Lan Wangji walked into the cafeteria, taro boba in hand, eyes scanning the crowd. He was looking for the one person, he knew for sure, was going to be ecstatic with his bribe. He looked at the blue couch, his usual spot but he only found his friends. He walked up to them and smiled as a greeting.
 

"Hey guys! Do you know where I can find Xian?" He asked his friends.

Nie Huaisang was going to say something when Jiang Cheng kicked him under the table making Huaisang yelp.

"You just missed him. He was here 5 minutes ago." Jiang Cheng said. Huaisang looked at him surprised but coughed to hide it. With his eyes Cheng could see him ask, "What the hell are you doing?" Cheng ignored the silent question and turned to look at Lan Wangji.

"We don't know where he went but usually he goes to the library or the art studio." Cheng supplied.

Lan Wangji nodded, said his thanks and left.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Why did you not tell him about Xian?" Huaisang whispered angrily.

"I want to see what his reaction would be when he can't find him. I want to see if he will still look for him."

"You're testing the King? Do you want to end up in an alley all black and blue? Don't forget he is a bad boy, he can beat you up and throw you away like trash. He just treats us nice because of Xian."

"I know that. But Xian is my brother and Lan Wangji has needs to prove his dedication before he can date my brother"

"Sometimes I want to smack you for being this protective of your brother but I get it."

"He's always protected me Sang, always. I only want the best for him. I can see that Lan Wangji is good for him but that guy has a past and I just want to make sure he is serious about my brother and not just playing with him."

"I guess I would do that same in your place. Even though I have mad respect for Lan Wangji."

"He can be the most gorgeous man on earth, a racer, a bad boy but to me he's just a guy trying to date my brother. So I will do what I have to do. Consequences be damned."

"And this is why I love you..." Huaisang whispered but Cheng didn't catch it.

Ning had been silently looking at both the boys while they had been arguing but when he heard Sang whisper he turned to look at him. Sang realised Ning heard him so he just hid his face in his hands and sighed.

---

Since the library was closer to the canteen, Lan Wangji headed there first. Walking into the library, he was stopped by the girl at the counter. She looked at his boba and pointed to the sign near the door which said, No Food or Drinks allowed.

Lan Wangji pursed his lips and walked up to the desk where the girl was sitting. He looked at her, smiling sweetly, exuding his charms. The girl blinked twice as if she was blinded by his smile.

"Oh, hi there! I'm sorry, I was looking for a friend of mine. Did you happen to maybe see him today? Tall, handsome, design student, a mole under his lips?" He leaned closer to the girl, who was now visibly blushing.

"Do you mean Wei Wuxian?" She tilted her head, half flipping her hair.

"Ah, you do know him. Yes, I'm looking for him, is he inside?"

 
"Wei Wuxian has not come here today, maybe he was delayed?"

His expression sank. He forced a smile and waved at the girl, before turning around and leaving. His next stop was the art room so he went straight there but found it empty. He was getting more and more frustrated when a thought suddenly popped in his head, "maybe he is avoiding me. Again."

He was walking back to the canteen when he felt a hand snaking from behind, a gesture that he was unfortunately very familiar with, since she did that many times before.

"Wangji, I haven't seen you for the longest time... where have you been? You don't show up at our usual hanging out place..." she whined. He could almost hear her pouting.

"I was...busy. Now will you please let me go?" He tried to pry her hands off of him, when he heard her raise her voice.

"How could you? You are never there for me! Are you hooking up with other girls behind me back? Have you forgotten our promise?"

People around them had stopped to look at the couple and Wangji did not like it one bit. Qin Su was making a scene purposefully and this could hurt his chances of wooing Wei Wuxian. Wangji, frustrated over Wei Wuxian's avoidance, grabbed the cheerleader's hand, and yanked her closer. His grip firm but not hurting. "Stop it! I never promised you anything. Never. And I don't like it when you talk behind my back about me proposing. I do not have any intention to get married now, and definitely not to you. Am I clear?" He said loud enough for the crowd to hear. He looked angry. "Now please, just...leave me alone. I can't deal with your whiny self, right now. You're the head cheerleader for fuck sake, do you have no self esteem?" he let go of her hand, turned around and left the building not waiting for Qin Su to say anything more.

 
He walked around restlessly, and finally stopped under the same tree he was sitting with Wei Wuxian yesterday.

 
Was it just yesterday?

He sighed, finally gave up and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

 
LWJ : Hey, bunny.
LWJ : Where are you?
LWJ : I was looking for you.
LWJ : I brought your favorite drink.
(Image attached)

 
He waited for the reply, but even after half an hour had passed none came. He had to go back to class so he finally stood up. He looked at the now watery drink in his hand and threw the boba into the trash bin as he walked to his class. His mood had darkened.
 
---

It was already 9 p.m when his phone chimed, signaling a new message had arrived. He was in the middle of playing computer games, He quickly paused the game and checked his phone.

 
1 new message from Wei Wuxian.

 
He unlocked his phone, smiling widely.

WWX : Hey, sorry, I just got your message, I've been out on a school excursion, signal's weak, will be back in another day.
WWX : Thanks anyway for the boba!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hmm...that's it?

He was a bit disappointed at the impersonal message from Wei Wuxian.

I thought we were getting along just fine... but I guess not.

He put his phone down, feeling a bit disappointed, and decided to leave it alone, while he continued playing the game.
 
 
 
 
-----
 
 
 
 
Wei Wuxian was on a 2 day art excursion that he had signed up for since last month, before he even met Lan Wangji. He forgot to turn on his phone until after he was back at the hotel, and he found notifications from Lan Wangji. He replied, and since he was dead tired, he fell asleep immediately.

The next day, he checked his phone, but found no message from Lan Wangji, only from Yanli and Jiang Cheng.

Hmm...

He tried to make light of the situation, but he felt inadvertently disappointed. He shrugged the unnecessary feeling away, and tried to concentrate on the explanation from his professor.