Liu Lianyu wastes no time getting himself on suppressants. The birth control pills used to be enough but now that Mo Yinan has so rudely interrupted his life, he needs something else, something strong.
He gets the stuff over the counter, too lazy to wait for prescriptions. The medication has only a three-star review online but he doesn't care, he's absolutely desperate. If nothing else, the placebo effect is welcome.
When Liu Lianyu returns to work, he finds that the air is a bit less stuffy and the long list of side effects plastered on the bottle feels worth it.
But Mo Yinan is insufferable in his persistence.
He doesn't approach Liu Lianyu directly often and the teacher is thankful. At least the boy has some minimal respect for Liu Lianyu's boundaries and professionalism.
It stops there.
It all starts with a tiny piece of candy placed on the corner of Liu Lianyu's desk.
It's there before Liu Lianyu arrives to class and he's a bit befuddled but mostly unconcerned. A student likely accidentally left it there when passing by, or after class when they were done with chores. It's not uncommon for Liu Lianyu to come across miscellaneous items on his desk.
But after the lunch break, there's three more left in the exact same place on the right-hand corner. He does a double-take, stopping comically as he jolts with a sense of deja vu. Huh, his eyes sweep over his students, still chattering as they wait for the period bell. Was this some sort of prank?
Liu Lianyu isn't stupid. His eyes trail over to Mo Yinan, who's seated by the window, two rows from the very back of the class. He's busy talking to his friends, one brash alpha girl and an excitable beta boy. They're engaged in a heated battle of wits, trying to up each with questionable and shocking knowledge. Nothing is off the table; from omega x omega porn to testing out the driver's wheel underage and even a case of 'accidental' shoplifting.
Common chatter for common brats. Liu Lianyu usually finds their naivety and innocence endearing but this time, he only frowns further. Mo Yinan does not look back at him but his one visible ear seems suspiciously red. It might just be the sun beaming in through the glass window or maybe Liu Lianyu is just hallucinating.
He scoops up the candies in his palm and walks over to the trash, holds his hand out and stops. Liu Lianyu isn't thinking very hard when he makes the swift decision to pocket them in the end.
The next day, Liu Lianyu walks into class and spots a little keychain of an ugly stuffed bird. He picks up the offensive thing, frowning deeply as he scrutinizes its design. Is it an eagle? Or an owl? Or maybe it's a parrot. Liu Lianyu isn't sure, but what he's sure about is the fact that it's quite ugly and just slightly endearing.
Liu Lianyu ends up pocketing it too.
Mo Yinan grows bolder.
He tries to approach Liu Lianyu with all manner of excuses. From homework questions to pointless complaints about fellow classmates. The boy is persistent but luckily, Liu Lianyu is a seasoned soldier against the might of alpha harassment. His skills at keeping conversations brisk and strictly professional is unmatched and deserves praise.
Mo Yinan approaches him that afternoon, waiting for when all other students have filtered out of the class.
"Teacher Liu," Mo Yinan leans in while Liu Lianyu sits casually at his teacher's desk. "There are some grammar points I didn't really understand, can you explain the English homework a little more? Please?"
Liu Lianyu is on his toes, kicking at the boy's shin so that his rolling chair slides over the floor and recreates the distance that Mo Yinan tried to breach. He taps a finger against his desk, eyes pointedly staring at the paper clutched to Mo Yinan's chest. "Put it here. Don't come closer."
Mo Yinan fidgets like an impatient puppy and Liu Lianyu is forced to pretend like it's not adorable. It is merely his biology messing with his head, Liu Lianyu reminds himself. What's so great about a kid who brags about watching porn? He is long past that phase in life.
The kid finally places his paper on the desk and takes a step back, allowing Liu Lianyu enough space to breathe.
The teacher lets go of a breath he doesn't know he's been holding and leans over his desk.
"Ah, you conjugate your verbs at the wrong instances, look here." Liu Lianyu dons his professional persona and shows Mo Yinan his mistakes with a red pen. The alpha leans in and Liu Lianyu's composure wanes but he's strong and ignores his aching heart.
"Oh…I see. I think I kind of understand…" But Liu Lianyu knows that Mo Yinan's eyes are not on the homework. He can feel those orbs burning holes into his back.
Liu Lianyu clicks his tongue in impatience, he looks up and pulls a face. "Do you have any other questions?"
When Mo Yinan looks at him he's beaming, enchanted and Liu Lianyu feels that he's seeing a mirror. It appals him, frightens him, that he would fall so deeply for a boy he barely knows. "If you don't have any more questions then leave."
"Um, does Teacher Liu—"
Liu Lianyu looks down and doesn't let Mo Yinan finish, "I said leave, Mo Yinan."
"Okay. I'll see you later…Liu Lianyu." And just like that, he flees before Liu Lianyu has a chance to curse the brat out.
When he looks, he notices that there's something left on the corner of his desk. It's a classy black fountain pen with a tiny golden serpent etched with great detail on the side. Liu Lianyu shouldn't be accepting these gifts. But he pockets it anyways. In the quiet of the classroom after hours, there is no one but himself to judge.
The clutter in his apartment only increases. There was that ugly bird keychain and even those four pieces of candy he brought home that very first day. Liu Lianyu is slowly but surely building up an impressive collection.
One weekend he wakes up and stares at his desk. There's a cheesy mug with a little snake on it and a penned note beneath it that reads 'Reminds me of you!'. Next to that is a pair of leather gloves, wonderfully crafted and creepily fits Liu Lianyu's hands perfectly. He will never actually wear them though, reducing the item to nothing more than a cute display.
There are many more. From pieces of jewelry to random trinkets, toys won from arcades and even strange tools like a high-quality spatula and a self-heating thermal water bottle. Liu Lianyu feels the compulsive need to demand Mo Yinan to give him more nesting-friendly items like jackets and blankets, preferably covered in a sweet scent of burnt pine, mint and citrus.
"…" Just what is he thinking? Of course, Liu Lianyu would never dare to do such a thing.
Liu Lianyu forcefully drags himself out of bed and gets dressed. He needs to get away from Mo Yinan and all the little tokens that have invaded his living space. Liu Lianyu should clean his room, really. But he also doesn't have the heart.
So he flees his apartment like a coward. He wants to think about other things but finds himself more excited about drinking alcohol than he is about going to visit Lin Jiaen.
She doesn't live far, in fact, it takes him under an hour to go to a corner store, fetch their sweet poison of choice and make it to her apartment complex.
Lin Jiaen buzzes him up. She greets him with a wide smile and a chirpy voice, "Yu-ge! It's been ages." She leans in for a hug and Liu Lianyu grins back at her, breathing in the refreshing scent of morning dew and chrysanthemum.
"Yeah," he agrees with a sigh, "It really has."
She chuckles and ushers him inside, "Don't just stand there, come on in!"
Liu Lianyu hasn't been over since the first time she moved in with her new fiance. Back then the apartment was barren sterile of personality, maintaining cleanliness on a surface level with white walls and tiled floors and mismatching furniture that showed little style.
Since then, Lin Jiaen and her future husband have transformed the place into a real home. The couch was a soft beige with a matching armchair, set by the wooden coffee table. There's a collage of pictures on the wall; cute memories and commemorate Lin Jiaen and her beloved's history. The kitchen counter boasts an impressive collection of tools, each neatly tucked away into their appropriate crevices and there's even a cute little lamp with a spirally stand that towers in the corner of the living room.
Lin Jiaen tucks her hair behind her ear and peeks at Liu Lianyu from the corner of her eye, "Sorry, it's a bit messy. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had the chance to clean up."
If this is a mess then Liu Lianyu's place is a dumpster. He smiles wryly and nudges her with his elbow, "It's just me, you know I won't care." He purposely makes himself at home, setting the assortment of alcohol on her coffee table. "Do you have some cups?"
"Way ahead of you," she saunters over with two glasses and plops on over next to him. She lets him pour them drinks; two beers to start them off. It's still daytime after all.
"Four months," she sighs, holding up her glass. "I live right down the road now and you haven't visited me for four months."
Liu Lianyu's smile is strained. She's not wrong. "I've been busy," he lies through his teeth.
Lin Jiaen probably isn't thinking much when she tilts her head and asks, "With what?"
He needed to think of something. Fast.