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“Wangji,” his brother said, his brows furrowed in the deep way that meant he was especially concerned. “This situation…may I speak frankly?”
Lan Wangji nodded. Lan Xichen glanced back on the phone before speaking, at the picture of Wei Ying’s dating profile.
“I think you are being catfished,” Lan Xichen stated, so straightforward it felt uncharacteristically harsh.
“Catfished,” Lan Wangji replied as if the word was strange and had no meaning to him.
He knew it, of course. It had never crossed his mind in regards to Wei Ying. They’d been talking for weeks now, after all, and Wei Ying had been nothing but intentionally annoying to him, which felt like a ridiculous tactic from a catfish.
The constant chatter about nonsense, the voice messages at one in the morning, the teasing – Lan Wangji would have unmatched him, had he not been so completely charmed.
“Let’s look at the facts,” his brother continued. “This man in the profile picture is extremely attractive, yet every time he’s sent you a picture after you matched, they have not shown his face.”
It was true – the photos Wei Ying sometimes sent him looked terrible, hastily taken, and shaky, like he’d been too excited to stay still long enough to get a good shot.
“And each time you have asked to meet, he has canceled at the last minute,” Lan Xichen said.
“He is busy,” Lan Wangji explained. “He studies and works.”
“That he might be, but has he really not found a single free day in the weeks you’ve been talking?”
His brother’s tone was sensible, but Lan Wangji could not feel quite convinced. Wei Ying truly was busy. He would message him at odd times during the day and even at night. The few times they had made plans to meet up, Wei Ying had indeed canceled, but his reasons had been completely understandable: his sister needed a babysitter, he’d not managed to finish an essay, he had to cover for a coworker at the restaurant.
Lan Xichen was not sold.
“Wangji, you must realize it is a bit suspicious,” he said. “Especially since you’ve sent him money.”
“Wei Ying did not ask for it,” Lan Wangji replied immediately.
It was true. Wei Ying had let it slip that he had nothing on his bank account for the next week before getting his paycheck. What was Lan Wangji to do in such a situation? He was wealthy. Wei Ying was not. The solution was obvious.
“It does not work that way,” Lan Xichen insisted. “People like that can be skilled at manipulating you. How can you know he really is this busy? How can you know he’s not talking to ten different men at the same time, using some stranger’s photos?”
The thought made his jealousy rear its head, no matter how hypothetical. Wei Ying talking to other men was not something Lan Wangji liked to think about.
The catfish side of it was still not something he could believe, though. For that to be the case, the Wei Ying he knew would have had to be a fabrication. And surely no one as exceptional as Wei Ying could come out of anyone’s imagination.
“Wangji,” his brother sighed at his mulish silence. “He has almost no social media presence at all. There is no way to confirm this really is a person that exists unless you meet him.”
“I will,” Lan Wangji said. In due time. When it fit Wei Ying’s schedule.
There was a distinctly displeased look to Lan Xichen’s expression, but in the end, he did not seem to want to push. He dropped the topic.
Yet, perhaps there was the tiniest seed of doubt in Lan Wangji’s mind now.
-
Only a few days later, Lan Xichen asked him for dinner at their regular place. In the end, it took Lan Wangji too long to realize where exactly Lan Xichen was taking him – they were already there, in front of the place Wei Ying had mentioned working at.
“This is a violation of his privacy,” Lan Wangji said immediately, frozen at the door. He did not often feel uncharitable towards his brother, but right now, he had a strong urge to glare.
“It is a safety measure,” Lan Xichen argued.
“It is disrespectful.”
Not to mention creepy. Showing up at Wei Ying’s place of employment without asking, when he perhaps might not want to see Lan Wangji at all, crossed a line.
“Wangji, we could just pop in for a few moments to –“
The door of the restaurant opened, and then came a startled voice, “Lan Zhan?”
Lan Wangji’s heart was going to fail. He knew this voice and instinctively turned to look.
Wei Ying, just like in his pictures, looked breathtaking. His unruly hair was in a ponytail, dark eyes widened into an expression of surprise. He was putting on a coat. Had he just now finished his shift? The timing did match up with the schedule Lan Wangji had been aware of.
He was going to hyperventilate. Instead, he exhaled soundlessly out of his nose. Next to him, his brother seemed just as shocked to say anything.
And then, Wei Ying’s surprise melted into a wide, radiant grin, his eyes crescent, as he hurried to Lan Wangji. “Lan Zhan! Did you come to see me? Test out my serving skills? You should’ve told me, I would’ve made sure to be on shift!”
He was so beautiful, and just as overwhelmingly talkative as ever. And he was suddenly so close.
“Honestly, I almost can't believe this!” Wei Ying said. “You’re just as good-looking as your photos suggest! I was sure there had to be some filters involved, hahahaha!”
Lan Wangji’s ears reddened.
“Jiang Cheng actually told me I was being catfished, if you can believe it,” Wei Ying continued, laughter in his voice. “I had to explain to him that no catfish would send two-word answers to ten-sentence messages if they wanted to get something out of it!”
“Mn,” Lan Wangji replied in his complete lack of anything intelligent to say.
“But look at you,” Wei Ying cooed. “So handsome! Lan Zhan, that’s so unfair. I’m all sweaty and tired from work, and you look like you’ve walked out of a magazine!”
“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji said, his ears flaming.
Next to them, his brother cleared his throat. It seemed Wei Ying had forgotten his being here as well since his eyes seemed to widen again.
“Perhaps I will leave the two of you to talk,” Lan Xichen said, and Lan Wangji could tell just how delighted his brother was over this turn of events. “Wangji, I’ll see you later this week. Wei Wuxian – it was a pleasure to meet you.”
Wei Ying’s smile was immediately back. “You as well!”
And Lan Wangji found himself alone with Wei Ying, for the first time ever in real life.
“So, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying turned to him. “You’re not a catfish, huh? We should celebrate that! Let’s finally get something to eat together, yeah?”
“Mn,” Lan Wangji responded, chest warm. “I will pay.”