Wei Ying stared at his sister in disbelief.

"Please, A-Xian, you know, A-Cheng can't go because of his foot, and that was partly your fault...I don't have anyone else I can ask, and besides, you'll get back in plenty of time before you start work at nine, right? XiChen said someone will be there to collect, so you don't have to worry. Just make your way up to the sixtieth floor. Thank you so much." Jiang YanLi said all that in one breath and pushed him out of her shop,  his arms laden with wonderful smelling food.

And she locked the door, smiling.

And she waved too, before turning around and waltzing off to the back.

Wei Ying glared at the door because he would never be glaring at his sister like that...

He turned around and glared at his bike too, wishing it could go and deliver this order by itself...because he had to get there for seven and there was only a few minutes left. 

He carefully packed everything inside the basket at the front and got on, hoping he remembered how to ride it.

Honestly, if she wasn't his beloved sister, and if she wasn't pregnant, he would never have gotten up this early. But Jiang YanLi had come upstairs to his apartment and knocked on the door, shouting that it was an emergency, and what kind of brother was he, if he didn't immediately go and see what it was?

What was worse, was that it was an indefinite job. No one said when he would have to stop getting to the Lan Corporation building at an ungodly hour...

He swallowed the remainder of his chocolate doughnut, wiping his hands on the front of his hoodie. It was a bit cold this morning...was it going to be this cold every morning? He wasn't usually up this early, and he wished he didn't have to find out.

Then he set off, and it wasn't long before he figured out why the bike was a godsend, because the moment he hit traffic, he understood. It was chock-a-block with nose to tail cars and vans and horns. He grimaced and navigated his way through all that to park his bike next to metal poles cemented into the ground for this very purpose. He padlocked the bike and gingerly took out the contents, hoping they were still intact.

Then he looked up.

The skyscraper was easily over a hundred floors, and it was lucky his sister knew where he had to get off. It was already a daunting thing, what he had to do. Plus a small part of him felt guilty because he had yet to call the delicious looking Lan Zhan who had visited their store the day before yesterday.

Still, he was glad that these people had enjoyed his sister's baking to the point of placing a standing order. After all, the likelihood of meeting the source of his fantasy was higher suspect, especially in a building of this magnitude. There was no way he would be bumping into someone as delectable as Lan Zhan this early in the morning.

So he straightened his shoulders, and gave himself a mini pep talk before striding boldly towards the huge glass doors.

But when he approached the burly security guy, he was given a pass and told to proceed towards the elevators, and he even offered one of his staff to accompany him, which Wei Ying thought was just lovely of them. So he manned up and beamed at them, and pretended he did this sort of thing all the time. He made his way to the elevator and pressed the right buttons, only relaxing when he was on his way to the sixtieth floor.

Most of the job was done already, now he just had to find someone to hand these over-

The doors opened, and who should be standing there, but Lan WangJi himself.

Wei Ying panicked and closed the doors.

His heart rate went through the roof, noting the way those golden eyes had looked shocked upon seeing him there. And now he had just made a fool of himself.

Especially because those traitorous doors were sliding open again.

Wei Ying stepped back, unable to look away from the piercing gaze.

Lan Zhan was looking at him as if he was the dish.

Wei Ying was vaguely aware of the other's hand on the button that kept the doors open on the other side. But he couldn't move.

So Lan Zhan entered instead.

And he took a step towards him.

Wei Ying moved back.

But now, there was nowhere to go. He was literally backed into the corner.

"Wei Ying never called."

Lan Zhan sounded really disappointed.

And now Wei Ying felt terrible, a mixture of guilt and suspense, because all the while, those golden eyes had pinned him to the wall.

"Um...I was going to." He stammered. Alright, it was a half-truth...did it count if he hadn't made his mind up yet?

"Why is Wei Ying scared?" Lan Zhan continued to step forward until the only thing keeping him away was the cakes.

"You're kind of...intense." Wei Ying blurted out. He closed his eyes and felt relieved. "I don't know if I'm ready for that." He admitted.

He waited for a few long minutes, until there was a slight breeze. He felt more than saw Lan Zhan step away from him. He opened his eyes then.

"I apologise if I have overstepped." Lan Zhan gave him a small bow and moved to exit the confined space.

Somehow that action made Wei Ying incredibly sad.

"Wait!" He called out.

Hope returned in those golden eyes, as Lan Zhan turned around.

Before he could convince himself that it was a colossal mistake, Wei Ying was handing his phone over.

"You can put your number in. The code is one, nine, nine, eight." He closed his eyes again, but was even more relieved when the weight in his hand lessened as Lan Zhan took his phone.

"Is that Wei Ying's birth year?"

God, why was his voice alone making him break out in shivers?

He could only nod in response.

"That is a predictable choice. Wei Ying should change that." There was a note of disapproval in his tone.

"Ah...but um...ever since my accident, I can't really remember stuff. But at least, I can remember this." He laughed awkwardly.

"What accident?"

Wei Ying's eyes snapped open at the coldness in his tone.

"A hit-and-run. I was fifteen. Spent the next few weeks in a coma, but I pulled through." Wei Ying had no idea why he was telling this virtual stranger all about himself, just because he had asked.

He made a face and dismissed the topic. It always made him feel uncomfortable. Mostly because his memory was a blank before it happened and afterwards too, even though the police were very kind. They had shown him mugshots of possible drivers, but Wei Ying could not recall what had happened, even moments before his body had collided with a truck and he had gone flying.

That was the main reason he didn't like to wear headphones now. Too many terrible memories and too many unanswered questions.

He smiled gently and stepped out of the elevator now, remembering that he had a job to do.

Lan Zhan was still staring at him though the expression on his face was more of shock than anything else.

"It's okay, Lan Zhan. I'm alright now." He whispered, more because Lan Zhan looked traumatised and Wei Ying discovered that he didn't like that at all. "Where can I put these?" He asked.

That seemed to pull Lan Zhan out of his thoughts, because he led Wei Ying to a huge conference room that could easily seat fifty people on the long desk.

"Wow. This is a nice place." Wei Ying remarked, looking around, his silver eyes big and wide. "Can't imagine it's any fun doing a presentation, though. I bet it's scary." He laughed, and this time it was genuine.

Lan Zhan couldn't understand how Wei Ying was okay with everything. He seemed to be laughing and smiling in a real way, but what had happened to him was terrible. And what a strong person he was, so honest about what he had gone through, that Lan Zhan was filled with awe for him. And a steely determination.

He could investigate the accident. See if he could find anything out. He knew that if one did not face the dark places in one's mind, that shit would come out and haunt you if you weren't careful. He had lost someone important to him too, and Lan Zhan still wasn't sure if he was over it.

"Okay...I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, I almost forgot this." Wei Ying pulled out a bubble-wrapped package. "My sister said to tell you these were for Lan XiChen? They're chocolate bunnies, and she said, he said to tell whoever was here, so they'd be sure to reach him. I guess that's you." He smiled brightly .

Lan Zhan was absolutely sure he had never seen anything more beautiful. His own lips turned up slightly, and Wei Ying gasped.

"Look! You're smiling too!" He grinned and waved as he stepped into the elevator.

"Wait!" Without considering his actions, Lan Zhan followed him inside. "Close eyes."

Wei Ying obeyed, not thinking about why his heart was pounding again so quickly. He felt a whisper of movement, before the softest touch on his forehead. It was gone so fast and then the doors were closing and he was alone.

He watched his shaking hand as he reached for the button to take him down again, wondering if Lan Zhan had really kissed him.

*********

Lan Zhan took the package clearly labelled with his brother's name and ripped it off, walking away to his own office.

Lan XiChen was meddling, and he knew it, and by withholding what he expected, Lan Zhan was going to send a message. There was no way XiChen wouldn't know it was him...

***********

Wei Ying used his own private door to his apartment, making as little noise as possible in case his sister heard him. He needed time to think about what was happening to him, and he wanted peace and quiet to process everything before tomorrow, because it was going to happen all over again. He had about half an hour before he had to start work, and right now, he was sitting on his bed, thinking about the kiss.

It was sweet, really.

It showed that Lan Zhan cared about him, enough that he was prepared to walk away when he had thought it was too much for Wei Ying, which was nice of him. Wei Ying didn't have much dating experience, but his last venture into that terrifying world had ended rather dramatically with him taking out a restriction order, after the person he had considered boyfriend material was an absolute asshole about everything, to the point that Wei Ying had to move city.

So Lan Zhan was sincerely considerate.

And he had kissed him...

Maybe he could text him...

Wei Ying searched in his contacts. Lan Zhan had very simply put his name down as that.

Hi...

Thank you for looking after me today...

He sent Lan Zhan a gif of two rabbits kissing.

Then he thought that was too forward of himself, but before he could delete it, Lan Zhan sent a blue heart.

Aww....

And then:

No need. Wei Ying is welcome.

Wei Ying was utterly enchanted and flung his phone on his bed, squealing and clutching his pillow.

And from down below, came the unmistakable sound of footsteps on his stairs....