#i've never written so much slice-of-life but *gestures at zhilan* him

[nobully]

and thennnn perhaps this one ✔️!

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING

Send ✔️ for a daydream my muse has had about/involving yours.

Ding~!

The pomodoro timer goes off and the two friends reading books look up at the same time, eyes meeting across the library table.

"Well," the one in round glasses begins, "that was the fourth time, so we take a 30-minute break now, right?"

His pink-haired companion, also wearing spectacles, nods with a grin. 'Right. What do you think of this method so far?'

'Some guy came up with it using his tomato-shaped kitchen timer.'

Zhilan shut his book with a soft puff of breath, eyebrows scrunched in a thoughtful look. "It really does help with concentration! Actually, I'm more impressed that people are crafting new ways to study even after all this time. Though it does remind me of an old Liyuen technique I read about in the—"

'Zhilan, we're on break,' Wang Yi reminds him before pushing a packet of snacks he'd gotten from the vending machine last time. 'Eat your cookies.'

"Oh, right!" The scholar flushed before accepting them, hands moving over the unfamiliar plastic wrapper. "Not here though, right? Since the library doesn't allow food in carpeted areas..."

'Right, so let's go for a walk.' Wang Yi carefully marks his page with a bookmark before rising to his feet. He's fine with leaving most of their stuff on the table—people are pretty good with leaving things untouched here—but does take care to tuck his "manuscript" notebook under his arm. Across from him, Zhilan is doing the same with his research notes, putting them neatly in a filing folder before setting that in his bag.

As the two of them start walking away, Zhilan pipes up, "I'm always impressed that you only need a notebook for all your notes, Wang Yi. It must be really convenient to have everything in one place!"

'Well, I mean...' Wang Yi tucks his notebook tighter before giving a short laugh. He couldn't exactly say he has nothing more to research and no actual book to write. 'It's getting to the point where I'm wrapping things up, so I don't need to add a lot of info. Most times I'm just confirming what I already know.'

"Oh! Does that mean you're almost done your novel?" Zhilan wonders out loud. "Should I be congratulating you soon?"

'Hahaha, I mean, there's always more books to write, right?' Wang Yi deflects quickly. The day they published his (actual) second-rate fanfiction story would be the moment Nicolette grabbed him by the collar and dumped him in the ocean where she'd picked him up. 'Look, there's the lounge area up ahead. We can snack there.'

Instead of sitting, the pair of them opt to stand by the windows next to a statue of Spirale University's mascot Scuba Steve as they stare out at the ocean lying beyond. Wang Yi hears Zhilan making little satisfied noises as he discovers the magic of junk food while he munches on his own Ore*s. It's so normal he can almost imagine this is just another semester at college after he's made a new friend.

He wouldn't have met Zhilan under normal circumstances: he was majoring in Chemistry and playing basketball in his spare time, while the scholar was a shoo-in for a humanities major who'd love spending days browsing bookshelves. Maybe they would've bumped into each other at the library though, same as Spirale, if he had to look up books for an essay or something. Then Xiao Lu might've found them both and dragged him off, but not before Wang Yi exchanged contacts with Zhilan first.

Instead of pretending to be a novelist, he'd just be himself. Would Zhilan need help with chemistry stuff? He was pretty good at that, but the scholar seemed smart at anything. Maybe he'd be hauling him off to the basketball courts just to get more exercise, or off to the firing range with Xiao Mo and Xiao Lu so they weren't the only one watching her shoot targets. After that, they'd all have hotpot, and exchange stories, and just hang out...

"—ng Yi? Wang Yi, the 30 minutes are almost up."

A hand is waving in front of his face. Wang Yi blinks and wakes from his daydream sheepishly to see Zhilan looking at him with expectant eyes. His robes are are intricate as always, placing him firmly in the realm of fantasy while standing before him.

'Sorry, I spaced off,' Wang Yi blinks quickly.

"That's okay! Are you ready to head back now?" Zhilan asks with a smile.

'Yeah.' He nods and starts leading the way. 'Feeling refreshed, huh?'

"To tell you the truth, I didn't spend the entire break resting..." Zhilan looks a touch guilty as he walks beside him. "Because midway through I thought of another hypothesis I've yet to test for my research topic! So I'm looking forward to whether my theory holds water after I confirm a few facts."

'Sounds like it could be a breakthrough, congrats.'

"Thank you...did you get ideas for your next book too? You looked deep in thought."

'Oh, hah...no, I was just daydreaming,' Wang Yi keeps his tone casual. 'About the most boring stuff ever, actually—going back to school and doing homework, of all things.'

Zhilan looks sympathetic. "Coming from the Akademiya myself, I can relate."

'Right? But here we are, burying our heads in books again.'

He gets a bright laugh in return. "I think there's more motivation when we don't have to deal with grades and deadlines! And well," Zhilan's eyes soften slightly. "Daydreaming about your experiences must be nostalgic."

'Yeah.' Wang Yi agrees, but pauses as his gaze drift towards Zhilan again. Smiling, breathing, laughing. Even if they never met in his world, they were close enough in this one.

'I think I still prefer the real thing,' he mutters inaudibly.

"Hm?" Zhilan doesn't hear and shoots him a puzzled look.

'Nothing,' Wang Yi pats his shoulder and points ahead. 'I see a few guys eyeing our table. We better claim it back.'

"Ah, our books!" Zhilan's head whips back before he starts running. "Wang Yi, I'll go ahead first to stop them!"

'Yeah, you better.'

While Zhilan catches up to the strangers and politely redirects them to another spot, Wang Yi takes his time walking back, eyes taking in every moment. He wonders if the scholar realizes how he pushes up his glasses when trying to make a point...it's a cute little quirk.

By the time he's finally there, the other group is gone and Zhilan's laid out all his papers on the table again with a relieved sigh.

"It would've been troublesome if they cleared off all the books and we had to find them off the return carts," Zhilan remarks while poring over his notes. "Maybe we should break closer to the table next time."

'Good idea,' Wang Yi nods. 'Or I'll scribble a "Do Not Move" sign and leave it here, that seems to work too,'

"Right, not a bad thought!" Zhilan replies instantly, but his eyes don't stop skimming; it's obvious he's eager to dive back into research.

Seeing this, Wang Yi just smiles and swallows back the words in his throat.

Thank you.

For saving their seats. For being his friend.

For living.