Chapter Text
Lan Zhan stood in a corner of the club. The music was too loud. The people were too many. He thought to himself that he should have stayed home. In fact, the thought of turning around and leaving was one that entered his mind as soon as he arrived and lingered since then. This was not his scene. He would have much preferred to be at home reading or getting ready for bed.
But…
He released a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.
He promised himself he would try new things after the move.
A flurry of movement caught his attention. A group of three came in. A girl who was waif-thin yet carried a stern expression that dared anyone to look down on her, a flamboyant boy whom carried a fan to hide a sly expression and…
Suddenly, the room was quiet and Lan Zhan no longer saw the crowd. He focused entirely on one boy.
A boy whose hair was almost as long as his. It was swept up into a ponytail. A red ribbon held it together and trailed down to follow the sway of its strands. The boy was wearing a form-fitting red tank top overlaid with a black mesh crop top. Black, belted jeans hugged a slim waist. And a wide smile filled the boy’s face.
He was radiant.
Lan Zhan was drawn to him like a moth is drawn to flame, but he paused because he wasn’t alone. His friends were with him. They laughed at something as they gathered around the bar.
He didn’t know what caused the peals of laughter, but he was sure he wouldn’t understand. He didn’t generally find people to be funny. And he couldn’t fake it. Not like most people. He started to back away into the corner again to think about what he could say upon his approach to seem natural.
‘Hi. It’s my first time here.’
No. He should introduce himself first or else they’d wonder why a stranger was talking to them.
‘Hi. My name is Lan Zhan? What’s your name?’
He shook his head. In his imagination, he only addressed that question to one person. That would be rude in a group of three. He’d have to ask everyone their names. He sighed. He wasn’t interested in everyone’s names. Just one.
The girl and the flamboyant boy with the fan took drinks they ordered into their hands and started to edge away. Lan Zhan perked up. It looked like they were about to separate. The boy with the bright smile said something else that caused them to roll their eyes and laugh before he waved them away.
Lan Zhan thought that luck must be on his side tonight as the boy’s friends weaved their way through the crowd to move into the next room, an even more crowded space of dancing bodies.
Lan Zhan watched the boy turn back to the bar. He took a deep breath. If he was going to go over, now would be the time.
“Oh, come on, you know I won’t tell anyone~”
The boy was wheedling the bartender, seemingly trying to get him to serve him alcoholic drinks instead of the non-alcoholic drinks for minors.
“Sorry. No can do, pal,” the bartender said before walking away.
Lan Zhan watched the boy groan and lay over the countertop of the bar, not worried at all about the sticky residue that littered the surface.
“Hi,” he said.
He was not heard above the music pumping through the speakers.
He cleared his throat and tried again. “Hi!” he yelled. “My name is Lan Zhan!”
The boy whirled around, a pout still on his face. It quickly turned into wide eyes, and then Lan Zhan got a direct hit from that bright smile. The impact felt like a two-ton wrecking ball to the chest. He was bowled over, having trouble breathing, dying…And yet he had never felt so alive.
“Hi!” the boy replied. “I’m Wei Ying!” His eyes traveled quickly over Lan Zhan’s form before he said, “Where did you come from? I’ve never seen you around here. I would remember!”
“I just moved here,” Lan Zhan said.
He moved closer, turning his ear to Lan Zhan’s lips. “Huh?”
Oh, yeah. “I JUST MOVED HERE,” Lan Zhan shouted. Wei Ying jerked back and winced, covering his ear. Oops. Too loud. “I’m sorry.”
Wei Ying laughed and waved it away. “You’re cute,” he shouted back.
Lan Zhan felt the tips of his ears get hot. He was relieved that his blushes usually only spread to that small area. He could easily hide his ears with his hair; it was one of the reasons he let his hair grow so long.
“Where are you from?” Wei Ying asked.
“Gusu Lan. Up North.” Lan Zhan took a step closer. So that he didn’t have to talk so loud.
“Oh?” Wei Ying said, his eyes widening with interest. “Did you attend Cloud Recesses Academy?” When Lan Zhan nodded, Wei Ying swept his eyes along Lan Zhan’s body before replying, “That explains the outfit.” A slight furrow appeared on Lan Zhan’s brow as he contemplated whether that was an insult or a compliment. He mentally compared his own outfit against Wei Ying’s. He was wearing a sky blue dress shirt button down tucked into tailored, white pants. His hair trailed down his back in a half-up, half-down style. He could admit that his attire didn’t seem to match the attire of anyone else in the establishment, but he saw that as a good thing. He had always considered his fashion a step above the average person.
But he discovered from Wei Ying’s next statement that Wei Ying definitely didn’t mean it as a compliment. “The guys from Cloud Recesses have always been stuffy with sticks up their butts. Are you stuffy, Lan Zhan?”
Lan Zhan blinked, a little taken aback at Wei Ying’s unfiltered honesty. He sniffed. “I’ve been told I can be a bit stuffy,” he admitted. “Yes.”
The corners of Wei Ying’s lips trembled with withheld laughter before it was let free - loud and unrestrained. “You admitted it!” he said, his voice bright with amusement. Lan Zhan’s lips twitched upward. “I was just kidding!” Wei Ying continued. “Even if you’re a little uptight, you’re handsome, Lan Zhan. So you can get away with it.”
Lan Zhan brushed his hand along his hair to make sure it was acting as a curtain to hide his blushing ears.
“So I’m assuming this is your first time at Gaze then,” Wei Ying said.
“Mm,” Lan Zhan nodded.
“Did you come with someone?” Wei Ying asked, looking around him.
“No,” Lan Zhan said. “I came alone.”
“Ahhh~” Wei Ying said with a wide, teasing grin. “You came to meet someone. Understandable. Seeing what the dating prospects are like in a new city is a valid top priority. See anyone you like?”
Lan Zhan stared at Wei Ying, his mind screaming, ‘You. You. You!’
He opened his lips to speak, but the bartender appeared again to slide a drink to Wei Ying. “Here,” the bartender said. “A mocktail on the house. Now stop bothering me.”
Even though the drink wasn’t alcoholic, Wei Ying seemed to be delighted to get something for free. He took it with a wide grin. “Hey, thanks!” But the bartender had already turned his attention to another customer.
That interaction wasn’t what caught Lan Zhan’s attention, though. What caught Lan Zhan’s attention was the red bracelet with white lettering that was secured around Wei Ying’s wrist. It was one of the gimmicks of the gay club. They tied a red bracelet around straight people’s wrists at the door as a warning to any gays looking to pick up a date. The white lettering on the alarm-red bracelet read: “STRAIGHT” in all capital letters.
All of Lan Zhan’s hopes crumbled to the ground.
Wei Ying gulped down his drink and put the empty glass back on the bar. “Haven’t found anyone, huh?” he said to Lan Zhan. Wei Ying must have taken his silence as a statement of dissatisfaction with the Yunmeng dating pool. “That’s okay,” he said. He slapped a hand against Lan Zhan’s shoulder and then draped his arm around him before leading him into the crowd. “I know everyone here. I’ll help you find a match. But until then…”
He lifted a devilish brow. Lan Zhan didn’t know what that meant until he was being pulled into the crowd of the next room and surrounded on all sides by dancing bodies. The moving mass crushed him against Wei Ying who was already surrendering himself to the music, arms thrown up and body winding recklessly. Against Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan’s body crackled with what felt like electricity everywhere that Wei Ying’s body pushed against him. He tried to back away, but there was nowhere to move amongst the crowd. Wei Ying’s plump bottom pushed against Lan Zhan’s groin, and he pulled in a sharp intake of breath. This was too much for a “baby gay” as his friend, Jin Zixuan, liked to call him. Lan Zhan hated that term, but he felt it very much applied in this situation because he had no idea how to handle a straight man that he was very attracted to grinding against him. He acted on instinct and threw his hands out to grab Wei Ying’s waist in an attempt to still his hips. Wei Ying must have taken this as Lan Zhan’s participation in their dance because he leaned back fully against him and pumped his arms in the air.
‘Did he somehow get drunk off of a mocktail?’ Lan Zhan wondered as Wei Ying whooped and laughed freely.
Wei Ying turned and threw his arms around Lan Zhan’s shoulders before leaning in to yell in his ear. “This is fun! Let me introduce you to my friends!”
And then Lan Zhan was once again pulled along in Wei Ying’s wake to get a formal introduction to the people Lan Zhan saw Wei Ying arrive to the club with. Their names were Wen Qing and Nie Huaisang. They all attended Lotus Academy, the private school that Lan Zhan was transferring to. He didn’t get a chance to mention it because he couldn’t find an appropriate space to offer his input into the conversation that started up between the three friends.
He stuck by Wei Ying’s side for the rest of the night and discovered that Wei Ying wasn’t drunk. A complete and utter lack of restraint was just his normal disposition.
***
Lan Zhan woke up with a slight headache. The noise from the night before must have gotten to him. Or maybe it was stress.
He was getting out of bed when there was a knock on his door.
“Come in,” he said.
His brother poked his head in. He was already dressed for work.
Lan Huan was four years older than Lan Zhan. He graduated from Cloud Recesses Academy at the top of his class, attended a four-year university that he graduated early from, and immediately got a marketing job at his dream company. The move to Yunmeng was so that he could take the job; he advocated for Lan Zhan to come along with him. He said it was so that Lan Zhan would be able to further his swimming career at a school that was known for it - unlike Cloud Recesses Academy - but Lan Zhan knew it was because his brother wanted him to be able to experience living outside of their uncle’s strict rules. And Lan Zhan appreciated the intention. He came out to his family as gay a month before the move. He was determined to take full advantage of this new beginning.
“Did you have fun last night?” Lan Huan asked. Most people would have mistaken this for a casual check-in, but Lan Zhan saw the mischievous smile on his brother’s lips. He was teasing him.
“Yes,” Lan Zhan responded, unwilling to mention the lingering headache he was becoming aware of upon waking. It was halfway the truth anyway. Some things that he would consider to be positive things happened the night before. “I met some of the students that go to Lotus Academy.”
“Oh, really?” Lan Huan looked genuinely surprised. Lan Zhan counted it as a victory for himself. “You made friends already?”
‘ I wouldn’t go that far ,’ Lan Zhan thought. He merely met them; they were acquaintances at best. But he didn’t feel like explaining that. He allowed his brother to jump to conclusions. “Mm,” he said.
“Good.” Lan Huan smiled with soft happiness, and Lan Zhan was glad to make his brother happy. He wouldn’t have even had the courage to try anything new like going to a club if it wasn’t for his brother giving him the chance to have independence. “I’m heading in early today to make a good impression on the team leader,” Lan Huan said. “There’s breakfast on the table when you’re dressed. Are you ready for your first day of school here?”
Lan Zhan nodded. “Mm.”
“Okay,” Lan Huan replied with a gentle smile. “Text me if you need anything, okay? I’m keeping my phone on.”
Lan Zhan nodded again.
“Bye, didi. Have fun.”
***
Lan Zhan’s first day of school was not fun.
Embarrassingly, Lan Zhan had stayed up thirty minutes past his bedtime the night before imagining his reunion with Wei Ying the next day. He had never gotten around to telling him that he would be attending his school, so he had imagined the wide-eyed surprise and then the bright grin that could make time stand still when Wei Ying would inevitably spot him the next day - maybe passing him in the hallway or taking a seat next to him in one of his classes. He had imagined how Wei Ying would say his name in that excited way of his and invite Lan Zhan to eat lunch with him and his friends.
He hadn’t felt uncomfortable at all around them the night before with Wei Ying’s presence there to act as a buffer. Wei Ying always directed statements toward him to make sure he felt included, but he never demanded that Lan Zhan make any statements in return. It was refreshing.
His homeroom class was with Wei Ying, so he did manage to surprise the other boy with his attendance. And he did get the wide eyes and the bright smile in his direction. But then Lan Zhan was introduced to someone who wasn’t at the club the night before - Wei Ying’s girlfriend.
“Hi! Ignore him. My name is Qingyang,” she said as she extended her pretty arm and long, slender fingers with perfectly manicured nails toward Lan Zhan. (How was every part of her pretty?) Lan Zhan forced himself to pay attention to what she was saying. She was brushing aside Wei Ying’s introduction of her as “Mian Mian” to make her own introduction. Lan Zhan thought she was ungrateful. He would love for Wei Ying to give him a nickname and say it as cutely and eagerly as he said “Mian Mian.”
“The only people allowed to call me Mian Mian are the people who have known me since I was in diapers and…this guy…” She rolled her eyes in mock frustration before leaning in to give Wei Ying a chaste peck on the lips. Lan Zhan had to look down to avoid the sight.
"Aww, come on! Mian Mian is cute!" Wei Ying wheedled. "It suits you!"
"Yeah, well, I'm branding myself as a sophisticated young lady so that I can target Vera Wang and Chanel instead of SHEIN and Fashion Nova."
Lan Zhan glanced back up to see them casually embracing as they argued sweetly with each other. He sighed internally and forced himself to keep his eyes on them; he was going to have to get used to it. What he was experiencing was a crush. A harmless, silly crush. He would get over it soon enough.
"Speaking of…" Mian Mian was saying. "Wang Lingjiao invited us to her start-of-year party." Wei Ying's mouth twisted and Mian Mian immediately began to cajole. "I know, I know. I know how you feel about her; I feel the same way. But she has 100,000 followers. I'll pretend to like her for clout!" Mian Mian's smile was one of pure and natural innocence, a direct juxtaposition to the predatory words she had spoken.
Wei Ying shuddered. "How can you say that with that sweet smile?! You scare me sometimes, Mian Mian." He pinched her cheeks and grinned. "I like it! My cute little demon."
Mian Mian soaked in the praise.
Lan Zhan once again wished it was him. He could be diabolical, if that was what Wei Ying liked! Earlier this morning, he ignored the healthy breakfast Lan Huan had set out for him and ate sugary cereal instead!
He was pouting. For a second, he thought he saw Wei Ying's eyes twinkle in his direction. But Wei Ying continued to talk to Mian Mian.
"I really need to stay home and work on a project, though," Wei Ying said.
"There's no way you have a project already! School just started." Mian Mian argued with that winning smile. "You can't make excuses to get out of this one." She poked Wei Ying in the side.
"Not a school project! A coding-"
But a student sitting next to them piped up, interrupting Wei Ying. "You're going to miss the first party of the year?! You can't! You're Wei Ying! We're seniors!"
"See?" Mian Mian said.
Wei Ying tried to protest, but more people joined the cause and Lan Zhan could see that it was a losing battle.
Wei Ying gave in.
A despondent look crossed his face, but it passed so quickly that Lan Zhan decided he must have hallucinated. And then he couldn't think anymore because Wei Ying was talking to him.
"You should come too, Lan Zhan!" he said brightly. "Mian Mian and I can get you into all of the best parties!"
Lan Zhan was about to say parties weren't really his thing. But he remembered the resolution he'd made to himself upon the move. He would make friends; he would socialize. This was a new beginning.
It was also another opportunity to see Wei Ying outside of a school setting.
He nodded. "Mn. I'll come."
He was awarded with Wei Ying's smile brightening to a full 100%.
"Great!" Wei Ying said. "I'll make sure you're on the invite list!"
Seeing how he was so confident about getting Lan Zhan into an exclusive party and how half of the classroom demanded Wei Ying's attendance at said party, Lan Zhan surmised that Wei Ying must be popular. It wasn’t a surprising conclusion. Wei Ying was good-looking and had an exuberant personality. Of course everyone liked him.
Wei Ying started to introduce Lan Zhan to everyone in class. Lan Zhan tried to remain interested and interes ting . It was tiring but less of a daunting task than usual because Wei Ying was by his side doing most of the social heavy lifting.
Then the bell indicating the start of class rang, and Wei Ying waved himself away back to Mian Mian's side.
Wei Ying was not in any of Lan Zhan's other classes. Lan Zhan's day dulled significantly.
He had always done well with all things academic, so the classes didn’t cause him any trouble. But he didn’t really have any particular interest in most subjects. It wasn’t until that afternoon, at swim practice, that he started to come out of autopilot. Not only because he got to indulge in one of the few activities he actually enjoyed but also because…
“Wei Ying.”
The other boy (girlfriend-free) who was regaling a group of guys with some tale or other turned to Lan Zhan and, when he registered who called his name, rushed forward with his signature grin.
The lighting in the locker room was horrible but somehow the whole place shined.
“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying called happily.
A rush of excitement coursed through Lan Zhan’s body, but he felt calm and happy at the same time - as if everything was right with the world. And for the first time, Lan Zhan enjoyed the feeling. In the past, dread and fear would quickly follow whenever he felt any interest toward someone because he knew (from his family, from television, from the world he was drowning in) that his feelings were wrong and unnatural. He knew he would have to hide.
But not anymore.
He could be accepted here just as he was. He didn’t have to hide anymore.
“You’re a swimmer?!” Wei Ying asked excitedly.
“Mn,” Lan Zhan nodded.
Wei Ying’s eyes lit up with excitement and intrigue. “Lan Zhan!” he yelled happily. “You didn’t tell me! This is great!” He swung his arm around Lan Zhan’s shoulder and pulled him against his side as he shouted to the room at large. “Hey, guys, we have a new teammate!”
A blush rose to Lan Zhan’s ears as everyone turned to look at him and cheer. He let himself be pulled around by Wei Ying and introduced to everyone he hadn’t met yet. He listed his stats and achievements when prompted and tried not to preen at the shine growing in Wei Ying’s eyes at every bit of info Lan Zhan shared about his (admittedly short but still impressive) swimming career so far. He had always been told not to boast, and he tried his best not to do so. But to share accolades in order to keep Wei Ying looking at him the way he was wasn’t boasting, was it? They were merely facts.
“Lan Zhan! You got first place in the Qishan National High School Championships coming from a Cloud Recesses program?!” Wei Ying balked, awe in his gaze. “I mean, no offense to your old school but I heard their swim team isn’t the best.”
“Mn,” Lan Zhan agreed. “No offense taken. It’s not a good swim program. That’s why I’m here.”
Wei Ying made a big show of stretching and puffing his chest. “Is that so? I guess the whole world has heard about the glory I bring to this team.” With a prideful sigh, he brought his arms down to scratch his nose.
Lan Zhan felt his lips twitch with the desire to go upwards. Boasting and excess pride weren’t things to praise, but they sure looked good on Wei Ying.
“As if!” A boy who looked like he wore a permanent scowl due to the deep furrow of his brow stepped forward. His hair was in a bun. He wore a t-shirt and black sweats. A towel was haphazardly thrown over his shoulder. “You’re not the only good swimmer on this team, Wei Ying!”
Next to him, a boy with a mean smirk was sucking on a lollipop lazily as if he was used to the other boy starting fights and he casually enjoyed the spectacle of it all.
Lan Zhan took an involuntary step back. Not because he was afraid or startled but because he had never been in the direct line of such childish anger. He immediately took an aversion to the abrasive boy.
“You’re right,” Wei Ying responded, the boy’s aggression seemingly bouncing right off of him. “There are many good swimmers on this team.”
The angry boy looked smug for a second as if he had won an argument.
“But I’m the best!”
The jovial comeback caused the scowl to reappear and deepen on the other boy’s face, and the boy with the lollipop wrinkled his nose in distaste.
Wei Ying’s teasing stare jumped to Lan Zhan for a second. “But I may have to step it up more this year. It looks like my rival has just appeared.” He threw his arm around Lan Zhan’s shoulders. “Isn’t that right, Lan Zhan?”
The scowling boy scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. ‘Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan!’” he chanted in a high-pitched mimic of Wei Ying’s voice. “What is it with you? You’ve been hanging all over him since he came in. Are you a fag or something?”
Lan Zhan’s mind was made up. He definitely disliked this guy.
The lollipop-sucking lackey, however, must have thought Jiang Cheng just said the funniest thing ever because he bent over at the waist to let out a knee-slapping laugh.
“Jiang Cheng!”
Ah, so that was his name.
“One day someone is gonna deck you and, as your brother, I’m going to stand back and watch,” Wei Ying continued. “And what are you laughing at Wen Chao?” Wei Ying directed at the boy who was now wiping away tears of mirth. “Didn’t you learn your lesson last time when Nie Huaisang put you in your place?”
Wen Chao suddenly stopped laughing and looked livid, but Lan Zhan took a moment to process everything he had just heard. Brothers? Jiang Cheng, the scowling idiot, and Wei Ying were as opposite as two people could be. He would have never thought they were related.
“As if I would need your help anyway!” Jiang Cheng shouted back. “I’m a better fighter than you!”
“You wish!”
“I can beat your ass anytime!”
“Then why did you call our sister, crying, when I whupped your butt in Tekken 8 last week-” Wei Ying barely got to finish his taunt before the angry asshole - Jiang Cheng - was lunging at him. Before long, they were racing around the locker room - Wei Ying evading Jiang Cheng who (to Lan Zhan’s eye, it seemed) was trying to kill him.
“Ignore them,” one of Lan Zhan’s new teammates said from where he was leaning against a locker. “They do this all the time.”
So Lan Zhan did just that. He ignored the taunts and curses and prepared for his first practice with his new team.
***
Swlick Swlick Swlick
Lan Zhan sliced through the water with the perfected technique that he had melded into his bones by way of constant practice and exercise. In the water, it was quiet and solitary - just him and the liquid. That was just the way he liked it.
“Whoo-!”
“Lan Zha-!”
Lan Zhan heard snippets of cheering and hollering every time he rose above water to take a breath. He didn’t focus on that, though. He just stayed tuned in to the rhythm of his body until…
Smack!
He slapped his hand against the concrete wall of the swimming pool, finishing his laps.
“Lan Zhan! Wow!” He was immediately descended upon by cheering teammates when he climbed out of the pool. “You averaged 22 seconds! We’re gonna beat the Star Mountain team at the next swim meet for sure!” Wei Ying’s excited voice rang out as Lan Zhan was wrapped in a towel by a teammate on one side and his hair was ruffled good-naturedly by another teammate elsewhere. Lan Zhan felt crowded (he never allowed anyone to get this close to him), but Wei Ying’s warm breath on his ear and his beaming smile gave Lan Zhan reason to endure his teammates’ over exuberant excitement.
“We have three people averaging under 25 seconds. We’re definitely sweeping the competitions this year!” an excited teammate said.
Before he could ask, Wei Ying answered the question in Lan Zhan’s head. “The other two are myself and that sour puss over there.” Wei Ying nodded toward Jiang Cheng who was very visibly not congratulating Lan Zhan like the rest of the team was. He was glaring at Lan Zhan with his lackey by his side whispering something in his ear. When Jiang Cheng saw Lan Zhan’s gaze turn toward him, he rolled his eyes and marched over to the coach to (probably) gripe and complain about something or other.
“Don’t worry about him,” Wei Ying continued in Lan Zhan’s ear. “He’s just mad because you beat his time.”
If Lan Zhan were the kind of guy to gloat, he would have turned to Wei Ying with a smirk on his face. But he wasn’t, so he just turned back to Wei Ying wearing what he thought was a well-shuttered expression. Except…
Wei Ying snickered. “Don’t look so smug! You still haven’t beat my time!”
“What’s your time?” Lan Zhan couldn’t help but to snag the bait and ask.
Wei Ying scratched his nose and didn’t even bother to try to hide the smug grin that was growing on his face. “I’ve been averaging 21 seconds,” he said with a shrug as if it was just an everyday casual feat and not a time that even professional swimmers aimed for.
The sound of a shrill whistle echoed off the walls and pierced the excited chatter of the room.
“Okay, fishies! This way!” Their coach, Xiao Xingchen called everyone to gather.
Xiao Xingchen was a slim man with well-defined cheekbones and kind eyes. If Lan Zhan hadn’t met Wei Ying and gotten his head turned with all the force of Earth’s gravitational pull, he’s the type of man Lan Zhan would have surely developed a hopeless crush on.
“I see you all have met your new teammate,” Xiao Xingchen said, and Lan Zhan had to face a whole new round of attention as his teammates turned to him whooping, cheering, and patting him on the back. He had to admit - even though he never wanted to be the center of attention again - it was nice to have peers who were so welcoming. At his old school, everyone steered clear of him because his stoic demeanor and drive intimidated them.
“Would you like to introduce yourself, Lan Zhan?” the coach asked.
Lan Zhan blinked. “No.” It was an honest answer, but it wasn’t until the word had left his mouth and the other students started ooh-ing that he realized it may have sounded rude. He looked up, worried that he had made an enemy of his new coach. But he was relieved to see a gentle smile on the man’s face as he gestured for the team to calm down.
“That’s okay,” Coach Xiao said. “I also find introductions tedious.”
Lan Zhan nodded to show that he was grateful for the coach’s understanding.
“Besides…we have some important things to discuss like…this season’s swim meets.” A man dressed in black stepped up beside Xiao Xingchen and handed him a clipboard with papers attached. He was Assistant Coach Song Lan. He had introduced himself to Lan Zhan upon Lan Zhan’s arrival to the gym as he pointed him to where the locker room was.
There was more whooping and hollering as each competition was announced. This team was very enthusiastic.
“Assistant Coach Song Lan and I will be monitoring all of you to see where your specialties and your weaknesses lie. Seniors, I know this can be a very important and stressful time for you if you’re planning to use these meets to get scouts’ attention. So if you want private coaching sessions, let myself or Assistant Coach Song Lan know and we will spend personal one-on-one time with you. Jiang Cheng has already taken the initiative to request locked solo training sessions; we are more than happy to oblige. There will be a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board next to my office door.”
“Huh?” Lan Zhan turned to look at Wei Ying who was pouting while standing next to him. “That’s weird. Jiang Cheng and I always practice together.” He tried to get Jiang Cheng’s attention by loudly whispering his name and then reaching forward to poke at him, but Jiang Cheng pulled away and sent him a glare that clearly read: ‘ You are embarrassing. Leave me alone! ’
“I’ll practice with you,” Lan Zhan offered.
A bright smile bloomed across Wei Ying’s face. “Really, Lan Zhan?! That would be amazing! Let’s do it!”
“Shut up!” Jiang Cheng hissed to the both of them, before turning to the front and determinedly pretending that neither of them existed.
Wei Ying stuck his tongue out at the back of Jiang Cheng’s head before turning back to Lan Zhan and allowing his expression to soften into a smile again. “I’m glad you’re here,” Wei Ying said softly as he threw his arm around Lan Zhan’s shoulder.
Lan Zhan’s ears turned red. He was glad he was here as well.