Chapter Text
The persistent patter of rain on the coffee shop window was the only thing keeping Xie Lian awake. The days had been gloomy lately—as November days tended to be—and the young writer had nothing but his inspiration to keep him going. Inspiration and hope, maybe. But even hope was leaving him as he sat in the corner of his small town’s local coffee shop. Nothing seemed to be going his way. His fiancé and him had gotten in more arguments than ever this week, Jun Wu saying he was arguing for Xie Lian’s own good, yet the brunette couldn’t help but feel otherwise.
“I don’t want to be the villain, Xianle, but you have to understand it’d be for your own good,” the man had said. He wanted him to give up writing, saying he’d never be anything great. Said Xie Lian was only wasting his days cooped up in his little study, writing unethical, fickle things, things that only a child would find amusing. He said it was pathetic. And it hurt. Xie Lian almost believed him too. But what would he be without this passion? A trophy wife? Someone who just sits pretty, being a good little lap dog. Xie Lian would not let it boil down to that. So he said as much, and Jun Wu had just laughed.
“You’re too young to understand these things, my dear. You’ll understand once I let you fall, I suppose. Just know I tried to stop you.” Was what he got back. He should have expected it, it was the same old sentence, every damn time. No matter how old he gets, it seems, he can never escape the fact that he’s “too young” to understand what he wants. “Too young” to know who he should be friends with. “Too young” to understand how to keep himself afloat, yet he’s been doing so for years. Yes, he understands he’s young, younger than a lot of people his fiancé knows, but he feels like he deserves respect. Hell, he’s twenty-four! Just because he’s quite a few years younger than Jun Wu—11 years younger, actually—doesn’t mean he can act like he was born yesterday. He attempts not to think of the age difference, nor the reason his parents even thought this was a good idea. It’s quite creepy. Jun Wu came to his parents at twenty-eight so…he was seventeen when they first met. The brunette shakes the information out of his head. He likes Jun Wu. The man is kind, most of the time at least, and treats him well. He should consider himself lucky.
The bell over the door chimes, alerting the staff that someone new had come in. Xie Lian looks over his laptop to the door. The man who walks in is tall, close to his fiancé’s height. He has long dark hair that reaches well down his back. It looks soft, and Xie Lian finds himself wanting to touch it. He’s well dressed; brown leather coat, simple red shirt paired with black, loose jeans. To complete the look, black and white clean sneakers and a simple silver necklace. The man is turned to the counter, so Xie Lian can’t see his face. Still, the outfit alone is pretty enough to be inspiration. The brunette silently thanks the stranger when his phone vibrates. He sighs, picking it up.
Jun Wu
> Xianle. I assume you’ll be home by six?
Xie Lian glances at the time. Five o’ one.
Possibly? I like the environment here so I might be a bit longer. <
> How much is “A bit longer?”
Dunno. Six thirty? <
Read, 5:03.
“Ah, trouble in paradise?” Xie Lian nearly throws his phone. The man who had spoken—the well-dressed one—slid into the seat across from Xie Lian with an easy smile.
He was beautiful. Sharp features, shapely lips, mysterious eyepatch. Anyone’s dream man, young, beautiful, well dressed, nice low, pretty voice.
Xie Lian couldn’t help but mirror the other’s smile. “En. I wouldn’t call it paradise though. Was it that obvious?”
“No. I just have a knack for reading people, I guess,” the other said, taking a slow sip of his latte.
“What a useful talent,” Xie Lian nodded.
“Mm, I guess you could say so.” He fiddled with his cup. “What’s a pretty man like you doing here alone?” There was a dangerous glint in his obsidian eye, but something about it made Xie Lian more intrigued.
“Well, you already guessed it. Relationship trouble, so I came here to clear my mind and write.”
The other raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You’re a writer?”
“En,” Xie Lian paused, looking at his empty document. “More like trying to be, though.”
The pretty stranger nodded as if he understood. “I’m sure you’re a great writer. What genre do you write about?”
“Uh, crime stuff. Like murder mystery,” Xie Lian smiled. The other’s eye gleamed with interest, and it made Xie Lian’s heart skip a beat. No one has ever been that interested in what he was saying before, and now this beautiful stranger was interested in his writing.
“Ah, I love murder mysteries. It’s so interesting, but none of the current writers ever seem to write it correctly.”
“Oh?” Now this sparked Xie Lian’s interest. None of the writers did it right? Did it justice? That’s exactly what the brunette thought as well.
“Yeah. I don’t think they get the personalities of the killers right,” the stranger said. Xie Lian nodded vigorously.
“Yeah! Like…they don’t put enough thought to the process of the murder, just the aftermath.”
“I agree. It makes me mad.”
“Mhm! I thought I only noticed this because I write it. I’m glad someone agrees with me! What’s your name?”
“Hua Cheng. But gege can call me San Lang,” he smiled. It was extremely intimate, but Xie Lian liked it. It was against everything he had grown up learning. And it felt ever so slightly rebellious.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Xie Lian. I don’t mind if you continue calling me gege though.”
Hua Cheng nodded, then directed the conversation elsewhere. It had never been so easy to talk to someone. They talked about their childhood pets, hobbies, schools they went to, everything from why the sky is blue to their most embarrassing moments. Xie Lian felt so quickly at ease, lured by the low lull of the other’s voice and lost in the dark sea of his eye. He had never felt this instant connection with anyone else. It was scary, as everything new was, but it was delightful.
But all good things come to an end. What ended this, much to the brunette's disappointment, was his phone. An incoming call from Jun Wu. Xie Lian sighed when he saw it, Hua Cheng giving him a sympathetic smile as he picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Where the hell are you, Xie Lian?” Jun Wu all but growled into the phone. Xie Lian rolled his eyes, making Hua Cheng smile a bit.
“I’m still at the shop,” he said, twisting the string of his hoodie around his finger.
“Are you aware what time it is?”
“No. I was hoping you’d enlighten me?”
“Do not get smart with me, Xie Lian. It’s nearly seven. When does that damned shop even close?”
Xie Lian looked down at the table. He was so fucked. Maybe he had gotten a bit carried away. “Eight.”
“Right. Now you better be hightailing your little ass out of there. I want you home in fifteen minutes.”
“But the shop is twenty minutes away from—”
“Speed. It wasn’t an option. It was an order. I’ll see you home at seven fifteen.”
Then the line was silent. Xie Lian gently closed his laptop. “Ah, I’m sorry San Lang. I have to go. My fiancé’s more than a little mad at me.”
“Ah, I’m sorry gege. You deserve better than that trash. I could hear him yelling at you from over here.”
Xie Lian smiled a sad little smile, packing his laptop in his backpack before throwing on a coat. “Yeah, it’s fine though. He’s nice most of the time.”
The other frowned. “He should be nice all the time.”
“Ah, I wish. Will I see you again?”
Hua Cheng smiled. “Indeed.”
Hua Cheng watched as Xie Lian hightailed it to his car. It was a nice, sleek white Mercedes. It was clear his fiancé—a lucky bastard that doesn’t know what he has, clearly—has hella money. As soon as the brunette was safe in his car, driving out of the parking lot, Hua Cheng made his move. A cute man like that was worth the chase. He had only just met the man, but he’d do anything for him. They saw eye-to-eye on a lot of things, and Hua Cheng felt as if Xie Lian just understood. He slid into his car, which he conveniently parked near the entrance, his eye on Xie Lian’s car the whole time. Stalking should have been his middle name. He drove out of the parking lot and around the back, appearing to Xie Lian’s left on the intersection. And on Xie Lian’s green light, he’d slip right up two cars behind him. Hua Cheng wasn’t new to following people in cars, but now he had a different motive. Not to kill, but to keep the little brunette to himself. It was easy after that.