hualian college au

chapter 3: your dreamy eyes

hello! relatively new to wattpad, and i totally forgot about author's notes lol. (where is the authorial intent you say??) anyway, i like to thank trendykibbles for preventing me from slacking off on my fanfic writing. you're the reason i keep doing this <3 also i'm definitely not writing this in class o.o

two slender figures with bare feet rushed outside onto the cool pavement. one clearly exhilarated beyond his wits, and the other more or less dragged by the former. shi qingxuan's inexhaustible reserve of energy never failed to surprise xie lian. xie lian felt like he spoke to soon earlier. it might have been easier to calm shi qingxuan down back at their dorm, but now as they approached a lonely sidewalk bench, shi qingxuan noticeably staggered a bit in speed. he sat down obediently, like a puppy faithfully obeying its owner's orders.

xie lian sighed and patted his roommate's shoulders, rubbing them slightly to soothe shi qingxuan before he began his well-meaning, but most likley serious, conversation. shi qingxuan only starred back at xie lian, wide-eyed and stupefied. he proceeded to gaze up at the stars, jerking his head upwards at such an alarming rate, xie lian was nearly knocked backwards from his standing position. after a brief moment of silence, shi qingxuan redirected his gaze back at xie lian and smiled like a buffoon.

"when i look at the sky, i-" shi qingxuan murmured, "i feel safe and hopeful and i think of you. i'm sorry for how i behaved earlier. it was reckless, and i honestly don't know what came over me."

shi qingxuan really knew how to make xie lian speechless. this boy was really too endearing. xie lian couldn't really be mad at him at all, but he was still curious about one thing.

"i understand, shi qingxuan. uhm did you happen to drink something strange last night? maybe something you didn't directly see poured from the bottle?" asked xie lian.

"no, not at all," replied shi qingxuan. 

"hmm that's strange then. so it was just the alcohol then and nothing more?" inquired xie lian once more.

at this, shi qingxuan paused for a moment as if to retrace his actions the previous night in his mind. he frowned a bit before continuing.

"now that you say that, you're making me feel like someone really did have bad intentions! but I can't believe that he xuan would do that to me. what if I really was just out of it? that's possible right?" said shi qingxuan.

so that strange host's name was he xuan. xie lian was not sure if shi qingxuan was telling the truth or keeping something from him. if the latter was really the case, then he had to go to the party tomorrow as well. but since xie lian already denied his roommate's invitation, xie lian did not want to abruptly cause a change of plans. he even had work to catch up on and didn't want to leave their new pet, milk, unattended. it was only the other day that milk had weaseled her away out of her cage and clawed through all of xie lian's dresser. white twead jackets and their complementary monochrome tops were all messily strewn on the floor. on top of the fluffy pile of clothes was of course the mischievous milk.

xie lian paused for a moment before replying, "well, I just hope you take care of yourself better in the future," feigning a slight air of nonchalance. 

"I promise, xie lian! thank you for understanding," said shi qingxuan. 

he began to move to hug xie lian, but xie lian in a nervous panic slipped onto the ground, the coldness now enveloping his whole body in addition to his feet. the two friends burst into a fit of laughter, and only after had the mood lightened did they go back inside to go to sleep.

today is sunday, and the gala starts at 5pm. both shi qingxuan and xie lian slept until noon. xie lian being one to hold himself accountable to a rigid schedule was appalled he had strayed so much from his usual self, first that text and now this. meanwhile shi qingxuan slept soundly as if the events of last night had never occurred. 

xie lian was still a bit wary of going, but he figured that for the safety of shi qingxuan and god forbid his own sanity too, going would save him some trouble in the long run. their apartment looked idyllic right now, with ribbons of sunshine hitting the rainbow suncatcher at the pinpoint accurate angle to create streaks of beautiful, radiating color. xie lian found it odd that even though he was drawn to vibrant, brilliant colors such as those dancing around his room, he never really incorporated that into his wardrobe. for someone so obsessed with out-there-looks and dark academia pinterest boards, xie lian dressed really plain, often repeating outfits for days on end, not that that was bad. he just figured his studies ought to take priority, and now was an especially busy time.

watching xie lian muse from the corner of his eye, shi qingxuan nibbled on his muffin and thought of approaching xie lian. he was planning to leave for the gala later this evening and thought he would go out early and get a gift for him. xie lian only stared unblinkingly at their window. so shi qingxuan took this moment to jump up behind him, exclaiming, "Let's go buy you some clothes!"