Chatters and murmurs commonly fill the cafeteria. Today was no exception.

It was morning and at one table were the usual Xie Lian, Shen Qingqiu, and Shi Qingxuan. And the irregulars; Wei Wuxian, Hua Cheng, He Xuan, and Luo Binghe.

But hey, where's-

"Hey, where's Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian beat the narrative to it.

Shi Qingxuan and Shen Qingqiu glanced at each other. They shrugged. "I dunno, Wangji-xiong's not our roommate," said Shi Qingxuan. He Xuan sitting next to him asked, "Are you going to eat that?"

Shi Qingxuan pushed his whole tray to He Xuan. "No."

Wei Wuxian huffed and propped an elbow on the table, pressing his hand against his cheek. Well, hopefully, Lan Wangji will appear soon enough.

"Have you heard classes are canceled today?" Xie Lian piped up.

The MengDie boys shook their heads in unison. So does Shi Qingxuan.

Shen Qingqiu: "..."

Shen Qingqiu: "He's right. Apparently, most of the members of the student council got a cold."

Xie Lian nodded. "And some of the activities we are doing today need them. And a lot of the students live far from home so they need their roommates to take care of them, I think. So no point in having classes today."

Shi Qingxuan hmphed. "If you asked me, I think the teachers rely on the council a little too much."

Wei Wuxian nearly knocked over his carton of chocolate milk. "Oh, is that why Lan Zhan's not here? Doesn't he share a dorm with Xichen-xiong?"

Shen Qingqiu aimed his empty juice box at a nearby trash can. "Probably," he said before tossing the box straight into the trash can. Excessively proud of himself for that shot, Luo Binghe also looked at him admirably.

Shi Qingxuan continues with his talk, "But isn't it weird that all of the student council got sick on the same day?? Like it couldn't be a coincidence-!"

"Yeah," He Xuan agreed, stuffing himself with a pork bun. Shen Qingqiu doubts he even heard what Shi Qingxuan was rambling about.

Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes. "No, it was not a coincidence. They all had to bring the stuff they set up in the courtyard back into the school in the rain before they got soaked. Quite futile, really, all the items still got soggy and themselves in the process."

"Oh yeahhh, so it was the rain. It did started pouring out of nowhere."

"Either that or it's because they all drank from the same coffee pot," Xie Lian said, half-jokingly.

Wei Wuxian yawned, stretching his arms over his head. "Well, this sucks. Maybe I should go help Lan-

"Wei Ying."

Wei Wuxian spun his head around so fast Shen Qingqiu thought it snapped.

"Lan Zhan-!!" Wei Wuxian hopped off of his seat. He pushed Luo Binghe until the boy realized to get up and patted the now-empty seat next to him. "Lan Zhan, come sit!"

Xie Lian whispered something in Hua Cheng's ear and he got up and moved a seat to his right. Xie Lian does the same. Then Xie Lian slid He Xuan's food tray over and the boy moved in harmony with his food. Then Xie Lian leaned back and tapped Shi Qingxuan on the back and the other boy took the hint and moved a seat to the right. Now there's an empty seat next to Shen Qingqiu! Gratefully, Luo Binghe sat down.

Shen Qingqiu: "Hey."

Luo Binghe: "Hi..."

Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian bombarded Lan Wangji with questions.

"Lan Zhan, don't you share a dorm with Xichen-xiong? How is he? Is he sick? Not that I mind that you are here but aren't you supposed to be aiding him or something?"

Lan Wangji: "... Brother said he's fine."

Wei Wuxian: "Oh. Oh, but then-!"

Lan Wangji put something into Wei Wuxian's mouth.

"..." Wei Wuxian chewed and swallowed. "Oh, yum."

"Here," Lan Wangji slid the rest of the plastic blue box to Wei Wuxian.

"Aw, thanks, Lan Zhan! Mini pork dumplings! You even remember the hot sauce! Man, I wish you'd go to my school every day."

"Mn."

Wei Wuxian happily gobbled down the food like a starved goblin.

Shi Qingxuan wiped his mouth elegantly before saying, "So then what are you guys planning to do today?"

Xie Lian: "Ah, San Lang and I are going to an art museum today."

Hua Cheng nodded.

Shen Qingqiu: "I have to go to the daycare center at three. Binghe, you are coming?"

Luo Binghe bobbed his head.

Wei Wuxian: "I thuk mi n lan zhan r gonna jes han oi."

Lan Wangji: "Mn."

Shen Qingqiu was disgusted. "For the love of god, Wei Wuxian, close your mouth when you eat."

Wei Wuxian chewed and swallowed. Then to Shen Qingqiu's displeasure, he stuck out his tongue at him.

。。。

。。。

Jiang Wanyin slipped on a mask. He stood in front of the gates of Qingfeng. So this is Qingfeng.

"..." Jiang Wanyin casually walked in.

"Hey, kid. I don't think you go here," A deep throaty voice said from behind him.

Jiang Wanyin stiffened and slowly turned around.

A huge buff but bald man stood behind him, wearing sunglasses. They were wearing a sleeveless shirt so their overly muscular arms could be seen clearly. Jiang Wanyin's mouth nearly dropped open.

Was this Qingfeng's gatekeeper??

Jiang Wanyin shut his mouth. No, he's on a mission today. He won't be intimidated by this guy who looked like he used to work in a prison!

Jiang Wanyin slid his mask down with a finger and said, "What are you talking about sir? I'm one of the exchange students from MengDie. See, here's my school ID card."

Jiang Wanyin took out his school ID card and handed it to the beefy man.

The man squinted at the small ID card in his all-too-big hands. Then he looked up at Jiang Wanyin. Jiang Wanyin held his breath. Hopefully, the man doesn't look at the class number...

The buff man confirmed it was genuine and gave it back to Jiang Wanyin. He growled, "Well then, kid, get back inside the school. We don't loiter around the gates."

Jiang Wanyin refrained from glaring at the giant and hurried into the school. He got in!

Jiang Wanyin paused and then he reached up and ripped his mask off. Whatever, it's useless anyway.

The boy located the dorm building and went inside. Room 304 if he remembers correctly...

Jiang Wanyin climbed the stairs to the third floor and knocked on the fourth door to the right.

He waited.

After a moment, he heard footsteps. The door opened, and Lan Xichen appeared, wearing monogrammed, light blue silk pajamas. His eyes widened and he exclaimed,

"Ah, Wanyin! What are you doing here?"

"..." Jiang Wanyin stared right up into Lan Xichen's eyes and said, "Those are the snobbiest pajamas I've ever seen."

Lan Xichen looked down. "Oh, yeah... Do you not like them? The student council decided on this..."

"You mean they make the students wear these?" Jiang Wanyin asked in incredulity. "Damn."

"..." Lan Xichen suddenly looked depressed. "Oh, it's not that bad! Feel it, see it's very good fabric," Lan Xichen said hastily, taking Jiang Wanyin's hand and placing it on the front of his shirt.

"!" Shocked, Jiang Wanyin pulled his hand away from Lan Xichen's chest. "I was talking about the appearance," he said, red in the face.

"Ah..." Also a bit pink in the face, Lan Xichen said, "It's still quite comfortable... But um, what are you doing here, Wanyin?"

Jiang Wanyin recovered his stance and said, "Oh right, I heard you were sick. I wanted to see for myself. You don't seem sick?"

"Ah, I just got a little cold, that's all. But do you want to come in?"

Jiang Wanyin nodded briefly.

So Lan Xichen gaily ushered him in.

😬