WARNING: none.
MINI INTERLUDE
❝YOU'RE IN TIMEOUT, SO YOU DON'T GET TO CHIME IN!❞
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CONGRATULATIONS, WE'VE REACHED THE MINI INTERLUDE OF SPRING THIEF. For people unfamiliar with my other works, salutations! My name is Marine (or mar, lowercase intended), and I've always had cute, somewhat coherent plot interjections in the middle of my stories. This also means that we're halfway through Spring Thief, and we're not even at canon yet... Oh my.
Well, regardless, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
—
[NAME]: I love you.
NEZHA, SCOFFING: How many people have you said that to?
[NAME]: Everyone.
NEZHA: What?
[NAME]: I told everyone that I love you.
—
NEZHA: There's a special place in the Underworld for you, Wukong.
WUKONG, TEARING UP:
NEZHA: Did I strike a nerve?
WUKONG, SNIFFLING: No...
WUKONG, HOLDING BACK TEARS:
WUKONG: That's the nicest thing anybody has said to me.
NEZHA:
—
[NAME], TEXTING NEZHA: Text me when you're home safely.
NEZHA: I'm home dangerously.
[NAME]: Stop it.
NEZHA: I'm home lethally.
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UNIVERSITY WAS HARD—that was what Nezha learned after he graduated from high school with flying colors and recommendations from nearly all of his teachers.
Sure, all of the material so far has been things he easily dealt with.
Readings? Insightful more than anything. Despite the course syllabus seeming to be a drag for everyone else, Nezha quite enjoyed the legal jargon of criminal justice. With academic discipline, surely anyone could read and learn new vocabulary like him.
Exams? Swept through them with ease. Besides, if he did have any trouble, he could always stop by his professor's office and get the help he needed. The intimidating rumors circulating around his Psychology professor weren't that big of a deal to Nezha, as long as his professor helped him better understand the material.
Homework? Well, it was a lot of reading, writing, and analysis, but it wasn't too much of a burden. The workload he received was expected from someone who was a Criminal Justice and History major. His eldest brother, Jinzha, might have reprimanded him for going for a double major without a second thought, but as Nezha said—it wasn't too much of a burden. A double major gave him a more well-rounded education anyway.
So, if he was doing well in all of his classes, why was university hard?
It wasn't that university itself was hard. It was more of the atmosphere that he found hard to adjust to.
Complete freedom on what teachers teach. Students leaving class at any time, regardless of the reason. Juggling a law firm internship and working part-time at a local café, where he wished Heaven itself could strike down upon the people who gave him obnoxiously long orders. Admittedly, that last one wasn't on the college campus itself. No matter how much time had passed, it was still something he couldn't get used to. Sometimes, life isn't fair!
It also didn't help that people kept trying to befriend him.
Of course, he wasn't a complete loner at his school — he just... preferred not to dwell with his peers if it meant going to a bar and getting drunk. Which a LOT of his classmates seemed to do, by the way.
There was only one time he decided to break from his routine. His brother, Muzha, dragged him to a university party (something about "you need to socialize more!"), hosted by someone from the school. He wasn't sure who it was, or why they wanted to throw a party this weekend, but they truly went all out.
People swapped stories with each other. Played drinking games. You know, the usual things at a university party hosted by a freshman with too much time. What he didn't understand was why the kid managed to get a DJ setup for this party (doesn't that seem a bit excessive?) when, you know, most of these students are broke. Unless he coincidentally had a super wealthy family backing him up.
College parties were legendary and supposed to be one of the best parts of pursuing higher education, but Nezha couldn't help but want to go home the second his brother dragged him here.
That is, until he met you.
Well, that's not entirely true. He certainly knew of you before. You were the student who sat a couple of seats away from him in his Global History of Law and Commerce seminar and always enthusiastically engaged in conversations with other classmates and the professor. You were also someone he noticed in his Community Psychology lecture hall.
"Oh, hey, Nezha!" you called out to him, briskly walking over from your group of friends with a red solo cup in your hand.
"Hello, [Name]." His eyes trailed down to the cup and he raised an eyebrow. "Are you... underage drinking—?"
"Pfft! No, goodness no." You lifted the cup, giving him a closer view of the contents inside. "It's fruit punch! I just poured it out from a Capri-Sun pouch, since carrying around a Capri-Sun is sorta silly..."
"I see." He stiffly squared up his shoulders, sitting up in his seat. "What made you come over to me?"
You smiled at him.
"You looked like you needed a breather outside this party. So, I wanted to ask if you'd like to step out for a bit?"
Nezha didn't know much about you. From what he knew, you were a History major just like him, with a minor in Psychology.
And now, you were a kindred soul amongst the party animals.
"Sssh—" he dragged out the sound, seemingly hesitant on his answer, "Sure, I'll go."
"Great!"
When the two of you sat on the front porch, he looked up to the night sky — trying to see if he could find the stars in this light-riddled city. All he could find was the moon, staring back at him in the suspended darkness.
A part of him missed home, where he could easily count the stars with awestruck eyes.
"Hey, Nezha," you spoke up after a while. "What brought you to this party? I didn't expect you to be a partygoer considering your... reserved attitude during our shared classes."
"Oh. Muzha — er, my older brother dragged me."
"Muzha? The person that is friends with Guanyin?"
"Yeah, that guy."
"Oooh, I see. Did he expect you to socialize, haha?"
"Probably. I mean, I was just going to leave after an hour or so had passed so I could review the materials for my exam tomorrow."
Your eyes lit up. "Oh, right! You're a double major, right? History and, um, was it something law-related?"
"Criminal Justice and History major. I minor in Psychology, like you."
"Makes sense, makes sense... What do you plan on doing when you graduate, then? Become a criminal defense lawyer or prosecutor? A professor in university? You have a lot you can do, I think."
"I'm—" his voice trailed off. "I don't know. Not yet. Probably a lawyer of some kind."
"Well," you smiled, "you have plenty of time to think about it! So don't worry too much for now, ehe."
"...Yeah," his gaze at the sky softened. "You're right."
For the rest of the night, he spent his time with you, talking about — anything, really. You had captivated him in a conversation he couldn't imagine having outside of this night, at this specific time and location. It was almost as if Fate itself brought him here to this moment.
From that night onward, he started to notice you more. The way you held your stylus when you took notes on your tablet. The small waves you sent his way whenever your eyes met. Or, maybe, the way you would try to catch up to him in the halls to start a conversation, talking about the latest news and trends.
It was... endearing, to say the least.
Little moments that built his perception of you.
There was one day he went to the campus library to borrow a textbook for his psychology class. When reaching out to grab the book from the shelf — another hand had intercepted his, gently tracing the spine of the book. It was you, who looked a bit surprised to see him there. There was no doubt that this was the only copy of this book available at the library, and being too stubborn to buy the textbook online, Nezha was determined to get this physical copy.
But, before he could say anything, you spoke first.
"Oh, are you borrowing this book for our research paper, Nezha?"
"Ah. Yes, I am."
"Then, let's share it and study together!"
The two of you sat down at a table, resting the Fundamentals of Psychology textbook between you and him. When both of you finished reading a section, you would flip over the page and let it flutter over to his side. If you needed to look at a specific section, he would let you take the book for a while, focusing on outlining and refining his paper instead.
You two fell into a steady rhythm after a while.
"Hmmm, say, Nezha."
"Yes?"
"I never noticed before, considering I don't really sit near you, but you have really pretty handwriting."
"Ah—! Well..." You caught him off-guard with the compliment. "Thank you, I suppose."
"I also really love your makeup and hair!"
"Er, thank you again..."
You laughed at the expression on his face. He could already feel the heat rising to his cheeks, turning to face away from you.
"You get flustered really easily... cute."
"Was that a compliment?? Why are you laughing."
"Nothing, nothing—pffft! Hahaha!"
"...Can you quieten down? We're in the library right now, and the librarian looks like they're about to drop-kick us." He rolled his eyes, turning to look at you again.
UNIVERSITY WAS HARD—BUT IT WAS EVEN HARDER TO FOCUS WITH YOU AT HIS SIDE.
—
NEZHA — Double Major: Criminal Justice & General History; Psychology Minor
[NAME] — General History Major; Psychology Minor
MK — Criminal Justice Major; Ancient Literature Minor
MEI — Double Major: Mechanical Engineering & Electrical Engineering Major; Communications Minor
TANG — Ancient History & Ancient Literature Professor
PIGSY — Head chef and owner of Pigsy's Noodles
SANDY — Therapist (with lots of therapy cats!)
RED SON — Double Major: Mechanical Engineering & Chemical Engineering Major; Chemistry Minor
PRINCESS IRON FAN, DEMON BULL KING — I can't really think of what they would do. Maybe Iron Fan would be a professor of Ancient History?
SUN WUKONG, MACAQUE — Traveling the world (and sending tons of photos to MK!)
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PRINCESS IRON FAN: I am dating someone, but I'm worried about telling you because you're not going to like it.
NEZHA: Just rip the band-aid off.
PRINCESS IRON FAN: It's the Demon Bull King.
NEZHA: Put the band-aid back on.
—
[NAME]: I thought I might stay over tonight.
NEZHA: Why?
[NAME]: Because we're boyfriends.
NEZHA: To do what?
[NAME], PAUSING:
[NAME]: I'm actually not sure.
—
NEZHA: Do you play fighting games?
RED SON: Every time I step outside.
"SOMETIMES TO MAKE AN OMELET, YOU GOTTA BREAK A FEW... ENGINES??"
01 — SUMMARY
ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE: UNIVERSITY AU
College is annoying—from the repetition to the homework, there's nothing Nezha enjoys about it. Yet.
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02 — NOTICE
— PROMPT: "You get flustered really easily... Cute." "Haha... Thanks... I think. Was that a compliment? Why are you laughing."
— VOTES & COMMENTS GREATLY APPRECIATED! thank you 🪷