At least, I still can say, "Whatever, cheers to the merrier times."

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What does it take to be invincible?

Honestly, I don't think it's possible. But what I know is, all it takes to feel invincible is some good relationships. When you know they've got your back and there's no room for judgment, you start to feel it.

And that's what I'm feeling right now. Fucking Invincible.

We were running to the mall to see who gets there first. As always, Cheng was leading, closely followed by me.

"No luck today." He yells while running.

"Keep on dreaming," I yell back.

We reach the entrance almost at the same time. I keep my hands on my knees to catch my breath.

"I came first," Cheng says between his pants.

We might be eighteen, but believe me, when I say it, I don't think our age will ever take our childishness away from us.

"No. We came together."

Sang who just arrived, does an obscene hand gesture.

I laugh. "Really, Sang," I say as I knock the back of his head.

Yesterday, I called him and listened to his apologies for almost half an hour till he finally let me explain that nothing bad happened.

We look back at the people who didn't join the race, and Wen Ning and Xingchen, who dropped halfway.

"Hurry up, you lazy asses." Sang shouts and Xingchen makes the others walk even slowly.

The three of us applaud for their dramatic slow walk once they arrive. Lan Zhan instinctively stands next to me, and I try my best to not hold his hand. Not that I didn't want others to know about us, I didn't know if Lan Zhan is okay with it. I have to ask him first.

"Xian, next time let's see who comes last. At least then these idiots will walk faster." Sang says.

"Try me, I'll keep standing in one place." Says Song Lan.

"Alright, walking around or straight to lunch?" I ask.

"Walking around." Everyone says almost unanimously.

So we walk around going into different stores, buying stupid stuff. Lan Zhan was with Song Lan, softly talking to each other. Those two got along pretty well. Song Lan too is less talkative, unless it was with us, and sometimes can be a self-disciplined freak.

Like minds get along I guess.

"I could've done some real shopping if Yanli was here," Qing whines, bringing me back to Earth. She was glancing at a dress shop that we just passed.

"I can come with you. And Ning too." Sang says. He does this all the time, becoming all childish around Qing to annoy her. But we knew the story behind it. He was scared shitless of her.

"No thanks. The last time I went to a store with you, you couldn't say the difference between PJs and a normal shirt. And Xian has influenced Ning too much. He doesn't see any color except black."

Sang continues his protests when Song Lan speaks up. "Why didn't Yanli come today?" he asks, mentioning Shijie.

"Wedding planning with the peacock's parents," I reply.

Xingchen smirks. "You two are never going to stop calling him that, are you?" he asks.

"Nope. We call him that to the face, so..." Cheng says.

"Oh god, don't say that if you get to speak at her wedding," Qing snorts.

I gasp dramatically and continue my mocking. "Qing! That's such a good idea."

Qing raises her hands in defense. "I said nothing."

"It's fine Qing." I put a hand around Cheng's shoulder. "We live to make his life miserable, don't we?"

"Hell, yeah." Cheng scoffs.

We settle in a snack bar for lunch. Lan Zhan and Ning order cheeseburgers, Sang orders whatever the hell was next in his going-through-the-menu ritual, Song and Xingchen were sharing a Mac n' Cheese, Two double burgers for Cheng and myself, and a Salad for Qing as usual.

"Seriously, order some meat today." I tell her "Aren't you getting tired of it?"

"Stop being food racist. Besides one day you're going to die because of your eating habits."

I gasp dramatically and put my arms around my burger like a fortress. "Don't call my burger a murderer."

"It might as well be. If you're not living with Yanli, god knows how many meals you would've skipped."

"Well, why eat three meals when you can eat them all in one." I grin at her.

She rolls her eyes. "Whatever. My words prove to be worthless around you."

I laugh and "Well, I'll go find some drinks." I say as I stand up from my chair. Ignoring everyone's reactions I add, "Lan Zhan, come with me."

He looked confused but he stands up to join me. I take his hand and drag him out of the restaurant.

"We can get drinks from the snack bar." He says as I take him in no particular direction.

I smile at him. "Yeah, we can. But I'm sneaking out with you." I don't have to look back to know that e's smiling.

When we're at a safe distance, I slow down, and walk with him, hand in hand.

"Where are we going?" he asks with a smile on his face. Well, at least he likes this.

"I don't know," I reply. "I noticed that you wanted us to be alone."

He smiles. "You're observant."

"Yeah, pretty much. But sometimes I jump to conclusions. So... beware of this dummy Lan Zhan."

"I will."

I find a deserted area.

I look around and since I find no one, I push Lan Zhan against the wall and put my arms around his shoulder. I smirk triumphantly, seeing his surprised face. Giving him no warning, I kiss him with no tenderness. In no time, he responds, making my heart pound in my chest. His hand was on my neck, keeping me in place, the other was firmly holding me by the waist. We kiss, equally contributing in the push and the pull, till he lightly bites my lip, breaking the kiss.

"In public?" he asks, but he had a smirk on his face.

I tilt my head, mimicking his smirk. "Don't act like you didn't like it."

"I never said that." He says and leans in to kiss me again. I happily give in, devouring his lips, claiming what's mine. It ends sooner than the earlier one, with pulling away.

"I wish we could continue Lan Zhan, but it'll be awkward if our friends find us like this, wouldn't it?"

"Why don't you tell them?" he asks.

"You're fine with it?"

"Of course I am." He replies.

Oh well, sometimes he's so unpredictable with his cold face. "You have some surprising traits, don't you?"

"Only for you." He replies, proving my statement.

Chuckling at him, I link our hands again and we go back in the same route we came in. But we don't make it long.

We were standing face to face with an unexpected person.

Holy crap. "Shijie?" I exclaim with a shaky smile. "I thought you weren't coming."

"We managed to finish it early, so we thought we could come. And well, it's worthwhile." She says, glancing at our linked hands.

Neither of us says anything. Lan Zhan anyway wouldn't and I was sheepishly smiling at her.

"Aw, come on you two. Congratulations." She says.

"Thanks," both of us say together, and she smiles at it. A nervous silence passes among us.

Sensing it, Lan Zhan lets go of my hand. "I'll be with the others." He says. He kisses my forehead and walks away, giving Shijie and me some space.

"He loves you a lot, doesn't he?" Shijie asks, seeing his act.

I smile at her in answer. "Shijie, you, uh..."

"Of course I accept." She answers my unasked question. "Xian, it's you who decides who you are, and it's our responsibility to accept whoever it is. I'm sure, dad thinks the same." She pinches my cheek. "Besides, who can say no to such a good looking man?" She says making me laugh. "You're a free soul Xian. It'll be such a crime to interrupt your path. I love you and that'll never change, okay?"

I hug her. "You're the best Shijie."

"Well, Cheng will be shocked to hear that you're dating Lan Wangji."

"I'm waiting to see his face."

"Let's go get our men then," Shijie says as she takes my hand to walk back to where the others were.

Well, for once I feel that it'll be alright. Maybe Lan Zhan can help me forget it. Maybe he's what I've needed all along.

Extra:

credit: 秋生笙 on Weibo

Well, cheers to the merrier times...

Hope you enjoyed the little party.

You might have noticed that I changed the cover of the book. So yes, there will be two parts to this story. The second part will be published as soon as this finishes. Hope you'll stay tuned
(◍•ᴗ•◍)

Thank you for all the love shown.
Till next time...