fxxkit | Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated?

"I'm not a pervert. Would you please get off me, young master? I can't retaliate." He wasn't strong enough and he was not technically allowed. For a bastard Jin to hurt a Zhao was a great offence. He couldn't do it but fortunately, Xue Yang could. He wasn't bound to any hierarchy like he was, not as politically at least. If only he wasn't lingering around the donut stand!

"He's a pervert? He doesn't look like a pervert." Yihao frowned and tilted his head to the side. "Are you sure he's one?"

"I'm not! I can assure you, I have no interest in either of you."

"What, you think perverts have a sign that reads 'PERVERT' around their neck? If he's not a pervert, then why would he call me master?" Seemed to be the only reasonable explanation to him. Chenglei was still unsure though, but whatever he'd have done next, he was stopped when another guy, this one dressed in black, with long hair tied back, the sides shaved, definitely looking a lot more dangerous than the current pervert, stopped by them.

Xue Yang casually moved his hand, showing the knife he was holding. He just looked at Chenglei. "Let go of my friend or I'll gut your friend."

Chenglei's eyes widened, but he was not ready to test if that threat was idle. He let go immediately, backing away and pulling Yihao behind himself.

Yihao was terrified, he clung onto Chenglei and gripped him tight, pulling him back as they moved against a wall. He wanted to protect his friend but his feet wouldn't move and he didn't know what to do, he couldn't look away from the knife. The scary one with the knife stood there, looking dark and devious, while the 'pervert' dusted himself off and readjusted his coat.

"Don't wave your knife around near the young... around him." Well, now Chenglei made him feel gross using the word master. He sighed and looked at the punk, shaking his head in disapproval. "Zhao Chenglei, I am not a pervert. I was sent by your grandfather. Do you know what that means?"

God, he hoped so.

"...nah. Pretty sure my grandfather's dead." And these two didn't exactly look like angels sent from the heavens. Demons, maybe. Although the scary one with the knife had now made said knife disappear, in favour of eating the donut he had bought just before stepping in. How did that pervert know his name? So there was something more to this. He really wished Yihao wasn't here now. "If it's a family thing, go talk to my parents. Good luck with that."

"I did. They're ... awkward to speak with. Your grandfather is dying, he's not dead and he has rejected his son as the heir of his organisation. Of course, this means that it has to skip a generation. Congratulations, you are his heir." Meng Yao smiled and then turned to Xue Yang, a smile on his face that showed how exhausting this whole trip had been. "It's quite the honour, isn't it?"

"... This is weird." Yihao mumbled to his friend, not sure what he was supposed to do. "Feels like something out of a manga." Especially the sort he read.

"Yeeeeah." Chenglei had to agree with Yihao here. "Let's go." That said he turned on his heels, wrapped an arm around Yihao and simply tried to head right for the nearest exit.

Xue Yang caught Meng Yao's eyes and shrugged. What could they expect, given this kid had no idea? He walked a few steps, trying his best to keep up with the teens. "He's not lying, you know? Ain't optional either."

"This is the worst prank ever." Chenglei stopped again, since that other guy was in the way, turning back to the pervert guy, whatever his name was. "I'm a loser nobody. Go bother someone else."

"You can't walk away from this. To do it will put you and your little friend here in danger, maybe even your family. Just stay and talk about it with me. Let's sit down somewhere... we could go to Starbucks." It was the only place he could think of and he knew young people loved trendy hotspots like that so maybe it'd convince him. "Stop and talk to me, please."

Yihao clung onto Chenglei, completely confused and utterly terrified. He peered behind him at the two men and then looked away, not sure what to do. "They're really creepy. What do we do? Do we tell someone?"

"Why would Yihao be in danger? He's got nothing to do with this." Whatever 'this' even was. Starbucks? Was that where gangsters went to discuss their business? "Leave him out of it."

"You are a gang leader's heir, of course your boyfriend's in danger." Xue Yang felt that was pretty obvious, honestly.

Chenglei glared at him, but he really wanted to stop standing close to the men's rooms, so he relented. "Whatever. You pay, if we go to Starbucks."

"It's not that he's in danger, it's just that anyone by association can be caught up. Unless, of course, we talk a little." Meng Yao smiled and bowed to the boy, gesturing for him to take the lead and following along behind him. Yihao didn't know how he felt, he wasn't sure what to do but he didn't really feel comfortable leaving alone. Even so, he didn't want to intrude on Chenglei either. His instincts said leave but his fingers found their way to grip into Chenglei's fabric.

"Xue Yang, perhaps you could take our young master's little friend to go and get a snack." Meng Yao suggested, just trying to get some privacy with Chenglei.

Even if it seemed near impossible.

"I'm not letting him leave with that psycho." Granted, right now Xue Yang was looking pretty harmless, even kind of strangely cute, with powdered sugar on his cheek, but he had seen him threaten Yihao so casually before.

"We're just gonna go over there and pick something while you sit down. Relax. Come on, kid, I have snack money." Xue Yang gestured to the counter, now that they'd reached Starbucks, and Chenglei still wasn't sure, so he looked Yihao.

"Yell for me if anything happens, yeah?" He wasn't liking any of this, but he supposed he had to find out what the deal was.

Yihao didn't want to go with the knife man, he really didn't but he knew he had to be brave for Chenglei. He nodded and then looked at him, determined but terrified. "Same. If anything happens, yell. I will protect you." Maybe impossible but he wanted to at least try.

As Yihao reluctantly went along with Xue Yang, Meng Yao watched for a moment before raising an eyebrow, turning back to the boy. "Young love is awfully sweet." He clicked his tongue and then gestured for Chenglei to take a seat.

"We should talk business."

"...there's no love, he's just in my class." And Chenglei supposed they were kind of friends, but he was still trying not to let that happen. Even if he had glanced over at him three times so far, only stopping to frown at Meng Yao instead. "What's with the clicking? I thought it was 'young master'."

Not that he'd ever gotten respect from an adult before, didn't mean he wanted to be clicked at. Even if he did reluctantly follow and sit down.

"My apologies." Whatever, he didn't care. He smiled at the young man, waited for him to sit and then followed suit. He sat down and leaned on the table, trying to work out how to best go about this. "I want you to understand that I have no stake in this, not really. If you don't want to come, you won't come. You won't be the heir and someone else will take your place. I just want you to understand that whoever does, they are unlikely to want you alive. Years down the line, if you changed your mind, they'd lose everything - who'd want that person alive?"

It was unlikely that whoever became the next leader would allow someone like Chenglei to exist for any longer so really, there wasn't much of a choice. He slipped his hand into his inside pocket and pulled out a USB, holding it out to Chenglei.

"Here is all the information on your family, thought you might find it interesting. It's not everything but it's the gist on what we do, how we do it and how long your family has done it."

"If you've got no stake in this, why would you be here?" Chenglei just muttered it, entirely too reminded of so many gangster movies that he'd watched. He took the USB and looked at Yihao again, to make sure he was fine. He seemed fine, if a little overwhelmed by the amount that Xue Yang was ordering. Good.

He swallowed and looked at Meng Yao again, doing his best to keep his face neutral. He wasn't feeling neutral, he felt very unsure and a little scared, neither of which he wanted to admit to. Acting like he didn't care about anything was a lot easier than this. "I haven't even finished high school yet and it's not looking like I will, so what am I even supposed to do? I can't be a gangster."

"I'm here because I have to be. I was asked to find you and tell you. Sometimes we have to do things for the sake of doing them." He didn't want to do it but he knew it was essential to do it, whether or not it mattered. "If you do accept the offer, I am here for you. As a teacher." For some awful reason, that was the role that was thrust upon him. "I'll show you how to be a gangster."

Leaning in, Meng Yao kept his voice nice and slow. "It's not hard, promise." It wasn't easy but luckily, this boy would not really have to do any dirty work - he'd just be a figure head until he was old enough to decide what to do himself. "You are so fortunate, you do not even know. You should jump at this chance, it's incredible."

"What's fortunate about it? You've just told me that some assholes would kill me and my friends and family just for existing." Didn't really seem like much of a perk. So far, this whole thing just sounded like a pain. Definitely didn't help that he had a feeling that this guy was talking to him as if he was an idiot. Maybe he was just being sensitive, but still.

"It's not an offer, is it? I have to do it." If what he'd told him was actually true. Which he had no proof of. Maybe this USB stick would actually have that? He eyed it suspiciously. "All I know is that my grandfather owes me a lot of birthday presents."

"To be born in a position of privilege is always fortunate. You will have money, a purpose, a place in the world and eternal protection. If you don't think that is good fortune, I think you should trade places with others without those perks." Meng Yao would have killed to have such a beautiful lot in life but instead, he had to fight all the way to get anything. Perhaps that was why he so deeply loathed Chenglei right now. Lucky little brat.

"You have a choice. Take it or don't take it and gamble. Maybe you'll get to live for a few years, maybe forever. Maybe the person who takes over will be generous." Unlikely but possible. "Even so, I wouldn't like my odds."

Chenglei would have a few things to say on the subject of how privileged and fortunate he was, but he bit his tongue. It wasn't that difficult to sense that this guy didn't like him, so what good would come from trying to make him understand that? Seemed like nothing good would come from any of this, honestly.

But it also seemed as if, no, he did not have a choice, and the only person he had to talk to about it was some guy who hated him. Ugh. This was like summer school all over again. "So, what? What do I have to do? I don't-- I mean, what, do I still have to go to school?"

"Yes, you have to go to school and finish, graduate if you can and we will handle the rest for you. If you want to study at university, great. If you don't, we can fake it." He could just have a magical bachelors in business in a few years. "Your grandfather will pass soon you will be expected to visit him beforehand and eventually, you will inherit his home."

"No one will know you are the leader outside of a very small circle. You see, the ones at the top are never known. They're less in danger that way. Gangsters hide in plain sight." It could be dangerous but it was an art that most heirs had perfected. Too bad Chenglei hadn't. "I'm curious, do you mind me asking - do you remember anything from when you were around 4 and you used to stay with your grandfather?"

"I don't remember my early childhood. My mother says she dropped me on the head." Which, honestly, he'd always thought was her bullshitting him, because she said stuff like that all the time and also because he remembered some things. "I remember gunshots."

He'd never told anyone about that, but then, it had always seemed irrational. Now that he knew these things? A lot more believable. "Maybe I forgot because of something?" Maybe there was trauma of some kind. Huh. Maybe that was what was wrong with him. So many people had asked him what was wrong over the years. "...would I still go to school here?"

Because this school sucked, honestly.

"That is a shame. I assume you blocked it out. I don't know every detail but I do know people who may know. I know people who know you. Childhood friends." He knew that Wangji remembered him, he had seemed interested for the first time in a long time when the rumour started to spread about Chenglei returning. He was sure Tian probably knew something too. Tao? Unlikely. He had been far too young.

He looked back to make sure Xue Yang was spending all of his money before nodding slowly and turning back to Chenglei. "Sure. Move. You can leave and come with me, I can find you a preferred school. We have the money for it." After all, Meng Yao had to serve him and make him happy. "Your grandfather rejected your parents so if you wish to as well, you should."

"Er. I dunno. I think they were gonna move again anyw--" Wait. Chenglei frowned, then folded his arms and rested his head on them. Of course. Of fucking course. This did explain everything. Well, not everything, his parents were still odd, but the frequent moving? The insistence that he learned how to defend himself and beat people up and also never wanting him to get too close to people or draw too much attention? Right. That did explain his entire life's misery nicely.

Now he had childhood friends and was a gangster. Ugh. He was so tired.

Xue Yang returned carrying a tray, but he let Yihao sit down first, then set the tray down, immediately reaching for the cake that looked best for him. Glancing at Chenglei, he laughed. "What's with the future boss?"

"He's whiny of his burden in life." Meng Yao explained as he checked all the drinks until he found his - black coffee. Nothing in it and, if Xue Yang had remembered, several extra pumps of caffeine. He hadn't slept yet this weekend so he was a bit all over the place, he really needed something to help him focus. "But he is open to accepting his fate. So there is that. We just need to find a new school and somewhere to live, shouldn't be hard."

"... New school?" Oh. Well. Okay, Yihao should have expected that but Chenglei was leaving already? He felt his heart sink and his stomach drop at the idea. He just got a friend and he was going to leave. He hated it. "I hope you'll like, Chenglei." He was going to miss him.

Chenglei didn't exactly want to leave, honestly, he just wanted all of this to leave. Life had been a lot simpler half an hour ago, before this bomb had been dropped on him. He wasn't sure how to put any of that into words, so he just reached for Yihao's hand under their table and threaded their fingers together, his heart beating too fast for all too many reasons.

"Ah, he can go to the fancy school with those other brats." Xue Yang nodded his understanding. "You'll like it. Their cafeteria is great." About all he knew, from a few times he had had to do bodyguard duties there.

"Look, man, I do not have the grades to get into a school like that." Chenglei didn't want to explain that to people, but here he was. "And I have things in my file. Fights."

Xue Yang laughed. Well, it was funny. Gangster heir concerned over having some fights on file.

"You could have the worst possible thing on your file and it would be forgotten. Do you have any idea how much influence you have? Besides, fighting in your field - it's a good look." Meng Yao smiled as he took a sip of his drink and laughed, looking at Xue Yang with amusement. This was all so funny to him, the way this boy talked. When would he realise that he wasn't normal, the rules didn't apply to him. Not in that way.

Yihao looked down at the table and silently held Chenglei's hand, wishing that this men would disappear forever and leave, not taking his Chenglei with them. What would he do without him? He didn't mind the bullying, he could deal with it alone, he always had. It was being alone again. He knew what it was like to have a friend.

And now he knew how painful it was to lose one.

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