Chapter Text
Wei Ying: If it's something I did, I'm sorry
Lan Zhan: you didn't do anything
Wei Ying: but you are angry at me, right?
Lan Zhan: It's nothing
Wei Ying: It's not
Lan Zhan: It's my own problem, not yours
Wei Ying: What are we, breaking up? "It's not you, it's me"
Lan Zhan: ...
Wei Ying: goodnight, lan zhan
Lan Zhan: goodnight.
~
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I think I messed up with my friend :'(
Bluetooth: what happened?
☆yilingpatriarch☆: that's the thing
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I don't know???
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I got him drunk, and then just joked about what he said
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I thought he knew I was the kind that likes to make fun
☆yilingpatriarch☆: but yet he got almost angry afterwards, and just left
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I don't know what I did
Bluetooth: maybe it was something you said.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: yeah I thought of that, but all I said was we were friends
☆yilingpatriarch☆: unless he somehow didn't want to be my friend at all???
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I thought we were getting closer
Bluetooth: ...
Bluetooth: maybe it's not what you think.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: ???
Bluetooth: opposite
Bluetooth: of what you said.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: you mean...it's not that he didn't want to be my friend...it's that he wanted more???
Bluetooth: ...maybe.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: ...best friends?
Bluetooth: ...
☆yilingpatriarch☆: ok ok I'm kidding
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I know what you're implying
☆yilingpatriarch☆: and you're definitely wrong
☆yilingpatriarch☆: how could he ever see me in that way?? we used to fight too, you know
Bluetooth: ...
Wei Ying pouted when Bluetooth didn't reply.
♫曦臣♫: my brother left his room, his face in his hands
♫曦臣♫: care to tell me what happened?
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I have no idea ☆yilingpatriarch☆: I'm just...so confused with everything right now
♫曦臣♫: well, judging by your chat history
♫曦臣♫: I can say you're not very observant, are you?
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I guess
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I have no idea what I'm supposed to be seeing
☆yilingpatriarch☆: can't you just tell me???
♫曦臣♫: hm. no
♫曦臣♫: not now
♫曦臣♫: figure it out yourself
☆yilingpatriarch☆: ...
♫曦臣♫: I will tell you something tho
♫曦臣♫: you know him in real life
☆yilingpatriarch☆: WHAT
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I DO??
♫曦臣♫: you're in the same school
☆yilingpatriarch☆: KDHDISJSD
♫曦臣♫: If you haven't figure it out in a week, I will have to tell you
The other's character then disappeared, and Wei Ying realized he had gone offline.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: ...
☆yilingpatriarch☆: wanna do a quest?
Bluetooth: ok.
~
A week passed, with Wei Ying trying his upmost not to upset Lan Zhan by speaking to him as little as possible.
Lan Zhan didn't try to speak up either, merely staring at him when he thought Wei Ying wasn't looking.
Classes passed awkwardly, and the only comfort Wei Ying found himself having was with Jiang Cheng, even in GDC Bluetooth was strangely distant with him, while ♫曦臣♫ only replied in vague sentences.
Speaking of Jiang Cheng, he was currently punching Wei Ying.
"Ow! Why?" Wei Ying wailed.
"Stop moping around already! It disgusts me to see you like someone who just broken up with," Jiang Cheng scowled.
Wei Ying peeked at him from beneath a pillow, "I'm not moping," he said, while moping.
Jiang Cheng took a deep breath. "I will kill you myself."
"It's just- I don't know, okay? I think I made Lan Zhan mad, then in game I think also made Bluetooth mad, why can't I even do anything right?" Wei Ying leaned on Jiang Cheng's shoulder, and while Jiang Cheng tensed, he eventually relaxed.
"You're very good at that," Jiang Cheng said.
"I hate you," Wei Ying's voice was muffled.
"So what do you plan to do now?"
Wei Ying paused. He...didn't know why he was so concerned. Lan Zhan was his friend, of course, but was that it? Did he actually want more? Like Bluetooth implied? But what about Bluetooth, who he used to play with, who...waited for him. Bluetooth knew him well too, didn't he? His mind flashed images from the mini game. He had known Lan Zhan longer, yet felt like he was closer to Bluetooth.
"I'll..." Wei Ying started, unsure, "I'll think first."
Jiang Cheng let out a sigh, and gave Wei Ying an awkward pat on the back. "Uh, good luck."
"You do care!" Wei Ying faked being touched to tears, and Jiang Cheng pushed him off of him. "Get lost!"
~
"Our project," Lan Zhan suddenly said at the end of their class, after they've barely talked for a week.
"Oh, yeah, the deadline is soon, isn't it?" Wei Ying asked. Since they've last talked, they hadn't touched the project at all, and although they've done a lot already, there was still some more they had to do, and touch up.
"Come over today?" Wei Ying asked, nervously smiling. Lan Zhan nodded, and then left without another word.
Wei Ying watched him turn away, only to blink in surprise when Lan Zhan turned back to look at him. "Yes?" Wei Ying asked, confused.
"Do you...want to go eat something?" Lan Zhan said, his voice soft.
Wei Ying felt his jaw drop in surprise. Usually, whenever they did their project, it was a few hours after school, as Lan Zhan normally had after school activities, while Wei Ying wanted to take a nap, so they've both established that they would meet again later. Yet, this time Lan Zhan wasn't going off to do whatever he did, but instead asking him out to lunch? Lan Zhan never took the initiative, merely following Wei Ying, who pulled him everywhere.
"Uh- Um, sure, why not," Wei Ying stammered, hurrying to stand up.
Lan Zhan waited for him, then starting walking, while Wei Ying tried to subtly watch him. What did Lan Zhan want? Did he want to actually settle things physically and beat Wei Ying to the ground? Was he so pissed at the other for ignoring his existence for a week that he was gonna throw hands?
"So, uh, where are we going?"
Lan Zhan said, "Bubble tea."
Wei Ying quirked a brow, so Lan Zhan did like the bubble tea? And now he was bringing Wei Ying to get some? Pleasantly surprised, Wei Ying couldn't help but grin.
"Really?" Lan Zhan nodded. "Heh," Wei Ying beamed, "Are you going to pay for mine too?" He joked.
"Mn." Lan Zhan replied.
"Ah? You don't have to, you know," Wei Ying flailed, "I was only joking."
Lan Zhan sighed. "I want to," he said simply, shutting up Wei Ying immediately.
When they arrived, Lan Zhan immediately ordered two drinks, and Wei Ying hid a chuckle when the cashier flinched at his stare, then Lan Zhan took the two drinks, passing one to Wei Ying.
"Thank you," Wei Ying said, taking a sip, "so do you want to go do the project now?"
Lan Zhan nodded, and even the coolness of the drink couldn't cool Wei Ying's growing warmth in his chest.
~
An hour later, Wei Ying sighed. "Finally! We're done, no more of this," he said proudly, while Lan Zhan, even though his expression seemingly did not change, Wei Ying could notice the lessened tension in his shoulders. "Mn."
"We won't have to work together like this again," Wei Ying continued, stretching his sore joints, while Lan Zhan blinked and turned away.
"Mn."
"Hey, Lan Zhan," Wei Ying suddenly said, voice lowered, "Are you still angry?"
He didn't want Lan Zhan to be angry, he didn't want Lan Zhan to be upset because of him, and he wanted to be able to be comfortable with Lan Zhan again.
Lan Zhan met his eyes. "No," he said, and Wei Ying believed him, even though he sounded more resigned than actually neutral.
"Okay," Wei Ying said, and Lan Zhan stood up. "See ya," Wei Ying waved.
Lan Zhan nodded stiffly.
As soon as Lan Zhan left, Wei Ying let out a sigh, and turned his computer on. He hadn't touched GDC in a week either, too upset with himself over Lan Zhan, and he didn't want to face Bluetooth being seemingly disappointed either.
As the game loaded, he realized Bluetooth had sent him one message:
Bluetooth: are you still playing?
It seemed sad, that the last time they've talked was Bluetooth merely following him to do a quest, and Wei Ying saw that the new message was sent a few days after he stopped playing for a while.
He saw Bluetooth was online and at the sect base, so he headed there, then privately messaged Bluetooth.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: heya!
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I'm back
Bluetooth: hello.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: did you miss me? ;))
☆yilingpatriarch☆: judging by your last message
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I think you did :))
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I'm very touched, dear
Bluetooth: ...
Bluetooth: don't say things you don't mean.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: hey what makes you think I don't mean it :((
Bluetooth: ...
☆yilingpatriarch☆: yeah yeah okay
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I won't play with your heart ;)) when it's already taken by someone else
Bluetooth: who?
☆yilingpatriarch☆: ??? you told me you had a crush on someone?
Bluetooth: ...right.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: how's it going by the way? I think my love life is a disaster right now with feelings I don't understand
☆yilingpatriarch☆: so I'd rather just hear about yours
Bluetooth: ...you like someone?
☆yilingpatriarch☆: why's it always about me??
☆yilingpatriarch☆: but yeah, I don't...know
☆yilingpatriarch☆: maybe?
☆yilingpatriarch☆: goddamnit stop derailing it to me
☆yilingpatriarch☆: tell me about yourself
Bluetooth: I think
Bluetooth: the person I like
Bluetooth: doesn't see me as a potential...
Bluetooth: partner.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: aw
☆yilingpatriarch☆: have you tried telling them??
Bluetooth: ...
Bluetooth: many times.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: maybe you should be more direct then
☆yilingpatriarch☆: seems like they're pretty dumb
Bluetooth: ...no.
Wei Ying sighed. Poor Bluetooth, having to deal with his unrequited love, while Wei Ying had no idea how to feel about anything. Bluetooth was talking about someone else, but it seems weirdly reminiscent of his own situation, where he didn't know anything.
He didn't know if he was actually uncomfortable with the thought of Lan Zhan being into him, or...he didn't actually think it was possible. He was already unsure of his own relationship with Lan Zhan, yet here was Bluetooth, someone out of his grasp.
♫曦臣♫ said he waited for him, didn't he?
Bluetooth's and his character started heading towards the nearest town, which was glowing with how many players there was. Normally, the places Bluetooth went were empty because of the how high leveled the places were, but now they were heading to the first place most players spawned, thus it a mess of other players' characters crowded together.
The second they appeared, Wei Ying could see the startling difference between Bluetooth's character, and everyone else's. Bluetooth's character seemed to practically over-shine everyone's characters.
小明: HOLY SHIT ITS BLUETOOTH
⇨ xiaomei ⇦: AAAAAA MARRY ME
雪雨探花: lol
Many more players started swarming the two of them, and Wei Ying laughed when Bluetooth was completely surrounded by other players, who spammed messages that ranged from "could you add me?" to "marry me pls"
Privately, he messaged:
☆yilingpatriarch☆: HAHAHAHA
☆yilingpatriarch☆: you gonna accept any of those girls
☆yilingpatriarch☆: or guys
Bluetooth: no.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: is this what you have to deal with?
Bluetooth: ...yes.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: HAHAHA you poor soul :'(((
In the world chat, people were still spamming relentlessly.
我想不出: hey hey guys look
||其他的||: BLUETOOTH TOOK SOMEONE AS A DISCIPLE
¡!mingzi!¡: SERIOUS? WHO'S THIS YILINGPATRIARCH???
✧saveme✧: He's right beside him dumbasses
《花怜》WTF BLUETOOTH PRACTICALLY BLOCKS ANYONE WJO ASKS HIM TO BECOME HIS DISCIPLE
Wei Ying stared in surprise at the one message he saw before it was quickly swept away by the streams of messages. He also received a few friend requests, but he decided to ignore them first, just in case they were people oddly obsessed with Bluetooth and wanted him dead or something.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: have you seriously not taken anyone else as a disciple??
Bluetooth: ...
Bluetooth: no.
Bluetooth: only you.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: ...
Wei Ying put a hand on his face, feeling it slightly warm in embarrassment. As he put his hand back down again, he brushed against something that made him blink in surprise.
Turning to see what it was, Wei Ying realized it was Lan Zhan's phone.
His phone? Did he forget to take it back? Wei Ying wondered. Should he go over to Lan Zhan's dorm now to return it, or should he just wait until tomorrow?
Lan Zhan probably didn't miss it, Wei Ying thought, putting the phone on the desk, he would return it tomorrow.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: um
☆yilingpatriarch☆: right then
☆yilingpatriarch☆: now what? are you just gonna stay here and let random people spam you?
Bluetooth: I'm blocking them.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: that's not very nice
Bluetooth: ...
☆yilingpatriarch☆: kiddinggg
☆yilingpatriarch☆: If I was getting spammed like this
☆yilingpatriarch☆: id probably block them too
☆yilingpatriarch☆: actually no
☆yilingpatriarch☆: If someone powerful came id marry them to get everyone else off my back
☆yilingpatriarch☆: why don't you consider it?
Bluetooth: I don't
Bluetooth: want to.
Wei Ying figured the other would say so, so he only smiled and set the topic aside in favor of actually going to get the things they had went to the town for. As their characters moved off, Wei Ying decided to tease him a little, and chose an action for his character to perform, where his character would clutch onto Bluetooth's like a koala. The crowd of players who saw this started to spam again.
lil'apple: what the fuck
baiwujinji: Bluetooth is gay...?
⇨ xiaomei ⇦: NOOOOOOO
Wei Ying started giggling uncontrollably when various players expressed their tears and sadness at the fact that Bluetooth wasn't single anymore.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: not gonna tell them they're wrong?
Bluetooth: no need.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: ???
Wei Ying hadn't processed the reply before Lan Zhan's phone started vibrating, and the screen lit up with the image of an incoming call from "Brother", probably Lan Zhan's brother, who Wei Ying, for the life of him, couldn't remember the name of.
Throwing caution to the wind, Wei Ying picked up.
"Hello, is this Wei Wuxian?" Lan Zhan's brother asked, his voice light and polite.
"Yep."
"Wangji told me he forgot his phone at your dorm, would it be too much of a bother to ask you to bring it over now?" Lan Zhan's brother sounded apologetic, but Wei Ying didn't mind having to go to Lan Zhan's dorm anyways, it wasn't that late into the night too.
"Sure, tell me which dorm he's in and I'll be right over," Wei Ying replied. Lan Zhan's brother had an audible smile as he told Wei Ying the location.
☆yilingpatriarch☆: heyyy
☆yilingpatriarch☆: I need to do something
☆yilingpatriarch☆: brb!!
Bluetooth: I will wait for you.
~
Before Wei Ying could even ring the doorbell, the door opened, Lan Zhan was at the doorway, a sweet smile on his face.
"Wei Wuxian! It's lovely to see you again," Lan Zhan said.
Wei Ying stared at the smile for a couple of seconds, his mind blank, before he realized that this person looked similar to Lan Zhan, but his eyes were a different color, and his smile a little too happy. It was Lan Zhan's brother.
"It's nice to see you too..." Wei Ying trailed off awkwardly, and was glad when Lan Zhan's brother seemed to understand why, because he reintroduced himself again. "You can call me Xichen," Lan Xichen said.
Suddenly stunned by the familiar sounding name, Wei Ying's thoughts immediately went into GDC, and of ♫曦臣♫. "O-Okay. Where's Lan Zhan?"
Lan Xichen pointed him in the direction of Lan Zhan's room, then, with a glimmer in his eyes, said, "He's busy playing a computer game, try not to startle him," he said.
Wei Ying raised a brow questioningly, but decided to not say anything as he slowly walked to Lan Zhan's room, and opened the door as quietly as possible. Lan Zhan was a few meters away, sitting at a desktop table as he clicked away.
Wei Ying snuck forward silently, and raised his hand in preparation of startling Lan Zhan, but instead audibly gasped.
Lan Zhan was playing GDC, and he whipped his head around to meet Wei Ying's wide eyes with his own.
"W-Wei Ying," Lan Zhan said, stunned, mirroring Wei Ying's expression.
One look at the screen and Wei Ying could tell who he was.
"Y-you're Bluetooth?" Wei Ying stammered.
Hesitantly, Lan Zhan nodded, and Wei Ying completely blanked out.
He had been...fighting increasing feelings for the both of them, and now, upon realizing they were the same person...he didn't know what to feel.
Wait, Bluetooth liked someone, he told Wei Ying himself, and if Bluetooth liked someone it meant Lan Zhan also liked someone, and Wei Ying's heart sunk.
"Lan Zhan, who do you like, then?" Wei Ying asked, not even sure if he wanted to know the answer.
Lan Zhan was staring at him, frozen in place, and a creeping blush was crawling up his neck. "I-"
Wei Ying waited patiently for an answer, but when it seemed like Lan Zhan wasn't going to give one he sighed and shook his head.
"No, never mind, you don't have to tell me," Wei Ying swallowed thickly, turning to leave, "Goodni-"
His words were stopped halfway, muffled by the pressure of another pair of lips on his. Wei Ying dimly felt himself falling forward, and he could only watch, with eyes widened, as Lan Zhan kissed him, pulling him forward by the wrist. Lan Zhan's eyes were closed, his ears tinged red, and he was tugging Wei Ying almost to forcefully, causing him to stumble and fall into Lan Zhan's arms.
When Lan Zhan finally released him, and he realized he had been kissing back, Wei Ying stumbled back, a hand on lips, his cheeks warming at the feelings of lips on his.
"Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying's voice cracked, his face reddened even more. Lan Zhan seemed to come back to himself, and immediately jerked back.
"Wei Ying, I-"
"Lan Zhan," Wei Ying started, too many things in his mind. Lan Zhan wouldn't miss him as a joke, right? Yet, he also takes about someone he liked, who didn't seem to see him in that way.
Wei Ying didn't see him in that way too, didn't he?
Now that he was thinking about it, ♫曦臣♫ said Bluetooth waited for him, and that meant Lan Zhan also waited for him? He stopped playing for a year, was that what he meant by waiting? Did Bluetooth spend every single day he spent away from the game, playing it, leveling up, in hopes that he would come back?
"Lan Zhan, is the one you like..." Wei Ying's hands trembled slightly, "Me?"
Lan Zhan looked away, and nodded once, and in that second, Wei Ying felt relief overwhelm his body, and with a smile slowly forming on his face, he bursted into laughter. Lan Zhan turned red, his fists clenched. Wei Ying hurried to wave his hands.
"No, no, I wasn't laughing at you," he said, wiping a tear away, "it's just, what kind of coincidence is it that we played together long ago, and now we meet again? I can't believe you actually play this kind of game," he continued, giggling. When Lan Zhan seemed to tense, Wei Ying wondered if he had said something wrong.
Then, he realized he hadn't even said anything about what he felt. "I like you too, Lan Zhan," Wei Ying said, smiling. Lan Zhan's eyes widened, and how could Wei Ying could have been so blind as to not see the warmth in his eyes?
"Still, though," Wei Ying said, coming to sit on Lan Zhan's lap, who graciously let him do so, "Isn't it such a coincidence that we met each other the first time?"
It was Bluetooth's name that really caught his attention at the time, but now it seemed like it was fate...right?
Lan Zhan wasn't saying anything, and when Wei Ying turned to watch him, he seemed to be a little nervous.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Ying said in realization, "Was it actually a coincidence?"
Lan Zhan looked away, which was answer enough.
Wei Ying felt his smile grow even wider. "It wasn't?! You...intentionally played this game-" He was cut off by Lan Zhan's lips on his, and no doubt Lan Zhan could feel his smile through the kiss.
~
over a year ago
Lan Wangji seemed as blank as ever, but Lan Xichen knew his brother better than anyone else, and he knew his brother was subtly eyeing him play a computer game.
"Wangji, do you want to play?" Lan Xichen asked, smiling gently. His brother gently nodded, and Lan Xichen smiled, and set up the game for him.
When it came to creating a username, his brother hovered over the keyboard, as if he wanted to type something, but was stopping himself.
"What is it?" Lan Xichen asked.
Lan Wangji shook his head, still not typing anything.
"Why did you suddenly want to play this?" He asked, curious. Before Wangji even said anything, he answered it himself. "Wei Wuxian is playing it?" Wangji tensed.
"What's his username?"
"Wifi," Wangji answered.
Xichen gave a small laugh. "That's an interesting username, what do you want to put as yours?"
Wangji hesitated, and Xichen figured he might as well help him. "What about Bluetooth? Since you're the second Lan brother." He smiled when Wangji nodded slightly, and typed out "Bluetooth".
"Isnt it perfect for you two?" Xichen laughed when Wangji looked vaguely affronted.
~
"It's such a shame, though, that I forgot my password, so we can't be a perfect couple in game," Wei Ying sighed.
Lan Zhan blinked, then opened a drawer by the desk, and pulled out a note. Wei Ying's eyes widened at what he saw.
It was his username and his password.
"How?" Wei Ying stammered.
"You gave me it," Lan Zhan said.
"When?"
"Last time," Lan Zhan answered, putting the piece of paper in Wei Ying's hand gently.
~
☆WiFi☆: bluetoothhhh
☆WiFi☆: Can you do a favor for me???
Bluetooth: what is it?
☆WiFi☆: I'm gonna be busy tomorrow
☆WiFi☆: could you help me??
Bluetooth: you trust me?
☆WiFi☆: huh
☆WiFi☆: Of course I do!
☆WiFi☆: you're my friend, after all
~
"I should probably change the password to something I'll remember," Wei Ying said.
"To what?" Lan Zhan asked.
Wei Ying hooked his arms around Lan Zhan's neck, and grinned, "Wangxian."