They easily fell into a routine.
7 AM
Lan Xichen was nowhere to be seen on mornings, the only reminders of his presence being the little post-it notes Jiang Cheng found every day.
They read “Have a good day Wanyin.”
“I discovered a nice spot by the pond. Have a nice day”
“enjoy your day”
and every variation thereof. And well no one had to know if he kept them.
9 AM
During the day, his brother was always scheming some prank or the other with Huaisang, mostly involving Lan Wangji, Wen Ning trailing after them.
Of course, he still dragged Jiang Cheng along, but it sometimes made him feel like an outsider in a group running too fast and too far ahead for him.
Times like these he really missed his sister.
She had always managed to keep them together, in this gentle way of hers, and he had really grown used to their trio. But now she was building a life of her own, Wei Wuxian was beginning to do the same, and it seemed like he was the only one clutching to the past.
12 AM
He didn’t see Xichen during the day either, the other being a third-year from another major.
At most he would get a glimpse of him during lunch break, but Xichen was always surrounded by various honor students, or busy with student council meetings and whatnot.
6 PM
The first time of the day Jiang Cheng caught sight of Xichen was when he came back to their room, and that prospect always managed to lighten his mood a little. Which was strange.
Xichen was often sitting at his desk with a cup of green tea, reading some book or the other, or playing instruments Jiang Cheng had never seen before. He’d greet Jiang Cheng with a smile, and the two of them would easily chatter away.
He learned that the Lan family were eminent professors. Philosophy, literature, law, and so on. They had them all.
Xichen however was a music student. He loved a good piece of poetry, novel, or art in general, and Jiang Cheng surprisingly started to enjoy those things when Xichen read some aloud.
Sometimes Xichen would explain some painting or piece of music to him while gesturing animatedly and with sparkling eyes.
On some evenings though, Xichen seemed very far away and didn’t talk at all. Jiang Cheng didn’t know how to reach him.
At least, when this occurred, Jiang Cheng got a lot of work done.
8 PM
They often cooked their evening meal together, their arms brushing together just a bit more than necessary in the small kitchen.
Xichen’s cooking was incredibly tasteless. So, Jiang Cheng introduced him to grilled cheese, and made it his duty to get Xichen to try every dish he could think of.
Which mostly succeeded, with Xichen always stealing bits of food from his plate.
In return, Xichen was mostly appalled by his choice of drinks. He tried –in vain–to get Jiang Cheng to drink tea.
“It’s not ‘lukewarm moss-soup’ Wanyin.” Xichen always insisted.
Jiang Cheng knew better.
YOU ARE READING
Early Mornings and Late Nights
Romance"If you breathe a word of this to anybody I will fucking murder you" Jiang Cheng mumbled as he turned to face the other side of the room. "It was hard to sound convincing when his eyes were falling shut and his sentence was punctuated with a yawn."...
