“you think i never looked at you only because when i did, you were often smiling brightly and laughing out loud with our classmates,” lan zhan says, his voice soft and mellow as his thumb brushes across wei ying’s flushed cheek. wei ying leans forward and kisses him.

he tastes the saltiness of his tears when he swipes his tongue gently across wei ying’s lips. “why didn't you tell me?” wei ying asks, arms locked behind lan zhan’s back as he looks up at him, at the contours of his perfectly sculpted face.