"And a one, two— seven, eight!"
Mo Fei clapped sharply over the music. "Twist to the side, bend— do the buggy-wuggy, twirl, stop, fashy and sliiiide!"
Three bodies moved in questionable synchronisation across the polished floor.
Mo Fei twisted first, violet hair bouncing around his face as he bent dramatically at the waist. Beside him, Chen Yu followed with far more commitment than the choreography deserved, hips swaying from side to side as though his life depended on every count.
Xiao Mei was between them, completely locked in.
"Twirl, stop, pose!" Mo Fei called. "Bend, shaky-shaky, do the buggy-wuggy— slide, pause!"
They slid. Paused, then all three snapped into poses.
The speakers thumped hard enough for the bass to vibrate through the floor. Afternoon light poured through the tall windows as Mo Fei launched straight into the next sequence.
"Again! And— one, two, three, four— "
Chen Yu rolled his shoulders, planted both hands on his waist and started moving his hips with renewed vigour.
Mo Fei caught sight of him. "Yu'er, yes! Give me waist!"
"I'm giving you waist!" Chen Yu gave more waist. At this point, his waist was waisting.
Xiao Mei burst out laughing without missing a step. "Why are you actually good at this?"
"Natural talent, bitch!"
"Five, six— twirl!"
They twirled.
"Stop!"
They stopped.
"Fashy!"
Nobody knew what fashy meant. They did it anyway.
"Buggy-wuggy!" The door opened. "Slide— " Mo Fei saw the newcomers first and his entire body locked. Chen Yu followed his gaze and stopped mid-waist.
Sima Li stood in the doorway. Beside him was Zhang Yichen. The music continued.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Mo Fei remained frozen with one arm above his head, hips halfway through whatever criminal movement he had invented.
Chen Yu was somehow worse. One hand on his waist, the other stretched elegantly into the air. One knee bent.
Sima Li, "..."
Yichen, "..."
Mo Fei and Chen Yu, "..."
Nobody spoke.
Unfortunately, Xiao Mei had noticed absolutely none of this. Spiritually, physically and musically, she was gone.
"Twirl, stop, pose—" She spun behind them with a proud grin, completely lost in the beat.
Mo Fei slowly turned his head. "Mei'er— "
Xiao Mei missed a step, her foot slid and her arms flew out. "AH—!"
Thump. She hit the floor and the spell broke.
"Xiao Mei!" Mo Fei rushed over and crouched beside her while Chen Yu folded over laughing. Xiao Mei lay there for several seconds, staring at the ceiling as though reconsidering every decision that had brought her to this point.
Mo Fei grabbed her arm and helped her sit up. "You fell down again? What are you, a fall risk?"
"Shut up!" Xiao Mei whined, rubbing her side. "The floor attacked me."
Mo Fei snorted and reached over to check her side. "Did you hurt your— " Something burned into the side of his face. Slowly, Mo Fei looked towards the doorway.
Yichen's gaze had dropped directly to the hand resting on Xiao Mei's waist. His expression had gone cold.
Mo Fei looked at his hand and withdrew it immediately, muttering. "…Damn it."
Sima Li finally entered the room, laughter bubbling under his breath. "What the hell were you three doing?"
"Exercise," Mo Fei answered immediately.
"Art," Chen Yu said.
Xiao Mei, still sitting on the floor, raised one finger. "Choreography."
Sima Li lost it. He crossed the room and, on his way past, reached over to ruffle Chen Yu's hair.
Chen Yu slapped his hand away. "Oi! Don't touch my hair!" Sima Li did it again.
Chen Yu's face darkened. "Why are you even here?"
"I came to see you guys." Sima Li dropped the bag in his hand.
"That's exactly my point." Chen Yu fixed his hair with several offended little pats. "You're the only artist I know with this much free time. Do you even have a career anymore?"
Sima Li's smile vanished. Mo Fei covered his mouth. Xiao Mei wheezed from the floor, but Chen Yu wasn't finished.
He turned towards Yichen.
"And you— Yichen, have you joined Sima Li in goofing around now? Do you want to become useless like him too?"
Sima Li's mouth dropped open. Xiao Mei stopped rubbing her side.
Mo Fei closed his eyes.
What was the Lord's Prayer again? Because this was Death. Beautiful, swift death. He had always known Chen Yu would eventually bring it upon them.
Unfortunately, Chen Yu was still talking. "I understand Sima Li being utterly useless, but you? Tut, tut, tut. Like two peas in a pod, flocking around like— "
Mo Fei lunged, both hands clamped over Chen Yu's mouth.
"MMMPH!" Chen Yu fought violently.Mo Fei held on for dear life.
Mo Fei was ridiculous. Shameless. Regularly made decisions that would embarrass his ancestors. But Chen Yu?
Mo Fei stared directly into his eyes.
Chen Yu was a ticking bomb with two red wires, and somehow whichever one you cut, the bastard would still explode.
Xiao Mei folded over laughing.
Sima Li staggered backwards, clutching his chest, then Yichen moved.
Mo Fei stiffened.
Yichen approached with both hands in his pockets, his expression giving absolutely nothing away, he stopped directly in front of them.
Chen Yu stared up at him.
Mo Fei still had both hands clamped over his mouth. "Er… Yichen, listen. He didn't mean any of that. You know Chen Yu. He's sick. Look at him." Mo Fei loosened one arm and shook Chen Yu lightly.
Chen Yu swayed bonelessly in his grip.
A beat passed between them, Yichen looked at Mo Fei, then at Chen Yu, currently being rocked around like an oversized rag doll.
Chen Yu tried to wriggle free.
Mo Fei tightened his arm and whispered through his teeth, "If you'd like to be crucified, keep talking."
Chen Yu went completely still, then, very slowly, he arranged his face into the picture of innocence. "Mo Fei is right. I am… sick. I overspoke." He pressed the back of one hand dramatically to his forehead. "Oh… oh, the fever."
Mo Fei beamed at Yichen. "See?"
Yichen stared at both of them. "What were you doing before we came in?"
Mo Fei blinked. "…What?"
Sima Li immediately recovered. "Yes. Actually, I want to know too."
Xiao Mei scrambled to her feet. "It's called the buggy-wuggy."
Mo Fei whipped around. "It is not called the buggy-wuggy!"
"You kept saying buggy-wuggy!"
"That was an instruction!"
Chen Yu finally tore himself free. "Let me go before I actually faint."
Mo Fei pointed at him. "You shut up. You nearly got us killed thirty seconds ago."
Yichen glanced towards the speakers and back at Mo Fei. "Show me."
Mo Fei froze. Sima Li's face lit up. Chen Yu's mouth slowly curled. Xiao Mei clasped both hands together.
Mo Fei stared at Yichen in horror. "You want to learn?"
Yichen remained perfectly composed. "I want to know what a buggy-wuggy is."
Sima Li stepped forward and shrugged off his jacket. "Move. Expert coming through." Chen Yu gave him a filthy look as Sima rolled his shoulders.
Mo Fei looked from him to Yichen— Just as Yichen calmly removed his coat. Mo Fei's jaw dropped.
Xiao Mei screamed. "Yayyy! More dance partners!"
Chen Yu slapped both hands over his face. "Oh, God. We've corrupted him."
Mo Fei could only stare.
Zhang Yichen. The icy prince. Award-winning actor. International luxury ambassador. Currently rolling up his sleeves in preparation for the buggy-wuggy.
Mo Fei slowly raised both hands in surrender. "Fine." He restarted the music and clapped sharply. "Everyone, take position. Ready? Annnd a one, two— seven, eight!"
Yichen frowned. "What happened to three through six?"
"Don't question the process!"
And somewhere between fashy, shaky-shaky and the buggy-wuggy, every remaining scrap of dignity, wealth and common sense flew straight out of the room.
💜~~~~~~
"Fashy, twirl, sliiiiiide— bend and pose!"
Six bodies moved. With varying degrees of success.
Mo Fei slid across the polished floor and dropped dramatically into position, one knee bent, an arm thrown above his head. Chen Yu twisted beside him, hips angled with entirely too much confidence.
Xiao Mei struck something suspiciously close to a beauty-pageant pose. Sima Li had both arms spread wide.
And Zhang Yichen— internationally acclaimed actor, heir to the Zhang family and a man once described by the media as untouchably elegant—stood with one hand braced against his thigh and the other stretched above his head.
The music thumped through the speakers. Then— Click. The door opened and Aria stepped inside.
Nil followed. Louis came in last. All three stopped.
The music continued.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Mo Fei remained bent sideways. Yichen held his pose.
Sima Li had one leg extended behind him for reasons even he probably couldn't explain. Chen Yu's hips were pushed obscenely to one side.
Xiao Mei had both hands framing her face. For several long seconds, the newcomers simply stared, their gazes travelling slowly across the room.
Nil's expression asked one very clear question.
What the fuck am I looking at?
Yichen looked away.
He had nothing to say in his defence.
Louis remained by the door, one hand still resting on the handle. His eyes travelled across the scene once, then again, perhaps a second viewing would make it more understandable.
It did not.
Xiao Mei broke first. "ARIAAAA!" The shriek nearly rattled the windows. She waved both hands frantically. "Come! Come, come, come! Dance with us!"
Aria calmly removed her coat. Louis slowly turned his head towards her as Aria folded the coat neatly over the back of a chair, crossed the room and joined Xiao Mei. The remaining dancers were still frozen.
Mo Fei's smile had begun to twitch. His waist was screaming and his thigh was burning. Something in his lower back had started sending formal complaints to management. Another five seconds passed.
"All right." His voice came out strained. "This has been awkward long enough."
"Agreed," Yichen said immediately.
"Absolutely," Sima Li wheezed.
Chen Yu dropped to the floor. "Thank God."
"My leg is dying," Xiao Mei groaned.
Everyone collapsed out of position. Mo Fei straightened carefully. Crack. Chen Yu looked at him.
Mo Fei placed one hand against his waist. "…I'm twenty-something years old. Why did my body just make that sound?"
"Because your buggy-wuggy is shit," Sima Li said.
"Oh, shut up. It's perfect and you know it."
Nil finally ventured farther into the room. "I leave you people alone for one afternoon…"
"You weren't here to leave us," Chen Yu pointed out.
Nil stopped. "That somehow makes this worse." His attention shifted towards Yichen. Their eyes met, Nil looked at the speakers and at Yichen's rolled-up sleeves.
Yichen looked away and Nil's mouth twitched.
Wisely, he said nothing.
Louis, meanwhile, had reached a different conclusion. He needed a drink. He turned without a word and headed for the kitchen.
The noise faded slightly as he stepped onto the cool tiles. He opened a cabinet, found a bottle of whisky and reached for a heavy-bottomed glass.
Ice clicked against crystal, amber liquid followed.
Louis poured generously and took a long drink. The whisky burned pleasantly down his throat.
Better.
He returned to the living room.
"Nil, loosen your shoulders!"
Louis stopped. Everyone had surrounded Nil.
Mo Fei stood directly in front of him. "No, no, you're too stiff. Look."
Chen Yu shoved him aside. "Move. Honey, watch me." He demonstrated.
"No, that's wrong," Sima Li immediately said.
Chen Yu spun towards him. "Nobody asked you."
"You're moving too much."
"It's called rhythm, damn it!" Xiao Mei squeezed between them. "You're all teaching him wrong!"
Aria stood nearby with her arms folded, observing the disaster. Yichen attempted to say something. Three people spoke over him. Nil stood in the centre, receiving six different instructions at once.
"Move your waist!"
"Shoulders!"
"No, bend first!"
"Fashy!"
"What the hell is fashy?" Nil demanded.
"DON'T QUESTION THE PROCESS!" Chen Yu shouted.
Louis slowly raised his whisky. Took a long sip, lowered it and looked into the glass.
Definitely going to need more.
He turned around and went back to the kitchen. This time, he filled the glass properly.
When Louis returned several minutes later, the music had changed. He stopped in the doorway.
Nil was dancing or attempting to.
His knees were bent. One arm was thrown diagonally above his head. His hips were turned at an angle no respectable manager's hips had any business being turned.
"BUGGY-WUGGY!" Sima Li yelled. Nil did something with his waist and the room exploded.
"YESSSSS!"
"THAT'S IT!"
"HONEY!"
"AGAIN!"
Chen Yu jumped up and down, clapping as though Nil had just won an Olympic medal.
Xiao Mei screamed.
Sima Li pointed dramatically. "HE'S GOT IT!" Even Aria was clapping.
Zhang Yichen stood off to one side with his arms folded, looking far too accepting of the situation for a man who should have known better.
Nil straightened, slightly out of breath. "How was that?"
"Terrible," Chen Yu said proudly. "But you're learning."
Louis raised the whisky to his lips. Drank and looked down at what remained. A long silence passed inside his soul.
No, a glass wasn't going to do it.
Louis turned around and disappeared into the kitchen again. This time, when he returned, he didn't bring the glass.
He brought the whole bottle.