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Chapter Text

Through the frosted glass, the morning sunlight filtered glowing hues onto the walls. The patterns moulding onto the edges along with the shadows of the trees, stirring through the soft morning breeze. The hallway seemed almost illuminated internally by the sun as Mu Qing’s footsteps echoed through the extended room.

Navigating through this school almost could be compared to a maze, and Mu Qing considered himself to be better than most with directions. Yet somehow, he could not find his way to administration for the life of him.

The refracted morning light made its way onto Mu Qing’s gentle silver hair, tied back leaving his bangs framing his face. His hair flowed down onto the partly creased white button-down he wore. (It was the first thing he threw on since Xie Lian specifically told him he could wear whatever he's comfortable in.) The button-down was neatly tucked into his favourite black jeans seamlessly finishing by his boots. May as well be the first school nurse to wear eyeliner and docs together right?

Accepting the offer for school nurse from Xie Lian was the fulfilment of a long-owed favour. Using his medical knowledge for a decent salary didn’t sound the worst, so he agreed to the job. 

The smile on Xie Lian’s face didn’t leave all day that day. 

Strolling through the school gave Mu Qing a sense of nostalgia. Reminding him of where he and Xie Lian grew up together. It wasn't anywhere near the same place, yet the atmosphere was almost identical. 

After another 10 minutes of useless searching for the administration office, a sigh escaped his lips.

"Ahem, excuse me? By any chance, are you lost?" the voice echoed behind him. He caught their tone lining the question with a hint of amusement. 

Mu Qing wasn't fond of amusing others. With an inhale he let out another breath and turned around. 

He really didn't want want to fuck things up on the first day.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Xie Lian? In admin?" A forced smile from him followed.

"Oh so you're the new nurse?" she said with a muted smile. "Xie Lian's in his office, hold on."

While silently trailing behind her, he noted the woman's monochrome clothes and black blazer, while walking behind her. Was she a receptionist? Math teacher?

The walls were scrawled with glass shelves full of trophies and certificates. The achievements merged into beautiful portraits he assumed were made by the art classes. Quietly, he admired the work of the students.

"By the way, I'm Ling Wen, I teach humanities."

Oh

"Well, you already know what I do." An unspoken scoff filled the air, "it's Mu Qing, my name I mean."

"Be prepared for a lot of kids coming in, some have… certain discrepancies with specific teachers." Ling Wen winced at the pause she left.

Her idle chatter explaining the common things he'd be doing was much more detailed than he'd expected. A couple more doors passed and Ling Wen stopped at one.

"We're in admin now. Here's the staff room, the coffee machine in the nurse's office fucking sucks if I'm being honest." She followed with an apologetic smile. "So you might be in here a lot."

"Well fuck then I really might." He didn't drink coffee unless it was black, but his usual was tea. Honestly, he assumed his room wouldn't exactly have green tea let alone a working coffee machine and sighed. 

"Nurse's office is near the phys ed office, but usually those guys hang out around here too. It’s hard to miss the nurse's office, I promise you'll know it when you see it."

After winding through more corridors and she came to a stop. 

"This is it, Xie Lian's office, have fun." Ling Wen disappeared into the maze of the school again, with a wave and a smile.

"Thanks," Mu Qing replied with a faded smile.

Mu Qing instantly turned and knocked on the door. After a few shuffles from the inside, the doorknob turned, revealing a prim and proper Xie Lian beholding a smile for him.

"Mu Qing! You're here!" Xie Lian exclaimed eagerly while capturing him in with his heartfelt smile.

Unbothered, Mu Qing continued while taking a couple of steps into the office, "I think you should have texted me a map of this place because what the flying fuck was that? You're lucky Ling Wen guided me here. How many hallways are there in this place anyway?"

"Oh! You met Ling Wen, she's such a help, isn't she? She honestly keeps the whole place running." 

"Aren't you who's meant to keep the place running...?" Mu Qing muttered with an eye roll.

"I'll explain the whole thing to you on the way down, let's go." Xie Lian gestured outside and took a sustained step out of the room. 

Once outside the office again, Xie Lian explained the whole gist of it. Mu Qing essentially just lets in kids who bring notes from their teachers to be at the nurse but this doesn’t apply to serious injuries. Depending on how they are he can treat them or let them rest. He also needs to enter them into the system for how often they come in, the system has the guardian's numbers at hand if they would need to go home.

He's likely going to have frequent kids from the school teams for strapping tape and other prevention activities from their previous injuries and has to coordinate with the coaches for that. Luckily for the coaches, he was an ex-physiotherapist and more than qualified for that.

As he strolled further in, students started trickling into the halls, occupying benches and tables around the nearby classes, likely their first period class. Some chatted amongst themselves, others studied or conversed with their teachers.

"The coaches' and sports offices are right near yours so you can introduce yourself…" Xie Lian earned a glare from Mu Qing, "-or you can wait for them to approach you."

As they slowed down in the vicinity of the classes, an incredibly familiar figure came into view. The same tan skin from his past, and the same stupid man bun. Instantly he snapped his head to Xie Lian who was clearly avoiding eye contact.

"So… You didn't think to tell me he was here?" Mu Qing seethed while he tried to keep his voice hushed because of the nearby classrooms.

"I didn't think it was necessary-" 

" You didn't think it was necessary Xie Lian?! You did not think it was necessary to tell me that he was working here? You could have at least warned me?" Mu Qing groaned as he started pacing back and forth.

To Xie Lian, Mu Qing looked like he was going through all 7 stages of grief at once. 

To Mu Qing, the whole world was collapsing around him.

"Mu Qing-" 

"No."

"Mu Qing, he walked-"

"Please, you could have told me Feng Xin was going to be here. What does he even do here that's useful?" His voice went quieter by the end of the sentence, as his temper died down.

"Mu Qing I was saying he-" Xie Lian's voice became more silent as he approached the latter.

"Mu Qing?" Ah fuck.

Mu Qing's muscles froze at the all too familiar voice. As he straightened up his fists closed containing his anger for the sake of the classes around him and Xie Lian.

"Feng Xin." Mu Qing hissed, turning at the sound. 

Before anything could escalate, the second bell rang to alert pupils they should be in class. Panic and uncertainty flashed through Feng Xin's eyes. Likely a revision of his timetable to check if he had any classes to coach.

The moment Feng Xin stepped away the same voice retorted, "I'm the school soccer team's coach for your information Mu Qing." 

Soon after Feng Xin's departure, he made the connections. 

Coordinate with the coaches.

Coaches' and his offices are right near each other.

… He has to work together and actually interact with Feng Xin

Mu Qing turned back to Xie Lian, blood drained out of his face and rested his head on Xie Lian's shoulder.

"Xie Lian, I'm going to kill myself."

A sigh and a hand to his head was the response, as Xie Lian patted his head reassuringly.

"You should get up, you're gonna stain my shirt with your eyeliner and tears."

"Shut up." Mu Qing mumbled against his shirt, as he lightly punched him.

"Okay, let’s get to your office. You're probably going to have kids dropping in soon."

With another sigh and stifled hum in acknowledgement. The duo made their way to the nurse's office.

Feng Xin sprinted to the soccer field cursing his tendency to linger when it came to Mu Qing. 

"Fucking hell, what the fuck. What the fuck was that Feng Xin?"

He and Mu Qing always had the habit of falling into disagreements that only Xie Lian could buffer. 

Feng Xin slowed to a walk as he caught his breath. His own hand made his way up to massage his temples as his thoughts led him into a labyrinth of questions… Did Mu Qing really hate him that much? He wasn't too abrasive, right?

Approaching the field he caught sight of his class, talking amongst each other. Seeing him, the pleasant chatter became hushed whispers. 

"Uh… coach? You seem out of it today. Want me to take the warm-up?"

It was Pei Xiu, captain of the soccer team.

"Oh, sure, go ahead." He waved off Pei Xiu and the team. Behind them, Qianqiu offered him a sympathetic smile before heading off to follow the team.

The team left an echo of muffled discourse over the new nurse one of them saw before the bell went, achieving themselves a "stop gossiping and shut the fuck up" from Pei Xiu.

Feng Xin never wanted the ground to open up and swallow him more than now. 

"You cannot be fucking serious right now."

After their warm-up, Feng Xin decided that some drills would be his best bet to occupy them. Soon he split them into rough groups of three to four. Leaving Yizhen, Pei Xiu and Qianqiu together.

After calling the trio back up, he felt the need to inquire about the idle chat he overheard.

"We have a new nurse?" Feng Xin made his best attempt to sound inconspicuous. After readily glancing between the rest of the groups and the trio in front of him, a breath escaped him seeing some of the team mucking around.

"I overheard them," Qianqiu offered, subtly nodding towards the group behind him. "They were saying shit about how they saw someone with the humanities head, I guess they put two and two together? No idea otherwise, though."

Yizhen chimed in, "I mean it's great, right? You out of all people know how much we get hurt." 

Pei Xiu studied Feng Xin's face momentarily and left his own unreadable. "Any problems coach?" 

"None at all, go on jump into the drills you three."

"Gotcha bestie." Yizhen saluted with two fingers and laughed.

"Shut up Yizhen," he earned himself a light smack on the head from Qianqiu, as they turned and jogged off while arguing.

"Alright then. Take it easy today." Pei Xiu smiled, the concern prominent, as he walked off chasing the two who left before him, in an attempt to reprimand them.

Feng Xin spent the entire first period trying to decipher his own thoughts and his action plan. But alas he got absolutely nowhere with that. Pei Xiu took over and assigned various drills and partnered exercises to continue them on.

Finally, a shriek snapped him out of his daze. His eyes scanned through the soccer fields seeing everyone gathered around someone on the floor. And he had the itching feeling it was Yizhen.

He made his way over with a jog, hoping that it wasn't something serious. The team moulded around him, accepting him into the small huddle. 

Feng Xin kneeled trying to check the boy in the middle, who in fact ended up being Yizhen.

Ironic.

Feng Xin examined him for external injuries and saw a growing bruise on his right knee along with swelling. Shit.

"Qianqiu, run over to the nurse and ask for crutches and an icepack and explain what happened on the way down." 

At least if the nurse was Mu Qing he knew it was someone reliable for the kids. 

Yizhen sprawled on the floor controlling his breathing. But at this point, no one knew if it was his low pain tolerance or if he had actually done his knee badly. Feng Xin asked Pei Xiu to help him out and turn Yizhen upright to check his knee. Slowly together both aided him to turn out of the fetal position and lay on his back. He also asked for a soccer ball while turning Yizhen which rolled towards him a few seconds later. Easing Yizhen's knee up off the ground, he placed the soccer ball under it hoping it would prevent further swelling.

Another voice shook him from his worry, Mu Qing. He jogged over as the bell went for second period. Feng Xin shoo-ed away the kids and assured Qianqiu and Pei Xiu that they would be fine to take care of Yizhen.

Yizhen lay there with Mu Qing and Feng Xin surrounding him in the residue of the long-gone chatter.

"So he did his knee? Any history of knee injuries?" Stoic and to the point as always, yet gentle when resting the ice pack on Yizhen's knee.

Feng Xin nodded apprehensively, "Only reoccurring shin splints and strains nothing further."

"Mhm." Mu Qing replaced the ice pack with his hand, pressing the points of impact lightly. "Tell me if it hurts when I press okay?" His voice softened, eyes kind as he reassured Yizhen.

Mu Qing lightly pressed on various areas surrounding the now glaring purple bruise. With a shake of the head as a response for all of them. Until Mu Qing pressed under Yizhen's kneecap. Where the nods quickly turned into a string of cursing.

Mu Qing's face fell. He placed the ice pack back onto his knee hoping it would provide temporary relief and used another nearby soccer ball to act as a cushion for Yizhen's head. Mu Qing rose, gesturing at Feng Xin to get up and step away for a moment.

"Glad you remember shit from health studies," He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "It looks like a ligament injury, hopefully, nothing too bad and only a sprain." 

"Firstly, fuck you. Wait- ligament injury?" Feng Xin's eyes dropped withholding the distress he felt from Mu Qing. Mu Qing, on the other hand, nodded affirmatively with a frown spreading across his face.

Mu Qing glanced over at Yizhen and grabbed the closest bottle of water and sat back next to him, slightly opening his hand before he put two painkillers in it. 

"Have you eaten breakfast today or...?" A smile graced his face, no longer the muted one from before. 

"Yeah," Yizhen breathes out, a small smile lining his face full of gratitude.

"Let me know when it starts to kick in, then, we can move you and check your knee out further." The smile didn’t fade. The contemptuous aura from earlier dissolving around him with each smile. His eyes reflected the sincerity he offered.

Crossing his legs next to Yizhen, Mu Qing hummed, "You know, I knew your coach over here from lower school. Ask me whatever you want," he pointed behind him at Feng Xin as the smile merged into a smirk.

Yizhen gasped, "Oh my god, Pei Xiu was right."

"Mu Qing." Feng Xin warned. "Wait, Pei Xiu what?"

Mu Qing turned to look behind him as he spoke with an eye roll, "Fine, fine, you're safe for today."

"No hold on Mu Qing. Pei Xiu was right? "

"Yeah, Qianqiu has to buy him lunch now." With a pause, Yizhen continued, "Uh. Mr..? How should I address you?"

Mu Qing hummed, "Between you and me, I think Nurse fine," Yizhen beamed. "...but in front of teachers add the surname maybe?"

Yizhen nodded eagerly, the irremovable smile sticking right by him.

Mu Qing stood and turned around to face Feng Xin, "I think the medication kicked in since he's talking freely. But... I couldn't find both the crutches."

"Why can't you just say what's in your head. Just say you need help to help him up."

"Fuck off, Feng Xin." He turned back around and hooked Yizhen's arm around his shoulder. "Oh, don't tell me you'll help him telepathically," Mu Qing scowled.

The latter provoking him was like an elbow in the gut sometimes.

Ah, memories.

Feng Xin made a move midway to help Yizhen up, as he giggled while being held up by the two. Feng Xin just put it down to the adrenaline, while the two co-operated to ease Yizhen up. 

"Can you get the crutch and grab his shit from the ground."

"Luckily I don't have a second-period class today," Feng Xin mumbled to himself while picking up the crutch and water bottle.

He replaced himself with the crutch so Yizhen had some support while he gave the bottle to Mu Qing and began to walk away.

"And where might you be going exactly? Isn't your office near mine?" Mu Qing inquired while aiding a limping Yizhen. 

"What? Want me to walk you there that badly?" Feng Xin taunted.

"God no, gross. What the fuck?" Mu Qing gagged, "Yeah… no, I was asking because your student here is injured." He stated matter-of-factly, and gestured at Yizhen with his free arm.

"He'll be fine, Yizhen hasn't stopped giggling since we stood up. Did you give him some actual drugs or something?"

"Feng Xin do you think I am fucking stupid? Do I look like that much of an idiot to you? Do I look that clueless? Of course, I fucking didn't give him drugs, it was off-the-shelf paracetamol. Who do you think I am?"

"Never know."

"God, seriously fuck you."

"Nurse Mu Qing… I don't mean to interfere but shouldn't we get to the office before the painkillers wear off…?"

Mu Qing's sharp gaze instantly dropped as Yizhen started speaking, gentle as he went on. "Sure." Visibly, his guard dropped.

"I'm getting coffee." Feng Xin murmured out as he stormed off.

"Isn't coffee bad for you coach? You'll lose your incredible stamina!" Mu Qing yelled after him tauntingly, choosing to have the last word.

His eyes warm, he turned to Yizhen. The boy chatted away as they made their way up to the office. Talking about his teammates and how Pei Xiu deduced he and Feng Xin knew each other. Skirting through the topics of which classes he's in and how often he gets injured. 

Now talking away about a boy named Yin Yu, Yizhen's smile never faltered. They shared a desk in his chemistry class and he'd always help the boy reluctantly. Eventually, the two made their way to the office.

"We're here, Yizhen." Mu Qing beamed as he eased Yizhen onto a couch to lie in.

Mu Qing slowed while aiding Yizhen on the couch making sure not to further strain his knee.

"Okay, my only question is why don't you have a bag or something?" Mu Qing queried, slightly confused why he didn't have more stuff on him.

"I stuff all my books into Pei Xiu's bag and borrow a pen for the day from the first person I find before period one," Yizhen responded confidently.

"You really should not be showing that off bud," Feng Xin stood in the doorway with two coffees in hand, one black and the other for himself. 

He looked at Mu Qing and attempted to hand him the coffee. Mu Qing on the other hand offered no response. Forcing Feng Xin to retreat and place the coffee on the table.

"I know the coffee machine in here sucks and the place probably doesn't have tea for you," he shrugs.

"What did you do? Poison it?" Mu Qing looked between the coffee and Feng Xin sceptically.

"This isn't for you. It's because you helped out Yizhen here."

"I hope you know that is literally my job now, Feng Xin."

"God, I cannot even try to be nice without you ruining it."

At this point, Yizhen felt as though he was watching a tennis match, his head snapping to the person speaking every time they conversed.

"I am not ruining it, I just didn't think you had it in you to be nice."

"I can't fucking stand you."

"Great, because there's no spare seats here so take your fucking leave."

"Sure, it's not like I'm here for you anyways."

After a moment of uncomfortable silence and what Yizhen could only describe as a staring contest between the two. He shifted trying to make himself comfortable on the couch, letting out a small 'ow fuck" at the movement. 

The two instantly dropped their gaze to him and hurried to Yizhen in concern. Seeing it was only minor discomfort Feng Xin sighed in relief. Then took out a brownie he got while at the staff room, threw it at Yizhen and looked between Yizhen's knee and his face.

The entire team could decipher what that meant.

Don't be an idiot and do stupid shit while injured.

See, Qianqiu once tried to play soccer while wearing a moon boot when he broke his ankle. Safe to say it didn't end up well for his ankle or him, considering Feng Xin was on his back.

Yizhen blinked and slowly nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. As Feng Xin walked out of the room, he had thrown something at Yizhen.

"A paper bag?" Mu Qing questioned, confused.

"A brownie," Yizhen shone, his words full of gratitude. He opened the bag revealing the chocolate rectangle, happily splitting it and holding out half for Mu Qing.

Mu Qing adored this fluffy child more and more by the moment. With a smile, he took the brownie and reached back for the coffee and they conversed until Yizhen drifted off.

Slowly, Mu Qing took his hand out and rested it on Yizhen's head, lightly beginning to pet his head.

"You're probably tired out…" Mu Qing whispered under his breath, not wanting to wake the young boy in front of him. 

(This is Mu Qing's declaration of adoption for Yizhen, that is now his favourite kid ever.)

When the next bell went to indicate the first break, Yizhen stirred, Mu Qing on the other hand winced.

Immediately, a crash came from outside the door. Mu Qing sprang up from his chair and rushed out, worried. Only to find a hunched over Xie Lian laughing on the floor. Xie Lian somehow looked completely unbothered that he fell and hopped up, still smiling.

"I came to check in on you. How have your..."  Xie Lian glanced at the clock in the office, "-first two hours at work been?"

Mu Qing sighed while Xie Lian adjusted himself on the spare couch full of unorganised stuff. 

Mu Qing gestured at the half-asleep child occupying the other couch opposite Xie Lian. He gently rested back into his wheelie chair and leaned on his hand.

"That's how."

"Ah. Isn't he one of Feng Xin's kids?" 

Unimpressed, Mu Qing nodded his neutral expression unchanging.

"Otherwise no one else has come in to see me yet. But I had to run out and help him here because, somehow, in the pile of shit you're sitting in, I could not find the second crutch."

"You know there are wheelchairs for that."

"I didn't exactly know how bad his knee was." Mu Qing's face jaded. 

"So… Feng Xin?"

"Please stop talking, Xie Lian."

"What? I'm curious."

"We just argued and helped Yizhen but otherwise nothing." 

He wasn't willing to admit the sense of familiarity he got from the arguments. Nor the fact he was surprised by how Feng Xin still remembered how he liked his coffee, not yet. 

At this point, Yizhen was awoken by their murmuring. Slowly, he tried to stretch his leg and swing it onto the floor.

"Yizhen… what are you doing?" 

"Didn't Xiaozhang say there was a wheelchair? I have Chemistry next with Yin-Xiong and I don't wanna miss the class…" He looked almost bashful.

Mu Qing sighed, signing for Xie Lian to get up. He ruffled through the pile finding various sized muscle rollers, resistance bands and random items.

Right at the bottom, he scored the wheelchair. Opening it up he coughed, as the dust was shaken into the air. Mu Qing rolled the chair parallel to Yizhen and cautiously helped him stand, Xie Lian made his way around and kept the wheelchair in place hoping to help.

With a twist of his (non-injured) leg and a sigh, Yizhen made his way into the chair.

"Wow, this is a really hard chair." 

After arguing with Yizhen for 10 minutes about wheeling him to class and Xie Lian's quick departure, Mu Qing was now in the corridors of the school pushing Yizhen around with his directions to his Chemistry classroom. 

"Ying-er? Why are you in a wheelchair?" The near-silent voice came from a boy opposite them in the hallway. The boy stepped towards them, now almost a metre away.

Yizhen laughed out, "Ah, Yin-Xiong you see, I fucked myself over during first period."

Oh, so this was Yin Yu.

"How do you hurt yourself this bad to the point you're in a wheelchair , unable to walk ?" Yin Yu scolded. The quiet Yin Yu was more intimidating than he seemed.

Yizhen hesitated. "Soccer practice?" 

If Mu Qing was being honest, that sounded more like a question than an answer. 

"I'm alright now though, I'm just happy to see you Yin-Xiong! I feel better already." The boy gushed with a lopsided smile. His eyes sparkled as he spoke. 

"Shut up," Yin Yu stammered out. His face flowered with touches of pink as he approached Mu Qing. The latter understood that Yin Yu was willing to take Yizhen to their class.

With a "don't let him walk", Mu Qing let the two go and returned to his office.

As he sat down, like a ghost, a figure briefly appeared near his office door.

Before he psyched himself out, Mu Qing went to take a glimpse around the outside of the office. Seeing nothing he turned around.

"Hey."

With a sudden yelp, Mu Qing smashed the door closed, holding his body against it. He scanned the room contemplating which furniture he could move to block the door if necessary. The unanticipated shock made Mu Qing's stomach churn. 

A "What the fuck?" muffled through the door. 

With a groan, he soon realised it was Feng Xin and chose to stick by the smashing of the door, to save face. As footsteps descended away from the door, Mu Qing let a breath out as they sounded further away.

Mu Qing thought it would be better to leave the door closed just in case Feng Xin walked past again. He had faith if someone wanted to see him they'd either knock or let themselves in.

As his heartbeat calmed down Mu Qing slid onto the wooden floor, his body leaning against the door. He rested his head in his hands, scolding himself for being an idiot for no reason. 

During Mu Qing's meltdown, a knock echoed through the door.

Knock knock.

"Hello?"

Mu Qing pleaded god this wasn't anything too draining and attempted to make himself relatively presentable before opening the door. He flattened out the creases in his already creased top and let out a breath as he opened the door.

A person who roughly looked his age was standing at the door with a kind smile plastered to their face. 

"Hi, I actually came in to get a check-up for myself. I'm Shi Qingxuan, the art teacher." 

Mu Qing noted the teal cardigan he donned. Somehow he seemed to give off a pleasant aura. Meanwhile, Mu Qing turned to get the thermometer on one of the shelves, 

"I'm not a doctor that you're here for a check-up you know," he commented while he searched. The response he found was a feigned gasp along with a fit of laughter. 

Qingxuan let himself in as he patiently waited for the thermometer. His hair fell to his shoulders as it was lazily tied back, letting the light illuminate their hazel-green eyes.

He was being nice enough so he didn't see the harm in introducing himself, for formality's sake. 

"I'm Mu Qing." 

"You know, If you can't find it, it's fine. I don't actually think there's anything wrong with me." Another kind-hearted laugh.

"I just heard out and about that, we had new staff and came to say hi."

"By the way don't be alarmed if I call myself your new best friend now."

"Excuse me?"

"I literally just said don't be alarmed," Qingxuan giggled out. "Oh yeah, just an FYI I'm also Xie Lian's best friend."

"Xie Lian has another best friend?" Mu Qing feigned ignorance.

Xie Lian always told him about Qingxuan. He had informed Mu Qing for future reference that Qingxuan taught art at the same school and that they made themselves the star of the show no matter what. Xie Lian never ran out of praise for Qingxuan and Mu Qing considered Xie Lian's word higher than god.

"Nice meeting you!" He left the room with a smile.

The rest of the day sailed along smoothly, with no sign of Feng Xin or any other serious injuries. 

Mu Qing found Qingxuan on his way out during the late afternoon. Qingxuan happily walked him to Xie Lian's office before he excused himself to the library.

"Xie Lian, tell me why we didn't drive in together if we live together?" Mi Qing inquired, as they walked out to the parking lot.

"Because you wanted to sleep in and I had to be there by 7 in the morning."

"You made me catch a bus when you could have driven me here and let me sleep in the car."

With a sigh, Xie Lian mumbled out an exaggerated "Fine" and unlocked the car.

"Gege!" 

The second they stepped through the door Xie Lian was tackled with a hug. 

"San Lang, I was only gone 9 hours..."

Xie Lian's smile grew as he spoke, he couldn't even try to feign ignorance. They had both missed each other just as much as the other. With a warm giggle, he eased out of the embrace. 

Hua Cheng slid his hand down and gently squeezed Xie Lian's hand as they walked through the apartment, conversing about how Xie Lian's day had been.

Mu Qing may have not initially liked Hua Cheng's attitude towards himself, but when Xie Lian's eyes softened and a lovesick smile graced his features, he gave it up. Xie Lian was the happiest he's ever seen with Hua Cheng and he wouldn't force Xie Lian to give that up for the world. He looked at Hua Cheng like he had hung up the moon and stars for him, and while Mu Qing hated to acknowledge it, Hua Cheng never treated Xie Lian badly. And that alone was enough for him.

While Mu Qing excused himself to his room to change into something more comfortable, he caught on to the end of Hua Cheng's sentence.

"I told Gege reuniting the two idiots would keep work exciting."

At that Mu Qing's ears pricked up. He felt a headache coming on and really didn't feel like making it worse, so he pushed it to the back of his mind.

The next morning the sun shone over Mu Qing once again, this time as he was huddled up in the passenger seat of Xie Lian's car. 

Mu Qing squeezed his eyes closed and pushed his face deeper into the blanket he brought along, trying to avoid the sun. He twisted on the reclined seat, finally facing away from the sun and sighed in content while he shuffled further into the cushioned seat. 

Out of the blue, two taps sounded on the car. Mu Qing paid no mind assuming a bird sitting on the vehicle. A moment later the car slightly shook. With this he decided he'd have to take a look, he couldn't let someone steal Xie Lian's car, let alone with him in it.

Steadily, Mu Qing lifted the blanket across his face, shifting it down to let his eyes out. 

A person's back rested against his window. Mu Qing could vaguely identify a single voice speaking but no one replying. 

Maybe they're on the phone?

Thinking ahead, Mu Qing wanted to be sure this person was harmless, so he didn't make a move to get out of the car. 

Mu Qing felt an abrupt vibration in his pocket and panicked, fumbling for his phone as quietly and discreetly as he possibly could. The number was familiar but not in his contacts. Confused, Mu Qing waited for the dial to end and typed in a quick message to the number. 

Who is this?

He supposed when he had changed his phone a while back that he probably unintentionally skipped some contacts.

It's Feng Xin?

I thought you had my number?

No wonder he skipped it.

Mu Qing sat up coughing violently, he had either choked on his own spit or nothing. His eyes were unwavering from the device.

It's Feng Xin

It's Feng Xin

It's Feng Xin

Oh, fuck it's Feng Xin.

Outside the stranger leaning on the car turned at the sudden sound, seeing Mu Qing struggle. Mu Qing's eyes flicked over. 

If he wasn't already dying, he surely would have been now. 

Feng Xin knocked on the window as he coughed trying to tell him to unlock the door pointing at the handle. 

Mu Qing complied, simply because he did not want to die like this.

As soon as the door was unlocked Feng Xin rushed the door open, straightening up the reclined seat and grabbing what seemed like a water bottle from above the car.

Mu Qing hadn't even noticed his eyes starting to water. Feng Xin looked at him, his face full of unorganised thoughts. He grasped Mu Qing's hand gently placing the water bottle in it hoping it would help. Gently, he rested the other hand on My Qing's back, lightly pressing, holding him upright.

Mu Qing drank the water, clearing up his airway again. He gazed at Feng Xin's face, his eyes full of curiosity. 

He had been so… careful? As though Mu Qing was the most fragile thing in the world, yet the apprehension and restlessness flickered through his features. 

Hadn't they been at each other's necks all day yesterday? 

Mu Qing coughed in an attempt to clear his throat, the soreness radiating through his throat onto his face.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I am fucking great after nearly dying." Mu Qing wiped his face, ridding himself of the dampness pricking the corners of his eyes.

"..."

Mu Qing sighed, "Thank you for that."

Feng Xin smiled. 

Meanwhile, Mu Qing attempted to change the topic.

"So why'd you call?"

"I was thinking we should try and be more… civil? Like I know we didn't exactly split up well and… I just don't want us arguing to get in the way of, you know, our jobs."

Something Mu Qing had realised after the years he'd known Feng Xin, was that his emotions were reflected by his eyes, the colours were manipulated by emotion. The specs of green shifted and grew when he was thinking too much. The brown became domineering when he was overwhelmed.

A moment of reminiscence passed over him, his eyes misted over. They used to be so close, so incredibly close. Yet it all fell apart, didn't it?

"Well, you made no change to my day yesterday." Feng Xin raised an eyebrow. He had witnessed Mu Qing have a crisis over him and then smash a door in his face on the same day. 

"So I don't get what you're saying. But I'm going to continue what I do, you do you though Feng Xin," 

"The one time I try to make an effort…" Feng Xin muttered, unsatisfied with the result. "You know what I'll just mind my own business, you do whatever the fuck you want."

Feng Xin walked off leaving his bottle in Mu Qing's hands. Mu Qing shrugged and took another sip of the water. He added Feng Xin's contact to his phone, hoping he didn't end up in a situation like this again.

Mu Qing sighed as he realised his chance to sleep was ruined. He grabbed the bottle and phone, deciding to idly scroll his Instagram while walking to his office.

Mu Qing found his way to the office and set the system up hoping it would save him some time. Now he found himself again scrolling through his phone hoping to find some distraction.

Finally, he got bored of his phone and tossed it onto the mahogany table. 

He decided he'd go ask Yizhen to update him. Yizhen had likely got checked out outside of school but he still wanted to know the severity of the injury.

The first bell went and Mu Qing had the feeling this was gonna be a rough day.

By the first break, Mu Qing had seen 14 students who'd felt unwell.

In the two hours, he also had found out behind the folding doors there was another couch and a bed to rest on for people who came in. A slight frown decorated his face, if he had known this a day ago Yizhen wouldn't have had to be so uncomfortable.

Soon enough he had decided to head off to the staff room to distract himself. Knowing Xie Lian and Qingxuan would be there, the restlessness settling into his heart would hopefully calm down.

Mu Qing had passed many classrooms until eventually getting to his destination. The door was already open so he stepped in as his eyes searched for Xie Lian.

A sudden tackle from his side surprised him. He snapped his head towards the person who had happened to jump him. 

"Mu Qing!" The soft voice echoed. Mu Qing immediately recognised it as Qingxuan and his hostility dropped.

"Morning to you too," He patted Qingxuan's shoulder while he let a breath out. 

Seeing he had got a response, Qingxuan stepped back and beamed. Xie Lian also strolled over with a soft smile.

"I see you have met Qingxuan." Xie Lian's delight was barely hidden by his voice. His tender smile was contagious to the pair.

"Xie Lian hasn't introduced you to the rest of the cohort, has he?" Qingxuan grabbed Mu Qing's arm and pulled him to the mostly occupied table where around 7 people were sitting. "These are the non-sucky ones everyone who I don't introduce to you, sucks."

Mu Qing cringed seeing everyone turn at the sound of Qingxuan's voice. He wasn't really fond of ambiguous attention.

"So. This is our new nurse that our dear Xie Lian recruited, Mu Qing." A gesture toward Mu Qing accompanied the statement.

Mu Qing stiffly waved with half an awkward smile while on the other hand, Qingxuan seemed to be enjoying this.

"That's Pei Ming, he teaches health and Yushi Huang who teaches Chemistry. Xie Lian, of course, does biology. He-Xiong is the librarian and Ling Wen humanities." They all waved respectively as Qingxuan continued on. "Feng Xin coaches the soccer team but he's probably in his office today," 

Mu Qing grimaced at the mention of Feng Xin, trying to recover his unwavering face.

"And as you know, I teach art." 

Mu Qing forced out half a smile as he got over the initial shock of hearing Feng Xin’s name. Xie Lian naturally picked up on this and decided to drag the attention away from him.

“Mu Qing let me introduce you to our favourite acquaintance in the staff.” Xie Lian led him to the small kitchenette area and showed him the coffee machine. Mu Qing thanked him with a grateful smile, Xie Lian was always saving his ass. Xie Lian’s eyes reflected the sparkle of his smile.

“As you are a black coffee liker, the machine here saves us on the daily basis. Otherwise…” Xie Lian shifted inwards whispering, “I also hid some green tea for you in that cupboard. These guys like to snag stuff.” Xie Lian giggled.

Meanwhile, Mu Qing who felt like his patience was running thin without green tea, was immensely thankful for Xie Lian. Of course, coffee gave him a kick but it wasn’t green tea. Hua Cheng once had speculated Mu Qing’s blood was just green tea at this point. He pulled Xie Lian into a hug, dramatically thanking him.

“Told you he’d be fine here,” Qingxuan giggled.

By the time the break ended, Mu Qing had walked both Qingxuan and Xie Lian to their classes to pass time. He arrived at his office expecting an empty room but found a wheelchair carrying Yizhen there along with Yin Yu behind it.

“Don’t you both have class?”

“I forced Ying-er to come here,” Yin Yu crossed his arms and glared at Yizhen then sighed.

Mu Qing let out a exhale of relief, he had been worrying about Yizhen since he had left the school. He most likely had got seen by a specialist outside of school.

“So. Did you get an idea how long you’ll be out for?”

Yizhen pouted, “The appointment’s on Thursday.”

“I’m planning to force him to see you every day until he can walk on his own… Actually, I'll still bring him when he can walk again.”

It seemed Yin Yu had picked up on Mu Qing’s restlessness both yesterday and presently. He was more perceptive than he thought. 

“I was planning to see him, either way.” Mu Qing smiled. Yin Yu seemed incredibly responsible, no wonder he had taken in the accident-prone Yizhen.

Mu Qing checked on his now compressed knee. The swelling had eased slightly and the bruising had settled. Yin Yu settled into one of the resting couches as Mu Qing explained how turning is going to be more painful and suggested walking in straight lines if he were to walk.

“But walk minimally until you get seen, don’t walk at all until then. You probably won’t need surgery if it’s a sprain or a partial tear but will need to rest it.”

Eventually, Mu Qing sent the duo off to class.

The next day went as planned, with no interruptions or any eventful situations. He hadn’t seen Feng Xin so he could give back his bottle either, so he was forced to take it home with him.

A sigh escaped Mu Qing, it was weird between them.

And god he couldn’t understand why.

The next few days flew by, Mu Qing began becoming comfortable with the new people and even newer job.

Car, Office. Staff room, Office, Staff room, Office, Car, Home.

It became routine almost as though he were never an outsider to the place. The students who seemed to be regulars took a liking to him and teachers (Qingxuan and Yushi Huang) seemed to as well. Even Yizhen and Yin Yu came by daily, as promised to update him on Yizhen’s injury.

Yet somehow in the past three days, he hadn’t seen Feng Xin.

Not that he wanted to, he just had to return his bottle. The least he could do after Feng Xin helped him was to give the bottle back. Right?

Mu Qing had to admit it was strange. Their offices were close by, even a fleeting passing would make more sense than total disappearance. If he was being honest he spent more time than he’d like to admit, trying to figure out where the fuck Feng Xin vanished off to. 

Another two days passed. Mu Qing decided to just sleep through them, the week had drained him out.

Monday morning had Mu Qing begrudgingly grabbed his early dose of tea. Knowing how the mornings went around his house it was better if he was prepared. He put his earphones in trying to avoid the surroundings around him.

On the other hand, Xie Lian was enveloped by Hua Cheng’s arms. He giggled as they encircled around his waist and a weight rested on his shoulder.

“Can you two finish making the fruit salad and stop being gross.”

At this point, Mu Qing already knew his words fell onto empty ears, the two were engrossed in their own world. He put his earphones back in, hoping to separate himself from the scene in front of him. Mu Qing strolled to the fridge full-well knowing the fruit salad was not making any progress.

With an apple in hand, Mu Qing grabbed Xie Lian’s keys and headed out to the car. Xie Lian would probably realise the situation and head down when he was done.

With a sigh, he slumped into the passenger seat and turned the volume of his earphones up.

Mu Qing made up his mind, he chose to head down to see Yizhen himself hopefully to not make him walk all the way to his office. After his appointment, Yizhen had been given a knee brace that kept it in place. The brace slowed the poor energetic boy down. Yin Yu was somehow keeping him still by staying with him, but Mu Qing still didn’t want to bother the child.

Somehow he had managed to remember to get Feng Xin’s bottle out of the car with him while talking to Xie Lian.

“You know, you and Hua Cheng are disgusting.”

“Well, I think it's cute,” Qingxuan interjected.

“How do you do that, what the fuck ?" Mu Qing exclaimed. Qingxuan had a habit of appearing, unnoticeably and, in Pei Ming’s words, ‘scaring the shit out of everyone.’

“Anyways… as I said, it’s cute.”

“It’s gross , I have to watch them hand feed each other while trying to eat dinner.”

Xie Lian paid no attention to the two bickering, clearly lovestruck over his San Lang.

“Like you wouldn’t do the same.” Qingxuan narrowed his eyes and then mockingly rolled his eyes, clearly provoking the other.

Xie Lian escaped out of his daze.

“Hey, hey, come on...” He regularly mediated for Mu Qing, but the two of them knew this was lighthearted. Qingxuan pushed Mu Qing lightly and he reciprocated. Xie Lian thought the two of them could easily fit into their surroundings as 16-year-olds. As the duo was shoving each other, he revealed a smile while trying to stop them.

The trio eventually made their way to the staff room as they messed around.

“Someones trying to stay hydrated,” Ling Wen laughed as Mu Qing sorted out his schedule.

“Yeah I guess, but the bottle isn’t mine, some kid left it with me,” Mu Qing quipped.

Unbeknownst to Mu Qing, behind him, a familiar pair of eyes focused on the bottle in front of him.

Mu Qing headed back to his office after a conversation with Ling Wen. As decided after the first-period bell he left for the soccer field, with a bottle in hand.

He had assumed Yin Yu would make sure Yizhen shows up to class early so he doesn’t end up hurting himself while rushing down. So with the breeze grazing his hair, he set out to the class.

Mu Qing made his way down to the grandstands. He saw around 20 kids doing drills and their coach at the sideline. Mu Qing turned his head, eyes searching for an injured Yizhen. At the bottom of the grandstands, he found Yizhen near the stash of water bottles.

On the flip side, Yizhen was watching Pei Xiu and Qianqiu train. He sat with a pout on his face when Mu Qing sat down next to him.

"Hushi Qing?" Yizhen turned his head to the person next to him.

"I came down to accompany you," Mu Qing revealed a hidden smile, "..assuming it would be easier for you anyways."

"You don't understand how useless I feel right now," Yizhen said with a sad smile. He slumped further into the bench.

“Yeah, I get it. You know, I used to be a badminton kid and did my wrist real bad. I was out for almost 6 months, and on top of that it was a reoccurring injury.” Mu Qing’s eyes softened, while he recalled the past. “It definitely sucks,” the smile returned to his face.

The two sat in a comfortable silence observing the field in front of them until Mu Qing broke the silence.

“So anything new?”

“With the knee? Not really..” Yizhen left an uncomfortable pause as he looked toward the field and back, continuing with a bit of a laugh, “You have a bit of an audience Hushi.”

Curious, Mu Qing turned his head to see 20 children observing him.

Now, the problem was the fact Mu Qing was pretty. Of course, he knew he was pretty but the fault lay in the fact he didn’t even have to try to catch anyone’s attention to do so. Considering the weather, he threw on a white button-up with his jeans and leather jacket. His hair was partially tied back, away from his face. A few loose strands lay around his eyes. Naturally, his aura drew people in. So now, he had 20 pairs of eyes following him while they continued their practice.

Feng Xin saw the intensity drop for the entire team. Confused with the uniform plateau, he searched his surroundings and assessed the area around him. While having a look Feng Xin found himself zeroing on a lean figure accompanying Yizhen on the benches, with a questioning gaze. After a couple of moments of looking his eyes focused and he identified Mu Qing and let out a breath.

He discovered no other peculiarities other than a sole Mu Qing sitting there chatting with Yizhen. Feng Xin began to redirect his attention back at the team when he overheard something.

“I mean if that’s the new nurse… I get why everyone's talking about the attractive new guy. Holy shit he’s hot.” Qianqi quipped and ran past, laughing to someone.

Ah, so that’s the distraction.

“Mu Qing.” Feng Xin gritted out, “You’re distracting my team.” His voice was just loud enough for Mu Qing to hear yet not enough to alert his team

Mu Qing heard the voice addressing him and frankly speaking, his heart dropped to his ass. Luckily for himself, Mu Qing had a decent poker face. He turned to the person in question, looking for an explanation for the request. At seeing Feng Xin’s face Mu Qing lowered his guard remembering the conversation they had the week before. Now reminded of Feng Xin’s once-sided truce, Mu Qing found himself donning a wide smile.

“Just came to check in on Yizhen here,” Mu Qing pointed out all too happily, yet his eyes reflected the malice he attempted to hold on to. “You can continue.” He shooed off Feng Xin with an unwavering grin.

Feng Xin’s patience began to run thin and his voice gradually grew in volume, while Mu Qing feigned ignorance.

“You may not be trying to but you’re still distracting my first-period class.” 

At this point, the entire team stopped what they were doing out of concern of their coach not swearing for the first time in his life. 

Mu Qing stood up and dusted off his clothes and put on the sweetest smile he could gather.

“Well that wasn’t my intention was it, Coach Feng Xin?”

In the background, Yizhen found himself gaping at the situation unravelling around him. The pair who were arguing in front of him while he was injured and kinda passed out are somehow saying… this ?

“Can you please withdraw yourself from this premises Mu Qing.”

“No, I don’t think I will.”

 “Holy fuck. This is insane,” An unnoticed voice in the scene could be faintly heard by Yizhen. Mu Qing took a step in, his shit-eating grin unwavering on his face. The two were less than a metre apart now.

“I feel like you’re distracting the class more than I am Feng Xin.” Mu Qing glanced towards the paused crowd surrounding them. “I see we have an audience.”

“Pei Xiu, lead the drills please.” Feng Xin found his composure about to blow. He was on the edge of losing it and gritted out the suggestion to Pei Xiu. Seeing how he was taking advantage of his decency, he found himself glaring at Mu Qing.

“Got it, coach,” Pei Xiu replied. He was just as interested as the rest of the crowd so he gathered everyone and split them up into small groups scattered closely around. It wasn’t as inconspicuous as he hoped but luckily Mu Qing was the only one who noticed, and their coach wouldn't remember after this anyways.

Seeing that the audience was yet to leave, Mu Qing took another step in.

“Looks like our audience hasn’t left Feng Xin.” By now Mu Qing was barely a hair’s width away from own face.

Feng Xin hadn’t expected the conversation would take a turn of this sort at all. His breathing staggered. In parallel with the reaction, Mu Qing raised his hand and gently pushed a few stray strands of hair out of his face. The same hand made its way up to Feng Xin’s chin, treating him fragilely. Delicately, Mu Qing tugged the latter forward aligning himself with the shell of his ear.

Feng Xin could vaguely hear a number of gasps and 'what the fuck's, but in his daze couldn’t find himself to concentrate on them. Feng Xin found himself attempting to steady his breathing to keep himself in check.

“Wanna give them a bit of gossip?”

Feng Xin found his mind and heart simultaneously racing, the spontaneity of the scenario overwhelming his voice of reason. His breathing hitched taking his thoughts along with it. Feng Xin was left a stuttering mess as Mu Qing took a step back and observed.

The backdrop displayed the entire class in absolute shock. Yizhen, almost three metres away from them, was left frozen in shock because of the two.

“Holy. Motherfucking. Shit.” The entirety of the class had dropped the act of training as soon as Mu Qing came into close proximity with their coach.

Even the ever composed Pei Xiu was gawking.

“What the absolute fuck was that?”

With a vain smirk, Mu Qing made eye contact with Feng Xin who was still regaining his composure. He watched the process of Feng Xin’s cheeks reddening, then the blood draining out of his face at the realisation of what happened and finally his face flushing out of a mixture of rage and embarrassment.

Feng Xin finally found himself recovering his composure enough to speak. He let himself cough to divert the attention. But unfortunately for him, Mu Qing had taken a step back and picked up the bottle which was his companion the entire week.

“Okay, see you then.” Mu Qing threw the bottle and turned around, trusting Feng Xin’s reflexes to save him from getting hit. While retreating he gave Yizhen a sweet smile and a comforting pat on the shoulder and headed back to his office.

“You think you’re so hot don’t you?” Feng Xin spat out.

“Don’t need to think about it if it’s a fact.” Mu Qing retorted while walking off. A cheer echoed in the background which Yizhen instantly recognised as Qianqiu.

“Glad to see you agree then.” Feng Xin rebuffed. Mu Qing found his footsteps faltering at the words before he continued on.

As the distance grew between them the entire team found themselves flocking around Feng Xin with a collective questioning gaze. Feng Xin thought better than explaining to the group around him and decided to fend them off.

“Get back to training or I’m giving you burpees,” The horde around him immediately hushed. Unsatisfied, they jogged off losing the energy they previously carried at the shit that just went down between the nurse and their coach.

Meanwhile, Mu Qing took a string of deep breaths after retiring to his office. His face was heated and he had his entire body weight slouched into his hands. While the realisation of everything dawned on him the flush spread across his face. Mu Qing let his eyes close and rewind the events in his head and nearly screamed.

“What the fuck? What the fuck ? What the fuck I must have fucking lost my mind,” the whispers, muffled by his palms echoed faintly through the corner office. Once again he found himself with his back against the closed door of his office, but this time from embarrassment.

He sighed as he let his hands fall in front of him. Mu Qing found himself staring at them, recalling what he had done with them a mere five minutes ago. He found himself thinking about how he had so gently brushed Feng Xin’s hair out of his face, and how that was a constant for so long… until it wasn’t. The familiarity of it all hadn’t washed away with time as much as he had hoped it would. 

All Mu Qing knew was that in that space of time, a wave of confidence came over him and he had done… Well, that .

Begrudgingly, Mu Qing stood himself up and found a cup of tea with a sticky note accompanying it. He recognised the handwriting as Xie Lian's and found the previous regret fade into gratefulness.

Green tea for you. Idk where you ran off to but leaving this here for you. - Xie Lian :)

Mu Qing hummed as he brought the mug up to his hands, it hadn't cooled down too much. He took a sip hoping it would calm him down. The kick of caffeine jump-started his brain. Mu Qing felt as though his worries were erased. Then he remembered that he was drinking tea and not a concoction for his part-time idiosyncrasies. 

He set the mug down, finally shedding the embarrassment he initially was feeling. 

Mu Qing sipped the tea as the next two hours sped by, alternating between students and his computer. Some that came in chatted, while others preferred to be alone.

He was typing away adding additional information to an injury report, as the bell rang for the second time today. Mu Qing pushed the table and slid his chair out, giving himself space to stretch.

A knock on the open door hollowed through the near-empty room. Mu Qing paused mid-stretch. 

Didn’t he leave the door open? Why the knock?

He swiveled his chair to face the source of the sound, finding himself a pleased looking Qingxuan. He held a suspiciously complacent smile as he walked in.

Mu Qing could admit after spending the last week with him that he would like to think he can read him at least a little. And right now, honestly? He was fearing for his life.

“So… I just took second-period art, and one of my informants told me something happened during first-period between you and Feng Xin?” Qingxuan raised his eyebrow, clearly enjoying the interrogation he was initiating with Mu Qing. 

Mu Qing was stunned to silence. Apparently, news travelled incredibly fast around this school. Within an hour and a half, the gossip had spread to Qingxuan.

Mu Qing was too drained out to even attempt to change the topic. He closed his eyes and slumped back into the chair. At the same time, Qingxuan found himself anticipating a response, he had a feeling that this was going to be an enticing explanation. He walked to the closest seat and perched into it while awaiting Mu Qing’s reply.

"Nothing happened."

"It seemed like you two were familiar with each other apparently." Mu Qing winced. Qingxuan gauged his reaction and nodded,"Ah, so you did know each other before."

Mu Qing admitted defeat and recalled the memories he had kept hidden to himself for so long.

“We went to school together, we've known each other since we were around 5 or 6 because of Xie Lian… Both of us clung to him while growing up because Ma adored Xie Lian and Feng Xin. Naturally, the three of us became a group. Me and Feng Xin argued a lot through school, we essentially never got along unless Xie Lian was involved. It calmed down by high school but was more than there should have been. Both of us ended up in the same university studying sports science before I changed to nursing while Xie Lian studied upper school education, so the three of us agreed to room together to save some money. Because of the three of us living together out of necessity, we built up a truce and attempted to stop our disagreements...” Mu Qing let himself pause and take a breath in. 

“During that time Xie Lian met Hua Cheng and started staying over at his place more often. Throughout this Feng Xin and I finally started getting along. Normal stuff you know? He’d bring extra food for me if he went out, or I’d help him study. We realised when we held back the argumentative sides of things it wasn’t as bad as we thought. Xie Lian was delighted, the two people who swore they would despise each other until the sun blows up, had actually begun to befriend each other. At some point, we gained feelings for each other and… one thing led to another. Eventually, we confessed and were together for almost 3 years throughout uni. Until everything fell apart, it was rough.”

The arguments between them escalated because of Mu Qing getting more caught up with work. He was exhausted and would go days without sleeping. Feng Xin was incredibly worried about his habits. Mu Qing would leave the house early into the morning and would arrive days later, then collapse into their bed. 

He was running himself thin for his placements, finding himself skipping meals and rest in place of work. Feng Xin was watching Mu Qing leave his own health behind for the sake of his profession. Both of them were on edge yet Feng Xin watched as his beloved pushed himself too far each day. Mu Qing had ended up sick more times than he could count due to overexertion in those two months. 

Feng Xin used every spare moment to tend to Mu Qing. He had meals ready for him with an aspirin when Mu Qing's eyes fluttered open after a mere four hours of rest. He would leave Mu Qing’s favourite drinks with him before a shift, Mu Qing never started a shift without a green tea in hand. 

This went on for almost two months before Mu Qing had fainted in the middle of their apartment after getting home. He had ended up in hospital for two days, and both Feng Xin and Xie Lian were horribly worried.

Mu Qing recalls a vague memory of his own shallow breaths, where he could hear the faint sounds of sobs in the background. He turned his head, uncovering a distraught Feng Xin clinging onto his arm, muttering words of self-blame while asleep. Feng Xin held onto Mu Qing's hand for dear life as he cried while asleep. 

His strength was drained out of him and hearing the words filled with torment spill from Feng Xin's lips, it pulled at his heart. Each pause, each whimper, revealed more of Feng Xin's silent suffering over the past few months. 

Mu Qing had been in and out of consciousness for two days. Xie Lian had informed him that Feng Xin hadn't moved from his side since the time he was admitted. Mu Qing shifted onto his side facing the unconscious Feng Xin. Mu Qing's head felt heavy as he rested his other hand against Feng Xin's hair. 

Xie Lian walked in, finding the two asleep with their hands entangled. One on the hospital bed, the other on a chair with his head on the bed.

Feng Xin had first-hand seen where Mu Qing led himself by overworking. So the subtle requests of resting turned into demands. The lack of rest made Mu Qing irritable and lose his filter, slowly his frustration at himself and work peaked. His own body had reached its breaking point and he knew Feng Xin cared, he knew that this was all out of concern. But his brain wouldn't listen to him, his tolerance got lower and their arguments became more frequent. 

"I'm so fucking sick of you doing this to yourself Mu Qing. You were unconscious for almost two days out of pure exhaustion."

He knew that Feng Xin was doing this out of worry. He knew this was to help him, yet everything had got so stressful. His brain was muddled and he couldn't even think straight anymore.

"Well, I fucking know I was passed out for two days. I've heard it every time we fucking fight Feng Xin. I'm just doing what I need to maintain my position, okay ?"

"No. You don't get to 'okay' this. You work for days straight, barely sleep 2 hours then wake up and fucking study. You've forgotten you're a goddamn person outside of this. You're clearly stressed out but you're working yourself like a robot, I haven't seen you smile in months, Mu Qing."

"What? Do you want me to drop out after three years of studying just because I haven't smiled? Well if happiness alone got you a job and makes sure you get food down every week, sure I'll be fucking happy."

"I'm so sick of this."

The words struck Mu Qing like a knife twisting in his heart. The reason he chose to go into nursing was the help people, to do what others couldn't for his mother. He dedicated himself to it, knowing the situation he found himself in when his mother's health declined wasn't something anyone else should go through. He hadn't expected this is what it would lead him to.

" You're sick of this?" Mu Qing laughed bitterly. "Sounds like you're sick of me Feng Xin." 

He knew he didn't want to say these things. Yet the apprehension repressed in him vented. The panic from seeing everything between them coming to an end, the fear of not being enough for his aspirations and for Feng Xin. He was terrified once he stopped working and finally broke down, that he wouldn't be enough for Feng Xin.

He didn't want to open his walls to someone who would just walk away. He knew, he knew that Feng Xin wouldn't do that, yet the voice at the back of his head told him otherwise. The ghost of his own thoughts lingered internally and it was eating him up.

"Maybe I am." Feng Xin mumbled. 

After this, everything deteriorated between them. Mu Qing would find every excuse to not show up at the apartment to avoid their fighting. At some point, he even slept over at Hua Cheng's to get away from it all. 

When he'd show up, Feng Xin would look battered. He'd be on the couch staking out the door. He couldn't tell if it was from lack of sleep but his deep amber eyes had the remains of fatigue swirling in them. Mu Qing didn't want to think about the edges of his eyes glittering in the dark, not the tears staining Feng Xin's face, he didn't want to consider that Feng Xin had been this distraught over him. In silence, he trudged off to the bed acting like he didn't see anything while his heart ached in his chest.

Months went on like this, Mu Qing projected his insecurities onto their relationship and the strain on it grew. The moments that they had so frequently before, suddenly felt like a distant, unreachable memory. He avoided the thought, reminding himself of it would only bring more hurt after all. 

The thin thread of their relationship dwindled further, the remaining fibres carrying the tension of their worries.

"Everything's about you isn't it Mu Qing? Have you ever considered anything about anyone other than yourself?"

"What?" 

"Do you think about what happens to Xie Lian when he walks in and sees you this overworked? Do you realise what happens to me when I see you come home after nearly a week without contact and you can barely keep your eyes open?"

"I have people to take care of." Mu Qing spat out.

"So you don't need to take care of Xie Lian? What about yourself? What about taking care of us ? Am I really worth so little to you…?" Feng Xin's eyes staggered into his own, looking for something, anything that he could hold on to for hope.

"You know what? Forget it. Forget all of this." With that Feng Xin walked out, both of Mu Qing's life and the apartment. He could feel the shift of the atmosphere and realised what Feng Xin had meant. 

Mu Qing knew this was coming but it didn't make it hurt any less. The torment in his heart numbed through the last months, but in these last moments, he found himself clutching to his chest holding in a pained sob as he dropped to the ground. After months of holding back, he let it all out.

He didn't know how long he had been staring at the door which Feng Xin left through, until Xie Lian walked in, finding him sprawled on the floor. Mu Qing was incomprehensibly mumbling to himself while Xie Lian helped him up. He tried to make sense of the situation before prioritising the broken man in front of him.

"Feng Xin... Feng Xin, please. I'm so.. I'm so sorry." His broken voice echoed back to him.

The remaining barriers in him broke when Xie Lian hugged him, the cries caught in his throat finally released. He sobbed into Xie Lian's shoulder while the latter rubbed his back. He didn't know how long he had cried, staring at the door, hoping Feng Xin would be back. 

The next week was a blur while Mu Qing ran on auto pilot and Xie Lian took care of him. He alternated between utter silence and crying.

He had felt so horrible for pushing everyone away when they'd just wanted to help. He wanted to help people. He wanted to do something good for people, yet he found himself doing the opposite for the people closest to him. He took shift after shift to run away from himself only resulting in losing a part of himself, losing Feng Xin.

Mu Qing blinked away the tears that pricked the corners of his eyes and smiled sadly. 

Those times were long gone now.

"It's been 3 years, I've taken my time and I'm over it. We're mere acquaintances now. We barely get along, it’s exactly like it was before we dated Qingxuan. He's moved on and so have I."

"I see." Qingxuan was hesitant to continue his thoughts, he hummed while trying to gather them. "So what happened was a spur of the moment thing or…?"

"It was to piss him off." Mu Qing crossed his arms letting a breath out against them. Meanwhile, Qingxuan hid a smile.

"Right..."

Chapter Text

All things aside, Feng Xin was now having a dilemma of his own, dealing with his class after Mu Qing had left. He had put his thoughts aside and mockingly used more exercise as a disincentive, hoping it would divert them away from the topic.

Yet he found himself being mauled by the team during his recess if the twenty teenagers hovering around him bombarding him with questions was any sign.

"Coach what the fuck was that?"

"That literally could not have happened unless you two knew each other before."

"No, because I don't even have words for what the fuck that was."

“Who the actual fuck starts flirting with their coworker after a week of work??”

"I'm formally asking for an explanation for that because what the fuck ."

Now, this is how Feng Xin found himself dodging his entire class while making his way to his own office, hoping for some peace and quiet. He never thought, after becoming a teacher, he would find himself hiding from a group of 17 and 18-year-olds, yet here he was hiding around a corner hearing the chatter of the crowd distancing itself from him.

"Where did he go? Did you see him Pei Xiu?"

Pei Xiu sighed, he knew they’d find out somehow, regardless if they ambushed their coach or not.

"I mean where could he run off to? He has to see us tomorrow anyways. He can't run away from us forever." Qianqiu suggested he didn't want to chase his coach down the entire break after all. 

Feng Xin peeked around the corner of the wall while he was pressed against it. Quite an awkward position for him to be in when he heard a voice echo behind him.

"Feng Xin?" 

He found himself blankly blinking at Pei Ming while the latter was holding a questioning gaze. He did find Feng Xin sneaking around like he'd stolen something. While Pei Ming knew it was near impossible that he actually had, this was still an odd way to walk into him. 

Feng Xin was still frozen to the spot while Pei Ming observed. He awkwardly laughed while straightening and turning towards the man behind him.

"Hi?"

"You doing alright?" His tone carried friendliness and concern. A worried smile followed. While he was brash, obnoxious and spoke thoughtlessly, Pei Ming still held a somewhat kind heart. The benevolent voice helped Feng Xin find his footing and let him release a breath, he sighed and closed his eyes.

"Not exactly…"

Never in his life would he have thought he would confide in Pei Ming, yet over time he found himself seeing the man as an older sibling of sorts. It was a weird relationship to have with your co-worker but when you see each other every day for years straight, it seems like less of a shocking idea.

At least that's what Feng Xin tried to convince himself.

This entire situation was new to him and his newfound sibling kinship with Pei Ming was something he definitely could address later; after his mind stopped racing. 

He held his breath as he considered his options.

Feng Xin gave in, he’d prefer Pei Ming find out and bother him endlessly rather than putting Xie Lian in the middle of things. After all, Xie Lian and Hua Cheng came as a package, so simply put, he preferred Pei Ming’s comments over Hua Cheng’s. Thus how Pei Ming found out about Mu Qing and Feng Xin’s ‘history’ as he’d call it.

Finally, he sat down and drew out the scene to Pei Ming…

“Ah, I see.”

“That's all…? What do you mean ‘you see’?” Feng Xin rebuffed, he had expected somewhat of a response with compassion or advice at the least. Yet all the reaction he found was ‘I see.”

“What did you want me to say? ‘Dang… you got bitches Feng Xin’.. I didn’t know what else to say jeez.” Pei Ming shrugged. A moment of silence passed and Feng Xin immediately regretted his decision to tell Pei Ming. Opposingly, Pei Ming found himself contemplating the situation. Feng Xin felt the regret turning into distaste as the silence spanned on.

Pei Ming cleared his throat, finally settling on what he wanted to say.

“ Ahem… All things considered, it seems like you do still care about each other. At least seemingly, you do.”

Feng Xin sighed, he never really stopped caring about Mu Qing and he knew that. (Counter to belief, he’s more in touch with what he feels than most think.). When he stepped out the door that day 2 years ago, he had shattered both his own and Mu Qing’s heart. All he had wanted was an acknowledgement from Mu Qing about how he was hurting himself, and his own relationships by overworking. The day he questioned whether Mu Qing really valued him wasn’t meant as an act of malice but more of a reflection of his own actions on the people around him. Yet it unleashed another unwilling argument between the two of them, furthering the rift he had created. 

He had only cared about the people around him, yet that is what led him to hurting the people closest to him. Feng Xin never found himself bearing hard feelings toward Mu Qing. Only toward himself, regretting what could have been. 

Maybe a little longer and Mu Qing would have noticed? Maybe if he had stayed and been patient, Feng Xin could have preserved their relationship? 

Some nights he longed for what they had had. Even the friendship they had built up over the years was diminished with Feng Xin leaving that day and while he’d like to say he didn’t regret what he did, he did. 

He missed the comfortable silence in the apartment with Mu Qing. He missed the simple things he used to do that seemed to light up Mu Qing’s day. He missed watching Mu Qing come home from placements and flop on top of the couch and mumble while semi-conscious. He missed the wavering presence beside him while he slept. He missed the dinners Mu Qing made. And most of all? 

He missed Mu Qing’s smile.

But he gave it all up for the hope, that Mu Qing would be able to find new people to smile with, new people to cherish and love. He wanted to express how much he hurt the people around him and how unhealthy it was for him and everyone around him. It was better for him this way, regardless of what he had given up.

The day he walked out the door was the day he left his own heart behind with Mu Qing. 

He only felt whole again when he found himself absentmindedly signing up for his volunteering practicals with high schools. He’d only wanted to get the hours done and clock out. But guiding the kids through simple exercises and helping them through the basics of basketball, it felt right. Feng Xin felt complete again. He had, after so long, felt like himself again. And luckily for him, he had been given the right age of kids that didn’t make him want to rip his hair out. 

Mu Qing had led him to teaching, which had led him back to Mu Qing. And Feng Xin didn’t know which he was more grateful for.

Feng Xin took a breath in and relayed his emotions to himself, he took his time to break them down and build them up again. 

The normality of the arguments made his blood run cold, yet the familiarity of Mu Qing warmed his heart. The fact it felt like they’d resumed where they’d left off was like salt to the wound, unraveling the near-healed wounds. Yet when he wants to be civil, all that escapes his mouth are pointed comments.

Feng Xin turned and shook his head as he eased his head into his hands, a nearly unnoticeable smile graced his features. Pei Ming raised an eyebrow at the gesture. One could say his expression looked similar to a question mark personified.

“I am fucking conflicted. I don’t know what I feel.” 

The light sounds of slowed footsteps retreated into the hall, unbeknownst to the pair.

-

Silence filled the air as Qingxuan assessed what was in front of him. A hand-painted contemporary design was coming together before his eyes. 

" Hmm .. Banyue you know I think you should outline this with a thinner 0.5mm brush to define it.." He appraised it, donning a soft smile. "But honestly it's coming together really well." 

Banyue nodded eagerly as she eased out of her seat, humming to herself with a smile as she went to explore the neighbouring room for supplies. Meanwhile, a few taps on the glass door echoed through the empty room, alerting Qingxuan. He turned to find Pei Xiu absently observing the works decorating the walls as he always did. 

Qingxuan smiled to himself and eased the doorknob open. Letting Pei Xiu follow behind him only for him to occupy the desk beside Banyue's canvas. Adjacent to her seat, his eyes glided against the intricate brush strokes adorning the canvas. 

"In here again Pei Xiu?" Qingxuan questioned, the knowing glint in his eyes almost immediately giving him away. 

"I'm here every day during any type of break, you know this already." He responded with a hint of a groan. “You’re questioning me like it's my first time here.” A ruffle made Qingxuan turn his head to face Pei Xiu, finding him rummaging through his bag.

“No, I'm asking you because you’re here late, and you love being on time. I think your nagging makes me prepare for my next classes on time too.” 

Eventually finding what he was looking for, Pei Xiu took out a neatly enclosed wrap from his bag as he continued.

“Got held back by the team, they were trying to catch Coach after he ran off somewhere. Because Some shit went down during class.” He released a sigh, relief briefly washing through his face. “I won’t lie, I’m just glad we got out of field sprints because of it.” He shrugged. Pei Xiu was just as interested as the rest but not dedicated enough to find out for himself, fully well knowing that whatever their coach was hiding would be revealed sooner or later.

Staring them down, Banyue inaudibly recited the items in her hands. She cautiously made her way back to the canvas, carefully avoiding knocking her work. Halfway through her mental checklist, she recognised the extra figure in her peripherals. The hollow sounds of the items falling onto the table, followed by the scream of the chair dragging on the tile made Qingxuan and Pei Xiu flinch. 

"What distracted him though?" Banyue asked herself more than anything. Feng Xin wasn't one to slack off with the team, she'd heard enough tales of post-training soreness from Pei Xiu to figure that out.

At this point, Pei Xiu had unraveled and taken a mouthful of the wrap. The attempts to scarf it down forced a harsh cough while trying to pull together a response. With a final ‘Mmph' and a clear of his throat, he simply stated,

“Nurse Qing.” 

An over-dramatic gasp echoed through the room. Banyue and Pei Xiu both snapped their heads toward the sound. Just to find Qingxuan, their dear art teacher with one of the biggest smiles they’d seen. Banyue rolled her eyes, almost immediately picking up on Qingxuan’s intentions, and shook her head with a soft smile. 

“What? I thought it would add to the atmosphere… Either way, at least that solidifies my hunch.” 

Banyue and Pei Xiu simply looked each other in the eye with the same question, what the fuck is he on about??

And with that, Qingxuan turned around and headed off to Mu Qing’s office. 

-

Hushed whispers were incomprehensible as they cut each other off. Qianqiu burst into the locker room with Yizhen (and by association Yin Yu) behind him.

“...Wei Ying, Pei Xiu, Yizhen..” Qianqiu audibly listed as he went through the entire team, double-checking their presence. “That's everyone.”

“Okay but why’s everyone here though..?” Pei Xiu questioned skeptically, Qianqiu’s ideas sometimes were quite… questionable to him. He looked toward Yizhen for some sort of answer but the same clueless face mirrored his own.

“Wait. Let me close this.” Qianqiu shuffled to close the door behind himself as the other 20 boys watched him with curiosity as he cautiously looked around the door before finding the courage to ease it closed. Qianqiu turned around with a blinding smile, immediately tipping off the entire room he was up to something .

“So we were all here this morning, right?”

“Hurry up, I don’t wanna waste my lunch away. Get to the point Qianqiu,” A lone voice chirped in.

“Okay, okay. Since I know everyone loves being in other people’s shit just as much as I do, I have a plan for Coach and the nurse…” The audience who looked bored immediately perked up at the mention of the duo who was currently the talk of the class.

The group huddled together at the sound of something that was definitely going to fuck with their coach.

“So..” The group mumbled away with their ideas being thrown around as Pei Xiu sighed, he was going to be dragged into this either way, wasn’t he?