#Also shoutout to lxc who will find a way to get wwx and lwj together in any lifetime

[grapefruitsketches]

Untamed Spring Fest 2020 - Day 3: Flush

Quick note: I’m currently setting up my AO3 page (GrapefruitSketches) where I will also be posting all of these little fics!

1,175 Words, Modern AU - University; Wei Wuxian-centric; Supportive Lan Xichen

Wei Wuxian had never been one to put too much stock, or effort, in getting good grades. He had always done very well up all the way through high school, though, to the great annoyance of his younger brother. Undergrad though, up until his fourth and final year, had been a different story. He had had to shrug off a more than occasional “I expect better from someone of your talents, B-“ or “Please come see me, D+.” He wasn’t afraid to take risks in his answers, and actively tried to avoid the textbook answer where he could help it. He wanted to figure out new ways to help people, to solve mysteries no one had even thought to investigate, and learn about secrets that few understood. It was just this kind of curiosity and out of the box thinking that drew him to a biology degree. So far, however, it hadn’t quite worked out as planned.

It wasn’t that he found his science classes particularly hard, just deeply unmotivating. Why should he bother memorizing the name of every muscle in the body? He was sure he would pick it up over time if he needed to know, and besides, didn’t it matter more to know how things worked than what they were called? His grades were disappointing, and there were a few times he felt lucky just to have passed, but he just had better things to do than review cue cards.

He liked being on campus otherwise: the chance to meet new people, to join new clubs and generally having the chance to learn from people and disciplines he had never been exposed to before. His friends didn’t quite seem to get the problem. Wen Qing tried to help him study, but got frustrated after he asked too many questions that were outside the scope of the syllabus. When Wei Wuxian moaned and complained that he might fail an upcoming organic chemistry exam, Jiang Cheng, who was a year below him and in a political sciences degree, just shrugged and asked whether he meant fail-fail or Wei Wuxian-fail? Wei Wuxian hadn’t had the heart to answer that not only was it the former, but that the difference between those two kinds of fails was quickly narrowing. Jiang Yanli, who was a year into her philosophy PhD, had simply given her brother a hug and assured him that grades weren’t everything.

Only one comment had even given him pause. He had run into his orientation leader, Xiao Xingchen, at the library café last term. Xingchen had asked if Wei Wuxian was happy in biology so far. Was he happy generally? Maybe. With his degree? Not currently. Was he going to say that to Xiao Xingchen who he barely knew but who seemed extremely happy in his Master’s biology program? Absolutely not. Wei Wuxian had reached his final year, and besides the bare minimum of two 4th year biology courses he needed to complete his major, Wei Wuxian had almost entirely invested in humanities courses that Nie Huaisang had told him he would enjoy, and more importantly, pass. He would be out of here after April, and that was all that mattered. What came next? Who knew, but he would get the piece of paper he came here for.

It was with a familiar sense of resigned dread that Wei Wuxian sat in his seat in his third-year level poetry seminar, spying the pile of graded papers in Lan Xichen’s, his TA’s, hands. Wei Wuxian had taken this section of the course specifically because Nie Huaisang had said that Lan Xichen never failed his students. He was a hard grader, to be sure. He only rarely gave As, if ever, but he also never gave Fs. Knowing that he basically couldn’t fail had been enough to draw Wei Wuxian’s attention and convince him to enroll.

He doodled aimlessly in his notebook, not even pausing to glance at the graded paper as it was placed, face down, on his desk. He didn’t really need to know what he had gotten, at least not while any reaction to it could be seen by anyone else in the room. It was only the lingering shadow of his TA, looming over his desk, which made him put his pencil down. That bad then? He had actually enjoyed reading the poems, but had only vaguely skimmed the various academic interpretations that had been assigned. He just didn’t find any of them all that compelling. He looked up and caught his TA’s eye. He was met by a patient, but surprisingly not disappointed, smile on Lan Xichen’s face. His TA glanced down at the paper and then back at Wei Wuxian encouragingly. Wei Wuxian frowned, confused, but sighed and turned the paper over.

“Not the way I would have read it, but very insightful! A+”

Not the way I would have read it, but very insightful! A+

Wei Wuxian looked up towards Lan Xichen, feeling a familiar rush of heat to his cheeks, for none of the familiar reasons. An A+? So it wasn’t shame in anticipation of sharing the grade with friends or family. Very insightful? Then it wasn’t frustration at well-intentioned hypotheses or questions being misunderstood. It wasn’t even exhilaration at a joke pulled off to perfection. He looked to his TA in disbelief, defaulting back to his most casual and teasing tone, “Ah, Xichen, I think you’re losing your touch, I was always told you were tough.”

“I’m sorry that you’re planning on leaving after this year, Wei Wuxian,” Lan Xichen smiled softly, “Based on this work, I’m sure my brother Wangji would have greatly enjoyed comparing notes with you next year as Master’s students. I still hope maybe I can change your mind. You have a unique way of looking at things, but you made me think, and that’s never a bad thing.”

Wei Wuxian laughed this off, “Thanks, but no one would want someone with my grades and study habits in a Master’s program.”

Lan Xichen’s expression softened, “I wouldn’t worry about that too much. If you keep this up, I would be more than willing to get my supervising professor to put in a good word for you, especially if you can fit some more English department courses in next term.”

Wei Wuxian felt the reddening of his cheeks deepen. This was…it was not pride exactly, that made his face burn, but a feeling, foreign to him so far in his university career, of not just acceptance but… but… appreciation?

It was a feeling Wei Wuxian had lost any reason to expect, but as he looked at the comment written neatly at the top of the page, even though it had taken until his last year to see such a thing, it brought just a touch of hope back to him. Perhaps there was more to this university thing after all.

Maybe, just maybe…

After class, Wei Wuxian approached his TA’s desk. Heart racing and acting on pure impulse, he asked “So, it’s not too late to apply for a Master’s?”