Chapter 15: 1.15 FATED LOVE: Heart
Mo Yinan transfers schools.
It seems to happen overnight and his peers are in an uproar. All sorts of rumors unfold and Liu Lianyu amuses himself by listening to them.
Some say that Mo Yinan was found cheating on a test but his father paid out the leaders to have him transfer rather than suffer any real consequences.
Some say that his grades weren't up to par with the 3rd High School's standards and he was forced to transfer to a subpar institute. (Though it is not certain where exactly he's gone).
More absurd rumors weave fantastical tales of family drama and business intrigue involving Mo Yinan's socialite mother and affluent father. These stories range from lightly plausible to absolutely ridiculous. They do not fail to earn a chuckle out of Liu Lianyu.
In truth, Mo Yinan has moved downtown. And in a city as big as theirs, that's a substantial distance from Liu Lianyu's quaint school on the outskirts and the center of the city. Liu Lianyu has no idea how the boy managed it, and how quickly he found the strings to pull.
It's already winter and the ground is coated with a thin sheen of snow. Mo Yinan is far, but he's also close. Liu Lianyu keeps this secret like a locket in his heart. His shitty boss doesn't need to know. Maybe his mother does, eventually, but for now…
Liu Lianyu's phone comes to life in his pocket when he's in the middle of class. Excitement bubbles in his chest and he presses a bit too hard on the chalk. It cracks and breaks, the top piece shoots off and bounces on a student's desk. The beta girl yelps and straightens. Everyone's tense. Everyone except the teacher himself.
"…" Liu Lianyu looks over his shoulder, at the quiet and attentive gazes his students give him. "…My bad," he hums but that isn't enough to make them relax. Liu Lianyu tilts his head, "What's wrong with everyone?"
There's an awkward cough. Students veer their gazes away and Liu Lianyu feels as though he's missed some sort of inside joke except no one's laughing. It suddenly dawns on him.
"I'm not that scary." The statement is sharp, pointed. A few kids jump in their seats.
An alpha brat in the back row speaks up. "There's no way that Teacher Liu is scary!"
Ah, Liu Lianyu chuckles inwardly. He isn't that scary or strict of a teacher, is he?
Liu Lianyu pockets this experience.
It's the weekend after the bell rings and he escapes the school as quickly as he can, dodging out of Principal Hui's slimy fingers and keeping pleasantry with other staff members brief.
He's out the door and the bus isn't coming fast enough. The metro is crowded and he needs to make at least 3 transfers but he does. It's dark but the city center is alive even at night and of all places he does it's a quiet park smack in the center of the city. Despite the late hour, there are still people walking the cobbled paths below carefully curated trees. There's a little pond with a wooden bridge and ancient-styled pavilion that only looks good at night, where its cheap construction and splintering wooden structure can't be discerned in the darkness.
The lights are low in the park, only a scattered few street lamps hug the edge of the square around the artificial pond. They are fashioned to look like paper lanterns except the electronic light that flickers inside is a bit too cold for fire.
There's an ice rink right next to the artificial pond where a single lone skater takes up residence. He's graceful across the ice, flying smoothly like it's his home. His movements are fluid, graceful, like a swan craning and stretching its wings for flight.
Liu Lianyu watches from the shadows, the light hits only the rink, leaving its boundaries obscured.
It takes Mo Yinan a moment before he notices Liu Lianyu and pulls up. "You're here!"
Liu Lianyu smiles, and ducks half his face into his scarf. It's a bit chilly and the red of his nose gives the fact he's been outside for a while. "Hey," he greets and adds, 'handsome' in his head.
Mo Yinan bristles and smiles, the red on his cheeks deepening, "O-oh. Thanks."
"..." Did he say it out loud after all? Liu Lianyu coughs, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you wait for long."
"I don't mind, it matters that you're here now," Mo Yinan beams as he peels open the door to the ice rink, "Will gege come join me on the ice?" The way he grins makes it difficult to refuse.
He rolls his eyes but the smile peaks above his scarf. Liu Lianyu takes Mo Yinan's hands and lets himself get pulled onto the ice.
It's uneven and scratchy and Liu Lianyu reasons that he can maintain his balance decently when he's not even on skates.
He's wrong.
The first step he takes, Liu Lianyu slides, an embarrassing yelp is ripped out of his throat as he falls back, heart stuttering into a stop.
Chiming laughter is above him and just as fast as he's falling backward, he's falling forward and crashes into Mo Yinan's chest, heart roaring in his ear with only his alpha's warmth and his pleasant scent. Liu Lianyu closes his eyes and sinks into it like a blanket and he's drowning in the unique presence that is Mo Yinan.
The magic only lasts for a moment because he remembers the culprit for his earlier near-death experience and hisses, pushing the alpha away. "You bastard!"
Mo Yinan laughs and Liu Lianyu slips again. This time he falls on his ass with a plonk. "Ah!"
"S-sorry," Mo Yinan clutches his stomach as he tries to muffle his laughter to no avail. He draws elegant figure eights around Liu Lianyu. Liu Lianyu feels like an awkward elephant to Mo Yinan's elegant swan. It's completely unfair. "Let me hold you, okay?"
"You better," Liu Lianyu snarls, his hips groaning in displeasure as Mo Yinan pulls him up. "I'm not young anymore. My body will break from all this abuse."
"Really?" Mo Yinan tilts his head playfully as he pulls his lover back to his feet. This time he skates behind Liu Lianyu and wraps a pair of strong arms around his waist, head resting on his former teacher's shoulder. "I would never have guessed from your…" he coughs, "performance in bed."
Liu Lianyu hisses in annoyance and somehow thinks that it's a great idea to kick Mo Yinan in the shin for his scandalous teasing.
It's a terrible idea. Because Mo Yinan slips and tangles with Liu Lianyu's limbs before he can find his balance again. The world is tilting and bam!
Liu Lianyu is back on the ice, but only partly because he's also partly sprawled on top of Mo Yinan who whines loudly beneath him, "What was that for…!? I only said the truth…"
"…pft." Liu Lianyu's annoyance ebbs into laughter and he folds himself over Mo Yinan's chest. The two of them lay on the ice without a care in the world and Mo Yinan is soon vibrating with laughter as well.
"You're kind of evil, Teacher Liu," Mo Yinan points out when the laughter quells. He reaches over and takes Liu Lianyu's hand in his own. "Like, really. A total sadist."
Liu Lianyu hums and listens to the beat of Mo Yinan's heart. "Do you regret it?" There's a smile in his voice, soft.
"Never. Do you?"
"…Not yet," he confesses.
They stay there on the ice. The wind gusts and it's kind of cold. As much as Liu Lianyu enjoys sapping Mo Yinan's heat like a leech, he sits up and urges his lover to join him.
They share a kiss and it's chaste, warm. Mo Yinan pulls away and their eyes lock breath mix.
"I love—" Liu Lianyu whispers but he's cut off.
Mo Yinan blurts, "I love you! …Ah!" His face reddens when he realizes that he cut Liu Lianyu off.
"…" Liu Lianyu tries to feign annoyance but the smile that stretches his lips is too powerful, he can't win.
"I love you," Mo Yinan repeats, softer. "Um, can you…repeat what you said earlier?"
Liu Lianyu raises a brow, "And what if I don't want to?"
"Uh…I'll be sad?" He's already pouting and it makes Liu Lianyu laugh, which breaks the sad puppy look because Mo Yinan is soon grinning after him.
"I don't care."
"Sadist!"
Liu Lianyu says it quickly, "Love you."
"Huh? Say it again! Slower please."
"…I already repeated it once."
"If you don't say it, I'll kiss you!" Mo Yinan threatens cutely, leaning in preparation.
Liu Lianyu smirks, "Love—"
And their lips crash, Liu Lianyu gasps in delight. Their fingers lock and everything feels right in the world. Stars align, galaxies collide and black holes are born. Liu Lianyu's entire being is engulfed and it's fine.
He's happy. His heart, is full.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
valiantxvillainous
valiantxvillainous Hellooo, just a head's up. I won't be able to continuously update this story daily ; w ; and will probably stick to a 3-4 ch/week schedule. After the first world is finished I'll take a few days break in prepartion for the next. Thanks for understandinggg.
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