The depressing night dragged on, every second stretching as though time itself had slowed tenfold. Wen Lan chugged down the final cup of coffee he had run out to buy earlier, the bitterness doing little to keep the heaviness from settling in his chest.
Wen Lan checked the time on his phone
5:30a.m.
His gaze fell at the final page of the math syllabus tested this time round. He felt a sense of pride. He actually managed to cram 6 chapters in a single night.
It was indeed not easy, in fact, Wen Lan would never ever try this again. Especially not on a school day. Spamming on coffee for 6 hours did help to awaken him but it didn't change the fact that he would have to leave his house in 20 minutes to head to school and continue having classes for another 10 hours.
And there was math today too.
He was sick of looking at math formulas.
With his biggest worry out of the way, all that remained were Biology, Chemistry and the language subjects
He seemed to have enough time to prepare himself.
Whatever, he should properly start getting ready for school. Who knows, maybe today would be his first interaction with Jiaquan.
He hoped.
Wen Lan washed his face with cold water. His reflection stared back at him from the mirror, his eyes rimmed red from a night without sleep
He quickly changed into his school uniform and left the house together with his bag.
Who set the rule for school to start at 6:40a.m!
He reached school earlier than most. His house was only a few blocks away. a ten-minute walk. But ever since his first year, he had developed the habit of leaving absurdly early to avoid being late. Forty minutes early, arriving thirty minutes ahead of time. It was a habit he never managed to break. Even leaving five minutes later than usual sent his mind spiralling into worst-case scenarios.
Ironic.
By the time he reached school, the caffeine had already worn off. Making Wen Lan feel drowsy with every step he took.
Then, just for a moment, he thought he saw Jiaquan at the end of the hallway.
By the time he looked again, the space was empty. Stupid…
Wen Lan slipped into his classroom and took his seat by the window, dropping his bag to the floor with a dull thud. He rested his forehead against the cool glass, eyelids heavy, the world beyond blurred by exhaustion.
Just 10 more hours and he could go home and slump onto his bed once again.
Wen Lan collapsed onto the table, burying his head in his arms. He closed his eyes.
He wished to sleep for at least a few minutes before the class gets filled with loud, restless monkeys.
The classroom slowly came alive. Chairs scraped against the floor, voices growing louder. Some discussed Chinese new year celebration plans, some discussed the upcoming exam, and some discussed homework.
right! Wen Lan had clearly forgotten about homework!
He fumbled through his bag, shoving aside notebooks and pencil cases. The paper was there staring intently at him.
Fully blank.
Wen Lan stared at the homework like it was written in a foreign language. Blinking cluelessly at the characters as if they had suddenly become hieroglyphs.
His second language was Chinese and it showed.
He could barely read one complete sentence properly. Unfamiliar words, forgotten.
He should properly accept his faith.
"Wen Lan!" The familiar beta voice came.
Qiangqiu skipped to his table in front of Wen Lan. Glancing at the paper on Wen Lan's table as he sat down.
Seeing the incomplete homework, he grinned.
'Idiot! What are you smiling for!' Wen Lan thought internally.
"I was going to text you to ask whether you finished it this morning but if I reminded you, I was scared that if you did do it, I would be in trouble alone." Qiangqiu continued, "thank you for not doing too!"
Wen Lan blinked, heat rising from his cheeks from frustration. "Y-you-"
"Wait wait," Qiangqiu cuts, "before you continue, I spent the whole time finding information about Jiaquan for you, I barely had any time to do the homework,"
"I didn't ask you to," Wen Lan fights back.
"You think I'm new with you? You always say that!" Qiangqiu shot back, enjoying seeing him flustered.
Wen Lan opened his mouth to respond, but before he could get another word out, the bell rang sharply, echoing through the room.
"Ugh… finally," he muttered under his breath, only to freeze when the classroom door opened.
The Chinese teacher strode in, she was young and petite but had a terrible temper. Students immediately straightened, chairs scraping the floor. Wen Lan felt his chest tighten. One look at her, and he wanted to disappear.
"Class, we'll be moving to the computer lab today," Ms Meng announced, "We're combining with another class,"
The classroom buzzed with the low murmur of students shuffling their things. Wen Lan slung his bag over one shoulder, trying to keep his pace steady, though his heart still thudded from the earlier exchange with Qiangqiu.
The hallway was crowded, the echo of footsteps and chatter bouncing off the walls. Wen Lan kept his gaze fixed on the floor, he was feeling much better, just a slight dizziness.
Qiangqiu nudged him, "Didn't sleep? "
Wen Lan nodded
"Because of your family?" Qiangqiu asked, tilting his head, eyes curious.
Wen Lan muttered, avoiding his gaze. "No, They weren't home the whole day and night. No clue why."
Qiangqiu leaned back slightly, folding his arms, a teasing grin tugging at his lips. "What else are you doing then? Don't tell me you spent the whole night reading!"
Wen Lan's cheeks warmed, and he adjusted the strap of his bag nervously. "Who do you think I am! I was studying!"
"Studying, huh?" Qiangqiu laughed softly, tapping the desk lightly. "I'll tell you the information about Jiaquan during lunch break!"
Finally, they reached the computer lab. The other class was already there, filling the seats in neat rows.
Wen Lan walked into the computer lab, barely paying attention to the scattered students.
Then, his heart skipped a beat.
A familiar smell hit him, A faint earthy scent. Like fresh rain settling on stone. (1)
His steps faltered, and for a moment, he was suddenly hyper-aware of the space around him.
He looked up, scanning across the room. There he was, Jiaquan was sitting at the first few rows, headphones draped around his neck, focused on the screen, oblivious to the sudden effect he'd had. Wen Lan's chest tightened, and heat rose to his cheeks before he even realized what was happening.
Qiangqiu leaned close, eyebrow raised. "I see your eyes, want to sit with your future husband?"
Wen Lan blinked, caught off guard. Without thinking, his hand tightened on his bag strap, and he nodded almost unconsciously.
Qiangqiu smirked, nudging him forward.
Wen Lan moved, each step heavy with anticipation and confusion, sliding into the empty seat beside Jiaquan. Qiangqiu followed after taking the spot beside Wen Lan
As he settled, his elbow bumped Jiaquan's arm lightly.
"Oh—sorry," Wen Lan muttered, quickly lowering his hand, cheeks heating.
Jiaquan glanced at him, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "It's fine," he said softly, brushing his arm slightly. "No problem."
Wen Lan's heart skipped another beat, and he pressed his fingers against his own palm, trying to stop them from trembling.
He would never wash his elbow again.
Just like that. That small interaction made Wen Lan flustered. He fidgeted with his hands under the table, his gaze never leaving his hands. Afraid that he would accidentally attack Jiaquan's personal space again even with a slight gaze. 2 hours of Chinese. 2 hours of torture but that torture can be easily eased with a single sniff of the pheromones beside him.
From Qiangqiu's view from the side, it looked like Wen Lan was trying to look smaller. Qiangqiu snickered silently watching the beta's unusual behaviour. He actually prayed for a day for this. Seeing his friends getting together with their crush was his biggest entertainment especially starting through small interactions like that.
Wen Lan hadn't realised that Jiaquan had also noticed his weird behaviour.
(1) Known as Petrichor is the pleasant, earthy smell after rain hits dry ground. That's basically Jiaquan's pheromones!