Nie Huaisang and adds, “Two jackets. And the spare helmet.”

Then he’s gone, back inside the house.

It takes a moment for Nie Huaisang’s brain to catch up. “Wait-… Helmet?”

.

.

.

Life is cruel, Nie Huaisang decides.

“A-Cheng,” he starts, as he stands at the entrance of the Jins’ garage, a heavy jacket draped over his shoulders and a bright pink helmet in his hands. “That is a motorcycle.”

“That’s what it is, yeah.” Jiang Cheng says, as he wheels the sleek, shiny black motorcycle towards his companion.

Nie Huaisang despairs, “Why?”

Jiang Cheng stops right beside Nie Huaisang. “What do you mean ‘why’? Are you okay?”

“No.” Nie Huaisang blurts out, pouting. When Jiang Cheng raises an eyebrow at him, he gives in, and practically whines, “Why? Why do you have a motorcycle? What is the reason? You are a veterinarian!”

“…So?” Jiang Cheng blinks. “What does that have to do with the motorcycle? It was Wei Ying’s, if you should know. He gave it to me when he moved out and got married ‘cause apparently Lan Zhan’s uncle thinks it’s a death trap or something. Lans are weird.”

Now that Nie Huaisang can look closer, he does see the dark red accents on the motorcycle. Yes, it definitely looks like something of Wei Ying’s.

“Where was this, all this time? Why haven’t I seen it before?”

“I usually leave it at home. There’s no parking space in the clinic so I just commute to work.”

“Oh, but… You should have a more… boring thing… like a reasonable car…”

Jiang Cheng looks at him and squints, slowly catching up, a grin beginning to form in his lips. “I thought you didn’t want me to be boring.”

“Sure, but this is too much. This is… too cool!”

“Nie Huaisang, are you into motorcycles?”

Nie Huaisang looks at him, and now it’s his turn to squint as he sees Jiang Cheng grinning smugly at him.

Sometime during the night, Nie Huaisang can’t point out when, but Jiang Cheng has somehow decided that he might as well enjoy his ability to fluster Nie Huaisang.

Which, sure, okay, that’s cool. That’s fine. They did say they were maybe flirting. Nie Huaisang can live with that. Nie Huaisang is not complaining. Nie Huaisang just thinks maybe he too should have asked for 7 to 15 business days so he can grab a pillow and scream into it.

“Not really?” he answers. “But now that you have one, maybe I am! You have a leather jacket on and everything. You can’t just go around being this… dreamy! Ugh.”

Nie Huaisang hates that he sounds helpless and pathetic – but at this point, it’s a losing battle. And hey, Jiang Cheng isn’t complaining… yet.

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes, and he crosses his arms across his chest. “Look. I can’t just go home and leave you out here, but this is the only ride I have. If you don’t like this one, I’ll just stay and keep you company until you get into a cab or something and I’ll… wait for you to text me that you’re home safe or whatever. That’s fine too.”

Nie Huaisang is quick to shake his head. “No!”

“No?”

“No, I wanna ride in the cool motorcycle!” he blurts out. “Da-ge never let me ride in one, he also thinks it’s dangerous and stuff.”

Jiang Cheng snorts. “Fine, then. Put the helmet on.”

“Okay. Why is it pink?” Nie Huaisang asks, even as he slides the helmet on his head, cringing slightly because he knows what that just did to his hair.

“It’s jiejie’s.” Jiang Cheng says, reaching out and helping him buckle the straps.

“Oh.”

Jiang Cheng gets on the motorcycle, starts the engine – “Will you be fine? You’re not, uh, scared of… riding too fast, right?”

“I don’t think so.” Nie Huaisang replies as he slips his arms through the sleeves of the jacket that Jiang Cheng is generous enough to lend him. He doesn’t know whose it is, but it is comfy. “It should be like… uh… I dunno, like riding a horse? Right?”

Jiang Cheng looks at him, and even through the helmet, Nie Huaisang can see his look – brows furrowed, frowning, like he’s offended. “Are you kidding me?”

“W-What?”

“Nie Huaisang, what the hell. The horse is definitely much cooler.”

.

.

---

.

.

The ride home is smooth and quiet – peaceful. Nie Huaisang can tell that Jiang Cheng is driving slower than he usually would, even though there was little to no traffic on their way. He is grateful for his borrowed jacket. That, and his body pressed up against Jiang Cheng’s back, is enough to warm him against the cold, windy night.

The ride home is over too soon. Before Nie Huaisang knew, they’re already stopping at the gates of a humble four-story apartment building.

Jiang Cheng lends his arm to Nie Huaisang as he gets off the motorcycle. Nie Huaisang stumbles just slightly after, but he is quick to regain his balance.

When Nie Huaisang takes the helmet off, Jiang Cheng chuckles.

“What?” Nie Huaisang asks, cheeks pink.

“Your hair.” Jiang Cheng shakes his head, reaching out to gently run gloved fingers through Nie Huaisang’s now messy hair.

Nie Huaisang groans in complaint, but steps closer so Jiang Cheng can get his hair properly. “Ah… is it really bad?”

“It’s fine. Party’s done, anyway.” Jiang Cheng says. His hand drops from Nie Huaisang’s hair, to rest on his arm. ”You’ve already won people over.”

Even with the thick jacket on him, Nie Huaisang could feel Jiang Cheng’s hand on his arm slide down, until it’s taking his. “Thanks for the ride, A-Cheng.” he says, looking down, watching as their hands hold on to each other’s. “You didn’t have to.”

“No, I did.” Jiang Cheng says, a light, easy note to his voice. As if he’s breathing better here, outside, the events of the night behind him. “Jiejie would have been very upset with me otherwise.”

Nie Huaisang chuckles, and gives the hand in his a squeeze. “Right.”

For a moment, they just stand there. Nie Huaisang by the gates, Jiang Cheng on his idle motorcycle, hand in hand.

They break the silence at the same time.

“I should go-”

“Do you want to-”

They stop, awkward, both leaning back for a second. It’s Jiang Cheng who squeezes Nie Huaisang’s hand this time, as he asks, “What is it?”

“I know you have an early morning tomorrow…” Nie Huaisang says, slow, careful – looking down as he asks, “But do you want to come in for a bit? I can make you tea? Coffee? As thanks, I guess… Ah, but it’s fine if you don’t wanna! You might be tired already- What am I thinking?”

Jiang Cheng lets go of his hand, but only to reach up again, tucking strands of Nie Huaisang’s hair behind his ear, nudging the other to look back up and at him again, as if telling Nie Huaisang that it’s fine – to ask him, to ask this.

A light, easy shrug. “Sure. Tea sounds good.”

.

.

“Okay, just one thing.” Nie Huaisang says, keys in hand, standing in front of his apartment door with Jiang Cheng. “I won’t say ‘please excuse the mess’ because it’s not a mess, I’m in the middle of a project. It’s a work-in-progress. Part of the process. Okay?”

“Okay. Work-in-progress. Got it.” Jiang Cheng says, shrugging. “It can’t be that bad, c’mon.”

“Still!” Nie Huaisang pouts. “Don’t judge me.”

“Will try not to.”

The door is unlocked, the lights are switched on, and Jiang Cheng immediately sees what Nie Huaisang could be referring to. The apartment isn’t the biggest place, but it’s cozy enough. There’s a living room area, a kitchen and dining area, and an adjoining bedroom. For Nie Huaisang, this means he has transformed the living room to his workspace, which means the couch has become a divider for the area and the rest of the place. At the center of this work area, there is a dress form with a half-finished costume pinned to it, surrounded by boxes and organizers of fabric and other supplies, and against the wall are shelves of more craft supplies and a table with a sewing machine. The rest of the unit is neat and tidy, though.

Really, Jiang Cheng thinks, Nie Huaisang is just being dramatic again.

“This looks fine. You’re worried for nothing.” he says. “That costume is looking cool by the way.”

Nie Huaisang just pouts at him, but Jiang Cheng can tell the compliment is appreciated. “Thanks. Let me just change real quick, okay? Then I’ll make your tea. Sit down wherever, take your jacket off, the couch is free!”

Jiang Cheng has changed into guest slippers, draped his jacket on the couch, and has begun curiously looking through the sketches pinned on a board on the wall when Nie Huaisang emerges back from the bedroom. He hasn’t changed completely, Jiang Cheng notes – the other layers are just gone now, leaving him in simple pants and a fitted shirt. His braids have been undone, so his hair is now wavy, tied up in a tiny ponytail. He thanks Jiang Cheng for the borrowed jacket as he returns it.

“So… what tea do you prefer?” he asks, walking to the kitchen.

Jiang Cheng lays the other jacket on top of his before following Nie Huaisang. “What do you have?”

“A lot.” Nie Huaisang answers, as they settle on opposite sides of the kitchen counter, across each other. “Mostly floral ones, but I have green tea, too.”

He then takes out a whole tray of what Jiang Cheng recognizes are jars of various loose leaf tea blends. He does have… a lot.

“Whoa.” Jiang Cheng blinks down at the jars. “What are we doing, brewing a potion?”

“You know, you’ll really get along well with da-ge. That’s what he says too, whenever I make him tea.” Nie Huaisang says with a chuckle, as he starts to heat some water. “He likes it, though. He always asks me to make ‘em for him.”

Jiang Cheng picks up one of the jars, squints at it – Hibiscus, the label says. He puts it down just as Nie Huaisang returns with a familiar tea set – the one they found at the thrift store, on that first afternoon.

“Alright, then. Brew one for me.” Jiang Cheng says, resting his elbows on the counter. “I’ll try whatever it is. Just not something that’ll make me too sleepy. I still have to drive home.”

Nie Huaisang hums, looking over the jars, tapping the lids as he goes. After a moment to think, he says, “Okay… What about chamomile? It’s really relaxing, but it won’t knock you out completely.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

Jiang Cheng watches in silence as Nie Huaisang starts making tea. The apartment is still, quiet. The only sounds ringing out is the pouring of water and a teaspoon hitting ceramic. From outside they can hear vehicles pass by, but they were few and far between. Pretty soon, Nie Huaisang is closing the lid on the teapot with a soft ’clink!’.

While they wait for the tea to steep, Jiang Cheng finally speaks. “So… did you enjoy the party?”

Nie Huaisang looks at him with a wry smile, like he asked a silly question. He rests his elbows on the countertop as well, mirroring his companion’s position. “Yes. It’s nice to see Wei-xiong and Yanli-jie again.”

“Well. They were happy to see you too.” Jiang Cheng shrugs.

“And the rest of your family, they were really nice.”

“Yeah… They are.” Jiang Cheng says, idly poking at a stray dried chamomile flower that must have spilled from its jar. “Hey, what did you give jiejie, by the way? She said she loved it, but I didn’t hear what it was.”

“Oh, it was a comb.” Nie Huaisang answers with a small smile. “I hand-painted and decorated it, tried to make it pretty… Got the idea from Madame Gong and her really nice hair accessories.”

“Ah. Nice.” Jiang Cheng nods. “Yeah, jiejie loves that for sure.”

“She was really sweet about it.” Nie Huaisang muses. “So were you. Tonight, I mean. I appreciate it. The ride home, this, all of it.”

“Sure.” Jiang Cheng says. He watches as Nie Huaisang checks the tea pot and then starts pouring tea into one of the teacups. Then his companion adds some syrup, and then drops a single flower on the cup, purely for aesthetic, Jiang Cheng can tell.

As he slides the cup closer towards Jiang Cheng, he says, “Hey, A-Cheng?”

“Hm?”

“I heard what Wei-xiong was saying earlier. Is it true?”

Jiang Cheng looks at him. Nie Huaisang is now pouring tea for himself. “Which part? He’s always saying a lot of stuff.”

“The… first love part?”

“Ah. You heard that.”

Nie Huaisang’s chuckle is sheepish, almost guilty. “Yeah… I didn’t mean to, but… Well, I did. And I guess I just… got curious?”

“It’s fine.” Jiang Cheng reassures him with a light shrug as he picks up the teaspoon and starts stirring, just absently. “And no, that part… isn’t true. Sorry if it… disappoints you.”

“Oh. That’s fine… It’s silly, anyway-”

“But,” Jiang Cheng continues, “It wasn’t-… I think it’s not… Ah. It’s hard to explain.” He takes a breath, a moment, as Nie Huaisang looks at him, patient. “Okay. I’m gonna sound like a jerk for what I’m about to say, so I need you to remember I really care about you, still.”

“Um. Sure, I’ll remember?” Nie Huaisang answers softly, more intrigued than worried.

Then he watches as Jiang Cheng basically rambles into his tea. “When we were… kids. I think whenever I look back on that, I was never considering it as like… a ‘first love’ thing. For me, it was more like. For me – this is the jerk part – I was still figuring myself out. So. I was really just thinking of… myself? If those things were good for me or not? And you were there, too, I know, and you never seemed to… not like it… so I always thought, that’s fine, then. I… did the things. Didn’t hate it. And you didn’t look upset, so. You were probably okay? And that was it? I didn’t mean to like, not consider your feelings if you had them, I just… didn’t consider your- Argh, that’s really such an asshole thing anyway, isn’t it-”

“Hey, hey-… A-Cheng…” Nie Huaisang, thankfully, interrupts him before he could spiral further. When Jiang Cheng looks up from his tea to look at him, expression just… bothered, Nie Huaisang lets out an amused laugh. “I think I get it…?”

“Do you?” Jiang Cheng asks, not fully convinced. “Or are you just being nice? I know you’re nice to me even when I’m a jerk, you know.”

“No, I mean it. I get it.” Nie Huaisang laughs again. “It makes sense. I think I was kinda… well, I definitely knew I was crushing on you a bit then, but I think I was also like, just caught up on the… fun stuff? I guess? I think I was just glad that a boy would kiss me, knowing I was also a boy. I didn’t bother dissecting if it was a first love thing or not, either.”

“So we’re quits?”

“Yeah, quits.”

Jiang Cheng shrugs. “First love’s overrated, anyway.”

“Hey, no, I still think it’s super cute!” Nie Huaisang pouts. “It’s just… not for everyone?”

Jiang Cheng considers that, and easily concedes. “Sure. Not for everyone. That’s fair.”

They’ve never really talked about it, that not-a-relationship they had during their last year of high school.

When they both look back at it, it’s clear what it was – two teenagers who were trying something new, with the person they trusted they’d be comfortable trying it with. The stolen kisses at the back room of the meat shop and at the steps of the bakery were just those – stolen kisses. Neither of them really remember if they ever really set terms… or talked about boundaries… to what they were doing. They were kids.

But what’s clear, what they both remember is that going in, they’d known that it could be nothing more. It can’t be serious or lasting – because they had both already known at the beginning of that year that Nie Huaisang and his brother were gonna leave Yunmeng, and that they’d both probably focus on different things after, anyway.

And maybe that was what made it feel safe, at the time, at a point where they were discovering things about themselves. There were no hard feelings about it, no longing or pining afterwards. They had their fun and they simply moved on. If anything, Jiang Cheng maybe could admit that he did miss Nie Huaisang after that – but only as a close friend he’d had, above anything else. If all their conversations since meeting again were any indication, he’d wager Nie Huaisang had felt the same, too.

“Hm…” Nie Huaisang hum, then suggests, “First kisses, then?”

“First kisses.” Jiang Cheng echoes. “Yeah, that one. Simpler. We can agree on that one.”

“Right?” Nie Huaisang giggles. “I think, you were the reason I knew I definitely liked kissing boys. So that counts.”

Jiang Cheng chuckles. “Same.”

“Really?” Nie Huaisang lifts his cup, grinning.

Jiang Cheng lifts his own cup as he says, “I mean, close. I learned I could like kissing, that it wasn’t that bad, with the right person.”

They clink their cups together, and then both take a sip of tea.

“So how is it?” Nie Huaisang asks, right away, peering at the other over his cup.

“It’s good.” Jiang Cheng says, looking at the dried white flower floating on his tea. “Definitely not my usual, but it’s nice. Thanks for this.”

“You’re welcome.” Nie Huaisang smiles. “Wait, so… was the other thing Wei-xiong said also not true, then? You did kiss other people, right?”

Jiang Cheng takes another sip of tea as he narrows his eyes at Nie Huaisang. “You listened to a lot, did you?”

Nie Huaisang does hide behind his own cup, guilty but not as much as before. “He said a lot, A-Cheng… and his voice was so loud… And you know how nosy I am!”

“He’s always so loud…” Jiang Cheng grumbles, shaking his head. Eventually, he says, “Yes. I did try, with others, a few times. None of those really worked out though, but it’s nothing terrible, I just wasn’t into it. That’s not nothing. It counts for me. It should, right?”

“Mm-hm…”

“Wei Ying just thinks I still tell him everything about me like he always does, but the thing is, at this point we’ve lived apart longer than we have together. And I really don’t tell him everything. Nothing against him. I… I just think I’ve grown to like my privacy, is all.”

Nie Huaisang nods, and he looks empathetic as he whispers, “Okay. Sorry then, if that was too nosy…”

“You’re fine. Hey.” Jiang Cheng reaches out to nudge Nie Huaisang, tipping his chin up slightly, and Nie Huaisang does look back at him and smiles a little smile. “You’ve asked a lot about me. How about you?”

“Ah. Well…” Nie Huaisang lets out a quiet, self-conscious laugh. “Boyfriends, sure. A couple of them…” he muses. “Never really lasted long either, though. I think… because I always had another thing going on? And the other thing always ended up being my priority, not the relationship? But I’m not like, bitter about any of it… They were good, most of them.”

Jiang Cheng drinks tea as he listens. After Nie Huaisang is done, he nods. “That’s good. You’ve been with good people.”

“Mm-hm. And before you ask, yes, da-ge hated them all too.” Nie Huaisang says, rolling his eyes.

Jiang Cheng nods again, like that is the most reasonable thing he’s heard Nie Huaisang say. “I’d expect nothing less, to be honest.”

“See, that’s weird. Stop agreeing with da-ge so much!”

Jiang Cheng ignores the dramatic pouting and whining, as he always does, and simply finishes his tea. He sets his cup down and with his other hand, he reaches over to ruffle Nie Huaisang’s messy, wavy hair.

As expected, he gets more complaints. “Aw, A-Cheng! What the-”

Jiang Cheng chuckles. “I really should go now. It’s very late.”

“Alright, fine. Go home and rest, Dr. Jiang.” Nie Huaisang pouts, prying the offending hand away from his hair and glaring. Or, he tries to glare. Doesn’t really work, though, with Jiang Cheng. It just amuses him. Like Nie Huaisang is cute.

Jiang Cheng makes his way back out the apartment with Nie Huaisang trailing after him as he puts his shoes back on, slips back into his jacket and tucks the spare one under an arm.

“Thanks,” he tells Nie Huaisang as he steps out and into the apartment hallway. “For doing those dishes with me.”

“Anytime.” Nie Huaisang says with a smile. “Actually, hopefully, never again. That was weird, A-Cheng. But sure, whatever. You’re welcome.”

And then there it is again. The lingering silence, waiting for someone to do something, say something-

“Um. Thanks for inviting me again?” Nie Huaisang pushes on. He steps forward slowly, as if still deliberating if he should continue. “I had fun, your family really was so nice.”

“I told you, they were glad to have you-”

That’s when Nie Huaisang tugs at his sleeve, and leans up to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“T-Thanks for the ride home, too! You were great tonight! Okay, bye!”

Then he’s stepping back, back inside the apartment, and the door slams shut on Jiang Cheng’s face.

Jiang Cheng stands in the hallway, blinking, staring at the closed door, at the name plate on the wall beside it.

So. That’s-… Hm.

It could’ve been a friendly, very platonic kiss.

But he didn’t miss how Nie Huaisang was blushing, and stammering, and couldn’t really look at him.

Jiang Cheng takes a second to think.

He should probably leave now. He has done his job, which is take Nie Huaisang safely home. He’s had the nice cup of tea. He’d thanked his friend for being a good plus one. He has an early morning tomorrow. Also, Nie Huaisang had closed the door. So Jiang Cheng should just walk away and go home now, really.

Nope.

Jiang Cheng lifts a hand to knock – stops – then knocks anyway.

“Huaisang,” he starts, voice carefully calm. “Was that a good door slam or a bad one?”

It takes a few seconds to get a muffled reply from the other side of the door. “Uh…” Nie Huaisang’s voice is high-pitched, shaky. “Huh…?”

Jiang Cheng lets out a patient sigh. “Did you regret what you did, or are you just being… I dunno, shy?”

“Yes? I don’t know… Sorry, maybe that was too much! Forget that happened! Don’t let me ruin your night! Take care! Bye!”

“Alright.” Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes, and then knocks again. “A-Sang. Open up. C’mon. You’re the one who said we’re too old to do the stupid dance feelings thing or whatever.”

Jiang Cheng has to wait a few more seconds before the door is opened again, and Nie Huaisang peers from behind it, red-faced and looking at anywhere else but him.

“Look, sorry, I just-”

Jiang Cheng says nothing, just steps forward, one hand pushing the door aside and holding it steady, while his other hand goes and cups Nie Huaisang’s cheek, as he leans down and catches Nie Huaisang’s lips with his.

Nie Huaisang lets out a surprised whimper, then his hands find purchase on Jiang Cheng’s shoulders and he returns the kiss.

Jiang Cheng’s hand on Nie Huaisang’s cheek moves to his waist to pull him close, even as he breaks the kiss to ask, “Is this okay?”

Nie Huaisang’s answer is to nod, wrap his arms around the other’s shoulders and pull him close as they kiss again.

It’s in this moment that they both remember why, all those years ago, they kept coming back for the stolen kisses, despite knowing it was going to end, that they had a time limit.

Jiang Cheng’s kisses, back then and until now, even as he tries to be gentle, have always had a bit of force to them – like he’s had to dive into rough waters and brace himself for something to hurt him. It’s only after he breaks the surface – that the roughness fades into something warmer and more tender.

Nie Huaisang, on the other hand, is always pliant with a note of hesitation, no matter how eager he is. He always kisses like he’s waiting for the moment to end soon, to get cut off, for the other person to realize something is not quite right, and stop. It always takes a little bit more – kisses, touches, words – for him to really fall into it, to feel safe, for the fear to disappear.

Maybe it’s just the tension that’s been building for hours – days – weeks? – between them. Maybe it’s just how they are, to each other and to themselves. Maybe it’s a compatibility thing.

They’d been… good. Back then. Without really thinking about what it really meant. They remember why it worked, and why it still works, now, in the present.

But there’s something different, this time. It’s familiar, in that distant way – but it’s not the same.

It couldn’t be the same.

This one has… more. This one is lingering – unrestricted by a new awareness that this time around, they don’t have a clock to beat. There is no time limit.

Jiang Cheng breaks the kiss again, but he doesn’t pull away just yet, keeping Nie Huaisang close, his thumb rubbing at the other’s waist, comforting, grounding. Exactly what Nie Huaisang needs at the moment.

“I…” Jiang Cheng starts, eyes scanning Nie Huaisang’s face – flustered, surprised, slightly concerned, curious – and this time it does look like it takes him a bit more effort to continue, “Dammit, I… have an early appointment tomorrow. I swear. I actually do. I’m not just saying that-”

“I know-”

“-and I’m kinda starting to hate it now.”

That makes Nie Huaisang laugh, and he nods as he says again, “I know.” He lets out a chuckle when he feels Jiang Cheng’s other hand brushing his hair away from his face before a soft kiss is pressed to his cheek. “A-Cheng… It’s okay. You should go.”

Nie Huaisang can feel Jiang Cheng’s sigh against his hair, pressed up against him like this. “Right. We still have next weekend.”

“Yeah. That.”

Finally, Jiang Cheng withdraws, stepping back into the hallway again. He almost trips over the spare jacket that neither of them even noticed that he dropped just a few moments ago, prompting a giggle from Nie Huaisang. He curses as he picks the item up and tucks it under his arm again.

Jiang Cheng does have a light blush on his cheeks as he says, “Don’t slam the door. Almost gave me a heart attack. And it’s very loud – like, pretty sure the whole hallway heard that.”

“Okay.” Nie Huaisang nods, sheepish, already hovering by the door as if he’s planning to hide behind it again. “My bad.”

He smiles and closes his eyes as Jiang Cheng leans forward and gives him one last fleeting kiss on the lips.

“Good night.”

“Mm-hm. Drive safe?”

Nie Huaisang watches Jiang Cheng disappear down the hallway and into the staircase. Then he goes back inside his apartment, this time closing the door behind him much more quietly.

He runs a hand through his messy, wavy hair, now undone from the ponytail – whoa – he didn’t even notice that. Then his fingers hover over his lips, still warm and tender from the kisses.

Nie Huaisang leans back against the door, taking a deep, steadying breath.

Maybe he’ll drink more of that calming, relaxing chamomile tea before going to bed.

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to be continued!

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next time:
chapter seven – night market